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geekystudmuffinTitle: Learning from the Past
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
innerslytherin and severity_softly
Pairing: Rossi/Prentiss
Rating: PG
WC: ~9,000
Summary: Dave thinks about marriage and Emily thinks about love.
Note: This is the third installment to our new series, which is an AU from the What Happens in Vegas Universe. Other installments of the Change of Plans AU can be found here.
Emily had decided not to tell the team about her and Dave right away. Dave had said that was fine, but she could see the hurt Dave was trying to hide in his eyes, until she explained the reason. This was far from a normal relationship in the way it had evolved. They were certainly comfortable together, but they hadn't really even dated, and she wanted, as long as she could have it, to at least try to have some semblance of the way a normal relationship should have been before thrusting themselves under the scrutiny of the team.
Of course Hotch knew because Dave had told him, and so did JJ, as Emily had confided in her first. It had been JJ who told Emily to take the test at Dave's house in the first place. Emily didn't think the rest of the team knew yet, however, and if they did, they were at least respecting her privacy. She supposed they understood that an inter-team relationship was a little more delicate than one with someone who wasn't part of the BAU.
Dave still occasionally sent her flowers at work, but he still left the cards unsigned, and while Emily's body was changing in tiny ways already, they did their best to attempt what would have been a normal relationship. She couldn't have been more thankful for Dave giving her that, as much as he could, and she was slowly starting to realize that she was just as much in love with him as he was with her. She suspected that the feeling had been growing for much longer than she realized, maybe even before all this happened, but she'd been too afraid to notice--first afraid to approach the idea of more than a one night stand, and then afraid of abandonment when she'd found out she was pregnant.
"You're looking pensive." Dave's arms slid around her from behind and he kissed her neck. "I was trying to figure out why I woke up alone, but clearly you've got more on your mind than snuggling in bed on a Saturday when we have absolutely nowhere to be." His voice was warm and teasing. He let one hand slip inside the robe she'd stolen, resting it on the tiny swell of her belly.
She slid her hand over his and smiled. "I had to pee, and I didn't want to wake you up," she said, which was partially the truth. She stayed in bed for a while after she was awake, watching him and wondering what to do with how she was feeling and how she should tell him. She had had to use the bathroom, but it seemed like once she was awake her mind wouldn't stop working now--they had to tell the team soon, and they'd done some house hunting, and she was in love, and everything was changing so fast. "I was just making you a pot of coffee and wondering if there's anything that I could do beyond a miracle that would make this instant decaf taste less like sludge."
He chuckled. "I have a feeling it really would take a miracle." He brushed his nose against her cheek and inhaled. "But thanks for making me coffee. Mmm, you smell good." He kissed her cheek. "I'm a lucky man."
"You say that at least once a day," she pointed out, smiling. "I really do get it."
He hummed. "I really do mean it," he countered. He tightened his arms slightly and rested his chin on her shoulder. "So what's on your mind this morning?"
"You don't believe it's coffee?" she asked, then sighed and dropped her head back against his shoulder. "Everything."
"I didn't think wondering about decaf would keep you awake," he said, and tightened his arms again. "Anything I can help with? I know this is all a lot to cope with, and you've got more of that than I do." He rubbed his hand lightly against her stomach.
"You've been helping," she said. She put her coffee on the counter and turned in his arms to kiss him.
"Mmm." He ran a hand up her back and buried it in her hair, kissing her tenderly. When their lips parted, he smiled at her. "I love you," he murmured, and kissed her again.
She closed her eyes and drew a long breath when they parted, then pressed her face to his shoulder. She told herself, like she had every time he said this since she realized it was mutual, that the moment to tell him didn't have to be perfect, but again she didn't say it. "Dave," she murmured.
"Hmm?" She felt his lips against her hair. His hand rubbed slowly over her back. She'd been able to talk to Dave about things since even before they got together, but it still surprised her somehow, the way he was so supportive, how she could lean on his strength.
"Nothing," she murmured, and tightened her arms around him. "I think you should make breakfast, and then maybe we need to figure out how to tell everyone. It's about time, I think." She lifted her head and looked at him. "Are we supposed to meet Linda to look at more houses today?"
Dave nodded. "She's got two lined up for us. If that's okay with you. She thought we'd really like these." He gave her a wry smile; Linda had thought they would 'really like' at least half of the houses they'd looked at, and though there had been one they'd wavered on, in the end they just hadn't found anything that was quite right yet. "As for telling everyone...I haven't had any good ideas. I guess we could just announce it at the next round table." She could hear the amusement in his voice.
She snorted. "Right. That's brilliant." Truthfully, she hadn't had any better ideas either, though. "There has to be something better than that."
"I could sign one of the cards," he murmured, "but even Morgan's mostly given up asking who's sending them. I guess I could deliver them in person next time." He kissed her forehead.
"That's not a bad idea, actually," she told him. It was more subtle than making an announcement, and she didn't really want to make a big deal about this. She slid her hand into his hair and kissed him slowly. "Dave."
He hummed questioningly and lifted a hand to cup her cheek as they kissed. She liked that Dave didn't feel the need to fill silences, but right now he seemed to know she had something to say. And she didn't know how to say it.
Just say it, she thought. She pulled back and looked at him, drawing a deep breath. "It's just..." she started. "Mmm." She kissed him again. He's going to be happy no matter how you tell him. She pulled away again and smiled. "I think I love you."
It took a moment for that to sink in, and then he smiled at her with such joy that it made her breath catch. He opened his mouth, then shook his head and pulled her close, kissing her hard. Then he buried his face against her hair, holding her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.
She exhaled a shaky breath and held him back. "This wasn't really how I wanted to tell you, but..." She shrugged. "I love you."
"It doesn't matter how you tell me. What matters is you telling me at all." He kissed her again, then gazed at her with eyes that were suspiciously shiny. "This makes everything easier."
She huffed a little laugh. "How?"
He cupped her cheek, smiling. "Because now I won't have to worry that maybe you'll panic and dump me." His tone was half-teasing, but she sensed he had been worried. It made sense, in a way. She'd done it before, pulled away from a man to keep from being hurt herself. Of course, that had been before she was pregnant with his baby, but still.
She gave him a weak smile and slid her arms around his shoulders. "I love you," she repeated. "And I'm so happy and terrified."
"Mmm." He squeezed her tightly. "Me too. Isn't it great?" He started laughing quietly and rocked her a little from side to side. "But just now I feel like I could do anything."
"Lucky you. I can barely control my bladder," she teased, then kissed him and headed for the bathroom. "Are you making breakfast like I asked?" she said from down the hall.
"Like you asked?" he repeated, but she could hear the amusement in his voice. "Sausage and gravy and biscuits, coming right up" Pans clattered as she shut the door. By the time she returned to the kitchen, he had sausage frying and was putting circles of dough on a cookie sheet. He had joked about his cooking skills, but she found them more than adequate, and she liked that he made an effort to do at least his fair share of the cooking.
She tightened his robe around her, watching him from the doorway. "Okay, so I didn't ask, I told you to. Or did you ignore that?" she said, grinning. "You may never get this robe back, by the way." She liked how big it was on her, how it draped over her narrow shoulders. It felt oddly safe and comforting.
"That's okay, I think you've earned a right to boss me around." He grinned at her. "And what's mine is yours, anyway." He looked adorable standing there in his pajamas, cooking her breakfast.
She couldn't help walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. He didn't stop cooking and she didn't make him, she just sort of followed him as he moved, smiling. "What's mine is yours?"
"Well, come on, we're moving in together, we're having a child together...I figure maybe we ought to learn to share." She could hear the smile in his voice. "Okay, breakfast is ready, my lady. Linda's expecting us at ten."
***
"There you two are! Oh, you are just going to love this house! Did you look around the area at all as you drove? Huge lots, plenty of room for expansion, and it's zoned so you can keep horses here if you want. Did I mention the hot tub out back?" Linda Baintree was a bubbly, enthusiastic woman who was honestly good at doing a job she enjoyed. Dave had been pleased with several of the houses she'd shown them, but there hadn't yet really been a spark for him and Emily both.
He twined his fingers with Emily's as they went up the walk to where Linda was standing. The house was large, but not ostentatious, which was Dave's first qualification. He liked nice things, but he didn't like showy. "How are you, Linda? We gonna buy a house today?"
"Well, I'm always ready to sell one," she said, winking at him. "The rest of it's up to you two." She tilted her head at Emily, grinning. "God, can you not wait to start showing? When I had my kids, I wanted to get big as a house!" She giggled and led them inside. Emily darted a look at Dave when Linda turned around. He wasn't sure Emily liked her very much, even if Emily did recognize that Linda knew what she was doing. Still, he didn't think Emily had as much tolerance for people who didn't shut up as he did.
He grinned and stole a kiss when Linda wasn't looking. She led them on a whirlwind tour of the kitchen and dining room, large den with fireplace, very comfortable master suite, and then she paused in the front room. "Now, here's the best part about this house. With the basement finished the way it is, you can have guest quarters down there, along with the entertainment room. And the fact that it has bedrooms upstairs as well as in the west wing means that you can put the kids upstairs or keep them on the same floor as you, whatever you like."
Dave glanced over at Emily. "Kids?" he mouthed, widening his eyes for a moment.
She breathed a laugh, but Linda didn't seem to notice as she walked across the room to open the back door. "Glad you're in good shape," Emily teased. "I could have triplets." She pressed her lips together to try to not laugh again, and tugged him toward the backyard. "Quadruplets, even," she whispered, then snorted.
"God have mercy," he muttered, and she laughed. He was glad she seemed amused by his horrified reaction, rather than getting upset and thinking he would bolt. There were still times that he felt pretty freaked out by the fact that his girlfriend was walking around with a person inside her, let alone the fact that he was going to be responsible for said person for the next eighteen years. God, he was going to be over seventy before his kid was college age! But somehow, when he looked at Emily and saw how happy she seemed, he couldn't bring himself to care about any of that.
She slid an arm around him as they stepped out onto the deck and listened to Linda go on about how safe the neighborhood was, and how the fenced in back yard was great for privacy. Dave couldn't help but think a little privacy with that hot tub would be very nice. Then he realized they wouldn't have time for sex in the hot tub unless they moved in well before she was due.
