•

"it is possible to carry life and death in the same sentence. in the same body. it is possible to carry love and pain." - lidia yuknavitch

•

Delilah hurried after Gideon, JJ and Elle to the ambulance that Derek was stood by, currently holding Detective Kim, who had been shot in an alteraction with their unsub, presumably.

"How are we doing?" Gideon asked.

"He'll make it. Caught one in the shoulder and shattered his collarbone," Derek said.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked.

"I'm fine," Derek said.

"No sign of this Martinez, the photographer?" Gideon asked.

"No," Derek said.

"Whoever took a shot at you followed you from the set," Gideon said.

"Martinez has a bunch of paperwork in his studio that says where Lila's gonna be every day," Derek said.

Gideon's phone rang and he picked it up, putting it to his ear.

"Gideon. That's what I thought. Thanks," he said, hanging up the phone. "Garcia's gone through every article written about Lila. She never says anything about red anemones being her favorite flower. We're looking for someone pretty close to her," Gideon said.

"This list gets shorter every day," Delilah said.

"He's circling in. We need to get to her house," Gideon said, turning away.

"I'll make sure the press doesn't get out of hand with this mess," JJ said, heading towards the press already gathered at the scene.

Delilah followed Gideon, Elle and Derek over to the SUV they'd take to Lila's house, rubbing her face tiredly as she slid into the back seat with Elle.

•

•

"Well, we found him in the bushes," Delilah and Elle walked over to Spencer in the backyard of Lila's house, Spencer soaked from the pool beside them.

Derek was handling their paparazzo dude, putting him in cuffs.

"I told her she should cut those. I fell in," Spencer said, noticing Delilah's raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, and I'm sure there's plenty of photos of it," Elle smirked.

"Stop shoving me, man," paparazzo snapped, Derek shoving him through the backyard.

"You're a suspect in the murder of Wally Melman, Natalie Ryan, and Jeremy Collins," Derek said.

"Murder? What?" the man cried.

"Shut up! We know for a fact that you have hundreds of photographs of Lila Archer and Natalie Ryan on the walls of your studio. You have miss Archer's daily schedule on your desk. You've been stalking her," Derek said.

"Look, guy. Hold up. Every parazzo's a celebrity stalker. If you don't stalk'em, you don't get the shit. If you don't make the shit, you don't sell no pictures," the man said.

"Well, this one is gonna cost you," Elle said, yanking the photo tape out of the man's camera.

"What! No. That's just wrong," the man whined.

"Tell it to your lawyer," Elle said.

"I'm still being locked up?" the man scoffed.

"That's right. Very least, you're trespassing. Let's go," Derek said, shoving the man away from them.

Elle handed the photo reel to Spencer.

"You're welcome," she said, walking away from him with a grin.

"It's messy. Liking people you meet through work. You know that, right?" Delilah looked at Spencer.

"Yes," Spencer said.

"You think it would work? You and Lila?" Delilah asked.

"Probably not," Spencer said.

"Eh, I wouldn't give up hope completely. She pulled you in a pool and kissed the pants off you," Delilah said.

"How- What- How-"

"You went bright red as soon as I mentioned it. I was guessing. You confirmed it," Delilah smirked. "Good on you, kid. Bit of transference, perhaps," Delilah said.

"That's what I said," Spencer nodded.

"Well, at least you know," Delilah said.

"Have you ever crossed the professional boundaries with a victim of a case you were working on?" Spencer asked.

Delilah tilted her head.

"Like, had a crush on them?" she said.

"Yeah," Spencer said.

"Then, no," Delilah said.

"But you have crossed professional boundaries?" Spencer asked.

"Not unless I was told to," Delilah shrugged, leaving the garden.

"Did it end badly?" Spencer called after her.

"It always does. Expect disappointment and you'll never be disappointed," Delilah called back to him, tucking her hands in her pockets.

•

•

Delilah walked into the hospital the next day, looking around curiously at what nurses were working, or interns.

"Delilah!"

Delilah turned around, smiling when she saw her sister hurrying over to her.

