Insecurities

~This story takes place in the 'Rossi Story Universe' during the fall before Dave and JJ's wedding, so it's during the time I glossed over in 'An Unconventional Family,' chapter 65. It's not essential that you read that story before this one, but it might make a bit more sense.

As David Rossi flushed the toilet, he thought he heard the front door to the apartment slam. Frowning, he turned the sink faucet handle and glanced at his watch. "Nah, it can't be Abby, it's only nine-thirty,' he thought to himself as he washed his hands.

It was only the second time he had been totally responsible for his daughter's care and feeding. Having talked to Hotch less than a month ago, he'd gotten the okay to stay in Quantico and work cases with the team from there so that Abby could have at least one parent present in her life at all times. While JJ had also volunteered for the job, Dave had jumped at it; since he'd met his daughter later in her life, he knew their time together would be shorter than most and he wanted to savor every moment with her before she left for college in a few short years. Truth be told, if Hotch hadn't given him the green light to stay at headquarters, he had been fully prepared to retire again. Since JJ was currently with the team in Topeka, Dave was holding down the fort...the fort being Abby and JJ's tiny apartment in the city.

Hearing the slam of another door, this time much closer to the bathroom, Dave was pulled from his reverie. What was Abby doing home already? As he stepped out of the bathroom, he took the two steps to her bedroom door, raised his fist to knock and then paused; was that crying he was hearing? He listened for a few seconds and heard the distinct sounds of shaky breathing and sniffling.

Rapping lightly on her door, he said, "Pumpkin? Are you in there?" He heard her sniff and clear her throat.

"Yeah dad, I came home early," Abby called through the closed door, hoping her voice sounded normal. Dave didn't buy it.

"Are you alright? Can I come in?" He asked, concerned by both her crying and her early arrival home. He correctly guessed the two things were related.

Abby knew it would do her no good to refuse her father entry to her room. First, she knew he could pick a lock with his eyes closed and second, she remembered how pissed he'd gotten the last time she'd locked him out of her room and she didn't want to deal with that again. Besides, the more she kept him out, the more he would push so she might as well give up early.

"You can come in," she called out.

Dave opened the door and found his daughter sitting cross-legged on her bed. Her face was tear streaked and she had a heart breaking expression on her face. "Abby, what's wrong? Did something happen on your date?" She'd recently broken up with her first long-term boyfriend and she'd reluctantly gone out with a guy that one of her acquaintances had set her up with. While she hadn't exactly been looking forward to the date, Dave knew she hadn't been dreading it either and the kid had seemed nice enough when he'd met him earlier. He sat down on her bed so he was facing her and waited for her answer.

Abby just shook her head as fresh tears poured down her face. Dave remained silent as she cried, but he really wished his girlfriend was there so she could help him take care of this. No matter what, JJ always knew the exact right thing to say to their daughter while he fumbled around and pretty much just tried not to make things any worse. "Honey, you're starting to scare me, did someone hurt you?"

She shook her head again, "No, no one hurt me," she squeaked through her tears.

"Then what is it Pumpkin?"

She just looked at him for a minute. "I'm ugly!" She finally wailed, as even more tears poured down her face. Dave hadn't quite known what to expect, but it hadn't been that! He desperately wished he could pause everything so he could call JJ and ask her what to do, but he knew he couldn't leave his sobbing daughter so he manned up, took a deep breath and focused on what she'd said.

"Abby, you are not ugly," he said firmly.

She nodded vigorously, "Yes I am! I'm too ugly for words!"

"Pumpkin, did something happen between you and Bruce? Did he say something to you?"

"He-" her voice hitched, "We were having a nice time, we'd grabbed dinner at an Indian place and then I suggested we go see a movie when…"

"When what, Pumpkin?" Dave asked gently as grabbed a few more Kleenexes off of her nightstand and handed them to her.

"He said he was only on the date as a favor to Amy. He said I was okay looking, but he was after Amy, who is the real deal. He then proceeded to talk about how gorgeous she was for the next five minutes until I finally interrupted him," she said as she wiped her eyes. "I told him I didn't want his pity date and then I told him to go fuck himself before I left him sitting at the restaurant. I didn't start crying until I got to the Metro so at least I didn't give him that satisfaction."

'That's my girl!' Dave thought proudly, although he wouldn't have been opposed to her throwing a punch or two. "Awww, Pumpkin-" he began. He wasn't quite sure how to console her, but he had been around enough women in his life and he was pretty sure he could improvise but she didn't give him a chance. "Teenage guys can be real assholes sometimes; I should know, I was one."

"He's right though, I am ugly!" She wailed, erupting in tears again.

"No you're not," Dave told her, wishing he could wave a magic wand so she could forget about her date.

"Yes I am," she argued. She jumped off of her bed and stood in front of the full sized mirror that hung on on the back of her bedroom door. "Look at me; I'm hideous!"

"No you're not," he repeated as he came and stood behind her.

"Yes I am, I'm a mess," she said as she glared at her reflection. "God, my hair! Look at how blonde it is! Do you know how many people take one look at me and think I'm an idiot because of my blonde hair? It sucks!"

"Honey-" Dave tried interrupting, but nothing would stop his daughter on her tirade.

