FF: What the Rain Washes Away 2/13 (Criminal Minds) JJ/Emily NC-17
Chapter One...
You know me. You don't mind waiting
You just can't show me, but God I'm praying
That you'll find me, and that you'll see me
That you'll run and never tire.
Desire
"Next round is on me," Morgan proclaimed, getting up from the table.
"That's only because you want to go flirt with the bartender again," Emily teased as everyone else laughed. Morgan just smiled devilishly and went to the bar.
It had been a short week by BAU standards and quiet as well, which had prompted Garcia to declare Friday night a night of 'revelry and possible debauchery' and insist they all come out for drinks. Everyone had accepted, even Hotch, although he'd only stayed for one drink before going to pick up Jack for the weekend. Since then the remainder of the team had taken turns buying rounds, the conversation running the gamut from music to the best risotto recipes to the best books ever written - an argument Prentiss and Rossi were heavily invested in.
Across the table, JJ watched as Emily made an emphatic point, her hands gesturing wildly, and laughed at the enthusiasm the normally reserved woman was showing. The brunette didn't get excited over much but JJ knew the fastest way to get more than a hint of a smile was to bring up a particularly good book, or for that matter, a particularly bad book. Either way and something would light up inside of Emily in a way that never happened when she talked about anything else.
On long trips home, when the rest of the team had fallen asleep, or sequestered themselves to the edges of the plane to decompress, JJ had taken to sitting near Emily just to watch the way her eyes would change when she opened whatever book was with her for the trip. Sometimes, when assignments had been too much for even Prentiss to lose herself in the words and pages, JJ would ask a simple question about the author or plot, a simple question to ease them both away from the living nightmares they'd witnessed until they were back on normal footing.
Lately, JJ had started asking Emily about books just to hear her talk. To hear something in her voice beside the blatant, neutral tone she used on cases, never happy, never sad, never anything more than absolutely professional, unless of course, she needed to be something else. Emily was good at that, too, JJ knew. She could affect a tone, a subtle shift as needed to deal with a witness or Un-Sub. More so than Morgan or Hotch, even more than Rossi who'd been dealing with the worst of humanity far longer than any of them, Prentiss could adapt to what the situation required without tripping over herself. And so JJ had started asking for book recommendations; fiction, non-fiction, it didn't matter. If Emily had read it, JJ listened to her, and reveled in the small change she saw transform her friend's eyes.
"Drinks are served," Morgan announced, carefully setting down three beers, a water, and a turquoise blue Midori sour for Garcia.
"What took you so long," Reid asked, grabbing the water.
In answer, Morgan held up a cocktail napkin with the bartender's number on it, smiling triumphantly. JJ and Emily groaned in unison. "Hate the game, not the player, okay?"
Emily laughed, her eyes meeting JJ's across the table, both of them grinning at Morgan's antics. The moment stretched between them, slowed down. Distantly, JJ heard the laughter, the clinking of glasses, and knew she was toasting with the rest of them, but her eyes never left Emily's. A frisson of electricity passed between them, something unnamable, but constant from the moment they'd met. JJ made herself look away and took a long drink of beer.
The rest of the night was lost in conversation and laughter and even a little dancing as Garcia dragged Morgan onto the dance floor, and Emily, unable to help herself, pulled Reid up to dance as well. By last call, they were all divvying up rides home.
"Reid, I'm not nearly drunk enough to get into a car with you," JJ teased.
"I'm a very good driver."
"Sure you are Rainman."
"Aw, don't give my boy a hard time. He's getting better," Morgan defended, slinging an arm around Reid shoulder.
"There's not enough room for us all anyway," Prentiss said, already flagging down a cab. She turned to JJ. "Want to split it?"
JJ smiled. "Sure."
They said their goodbyes and got into the cab, waiving as the others headed for the parking lot.
"Hey, doesn't Emily live on the other side of town," Reid asked belatedly. The other three just looked at him, smiled, and started to laugh. "What? What'd I miss?"
*
JJ handed the cabbie money as he pulled up in front of her apartment building. Emily slid out behind her, asking the cabbie to wait. He nodded and kept the meter running.
"This was fun. We should go out more often," Emily said, watching JJ as she retrieved her keys from her purse.
"It was a good night. I wish Hotch could have stayed longer. If anyone needs a break, it's him."