"Hey, Liv," Delilah smiled, hugging Liv tightly.

"How'd you get here?" Liv asked.

"JJ dropped me off. She's going home to run some errands before we all go out tonight," Delilah said.

"Like, me?" Liv asked.

"The team. Boys included. Hotch isn't going, don't think Gideon is," Delilah said.

Liv pouted.

"I've met JJ and she likes me. Can't I meet the others? Please?" she said.

"Liv," Delilah sighed.

"I'm not gonna sleep with anyone on your team. I swear it. If I do, you have full permission to hate me forever," Liv said.

"I could never hate you. I'd just have to transfer to another unit before things got awkward," Delilah said.

"I'm not going to sleep with anyone on your team, so, you won't have to transfer. I can come?" Liv asked.

"You're not working?" Delilah raised an eyebrow.

"I get off in an hour," Liv said, checking her watch.

Delilah chewed on the inside of her cheek for a few seconds before sighing.

"I'm going to regret this-"

"Yes!" Liv grinned, tackling Delilah into a tight hug. "Oh my god, your two worlds are colliding! This is revolutionary!"

"I already regret this. Eight seconds is all it took," Delilah said.

"You said I could go, so, no takebacks! I have to do my last checks on my patients, so, you can just sit and be pretty while you wait for me. And then you can give me your list of things not to talk about around your team while we head home," Liv said, kissing Delilah's forehead.

"Okay. I'll... I'll text the others and give them a heads up," Delilah sighed, squeezing Liv before letting go and heading down the hallway towards the lobby.

"I love you!" Liv yelled after her.

"I love you, too," Delilah called, waving as she stepped onto the elevator.

She pressed the button on the elevator control panel, leaning against the wall at the back as the doors closed and it jolted, the elevator slowly moving downwards. Delilah winced at the harsh movement, almost wishing for a moment that JJ was here with her because elevators seemed to be one of their things, just like how JJ always patched Delilah up in the bathroom.

But Delilah shook that thought off, shaking her head as if that would actually help get rid of it. It didn't, and Delilah was suddenly thinking about how JJ was going to react when Delilah told her she was going to let her sister meet the rest of the team.

God, Delilah didn't know what she was thinking when she agreed. She knew mixing work and her private life was a recipe for disaster. She always ended up getting hurt in the end, no matter how much she ran or the things she did to try and protect herself.

Then again, she'd introduced Liv and JJ. Not on purpose, but it hadn't been a bad accident. It had kind of been perfect, actually, being able to bring two separate people from her life together and help create a friendship that both JJ and Liv seemed to enjoy.

Sure, Delilah wouldn't have introduced Liv and JJ if Liv hadn't of came into the Quantico lobby to meet Delilah after work, but she didn't regret it. She had a feeling she was going to regret tonight, however.

Liv was a flirt when she had too much to drink. She was always a flirt, but drunk Liv was on a whole other level. And she lost any sign of a verbal filter after just one sip of alcohol, lips loose and eager to trauma dump because she was only really able to talk to other people about her own fucked up life with some alcohol.

Delilah didn't blame her. Liv had every right to handle her trauma the way she wanted to, and Delilah hated the fact that she had unwillingly contributed to some of that trauma. She just wished their trauma wasn't so linked, because Liv trauma dumping to strangers meant Delilah's business was put on blast.

Delilah would have to set ground rules for the night, she decided as she got off the elevator and moved to sit in the lobby. No discussions about their cases, no discussions about family, no discussions about their childhoods or why Liv could be a profiler herself with her knowledge if she didn't love surgery so much.

And definitely no talking about Delilah's not-crush crush on JJ. Not happening.

Delilah sat down on one of the chairs in the lobby, pulling her phone out and heading to the BAU groupchat Penelope had set up when the BAU team had been established.

MYSTERY INCORPORATED

Delilah:

liv will be joining us tonight

there are a few ground rules

Derek:

omg the noise i just made was high enough for dogs to hear!!!

LIV!!!

Elle:

Your two worlds are colliding.

How do you feel?

