Derek: Let's Prep You For Your Date Tomorrow With JJ. It's At 7pm. What Time Do You Arrive?

How You Get the Girl (Emily Prentiss x Reader)

"And that's how it works. That's how you got the girl"

Summary: In which Derek and Hotch give you advice for your first date with Emily.

Warnings: None

YOU STUDIED the chessboard in front of you, happily occupying your thoughts with the number of moves it would take to checkmate Gideon rather than your most recent case. If you played it right you would be able to take him down in five moves.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you." Gideon said, pulling your attention away from the board as he handed you a small, wrapped gift. "Forgot to give it to you at the party." He added as you took it from him.

"But you don't give birthday presents." You said as you looked down at the box and then back at him with a soft smile. He just nodded and gestured for you to open the gift, so you did.

You pulled the ribbon off and ripped the gift wrap before opening the box. When you looked inside you saw a sheet of paper with reservations to the nicest French restaurant in DC.

"Wow. Thank you." You smiled as you looked up at him. It was not what you were expecting but you were excited nonetheless.

"You're gonna love it," Gideon said with a rare smile.

"We are. You're coming with me right?" You asked.

"No. I hear someone else on the plane is a huge French food connoisseur." He answered.

"Who?" You questioned quietly.

"The only person that willingly watches those cheesy romance movies with you." He said with a chuckle which caused your eyes to widen. "Emily?" You questioned nervously as your fingers began to tap on the box.

It was no secret to anyone that you admired the brunette.

You were often caught staring at her which resulted in endless teasing from everyone else. The only problem was that you didn't know how Emily felt about you. Sure, she was flirty with you and very protective, but that was the case with everyone else. So it was safe to say you were in the dark about what the brunette felt for you.

"She spent the summers up there with her grandfather," Gideon said calmly, which was the complete opposite of what you were feeling at the moment, "Wh-what should I say?" You asked anxiously as your eyes darted from Gideon over to Emily, who was sitting in the window seat absorbed in her book.

When you looked back he just raised his eyebrows. You sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to help you. Gideon then gave you a small, encouraging nod, so you took a deep breath before standing up and walking towards Emily.

As soon as you sat down in the seat across from her, Emily looked up and closed her book, "Hey birthday girl," She said with a big smile. She had been calling you that even though your birthday was a couple of days ago. But you were in no rush to tell her to stop because, in all honesty, you loved the way her voice sounded when she said it.

"Hey," You said softly, matching her smile. "I- uh- wanted to ask you something.' You said nervously, as you rested your hands and the box on the table.

"Okay," Emily said softly she clasped her hands together on the table and leaned forward with an encouraging smile.

"I have reservations for that French restaurant downtown on Friday night. So, if you aren't busy I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? I mean, no pressure at all if you don't want to go but I just thought it would be nice and-" You rambled trying to avoid eye contact with Emily before the brunette spoke up, "Y/n!" She interrupted, causing your gaze to finally land on her.

"I would love to go with you." She smiled and your eyes lit up excitedly, "Really?!"

"It's a date." She chuckled.

"A date," You repeated, biting the inside of your check to try and hide your elation.

Emily reached across the table to give your hand a small squeeze that sent butterflies through your stomach.

"I'll pick you up at six?" You asked, trying to hide your nerves and surprise at the fact that she said yes.

"Sounds perfect." Emily smiled before removing her hand from yours and reaching for her book again. You couldn't help but bite your bottom lip to keep you from smiling as you turned your attention from Emily to the window. Although, if you had been looking, you would have noticed that Emily was more invested in watching you than the book in front of her.

●・○・●・○・●

It was Friday morning and you were tapping the kitchen counter waiting for your coffee to finish brewing. "There you are, lover girl!" Morgan said with a grin as he walked over to you. "You ready for your date tonight?" He asked, giving you a friendly bump on the shoulder as he stood next to you.

"Uh-huh," You said unconvincingly as you poured the coffee into your mug.

"What do you mean uh-huh? You've been following Prentiss around like a lost puppy for the last year and now you finally have your chance to win her over!" Derek asked raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know, I'm just..." You trailed off as you finished pouring your coffee. "Just what?" Derek asked confused.

