From London With Love
Chapter 4 -
Disclaimer: The rights to Criminal Minds and all characters recognized belong to their rightful owner. All I can claim is plots and new faces. Happy reading!
Two days had passed since the scare Emily received after they had spent the day incorporating her stuff with Derek's. Two days with restless sleep and very little leads, the envelope was dusted for fingerprints but none were found. The paper was clean except for the filmy powder on the outside but Spencer had told them the substance was used by many mail carriers. There was no surveillance to watch, only read the letter. Which didn't convey much. A homemade card which was meticulously made with precision. The words outside said "Welcome Home." and inside was a poem of when a lost child is returned home. The hid the card well so Aerynne couldn't find it.
Emily sighed and glanced up as the seat across from her was moved. Spencer stood before her along with a tall, tanned girl who screamed old money.
Cambrie Taylor stood at 5'7" with midlength auburn hair with blonde highlights. She had almond shaped stormy grey eyes which complemented her heart face. Her figure although tall wasn't slim but athletic, Emily could see she had some training in more than etiquette. Remembering her manners she stood and shook hands with the newcomer.
"Emily, this is my girlfriend, Cambrie Taylor. Cambrie this is one of my best friends, Emily Prentiss" Spencer's cheeks stained a light red and Emily smile when she noticed he didn't stutter.
"It's great to finally meet you Emily. Spencer speaks very highly of his family; I must admit I was a little wary by the amount of chatting you two did at first." Cambrie spoke eloquently and politely but Emily picked up on what wasn't said. Spencer was hers and she wasn't letting go. Emily didn't miss a beat, she waited for Spencer to get comfortable at the table after pushing in Cambrie's chair.
"No worries, but I must admit Spencer hasn't mentioned you before." Emily got straight to the point, there was no way she was going to let someone take advantage of Spencer.
"I jj-ust didn't know how to bring it up." Spencer shot Emily an irritated glare to behave and she answered with a grin. "Have you ordered anything yet Emily?"
"Just a cup of coffee. I waited so all of us can order together."
"Well, that was nice of you. Hmm what do you think Spence? Their Belgian Waffles look good." Cambrie smiled warmly at Spencer over the menu they shared. Spencer looked at the picture she pointed at, and smiled back.
"No, I think I'll have the ham omelette with hash browns. What about you, Em?" Emily couldn't help observing the couple across from her, their interactions were cute. Of course Spencer was sweet and doting but Cambrie looked like she genuinely cared for him. She reciprocated his actions with adoration. Yet Emily knew better and wouldn't haste to say the relationship was truly more than one-sided.
"Emily, there aren't that many options to choose from. And the waitress is coming back." Cambrie pointed out innocently although her face betrayed a smirk. Emily blushed lightly but closed her menu and grinned at the girl.
"Are you folks ready to order?"
"Yes, I'll take the Short Stack Pancake with Sausage and Eggs please along with a Hazelnut Coffee with a shot of Espresso please." Emily and Cambrie grinned coldly at each other as Spencer ordered completely oblivious. They each had scored a point and were tied evenly. Once the waitress moved on, Spencer glanced between the two of them and quirked an eyebrow.
"Did I miss a joke?" Spencer's look was so innocently inquisitive, Cambrie laughed and shook her head softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"So tell me how did the both of you met?" The couple looked at each other and blushed.
"Do you want to tell her?" Cambrie asked Spencer as she squeezed his hand. They shared a look and Spencer nodded before beginning their tale.
Aerynne glanced up from rough housing with the boys, Henry and Jack were loads of fun. They didn't kick her out from the group like the other boys in London, they barely treated her like a girl. Her cheeks were rosy and her hair fuzzy from their playing. She caught her breath as she inched away to watch the boys continue rolling on the floor wrestling in glee.
Hotch glanced up from the dining table, his spot gave him the best advantage point to watch the kids playing in the den. In the beginning Derek and him were a little sceptical whether they would all get along. Jack and Henry were known to play rough, but Aerynne fit right in and she loved being treated equal by the older boys. She eagerly shoved and rolled around like a trooper, there was no doubt she was a Prentiss. The young girl took after her mother; she was not a girly girl although according to Derek she had her girly moments.
Jack sat up from pinning Henry down, his eyes scanned the room and he took in Aerynne. Henry was a ball of energy; he never seemed to tire from playing. Noticing Jack distracted he launched forward and tackled him. They both fell over and Jack rolled on top trying to pin Henry once more. Aerynne gave Hotch a wave and a big grin before diving onto the two boys.