"Schools?" Dave prompted when Linda seemed to be winding down. Emily shot him a dirty look, but he just smiled placidly back at her. He liked this place. They hadn't seen the basement or upstairs yet, of course, but he was hoping there would be a nice big study that he and Emily could share. Or hell, the place had five bedrooms, they could have separate studies if she preferred.
Linda rattled on about the school systems and their awards and how good the sports and music programs were, then she led them back inside. Dave found a nice room in the west wing that they could set up as a study and nudged Emily to bring her attention to the fireplace. She teased him about his love of fireplaces, but he insisted he couldn't live in a place without one.
She rolled her eyes, but pressed up against his side and looked up at him. "You like this place, don't you?" she asked knowingly, her voice low enough for only him to hear.
"What do you think about it?" he murmured back. He wouldn't consider it if she didn't like it, too. He might not be able to give her everything she wanted, but it wouldn't be for lack of trying.
"I asked first," she said, but she was smiling again. "Five bedrooms is a bit much, unless we actually do have twins, but I like it."
He shrugged. "Guest room, and we turn this one into a study, and then us and the baby." He kissed her softly.
She hummed a little noise and kissed him again, and then Linda discreetly slipped out of the room. Emily started laughing as soon as it happened, but then just deepened the kiss. "You do like it," she pressed when they broke apart.
"I do," he admitted, "but only if you like it." He slid his arms around her. "We haven't even looked upstairs yet. Do we need separate studies, or do you think you can put up with sharing a room with me?" He grinned; he liked the idea of them working quietly together, but he also had an ulterior motive. He had a feeling she was secretly turned on by his reading glasses, because every time she came over and found him reading she ended up practically climbing on him as they kissed. He certainly wasn't going to complain. "I'll completely understand if you say no."
"No, I like to watch you read," she murmured, smiling at him. She brushed a hand over his cheek. "I like it. The schools in the area are good, and I love the backyard. And you have a fireplace."
"Do you want to look at the other house Linda has for us today?" he asked. He wrapped his arms around her and ducked his head to kiss her neck. This really wasn't the best place to get turned on, but it was exciting, starting a new life together like this. He made himself pull back and rest his cheek against her hair.
She let out a little disappointed noise, but she didn't try anything more. "I think we probably should look, don't you?"
"You don't love the house," Dave surmised. "You know, I don't want you to settle on a house just because I like it." He brushed her hair back from her face and smiled at her. "We'll find one we both love."
She tilted her head at him. "It's a house, Dave. It serves a purpose, and this one would serve that purpose perfectly," she said. He wasn't really sure she was really being all that practical so much as she was probably just getting tired of looking.
"I want it to make you happy," he said, stroking his thumb across her cheek. "I want you to look forward to coming home. I want it to have the perfect spot for your pictures of Mexico and Quebec." He gave her a lopsided smile and whispered, "I want to give you so much."
She smiled and leaned up to kiss him again, slowly, humming a happy noise against his lips. Then she pulled back and breathed, "God..." She grinned suddenly. "How did I manage to get knocked up by such a romantic?"
He laughed. "Just lucky, I guess." He grinned down at her and kissed her again. "Okay, let's go tell Linda we want to look at the other house."
***
Dave had been through this whole marriage thing before, but he'd never been quite this nervous about actually selecting an engagement ring. Of course, part of the reason for his nerves was that with his first two wives, they'd gone shopping for rings together. With his third wife...well, that was better forgotten, anyway.
He'd been to two stores already, including the jewelry store he used for the first three wives, and he hadn't found anything that was quite right. Oh, there were plenty of diamonds, but he wanted something that wouldn't get in the way of flashing her badge, but something that would still make her feel special. Finally, after the owner of the third jewelry store was probably ready to tear her hair out, Dave realized he was just putting off making a choice because he was nervous as hell about this.
"I'm surprising her with this," he confessed. "I'm afraid she'll try to put me off if I don't have a ring in hand when I ask her."
The woman raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. Dave laughed.
"Yeah, I know, sounds crazy. But we're definitely together for good. She's pregnant. I have no idea why I'm telling you all of this. You just want me to pick a damn ring."
She laughed then. "You think she'll try to wait until after the baby's born?"
"Exactly. And I don't think we should. For one thing, my job isn't exactly the safest, and if something happens to me, I want to make sure she's got the full benefits of a spouse." He picked up one of the rings again and inspected it, then grinned. "Plus, you know, I just want to marry her."
"You know, you can exchange it if she doesn't like it."
He sighed. "I like the three-stone kind. But I think the single stone with the channel set diamonds to either side are better for her, considering her work. Let's go with this one. And the matching wedding ring. Just in case she says she wants to run off to Vegas with me tomorrow."
It made the woman laugh again, and he felt more relaxed. He didn't know why this had made him so nervous. Emily would say yes. He was pretty sure.
He hoped.
Then there was the problem of finding the right time to ask her. Dave's first 'perfect opportunity' had been interrupted by a case, and they'd spent a week chasing a serial rapist in Shreveport. When they got back they were both exhausted and just went to bed. The next day was Sunday, and Dave decided maybe a nice relaxed lunch date would be a good time to propose.
She'd been getting up way too early lately, and Dave had been worried that she was stressing herself out over everything that was happening lately. When she just muttered something unintelligible at him this morning and rolled over, he couldn't help but grin and get out of bed without her. At least her body knew when to make her rest, even if she wasn't enforcing it herself.
Of course, he didn't have anything to do but worry once he was up without her to occupy him. He wound up making coffee and settling in the den with a book. When he heard her finally rise, his heart jumped into his throat. He rolled his eyes at himself mentally... then a moment later he heard her get sick in the bathroom down the hall.
He frowned and set his book aside and went to start water boiling for the ginger tea she'd gotten from JJ, who said it helped. Then he went down to the bathroom to rub her shoulders.
She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub with her head in her hands when he came in. "I hate you so much," she groaned, but reached a hand out to touch his leg. "I need to go home today sometime."
"I know, it's all my fault," Dave said, which he'd decided early on was a safe response. "This'll be easier when we're living together." He stroked her hair gently.
"We practically are," she said, and they were. It really hadn't been much of an adjustment, either. They seemed to work just as well together personally as they did professionally. "Would you mind making me some tea?" she asked, leaning over to rest her head against his thigh.
"I started the water before coming in here," he said, smiling. "God, I love you so much." It was probably stupid, but seeing her like this, dealing with the morning sickness from their baby and letting him take care of her, just made his chest feel too tight.
She hummed a satisfied noise and looked up at him, smiling faintly. "I'd kiss you, but I think I should brush my teeth first," she said, then stood and leaned over the sink. "Thank you."
"Sure." He stroked a hand down her back. "Better go check the water. Be right back." He got the tea brewing, then had a few more gulps of coffee while he waited to pour her a cup. He didn't think it was fair to subject her to the smell of coffee when she had to drink the ginger tea. He'd tried it and found it horrid, though Emily said it did help.
When he took the tea back to the bathroom she'd apparently washed her face and brushed her teeth, because she wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed him. "Hi," he murmured. "I have your tea."
"I see," she murmured, and kissed him again, tasting of mint. God, she was gorgeous in the mornings, wearing his robe that was at least four sizes too big on her and her face paler than normal without make up. He didn't care; it was wonderful.
"I'm starting to wonder if our entire relationship can be defined by vomit," she told him.
He laughed. "You know, it's entirely possible I actually fell in love with you while cleaning up that bathroom in Vegas." He kissed her again, more slowly.
"Ugh," she groaned. "You have a warped sense of romance, Dave. You could have just told me it was my eyes or something. My smile, maybe? Anything but my puke." She made a face, and he laughed again.
"Well, it was your eyes I noticed first," he said, nuzzling her cheek. "And your smile set my heart racing the first time I saw it. And seeing you draw your gun and clear a house makes me a little light-headed with wanting you. But I confess, I think it was when you let me take care of you that I actually fell in love."
He felt her draw a deep breath, then she hummed a happy noise on the exhale. "I love you," she told him. "I hope you don't get sick of taking care of me."
"I'd like to do it forever, actually," he murmured, closing his eyes and tightening his arms around her. Then he kissed her forehead and pulled away. "Your tea will get cold."
"Okay," she said, and followed him out of the bathroom. "And you're saying that now, but a year from now, you'll just want a nap," she added, swatting his ass as she walked into the kitchen ahead of him.
Dave blinked after her for a moment, incredibly turned on by that, then bounded after her, grabbing her gently from behind. "Be careful what you start, woman," he growled in her ear. "You may not be up for it this early in the morning." He nipped gently at her earlobe.
She gasped softly, then slid her arms over his and leaned into his embrace. "Well, it wasn't what I had in mind, but I'm certainly up for it." He could hear the smile in her voice.
He ran one hand down to steal beneath the robe, caressing soft skin. "I'm very glad to hear that." Grinning, he pulled her back to the bedroom.
When they were finally showered and dressed and Emily had actually expressed some interest in food, as well as reminding him that she needed to run back to her house, Dave suggested they go out for brunch and then stop in Georgetown for her to get her things.
The restaurant was nice, but casual, and it was just warm enough to sit outside in the ivy lined courtyard. The morning had been so comfortable that he hadn't even worried much about the ring until they sat. They ordered their drinks and she slid a hand over his and smiled.
Dave squeezed her hand gently, wondering if it would be better to get it out of the way early so his nerves wouldn't ruin his appetite, or if he should wait until they'd eaten. He smiled at her and brushed his thumb over her fingers, imagining his ring there. No, he couldn't wait any longer. He'd have to ask now.
He kept hold of her hand and slid his free hand into his jacket pocket. "I told you earlier that I want to take care of you forever," he murmured, looking at her seriously. "I meant that. I'd like you to take care of me forever, too." He pulled the box out of his pocket and slid it onto the table between them. "Marry me, Emily."
She sucked in a breath and stared at the box, obviously surprised and looking a little overwhelmed. For a moment he wasn't sure how she felt about it, but them her lips curled just slightly and she looked up at him. "Dave... we..." She closed her hand over his on the box, and when she spoke, she sounded as overwhelmed as she looked. "We don't have to do this now. Just because I'm pregnant-- I mean, we don't have to do it at all just for that reason--"
He shook his head, glad she was smiling, at least. "This isn't because you're pregnant, it's because I love you. And when else are we going to do it? You're telling me you'll feel more like planning a wedding when we have a two-year-old running around the house? Anyway, this could solve the problem of how to tell the team about us." He grinned and lifted their joined hands to kiss hers. "We just invite them to our wedding."
