Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.

Shelter

By
N. J. Borba

The parking garage was dark and quiet.

Emily darkened her world even more, closing her eyes as she relaxed against the comfy seat of the stationary SUV. She had her passenger side window rolled down a crack for some air circulation while she waited. After the case in Arizona she longed for a bed and a comforter to curl up beneath. And having Derek beside her was at the top of her wish list as well, but she wasn't so sure about that option. Emily wasn't even certain about his state of mind at the moment.

He'd been silent on the jet ride home to Quantico. With his headphones firmly covering his ears, no one had bothered him.

She was roused from her worried thoughts by the hushed tones of JJ and Morgan's voices as they walked through the dimly lit parking garage. Thankfully their words were too muted for her to overhear anything. But she still felt a bit guilty of eavesdropping when Derek opened the driver's side door and mutely took in her presence. "Hi," was the only word that seemed willing to leave her mouth for a moment.

"How long have you been sitting out here?" he asked, sliding into the leather seat beside her and closing his door.

"Sorry, I used the key you gave me. We did ride here together," she stated, not really answering his question. "But I guess I should've called a cab or got a ride with Rossi or Garcia. I just wanted to see you first, but I can go back to my place tonight if you want." Emily realized she was rambling, having found plenty words to make up for her earlier lack. Finally she stopped and waited for some sort of reaction from him.

His head nodded in response to what she'd said. "Yeah, you should go home," Derek agreed. But his words were not dismissive as he reached out and took her hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed her palm ever-so-softly. Then he looked her in the eye. "But it's our home now, remember? Clooney and Sergio are waiting for us. And I'm sure the chocolate milk is still good," Morgan let her hand go and turned the key in the ignition.

"I thought you'd want to be alone," Emily replied even as she latched her seatbelt. "I can take Sergio and go to my apart…"

"No," he didn't let her finish. "I don't want to be alone, Emily," Derek's tone was adamant but not stern in any way. "Not tonight. Never again," he concluded.

xxx

The living room was extremely quiet aside from Clooney's soft snores. He was nestled in his usual spot while Sergio lay curled atop the back of the sofa, sleeping blissfully. They were the only two in the house who could sleep. Derek sat with his arms wrapped tightly around Emily. No lamp was lit. They'd been sitting for a long time without a single word passed between them. Emily wanted to ask him questions, about the case, about his past with Carl Buford. But none of it seemed right.

When Derek finally spoke, his voice was a whisper filled with both malice and regret, "I wanted to kill him."

Emily wasn't sure if he was talking about Buford or Allen. Both, most likely. "I know," was all she could bring herself to let slip.

"Do you?" his head shook as he stared at the empty fireplace. "Hitting him wasn't enough. I wanted my hands around his neck… I wanted to…"

A chill ran down her spine as she listened. "Derek, you didn't."

"If Rossi and Hotch hadn't been there to stop me, I might have…" he trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Just a few weeks ago I sat here and told you how much the deaths were taking a toll, on all of us. Too many deaths. But that man…" again his words floated through the air unfinished. "He'll sit in prison, hopefully rot there. But it still doesn't make up for what he did to Angel. That boy's life will never be the same," Morgan practically growled. "Never."

She turned her head and pressed her cheek against his shoulder knowing he was speaking from experience. Emily didn't feel like she could get close enough to calm his anger, but she did her best to try. "At least he'll have a life," she countered, "Because he was strong enough to get away. And because he was strong enough to open up to you and tell you what happened to him. That strength will guide him the rest of his life. And so will you."

His left hand caressed her neck. "Me?"

"Angel will always remember you," Emily spoke with conviction, "Even if the two of you never cross paths again. You're the first person he opened up to about what happened. You gave him shelter from the storm in his mind. You did the same for me just a few months ago when I showed up on your doorstep uncertain about where my life was headed next."

Morgan brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. "And you did the same thing for Samantha. You made her feel safe enough to relive the past," Derek acknowledged. "It was kind of like the old days, us working together. Except we weren't even partnered up this time," his lips curled upward ever-so-slightly.

Emily understood his underlying meaning. "We do make a pretty good team, even if we're not in the same room," she smiled for him.

"I'll put up proper walls in the laundry room," he responded.

Her brows bunched at the sudden change of topic. "What?"

"If not having laundry room walls is a deal breaker for you moving in then I'll finish the walls for you. And you can paint them whatever color you like," Derek insisted.

Another smile lit her eyes. "I've never painted a room before," she was actually intrigued by the idea. "I think maybe a nice shade of lavender would work in that space," Emily mused aloud. Mostly she was trying to gage his reaction to the color choice, given that the rest of the house had been refinished in hues of beige and green.

"If that's what you want," Morgan nodded.

Her brief moment of amusement faded swiftly with the realization of his offer. Coupled with what he'd said to her earlier about never wanting to be alone again, Emily felt her heart break a little. "I'm not going anywhere," she whispered reassuringly. "I don't care if there are walls in the laundry room or not. I'll admit I've had my doubts and I'm still worried I'm going to mess things up. But I thought we already made it pretty clear, this is it, you and me," she vowed. "You're stuck with me, pal," Emily declared.

"Good," he relaxed a little more.

Silence filled the room again for a short time, but it was comfortable.

"JJ invited us over to hang out with her and Will this Saturday," Derek was the one to break the quiet again. "As long as no cases come up," he amended. "Just to watch some baseball, maybe take Henry to the park or go out for a bite to eat," Derek explained. "I said I'd run it by you first."

Emily was a little shocked by the way he seemed so nonchalant about it. "She asked both of us, through you?"

"One couple to another," he clarified.

"So she knows we're a couple?" Emily continued to question him.

He grinned more fully than before and kissed her cheek. "Yep, I mentioned it to her on the way down to the parking garage tonight."

With a relieved sigh, Emily smiled too. "I guess that means we're taking Hotch's advice to heart, not keeping things secret."

"Yep," Derek nodded. "So what do you think about Saturday? Give you a chance to cuddle with Henry."

"He does seem to like me," she shrugged.

That response seemed to settle the matter of their weekend plans. And Derek desperately hoped they had a weekend to look forward to. But something else was on his mind and had been ever since they'd left Arizona. He didn't know the best way to approach the subject, though. "Speaking of kids… do you still think about having a baby?" he finally asked.

His question didn't rock her. She was too relaxed to read anything more into it than passing interest. "Not so much these days, why?"

"What about an older child?" Derek inquired, his thoughts still focused heavily on Angel. "What about adoption or fostering an older child? Have you ever thought about that?"

She nodded. "Sure. I almost brought Carrie Ortiz home with me after that home invasion case in Denver years ago. And you know I risked my life to keep Declan safe from Doyle."

Morgan had never heard about the girl, but he wasn't terribly surprised given that he did know the sacrifice she'd made for Declan. "There are so many other kids out there, Emily; so many kids who aren't as lucky as Angel, Carrie or Declan. We were able to find Angel and Carrie's families, but some kids don't have any family to support them. I think we could help some kids like that. Provide shelter for them."

"I think so too," she easily agreed.

"Then we should talk about it some more?" he pressed.

"We will," Emily replied, shifting her weight against the length of his body. "But no more talking tonight," she kissed him softly. "Take me to bed?"

Derek knew they were both too tired for her suggestion to involve anything other than sleeping. And he was fine with that.

The End