The whole table looked up at the new shrieks and shared a smile at the kids. Penelope welcomed the distraction the kids brought. She loved searching cyber space and relished the challenge of finding pieces of the puzzle and making it whole. However she had been working for 2 days and had very little too find. She couldn't find any conclusive cyber evidence, she craved another clue. She refused to allow her darlings to be in danger, the sweet girl squirming on the floor under the boys tickling hands had already been through too much.
"She's adjusting pretty well Derek. They all get along just fine as if she was always here." JJ gestured to the kids as she gave Hotch a bottle water. Instead of moving to her seat she leaned against his.
"Yep, she's like a fish in water. She's adjusted to the time change surprisingly well too."
They all turned their gaze as the front door opened. Emily entered first with a tall, striking socialite behind her and Spencer taking up the rear. The others had never met Cambrie before and their neutral, guarded expressions didn't faze her. Her bored gaze disregarded the adults in the room and took in the out of breath toddlers.
"Uncle Spencer!" Three excited voices yelled as they ran towards the tall young man. He quickly dropped to his knees and caught all three kids in a giant bear hug.
"Hey guys!" He kissed each child's forehead and ruffled the boys hair before straightening up and moving towards Cambrie. She smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I brought a very special friend for everyone to meet. Her name is Cambrie and she's my girlfriend." Unease could be heard in Spencer's voice and his expression implored his friends to accept Cambrie.
Jack watched all of the adults in the room, they didn't look happy to see the girl and it was making Uncle Spencer sad. Before he could make his way to introduce himself Aerynne and Henry was already there. They both smiled shyly as they stopped in the front of their Uncle's new girlfriend.
"Hi, my name is Henwy! Uncle Spencew is my Godfathew." Henry smiled brilliantly up at Cambrie, she returned the smiled and bent down to his level.
"I'm happy to finally meet you Henry, you're such a cutie! Spencer talks about you all the time." She turned to the little girl who was studying her. Noticing Cambrie looking at her, Aerynne took a deep breath and smiled at her Uncle before addressing the lady.
"My name is Aewynne. Spencew is my new Uncle and he's taking me swimming this week. I guess it's okay if you come." Aerynne glanced down at the last part and shrugged her shoulders. Cambrie lifted the little girl's chin and grinned at her.
"Thank you Aerynne. I would love to come swimming with you guys. You're such a sweetheart and your Uncle tells me you like gymnastics." Cambrie placed emphasis on the little girl's name as if in reverence. Emily's eyes was blazing and her body on high alert ready to strike Cambrie. Spencer took a step closer to her and tugged her shoulder.
"Emily?" His voice was soft and full with worry. Emily looked at him and clamped down on her temper. She know Spencer needed for everyone to get along and bringing Cambrie is a very big step for him. She couldn't help the distrust she felt with this girl, but Spence was a brother to her. He needed the reassurance and she would always support him. She sighed and pulled him into a quick hug and gave Derek a wary smile as her eyes darted to Cambrie.
They had a silent conversation and were in agreement. Their connection broke as Aerynne threw herself against Emily's legs and lifted her arms up. Emily smiled as she picked up her baby girl and laid butterfly kisses on her face.
"Hey bumble bee, did you have fun while I was gone?" Aerynne nodded her head, ready to spill about her morning. Emily tapped her nose to quiet as they slipped through the corrider and into the kitchen.
"I'm Jack Hotchner, do you know karate?" Cambrie laughed at the boy.
"Yes I do Mr. Jack. And might I add it is a pleasure to meet you."
After Jack's greeting with Cambrie, all of the adults stepped forward with introductions.
"I'm Penelope Garcia, Spence's super cool big sister. I must say that he is positively shining from your relationship." Cambrie laughed as she took in the bubbly blonde.
"Thanks, Spencer makes it really easy though. He's a breath of fresh air to my life."
"Oh oh, looks like you've found a Lit head Spence. Derek Morgan, you can call me the big brother." Derek's intro seemed to break the ice as everyone chuckled a bit.
"Oh are you Aerynne's father?" Something flashed in Cambrie's eyes as she asked this question. It was lost by Morgan but Rossi caught it and studied the woman.
"Yes, adopted father."