She laughed shakily, and her eyes were glistening. "This isn't... at all like this is supposed to work," she managed, but she was still smiling. "God, Dave..." Their waiter walked up, saw the box and the emotional woman at the table, and turned right back around without saying a word. Emily laughed louder, still sounding like she hadn't quite gone back to normal yet, and a tear spilled down her cheek. "This is all happening so fast. I... I feel... God," she finished, and finally picked up the box.
Dave's grin widened, and he scooted his chair closer to hers. "Traditional is boring," he murmured, lifting his thumb to brush away her tear. "I'm so excited and happy and proud to be with you, Em. I want everyone to know that we belong to each other. Please say yes."
"Yes," she said, her smile widening. "Yes," she said again, sounding more certain. She hadn't even opened the box, but she leaned in and kissed him, and when the fingers of her free hand slid into his hair.
Dave let out a loud noise of relief and wrapped his arms around her, feeling his own eyes start stinging. "Thank you," he murmured. "God, you've made me so happy." He kissed her again.
She let out a breath when they broke apart, and she was crying again. "I'm buying a house, getting married and having a baby over the next seven months, and three months ago I was single," she said. "Fuck." She wiped her face and pulled open the box with trembling hands, and he could tell by her expression as soon as she saw the ring that he had made a good choice. "Oh Dave, it's beautiful."
Thank God. "Well, I'm not getting any younger," he joked. "We don't have any time to waste." He took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. "Let's see how it fits."
"God," she breathed, staring at it. It was maybe a little loose, but it almost fit. "Good guess," she said, and held it up in the light. "My mother is going to be so pissed off," she said, but she was practically beaming now. "God Dave." She looked back and kissed him again, seemingly unconcerned that they were drawing a little bit of attention now.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her again. "I didn't do it for that reason, but if you want, we could elope to Vegas or something and really piss her off." He squeezed her gently to show he was partly joking. He wouldn't care if she wanted to elope to Vegas, but his main goal was to give Emily whatever sort of wedding she wanted. Hell, he was an old hand at weddings, and he knew the men mostly ended up saying "yes" a lot and showing up in a tux on the big day. She could have whatever she wanted.
"Mmm, no, she needs to sit through it," Emily said, then shook her head and pulled back, cupping Dave's face in her hands. She shook her head again, seeming to not know what to say, and then expelled a breath. "I'm not this impulsive," she said finally.
He smiled at her and kissed her softly, then loosened his arms. He took her hand, though, playing with the ring on her finger. "This isn't impulsive," he said quietly. "This is inevitable." He caught her gaze. "I want you. I want our baby. I will never leave you. I want to marry you. And I want to do it before our baby is born, because otherwise we might put it off for years." He didn't mention his more practical reasons for wanting to marry her. Those he would save for her mother, if the Ambassador protested.
He saw her swallow, and then she nodded slowly. "You're right," she murmured. "But none of that makes it any less impulsive," she added and laughed softly. He could practically see her getting overwhelmed again, but she didn't seem to be panicking.
"Let's eat," he suggested. "We don't have to make all the decisions today." He'd already taken care of his will to see her and their baby well provided for if something happened between now and a wedding. He didn't think she needed to hear all of that right now, though. He gestured to the waiter that it was safe now.
She breathed a little noise that was sort of a laugh, then looked up at the waiter. "Hi. I have no idea what I want," she said, and looked at Dave. "You order while I decide."
Dave ordered a sandwich and, after a moment's thought, a salad. Maybe he ought to watch his health more now that he was going to be a husband and a father. God, she was right, this was all happening very quickly, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He'd married his third wife in about the same time-frame, but this felt so different from that. This felt right.
"God," she said again once the waiter walked away. She was looking at her ring again. That was definitely the right reaction. "I need to call JJ." She glanced at him. "Does Hotch know?"
"He knows I wanted to ask you," Dave said. He took a sip of his drink, then snorted. "I didn't tell him when. His main advice was to make sure you knew I loved you before I asked."
She laughed, then just looked at her ring again. "Oh my God."
He laughed. "You honestly weren't expecting this?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"No," she said emphatically, and looked at him. "I thought we were doing this whole... 'modern family' thing. You know, and maybe when he's six we'd consider it and he could be our ring bearer." She laughed again. "Oh my God."
"Well, if that's what you wanted," he said, but stopped, grinning, when she glared at him. There wasn't any heat to it at all. "I'm kind of an old-fashioned guy, remember. I believe in honoring and respecting and cherishing and all that." He knew how that sounded, coming from a man who had three ex-wives, but he really did believe in marriage. He just hadn't been too sure marriage believed in him. But this was going to be different.
"Mmm," she hummed, "but you never mentioned it. None of this was supposed to even be happening three months ago, so, you know, old-fashioned is already so far out the window, it's not funny."
He shrugged. "Well, I want to do this right. I want to give you so much, Emily." He curled his fingers around hers. "I don't ever want you to doubt that you are the most important priority in my life now."
She leaned over and kissed him. "Second most important," she told him.
He smiled. "Most important until our baby's born," he amended. "Right now you're still one person." He pulled her back for another kiss, then hoped they weren't annoying the other people.
Of course, that was when the waiter showed up with a bottle of champagne. "Compliments of the manager, to congratulate you both," he explained, pouring them each a glass.
Emily started to protest, but then just thanked him as he walked away, then she glanced at Dave and shrugged. "I suppose if there's an occasion to take advantage of the occasional glass rule, it's now." She kissed him softly. "Thank you," she murmured, and clinked their glasses together.
"To my beautiful wife-to-be," Dave said, watching her. She was so beautiful, and it was the best feeling in the world to know that she'd agreed to marry him.
She took a small sip and put her glass down, then shook her head. "Oh God... there's so much to do."
Dave grinned, feeling incredibly happy and more relaxed now that she'd said yes. "Just start with the basic questions. Big or small? Church or non-church?" He took another sip of his champagne. "And get JJ to help you, since she's probably your first choice for maid of honor, and she's a whiz at organizing things."
"Not big," she said, shaking her head, then she bit her lip. A moment later, she gave him a questioning look. "Would you want a church wedding?"
"I don't care either way," he said. "I want the wedding to be whatever you want. If you want to have it in a park, at the house, in a church, what matters to me is that you're marrying me."
She sighed. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"
Dave shrugged. "I'm more than willing to help, but honestly, I've had two church weddings and a civil ceremony, and I just...don't care either way. I just want you to be my wife."
Her expression changed then, and Dave wasn't exactly sure why, but after a moment, she just nodded. "Okay."
He knew enough about women to know that 'okay' didn't always mean 'okay'. He blinked at her for a minute, then said, "Look, I love the idea of showing you off in front of a crowd of family and friends. So I want to have the people there that are important to us. My family, the team, your family, your other friends from the Bureau, a few of my old friends..." He wondered if she would invite that Cooley fellow who Dave was certain had been the one who'd abandoned her in Italy. "And actually, I suppose I should point out that if you want the marriage to be recognized by the Catholic church, I think we have to be married in a church. But we could say our vows in front of Jimmy, JJ, and Hotch, and then have a civil ceremony that we invite everyone to." He stopped talking, wondering if that was the sort of input she'd been looking for.
"Unless you had all three marriages annulled, it won't be recognized anyway," she pointed out, and now she was looking thoughtful. Dave wasn't sure it was a good thing anymore. After a moment, though, she smiled and looked at him. "We can worry about all this later; let's just eat."
***
I'm insane, Emily thought, staring at the diamond that was sparkling on her finger. It's the only explanation.
Dave's proposal had been perfect, and he'd been so earnest and actually anxious...it had made her feel like her heart might burst from happiness. That had lasted right up until he'd mentioned his 'two church weddings and a civil ceremony'...at which point it had really hit her that she was going to be his fourth wife. Which also left her open to becoming his fourth ex-wife.
The rest of their lunch had been more subdued, though Dave's excitement had been palpable. Still, she'd decided to have him take her back to his house so she could get her car, instead of just stopping by her place on the way back. He hadn't asked why, and she hadn't offered, but she desperately needed some time to herself. She needed to take a few steps back and several deep breaths and figure out if she was letting herself get carried away.
That didn't exactly explain why, instead of heading for her brownstone when she left Dave's house, she somehow ended up at JJ's. She sat in the car for a long while, wondering what she was going to say. This really should have been the happiest day of her life, but somehow she wasn't sure she and JJ were going to be jumping up and down in excitement once Emily came inside.
Still, she'd come here for a reason, even if she hadn't realized she was doing it, so she walked up to the door and knocked. When it swung open, JJ smiled, and Emily blurted, "I just agreed to marry David Rossi, and it might be the stupidest decision ever." JJ's smile slid sideways.
"Wait, you what?" JJ glanced over her shoulder and held the door open wider. "Come inside, Em. Henry's just gone down for his nap." She shook her head, giving Emily a wry smile. "Why do you keep showing up on my doorstep and dropping bombs on me like this?"
Emily made a face and pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd come here when she thought she might be pregnant too. "I'm sorry," she whined. "You'd be melodramatic too if you lived with him." She heard JJ suck in a breath, and then her hand was being pulled away from her face for JJ to inspect the ring.
"God, it's gorgeous," JJ said, shaking her head. "One thing I can't fault the man for, he has fantastic taste." She hugged Emily and pulled her over to the couch. "Okay, so tell me."
"It was... perfect, Jayj. Just... perfect." She frowned and slumped against the cushions. "He asked, and I said yes, and he was just... it was perfect."
JJ tilted her head. "I sense a 'but' here. What happened? Come on, the whole story, Em."
Emily sighed. "Oh, there's a 'but'," she said. "I asked him if he wanted a church wedding," she said, and kept to herself that she sort of did, and that she'd been asking because she wanted to know how he felt about his bride walking down the aisle heavily pregnant. She didn't suppose that mattered now anyway. She shook her head slowly and gave JJ a sad sort of smile. "He said it didn't matter to him because he'd already had two church weddings and a civil ceremony."
