When Dave Met Emily (3/3), Rossi/Prentiss, NC-17

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Title: When Dave Met Emily (3/3)
Authors: innerslytherin and severity_softly
Pairing: Rossi/Prentiss
Rating: NC-17
WC: 22,100
Summary: When Dave set Emily up with his friend, he didn't think they would hit it off quite so well. Not that it's a problem or anything. Really. Dave wants Emily to be happy. Just...not with someone else.
Notes: This fic is our Rossi/Prentiss version of When Harry Met Sally.

Part One
Part Two



The case kept them busy for two weeks in Albuquerque as they tried to figure out if they were dealing with simple abductions and murder or human trafficking. It ended up being a case they had to work jointly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Dave found himself playing peace-keeper between the ICE agent and Morgan, who knew each other from somewhere. It wasn't a role Dave was used to, or even particularly good at, especially since he agreed that the ICE agent was something of a jackass.

There wasn't a lot of time for him to spend with Emily anyway, but he realized fairly quickly that something was wrong.

He didn't, however, think it was wise to bring the subject up while they were in the middle of a case. He just let her be, hoping that maybe all she needed was a little space to sort things out in her head. It didn't seem to work, and when the jet landed back at Quantico, Dave could feel all his frustration starting to spill out into his mind, now that there was space for it where the case had been for the last week.

By the time he got off the jet, he was tense, and he caught up with Emily as she was walking, too quickly, to her SUV. "I need to see you in my office. There's some paperwork we'll need to go over," he said, then turned off toward his own car without letting her reply.

He got to the office ahead of her. He closed the blinds in his office most of the way to hide the fact that he was standing by the window watching for the others to get there. When she came in, he saw her go straight to her desk and drop her things. She got herself a cup of coffee and headed for his office, then stopped. He saw her shoulders move as she sighed, then she turned and went back to the kitchenette. He sat down at his desk, and when she came into his office she had two cups of coffee instead of just one.

"You mind telling me what that was about?" she asked, her voice tight.

"That for me?" Dave said, gesturing at one cup and mirroring her tone. "Shut the door."

She raised an eyebrow but put one cup on his desk and went back to shut the door. Her expression was blank again when she turned and came to sit across from him.

"What's going on?" he asked casually, as if he was asking how her day was, though he knew she'd know better.

She crossed her legs. "I wasn't aware that anything was going on," she replied.

"I'm sure the team probably is," he said, sipping his coffee. "They're pretty good at reading body language, and you used to be too."

That earned him a glare. "Do you really think this is the best place to have a personal conversation?" she said. "We have work we should be doing."

Dave knew Emily would avoid it as long as she could if he let her out of here now. So he ignored her. "What the hell, Emily? We sleep together, and then you start acting like we're not even friends? When I said 'have a go', I didn't mean this."

She sighed and pressed her fingertips against the bridge of her nose. "This was all a mistake, Dave," she said finally. "I thought maybe if I didn't say anything, you'd just let it go. We work together; we can't do this."

"Ah," Dave said, nodding, knowing full well that was an excuse because Emily was scared. "I'm straddling those boxes you like to put people in."

She glared at him again. "This isn't about 'boxes'," she snapped. "We're friends and coworkers. We can't compromise that by making a habit of what we did the other night. I was upset and feeling sorry for myself, and I took advantage of your kindness. I apologize, but that's all it was." She stood up, obviously ready to be done with the conversation.

"Okay, walk away," he said, sarcasm lacing his voice, and started pulling forms of his desk to start on his reports.

"I'm not walking away," she said. "I'm saving our friendship. You'll thank me later." She turned and left his office, her shoulders slumped.

"Right," Dave muttered, and resisted the urge to curse at her.


***


For the next several weeks Dave and Emily kept their distance from each other at work. He knew their team members noticed the sudden chill between them, but fortunately no one called them on it. At least, not until Hotch witnessed Emily approach the kitchenette, see Dave standing there, and turn on her heel to go back to her desk. Dave saw Aaron's eyebrows go up and had to hold in a sigh. He knew what would be coming next.

"Dave, do you have a minute?" Without waiting for an answer, Aaron headed for his office.

