Lead the Way - Chapter 008 - Sleeping arrangements
One holiday weekend behind us, another one on the way. That won't keep me from updating! Especially since I have a little head trip for you. The question will be: What would/will I do with a femslash cliché? Let's hear your answers ;)
Lead the Way - 008 - Sleeping Arrangements
It had been a while since the three members of the FBI had taken a regular plane anywhere. Having to whisper and hide the reports and crime scene photos had made them feel as though they were part of the dark world the Unsub created. Emily in particular looked at the other passengers with a longing look in her eyes.
If she could have one day, one day only, not knowing what was lurking out there in the shadows ready to strike at any moment…
‘Maybe ignorance is bliss after all’ she thought. But then again, she knew that her work made a difference, that she had helped put the monsters behind bars.
“… So Cooper’s victims can be put in two categories: the abductees and the returnees.” JJ summed up.
“So to speak. What is interesting, though, is that unlike other serial killers, Coopers victims aged with him.” Reid whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“In a case like this, victimology is key. All of the returnees are brunettes born in 1969.”
“Why?” JJ asked. Even she knew that this was unusual at best.
“We don’t know.” Emily said quietly. “Cooper hasn’t spoken about his crimes since his arrest in 1996. All we know is that he put a considerable amount of effort into each abduction.” She shifted in her seat.
“The drug cocktail, the research into the birthdays, returning the women to their beds to make the illusion of having dreamt the killing of their loved one that much more real…”
“Putting himself in great danger of getting caught, too. Many of the women still lived at home, especially in the mid eighties.”
“Why did he wait six months after each kill?” JJ started to realize what an incredible task it had been for Gideon and Saunders to catch this guy.
“We don’t know.” Reid sighed. So many questions were left unanswered, so little time to ask them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, after catching their connecting flight in Houston and a short drive from the airport, the agents arrived at the Quality Inn Tyler Texas at 1 a.m. Tired, Prentiss dragged her luggage behind the others to the reception desk. The hotel was small and cozy and she couldn’t wait to fall into bed.
“What do you mean, you have no reservations?” The panic in Reid’s voice was evident.
“I’m sorry, Sir. Our systems crashed earlier today and we had to rebook everyone. You booked online and we lost all our data.” The young man behind the counter said with a strong southern accent. He was very nervous and had obviously had a long night trying to limit the damage.
“Ok, well, do you still have vacancies?” JJ smiled at him. Her ability to smile after this exhausting trip and the bad news they just received was probably the reason the media liaison was so good at her job.
“Well, Ma’am, we still have two rooms.”
“And if you promise never to call me Ma’am again, we’ll take them for tonight. Do you know of any hotels nearby that may have three rooms? It’s against FBI policies to stay in a room together.” She winked.
“I’m afraid not, Agent Jareau. This weekend will be the Texas Rose Festival and tourists have already started arriving. The two rooms are available throughout the week though.”
“Well in that case we’ll take them. Thank you, Jared.”
“My pleasure, Ma’… Agent Jareau. Let me get these for you.” Emily was surprised to see that the receptionist had just volunteered to take their entire luggage to the third floor and their rooms. She wasn’t complaining though.
It wasn’t until they were actually standing in front of the two doors that she realized she would be sharing a room with JJ. Of course the Bureau wouldn’t allow for a male and a female agent to spend the week in a room. Her heart pounded against her rib cage. With weak knees she followed the blonde into her room, barely noticing Reid yelling out “Good night” to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing in the shower, JJ couldn’t stop grinning foolishly. Not only was she sharing a room with the most beautiful woman she had ever met, there was just one king-sized bed! Of course Emily’s shock at this sight had been nothing short of delightful. Finally feeling like a human being again after this horrible trip, she stepped out of the bathroom wearing a Redskin’s T-Shirt and Boxer Shorts.
Emily had fallen asleep on the bed in her street clothes already and JJ decided she should wake her up. Just the thought of getting close enough to the agent… and then she would have to change... Carefully she leaned over her friend, whispering her name gently.
The profiler immediately set up straight bumping against JJ’s forehead in the process and falling back onto the pillow.
“Ouch,” the younger woman stumbled back
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry, JJ. I’m such a klutz sometimes.”
“It’s okay.” JJ smiled at her friend, still rubbing her forehead. “Just wanted to let you know, the shower is free again.”
“Right. Thanks.” At the speed of light the agent hurried into the bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘At which point does stupidity become lethal?’ she asked herself, feeling the hot drops of water on her back. Was this how the upcoming week was supposed to go by? Tiptoeing around each other, subtle flirting, drawing back, going round and round in circles forevermore?
Finally Emily stepped out of the shower and put her PJs on. For this trip she had chosen her Indigo Girls oversize Fan-shirt and Boxer Shorts. Now that she shared a room with the woman she was infatuated with she felt rather stupid. What if JJ got the not so subtle hint? Would she freak out knowing that she had to share a bed with a lesbian?
‘Nonsense!’ Even if JJ recognized the band, there was no way that she made that connection. Besides, if listening to homosexual musicians was somehow turning people gay, the Brits would’ve died out by now. She was still glad to find that the other agent had already fallen asleep when she finally made it to bed.
