Chapter 4- Dressed
Garcia looked through her drab wardrobe. She had nothing to wear to a party at a hobo's house, let alone the White House! What was she going to do?
"You're not going to find anything suitable to wear in there," Emily piped up from the floor.
"Well, then where should I look?" Garcia was beside herself with worry.
"Garcia, what are you doing in here? I just put three new files on your desk. They need your immediate attention!"
"Yes, sir, right away," Garcia answered Rossi's call.
"Don't worry about a thing," Reid assured her. "We'll take care of everything."
"Oh, I'll never get to go! There's no way I have time to finish all of my work and find a dress," Garcia sulked out of the room.
"We need to get to a computer," Emily said.
"I know where we can find one that's barely used," Reid answered.
"How are we going to pay for it?"
Emily twitched her nose and pulled a piece of black plastic out from under the dull, gray rug. "I have Rossi's credit card. I figured he wouldn't notice."
"Smart thinking," Reid congratulated his small friend. Together, they dodged the foot traffic through the halls and stair wells of Quantico until they reached an almost abandoned floor. There were several empty computer terminals. Reid and Emily picked one, switching on the power.
"Where do we go to look for a dress?" Reid pondered.
"Tiffany's. Shoes and jewelry, too. They'll deliver overnight," Emily replied, her eyes dreamy.
Using their tiny little feet to work together, they typed in the web address and searched for the dress and accessories.
"Oh, I love this one," Emily exclaimed. It was a full length ball gown, blush pink, with silver beading around the bodice. The sweetheart neckline was accented with delicate lace. It looked precisely like a princess dress.
After finding silver stilettos to match, the two mice searched for the perfect accessories. They picked out a necklace that was adorned with a heart shaped pendant , the color of the sapphire matching the dress perfectly. Heart shaped earrings matched, with a bracelet to go along. They placed the order, selecting the express delivery. Their confirmation told them their package would arrive by tomorrow evening. They absolutely couldn't wait for Garcia to see it! Together, Emily and Reid scurried to Garcia's office to let her know the good news.
"Wait, let's surprise her," Emily said. "We won't tell her, just show her when it gets here."
"Sounds like a good idea," Reid agreed. When they arrived at Garcia's office, they perched themselves on her desk, hoping to cheer her up a little. Garcia was obviously very flustered.
"I have no idea how I'll ever finish this in time," she sniffled. "There's just so much. I don't know what to do."
"We'll help," Emily suggested.
"How? You're mice!"
"We can type. And there are three of us now. Trust us, we will help you get done in time!" So Emily, Reid, Anderson, and Garcia stayed up until well past midnight, typing away.~
Garcia awoke the next morning, still at her desk. She shook off the sleep and remembered what the day was. She was extremely shocked to see that all of her work was done and stacked neatly on her desk. After glancing at the clock, Garcia realized it was well after ten and there was today's work still to do! Plus to find a dress. First things first, she needed a shower and to change her clothes.
Walking to her room in the basement, she was shocked again when she walked through the door. Hanging from the wardrobe full of bland clothing, there was the most beautiful dress she'd ever seen. And there were shoes and jewelry to match!
"Where did all of this come from?" As she asked, tears steamed down her face.
"We told you we would take care of everything," Reid's tiny voice sounded from the floor.
Garcia spent the rest of the day walking on air, positively elated to get to go to the ball that evening. After finishing the day's work, she hurried into her room to change her clothes. She felt absolutely beautiful after she stepped into the well fitting dress and matching shoes. Her blue eyes sparkled with joy as she fixed the earrings to her ears.
Once she was dressed, she hurried out to the front of the building and the car waiting to take the team to the White House. Rossi, Strauss, and Hotch were all standing outside, obviously having forgotten that Garcia was to join them.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect you to be able to find something to wear," Strauss said dryly.
"I didn't either," Rossi said. "Where did you find such a costly ensemble?"
"I just found it," Garcia stammered.
"Just found it, huh? Like you just found my credit card?" Rossi accused.
"No, I didn't-," Garcia started.
"You did!" Rossi cut her off by tearing the necklace from her neck.
"You stole from him?" Hotch questioned. "How dare you!" Hotch ripped pieces of the lace from the dress's delicate neck.
Together they ripped and tore, until the beautiful dress and jewelry were no more. Strauss didn't help them, nor did she try to stop them.
"Well. I guess now you don't have anything suitable to wear," she smirked, getting into the waiting limo. "Come along. It won't due for us to be late. Enjoy your evening of solitude, Ms. Garcia."
Garcia was left standing on the curb, her beautiful dress in tatters.