Chapter 4

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. " Corinthians 13:6

A/N I don't own any of the Criminal Minds characters, plot, etc. I also do not own any of the songs, albums, lyrics etc, they all belong to The Pretty Reckless.

Jade POV

It's Saturday, early afternoon, and Jenna, my best friend for the last 6 years since we met in our freshmen dorm, is in my apartment helping me get ready for Uncle Mike's wedding to Nicola. We are listening to our favorite rock band, The Pretty Reckless, and are singing along to their album "Going to Hell". Jenna helps me step into my dress, an emerald green A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline. Light beading along the bodice. I am glad it has ¾ length sleeves, even if they are lace. It is a sunny spring day but the breeze is cool coming in my bedroom window. The perfect day for a spring wedding, Uncle Mike and Nicola are very blessed indeed. March might not be the prime month brides pick out for a wedding, but Nicola mentioned it being special in her family. The bodice of my gown is snug, but the skirt is full, the pleats allow it to have movement and is floaty around my hips and legs. After Jenna manages to zip me in and fasten the top button, I swirl around, feeling the skirt sweep around me. I am not typically a girl who wears skirts or dresses, but this dress might convert me. I look into the floor-to-ceiling mirror and smile at myself.

"Look, I am the Emerald Princess!" I giggle to Jenna who joins in the laughter.

She stands back and sketches a mock bow to me, "certainly your highness, your most regalness."

We settle down after a few minutes of being silly and I sit in my desk chair so Jenna can style my hair into some semblance of beautiful curls. As she works the curling wand through my long hair I fill her in with all the juicy, sordid and yet wonderful details of my internship with the BAU. She seems very proud of me, but still does not understand my fascination with "all that gore and violence. The world is dark enough without being elbow deep in the bullshit." I tell her about how scared I was before my first television appeal on Monday, and she is honestly surprised.

"Really, Jade? You looked cool as a cucumber. So much more pulled together than when we were goofing around with that college station news report."

"Yeah, I was shaking like a leaf before the news conference. David Rossi pulled me aside and talked some sense into me."

"Wait, you work with David Rossi? THE David Rossi? The one your uncle said slept through the entire country and writes NYT bestsellers?"

"Haha yep. The one and only. He prefers to be called Dave. He has a new Armani suit for every case, I swear. And fine Italian leather everything."

"Of course he does. Does he know you have all of his books?" Her sharp gray eyes land on my hardback copy of his latest bestseller, Evil Never Rests.

"Probably not. Well maybe Uncle Mike told him. They are pretty close friends. Uncle Mike was the best man in his 3rd wedding. Best man/witness in Vegas with one of the Elvis impersonators."

"No shit!"

"No shit. Small world, isn't it?" I muse before I break into Sweet Things lyrics "Hey there little girl/
Come inside I've got some sweet things"

Jenna picks up the next lines, "Put your hair in curls/
Paint you up just like a drag queen ..."

"Please don't make me look like a drag queen!" I interject and half-warn my best friend as she styles my long and loose curls into a half-updo.

I pull out my jewelry, a simple silver chain with a small silver crescent moon pendant, a sliver ring with 3 small emerald stones set into an Irish trinity knot, silver hoop earrings and small diamond studs. I hold both sets of earrings up trying to decide which ones to go with today and Jenna swats both away, offering her set of pearl earrings.

I try to refuse, but Jenna insists "Its what best friends are for!" I put them on and indeed they look great with the rest of my jewelry. We quickly apply my makeup, opting for a natural and simple look, light, thin eyeliner, mascara, foundation and a bit of loose setting powder. Some berry lip stain and the look is complete. I slip on my sliver heels and grab my grey cardigan to keep the chill breeze off before I stand to twirl in front of the mirror again. As I am filling my small silver clutch with the essentials, my doorbell rings, Tommy must be here.

