Truths & Lies Part 1
Three things can not hide for long: the Moon, the Sun and the Truth - Gautama Buddha
"Does it make me a bad person, being a tiny bit glad to have a case so I can avoid that stupid Gala?" Rossi thumbed briefly through the file Pip had handed him, and instantly regretted making a joke.
"It's not the Gala you're avoiding," replied Pip, "and I get the feeling you'd prefer the Gala to what's in there."
Rossi sighed. "Yeah." Kids. Had to be kids, didn't it? Dead, mutilated and dumped like trash. Four already dead and another missing under similar circumstances to the previous victims. He glanced up at her. "Will you keep a close eye on Mudgie while I'm in New York? He was off his food last night, and that's not like him."
To his displeasure, Pip had moved back into her apartment once she was healed, but would make regular trips to his mansion to check in on Mudgie while he was away on a case. He hadn't wanted her to go, although on the other hand, it meant she was less likely to inadvertently come across the growing stack of incriminating jewellery catalogues he was accumulating. If moving in together was too much to ask so soon, then the amount of research he was doing into a ring would probably scare her off for good.
"Of course I will," replied Pip. "Now go on, they're waiting in the conference room for you."
Rossi sighed. New York again. At least it wasn't Los Angeles, a city he'd always disliked even before the Prince of Darkness. He had to just hope that none of them got injured like Hotch had last time they were in NYC. It wasn't like they could afford to have any of them out on medical leave, they didn't have enough Agents as it was.
It had been another busy two weeks. Two cases, both long distance and both taking longer than he'd like to resolve, partly because they were spread so thin. Garcia and Pip were invaluable, but neither could make up for the lack of Agents on the ground. Pip was fielding at least two thirds of the paperwork that came with being Unit Chief and yet, Rossi still felt like all he ever did was read and sign things that surely didn't really need his attention.
New York felt cold, despite the soaring summer temperatures. Perhaps it was the amount of time he had to spend in the morgue, hearing far more details than he ever wanted to know about how four young boys had been tortured before they died.
Rossi phoned Pip that night before he turned in for some well-deserved sleep, just needing a distraction from the lack of progress in finding their UnSub.
"Hey." Pip sounded as weary as he felt.
"You ok?" he asked, already knowing she wasn't. Neither was he.
Pip sighed. "Busy day, right?"
As his delegated admin support while he was Unit Chief, Pip saw even more of the gruesome details of their cases than she used to. She knew exactly how he felt.
"Yeah," he agreed. "Too long. Every time I think I've got a handle on the staggering range of disgusting things people can do to a fellow human being, someone comes along to remind me that there's always the possibility of something worse just around the corner."
"It's the aftermath that gets me," said Pip slowly. "The families. They'll never be the same. I saw it when I was in…when I was abroad. I had to leave him behind, and when I went back, I saw true extent of the damage he'd done."
"The previous owner of the knife you brought home?" asked Rossi carefully. She hadn't elaborated on the whys and wherefores of that story before.
"That's him," sighed Pip. "First time we met, I was a marine, young and green, just passing through his village. Friendly stop to chat with the locals kind of thing, partly because I spoke the language and we might have picked up some useful intel, partly to show that we weren't there to rob and rape like the state media would have had them believe."
Pip let out a bark of mirthless laughter. "I picked up some intel alright, just not what we wanted, or had been looking for. I heard about what he'd done and how scared the townspeople were of reporting it, partly because he'd threatened them, but also because the local chapter of the religious police would shame their families for the implication of homosexuality. I told my commanding officer, and she ordered me to leave it alone, that we weren't authorised to interfere with what passed for due process out there. Before we left, I threatened him, and he just laughed in my face. Smug sonofabitch, I rather enjoyed the look of horrified recognition when he realised I'd come back for him, just like I said I would."
"The families, though," continued Pip after a moment's silence, "they still had this sort of stunned look in their eyes, even after so many years. I was ordered to leave, to ignore it, and I did. I was a good marine, I followed my orders, but I've felt guilty about it ever since. Even more so since I went back, if I'm honest." She paused. "You know I don't hold much with religion, but those people did, it was important to how they lived every aspect of their lives, and I can respect that. For the most part, they were a kind, gentle people. But what they went through…in the end it had become too much to accept and all but one of the mothers had killed themselves, meaning they're shamed and doomed to hell anyway, according to their beliefs. They gained nothing by keeping quiet. All I did was stop him before he got to any more kids, but who knows how many more there were in the meantime?"
