COLD IN THE HEAT

I couldn't stay away eventually…! This story is a sequel to my other two stories: "Through the streets of London" and "What you did in the Dark" and it is more focused on Rossi and Gloria, the OC I have created. I will throw hints around but for proper introduction to the character and the relationship, I suggest reading the previous stories.

Just to give the timing and environment, this story takes place loosely in the summer after season 10 but some stuff from season 11 has already happened. Rossi has found out that he has a daughter and his ex-wife has appeared. His friend from Vietnam has passed, Strauss, too. Emily is married to Hotch and have a child along with Jack. Emily works for the Interpol office in DC. Hotch is still the leader of BAU. Morgan is still in the team. Tara Lewis is recently introduced to the team but they have come to know her relatively well.

I DO NOT OWN Criminal Minds and this story has been created just for fun.

Chapter I

"Of all the things you choose in life, you don't get to choose what your nightmares are. You don't pick them; they pick you." ~ John Irving

David Rossi felt sleepy as he was cleaning his Buick that sunny Saturday morning. It was July and the days were getting hotter and hotter. The heat could explain his sleepiness but he knew it wasn't that. He took another gulp from the coffee mug left on the bench of the garage and passed the deer skin cloth over the hood one last time.

Tara Lewis' vintage Opel pulled up on his driveway. She had promised to pass by to take the Buick for a ride. During one conversation about their newly discovered common interest in old cars, Dave had mentioned that the Buick had started making an odd noise and he couldn't find the reason. Tara's friend, her father's friend actually, the one that had found the radio antenna, had great experience in fixing old cars and he had offered to have a look, if they could bring the car to his shop. So that was the plan for the day.

"Good morning!" Tara greeted him cheerfully coming out of the car, "Every time I see this Buick, it looks newer and newer!"

"Good morning! Well, it's not like I moved it since the last time you saw it," David commented, "This heat doesn't make this car very comfortable during summer."

"Oh yes, if it wasn't for that open roof, I wouldn't be driving mine either. There are some things to thank technology for, like AC. I hope the iced coffees I brought will help us today," she offered him one of the three cups.

"That was a very good thought! Thanks!" Rossi smiled.

"Good morning, Tara!" Gloria's voice came from behind them, as she stepped out of the house.

Tara had already noticed Rossi's worn-out mood. It was strange, as they had returned very early the day before and Hotch had sent them home almost immediately. As she turned to Gloria, though, she saw that she was worse, exhausted. Even dressed in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts, her red hair caught in a rough long ponytail, she had taken some care of her face, so she didn't look like a ghost, but her eyes were reddish and kind of puffy. Also, Tara noted that Gloria didn't walk instinctively beside David, she stood in the middle. She may be new in the team but she had been socialising with them quite a lot, David and his girlfriend included, to be very accustomed with the couple's habits and notice differences like that.

"We haven't seen you for a long time!" Tara said, "How are you?"

"You know, busy being busy," Gloria gave her a tired smile.

"Rough days?"

"You can call them that..." she replied offering an apologetic look to Dave and Tara for sure couldn't understand the reason, "Are you alright? I learn the team's news, anyway."

"I'm okay, excited to finally meet in person that Cadillac Michael is currently repairing in the shop. You are joining us, aren't you?"

"No, I'll have to take a rain check. I didn't sleep very well and woke up with a terrible headache."

"That's a shame. I hope that at least you'll enjoy this. Keep yourself cool," Tara offered her the other iced coffee.

"Thank you so much. I will. This heat is making my head worse anyway," Gloria smiled a bit again, "Enjoy yourselves."

Gloria turned to go rubbing her temple. David who had been silently watching her all that time turned to Tara.

"Give me two minutes. Get yourself comfortable," he said and rushed behind the other woman.

He caught up and passed his arm around her, making her pause her steps.

"How are you feeling, stella mia?" he asked quietly.

"Just my head is pounding which is expected, I guess. It will pass. Don't worry, Dave," she replied softly, looking at the ground, "I'm so sorry for last night..."

"Don't ever be. Try to relax. Stay away from those files and those cigarettes. OK?"

"OK. Go. Get some fun," she encouraged him rubbing his chest.

David looked into her eyes for a few moments, concern written all over his face. Then he pressed a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she breathed.

She watched him as he walked towards the car and waved at Tara already in the passenger's seat before walking slowly back inside the house.

Tara let David get occupied with manoeuvring the non power assisted steering wheel. Silence fell in the car for some time. Rossi's bubbly self was taken over by his worries, whatever they were.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

David looked at her. They were both profilers there was no much of a point to hide.