"Oh, God," JJ said, covering her face for a moment. "I thought the man was smarter than that." She shook her head. "But he's not always good at expressing his feelings, Em. You've seen the way he's sort of...well, blundered with some of the victims we've dealt with."
"I'm not a victim, Jayj. He knows me. This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, right? And here he comes reminding me that he's given that happy day to three women before me. Three," she said. "I'm just... God, I'll be wife number four." She slumped and buried her face in her hands.
JJ put her arms around Emily and hugged her. "Somehow I don't think that's how Dave meant that," she said, "even if he is an idiot." Emily felt JJ shift, and then footsteps suddenly made Emily realize that they weren't alone. She didn't lift her head. There was only one person it could be, and suddenly she was too mortified to look her boss in the face. A moment later Hotch sat down on her other side and JJ pulled away. After a hesitation, Hotch's hand touched her shoulder.
"Emily, I'd like to help," he said quietly.
"Oh my God," she muttered. "JJ, I'm going to kill you."
He sighed and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry, maybe it's none of my business, but I was putting Henry down and..." He cleared his throat. "Emily, I've known Dave for about fifteen years. I think I can help, if you'll...just hear me out."
She dropped her hands from her face, and JJ took one of them, then she pressed her lips together and looked at Hotch, frowning. God, this was weird. Hotch was the last person in the world she would have expected to get unsolicited relationship advice from... but she supposed if JJ wasn't an option, she might have eventually hunted Hotch down for this as Dave's oldest friend. "Don't tell him I was here about this," she told him.
"I won't lie to him if he asks me, but I don't expect him to ask me," Hotch said. JJ rubbed Emily's shoulder comfortingly and then left. Emily would have protested, but she heard teacups clink in the kitchen and decided JJ would probably be right back.
Hotch sighed. "First of all...Do you know about Dave's ex-wives and the way the divorces happened? He's not secretive about them, but I can't see him volunteering the information to you. He might have thought it would be a slap in the face to you."
She stared at him for a moment, trying to control her reaction to that. She trusted Hotch completely, but he was her boss and Dave's best friend, regardless. Still... she couldn't help but snort. "Because reminding me of them right after proposing to me was so tactful."
Hotch sighed. "Dave is brilliant when it comes to handling criminals. He's...not so brilliant when it comes to women." He cleared his throat. "I don't consider this breaking a confidence, you understand, because Dave has invited you to share his life. And I've seen him when he's been married, Emily. He doesn't hold himself back." He pressed his lips together, then looked down. "Dave married his first wife as soon as she graduated from high school; he was a year older. Kay wanted children, and Dave didn't have a problem with that. But they couldn't have children, for whatever reason. I know it caused her a lot of grief, and I don't know that he necessarily responded properly to it. But after twelve years of marriage, she left him for her tennis instructor. Dave wasn't surprised, but he was heart-broken." He glanced over at Emily, perhaps to judge her reaction so far.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then wasn't sure what and just shook her head. It felt weird hearing all this from Hotch. "You... don't have to tell me all of this."
His lips pulled to one side, but then he shook his head. "I think you need to hear it. And unless you want to go and ask Dave about it..." He paused, but she didn't know what she wanted to do. After a moment, he continued. "His second wife was Rita, and she was a very nice woman who was very safe. She was not as attractive or vivacious as Kay, and she had never been married before. Children weren't an issue with them. But the problem Rita had was that Dave's career with the Bureau was at its height. He and Gideon and I were practically never in the same state, and Dave and I shared a desk with another agent in that bunker we used to work in. I was new to the team during the...oh, second or third year of their marriage, and that was when things started falling apart. She didn't like the hours he spent away, and after he spent a couple weeks in a hospital in Omaha after nearly being killed when his vehicle rolled during a chase..." He trailed off and shook his head.
Emily watched him, her lips parting. God, she'd hated to watch Hotch's career end his marriage, and it was just as bad imagining Dave's. Everyone on the team gave their all to the job, and in a sense, it was probably easier on Emily and Dave that they'd fallen in love with another team member, fraternization rules aside.
She sucked in a breath and glanced towards the kitchen, thinking JJ was taking her time on purpose, then looked back at Hotch.
"Debbie was a mistake." Hotch huffed a rueful laugh. "Even Dave was quick to see that. She was a police detective, a solid one, and Dave consulted on one of her cases. This was shortly after he'd left the BAU to write and lecture full-time. He was still guest-lecturing at the Academy, of course, and he made a lot more as a consultant than...well, you know all that. Debbie was a fan who thought she could use Dave's status to get herself a Bureau job. She snowed him. Completely. They were married and divorced in less than two years. And honestly, I thought he was done. He got so incredibly drunk the night his divorce was finalized..." Hotch seemed to realize he was creeping into reminiscence and caught himself. "Anyway, he said he was done with marriage."
Hotch glanced over at Emily. "That was over ten years ago. "And he's dated a few people since then, but it was never more than casual dating. The rumors and stories all date back to the times between marriages, when he frankly did take a little bit of advantage of his freedom and status to date a lot. But after Debbie... Well, you can see how embarrassing it would be for a master profiler to find himself completely taken in by someone. He was protecting himself. Until he met you."
She huffed a little laugh. "Until I got pregnant and threw a wrench in it all," she muttered, though she had to admit she felt a little better. She also felt awful about feeling better at Dave's expense. God, she still didn't know how she felt.
"No," Hotch said quietly, and surprised her by putting an arm around her shoulders and hugging her briefly. "Emily, Dave's been in love with you for a lot longer than you've been pregnant. Your getting pregnant gave him a good reason to do what he already wanted to do...and maybe didn't think he deserved." JJ came back then, smiling and setting cups of tea in front of both of them, then glancing at Emily in a silent question.
Emily reached up and tugged JJ down to the couch, squeezing her hand and scrubbing her free hand over her face. "God, he is such an idiot," she muttered after a moment.
"I've mostly given up telling him that," Hotch said wryly. "But if it helps, I've never seen him this happy. And I've almost never seen him this determined." He smiled faintly. "And somehow I think comparing his determination to make this marriage work and his determination to catch the Green River Killer would get me smacked, so I'm not going to do it."
She blinked at him for a moment, and then started laughing. "That's probably smart," she said, then tilted her head at him. "You know you've just condemned yourself to this from now on, right?"
Hotch's smile was genuine when he looked back at her. "It's completely worth it to have my family happy."
She grinned back at him. "Thanks," she said, and JJ wrapped her arms around her and pulled her against her chest. Emily sighed, relaxing back, and looked down at her ring. "God, this is all happening too fast."
"You know, if you want to wait, I'm sure Dave would understand," Hotch said, but JJ was shaking her head.
"No. Get married before your baby's born, or you'll never find time to do it. Before you know it, your kid'll be ten and asking why you two never got married." JJ squeezed Emily slightly. "Come on, have a little faith in me. I can pull this thing together so your only problem is picking out a dress."
Emily laughed. "Okay, first of all, you have a newborn of your own, so I have more time to plan than you do right now, and secondly, my only problem is picking a dress? Because that's going to be so easy, finding a dress that I love that'll fit me when I'm eight months."
JJ shrugged. "There are maternity wedding dresses. You can even get eco-friendly, silk, maternity wedding dresses." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, my mom felt the need to tell me it wasn't too late to marry Will at least every other week."
Hotch sipped his tea, then asked, almost casually, "Do you want a church wedding?"
Emily groaned, and JJ just laughed. "I did. I don't know. Doesn't matter. He's been divorced three times; it wouldn't be official anyway. Not to mention, he's already had two church weddings, so I might as well do something different." She snorted. The more she thought about it, though, letting go of the idea of a church wedding wasn't as hard as it should have been. She was starting to wonder if maybe she just needed to know that Dave would stand by her like that, like Matthew had so long ago.
"Ah." Hotch glanced at JJ, then smiled at Emily. "I can see this is where I've become superfluous to the conversation, so I'll make myself scarce now." He squeezed Emily's shoulder gently, then stood.
"Thanks, Hotch," she said, watching him for a moment. "Oh, one more thing. How crazy were Dave's first two wives when the divorces happened?" She grinned. "Do I need to go ahead and have myself fitted for a straight jacket now, or do I have time?"
Hotch laughed quietly and shook his head. "I'll keep my tailor on call," he told her, and she laughed.
He turned to go and she reached up and touched his arm. "Thanks," she said more sincerely, holding his gaze.
"You're very welcome," he replied, smiling faintly. He went into the kitchen, his fingers brushing JJ's arm in a subtle caress as he passed her.
JJ drew her legs up and turned to face Emily. "Feel a little less crazy for wanting to marry Dave now?" she asked.
"Just slightly," Emily said, but she couldn't help grinning anyway. "I feel better about marrying him, not so much the buying a house, getting married and having a kid all in about seven months time. I haven't even told my mother yet, Jayj."
JJ laughed sympathetically. "Yeah, have fun with that one. Are you going to take him with you when you do?"
"God, I don't know," Emily said. "Maybe I'll let him decide."
"So tell me about the good parts of the proposal," JJ prompted, tactfully changing the subject. She reached out and took Emily's hand, pulling it up to inspect the ring again. "I want to hear everything. And then we can start talking about the wedding."
Authors:
innerslytherin and severity_softlyPairing: Rossi/Prentiss
Rating: PG
WC: ~9,000
Summary: Dave thinks about marriage and Emily thinks about love.
Note: This is the third installment to our new series, which is an AU from the What Happens in Vegas Universe. Other installments of the Change of Plans AU can be found here.
Emily had decided not to tell the team about her and Dave right away. Dave had said that was fine, but she could see the hurt Dave was trying to hide in his eyes, until she explained the reason. This was far from a normal relationship in the way it had evolved. They were certainly comfortable together, but they hadn't really even dated, and she wanted, as long as she could have it, to at least try to have some semblance of the way a normal relationship should have been before thrusting themselves under the scrutiny of the team.
Of course Hotch knew because Dave had told him, and so did JJ, as Emily had confided in her first. It had been JJ who told Emily to take the test at Dave's house in the first place. Emily didn't think the rest of the team knew yet, however, and if they did, they were at least respecting her privacy. She supposed they understood that an inter-team relationship was a little more delicate than one with someone who wasn't part of the BAU.