"And the knife?" There was no point trying to ease the weight of guilt Pip obviously felt over the situation. Rossi had been at Ruby Ridge and Waco after all, he knew just how heavy the weight of following unwelcome orders could be.
"They said it was appropriate for vanquishing the masakh, literally "monster" in their tongue. I didn't want it after leaving him there with them in the first place, but I couldn't see a way to refuse without causing offence. I've pissed off enough people in that area one way or another, without adding any more unnecessarily."
"It wasn't your fault, Pip."
"And this isn't yours, although I know you're going to beat yourself up over it anyway," she pointed out, all too accurately. Rossi could already feel the particulars of the case oozing through the layer of cool professionalism he worked so hard to maintain. Sinking down, sharp claws fastening deep into his soul, where it would fester as long as the UnSub was out there, fulfilling his twisted desires with another child. And beyond, because cases like this always lurked in the subconscious, waiting to pounce on the unwary while asleep, poisoning dreams and spinning dread into the night.
"They should have called us in earlier," Pip commented, "but the head of the crime lab is on sabbatical and his second-in-command probably thought they could deal with it by themselves." She sighed. "She's good on the psycho-analysis side of things, but not so much on how it relates to serial crime. Four boys dead and a fifth missing? He wouldn't have waited until it got this far. He's impulsive and a bit of a hardass, but a first-class Detective. A fellow marine," she added, a hint of pride in her tone.
"Do you know everyone in law enforcement?" asked Rossi, exasperated. "She seems ok to me, although their ME is a bit off the wall. I had to spend far too much time with him today."
"Not everyone, just the important ones," said Pip imperiously.
Rossi chuckled and lay back on the hotel bed, letting Pip's voice just wash over him as if it could wash away some of the things he'd seen and learned that day. Who was he kidding? It did and it was, just hearing her chatter away was just what he needed. And she knew it, she must have done.
Rossi smiled. What was it about her that made him feel better, no matter how bad things were? The copious profanity and fierce temper that came with a compassionate heart, the loving glances that warmed his chest, as well as things a little lower. The love and protectiveness she displayed for her team that she'd extended to cover him too, long before they were together. The way she could make him laugh, no matter how awful things were. The smug look on her face as she made him gasp and groan in bed, or anywhere else they found themselves having sex these days. Everything, everything about her, even when she infuriated him. In fact, the way…
"Dave? You there?" Pip cut through his musings, and Rossi realised he'd spaced out for a while.
"Yeah, sorry."
"Did you hear a single fucking word of what I just said?" she asked sharply.
"No," he admitted, leaning back against the headboard with an arm across his eyes. "I was just thinking how much I wish I was back home, there with you."
"Nicely rescued," she noted drily. "The short version of everything you missed: Leon's got a new girlfriend, Mudgie's fine, Mrs Crabtree died. Todd's fumigating downstairs as we speak."
Rossi smiled. "Good, good, and I'll miss her cookies, but I can't say I'll miss the smell."
"Me either," agreed Pip. "It's a shame, she wasn't a bad neighbour compared to some I've had. I never knew her that well, despite living in such close quarters for so many years. We're chipping in to pay for a funeral; she has no next of kin, never married and Todd's nanna was about her last friend left. I feel rather guilty for not paying more attention to her now, and Todd and Leon are with me on that. Decent funeral is about the only thing we can do."
"Let me know what the bill is, I'll put something in too," said Rossi. "She kept me in cookies while you were away."
"You don't have to do that, Dave."
"I know, but I want to."
They said their goodbyes shortly after, Rossi turning off the light and settling down to try and rest. It wasn't the same, sleeping without her. He'd known it would happen, all those years ago. He'd got so used to sharing a bed with Pip that now, he struggled to doze off unless she was there. Talking to her had helped. Rossi smiled as he clutched a pillow to his chest, hearing her bossy command to sleep still echoing in his head. He obeyed.
Rossi had to sit and sympathise with their UnSub when they caught her three days later. He'd rather have gone to the blasted Gala with Strauss. Both of them made his skin crawl, but Strauss was by far the better option if he had to choose one to spend time with. If nothing else, she'd yet to hold a gun to his head, although Rossi was sure there'd been times when she was sorely tempted.
