Anyone But You-Chapter 21
~I would like to thank everyone who voted for me in the Profiler's Choice Awards; a bunch of my stories won awards!
~I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter posted. As much as I would love to promise that I'll update it regularly, postings will probably be spotty until after the New Year. I'm finishing up my studies and then I'll be traveling a lot during the holiday season and I'll be writing various Christmas stories. I am NOT abandoning this story, but like I said, posting will be fairly spotty. That being said, if anyone has an idea for a Christmas story for this universe, let me know and I'll try writing it...as long as it can be kept to about 1 or 2 chapters.
"JJ, wait up," Dave called out as he saw her step out of her favorite coffee shop. It had been nearly a month since he'd semi-retired from the Bureau and he hadn't seen the woman since then; he'd been concentrating on repairing his relationship with his daughter, but since Lucy seemed to be doing a lot better, he'd decided to begin working on his relationship with the beautiful media liaison. Since it was the second Wednesday of the month, Dave knew Henry would be with Will that night and he also knew that when her son was away, JJ would indulge in her favorite coffee at her favorite coffee shop before going home. He'd gotten there at around three o'clock that afternoon and he'd waited patiently for her arrival. While he'd waited, he'd had numerous cups of coffee and it seemed that the universe hated him enough to time her arrival to the exact time he'd decided to use the restroom. As a result, he'd almost missed her, but thankfully he caught her before she got too far away from him.
"Dave!" She said, surprised. "How are you?" As she spoke, she prayed that he wouldn't hear the longing in her voice. One of the hardest things she had ever done was to put their relationship on hold because, if she was honest with herself, her relationship with Dave was one of the best ones she'd ever been in. Sure the man was an anal retentive neat freak and his protectiveness drove her nuts at times, especially when it extended to her dealings with the press, but she'd also been happier than she could remember and she knew she loved the man, even if she'd never admitted it to him. At the sound of his voice, she wanted to jump into his arms and never let him go, but she knew he needed to work things out with his daughter before they could give it another go; otherwise none of them would ever be truly happy. Also, as a mother, she'd meant what she'd said about not quite trusting him around Henry. She knew Lucy's abuse had come as a huge shock to him the night of the blow up and she knew he'd reacted the way he had because of that, but she'd seen what it had done to the fifteen year old and she couldn't imagine how her young son would react if Dave ever turned on him that way.
"I'm good Jen; this whole 'stay at home dad' thing has taken some getting used to, but I think I'm slowly finding my niche," he told her as they walked along the sidewalk. "At least I'm not glued to The View on TV anymore."
"And Lucy? How is she doing?" JJ asked, barely keeping a smile off of her face at the idea of Dave watching The View.
"Better," he said, smiling as he thought of his daughter. "We worked through a lot of things and we're getting along much better now; she finally forgave me for what I said to her and I'm much more active in her life now. I still have to walk on eggshells with her at times, but I'm guessing I would be doing that even if I hadn't been an incredible asshole towards her."
JJ nodded, "You would be; fifteen is a difficult age for any girl and Lucy's going through a lot of extra angst."
"How are you and Henry doing?" He asked politely, but what he really wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless. He restrained himself, however, since he knew she was still carrying her service weapon and he didn't want a bullet to the head or chest.
"We're doing fine. Work is a bit busier since you're not there but Hotch has finally agreed to take on interns, so they're helping to lighten the load."
"Hotch is letting kids profile our cases?" Dave asked in disbelief; had his friend gone insane?
"No, they're mostly assisting in research and some of the mundane office work; Hotch won't let them near the cases and they stay back at Quantico while we're in the field," she told him and then paused for a minute. "Henry misses you."
Dave's heart ached a little upon hearing that, "I miss him too…I miss both of you."
"Dave," JJ started with a sigh, but the profiler wouldn't let her speak.
"I know what you're going to say Jen, and you're right, I was an incredibly insensitive prick to Lucy, not just that night but in general, and you have every right to protect your son from my insensitivity and my proclivity to speak first and think later, but I've changed Jen; spending time with my daughter has made me into a better man."
"I'm glad Dave, really I am but-"
Again, he interrupted her, "We were good together Jen, you have to admit that." He watched as she nodded. "Have your feelings for me changed since that night?"
"They haven't," she admitted, "But I don't know if now is the time for us to start back up. I'm glad Lucy's forgiven you and I'm happy the two of you are getting along, but who knows what will happen if Henry and I rejoin the mix. Your daughter and I didn't exactly part on friendly terms."
"I know, but I'm sure she's forgiven you by now. I'm not asking to pick up where we left off; I know I fucked up too badly for that, but I just want another chance with you. Lucy and I need the two of you in our lives."
"I don't know," she said hesitantly, but Dave could hear a little bit of longing in her voice as well, so he decided to push his luck.
"Lucy and I are going to the cabin this weekend; I'll talk to her and I'll see if it's alright with her if the two of you join us," he said and it was at that moment that JJ knew Dave really had changed. In the past he wouldn't have bothered asking his daughter if they could come along, he would've just arbitrarily made the decision, but now it seemed as though he was really considering her feelings in the matter so she nodded.
"Okay. That actually works out well for me; the city is repairing the water main in front of my house this weekend and we'll be without water for thirty-six hours."
