The break room was dim and deserted when Special Agent Elle Greenaway pushed through the door a grim look on her face. Their case hadn't ended exactly as planned, and although she had no remorse for the psychos she chased for a living every day, shooting was definitely not her number one choice to stop them – no matter how evil and soulless they were.

She flopped down on the couch, tiredly rubbing the bridge of her nose. God knows she'd been forced to use fire power herself often enough and it never felt completely justified. She unholstered her gun and, grabbing it with both hands, studied it, deep in thought. It was unbelievable how much damage such a small item could do.

"10mm semiautomatic, built to FBI specifications," said a voice from a shadowed corner of the room, profoundly startling the brunette. Thanks to her training, she automatically grabbed her gun and was about to raise and point it towards the voice until her brain caught up with her reflexes.

"Jesus, JJ!" Elle exclaimed and released a breath she'd been holding. She lowered her gun, her heart bouncing fast in her chest due to the sudden adrenaline rush.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," JJ said apologetically as she stepped out of the dark where she'd been standing the whole time. "I was just drinking some coffee. By myself. Obviously," she added as an afterthought.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm just a little on edge right now," Elle flashed a quick smile and holstered her gun before she would actually manage to hurt someone. Especially JJ, a little voice in her head said, but she ignored it. She was getting rather good at that.

"I heard about the shooting. How's Hotch?" JJ asked sympathetically and sat at the table across from the brunette.

"Seemed pretty shaken up, but that's understandable." Elle shrugged and leaned back to rest her head against the back of the couch.

"Yeah," JJ nodded and fiddled with her coffee cup. "How about you?" she asked after a while, her eyes nailed to the warm and brown liquid in front of her.

"What do you mean?"

"How are you holding up? You don't seem like yourself right now," JJ noted and glanced quickly at Elle before turning to her coffee again.

"I'm...I'm fine," Elle said, staring at the ceiling. "I dunno, I just... What happened earlier, it affected me. Somehow."

"I think that's only natural after being in a situation like that."

"But I wasn't even in that room with them," Elle snorted and shook her head. "I was standing on the street while Hotch and Gideon were in there. I have no idea how it all went down and yet I feel like I was the one pulling the trigger."

"I don't think that's such an unusual feeling," JJ said with a reassuring voice.

"Mmmh...I suppose not," the brunette sighed and rubbed the sore muscles in her neck. "Sometimes I really envy you," she added suddenly and looked at the blonde.

"Me?" JJ frowned.

"Yeah. You don't constantly have to be prepared to use your gun to shoot somebody. I could really do without that at times," Elle said seriously.

"That' ironic, since sometimes I feel like being on the field where the real action takes place would be so much better than what I do now," JJ sighed. "There are times when it really separates me from you guys, you know, makes me an outsider in a way."

"You know you're not, right?" Elle frowned slightly, studying the blonde woman in front of her.

"Yeah, I know. But I think you can understand why I feel that way every now and then." There was a sad smile playing on JJ's lips. She drank the last drops of her coffee and set the cup on the table with a loud clang. The silence between them grew heavier and heavier as neither of them knew what to do next. Elle would've wanted to say something, anything, to assure the blonde that she was definitely part of the unit – her favourite part in fact. But somehow she couldn't find the words; she knew what JJ meant, and the blonde was right.

"Have you ever shot anyone?" JJ asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Well, this is a cheerful conversation," Elle joked and that earned a smile from the other woman.

"So? Have you?"

"Yeah, I have," the brunette said quietly. "Not my fondest memories."

"Can't be as bad as being a press liaison," JJ stated with a straight face.

"Oh, please!" Elle snorted, a glint of humor in her voice.

"I'm serious! There's nothing worse than being in front of a crowd that doesn't believe a single word you say. Granted, most of the time I'm leaving out facts that can't be released to the media yet, but in my opinion that doesn't give them the right to be so damn cheeky to me." JJ ranted and Elle couldn't help grinning.

"Someone feels pretty strongly about that, huh?"

"Oh, believe me, you would too!" JJ shook her head. "Though, that makes keeping the whole truth from them feel pretty damn good."

"You're unbelievable," Elle laughed, suddenly seeing a new side of the woman before her, a side that she was surprisingly pleased to discover.

"Just good at what I do," JJ said a bright smile on her face.

"Well, that you are," Elle said seriously, unable to keep her eyes away from the blonde. JJ looked at the brunette and blushed as she saw the admiration in the other woman's eyes; it wasn't that often that people complimented her about her work. And getting that compliment from Elle of all people meant more to her than she even cared to admit.

"Are you hungry?" Elle asked suddenly, standing up from the couch with one graceful motion.

"Why?" JJ was a startled by the sudden change of topic.

"You wanted to go to Il Cantinori while we're here. C'mon, I'm taking you." Elle's eyes were sparkling again as she hold out her hand to the other woman.

"You sure?" JJ asked a little sheepishly, absent-mindedly scratching the back of her neck.

"Of course I'm sure," Elle said cheerfully, finding JJ's shyness breathtakingly adorable. "I want to," she then added a little more seriously.

"Alright." JJ smiled and took the offered hand. Cool evening breeze tousled their hair as they made their way to the car, and JJ looked questioningly at the gorgeous woman walking next to her. She was still a little unsure of what to make of the situation.

"What?" Elle asked without looking at the blonde.

"Is this, erm...a date?" JJ asked nervously and mentally kicked herself for acting like a high school kid. Elle didn't say anything for a while, just kept on walking, which made the blonde's heart sank. How did she always manage to put a foot in her mouth! What an endearing quality for a press liaison.

"Would you like it to be?" Elle asked then, the look on her face giving absolutely nothing away. JJ found herself thinking that Elle would probably be a very difficult person to profile. Quickly making a mental note to ponder that later, she took a deep breath and cleared her throat before speaking.

"Yeah, I think I would." She buried her hands deep in her coat pockets, partly expecting the other woman to cancel their plans right there and then. But instead of being shoved away, she felt a hand on the small of her back and looked up to the kind, brown eyes.

"Good," Elle whispered smiling and gently pulled the blonde just a little bit closer.