I don't own Criminal Minds, and I make no profit from this story.
Allyson sat on the hard metal chair as she waited for anyone to come talk to her. She had been allowed to adjust her robe before being re-cuffed to the table in the interrogation room. Staring at the mirror in front of her she could see she looked like crap. So much for a relaxing Sunday. Exhaustion was setting in and Allyson couldn't help but feel desperate. She needed help, she had no idea what was going on. The door flung open and Allyson jumped.
"Allyson Pierce, my name is Agent Gacy." A blonde woman with a stern face walked in. The door closed behind her and Gacy sat down across from Allyson. She had a manilla file in her hands, she eyed Allyson and frowned. "Do you know the name Amelia Novak?"
"I want my phone call."
"Do you know Amelia Novak?"
"No, give me my phone call." Allyson demanded.
"Says here to helped to operate on Amelia Novak a while ago. She had a gunshot to the abdomen and you rode with her to Denton before scrubbing in." Allyson blanched. She hadn't thought of Amy in a long while, she never had called her. Allyson remained silent, Gacy took out some photographs from the manilla folder and laid them down in front of Allyson. Amy had multiple lacerations and stab wounds on her body. Her eyes were unfocused and glassy, but Allyson could swear they were staring directly at her. Gacy noticed Allyson's eyes widening, and a look of sadness on her face.
"What happened?" Allyson questioned without thinking.
"You mean you don't know?" Gacy asked sounding like she didn't believe her. "When the doctors on duty asked who did this she kept saying your name."
"I was at work and then I went straight home."
"You mean to Agent Prentiss' apartment?" Gacy questioned.
"Yes." Allyson said and nodded.
"Is there anyone who can vouch for you?" Gacy asked.
"Call Denton, I was there all Saturday, I didn't leave until early Sunday morning."
"Which is conveniently when the attack happened," Gacy said pointedly.
"Why would I kill someone I barely knew?" Allyson questioned.
"Maybe because she was getting too close to you?" Gacy asked. Allyson remained silent she just stared at the agent. Her hazel eyes were warm, but the harsh glare she had made Allyson feel like she was freezing, even though she was sweating from nerves. "Maybe you were worried she was going to steal your thunder?"
"How would she do that?" Allyson questioned curiously. Before Gacy could reply a loud thud sounded outside of the room. Gacy looked back towards the mirror and frowned. Both could hear yelling but Allyson couldn't figure out what was being said.
"Excuse me" Gacy said as she stood and bustled out the door.
As the door swung open and the blonde exited Allyson could hear part of a conversation, "no arrival time stamp on the papers meaning she's being-" Allyson frowned as the door shut and she could no longer hear the conversation. The voice was familiar, but Allyson knew it wasn't anyone from the BAU. She whimpered and gently pulled her arms, the cuffs had left marks on her wrists. Allyson had spent all day at the hospital, with no Emily to go home to there was no reason to not get the overtime. She had gone home and promptly fallen asleep. Allyson couldn't even guess what time it was. It had been seven AM when she had fallen asleep, and the clock on the dashboard of the SUV said eleven. Normally four hours would have been fine, however, after being accused of murder, and taken by the FBI, it seemed Allyson was exhausted and slightly hysterical.
The door swung open again and Paul Strauss walked in looking furious. Gacy followed, she wordlessly unlocked Allyson's cuffs. "Now," Paul began a sentence, stopping when Allyson launched out of the chair and flung herself around him. Paul could feel a lump in his throat, it had been so long since one of his own children had showed him that kind of affection. In his children's defense he hadn't bailed them out of FBI custody either. "It's okay" Paul said as he squeezed Allyson tightly. When Paul released her Allyson let go and folded her arms over her chest. Paul shrugged off his long coat and wrapped it around Allyson's shoulders. She quickly slid her arms into the appropriate place and bundled up.
"You'll be hearing from us" Gacy said cooly as she stood behind the pair. Allyson looked at Paul, she had fear in her eyes, Paul gently grabbed her arm and began to lead her out the door. When they reached the lobby Allyson saw a young handsome man begin to approach them. As Allyson stiffened up Paul gently continued to lead her. "It's all right, he's with me." The blonde man fell into step behind them, leaving Allyson more uneasy then ever. Paul lead her to his car, opened the door for her, as soon as Allyson was in the passenger seat Paul closed the door and turned to the blonde man. Allyson couldn't hear what they were saying but the blonde man paid attention to every detail. As soon as Paul had finished the younger man nodded and strode away. Paul climbed into the car, started it, and began to drive away. "His name is Alex, he works with me. He's going to be making sure you're cleared of this."
