A/N - I know this is late but i've been legitimately ill and busy with college stuff ~ R

Hotch sat alone in his office trying to compose himself after the events of the morning. Emily and JJ had both been good friends to him over the few years they had known each other, and of course he was more than happy to accept them as a couple. It wasn't his choice to make though, in all honesty his hands were tied. He had suspended Emily simply because she had touched a nerve, a wholly exposed and fragile nerve, when she had talked about Foyet. There hadn't been any need for that. He knew that he shouldn't have suspended her, and he would make that right at some point when they had both had the time to cool off, but right now he had a job to do. He let his head fall into his hands for the briefest of moments before there was a sharp knock at his door.

"Come in." He instructed smoothly, allowing the door to be opened to reveal a very solemn-looking Morgan.

"Sir," Morgan started, his voice having a certain edge, "We've found a new victim, the chief wants us to brief his team on what we are doing next."

"Right," Aaron started, raising himself out of his chair. "Do you have an updated file?" He asked just as Derek handed him a thick file. He opened it to find a picture of an elderly woman, it was a crime scene photo, brutal to say the least. "Thank you, gather the team and try to get as many of the officers as you can in the same room. I need to call JJ and get her back here." Derek nodded and hurried outside to find his team. There was a certain veil that fell over the team whilst they were on a case. It was an eerie kind of suspension of their normal selves, all focusing solely on protecting the public and solving a case as fast as possible. None of them had ever considered the way they acted, they just automatically fell into this personal limbo. Fear of losing this professional veil was what sparked the anti-fraternization rules in the first place. Another thing added to the list of what Hotch needed to consider in regards to Emily and JJ. Hotchner pushed this to the back of his mind as he speed-dialed Agent Jareau. She answered, out of habit he suspected, within the first 3 rings.

"Jareau." JJ answered sternly

"JJ, this is Hotch. I'm going to need you and Agent Prentiss to come back to the station as soon as possible. We have a new victim. Jane Doe, mid 70s, same MO."

"Yes, Sir. Of course, we will be there straight away." JJ instructed Emily to hustle out of the hotel room they were currently in as she hung up and grabbed her own gun and badge." She placed a hasty kiss on her girlfriend's lips before closing the hotel room door and jogging towards the stairwell.

"Jennifer, what's going on?" Emily asked as they hurried down the stairs. She understood JJ being called in, but she had been formally suspended. There was no need for her being called in too.

"Hotch told me to bring you with me. New victim." JJ told her, coming to the door of the stairwell and holding it open for Emily. They continued through the lobby and out to the parking lot. Emily chose to sit in the driver's seat, being a better driver under pressure and needing JJ to explain the situation while they drove.

"That makes no sense, I swear that guy is on and off faster than a light." She muttered as she closed the drivers side door and put the key in the ignition.

"I thought you'd be glad to be back." JJ remarked, placing a comforting hand on the brunette's knee, sparks of electricity flying down her hand at the mere touch of her girlfriend. She knew she should be slipping into her professional facade sometime around now, but being unable to shut off her heart. She began to understand, maybe for the first time, why there were certain rules put into place. She sighed before continuing to talk "I know it's going to be tense, but please, for me just try to get on with Hotch. I love you with all of my heart, and I consider myself so lucky to be with you and to be able to work with you. Can we please just enjoy being able to be on the same team while we can?" Once she had gotten all of that off her chest she took a deep breath and began to become Agent Jareau, rather than JJ. Emily looked at her girlfriend a bit taken aback for a second or two before putting her attention back onto the road.

"Jennifer, I have to tell you this before we fall back into the mayhem of the case, but you make me almost not want to marry you." She stated as she took a sharp left handed turn onto the freeway.

"What?" JJ asked, her voice cracking in fear.

"No, no, no. I want to marry you, I've wanted too ever since I first met you, I just don't want you to ever doubt that I WANT to be with you. Marriage will make me legally obligated to be with you, sure, but I love you so much, Jennifer Jareau, I never want you to think that I'm with you out of obligation, not out of choice." JJ was silent for a few moments while she reflected on what Emily had just said. It felt like hours had passed for Emily before she made her reply.

"Yeah? And what makes you so sure I would marry you anyway?" She asked sassily, trying to ignore the guilt about joking around at a time like this. The air between them was so thick and full of excitement, butterflies and longing that it was difficult not to feel so comfortable around Emily Prentiss. Emily almost snorted her reply, as if the concept of not being married to Jennifer Jareau was laughable. To her, it kind of was.

