So I wasn't kidding when I said this would be a slow burner…. Please let me know if it's too slow and I will speed things up. Hope you enjoy
Morgan's eyes shot open first as the beeping resonated round the bedroom. Emily wasn't far behind and within a split second they had both jumped up from the exact position they had fallen asleep in and reached for their glocks, one of which set down on each bedside table.
Morgan slowly crept out of the bedroom, his sidearm raised in front of him, Emily following suit. Just as they made it to the top of the staircase a flap of the letterbox could be heard echoing in the hallway, followed by the sound of a light crash on the floor.
He looked back to her and smiled, "Mailman."
She lowered her weapon, "Good because I'm going back to bed. It's far too early and that bed is way too comfy not to be in it."
"I always wandered what the big deal was with those memory foam mattresses and now I know…. " He chuckled, "… I'm beginning to regret leaving the master bedroom for you." He winked.
"Yeah, that was good sleep I had before being rudely awoken….."
"Well I don't think I'd get back to sleep now. I'm going to get some breakfast. You want some?"
"Nah, I'll get some later."
Morgan nodded and turned, about to head off down the stairs.
"Morgan…." She called grabbing his attention once more, "… Thanks for last night. That good sleep wasn't just down to the mattress you know?"
"No problem." He muttered, his voice deep and gruff from the remnants of his sleepiness.
~~CM~~
An hour or so later, Emily walking into the dining room, cereal bowl in hand. "What you doing?" She asked setting her self down next to Morgan at the table.
"Booking a table for our, or should I say, Izzy and Mike's date tonight."
"Michael." She corrected, silently laughing at his level of concentration, "So where have you picked?"
"A place called Lauriol Plaza."
"Ooh Spanish." She revelled.
"Mexican actually…" He said with a slight wash of disappointment creeping across his face, "… You already been?"
"No." She smiled.
"Good, I wanted to pick somewhere we both hadn't been."
"Why?"
He shrugged, "Well I think it'd be good to try new things on the company credit card. Then if it's not good we haven't lost anything." He said raising his eyebrows at her.
"Don't let Hotch hear you say that." She snorted.
He chuckled, "Yeah, I might give him an ulcer."
"So…" She started peering over his shoulder, "... anything from Juliana?"
"Yeah we've got a message. I was waiting for you to come down."
"What does it say?"
"She… says that she is white, her husband African-American and that they adopted a bi racial child. She says the process of adopting was hard, but she'd be happy to talk us through the process which will help. She also says that once they had their daughter, the issues don't just go away. They have encountered problems in the neighbourhood they live in, being predominantly white."
Emily shook her head, "You can't believe it's 2011 can you?"
"I do wander how much things have changed over the years…." He sighed, "…. I mean in some respects I think a lot has improved, but there are some people you will never change the mindset of."
Emily bit her lip hesitantly, "How was it for you growing up?"
"Put it this way, I wasn't very old when I started to think I was different to all the other kids."
"You had a tough time?" She asked with concern.
He shrugged, "I had my fair share, but nothing I couldn't handle. Kids get picked on for all sorts of things don't they?
"They sure do." Emily said knowingly.
"But I was lucky. My mom kept me grounded and everything in perspective. She was really strong. I saw the looks people would give her in the grocery store when she was out with me and my sisters, but she never let it bother her… she always held her head up high."
"Why wouldn't she? She's proud of your family. That's plain to see."
He nodded. "….So I guess we better draft up a response. She's asking about us. Our backgrounds."
"Well you better get typing then." She nodded towards the keyboard.
"I thought the women did the typing." He laughed, leaning backwards, waiting for the speedy hands of Emily Prentiss to connect sharply with some part of his body.
Instead, she continued to eat her cereal as if he hadn't said a word. After a second or two she turned to face him, a smirk threatening to betray her unimpressed pout, "What? Did you say something? Haven't you got some typing to do?"
"Yes dear." He chuckled.
~~CM~~
A couple of hours later, Emily sat on the couch, legs curled underneath her, reading a book. Morgan walked in and dropped on the sofa opposite, letting out a huff as he did.
