Disclaimer: Criminal Minds is owned by CBS. I own nothing but my imagination.
Breakfast
It was breakfast time and, for the first time in a long time, David Rossi didn't need his mother to come prod him out of bed. No, he just needed to get through his day in the second grade and then right afterwards, his father was going to pick him up in his delivery truck and take him to the evening Yankee's game.
He quickly pulled his baseball cap over his unruly, dark hair and thundered down the stairs to the kitchen, where his mom was cooking one of her hardy breakfasts and his dad was reading the newspaper. He ran for his chair and barely got himself seated before his mom set a plate of smiley-face pancakes down in front of him.
"Thanks ma," he said, giving her a smile which showed the loss of his bottom front teeth. They had come out just the other day and the tooth fairy had given him fifty cents for them. He planned on using the money at the baseball game later that day.
"We're still going to the game today, right pop?" Dave asked through a mouthful of food. His dad worked long hours and sometimes had to work overtime and little Davie had learned that plans could change in an instant.
"Davie, don't talk with your mouth full," his mother scolded.
His father smiled at his son's antics and replied, "We sure are, I've been looking forward to it all week."
"Me too!" His son replied enthusiastically as he sloshed his glass of OJ onto the table. Shaking her head, his mother came and cleaned up the small mess.
"You can wear your baseball hat on your walk to school, Davie, but you'll have to take it off before you go inside," she told him.
"But maaaaaaaa," he whined, making the two letter word into four syllables, "I want all of the kids to know that I'm rooting for the Yankees today!"
"And you can let them know, but you'll have to do it before school," she said firmly. "Because if I get a call from the nuns letting me know you wouldn't take off your cap, or you complained about doing it, there will be no game for you this afternoon. Capisce?"
"Yeah, I get it," he grumbled petulantly as he crossed his arms over his chest; his mother always had to ruin all of his fun!
"You can still show your loyalty to all of your friends," his father said as he reached for the counter behind him and pulled a small, cylindrical item off of it and handed it to his son.
"You got me a Yankees pencil?" Dave asked as a huge grin overtook his face. "This is great! Thanks dad!" He exclaimed as he jumped up and gave his father a hug.
"You can thank your mother too; she's the one who spotted it when we were walking home from church the other day," his dad said as he returned his son's hug. Both he and his wife had always wanted a house full of children, but sadly it wasn't in God's plan.
"Thanks ma!" Dave said as he ran from his father to his mother, where he also gave her a bone crushing hug.
"You're welcome Davie," she said gently as she pried herself out of his arms. Once free, she reached into the icebox and pulled out the sack lunch she'd made for him. "You'd better get going; you don't want to be late for school."
Little David Rossi took the offered lunch, grabbed his book bag from the table and ran out the door, yelling his goodbyes behind him. If it weren't for the long school day ahead of him, his life would have been nearly perfect.
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Dave awoke to the sound of clattering pans from the first floor and groaned as he rolled over to take his wife into his arms, but he found her space cold and empty. Damn, she must be the one making all of the noise in the kitchen. He immediately jumped out of bed and pulled his robe on over his pajama pants. Quickly making his way to the first floor of their small house, he found his wife of six years making her famous blueberry pancakes.
"You shouldn't be down here, Kate," he said, as he watched her practically glide across the kitchen. The one thing the cancer hadn't taken from her was her gracefulness; it had taken her hair, her strength, her energy and, sadly, soon the disease would take her life, but it hadn't taken her elegance and for that, Dave was eternally grateful.
"I am perfectly capable of making pancakes for my husband," she said as she put a stack on the table. "Now sit down and eat," she commanded, sounding very much like his mother.
"Only if you join me," he said, as he got up and pulled out a chair for her. They both sat and Kate watched as her husband dug into his breakfast. Sadly, because of the advanced stage of her cancer, Kate couldn't eat solid foods but it warmed her heart to watch her husband enjoy her cooking so much.
"So where is everyone?" He asked as he took a large swig of orange juice. Kate had a close relationship with her parents and siblings and, since the end was near for her, they were spending as much time with her as they could. In fact, they were living at the house, helping Dave care for her.
"I sent them out for breakfast today," she said and then looked him directly in the eye. "We need to talk."
"Okay," he said calmly as he set his fork down, "let's talk." On the outside he looked as if he was in control of his emotions, but he was practically screaming on the inside. A large part of him knew this would probably be the last time they would ever have a private talk.
