A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! After the last short chapter, I decided to beg for your forgiveness by updating with a lovely, long one. Hope you guys like it! Please review!

Chapter 10

(JJ's POV)

If anyone walked in on her they would think she was reviewing case notes, though the most recent file actually sat at the bottom of a pile of papers that she'd printed after spending the early hours of the morning surfing the internet.

The likes of Google would have been far beneath a tech expert like Garcia, but a search engine was exactly what she needed right now. She silently thanked God that technology was advanced enough that InPrivate browsing existed, meaning that no one would be able to trace what websites she'd been on. Sitting back in her chair, she felt a wave of butterflies in her stomach as she summoned up the courage to read.

Coming out in later life – Dealing with Marriage and Children.

That was just one title of the many sexuality-related pamphlets she'd printed. In the stack were various other marriage-related ones and a few PFLAG pamphlets. There was also a stack of strict Christian ones that talked about how these feelings weren't who she was, but how she had been misguided and that God was willing to help her overcome these feelings and get back on track.

Somehow, though she dearly wanted to, she couldn't quite bring herself to believe the Christian ones.

The feelings she felt for Emily, though confusing and out of bounds, didn't feel at all misguided. Instead it felt natural and warm, like she was floating on air whenever she thought about the brunette agent. The only misguided feelings seemed to be coming from the lack of spark in her marriage. She and Will could easily be two roommates living together, rather than spouses. On the other hand, everything had just seemed to fall into place when she'd kissed Emily.

There was a knock. JJ quickly shoved the pamphlet underneath the case file.

"JJ," Hotch greeted as she hurriedly rearranged the contents of her desk. "I came to ask if there were any new cases. It's unusual that we have this long on paperwork and we're beginning to run dry."

"Yeah – don't worry, I was just working on that. In fact, I got a phone call this morning."

She picked up another file, stood up and handed it to him. "Conference room in five," she added, then walked out ahead of him.

(Hotch's POV)

Hotch raised an eyebrow at her as she left. She'd seemed flustered when he'd entered, as though there was something she didn't want him to know about. Confused, he didn't leave after her, but walked into her office and looked at what was on her desk. The case file from Seattle was there, but underneath it was a whole stack of things that didn't look like they were related to the BAU at all.

He knew it was a bad thing to snoop through other people's personal belongings, but JJ and Emily had been acting weirdly long enough now, and if this had something to do with it then it was about time he found out. Lifting the case file he sifted through the contents underneath. His jaw dropped when he read the first title.

Then he suddenly felt very bad for what he'd done. Quickly grabbing the topmost pamphlet, but leaving all the rest there, he dropped the case file back down and quickly exited the room. No wonder JJ had wanted her privacy and he now realized he had completely violated her trust. In that moment he decided that he wouldn't tell her what he'd found out. After all, it was her business if she decided to come clean about it.

He wondered that, if that was the case with JJ, then was it the same for Emily too? Did two of his female agents really swing that way? If so, towards each other?

Jeez, no wonder JJ looked so moody these days. If his prediction was correct then things could not be going well in her marriage. Not to mention, her married status would also be frustrating to Emily, which is why Emily had been acting so shifty towards her. And Emily had confessed that they were in an 'uncomfortable position' and that she had 'a lot to think about', but that they weren't exactly fighting.

He closed JJ's door behind him as he left. Down the corridor he could hear the other agents engaged in some form of witty banter. Making his way up to the bullpen, he overheard Morgan, Garcia and Reid in a heated debate.

"Just because I lost, sweetcheeks, doesn't mean you've won," Garcia cooed.

"I'm a damn sight closer to winning than you are, babygirl," Morgan replied.

"But we still don't know what's going on between them," Reid reminded them.

"Ah, Reid," Morgan interrupted. "The longer we don't know what's going on, the more scandalous it's going to be. I still have my money on it being Emily's doing."

Hotch sighed. They were betting, and they completely and utterly did not realize what a serious situation it was going to turn out to be. There they were fooling around betting on Emily and JJ, not realizing the painful and difficult emotions they were going through while money was traded on their personal lives. He felt slightly angry, but then again, if he hadn't found that pamphlet, he would be just as clueless as they were and would have probably found the bet amusing.

Deciding to let it slide, he walked into the bullpen.

"JJ wants us in the conference room," he announced. "We have a case."

The three of them began to stand up.

"Where's Rossi?" Hotch inquired. "And Prentiss?"

"Here," said Rossi, entering the bullpen.

"Emily said she was going to the bathroom. I'll tell her we have a case," said Garcia.

(Emily's POV)

Emily had indeed gone to the bathroom, but not so much to use the loo as to stare at her tired reflection in the mirror. Despite priding herself in compartmentalization she knew she couldn't hold it in much longer. JJ's indifference was killing her, especially when she was almost certain the blonde liked her more than she liked Will. Then there was the moral side of her arguing that she shouldn't be getting in the way of her friend's marriage, though to be fair it's not like she was able to control JJ's feelings towards her.

If something didn't happen soon she knew she was going to have to talk to JJ before she got driven insane. In fact she might actually have to credit the blonde with being better at compartmentalization that she was, because JJ was doing a far better job at acting like everything was normal – not that the team didn't notice anyway, but they still at least lived in the oblivious bubble that JJ and Will were in a happy and fulfilling marriage. Of the two of them, Emily was the one who had been getting odd, concerned looks from the rest of the team and had even been confronted by Hotch. No one had said a word to JJ.

She wished they would. It would mean they thought something was up with her too, which would make it more likely that it wasn't all in Emily's imagination.

Blowing out a sharp breath of air, she straightened her shoulders and walked back into the bullpen. She'd been in there long enough and people might start to think she had the runs or something if she remained any longer.