Dave's lips twisted, but he finished adding cream to his coffee, then followed. When he got up to Aaron's office, he shut the door behind him, and collapsed in the chair across from Aaron. "We slept together," he announced. It was better to just get it over with. Aaron was his oldest friend, after all, and would never break his confidence.

Aaron nodded slowly. "And the problem is either that one of you wants more while the other doesn't...or that she's afraid I'll disapprove," he hazarded, watching Dave.

Dave snorted. "We would need to jump that first hoop of her wanting a relationship before we could even think about you, wouldn't we?"

Aaron frowned. "You're saying she was the one who turned it down?" he murmured. "That seems...Did you disagree about what you each wanted in a relationship? It's been obvious for years that Prentiss wants a family. She might think you don't want that." He shook his head. "She protects herself, Dave, you know that."

"Yeah, I get that." Dave was suddenly annoyed, though he wasn't sure who at, Emily or Aaron. "She was upset. I was there. I shouldn't have done it with her in that state, and I did it knowing I shouldn't, but I wasn't going to give up what might be the only opportunity I might have." He sighed. "I know what I want, and you know me well enough to know I'm not who I was fifteen years ago, and a one night stand isn't really what I'm looking for. But I had hoped that even if that was all it was, we'd still be friends afterward." He tapped his temple, and said, "If I'd been thinking with this head, though, I would have remembered that it never works out that way."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Aaron said quietly. He looked down at his coffee cup and sighed. "I hate seeing the two of you unhappy, especially since you usually make such a great team." He was silent for a moment, then said, "If it helps at all, I think you two would be good together."

"It doesn't help," Dave muttered. It was funny, but it was almost like he hadn't realized just how hurt he was until he started talking to Aaron. Yep, he was annoyed at Aaron. Not Emily. Right now, anyway.

"I'm sorry, Dave." Aaron's lips pulled to one side. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Dave sighed. "There's not really anything else to say." There was, actually, but like hell he was going to sit here and go on about his emotions. It would take a large amount of alcohol for that. And he had a feeling Aaron had a pretty good idea of how he was feeling anyway.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "You two can't go on like this; you're both miserable." He tilted his head. "I've never known you to be shy about what you want." There was a clear question in his tone.

Dave's brows drew together and he glared at Aaron. "I made it very clear to her, actually. She knows I'm pissed." He huffed a bitter laugh and turned his glare towards the windows. "If I keep pushing she'll shut down entirely."

"She seems to have done that already," Aaron observed. He sighed. "It's obvious the two of you aren't spending any time together anymore. Your standing coffee night was never a secret, you know, and she's been working late every evening for the past three weeks. Not to mention a hibernating bear is easier to approach than you are these days."

Dave shook his head and tried not to let the wave of bitterness that he felt wash over him. "I've been called a lot of things. A lot of them I wouldn't want to repeat." He clenched his jaw, then released it again, and forced himself to look at Aaron. "I've never been called a mistake before." Another wave of emotion took over him, and he knew Aaron would know how hard that was for him to say. And he suddenly didn't want to talk anymore. He stood. "The ball's in her court now," he muttered, then turned toward the door.

He heard Aaron's chair slide back as he stood. "Dave," he said quietly. When Dave glanced over his shoulder, Aaron came around the desk and rested a hand on his shoulder. "The two of you together wouldn't be a mistake," he said. His gaze never wavered from Dave's. "Emily will realize that."

"I hope she realizes that before it's too late," Dave said. He drew in a deep breath and pushed away what he was feeling as much as he could. "Because at a certain point, I'll have to cut my losses."

"I know patience isn't your strong suit, but don't give up too soon," Aaron said. "Speaking strictly as your friend, of course, since as your boss I ought to be discouraging you." He gave Dave a faint smile. "And let me know if I can help in any way. Even if it's just taking you out and getting you drunk."

Dave nodded, glad Aaron was trying to lighten the mood. "Might not be a good idea right now," Dave said. He started toward the door again, and then glanced back. "Thanks."


***

Emily really wasn't in the mood to talk to Angie when she called, but she'd been dodging calls from Angie for a week and a half, and she didn't want it to look like sour grapes when she really was happy for Angie and Joe. She hit the answer button on her phone and smiled. "Angie, hey."

"Hey, Em!" Angie said. God, she sounded cheerful. "What have you been up to? I feel like we haven't talked in ages."