Tommy is my "date" and sorta casual boyfriend, sorta hookup buddy, sorta best guy friend from undergrad. We enjoy each others company and have been each others plus ones for so many weddings all our other friends joke we will be the next ones to get married despite never going on an actual formal date together. I keep him on standby and he does likewise for me. Tommy is a great guy, very handsome, dimples, blue eyes, wavy blond hair and goofy smile. He is athletic and played on our college lacrosse team, was even made Captain our senior year. I open the door and he really does look handsome in black dress pants and shoes, a light pink button up, black necktie and charcoal grey blazer. He smiles, looks me up and down as well before pulling me in for a quick kiss as a greeting. I step back and let him in my apartment a minute before we leave. Jenna remarks that we make quite the cute couple, to which Tommy and I just roll our eyes.

We arrive at the church just as the wedding party is starting to assemble to begin the procession. I wave quickly at Uncle Mike before we sneak into our seats near the back row of pews. The wedding ceremony was beautiful, as was Nicola. She shone like this was truly the best day of her life, her lace and silk gown perfectly complimenting her figure. I hope I have someone in my life that makes me shine so brightly just at the thought of spending every day with them. It looks like love is a wonderful thing to have, a rock you can count on and bring out the best in you. At the end of the ceremony my parents and brothers join Tommy and I as we form the recessional line and get ready to blow bubbles on the new couple, since releasing doves and throwing rice are no longer considered ethical, ecologically friendly or cool. My parents give me a big hug, however my brothers, both younger than me, greet me with their trademark "double punch", they come up to me from either side and punch each of my shoulder while they shout "watch out sis". I roll my eyes and hand them their bubbles. Boys.

At the door to the elegantly decorated reception hall, I pause and take in the beauty. The colors are all pure "Spring in Washington DC theme": light shades of soft pinks to match the cherry blossoms, charcoal grey for the trunks of the cherry trees, white for all the monuments, emerald green for the grass and good fortune. Cherry blossoms, pink and white peonies and white lilies are everywhere, on the tables, along the walls and at each end of the banquet table where the cake is placed. The tables have alternating charcoal grey and emerald table cloths, with a bouquet of flowers and two simple taper candles as centerpiece, except the large table for the bridal party was pure white with smaller flower arrangements. The silver chairs each had pink bows on the back, again the bridal party had white. Pink and white gauze curtains with small fairy lights woven in separated the dining area, the dance floor and the bar. The corners of the room had three small cherry trees each. The bar itself had a small garland of cherry branches. I am sure Nicola spent many hours planning this perfect, almost unreal how perfect, reception. She is a bit of an older bride at 39, so I suppose she had plenty of time to plan her perfect day.

My family, Tommy and I find our table which happens to be next to a table where two familiar faces are seated. Only, they should by no means have ever met each other. David Rossi, in yet another expensive Armani suit, is sitting next to a smiling Sarah, Jenna's mother! Dave was already looking over to the door, eyes scanning, watching everyone enter, and we made eye contact. Instantly, my blood pressure shoots through the roof. To avoid making a scene, I turn on my spiky heel and rush back out the door, Tommy instantly following me.

"Hey, whats wrong?" He asks, beautiful blue eyes full of concern.

"Oh, nothing serious Tommy. Just all those floral scents mixing, while beautiful are a huge migraine trigger for me." I slip a white lie in, it never hurt anyone and Tommy didn't really need to know what was really bothering me.

"I see, Jade. Uh, do you have your migraine medication? Do you need me to hurry to the pharmacy?" Tommy has seen many of my migraines and definitely bought the white lie.

"No, I always bring a few with me, in case of emergencies like this. I will be fine, just give me a few minutes out here. Go inside and try to keep my brothers from causing a scene." I tell him, thinking I might actually need to take one of the migraine pills to deal with Dave and his shenanigans, his open philandering. I undo the clasp on my clutch fishing for the pill bottle that always finds its way to the secret compartment in the bottom of all purses, clutches and bags no matter how small, where everything most important hides.

"You sure? I want you to enjoy yourself." Tommy smiles down at me, putting a hand on my waist.

"Yeah, thanks Tommy, you're the best!" I lean over and place a quick kiss on his cheek before he returns to the reception.

