Author's Note: Hello, friends. A couple of announcements for you all today.

We have ONE day left to nominate our favorite stories and authors for first ever ff. net based Profiler's Choice Awards located at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner". The nomination deadline is October 15, 2010. We have had a great response so far and we still want to hear from you. Rules, deadlines, and the blank ballot are all located at the forum (which can be reached thru a link in both my and tonnie2001969's profile pages).

We'd also like to announce our first ever ff. net based "Criminal Minds Christmas Gift Fic Exchange"! Sign-ups are simple. Participants can either PM us or join on the forum thread telling us 1) Which pairings you would feel comfortable writing, 2) the central pairing you'd like to be featured in the story you receive as a Christmas gift, and 3) Name a Christmas carol plus three Christmas-y prompts you'd like to see in the story you receive as a Christmas gift (you'll only have to use three of the four items in the actual fic). Assignments will be given on November 1st and you'll have until DECEMBER 25, 2010 to post your gift. Further details are available at the forum. Please, let's make this a Merry Christmas for ALL!

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Divided Loyalties

Prompt: Babylon 5 - "Divided Loyalties"

It wasn't often that Jennifer Jareau, media liaison for the Behavioral Analysis Unit, was left speechless.

Being left at a loss for words and gawking like a fish out of water? That was a virtually unheard of event.

Nevertheless, as she faced her best guy pal in the world across her desk, her eyes wide with shock, that's exactly the current state she found herself facing.

"You've gotta be kidding me, Spence!" JJ accused, frustrated as she slapped her hands to her desk. "How long have you and I known each other? How many times have we had each other's back?" she asked, firing off her questions in rapid succession as she rose to tower behind her desk, staring at her pal with incredulity shining from the cerulean depths of her eyes as she watched Reid take a faltering step backward.

Holding his hands up in front of him, Reid shook his head. "Six years, but JJ, I'm Switzerland here. A neutral third party," he insisted, shaking his sandy blond head rapidly.

"You are not! You're my friend. You've always BEEN my friend," JJ retorted, dropping her hands to her hips as she faced off with what was quickly becoming her nemesis, "at least until you decided to play both sides of the field and team up with the enemy!"

"Will is not on the opposing side of the field, nor is he your enemy," Reid reasoned calmly, crossing his arms over his chest. Arching one brow, he added, almost primly, "And no amount of bullying me is going to influence my current impartial stance."

Narrowing one eye on her infuriating friend, JJ shook her head, blonde hair bouncing against her shoulders. "I can't believe you, Spence. You've always helped me out before and it's such a simple question," JJ whined piteously.

"One which I'm sure you'll have the answer to when you go to dinner tonight," Reid commented reasonably.

"Aaaarrrrggghhhh!" JJ cried in frustration, throwing up her hands as she glared at the man that had quickly become a thorn in her side. "When? When did you become Bonnie to Will's Clyde?"

"What?" Spencer asked in confusion, squinting at his normally eloquent friend. "Who are Bonnie and Clyde exactly? Aren't they the bank robbers?"

"Yeah, but before that, they were plain old, every day partners in crime," JJ snapped petulantly, narrowing her eyes. "Much like my boyfriend and former friend," she added with a telling glare at him.

"You'll get over it," Reid muttered, rolling his eyes at her almost childish antics.

"I will not," JJ said defiantly. "What I'll do is hold a grudge," she informed him dangerously, her voice holding just the right tone of doom. "And you know how long my grudges can last for, don't you, Reid?"

Barely suppressing a shudder as JJ's threat hung in the air, Spencer's eyes widened. "Why can't you just be patient?"

"Because," JJ retorted, the simple word hanging in the air between them.

"Because, why?" Reid asked, staring at JJ as he tried to understand her determination to ferret out a secret that would be revealed in mere hours anyway.

"Just, because, that's why," JJ growled, flinging herself back into her desk chair, catching the edge of the desk as the chair's wheels spun wildly.

"Well, that's not a good enough explanation to persuade me to compromise the confidence between your boyfriend and myself," Reid replied with a sigh.

"I never thought I'd be able to accuse you of divided loyalties, Spence," JJ grumbled, her fingers clenching at the leather arms of the chair.

"That was a false assumption on your part, Jayje," Spencer replied, his lips twitching. Don't smile, he chided himself, or the jig is up. How many times have you been able to get one up on this woman? Never, he reminded himself, then added smugly, until now!

Staring at Spencer Reid with disbelieving eyes, JJ pressed her lips together as she fought the urge to shriek. She couldn't crack the egghead! "Fine," JJ huffed. "I'll just wait then. But," she said, pointing a finger at him, "my birthday gift better by REALLY good."

Smiling benignly, Reid inclined his head as he turned for the door. That engagement ring he'd helped William LaMontagne choose ought to fit the bill nicely. And somehow, he felt positive he'd be forgiven for his turncoat status.

At least, he hoped so! Because, quite frankly he wasn't sure which was more intimidating…Will's fists…or JJ's grudge.

Nobody knew how hard it was to be Swiss!

Finis