"What about you, are you okay," Prentiss asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Earlier at the bar," she said, hesitating. "You looked distracted. I wasn't sure if something was bothering you or..."
"Or," JJ prompted.
"Or you just like looking at me," Emily finished, the hint of a grin playing at her lips.
JJ stepped closer, feeling that frisson of electricity again, that moment of possibility that always stretched between them. This had been building for so long that it wasn't a surprise when the grin on Emily's lips softened into a smile. She reached up and brushed a stray piece of hair off JJ's forehead, her fingers lingering against the blonde's face. "You didn't answer my question."
JJ leaned in, her hands finding Emily's waist. "What was the-" the rest of her words were lost as Emily closed the last bit of distance, bringing their lips together softly, tentatively, in the briefest hint of a kiss. Emily felt JJ smile against her mouth as they broke away. "Is that answer good enough for you?"
Prentiss nodded, resting her forehead against JJ's, savoring the moment. "Good answer," she breathed. "Very good answer."
The cabbie honked. "Hey, lady, you still want the cab? I got a half-dozen calls backing up."
Emily looked at the cabbie and then back at JJ. The blonde squeezed her hand, smiling gently. Prentiss tossed the cabbie a couple of twenties and shut the door. JJ leaned up, kissing her again, this time lingering over the feel of soft lips and strong arms holding her close. She waited for the panic to come, that tingle in her spine as ingrained as flight or fight, but there was nothing but the flutter of her heart as Emily kissed her slowly again and again while traffic drove by. JJ pulled away, her fingers entwined with Emily's and tugged her toward the apartment building. Smiling, Emily followed without question.
*
Five months later...
"Don't bother sitting down," Morgan said as Prentiss walked in and tossed her briefcase onto her desk. "Hotch wants you."
"What's he want?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
"Very helpful, thanks," she muttered.
"Sorry," Morgan shrugged. "But, hey, you look nice today. New suit?"
"Not in the slightest, but thanks," Emily smiled. She made a judgment call and stopped just long enough to grab some coffee before walking up to Hotch's office. Reid was already there waiting. "Morgan said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, take a seat." He handed them both matching case files. "They need some help in Colorado. A call was made to the local police implicating the leader of a religious compound as a potential child molester. According to the caller, he's marrying girls as young as fifteen. Given the nature of the compound and their separatist stance, there's some concern about police presence, so they want two agents to go in undercover with an official from child services, assess the situation, and determine the credibility of the accusation."
"Is the compound currently under investigation," Reid asked, flipping through the file.
"No. We've checked with local and state-wide law enforcement, there's no current investigations other than this one."
"When do we leave?"
"You're on a commercial flight out in an hour and a half."
"I'll go grab my bag," Reid said, already half-way to the door before realizing that Emily hadn't gotten up. "Prentiss?"
"I need to talk to Hotch for a minute," Prentiss answered, her eyes never leaving Hotchner's. Reid paused and then walked out, shutting the door behind him.
"Something the matter," Hotch asked evenly.
"I'd prefer if you sent someone else with Reid to Colorado."
"Is there a reason you need to stay here?"
"No."
"Then you need to be on that plane to Colorado."
"Hotch… given my history-"
"-Prentiss, I'm aware of your history. If you can't do this job-"
"-This isn't about me being unable to do the job, Hotch. This is about whether or not I should be the one sent in there."
"You have experience interviewing children, you have more undercover experience than anyone else on the team, you're female so you're automatically a less threatening presence. Those reasons tell me you're exactly who I should be sending in there."
"And what happened before? In Montana?"
"Just one more reason to send you in - you understand these people. You've dealt with their type before. Besides," Hotch dismissed, "this isn't Montana. The circumstances are completely different."
"They look pretty similar from where I'm sitting," Prentiss shot back. Hotch just waited, that calm, assessing stare wearing her down. Eventually she stood up and walked to the door. "We'll check in when we land in Denver."
He just nodded and watched her walk away.
*
"Prentiss, you want to grab something to eat before we head to the airport, I'm starving and they don't feed you any more on the plane."
"Yeah, sure."
Reid waited for Morgan to get up for his usual second cup of coffee before sitting on the edge of Prentiss' desk. She continued typing, ignoring him. "What was that about with Hotch?"