"Not since action flick night," Emily said, thinking about how Angie had gone on and on about Joe that night. She was going to do it again. Emily could just tell. "I've mostly been working, you know, keeping busy." And screwing up the best friendship I've ever had.

"God, I don't know how you do it. I mean, not just the job itself, which is bad enough, but the hours, Em. You're going to give yourself a stroke one of these days." Her voice sounded affectionate.

Emily sighed. "Probably helps that I don't do much outside of work," she admitted. "I've heard this job is hell on relationships."

Angie snorted. "You just need a man in the Bureau." She paused. "Aren't you still hanging out with Dave?"

The words sent a pang through Emily. Angie didn't know how much that would hurt, of course. "Oh, we've been a little busy lately..." Emily trailed off, not liking how she was trying to mislead Angie, and not sure if her friend would even go for it.

"Ah," Angie said. There was a longer pause this time. "You sound distracted. Did I call at a bad time?"

Emily sighed. "Dave and I slept together," she blurted. "And now we...aren't talking."

"What?!" Angie exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"I thought it would just..." She shrugged. "You know, go away." Okay, she hadn't, but she'd hoped they would go back to being friends. Except every time she was around Dave now, she couldn't help but think of how wonderful that night had been, and how terrified she had been after realizing everything was going to change.

"Go away?" Angie sounded disbelieving, and Emily put her hand over her eyes. She could still hear the football game in the background, but her team--her and Dave's team--was losing anyway, so there was no point in paying attention. Angie continued, "It doesn't just go away; it never does. Oh, Emily."

"It was supposed to go away," she said. "We work together, Ang. He's my best friend. How could I risk what we had just for sex?" It sounded stupid when she said it that way. Especially since she wasn't sure he was her best friend any more.

Angie sighed. "Maybe it wasn't just sex," she said, sounding more subdued. "You two obviously care a lot about each other."

Emily pressed her lips together. "I think I screwed that up too," she admitted.

"Oh, God, do you need a girls' night out?" Angie asked. "Or another dumb action movie?"

"How about a lobotomy," Emily said weakly.

Angie sighed. "That I can't do."

"I want to fix things, but I don't even know what would fix things at this point," Emily said, her throat feeling tight. "I don't know what he's thinking and now I'm afraid to ask." She walked out to the living room to check the score and felt a pang when she realized Dave would be thumping his fist in annoyance against the arm of his chair right now.

"Well, you can't fix things if you don't talk to him. In fact, not talking to him's the worst thing you could do." Angie paused, then tentatively said, "You know, Em, you and Dave are really good for each other."

Part of Emily knew that was true, but she couldn't help being afraid it was just some lingering guilt that made Angie say it. She rubbed her forehead. "So how are you?" she asked. It was an obvious diversion, but maybe Angie would take pity on her.

Angie sighed. "I'm really good." Somehow Emily had the feeling there was more to that that Angie was afraid to say after Emily had shared such bad news.

"Yeah? What's going on?" she prompted, trying to force more enthusiasm. She would rather listen to Angie's good news than think about her own situation anyway.

Angie hesitated, then said, "Joe and I are going to Paris. We managed to get some time off together next month." Excitement was edging into her voice.

Maybe she wouldn't rather listen to Angie's good news, since it sent a pang of jealousy through her. Emily pushed that down and smiled to make herself sound more sincere. "Ang, that's fantastic! Wow, you guys really like each other." She paused then said, more seriously, "I am truly glad that you're happy, Angie."

"Em... I think he might be the one. I know that sounds stupid, considering we haven't been together long... but Paris! No one has ever done something like this for me before."

Emily pushed the jealousy further away. "He's a really great guy, Angie. Part of the reason I kept going out with him was that I wished I could fall for him because he's so great. I'm really happy for you both."

"I'm sorry," Angie said after a moment, regret lacing the words.

"Don't be sorry," Emily said quickly. "Really. You're a really great woman, and I think it's wonderful that you guys are so well-matched." It was true, even if she couldn't help wishing for something like that herself. Obviously she wouldn't know what to do with it if she had it. "You'd better send me a postcard from Paris."

Angie huffed what was probably a relieved laugh. "You know I will."


