A/N hello again! Thank you all for your reviews, I wasn't expecting so much support after such a long time between chapters, but I guess I just have the best, the most patient readers out there! One thing that continually surprises me is how, no matter what I'm writing, I come back to writing this one and it feels like coming home. It's a couple months away from this story celebrating it's one-year birthday, and I just want to give all my thanks and a big round of applause (clap, clap, clap…) to everyone who's stuck around since day one, and for everyone who's come on board since! I couldn't have gotten this far without all your reviews, favorites, follows, and reads. So thank you. now without further ado, here's the next installment!
-Nightshade
I don't own Criminal Minds, or any of the characters featured on the show.
Get Through
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I woke the next morning with a pounding in my forehead and sinuses from the following night. Is it possible for someone to be hung over on feelings? JJ had her arms wrapped around my waist, and I could feel her forehead and nose pressed into my shoulder blade, snuggled against me. Due to the awkward position she was in, the blonde let out the most adorable snores with each breath she took, her warm breath fanning against a spot on my back. Tegan was no longer in my arms, but I heard a clinking and the sound of music coming from the kitchen, and I noted that the sheets had recently been tucked up around JJ and I. It was all so weirdly normal, like last night hadn't even happened. Like nothing had ever been wrong in the first place. I grimaced as I sat up and wiped away at the drool on my cheek. Where was the put together diplomat's daughter now? Definitely not here, with sleepy-drool on her cheek, messy, fluffy hair that kept falling in her face, while still wearing the dirty, wrinkled, snot-stained clothing from the day before. Somewhere a long while ago I'd lost her and found me, this frazzled, tired woman who'd suddenly become both someone's mother and someone's lover in a short yet blessedly-hectic period of time. It was just about as messy and whirlwind-esque as my current hairdo.
"You're cute when you drool." Jennifer's raspy nighttime-voice pulled me from my thinking, down to where the dozy blonde was stretching out, waking slowly. I know it sounds cliché, but I couldn't help falling even more in love with her with each glance I took. Her hair was also tousled, but in an adorable, endearing way, her blue eyes were slightly cloudy from sleep, but seemed to reflect the young, white sunlight even more brilliantly, and she just looked so happy. Positively glowing. I chuckled slightly, a little unsure as to how I should respond.
"Uhm.. thanks?" I asked, quirking my eyebrow tiredly in confusion. The radiant blonde took in my expression, before sitting up as well and moving into my lap possessively.
"You look positively confuzzled. It's adorable." She pulled her arms around my neck, nipping and kissing at my lips while looking at me in that specific way that just drives me nuts.
"Confuzzled?" I queried happily, pretending to be completely blindsided by her new word. She giggled cutely, practically melting my heart at her charm. What happened to the roughened, chrome-and-sharp-edges, clean-lines, distant, robot-like, just-the-job agent who would probably be puking in the nearby wastebasket at the sight of me acting so gooey and sweet and domesticated? JJ must've stole her, her and Tegan were a little tag-team in the stealing of who I thought I was. I'd be more affronted by the concept if I wasn't deliriously happy, and if there wasn't a beautiful woman tracing the outlines of my face with her eyes, and a daughter humming away in the kitchen.
"Yeah, it's a word." Jennifer insisted, half-rolling, half-dragging herself in a quite undignified manner until she had her hip half-on-top of mine, her one leg lazily tangled in between mine, and her chest resting lightly upon mine, supporting herself with her one arm so as not to crush me. Of course, her care in not squishing me beneath her didn't stop me from ending up with a mouthful of blonde hair as she whipped her head apart. Cute. Yucky, but still kinda cute. Especially when paired with her shimmering eyes which seemed so full of energy but still holding on to the slightest foggy vestiges of sleep.
"Trust me." The blonde reassured, pecking me on the lips exaggeratedly, narrowly missing smacking into my nose in her enthusiasm.
"I'm. A. Professional." She continued on, punctuating each word with a kiss, as she brought her free hand up to my cheek to deepen them. A little part of my brain wanted to comment that she was a professional media liaison, and that had no pertinence to whether she could make up words, but that part of my brain was often ignored when a pretty blonde, no, MY pretty blonde was kissing me. Thankfully it didn't mind much.
"Mph, whatever you say." I whispered softly when there was a lull in her affections, marveling at how perfect my reflection looked when it was suspended in JJ's shiny rain-drop eyes. Perhaps she just made everything perfect, like King Midas. Except instead of turning to gold when she touched them, they became perfect and whole and pure. Jennifer, likewise, appeared just as lost in my eyes, which would have delighted me except for the fact that she had stopped kissing me as a result of it.