As soon as Tommy disappears around the front corner of the building, the always present David Rossi appears in his place, concern evident on his lined face. Odd. He does not appear to be guilty in the least. Quite the opposite.

To buy myself time and to attempt to cool my anger and flaring temper, I turn away, fishing through my clutch pulling my phone, pretending to look insanely interested in whatever is on the screen. I'm too angry to run and in these heels Rossi would catch me before I make it 3 strides. In all honesty, I cannot even focus my eyes to see what is displayed. I knew Rossi had a reputation as a womanizer, a ladies man, a man who slept with so many women the entire bureau now has rules about coworkers dating each other, but I never thought he would flaunt it, appearing in public with a married woman on his elbow.

Dave approaches me slowly, stopping directly behind me, his breath hot on the left side of my neck, his strong right hand grips my left shoulder, turning me to face him. Strong and firm grip, but unrelenting as he asks "Everything alright kiddo?"

"Sarah. Is. A. MARRIED. Woman." I seethe, wrenching my shoulder out of his grasp and taking a step back. I try to keep my voice even, to not cry, to hold back the rage, the betrayal.

"Oh I know she is. She is merely returning a favor," Dave chuckles uncomfortably.

"A favor?" I ask, gritting the words through clenched teeth.

Before he manages to answer, or while he thinks of how much to tell me, Dave moves back within reach, placing his large broad hand on my forearm which feels equally more intimate and comfortable. The feeling makes me finally look him in the eye, his dark chocolate eyes showing concern. "Yeah, a favor, Jade. I helped Sarah get a promotion within the publisher. So she is returning the favor as my date. Also, I couldn't have the date I wanted, she was unavailable" Rossi answers, voice soft and intimate, "unavailable for a million reasons" his dark chocolate eyes locked on mine, my temper immediately cooling as his voice trails off to a whisper and if it drops any more I wouldn't be able to hear unless I pressed close against him.

I look away, apologizing profusely, "I am so very sorry, Rossi. I guess I jumped to conclusions. You have quite the negative reputation within the BAU, heck, within the entire East Coast. When I saw you sitting there next to Sarah, I just thought I was seeing you and Sarah wrecking her marriage vows and ruining my best friends life. Jenna adores her parents and looks at their rock solid relationship as the basis of all hers. I assumed the worst, please forgive me, monsieur Rossi."

"Oh yes, the French. Maybe if you apologize in French it will mean more." Rossi jokes, deflecting from the seriousness of the situation. I glance back, against my better judgment and his gaze softens and he stares down at me, causing a strange tingle deep within my gut and a deep blush to flush my cheeks.

"Je suis désolée, monsieur Rossi. Veuillez pardonner mon jugement sévère, c'est ma faute." (I am sorry, Mister Rossi. Please forgive my harsh judgment, it was my fault.) I rattle off in perfect French, my blush still warming my cheeks, distracted.

"Much, much better Tesoro." Rossi replies, smiling down at me "You really are fluent in French. When did you learn?"

"My whole life, pretty much. Mom is French Canadian, from Quebec City. She speaks it at home most of the time, especially if she was mad at us kids. We visit her parents and other family members every summer for a few weeks and usually over the winter holidays. When did you learn?" I ask, since he seems to have no trouble understanding me.

"My second wife was a US Diplomat to France, she spent most of her time in Paris. I picked up quite a bit." His eyes glaze for a moment, probably remembering some sensitive moment of his second marriage.

"I'm impressed. Most Italians look down on the French and never bother to learn the language they pretend to despise."

"Non mi va" Rossi holds my gaze, eyes bright "can you say anything else exciting in French?" He quips with a smirk.

"David..." I reply, hesitant and very uncomfortable with the way he was guiding the conversation.

"Think about it, Tesoro. Come on lets get back inside they are probably through serving dinner" and with that David escorts me back into the reception hall.