***

Dave liked Joe. He wouldn't have set Emily up with him if he didn't, even if he also hadn't expected them to start dating. He'd been genuinely glad to see Joe happy with Angie, once he was certain Emily wasn't hurt over the whole thing.

That didn't mean he enjoyed phone calls filled with Angie-this and Angie-that when they talked.

When his phone rang at six o'clock at night, he looked at the number on his caller ID and sighed. Then he glanced at the TV and scowled. His team had just missed another damn pass, so at least Joe would be a distraction. He picked up the phone. "Hey, Joe."

"Dave! You're not busy doing anything but watching your team lose, are you?" Joe's voice was just a little too cheerful, but then one of his flaws was that he'd always liked the rival team.

"I'd tell you where you could shove it, but it probably wouldn't do any good," Dave muttered, then thumped his fist against the arm of his recliner. "Oh, come on!" he said to the TV. "This ref is shit."

"The ref or the quarterback?" Joe asked. He was obviously grinning. "Good thing you don't have the time for season tickets any more, isn't it?"

"Mmph," Dave hummed, annoyed. "Did you want something?"

"Need the name of the place you board your dog when you're out of town. I don't want Rex to get lonely while I'm on vacation."

"Banson Kennels," Dave said, turning down the TV. "Where are you going?"

"The City of Love, man," Joe said. He let out a long, happy sigh. "I'm taking Angie to Paris. She's always wanted to go and never made it."

"Ah," Dave said. He suddenly didn't want to talk to Joe anymore. He glanced over at the couch where Mucci was stretched out. Mucci wasn't supposed to be on the couch, but during the football games, Dave let him. It was sort of bittersweet, a reminder of Emily laying there rubbing his ears. "I'd book soon. They fill up pretty quickly this time of year."

"I will, thanks. So how are things going for you?  Work still keeping you busy?" Joe sounded like he was settling in for a chat. He obviously knew just how far the team was down.

"I slept with Emily. She's not speaking to me for the most part. Otherwise, it's been good," Dave said lightly, then got up miserably to get another beer.

There was silence for a long moment. "Damn," Joe said finally. "She's not speaking to you? What about work? Man, what happened, Dave? You guys were so good together I felt like I was breaking in on something when I was dating her. What the hell?"

Dave sighed. "We're speaking professionally. Work's just fine." He sighed again, then cracked open his beer and sat down at the kitchen table. "What happened was that she was upset, we slept together, and then she got scared and pushed me away. At least, that's how it seems."

"And you're okay with that? Somehow I can't see you just taking that." Joe sounded genuinely unhappy for him.

"What am I going to do? I confronted her, and she told me she was saving our friendship." He huffed a bitter laugh. "Yeah, that worked," he said sarcastically.

"So ask her how that's working out for her," Joe suggested. "Call her bluff. You've never put up with bullshit from anyone else."

"Yeah, well, I'm in love with her," Dave said, feeling irritated and retched suddenly. He hadn't said that out loud to even Aaron.

Joe sighed. "God, Dave. What were you doing setting her up with me, you idiot?" It sounded like Joe was rubbing his hand over his face. "You want me to see if Angie can find something out?"

"No. When Emily feels cornered, she closes up more." Dave got up and walked into the living room to glare at the game. His team was in worse shape then when he'd last watched. "And you two weren't supposed to like each other that much, asshole."

"Well, you could have told me that." Joe gave a long sigh. "She'll come around, man. She has to. You guys are too good together."

Dave sighed. "I hope you're right." He sort of wanted to watch the game and sulk now. "Hey, send me a postcard from Paris."

"What, I found someplace the best-selling author hasn't been?" Joe teased. "Sure, man. Thanks for the name of the kennel. I'll let you get back to your losing team now."

"Kiss my ass," Dave grumbled, and hung up the phone.


***


Halloween passed and Thanksgiving approached. Sometimes Emily found herself reaching for the phone to call Dave before she remembered he probably wouldn't want to hear from her. She found herself watching football alone and wishing she had his company and his dog to snuggle. And sometimes she would catch him watching her at work, just long enough to wonder if he missed her as much as she missed him.