She glanced at him, but he said nothing so she returned to her novel.
Less than a minute later, he was stood up again, and paced the room, prowling, like a caged animal. Emily watched as he found the remote then sat down, flicking through the channels, not staying on one for more than a couple of seconds.
"What's up?" Emily asked after watching the frustration over his face increase.
He turned to look at her and sighed, "I fixed your shower, adjusted some of cameras, messed around on the net…. I've got nothing left to do. I'm just not used to being cooped up inside for so long. That's why I like having my properties to fix up…. always something to do."
"Really? I have no problem doing absolutely nothing when we're off." She chuckled.
"May be I should try that no caffeine rule of yours."
"Tell you what…." Emily said, putting her book down, "Fancy a run? We haven't done any training since we've been here. Sounds like you need to let off some steam."
Relief breathed out of his puffed cheeks, "Good idea. Can we go now?
She chuckled at his impatience, "Sure I'll just get changed."
~~CM~~
"You sure have a lot of steam to blow off." Emily huffed as they went up the grassed bank in the local park for the fourth time.
"Hey, this is nothing compared to what we normally do." He responded, sprinting a few paces ahead of the brunette, waiting for her to catch up and overtake as she usually did. He may be stronger, but her slender frame and significantly lower weight gave her some advantage in the sprinting department.
"C'mon, pick up the pace." He shouted behind him.
He continued for a few more strides, but when he couldn't hear her steps behind him, he looked back and saw her some distance behind, one hand holding her weight against a tree trunk, head dipped, taking deep breaths.
He ran back to her. "What's the matter?" He asked, gently cupping her elbow with one hand and gripping her waist with his other.
She put one hand up in front of her, "I'll be ok, just give me a second."
"Come on, sit down here." He said guiding her toward the wooden bench to the right of the tree.
Emily sat, grimacing as she did, wrapping her own arm around her belly in comfort.
Morgan immediately realised the source of the pain…. "Emily…" was all he could whisper, all of a sudden feeling that helplessness once again.
Her big brown eyes looked up at him, "It's fine don't worry."
"I pushed you too hard." He murmured.
Shaking her head slowly, she looked right into his eyes, seeing his regret, "No…. honestly, it happens every now and then. It'll pass. I promise."
"I didn't realise it still hurt you."
"Why would you?" She said between laboured breaths.
He hung his head and stared at the ground, "I wish you'd tell me." He whispered.
"You don't want to hear about my problems." She mumbled, shaking her head.
He let out a sarcastic chortle and rubbed his forehead with thumb and forefinger, but didn't say a word.
She looked up at him but this time he didn't meet her gaze. He just continued to look at the ground. He appeared frozen. She could see frustration, sadness, annoyance, reeling through him. Why did she do this to him over and over again…. Shut him out…. She thought it could only be a matter of time before he gave up.
They remained there in silence, for what felt like minutes, but was probably only seconds. She knew she had to fix this somehow…. She wanted to.
Opening her mouth, her broken voice escaped, "I don't know how….."
Then he met her stare. Her eyes were pleading, almost scared, "You don't know how to what?" He asked quietly.
She took a beep breath, "How to let people in. Ask for help…."
What he expected was for her to look away from him. Hide away after giving a little, but then throwing that wall straight back up again…. But she didn't. She held his gaze waiting for him….. For something.
He sat down next to her, his arm resting against hers, "Is that how you see me…. Just as anyone?"
"No…." She closed her eyes, "Gees, I'm just making this worse."
"No you're not… Emily, please just say whatever it is you want to say. We've tip toed around this for long enough since you've been back." He said softly, but with a little impatience.
"I've been waiting for you."
"What do you mean?"
"I've been waiting for you to get angry with me. Shout at me. Tell me that what I did was out of order… just something."
"But I'm not angry at you." He stated.
She looked at him, her head cocked to the side, "Are you serious? How can you not be?"
