#usercelie

Pittacus Lore wrote, “Those things that are the most obvious are the very things we’re most likely to overlook.”

Spencer Reid didn’t quite know what to expect when he first met Elle Greenaway. He had been impressed by her tactics to lure the unsub out of his house and also by her knowledge of the David Merkowitz’s diaries. He also knew her specialty and reputation with Seattle’s sex offender cases but was unsure how she would work into the team dynamic, especially as the only woman, not that Spencer had any issue with that, it was just different.

But when he’d heard her sass Morgan back at Slessman’s house and that she’d shot the unsub to save Gideon’s and the girl’s lives, Spencer knew she’d fit right in.

***

Back at Quantico, Spencer is diligently working at his desk when Elle saunters down the stairs.

“Question for you.”

Derek briefly looks up from his computer. “Shoot.”

“The footpath killer, why did he stutter?”

“Come on, Elle, we’ve all asked him,” Morgan leans back in his chair, fully addressing her, “and he won’t say, he wants us to figure it out.”

“Okay,” she says, sitting on her desk, as she fidgets with her new name plate. “I’m up for a challenge.”

“Good,” JJ walks into the bullpen with a stack of files, “because these go to you.”

Spencer intently watches as the media liaison sets down the pile of papers on Elle’s desk and extends her hand.

“Special Agent Jennifer Jareau, JJ if you like.”

“Elle.”

He carefully observes their interaction, trying to read both women.

“Greenaway,” JJ finishes knowingly, “highest number of solved cases in Seattle three years running, speciality in sex offender cases.”

Elle briefly glances at Spencer, clearly impressed. “Not bad.”

“Well, I’m the unit liaison. My specialty is untangling bureaucratic knots,” JJ explains, as she makes her way towards the stairs. Spencer notices Elle’s eyes widen at the other woman’s slight rambling. “You’ll probably be talking to me a lot. My door’s always open, mostly because I’m never in my office, so just call me on my cell okay? We’ll talk.”

Reid furrows his eyebrows at JJ’s winded explanation. The liaison rarely rambled on like that, perhaps a nervous habit. It is true that it is more likely for a person to ramble or rush their speech when nervous or anxious. He then looks back to Elle, who gags at the unload of information she just received.

Despite only knowing the brunette for a short period of time, Spencer could tell she was a down to business and no bullshit or fluff type of person. She was the kind of profiler who was focused on catching the bad guy, none of the rest mattered.

Before he can further dwell on the way Elle and JJ’s different personalities would mesh on the team, Hotch calls them into the conference room for another case.

***

A couple weeks later, the team is celebrating his 24th birthday. After Spencer tries, and fails, many times to blow the candles out, JJ stops him, “They’re trick candles, Spence. Okay? They’re gonna come back on every time.”

With one final attempt, he gives a hard blow, but as JJ said, they came back on.

Derek messes with the birthday hat Spencer was wearing, teasing, “Oh, mommy to the rescue.”

“Mommy?” Spencer scrunches his face, confused.

“Ignore him.”

As Elle and JJ work to dispose the cake of the fake candles, Spencer gets up to talk to Gideon.

“You having fun?” The older profiler asks.

“Yes, definitely,” Reid confirms awkwardly. “I’m definitely having fun.”

“Make a wish?”

“Can I take this hat off?” he looks up at the offending object.

“I wouldn’t,” Gideon shakes his head to which Spencer just lets out a small laugh.

“Hey, Spence,” JJ calls over to him, holding out a plate. “First piece for the birthday boy.”

Before going to retrieve his cake, Spencer turns back to Gideon and whispers, “Do you know she’s the only person in the whole world who calls me ‘Spence’?”

As Morgan, JJ, Elle, and him all at their cake, Hotch hangs up the phone before addressing them, “Sorry, guys, party’s over.”

Throughout the entire case of the Tommy Killer, Morgan’s comment about him not being able to get a date bugged Spencer. As they wait for the trap and trace, Spencer sits with Elle at a desk, fidgeting with a Rubik’s cube.

“God, I hate waiting like this,” Elle groans, spinning her cellphone around on the desk.

“Do you think it’s weird that I knew that ballad?”

She lets out a laugh, “I don’t know how it is that you know half the things you know, but I’m glad you do.”

“Do you think that’s why I can’t get a date?” He asks, looking up at her.

“You ever ask anyone out?” She retorts sincerely.

He thinks about it briefly, “No.”

“That’s why you can’t get a date.”

Spencer nods his head slightly at her fair point. Before he can ask anything else, the phone rings with a call from the unsub.

Back on the plane, after wrapping up the case, Gideon gives Reid a pair of Redskin’s tickets, encouraging the younger profiler to ask JJ out on a date.

Spencer walks to the other end of the jet and sits down in the empty seat next to the liaison. “Hey.”

Looking up from the papers she was reading, she smiles, “Hey.”

He pulls out the tickets from his shirt pocket, “I got these tickets to the Redskin’s game, and I heard you were a big fan,” he shyly explains. “You maybe wanna go with me?”

“I’d love to, Spence,” JJ accepts, nodding with a grin.

