Not An Ordinary Girls Night Out
Disclaimer: CBS owns everything connected with Criminal Minds
A routine girls night out turns into something else.
A/N: This alternate ending towards the seventh season finale is written for my beta greengirl82 for her birthday which is tomorrow.
Oscar Wilde said, "True friends stab you in the front."
"This is nice" JJ said loudly over the sound of blaring music, "It feels like forever since we've done a girls night."
Garcia rubbed her ear, "Well that's not by my choice its like you've both been actively avoiding me. Its enough to give a girl a complex."
"I find that hard to believe" Emily replied with a grin, "So not that I'm not thrilled at another one of our hang over inducing night out, what brought this on?"
Both blondes give a disbelieving look making the brunette roll her eyes.
"You know why, Gumdrop. You're leaving us. AGAIN. I'm starting to suspect you really don't like me all that much." Garcia retorted.
"PG, you know I love you more then I love my caffeine" Emily told her, "And I really love my caffeine."
"But you're really leaving, aren't you?" JJ asked, "Not that I don't respect your decision, but you never really gave us a reason why."
Emily played with the napkin in front of her, she tried to control her fidgeting but she knew it was a total wash.
"I told you, I needed a change" Emily said, dropping the napkin, "It's just time for me to move on."
"Hmm" Garcia said with a raised eyebrow, "I'd buy that, but then I work with the best profilers on Earth and so it's easy to spot a lie from a mile away."
"I'm not lying" Emily told the two, "This is what I want. I want a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over. Maybe later on, settle down have a kid or two."
Both blondes paused at that, they knew how much Emily wanted to be a mother.
They knew she'd be a wonderful mother, it was only obvious by the way children opened up to her.
Heck they wanted that for her, but would that be enough to walk away from the BAU? They didn't want that.
And there was something else that she was withholding, and whatever it is, they intend to find out.
Garcia looked from her blonde cohort, her unknown partner in crime to their brunette friend. She knew that even if it was a lousy way about it, it was their only choice. The decision was made then.
"Where the frack is that waiter with our food?" Garcia asked, scanning the club, "You'd think for the price of admission that they'd have better servers."
"I'm in no big rush" Emily said with a shrug, "The only thing I've got to do at all tomorrow is pack."
"When's your final day?" JJ asked.
"Next Friday" Emily told her, "But I have a lot packing to do."
"So you finally bought a house?" Garcia asked, "Any chance for us to have a slumber party?"
"Sure" Emily said with an eye roll, "Slumber parties, ghost stories, heck I'll even let you braid my hair."
Garcia grinned at that a party already planned in her mind, then remembered why she was doing this. To save her friend from leaving their team.
"You know someone should go over and check on the food" Garcia said, "It really shouldn't take this long to get something to eat..."
"Oh?" JJ asked, moving to stand up, "I can go check..."
The blonde pulled the female agent down, "No, let Gumdrop do it."
"Me?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend's odd behavior, "Why me?"
"Because I said so" Garcia said watching the brunette sigh as she got out of her chair.
"Don't go planning on ditching me" Emily told her, "Because I don't like being on the tail end of a 'dine and dash'. Got me?"
Both women raise they're eyebrow at that, "She must dine with some sucky people." JJ said as the brunette's form retreated.
"Uh huh" Garcia said, rummaging through her purse for the secret weapon.
JJ's jaw dropped in surprise when she saw what her blonde friend did.
"What the hell are you doing, Garcia?" she asked looking over for her dark haired friend.
"Saving our Gumdrop from making a big mistake." Garcia replied, matter of factly, "Now be cool she's coming back."
"Don't forget to tip your waitress" Emily joked as she set down the food.
The loud groaned could be heard from across the room and it just made the woman grab the pillow under her head and roll over to silence the noise.
Unfortunately for her, she was on the couch so she ended up falling face first on the floor.
"Son of a bitch" Emily muttered, as she used her arms to brace herself into a sitting position, "Whose bright idea was it to go out drinking last night?"
Garcia sat up quickly with a start, "Dear God, must you talk loud?"
"Quiet out there" JJ muttered from the bathroom, "Can't a girl kiss the toilet seat in peace?"
Emily had to blink several times before she stopped seeing two of everything as she slowly grabbed onto the edge of the sofa and stood up.
"How much did we have to drink last night?" Emily asked, "I only remember the one margarita, after that everything is a blur."
Garcia fell back onto the small bed, "Please stop talking."
The brunette shakily made her way over to the large expansive mirror and took in her reflection. She instantly regretted it.
"Jesus, it looks like I've been partying with Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan" the brunette muttered, "God I've got... what the hell is this?" sniffing she grumbled, "I think I've got vomit in my hair."
JJ peered her head out, squinting as she looked over at the brunette staring at her dark locks, "That's not vomit. I think that's the Kobari from last nights meal."
The three women's eyes widen and each felt a wave of nausea, JJ rushed back to the bathroom while Emily ran for the kitchen sink and Garcia grabbed onto the trash can.
"What the hell?" Emily murmured, as she rinsed out her mouth, "This doesn't seem like too much alcohol sick... this is different."
Garcia just groaned, grasping the side of her head while JJ slowly made her way out of the bathroom to the couch.
"Was it something we ate?" JJ asked, "I think that it probably was the Chinese food. Possibly."
