FF: Slow Surprise (Criminal Minds) JJ/Emily 9/13 NC-17
Ol' man Wilkes, as the town of Mission Springs had referred to him, had died not a moment too soon for his young bride - a girl of twenty-five who'd chosen the security of a man over the love of a local boy. Wilkes having no other relatives, upon his death all property had passed to Mrs. Wilkes, who wasted no time in putting it all up for auction. Even with Emily purchasing the various stock and poultry for nearly half-price, Mrs. Wilkes still tucked away a tidy sum, a portion of which went for the first stage coach ticket to San Francisco.
It had been a very long day, between the two separate trips out to the Wilkes' ranch, plus a side trip to help Morgan deliver the horses and mules he'd bought himself for little more than a steal. Emily and JJ had been pleased to find out that the profit he'd make from re-selling the horses would be more than enough to pay off the loan on the livery. For the first time in his life Morgan would be a land-owner and master of his own destiny.
When they all finally made it back to town, long past dusk, Henry and Jack were fast asleep and Hotch and Hailey were waiting with discreetly poured cups of whiskey. The celebration was quiet, but no less enthusiastic, and hours later JJ finally retrieved Henry from Hailey and Hotch's bed. He woke up, immediately asking for Emily.
Aaron gave the brunette a significant look as she took Henry from JJ, mumbling soothing words before he started to fall back asleep against her shoulder. She met his stare evenly, a quiet assessment passing between them before Hotch finally looked away, satisfied.
JJ climbed onto her horse and reached for Henry but even in sleep the boy clung to Emily's neck. Shrugging good-naturedly, Emily merely shifted Henry onto her hip, letting Hotch give her an extra boost as she hauled into the saddle.
Hasiba shifted and snorted once at the extra weight just to let Emily know she was paying attention but that was the extent of her displeasure as they trotted off toward the ranch. With a full moon there was no need for a lantern, not that Hasiba needed one after almost two months of travelling back and forth to town. When they finally made it to the ranch, Henry relented just enough to let JJ take him while Emily took the horses to the barn to brush down and feed. He was sleeping soundly by the time Emily came back into the homestead, rubbing at over-worked back muscles.
“Keeping those hoofed-beasts in line was more work than I expected,” she joked mildly, accepting a glass of water from JJ. “But it was so worth it.”
“They'll need new brands,” JJ reminded. “And we should keep them separate from the main herd for a few days to make sure none of them are sick.”
“Hmm... right,” Emily answered distractedly, still rubbing at her lower back as she tried to stretch it out.
“It bothering you that much?”
“Oh, it's not bad... nothing a hot bath wouldn't fix. Remind me of that next spring when we start adding onto the homestead. I want an honest to god bathtub.”
“I'll heat some water and get you some liniment. That’ll have to do for tonight,” JJ teased even as her mind tried to reconcile that Emily was making plans...
Long term plans...
About where they lived...
Together.
“JJ?”
“Hmm?”
“Water's starting to boil.”
“Oh, right. Sorry...” She poured the steaming water into a bowl and soaked the rags, adding liniment to the mixture. She started to hand it to Emily only to watch the brunette wince as she reached for the compress. “Here, let me.”
“No, you don't have to-”
“-Em, just let me help you. Lift your shirt.”
Given the way her back hurt it was silly to argue, especially when JJ was simply showing her a kindness. She unbuttoned her shirt, slid it off her shoulders, and eased up the camisole she wore underneath. Breath hissed between her teeth as JJ pressed the compress to her stiff muscles.
“Looks like you have a bruise and some scratches too.”
“Oh, right, one of the damn cows knocked me into the fence. Forgot about that.”
“I have a salve Spence gave me. Henry's always falling down. Hold on, let me get it.” Sitting at the kitchen table, slumped over with the compress, Emily had little choice but to wait as JJ rifled through her bedside table and finally came back with a tin.
Emily cringed at the first whiff. “Ugh, that's terrible.” She could smell menthol and camphor and something else that made her eyes water.
“Yeah, but it works,” JJ said, scooping a dollop out with her fingers before gently rubbing it into Emily's abused back. She felt Emily tremble under her fingers, a quiet shiver, and eased her touch. “Am I rubbing too hard?”
“Uh, no... no it's fine...” Emily sucked in another breath, trying to think of anything but JJ's hands on her skin, the heat emanating out across her body.
JJ rubbed harder, working the salve in deeper, her hands roaming more freely across the expanse of Emily's back. And the more she touched, the more she wanted to touch.
The more she wanted to be touched. God, how she wanted to be touched…
Panicking in the face of her own need, she pulled her hands away. “Um, that's... that's all I can do. You can put your shirt back on.”