He shifted his body round slightly towards, making him more open to her, somehow more convincing…. "Look Emily, in all honesty, I was angry at you when you first disappeared. You looked me in the eye and said everything was ok, knowing that a few seconds later you'd be walking away from me….."
"But I…" She interrupted, but he held his hand up to her,
"Let me finish….. But when I found out why you did what you did I was angrier at myself for not pushing you harder to tell me what was wrong. I know you were in an impossible situation and I'm not saying I liked how it panned out, but I can't be angry at you for any of it."
After a couple of seconds her sad eyes fell to her fingers that were busy picking her already sore and dishevelled nails.
"I don't deserve you Morgan. I can't believe you didn't just give up on me a long time ago." She whispered apologetically.
"Hey….." He said, crouching down in front of her, prising her hands apart, "…You more than deserve me.
Her unconvinced eyes looked at him as she forced a smile.
"Besides, I don't care whether you think you deserve me or not…" He continued, gently brushing a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen across her face. "…..…. You got me anyway…." He paused and took a heavy breath, "… You've always had me." He whispered.
"I know…. I know that. I really do."
She smiled and gave his fingers the smallest of squeezes before standing up and pulling him with her, "Come on, we've got training to finish up."
"You sure you're ok to?"
"I'm fine…." She said starting to jog on.
He smiled watching her. The planned ten hours of training had finished some six to eight weeks ago. They both knew it, but both had said nothing, carrying on the sessions with the same intensity. Truth was they needed this. It was like healing for the seven months they had been apart, when in their own ways, they had come to realise just how much they had relied on that constant in their lives. Not having even contemplated that the person you see every day would not be there. The person who will understand when you snap at them because you're having a shitty day and not hold a grudge. The person who understands why you 'don't want to talk about it', but as soon as you do, lends an ear without hesitation or judgement. The person who has your back, who protects you, who will literally throw their life on the line to save yours. The person who you took for granted all this time because being without them would be like being without a limb, and you can't and don't want to ever imagine that.
Slowly but surely they were healing….. Did he trust her now? With his life….? Yes, without question, but with her own? He still wasn't sure.
"Come on, catch up…." She shouted back to him, now nearly at the brow of the hill, "….Loser buys lunch."
He laughed and put his head down, starting his climb up toward her, "I'm already buying dinner." He yelled back.
~~CM~~
Later that evening, Morgan pulled up on the car park on the opposite side of the road to the restaurant.
He pulled the keys out of the ignition and opened his door.
"Hang on a minute." He ordered, before getting out of the car. Rushing around to her side he opened her door, smiling at her as she looked up at him with those independent eyes.
He leaned in a little closer, "Michael is a gentleman." He uttered.
It took a split second for her to relent and she took his outstretched hand in hers and guided her up and out, whispering to him as he did, "What, and Derek Morgan isn't?"
"You have to go on a date with him to find that out." He winked.
She laughed gently as he closed the door and locked up with the key fob. As he did, he couldn't help but take the opportunity to survey her attire for the evening….. A slim line black dress, resting just above the knee, with a tiny black belt hugging her petite waist. It was simple, but showed off her attributes with class and style.
He took a step ahead of her then turned back to face her, his one hand held behind him. She looked at it with a raised brow.
"Hotch said couply remember? Come on." He said, stretching his hand out closer to her.
She slid her fingers in between his slowly, immediately remembering that touch from a year ago….. That strong, yet gentle grip that had given her so much strength when she just wanted to slip away.
She felt him lightly tug her arm and she let him lead the way across the road. As they got to the sidewalk on the other side he paused so she was level with him and he moved in a little closer, speaking into her ear, "You look beautiful tonight by the way."
He didn't see her coy smile as he continued to guide her in through the rustic, iron framed, oak doors.
It didn't take them long to relax… almost forgetting they were actually working. Reminiscing, laughing, trying to figure out what on earth they were going to cook tomorrow night when the team came round for dinner.
Emily had just finished telling Morgan about the time she had attempted to cook for an old boyfriend on valentine's day and ended up burning the chicken, melting the dessert and passing out on the couch from drinking too much red wine due to being so stressed out and hungry… all before nine p.m.