"Why did they think I killed Amy? I operated on her once, but we never had contact other than that." Paul did his best to keep a neutral face, but some emotion Allyson couldn't recognize wavered over him. "Paul?" she questioned.
"You both worked for the same strip club." Allyson pursed her lips and remained silent. "I'm not at all judging you," Paul began. "However, the victim kept saying your name. They will try to use that against you, so be prepared to have your history brought up."
"I haven't even told my dad yet, and he's going to find out through those creeps." Allyson spoke softly, and when Paul looked over he saw a troubled look on her face.
"He's your father, he'll be fine." Paul was blatantly lying, and as soon as he saw Erin's patented bullshit face on Allyson's face he couldn't help but smirk. "Come on, he's your father, he'll move past it eventually."
"Excuse me, but I know you've met David Rossi. He's going to be judgmental and have a fit."
"Maybe, but I mean it, he will move past it." Paul replied casually. Although he hated David Rossi with a burning passion, he knew telling her that would in no way help the situation.
"Where are we going?" Allyson questioned changing the subject.
"I'm taking you to my house, we'll get you some clothes and you can rest there."
"I really don't want to intrude-" Allyson's statement was cut off by a pointed look from Paul.
"You're not intruding, and besides, I'd feel better knowing you were amongst friends." Allyson gave him a pointed look in return, but Paul ignored it. "You'll be safe at my house, besides, do you really want to go back to your apartment?"
Allyson frowned and folded her arms over her chest. Paul smiled slightly, Erin would do the same thing to avoid admitting he was right. Paul turned on the radio, and put it on low. Within a few minutes Allyson was asleep. The drive back to the Strauss residence was a quiet one, Paul felt his phone buzzing in his pocket but he ignored it, deciding to keep his eyes on the road. As he pulled up to his house he saw all of his children's cars were still parked in the driveway, or along the street. Paul shut off the car and checked his phone, he had missed calls from Alex, Nikki, and Rossi. Paul pocketed his phone and got out of the car, when he closed his door Allyson jerked awake. He walked over and opened the car door for her, she peered up looking exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes, he could tell some was makeup, but it looked like most of it was just from lack of sleep. Allyson groaned and stood, keeping Paul's jacket secured around her. Wordlessly they walked up, and into the house. By the time the front door had closed behind them Nikki had made her way to the front of the house.
"Dad, Josh and Maggie- woah" Nikki's eyes widened as she saw Allyson. She looked like she had been assaulted, with her dark, puffy eyes, and tear stained cheeks.
"Nikki, could you please go make up the guest room and find Allyson something to wear?" Paul asked politely, Nikki nodded and headed up the stairs, glancing back only when she had reached the top. "Do you want some tea? It might help you sleep," Paul suggested.
"No thanks, I'm just gonna change, call the hospital, tell them I'm not gonna make it for my shift at midnight, and then I need to figure out what the hell is going on." Allyson said quietly.
"I'll take care of all of that, don't worry about it." Paul's offer was met with a look of uncertainty. "Erin used to be section chief, I have everyone's number here. I'll call Denton and explain what happened. I'm sure it will be fine."
"Are you gonna call Rossi too?" Allyson questioned.
"If you want me to" Paul said and nodded.
Allyson gave a weak smile, "no I should call him directly." A puzzled look came over her face, "do you think he knew I was being brought in? He's a major player at the FBI, if they were coming for me wouldn't he know?"
Paul hesitated, a part of him wondered the same thing when he had first arrived at Quantico, he didn't want to believe that Rossi had no part in it, however it was the truth. "When the victim said your name they instantly started questioning hospital staff about where you lived. They went to your apartment and got your forwarding address from the landlord. It was a knee jerk reaction by a team without their leader. Homicide has been short handed lately, and I guess the two agents were just a little over enthusiastic."
"Well, if Rossi didn't know, he's going to have a cow when he finds out."