"It was nothing." They both knew she was lying, but Reid had gotten better at understanding when to press and when to let go. For now, he let it go. "Come and get me when you're ready to go."
"Okay."
Emily kept typing until he walked away. She took a breath and let it out slowly, her fingers stilling on the keyboard. This isn't Montana, she heard Hotch say again but that rationale didn't seem to matter as she flashed on bloody hands and felt her stomach clench at the sound of remembered gunshots. Suddenly nauseous, she pushed away from her desk and hurried to the bathroom, shutting herself away in the first stall. She leaned over the toilet, breathing heavily, trying to calm herself down, trying to push the memories back behind the locked doors of her mind. Slowly, slowly she pulled herself back under control, the panic and fear fading, the memories retreating to the distant recesses of her mind, not quite locked away but far enough away that she could function again. She flushed the empty toilet and went to wash her hands, splashing icy cold water over her face.
She stared at the mirror and felt the twitch in her abdomen. Alone in the bathroom, she untucked her shirt and pulled it up enough to stare at the twin scars that marred an otherwise flat belly. Her fingers traced the raised tissue and again she heard the gunshots in her mind, felt the coldness as the blood drained from her body, remembered the loneliness of death calling. She remembered, too, those first few days in the hospital - alone, drifting in and out of consciousness as the doctors assured her she would make a full recovery and the incident investigators pried for details she couldn't give them.
And then another memory came unbidden, one she'd sworn not only to lock away, but to erase entirely: the gentle touch of JJ's fingers tracing the scars, kissing them in reverence.
She shoved it away just as quickly as it had come, ruthlessly tucking her shirt back in, adjusting and readjusting her clothes until she was picture perfect. Taking a deep breath, she checked her appearance one more time and went to find Reid.
*
"Where'd you get these?" JJ asked, her fingers softly tracing the scars on Emily's stomach.
"Long story," Emily deflected, leaning down to kiss JJ slowly.
"I assumed it probably was," JJ mumbled, kissing her back. "That's why I asked."
It was nearly dawn and they hadn't slept yet. One kiss hadn't been enough, one touch not even close. They'd spent the weekend in bed, only getting out to forage for wine and take-out menus in JJ's kitchen. It had been the best weekend of Emily's life.
JJ slid her hand lower, tracing incomplete patterns against Emily's naked hip, feeling the soft skin under her fingers shiver in anticipation of just where else she might touch. "Was it bad," she asked softly, pulling back just enough to meet Emily's dark gaze.
Prentiss nodded slightly. "Very."
"You'll tell me eventually?"
"Eventually," Emily promised, rolling JJ underneath her, her mouth seeking out the spot just below the blonde's jaw she'd discovered made JJ's eyes roll back in her head. She teased it now with lips and tongue, feeling JJ shiver underneath her, moaning in pleasure.
"You play dirty…"
"I play to win," she grinned and kissed her again.
"Emily… Emily…"
"Prentiss… Prentiss… Emily, wake up. The plane's landing."
Reid's face came into hazy focus as Prentiss blinked, slowly waking up. The case file was still spread out on the tiny tray table in front of her. "Sorry, Reid, didn't mean to doze off."
"It's okay," he answered pleasantly, "I've been looking through the SkyMall magazine, do you think Hotch would like a travel alarm clock that also has a five-day weather forecast?"
"I think rain or shine, Hotch puts on a suit every morning."
"Right, good point." Reid put the magazine away as the plane started its descent. "You said her name in your sleep." The words were said so nonchalantly, for a moment Prentiss thought she imagined them. "JJ," Reid confirmed with a commiserating look. "You kept saying her name."
"Well, that's embarrassing."
"Don't worry about it."
"Reid, please don't mention that to anyone-"
"No! No, I won't. I just thought, you know, if there was something you wanted to talk about… needed to maybe… I'm a good listener."
He was so sweet, so sincere, Emily nearly gave in. "I'm fine. Really. It was just a dream."
"You know what Jung said about dreams…" The look on Prentiss' face told him she knew exactly what Jung had said about dreams and she was in no mood to be reminded. "Never mind."
She reached over and patted his hand. "Thanks anyway."
The plane's wheels hit the tarmac, landing smoothly. Emily hoped it was a sign for the rest of their trip.
Chapter Two