A/N: After watching a "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon with my daughter, I knew that I had to write a story with Rachel in a wedding dress. Since I'd already sent her and Jacob off to the courthouse in Maryland for a quick wedding, a story set pre "Snow Day" was the result.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but the ones who do aren't using them right now, so I thought I would.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rachel Young sat in her SUV staring at the store across the street. She had been sitting and staring at the store for at least ten minutes. Stop being such an idiot, she mentally berated herself. It's a store, a freaking store, nothing more, nothing less. Taking a deep breath, Rachel exited her vehicle and walked into 'Carine's' the hottest bridal salon in Georgetown. The bell over the door sounded as Rachel entered, and she was met by a young clerk.
"May I help you?" The clerk sounded rather doubtful and her eyebrows were raised. Their clientele didn't generally run to women with their hair pulled back in buns and dressed in severe black suits.
"Uh, I'm supposed to be meeting my friends here?" Rachel hated the way her nervousness made what should have been a statement into a question. She cleared her throat and tried again. "One of my friends is getting married and we're supposed to be looking at dresses today. Her name is..."
"You must be the missing bridesmaid," the clerk interrupted. "Ms. Caruthers is waiting in the back with the others. They'll be so glad you're finally here." The clerk quickly escorted Rachel into a fitting area in the back of the store. The three women sitting there drinking champagne all bore a superficial resemblance. They were all blue-eyed blondes and around thirty years old. But one was tall and curvy, while another was short and thin. The third woman present was the same height as Rachel and had the same slender, athletic build. She also had an arm in a sling.
"Rachel," shrieked the one with the sling. "Thank god! I was afraid you weren't going to show. That would have ruined everything." She handed Rachel a full champagne flute.
"Amanda, what are you talking about? What the hell happened to your arm? How are you going to try on dresses with your arm in a sling?" Rachel tried to hand the flute back to her friend. "And I can't have a drink, I told you before, I'm on call this weekend."
The taller woman snickered. "Oh yeah, you not showing up would have screwed things up royally." The shorter one nodded in agreement, both women were looking rather gleeful.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at her friends. "Amanda, what the hell is going on? Why is my showing up so important? You already have Megan and Heather here for support."
"But Rachel," wailed Amanda. "I need you today. I wrenched my collarbone in my exercise class, so I can't try on dresses. Since we're the same size and coloring, I need you to try them on for me. That way I can see how I would look in them."
Rachel gaped at her friend in astonishment, while Megan and Heather broke out in laughter at the expression on Rachel's face. "Are you nuts? Why don't we come back later, when you're out of the sling?"
Amanda looked at Rachel in exasperation. "It's not that simple. It took me weeks to get the appointment here. You don't just walk in off the street. And it takes time for the dress to be fitted. The wedding is in three months, I have to get my dress and the bridesmaid dresses ordered now." She shook her head, "and your schedule is so crazy, I don't know when we can all be here together to get this done." She looked at Rachel with a woebegone expression. "Please, Rachel, it would mean so much to me."
Rachel looked at her friends for several seconds, Amanda looking slightly desperate, Heather and Megan openly amused. She sighed and knocked back the full flute, holding it out to Megan for a re-fill. "Fine, but I'm going to need more champagne to get through this." She shrugged off her jacket and removed her Glock in its holster from her waistband. The clerk's eyes widened. "Someone is gonna have to hold my weapon." She glared at her friends. "And I'm on call, so if my phone rings, you damn well better answer."
Amanda threw her good arm around Rachel. "Thanks Rachel, I mean it, you're the best! I swear, I only have a few dresses picked out for you to try on." As Rachel disappeared into the dressing room with the clerk, Amanda called out as an afterthought. "Oh and take your hair out of that awful bun. I think I'm wearing mine down for the wedding." Rachel snorted in reply.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Two hours, three glasses of champagne, and fifteen dresses later Rachel announced, "Ok this is the one!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dr. Jacob Hood and Agent Felix Lee sat in Felix's sedan on a street in Georgetown. Both men were fairly grumpy and more than slightly confused. They had received a call from the Bureau. Dr. Hood was urgently needed in Illinois. Several workers in a canning factory in southern Illinois had developed symptoms consistent with lead poisoning. The only problem? The affected workers weren't involved in the production process in the plant; they were office workers. No cross-contamination could be found. The local health authorities were stumped.