"David Rossi. You said your last name is Taylor, I think I heard that name before." Cambrie flinched at his words but smiled as she shook his hand. Rossi noticed her hand was firm and she looked him straight in the eye.
"I'm sure you have. But my father is a corporate lawyer." Her tone left no indication of an elaboration but Hotch seemed to pick up the same signs David did.
"Really, how long has he been in law? Aaron Hotchner, you can call me Hotch. I used to be a State Prosecuter maybe our paths passed." Spencer scowled as he caught David and Hotch trying to tag team Cambrie and immediately jump in as buffer.
"We don't need family history in first introductions, especially when the mentioned isn't even here." Cambrie hadn't heard the hard tone in Spencer's voice before and was amazed.
"What's the big deal pretty boy? Just making conversation." Derek's tone was light however the hand which clamped onto Spencer's shoulder wasn't. JJ watched all of this play out and decided to run interference but was beat to the punch.
Cambrie let out a bell like laugh. "Well looks like there's too much testosterone in the room. How do you ladies make it?"
"Oh trust me this is light compared to an argument. Jennifer Jareau but everyone calls me JJ." JJ glared at the men in the room as she clasped hands with Cambrie.
"Why don't you guys go set up in the backyard? I'm sure Henry and Jack would love to help, wouldn't you boys?" Penelope smiled at the two quiet boys.
"Uncle Derek can we run with Clooney?"
"Please Uncle Dewek!" Derek glared at Penn before he nodded at the excited tot.
"Let's go, all males report to the backyard." The boys raced out of the room before Hotch could finish the sentence. He stared at all of his agents until they began to move, it was obvious this wasn't how Spencer wanted it to go. They had some damage control to fix before lunch.
JJ's eyes followed the guys as they made their way out of the room. Spencer gave Cambrie a quick hug and kiss before leaving, she smiled and averted her eyes. She grinned as she caught Hotch's eye before he left. They had yet to come clean to the group that they were starting a relationship, but by the smile she was getting from Penn the cat was already out of the bag.
Emily and Aerynne stopped their conversation when the two boys ran and whooped out of the back door. Aerynne eyes dazzled in glee at the excitement and squealed as she was picked up from behind.
"Come on gattina, we're moving outside." Aerynne hugged Rossi and laughed.
"What does gat-...teen, what's the pretty word mean?" Rossi chuckled at the girl and winked at Emily.
"Gah-teen-ah, means kitten in Italian."
"Ooooh, thats pretty." Aerynne clapped her hands before turning to wave bye to Emily.
"Bye mama! I'm going to play with Uncle Davie now."
"Uncle Davie huh, I thought we were going to use Grandpa or Gramps." Derek grinned and Emily quickly tried to cover her laughter as a cough at the indignation on Dave's face. He looked as if he had been slapped. Aerynne opened her mouth to say something and Dave quickly shushed her with a tickle to her stomach.
"Don't even think about it gattina. Derek was just trying to be funny, but we'll get him back won't we darling." Derek held up his hands in mock fear but burst out laughing after causing Dave to grumble and turn on his heels.
"That wasn't nice Derek." Emily said after regaining her composure.
"He knows I'm only clowning Em. How you feeling princess? Doesn't look like you're a Cambrie supporter." Emily shrugged in Derek's arms and sighed.
"It's just something I don't trust there, but I can't place my finger on it. And I don't want to hurt Spencer's feelings, do you think I'm imagining it?"
"You know how I feel princess. Always go with your gut instinct, you have great judgement. I admit she looks like she's trying hard but I guess we'll just have to watch it."
"The fact that Spencer brought her to meet us speaks volume. It's obvious he cares about her." Derek could see the confliction on Emily's face. She and Spencer were really close, just like JJ.
"I agree but it doesn't hurt to be careful and a little more discreet. Murderous glares shoudn't be seen." He cupped Emily's chin as he admonished her. She atleast had the conscience to be sheepish.
"I didn't meant for that to happen. I'm just still on edge right now." Derek chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"We're all are princess. Don't worry we're going to sort all of this out." Emily nodded and squeezed Derek close.
"Before or after Christmas?" Emily's voice was soft and muffled but Derek heard her loud and clear.
"As soon as possible princess, as soon as possible." After a final hug they separated, one to the backyard and the other to the living room.
"So Cambrie, tell us about yourself. You seem to know about us but Spencer has kept you a mystery."
"I don't know why, he's a bubble of information when we're alone. You guys are really his family and he's proud of all of you."