As the two of them continue to talk, Spencer feels someone’s eyes on him. Scanning the plane, he sees Elle has woken up from her nap and is now looking at the two of them. He locks eyes with her very briefly, an unreadable expression on her face, before she quickly diverts her attention. Spencer shakes it off and resumes his conversation with JJ.

***

The date with JJ is going pretty well, especially considering it is his first date ever. They go out to an early dinner at a Thai place in downtown DC before heading to the football stadium. He is having a good time; however, it honestly feels more like he’s just hanging out with a friend.

As they watch the game, JJ spends most of the time explaining the rules of the game to him, while he just spewed off random statistics and probabilities he’d researched, hoping to at least sound like he fit in at the stadium.

However, Spencer notices that the conversation would always drift towards a certain brunette profiler, the newest member of the team.

“Did you know that Elle is originally from New York?”

“No, I didn’t,” he tilts his head to the side. “Although that does make sense. Her personality is very Brooklyn.”

“True,” JJ chuckles, her eyes lighting up. “She’s a Jet’s fan. We watched the game together a couple weeks ago.”

Based on their first interaction, Spencer never would’ve thought the two women would have gotten along; apparently, he couldn’t have been more wrong. According to the liaison, her and Elle go out for lunches and dinners togethers, especially when they were away on cases, and also have girls nights both with Penelope and sometimes just by themselves.

At the end of the night, as JJ pulls up to Spencer’s apartment, he nervously wipes his hands on his pants. “I had a fun time tonight.”

“Me too, Spence,” she returns with a polite smile.

Not knowing how to phrase what he’s about to say without sounding too blunt, he decides to just blurt it out, “Although, I don’t know if we are romantically compatible.”

JJ just lets out a small giggle, shaking her head at the awkward genius.

“Sorry,” Spencer’s cheeks tint pink, hidden by the shadows of the night sky.

“It’s alright,” the blonde assures. “I agree.”

He just nods, pressing his lips together. “You should ask her out.”

“What?” JJ’s head snaps up, her eyes widening with shock and confusion.

“Elle,” Spencer clarifies. “You should ask Elle out.”

Her face flushes so brightly that the darkness grants her no favors as it had with Spencer. “W-why would you think I’d want to do that?”

“JJ, you mentioned Elle fourteen times in the past two hours,” he points out with a smug look on his face, not even slightly exaggerating, “and your eyes light up whenever you talk about her.”

“I’m sorry, Spence. I didn’t even realize,” she trails off, giving him a sheepish look.

“Don’t worry about it,” he shrugs. “Besides, I got to learn some things about Elle I didn’t know before.”

JJ offers him an apologetic look, as he unbuckles and opens the door to get out.

Before shutting the car door, Spencer ducks his head back in the car, “Just think about it, okay?”

“Okay,” she whispers, earning a grin from the young man. “Night, Spence.”

“G’night, JJ. See you on Monday, or whenever Hotch calls,” he says, closing the passenger door before heading into his apartment.

***

The team is in the car on their way to the train where Elle, along with four others, were currently being held hostage by a psychotic patient. He listens intently as JJ explains the current situation and how the local authorities are handling it, and he detects a slight, almost unnoticeable, waver in her voice.

“We need to know who on that train’s gonna be a help and who’s gonna be a problem,” Hotch states.

“Alright, well let me Garcia to work some magic on those video feeds,” Derek pulls out his phone to call the tech analyst. “Garcia? Okay, listen to me. No playing. We’re gonna be feeding you some security camera video from a hostage situation over a secure line. Can you work your face recognition software over it and tell me who’s who?”

Spencer faintly hears Garcia say something through the phone, before Morgan addresses her again, “Penelope, Elle is one of the hostages.” Snapping his phone shut, Derek tells Hotch, “She’ll get us the names.”

Gideon then turns to the media liaison, “Have we had any contact inside the train yet?”

“No,” JJ shakes her head. “It took two hours just to convince him to allow a two-way phone, but he won’t speak to anyone except for what he calls the, uh, higher authorities.

“God?” Hotch proposes, glancing back in the rear view mirror.

“No mention of religious thus far,” she answers, reviewing the files.

“Has crisis negotiation’s lead claimed to be the higher authority?”

“The unsub won’t speak to him any longer,” she takes a deep breath before continuing. “He gave a deadline of three hours to produce this authority.”

“Three hours— when was that?” Spencer asks.

“Um,” JJ glances down at her watch, scoffing, “two and a half hours ago.”

“Well, he wants to speak to the higher authority,” Hotch points out.

“Then we better give it to him,” Gideon finishes. “Put the lights on, sirens, honk the horns, make people get out of our way.”

Hotch reaches to turn on the sirens, as the older agent continues to give directions, “Get as close to the barricade as possible. When we stop, we sit. We wait thirty seconds. Then we step out.”

For the rest of the short drive, the car is filled with silence, the only noise coming from the police sirens blaring from outside the car. Out of the corner of his eye, Spencer notices the movement of JJ’s knee bouncing anxiously. As he turns to observe her more carefully, he sees an underlying sense of worry and tenseness— the slight furrowing of her brow, the clenching of her jaw, the biting of her lip— underneath the mask she’s so used to putting on when addressing the press.

Ducking his head, he whispers in her ear, “Don’t worry. Elle’s gonna be fine. She can handle herself.”