"Come back here." I husked, my words coming out as some weird cross-breed of a plea and a growl. With a mischievous smirk she dived back down, playfully nipping and teasing at my lips as she pressed at my jaw a little, sighing into a kiss that finally lingered longer than a teasing peck. The hand on my face ran through my hair slightly, JJ not even bothering to break the kiss as she curiously stared at how my raven locks curled around her fingers, before venturing back down, drawing letters or symbols or pictures or just meaningless squiggles upon the nape of my neck with flighty digits. Every sensation seemed both delightfully heightened and slightly dulled now, as we continued to wake each other up. The capricious blonde gently parted her own lips, allowing for my imploring tongue to dance against hers. If it was even possible, the new morning changed how JJ even tasted, somehow it was musky and sweet and warmer, if it was possible to taste warmth. Whatever it was, I was addicted to it. I refuse to wake up any other way ever again. The idle hand abandoned her lazy squiggles on the back of my neck, now moving down to my shoulder before freezing slightly. I audibly whined in protest when Jennifer's soft, plush, heaven-sent lips left mine, and she simply placed a finger against my mouth. A signal; be patient.
"Jeeeeenn.." I groaned frustratedly, sitting up ever so slightly. Before I was really aware of what happened, I felt a loose piece of fabric tug over my face as my girlfriend pulled my shirt over my head in one swift motion. Her long fingers danced upon the alabaster skin right beneath the hem of my bra as her lips followed, literally kissing each curved rib upon my chest. So much care, so precise, as if each touch was the only thing on her mind. I was unsure whether I should beg for more, or just beg for her to stay like this forever. Of course, because I'm such a gooey messy sap, I unintentionally went with the latter, feeling my heart swell so full of love with each tender attention and each unguarded gaze. My eyes were getting misty and I'm pretty sure I'm five minutes away from crying. God, what has become of me? She seemed to notice my emotional-ness, because JJ moved her hand to my cheek. The hand she'd been using to support herself.
"Uunph!" I groaned just as JJ squealed since, now that she had no support to lean on, she pitched forward, her chin impacting my sternum, sending a dull kick of pain through my chest.
"Owwwww… Emm…" Jennifer whined, trying to rub her sore chin, but not showing any desire to move either.
"Guys I'd advise finishing up soon, because that shit's sounding kinky and these waffles are getting cold!" Tegan called from the other room, sending both the blonde lying upon my chest and me into a fit of giggles. I'm not sure whether it was funny, the situation we were in, or if I was embarrassed at what my daughter was commenting on.
"I'm not gonna be able to leave this room with a straight face." The blonde sighed in between laughs, leaning forward so that her injured chin was sitting in the valley of my breasts. It's probably just me being all overly-sentimental and emotional again, but something about the sight was so comforting. She seemed so at home, stable. Even if that 'home' was laying upon my chest. I'd never had this stability, never had someone whom I could unintentionally put through hell and still have them look at me with such devotion in their heart. Heck, for all their purported fidelity, I'm pretty sure even a dog would have stopped loving me by now. But Jennifer… Her and I are entwined now. So inseparably tangled together that just being around the other was enough. It hit me just then, with a surprising force, that this was the woman I'd probably marry, and raise little baby siblings for Tegan with, and grow old beside. How did I get so lucky? I have my future right here in front of me. And currently, my future was leaning against one of my satin-covered breasts like it was a pillow, running her finger over the bluish roadmap of veins in my neck just as intently as Reid would study one of his maps.
"I love you so much Jennifer. So, so much." I uttered, placing my free hand, the other was busy rubbing her back beneath her shirt, against her cheek, marveling at the happy sigh it elicited. Jennifer nuzzled my hand ever so slightly, intimately, hovering for a moment there like she needed the contact to breathe, before relaxing and letting me draw my thumb across her rosy, sun-kissed cheek.
"I love you too Emily. So, so, so much and even more." She replied, giving me a soft smile which I felt pressing against my breast through my bra, making me blush furiously and embarrassingly. I chuckled slightly, only the littlest fluttering in my chest that I knew JJ could feel, because she smiled even harder.
"Now let's go, we do have to go to work today, plus I really want waffles." JJ quipped, grinning a youthful, sunny grin as I playfully ruffled her golden crown. The blonde sat up slightly, but not before kissing me on the nose, making sure to bring a similarly lovesick grin to my face. She was just magical, I had never told her that I'd always been a little insecure about my nose, the size, the shape, just one of those little quirks I didn't really like much. She, unknowingly, made me love it. Jennifer grabbed a shirt off the floor from beside the bed and tossed it over to me, and I shoved it over my head before realizing it wasn't the one I wore the day before.
"We need to clean up a bit." I reminded myself out loud, hugging JJ from behind so my front pressed into her back, and so my chin rested upon her shoulder. Two puzzle pieces fitting together.
"Isn't this supposed to be what the houses of new parents look like?" the blonde quipped back cheerily before leaping to her feet, entwining my hand in hers immediately.
"I think that's for parents with newborn babies who scream and cry and refuse to sleep, not fully adult kids who can cook and care for themselves." I reminded her as we finally emerged from the bedroom. After all that earlier, and the infectious cheeriness from the blonde, my headache from earlier was long gone.