"I want Emily to know how I feel about her." You said which only caused Derek to chuckle. "Trust me, she knows, you aren't exactly subtle."

You glared at him before stressing your concern, "But I'm not good at all the 'dating stuff'. I get nervous and don't know what to say," You continued with a sigh as you poured the coffee into your mug.

"Hold up! am I hearing this correctly?" Derek asked with a cheeky grin.

"Hearing what correctly?" You asked confused.

"Are you asking THE Derek Morgan for dating advice?" He said cockily as he pointed to himself dramatically.

"I- what?! No!" You spluttered.

"Ah ah, I think you were babygirl!" Derek said as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder teasingly. You were about to protest when you realized that maybe Derek could help, even if it was by a long shot, probably a very long shot.

"Okay fine," You muttered as you removed his arm from your shoulder, "But if you tell Emily, I swear to god I'll kill you."

"My lips are sealed." He said pretending to zip his lips closed. You rolled your eyes at his theatrics, "Alright, where do we begin?"

"Where do we begin what?" Your boss's voice said from behind you.

"I'm giving Y/l/n dating advice." Derek grinned and you sighed in embarrassment because once again your business was being aired out to the entire team.

"You're taking dating advice from him?" Hotch asked, only furthering the flush on your cheeks. "I- um." You started before Derek cut you off, "Of course she is! Who wouldn't want Derek Morgan's step-by-step guide on 'How You Get The Girl'?" He said cockily.

"Maybe you need to make a guide on How You Keep The Girl," Hotch said as he poured the coffee into his mug.

"Ouch, bossman," Derek said feigning pain while you laughed.

"I could give you some pointers, Y/n," Hotch said and you and Derek both looked at him in surprise.

"What? It's a slow day." Hotch said with a shrug. You knew the files on his desk would say otherwise but the fact that he was willing to help you despite being busy brought a smile to your lips. "Yeah, I would like that."

And that's how you found yourself sitting on Hotch's office couch while he and Derek stood in front of you, giving you pointers from the opposite ends of the spectrum.

"You don't need to rush anything, it'll come organically. Just enjoy yourself and don't put too much pressure on the night." Hotch said.

"Be bold. Women love that." Derek said.

"Just be yourself." Hotch added.

"You have to reel her in, but leave her hanging a little bit at the end so she'll come back on the next date wanting more." Derek said and your brain was starting to spin a little bit.

"Wait, so am I supposed to be bold or be myself? Because those two can't happen at the same time." You questioned.

"Be boldly yourself." Hotch said causing you to furrow your brows, "What does that even mean?"

Before anyone could answer the question you heard a knock on the door before Emily's head peaked through the door. "Hey, I hope I'm not interrupting but I have some casefiles," Emily said to Hotch as she walked in and looked at the three of you slightly confused. You immediately sat up straighter and Derek had to stifle a laugh.

"Hey, Emily." You said nervously. "We were just- um- you know..." You started, already mentally chastising yourself for your lack of words.

"We were just giving Y/l/n some pointers for her firearms requalification next week." Hotch said, easily lying and you let out a sigh of relief for his quick thinking.

"Uh huh." Emily said she put her files on Hotch's desk and immediately walked over to you on the couch. You could feel your heart rate pick up as she stood less than a foot away from you. "You know I could give you some pointers at the range this weekend. I find a hands-on approach usually works best for me." She said with a smile as she reached out to squeeze your shoulder.

"Yeah! I would like that." You said, probably way too quickly as you felt your cheeks go red at the thought of her doing a hands-on approach.

"Great, I'll see you later tonight. I'm excited" She said quietly as she used the hand that was on your shoulder to brush a stray piece of hair out of your face.

"Y-yeah me too." You stuttered which earned a small chuckle from the raven-haired women. She gave your shoulder another small squeeze before heading back to her desk.

"A Hands-on approach, huh? Can I join?" Derek teased, pulling you out of the trance that you were in.

"Shut up," You groaned as you fell back onto the couch, "Now back to the advice please."

Derek began to open his mouth but you held your hand up, "Preferably from the man who has years of marriage under his belt."

"You both wound me." Derek said as he mimed his heart being stabbed.

