Before Emily could return home and attempt to have a conversation with Dawn, they got the call that the team was needed in Boise. Emily sent her a text telling her where they were going and that she hoped they could talk when she got home. She didn't add that she hoped she hadn't pushed Dawn further into Charlie's arms, though...didn't think she needed to add insult to injury.
It wasn't until Emily was in the shower, later that night at the hotel, that Dawn replied.
"Hello?" JJ answered Emily's phone, just in case it was someone on the team with urgent information.
A beat.
"Emily?" Dawn replied, clearly confused and more than a little suspicious. She'd never been suspicious before – had never had reason to be – but in a moment of pettiness, she suddenly feared that Emily might have sought comfort in her best friend's arms the way she'd very nearly done with Charlie.
"She's in the shower," JJ said, either not noticing Dawn's suspicion or deliberately choosing to ignore it. She knocked on the bathroom door to alert Emily to the call. "Em, it's Dawn! Shall I tell her you'll call her back or..."
Emily emerged from the bathroom then, still dripping from the shower and soap still in her hair. "Give me the phone," she hissed, making grabbing motions with her hand. Shutting the bathroom door again, she heaved an anxious sigh, then said in her most effusive voice, "Dawn, I'm so glad you called..."
Rather than respond in kind, even though that had been the initial intent behind the call, Dawn demanded, "Did you sleep with her?"
"What?" Emily said breathlessly, surprised and confused...and more than a little indignant. "No, of course not! I've never even thought about..." (That wasn't entirely true, given the almost-kiss they'd narrowly dodged the night before, but Dawn didn't need to know that.)
"You're trying to get back at me by making me jealous, is that it?" she accused.
Emily pursed her lips to quash the urge to say something bitter and sarcastic in response. "Dawn, can we not do this?" she asked. "JJ and I are just friends, we always share a hotel room on cases, and I really don't have the energy to fight with you right now."
For a moment, Dawn seemed to debate whether or not she wanted to fight, but after several long moments, she sighed. "I shouldn't have kissed Charlie," she conceded. "It wasn't fair to you and I'd take it back if I could. I fucked up."
"Agreed," Emily replied. Perhaps not the most mature thing to say, but it got a laugh out of Dawn all the same.
"I told Charlie I wasn't interested in being his rock bottom," Dawn added. She paused a moment, then sighed softly. "I'm not looking for praise for doing the thing I should have done in the first place, I just want you to know."
Emily said nothing at first. She settled on the ledge of the bathtub, resting her head in one hand, the other keeping the phone pressed to her ear. "Dawn, I don't want apologies – I want to know with absolute certainty that whatever used to be between you and Charlie is gone. I want to know that I don't need to worry that a year from now, five years from now, you're going to want him in your life again. I'm not going to do this – the whole marriage thing – if your heart isn't completely in it."
Dawn nodded, then realized Emily couldn't see the gesture over the phone. "That's fair."
A beat.
"Well?" Emily prompted.
"I have no excuse for kissing him, but I have no explanation either. But I can assure you that it was a fluke," Dawn insisted. "And if I'd been thinking at all at the time, I never would have done it because I would never want to risk what you and I have."
Emily thought about a barbed retort, but ultimately let the barbs fall away unspoken.
As if sensing this, Dawn suggested, almost timidly, "Maybe we should see someone...like a couple's counsellor?" She let the suggestion hang in the air for a moment. "I know communication and vulnerability and letting people into our private business isn't really either of our strong suits..." she continued, "But I don't think it could hurt."
Emily didn't seem convinced, but if that's what it took, she was willing to at least try. "Fine," she conceded. "I'll do it if you think it will help."
Dawn did not like Dr. Day. Granted, she hadn't liked Gavin all that much either, but as far as psychiatrists went, he was the lesser of two evils...
Emily had been surprised when Dawn had suggested that they go to counselling together, given both of their rather vocal reluctance to commit to any kind of therapy without outside pressure. But she was determined to make their relationship work, so she'd ultimately agreed to attend.
Which is how the two of them ended up sitting across from Gavin in their living room, all three of them looking rather awkward and uncomfortable.
"So, Emily..." Gavin was the first to break the silence, "Dawn mentioned on the phone that you two recently got engaged. Congratulations." He offered a smile that was just a fraction shy of entirely amicable.
Emily nodded, glanced over at Dawn as if in search of confirmation that they were, in fact, still engaged after recent events. "Thanks," she murmured.
When no further comment seemed forthcoming, Gavin continued, "It's actually a very wise decision to seek premarital counselling to ensure you're both on the same page as far as major issues are concerned before you go ahead and tie the knot."
Emily shot Dawn an expression clearly asking 'are you absolutely certain about this?' Dawn nodded once (even if she wasn't exactly certain, per se...). Then, before Emily had a chance to say anything, she did the last thing she wanted to do and announced to Gavin, "I broke her trust..."