Much as Foyet had done, their UnSub had pulled the wool over their eyes, fooled them all, including the NYPD. They'd all thought she was just a witness, that their UnSub was male because they knew they were chasing a sadist, a preferential sex offender with a taste for prepubescent boys. Someone who enjoyed the pain they wrought as much, if not more, than the sexual satisfaction.
With no DNA evidence and all the usual behavioural pointers that might speak of a female offender notably missing, they'd felt confidently safe in their assumption. An assumption that had nearly got him killed, because a female UnSub would have changed the profile so significantly, they'd surely have realised the error in their judgement of her sooner. Before the missing child turned up dead and yet another one vanished. That they were looking for a woman didn't cross any of their minds until it was almost too late, not that he'd ever tell Pip how close it had been.
The UnSub had injected herself into the investigation, as so often was the case, and none of them had given it a second thought. Much as he hadn't, when she'd asked him to drive her home from the lab in Police Plaza where they'd set up camp.
Rossi couldn't even remember specifically what it was that she'd said that alerted him to their mistake. Whatever it was, she'd known it too, the instant she'd let it slip. One second, they had been just sat talking outside her house in the Bureau SUV, the next, she'd drawn a gun on him and taken his weapon before he'd fully processed what was going on.
Morgan had saved his life again. It was turning into an uncomfortable habit – Rossi being held at gunpoint by a woman they'd all underestimated and Morgan shooting her before she could deliver his death. He didn't shoot to kill; there was still a boy missing and they needed her alive. The sound of the report had been loud, even inside the SUV.
Rossi had time to wonder at that; that someone whose brains were splattered across the inside of a car window could still consider such things as noise, before realising it wasn't him that had been shot. With her gun no longer digging into his skull, Rossi had quickly disarmed her and retrieved his own weapon from her lax grasp. Then he just sat in the driver seat, waiting for his hands to stop shaking as Morgan hauled her out of the SUV in cuffs. No, he'd never tell Pip. It had been too close, far too close.
Rossi rubbed his hand absently across his face as he worked on the short flight home. Two days after it happened, he could still sense the muzzle of her weapon pressing into his forehead. If they'd only realised sooner that they were chasing a woman, if he hadn't seen JJ as he'd left the crime lab with her, if Morgan had been a little slower to get there, if she hadn't wanted to gloat a little before she killed him…the "what ifs" just kept circling in a holding pattern, too many for them all to find a space to land.
Once she was in custody and had the Morgan-inflicted gunshot wound stitched up, it had taken him another two days to wring the location of her last victim's body out of her spectacularly depraved mind. He'd had to sink so far into the UnSub's worldview to do so, that it felt like he was still climbing out of it.
She wanted to punish the children for "flirting" with her. Once she'd given in to her perverted sexual desires, that was. Knowing she would spend the rest of her life in prison was hardly enough considering what she'd done. The whole experience made Rossi wish he could erase it from his memory, the fact that she'd held him at gunpoint only adding to that. Unfortunately, he had a feeling it would stick, no matter how hard he tried.
Pip's smile as he trudged back into the BAU helped shift some of it. Knowing she would come home with him, insult him and hold him, also helped. Once the unavoidable tasks that were his to do as Unit Chief were complete, anyway. Pip herded the rest of the team home, including AST. It was Sunday and the following day would be soon enough for what she needed from them. Griffin was the last to leave, looking a little furtive as he did so.
As soon as they were alone in his office, Rossi pulled her down to sit on his lap. "I need you, Pip," he whispered in her ear, burying his face in her neck. "And I need to get out of here. After the last two days…"
She pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead and ran her hand through his hair. Rossi made a noise that could only be described as a mewl of appreciation, much as he would strenuously deny it if anyone asked. Somehow, she always knew what he needed. That brief touch of her lips had banished the sensation of cold metal against his head, temporarily, at least.
"Have you done your report for IA?" Rossi shook his head. Even though it hadn't been him to shoot the UnSub, as Unit Chief he had to submit his own account of Morgan's actions. He'd started it on the flight home, but it wasn't finished yet.
"You don't get special treatment just because you're sleeping with the boss," she said softly, yet still with the teasing smile that she kept just for him. "You need to get that done, Internal Affairs will want to see your account of the shooting on their desk by the time they get in tomorrow and it's something I can't help with. Hank says her lawyer is already shouting about it, if you can believe that, considering what she's done. Finish it, then we can go home. I can sort the rest of it with you in the morning."