Dave still occasionally sent her flowers at work, but he still left the cards unsigned, and while Emily's body was changing in tiny ways already, they did their best to attempt what would have been a normal relationship. She couldn't have been more thankful for Dave giving her that, as much as he could, and she was slowly starting to realize that she was just as much in love with him as he was with her. She suspected that the feeling had been growing for much longer than she realized, maybe even before all this happened, but she'd been too afraid to notice--first afraid to approach the idea of more than a one night stand, and then afraid of abandonment when she'd found out she was pregnant.
"You're looking pensive." Dave's arms slid around her from behind and he kissed her neck. "I was trying to figure out why I woke up alone, but clearly you've got more on your mind than snuggling in bed on a Saturday when we have absolutely nowhere to be." His voice was warm and teasing. He let one hand slip inside the robe she'd stolen, resting it on the tiny swell of her belly.
She slid her hand over his and smiled. "I had to pee, and I didn't want to wake you up," she said, which was partially the truth. She stayed in bed for a while after she was awake, watching him and wondering what to do with how she was feeling and how she should tell him. She had had to use the bathroom, but it seemed like once she was awake her mind wouldn't stop working now--they had to tell the team soon, and they'd done some house hunting, and she was in love, and everything was changing so fast. "I was just making you a pot of coffee and wondering if there's anything that I could do beyond a miracle that would make this instant decaf taste less like sludge."
He chuckled. "I have a feeling it really would take a miracle." He brushed his nose against her cheek and inhaled. "But thanks for making me coffee. Mmm, you smell good." He kissed her cheek. "I'm a lucky man."
"You say that at least once a day," she pointed out, smiling. "I really do get it."
He hummed. "I really do mean it," he countered. He tightened his arms slightly and rested his chin on her shoulder. "So what's on your mind this morning?"
"You don't believe it's coffee?" she asked, then sighed and dropped her head back against his shoulder. "Everything."
"I didn't think wondering about decaf would keep you awake," he said, and tightened his arms again. "Anything I can help with? I know this is all a lot to cope with, and you've got more of that than I do." He rubbed his hand lightly against her stomach.
"You've been helping," she said. She put her coffee on the counter and turned in his arms to kiss him.
"Mmm." He ran a hand up her back and buried it in her hair, kissing her tenderly. When their lips parted, he smiled at her. "I love you," he murmured, and kissed her again.
She closed her eyes and drew a long breath when they parted, then pressed her face to his shoulder. She told herself, like she had every time he said this since she realized it was mutual, that the moment to tell him didn't have to be perfect, but again she didn't say it. "Dave," she murmured.
"Hmm?" She felt his lips against her hair. His hand rubbed slowly over her back. She'd been able to talk to Dave about things since even before they got together, but it still surprised her somehow, the way he was so supportive, how she could lean on his strength.
"Nothing," she murmured, and tightened her arms around him. "I think you should make breakfast, and then maybe we need to figure out how to tell everyone. It's about time, I think." She lifted her head and looked at him. "Are we supposed to meet Linda to look at more houses today?"
Dave nodded. "She's got two lined up for us. If that's okay with you. She thought we'd really like these." He gave her a wry smile; Linda had thought they would 'really like' at least half of the houses they'd looked at, and though there had been one they'd wavered on, in the end they just hadn't found anything that was quite right yet. "As for telling everyone...I haven't had any good ideas. I guess we could just announce it at the next round table." She could hear the amusement in his voice.
She snorted. "Right. That's brilliant." Truthfully, she hadn't had any better ideas either, though. "There has to be something better than that."
"I could sign one of the cards," he murmured, "but even Morgan's mostly given up asking who's sending them. I guess I could deliver them in person next time." He kissed her forehead.
"That's not a bad idea, actually," she told him. It was more subtle than making an announcement, and she didn't really want to make a big deal about this. She slid her hand into his hair and kissed him slowly. "Dave."
He hummed questioningly and lifted a hand to cup her cheek as they kissed. She liked that Dave didn't feel the need to fill silences, but right now he seemed to know she had something to say. And she didn't know how to say it.
Just say it, she thought. She pulled back and looked at him, drawing a deep breath. "It's just..." she started. "Mmm." She kissed him again. He's going to be happy no matter how you tell him. She pulled away again and smiled. "I think I love you."
It took a moment for that to sink in, and then he smiled at her with such joy that it made her breath catch. He opened his mouth, then shook his head and pulled her close, kissing her hard. Then he buried his face against her hair, holding her tightly. "Thank you," he whispered.
She exhaled a shaky breath and held him back. "This wasn't really how I wanted to tell you, but..." She shrugged. "I love you."
"It doesn't matter how you tell me. What matters is you telling me at all." He kissed her again, then gazed at her with eyes that were suspiciously shiny. "This makes everything easier."
She huffed a little laugh. "How?"
He cupped her cheek, smiling. "Because now I won't have to worry that maybe you'll panic and dump me." His tone was half-teasing, but she sensed he had been worried. It made sense, in a way. She'd done it before, pulled away from a man to keep from being hurt herself. Of course, that had been before she was pregnant with his baby, but still.
She gave him a weak smile and slid her arms around his shoulders. "I love you," she repeated. "And I'm so happy and terrified."
"Mmm." He squeezed her tightly. "Me too. Isn't it great?" He started laughing quietly and rocked her a little from side to side. "But just now I feel like I could do anything."
"Lucky you. I can barely control my bladder," she teased, then kissed him and headed for the bathroom. "Are you making breakfast like I asked?" she said from down the hall.
"Like you asked?" he repeated, but she could hear the amusement in his voice. "Sausage and gravy and biscuits, coming right up" Pans clattered as she shut the door. By the time she returned to the kitchen, he had sausage frying and was putting circles of dough on a cookie sheet. He had joked about his cooking skills, but she found them more than adequate, and she liked that he made an effort to do at least his fair share of the cooking.
She tightened his robe around her, watching him from the doorway. "Okay, so I didn't ask, I told you to. Or did you ignore that?" she said, grinning. "You may never get this robe back, by the way." She liked how big it was on her, how it draped over her narrow shoulders. It felt oddly safe and comforting.
"That's okay, I think you've earned a right to boss me around." He grinned at her. "And what's mine is yours, anyway." He looked adorable standing there in his pajamas, cooking her breakfast.
She couldn't help walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. He didn't stop cooking and she didn't make him, she just sort of followed him as he moved, smiling. "What's mine is yours?"
"Well, come on, we're moving in together, we're having a child together...I figure maybe we ought to learn to share." She could hear the smile in his voice. "Okay, breakfast is ready, my lady. Linda's expecting us at ten."
***
"There you two are! Oh, you are just going to love this house! Did you look around the area at all as you drove? Huge lots, plenty of room for expansion, and it's zoned so you can keep horses here if you want. Did I mention the hot tub out back?" Linda Baintree was a bubbly, enthusiastic woman who was honestly good at doing a job she enjoyed. Dave had been pleased with several of the houses she'd shown them, but there hadn't yet really been a spark for him and Emily both.
He twined his fingers with Emily's as they went up the walk to where Linda was standing. The house was large, but not ostentatious, which was Dave's first qualification. He liked nice things, but he didn't like showy. "How are you, Linda? We gonna buy a house today?"
"Well, I'm always ready to sell one," she said, winking at him. "The rest of it's up to you two." She tilted her head at Emily, grinning. "God, can you not wait to start showing? When I had my kids, I wanted to get big as a house!" She giggled and led them inside. Emily darted a look at Dave when Linda turned around. He wasn't sure Emily liked her very much, even if Emily did recognize that Linda knew what she was doing. Still, he didn't think Emily had as much tolerance for people who didn't shut up as he did.
He grinned and stole a kiss when Linda wasn't looking. She led them on a whirlwind tour of the kitchen and dining room, large den with fireplace, very comfortable master suite, and then she paused in the front room. "Now, here's the best part about this house. With the basement finished the way it is, you can have guest quarters down there, along with the entertainment room. And the fact that it has bedrooms upstairs as well as in the west wing means that you can put the kids upstairs or keep them on the same floor as you, whatever you like."
Dave glanced over at Emily. "Kids?" he mouthed, widening his eyes for a moment.
She breathed a laugh, but Linda didn't seem to notice as she walked across the room to open the back door. "Glad you're in good shape," Emily teased. "I could have triplets." She pressed her lips together to try to not laugh again, and tugged him toward the backyard. "Quadruplets, even," she whispered, then snorted.
"God have mercy," he muttered, and she laughed. He was glad she seemed amused by his horrified reaction, rather than getting upset and thinking he would bolt. There were still times that he felt pretty freaked out by the fact that his girlfriend was walking around with a person inside her, let alone the fact that he was going to be responsible for said person for the next eighteen years. God, he was going to be over seventy before his kid was college age! But somehow, when he looked at Emily and saw how happy she seemed, he couldn't bring himself to care about any of that.
She slid an arm around him as they stepped out onto the deck and listened to Linda go on about how safe the neighborhood was, and how the fenced in back yard was great for privacy. Dave couldn't help but think a little privacy with that hot tub would be very nice. Then he realized they wouldn't have time for sex in the hot tub unless they moved in well before she was due.
"Schools?" Dave prompted when Linda seemed to be winding down. Emily shot him a dirty look, but he just smiled placidly back at her. He liked this place. They hadn't seen the basement or upstairs yet, of course, but he was hoping there would be a nice big study that he and Emily could share. Or hell, the place had five bedrooms, they could have separate studies if she preferred.
Linda rattled on about the school systems and their awards and how good the sports and music programs were, then she led them back inside. Dave found a nice room in the west wing that they could set up as a study and nudged Emily to bring her attention to the fireplace. She teased him about his love of fireplaces, but he insisted he couldn't live in a place without one.
She rolled her eyes, but pressed up against his side and looked up at him. "You like this place, don't you?" she asked knowingly, her voice low enough for only him to hear.
"What do you think about it?" he murmured back. He wouldn't consider it if she didn't like it, too. He might not be able to give her everything she wanted, but it wouldn't be for lack of trying.
"I asked first," she said, but she was smiling again. "Five bedrooms is a bit much, unless we actually do have twins, but I like it."