Delilah:

fucking terrified, tbh

Hotch:

This is a big step for you, Delilah.

Delilah:

u text like an old man

Spencer:

I am inclined to agree with Delilah.

Delilah:

u text like an old man

Spencer:

I am no longer inclined to agree with Delilah.

:(

Penelope:

OMG!! LIV!!

What are your rules, Lilah?

Delilah:

no talking about our work

no personal questions

no flirting or sex with my sister or i will hurt u

no talking about me

no talking about yourselves to try and inflate ur ego

that one is for u, derek

Derek:

i'm feeling attacked?

Delilah:

good.

now, agree to my rules or no liv

Derek

i'll be on my best behaviour

Delilah:

that's not an agreement, derek morgan

Derek:

ooooh the full name

someone's in troubleeeee

it's me

i don't know why i said that

i agree duh

Elle:

I agree

Spencer:

I agree.

Penelope:

Can I ask Liv about her work?

Delilah:

if you wanna hear about her hacking brains into pieces with tiny knives then sure

Penelope:

I'm no longer curious about Liv's job

Spencer:

I am.

Neurosurgery is a fascinating field to be in.

The very act of operating on the brain, the one part of the body that commands the rest, it's almost like defying god by toeing the line of life and death.

Delilah:

you're going to fall in love with my sister and she's going to be obsessed

with your cute little face and statistics and how you'll boost her ego

and then you'll end up getting married and having tall creepy babies

who are fascinated with serial killers and cutting people open with tiny knives

Derek:

spiralling much?

Penelope:

Liv can join the Spencer protection squad! So exiting!

Delilah:

yes spiralling, no excitement

my life officially ends tonight

hotch this is my official statement of resignation from life

Hotch:

I don't think I handle resignations from life?

Please do not kill yourself

Do you need a psych eval?

Delilah:

why did i think this is a good idea?

JJ:

Lilah, it's going to be fine. Liv will behave and so will we.

Do you want me to come over and we can all go together to the bar?

Delilah:

please

JJ:

Text me when you're heading home and I'll leave mine x

Penelope:

And the spiral is gone

Derek:

i wonder why

Elle:

It's almost as if JJ and Delilah are good together

Delilah:

it's almost as if my friends are trying to piss me off

Elle:

See you at the club!xx

•

•

"I feel like I'm gonna regret this tomorrow," Delilah said.

She was stood in her bathroom, curling her hair in the mirror while JJ did her makeup beside her, their hips pressed against each other. Liv was in Delilah's room, hair and makeup done, flicking through Delilah's wardrobe to find a suitable outfit for Delilah.

"That's called a hangover," Liv said.

"It's called you're trouble and separation is good," Delilah muttered.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Everyone will follow your rules and Liv will behave," JJ said.

"Liv and alcohol? No, she won't. She's gonna blab all of my business to the team and then I'm gonna have to move to another unit because of the sheer embarrassment," Delilah muttered.

"Then why did you even agree to let me come?" Liv called from Delilah's room. "If I'm that much trouble and I'm gonna ruin your life."

"You're not going to ruin my life," Delilah rolled her eyes. "You just have no filter and it's a serious problem," Delilah said, looking back at Liv. "Like, seriously, you blew me up to JJ about Dave. And she doesn't care, but god knows what else you're gonna say to her or the rest of the team."

"Well, if she doesn't care, what's the issue?" Liv said.

JJ looked awkwardly at Delilah in the mirror. Delilah sighed, putting the curling wand down and grabbing the hairbrush to brush her curls out.

"The issue is boundaries and respecting them," Delilah said. "Can you do it? 'Cause you're not coming if you're gonna just blow me up about shit I don't want to talk about."

"Yes. I've never said anything to JJ, except for the dad thing," Liv said.

"Don't bring JJ into this," Delilah said.

"You brought her into this first," Liv crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll be on my best behaviour. I swear," Liv said.

Delilah eyed her for a few seconds before nodding.

"I trust you," she said, turning back to the mirror.