JJ brushed past Emily, and felt herself caught, trapped, as Emily grabbed her hand, standing up so that they were face to face. “JJ...”
“Emily... I... I...”
“Shh.” A step closer. Both eyes open and wide with anticipation. “Tell me now if you want me to stop,” Emily whispered roughly.
JJ tried to force out the words, her mind panicking even as her body responded, but all she could get out was “I want you...”
And that was all Emily heard as she closed that last bit of distance between them and fit her mouth firmly over JJ's. No pressure, no demands, just the sweet, clear kiss that laid all her intentions out. It was JJ who stepped closer, JJ who slid her arms around Emily's waist, and JJ who took the kiss deeper, until they were both panting with need.
And, sadly, JJ who broke it off first.
She stepped back, hand raised to her mouth in disbelief even as her lips still tingled, confirmation of what she'd just done. “I... I shouldn't have done that.”
“I wasn't complaining.”
“You're my boss.”
Emily ran a hand through her hair raggedly. “That's what you're worried about?”
“Henry and I are just getting settled. Just getting back on our feet. I can't afford to fall out of favor with you and lose this job. Lose our home.”
“I would never - JJ, you don't think I'm pressuring you, do you? This... us... it has nothing to do with the ranch.”
“No, I know... I just... I'm confused. I don't know what these feelings are and I... Emily, I just don't know.”
There was room there, Emily knew. Room for sweet words and plenty of coaxing. She could still see the flush on JJ's face, the swift rise and fall of her chest. There was room; if she wanted her, it wouldn't take much to convince her, but Emily knew she'd never be able to face herself in the morning. And in the clear light of day, JJ would never forgive her.
It took more will power than she knew she possessed, but Emily stepped back. She pulled on her shirt, squared her shoulders. “I'm gonna sleep out in my room tonight.”
“You don't have to.”
Emily fixed her eyes on JJ, letting down the barriers she normally kept so firmly in place, letting her see the want, the need, the longing simmering just beneath the surface. Feelings she'd been fighting since that first day she'd rode into town. “Yes, JJ, I do.”
She walked out quietly. JJ bolted the door behind her and then simply slid to the floor and let herself cry.
*
Emily Prentiss was in a piss-poor mood and it was evident to anyone with half a brain and an ounce of self-preservation.
She'd bought a bottle of whiskey from Kevin and relegated herself to a table in the corner of the saloon. David Rossi had gone over to invite her to join the poker game but she'd only glared and sent him away. Beth had tried to cajole her upstairs; Prentiss had wanted nothing to do with her and Beth had gone off in search of other patrons, nearly in tears.
And that had been the final straw for Miss Penelope.
She walked over to the table, sipping her gin and ignoring Emily's warning snarl. “She must be one hell of a woman.”
Prentiss' glare grew darker. “Who said anything about a woman?”
“Honey, when you've worked saloons as long as I have you learn a thing or two about human behavior. Let me tell you - there's only one kind of trouble that causes this level of drinking, and its woman trouble.”
“I'm a fool.”
“Could be… or could be she's the fool. Can't say one way or another unless I hear the story.”
Penelope slid into the chair across from her, heavy skirts rustling. Emily ground her teeth, took another shot of whiskey, and told her what had happened. When the tale was complete - and a good portion of whiskey shared by them both - Penelope merely sat back and fanned herself in the stuffy heat of a humid summer night.
“She's no fool… but she is scared. Can't say as I blame her with the rumors that Strauss woman has been spreading about.” Emily's eyebrows shot up. “Oh, yes, I've heard all those stories. We may not run in the same knitting circles, but I know all the best gossip.” She took a breath and kept fanning herself. “You're no fool either.”
“She won't talk to me,” Emily hissed miserably, her words slurring. “Three days and she barely can look at me! I just want things to go back to the way they were before…”
“Even if they did, you'd just end up here again. I've seen you two together, remember? It’s like those river currents… on the surface everything looks pleasant and calm, but underneath,” she whistled, “those currents are powerful strong. They can carry you away and drown you in the blink of an eye. And I think Miss JJ realized that. I think she dipped her toes into the river and realized one more step was gonna carry her away completely.”
“You make it sound terrible.”
“It is,” Penelope answered, no trace of irony in her voice. Unbidden, her eyes tracked the bar until they landed on Kevin, a faint smile on her lips as she watched him work. “It's a terrible thing knowing you love someone. Knowing they hold a power over you. Even if you know by all the gods and saints that you want to name that they'd never hurt you on purpose, there's still that possibility. And when you love deeply enough, the hurt runs just as deep. That's a terrible, frightening thing. Especially for someone whose never felt it before.”