Happy New Year! May 2011 bring you as much joy as 2010 brought me!
Lead the Way - 008 - Sleeping Arrangements
It had been a while since the three members of the FBI had taken a regular plane anywhere. Having to whisper and hide the reports and crime scene photos had made them feel as though they were part of the dark world the Unsub created. Emily in particular looked at the other passengers with a longing look in her eyes.
If she could have one day, one day only, not knowing what was lurking out there in the shadows ready to strike at any moment…
‘Maybe ignorance is bliss after all’ she thought. But then again, she knew that her work made a difference, that she had helped put the monsters behind bars.
“… So Cooper’s victims can be put in two categories: the abductees and the returnees.” JJ summed up.
“So to speak. What is interesting, though, is that unlike other serial killers, Coopers victims aged with him.” Reid whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“In a case like this, victimology is key. All of the returnees are brunettes born in 1969.”
“Why?” JJ asked. Even she knew that this was unusual at best.
“We don’t know.” Emily said quietly. “Cooper hasn’t spoken about his crimes since his arrest in 1996. All we know is that he put a considerable amount of effort into each abduction.” She shifted in her seat.
“The drug cocktail, the research into the birthdays, returning the women to their beds to make the illusion of having dreamt the killing of their loved one that much more real…”
“Putting himself in great danger of getting caught, too. Many of the women still lived at home, especially in the mid eighties.”
“Why did he wait six months after each kill?” JJ started to realize what an incredible task it had been for Gideon and Saunders to catch this guy.
“We don’t know.” Reid sighed. So many questions were left unanswered, so little time to ask them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, after catching their connecting flight in Houston and a short drive from the airport, the agents arrived at the Quality Inn Tyler Texas at 1 a.m. Tired, Prentiss dragged her luggage behind the others to the reception desk. The hotel was small and cozy and she couldn’t wait to fall into bed.
“What do you mean, you have no reservations?” The panic in Reid’s voice was evident.
“I’m sorry, Sir. Our systems crashed earlier today and we had to rebook everyone. You booked online and we lost all our data.” The young man behind the counter said with a strong southern accent. He was very nervous and had obviously had a long night trying to limit the damage.
“Ok, well, do you still have vacancies?” JJ smiled at him. Her ability to smile after this exhausting trip and the bad news they just received was probably the reason the media liaison was so good at her job.
“Well, Ma’am, we still have two rooms.”
“And if you promise never to call me Ma’am again, we’ll take them for tonight. Do you know of any hotels nearby that may have three rooms? It’s against FBI policies to stay in a room together.” She winked.
“I’m afraid not, Agent Jareau. This weekend will be the Texas Rose Festival and tourists have already started arriving. The two rooms are available throughout the week though.”
“Well in that case we’ll take them. Thank you, Jared.”
“My pleasure, Ma’… Agent Jareau. Let me get these for you.” Emily was surprised to see that the receptionist had just volunteered to take their entire luggage to the third floor and their rooms. She wasn’t complaining though.
It wasn’t until they were actually standing in front of the two doors that she realized she would be sharing a room with JJ. Of course the Bureau wouldn’t allow for a male and a female agent to spend the week in a room. Her heart pounded against her rib cage. With weak knees she followed the blonde into her room, barely noticing Reid yelling out “Good night” to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing in the shower, JJ couldn’t stop grinning foolishly. Not only was she sharing a room with the most beautiful woman she had ever met, there was just one king-sized bed! Of course Emily’s shock at this sight had been nothing short of delightful. Finally feeling like a human being again after this horrible trip, she stepped out of the bathroom wearing a Redskin’s T-Shirt and Boxer Shorts.
Emily had fallen asleep on the bed in her street clothes already and JJ decided she should wake her up. Just the thought of getting close enough to the agent… and then she would have to change... Carefully she leaned over her friend, whispering her name gently.
The profiler immediately set up straight bumping against JJ’s forehead in the process and falling back onto the pillow.
“Ouch,” the younger woman stumbled back
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry, JJ. I’m such a klutz sometimes.”
“It’s okay.” JJ smiled at her friend, still rubbing her forehead. “Just wanted to let you know, the shower is free again.”
“Right. Thanks.” At the speed of light the agent hurried into the bathroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘At which point does stupidity become lethal?’ she asked herself, feeling the hot drops of water on her back. Was this how the upcoming week was supposed to go by? Tiptoeing around each other, subtle flirting, drawing back, going round and round in circles forevermore?
Finally Emily stepped out of the shower and put her PJs on. For this trip she had chosen her Indigo Girls oversize Fan-shirt and Boxer Shorts. Now that she shared a room with the woman she was infatuated with she felt rather stupid. What if JJ got the not so subtle hint? Would she freak out knowing that she had to share a bed with a lesbian?
‘Nonsense!’ Even if JJ recognized the band, there was no way that she made that connection. Besides, if listening to homosexual musicians was somehow turning people gay, the Brits would’ve died out by now. She was still glad to find that the other agent had already fallen asleep when she finally made it to bed.
Happy New Year! May 2011 bring you as much joy as 2010 brought me!