Disclaimer: Still not mine but maybe they will be in 2010…or perhaps just in my dreams.
AN: This is just a little something that popped into my head. Just another bit of holiday fluff. Oh, the title sucks by the way. Enjoy :o)
New Year, New Beginnings
It had been a spur of the moment decision and now JJ was starting to question if it had been a sound one. She stood in Henry's bedroom trying to get him to settle down and sleep before everyone else arrived.
"Will? Did you bring the beers in from the car yet?" She called from the room, remembering yet another job to do. She checked her watch to see how long was left. "Come on Henry…Be a good boy for me. People will…" JJ trailed off as she heard the doorbell ring. "Can you get that please Will?" She waited but got no response. "Ok, guess we'll get the door then."
JJ walked down the stairs and over to the front door. As she opened it she revealed Garcia and Emily standing there, both laden down with bags. "We come bearing food and far more importantly the ingredients for my famous cocktails." Garcia cast a look over the blonde as she stepped into the house. Placing the bags onto the kitchen counter she turned back to JJ. She reached out for Henry and happily accepted as the baby was passed to her. "Hey there little guy. Now, you should be sleeping already."
"He's not settling." JJ cast a look around a slight frown furrowing her brow. "Where's Will?"
"Erm, here." Emily offered a note she had spotted on the side to the blonde.
JJ took the note and read it. She could feel her anger at the man increasing as she read every new word. "He's gone out with his friends and will be back by 10."
Garcia gave Emily a meaningful look. "Right, time we got this party sorted my gal pals." She turned to Emily first. "Here." She passed the brunette the baby without any further warning." Emily held him at arms length looking between the baby and her friends.
"What am I…What do I?" She stared into the big blue eyes fixed on hers showing a decidedly quizzical look in their depths.
"Put him to bed Em. JJ you go get changed. I'll get things organised here." Garcia started to shoo the two women out of the kitchen. She watched as the two women moved along the hall and up the stairs, a small smile playing on her lips before setting about her own tasks.
Emily stepped into the nursery and looked at Henry once more. She carefully went to lower him into his crib but as soon as she moved him away from her body he started to sniffle as if about to cry. She quickly brought him back to her body and noticed he calmed down straight away. "There we go. It's all good. Just nap time." She moved him back towards the crib and again was rewarded with sniffles. "Come on Henry please?"
She looked around the room for some kind of inspiration and saw the pile of books near the rocker. "Do you want to hear a story before bed?" She was rewarded by a playful laugh. "I take that as a yes then. Right, you lay down there while I pick a book." Emily managed to get him settled in his crib but as soon as she tried to move away she was greeted with fresh sniffling. Frowning she tried to stretch her arms from the crib to the books but just couldn't reach. She stood there looking at the baby for a moment before making her decision. "Ok then, I can remember a story." Emily reached down to adjust Henry's blankets slightly as she thought.
"Once upon a time, there was a princess. She was the most beautiful princess in all the land. Her hair like spun gold that would glisten in the light. Her eyes as blue as the deepest oceans." Emily smiled at the image in her mind. "Now the princess wasn't like all the other princesses in the land. She didn't sit at home and wait for a handsome prince to ride in on a horse and save her. In fact she spent her days riding in on her horse and saving other damsels in distress and sometimes even erm, the male equivalent of a damsel in distress. She was incredibly brave and would never back down from a challenge." Emily paused to think about the next part of her story.
"One day, a wizard requested the help of the noble princess and her band of fellow warriors of the good. The princess immediately rallied her warriors and off they rode into the sunset to help the wizard. Now when they arrived in the wizard's village they were greeted with the problem of the unexplained deaths of several of the townsfolk. The wizard, who spoke with a strange accent that few could understand, explained the situation. He also took a shine to the beautiful princess and attempted wooing her." Emily looked at the baby to check if he was still awake. Seeing blue eyes still staring back at her, she continued.