"Thank you," Liv sighed. "Now, I've picked your sluttiest dress. You need to get some tonight, 'cause you're being an uptight little bitch and some sex will fix that," Liv said.

"JJ's crashing here because we're all drinking and can't drive. I'm not gonna abandon her to fuck some random," Delilah said.

"Nobody said anything about leaving the club without JJ. Fuck someone in the club," Liv said.

"That's disgusting," Delilah said.

"You've fucked people in worse places," Liv said.

"You have?" JJ asked Delilah.

"Unfortunately, yes, and I'm regretting telling Liv about it," Delilah scowled at her sister.

"Where's the weirdest?" JJ asked curiously.

"The top of a broken ferris wheel, but, we're just not gonna get into that right now because I've been trying to repress that memory for three years and I was doing great at forgetting it," Delilah muttered.

"A ferris wheel?" JJ asked.

"Again, not getting into it," Delilah sighed, leaving the bathroom. "I'm not fucking someone in the bar. Go get changed, before I leave you here."

"Going," Liv grinned, skipping out of Delilah's room to go to her own.

"A ferris wheel?" JJ asked again, looking at Delilah.

"I'm going to regret telling you this," Delilah said, grabbing the dress off her bed that Liv had picked out for her. "We were both drunk and found an abandoned fairground with a ferris wheel. It was just in the booth. Not at the top, or anything," Delilah said.

"Was it good?" JJ said curiously.

"Honestly? No. It was very rickety and the chair kept spinning around with any movement, so, I ended up with, like, ten bruises," Delilah said.

JJ chuckled, putting her makeup down and walking into the bedroom with Delilah, grabbing the dress off the coat hanger she'd brought with her.

"I've never had sex in a weird place," JJ said.

"It's not all that great, don't worry," Delilah said. "I'm gonna go get changed. Back in a minute," she said, taking her dress back into the bathroom.

Delilah closed the door and pulled off her jeans and t-shirt, throwing them in the washing basket. She'd showered before JJ had arrived, so, her underwear was fresh and matched the dress. Delilah tugged the black dress over her head, zipping it up at the side and fixing it to make sure it was on her body properly.

She ruffled her hair in the mirror, touching up her lipstick and then leaving the bathroom, seeing JJ was dressed in a red dress, her blonde hair curled down her back, silver heels on her feet.

Delilah blinked. Her stomach flipped and her heart was beating way too fast for Delilah's liking. This not-crush crush was definitely getting worse.

"Well, fuck, JJ. Are you trying to get some tonight?" Liv stepped into the room with raised eyebrows. "Like, seriously. I am really reconsidering Delilah's rule not to fuck any of her friends," Liv said.

"Thank you," JJ laughed, straightening up and giving Liv a little spin.

"Don't you dare fuck my best friend," Delilah snapped out of her trance, giving Liv a look that made Liv step back from JJ slightly.

"Dude, you're in trouble," Liv mouthed.

"I know," Delilah mouthed back.

"I'm your best friend?" JJ turned to look at Delilah, a pale blush on her cheeks.

"Well, yeah. You're the only one who's met Liv," Delilah said, looking away from JJ so JJ didn't see her own blush. "Mentioning Liv, where the fuck are my strappy black heels? I want them back," Delilah said, eyeing her sister.

"They're in my room. I'll go and get them," Liv grinned, skipping out of the room.

"That girl," Delilah mumbled, putting her hand on her forehead.

"She's funny," JJ chuckled, moving to wrap Delilah into a hug from behind.

Delilah relaxed against JJ's chest, tilting her head back so it was resting on JJ's shoulder. JJ rested her chin on Delilah's shoulder, turning her head to look at Delilah.

"You're my best friend, too," she said.

"I should hope so," Delilah mumbled.

"Tonight is gonna be fine. Okay?" JJ said.

"Okay," Delilah said.

•

•

Delilah walked into the club with Liv and JJ, looking around for the rest of the team. She spotted them over in a corner booth, drinks already on the table. The music was loud enough that Delilah could barely hear herself think, which was good.

The less talking between Liv and the team, the better.