"I didn't sleep very well, either," he said.

"Is there something wrong with Gloria? She didn't look very well, but I assumed it was the headache."

"She is okay health wise. But... she has nightmares all over again." he shared.

"So she had them before?"

"Yes... When we first got together, she had gone through a lot, she had problems with sleep. But she had gotten over them."

"It's probably just stress, Dave. Since she had difficulties before, any extra anxiety may trigger them," she reasoned, even though she was aware that she was stating the obvious.

"She is stressed, that she is."

'Professional and personal matters...' he carried on in his head. They had been through many rough patches recently...

"But it's not just that..." he added.

"Is she working on a particular case that brings up memories, personal traumas?" Tara's professional attitude kicked in.

David shook his head thoughtfully, not wanting to get into details. What Tara was asking didn't really apply, though, even if Gloria's recent case was one of the reasons of her stress. He was already angry that they had dropped that particular case on Gloria's team. Yes, that new Red Cell had been proven to be an experiment, as guessed from the start. But apart from everything else, that new Acting Assistant Director had developed the habit of dropping them remnants of cases then and there. That last story? No. It wasn't even a real case. It was someone else's responsibility, not that team's.

"Not really..." he replied vaguely, "She has faced harder stuff and we worked it out. I don't know... Her nightmares are worse than ever before."

"We don't know each other that long or very well. Do you want me to try to talk to her, as a professional?"

"You can try, but I don't think she will talk. She is not the type to talk to psychologists. It's not just her. It's complicated."

Tara had supported agents before. They didn't open up, if their problems involve classified information. She wasn't aware of Gloria's history, only that there should be quite a lot to work in the type of Unit she was.

"I can't find an explanation. She doesn't seem to understand it, either. And last night was the worst of all..." David finished.

Tara didn't speak more. She was a forensic psychologist but David had the same knowledge even though he didn't have a fancy Phd degree to accompany it. If he couldn't find an explanation, given the apparent good communication he had with the woman, it meant that something else was going on.

David let a deep breath. Gloria had scared him the previous night. She had gotten scared, too.

David returned early the previous afternoon, almost at the same time Gloria got back, too. She looked more at ease than the other days, finally coming slowly to terms with the story she was facing at work or probably she hadn't received any distressing calls. They had their showers. He cooked his and hers beloved carbonara. They talked about their days. Then they hugged on the sofa and read their books together, a habit they had developed overtime. She started dozing off on his shoulder and they moved to the bed. And that was when the problems began.

David was still half-asleep, when he registered that Gloria beside him was letting out painful moans. He turned to his side towards her and her eyes flew open.

"Shh... It was just another dream, tesoro..." he murmured.

He held her hand, the technique he had used so many times before to keep her nightmares away. She closed her eyelids again and both went back to sleep. Not so long later, the same happened. The third time she tossed violently and she sat up with a loud shout, fully awaken and frightened.

He sat up himself, rubbing her back soothingly but she didn't lean into him. She was frozen. She didn't even look at him her eyes fixed at the wall opposite them.

"What are you seeing tonight?" he asked.

"I don't know, nothing specific again. Just... fear..."

"What are you so much scared of, bambina?" he asked worried.

That time she looked at him but didn't answer.

"I'm sorry I woke you up… I'll go grab a glass of water. Get back to sleep," she said and she got up before he had the chance to say anything more.

He wanted to wait for her but failed because when he opened his eyes again it was an hour later. The space next to him was cold and empty. He stood up to find her and he did, curled up in an armchair in the living room downstairs, a shot of whiskey and a lit cigarette in her hand. She had stopped smoking more than eighteen months ago, but with whatever was going on she had started again. Thankfully she wasn't doing it systematically. Weird stuff to notice in moments like that, but the red lit end of the cigarette was reflecting on the blue-green sapphire of the ring.

"None of these two will help you, you know that," he spoke quietly.

She got startled a bit and turned to him as he stood next to the armchair.

"Dave, get some rest. You were on a case for four days. I should not be waking you up every half an hour."

"So you decided to stay awake, so as not to disturb me?"

She dropped her eyes. He was sure that was exactly what she had in mind.

He took the cigarette from her hand and squashed it in the ashtray. It was her second one judging from the cigarette butt already in it and the second shot of drink if he remembered correctly the level of the bottle. He took the glass, too, and left it on the table. He brought his fingers to her chin and coaxed her face up, his mouth hovering close to hers.

"I can't be home and sleep alone," he kissed her.