Gacy grimaced as she saw the caller ID on her phone. It wasn't unusual for the BAU and homicide to work together, however, Rossi's call was not going to be as pleasant as it usually was. Her colleagues had briefed her on all of the information that Paul Strauss had delivered. Not only was Allyson the late Erin Strauss' daughter, she was also the daughter of the currently alive and well David Rossi. She sighed and picked up the phone, "Agent Rossi I-"
"Don't speak, just listen. First of all, your unit chief is gone, any decisions that are made should go through a superior before they are carried out. Secondly, how dare you haul my daughter in like she's some sort of common criminal."
"I assure you Agent Rossi we had no way of knowing that she was your daughter."
"Yes you did. If you had followed protocol you would have-"
"Agent Rossi your daughter is still a suspect in this case. It doesn't matter if she's related to you or not. When our vic was asked who did it she said your daughters name."
"From what I've found out, my daughter treated your victim there previously. She was probably just asking for her."
"Well that's why we investigate these things, so we know if she's the perp or not."
"Why would my daughter cut up a stripper and dump her in an alley way?" Rossi was so busy yelling into his phone he didn't notice Emily glancing up looking guilty. JJ and Hotch did notice however, and neither one seemed to be willing to ignore the behavior.
"Maybe she was jealous about not being able to handle the job anymore? Then she saw a woman who got shot and could return a short while later."
"Our victim was a stripper, not a nurse."
"My victim was a stripper, and so was your daughter." Rossi opened his mouth to yell at his coworker when he noticed Emily's guilty look. "Agent Rossi, I have plenty of work to do, I will discuss this with you when you return."
Rossi heard Gacy hang up and he frowned. "Emily," Rossi said cautiously. Emily's eyes flickered to the ground before reaching his eyes again. "What aren't you telling me?"
Emily swallowed roughly, "it's really not my place to tell you."
"Either you can tell us or Garcia will." Rossi reminded her.
Emily glared at Rossi, before she could argue Hotch gently interjected. "He's right Emily, we just left an urgent case to Sam's team. We need to know everything."
Emily sighed and turned off her phone, she placed it upside down on the table and faced her team. "Allyson grew up in a really bad foster home. She had no direction growing up, she was abused, she won't tell me everything, but it was bad. She was bullied growing up, and her foster parents were extremely religious, I guess one of the other foster kids told them Allyson was gay and she was treated even worse for it. When she got out of high school she spent a lot of time in South Carolina and Florida, just partying. Eventually she moved back and with no money, no family, and no friends to turn to, she started stripping. It paid the bills, got her on her feet, and like most strippers, I think the overwhelming positive feedback probably reassured her of a lot of her insecurities." Emily noticed how set Rossi's jaw was, she frowned. "She's not ashamed of it, and I don't want anyone to give her shit for it."
"What happened that she became a nurse?" Spencer asked gently.
"I guess she wanted to do more with her life, she took a course at a community college and she fell in love with it. She paid her way through nursing school and when she was finished, she quit and went to work for Copley." Emily saw a sea of emotions in Rossi's face, there was fury, guilt, sadness, and worry. "Rossi, please say something?" Emily asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." Rossi's deep, unwavering voice left no question to his statement.
Everyone sat in silence for a few seconds before Garcia called. "Garcia, what do you have?" Hotch asked as he answered.
"Hey, so I have some news about Allyson's past that's relevant to the case." Garcia seemed uneasy with the information she had to share.
"We know about her career history" Rossi practically gritted out.
"Okay great, well there's that, and the abuse charges-"
"Wait, what abuse charges?" Emily asked.
Garcia frowned, "I'm not really sure I should be telling-"
"Garcia," JJ prompted gently.
Garcia pursed her lips but cleared her throat and continued to speak. "So when Allyson was in high school she was bullied, and picked on a lot. There were plenty of formal complaints about it, the school did nothing. One day at school Allyson was changing in the locker room and someone saw some bruises on her back. She had been getting beaten by her foster parents, she spoke to her guidance counselor about it previously, but they didn't believe her because she wouldn't show the bruises. An investigation started, all of the kids were relocated, Allyson got teased in school even worse. One day she just snapped and beat the hell out of some punk who deserved it."
"Garcia" Hotch said warningly.