Felix, and then Hood, had tried to call Rachel, but she hadn't answered her phone. When her apartment turned up empty, Felix had suggested they locate her via the GPS chip in her FBI issued cell phone. They were both a bit annoyed; the flight to Springfield was leaving soon. They were both also a bit worried. Rachel knew she was on call; it was unlike her to be so irresponsible.
Jacob looked at the façade of the store doubtfully. "You're sure this is where Rachel is?"
"Well, it's where her cell is." The big man shrugged. "Besides, that's her SUV parked right in front of us."
The two men entered the store and were immediately confronted by a clerk. "May I help you gentlemen?"
"Yes, we're looking for Rachel Young; we believe she's in this store." Jacob replied, his annoyance showing.
The clerk checked the appointment book. "I'm sorry, but we don't have anyone by that name on the book for today."
Jacob was impatient. "Be that as it may, she's in this store, we tracked her here using her cell phone data, could you please tell us where she is?"
The clerk's eyes widened. Was this guy some kind of stalker? The other guy looked like a nightclub bouncer. It wouldn't be the first time a disgruntled ex tried to confront a former lover in this store, and these two looked like trouble. Her hand strayed toward the telephone. "I'm sorry," she said firmly. "We don't have a Rachel Young on the books for today. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Jacob opened his mouth to argue, but Felix cut in. "You don't understand." He pulled out his ID, "Agent Young is on call, we need to find…." Before he could complete his sentence, they both heard Rachel's voice from the back of the store, "Ok, this is the one!"
"I told you she was here!" Jacob shot the clerk a look of triumph and pushed past her to the back of the store. "Sir," the clerk protested, "you can't go back there."
Jacob stopped short as he came through the curtain to the fitting area; he felt as if he had been kicked in the gut. Rachel was standing on a small pedestal in front of a mirror. Her checks were flushed, her eyes sparkling. She was dressed in a strapless white wedding dress. The bodice was made of lace and fitted tightly to below the waist. The skirt billowed out, yards and yards of tulle, sprinkled with flowers made of crystals. Her hair was pulled on top of her head and held in place with a tiara and the filmy veil fell around her shoulders and down her back. Jacob thought she looked stunning and for a split second he felt as if he was going to be sick. "Ra, Rachel?" he stuttered.
Rachel turned as she heard Hood's voice. Their eyes met and her breath caught in her throat at the expression on his face. He looked shocked and slightly dismayed.
Behind him, Felix let out a long whistle. "Whoa, looking good ma'am." He let out a laugh, "so, when's the big day? We gonna be invited?"
Rachel blushed at Felix's words, and tried to ignore the way Hood's mouth tightened at the joke. "Ah, Hood, Felix, what are you doing here?" Horror dawned on her face. "No, don't tell me, we've been called out on a case?"
Before either could answer, they were interrupted by the woman with the sling. "Oh my god! You're right Rachel, this is the one! I'm gonna look beautiful, like a princess!" With that she burst into tears. The other women with her rolled their eyes.
Rachel shook her head in exasperation. "Amanda, will you please snap out of it? I told you all that I was on call, why didn't someone answer my phone? Damn it, are you trying to get me fired?"
"Rach, it didn't ring, honest," Heather protested. "We wouldn't do that to you."
Rachel kicked the skirt of the dress out of the way and gingerly stepped off the pedestal. She wobbled a bit and Jacob instinctively stepped forward to steady her. They both tensed at the touch of his hand on her bare arm. Muttering her thanks, Rachel pulled away and grabbed her purse off a chair. She dug out her cell phone and groaned as she realized that she had inadvertently left it on silent mode. A quick check revealed four missed calls.