"I can speak for everyone and assure you we all feel the same way about Spencer." Emily stated as she entered the room. Cambrie locked eyes and smirked at the brunette, all of the women could feel the tension in the room.
"Of course you do, no one would dispute that."
"Let's all take a seat and get to know each other better." Penelope quickly started trying to relieve the tension.
"I agree Penn." JJ quickly followed Penn's lead and moved to sit on the sofa. Cambrie smiled at the girls and took a seat on the other end of the sofa with JJ. Penn and Emily took the other sofa across the room.
"As David hinted I come from an influential background. My grandfather own's Taylor & Co. Electronics and my father is a Corporate lawyer. My mother is involved in numerous charities and serves on the Children's Hospital board. I have two older brothers and one sister. I have just graduated grad school at Harvard and have degree in Literature and Media." She paused to take a breath and continued on.
"Spencer and I met one day in the park after he was finished playing chess. We bumped into each other and started talking. He walked me to the Y where I volunteer and help kids with gymnastics and he offered to help with the after school program." The girls chuckled at how they met.
"That definitely sounds like our Spencer." Penn said with a cheeky grin.
"So you said you volunteer, do you have a job?" Emily asked a bit brashly.
"Oh yes, I work at Kemis Lab downtown." All of the ladies perked up at this.
"Interesting. We use that lab often, surprise none of us ran into you before."
"Like I said I just finished grad school so I haven't been working very long. And they mostly keep me bogged in work." Cambrie gave a tight smile, she looked down when she felt a vibration in her bag. She took out her phone and glanced at the caller ID. Her facial expression gave away nothing of the caller.
"Excuse me but I have to take this call." She quickly stood and stepped into the den away from the girls and answered her call.
Arnold scowled deeper as he continued to pace the floor angrily, slight tremors shook his feet as he stomped. The punishment he went through for his error had been meticulous torture. He had new scars to prove it and his face was haunted when he gazed in the mirror. His meeting didn't go well, no amount of cajoling had helped him, a sudden rage took over him once more. He crossed the room and beat the punching bag for all he was worth until he could control his anger.
His hands wrenched his sweat drenched shirt off of his body and threw it across the floor. His breathing was laboured as he tried to center his thoughts. Glancing up his eyes locked on the smiling face of his Aerynne, and immediately his breath and heart slowed. He had made a promise to her when she was born that he would always protect her, nothing would stand in his way. Not Emily Prentiss and definitely not the Behavioural Analysis Unit and whatever allies they had.
The door to the training room opened and he turned to see who dared to disturb his peace. In walked a girl who could easily walk circles around the models today. Her long auburn hair was in waves well passed her shoulders and her naturals highlights shone in the low lighting. Amber eyes raked up her body taking in the jeans and black turtle neck, until they met cerulean blue eyes. She looked away and broke the silence which had settled.
"It's been a long time." Her voice was low but not as husky as he had remembered. She licked her bottom lip before tugging it between her teeth. It seemed she still bit her lip when she was nervous and unsure, a small smile curled his lips.
"That it has. Time has done you well." Arnold didn't move and at first neither did she. Her eyes took in the training room with the limited equipment.
"You as well. I see you can still work with what you have." Her eyes appraised him as she smirked. Arnold let out a low belly laugh in reply and flexed his muscles gently. She looked away and moved fluidly across the room.
He noticed her footsteps couldn't be heard across the floor, her stealth had improved greatly from their last time together. Without warning a knife whizzed behind him, turning slightly Arnold caught the blade. Balancing the knife in his hand he surveyed it, the steel wasn't heavy but yet it was sharp. Arnold sucked his fingers where the blade had sliced it shallowly.
The girl walked up to him with a button down shirt on her two fingers. She took the knife from him and dropped it to the floor as she helped him put on the shirt. They made quick work of the buttons alternating between the two.
Dressed, her palms moved to straighten the shirt and their eyes locked. She could see the words in his eyes
"Kayliss-" She didn't let him finish the sentence, instead she raised a finger to his lips.
"He wants to see you Arnold." Her word held weight and were almost final but he ignored it. His lips gently pressed her finger and as she moved away, he grabbed her hands in his and tightened it. They shared not only a look but a whole conversation before moving towards the door.
Whew, so I know my updates are slow but I'm working on it. Everything is coming together and the action should start in about the next chapter or two. Remember review, review review! I like to hear feedback from you guys!