Kate took a deep breath, "We both know I don't have much time left," she said and Dave nodded sadly. "And I know when I'm gone, you're going to pull into yourself and not allow anyone to help you." Dave opened his mouth to argue, but his wife wouldn't let him. "I know you, honey, and that's what you do; when something happens, you clam up tighter than Fort Knox and try to work things out for yourself, but that's not going to work this time…you're going to need help getting through this."
"Honey," he said, picking up her thin hand, "Don't worry about these things, I'll be fine when you're gone." He didn't actually believe that, but he didn't want his wife to spend the little time she had left worrying about him.
"David," she said firmly, "You're not going to be fine and do you know how I know that? Because if this was happening to you, I would be a wreck. You and I…we have something magical and it's going to be hard for you after I'm gone and that's why you have to let people help you." She saw that her husband was about to interrupt, so she used her remaining strength and plowed ahead. "Honey, my family loves you like you're their own son; please let them help you through this! I'll be able to go to my final resting place much easier if I know you won't be alone when I'm gone. Can you please do this for me?"
Dave nodded as he blinked back tears, "I will, I promise," he whispered, not trusting his voice.
"Good," Kate said as she moved her chair closer to his, "I also want you to promise me that you'll look for love again after I'm gone."
"Kate-" Dave said shaking his head, but his wife kept talking.
"I mean it, Dave, you're still young and I want you to have the family you've always wanted. Our six years together have been wonderful and I want you to find that with someone else. I want you to have a happy, healthy and full life and you won't be able to do that if you condemn yourself to a life of solitude. Please promise me that you'll look for love and happiness."
"I promise," he said, his voice breaking. He gently pulled his fragile wife into his lap and held her in his arms. "I'm going to miss you so much," he said, the tears finally spilling over his eyes.
"I know Dave, and it's not fair that our time together will be so short, but these last six years have been the happiest of my life and I wouldn't have traded them for anything. I never thought I could love a person as much as I love you, and you remember that when I'm gone, okay?"
Dave just nodded and continued to hold her, soaking in every detail and committing it to memory. He had never loved a woman as much as he loved her and he was sure he never would again.
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Dave was eating breakfast at a non-descript, greasy diner in a town whose name he couldn't remember. How many days had he been on the road, fourteen? Fifteen? Did it even matter anymore? It seemed like he used his house only as a place to wash his clothes and receive mail at since he was on the road, trying to catch the worst that humanity had to offer.
As he ate his runny eggs, he stretched his back and realized he felt much older than he actually was. In a few months he would turn thirty-five, but he felt as though he was eighty-five. Was it worth it? Was it worth it to give up his own life so that others would be safe? Was it worth the nightmares and fatigue that followed him constantly? Was it worth living in the gray world he found himself in? Yeah, his job title was good for some quick fucks with whatever floozies glommed onto him in the countless cities he'd visited in his pursuit of monsters, but what did he have to show for his life? He wasn't even forty yet and he'd already had two wives; what would he be like when he was fifty? Sixty? For the first time ever, he found himself contemplating leaving the BAU and the Bureau altogether.
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As he awoke, Dave could hear the rain pattering on the roof and he knew it would be a gloomy day. As he made his way to the bathroom, he heard a noise in the kitchen and froze; what the fuck was that? The hangover that was kicking his ass, and head, made it impossible to recall the events from the previous night so he made a detour into the kitchen and found an impossibly gorgeous woman clad only in one of his t-shirts and she was making breakfast.
He wondered what it said about him that he didn't know her name. Was it Sally? Sarah? He knew it was something with an S, but he wasn't sure which it was and, besides, it didn't matter, she was one of many women whom he'd fucked and then given cab money so they could ride out of his life. What was one more?
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Dave looked up from his scrambled eggs as his wife threw a thick packet of papers to him…actually, at him would have been more apt.
"What the fuck Pauline? That almost hit my head!" He yelled as he started flipping through the pages.
"What do you think I was trying to do, asshole? Maybe if I had hit my mark, I could spare myself some trouble!" The woman replied as fire nearly shot out of her eyes.
"It is WAY too fucking early for this, Pauline. Can't you hold off on your histrionics until after breakfast?"
"I won't be here after breakfast, David; I'm leaving you. I want a divorce," she said firmly.
"Jesus," was his reply as he began reading some of the legal words in the large document she had thrown at him.