“Yeah,” she quietly huffs, turning to him with a thankful smile, her eyes telling a different story, as they’re filled with fear and dread.

Knowing there’s nothing more he can do to assure her, Spencer just nods and waits for them to reach the train. Once they arrive on site and wait thirty seconds as Gideon had instructed, the entire team exits the SUV, where they’re greeted by one of the Dallas police officers.

“I’m Frank Moretti, Dallas Field Office,” he shakes Gideon hand. “Near as we can tell, your agent is still all right.”

Spencer lets out a deep breath of relief and senses JJ do the same. After being updated on the situation, the team makes their way into the mobile command center, where they proceed to watch the surveillance video and craft their plan.

After a magic trick and two gunshots, Spencer, Elle, and the four other hostages finally make it off the train, along with an injured Dr. Bryar. Now, after Gideon checked up on the two of them, Spencer and Elle sit on the trunk of one of the police cars.

“Um, Reid, you probably saved my life in there.”

“Probably? I totally saved your life,” he boasts with a playful smirk. “And I’m pretty certain that it was caught on tape.”

Elle smiles a little before asking, “You know, what you said in there to Bryar? That you know what it’s like?”

“The guy was a delusional psychotic,” Spencer attempts to brush off. “I was playing into his fantasy.”

She nods, not wanting to push him.

“Go to the hospital,” he pats her leg, as he moves to stand up. “I’ll see you there, alright? Besides, I think there’s someone who’s pretty anxious to see you right now.”

Spencer motions his eyes for Elle to follow in the direction where JJ is currently standing, nervously biting her lip, her arms crossed and  brows knitted.

Getting up from the trunk, Elle looks back at him, “Thanks, Reid.”

He watches, as she ambles towards the ambulance only to be stopped by the blonde woman crashing into her for a hug. Although he can’t hear what they’re saying, Spencer notices the gentle touch and soft looks exchanged between the two. Smiling to himself, he turns back around, giving them their privacy, and continues to walk towards the SUV.

***

After delivering the profile to the local precinct, the team decides to go out for Chinese food, figuring that since they were in New York going to a restaurant was better than ordering takeout to the hotel.  

“You guys,” Elle chuckles between bites, “we’re here in New York and even when we’re not talking about our case, we end up taking about another profiler.”

Spencer focuses on trying to pick up a piece of baby corn only to have it slip out of his chopsticks before it can reach his mouth.

“You’re right. So, Elle,” Hotch pauses, with a teasing glint in his eye, “are you seeing anyone?”

Derek snickers while Elle just laughs nervously, glancing down at her plate of food. Spencer watches amused, as the normally composed profiler is put on the spot. He notices her eyes briefly flitting over to the blonde woman sitting next to him, who has suddenly found her noodles very interesting, lowering her head to hide her blushing cheeks. But before he can make anything of it, Elle not-so-subtly changes the subject.

“Uh, Gideon,” she clears her throat, “why didn’t you tell the cops that it might be one of their own?”

“If we’re gonna catch the guy, we need all the help the cops can give us,” he explains. “The last thing I want to do is accuse one of them of murder.”

As their finishing up their dinner, Gideon’s phone rings, and JJ asks Reid, “How’s it going there?”

“Awesome,” he mumbles sarcastically, earning laughs from the rest of the team.

“Gideon,” the older profiler answers his phone, as Spencer watches another piece of food slip from his chopsticks.

“It’s absolutely incredible. 1.3 billion people stay nourished using these things,” he sets down the wooden utensils, admitting defeat.

“Yeah. Ok. I got it,” Gideon hangs up the phone then addresses the table. “He just took out a cop killer.”

With that, the light and airy mood of the table is immediately dampened. Back to work it is.

The case has finally come to an end, one that was not optimal, but an end no less. However, the team can’t fly back to Quantico until the next morning due to inclement weather in DC.

With a free evening, Spencer goes to JJ’s room, knocking on her door to see if she would show him around New York as she had offered. Receiving no answer, he knocks again.

“JJ?” Not hearing any movement on the other side of the door, he shrugs, slightly disappointed, before walking down the hall and moving on to Elle’s room.

He figures there is no one better to show him around the city than the Brooklyn native herself. He knocks on the door, only to, once again, receive no answer. Frowning, confused, Spencer just makes his way down the hall, arriving at Morgan’s room.

This time, the occupant answers. “Reid, my man, come on in.”

Spencer smiles awkwardly, shuffling into room, where Hotch and Gideon are sitting at the table, which is littered with cards.

“Wanna play?” Derek comes from behind him, moving to return to his seat.

“Uh, sure,” Reid agrees and pulls up a chair next to the unit chief, who looks only slightly relaxed on his evening off. As Spencer scans and organizes the cards Morgan dealt him, he asks, “Do you guys know where JJ or Elle are? I was hoping to see at least some of New York.”

“What? We’re not good enough for you?” Derek teases with a smirk.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Spencer defends. “I just didn’t think any of you would be willing to go with me.”

Aaron and Jason exchange brief glances, knowing there is, per usual, truth to the younger profiler’s statement.

“I’m just playing, Pretty Boy,” Morgan laughs, as he continues to facilitate the game. “I don’t know about JJ, but Elle mentioned something about getting dinner at Il Calamari, or some fancy name like that.”