●・○・●・○・●

You blew out a deep breath as you stood in front of Emily's apartment door. Derek and Hotch's advice felt like they were moving a hundred miles per hour in your head. You tried to push them down as you knocked on the door.

Footsteps gradually got closer to the door before you heard the doorknob turn and were met by Emily's smile. You couldn't help but stare at her as she opened the door completely. "You look beautiful." You murmured as you admired the way her floor-length red dress clung to every curve perfectly. Her hair was curled and sat above her collar bones that were on display.

"And you look gorgeous." She said softly as she closed her door and grabbed onto your arm so you could lead her to the car. You had chosen to wear a suit to dinner, and you had never been more thankful for your intuition that you decided on a red corset underneath your blazer.

The car ride there was peaceful, chatting about work and other random things. That was one of the things you loved about Emily, even though she could turn you into a stuttering mess, she could also put you at ease better than anyone else ever could.

When you got to the restaurant you were shocked by how fancy it was. With your job you rarely had time to go out, especially not to somewhere like this. You both sat down but frowned as you opened the menu. "It's all in French." You stated with a small frown as you looked at words you didn't know the meanings of.

"Well, luckily for you, I'm fluent in French." Emily said with a wink and you decided that you truly never had been luckier.

After you both had ordered and almost lost consciousness at Emily speaking French, she reached over to grab your hand.

"Can I ask you a question?" She said.

"You just did, but you can ask me another one." You said with a teasing smile causing her to roll her eyes playfully.

"What were you doing with Hotch and Morgan, earlier?" She asked intrigued.

"Oh um, I thought we already told to you." You spluttered and the tiny hint of confidence you had two seconds ago was completely gone.

"You're a perfect shot, Y/n. If anything they need pointers from you." She chuckled and you just looked up at her, cheeks red from embarrassment.

"Well, the real reason is slightly humiliating." You muttered

"You could never humiliate yourself to me." Emily said with a small squeeze of her hand.

' I beg to differ' You thought.

You started to think back on Derek and Hotch's words from earlier, 'Be boldly yourself' was what Hotch said and you decided it was now or never.

"I really like you, Emily!" You blurted out and you saw Emily's smile grow so big her dimples were popping out. "Should I be offended that you think liking me is humiliating?" She asked.

"I- Oh my god! No! That's not what I meant-" You rushed out before Emily let out a deep laugh, "I'm kidding. Take a deep breath, honey."

The way the pet name easily fell from her lips almost made you forget what you were even talking about. Eventually, you were pulled back to your senses when you felt Emily gently playing with the rings on your finger.

"Promise me you won't laugh." You said seriously.

"I would promise you whatever you want." She smiled and if hearts could melt, yours would have in that moment.

"Well, Hotch and Derek were kind of giving me dating advice..." You said with a wince and watched as Emily fought off a smile.

"You said you wouldn't laugh!" You practically whined and Emily shook her head.

"I'm not laughing!" She said, "I just happen to find you so adorable I can't help but want to smile."

"You think I'm adorable?" You questioned, hardly believing that Emily could feel the same way you felt about her.

"I think you're a lot of things. And I happen to like all of them." Emily said with a smile so big her nose scrunched a little.

The rest of dinner couldn't have gone better. You couldn't remember the last time you had laughed or smiled this much. By the time you left the restaurant, you were both a little tipsy so you decided to take a walk in the park to sober up a little bit. It was spring time so the flowers were blooming and you two were surprisingly the only people out.

"Say something to me in French." You giggled as you clung to Emily's arm.

"Je n'ai jamais eu autant envie d'embrasser quelqu'un qu'en ce moment". Emily murmured as she looked at you.

"What does that mean?" You asked softly as you gazed up at her.

" I said 'I have never wanted to kiss someone more than I do right now.'" Emily repeated as she stopped walking so she could fully admire your features.

"What's stopping you?" You asked as you glanced down at her plush red lips.

You smiled as she pulled you closer, her soft hands cupping your cheek as your lips met. You could taste the champagne you both had from earlier and the smallest hint of her coconut chapstick as you deepened the kiss. You pulled her in by the waist, trying to get impossibly closer as you both smiled into the kiss. It was passionate, but soft, a kiss that took all of your worries off the weight of your shoulders.