"Are you really surprised?" His soon to be ex-wife asked. "We haven't been happy in years, David and I can't live like this anymore We gave it a shot, we stayed together for five years but it's time to admit defeat. I fucking refuse to be an FBI widow, both figuratively and literally."
Dave just shook his head, "You knew I was an agent before you married me. Did you really expect me to give up my job for you?"
"No, but I didn't expect this! I didn't expect you to be gone forty weeks out of the year and I didn't expect you to be preoccupied with cases during the little bit of time that you're here! I'm not looking for perfection, Dave, I just want someone who will be there for me when I need them and you are not that man anymore," she said, her anger turning to sadness.
"Fine," he sighed. "I'll have my lawyer look this over and if the terms seem fair and equitable, I'll sign it." The woman in front of him might hate him, but he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't try to screw him over in the settlement.
"Thank you," she said quietly as she got up from the table. "I'll go pack, I'll be staying with a friend from work until I find my own place."
He watched as she walked away and he wondered what it said about him that he didn't have any feelings over the end of their marriage.
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He awoke in some nameless hotel room with a pounding headache. The last thing he remembered was a toast in honor of his book making the New York Times best sellers list. After that, and a boatload of champagne, everything is fuzzy.
"David, wake up sleepyhead." At the sound of the feminine voice, Dave turned his head, cracked one eye open and found himself looking at a virtual stranger…no, not exactly a stranger, she had been making eyes at him since he had walked into the banquet hall, but he didn't know her name.
"David Rossi, are you ever going to get up?" She asked and Dave groaned and continued to feign sleep.
"Fine," she huffed, "I'm going to jump in the shower while you sleep." He felt a kiss hit his left ear and then she slid off of the bed. A second later he heard the bathroom door close and the shower begin to run. He gave it another couple of minutes before he crept out of bed, silently dressed and, without a backward glance, left the hotel room and headed home. On the way, he stopped for a solitary breakfast at a greasy diner and thought about the sad state of his life.
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Dave was sitting in the breakfast area of a chain hotel, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper; he knew the rest of the team would be up and round momentarily and he wanted to enjoy another minute of solitude before he was bombarded by his teammates.
Team. Teammates. Those were words he still had difficulties with. When he was in the BAU the first time around, he was a solitary investigator and he did things his way. In the six months since he'd been back at the BAU, he'd had to get used to the input of other people and the decisions of his unit chief and best friend and it was still hard to get used to all of it sometimes.
"Hey Rossi, how'd you sleep?" Emily asked, plunking herself down next to him. He learned long ago that the team always ate breakfast together and, surprisingly, he actually looked forward to that part of the day.
"Not bad Prentiss, you?" He asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Not bad," she said as she nibbled on the toast she'd made herself. "I'll be better once there's coffee," she said with a sigh as she looked at the empty carafes at the breakfast buffet. "They said it's going to take ten more minutes for a fresh pot." By the end of the sentence, Emily was nearly pouting and Dave had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
"Here," he said as he pushed his nearly full cup towards her.
"Really?" She said as her face brightened. One of the first things she had learned about Rossi was that you didn't ever mess with his coffee. Ever. So she was surprised he was willingly giving up his caffeinated brew.
He nodded, "That's my second cup, so I can wait until the new pot is ready."
"Thanks Dave!" She said with a smile as she took her first sip. "Aaahhhh, I can feel the caffeine seeping into my veins."
He gave a snort as the rest of the team straggled in and began to complain about the lack of coffee. As hard as it had been for him to understand the concept of teamwork, he found himself oddly content as he his co-workers surrounded him.
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As Dave slowly awoke, he fervently prayed to a God he hadn't spoken to in decades that he hadn't dreamed the previous night because if he had, well…he didn't know what he would do. Just as that thought hit his mind, he felt soft fingers running through his hair. He turned onto his side and saw the object of his desire lying next to him without a stitch of clothing on.
"I could get used to this view," he said, licking his lips.
"Mmmm, I could get used to this bed," JJ replied as she leisurely stretched. "What exactly is the thread count of these sheets, Rossi? One thousand? One million?"
"I couldn't tell you, honey, I have a personal shopper who picks those types of things out for me."
"Must be rough," she muttered as she turned towards him and cuddled up against him. They laid in a peaceful silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company.
"Do you regret what we did last night, JJ?" Dave asked quietly.
"Not for a second," she said firmly. "I've been waiting for this moment since that first day I saw you in Hotch's office and if I hadn't been with Will at the time, I would have jumped you right then and there."