"And my nose! Look at this stupid bump at the end of it, it looks horrible," she said as she eyed her reflection. "And don't get me started about my lips; I mean, look at how thin they are…they nearly disappear from my face! And then there are all of the zits! God, I look like I have freaking small pox!" She continued to eye herself critically before she continued, "And then we have the grand freaking finale that is my body. I look like I'm about ten years old. Seriously, take a picture of me, cut off my head and everyone would think it's a boy's body! I'm probably the only sixteen year old on the planet who doesn't have to wear a bra!"

Dave had been content to let her rant, but that last part snapped him into action. "Okay, first, yes you do…if you want to ever want to leave this house again, you'll do it wearing a bra, capisce?" Abby just rolled her teary eyes at his statement. "Second, what you see as ugly, I see as beautiful."

"Whatever," Abby said as she sniffled, "You're just saying that because you're my dad."

"No I'm not," Dave argued. "Honey, your hair makes you look so much like your mother, it's amazing and she is one of the two most beautiful people on the planet! Your blonde hair doesn't make you look dumb, it makes you look sunny and happy. God Pumpkin, your hair and your mother's hair is like sunshine on a cloudy day."

The teen rolled her red eyes, "That's so corny dad." She was right, it was, but he detected a hint of happiness in her voice, so he continued.

"As for the slight bump on the end of your nose? That's a Rossi trait, through and through," he said as he stepped up next to her and pointed to his own nose. "Your grandfather had it and all of my brothers and sisters have it too, so that, kiddo, shows your Rossiness, it's one of your many links to me." 'Along with your temper, your stubbornness and your flair for thinking without speaking,' he thought but did not verbalize.

"Hmmm, I guess I never noticed it on you or Nonna before," Abby said, looking between her nose and her dad's nose.

"That's because it's not noticeable," he reassured her. "And your face? Well I really don't have anything to say about your lips because it's just ridiculous, your lips are fine! And really? Zits? Honey, you have two pimples on your face and they're barely noticeable. Trust me, if you want to see acne, look at some of my old high school photos."

"Really?"

He nodded, "The kids at school didn't call me 'pizza face' because of my Italian heritage, that's for damn sure." She looked like she felt a little better about herself, but she was still eyeing herself in the mirror and Dave knew she was still looking for faults in herself, so he decided to wrap up the conversation by addressing the touchiest 'fault' she'd brought up.

"As for your body…well…I think it looks fine, but keep in mind that Rossi women develop later in life. I remember your aunts were almost out of high school before…ahem…anything really happened to them," he told her turning slightly red. "So it'll happen to you, but it might just take awhile longer."

"Are you sure?" She asked, still staring into the mirror.

"I'm positive," he said firmly. She turned away from the mirror and faced him and, to his horror, fresh tears sprung to her eyes. "What's wrong now Pumpkin?"

She shook her head, "Nothing's wrong, that was just really…nice of you. Thanks dad, I needed it," she said as she pulled him into a hug.

"Anytime Abby," he said and then planted a kiss on the top of her head; he would never get tired of hearing her call him 'dad'. They pulled apart and Dave saw that she looked a little less miserable. "Why don't you change into your pj's and come watch a movie with your old man?"

Abby made a face, "I don't know if I'm really in the mood for the classics tonight; thanks anyway though."

"We can watch one of your movies," he offered and he saw her face light up.

"How about Two Week's Notice? It's a romantic comedy, so it shouldn't be too low-brow for you," she told him.

Dave nodded; as long as it wasn't some of the other moronic stuff she and JJ watched, it would work for him. "Get changed and meet me in the living room," he ordered as he left her room. A minute later, as he was in the kitchen preparing some junk food for his daughter to drown her sorrows in, his phone rang. Recognizing his girlfriend's ringtone, he smiled and answered.

"Hey beautiful," he greeted.

"Hi Dave," she said with a smile on her face. "We caught the unsub, so we'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning.

"That's good," he said, "Because I think our daughter could use some 'girl time' with you."

"What happened?" She asked, wondering if her husband had managed to step on a teenage landmine. Dave gave her the rundown and by the end, she was sighing in relief.

"It sounds like you handled it really well Dave," she said.

"Is that surprise I hear in your voice, Jennifer?" He asked amusedly.

"Um…no? I guess there's a little surprise," she admitted, "but it's only because you really haven't had to deal with anything like this before."

"Tell me about it," he muttered. "I thought negotiating with serial killers was tough, but this was much worse."

"Well, you did a good job," she told him, "And tomorrow you can call Garcia and give her all of the kid's information. That little fucker is going to pay for hurting my daughter's feelings."

Dave shook his head in amusement, "You have quite the mouth on you, Agent Jareau."

She laughed, "Just think, by this time tomorrow, that mouth will be on you."

"You're killing me Jen," he said softly. "Our daughter is in the next room of your tiny apartment!" Once again he heard the tinkle of her laugh.

"Sorry Dave, I guess I'll wait until I see you in person to describe the well-deserved reward I have in mind for you."

"You'd better do more than talk tomorrow," he growled.

She laughed yet again and then he heard voices in the background. "Gotta go lover boy, our boss and the rest of the team are here to finish the paperwork. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bet your ass you will," he said. "Love you."

"I love you too Dave," she said before disconnecting the call.

As he popped the popcorn in the kitchen, Dave realized that between his wife and daughter, one of them would surely end up giving him a heart attack with their antics, but it would be well worth it for the happiness he felt with them.