He shrugged. "Guest room, and we turn this one into a study, and then us and the baby." He kissed her softly.
She hummed a little noise and kissed him again, and then Linda discreetly slipped out of the room. Emily started laughing as soon as it happened, but then just deepened the kiss. "You do like it," she pressed when they broke apart.
"I do," he admitted, "but only if you like it." He slid his arms around her. "We haven't even looked upstairs yet. Do we need separate studies, or do you think you can put up with sharing a room with me?" He grinned; he liked the idea of them working quietly together, but he also had an ulterior motive. He had a feeling she was secretly turned on by his reading glasses, because every time she came over and found him reading she ended up practically climbing on him as they kissed. He certainly wasn't going to complain. "I'll completely understand if you say no."
"No, I like to watch you read," she murmured, smiling at him. She brushed a hand over his cheek. "I like it. The schools in the area are good, and I love the backyard. And you have a fireplace."
"Do you want to look at the other house Linda has for us today?" he asked. He wrapped his arms around her and ducked his head to kiss her neck. This really wasn't the best place to get turned on, but it was exciting, starting a new life together like this. He made himself pull back and rest his cheek against her hair.
She let out a little disappointed noise, but she didn't try anything more. "I think we probably should look, don't you?"
"You don't love the house," Dave surmised. "You know, I don't want you to settle on a house just because I like it." He brushed her hair back from her face and smiled at her. "We'll find one we both love."
She tilted her head at him. "It's a house, Dave. It serves a purpose, and this one would serve that purpose perfectly," she said. He wasn't really sure she was really being all that practical so much as she was probably just getting tired of looking.
"I want it to make you happy," he said, stroking his thumb across her cheek. "I want you to look forward to coming home. I want it to have the perfect spot for your pictures of Mexico and Quebec." He gave her a lopsided smile and whispered, "I want to give you so much."
She smiled and leaned up to kiss him again, slowly, humming a happy noise against his lips. Then she pulled back and breathed, "God..." She grinned suddenly. "How did I manage to get knocked up by such a romantic?"
He laughed. "Just lucky, I guess." He grinned down at her and kissed her again. "Okay, let's go tell Linda we want to look at the other house."
***
Dave had been through this whole marriage thing before, but he'd never been quite this nervous about actually selecting an engagement ring. Of course, part of the reason for his nerves was that with his first two wives, they'd gone shopping for rings together. With his third wife...well, that was better forgotten, anyway.
He'd been to two stores already, including the jewelry store he used for the first three wives, and he hadn't found anything that was quite right. Oh, there were plenty of diamonds, but he wanted something that wouldn't get in the way of flashing her badge, but something that would still make her feel special. Finally, after the owner of the third jewelry store was probably ready to tear her hair out, Dave realized he was just putting off making a choice because he was nervous as hell about this.
"I'm surprising her with this," he confessed. "I'm afraid she'll try to put me off if I don't have a ring in hand when I ask her."
The woman raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. Dave laughed.
"Yeah, I know, sounds crazy. But we're definitely together for good. She's pregnant. I have no idea why I'm telling you all of this. You just want me to pick a damn ring."
She laughed then. "You think she'll try to wait until after the baby's born?"
"Exactly. And I don't think we should. For one thing, my job isn't exactly the safest, and if something happens to me, I want to make sure she's got the full benefits of a spouse." He picked up one of the rings again and inspected it, then grinned. "Plus, you know, I just want to marry her."
"You know, you can exchange it if she doesn't like it."
He sighed. "I like the three-stone kind. But I think the single stone with the channel set diamonds to either side are better for her, considering her work. Let's go with this one. And the matching wedding ring. Just in case she says she wants to run off to Vegas with me tomorrow."
It made the woman laugh again, and he felt more relaxed. He didn't know why this had made him so nervous. Emily would say yes. He was pretty sure.
He hoped.
Then there was the problem of finding the right time to ask her. Dave's first 'perfect opportunity' had been interrupted by a case, and they'd spent a week chasing a serial rapist in Shreveport. When they got back they were both exhausted and just went to bed. The next day was Sunday, and Dave decided maybe a nice relaxed lunch date would be a good time to propose.
She'd been getting up way too early lately, and Dave had been worried that she was stressing herself out over everything that was happening lately. When she just muttered something unintelligible at him this morning and rolled over, he couldn't help but grin and get out of bed without her. At least her body knew when to make her rest, even if she wasn't enforcing it herself.
Of course, he didn't have anything to do but worry once he was up without her to occupy him. He wound up making coffee and settling in the den with a book. When he heard her finally rise, his heart jumped into his throat. He rolled his eyes at himself mentally... then a moment later he heard her get sick in the bathroom down the hall.
He frowned and set his book aside and went to start water boiling for the ginger tea she'd gotten from JJ, who said it helped. Then he went down to the bathroom to rub her shoulders.
She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub with her head in her hands when he came in. "I hate you so much," she groaned, but reached a hand out to touch his leg. "I need to go home today sometime."
"I know, it's all my fault," Dave said, which he'd decided early on was a safe response. "This'll be easier when we're living together." He stroked her hair gently.
"We practically are," she said, and they were. It really hadn't been much of an adjustment, either. They seemed to work just as well together personally as they did professionally. "Would you mind making me some tea?" she asked, leaning over to rest her head against his thigh.
"I started the water before coming in here," he said, smiling. "God, I love you so much." It was probably stupid, but seeing her like this, dealing with the morning sickness from their baby and letting him take care of her, just made his chest feel too tight.
She hummed a satisfied noise and looked up at him, smiling faintly. "I'd kiss you, but I think I should brush my teeth first," she said, then stood and leaned over the sink. "Thank you."
"Sure." He stroked a hand down her back. "Better go check the water. Be right back." He got the tea brewing, then had a few more gulps of coffee while he waited to pour her a cup. He didn't think it was fair to subject her to the smell of coffee when she had to drink the ginger tea. He'd tried it and found it horrid, though Emily said it did help.
When he took the tea back to the bathroom she'd apparently washed her face and brushed her teeth, because she wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed him. "Hi," he murmured. "I have your tea."
"I see," she murmured, and kissed him again, tasting of mint. God, she was gorgeous in the mornings, wearing his robe that was at least four sizes too big on her and her face paler than normal without make up. He didn't care; it was wonderful.
"I'm starting to wonder if our entire relationship can be defined by vomit," she told him.
He laughed. "You know, it's entirely possible I actually fell in love with you while cleaning up that bathroom in Vegas." He kissed her again, more slowly.
"Ugh," she groaned. "You have a warped sense of romance, Dave. You could have just told me it was my eyes or something. My smile, maybe? Anything but my puke." She made a face, and he laughed again.
"Well, it was your eyes I noticed first," he said, nuzzling her cheek. "And your smile set my heart racing the first time I saw it. And seeing you draw your gun and clear a house makes me a little light-headed with wanting you. But I confess, I think it was when you let me take care of you that I actually fell in love."
He felt her draw a deep breath, then she hummed a happy noise on the exhale. "I love you," she told him. "I hope you don't get sick of taking care of me."
"I'd like to do it forever, actually," he murmured, closing his eyes and tightening his arms around her. Then he kissed her forehead and pulled away. "Your tea will get cold."
"Okay," she said, and followed him out of the bathroom. "And you're saying that now, but a year from now, you'll just want a nap," she added, swatting his ass as she walked into the kitchen ahead of him.
Dave blinked after her for a moment, incredibly turned on by that, then bounded after her, grabbing her gently from behind. "Be careful what you start, woman," he growled in her ear. "You may not be up for it this early in the morning." He nipped gently at her earlobe.
She gasped softly, then slid her arms over his and leaned into his embrace. "Well, it wasn't what I had in mind, but I'm certainly up for it." He could hear the smile in her voice.
He ran one hand down to steal beneath the robe, caressing soft skin. "I'm very glad to hear that." Grinning, he pulled her back to the bedroom.
When they were finally showered and dressed and Emily had actually expressed some interest in food, as well as reminding him that she needed to run back to her house, Dave suggested they go out for brunch and then stop in Georgetown for her to get her things.
The restaurant was nice, but casual, and it was just warm enough to sit outside in the ivy lined courtyard. The morning had been so comfortable that he hadn't even worried much about the ring until they sat. They ordered their drinks and she slid a hand over his and smiled.
Dave squeezed her hand gently, wondering if it would be better to get it out of the way early so his nerves wouldn't ruin his appetite, or if he should wait until they'd eaten. He smiled at her and brushed his thumb over her fingers, imagining his ring there. No, he couldn't wait any longer. He'd have to ask now.
He kept hold of her hand and slid his free hand into his jacket pocket. "I told you earlier that I want to take care of you forever," he murmured, looking at her seriously. "I meant that. I'd like you to take care of me forever, too." He pulled the box out of his pocket and slid it onto the table between them. "Marry me, Emily."
She sucked in a breath and stared at the box, obviously surprised and looking a little overwhelmed. For a moment he wasn't sure how she felt about it, but them her lips curled just slightly and she looked up at him. "Dave... we..." She closed her hand over his on the box, and when she spoke, she sounded as overwhelmed as she looked. "We don't have to do this now. Just because I'm pregnant-- I mean, we don't have to do it at all just for that reason--"
He shook his head, glad she was smiling, at least. "This isn't because you're pregnant, it's because I love you. And when else are we going to do it? You're telling me you'll feel more like planning a wedding when we have a two-year-old running around the house? Anyway, this could solve the problem of how to tell the team about us." He grinned and lifted their joined hands to kiss hers. "We just invite them to our wedding."
She laughed shakily, and her eyes were glistening. "This isn't... at all like this is supposed to work," she managed, but she was still smiling. "God, Dave..." Their waiter walked up, saw the box and the emotional woman at the table, and turned right back around without saying a word. Emily laughed louder, still sounding like she hadn't quite gone back to normal yet, and a tear spilled down her cheek. "This is all happening so fast. I... I feel... God," she finished, and finally picked up the box.
Dave's grin widened, and he scooted his chair closer to hers. "Traditional is boring," he murmured, lifting his thumb to brush away her tear. "I'm so excited and happy and proud to be with you, Em. I want everyone to know that we belong to each other. Please say yes."