Eventually, you pulled away with a smile on your lips. "You know," You started as you moved your hands from your waist and wrapped them lazily around her neck, "Derek said that I should leave you hanging a little bit so you'll come back on the next date wanting more." You smiled as she pressed a couple of quick kisses to your lip.

"Does this mean there's another date after this?" She asked as she wiped smudged lipstick off your bottom lip.

"Only if you speak French" You giggled as you admired the way her eyes shone in the moonlight.

"C'est un rendez-vous alors" (It's a date then). She said as she placed another kiss on your lips.

"I hope that was a yes." You murmured and Emily smiled, "Of course it was. How could I ever say no to you?"

Emily: Well, well, well, if it isn't the feelings I've been trying to avoid.

JJ: Do you like me?

Emily: No...

JJ: What if started dating-

Emily: What if I break their face!

JJ: Look, let's just agree to say sorry on the count of three. One, two, three...

Emily:

JJ:

JJ: See, now I'm disappointed in both of us.

Emily: Not me. I've never been prouder.

Emily: I always thought "happiness" started with an "h". So why does mine start with "u"?

JJ:

JJ: Are you dyslexic?

Emily *unbuttoning shirt*: God it’s so hot in here.

JJ: I know that but why are you unbuttoning my shirt?

Derek: Spencer, open up!

Spencer: Well, I live in constant state of pain and I haven’t slept in days-

Derek *holding a football*: No I meant open up so I can throw you the ball.

Spencer: Oh-

Spencer: *gets tackled by Prentiss*

Three Steps Back (Don't Blame Me: Chapter 6)

Emily Prentiss x Reader

Summary: Emily knew it was wrong. She knew you were the most dangerous woman the BAU had ever seen. Yet, she couldn't seem to stay away from you.

Warnings: Typical Criminal minds stuff, mentions of death

Words: 2.8k

Emily could feel the migraine forming behind her eyes. After hours of staring at the same case files, she still couldn't find anything. She let her head drop to her desk, hoping it would just swallow her whole and then spit her out when they made a break in the case.

"...Prentiss," At the sound of her last name, her eyes flitted to the person leaning on her desk.

"Your phone," JJ finished as she pointed to the buzzing device on Emily's desk.

"Oh, right," Emily mumbled as she gave JJ a small smile of appreciation before picking up the phone.  

When she saw Y/n calling her, she returned her phone to her desk. 

"Your mother?" JJ asked as she perched on Emily's desk. 

"I wish," Emily muttered. Then, cursing under her breath as her phone started ringing again.

"Someone worse than your mother? Yikes." JJ said as she tried to discreetly see whoever was calling Emily as the brunette completely shut off her phone.

"You could say that," Emily sighed as she tossed her phone to the back of her desk.

Emily looked up and saw JJ still perched on her desk, giving her the look. Emily hated that look because it meant JJ was about to pry, and she did not want to tell the team that she was talking to a serial killer.

A small part of her knew she should at least tell Hotch, but she couldn't risk him cutting off her only means of communication with Y/n.

"Did you need something, JJ?"

"Well, I was going to ask if you wanted coffee, but now I want to know who was calling you," JJ smiled, making herself comfortable on the brunette's desk.

"It's no one," Emily rolled her eyes, "And if you're going out for coffee, I'll take my usual."

"Em, come on, who else other than your mom would make you glare at your phone like that?" JJ inquired, completely ignoring Emily's request about the coffee.

"You want a list?" Emily snarked back.

"Oh! Oh! Was it, Hannah?" JJ asked, even more interested now. 

"Wait, Hannah, as in your ex-girlfriend Hannah is calling you?" Spencer chimed in from his desk across from Emily's. 

"I thought she ghosted you," Derek added from his desk. 

The two women whipped their heads around, not even realizing that Spencer and Derek had been listening to their conversation. The glare Emily shot the younger agent made him wish he'd never spoken in the first place. Derek, on the other hand, was more than amused.

"For the fifth time, Hannah did not ghost me! It was a mutual breakup!" Emily huffed. 

"Whatever you say, princess." Derek smiled, earning him another glare from Emily. 

