A Cheyenne proverb says, "Beware the man who does not talk and the dog that does not bark."

Jimmy opened his eyes wide open and took deep breaths, his forehead sweating. Letting out a soft sigh, he swung his long legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a few moments. He looked around him, seeing nothing but his hotel room. He covered his face with his hands and tried to hold it together. It wasn’t the first time he woke up from a nightmare, from this nightmare, but it seemed like it was getting worse and worse. He didn’t remember much of it, but it was a recurring one and there was always a different girl screaming and crying, covered in blood.

He had a pounding headache and the fact that he was still hearing the girl screaming wasn’t exactly helping. He felt like she was there with him, but when he checked again his hotel room, the only person he saw was Brian, completely passed out on the couch.

He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes, then went to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water, but the headache was still there.

Dammit.

He shook his head and headed back to the room, grabbing his glasses and putting them on. He checked the clock: 7 AM. It was way too fucking early, but he knew he wouldn’t get to fall asleep again so it was better to get up and do… anything.

He got dressed and got out of his room, ignoring a passed out Brian on the couch. He chuckled but said nothing, then left the hotel, stopping by some cafeteria down the street. He was tempted to stop at a bar and get a beer, but he decided to wait at least an hour or two before starting to drink. He needed coffee first.

“What can I give you?”

Jimmy stared at the small TV screen that was hanging on the wall. It was the news and from what he could understand, there had been some creepy shit murder in town.

Woman stabbed 30 times found dead. Investigation is underway.

A shiver ran down his spine and he found himself suddenly feeling uncomfortable. What was that?

“Sir?”

The drummer looked over at the barista as he called him again. He didn’t hear him.

“Just a coffee. Strong.”

The young guy behind the counter nodded and Jimmy left the money next to the register right before getting his cup of hot coffee. He looked around and it didn’t take long for him to find an empty table. He sat down and put his sunglasses on, sipping his coffee and watching the news.

“Jimmy?”

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts and as he turned around, he smiled. Valary was standing in front of him, her face looked a bit confused and he couldn’t blame her. He was known to be the one who slept until super late and there he was, drinking coffee at an anonymous cafeteria at 7:30 in the morning.

“Hey, you.”

“What are you doing here?” She asked with a soft smile.

Jimmy shrugged, “I woke up and couldn’t fall back to sleep.”

The girl sighed softly and nodded lightly, “The nightmare again?”

The guy nodded and took a sip of his coffee. She was the only one who knew about the nightmare. He was pretty sure Brian knew something or at least thought something was going on, but he never asked anything.

“What about you? I know you wake up early every day but couldn’t you stay in bed and do what lovers do with your husband?”

Valary laughed and nodded, “I could, but I wanted to bring him breakfast in bed.” She showed him the two bags she was holding and he smiled.

“I see. He’s a lucky guy.” He commented and smirked, “I’m kinda jealous. If you ever wanna leave him, just know that I’d be there for you.”

She laughed again, “I’ll keep it in mind, Jimmy. I’ll see you later.”

“See you, beautiful.”

Jimmy watched her leave and then moved his eyes on the TV screen again, reading another headline.

FBI: Las Vegas serial killer in custody.

---

“So?”

Penelope Garcia raised her eyebrows and smiled, waiting for her friends’ answer. The group had just closed a case that kept them busy for over a week, so why not treat themselves and enjoy a nice night out?

“I say hell yeah!” Prentiss answered and laughed. “JJ?”

“I don’t know. I’m tired.” She said with a sigh, tilting her head to the right.

“JJ, please. We’ll have fun and we won’t get back to the hotel really late. Promise. Pretty please?” Garcia was always rather persuasive, especially with her pretty face and her words.

“Yeah! Plus, it’s been ages since we went out together. I really need a girls night.” Emily said, trying to convince her friends.

“Not to mention that I rarely come with you guys so why not come with me? I already found the perfect bar.”

JJ chuckled and ran a hand through her long hair. This wasn’t surprising. She was pretty sure Penelope planned this way before closing the case and they were both right: they needed a night out, especially since they were always busy with work or life.

“Alright, alright. Let’s do this!”

“Do what?” Derek Morgan asked, looking at the three women.

“Oh, JJ just agreed to come with us to some bar. A night out, you know.”

