innerslytherin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
innerslytherin) wrote2011-10-20 09:35 pm
innerslytherin) wrote2011-10-20 09:35 pm
CRIMINAL MINDS FIC: First Loves and Second Chances (1 of ?) - [Prentiss and Rossi] - PG
Title: First Loves and Second Chances (1 of ?)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
innerslytherin
Rating: PG
Characters: Prentiss, Rossi
WC: ~1100
Summary: Emily wonders about second chances. SPOILERS for "From Childhood's Hour".
Notes: Dang it, this stupid episode demanded fic, and I couldn't resist. *sigh* Thank you so much tomicrogirl8225 for the beta. There will be at least one more part to this.
"We don't always get second chances in life, Rossi. I say take the plunge. See where it goes."
The words have been eating at her for two days now. The team is back at Quantico and she knows Rossi is having dinner with Caroline tonight. Caroline, numero uno. Caroline, who is putting out feelers.
Emily doesn't have any right to be jealous. She and Rossi have always had a connection, it's true. Maybe she'd had a little bit of a crush on him back in her grad school days...and her field office days...and her early BAU days...
Okay, the man is a silver fox, and she knows it.
She also knows he was a player before the term player was even invented. Maybe it's just a matter of catching women's eyes these days, getting a few come-hither looks, maybe even a phone number or two while on book tours. But maybe that makes it worse, that a man who has played the field (and sidelines and probably even the bleachers) is still obviously hung up on his first wife.
Are you any different? Still dropped everything when John called. It's the little voice in her head, the one that spent months telling her she doesn't deserve to return to the BAU, that she's a liar and manipulator, that she'll never learn how to trust people if she can't trust her team. It's the voice she tried like hell to drown out while she was in Paris, playing online Scrabble and drinking whiskey neat. Expensive whiskey; whiskey that drowned her guilt in memories of David Rossi.
"Hey, you okay? You've been staring at those boots for ten minutes." Garcia looks pleased, probably because she's laden with three boxes of shoes that Emily would never be caught dead in.
"Yeah, I'm just really tired. I really don't need another pair of black boots." Emily makes a face, because she does need another pair, preferably with lower heels and good ankle support. But she's in no mood for shopping tonight.
Garcia gives her a sympathetic look. "You had a tough case. At least you got all the kids back safe."
Emily nods. "I think I'm just going to head home. Sorry, PG, my heart's just not in it tonight."
"I understand, Princess Prentiss. Go. Spend quality time with the handsome man in your life. And give him a few kisses from me. I miss Sergio."
*
"We don't always get second chances in life, Rossi."
They have never talked about her return from the dead. Rossi's reaction has always been more low-key than the others'. Emily doesn't know if that means he's furious with her and trying to hide it--though when has Rossi ever hidden his feelings?--or if he trusts her--or Hotch--enough that their reasons are good enough for him. Now, Emily can't help wishing she'd pushed it. Maybe she should have made time to talk with him about it. She's just been so damned grateful that someone on the team doesn't seem to hate her for what she's done.
"I've finally gone crazy, haven't I?" she asks Sergio, who ignores her and keeps purring. He's got his neck stretched flat out while she scratches his chin. One thing that always makes her feel like less of a failure is how much her cat adores her. When she got back from Paris, he greeted her with ecstatic purring and kitty kisses, and it took him at least ten minutes to remember he was pissed off at her. He's not a cat given to sulking, though, and he's been a love factory ever since. "I knew all that time alone in Paris was going to take a toll on my mental status."
She slumps back against the sofa and takes a careful sip of her whiskey. She's just torturing herself now, thinking about Dave cooking some of that fabulous Italian food for Caroline. Thinking about the fire he's probably got in the fireplace, and Sinatra crooning in the background. She can imagine how Dave would wine and dine his first love. She suddenly wishes she didn't know him so well.
She's never felt so much at home as she has during her time with the BAU. It took a while to find her footing, but since then she has felt accepted and loved for who she truly is. She's shown that she deserves this job, and she's always done her best to live up to Hotch's belief in her. She doesn't just have coworkers or friends, she has a family here. She is lucky she got a second chance with them.
*
"I say take the plunge. See where it goes."
Her whiskey is gone and she's stretched out on the sofa. The lights are off. Sergio is curled against her side, his purr fading into sleep.
She started praying regularly again when she was in Paris. Not just the routine prayers murmured over a meal or at a funeral, but real prayers. Desperate prayers. And since coming back to DC, she's kept praying. Grateful prayers for her return, anguished prayers that she will be forgiven, even peaceful prayers of contentment. So she prays now, half-asleep, a little buzzed. She prays that whatever second chance Rossi needs, he'll get it. She prays that the children they saved in St. Louis will move forward with life, that the mothers who were given second chances will seize them with both hands. And she whispers just a tiny prayer for herself, that she'll let go of her crazy crush on David Rossi.
She's jolted awake, some indefinite time later, by the harsh ringing of her telephone.
She bolts upright, her heart pounding. The instinct to reach for her gun hasn't quite faded, but it's enough that she doesn't accidentally push Sergio off the sofa. She wipes a hand over her face.
The phone rings again and Emily sucks in a deep breath, then reaches to answer it. She doesn't look at the caller ID. Anyone calling in the middle of the night has a good reason.
She isn't prepared for it to be Rossi.
"I'm sorry, I woke you." He sounds shaken to his core. Emily rubs her forehead, trying to come alert.
"It doesn't matter. Dave, what's wrong?"