"Thank you," he whispered, just desperate to get out of the office, away from reminders of what he'd seen in New York.
With the paperwork out of the way, they retreated to his house to try and make the most of the rest of their Sunday, complete with a roast dinner. An attempt at normality. After they'd ripped each other's clothes off, that was. They'd only made it as far as the hallway, the urge too powerful to contain. New York had been horrific, their frantic coupling life-reaffirming and desperate.
A couple of hours later as they were prepping dinner, Pip's cell started ringing from the depths of her bag sat on the counter. She looked up from her task and nodded towards it. "You couldn't fish that out for me, could you?"
Rossi glanced between her face and her backpack. "You mean, go in your bag?" he asked, aghast. He would do anything for her, including taking a bullet, but digging around in a lady's bag was a big no-no. Exceptional life-and-death circumstances aside, there was no way he was about to encroach on the unwritten feminine law that said her handbag was sacred territory and not meant for his eyes. Even if Pip wasn't the most overtly feminine of women and said handbag was a well-travelled leather backpack he'd rummaged around in before.
Pip rolled her eyes. "It's alright, I've disabled the bear trap."
Rossi blinked. "You have a bear trap in there?" he asked stupidly.
Pip stopped what she was doing. "No, but I'm starting to reconsider," she said drily. "Will you just find it? I've still got my hands up a chicken's backside."
Inevitably, her cell had stopped ringing by the time Rossi had tentatively searched the bag and retrieved it.
"Who was it?" asked Pip as she washed her hands of chicken juices, having successfully stuffed the bird for roasting.
"Griffin," replied Rossi as her cell started to ring in his hand. "That's him again."
Pip inclined her head and Rossi tucked the cell into the crook of her neck, thumbing the answer button as he did so.
"Griffin, what can…Griffin, slow down…Griff…Floyd! Breathe, for fuck's sake! What's wrong?" Pip paled as she listened, drying her hands and starting for the kitchen door. "Griffin, stay where you are. I'm on my way…stop arguing with me, this isn't a discussion…No…No! Do. Not. Move. I'm coming for you. Do you hear me? I'm coming, stay right there." She hung up and started hunting for something.
Rossi followed her as she darted around desperately searching. "Pip? What's going on?" He caught her arm when she ignored the question. "Pip?"
"Fire, Griffin's apartment block. I've got to go to him. Where are my fucking keys?" she cried.
"Here." Rossi handed them to her. Pip snatched them from his hand and started in the direction of the door. "Ah, bella, you might want to change first." He ran an appreciative glance up and down her form, clad only in his shirt. Her ass cheeks were just visible at the hem. "I like the view, but you'll give Griffin a heart attack dressed like that."
Pip looked down. "Huh," she grunted, a small smile appearing, despite her obvious concern for her team member. "You're probably right." She gave him back her keys and dashed upstairs.
Pip clattered back down minutes later dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
"You want me to come with you?" asked Rossi.
"Yeah. It might take both our badges to get me a pass on my driving," said Pip absently, grabbing her keys as she passed, barely stopping long enough to open the door. Rossi was struck by the thought that if it had been locked, he'd have a Pip-shaped hole in it, like they did in cartoons. That didn't bode well for her driving style, which could be frightening enough as it was.
"Oh, good," he muttered, shrugging on a t-shirt from his go-bag; Pip having left his shirt upstairs. "Because I haven't had enough near-death experiences lately."
He was right. It was a white-knuckle ride to Griffin's neighbourhood, Pip taking an unorthodox route to get where they were going. Some of the trip was on roads, but Pip also took them through a series of unlikely shortcuts, including an alley barely wide enough for the truck, and certainly not at the speed they were going. There was something incredibly disconcerting to see brickwork whizzing past at seventy miles an hour, barely inches from the window. If that hadn't been hair-raising enough, Pip turned from there into a warehouse and simply slalomed through the shelving before shooting out into the loading bay. A flight of steps and two parking lots later, they rejoined the road.
"Nearly there," Pip said, unnecessarily. Even from miles away, Rossi had been able to see where they were headed from the column of black smoke rising into the otherwise clear and beautiful summer evening. By that time, they were close enough that he could smell it too. Pip's creative off-roading had shaved a good half hour off the journey time.
