Gravitational Constant

Chapter 2

Chapter Summary: Emily's on the team, but Hotch is still freezing her out. JJ notices her frustration, which leads to an intimate moment between the two of them. Follows S2E11-S2E13.

Now that Emily was officially on the BAU team, she was starting to settle in and find her place. She had her own desk, and she was figuring out the team dynamic and the pace and rhythm of the BAU. Hotch was still cold and gruff and dismissive with her even on the best of days, but she got the sense it wasn't just her; he was pretty stern and icy with everyone. She'd never even seen him crack a smile. But the rest of the team was warming up to her. Gideon and Reid were starting to trust her and value her input. Morgan chatted with her—sometimes it almost felt like he was flirting with her, which made Emily feel just a little bit sorry for the guy who had no clue just how far off the mark he was. Penelope remained every bit as warm and welcoming and friendly as she had been when they first met, and had quickly taken Emily under her wing and made her feel like one of the team. And then there was JJ...

Emily had never had many friends, and she'd always found it hard to get close to people, but JJ was different. Even in the short time they'd known each other, Emily just felt so seen. She could feel herself starting to stare more, to let her eyes linger on JJ's golden hair and radiant smile and lithe figure. She could feel herself getting that nice, warm flush whenever JJ was around, trying extra hard to make her smile because seeing that smile just felt so damn good. She could feel it starting, and she immediately snuffed it out. The last thing she needed was a crush on a probably-straight coworker in an office full of people she wasn't out to yet. But even though she squashed down any feelings that could be perceived as even remotely romantic in nature, seeing JJ was still the highlight of her day, and JJ had quickly become her person on this team.

JJ for her part, was becoming equally enamored with her new coworker—in ways she found she couldn't quite understand. Sure, she'd admired Elle and gotten close to her, and she and Penelope were thick as thieves, but with Emily, something was different. Something just...clicked. Emily was a guarded, private person, and to tell the truth, JJ still didn't know all that much about her, but when the two of them were together, JJ could see Emily start to let her guard down just a little. She could see the inner Emily start to emerge from the steely, professional fortress she built to protect herself. And every time she caught a glimpse of that inner Emily that so few got to see, it gave her a funny sort of bubbling sensation. It was strange and new and more than a little confusing—sure she'd experimented a bit in college, but no woman had ever made her body react like this. She chalked it up to the excitement of making a new friend and refused to consider it might be anything more, but she still had to admit that the first thing she thought of when she came into the office every morning was getting to see Emily.

On this particular morning, however, Spencer was the first one she saw when she came into the office, and he looked like he was on a mission.

"Hey, Spence," she said.

Instead of greeting her back, he just asked, "JJ, who's your contact at D.C. Police?"

"Uh, Victor Barnes. Why, do you need me to call him?"

Spencer was already on the phone. "Hi, Detective Barnes, please?" he said, "Uh, hi, Detective Barnes, this is Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid at the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico. Have you had any recent murders involving prostitutes, maybe just Jane Does? They would have been stabbed to death, and their hair would have been cut off by the killer...When was the most recent victim?...I'll explain when I see you. I'll meet you in a half-hour." He hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Gideon asked.

"D.C. may have a serial killer," Spencer replied, "And I think I just let him get away."