“She was married.”
“Don't mean nothin',” the saloon mistress clucked, waving her hand out expansively. “You think my business would run half as well if being married meant you loved your spouse? I know you're not that naïve.” Emily wasn't. But she'd also never pegged JJ for the type who married solely for security and status. “I think she loved him in her own way,” Penelope continued, as if reading her thoughts. “He was a sweet boy from all accounts and a good, hardworking husband. But there's love and then there's love, and I think JJ just figured out the difference.”
“So what do I do?”
“For tonight, you stay here. You're too drunk to ride back to the ranch. Like as kill yourself falling off your horse and I am in no mood for that. And tomorrow…”
“Yeah?”
“You want things to go back to the way they were, then you start acting like nothing's changed. See how she reacts to that.”
“You could do this full-time, you know? Just sit in a bar and let people tell you their troubles and give them advice. You’d make a killing.”
Penelope scoffed. “Can you imagine any such thing? Getting paid to sit and listen to people's problems and then telling them how to fix them. Oh, yeah, I could make a fine career out of that.”
Together, they laughed hysterically and poured another drink.
*
Three days of Emily's ice-cold politeness had taken their toll on JJ's patience. Never had she known a human being was capable of such perfectly controlled manners. JJ wondered how many hours Emily had spent as a child having etiquette and protocol drilled into her by various tutors such that even a simple dinner conversation could become an exercise in exacting, calculating civility. By the third night dinner had become unbearable. Gone were the easy conversations about ranch plans and travelling and exotic foods, replaced instead by rehashed conversations about weather and almanac predictions. JJ had just about had enough when Emily had abruptly excused herself from the dinner table and walked out. Minutes later she heard Hasiba's annoyed whinny before the horse took off out of the barn, Emily urging her on as if the hounds of hell we're on their tales.
And now, as dawn rose on day four, JJ trudged out to the barn to start her morning chore routine to find that Hasiba wasn't in her stall. She knocked once on Emily's door and then shoved it open, panic snaking its way up her spine as she found the bed made and no sign of the brunette anywhere.
“Probably spent the night at the saloon,” JJ muttered to herself, yanking the door closed with more force than necessary. Or, she realized, she could be lying in a ditch somewhere. Hurt. Dead. The panic turned into a clutch of fear. What if the same man who'd murdered those women had gone after Emily?
She bolted for the house, making it as far as the porch before the sound of a disagreeable horse echoed up the lane.
Relief morphed into fury in the blink of an eye.
Employee or not, JJ wheeled around, fixing Emily with a vicious glare that would have had anyone else running for the hills. “What in the name of all that is holy do you think you're doing? Running off like that! Not coming home! You scared me half to death this morning when I saw Hasiba was gone. I thought you were dead, or in a ditch, or that murderer had gotten at you. Of all the stupid, foolish, idiotic...” She trailed off, finally looking at Emily and seeing her. Seeing the dark circles and the miserable grimace of a night spent hating herself. The brunette slid off the horse, all her usual grace absent as her foot caught in the stirrup. “You look like hell.”
A cold bucket of water hadn't cleared the cobwebs the whiskey had left but it had cooled Emily's anger. Sheepishly, she ducked her head. “Sorry I frightened you.”
“That was an incredibly stupid thing to do.”
“So you've said.”
“This isn't funny!”
“No,” Emily agreed, finally looking up to meet JJ's eyes, “I don't think it's funny either.” She saw then, beneath the anger, beneath the worry, what incited JJ's temper. And she saw the moment JJ realized what was beneath it as well.
“Okay, then,” JJ said unsteadily. “Just so it doesn't happen again.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
“Now, you're mocking me,” the blonde huffed, but a smile played at her lips.
“Just a bit,” Prentiss teased.
“This mean you're talking to me again? Not just at me?”
“I guess so.”
“Fine.” JJ nodded as if that settled the matter; Emily knew better, but she let it go. For the moment. “Those sheep need to have their hooves trimmed. And we need to see about finding some rams. It's gonna be breeding time soon.”
“It's only the first of July,” Emily retorted. “We've got time.”
“There may only be a few good breeding rams nearby. A month's time'll go by fast enough.”
“All right.”
“I told Hotch and Hailey we'd help out with the town's Fourth of July party. You're manning the punch bowl.”
“I'm not wearing a dress.”
“Did I say you had to?” JJ paused, adding, “Do you even have a dress?” Emily smirked. “Never mind.”
“Sounds like we've got a lot to do.”
“I'm ready when you are,” JJ challenged.
No, Emily thought. You're not... not yet... but you will be. And I'll wait for you. “Let's go.”
Part Ten