Somebody's Watching, Somebody's Waiting - Part 9
Title: Somebody’s Watching, Somebody’s Waiting
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Jennifer Jareau/Maggie Lowe
Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is property of CBS and I don’t own anything.
Rating: PG
Summary/Spoilers: This is a retelling of the episode ‘Somebody’s Watching’. The BAU team is on the hunt for a killer stalking an actress. Meanwhile Jennifer Jareau begins dating the actress’s best friend, unaware she’s the stalker they’re searching for. Yeah that’s right I just revealed the ending of the episode, but it’s not possible to write this story without revealing it anyway. Numerous story revelations are revealed.
A/N: This episode not only had two women I really like (A.J. Cook and Katheryn Winnick) together, but the first portrayal of gay characters on Criminal Minds, with Katheryn being one of them. It had so many things going for it, but instead it was disappointing. A.J. and Katheryn’s screen time was minimal, they never appeared onscreen together, and the gay portrayals were terrible. Ironically Maggie Lowe is probably still the best portrayed gay character on the series. So I decided to write this episode the way it should’ve gone. Oh and that “lesbian” crushing on Gideon earlier in the episode because he reminded her of her dad? That scene alone warrants her getting erased from the story.
A/N: Special thanks to my betas talos13 and femme_slash_fan
Part 9
The black SUV moves onto Maggie’s driveway, and stops just in front of the garage shutters. The two women exit the vehicle and enter the apartment through the side door.
While inside the garage, Jennifer notices the motorcycle parked next to Maggie’s car. “Nice bike,” she compliments.
“Thanks. It’s pretty fun to take for a ride.”
“I should try it out one day.”
“You can use my bike if you decide to.”
They step inside the home and Jennifer takes a look around the place. ”Well, this is it,” Maggie introduces.
Jennifer looks around in amazement, “This is a lot better than my place.”
“Guess Lila and I know how to pick them then,” Maggie smiles.
The FBI agent strolls into the living room. She takes a look at the view outside. Next she turns around and sees the stairwell, “Mind if I check upstairs?”
“Go right ahead,’ responds Maggie.
With permission, Jennifer heads upstairs with Maggie following behind. She takes a look at the rooms. Then eventually she stumbles into Maggie’s bedroom.
Maggie walks into the room, “Yes, this is my bedroom.” Jennifer turns the lights on, then takes a step in. She’s focused on something. “What are you looking at?” Maggie asks.
“I just noticed that picture of you and Lila on the bed. You mind if a take a look at it?”
Maggie gestures her to go ahead. Jennifer walks in and picks up the picture frame from the bed. Maggie sits beside her.
“Was this your high school or college graduation?” the agent asks.
“College. That’s where the two of us met,” she answers. “So what do you think of the place?”
“That I’d rather spend the night at your place than my hotel room.” Jennifer looks at the photo again, “You can tell the two of you were destined to be friends.”
Maggie smiles a bit, “Yeah, we were really happy back then, weren’t we?”
Jennifer looks to the side and notices the expression on Maggie’s face, “You don’t look too happy about it though.”
Maggie stares back and tries to put on a fake smile, “Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing,” the other blonde replies. “How about we talk about it?”
“It’s not something you want to hear about,” Maggie tries to shrug off the topic.
“How would you know that?” Jennifer responds. “You can trust me Maggie.”
Although it was a memory she kept bottled up inside, it was also one Maggie had been wanting to get out. “It was back when the two of us were still in college. It was a Friday around mid January...”
*flashback*
Maggie’s in her college dorm when her phone rings, “Hello.”
“Hey Mags,” Lila says on the other end of the line. “Are the heaters in the college still working?”
“Yeah, they’re still working.”
“Well I kind of have a problem. The heater in my apartment broke down, and the temperature is really starting to drop. Do you mind if I...”
“No problem you can stay at my place in the meantime.”
“Thanks Mags. You also don’t mind if I bring some of my stuff too do you? I’m performing tonight.”
“Of course not.”
“You still have the tickets right?” Lila adds.
“Would never lose them. Front row.”
Lila smiles, “Good. It really means a lot to me that you’re there.
*****
That night Maggie sits in the front row of the audience as she watches the college production of Hamlet. The blonde glows when she sees her best friend enter as Ophelia.
After the production, the two blondes return back to Maggie’s dorm in a cheerful mood. Lila is still in her costume, and has flowers in one hand.
“Looks like they really loved you out there,” Maggie tells her friend.
“It was a lot easier seeing you out there Mags.” Lila hands Maggie the flowers, “Okay, take these. I’m heading to the bathroom and am going to get out of this outfit.”
A few minutes pass then Lila steps into the bedroom where Maggie is. The actress has washed her face and let her hair down, but she still has her costume on.
“Um, can you help me a bit? I’m having trouble taking this thing off,” Lila asks bashfully.
“Here,” Maggie gets off the bed and aids Lila. The costume comes off piece by piece until the actress is down to her underwear.
“I don’t know what it was about that moment,” Maggie tells Jennifer. “But right there, I thought Lila looked amazing. Something hit me, then that’s when I...”