"Meh, it's semantics." The younger woman replied easily, before pulling me into the kitchen area to see Tegan dancing spastically along to some upbeat song pouring from the kitchen radio's speakers, while still waving a spatula about in her hands. It was the type of motion which was only awkward and uncoordinated because it was so carefree. She executed a smooth spin to wave the spatula in greeting, before grabbing a few plates of waffles and containers of syrup, whipped cream, and strawberries, juggling the inordinate amount of objects like some highly-skilled circus act as she made her way over to the dinner table. She could definitely waitress if she ever wanted to get a job. That or, we could have her do the same thing balancing on a ball or while riding a tiger, and then she could join the circus. Tegan running away with the circus… nah, no running away for this one. Changed my mind. I'm keeping her around as long as she'll let me. We enjoyed a lighthearted, happy breakfast, complete with Tegan drowning her poor waffles in sugary syrup, and JJ sneak-attacking my nose with a dollop of whipped cream, before I retaliated and ending up with it all down her neck (after which I whispered into her ear about how I was looking forward to licking it off later, causing her to blush beet red). The younger brunette at the table was just on the verge of masterminding some sort of strawberry-catapult to diffuse the world war building between JJ and I, before we all realized the time. Cleaning ourselves up in record time, despite leaving whipped cream-smears all over the dining table, we were out the door and on our way to the BAU. I had almost forgotten what it was like to work, with all the vacation time I'd been getting recently. I kinda missed lazy days at home with my lover and my daughter. Penelope, of course, was the first one to greet us, though surprisingly Tegan practically skipped over to the bubbly blonde to give her a hug.
"Eeek! My favorite crime-fighting couple and my hack-ette in training! How I've missed you guys!" the short woman, today wearing a brightly-colored dress printed with spring flowers, exclaimed exuberantly. And oh, Garcia, how we've missed you too.
"Yeah, the BAU just 'aint the same without you guys!" Morgan came up beside us before giving me a friendly, joking fist-bump before continuing on.
"Boy Genius has missed his audience for his science magic tricks!" speak of the devil, Spencer appeared just as Derek mentioned his name.
"They're physics magic tricks Morgan. Plus I do miss them, because when I showed you that trick and my rocket went off, you jumped like a foot in the air and squealed. Like a girl." Reid insisted, shaking his floppy bangs out of his eyes. Huh, Derek the badass door-kicking cop-turned-agent afraid of an exploding film canister rocket. Valuable information.
"Only because you rolled over my toe with your chair at the same time." He insisted, puffing out his chest and pulling the whole joking-macho-act. My god it's been less than a minute in the building and we're already being swarmed by the team. As jarring as it was, I realized how much I had missed the family dynamic.
"It's okay Der, you're still my Knight-In-Dark-Chocolate-Armor." Garcia interjected, trailing the hand that wasn't around my daughter's shoulders down one of his biceps in a flirting manner, before shooting him a wink from behind her neon-green glasses. The guy pushing his little mail-cart had stopped and started staring at our little commotion in the lobby. As if this was a weird thing for the BAU team. Move on mail-cart-man, it's just a family reunion, nothing unusual here.
"Guys, guys let the girls breathe!" Dave reprimanded in a faux-stern voice before coming out to greet us too, joining in the commotion as Tegan inquired about how to cook the perfect al dente pasta for some dish she'd been dying to try. I wasn't quite useful in that area, because my once-solitary life meant I didn't have too many excuses to cook. Therefore I wasn't the greatest at it, unless we're calling dialling take-out cooking.
"Roundtable room in ten, we've got a case." Hotch peered from the glass doors of the bullpen, showcasing the rarest of grins at our jubilant gathering. Yep, this is why I love these guys. Because when you get them all together you can do anything. One can have a surprise Christmas party thrown in their own house, or one can solve a crime, or one can take over a club, or one can coax a smile from Hotch, or rehabilitate a wayward girl, or even make a family from scratch. As we walked to the roundtable room, chatting amongst the group, with JJ's hand in mine, Morgan's arm around my neck, Reid gesturing vibrantly as he explains the newest foreign film he thinks I'd enjoy, Penelope chattering excitedly, so fast I couldn't hear it, but too energetic for me not to smile about it, and Dave smiling paternally over us all, I just felt like I fit. I'd found my little patch of heaven in this damn stinking world. A place where, even in the middle of an office filled with murder files and manuscripts of interviews with serial killers, I could feel at home. And as weird and, almost twisted, as that sounds, it was perfect. My little twisted, loud, crazy, rambling, psychotic, unique, weird, insane brand of perfect.
A/N it only takes a second, and I don't bite, so feel free to leave a review! I love them, and they get me to write faster, which means quicker chapters, which means you're happy! So in a way, leave a review, make yourself happy!