She'd been stupid. That much was clear. She'd thought she would ruin everything between them...and she had, but not the way she'd expected. She missed him. Especially when she got quick emails from Angie about how well things were going with her and Joe, and how grateful Angie was that Emily didn't mind. Emily didn't mind, but she wished she hadn't been too blind to see how good she'd had it when she had Dave in her life. At this point, she'd probably screwed up so much Dave wouldn't even hear her out...even if she knew what to say, which she didn't.

In the end it was Garcia who pushed her over the edge. Whether she'd just gotten tired of the way Dave and Emily were acting or she really was getting a new phone, she sent an email to Emily's BlackBerry one Saturday morning. "Getting a new phone and thought you might want to keep this." Attached was a picture of Dave and Emily leaning together at one of the team's rare nights out at the bar. Dave had his arm around Emily's waist and while Emily was smiling at the camera, Dave was looking down at her.

"God," Emily whispered, her eyes stinging with sudden emotion. "God, I'm so stupid." She stared at the picture, pressing one fingertip to the screen as if it would remind her how Dave's skin felt against hers.

Then she closed the picture and hit five on her speed dial.

"Princess, if you are calling to get me to track down your Italian Stallion of a profiler, I am waaaay ahead of you," Penelope's voice said in greeting.

Emily made a strangled noise that was supposed to be a laugh. From the trickle of moisture that slid down her cheek, she had a feeling she wasn't fooling anyone.

"I hacked his OnStar. GPS coordinates coming to your BlackBerry right now," Penelope said. "Looks like it's a fish and wildlife recreation area, so wear something orange."

Emily managed another strangled noise, then whispered, "You're a kind and benevolent goddess."

Penelope chuckled warmly. "Go, my pretty. Catch your man. I accept thanks in the form of chocolate or anything sparkly."

Emily went.




Dave had taken two ducks already before he heard the sound of an engine coming up on the dirt road leading to his little spot in the reservoir. His heart sank, knowing he was about to have company and probably lose the good hunting he'd had so far.

He really wasn't expecting it to be Emily.

He put the safety on, set the gun down, and stared at her when she came through the brush. What the hell was she doing here? Why would she come to this place when they hadn't really even been friendly since the night they'd slept together? It was a bittersweet memory now. It was both the night he'd had exactly what he wanted, and the night he'd lost everything he'd had.

He frowned in confusion. "What are you doing here?" He suddenly wondered if he'd missed a call to come in to work for a case, but then dismissed it. They would have just gone without him, not sent Emily into the middle of nowhere to get him.

She looked at him, her face pale and serious. "I needed to see you." She didn't elaborate, just stood there and stared at him.

"You haven't needed to see me for months," he said back. Why was she here? His heart was racing suddenly with possibilities, but he wasn't ready to let it get hurt again, not when she was being so vague.

"Yes I have," she said. "I hate watching football without you." She was looking at him with an expression she hadn't worn in ages, like she wasn't just seeing him, but seeing him. Like she was looking for anything she might have missed in the weeks they hadn't been talking to each other outside of work. Her mouth was open like she'd meant to say something else, but she had stopped talking.

He gave a little. "Mucci misses you."

Her expression twisted miserably and she looked down. When she looked back up, she was composed again but still looked unhappy. "The thing is," she said, her voice shaking, "the thing is, I love you." She bit her lips together, then blurted, "I'm in love with you. And I miss watching football with you and the way you pound on your chair whenever they get behind or the refs make a bad call. And I miss you making fun of how my feet get cold when I refuse to wear socks. And I miss saying your Bentley makes me feel sexy and you telling me it doesn't take the Bentley to make me sexy." She drew in a ragged breath that was almost a sob. "I love how fussy you are about where things go in your kitchen, and I love how you know how I drink my coffee and what my favorite wine is, and I love that you let me spoil your dog, and I hate that I ruined all that."

Dave couldn't say anything for a moment, but his lips parted as he searched for words. His heart was hammering almost painfully in his chest now. He had done this to her. He was the reason she was letting go of herself right now and putting her heart on the line. She had never been more beautiful than she was right now. "I love you too," he said quietly.

She stared at him for another several moments, then walked towards him. "That scared me," she whispered. "It still scares me. But at this point I figure I can't screw up worse than I already have."

Dave snorted. "Not really." He reached out for her hand when she stopped a few feet in front of him. God, this had to be a dream. Of course when she took his hand, he knew it wasn't. Her fingers were soft... and fucking freezing. "You don't have your damn gloves on."