"Great!" He said enthusiastically. "I'll talk to Lucy later tonight and I'll give you a call tomorrow." As he spoke, he stopped in front of a Chipotle restaurant. "I'm actually meeting her and Jimmy right now; we're going to grab a quick dinner and then we're going to catch the Capitals hockey game."
"Sounds like a fun night," JJ told him.
"I hope so," he said as he bent down to kiss her on the cheek. "If I don't see you this weekend, I'm sure I'll see you sometime soon."
"I'm sure you will too," she murmured as she watched him walk into the restaurant.
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"Where is he?" Lucy wondered out loud.
"I'm sure he's on his way Luce," Jimmy told her as she fidgeted in her seat.
"But if we don't order soon, we'll never make it to the game in time for the face off!"
"We'll make it Luce, your dad loves hockey as much as you do and he won't make us late for the game," the priest reassured her. "So do you think the Caps will kill the Panthers tonight?"
"I don't know, I've been too busy to really follow how they've been doing this season," she told him.
"Are you all caught up now?" He asked, slipping into 'principal mode' for a minute. Since he was both a friend of the family and the principal of her school, they had agreed long ago to keep school separate from everything else, but since she was no longer spending any nights at the school, he didn't see her as much and he wanted to make sure things were okay with her.
"I am," she nodded. "Thanks for your help with all of that." After she had returned from her week in New York with her dad, Jimmy had called her into his office to talk to her. After hugging her and apologizing for missing the warning signs of her abuse, he'd laid down a game plan for her to get caught up on the work she'd missed. While she'd been away, he'd talked to her teachers and had cited a family emergency as the basis for her absence, knowing she wanted her privacy regarding what had happened to her. He'd arranged for after school help for her and that, combined with extra credit projects, had helped her keep her grades up.
"I'm the principal of your school and your Godfather, of course I was going to help you," he told her.
"Yeah, but you also kept Mr. Collins from dropping me from the play, and I really appreciate it; I know you probably had to sell your soul in order to keep him from doing that."
Jimmy smiled wryly, "Not quite, but I do owe him a favor now, but it was worth it."
"Yeah, well-" Lucy was going to say more, but at that moment she caught sight of her dad and JJ standing out front of the restaurant. She watched as they spoke for a minute and then her stomach clenched when she saw him kiss her on the cheek. Were they getting back together? She'd seen JJ the other day at Starbucks with Henry and some other guy and she thought the woman had moved on but now, seeing her with her dad, she didn't know what to think.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," he said as he sat down next to Lucy. "Should we go up and order?"
They got their food and ate as quickly as possible before making their way to the sports arena down the street. It was a good game, but Dave could tell something bothering Lucy throughout it and he finally asked her about it on their way home.
"Is something wrong Luce? You were pretty quiet during the game and you didn't even cheer during the fight at the end, although I think Jimmy's calls for blood were enough for all of us." He expected a smile from her, but she just shrugged and stared out the window. "What is it, Peanut?"
"Are you and JJ getting back together?" She asked as she turned to look at him. Upon hearing the question, he glanced over at her and saw a disgruntled look on her face.
"Well, we never really broke up, we just took a break so that you and I could work on things," he told her slowly. "But we met up today and talked about some things and, yeah, I would like to re-start things with her. Is that a problem for you? Because the two of you seemed to be getting along."
"We were getting along, until she blabbed everything to you! I trusted her to keep my secret and she didn't wait even TWO minutes before she tattled on me! So, yeah, it is a problem for me!"
"Lucy, she had to tell me your secret," Dave told her. "I'm your father and I have the right to know when you're in an unsafe situation, not to mention that as an FBI agent, she had a duty to inform me that you were being hurt."
"Whatever," the teen said testily with a wave of her hand. "She promised me that whatever we talked about would stay between us and she went back on that; I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust her again!"
"She did what she did to protect you, honey."
"I don't care! She-"
"I love her, Lucy," Dave interrupted quietly. "I've never felt this way about a woman before, not even your mom."
"Really?" Lucy asked, somewhat deflated.
"Really," her dad affirmed. "I would really like her and Henry to join us at the cabin this weekend, but I won't invite them unless you're okay with it."
Lucy was as conflicted as she'd ever been; on the one hand, she really wanted to tell her dad no, that she would never accept JJ as part of her life, but on the other hand, he'd really been trying and he'd given up a lot for her, not to mention the fact that he had actually asked her if it was okay to invite them instead of just doing it arbitrarily. She realized that even though he'd been an incredible ass to her in the past, she couldn't keep him from someone he'd just admitted he loved, so she reluctantly nodded.
"Okay," she said as she exhaled slowly. "You can invite them. I can't promise I'll be all buddy-buddy with JJ, but I won't be an incredible bitch either."
He reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I really appreciate this, Peanut," he said. "You know that even though I love her, I still love you too, right?" Lucy nodded quietly but kept her fears to herself. "And I know you're afraid that I'll slip into my old ways of ignoring you while they're around, but I promise I won't. In fact, I hereby give you permission to slap me upside the head if I start doing that, okay?"
Jeez, was he psychic? How in the heck did he know exactly what she was afraid of? "Okay dad," Lucy said softly. Even though he had reassured her, she was still worried about the upcoming weekend.