"Little did the princess know but one of her band of warriors was under the influence of the most powerful magic that existed, that of love. You see this member of her team had fallen in love with the princess and not only for her beauty. The princess and her band of warriors solved the mysterious deaths and then were ready to return home. Unfortunately the wizard cast a spell on the princess and she found herself in love with the wizard. The wizard then came to stay with the princess and as in all fairy tales, they lived happily ever after." Emily glanced down at the baby who was now sleeping soundly. She sighed quietly before turning to leave, pulling the door too as she left the room.
JJ had finished getting showered and changed in record time for her. She'd been worried that Henry was going to play Emily up and she had forgotten to mention that he would only settle if he had a bedtime story. She made her way across the hall and stopped at the door as she heard the brunette's voice drifting out of the nursery. JJ leant against the wall outside to listen to see which story Emily had picked to read. It was only then that she realised the brunette wasn't reading a story but making one up herself. As the blonde listened she realised it wasn't just any story. Hearing the conclusion to the tale, she slipped away back into her room, not wanting to let the brunette know she had overheard the story. She waited until the brunette had descended the stairs before following her down.
Before they knew it, the doorbell had rung and the rest of the team had arrived. The music was playing quietly, so as not to disturb Henry, and the alcohol was freely flowing. The whole team was in high spirits and the laughter sounded through the house. It had been a while since they had managed to all be together on a New Year without working a case.
"Penny for your thoughts cutey." Garcia's voice snapped the blonde out of her reverie.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing." The blonde tried to focus her attention on her friend but was struggling to manage it.
Garcia followed her friend's gaze and couldn't suppress the smile that appeared as she saw who was in the line of sight. "My piece of man candy is off limits at midnight Jayj."
JJ turned to face her friend, her mouth repeatedly opening and closing without managing to form any sound. She caught the wink her friend threw her way and relaxed slightly. "Morgan's not my type."
"Oh." Garcia paused for a moment. "So it was our very own uptown girl that caught your eye then?"
"What? No. I wasn't…I mean…I…" JJ lifted her glass to take a long drink to buy some time while trying to think of an answer that wouldn't land her in trouble.
"Relax Jayj. This…" She gestured between the blonde and brunette. "Is not new news to me. Remember I'm omniscient." She winked at her friend. "What has triggered this case of the googly eyes tonight?"
JJ felt a blush spreading up her cheeks as her friend called her on the obvious staring she'd been doing at the brunette. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I overheard her telling Henry a bedtime story." A small smile graced her lips at the memory.
"So it was seeing the whole cute with babies side to our girl that has you captivated tonight?"
"No, well, kind of but it was more the story." Seeing the look on Garcia's face she continued. "She wasn't reading one but made one up. Though it really sounded like a fairy tale version of our team."
Garcia smiled at her friend. "So you had a bit of an insight into our brown eyed girl's thoughts on you." Seeing JJ nod, Garcia asked a question that had been on her mind for a while. "Are you happy?"
JJ met her friend's gaze and knew that there was no point in trying to hide the truth from her. "Not really."
Garcia put a hand on her shoulder to offer some form of comfort to the younger woman. "New Year is a time for resolutions and deciding how you will make the next year better than the last." She could see the understanding reflected in the blue eyes. With one more gentle squeeze of her shoulder she made her way back to Morgan to claim a dance.
JJ heard the phone ringing at shortly after 10. As she answered it she was greeted with the sound of Will's voice.
"Hey JJ. Listen, about this whole New Year thing…I've been thinking and there's something I want to do." JJ could feel the sinking feeling in her stomach. It was obvious from the more pronounced accent that he had been drinking. "I have been thinking tonight and well, I'm not sure this is what I want anymore. I'm going to stay out tonight and then I'll go back to New Orleans."
"You're seriously breaking up with me on the phone…" JJ stopped when she heard a female voice in the background. "Ok, word of advice Will…When you have hooked up with some woman, don't phone the person you are dating when they are still suggesting what your New Year plans are. We're done." JJ hung up the phone. Part of her knew she should be upset about the fact that her longest relationship had just come to a spectacular end only a little over an hour before midnight, leaving her as a single parent. She rubbed her temples slightly and then put the phone back on the side. As wrong as it sounded, she was more relieved than upset about Will's call. After all, she was no longer tied down to a relationship that didn't make her happy.