"Sorry sir, back to impartial, I promise." Garcia sighed, "so the kids parents tried to sue her, but she was underage, it was a huge messy legal battle. It ended up being thrown out of court, and after that she disappeared from Virginia, and next time she reappeared it was in South Carolina."
"How bad was the fight she was involved in?" Tara questioned.
"Pretty bad, she ripped the guys lip ring, punched him a few times, and kicked him repeatedly. There were no serious injuries, no concussions or anything. He got a few licks in too, she ended up with a concussion, but nothing too serious."
Rossi's phone began to buzz on the table, he snatched it up and stood. "I've got to take this."
As Rossi walked away Tara took his spot next to JJ. Spencer leaned forward to join the huddle.
"Why wouldn't she show the counselor the bruises?" JJ questioned.
"She could have been sexually abused, it would explain why she wanted help but she couldn't bare to have someone look at her skin." Tara explained carefully.
"She's never mentioned sexual assault before." Emily said sounding confident that it was not the right answer.
"She might not have been ready," Hotch said from his spot beside the brunette.
"Well, she's out now. Before I could go try to get her Paul Strauss bailed her out."
"She called Strauss?" Emily asked sounding offended.
"I don't think so, I checked the security cameras, looks like they just hauled her into the interrogation room. He came in and chewed out a few people before he got her out." Garcia frowned at the computer screen. "The report still hasn't been filed."
"Let us know as soon as it comes in" Hotch said as Rossi returned.
"Holla back" Garcia said before hanging up.
"So Allyson is at Paul Strauss' house. He got her out, he's not saying anything other than she's dead tired, and that he's got one of his employees at Quantico trying to get more information, and making sure they don't come bother Allyson again." Rossi purposefully avoided looking at Emily.
"I thought Paul wanted nothing to do with Allyson when he found out she was alive?" Hotch questioned.
"He changed his mind." Rossi said with a sour tone. Everyone drifted back to their original spots, and all began to do their own thing, using their tablets to get as much information as they could. Emily fruitlessly texted Allyson's phone, unaware that it was currently at home still on the charger. She was tempted to ask for Paul's number, however Rossi was not in a forgiving mood, and she couldn't blame him. It was a huge shock, and it hadn't been delivered gently.
Allyson woke as a crack of lightning flashed near Pauls' house, and thunder rumbled through the sky. She immediately noticed that there was a small body curled up against her. A mop of dark hair immediately clued her in that it was Nikki. Allyson felt fully rested, but still lethargic, and confused as to what had happened earlier in the day. Paul's house was actually a nice place to crash, Nikki had showed her the guest room, where she had laid out some clothes for her. Allyson took a pair of white leggings and a soft purple sweater, Nikki asked if she was okay, Allyson lied and said she was. Nikki told her if she needed anything her room was right next door, an with that she left Allyson alone. After a quick change Allyson curled up on the full sized bed. She grabbed the house phone off of the base, but couldn't remember Emily's number, much less Rossi's. After a few minutes of debating going home Allyson had drifted off.
Nikki stirred and nuzzled against Allyson. It was late in the night, it looked like Nikki had just wandered in and accidentally fallen asleep. She wasn't wearing pajamas, and she still had her makeup on. Allyson briefly debated waking Nikki up, she would have school the next day, and if she had fallen asleep too early she ran the risk of waking up far too early and not being tired enough to go back to sleep before school would start. Before Allyson could fully contemplate the internal clock of her half sibling a gentle knock on the door woke Nikki up with a snort. She saw Allyson watching her and smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to make sure you were all settled in."
"I am, thank you" Allyson said with a smile. Another light knock sounded, "come in," Allyson called.
The door opened and Allyson's younger half brother Joshua peeked his head in. "Hi, sorry, I was just looking for Nikki."
"Allyson, this is Josh, Josh this is Allyson," Nikki said sounding bored as she slid out of bed and exited the room.
"Nice to meet you, sorry it's not under better circumstances." Allyson said awkwardly as Nikki thundered down the stairs.
"It's okay, can I come in?" Josh asked.
"Sure" Allyson said and nodded. As Josh entered the room he left the door open allowing the hallway light to shine in and illuminate the room. Josh sat at the end of the bed as Allyson sat up. He was blonde, he had his father's eyes, but skin similar to Allyson's, almost a warm glowing tan color. He was obviously well built, and he took great care in his appearance.