For a moment there's only harsh breathing on the other end of the line. All she can think is that whatever feelers Caroline was putting out, she obviously wasn't trying to get back together.
"Dave?"
He exhales. "Emily, I need your help."
*
"See where it goes."
Author:
innerslytherinRating: PG
Characters: Prentiss, Rossi
WC: ~1100
Summary: Emily wonders about second chances. SPOILERS for "From Childhood's Hour".
Notes: Dang it, this stupid episode demanded fic, and I couldn't resist. *sigh* Thank you so much to
microgirl8225 for the beta. There will be at least one more part to this."We don't always get second chances in life, Rossi. I say take the plunge. See where it goes."
The words have been eating at her for two days now. The team is back at Quantico and she knows Rossi is having dinner with Caroline tonight. Caroline, numero uno. Caroline, who is putting out feelers.
Emily doesn't have any right to be jealous. She and Rossi have always had a connection, it's true. Maybe she'd had a little bit of a crush on him back in her grad school days...and her field office days...and her early BAU days...
Okay, the man is a silver fox, and she knows it.
She also knows he was a player before the term player was even invented. Maybe it's just a matter of catching women's eyes these days, getting a few come-hither looks, maybe even a phone number or two while on book tours. But maybe that makes it worse, that a man who has played the field (and sidelines and probably even the bleachers) is still obviously hung up on his first wife.
Are you any different? Still dropped everything when John called. It's the little voice in her head, the one that spent months telling her she doesn't deserve to return to the BAU, that she's a liar and manipulator, that she'll never learn how to trust people if she can't trust her team. It's the voice she tried like hell to drown out while she was in Paris, playing online Scrabble and drinking whiskey neat. Expensive whiskey; whiskey that drowned her guilt in memories of David Rossi.
"Hey, you okay? You've been staring at those boots for ten minutes." Garcia looks pleased, probably because she's laden with three boxes of shoes that Emily would never be caught dead in.
"Yeah, I'm just really tired. I really don't need another pair of black boots." Emily makes a face, because she does need another pair, preferably with lower heels and good ankle support. But she's in no mood for shopping tonight.
Garcia gives her a sympathetic look. "You had a tough case. At least you got all the kids back safe."
Emily nods. "I think I'm just going to head home. Sorry, PG, my heart's just not in it tonight."
"I understand, Princess Prentiss. Go. Spend quality time with the handsome man in your life. And give him a few kisses from me. I miss Sergio."
*
"We don't always get second chances in life, Rossi."
They have never talked about her return from the dead. Rossi's reaction has always been more low-key than the others'. Emily doesn't know if that means he's furious with her and trying to hide it--though when has Rossi ever hidden his feelings?--or if he trusts her--or Hotch--enough that their reasons are good enough for him. Now, Emily can't help wishing she'd pushed it. Maybe she should have made time to talk with him about it. She's just been so damned grateful that someone on the team doesn't seem to hate her for what she's done.
"I've finally gone crazy, haven't I?" she asks Sergio, who ignores her and keeps purring. He's got his neck stretched flat out while she scratches his chin. One thing that always makes her feel like less of a failure is how much her cat adores her. When she got back from Paris, he greeted her with ecstatic purring and kitty kisses, and it took him at least ten minutes to remember he was pissed off at her. He's not a cat given to sulking, though, and he's been a love factory ever since. "I knew all that time alone in Paris was going to take a toll on my mental status."
She slumps back against the sofa and takes a careful sip of her whiskey. She's just torturing herself now, thinking about Dave cooking some of that fabulous Italian food for Caroline. Thinking about the fire he's probably got in the fireplace, and Sinatra crooning in the background. She can imagine how Dave would wine and dine his first love. She suddenly wishes she didn't know him so well.
She's never felt so much at home as she has during her time with the BAU. It took a while to find her footing, but since then she has felt accepted and loved for who she truly is. She's shown that she deserves this job, and she's always done her best to live up to Hotch's belief in her. She doesn't just have coworkers or friends, she has a family here. She is lucky she got a second chance with them.
*
"I say take the plunge. See where it goes."
Her whiskey is gone and she's stretched out on the sofa. The lights are off. Sergio is curled against her side, his purr fading into sleep.
She started praying regularly again when she was in Paris. Not just the routine prayers murmured over a meal or at a funeral, but real prayers. Desperate prayers. And since coming back to DC, she's kept praying. Grateful prayers for her return, anguished prayers that she will be forgiven, even peaceful prayers of contentment. So she prays now, half-asleep, a little buzzed. She prays that whatever second chance Rossi needs, he'll get it. She prays that the children they saved in St. Louis will move forward with life, that the mothers who were given second chances will seize them with both hands. And she whispers just a tiny prayer for herself, that she'll let go of her crazy crush on David Rossi.
She's jolted awake, some indefinite time later, by the harsh ringing of her telephone.
She bolts upright, her heart pounding. The instinct to reach for her gun hasn't quite faded, but it's enough that she doesn't accidentally push Sergio off the sofa. She wipes a hand over her face.
The phone rings again and Emily sucks in a deep breath, then reaches to answer it. She doesn't look at the caller ID. Anyone calling in the middle of the night has a good reason.
She isn't prepared for it to be Rossi.
"I'm sorry, I woke you." He sounds shaken to his core. Emily rubs her forehead, trying to come alert.
"It doesn't matter. Dave, what's wrong?"
For a moment there's only harsh breathing on the other end of the line. All she can think is that whatever feelers Caroline was putting out, she obviously wasn't trying to get back together.
"Dave?"
He exhales. "Emily, I need your help."
*
"See where it goes."