"I'm sure Hotch would've LOVED that," he replied with a grin.
"It would have been a memorable experience, that's for sure," she replied laughingly and then became serious again. "Do you regret what we did, David?"
He shivered when he heard her use his full name; so few people did it in a loving way anymore. "There is nothing on this planet that could make me regret making love to you," he said and then planted a gentle kiss on her mouth.
She returned the kiss and then got up and put on her short robe. "Come on, there's just enough time for me to make you breakfast before I go to pick up Henry."
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Dave couldn't remember the last time he watched Saturday morning cartoons, but there he was, sitting on the sofa in a t-shirt and boxers, eating neon colored cereal and watching Looney Toons. Of course it helped that he wasn't alone; four year old Henry Jareau was sitting next to him, also wearing just a t-shirt and his pull-up diaper and he was enthralled as he watched Daffy Duck chase Bugs Bunny around a field. He was so enraptured by the cartoon that he nearly tipped his own bowl of cereal onto the couch. Luckily, Dave saw it and adjusted the bowl into a more upright position before he could get any of the syrupy milk onto the upholstery.
Henry, who had been initially startled by Dave's mad grab for the cereal bowl, looked up at him and said, "Thanks Daddy! Mommy would have been maaaaaaaddddd if I had spilled. She NEVER lets me watch cartoons during breakfast!"
Dave grinned down at the boy; the boy who, in two weeks, would officially be his son. Now that Will was finally out of the picture for good, there weren't any road blocks to prevent him from officially adopting the little boy sitting next to him and for that, Dave was eternally grateful.
"I don't let you watch cartoons during breakfast because I don't want you spilling all over," a feminine voice said from the doorway.
"Uh-oh," Henry said, scooting closer to Dave. "Now we're going to get it."
"Leave her to me, son," Dave said softly and then raised his voice to its normal level. "Morning Jen, care to join us?"
As she saw her two favorite men both looking at her with puppy dog eyes, JJ felt the little bit of annoyance leave her body. "I would love to," she said with a smile. She sat down on the other side of her son and ruffled his hair. "Did you save any Fruit Loops for me?"
"Here mommy, you can have mine!" Henry held out his bowl of mushy cereal towards her and JJ, being a mom, knew she had to take it. Thankfully, her new husband saved her from eating a disgusting meal.
"Henry, why don't I get mommy a new bowl so she can have her own food?" He suggested as he stood up. Henry nodded and became engrossed in the TV show again, while Dave got up to get his wife a fresh bowl and a cup of coffee. When he came back into the living room, he saw Henry curled up in JJ's embrace and he wondered what had taken him so long to get to this point in his life.
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As he watched his wife fry up some potatoes, Dave wondered what in the hell was wrong with her. From the moment she'd come down the stairs, she'd been jumpy and scatterbrained. In fact, this was the second batch of breakfast potatoes she was cooking, since she'd burned the first batch simply by not paying attention to them while they were cooking.
"Need any help, Jen?" He asked as he scrambled the eggs.
"I'm fine, Dave," she replied back in voice that sounded anything but fine.
"Okay honey, I'm done over here," he said, dividing the eggs onto two plates. He added some fruit and bacon to each plate and JJ added potatoes and they both sat down at the table and began to eat…well, Dave began to eat; JJ just moved the food around her plate.
"Seriously Jen, what's wrong?" He asked. His wife had been acting strange for the last few days, and now it was finally coming to a head. It was actually the perfect time to discuss it since Henry was sleeping over at a friend's house and wouldn't be home until later that afternoon.
"Nothing's wrong, Dave," she said unconvincingly as she stared at her plate.
Quirking an eyebrow, Dave asked, "Care to try that one again?"
JJ shook her head, took a deep breath and whispered, "I'm pregnant."
Dave, who had barely heard her, wanted to make sure he had heard correctly. "What?" He asked in disbelief.
JJ continued to stare at the table, "I'm pregnant…with your child. I skipped my period last month, but that's not unusual for me, but then I was late again this month and my boobs are sore and I'm always tired and…well, finally the light bulb went on in my brain and I took the test and it said I was pregnant." JJ tended to speak very fast when nervous, so it took Dave a moment to translate her ramblings.
"Pregnant," he said in wonder. He thought he'd missed his chance to have children, other than Henry, and it was taking him a moment to get past the shock.
