A/N: Thank you all for the kind comments. This is the part where you see the cross-over begin, but it's not going to take over the story. It will be around for a few parts, but this is really a BAU investigation.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs glanced around the small park and spotted her immediately. She sat on a stone bench sipping a small cup of what he knew was tea. Emily had given up coffee since her return from Paris. He didn't know how she could drink that swill.
"That for me?" Gibbs asked as he nodded at the coffee cup that was next to Emily on the bench.
"Of course," she replied with a smile as she handed him the drink. Gibbs took it and sat down next to her. He took a long sip, savoring the taste of the bitter brew on his tongue. Perfect.
"What was this favor you wanted to ask me for?" he began, getting right to the point. Whatever it was, he knew it was important because Emily Prentiss never asked for favors. For her to call him out of the blue for one meant whatever it was needed immediate attention. He also knew that he was going to do whatever she asked, because that was what he did for family.
"I was wondering who you might know over at DC Metro who might be able to get me some information on a case," Emily began.
Gibbs stared at her thoughtfully. She had spoken calmly, but there was a level of anxiety in her dark eyes. If this was a simple case, she wouldn't be calling him in for a favor. The Bureau should be able to get her information if only on a courtesy basis. So there was something personal involved.
"What's the case on?" Gibbs took another sip of his coffee.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her hesitate and then bite her lip. Nervousness. There was something big going on here and whatever it was, she wasn't certain if he was going to like it and refuse to help her. Gibbs was not looking forward to hearing what this was about.
"Agent Hotchner was brought in for questioning in the disappearance of his former girlfriend, Beth Clemmons."
Yep, he didn't like this.
"That woman he met in the park?" Emily had mentioned her once to Gibbs and it had just added to his already unfavorable impression of the other man. Here was Emily, a perfect woman right in front of Hotchner, who he obviously had feelings for and which Gibbs suspected she returned, and the idiot goes and hooks up with some woman in the park who had been stalking him.
Dumbass.
"Yes. They've been dating about six months but I just found out he broke up with her a few weeks ago. She also was pretty persistent in contacting him post-break-up."
"What do you expect from a stalker?" Gibbs sneered out disdainfully. He paused a moment to think before asking, "So what do they have on Hotchner?"
Emily gave him the scant details she had, which wasn't much. Gibbs looked skeptically at her. "You aren't giving me much to go on here, Emily."
"Oh come on, Gibbs," she wheedled. "I know you have pretty good relations with a lot of the DC metro detectives. If anyone can find out something about this case, it's you."
Gibbs sighed. He really wouldn't deny Emily anything, but she was asking a favor really for Hotchner, a man Gibbs didn't particularly like and he knew the sentiment was returned by the FBI man. Plus if he got involved, it would make the situation incredibly sticky. Given the proximity with federal government, Metro PD had touchy relations with federal law enforcement agencies whom the locals felt all too often stepped into their jurisdiction. He wasn't Bureau, but Gibbs was a fed, and he would be looked at with the same suspicion if he had come from Hotchner's agency. Gibbs had no reason to be involved in the case so he would have to call in a favor.
She placed a hand on his wrist. "Please," she asked softly, her eyes wide and pleading.
Crap, she always got him with those big doe eyes.
"Fine!" Gibbs sighed loudly. "I'll make some calls, but you have to understand you might not like everything I find out."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Emily, you know, when you go down a path like this where rocks are being turned over, sometimes you find stuff you won't like." He gazed seriously into her eyes.
"Gibbs, this is Hotch. Aaron Hotchner. The guy is straighter than an arrow and you know that. He had absolutely nothing to do with Beth's disappearance." Emily almost laughed at him.
"I'm not talking about the disappearance, Emily," Gibbs warned her. "If Hotchner is a suspect, they're going to delve into all aspects of his life. They're going to examine everything with a microscope and what they find might change your opinion of the man."
She knows this. Hell, it was what she did for a living. She knew the affects of telling friends and family something about a loved one that they didn't know before. How many times had she heard, "I never would have thought him capable of that!" But this was Hotch! There was nothing about this man that could surprise her. There was such an air of trueness and predictability about him.