"How come you both can remember and I can't?" Emily asked, "I feel funky."
"Funky?" Garcia asked pulling the comforter around her shoulders, "Funky how? From the food?"
"No" Emily said, shaking her head lightly and instantly regretting it from the pain it brought on, "Its got to be the alcohol, just don't know how..."
JJ lifted her head of the couch cushion murmuring, "Probably something she slipped in there."
"What?" Emily asked, looking at her in shock, "What did you say?"
"Hmm?" Garcia asked when she felt the bed dip beside her, looking up to see Emily's face, "Gumdrop, what's wrong?"
The brunette shrugged casually, "Oh, I don't know. Just sitting here thinking."
"About what?" Garcia asked, rubbing her hand over her aching forehead.
"Oh, about this" Emily said, lifting up the ice bucket and dumping its contents on the blonde woman who let out a shriek from the ice chips falling on her.
Garcia shivered as she jumped out of the bed, glaring at her friend, "What the hell was that for?"
Emily threw her a disbelieving look, "Oh I don't know... for drugging my drink, maybe?"
"Drugging your..." Garcia repeated, "Whatever makes you think that?"
"Oh spare me the denial, Garcia" Emily retorted, "JJ let the cat out of the bag. So before I have you arrested for this, why don't you give me your reason for dousing my drink? Hmm?"
"I don't know what..." Garcia started, only pausing when she saw the anger in her friend's face, "We didn't mean to."
"Didn't mean to? Garcia this isn't like bumping someone's car" Emily told her, "You drugged me. Why?"
"Because I wanted to know why you were leaving" Garcia told her, "It's not like I gave you roofies or anything, it was totally safe."
"That's not the point" Emily said exacerbated, "The point is that, that's just wrong, Garcia. You see what we deal with daily? The worst kind of monsters that are out there with their sick and twisted thinking? Well you're behaving just like them."
"But it was just a little something," Garcia protested, "Just a sleeping pill or two, it didn't hurt anyone."
"The hell it doesn't" Emily told her, "Do you know how horrible it is to wake up and not realize how you got there? Do you even know that I've gone through that once before when I woke up in the hospital?"
The two blondes watched their brunette friend angrily storm to the bathroom slamming it shut while in the process giving all three of them a pounding headache.
JJ looked over at Garcia, "I told you that it was a bad idea."
"Oh shut up." Garcia winced rubbing her aching head.
Emily was silent as she came out of the bathroom, wandering over her discarded purse and coat picking them both up while ignoring the persistent stare of her two friends.
"Em?" Garcia called out, "Are you still mad at us?"
"Do you even need to ask that?" the brunette said raising an eyebrow at them, "Do you two even know the shit storm that could fall on you if the team found out about this? How about the Bureau?"
"Not to mention what Will will think" JJ murmured, looking over at Emily, "I'm really sorry about that, I sincerely mean it, and I know saying that doesn't change anything but I hope you know that I'll never sit back and let that happen again."
"I know" Emily told the two women, "Look, I get that you, in your own sick and twisted way, were just trying to get me to open up, but just be my friend and respect my decision enough to accept it."
"Can't you just tell us the real reason why you're leaving?" Garcia protested, she could see the glare that JJ was giving her.
Emily sighed as she slipped her foot into her dark boot, "If I tell you, will you stop trying to sabotage me?"
JJ nodded but Garcia reluctantly let out a sigh before saying, "I promise."
"Ok" Emily said taking a deep breath then licking her lower lip, "I haven't been honest with everybody since my returned to the team."
"What do you mean?" JJ asked, furrowing her blonde eyebrows.
"I've been having a hard time adjusting to being back" Emily told the two women, "What I'm saying is there have been a few cases that hit really close to home for me and its just too hard for me to be around this, day in, day out."
Both women looked stunned and sorrowful at their friend.
"Why didn't you tell any of us?" JJ asked, while Garcia extended a comforting hand, "Emily, you could talk to us about it."
The brunette shook her head in resignation, "You all have your own lives, and had been moving forward from the whole Doyle mess, I didn't want to drag you all into that again."
JJ let out a frustrated groan, "That's what friends are for, to help you through the hard parts. To help keep you on the right path. Emily, we're not just friends..."
"We're family" Garcia finished, "We would've helped you no matter what else we have going on in our own lives."
"I know you guys, and I'm grateful to have you all in my life" Emily said, "But this was something that I had to do on my own. I need this to prove to myself that I'm going to be fine."
"But you're still leaving the team" Garcia said sadly, "We don't want you to go."
"Hey" Emily told the two women, "I'm only leaving the team, not the Bureau or even the state. I'm trying to embrace a whole new life, and that includes a new home and new unit."
"We love you, Em" JJ told her, "Even if you're only going to be a few floors away, we'll miss you."
The two blondes pulled Emily into a hug, making the brunette chuckle, "I love you all too."
Emily closed her eyes, as the image of him flashed before her eyes.
Yes, she was leaving to start a new life away from him because she knew if she continued to work around him everyday she'd never get over him.
And she needed to get over Hotch, because he was with someone else.
"What is uttered from the heart alone, will win the hearts of others to your own." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
THE END
Well, what did ya think? Any feedback is welcomed. Happy Birthday greengirl82