"The term ghosting became popular in 1990's hip hop- Ow!" Spencer yelped as Emily launched the stuffed animal cat that Penelope bought her right at Spencer's face. 

"I wasn't ghosted! And I'm done talking to you guys!" Emily frowned as she turned her chair back to her desk and ignored the three other agents.

Derek and Spencer chuckled at her antics while JJ rolled her eyes. 

"I'll be back with your coffee, Ms. Grouchy," JJ said as she pushed off Emily's desk, earning a small grumble of gratitude from the brunette.

JJ was halfway to the door when Penelope came full speed through the doors, "BAU Assemble! I've got something!" She yelled, running surprisingly fast in her high heels to the conference room.

"I guess that means no coffee," Emily grumbled as they all made their way to the round table.

As soon as everyone sat down, Penelope turned the TV monitor on and passed out numerous case files.

"In 1991, there was a serial killer that operated in rural Virginia at the same time and place that Alex Painter was murdered," Penelope explained as she pulled up pictures of about 15 women on the TV. They were all of different races but looked around the same age. 

"All of these women were kidnapped, held for a week, and then dumped in the woods. They were all beaten, barely recognizable by the time their bodies were found." Penelope continued, making a point not to look at the crime scene photos.

Rossi looked between the case files and the TV when a spark of recognition came to his eyes, "I remember this. Gideon was the lead profiler on the case. They called the killer The Wood Stalker" 

Back then, the BAU members worked solo, only using each other as consults rather than working on cases as a team. "I helped Gideon build a profile, but he never found the guy." Rossi finished.

"That's right," Penelope agreed, "In March of 1992, The Wood Stalker vanished. And with no leads or suspects, the case went cold."

Emily frowned as she looked over the case. There was something off, but she couldn't put her nose on it, "So how does Alex Painter tie into this? She's not in any of these files."

"Ah, right! Thank you for the segway, my brooding brunette," Penelope said, and no one even batted an eye, used to the technical analyst's ways by now.

"While you guys are the profilers and I am the mere but mighty technical Goddess-"

"Garcia." Hotch intervened, raising an eyebrow to keep the blonde on task.

"Right." Penelope nodded, "I found it odd that Alex Painter wasn't mentioned in any of the files, especially since she matched victimology."

"Why did they rule her out as one of his victims then?" Derek asked as he flipped through the case file. "I mean, we know now that Y/n killed her. But if all I was looking at were these files, I'd agree that The Wood Stalker killed her.  It seems negligent to not even investigate her death."

"That's what I was thinking! And we all know Gideon is very thorough." Penelope said, and a slightly uncomfortable wave washed through the room.

"That's one way to describe him," Spencer muttered as he stared down at the table. 

Rossi was about to say something in his friend's defense, but Hotch shook his head, not wanting to further the conversation.

It had been less than a year since Gideon left without a word, and the team had mostly moved on. But it was still a touchy subject, especially for Spencer. 

"So, who investigated Alex Painter's death then?" JJ asked, and everyone was thankful that she had cut the awkward silence that had fallen around them.

"Well, this is where things get even more odd," Penelope said as she pulled up the picture of Alex's file. "Detective Anthony Scott was the lead on her case. So I did some research on the guy, and to an untrained eye, he seems normal."

"Well, you are far from normal, baby girl." Morgan complimented, and Penelope smiled. "Very true. Anyways, I dug a little deeper and found that Detective Anthony Scott doesn't exist."

"What do you mean he doesn't exist?" Emily asked, a skeptical brow raised.

"I mean that someone very tech-savvy created Anthony Scott. I'm talking bank accounts, birth certificates, marriage licenses, and more." Penelope continued.

"Why would someone go through all of that trouble to cover up who investigated Alex Painter's death?" JJ asked. And once again, the team felt like they were getting into something a lot larger than they were hoping for.

"Could it have been Y/n?" Derek asked.

"Why would she try to cover up something she already told us about?" Emily countered, more defensive than she would have liked, but she would think about that later.

"Yeah, and there's no way Y/n could have created an identity that thorough. There's only a handful of people I know that could do that, but they wouldn't have any reason to." Penelope agreed. 