Emily shook her head firmly. "There's nothing about Hotch that could make me change my opinion of him."
Gibbs' ice blue gaze pierced her with its intensity. She could tell he thought she was being too blind to things, too naïve, but he didn't know Hotch as well as she did. This investigation wasn't going to turn up anything shocking on the man.
"Okay, I'll see what I can find out," he finally said.
"Thank you," Emily murmured. "I know you don't like Hotch, so thank you for doing this for me."
"It's the only reason I'm doing it." He gazed fondly at her. "And don't be surprised if I tell Hotchner that he's damn lucky to have you in his corner."
"You're certain you don't want an attorney present?" Kramer asked again. He didn't have to ask him this again. Hotchner had already waived his rights, but the detective felt he had to offer him this opportunity one more time in light of a positive identification of the body.
"No, I've already told you I'm fine to do this," Hotch replied, though he appreciated the gesture the other man made. He has taught classes, written books and articles on how to interrogate a suspect. He could handle himself in this situation.
"Very well," Kramer replied, slipping on his reading glasses once more. He flipped through a few more pages in the file he had before him. "Elizabeth Clemmons, aged 43, born in Alexandria, Virginia. Senior Curator for the Lingerhoff Art Gallery. Tell me a little bit about her. I'd like to know who she was."
Hotch raised an eyebrow at this. It was a crude, clumsy tactic to get him to talk and potentially reveal things about his relationship with Beth that could be incriminating. Maybe Kramer wasn't as sophisticated as Hotch had initially believed.
"What would you like to know?" Hotch replied evenly.
"You dated for how long?"
"Just a little under six months."
"When did you begin to suspect things wouldn't work out with her?"
Hotch thought for a moment. The incident with Emily was simply the tipping point, but he had begun to have doubts about Beth and he shortly after the triathlon.
"It was about three months after I first met her. There were a spate of cases that kept me out of town for about two weeks. I had to cancel on her a few times. She was upset about that, but I explained early on in our relationship the demands of my job. After talking about it, she seemed to understand and things were fine for a few more weeks."
"So when did they turn again."
When had it turned again? Hotch thought back and remembered the incident that seemed to set Beth on this spiral.
"So you called Beth to join us?" Rossi asked Hotch as he slid down into the seat next to the younger man.
"Yeah, I wasn't sure she'd want to come out, but with the rush of cases we've had recently, we haven't had much time to be together. So when the team decided to go get a drink when we landed, I thought she might like to join us. After all, she hasn't been around you guys since the triathlon."
"Don't worry, Aaron, we'll try not to embarrass you." Rossi grinned mischievously at him.
Hotch let out a small snort but then his face broke into a grin when he saw Beth walk into the bar. He waved to get her attention and she smiled and returned the gesture. She made her way through the crowd until she was at their table. "Hey Hotchner!"
He kissed her on the cheek and she looped her arm through his. Beth turned to Dave. "It's David Rossi, right?"
Rossi smiled and gave her a small, courtly bow. "That is correct, Beth."
"Where's everyone else?" she asked after Hotch took her drink order and hurried off to get it.
"Well, Morgan and Reid are over there flirting, or trying to flirt in Reid's case, with some young ladies. Our own young ladies are late. They wanted to change and should be here any moment. Ah, speak of the devils." He nodded towards the doorway.
Beth turned and saw three women, two blondes and a brunette walking in, laughing at something. Their appearance drew the eyes of many men. Beth turned her head to look for Aaron and her eyes narrowed when she saw where his attention was drawn or rather to whom it was drawn.
He was staring at the brunette.
Beth's eyes narrowed even more and she turned to look back at the women. The two blondes she knew were in committed relationships, but the brunette was single. And beautiful. She was dressed in a red sheath dress with a modest neckline and a hemline that came down to her knees. On any other woman it would have looked rather prim, but on this woman, she looked sexy and alluring. She was tall and willowy, but with a generous chest. Her features were striking, too unique to be classically beautiful, but a beauty that stunned and captivated men. Beth's eyes went back to Aaron and she saw he was still gazing admiringly at the other woman. Finally, he seemed to shake himself from his dazed state and he moved forward towards their table again.