“Il Cantinori?” Spencer supplies, remembering JJ mentioning the restaurant on the jet.

“Sure,” Derek muses but focusing on his cards rather than the specifics of his teammates’ whereabouts. “They’re probably having a girls night.”

“Dealing with men all day can be tiring,” Hotch chimes in, his eyes lighter and less stern.

“Especially ruthless journalists, arrogant New York police officers, and know-it-all profilers,” Gideon adds with a slight huff of laughter.

Spencer narrows his brows, not entirely sure whether the last part was a jab at him or not. He quickly scans the faces of the three other men for any signs that they knew more than they let on.

Because really? JJ and Elle having a girls night at one of New York’s most famous five star restaurants? Sure, a “girls night.” Right.

Although Reid wasn’t the most adept at reading social cues or at assessing romantic relationships, he knew his teammates well enough to know there was something more than friendship between them. Even if he hadn’t been subtly observing their dynamic, he would’ve thought the lingering glances, flushed faces, and soft touches would’ve been a dead giveaway.

He had a feeling that the other three agents were good enough profilers to suspect something was going on between the two women, but knowing it was not any of their places to discuss it, Spencer just concentrates on the card game in front of him, already knowing he is going to win, again.

***

Spencer, along with Morgan and Elle, have been working on some files and paperwork, seeing as there was no case yet. As Elle was finishing up a call, hanging up the phone, Morgan leans back in his chair, observing the woman.

Feeling his staring, Elle briefly glances at him. “What?”

“We’ve only been here an hour,” Derek points out, “and you’ve made two calls.”

“And?”

“You hate the phone, Elle.”

“I don’t hate the phone,” she protests.

“Actually, you do,” Spencer decides to interject, looking up from his work. Unable to refrain from sharing a fact, he babbles on. “Hey, did you know that Alexander Graham Bell and Eli Gray both simultaneously invented electronic sound transmission devices? It came down to a race betwixt the two.”

“Yeah, and Bell beat Gray to the patent office by a matter of hours,” Elle finishes, and Spencer gives her a weird look, puzzled by her behavior. “Common knowledge,” she explains with a flippant tone as if to say ‘duh.’

“Why are you acting so weird?” Derek asks after watching their exchange.

Elle turns to him with an expectant look. “We’re sitting with a guy who knows that there are eight hundred kernels of corn on the average cob,” she motions towards Spencer, who adds more specific information, “Arranged in sixteen separate rows.”

“And you’re calling me weird?”

“You’re getting some loving, aren’t you? You got a boyfriend,” Morgan speculates, a teasing smirk playing on his face, earning an eye roll from the other agent.

“You are basing this on what exactly? The fact that I don’t like the phone? That’s your best?” Elle rambles, becoming increasingly defensive. Spencer looks up from his computer, taking the time to observe, not profile because that would be against the unspoken rules of the BAU, his teammate. Based on Elle’s defensiveness and her answering questions with questions, he could speculate that there is partial truth to Morgan’s statement.

“You’ve been a profiler for how long Derek? And that’s your best? That’s weak, that’s weak,” she accuses, as Derek just grins, gesturing for her to bring it on.

“What’s weak?” JJ approaches their desks, a case file in her arms, signaling to them that they’re need in the conference room.

“Morgan thinks Elle has a boyfriend,” Reid answers, and as Elle stands up from her seat to follow the liaison, she interjects, “Nothing.”

“‘Nothing,’ see you just denied it,” Derek, with a knowing smirk, moves to get up and points at her.

JJ lets out a small scoffing laugh, “Do you?” Spencer notes her tone is teasing, almost as if she is baiting Elle.

“It’s more fun not to answer that question,” the brunette responds.

“That right there is a ‘yes,’ baby,” Morgan boasts. “I knew it. I told you.”

“She didn’t really admit to anything, man,” Reid claims, pointing out the obvious but also attempting to alleviate the pressure off of Elle.

“Thank you,” she throws out to him before speed walking to catch up to JJ’s side.

“Reid, trust me, you got a lot to learn.”

Walking behind the two women, Spencer watches them turn to each other, an amused look on the the liaison’s face and a slight smile on Elle’s.

Morgan was right about one thing: Elle was definitely getting some loving. But she certainly did not have a boyfriend.

***

The nightmare of the Fisher King case is over, and Spencer can finally breath. Returning to Quantico, knowing his mother was safe after accompanying her back to Vegas, he decides to visit Elle in the hospital.

Seeing as the rest of the team had already paid their visits while he was with his mother, Spencer rides the elevator up to Elle’s floor alone. Approaching the nurses station, he whips out his badge. “Hi, I’m looking for Elle Greenaway.”

“Room 8C, sir,” the nurse points down the hall.

“Thank you,” he nods before heading in that direction. As he approaches the room, he sees JJ curled up in a chair next to Elle.

Quietly entering, Spencer pulls up another chair to the other side of the bed. Elle, who was not sleeping, only resting, senses the younger agent’s movement and opens her eyes.

“Hey, Reid,” she whispers, her voice scratchy and rough.

“Hey,” he hands her the cup of water that was sitting on the bedside table.

“Thanks,” she murmurs, taking a sip.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot,” Elle snorts with a smirk. Spencer shakes his head with a small grin at the woman’s bluntness.