Her left hand rested on the table in front of her and she caught him smile as he looked at it.
"What?" She asked with confused smirk.
His smile widened and he slipped his palm under her hand and lifted it slightly, turning the gold wedding band with his thumb and forefinger. She watched as he looked down at the ring, contemplating.
"Hey what is it?" she whispered leaning a little closer impatiently.
His eyes darted up to meet hers, "I was just wandering why you don't have one of these for real."
He watched as her eyes widened and a ripple ran down her neck as she swallowed. She removed her hand from his and placed it in her lap out of sight.
"I don't know I just….."
"What? Haven't met the right one?" He said, a little more sarcastically than he had intended.
She shrugged
"Come on. Don't tell me no one has ever asked you to marry them."
She paused in thought and then responded, "Well actually yes they did."
"Go on then." He encouraged.
"Three times actually." She said holding his stare.
He nodded, impressed. "Three times eh?"
"Yep."
He smiled at her resolve to still give nothing away, but he wasn't about to give up. There was no where for her to run
"Tell me about them then."
"OK…." She started, shifting in her seat a little, "…..the first was in college. I dated this guy who was a drummer in a rock band."
He laughed, "Oh yeah I forgot about Emily the goth."
Emily rolled her eyes, still having not forgiven Garcia for digging that photo out of her… "Do you want hear this or not?" She playfully scolded.
Morgan put his hands up in surrender and nodded to her to carry on.
"So we were out one night. Got a little wasted and he asked me to marry him. In the morning I assumed he had said it as a joke or something, but by his bedside there was a ring."
"You got wasted." He laughed.
"Hey, they were my college years."
"So tell me what else you got up to in these college years." He grinned.
"Uh uh…" She shook her head with a coy smile, "….One story at a time. You'll have to work real hard for college stories."
He closed his eyes momentarily wandering if he would ever stop revealing layers of the woman sat before him. He figured this would be like walking a marathon, not sprinting the hundred meters.
"So, why didn't you marry drummer boy then?"
"I nearly did just to spite my mother…." She chuckled, "Can you imagine taking home a stoned, greasy wannabe rockstar with a nose ring and spiky hair to my mother?"
He laughed and shook his head.
"Well I had places I wanted to go in the world and he wasn't about to take me to any of them, so that's where that ended." She continued.
Another layer he made note to try and reveal sometime.
"So the next?" He asked.
"Shaun…" she paused and a warm smile crept across her face, "He was a banker…" she laughed at Morgan's eyebrows dipped, "… sounds boring huh?"
Morgan nodded.
"Well, he wasn't. He worked hard but played hard too. He was romantic, generous and so much fun…. Every weekend we'd be off to a different city or for another adventure. I thought he was too good to be true and I was right…. Turns out all those late nights weren't spent at the bank at all, but racking up expensive bills in hotels and bars with several other girls."
"Sounds like a jerk."
"Oh yes he was, but apparently I was supposed to be grateful that I was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with." She said sarcastically.
"I'd like to have seen that showdown." He chuckled.
"Well, his car got the brunt of it… his brand new, top of the range, SLK Mercedes convertible." She said with a satisfaction he hadn't seen on her face for a long time.
"Ooh." He hissed with a pained expression.
"Yeah, it was great….. I recommend it for any break up." She laughed.
"Well remind me not to get on the wrong side of you….. So the third?"
The smile disappeared and she paused tapping the table as if deciding whether to speak the next few words, but as they were on a confessional roll;
"I'm not sure if this one counts."
"Eh?" Morgan asked confused.
"Doyle… he asked me to marry him."
She watched as that familiar expression of frustration, hurt and anger crept across his face at the mention of that man's name.
"You mean he asked Lauren?" He almost growled.
"You know what….." she started, leaning forward a little in her seat and letting her fingers edge across the table a little so the tips gently met his. "…. I don't know how different Lauren was to me. Keeping that charade up for so long meant a lot of her was really just me."
