Emily tapped her foot impatiently. She was supposed to be meeting her blind date here, under the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, at precisely noon, and here it was, ten past and no one wearing a grey riding hat had appeared. And Emily knew that she would spot them a mile off, as there wasn't a Renaissance Faire going on anywhere close.

About to give up on the whole damn thing, Emily turned and started to make her way towards the door when she caught a flash of feathers. "Finally," she muttered under her breath and began to make her way over there.

"Emily?"

"Erin? What are you doing here? And wearing that hat of all things?"

The older woman shrugged and looked down at her feet, the hat making a shadow against her face. "I moved here six months ago. David and I were not working out, and I needed a change of scenery. I made a new friend as I learned to ring the bells, and she said that she would set me up with the perfect person."

"Let me guess, her name is Robin," Emily interrupted, her lips pursing together as she awaited Erin's reply. At the woman's nod, she sighed. "Great. This has to be the universe's idea of a joke, you realize. Setting us up for a blind date? I mean, we didn't part on good terms before your brush with death, and you're not into women."

A light blush stained her cheeks, and Emily wondered if she did fancy women. "Being bisexual was never something that I talked about a lot. I had a roommate, at the Academy, and I told her that if anything were to ever happen to me, that she should destroy any evidence about that side of my life. My parents would never have understood that I liked both men and women. And even though we had a pretty major falling out? She still kept my secret."

There was a real sadness in her voice, and Emily reached out to rest her hand on Erin's shoulder. "It's wonderful when we can find someone that we can trust with secrets like that. And now, since we've been deemed compatible, would you like to go out to lunch with me?"

Erin glanced up, looking into her eyes, and nodded. "I suppose. May I take off this ridiculous hat? Robin gave me it wear, so that you would be able to find me, and it is so heavy. Plus, I feel like everyone is staring at me!"

"They're staring at how beautiful you look." The compliment rolled off her tongue so easily that she wondered where it was coming from. Erin cocked up one eyebrow as she frowned a little. "It's true. You are beautiful. I saw it for the first time at JJ's wedding, when you were in Rossi's arms, smiling so widely. The joy and love that radiated off your features lent you this mystic beauty, and I was in awe of it."

"You have a glib tongue, Emily." Even now, she loved to hear the way that Erin said her name, and she smiled as she shook her head, reaching out for Erin's hand to clasp as they exited the Cathedral. "And I suppose that I have to wear this hat now."

"Yes, since it's yours. Robin won't take it back after I tell her what a good first date we had."

"First date?" she asked archly as they made their way down the sidewalk. "You're that certain of yourself."

"I am. Robin's played matchmaker for about twenty people in the office now, and only one couple has broken up. That's a track record I'm not going to argue with."

"I see," she responded, her hand tightening around Emily's as their walk continued. "Why don't you tell me about life here in London, then. If we're going to date, I might as well know more about you."

Emily couldn't tell if Erin was teasing her or not, but she decided to go with it as she guided her into a small café. "All right, let me grab us something to eat and then I will tell you about life here with Interpol."

Erin nodded and let go of Emily's hand to find a table for them. Emily quickly ordered something that she thought Erin would like, along with her usual chai tea, and took the number handed to her before heading to the last table. "I rather like seclusion. And this way, people won't stare at me."

Emily shook her head. "I wish I could tell you how well that hat suited you and have you believe it. But it seems like that's not to be." She let out a soft sigh before leaning across the table and tilting her head just right so as not to knock the hat off Erin's head before kissing her. As first kisses go, it wasn't earth shattering, it wasn't full of sparks, but it was gentle, and sweet, and right.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that," Erin whispered, a small, pleased, smile curving her lips. "You are quite a good kisser."

"I would hope so, I've had quite a few years practice." It felt right to tease Erin a little, to try and get her to blush once more, and it seemed like she was playing right into that, as her cheeks quickly turned pink once more. "After this, I can try kissing other places on you, to see if you still think I'm such a good kisser."

"Emily!" she exclaimed, a slight squeak to her voice, and she shrugged a little. "That's for second dates, don't you think? Once we've gotten to know each other a little better?"

"I suppose," she replied, pouting a little. "Though I do feel like I know you quite well."

Erin shook her head as the server brought around their drinks. "You know the me of years ago, you don't know the me of today. I've changed, and you probably have, too." She picked up her mug, wrapping her hands around it as she brought it to her lips to take a sip.

"When you put it like that, I suppose that you're right. Though I know that you are an amazing woman, to survive what happened to you. Rossi mentioned that you were left with a permanent reminder?"