“Garcia stop by?” he asks rhetorically, scanning the bouquets of flowers and the stuffed animals crowding the table.

“Mhmm,” Elle hums. “Her and Morgan came by for a little yesterday.”

“And I see you’ve had some company,” he muses, nodding his head towards the sleeping blonde.

Elle glances over at the woman in question, a faint smile appearing on her face. “Yeah.”

Spencer takes the time to observe JJ. Her clothes, the ones she’d been wearing since the start of the case, are crinkled, her hair is not as in place as usual, and her face looks tired.

Right on cue, the liaison stirs in the chair and slowly wakes up with a yawn. Noticing Spencer sitting across from her, JJ asks, “Oh, hey, Spence. When’d you get here?”

“Fourteen minutes and twenty-three seconds ago.”

She raises her eyebrows at him and just nods along.

“JJ, you should go home, maybe change your clothes, take a shower, get some proper sleep,” he suggests.

The blonde opens her mouth to respond, but before she can, Elle snorts, “Good luck with that, Reid. I’ve been trying to convince her to go home for the past two days.”

“Excuse me for being worried about you and wanting to make sure you’re alright,” the liaison snarks, though it lacks any real bite.

“Jayge,” Elle softens, not-so-discreetly taking the other woman’s hand, “I’m alright. Reid’s right. You should go home and take care of yourself. I’ll be fine.”

Noticing JJ’s hesitancy, Spencer pipes up, “JJ, don’t worry. I’ll stay with her for a while.”

“You guys, I’m in a hospital,” Elle sighs, exasperated. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

But neither agent pays her any attention, too focussed on the silent conversation they’re having. Ultimately, JJ relents, the exhaustion and the uncomfortable wrinkled clothes getting to her.

“Fine,” she runs her hands through her hair and turns to Elle. “I’ll be back tomorrow if we don’t have a case.”

“I’ll be alright,” the brunette gives JJ a reassuring smile. “Go.”

The liaison sighs and grabs her bag, heading towards the door. Before leaving, she turns back around, addressing Spencer, “Make sure to call me if anything happens, or tell the doctor to, or whoever is here.”

“Go!” Both Elle and Reid shoo the weary blonde out of the hospital room.

A sheepish look washes over JJ’s face, as she waves them goodbye, finally making her way home.

Once it was just the two of them, a comfortable silence hangs in the air. Spencer does what he does best and observes the woman in front of him; the same woman who takes him seriously, not handling him with kid gloves; the same woman who was taken hostage, whom he had to save; the same woman who got shot and almost died, who did die.

“I can feel you staring,” she murmurs and glances at him out of the corner of her eye.

“You two are good for each other,” he states, a hint of a smirk playing on his face.

A faint blush tints Elle’s cheeks, as she gives him a weak smile. “You okay with it?”

Spencer scrunches his brows, confused by her question. But as the gears turn in his head, he realizes what she’s asking him.

He thinks back to that night on the jet when he’d asked JJ to the football game; the unreadable expression on Elle’s face had been jealousy. Elle obviously knew that the date hadn’t turned into anything, but here she was asking him if he was okay of her relationship with JJ, if he still harbored feelings for the blonde, if he approved.

Sensing her nervousness, Spencer takes her hand in his, squeezing it comfortingly. “I’m more than okay with it.”

Elle lets out a small sigh of relief, her eyes drooping, as the medication and fatigue take over. “I love her, Reid,” she mumbles in a slight delirium, falling into a restful sleep.

“I know,” he smiles knowingly and pats the back of her hand. “Get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up. JJ will kill me if I’m not,” he mutters the last part to himself with a chuckle.

Leaning back in the chair, he pulls out a book from his bag and makes himself comfortable for the hours to come.

If someone had told Spencer all those months ago, as he watched Elle and JJ meet for the first time, Elle in her dark black suit and JJ in her bright blue sweater set, that they’d be here, today, in love with each other, he would have been stunned into silence and in complete disbelief.

Because who would have thought that these two women, opposite forces of nature, night and day, would come together and balance each other out so beautifully. But, he thought, maybe that’s just how love works, no rhyme or reason, no statistics, no facts behind it.

And when your life has always based around facts and statistics, as Spencer’s was, love can be a tricky thing. It’s organic, complicated, extraordinary, and unexpected. But as he thinks back to the little moments he’d witnessed, Spencer feels his own heart warm, and he thinks that maybe he’s beginning to understand.

Out of all the things he’s learned in his twenty-four years, the lesson of love he’s gained through JJ and Elle’s relationship is his favorite so far.

“Love is the key to life

The thing that makes it right.

If you really want to be free

You can believe that love is the key.”

As JJ and Morgan re-enter cell service, the liasion’s phone pings with alerts of three missed calls. Before she can check who they’re from, her phone starts to ring.

“Jareau.”

“JJ,” Hotch’s voice sounds strained. “Elle was shot in her apartment by the unsub.”

JJ feels a knot form in her throat, her heart dropping to her stomach.  

“Gideon and I are at the hospital. She’s in surgery now,” the unit chief continues. “We’ve got it all covered here, just go find out more about Rebecca.”

“Yes, sir. If there’s anything we can do—”

“No, all we can do is wait.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Keep me updated,” Hotch instructs.