The reception went beautifully, the food was delicious, the speeches were good, the wine was just as fine and magnificent as I remembered Uncle Mikes taste to be. After the meal, the dancing began. My brothers, their dates, Tommy and I were the first people to join Mike and Nicola on the dance floor. Eventually the other guests joined on the dance floor. We danced through all the songs, fast modern tunes, classic love songs and typical group dances. When one of the slow love songs came on, Tommy and I were paired up, dancing slow and close. Looking up into his blue eyes and his dimpled smile I realize I don't feel that tingle deep in my gut. I don't feel anything, really. Not any more. At some point there was definitely a spark when I was this close to Tommy, but I guess we have drifted apart as we have grown and matured. The song ends and we step apart, I head to the ladies room.

Refreshed, I stop at the beautiful and elegant bar for another glass of wine. Rossi sidles up to the space next to me and I can tell who it is without even looking, the heat and tingle return. Before he has a chance to say anything to me and before I think of anything witty the bartender returns with my glass of wine, I thank him and I turn without even acknowledging Rossi. Through the entire reception, any time I happened to notice Rossi, he was not focused on Sarah. If they were dancing, his eyes were roaming the dance floor, if they were seated he was staring into his endless stream of Scotch on the rocks, or like just now, he was already looking at me. Why is he so fascinated with me? He's an old man, shouldn't he have better things to be worried about and other people to stare at. I'd think he has enough pretty ladies in his little black books to keep him occupied, why would he stare at me so much and seem to enjoy making me so uncomfortable? Am I going to be the topic of his next novel?

I join my family at our table and enjoy my glass of Riesling, savoring the crisp apple notes and tartness. We chat a bit about my internship, I answer their questions about how difficult it is (very), if I am getting along with my coworkers (mostly, some more than others and one is too much for me), and how exciting and scary it must have been to work on saving Mikes coworker and her family. I tell them what I am able to, how it was so very nerve wracking to go on national television but how knowing Uncle Mike believed in me, remembering I worked so hard to get where I am and a few words of encouragement from Uncle Mikes friend and my coworker helped get me through and believe in myself when the moment came and the news cameras started rolling. My parents are quite proud of me and all I am accomplishing with my internship. My brothers think it is "badass" that I have a "badge" even though I keep telling them its just an access pass into the federal buildings. After a long night of celebrating, I hug and kiss my family goodbye and make plans to go trout fishing with my dad and brothers in a few weeks. We always go trout fishing in the spring, it has been our tradition since I was able to safely hold a rod and bait my own hooks.

Tommy drives me home and when he pulls up to my apartment building, I can feel a shift in the silence. We had always been able to abide a comfortable silence like old friends but now it feels different, heavy and uneasy.

"Something is different, isn't it, Jade?" Tommy asks, smile gone from both his mouth and his eyes, for the first time in a long time.

"I was about to say the same thing. I think we are growing up and apart from each other. I don't think you'll need to be my date for any more weddings." I tell my good friend, looking into his bright blue eyes and not feeling even the slightest bit of excitement, my heart rate flat and even. Not feeling the desire to lean over and kiss him goodnight.

"No more weddings? But what will our friends ever tease us about?"

"I dunno, how we are still so unnaturally good-looking." I joke, my hand easing to the door handle, getting ready to say goodnight.

"Damn skippy. We sure are blessed by the gods. You looked stunning, as always, Jade."

"You too, Tommy. Thanks for being the best date-non-date I could ever have asked for. Goodnight and drive safe. Let me know when you get home." I open the door, swinging my legs out of his Jeep.

"No more goodnight kisses?" He pouts jokingly.

"I think I hear a frog in the yard, maybe you can give him a try" I smile at my friend, feeling good and getting sleepy, the wine weighing on me. What a beautiful wedding. I am so happy for Uncle Mike and Nicola and hope they enjoy their honeymoon in Fiji. I make it into my apartment, out of my gown, heels and makeup before flopping onto my bed and falling asleep immediately.

*Non mi va = I don't agree

*Tesoro = sweetheart, treasure, darling

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. " 1 Peter 4:8