Author's note: I do not own anything. All characters belong to CBS.
After a particularly harrowing case, Fatima didn't want to go home. She was sitting in her car trying to force herself to leave when there was a soft knock on her window. She looked up and saw her partner. She rolled her window down and looked up. "Why are you still here?" they asked at the same time. Rountree narrowed his eyes. "You first,"he said. Fatima rolled her eyes. "I just don't want to go home, it's too much. Like, we witness innocent people being brutally murdered, then we're expected to just go home and act like it never happened,"she said softly. He reached out and squeezed her hand. "Do you want me to come stay at your place?" he asked sweetly. She looked up. "Are you sure? I'll be fine," she said softly. "If you want me to, that's fine. We can rent a movie, it doesn't have to be weird," he said softly. Fatima agreed. She knew that she liked him, but she also knew better than to rush things. When they got to her place, she quickly excused herself to the bathroom. She quickly changed into her favorite leggings and sweater, and took her hair down. The way she saw it, if he saw her hair on her show,who cared if she had her hair down at her place. Nobody else would be there as far as she knew, so no big deal. She grabbed her eyeshadow out of her purse and put on a little more than she normally would. Then she put on her eyeliner, and then more lipstick than normal. Not enough for anyone to notice if they weren't paying attention, but hopefully enough to get his attention. She slipped out and smiled. She curled up next to him and smiled as she rested her head on his chest. He smiled and kissed her head. She knew that if she could stay there forever, she would. Then his phone rang. She groaned internally, knowing he would probably leave. She was pleasantly surprised when he answered the video call right there. He was shirtless, so she began to wonder who was calling. "Hey Rosemary, what's up?" he asked. Fatima calmed down, knowing that Rosemary was his sister. "I got in a fight with my roomate," she said quietly. Rountree paused. "Who started it?" he asked. "She hit me because I said she couldn't eat the rest of my leftovers," She said quietly. "Did you hit her?"Fatima asked. Rosemary shook her head "Who are you with?"She asked. "Just a friend from work, relax," he said. "Then where's your shirt?" she asked teasingly. Once he hung up, she put her head back on his chest. He gently started massaging her temples. Within a few minutes, she was almost asleep. "Hey, wake up, sleepyhead," he said gently. She sat up a little, but she was still half asleep. "Go take off your makeup," he whispered. She nodded. "Are you sleeping with me, or on the couch?" she asked. "With you, if that's okay," he said softly. Fatima nodded and slipped into the bathroom and grabbed a makeup wipe. She checked out the bruising under her eye and debated whether it was worth telling him. She knew that it was an innocent case of texting and walking, and a door had gotten in the way, but she wasn't sure he would believe her. She decided that it wasn't worth it, and went into her room. "Hey, hey, what happened?" he asked nervously. "I wasn't paying attention and walked into a door. No big deal," she said quietly. "Are you sure?" he asked gently. "You know you can tell me if someone is hurting you,"he said, putting his arm around her."No, honestly, I'm fine. Have I ever lied to you?" she asked. He shook his head. "Sorry, I guess you're right. I guess I just get overprotective sometimes," he said softly. Fatima smiled when there was a knock at her door. She got up and opened the door. Her mom smiled. "Honey, I think it's time to say good night to your friend," her mom said gently. Fatima stepped out. "Mom, he's staying the night. I know the rules," she said softly as she closed the door behind her. "Aww, does my little girl have her first boyfriend?" her mom asked. Fatima cringed, knowing Rountree likely heard her. "No, we're just friends. I promise,"Fatima said softly. "So it's okay if I do our special routine?" her mom asked. "No! Absolutely not!" she exclaimed. She went back into the bedroom. "You heard all of that, didn't you?" she asked. He nodded and pulled her in for a snuggle. "It's okay. It was cute. I just don't understand how someone as beautiful as you has never had a boyfriend," he said softly. "I had a boyfriend that I dated for exactly one week. He kept trying to kiss me and, um, other stuff, but I wasn't ready, and I repeatedly told him that, he never listened, so I broke up with him. I kinda swore off dating after that,"she said quietly. Rountree was seriously pissed. "What's this guy's name?" he asked, trying not to show his anger. "Can we please not talk about this right now? I don't want my mom and dad to know," she whispered. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Promise you'll tell me everything tomorrow?" he asked. She nodded."What do you want to watch?" she asked shyly. "You like horror movies?" he asked. "Kind of. Not by myself, but we can watch one now if you want," she said softly. They selected a movie and turned the movie up to a decent volume. The entire movie, Fatima was clinging to him. He wrapped his arms around her. "You okay?" he whispered. She was determined to make sure he didn't know she was terrified. She screamed when she looked up again. She buried herself in his arms, crying. Rountree reached over and turned off the TV. "It's okay, I promise. You're okay, baby girl. I promise, it won't come back on. It's okay," he murmured, running his hands through her hair. She sniffled. "Sorry, I guess I get scared too easily. Can we please watch something else?" she asked softly. "Absolutely, sweetheart. Tell you what. How about you pick the movie. I don't care what it is, okay? Just pick something you're comfortable with," he whispered. She sniffled and took the remote. She selected her favorite action movie, knowing her rom-coms would make him want to pull his hair out. They snuggled up under her blankets. Rountree was holding her hand, knowing she was still shaken up. He kissed her head and pulled her in close. Then her mom opened the door. "Okay, bedtime, sweetie," her mom said. "Mom, we're watching a movie. And I told you,no tucking me in tonight," Fatima whined. Her mom pulled the blanket over her, then reached under the bed. She grabbed a child-sized blanket and a pink stuffed bear. "Mom, put that away!" she yelled. She ran out of the room and locked herself in the bathroom. She started crying into her shirt, which was actually Rountree's shirt that she had stolen. Then there was a soft knock on the door. "It's okay, sweetie. Please come out of there, okay? There's nothing to be ashamed of, okay, baby girl? I'm not judging you for that," Rountree said. "I was trying to hide it from you because I'm embarrassed. I'm too old to be sleeping with a stuffed animal, and we both know that," she said quietly. "Fatima, I'm not judging you, okay? How about you come out and we finish that movie, how does that sound?" he asked. Fatima came out of the bathroom and looked up at him. He gave her a sweet smile and pulled her in for a hug. "It's okay, sweetie. Don't worry about it, okay?" he whispered. They cuddled up again, and halfway through the movie, Rountree tucked her stuffed animal into her aarms. She put her head on his chest and fell asleep there.