Pip barely let the truck come to a stop before leaping from the cab. Rossi followed more slowly, hanging back to let his stomach settle a little as Pip tore across the parking lot filled with fire trucks and ambulances.
"Griffin!" she yelled as she ran. "Griffin!" She stopped and turned in a circle. "Griffin! Griffin, report damn you!"
A familiar mop of red hair bobbed up from the back of an ambulance as Griffin got to his feet. "Boss?" he croaked, before doubling over, coughing. A paramedic pushed him back down and replaced the oxygen mask he'd taken off.
Pip darted in his direction. "Griffin!" She skidded to a halt in front of him, cataloguing the state of him. Pale under the soot smudges and shaking still, Griffin was a little singed around the edges, missing his eyebrows and a chunk of hair on one side. His freckles stood out starkly against the pallor of his face.
"Oh, Griffin," breathed Pip, then enveloped him in a hug as Griffin started to sniffle.
"Boss, I'm sorry, I…" Griffin's words were muffled by the mask and Pip batted his hand away when he tried to take it off.
"No, no, you keep that on," insisted Pip, pulling the young man's head to her chest. "Ssh, ssh, it's ok, Griffin. I'm here, I've got you. Everything's going to be ok."
Watching Pip comfort the young man twisted something inside Rossi. She had so much love to give and had adopted her team in place of the children she could never have. It blazed from her, much as the fire blazed behind them, consuming the small block of apartments Griffin had lived in. There were times he felt truly honoured that she'd turned that warmth on him, too. The rest of the time, he wondered whether she knew how deep it ran for him, whether she realised that she was the last woman he would ever be with, because he was never letting go of her. He had the feeling his rather dubious track-record with women was working against him, that she thought he'd eventually move on.
"Can I take him home?" Pip asked the hovering paramedic.
The paramedic checked a couple of monitors and nodded. "Yeah, he's good to go, just keep an eye on him for the next hour or so. Take him to the ER if you notice any signs of cyanosis. That's…"
"It's ok, I know what to look for," she reassured the paramedic with a nod of understanding. "Thanks for looking after him," she added, before turning her attention to Griffin.
Pip gently removed the oxygen mask and stroked Griffin's hair. "You stink, and you're going to need a haircut to disguise the bit you're missing," she teased, "but I know a guy who does amazing make-up tips if you can't wait for the eyebrows to grow back in." Griffin laughed and then started coughing again.
"Come on, I'm parked this way," she said when he'd finished, tugging gently on his arm.
Pip led Griffin back towards Rossi and her pickup. Griffin paused when he saw Rossi, casting a questioning glance at his boss. Pip just raised an eyebrow. Griffin took another glance at Rossi, then started walking again.
Pip drove them back to her place and after a brief conversation Rossi couldn't hear, shoved Griffin in the direction of the shower. Rossi started the coffee machine while Pip went to dig out some clothes for Griffin to wear.
She knocked on the bathroom door. "You decent, kid?" There was a noise that sounded like assent and Pip deposited the small pile just inside the door.
"I've loaned him some of your stuff, he's a lot shorter and skinnier than you, he'd be able to camp in your shirt if you gave him a pole," commented Pip from the kitchen doorway.
Rossi leaned against the counter, coffee in hand. "He ok?"
Pip sighed and accepted the mug he handed her. "No. He's lost everything. Insurance will cover some things, but he's lost all the old photos of his family, all his books, all his keepsakes, everything that really matters."
"And the Master file from New York," added Griffin from behind Pip.
"Griff! You're not supposed to…" started Pip as she spun to face him. She stopped as the anguished expression on Griffin's face twisted into pure shame. "I'll deal with it," she finished firmly.
"But…"
"You're an idiot, but you're my idiot, and I will protect you," growled Pip. She cupped Griffin's face with one hand. "You're not to worry about it until I tell you that you should, is that clear?"
Gratitude and relief flooded Griffin's entire demeanour. "Thank you, boss."
Pip cuffed him round the head gently. "I'm still pissed off you took the Master file home, but we'll talk about that later." She gave him a gentle push. "Go on, go sit down, I'll bring you a brew."
Griffin glanced at Rossi over Pip's shoulder and did as she asked.
"He knows," said Rossi quietly, once he was out of earshot.