“And you didn’t tell me anything, baby girl?”

Derek raised his eyebrow and wrapped an arm around Garcia’s shoulders.

“You know now, my beautiful god.” She said and Morgan laughed. “Besides, I thought you guys wanted to do something together, not with us girls.”

“Alright, you girls go. I’ll just do something with Rossi. Maybe we’ll spend some money at a casino.”

JJ frowned and looked over at her friend who quickly understood what she was going to ask.

“Hotch already took a flight back to DC and Reid went to see his mother.”

Both Garcia and Prentiss nodded without saying a word. It was understandable. Hotch wanted to spend as much time as possible with his son, especially after what happened with Foyet and his ex-wife, and Reid… Well, he was home and as usual, he visited his mother at the psychiatric clinic.

“If you and Rossi want to come, though, feel free to do it! Not sure where Garcia wants us to go, but I guess you guys can come unless it’s some weird ladies club.”

Emily’s words made all of them burst into laughter.

“No, Emily, it’s not. I’m waiting for you to get married to take you to that club.” Garcia reassured her before shrugging. “I wouldn’t mind having my man and Rossi with us. So go tell him.” She checked her watch and licked her lips. “Meeting point is here in an hour. Be on time.”

---

The show was over and everybody was excited. It wasn’t the first concert of the tour, but it felt like it. Hell, every concert felt like the first, and Jimmy was pretty sure even the fans knew this.

He sat down on the worn out couch of the backstage and sighed heavily, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. The bad headache he woke up to that morning hadn’t left him. During the show he felt slightly better, mostly because he was all focused on his drums and show itself, but now that it was over, he felt like someone was using a drill in his head. His friends were speaking loudly, which only made his headache worse, and nobody seemed to notice he wasn’t at his best. At some point, he heard one of the guys ask something and the others agreeing to whatever he said, so he looked up and noticed how they were staring at him.

“Jimmy? You in?”

“Where?”

Zacky and Brian laughed, shaking their heads.

“Shit, you’re already wasted? We’re going to a club to celebrate, wanna come?”

Jimmy bit the inside of his cheek, wanting to do nothing but sleep and wake up the next day, but he didn’t worry his friends and he knew that doing so would be considered too weird, even for him, so he simply nodded. Besides, he had every intention to get drunk and pass out as soon as possible, and maybe that headache would leave him alone.

“Sure. I wanna shower first, though.”

“You smell like shit, dude so yeah, go shower!”

---

Rossi turned down the invitation, preferring to spend the night at the Stratosphere Casino, but JJ, Prentiss and Morgan followed Garcia into the club. It was very Garcia-like with its colorful interiors and loud music playing in the background. Garcia booked a table so thankfully, and unlike many other people who were still waiting outside, it didn’t take them long to sit down and order the first few shots. Morgan ordered whiskey and the three women went for a colorful cocktail as a start.

“To us, even if Hotch, Reid and Rossi aren’t here with us!” Garcia said, or rather yelled since the music was so loud she could barely hear her own thoughts. “The best team in the world!”

The toast was quick and soon the women hit the floor, dancing together. For a brief moment Morgan joined them, but when a beautiful brunette caught his eye, he left his friends for her. JJ, Prentiss and Garcia kept dancing, keeping an eye on their friend and his conquest. It was almost fun watching him hit on a random girl.

“I’m going to the restroom, then I’ll get something to drink. Do you want anything?” JJ asked, moving closer enough for her friends to hear her.

“Absolutely yes!” Prentiss answered with a big smile, “You already know what to get me!”

“Mojito, got it! Garcia?”

“No, thanks! I still have my Singapore Sling!”

JJ chuckled and nodded, turning around and heading to the restroom. Needless to say, it was crowded too. She waited more than ten minutes outside, but she spent no more than five inside. She checked her makeup and fixed herself up before stepping outside. Heading to the counter, she noticed a group of people that with their tattoos and clothes didn’t exactly quite fit the room. They reminded her of that picture of Prentiss that Garcia found a few months before. She chuckled at the thought and leaned against the counter, trying to get the baristas attention. Unsuccessfully.

“What the fuck is this place, Zack?” Brian barked against Zacky, who shook his head.

“Why are you even asking me this? I didn’t choose this place! She did!” Zacky pointed his finger against Valary, who chuckled and help up her hands in surrender.