"Yes," she said, her smile widening. "Yes," she said again, sounding more certain. She hadn't even opened the box, but she leaned in and kissed him, and when the fingers of her free hand slid into his hair.
Dave let out a loud noise of relief and wrapped his arms around her, feeling his own eyes start stinging. "Thank you," he murmured. "God, you've made me so happy." He kissed her again.
She let out a breath when they broke apart, and she was crying again. "I'm buying a house, getting married and having a baby over the next seven months, and three months ago I was single," she said. "Fuck." She wiped her face and pulled open the box with trembling hands, and he could tell by her expression as soon as she saw the ring that he had made a good choice. "Oh Dave, it's beautiful."
Thank God. "Well, I'm not getting any younger," he joked. "We don't have any time to waste." He took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. "Let's see how it fits."
"God," she breathed, staring at it. It was maybe a little loose, but it almost fit. "Good guess," she said, and held it up in the light. "My mother is going to be so pissed off," she said, but she was practically beaming now. "God Dave." She looked back and kissed him again, seemingly unconcerned that they were drawing a little bit of attention now.
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her again. "I didn't do it for that reason, but if you want, we could elope to Vegas or something and really piss her off." He squeezed her gently to show he was partly joking. He wouldn't care if she wanted to elope to Vegas, but his main goal was to give Emily whatever sort of wedding she wanted. Hell, he was an old hand at weddings, and he knew the men mostly ended up saying "yes" a lot and showing up in a tux on the big day. She could have whatever she wanted.
"Mmm, no, she needs to sit through it," Emily said, then shook her head and pulled back, cupping Dave's face in her hands. She shook her head again, seeming to not know what to say, and then expelled a breath. "I'm not this impulsive," she said finally.
He smiled at her and kissed her softly, then loosened his arms. He took her hand, though, playing with the ring on her finger. "This isn't impulsive," he said quietly. "This is inevitable." He caught her gaze. "I want you. I want our baby. I will never leave you. I want to marry you. And I want to do it before our baby is born, because otherwise we might put it off for years." He didn't mention his more practical reasons for wanting to marry her. Those he would save for her mother, if the Ambassador protested.
He saw her swallow, and then she nodded slowly. "You're right," she murmured. "But none of that makes it any less impulsive," she added and laughed softly. He could practically see her getting overwhelmed again, but she didn't seem to be panicking.
"Let's eat," he suggested. "We don't have to make all the decisions today." He'd already taken care of his will to see her and their baby well provided for if something happened between now and a wedding. He didn't think she needed to hear all of that right now, though. He gestured to the waiter that it was safe now.
She breathed a little noise that was sort of a laugh, then looked up at the waiter. "Hi. I have no idea what I want," she said, and looked at Dave. "You order while I decide."
Dave ordered a sandwich and, after a moment's thought, a salad. Maybe he ought to watch his health more now that he was going to be a husband and a father. God, she was right, this was all happening very quickly, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He'd married his third wife in about the same time-frame, but this felt so different from that. This felt right.
"God," she said again once the waiter walked away. She was looking at her ring again. That was definitely the right reaction. "I need to call JJ." She glanced at him. "Does Hotch know?"
"He knows I wanted to ask you," Dave said. He took a sip of his drink, then snorted. "I didn't tell him when. His main advice was to make sure you knew I loved you before I asked."
She laughed, then just looked at her ring again. "Oh my God."
He laughed. "You honestly weren't expecting this?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"No," she said emphatically, and looked at him. "I thought we were doing this whole... 'modern family' thing. You know, and maybe when he's six we'd consider it and he could be our ring bearer." She laughed again. "Oh my God."
"Well, if that's what you wanted," he said, but stopped, grinning, when she glared at him. There wasn't any heat to it at all. "I'm kind of an old-fashioned guy, remember. I believe in honoring and respecting and cherishing and all that." He knew how that sounded, coming from a man who had three ex-wives, but he really did believe in marriage. He just hadn't been too sure marriage believed in him. But this was going to be different.
"Mmm," she hummed, "but you never mentioned it. None of this was supposed to even be happening three months ago, so, you know, old-fashioned is already so far out the window, it's not funny."
He shrugged. "Well, I want to do this right. I want to give you so much, Emily." He curled his fingers around hers. "I don't ever want you to doubt that you are the most important priority in my life now."
She leaned over and kissed him. "Second most important," she told him.
He smiled. "Most important until our baby's born," he amended. "Right now you're still one person." He pulled her back for another kiss, then hoped they weren't annoying the other people.
Of course, that was when the waiter showed up with a bottle of champagne. "Compliments of the manager, to congratulate you both," he explained, pouring them each a glass.
Emily started to protest, but then just thanked him as he walked away, then she glanced at Dave and shrugged. "I suppose if there's an occasion to take advantage of the occasional glass rule, it's now." She kissed him softly. "Thank you," she murmured, and clinked their glasses together.
"To my beautiful wife-to-be," Dave said, watching her. She was so beautiful, and it was the best feeling in the world to know that she'd agreed to marry him.
She took a small sip and put her glass down, then shook her head. "Oh God... there's so much to do."
Dave grinned, feeling incredibly happy and more relaxed now that she'd said yes. "Just start with the basic questions. Big or small? Church or non-church?" He took another sip of his champagne. "And get JJ to help you, since she's probably your first choice for maid of honor, and she's a whiz at organizing things."
"Not big," she said, shaking her head, then she bit her lip. A moment later, she gave him a questioning look. "Would you want a church wedding?"
"I don't care either way," he said. "I want the wedding to be whatever you want. If you want to have it in a park, at the house, in a church, what matters to me is that you're marrying me."
She sighed. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"
Dave shrugged. "I'm more than willing to help, but honestly, I've had two church weddings and a civil ceremony, and I just...don't care either way. I just want you to be my wife."
Her expression changed then, and Dave wasn't exactly sure why, but after a moment, she just nodded. "Okay."
He knew enough about women to know that 'okay' didn't always mean 'okay'. He blinked at her for a minute, then said, "Look, I love the idea of showing you off in front of a crowd of family and friends. So I want to have the people there that are important to us. My family, the team, your family, your other friends from the Bureau, a few of my old friends..." He wondered if she would invite that Cooley fellow who Dave was certain had been the one who'd abandoned her in Italy. "And actually, I suppose I should point out that if you want the marriage to be recognized by the Catholic church, I think we have to be married in a church. But we could say our vows in front of Jimmy, JJ, and Hotch, and then have a civil ceremony that we invite everyone to." He stopped talking, wondering if that was the sort of input she'd been looking for.
"Unless you had all three marriages annulled, it won't be recognized anyway," she pointed out, and now she was looking thoughtful. Dave wasn't sure it was a good thing anymore. After a moment, though, she smiled and looked at him. "We can worry about all this later; let's just eat."
***
I'm insane, Emily thought, staring at the diamond that was sparkling on her finger. It's the only explanation.
Dave's proposal had been perfect, and he'd been so earnest and actually anxious...it had made her feel like her heart might burst from happiness. That had lasted right up until he'd mentioned his 'two church weddings and a civil ceremony'...at which point it had really hit her that she was going to be his fourth wife. Which also left her open to becoming his fourth ex-wife.
The rest of their lunch had been more subdued, though Dave's excitement had been palpable. Still, she'd decided to have him take her back to his house so she could get her car, instead of just stopping by her place on the way back. He hadn't asked why, and she hadn't offered, but she desperately needed some time to herself. She needed to take a few steps back and several deep breaths and figure out if she was letting herself get carried away.
That didn't exactly explain why, instead of heading for her brownstone when she left Dave's house, she somehow ended up at JJ's. She sat in the car for a long while, wondering what she was going to say. This really should have been the happiest day of her life, but somehow she wasn't sure she and JJ were going to be jumping up and down in excitement once Emily came inside.
Still, she'd come here for a reason, even if she hadn't realized she was doing it, so she walked up to the door and knocked. When it swung open, JJ smiled, and Emily blurted, "I just agreed to marry David Rossi, and it might be the stupidest decision ever." JJ's smile slid sideways.
"Wait, you what?" JJ glanced over her shoulder and held the door open wider. "Come inside, Em. Henry's just gone down for his nap." She shook her head, giving Emily a wry smile. "Why do you keep showing up on my doorstep and dropping bombs on me like this?"
Emily made a face and pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd come here when she thought she might be pregnant too. "I'm sorry," she whined. "You'd be melodramatic too if you lived with him." She heard JJ suck in a breath, and then her hand was being pulled away from her face for JJ to inspect the ring.
"God, it's gorgeous," JJ said, shaking her head. "One thing I can't fault the man for, he has fantastic taste." She hugged Emily and pulled her over to the couch. "Okay, so tell me."
"It was... perfect, Jayj. Just... perfect." She frowned and slumped against the cushions. "He asked, and I said yes, and he was just... it was perfect."
JJ tilted her head. "I sense a 'but' here. What happened? Come on, the whole story, Em."
Emily sighed. "Oh, there's a 'but'," she said. "I asked him if he wanted a church wedding," she said, and kept to herself that she sort of did, and that she'd been asking because she wanted to know how he felt about his bride walking down the aisle heavily pregnant. She didn't suppose that mattered now anyway. She shook her head slowly and gave JJ a sad sort of smile. "He said it didn't matter to him because he'd already had two church weddings and a civil ceremony."
"Oh, God," JJ said, covering her face for a moment. "I thought the man was smarter than that." She shook her head. "But he's not always good at expressing his feelings, Em. You've seen the way he's sort of...well, blundered with some of the victims we've dealt with."
"I'm not a victim, Jayj. He knows me. This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, right? And here he comes reminding me that he's given that happy day to three women before me. Three," she said. "I'm just... God, I'll be wife number four." She slumped and buried her face in her hands.
JJ put her arms around Emily and hugged her. "Somehow I don't think that's how Dave meant that," she said, "even if he is an idiot." Emily felt JJ shift, and then footsteps suddenly made Emily realize that they weren't alone. She didn't lift her head. There was only one person it could be, and suddenly she was too mortified to look her boss in the face. A moment later Hotch sat down on her other side and JJ pulled away. After a hesitation, Hotch's hand touched her shoulder.
"Emily, I'd like to help," he said quietly.