"Of course he does. He's many things, but he's not stupid," agreed Pip as she threw sugar in a mug and handed it to him to fill. "He won't say anything though."
"You sure?" he asked, only filling the mug two thirds the way up to leave room for the dollop of scotch he knew Griffin would need in it. "He's young…"
"And we're not," smirked Pip. "You realise I hit forty while I was away? He's young enough that simply the thought of old people having sex is enough to silence him."
"I'm not old," growled Rossi, putting down Griffin's coffee and pulling her towards him. "If we didn't have an audience, I'd show you just how not-old I am." He kissed her fiercely, enough to draw an appreciative moan from the back of her throat. That noise always got him all hot and bothered, and Rossi deepened the kiss, pressing her up against the counter and grinding his hips into hers.
Pip looked up at him as they parted, eyes sparkling. "I'm almost convinced," she said cheekily, and ran her hand tantalisingly over the developing bulge in his jeans. "You can continue presenting your evidence later." She picked up two mugs and left him in the kitchen, desperately trying to make his body subside by force of will alone.
By the time he joined Griffin and Pip in the living room, Pip had fetched the bottle from its shelf, and had already added a fair measure to Griffin's mug by the look of the flush starting to make itself known on the young man's face. Although that could have been for the smug, thoroughly-kissed look still on Pip's.
Griffin glanced briefly at his boss, then cocked his head and subtly toasted Rossi with his mug. Rossi nodded in reply. They understood each other. Griffin was telling him that all the time his boss was happy, then so was he. The undertones of that, was that as soon as his boss wasn't happy, there'd be trouble. It was sweet in a way, considering Griffin looked about twelve years old with his childish features and swamped in an old shirt of Rossi's that was about three sizes too big.
"Dave, can you sit with him a minute?" asked Pip as he settled himself on the arm of the sofa on her side. "I want to dash down and talk to Todd."
"I don't need a babysitter, boss!" exclaimed Griffin. "I should go…I'm intruding…" He stood, clutching the overly-large tracksuit bottoms with one hand to make sure they didn't fall down. Rossi mentally chided the young man for reminding him just how many inches he'd put on round his waist. Those things were uncomfortably snug on him if he'd eaten a big dinner. Griffin was practically swimming in them.
Pip leapt from the sofa. "Oh yeah?" she said dismissively. "And where would you go, exactly?" She pushed Griffin back down, not entirely gently. "You're not going anywhere, and Dave is going to stay with you to make sure you don't."
Rossi eased himself down into her spot, warmed by her body heat. Pip flashed him a grateful smile and left, clomping her way noisily down the stairs to the apartment below.
"I'm in so much trouble about that file," said Griffin to break the rather awkward silence that developed as soon as Pip had gone.
"Not as much trouble as you will be by worrying about it when she told you not to," replied Rossi with a smirk. "Trust me."
"Oh, I know," replied Griffin resignedly. "Like arguing with a force of nature, right?" They exchanged rueful smiles. "I'm sorry I ruined your afternoon."
"You think anything would have stopped her rushing to wherever you were?" asked Rossi. "You should know her better than that by now."
Griffin nodded. "I don't have any family, only an aged aunt-by-marriage in Maine. Boss put herself down as my next of kin on the Bureau medical forms," he added. "I didn't even know she'd done it until I came off my bike. She turned up in the ER to yell at me for trying to cycle home drunk off my ass, gave me a hug and then started to yell at me for scaring her."
Rossi chuckled. "That sounds like Pip. The more she cares, the more she growls and insults you."
"Yeah. Actually, that explains a lot about you two," Griffin said cheekily. "Ah, sorry sir, that was…"
"Don't apologise, you're right," interrupted Rossi with a smile. "I love it, but if you tell her that, I'll have to kill you."
Griffin let out a laugh that turned into a coughing fit. Rossi pounded him on the back until he stopped.
"Thank you, sir."
"Rossi, or Dave. No need for "sir" here," said Rossi with a smile, remembering a similar conversation with Pip many years previously. "And you didn't ruin anything, Griffin. We're both just pleased you're safe, that's all."
"It's nice of you to say, sir, after the week you've had." Griffin shot him a sideways glance. "Rossi. Um, that could take some getting used to."
Rossi chuckled, and looked up as Pip bounced back into the apartment. "Found you a place to stay," she announced brightly. "Todd's going to let you have the ground floor apartment."