All hints of mirth left Erin's face as she nodded. Hesitantly, she held out her arm to Emily, and it was then that she saw scar tissue that marred the pale skin of Erin's wrist. "Infinity is such a long time to be reminded of my greatest failing."

"If you trust me, I'll show you mine as soon as we get back to my apartment. It's not in a place where I would care to share it in public." Taking hold of Erin's outstretched arm, she brought it to her chest and rested it on the swell of her breast. Slowly, Erin nodded, her fingers tapping gently a few times before she drew it back once more.

"That makes four of us left with permanent scars. Who knew that the BAU was such a dangerous place?" Erin asked wryly.

"I know." The rest of the time in the café was spent in a comfortable silence, and Emily found that she was grateful for that comfort. Too often, her dates had felt like they had to fill the silence with mindless chatter, and that had set her on edge. Their eyes met as Erin set aside her drink, and a gentle smile filled her face as she rested her chin on her hand. "I'm almost finished here, Erin."

"Take your time, there's something enjoyable about just being here with you." They shared a quick sigh, which made Emily laugh, and Erin shook her head a little as she leaned back in her chair. There was something so effortless about the move, and Emily found herself studying the other woman over the rim of her mug, learning every detail about her, and wondering what she would look like naked.

That thought threw her for a moment, and it was her turn to blush at the wanton thoughts that were turning her brain to mush. She drained the rest of her tea before standing hurriedly, holding her hand out to Erin. "Where are you taking me now?"

"Back to my flat. I want to talk in a little more intimately of a setting." Erin nodded and clasped her hand, letting her help her up before surprising Emily by wrapping her arm around her waist.

The walk back to her place didn't take too long, and Erin followed her up the three flights of stairs, barely getting winded. As soon as the door was opened, she stumbled in after her, and Emily barely got the door closed before Erin was giving her a long, gentle, exploratory, kiss. "I rather like the taste of your lips," she offered as an explanation before making her way over to the sofa and taking a seat. "Now, you were going to show me your scar?"

"Yes." Emily knelt on the floor in front of her as her fingers made quick work of the buttons on her blouse. It was easy to shrug out of and Erin's eyes were immediately drawn to the swell of her breasts. "Doyle and I were lovers. You should know that, first of all."

"Did you love him?" she asked, her eyes travelling back up to Emily's face until their gazes met once more.

"I thought that I did, honestly. I loved his son, and that may have made me more open to him, if that makes sense. I thought that we could form a family, if he would only give up his life for me. I fell into that stupid trope of a woman only wants a man to break and fix in her image. He wouldn't do it, though, he wouldn't betray what made his blood sing. And it was those little things that added up to something a lot like love in my mind and heart."

"What did he do to you, when he found out who you really were?" Erin's voice was so low that Emily had to lean in to hear the words that slipped from her tongue.

"He branded me as his. I had flushed the ring he gave me, and he swore that he would give me a permanent reminder that I was his property." Reaching out, she took hold of Erin's hand and brought it to her breast, guiding her fingers over the shamrock brand that marred her flesh. "And it's not just the fact that it's a shamrock, it's his own personal mark. I'll never be rid of him."

"Shh, Emily," Erin whispered, bringing her hand up to her face and caressing her cheek softly. "It would be so easy to fall into bed with you right now, you know. You're so open to me, and I like open and honest. It makes me crave intimacy. And just because you carry his scar does not mean that he still has rule over your heart. David had to remind me of that quite often in the first few weeks after I got out of the hospital."

The realization that she had found a kindred spirit in Erin made her smile, and Emily turned her face so that she could kiss the palm of Erin's hand. "I would let you make love to me, if that's what you really wanted."

"I just want to heal," she whispered. "I've tried praying to St. Raphael, but to no avail."

Emily nodded. "Me, too." She pulled herself up onto the couch and drew her legs up to her chest as she watched Erin closely. "Perhaps that we could try to heal together?"

"If that's where our relationship leads, then yes. Now, what do you think that we should do for the rest of our time together this afternoon?"

"I'm up for whatever you want to do, Erin."

"Even if that includes a heavy kissing marathon?" she teased, and Emily nodded. "Oh. Oh. I was not expecting that answer."

"Which is why I gave it." Emily leaned over and pecked at Erin's lips quickly. "I could easily spend an afternoon doing nothing but this, Erin. Thank you for giving me this option." Emily gave her another kiss, and then another, and when she received no protests, she pushed Erin back against the sofa as they exchanged sweet kisses of hope. In the back of her mind, she made a note to thank Robin in the morning. After all, her matchmaking skills had proven to be spot on once more.