DISCLAIMER: Criminal Minds and its characters are the property of CBS. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Huge thanks for my beta, audiopineapple. Feedbacks and comments are appreciated!
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
SPOILERS: Up to Season 4.
How we lose, how we win
By frenhu
Part 5
Somewhere between a half-awake, half-sleep state I hear my phone buzzing. Silence. Buzzing. Silence again…then buzzing.
I decide that this has to stop so I open my eyes slowly, let them to adjust to the dim light shining through the window and see the phone's screen flashing on my nightstand. The clock says it's 8:01 in the morning, though it does not surprise me that my body refuses to act on my behalf because nowadays I usually don't get up until 10. Still, I grab the cell and look for an ID which says Penelope. I wonder why she is calling me at this time.
"Yeah, Penelope? What's the emergency?" – I groan, not at all pleased by the wake-up call.
"Oh, someone is grumpy this morning. Anyway, I just called because Emily is still not at work which is strange because she is always early and she doesn't pick up her phone either, so I figured I should ask you because you talked to her last night…..anyhow, any ideas where she could be?"
"Errrr…." – I try to put my brain into action again when I feel the sheets moving beside. I turn and I catch my breath at the sight: Emily is there, stirring, very close to waking up properly….last night…oh…oh. She suddenly opens her eyes, a bit disoriented at where she is but then she looks at me and smiles. A silent "Good Morning" is on her mouth and then she makes herself more comfortable in my bed.
Pure beauty. How could I miss that in the first place?
Then she takes a quick glace to the clock and immediately I hear her swearing, quickly moving out of bed and looking for her clothes.
Meanwhile I just stare at her with an open mouth, a small moan escaping but Penelope's voice snaps me back to reality.
"Sweetie, you there?"
"Yes, sorry, zoned out a bit. She crashed here yesterday, seems she overslept but now she is up so give her a few minutes and she will be on her way out." I say calmly and hang up the phone.
Now I'm fully awake, again looking at the brunette who is very aware of my intense look. I leave the bed, move closer to her, watch how she buttons her blouse…I blush at the memory of what those beautiful hands can do in certain situations…am I selfish to wish that she would stay a bit longer?
Her voice interrupts my inner musing - "Darn, I'm sooo late….ah, um, about last night…uh, what do we do now? What do you want?" – she asks nervously, obvious that she is terrified to get an answer.
"Well…" – I reach for her hand and look into her eyes – "I've been thinking about this…about us…and not just since yesterday but way beyond that…I…I want to give it a try, to see where it takes us. I want to find out what secret Emily Prentiss holds." – I crack a smile and she releases her breath what she's been holding.
"Good….good…uh, I…did you really just say that you want us to try? Because my hearing is kinda unreliable nowadays and I was so ready for an answer like 'it was a moment of weakness or you were here or I like you but not in that way'….God, are you sure? Because I want that too. I want to…be with you….unless you know, the baby, Will and everything…"
"No, no, don't worry about that. I will take care of Will. Honestly? I think that you are far more important to me than not to give it a go."
"Oh, okay."
"Okay." – I repeat and I seal our agreement with a gentle kiss. Her mouth feels like velvet on mine, once again getting lost in the feeling of Emily. She spaces out a bit but quickly collects herself.
"Oookaaay….huh, I really gotta run" – she starts for the exit, I walk her out but she stops before opening the door. Now it's her turn to hold my hand and look into my eyes "Dinner tonight?" – that husky voice will be my death one day, I'm sure.
"Absolutely, wouldn't miss it for the world." – she smiles as I respond to her and kisses me like it's the most natural thing on this planet. I'm not complaining though…
"Great. See you tonight!"
"See you!" – she is out and I'm melting away. My hands move to my belly, stroking it and wondering what the future might hold for us.
If it means Emily, me and baby boy, I'm definitely in.
The End