Emily saw the blonde return to the room and make her way over to the make-shift bar area. She watched as Garcia handed her a cocktail of some form and then as JJ downed it. Emily felt her eyebrows rise as she watched the behaviour. She made her way across the room to where her two friends stood. "Hey."
"Hey Em. Fancy a slippery nipple?" Garcia asked with a grin and a wink.
Emily was incredibly glad that her drink was empty as if she'd been unfortunate enough to have a mouthful of drink as those words left Garcia's lips then she was sure her friends would have had an impromptu shower. She could feel a blush colouring her cheeks.
"It's Baileys and Sambuca. JJ just had one. Can I interest you in joining her for one?" Garcia was quietly enjoying the way the brunette was becoming slightly flustered at her questioning. "Oh, JJ makes a great one. What was it again Jayj? Amaretto, vodka and Baileys?" Garcia saw the blonde nod. "That's it. So slippery nipples or would you prefer JJ's screaming orgasm?"
"Scotch." Emily managed to get out. She waited as Garcia slipped the glass over to her before lifting it an emptying the contents in one move. Right then she wished that she could control the crimson colour she was sure her entire face was by now.
JJ noticed Emily's behaviour and decided to start her New Year resolutions early. She looked at the way the brunette was refusing to make eye contact. Reaching over, she placed her hand on the older woman's arm. "Em…Can I talk to you for a minute?" She saw the brunette nod and JJ grabbed a couple of beers off the side before heading out of the kitchen and into the garden, the other woman following.
They came to a stop outside and JJ leant against the porch railing. She took a moment to look at the brunette and noticed her eyes hadn't lifted yet. "I wanted to talk to you about something but I want you to be honest with me."
"I'm always honest with you Jayj." Emily's eyes had lifted to meet the blonde's blue eyes.
JJ nodded and took a sip of her beer. "The story you told Henry earlier." She noticed the brunette tense slightly. "Did you ever wonder what happens after the happily ever after in fairy tales?"
Emily frowned, unsure what the blonde was getting at with her question. "I never really thought about it much."
"Would you like me to tell you what I think happens?"
Emily nodded, not trusting her voice to answer at that time.
"After a while, the princess realised that the wizard wasn't what he seemed to be. She realised that she had been looking for love in all the wrong places. When she realised this, she thought she had missed her chance at real love. She thought that the one person she was in love with and that had once loved her, no longer felt that way. The princess thought she had hurt her noble warrior too much to ever gain a second chance." JJ noticed that the brunette had turned to look at her, deep brown eyes searching her own as she spoke. "The princess decided that she couldn't keep living in everyone else's idea of happily ever after anymore and knew she had to take a chance on what her heart really desired. So she approached the one person who held her heart and hoped that when she apologised for being too scared to go after what she really wanted the first time. She asked for a second chance."
"What did the noble warrior say?" Emily asked, finally finding her voice.
JJ smiled slightly and took a step closer to the brunette. "I was hoping you could tell me."
Emily could feel the heat radiating off the blonde's body due to their close proximity. Her heart had taken on a much faster beat. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Slowly she raised her hand to the blonde's cheek, allowing herself to brush her fingers over skin that felt impossibly smooth. Casting a quick glance through the window she saw the countdown on the screen. "I think maybe there is a happily ever after." Emily could hear the voices of her friends counting down the final few seconds to midnight. She closed the last few inches between herself and the blonde, hovering for a moment above her lips. Their breath mingling as they each attempted to slow their breathing.
"Happy New Year Em." JJ's lips brushed against the brunette's as she spoke. The sound of the singing from the TV was lost as Emily's entire focus was on the soft lips that brushed against her own. She felt the warmth spreading out from that point of contact. She felt the tip of the blonde's tongue gentle sliding across her lower lip, seeking access which was readily granted. Their tongues slid against each other in a slow caress as hands came up to run across the skin in the hollow of her back under her shirt. She was aware of a low moan escaping someone's lips but at that point, she had no idea who it came from.
Finally the two women broke apart, resting their foreheads against each other as their breathing attempted to return to normal. "Best New Year ever."
"And this is just the start Em." JJ smiled at the brunette before moving back to recapture her lips.
AN: Happy New Year :o)