"You look like our mom" Josh said as he stared at her.
"Sorry," Allyson said apologetically.
Josh chuckled, "it's fine, it's just weird. Maggie looks a lot like her too, it's almost like she's back." Allyson gave him a look of pity which he shrugged off. "So are you okay? Nikki said you looked pretty rough when you showed up."
"I'm fine." Allyson gave a dry chuckle and shook her head, "I'm not fine, they think I killed someone."
"Did you?" Josh asked curiously.
Allyson's stare practically froze him in his spot, it was eerily similar to his mothers own death glare. "No, I didn't," she answered tersely.
"Just trying to make sure we're all on the same page" Josh said with a gentle smile. He brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes and shrugged. "Just trying to look out for my family."
Allyson's expression softened, she nodded understandingly. "So is the other sister still here?"
"Maggie? No, she took off as soon as she heard you were here." At Allyson's puzzled and slightly offended expression he continued. "She always had a hard time with our mom being away, and now that you're here, it's like there's another part of our mom she never got close to." Josh reached out and placed his hand on Allyson's blanket covered calf. "She'll come around, it might just take her a little while." Allyson nodded, a comfortable silence settled over the pair. As Allyson opened her mouth to excuse herself she heard a familiar voice coming from down stairs. Josh grimaced, "Rossi doesn't sound happy. There's a bathroom down the hall, I'll be down stairs with them when you're ready."
With that Josh took off. Allyson climbed out of bed, and quietly padded down the hallway. The bathroom had makeup supplies and girls clothes everywhere, apparently Nikki had dominated the bathroom. Allyson quickly used the facilities, washed her hands and padded down the stairs. In the kitchen Rossi and Paul were in a terse stand off, Nikki and Josh were standing nearby wide eyed.
Paul glanced at Allyson as she entered, Rossi turned and stared at his daughter. As his eyes narrowed she felt a coldness grip her heart. He knew, and he was not at all happy. "Guys could you please excuse us for a few minutes?" Paul asked.
Josh and Nikki looked to Allyson, and then their father. They slowly made their way out of the kitchen and into the den. Allyson inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before speaking, "I didn't do it."
"I know you didn't. You don't have it in you to kill someone, but why did you lie to me?" Rossi demanded.
"I didn't lie, I just didn't tell you. I'm entitled to my privacy."
"Allyson, I went up to bat for you with false information." Rossi said pointedly.
"Rossi, how could I have told you something like that? If this whole fuck up hadn't happened by the FBI, you would have never known and it would have been fine." Allyson folded her arms over her chest and looked at him pointedly. Neither one heard a light knock on the door, and neither one noticed Paul slip out of the kitchen.
Allyson had a point, but Rossi wasn't ready to concede to it yet. "Allyson how can I trust you again? How could you do that?"
Allyson tossed her hands up and looked at him absolutely bewildered. "Rossi, it was my business. I had every right not to tell you."
"No, I mean how could you do that? You should know better," Rossi said angrily. "Do you know how many strippers and prostitutes get murdered each year?"
Allyson's head had jerked back and her jaw had dropped. "I did what I needed to and I-" Allyson jumped as a hand brushed her shoulder. She whipped around and saw Emily standing there. Instead of wrapping herself around the brunette, like Emily had hoped, she turned back to Rossi. "I won't have you stand here and criticize my choices."
"Fine, don't expect me to help with this mess." Rossi snapped and stormed out.
Allyson and Emily watched him leave, as soon as they heard the slam of the front door they turned to each other. Allyson folded her arms over her chest defensively, Emily could hear her uneasy breathing. "Do you want to yell at me too?" Allyson asked.
"No," Emily said softly. She stepped forward and stretched out her arms, gently pulling the blonde into her embrace. Allyson sniffled quietly but after a few seconds she straightened up. She glanced at the clock on the stove, it was just past midnight.
"I need a ride to your apartment, I'm gonna change and go to work."
"I really don't think that's a good idea." Emily said softly.
Allyson looked ready to debate that fact, but Paul cut in. "I spoke to someone named Cruz, he said you could take off as much time as you needed."
Allyson pursed her lips, there was no way Cruz would allow her to go into the hospital after the day she had. Chances were he was already all caught up on everything, gossip was the only thing that spread quicker than disease. Emily happened to live in a building with another RN, and one of the doctors at the hospital, there was no way anything would be kept under wraps. "Come home with me?" Emily asked.