"Oh my God," she muttered. "JJ, I'm going to kill you."
He sighed and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry, maybe it's none of my business, but I was putting Henry down and..." He cleared his throat. "Emily, I've known Dave for about fifteen years. I think I can help, if you'll...just hear me out."
She dropped her hands from her face, and JJ took one of them, then she pressed her lips together and looked at Hotch, frowning. God, this was weird. Hotch was the last person in the world she would have expected to get unsolicited relationship advice from... but she supposed if JJ wasn't an option, she might have eventually hunted Hotch down for this as Dave's oldest friend. "Don't tell him I was here about this," she told him.
"I won't lie to him if he asks me, but I don't expect him to ask me," Hotch said. JJ rubbed Emily's shoulder comfortingly and then left. Emily would have protested, but she heard teacups clink in the kitchen and decided JJ would probably be right back.
Hotch sighed. "First of all...Do you know about Dave's ex-wives and the way the divorces happened? He's not secretive about them, but I can't see him volunteering the information to you. He might have thought it would be a slap in the face to you."
She stared at him for a moment, trying to control her reaction to that. She trusted Hotch completely, but he was her boss and Dave's best friend, regardless. Still... she couldn't help but snort. "Because reminding me of them right after proposing to me was so tactful."
Hotch sighed. "Dave is brilliant when it comes to handling criminals. He's...not so brilliant when it comes to women." He cleared his throat. "I don't consider this breaking a confidence, you understand, because Dave has invited you to share his life. And I've seen him when he's been married, Emily. He doesn't hold himself back." He pressed his lips together, then looked down. "Dave married his first wife as soon as she graduated from high school; he was a year older. Kay wanted children, and Dave didn't have a problem with that. But they couldn't have children, for whatever reason. I know it caused her a lot of grief, and I don't know that he necessarily responded properly to it. But after twelve years of marriage, she left him for her tennis instructor. Dave wasn't surprised, but he was heart-broken." He glanced over at Emily, perhaps to judge her reaction so far.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then wasn't sure what and just shook her head. It felt weird hearing all this from Hotch. "You... don't have to tell me all of this."
His lips pulled to one side, but then he shook his head. "I think you need to hear it. And unless you want to go and ask Dave about it..." He paused, but she didn't know what she wanted to do. After a moment, he continued. "His second wife was Rita, and she was a very nice woman who was very safe. She was not as attractive or vivacious as Kay, and she had never been married before. Children weren't an issue with them. But the problem Rita had was that Dave's career with the Bureau was at its height. He and Gideon and I were practically never in the same state, and Dave and I shared a desk with another agent in that bunker we used to work in. I was new to the team during the...oh, second or third year of their marriage, and that was when things started falling apart. She didn't like the hours he spent away, and after he spent a couple weeks in a hospital in Omaha after nearly being killed when his vehicle rolled during a chase..." He trailed off and shook his head.
Emily watched him, her lips parting. God, she'd hated to watch Hotch's career end his marriage, and it was just as bad imagining Dave's. Everyone on the team gave their all to the job, and in a sense, it was probably easier on Emily and Dave that they'd fallen in love with another team member, fraternization rules aside.
She sucked in a breath and glanced towards the kitchen, thinking JJ was taking her time on purpose, then looked back at Hotch.
"Debbie was a mistake." Hotch huffed a rueful laugh. "Even Dave was quick to see that. She was a police detective, a solid one, and Dave consulted on one of her cases. This was shortly after he'd left the BAU to write and lecture full-time. He was still guest-lecturing at the Academy, of course, and he made a lot more as a consultant than...well, you know all that. Debbie was a fan who thought she could use Dave's status to get herself a Bureau job. She snowed him. Completely. They were married and divorced in less than two years. And honestly, I thought he was done. He got so incredibly drunk the night his divorce was finalized..." Hotch seemed to realize he was creeping into reminiscence and caught himself. "Anyway, he said he was done with marriage."
Hotch glanced over at Emily. "That was over ten years ago. "And he's dated a few people since then, but it was never more than casual dating. The rumors and stories all date back to the times between marriages, when he frankly did take a little bit of advantage of his freedom and status to date a lot. But after Debbie... Well, you can see how embarrassing it would be for a master profiler to find himself completely taken in by someone. He was protecting himself. Until he met you."
She huffed a little laugh. "Until I got pregnant and threw a wrench in it all," she muttered, though she had to admit she felt a little better. She also felt awful about feeling better at Dave's expense. God, she still didn't know how she felt.
"No," Hotch said quietly, and surprised her by putting an arm around her shoulders and hugging her briefly. "Emily, Dave's been in love with you for a lot longer than you've been pregnant. Your getting pregnant gave him a good reason to do what he already wanted to do...and maybe didn't think he deserved." JJ came back then, smiling and setting cups of tea in front of both of them, then glancing at Emily in a silent question.
Emily reached up and tugged JJ down to the couch, squeezing her hand and scrubbing her free hand over her face. "God, he is such an idiot," she muttered after a moment.
"I've mostly given up telling him that," Hotch said wryly. "But if it helps, I've never seen him this happy. And I've almost never seen him this determined." He smiled faintly. "And somehow I think comparing his determination to make this marriage work and his determination to catch the Green River Killer would get me smacked, so I'm not going to do it."
She blinked at him for a moment, and then started laughing. "That's probably smart," she said, then tilted her head at him. "You know you've just condemned yourself to this from now on, right?"
Hotch's smile was genuine when he looked back at her. "It's completely worth it to have my family happy."
She grinned back at him. "Thanks," she said, and JJ wrapped her arms around her and pulled her against her chest. Emily sighed, relaxing back, and looked down at her ring. "God, this is all happening too fast."
"You know, if you want to wait, I'm sure Dave would understand," Hotch said, but JJ was shaking her head.
"No. Get married before your baby's born, or you'll never find time to do it. Before you know it, your kid'll be ten and asking why you two never got married." JJ squeezed Emily slightly. "Come on, have a little faith in me. I can pull this thing together so your only problem is picking out a dress."
Emily laughed. "Okay, first of all, you have a newborn of your own, so I have more time to plan than you do right now, and secondly, my only problem is picking a dress? Because that's going to be so easy, finding a dress that I love that'll fit me when I'm eight months."
JJ shrugged. "There are maternity wedding dresses. You can even get eco-friendly, silk, maternity wedding dresses." She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, my mom felt the need to tell me it wasn't too late to marry Will at least every other week."
Hotch sipped his tea, then asked, almost casually, "Do you want a church wedding?"
Emily groaned, and JJ just laughed. "I did. I don't know. Doesn't matter. He's been divorced three times; it wouldn't be official anyway. Not to mention, he's already had two church weddings, so I might as well do something different." She snorted. The more she thought about it, though, letting go of the idea of a church wedding wasn't as hard as it should have been. She was starting to wonder if maybe she just needed to know that Dave would stand by her like that, like Matthew had so long ago.
"Ah." Hotch glanced at JJ, then smiled at Emily. "I can see this is where I've become superfluous to the conversation, so I'll make myself scarce now." He squeezed Emily's shoulder gently, then stood.
"Thanks, Hotch," she said, watching him for a moment. "Oh, one more thing. How crazy were Dave's first two wives when the divorces happened?" She grinned. "Do I need to go ahead and have myself fitted for a straight jacket now, or do I have time?"
Hotch laughed quietly and shook his head. "I'll keep my tailor on call," he told her, and she laughed.
He turned to go and she reached up and touched his arm. "Thanks," she said more sincerely, holding his gaze.
"You're very welcome," he replied, smiling faintly. He went into the kitchen, his fingers brushing JJ's arm in a subtle caress as he passed her.
JJ drew her legs up and turned to face Emily. "Feel a little less crazy for wanting to marry Dave now?" she asked.
"Just slightly," Emily said, but she couldn't help grinning anyway. "I feel better about marrying him, not so much the buying a house, getting married and having a kid all in about seven months time. I haven't even told my mother yet, Jayj."
JJ laughed sympathetically. "Yeah, have fun with that one. Are you going to take him with you when you do?"
"God, I don't know," Emily said. "Maybe I'll let him decide."
"So tell me about the good parts of the proposal," JJ prompted, tactfully changing the subject. She reached out and took Emily's hand, pulling it up to inspect the ring again. "I want to hear everything. And then we can start talking about the wedding."
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Date: 2009-07-12 11:23 pm (UTC)Very cute. I really do love the Rossi/Prentiss stuff that you guys do. Eagerly await more.
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Date: 2009-07-13 02:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-12 11:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 12:19 am (UTC)Um. Yes.
I loved it! I am so happy to see this. It was delightful.
Of course, I love the pairing. I love, love, love the idea of Rossi becoming a father. I think you've really captured the alternating emotions so very well.
Thank you so much for posting this!
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Date: 2009-07-13 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 12:30 am (UTC)And this is very nice, btw. I don't think I've ever commented on this universe, but I like it!
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Date: 2009-07-13 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 01:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 02:59 am (UTC)I shall wring them out of you one by one.
I'm really liking this universe. I'm not much of a het reader, but I am always happy to see another installment posted.
I'm glad that they were less bullheaded in this installment.
I can't wait for Reid, Morgan, and Garcia to find out. You know that Morgan won't be happy about being kept in the dark.
And Garcia may have a thing or two to say about it. ^_^
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Date: 2009-07-14 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 03:30 am (UTC)Just something I noticed: It should be "straitjacket."
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Date: 2009-07-14 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-13 05:42 am (UTC)Of course, this also partially inspired the mini-ship manifesto I have over on my regular journal.
Thank you.
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Date: 2009-07-14 01:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-14 04:19 am (UTC)I also have a couple of musings on episodes, Morgan/Reid (which I'm hoping to expound into an actual manifesto) and various other things. Happy reading!
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Date: 2009-07-29 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-14 11:31 pm (UTC)I <3 this AUverse and the stories just keep getting better and better and the characterization is spot on and HOTCH and JJ!
Awesome!
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Date: 2009-07-15 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-15 11:39 am (UTC)As always I absolutely LOVE it!
Just what I needed.
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Date: 2009-07-16 12:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-16 01:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-10 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-11 01:39 am (UTC)And btw we'll happily take the blame for spreading the Rossi/Prentiss subtext. ;)