Rachel swore briefly. Afraid to meet Hood's eyes again, she looked to Felix. "What's up?"
Felix blinked in surprise; surely she should be asking the Doc for information? "Ah, we got called to Illinois. The Bureau's holding seats on a plane for us." He checked his watch. "We don't have much time; I hope you've got a go-bag in your SUV."
"Yeah, I do," Rachel replied, relieved. "Uh, let me get out of this thing and we can leave." She gathered up the skirts of the dress and started toward the dressing room, feeling Hood's eyes on her, every step of the way.
"But Rachel," protested Amanda, "you can't leave now. We still have to pick out bridesmaid dresses."
Rachel whirled around in annoyance, which proved to be a mistake. Tripping over the train, she would have fallen had Jacob not put his arm around her waist to steady her. Rachel quickly righted herself and stepped away from him. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at Amanda. "I don't give a damn what you pick. As long as it's not poufy and Megan and Heather like it, I'll be fine." She stalked to the dressing room and slammed the door behind her.
"Um, excuse me?" a timid voice spoke up. Felix and Jacob turned to the shorter woman. "Ah, Rachel asked me to hold this for her? While she was trying on the dresses?" Heather held out Rachel's Glock. "I think it might be a good idea to not give it back to her until she's out of here." Felix began to snicker and took possession of the weapon.
In a few minutes Rachel emerged from the dressing room. She still looked unhappy, but was relieved to be back in her own clothes.
"Rachel," Amanda began wheedlingly. "Now you're sure you can't wait five more minutes? Just to look…"
Megan cut in ruthlessly. "Amanda, quit being such a bridezilla. Rachel has to work, she has to go. She doesn't have a choice." She winked at Rachel. "Don't worry, we'll pick out something that all of us look good in. And no butt bows!"
Rachel rolled her eyes. "That's all we need, butt bows." She hastily hugged her friends goodbye and quickly turned to leave the shop followed by Felix and Hood.
"What's a butt bow?" Jacob asked. Felix snorted as Rachel muttered that she'd explain later.
As she approached the SUV, Rachel realized that a situation she thought couldn't get any worse, was about to do so. Hood was going around the front of the vehicle to get into the passenger seat, and Felix was headed to his sedan.
"Guys, uh wait." Rachel began. She took a deep breath and dug the keys to the SUV out of her purse and held them out to Felix. "Uh, I can't drive." She sighed at the look of astonishment on the faces of the two men. "I know I shouldn't have, I mean I knew I was on call, but." She waved her hands, "it was stressful, ok, with the dresses."
Comprehension dawned on Jacob's face. His lips twitched with amusement as he realized the source of Rachel's flushed checks and sparkling eyes. "Why Agent Young, have you been drinking?"
Felix began to grin, but wiped the smile off his face as Rachel glared at them both.
"I had a couple of glasses of champagne, ok?"
"A couple?" Jacob raised his eyebrows.
"Three, satisfied?" Rachel snapped.
Felix knitted his brows in consternation. "Uh, ma'am," he began hesitantly. "I've got the Doc's stuff and mine in the trunk of the sedan; we can throw your go-bag in with them. Can't we leave your SUV here? "
"Not here in Georgetown. It'll get towed." Rachel shook her head regretfully.
Jacob crossed his arms across his chest and huffed impatiently. Time was running out, they needed to get on the plane and get to Illinois. Coming to a quick decision, he acted. Plucking the keys from Rachel's hand he turned to Felix. "I'll drive the SUV to the airport. Now let's get going before that plane leaves without us." Scowling, Rachel climbed into the passenger seat, a smug Hood sliding behind the wheel.
"So," Jacob inquired innocently, as he pulled out into traffic. "You were going to explain what a butt bow is?"
Rachel gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. "Just drive." Jacob laughed softly and the rest of the short trip to National was made in silence.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It didn't take long before the three of them were seated in the plane, ready for the flight to Illinois. On her right, Hood was already absorbed in the files the health authorities in Alexander County had sent. On her left but across the aisle, Felix was sharing with her the logistics of the trip; who they would be meeting, what was involved, where they would be headquartered After his briefing, Rachel sat back, thinking about Hood.