Allyson bit her lower lip, with Emily there she would feel a lot safer. However, she didn't want to just go to bed, she wanted to leave, cry, vent her demons, save a life or two, and then she would feel better about herself. However, Emily looked like she hadn't slept in a long while, and she looked desperate to be with Allyson. After quickly doing the math Allyson realized they had flown out for the case, stayed for several hours and then flown back. Not many people would do that. "Okay," Allyson agreed, she turned to Paul. "Thank you so much, for everything."
"Of course," Paul said and nodded. "If you need anything just call or drop by."
"I will, thanks." Allyson gave him a quick hug before she turned back to Emily. "I'm ready."
"Wait, we haven't said good bye" Josh said as he entered the kitchen. He had a beautiful smile, he gave Allyson a tight squeeze and held on. "Come see us again" Josh said as he pulled back.
"Sure," Allyson said, she turned to Nikki and gave a small smile. "It was good to see you" Allyson said, Nikki nodded and gave her a quick hug.
"See you later," Nikki said and released her sister.
Allyson and Emily left in silence. Allyson took the keys from Emily and went to the drivers side, earning a grateful smile from the brunette. The silence was filled with music from the radio, and as they got closer to home it started to pour. When they got to their apartment Emily excused herself to go get the cats. She explained the person she normally had look after Sergio saw what happened and went in to get the cats, unsure when anyone would return. Allyson wordlessly nodded, as Emily left Allyson headed to her room. Her phone had multiple missed calls, voicemails, and text messages, from Zach, Cruz, Emily, Rossi, and Garcia.
Allyson sent a quick text to Zach, Cruz, and Garcia, saying she was fine and she would contact them later to explain everything. Allyson heard the front door close and she exited her room. Emily was setting the cats down in front of the full bowls. "I don't want to stay in my room tonight." Allyson's quiet voice made Emily look up.
"We can get a hotel if you'd prefer?" Emily asked.
Allyson stared at the dark circles under Emily's eyes, and her exhausted posture. "I'm fine with your room, so long as you're okay with it."
"Always." Emily said and walked over to her lover. She wrapped herself around Allyson, there was brief hesitation but Allyson snuck her arms around Emily's midsection. "I was so scared I was going to lose you," Emily whispered hoarsely.
"Never" Allyson murmured as she pressed a gentle kiss to Emily's neck. Emily squeezed her tighter, Allyson hummed and pulled back. "I want to shower, you don't have to stay up."
"I will," Emily said and kissed Allyson lightly on the lips.
In silence the pair headed towards Emily's bedroom. Allyson grabbed a pair of leggings and a sweater from Emily's closet. Allyson had every intent of showering quickly. However as she allowed the scalding water to cleanse her skin of the rough day, she broke down into tears. A woman was dead, somehow they thought she was responsible. Her father had reacted just as poorly as she had feared he would. And Emily looked like she was close to a breaking point. Allyson sat down in the tub and let the tap water fall on her like rain. She focused on her breathing and did some light stretching before standing up. After a quick final rinse Allyson left the shower and dressed quickly. As she walked into the bedroom Allyson saw the cats curled up at the foot of the bed. Emily was passed out under the covers. Allyson turned out the bedside light and slid into bed, accidentally waking Emily.
The brunette slid on top of her lover and kissed her deeply. Allyson made a disgruntled noise and pulled away, "what are you doing?" Allyson asked curiously.
"I need to know you're really here with me." Emily explained, she dipped down and pressed gentle kisses to Allyson's neck. "I need to feel you beneath me, and I need to know you're going to be okay."
Allyson slid her fingers into Emily's hair and gently pulled her up, "always." Allyson's echo of the agent's earlier statement earned a sad smile from Emily.
That night Emily was possessive, dominant, and desperate for her lover. When both were sated Emily pulled Allyson into her embrace and kissed the bite mark she had left on Allyson's shoulder. "I love you so much, and I won't let this happen again." Allyson briefly debated questioning what she meant however sleep over took her, as she finally felt safe again in Emily's warm embrace.