"Is it bad that I'm nervous?" Liv said to Delilah, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"I'm nervous, too, so, no," Delilah said.

The three girls walked over, the others looking up when Derek stood up with a grin.

"Liv, I'd like you to meet the team. Derek Morgan, Elle Greenaway, Penelope Garcia and Spencer Reid. Guys, this is Liv," Delilah said.

"Hey," Elle smiled at Liv, but Liv was just staring at Derek.

"My god, you are just chiselled like a statue! It's like your chin has muscles," Liv said to Derek.

Derek laughed, putting his hands in his jean pockets.

"You're a doctor. You should know that chins have muscles," Derek said.

Delilah sighed and moved to sit in the booth beside Penelope, JJ sliding into the seat beside her.

"Here," Penelope slid a few shots over to Delilah. "You look like you need them."

"I adore you," Delilah said, taking the three tequila shots in quick succession.

"I love you, too," Penelope grinned.

"Liv, sit down," JJ said, moving over a bit so Liv could sit beside her.

Liv sat down, Derek sitting back in his spot and sliding a drink over to JJ and Liv each.

"We guessed you'd want vodka lemonades," Derek said.

"Thank you," the two of them said, taking sips of their drinks.

"So, Liv, it's great to finally meet you," Elle said.

"Yeah, you too," Liv smiled at her. "Lilah's kept me on a long leash away from you all, 'cause I can be kind of embarrassing. But she's being really brave and letting us all meet, so, I am on my best behaviour," she said.

Delilah groaned quietly, standing up and wriggling past JJ and Liv to get out of the booth.

"Shots, anyone?" she said.

"I didn't say anything bad!" Liv said.

"I'm being really brave? You're acting like my mom," Delilah said.

"Well, I did raise you for most of your life, so, I can sound like your mom," Liv said.

"Dude," Delilah said.

"TMI," JJ whispered to Liv.

Liv winced.

"Sorry," Liv said. "So, the weather has been pretty shitty, lately, huh?" Liv said to the others.

"Can I ask you about surgery?" Spencer said.

"Oh, please do. I can't go into too much detail with Lilah because she's not into brains, but I know you're a nerd. What do you wanna know?" Liv asked, turning to Spencer with a genuine grin.

He smiled back, curiosity dancing in his eyes, and started asking her questions about surgery. Delilah walked over to the bar, the others following so Spencer and Elle were the only ones sat to talk to Liv about surgery.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked Delilah, leaning on one side of the bar beside her while JJ and Penelope took the other side.

"Yeah," Delilah said. "Just gonna get black out drunk so I don't remember this tomorrow," she said.

"She hasn't said anything bad. Don't worry," Penelope said.

"She's already slipping up. I swear, I love that girl, but she needs a muzzle, or something," Delilah said.

"You know, we don't care what she's going to tell us. It's not gonna change how much we love you," Derek said.

"Yeah, right," Delilah rolled her eyes.

"We're serious," Penelope said. "We love you. You're our friend," she said.

"You're my friends, too, but some things are better left in the past and, sorry, but I don't want you all knowing everything about me. It gets messy and awkward and it spirals into something I can't control, so," Delilah said.

"What can I get you guys?" the bartender moved over to them, a smirk on his face as he looked Delilah up and down.

"Uh, I'll take five tequila shots, a vodka lemonade, and whatever these guys want," Delilah said, handing over her bank card.

The others gave their orders, ordering a drink for Elle, Spencer and Liv, too.

"Trying to have a good night?" the bartender raised an eyebrow, that smirk still on his face.

"Yeah," Delilah said.

"I can help you with that," the man said.

Delilah rolled her eyes.

"Sure you can, buddy. Get to work," Delilah said.

The man's smirk dropped, an embarrassed flush coming on his face as he moved to make the drinks.

"Cold," JJ said, looking at Delilah with a small smile.

"You are?" Delilah said.

"No, that was," JJ chuckled. "Cool, though."

"Believe me, I do not need a man to make tonight a good night," Delilah said.

"What about a girl?" Penelope said, a smirk on her lips as she looked between JJ and Delilah.