“What? Don’t you like it? It’s like one of the best clubs in Vegas. Just try to enjoy the night and if you hate it so much, feel free to leave.” She said, grabbing Matt’s hand and taking him to the dance floor.

JJ overheard the conversation and smiled lightly, without saying a word. She wasn’t surprised the guys didn’t like the club, but it wasn’t that bad. Maybe they would actually enjoy it.

“This is ridiculous! There isn’t even an empty table!” Brian complained before ordering a beer for himself, then letting his friends order for themselves. The barista brought their orders and then left to get other people’s orders, leaving JJ completely speechless.

“Hello?” She called again before snorting. It was ridiculous. Usually girls had no problems when it came to ordering drinks and now the barista barely noticed her. “What do I have to do to get a drink? It’s not like I’m not gonna pay for it!”

“What do you want? I offer.”

The voice caught JJ’s attention and she looked up, meeting Brian’s brown eyes. Was he serious? JJ laughed and shook her head.

“I’m fine, thanks.”

Brian raised his eyebrows. “Doesn’t seem like it. There’s no drink in front of you.” He said, looking down at the counter then back at her.

“Fair enough, but I can pay for myself.”

“Not even a drink? I ain’t asking you out or anything. Just wanna offer a drink.”

JJ smiled, almost tempted to say yes. It had been a while since a man flirted with her and it was a nice feeling.

“I’m Brian, by the way.” He said, hoping that maybe knowing his name would convince her to accept his offer.

“Fuck, dude. She said no, why you gotta be such a dick?” The tallest of the guy spoke and JJ looked over at him, but before she could say anything, Prentiss wrapped an arm around her.

“Everything okay, here?” She asked, first looking at her friend and then at the guys. JJ nodded and smiled.

“This guy here…” JJ said, pointing her finger to the guitarist. “Brian, right? Well, he offered me a drink, I haven’t said yes yet and his friend is trying to making him change his mind.”

“I thought dudes supported each other?” Prentiss said, raising her eyebrows.
Brian laughed and nodded, while Jimmy looked at them, slightly confused, but didn’t say anything.

“So, can we offer you a drink?” Brian asked again, exclaiming a loud “Yes!” when the women agreed.

Jimmy shook his head and took a long sip of his beer, keeping an eye on the women.

When the drinks arrived, Prentiss and JJ smiled, taking both glasses.

“Well, thank you, Brian.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

The women gave him one last smile before turning around.

“What? You’re not going to tell me your names?” He asked but got no answer.

Jimmy laughed at the scene and turned to his friend, tilting his head to the side.

“I guess no wild sex night with the brunette for you.” He commented before ordering another beer.

Brian hit Jimmy’s arm and rolled his eyes. “How about you shut the fuck up?”

The drummer couldn’t help but laugh even louder. He absolutely loved when things like this happened to Brian. It was hilarious.

“Too bad you can’t handle the truth.” He commented before handing him his beer. “Now drink, you’ll get over it.”

JJ and Prentiss, on the other side of the club, headed to their table and found Garcia sitting down, showing them her phone.

“What is it?” Prentiss asked, trying to read the message Garcia had just received.

“Morgan! He left!” She exclaimed and JJ laughed, sitting down.

“I can’t tell if you’re happy about this or not…”

“I am! But I’m not…”

Prentiss and JJ looked at each other and smiled slightly.

“Here, drink. Enjoy the night with us. Don’t think about Morgan until you see him again.” JJ said and handed her friend her own drink.

“Yeah! And if you really wanna having a wild night, we met a guy who seemed to be in the mood.”

JJ laughed and suddenly, Garcia widened her eyes, curious about Prentiss was saying.

“Wait. What? Where was I when this happened?” She asked, looking at JJ first and then at Prentiss and then back at JJ. “Who is this guy? What is his name? Where is he? Tell me everything.”

Both the blonde and the brunette laughed out loud, ready to tell the most curious of the group about the brief encounter with the stranger.

Notes

Hi! I'm sorry it took me a while to update, but I wasn't quite happy with the chapter so I changed a few things. I'd like to thank those who subscribed to the story and Hollie for leaving a comment, hope you enjoy this new chapter!

As always, comments and feedback are always appreciated!