"Oh, Miss Jareau, Jennifer... May I call you Jennifer?" She asked, feigning formality. JJ nodded with a wide smile on her face. "You will marry me." Emily slipped her hand into JJ's while she made her statement.

"And why, oh prophet, would I do a thing like that?" JJ asked, laying a soft kiss on the brunette's knuckles. They were nearing the station now, which would inevitably lead to their perfect little love-bubble being burst.

"Because if you don't I'll have to kick your ass." Emily replied frankly, causing JJ to burst out into half-exaggerated laughter.

"Puh-lease. I could take you in a fight with my hands tied behind my back, standing on one leg, upside down, in the shower, eating a snickers bar and reciting the Russian alphabet." She waved her free hand around wildly as she spoke.

"Jennifer Jareau, you're crazy and I love you, but I think we'd better get out of the car now." JJ had been so enthralled in their banter that she hadn't noticed that they had been parked up for a good 5 minutes. She leaned over, placing a loving but fleeting kiss on Emily's lips before getting out of the car and starting towards the station. Emily made a mental note to stop by a jewelry store at some point after they finished the case and buy the most expensive engagement ring she could afford, because she liked JJ an awful lot, and that meant she had to put a ring on it.

"The UnSub is likely in his late teens to early twenties, male and Caucasian, based on the type of victims he's choosing and his MO. We really need to try our best to find him as soon as we possibly can, because the cool off period between kills has shortened from a month to a few days. Soon he will be killing several people a day, and that puts not only the victims, but the entire community at risk." Reid started briefing the precinct officers, his voice slower and much smoother than normal, being overly conscious of how excitable he could get.

"We need to work within this area, our geographical profile has suggested that the UnSub works and lives somewhere within this area, which overlaps quite significantly with the area he operates within" JJ continued, pointing towards two overlapping circles drawn around drawing pins on a city map.

"So," one of the officers started, a quick glance to her name badge identifying her as Renaud. "You're telling me you can tell his age, gender and location based off of who he kills? What kinda big city bullcrap do you call this?"

"RENAUD," The chief hollered from across the room. "IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM I SUGGEST WE DISCUSS IT IN MY OFFICE AFTER HOURS." He raised an eyebrow at his officer before directing everyone back towards the agents. The red headed officer seemed to wither under his harsh gaze, and she blushed so much that her face almost matched the shade of her hair. She remained silent for the rest of the briefing, hurrying out of the precinct as soon as she and her partner had been assigned to a role.

"Sorry about her," The chief sidled up to the team as they finished packing away their maps and files, "she tried for the Bureau a couple times but never got past the entrance exam. She's a salty little devil but she means well, works hard."

"It's OK, sir." Emily was the one to assure him, placing a knowing hand on his shoulder as she spoke. "All law enforcement are territorial, we get that. We really don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes, we are just here to do a job."

"Well, anything I can do to make that job even the slightest bit easier, don't hesitate to let me know." He was a kindly man, he had a kind smile and kind eyes. He seemed somewhat damaged though, as anyone would be with the pressures of a law enforcement role. He kept the kind of job that was difficult to put down when you got home. There was no such thing as walking away from work, and each member of the team recognized the exhaustion in his eyes within themselves. Emily continued to talk to him, asking him some general questions about known local criminals, previous crimes and the like. Basic stuff that she was sure someone had already asked about, but she wanted to know all the same. As they talked she backed slowly towards the table that the team were working on, sliding back onto it and slipping her hand behind her to lean on. She felt a warm tingling in her hand as a beautiful blonde agent brushed it. She tapped on the table with a single finger a couple of times, as if to tell JJ that she loved her, she was pleasantly surprised when JJ tapped back nonchalantly. Once the conversation between Emily and the chief was over she politely thanked him for his help, got up and walked away as if nothing had happened, as if there wasn't an invisible string binding her to Agent Jareau.

"JJ, Emily, in my office now please. Everyone else, you know where you need to be." Hotch told them, turning to walk back to his temporary office. He was answered by a chorus of "Yes, sir" from the team as they scattered around and outside of the station. Emily and JJ followed him to his office, their hands intertwining slightly, just at their finger tips. They needed each other for comfort right now, whether it was professional or otherwise. They could act as if nothing had changed until the cows came home, but it had. They had broken a strict rule, if they agreed with it or not was irrelevant and wasn't going to help them now. They had broken a rule and now they had to face up to the consequences, whatever they may be.