"Here's your drink," he smiled at Beth as he set the martini before her.
Anger simmered in her eyes, but he seemed not to notice. Hotch was acting as if he had done nothing wrong, as if she hadn't just caught him ogling another woman right in front of her. Before she could make some snippy comment, the trio of women made it to their table.
"Oh, so you finally decided to show up," Rossi joked.
"Hey, this type of beauty takes time!" Garcia pointed out.
Emily rolled her eyes. "I was done in fifteen minutes. I had to wait for these two," she teased.
"Not all of us can claim to be natural beauties," JJ shot back playfully.
"Well, you all look lovely," Hotch said in a gallant manner.
Beth sucked in her breath as his eyes seemed to linger on the brunette. The bitch was smiling at him and he was responding.
The three women beamed back at him. Hotch handing out compliments was as a rare thing.
"Thank you, sir!" Garcia said smartly.
"Oh, you remember, Beth, right?" Hotch gestured to the woman next to him.
The BAU women smiled graciously at her which she returned with a tight smile of her own. Emily and JJ glanced at each other, picking up on the tension the woman seemed to be exuding and which everyone else at the table was missing.
"Princess! Baby Girl!"
All heads turned as Morgan made his frazzled way towards them. He nodded absently at the others but was focused on the two women he had called out to. "You guys have got to help me and Reid!"
"What trouble did you two get into this time?" Emily sighed.
"We were just chatting up some honeys and well, they weren't what we expected," Morgan said sheepishly. "And they seem to be multiplying."
"Not what you expected? Multiplying? What do you mean?" JJ frowned.
"They're scary," Morgan replied. "I think they're trying to devour me and Reid alive." He glanced nervously at where he had left his wingman. "I mean, two, even three, I can handle, but they somehow just seemed to start coming out of nowhere after a while. And their drunk." Morgan paused for a beat. "And underaged."
The women nodded knowingly. Morgan was a ladies' man, but he wasn't a cradle robber and even young Reid was reluctant to date anyone under 25.
"Hmm, I bet you started getting a crowd after you two showed your badges," Emily returned crisply. She looked over at JJ and Garcia and suddenly the three women burst into giggles.
"Big ladies man Morgan can't handle too many women at once, it seems," snickered JJ.
"Oh, my poor Chocolate God, scared by a bunch of little girls," Garcia laughed.
"Come on, Cassanova, show us this angry mob we need to save you from," Emily said as she took Morgan's arm.
As she walked past him, Hotch grabbed her arm to stop her. "Just go easy on them, Prentiss. I don't want to have to deal with the paper work," he deadpanned, though there was a glint of humor in his eyes.
"I promise not to rough too many of them up, sir," she replied solemnly, but allowed her eyes to dance back at him.
JJ's amused grin faded as she happened to turn to look at Beth who had been watching Hotch and Emily. The other brunette's expression hadn't changed much, but if one looked closely, there was a strange hardening of her eyes and a tightening of her jaw. JJ watched as Beth glanced down to where Hotch had his hand on Emily's arm and a prickle of unease crept up her spine.
"I'm coming too," JJ suddenly said. Typically, Morgan didn't include her in these types of things because she was usually here with Will. But Will had taken Henry to Louisiana to visit relatives that week and JJ didn't want to be around Beth anymore. She'd be happy to help Reid and Morgan preserve their honor by fighting off overly-sexed, drunk, under-aged college girls. Besides, Beth was definitely making her uncomfortable.
"Maybe Hotch and Rossi should go instead. You know, they can pretend to be your older, gay lovers," Emily said in a sassy tone.
Garcia and JJ broke out into another round of giggles as Rossi and Hotch glared at the brunette agent.
"Scram!" Rossi snarled at them, but amusement was in his eyes.