She laughed shakily. "You know I hate gloves more than I hate socks," she said, and took the last few steps to lean against his chest and lower her head to his shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

Dave wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I kept wishing that night had never ended," he murmured.

"I've missed you so much. You can't ever let me do anything that stupid again." She curled her fingers in his shirt.

Dave couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up at that. "I tried."

"I know." She turned her head and kissed his neck. "I love you. I need you." She slid her arms up around his neck and held onto him tightly. Then she laughed. "You'll probably have help from now on. Garcia sent me a picture of us, that's why I finally gave in. The whole team probably wants us to get together already."

"You're probably right." Dave turned his head to kiss her cheek. "I'm going to have to buy Garcia something bright and gaudy," he murmured in her ear, and felt her shiver. He shifted them just enough to meet her eyes, and then leaned in and kissed her.

She made a quiet noise and deepened the kiss, clinging to him. When she pulled back, she said, "I'm interrupting your hunting."

He smiled slowly. "No, right now you're interrupting my kissing." He leaned in and kissed her again, a hand sliding up into her hair.

She laughed into the kiss and pressed against him, letting more hunger creep into her kiss. Her body was soft and slender against him despite the layers they were wearing.

He made a noise of want, then broke away slightly to breathe, "I can't believe you came here." He didn't give her a chance to respond before he kissed her again with a little more need.

"Mmm." Her cold fingers cupped his cheek. "Didn't want to wait," she whispered between kisses. "Once you decide you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start right now."

He smiled and kissed her again. The rest of our lives. "I think I'm done hunting for the day," he said. He was ready for it to start right now too.

Comments

[mingsmommy.livejournal.com]

*flail*

OH! This was absolutely lovely. Absolutely lovely.

You've caught them both beautifully, in character and charming. It made me all melty.

I love the progression of the whole thing. I loved how grumpy Dave was when he realized Emily & Joe were hitting it off. And how Emily still put him first.

The coffee and the fake Italian and the dog and the football were so comfortable and just lovely. Then he was so STUPID when he didn't convince her he wanted to be with her, he wanted their relationship to be flowers and chocolates. Then she was stupid right back when she wouldn't give them a try.

And God love Garcia and her new phone. Sending Emily out to find him was brilliant. And there are so many great lines, but this one:

"No, right now you're interrupting my kissing." He leaned in and kissed her again, a hand sliding up into her hair.

Funny and sweet and romantic at the same time.

Great work!

[innerslytherin]

*beams* Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. :) It's become part of my own personal Dave/Emily canon that they love watching football together. *G* Of course they were completely obvious to everyone around them except themselves. Even Joe and Angie suspected what was going on there. ;)

As you probably have figured out from my squeeful comments to every chapter of Hinge, I'm a huge sucker for the long, slow, fall-in-love stories, and this was our attempt at doing something like this.

(Believe it or not, this was written months ago, but we'd never gotten around to getting it betaed and posted. LOL Hopefully we'll be better at that from now on.)

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

LOL But love IS stupid!

Thanks so much! Glad you liked it!

[smacky30.livejournal.com]

This was wonderful. Just so many things. Jealous Dave and Stupid Emily and Joe the Wonderful (who wasn't so wonderful for dating Emily). Sometimes people can be so crazy. Especially these two.

I was a tad disappointed that there was no fake orgasm in a deli. :D Seriously, the end reminded me to 10 Things I Hate About You - which is the one totally cheesy teen romance movie I still watch.

Glad you two posted this. :D Thanks!

[innerslytherin]

For profilers, they are occasionally blind to their own relationships. :)

*G* Dave should have made her fake it in their coffee shop before the football game. :D

I'm so glad you liked this! :)

[smacky30.livejournal.com]

Crap! I just read my comment and realized how bad that sounded. I didn't think your story was cheesy. Not at all. The movie is - but that scene where she stands up and reads her poem - the things she hates about him... I should just shut up now. I'm probably not making sense.

[innerslytherin]

LOL oh, no, I totally didn't take it that way! :D *hug* Don't worry.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

LOL Emily is too shy for faking an orgasm publicly, and Dave is to sophisticated. ;) It would have been so fun if we could have figured out a way to make that work, though! As it was, getting Em to be proactive and go after Dave at the end was hard enough. :P

Glad you liked it! Thanks!