“We will,” the blonde affirms softly before hanging up.

Derek looks over at her. “What’s up?”

“Uh,” JJ lifts her head, still shocked and trying to process the information she’d just received. “That was Hotch.”

“Don’t tell me. Reid already figured it out, and we drove all the way out here for nothing,” Morgan jokes with a smile, not picking up on the now tense air.

“Derek,” JJ cuts him off with his first name.

“What?” His smile falters, as he does a double take, noticing the seriousness in the liaison’s voice.

“The…the unsub,” JJ stutters, her own heartbreaking, not only for Elle but also for the man in front of her. She tries to hide her emotions, putting on the stoic mask she uses when addressing the media. As JJ searches for the right words, a silence comes between them, Morgan continuing to anxiously exchange glances between her and the road.

“Elle was shot in her apartment this morning,” JJ reveals, deciding to just rip the band-aid off clean. Her voice sounds foreign to her own ears, as the wave of realization crashes upon her.

Elle was shot and is currently fighting for her life. She could actually die.  

Before he can say anything, Derek immediately pulls over to the side of the road, the tires screeching as he brakes.

“What?” He repeats in disbelief.

JJ can do nothing but stare back at him, not knowing what else to say, her emotions clouding her mind.

Morgan puts the car back into drive and sharply turns the car around, ignoring the curb and the honking cars.

“What are you doing?”

“Going back,” he responds tersely.

“No, no, no. Hotch said not to.” JJ relays the directions her boss gave to her.

“I don’t give a damn what Hotch said.”

“Look, Derek. He’s right. There’s nothing we can do at the hospital, okay?” JJ exasperates, desperation hiding her true feelings of anger, sadness, and fear. As much as she wanted to turn around and go to the hospital, she knew that Hotch was right. All they’d be doing is sitting around, waiting for news, good or bad. “B-but maybe we can find th-the unsub through— through her, through the victim’s profile, through Rebecca.”

Morgan lets JJ’s words sink in, knowing she’s right. He sighs before asking, “How bad?”

JJ swallows, “She’s in surgery. That’s all they know.”

All JJ knew was that this was going to be the most painful next couple of hours, as the love of her life fought for her life on the OR table.  

Elle and JJ had started dating a little over six months ago, after about nine cases since Elle joined the team. At first, it had been completely platonic. They’d bonded over being the only girl on the field team, sharing the experience of dealing with the evils of the world. After hanging out at each other’s apartments and going out to lunches together, they’d gotten even closer, both their feelings blurring between friendship and something else.

It wasn’t until Elle got taken hostage on the train in Texas that they came face to face with their feelings and confessed.

JJ anxiously waited for Elle and Spencer to finish whatever conversation they were having, so she could make sure her best friend was alright. Biting her lip and furrowing her brows, she watches as Spencer gets up from the trunk of the police car, walking away from the brunette profiler.

As soon as JJ saw her best friend making her way towards the ambulance, she immediately runs to her, crashing into her for a bone-crushing hug.

“I’m so glad you’re alright,” JJ whispers into the other woman’s neck. “I was so scared.”

Elle relaxes into the media liaison’s embrace, cradling JJ’s head, brushing her hand through her blonde hair. “I’m okay, Jayge.”

JJ lifts her head and notices the gash on the side of Elle’s forehead. “Elle,” she softly admonishes, her voice laced with concern. “You’re hurt.”

“Just a small scratch,” Elle shrugs nonchalantly.

“You need to go to the hospital,” JJ counters and raises her eyebrows, daring her friend to protest.

“Why?” The profiler whines, pouting.

“Procedure, Elle.”

Elle can only roll her eyes at hearing Gideon’s words repeated back to her. “Fine,” she relents. “But only for you.”

JJ gives her a small smile, before pulling her in for another hug. “I can’t lose you, you hear me?”

“I hear you, Jay.” Elle squeezes her best friend, before unwrapping her arms.

As she heads towards the bus, JJ calls after her, “Elle, wait!”

“JJ, I really just wanna get this hospital trip over with.”

“I know, but there’s something I have to say.” JJ takes a deep breath, gathering up all her courage. “Today, when you were in that train, I didn’t know if I was ever gonna see you again. I was so scared that something bad was gonna happen to you, that you were gonna di—“ The rest of her sentence is cut off by a small whimper.

“Hey, hey, Jen,” Elle approaches the other woman and softly takes her hands. “I’m right here, okay, alive.”

JJ nods, pushing down her emotions. “My point is: I realized just how important you are to me, and I couldn’t lose you, especially not without telling you that,” she pauses, closing her eyes in fear of rejection.  “I have feelings for you, Elle.”

Elle’s face softens, a small smile playing on her lips. “Jayge, look at me.”

JJ opened her eyes, nervous anticipation along with tears pooling in her blue orbs.

“I really like you too, Jennifer Jareau.”

The blonde beamed. “Really?”

“Really,” she confirmed, returning JJ’s grin. Elle quickly leans in to press a kiss to the liaison’s blushing cheek. “Now, Agent Jareau, I really have to go to the hospital, or else Gideon will be on my ass.”

“Go,” JJ chuckles, light-heartedly rolling her eyes.