It had taken all of her training not to react when he had put his arm around her waist. Not that she minded his touching her. Hell, she wished he would touch her, hold her, and take her in his arms. Until she was sure of his feeling toward her though, she couldn't afford to let him see how being near him, touching him affected her; how much she wanted him. Sometimes he acted as if he cared, other times he treated her as if she meant nothing more to him than Felix. She had always known, before, when a man was interested. She wasn't a kid after all. But he was different from the men she usually dated. More reserved, self-contained.
Her thoughts strayed to his expression when he saw her in the wedding dress. She could swear that he had looked upset and he hadn't liked Felix's joke; implying that it was her dress, that she was going to be married. Surely though, he realized that there wasn't anyone in her life, that there hadn't been for some time. She snorted softly. Since she'd been back, he'd kept her, them so busy she couldn't have dated even if she had wanted too. He had agreed to teach a class in bioethics at George Washington that met two evenings a week. When the class had to be re-arranged due to their travel, it was amazing how often the make-up classes were on Friday or Saturday nights. Between the class, his speaking engagements, and their work, they had virtually no time away from each other for the last six months.
She had tried, over the past few months, to let him see that her feelings for him went deeper than friendship. She had casually suggested, after the first of those weekend class sessions, that they have dinner together. When he had agreed, she had determinedly kept the conversation non-work related. She needed him to see that she was interested in, wanted, him the man. That he was more to her than the special science advisor to the FBI; more than an assignment. She had been encouraged when he seemed to take it for granted that they would continue to have dinner after all of the classes.
But she couldn't be the one to make the first move. Not because she felt that should be the male prerogative; she had seen how embarrassed he was when women flirted with him. Rachel shook her head, if she had misread his feelings for her she couldn't risk making him uncomfortable, couldn't risk his asking for her transfer. She would have to be patient.
She snuck a glance at him, at his face, frowning over the file in his hands. He had the ability to compartmentalize better than anyone she had ever met. When he focused on something, it was as if it were the only thing in the world that mattered to him. Rachel smiled to herself, it was one of the things she found most attractive about him; she wished that she could be the focus of his attention.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Three days later
It was near dawn and Jacob stood at the window in his hotel room staring at down at the deserted street. 'What a total waste of time' he thought to himself. The local authorities had requested his help in a panic. The five sick workers weren't friends, their only point of contact was the canning factory. The authorities were frantic, if the source of the lead poisoning couldn't be found quickly, they were afraid that the feds would shut the factory down. It was the major employer in the county; the economic impact would be devastating.
He had worked every avenue he could think of. He had tested the water, paint, and insulation at the workers' offices and homes. He experimented with other substances found in the workers' offices, in the factory cafeteria, to see if some synergy effect was causing the lead normally found in their environment to build up in their systems. Because there was only one thing that was certain, the workers' blood tested positively for lead.
He had been out of ideas, when he remembered his Sherlock Holmes. He quoted to Rachel and Felix, 'when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' Since he had eliminated the impossible, maybe they needed to look at the improbable. If the workers had lead in their blood, they must have been ingesting lead somewhere, somehow. Maybe what was needed wasn't a scientist, but a detective. Freed from the need to find a scientific answer to the problem, Rachel and Felix had reverted to good, solid, investigative work. Within a day, they had found the solution.
It seemed the officer workers had decided to supplement their income by making moonshine for the upcoming holiday parties. They hadn't begun selling their product; they had been waiting to build up sufficient inventory before opening shop so to speak. But they hadn't been able to resist sampling their wares. A quick inspection of their still had shown Jacob how the workers were poisoned. The still was clumsily soldered together. The lead from the solder had leached into the alcohol; the workers had poisoned themselves. Jacob shook his head. He couldn't believe, in the face of a federal investigation, that the men had remained silent as to the source of their illness. He shrugged, 'poor bastards, probably afraid of losing their jobs, going to jail.'