Allyson woke a few hours later, Emily's arms were still wrapped around her. However the embrace was now loose enough that Allyson could roll over and watch her protector. Emily was a bad ass for the FBI, and she could probably kill someone with a staple. Allyson felt no fear except for losing her. Allyson slid down and cuddled against Emily. It was strange being so close to someone's face while they were asleep. It felt intrusive, but every single detail of Emily managed to capture Allyson even more. A few hours passed and Emily was still in a deep sleep. Allyson had nodded off a few times, but Emily's phone began to silently buzz on the bedside table immediately alerting her to the outside world. Allyson reached over her lover and grabbed the phone, it was Garcia. Allyson grimaced, if it was important and Emily missed the call that wouldn't be good. However, if it was just Garcia being considerate and checking up on Emily, she could wait. Allyson sighed and decided to answer it, she slipped out of the bed and kept one of the throw blankets wrapped around her. "Hello?" Allyson asked as she answered the phone in the hallway.
"Emily?" Garcia questioned.
"No, it's Allyson, Emily's still asleep."
"Oh hey, how do you feel?" Garcia asked sounding genuinely concerned.
"I feel like a smashed bag of assholes, but I'm all right, how are you?" Allyson questioned.
"I'm good. I just wanted to call and let Emily know the team has today off, and they are officially not welcome on the case. Your case" Garcia clarified.
"Am I still a suspect?" Allyson asked as she wandered into the living room and dropped onto the couch.
"Officially yes, but we'll get this cleared up, I promise."
"Thanks Garcia."
"Of course." There was a brief pause before Garcia continued. "Can I tell you something?"
"Sure," Allyson said as she tucked the blanket around her body.
"I knew. Before any of this happened, I knew about your employment history." Allyson opened her mouth, but no words came out, Garcia continued. "I always check up on the teams new romantic partners, and it wasn't just you I promise. I've done it to everyone. It's just, you were new, and your family now, so I wanted to be honest. I knew earlier on, and as far as I'm concerned you're still the same lovely person you've always been."
Allyson smiled and felt tears sting her eyes, "thank you Garcia, I really appreciate that."
"Of course, and if you need anything you can always get ahold of me. Seriously, family sticks together." Allyson thought of Rossi and scoffed, "what?" Garcia prompted.
"Rossi did not take the news well. At all."
Garcia sighed, "Rossi is just hurt. He doesn't express being hurt well. Not only did he not save you from growing up in foster care, but he also couldn't save you from doing something dangerous."
"It was either that or live on the streets. He needs to understand that he can either accept who I am and be a part of my life, or he can leave. I've gone my whole life without a father, I don't need one to be happy." Allyson felt a lump in her throat. She was being honest, but she left out the detail that if Rossi did chose that path he was going to break her heart.
"He'll get there, I promise. Just don't give up on him, he's a stupid, stubborn man sometimes."
Allyson chuckled dryly, "amen."
"Go get some sleep, if you or Emily need anything just call."
"Okay, thanks Garcia, bye." As Allyson hung up Emily entered the living room. She had a robe draped over her. "Garcia wanted to tell you that you've got the day off" Allyson said as Emily stalked over.
Emily squatted beside her lover and kissed her gently, "I woke up and you were gone."
"I'm sorry," Allyson said and kissed Emily. She noticed Emily still looked tired, better, but tired. "Come on, back to bed. I'll lay down with you." Allyson got up and returned to the bedroom with Emily. Both slid under the blankets and cuddled together. "You know we need to talk about it," Allyson murmured quietly as Emily snaked her arm around the blonde.
"What?" Emily questioned.
"My past," Allyson said quietly as she turned over.
Emily smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of Allyson's face. "When I told you I was okay with you being a dancer, I meant it. You did what you needed to, and I cannot be more proud of who you are now." Emily kissed Allyson on the forehead and laid down. "Go to sleep, when I wake up I want pancakes." Allyson scolded Emily but laid down beside her.
"Brat," Allyson accused earning a sleepy grin from Emily. Within a few minutes both were asleep, neither one aware of how much worse things were about to get.
Hey, quick update for you guys. I just had a week of vacation, so I did some serious writing. Previously Allyson really was not involved with the FBI, BAU, or cases they were involved with. However she will be involved in this case, I really hope you guys enjoy it. I will dive deeper into Rossi dealing with Allyson's past, and her dealing with his reactions to the situations they find themselves in. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review if you have time. Thank you!