Elle finally steps up into the back of the ambulance, when she hears JJ’s voice. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!”

“I promise.” Elle blows her a kiss, as the ambulance doors close in front of her.

JJ shakes her head out of the memory and mentally curses her girlfriend for breaking her promise. As Morgan pulls up to the Bryant residence, the media liaison composes herself, pushing her concerns about Elle to the back of her mind. She had a job to do.

After discovering the truth of Rebecca’s childhood, JJ and Morgan, as they made their way back to Quantico, call Garcia to see why the girl had been adopted.

As the short phone call comes to an end, JJ is left with the thoughts and worries for her girlfriend pervading her mind. Derek, ever the profiler, notices the woman’s restlessness.

“Hey, you okay?”

Still stuck in her head, JJ continues to stare at the darkness out the window.

“JJ?” Morgan briefly takes his eyes off the road to check up on his teammate.

“Huh?”

“You alright?”

“Mhm,” JJ hums with a curt nod, clearly distracted.

Her and Elle had decided not to tell the team about their relationship, not wanting to affect their work nor the team dynamic. There was also the potential risk that one of them, most likely Elle, would have to transfer units, and obviously neither wanted that to happen, both for their sakes and the teams.

Sensing that she wasn’t telling the whole truth, Morgan tries again. “You sure?

“Just worried about Elle,” JJ admits quietly, as she fidgets with the hem of her blouse.

Derek knew that the two women were very close friends, and he had his suspicions that there was something more going on between them. However, knowing now was not the right time to press, he simply replies, “Me too.”

The two agents spend the rest of the drive in silence, both of them anxious to solve this case and also worried about their friend in surgery.

As soon as JJ and Morgan enter the conference room, they’re immediately immersed back into the case, forcing the liaison to once again to push her thoughts of Elle to the back of her mind.

Spencer informs them about Randall Garner, when an older woman interjects, “He thinks you’re all modern day knights of the round table.”

The young agent quickly introduces Derek to his mother, Diana Reid, before Hotch enters the room demanding, “So, where are we on finding this son of a bitch?”

The team bounces their findings off each other, JJ immediately going into work mode and Garcia offering to search Garner’s tax records, when Mrs. Reid interjects. “Excuse me. Just before the agents got me from the hospital, a man delivered this to me.” She moves to reach into her bag, retrieving something. “It’s a photo of a house with an address on the back.”

The older woman shows them the writing, before flipping it over to reveal the house.

“Shiloh, Virginia? That’s only ten miles from here,” Morgan observes.

“Reid, Morgan, you’re with me. Let’s go,” Hotch directs, before addressing JJ and Garcia. “Keep in touch with Gideon on Elle’s status.”

The three men storm out of the room before either woman can respond. Finally with a small break, JJ sighs, trying not to break down right then and there, the stress of the case and the unknown status of her girlfriend eating at her.

“Garcia, do you need me here?” The media liaison flicks her eyes over to Reid’s mother.

Although Penelope was not a profiler, she could tell her friend needed some time to herself, her blue eyes tired and glossy. The tech analyst gives JJ a soft smile, “Nope, I got it covered.”

All JJ can do is nod before calmly getting up from her chair and retreating into her office. Once inside, she falls back onto the shut door, sliding down into a sitting fetal position. Running her hands through her hair, JJ finally lets the tears fall, a choked sob escaping her lips.

Her mind was racing, a thousand thoughts and questions flooding her head. Would Elle be okay? Is she alive? How could this happen?

JJ didn’t know how long she’d been sitting on the floor of her office, but she was brought back to reality when she heard her phone ring.

Sniffling her nose and frantically wiping her eyes, she attempts to regain her composure before answering the call. “Jareau.”

“JJ, it’s Gideon,” the older agent’s tired voice comes through the speaker. JJ immediately scrambles to her feet, alert and awaiting any news of her girlfriend. “Elle’s out of surgery. They expect her to make a full recovery. She’s alright.”

JJ lets out a sigh of relief, as she feels an immense weight lifted off her chest. “Good.”

“You heard from Hotch yet?” Gideon asks.

“Not yet,” the media liaison responds, a new wave of worry for her other teammates plaguing her.

“Well, keep me updated.”

“Yes, sir,” JJ agrees before ending the call.

Setting her phone down, she runs her hands through her hair, smoothing it back into place. JJ shakes her head, tears once again pooling in her eyes.

Elle was gonna be alright. She’s alive.

Her phone buzzes once again, a text from Hotch appearing on the screen. “Found Rebecca. Garner’s dead. We’re almost back.”

JJ takes a deep breath, glad that the team was safe and that this nightmare of a case was finally over.

Not even ten minutes later, the three male agents walk through the door, JJ immediately approaching them to deliver the good news.

“Elle’s out of surgery. She’s gonna be okay.”

“Good,” Hotch replies, as Morgan and Spencer both sigh and nod in relief. “Is Gideon still at the hospital?”

“Yeah,” JJ confirms. “Uh, how’s Rebecca?”

“She’s in the hospital, but she should be alright.” Morgan responds, Garcia approaching the group.

“Physically maybe,” the tech analyst mutters. JJ raises her eyebrows, knowing the truth to that statement, and she can’t help but think of Elle. While she may be recover from the gunshot wound, who knows the emotional affect it’s gonna have on her.