Emily bit her bottom lip in concentration; she knew what this sounded like. Fake identities that seemed too good to be true. Seemingly unimportant cases swept under the rug...this had CIA written all over it.  And if the CIA was involved, it meant that whatever information they had now was all they were going to find. 

But how on earth did the CIA get connected to all of this?

Maybe she could make a couple of phone calls. Contact some of her old handlers and see if they could find anything pertaining to this case. 

"Why aren't Gideon's notes in here?" Hotch asked, pulling Emily out of her head as she realized she had missed whatever the rest of the team was talking about.

"Well, since it was before I came to the BAU, his notes weren't digitalized. And when I went down to the archives, almost everything about this case was gone." Penelope said regretfully as she took a seat, having no more information to give the team.

"His notes should still be in there, though. The case is still classified." Spencer said, and it affirmed even more to Emily that the CIA or some other agency has something to do with this.

"I feel like there's dead ends everywhere we turn with this case," JJ muttered, and the team silently agreed.

"I know we all feel a little discouraged, but we are further than we were yesterday. I'll call Gideon and have him come in as soon as possible. Hopefully, he can provide us with more information. But for now, let's get back to work," Hotch said quickly before dismissing himself to his office, leaving the team in a little shock. Hotch was never one to give a pep talk, so maybe this was even worse than they imagined.

"I'll give Gideon a call, too," Rossi said as he left for his office, not wanting to see the other agents' reactions. It was an odd situation, the complex feelings he had for his friend were different than those of the younger agents. 

But Gideon was also one of Rossi's oldest friends, and after everything they'd been through, he still had respect and loyalty to him. So, he did not want to hear what the other agents had to say about him.

"Has anyone talked to Gideon recently?" Penelope asked in the conference room, trying to break the ice since the topic of Gideon was now unavoidable.

"Since he left all of us with a note?" Spencer asked sarcastically, a tone that surprised everyone, "No," He continued as he gathered his stuff and practically stormed back to his desk without looking at anyone else.

"I was just..." Penelope trailed off sadly, not having predicted that reaction from the youngest profiler.

"It's not your fault, Pen, it's just a hard subject for him," JJ said as she squeezed Penelope's shoulder.

Emily had stayed relatively quiet on any subject that involved Gideon. She shared vastly different opinions on the older agent than her friends did.

She knew that Gideon didn't like her. In fact, everyone knew, because it wasn't like he tried to hide his disdain. 

Towards the end, he tolerated her, but the way he left and the effect it had on everyone just solidified her dislike of him, not that she would ever voice that aloud.

"I'll go talk to him," Derek said before leaving the room and leaving the three women to themselves.

It was silent for a moment before Emily's phone started to buzz. She sighed and ignored the look JJ sent her as she picked up her phone. 

Y/n (1:34 PM): Call me back tonight. I have a surprise for you.

Emily (1:34 PM): I don't like surprises. 

Emily typed back before pocketing her phone. She heard her phone buzz again, no doubt another text message from Y/n, but she did not want to deal with this right now.

"What was that?" Penelope asked as she motioned her hand towards Emily. 

"What was what?" Emily played dumb with a shrug.

"Don't even try, Pen. She's been like this all day." JJ rolled her eyes.

"Who is causing you to glare at your phone like that?" Penelope pressed, ignoring JJ.

"It's no one," Emily said as she grabbed her case files and started to stand up, not looking at either blonde.

"Emily! Indulge me in something that is not this case!" Penelope begged, always the one to get into people's business.

Emily scoffed, finding it quite ironic that the person she was texting was the reason for this case. "It's a personal matter."

"Even better!" Penelope continued, earning a stifled laugh from JJ. 

She rolled her eyes, knowing that no one was going to give this up any time soon, "Fine, you know what? It is Hannah! Now, can everyone just mind their own business?!"

"Hannah unblocked you?!"

"What? How do you know she blocked me?!" Emily gaped at Penelope and then instantly realized that was a stupid question.

"Never mind. I'm done talking. And stop hacking into my phone!" Emily practically growled before exiting the room, leaving the two blondes wide-eyed.

"Well, we know it's not Hannah," Penelope said, earning her a slap to the shoulder.

"She's going to kill you," JJ said as she gathered her stuff, and Penelope just shrugged it off. Emily had always been all bark and no bite. She was a secret softie once you got to know her.