"New case," said Garcia and Emily noted that everyone else had already left. She nodded and followed Garcia into the conference room where JJ had just finished setting up.

Emily loved when JJ was doing her job because she looked so much like she belonged there. Although it wasn't a happy or fun job, she could tell it was fulfilling for JJ by the way her eyes sparkled as she threw herself into her work, communicating with the media, holding off the press, delivering press conferences, and describing the new cases.

The last part was probably the hardest for JJ, and the one part where her eyes did not so much sparkle as cloud over with grief. Of course she always put on a poker face, but since Emily knew her so well she could see the deep sadness in her blue eyes as she knew that for every case taken by the BAU, there were at least five more equally as awful that she'd had no choice but to reject.

"Five brunettes, mid-thirties to mid-forties, all strangled," she announced.

In that single moment her eyes met with Emily's and it was as if there was suddenly an overwhelm of mental and emotional communication between them. That second, JJ's features became fearful as the victimology fit Emily to a tee. This fear was mixed with acknowledgement that she cared far more about Emily than she should; that she would have been much more objective if the victimology had fit anyone else in the team, but because it was Emily it was difficult for her to remain focused. Her hands clenched into fists as she took a deep breath to try and continue, but she swallowed and didn't say anything.

Emily saw all this, and communicated her own love of the younger woman, as well as a desire for her to just admit that they needed to talk again. Her brown eyes pleaded with JJ's that this was all getting too much for both of them, and that they needed to clear the air and find out where they really stood with each other, because if they didn't, their friendship might be stilted forever.

The other agents watched JJ expectantly. The blonde seemed to be in her own world, not appearing to notice the ominous silence growing in the room. Then her hands started trembling and she pushed past the other agents, walking out of the room, her long hair hiding her anguished features.

(JJ's POV)

Seeing all of those dead brunettes, and knowing that Emily could have so easily been any of those women, was finally too much for her to bear. She power walked to the nearest bathroom and locked herself in a cubicle, before breaking down into tears.

While she cried, it crossed the back of her mind that the rest of the team was bound to ask questions, but right now she was simply beyond caring. She couldn't take it anymore. All she wanted was to be with Emily and protect her from the rest of the world without everyone else judging her for her decisions. The fact that she'd remained with Will for this long – well, frankly it was because she knew what people would say if she broke up with him. She would be the one in the wrong, even though breaking up with him wasn't the wrong thing to do seeing how it was better than a dishonest marriage. Then there would be the ones who would say "What about Henry? Did you even think about your son?"

Of course she thought about him, in fact that was the only other reason why she'd remained with Will for such a long time. Henry deserved to have his father in his life, but if it meant JJ sacrificing her happiness, was it worth it so that Henry could have the normal family life?

For all her logic and reasoning behind staying with Will, none of it seemed worth it anymore. Not when Emily was around to captivate her like a siren captivating a sailor, luring her in with those beautiful, dark brown eyes and mysterious, enticing personality.

"Jayje?"

The voice outside the cubical door was Emily's. Wiping her tears, JJ slowly unlocked the door, opened it a crack and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I can't take it anymore," she finally admitted before the tears started to stream again. "I can't – I can't be without you anymore."

Emily's hand gently caressed JJ's face, wiping away the tears and then cupping her chin.

"Are you sure?" she asked, because she had to know for certain that JJ wasn't going to change her mind in an instant and go back to Will again.

JJ nodded. "I'm sure. I'm surer of this than anything else in the world. I'm going to tell Will – after the case, that is."

Emily nodded.

"What about the team? What do we tell them?" JJ asked in a moment of frenzy.

"Nothing for now," Emily advised. "They don't need to know anything just yet. Speak to Will, and we'll deal with everybody else later. Okay?"

This time it was JJ's turn to nod.

"We'd better go. The rest of the team will be starting to wonder," she said, reworking her poker face, albeit not as well as before. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her make-up was slightly runny, but nevertheless she held herself with grace as she exited the bathroom, Emily following behind.

(Emily's POV)

Emily's stomach was doing back flips and she felt giddy with excitement, but she would have to save it for another day. The team were depending on them in this latest case and it would do them no good to act like lovesick teenagers instead of professionals.

Perhaps they would share a hotel room. Perhaps then they could talk...amongst other things.

(JJ's POV)

The two women re-entered the conference room, getting concerned gazes from the rest of the profilers.

"You guys okay?" asked Morgan, but JJ shot him a look and he quickly shut up. She was in no mood for awkward questions and explanations. There were a million things she needed to think about, but for the moment she had to put them to the back of her mind and concentrate on her work.

"Back to the case," she said, her voice flat. She picked up the file and scanned the contents. Five brunette women, between the ages of 35 and 45. They were all married with children and had all been strangled.

She couldn't help but let out a tiny sigh of relief at the 'married with kids' part. That piece of information meant that Emily didn't fit the victimology after all, and therefore she didn't have to worry about her colleague and love interest being in danger from this particular unsub. Slightly more at ease, she went on to describe the case. It looked as though they would be making a trip to Chicago.

As the team stood up and collected their go-bags, she noticed that Hotch was watching her with a frown on his face, and wondered if it was possible that he knew something.

A/N: I have updated this chapter rather than adding a new one, because originally the last part was going to be part of the next chapter, but then I decided it was better off at the end of this one. Now, I'm going to need some serious help from you guys because I'm really bad at case fics. I sort of know how the case going to go, but I need to figure out how to make it entwine with the Em-JJ love story, so any ideas would be greatly welcomed. Also, I apologize that my updates are slow at the moment: This is because I have exam revision to do. Please review!