The last thing he had ever expected to happen, after a long string of unexpected happenings, was for Emily Prentiss to show up on his doorstep, looking lost and bedraggled.
"Hey, Dave. Um, can I come in?"
He tilted his head to one side and looked her up and down. Her clothes were wrinkled, which told him that she had come right to him after arriving from the airport. A quick look behind her told him as much, too, as he saw a taxi speeding back down his drive. "Why are you here?"
"Penelope said that you're not talking to her and Erin. That you've been shutting everyone out of your life. They're worried about you, Dave."
He snorted and beckoned her inside. Once the door was closed, he stalked off to the study, Emily following at his heels. Once he was secluded in his study, he strode over to his liquor cabinet and pulled out an aged bottle of whiskey. "Do you want any?"
"No, I'm good. Thanks, though."
Emily was silent as he poured himself a tumbler of the drink. She did sigh, though, when he turned and made his way over to his chair, slumping down in it. Dave gave her a hard look as he sipped at the alcohol, willing it to dull his senses. It had been so long since he had indulged himself, deferring to Erin in this, but now that she was gone, he could enjoy such pleasures once more. "If you have something to say, say it," he finally growled, tired of those large brown eyes staring at him.
"They didn't mean to hurt you. Erin fell in love with her and realized that it would hurt you more to stay in a relationship she couldn't commit to fully. It didn't help that you took no time off from work when she was finally cleared to return home to you. Penelope was the one who was there to pick up the pieces of her heart. Were you really surprised that this happened?"
"Yes!" he yelled, knocking back the rest of his drink. "Dammit, I went crazy thinking she was dead. And then she just drops me like yesterday's panties. Fucking Christ, Emily. I fucking loved her!"
He saw her wince, and he wondered if it was his language that had shocked her. It was only when he felt the warmth of liquid rolling down his had that he realized he had shattered the glass and was now bleeding. "We need to take care of that."
Dave nodded dumbly and stood up, directing Emily to the downstairs bathroom. He heavily sat on the toilet, holding out his hand to her. She smiled tenderly as she grabbed a towel for him, handing it over before rummaging around in his medicine cabinet, finally pulling out hydrogen peroxide, tweezers, and some bandages. "I'm so glad that you're here," he whispered as she knelt on the floor, taking his hand between her own.
Tenderly, she dabbed at his hand, cleaning the blood off so that she could get a good look at what damage he had done. Dave winced a little as her fingers brushed over his palm. She clucked in sympathy before taking hold of the tweezers and prying the shard of glass out of his hand.
"Son of a bitch," he hissed out, shuddering as he felt it slide from his flesh.
"I know. But this is going to hurt even worse. Thank God that you only had one shard in there." She opened the bottle of peroxide and poured a little onto a clean corner of the towel before daubing at his wound. Dave fought hard not to yank his hand from hers, instead hissing lowly in pain before gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes closed as she finished her ministrations.
"Are we almost done here?" he bit out, his free hand clenching into a tight fist.
"Yes, Dave." Her voice was soothing as she dried off the excess peroxide before affixing a bandage to the wound. His senses on high alert, he felt her move in close, her lips claiming his in a sweet, endearing, kiss. He decided, in that moment, to let her lead, his heart beating an anxious tattoo inside his chest. "And a few kisses to make everything better," she whispered before bringing his hand up to her mouth and kissing the spot where he had cut himself.
"Emily. Do they really feel that badly?" his whispered, his voice sounding ragged to his ears.
"Yes. Erin looks so sad, even though she's happy with Penelope. She told me that she feels like she betrayed you, even though she was honest with you from the beginning of things. You need to forgive them, to wash off the bad blood that's grown up between you. I mean, when Reid is calling me to play mediator, you know that something is wrong."
There was a slight laugh to her voice and he opened his eyes to see her smiling at him. He smiled in return and then helped her to her feet. "I hadn't realized that my mood had spilled over into work."
"Just a little, Dave. Why don't you call Erin? It's not too late in the evening."
"And what will you do?" he asked, wondering what her answer would be.
"I'll sit and listen, and then we can talk some more. And see where things might lead."
He smiled at that thought and took the cell phone from her outstretched hand. He knew Erin's number by heart still and he hesitantly dialed it, drawing out the moment that separated them still. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Emily and saw her encouraging smile as he pressed talk. It only took two rings, and then he heard her voice. "Hello?"
Smiling once more at Emily, he spoke. "Erin, it's me. I, I just called to apologize…"
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