"Hope you don't mind the smell of old lady cabbage farts," muttered Rossi, causing Griffin to first laugh, then start coughing again.
"And floral anaglypta wallpaper," noted Pip when he stopped. "Todd's not had a chance to redecorate yet."
"There is one condition, unfortunately non-negotiable," said Pip as the three of them stood at what used to be Mrs Crabtree's front door an hour later. Said condition made itself evident as she turned the key in the lock. "You now have full custody of that."
Pip pushed open the door and a yapping brownish-grey blur latched itself onto Rossi's right shoe.
"Oh, not again," groaned Rossi indignantly. "These are hand-made, you bloody menace." He shook the dog off his foot and inspected the damage as Griffin and Pip laughed. "That's three pairs now," he complained, running his fingers mournfully over the tooth marks embedded in the formally pristine leather.
Having ruined another set of perfectly good footwear for him, Poppy relieved her bladder over the hallway floor in her excitement.
"Congratulations, Griffin. You are now the proud owner of the most obnoxious little shit machine I've ever had the misfortune to meet," said Pip over Poppy's yapping. "Enjoy."
Griffin knelt down and Poppy leapt into his arms. "Hello, little one," he crooned. Poppy licked his face and snuggled into his chest, silent at last.
Pip rolled her eyes. "Typical. Love at first sight."
"Not always a bad thing," muttered Rossi to himself, following the other two into Mrs Crabtree's apartment. "Smells…interesting in here," he commented, holding his sleeve over his nose. Unfortunately, his clothes smelled of Griffin's burning apartment block. It wasn't exactly an improvement and Rossi quickly gave up. If he could cope with dead bodies, he could cope with the pervading odour combination of Mrs Crabtree and Poppy's unwillingness to wait for a toilet break.
"Todd and I decided we're calling it "shitrus"," said Pip as they moved from room to room. "The lemon doesn't quite cover what was there before, but if Griff keeps the windows open for about three months, it'll be fine. Can't say the same about the décor, though," she said, wrinkling her nose at the garish yellow tiling in the kitchen. "Todd's got his work cut out. Best thing that could happen to this place is a hand grenade."
"It can be arranged," quipped Rossi. "Urgh, anything to get rid of that," he added, opening the bathroom door and pointing to the avocado-coloured suite. "Seventies style at its absolute worst."
"Uh, boss?" piped up Griffin from the living room. "This is a nice area, and I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I can't afford something as big as this." He turned as Rossi and Pip made their way back into the room. "I mean, I'm renting a box room in a shared apartment, I don't think I can…"
Pip flapped a dismissive hand in his direction. "Griff, it's taken care of, don't worry. You'll have to live with Todd coming and going as he does the place up a bit to go on the market, but he's happy for you to stay here as a favour to me while he does so. You've got six months rent-free to work out what you're going to do."
She cuffed him round the head when Griffin started stammering his thanks. "Hush. It's my job to look out for you, remember? Now, there's no mattress on the bed, but the sofa's newish, Leon's new girlfriend just bought a one and he brought her old one back here instead of taking it to the dump like she asked. I've got a spare duvet and loads of pillows, I'll dash up and get them, at least you'll have somewhere to sleep. Even if it does smell like old people in here."
She left Rossi with Griffin, and Poppy, still nestled in Griffin's arms and growling at Rossi intermittently.
"When are you going to tell her?" asked Griffin, apropos to nothing. "You obviously haven't yet."
Rossi raised a questioning eyebrow and turned away to examine the hideous painting hung over the mantle. "Tell her what?"
"Me and Sarge saw Agent Morgan's after-action report."
Reflexively, Rossi reached up to rub his forehead. Oh. He'd somehow managed to miss the fact that while Pip wouldn't see Rossi's own report to IA, Morgan's would go in the file, and he would be candid about what happened.
"How come she doesn't know already then?" asked Rossi softly. "She had the file earlier, before it was destroyed." He turned just in time to see Griffin wince. "That didn't come out quite how I meant it."
Griffin gave him a small smile. "I know." He shook his head. "Sarge made me hold it back."
"Phillips was giving me time to tell her before she read it in the file," breathed Rossi.
Griffin shuffled his feet. "Kind of. Sarge said she'd go batshit if she didn't hear your side of it first. Didn't make much sense before this afternoon, but it does now." He shrugged. "I just figured you were good friends, I wouldn't have thought of withholding it from her."
