Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.
Bedroom
By
N. J. Borba
Derek glanced around his softly lit bedroom and couldn't help the smile that formed. Kacey was snuggled up beside him, having passed out an hour ago, unable to make it all the way to midnight. Ginger was sprawled across the end of their king-sized Tempur-Pedic. The dog's head was down, tail swishing every few minutes. The newest animal addition to their family, Boo, was curled up on the arm chair in the corner of the room. Lulu was content in her mother's arms, eyes at half mast as she suckled at Emily's breast. Emily caught his eye as he looked her way, and she smiled, completing the picture of his New Years Eve party.
He remembered the days as a boy sitting on his father's lap and watching the ball drop on the TV. As a teenager, hanging out with his buddies at the Upward Youth Center, playing ball in the freezing temperatures until they heard the neighborhood ring in the New Year with a symphony of pot banging, firecrackers and people shouting. As a young man at college, drinking into the wee hours and kissing whatever girl was closest at midnight. And his Chicago force days, working the New Year's shift, pulling in rowdy guys to cool off in the drunk-tank over night. Then his first years at the BAU when New Years had been spent clubbing in DC and usually ended with some beautiful young thing in his bed, who he occasionally forgot the name of the next morning.
But by far the best New Year's celebration he could imagine was watching his wife nurse their baby girl into her first full year of life while his adopted, and dearly beloved, seven-year-old slept at his side. "I think I'm getting old," he finally announced.
Emily grinned tiredly and she stroked Lulu's cheek. "There's no thinking involved on my end," she responded. "Is it even really important that we stay up till midnight? The New Year will get here whether we're awake or not, right?"
"Probably," he nodded, leaning over Kacey to kiss his wife on the lips.
Her mouth curled into a brighter smile. "I thought that was supposed to happen at midnight," Emily suddenly seemed a little more inclined to ring in the New Year.
Morgan shrugged. "Just a little warm up," he whispered, kissing her again, a little longer… a little more wontedly. "A taste of what's to come later," he hinted.
"Seriously?" Emily looked doubtfully at him. "You're really up for that?"
"Not just yet," he teased. "But once I transport Kacey to her bed and you finish with the little one," one brow arched suggestively. "I'll even shoo the dog and cat out of the room so it will be just the two of us."
She quirked her lips to one side in a contemplative motion. "Do I have to be awake for this plan of yours?"
"Come on, Em," he pretended to be hurt by her comment. "Our Tuesday/Thursday and occasionally Saturday schedule has become a little too regimented for me."
A sigh escaped her mouth. "But if I don't schedule these things then everything else gets off."
He leaned back against the headboard. "Except for me," Derek grumbled under his breath. The domestic ringing in of the New Year he loved, but the lack of sex in their marriage lately had been bringing him down. He turned to face her again, knowing how difficult it was for her balancing the girls and work. "You know, I heard once you're supposed to spend New Year's Eve doing what you hope to do more of in the New Year," he smiled. "So, if that means spending more time with you and the girls in the New Year then I'm a happy guy."
"Smooth, very smooth," she chuckled. "You certainly haven't lost your touch, Derek Morgan."
His laughter joined hers for a moment, though his words had been sincere. Just a few minutes later the lighted ball in Times Square began to make its descent on the TV. Derek's eyes moved to Kacey who was still out like a light. "Should I wake her?"
"Nah," Emily said as she extracted her nipple from Lulu's mouth and rearranged her nightshirt. The baby was also fast asleep as the ball made its way down. She took Derek's hand as they softly whispered the last few numbers together.
"Three… two…one…"
An explosion of noise filled New York City on their TV, but Derek promptly muted it with the remote. He bent to kiss the girl at his side, whispering a happy New Year greeting in her ear. The same was repeated for Lulu. Then Derek scooted as close as he could to Emily, Kacey still between them and Lulu still pressed against her mother's chest. Their kiss was soft, passionate and full of love. "How about you tuck Kacey in," Emily rasped as they pulled away a little, lips still hovering inches apart. "And I'll take Lu back to her crib," she suggested.
"And then I'll kick the animals out?" he asked with hopeful eyes, as if it were a code phase.
She nodded, a broad grin forming across her face. "And we can ring in the New Year doing what we'd like to do more of in the New Year, and not just on Tuesdays, Thursdays and the occasional Saturday," she finally agreed.
He kissed her again, a quick peck on the lips. "I knew there was a reason I married you," Derek grinned widely as he finally pulled away and scooped Kacey's limp body up in one swift motion.
They both exited the bedroom on their separate kid missions, but reunited minutes later to make good on their promise. Derek pulled his t-shirt off as Emily worked at his boxer-briefs. Her cotton, button-front nightshirt followed shortly after and they laid there for a moment, flesh to flesh, as they tried to forget about the two kids, one dog, one cat, the jobs and all of the other small things that existed beyond their bedroom door. Their sex life certainly wasn't what it had once been pre-kids. Those passion-filled nights that had seemed to last forever had been replaced with quick sessions that often got interrupted by crying, barking or yelling.
"What do you want?" he whispered in her ear, hoping to recoup some of their old spark in the New Year.
Emily let herself relax and delighted in his soft touch. She was still tired, but pushed past it in the hopes of breaking free from the routine she'd once thought so important. "Only you," her words were hot breath against his shoulder as they finally joined. "Happy New Year," she added with pleasure.
His teeth gently nipped her lips as he echoed the sentiment, "Happy New Year."
End