The three women scurried off with Morgan to save Reid who was by this point completely surrounded by the mob of girls. Beth and the two BAU men watched as the three female agents waded through the crowd, effectively and efficiently cutting a path until they got to Reid. After a few minutes, most of the college girls had wandered off, but a few persistent ones hung about, glaring at the three women.
JJ and Garcia flanked Reid protectively by sitting on either side of him while Emily held onto Morgan. Or rather, the buff agent clung to her, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Who knew a large crowd of drunken, under-aged college girls could freak out Morgan?
Suddenly, Derek was pulling Emily out onto the dance floor. The song playing was slow and sensual as was the dance Morgan and Prentiss were engaged in. They moved languidly against each other, bodies grinding, hands wandering. Morgan's hand crept down and cupped one cheek of Emily's derriere. They could see her discretely pinch the skin on Morgan's neck. The man winced and the hand shifted up to a more decorous place to her waist.
Hotch frowned at the display. "I might have to have a talk with Morgan about manners."
"I think Emily can handle herself," Rossi said, amused by the events.
"It seems she's enjoying herself. I think that type of woman is quite fine with behavior like that," Beth said, with a disdainful sniff.
The two men looked at her in surprise.
"Dressed like that," Beth continued, nodding at Emily. "She's obviously looking for one thing and one thing only. A woman like that invites the groping."
"Beth," Hotch warned her in a tone clearly indicated he was unhappy with her comments. "You know nothing about Emily and could not be more wrong about her."
Beth stared at him in disbelief. He was chastising her about that woman in front of someone else? She's the girlfriend!
"Er," Rossi said, recognizing the beginnings of a fight and not wanting to get caught in the crossfire. "I'm going to go get another drink. Excuse me." He hurried off.
Hotch felt a wave of irritation towards Beth, first for her completely unfounded and catty remarks about Prentiss and now for making Rossi uncomfortable. Tonight was supposed to be fun and a chance for Beth and the team to get to know each other better. She had spent the entire breakfast after the triathlon focused on Jack and had ignored his team. Tonight was supposed to be different.
"Beth, I think we need to get one thing clear, these people, my team, are very important to me. They're family. They've supported me through some very rough times in my life and the only person more important than they are is Jack. I will not have anything negative said about them or have them made to feel uncomfortable." He spoke in a quiet, firm tone. He liked Beth, he truly did. But their relationship was new and if this was an indication of how she judged people she didn't know, especially those who were so dear to him, he was willing to end things right now.
Beth could feel panic fill her veins. He would break up with her, over them? Over her? Oh, he hadn't said anything specific about that woman, but it was obvious Aaron was concerned about that Emily. Beth's eyes sidled over to the dance floor where the other brunette's arms were now looped around Morgan's neck and his hands were placed chastely around her waist. Their bodies were no longer pressed up against each other, the drunken college girls having been sufficiently warned off, but Beth wasn't fooled. This was all a ploy to get Aaron's attention. That's all that woman wanted.
And she was succeeding.
Beth switched her demeanor. She dropped her eyes apologetically. "I'm sorry, Aaron," she said so softly he had to step closer to hear her. If anyone would have glanced over at them they would look like two lovers sharing an intimate moment. "You're right, I'm being far too judgmental about someone I don't know anything about." She looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. "I'm sorry."
Hotch regarded her for a moment and then allowed a small smile to appear. He wrapped an arm around Beth to pull her close and placed a small kiss on her head.
The rest of the night had passed pleasantly, but reflecting back on it, Hotch recalled that it appeared as if Emily and JJ were deliberately avoiding Beth. His then girlfriend had been charming and endearing the rest of the night, but focused most of her attention on him. He will admit, he had enjoyed himself. And later that night, she had been attentive to his every need and wish. Yes, at the time, he thought, after a small bump, things were fine.
In retrospect, he knew he was very wrong.
A/N 2: Yes, in my world, Gibbs and Hotch don't get along, partly because in a lot of ways they're too similar, too alpha, plus Emily is a bit of a sore point between them, though Gibbs does not have romantic designs on her. He's just protective because he considers her family and he blames Hotch for failing to take better care of Emily during the whole Doyle incident.