He bore his eyes into hers and she knew he was processing what she had just said. A pang of relief swept through her when she felt his fingers hook around hers and squeeze gently, "I get that….." He nodded, "… so I guess it does count as a proposal then." He gave her a reassuring smile, "and that's ok you know? That was what you were supposed to do… get him to fall in love with you. And I'm not surprised anyway."
"Not surprised about what?"
"That he fell in love with you."
As soon as the last syllable left his lips, he looked around and signalled to the waiter, who immediately came over,
"Yes sir?"
Morgan cleared his throat with a small cough before answering, "Could we get some more drinks please?"
"Same again sir?"
Morgan glanced at Emily who nodded in agreement, but her smile wasn't lost on him.
"Yes we'll have the same. Thank you."
When he looked back, her expression hadn't changed.
"Stop looking at me like that Emily." He retorted.
Her smile only widened as she leaned in closer to him, "Chill Morgan."
"What? I am chilled." He said defensively, shuffling himself straight in his seat
She took hold of his hand again… "Thank you." She whispered.
He smiled, whilst inside relieved that she'd managed to work through his comment without making it awkward ,and awkward was something they were very good at recently.
"So…." She continued, a topic change long overdue "….you reckon he's watching us now?"
Morgan shrugged, "Don't know, but do you think we're being couply enough?"
"What you mean holding hands, getting all gooey and have a candlelit meal?"
He laughed, "Yeah, I think this may do the trick."
~~CM~~
They walked up their temporary driveway to their temporary home,
"I'm sure looking forward to my bed tonight. I'm beat." Emily sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Me too…." Morgan agreed as he unlocked the front door shifting aside to let Emily go in first. "…. My legs are pretty sore from that run. I think we definitely overdid it today."
She stopped and turned to face, looking at him with a sarcastic pout, "Awww, poor baby can't keep up."
"Very funny madam, we'll do an extra two miles next time then."
He smirked soon turned into an irritated snark.
"Well, sweet dreams Emily…." Morgan smiled, walking toward the staircase
"Errr Morgan….?" She murmured in response, him stopping and turning as he heard her. "About that…" she continued, "I was just thinking, in the interest of safety and sweet dreams, may be you wanted to stay in my room again? Just, you know, like last night?"
He raised his brow with a smirk. "You sure?"
"I have memory foam." She added with an expectant glint in her eye.
He couldn't help but laugh, "You sold it with the memory foam."
At that moment, what appeared to be bits of plaster on the floor caught his attention. He looked up to the ceiling seeking out the source. She followed his gaze as she watched his smile widen and then saw the mistletoe still hanging there directly above them.
In tandem they looked back to each other, their smiles turning to slight embarrassment.
"We could just ignore it." Emily suggested half heartedly.
Morgan shook his head slowly, "I don't think Michael would ignore it. He may be a gentleman, but I'm sure he wouldn't break tradition."
Emily smiled, brow raised, "So what do you think Michael would do?"
His Adam's apple rippled, as he swallowed hard, taking a step towards her, "Well as he is a gent it would probably go something like this…."
Staring deep into her big dark eyes, he lifted one hand to the side of her face, taking a few strands of her soft hair between his fingers and stoking her cheek. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips, for no more than three or four heart beats.
As he pulled away and removed his hand, he just caught her opening her eyes.
"So…" She started, "Michael is a gentleman….. but what would Derek Morgan do?" She grinned with a slightly nervous, but naughty smile.
"You serious?" Morgan asked.
She nodded.
"Well, I too am a gentleman, but it would go something like this…."
This time he raised both hands, cupping her cheeks in his palms, fingers entangled in her hair. His eyes glistened as they smiled at her before leaning in once again, letting his lips meet hers, this time slightly harder, with more want, more fervour and for a fair few more heart beats.
As their lips parted, Emily whispered, "I think Derek wins."
When the gap between them was regained, Morgan responded with a toothy grin, "Well, that's because Michael was kissing Izzy…... Derek was kissing Emily." And he lightly brushed her nose with one finger before winking, turning and jogging up the stairs.