Jacob sighed and turned away from the window, leaning back against the glass and closing his eyes. The real reason for his restlessness wasn't that the case hadn't called for his expertise. Not exactly. It was just that without work to focus on, his mind was once again consumed with thoughts of Rachel. Ever since she was shot, he had faced the certainty that there was no way he could exist without her in his life. He knew, even before she had been injured, that Rachel was more to him than his handler or bodyguard. When she had almost died, he realized he'd have to let her know what she meant to him. That he cared for her. 'Shit' Jacob thought. 'I don't 'care' for her, I love her.'
Since she had come back, he had done everything he could think of to keep her close to him. Agreed to every speaking engagement Frank suggested, that damn class at GW, anything that would give him an excuse to keep her by his side. It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to have her by his side. 'Damn it, I don't just want her by my side, I want her in my bed.' Jacob winced, shifting slightly at the tightness in his groin, his cock hardening as he imagined Rachel, naked in his bed. Imagined running his hands over her soft body; imagined her under him, being inside her, holding her, kissing her, loving her.
The only problem was that he wasn't sure how she felt about him. What if all she felt was gratitude for his saving her life? He had been pleased when she had suggested they have dinner together after one of the classes. He smiled in rememberance, it had felt like a real date, they hadn't talked about work once. He had taken his courage into his hands after the next class; acted as if their having dinner together was already agreed upon. He was relieved when Rachel hadn't demurred. They were now having dinner together two or three nights a week, when they were in DC. But still, there were times when she acted so reserved around him, as if all she was interested in was business as usual.
His mind turned to the scene at the bridal shop. She had looked so damned beautiful in that dress. While he knew, intellectually, she wasn't involved with anyone; emotionally it had been a blow. The fact there wasn't a man in her life right now wasn't comforting. She was a beautiful, desirable woman; a woman men noticed. It was only a matter of time before she noticed one of them. The idea that he could lose her, not to death, or a transfer, but to another man, was intolerable. He was going to have to tell her that he had fallen in love with her; before she met someone else. If she didn't feel the same, didn't think she could ever feel the same, it was better that he know it now.
He was uncomfortable with the idea of telling her, of exposing his feelings for her, in a public place though. What if she didn't feel the same? What if she only thought of him as a friend, a colleague? It would be awkward, she would feel uncomfortable, but she would be stuck with him. She would feel duty bound to make sure he got home safely. They would be headed home to DC in a few hours. Maybe he could talk her into having dinner with him in his apartment tonight. At least then, if she wanted, she could leave easily.
Jacob was so intent on his thoughts of Rachel that he didn't hear her come into his room, call his name. His eyes snapped open at the touch of a hand on his arm.
"Hood," Rachel began hesitantly, "you ok?'
He shook his head slightly, trying to separate the reality of Rachel, here in his room, from his fantasy of Rachel in his bed. "Uh, yeah," he smiled gently. "Just thinking."
She snorted. "No kidding. But," she continued, "I'm glad you're awake. I just got a call from the Bureau. They need us in Ohio, ASAP."
"I thought we were headed back to DC?" Jacob frowned.
"Change of plans," she shrugged. "I've already called Felix; he'll meet us downstairs in half an hour." Rachel turned toward the door connecting their rooms.
"Rachel, wait," Jacob called out. He pushed away from the window and took a step toward her.
"What,?" she paused, her hand on the doorframe. "We really need to get going Hood."
Jacob shook his head, no this wasn't the time or the place. "Uh, I was wondering, what the problem was, what did they tell you?"
"Not much," Rachel shook her head. "There's a problem in one of the biotech labs at Ohio State. Something to do with some experiments funded by the NIH. They're not sure if it's sabotage, or fraud, or what. They want you to take a look." With that she vanished into her room.
Jacob sighed again and made a promise to himself. As soon as they got back to DC, no matter what, he was going to tell Rachel that he loved her. It might be awkward, but anything was better than not knowing how Rachel felt about him.