Which meant Phillips already knew. Rossi frowned. "Does everybody know about us?" he growled, somewhat incredulously. They'd been so careful!
"No. Just Sarge, and now me, I guess," replied Griffin. "Knowing Hank, we'll probably never find out if he does or not. I've had deeper personal conversations with my lunch."
Rossi smiled. If ever there was reason to be grateful for Duffy's quiet, unassuming manner, this was prime example. "You realise how important it is that our relationship is kept quiet?" he asked seriously. Griffin nodded easily. "And the other thing?" he added tentatively.
Griffin gave him a condescending look straight out of Pip's book. "We're loyal to the boss, sir." Griffin jutted his chin and stared up at Rossi. "It was done with her wellbeing in mind. But if you don't tell her, then we will."
It was late by the time Rossi and Pip found themselves back in his kitchen, contemplating their still-raw and entirely untouched chicken. Neither of them had thought to cover it, or tuck it away for safekeeping in the fridge before they'd dashed out to find Griffin.
"I'm worried about him," said Rossi, looking from the surprisingly intact bird to his dog and back again. "Six months ago, I would have bet heavily that we'd be at the emergency vet right now, having raw chicken bones removed. It's not like Mudgie to pass up an opportunity for free food he knows he shouldn't have."
"The draw of the forbidden fruit," agreed Pip. "You think it'll keep? I'm really not in the mood for a huge lavish roast dinner if I'm honest."
Nor was he, and the thought of the smell of roasting flesh of any kind actually turned his stomach after seeing the bodies being wheeled past him that afternoon.
Rossi breathed a sigh of relief. "You either, huh?" Pip shook her head. "Probably not worth risking anyway. It's been sat in the open all afternoon, and it was a warm day."
"Hate wasting food," muttered Pip, but fetched a bag to wrap the bird in before binning it.
They dined instead on the emergency pizza he always kept in the freezer, lounged on his sofa with a plate between them.
"They've changed the recipe, we'd have been better off eating the box it came in," said Rossi, chewing unenthusiastically.
"Mmm," agreed Pip absently. "Have you got a headache?"
Rossi threw his pizza crust back on the plate. "No," he said slowly, running a hand suggestively up her thigh. "Are you offering dessert? I seem to remember you promising me a chance to present more evidence…" Pip shifted her leg out of his reach and Rossi looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"Why have you been rubbing your forehead all afternoon?" she asked.
Rossi forced his hand back down to the sofa when it tried to do it again without his permission. He let out a long sigh and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. "She held a gun to my head, the UnSub. We didn't know it was a woman we were after, and I drove her home. She let something slip and planned to kill me to make her escape. Sometimes I think I can still feel it."
"And when were you going to tell me about this?" Pip growled, low and angry. "You caught her two days ago."
He had no answer for that. He'd considered not telling her at all. Had still been considering it in fact, right up until the moment Griffin had reminded him that not doing so would be pointless, because Pip would find out anyway. The only reason she hadn't already, was because Phillips knew about them and knew that she'd want Rossi to tell her first.
But saying any of that would be tantamount to suicide.
Pip correctly interpreted his hesitation and surged to her feet, glaring down at him with her hands on her hips. "Were you ever going to tell me, or just wait until I read it in the file?" she asked caustically.
Rossi rubbed his forehead again, dropping his hand when he realised Pip was following his every action with a critical eye. "It still bothers me," he said quietly.
"I can see that. Doesn't answer the question," she spat.
Rossi stood. It had been a long week, he was tired and now he was pissed off as well. "Look, it's not something I'm particularly proud of, not seeing her for what she was. Another kid died while she played the distraught witness. Fucking lay off the third degree, will you?"
"Still not an answer." Pip grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Let me know when you've made up your mind." She stormed away, leaving him standing in his living room, hand ghosting once more over the phantom bruise on his head. The bruise that was more to his pride than his skin. The sound of his front door slamming echoed through the house, and Mudgie whined from his place on the rug.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," sighed Rossi. "It's alright for you, your last liaison was an unsuspecting mailman's leg. It's a bit more complicated for us humans."
Rossi sat back down and laid an arm over his eyes. "Women," he grumbled, "ought to come with a fucking manual."
Mudgie exhaled disapprovingly through his nose. Rossi groaned. Even his dog thought he'd been an ass.