Closing the distance between herself and her half-naked friend; Maggie presses their lips together. Lila lets it happen then closes her eyes in response. The two friends stand there and kiss passionately. Eventually they lie down on the bed. Maggie strips down to her underwear too.
“It must have felt very awkward for both of us, but we didn’t care. We were closer with each other than anyone else we knew.”
Their hands fondle each other and their bodies rub - the sheets get really messy.
“The sex was the first time for either of us.”
When they are finished the two of them lie naked together underneath those sheets. Lila stares at her friend with a smile on her face.
“It wasn’t just that night either,” Maggie tells Jennifer. “For that entire weekend, we became more than friends. It was the first time both of us ever felt love.”
*end flashback*
Maggie looks at Jennifer, “Hope you’re not mad about this.”
“That you fell in love with someone else in the past? Why would I be?” she responds. “What happened after that?”
“When the weekend was over, the heater in Lila’s apartment was fixed and she left. And just like that we returned back to our regular lives prior to that weekend. Even though we didn’t really talk about it, both of us sort of knew it was one of those temporary college relationships. We went back to being friends again, and continued the rest of our college days as we were.”
“But then you did turn out to be gay,” Jennifer adds.
Maggie lets out a sigh, “Yeah that’s the thing. Once it turned out it was more than simple experimenting for me, it really got to me over the years.”
“What about Lila?” Jennifer asks.
“I wouldn’t know what became of Lila. We never talked about it ever since,” answers Maggie. “Though I can’t help but wonder how she feels about it. She hasn’t dated anyone ever since, so I wouldn’t even know if she ended up straight or like us. Or if she even remembers that night. Maybe it wouldn’t bug me so much if the whole affair hadn’t ended so briefly.”
“If it’s bugging you so much, why haven’t you asked Lila about it?” wonders the blond agent. “You two seem so close”
Maggie closes her eyes and thinks about the reason, “It’s... it’s complicated. Right now it’s not something I want to share.”
“It’s okay,” Jennifer places an arm on Maggie’s back. “If you don’t feel ready, I’m not going to force it. I really appreciate it that you opened up about your secret with Lila.”
“No problem.”
*****
Later that day, Jennifer pays a visit to Lila. The actress is a bit surprised to see Jennifer.
“Hey JJ, I wasn’t expecting you,” says Lila.
Jennifer smiles at the actress, “Just wanted to drop by.”
“Hi JJ,” greeted Elle.
“Do you mind if I talk to Lila in private Elle?” Jennifer asks her colleague.
“Not at all,” the brunette responds.
The two blondes head into the bedroom. “So what’s going on JJ?” the actress wonders.
Maggie may have her reasons for not wanting to bring up the past with Lila, but it’s a past that’s still bothering her. Jennifer figures if she could get Lila’s thoughts on the events, that she could convince Lila to address Maggie about the whole thing. First things first, she has to find out if Lila remembers that weekend or not. She smiles at Lila, “Earlier today I found out both you and Maggie attended the same college.”
“We did,” Lila confirms.
“I’m a bit curious to know more about your college experience. How did you two meet and become so close?”
Lila begins her tale, “It was in September, our first day of college. The weather wasn’t too great...”
*flashback*
Lila’s trekking the campus. She has her trench coat pulled over her head to shield her from the rain, and a campus map in one hand.
Maggie is in a cafe inside one of the campus’s eateries. She’s seated at a table near the window with a woman named Megan. “So you’ll be starting your own sorority?” Maggie asks.
“I’m so excited, I always dreamed of doing this in college,” Megan replies. She looks out the window, “It’s really pouring. Glad I didn’t have openings today.”
Maggie stares out the window too and notices Lila out there, “Looks like someone might need some help around the place. Wait here.” Maggie grabs her umbrella and journeys outside. She flicks her umbrella open then approaches the other woman. The umbrella sits above the two blondes.
“Needs some help?” Maggie asks her.
“Yes I do,” Lila answers in a humourous tone.
The rain can be seen streaming down the sides of the umbrella. “How about we head inside first?” Maggie suggests.
“Good idea,” Lila lowers her trench coat back down. They race back towards the campus eatery. “I would have brought an umbrella if I knew it was going to rain,” remarks Lila.
The warm air in the building is a pleasant welcome for them once inside. “Who’s your friend, Maggie?” Megan calls out from the table.
“Care to sit with us for a moment?” Maggie requests. Lila decides to join the two women.
“Not familiar with the place?” implies Megan.
“No,” Lila answers. “You two familiar with the place?”
“We’re both pretty much living here until we graduate,” informs Maggie.
“Oh,” says Lila. “Well I’m staying at an apartment not too far from here. It would feel a bit too awkward for me to be living on campus.”
“So what place are you searching for?” asks Maggie.
“The Thunderbird Auditorium,” she answers.
“With the drama department?” Megan asks. Lila nods. “Actor or with the crew?”
Lila smiles gleefully, “Actor.”
“Good luck to you then. We’ll give you directions there,” remarks Megan. “I’m Megan by the way.”
The blonde across from Megan offers her hand, “Lila.”
The two of them shake hands. Maggie then shakes Lila’s hand and introduces herself, “I’m Maggie.”
Lila smiles at them. “Do either of you two mind taking me there? I don’t trust my navigational abilities.”
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 10