Hotch makes his way towards the stairs, before turning back to the group. “Thank you, everyone.” He looks directly at the blonde tech analyst. “All of you.”

Penelope smiles and looks back at Spencer. “Well, we could have only gone so far without Mrs. Reid.”

With that the group disperses, each going to tie up their loose ends of the case. JJ wanted nothing more than to rush to the hospital and be by her girlfriend’s side, but rationally she knew she had a couple things to do here at the office before then; plus, she knew Gideon would want some time alone with Elle.

Making her way back in the conference room, JJ approaches the white board, quickly scanning the riddle, before grabbing the eraser and cleaning the board.

“What are you still doing here?” Hotch enters the conference room.

“Jeez, Hotch,” she gasps, startled. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” he offers, still waiting for her to respond.

“Just cleaning up. I’ll be done soon.”

“Jayge,” the unit chiefs says softly in a tone JJ rarely hears. “Go to the hospital. Be with Elle.”

“But—“ JJ goes to protest.

“That’s an order,” Hotch lightly affirms. “Besides, I’m sure she’d rather wake up to your face than Gideon’s,” he quips, giving her a knowing look.

JJ gives her superior a curt nod, as she sets down the ersaser. “Thanks.” Exiting the room, she turns back to the unit chief with a curious look. “How’d you know?”

“Know what?” He asks, feigning ignorance. JJ just stares at him, eyebrows raised. “I’m a profiler, JJ,” he relents. “You really thought I wouldn’t notice?”

The liaison nervously bites her lip, unsure as to what this means for her relationship. Sensing her hesitation, Hotch reassures her. “Jennifer, don’t worry about that right now. Go be with Elle. We’ll talk about it when she comes back.”

“Thank you, Aaron,” she says with a sincere smile, before leaving the room. Quickly grabbing her things from her office, JJ rushes to the hospital.

As soon as she gets there, she flashes her badge to the nurse at the desk. “I’m looking for Agent Greenaway.”

“Room 8, agent,” the nurse informs. “Right down the hall.”

JJ heads towards the room, slowly entering the doorway. Noticing the blonde’s presence, Gideon looks up at her with soft eyes, as he gets up from his chair. “I’ll give you some time with her,” the older agent says, resting his hand on the liaison’s shoulder, giving her a knowing smile. “Take care of her, JJ.”

JJ returns a small smile, before moving to sit in the chair Gideon had just vacated. She takes her girlfriends limp hand into her own and gently rubs her thumb over Elle’s knuckles.

Not really knowing what to say, JJ lightly chuckles. “Hotch and Gideon know about us. Should’ve known better than to try and hide something from profilers like them.”

Seeing Elle hooked up to all those machines triggers a flood of tears to stream down JJ’s face. “Gosh, Elle,” she sobs, wiping under her eyes. “It feels like I’ve either been crying or on the verge of doing so all day.

“I want to be mad at you for breaking your promise, but I know this wasn’t your fault,” JJ sighs frustratedly, as she reaches over to gingerly caress her girlfriend’s cheek. “I was so scared that I was gonna lose you and that I wouldn’t be able to tell you I love you. I love you, Elle,” the blonde confesses, lightly dropping her head against the other woman’s arm.

“I love you too,” Elle croaks, her eyes still closed. JJ immediately lifts her head at the sound of her girlfriend’s voice.

“Elle?”

The injured woman slowly opens her eyes, as she slightly turns her head to face the liaison. “Hey, beautiful.”

JJ lets out a wet laugh, shaking her head. “Always the charmer.”

“Only for you, Jay,” Elle quips, her voice slightly strained. “I was scared too, you know. I really thought I was gonna die, and as I was laying there, all I could think of was you, how you’d never know just how much I love you, how we’d never get to have a future together. I wasn’t scared of death, Jayge,” she admits sincerely. “I was more afraid of leaving you.”

By now, JJ was crying again, not bothering to wipe the tears away. “I love you so much,” she whispers, as she gets up to carefully place a quick but passionate kiss to her girlfriend’s lips. Pulling away, gently resting her forehead against Elle’s, JJ locks eyes with the other woman. “But I swear to God, Elle Greenaway, if you scare me like that again, there’ll be serious consequences.”

Elle slightly smirks, attempting to wiggle her eyebrows. “What kind of consequences, Agent Jareau?”

Rolling her eyes, JJ moves to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m serious, Elle.”

“I know,” she sighs, closing her eyes for a brief second before reopening them. “I’m sorry I broke my promise.”

JJ gives her a sad smile, nodding her head. “I know, and I know this wasn’t your fault. Just please try and be careful when you go in the field, for me?”

“Of course, Jayge,” Elle agrees, her eyes drooping, as the fatigue and medication starts to take over.

“Go to sleep, honey,” JJ coos, softly brushing a loose strand of hair out of her girlfriend’s face. “I’ll be right here when you wake up. I’m not going anywhere.”

As the media liaison watched Elle sink back into a restful sleep, JJ swore to herself that that’d be a promise she herself would always keep.

“Oh I will stay with you through the ups and the downs

Oh I will stay with you when no one else is around

And when the dark clouds arrive

I will stay by your side

I know we'll be alright

I will stay with you”