"Where are you going?" Penelope pouted, not wanting to be left alone.

"I'm going to buy her a coffee before she kills me too."

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●

It was after eight by the time Emily unlocked her apartment door. The team had been working nonstop for hours, but it felt like the more they uncovered, the more questions that arose.

Eventually, Hotch sent everyone home, stating that they should just wait for Gideon to tell them everything he knew before jumping to conclusions.

But Hotch and Rossi were having trouble reaching Gideon, and if they couldn't contact him, then this shitstorm of a case was going to take even longer to solve.

So when Emily fell onto her couch, she didn't even have the energy to take off her shoes, let alone cook anything. She stared at the ceiling for a solid five minutes before remembering Y/n's text.

She reached for her phone and opened Y/n's text from earlier in the day that she never looked at.

Y/n (1:35 PM): I promise you'll like this one.

Emily sighed as she debated whether or not she should call the younger woman. 

Ultimately, she gave in, knowing, at the very least, Y/n would reveal something new.

She quickly dialed her number before she could talk herself out of it.

"I was wondering when you were going to call," Y/n answered after the third ring, a cocky smile evident in her face.

"It was a long day at work, thanks to you," Emily answered shortly as she sat up fully on the couch, crossing her legs under her.

"To me? So you're thinking about me all day long?" Y/n grinned. Something was going on in the background of wherever Y/n was, but Emily couldn't decipher what it was.

"Don't flatter yourself. The only reason I'm thinking about you is because you've murdered 300 people." Emily scoffed.

"300 men, not people." Y/n corrected. 

"What about Alex Painter? She wasn't a man."

"Really? Is that all you've got on her so far?" Y/n chuckled. 

"Pretty much. And you knew that the information you gave us would only lead to dead ends." Emily remarked. 

"Alls fair in love and war, darling. And besides, I thought the BAU was the best. I have to say, you guys are disappointing me."

"Disappointing you?! That's rich," Emily scoffed and was reminded once again that she was talking to a psychopath.

"It is rich! Because I'm starting to get bored, and you know what happens when I get bored." Y/n started, and Emily heard the sound of a door slam on the younger woman's side of the phone.

"What was that?" Emily asked as she sat up a bit straighter, a knot starting to form in her stomach.

"It's your surprise! Or did you forget why I told you to call me?" Y/n smiled. 

"I told you, I don't like surprises." Emily gritted out as she heard the sound of a scuffle on the other end of the phone.

"Oh, you'll like this one!" Y/n chuckled, and then Emily heard the sound of a gunshot. 

"Y/n!" Emily gaped as she stood up, hoping this wasn't what she thought it was.

"His name is Howard Barnes. Oh, wait! My bad, his name was Howard Barnes." Y/n chuckled.

Emily was frozen for a moment; her usual fast thinking was nowhere to be found. 

"Don't worry, Emily. He's not your gift. He's just some perv that needed to die before he hurt anyone else. Your surprise is on his kitchen counter; I think you'll like it." Y/n smiled as she branded the angel wind behind the dead man's ear.

"I'm going to find you," Emily said, finally out of her frozen state as she shrugged her coat on and grabbed her gun from her safe.

"You have such a way with words," Y/n laughed, "Also, say hello to Gideon for me. And tell him I'm not afraid of the dark anymore." Y/n finished, and with that, she hung up.

Emily paused as she took the words in. 

Y/n knew Gideon? 

So Gideon had to have been involved in Alex Painter's investigation. Further proving that someone wanted this case covered up. 

But why?

Christ, everything is even more confusing now, Emily thought as she dialed Hotch's number.

"Hotch." He answered on the first ring.

"Y/n killed again. We need to figure out where Howard Barnes lived," Emily said quickly, trying not to think about the future conversation she was bound to have with Hotch, explaining all of this.

This was going to be a huge mess.

Derek: Are you a big spoon or a little spoon?

Emily: I’m a knife

JJ, from across the room: She’s a little spoon

Derek: You need a hobby.

Emily: I have a hobby.

Derek: Creating fake scenarios in your head of you and JJ isn't a hobby.

Emily: You're right. It's a profession and I excel at my job.