JJ finally looked up at him, "Are you angry, Dave? I know we didn't plan for this, and I don't know what we'll do once it's born and-"
"Jennifer," he interrupted as a large grin spread across his face, "You just told me that I'm going to be a father again and you think I'm mad? Sweetheart, I couldn't be happier about this if I tried!"
"Really," she asked, relief evident in her voice.
"Really," he confirmed with a laugh. "How long have you known about it?"
"I've suspected it for about a week, but I took the test this morning. I should probably make a doctor's appointment."
Dave stood up and nodded, "You probably should, but not today," he said as he picked her up and swung her into his arms. "Right now, you and I are going to celebrate."
JJ giggled as he carried her to the stairs; if he wanted to celebrate the life growing inside of her, then who was she to stop him?
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"Ssssshhh, you're going to wake him!"
"Am not, you are!"
"Both of you, shut up!"
"Jacob, do not tell your sisters to shut up!"
"I'm going to drop all of this if we don't get in there soon."
Dave couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he heard his family outside his bedroom door. It was father's day and, as tradition had always dictated, he was about to be treated to breakfast in bed. They always tried to surprise him with it, but it was hard for his four kids to be quiet for that long so he always feigned his astonishment at the breakfast.
As he heard his door open, he quickly wiped the smile off of his face, turned so he was facing the door and pretended to be asleep. He heard tiny footsteps approach the bed and then his left eyelid was peeled back. "Wake up daddy," his six-year old daughter Josie whispered.
Her twin, Hannah, was not as shy about waking him. "WAKE UP, DADDY!" She shouted as she jumped on the bed behind him.
"Josie! You are going to give your father a heart attack!" JJ admonished.
Smiling, Dave sat up against the headboard and pulled his two daughters close to him. "What is everyone doing up so early?"
They all looked at each other and then, in unison, shouted "Happy Father's Day, dad!"
Fifteen year-old Henry set a food laden try down in front of him and then sat down on the bed. His ten year-old brother Jacob copied his actions, but was able to wriggle closer to his dad. JJ had a smile on her face as she shook her head and sat down behind her sons. Looking at her large brood, she once again praised their decision to buy a king sized bed.
"Is all of this for me?" He asked in mock surprise as he looked at the tray filled with pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit and potatoes.
Josie nodded, "We all made it for you, daddy!"
"Mom made most of it, since she can actually cook," Jacob amended, "But we helped by cutting everything up."
"It looks great, Jake," Dave said as he ruffled the boy's hair.
"Dig in, dad," Henry commanded and Dave followed his directive by taking a large forkful of pancakes.
"Mmmmm, this is delicious," he said. "But there's way too much food here for just me. Dig in, you guys." This was also part of the tradition and the Rossi children had come prepared with their own forks.
For a few minutes, there was silence as everyone ate from Dave's tray, but then Hannah suddenly jumped up and yelled "Time for presents!"
She ran back out into the hallway and came back holding a large, thick book. "Here you go, daddy!" She said, slamming it down on his lap. He bit back a groan as the spine of the book caught him on a very sensitive part of his anatomy.
"Thanks Hannie," he said as he opened it. It was a scrapbook and on the first page was a photo of the six of them that had been taken the previous year at the Grand Canyon. The kids had all signed their names around it.
"This is great you guys!" Dave said as he thumbed through the book. There were various pictures on each page and for each picture, one of the kids had written their memory about it. It was hard to decipher the twin's memories, since they were six and their handwriting was…interesting, but they made up for it by telling him a story about every picture. Finally, after twenty minutes, Henry broke in.
"Jake and I have been saving our quarters, so we're going to take you to the batting cages this afternoon," he told his dad.
"That sounds great son, thanks!"
"And when you get home, Hannie and I are going to have a tea party with you!" Josie said excitedly. "We even have a new hat for you to wear!"
Dave winced at that and saw his sons and his wife trying to hid their laughter behind their hands. "That sounds like fun, Josie," he lied. "I can't wait."
As his kids continued to eat his breakfast, JJ leaned close to him and whispered in his ear, "You're going to have to wait until the kids go to bed for my present, but I guarantee you'll like it."
Dave grinned and gave her a kiss, which garnered the attention of all of their children.
"Gross!"
"Do you want us to hurl?"
"Ick, I'm trying to eat!"
"Eeeuw, daddy!"
Dave just grinned as he sat back and watched his kids and JJ interact. He didn't know when it had happened, but breakfast had become his favorite meal of the day.