[failegaidin.livejournal.com]

I have GOT to go to bed, but I needed to swing by and tell you how AWESOME this was. From start to finish, the characters were perfect, spot-on. I love that Emily didn't sleep with Joe because it just didn't right. I love that Dave talked to Hotch about it. I loved Garcia's support (and her lines were PERFECT). I loved the friendship, the little things that made it real and not contrived. It felt built from the ground up, just like a friendship for them would have to be. And that last scene was just win. I love that he started with a snarky reply, but then started to break down when he saw that she was falling apart because of him. And at that point, there was no hesitation in stepping forward to hold the pieces together.

Wonderful.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

"Built from the ground up" is just the best compliment ever. I am so glad you liked this! Thank you for the lovely comment. It made me smile. :)

[innerslytherin]

Thank you so much! :) I agree with Severity, "build from the ground up" is such a wonderful thing to have said about this. One of the advantages Dave has over other men in Emily's life is that he's stepped up and held her together before to some degree, during "Demonology", so she's already learned to trust him on the friendship level.

[microgirl8225.livejournal.com]

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

This was soooo great! I just loved it. Insecure Emily is infuriating and endearing at the same time. And I liked how jealous Dave got about Joe. Dave is so cute when he's jealous over Emily. The sex scenes was OMG and the last bit at the end was just awwww. It made my little fangirl heart happy :) Thank you!

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

I love writing grumpy!jealous!Dave. :D Thank you!

[innerslytherin]

Hee, thank you! :) I confess, I really enjoy writing insecure Emily. I relate strongly to her -- I'll be all fine and flirty one minute, and then OMGWHATAMIDOINGI'MSODORKY! the next. *G*

[junealii.livejournal.com]

Speechless!

That was so beautiful. I was totally in tears by the time I finished. It was so great. I loved Emily's rabbling about how much she missed him and what she missed about him.

That was wonderful.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! Glad you liked it! :)

[innerslytherin]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[dragonladyk.livejournal.com]

*flail* See, that's what it's supposed to look like. *nods nods* Good het is hard to find, and this was wonderful.

DragonLady

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :)

[katewallace.livejournal.com]

Very well done...I loved how Garcia got them together at the end! Never underestimate the power of *sparkle*! Apparently we're not only clueless about relationships when we're young, we're also pretty clueless when we're older!

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :D Garcia is a very powerful woman. ;) I'm glad you liked this.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[daylyn.livejournal.com]

Oh, this was wonderful. I loved Dave's jealousy and the slow realization of what he wanted with Emily, I loved how Emily didn't want to "ruin" their friendship, I loved that Garcia is the All Knowing Goddess, I just loved everything about this. Absolutely wonderful.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[innerslytherin]

Thank you! :)

[cluesby4.livejournal.com]

Sitting here with a very big grin. This was amazingly romantic. Poor Dave you could feel his frustration. But all ended well.

Thank you for the treat.

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :D I think Dave can do with a bit of frustration in his life. ;) I'm glad you liked this!

[dhae_knight_1]

God damnit! You've turned me into a rossi/prentiss shipper when I was happily humming along, thinking Hotch/Reid was my OTP for the show (although, you know, the more the merrier, but I have never actually *had* more than one OTP in any given show), and I'm not even supposed to be here (because OMG LJ totally *broke* commenting from an iPad), but this is sweet and angsty and *right* in ways I can't even articulate, and I really need to take a breath, now. *pants*

So... To sum up: Brilliant! :-D

[innerslytherin]

Thank you! :D LJ pretty much broke commenting period, as far as I'm concerned. But I appreciate that you went to the trouble to comment from the iPad! :) That means a lot.

We both like Hotch/Reid too. I had a very strong OTP in the Harry Potter fandom, so I was utterly shocked to discover my attitude towards CM ships is just this side of "oh, hell, just ship them all". There are a few pairings I dislike (Morgan/Garcia, JJ/Reid, Gideon/anyone, to be specific), but I think between us, Severity and I, writing separately and alone, have pretty much covered the rest of them. :D

Anyway, thank you so much! :D

[severity-softly.livejournal.com]

LOL! Hopefully you're breathing more steadily now! Thanks so much!