JJ didn't even notice, too busy staring at Delilah with heart eyes, but Delilah did. Delilah flipped her off.

"JJ's crashing at our place tonight, so, I'm not gonna find some hookup and abandon her," Delilah said.

"Just have sex here," Derek said.

"God, you and Liv are too similar," Delilah rolled her eyes. "I don't do sex in bars. It's weird."

"It's hot," Derek said.

"Just because you'll drop your pants for anything with a heartbeat doesn't mean I will, sweetheart," Delilah smirked at him, patting his shoulder and then taking the first shot the bartender set down for her.

"Sweetheart, huh? You going soft on me, Lilah?" Derek smirked back at her, taking his whisky and sipping it.

"You wish," Delilah laughed, taking the next four shots in quick succession. "I'm gonna go dance," she said. "Pen, use my card for any drinks you guys want," Delilah said.

"I'll come with you," JJ said, wrapping her hand around Delilah's wrist and squeezing it.

"To dance?" Delilah said.

"Yeah. Why not, huh?" JJ smiled.

Delilah smiled back, tugging JJ over to the dance floor. The music was even louder over here, vibrating through their bodies and drowning out the rush in Delilah's head from the tequila shots. They found a spot and started dancing, JJ's hand moving from Delilah's wrist to intertwine their fingers and keep hold of her.

Derek and Penelope returned to the table with their drinks, Liv, Elle and Spencer looking up.

"Where's Lilah and JJ?" Liv asked.

"Dancing," Penelope said, nodding to the dance floor.

Liv looked over and laughed.

"Lilah is fucking screwed, man. She's falling for JJ," Liv said.

"Believe us, we know," Elle chuckled. "They're so different around each other. It's sweet, actually. Lilah is really letting her guard down around her."

"Is Lilah denying her crush to you, too?" Derek looked at Liv.

"I believe she's calling it Platonic with a capital P," Liv said. "But I call bullshit. She's gonna fall in love," Liv said.

"You think JJ loves her back? That way?" Spencer said.

"I don't know," Liv said. "Lilah said she's straight, but, gay awakenings can happen at any time," she said.

"I think JJ loves her. Or she's starting to," Penelope said.

"How'd you think that?" Derek said.

"JJ doesn't look at any of us the way she looks at Delilah. And she doesn't patch any of us up like she does Delilah. And JJ doesn't have sleepovers with us, or let us crash in her office when we're exhausted, or bring us coffee every morning, just how we like it. And, it's not exactly hard to fall in love with Delilah. She's all mysterious and cool. It's like a trap," Penelope said.

"Let's make this interesting," Liv smirked, fumbling in her purse and slapping a hundred dollar bill on the table. "One hundred bucks that JJ will confess before Delilah will. I'm gonna say... Within the next four years, there'll be a confession," Liv said.

"Four years?" Elle said.

"Yeah. I know my sister. She can avoid things for a long time and she does not do the L-word," Liv said.

"Lesbian?" Derek said.

"Love, dude," Liv said.

"You're on. I say two years with JJ confessing," Penelope said, slapping down a few notes out of her purse to make a hundred bucks.

"Three. In the middle," Derek said, adding money to the pile. "And Delilah will confess first. She's grown a lot and I feel like I'm making good progress with changing her mindset towards love."

"Ha, you're gonna lose," Spencer smirked, putting down some money of his own. "Three years and JJ confesses," he said. He turned to look at Derek. "No amount support from you will change Lilah's stubbornness, and that's a fact."

"I'm gonna go with five years. JJ confesses," Elle said, adding her own money.

"Okay, closest to the date with the right person to confess wins," Liv said, sliding the money to Spencer. "You seem the most responsible. You keep hold of this."

"Are we allowed to help them realise it?" Penelope said.

"I feel like we shouldn't, but they're not gonna realise without some help. Gentle guidance," Derek said.

"But no pushing and making them confess. They have to be the ones to decide to do it," Elle said.

"Deal," Liv nodded. "You're all on, mother fuckers," she grinned.

•