He was intending for a soft kiss, but she became eager and it heated up. She knelt on the armchair, passing her arms around his neck and he got the chance to wrap his around her body. She writhed pressing herself against him. She left his lips and started kissing his jaw and his collarbone, the fingers of her one hand fumbling with the buttons of his pyjama top.

He brought her face in front of his for just a moment. Her eyes were tired. He had assumed since the moment he stepped in the house in the afternoon that she hadn't slept well the previous nights either. But there was need and confusion in her stare, too. Was she looking for affirmation, comfort, or distraction? He didn't really know. He caught her lips more decisively that time and she moaned, his fingers slipping under the t-shirt she was wearing feeling the goose bumps forming on her skin.

"Take me..." she breathed, "Please, just take me..."

It occurred to him that they hadn't had 'happy sex' for a long time. The 'resolving issues sex' and 'feeling better sex' was happening more and more often, though. He didn't know if or when he had to start worrying about that, too.

He lifted her up slightly to step on the floor.

"Then let's go back to the bedroom," he whispered hoarsely kissing her neck.

The sparkle they had when they first met eight years ago, the sparkle they had when they got to together as a couple two years ago had never changed and never needed more than seconds to ignite. By the time they had reached the bedroom all the clothes were gone and they were all over each other with licks and kisses and caresses and grips. They fell together on the mattress. She was impatient and she tried to pull him to her. He pinned her hands above her head.

"Not yet," he ordered firmly in her ear as his hand went south as she let a loud cry and opened her legs eagerly, "Che brava ragazza (What a good girl)… Come one ride my fingers. I want to watch first."

Her pelvis was meeting his skillful hand before he had finished his sentence. He had realised even from their times before they got formally together that that otherwise arguing woman could be turned into a quivering mush with a bit of power play from his side in bed.

He would never have enough of the sight in front of him: her green eyes looking at him full of lust and devotion, her flushed skin, its paleness in contrast to his tanned fingers, the twists of her waist, the heaving of her curves, their hard nubs begging for attention.

"Bella, cosi bella… (Beautiful, so beautiful…)" he murmured nibbling on of those nubs.

"David… David… Please…" she pled.

And then it was again one of these moments when David had one of the hardest spies on the planet practically begging him for release.

"Please... I need you inside me… "

He let her hands go to and she was pulling him again on top of her.

"You'll have everything you need. I've got you… Always, stella mia," he whispered tenderly as he manoeuvred himself, "Oh God, Gloria… You are burning," he groaned.

"Only for you… I missed you… I missed you so much..."

"It was only three nights…" he tried to tease but her inner muscles squeezed him and he almost lost track of the words.

"Always looking for that ego-boost?" she muttered half-breathed, "Get it… You know how much I want you…"

"I know… And I did miss you, too," he moved harder than she expected and she almost screamed his name, "That's it. Let it all out, baby."

She didn't really need the encouragement. She was moaning loudly and calling his name and meeting his movements enticing him to increase his speed and force. He had managed to drive her over the edge twice, before he did and she joined him for her third time in a row. He collapsed on her shoulder, her holding on him loosely. He looked up to find that she had half-passed out. He smiled proudly and she returned a content, weak smile. That was by no means a record of them but they were both exhausted. He gave her a slow kiss, lied next to her on his back and pulled her on his chest. They both fell instantly asleep and David's last glad thought that she had eventually relaxed and she would rest peacefully.

But he was wrong. An hour later she started squirming against him in her sleep. He tried to hold her just a bit more tightly and that was proven a mistake. He knew that he had been sharing a bed with a highly trained agent with occasional sleeping problems for the past two years, but during any similar times of the past, him squeezing her had only resulted in her clinging on him and calming down. But that that time, she literally fought him, punching his chest, thankfully not too hard – her right hand was relatively weak anyway – but hard enough to hurt. He swiftly turned to his side catching her wrists in front of her and blocking her legs.

"Calm down, cara… It's alright… You are safe…" he soothed with her still wrestling dangerously.

Gloria finally woke up with a gasp in an absolute confusion about her whereabouts.

"Shh… It's me, you're in our bed," he made sure she had heard him consciously before letting her go.

"What happened?" she asked even more puzzled realising that he had immobilised her and then she saw the red wide mark below his collarbone and her eyes rounded, "Did I do that?"

"You were writhing, I held you more firmly and you went into defence mode. It's nothing."

"Oh my God! I'm sorry… I'm so sorry …" she replied embarrassed.

"It's okay. I told you it's nothing," he rubbed her cheek, "What were you dreaming of that was so vivid?"

"It doesn't make any sense... I was in a place like a warehouse, it looked familiar but I don't remember where. And then a shadow was coming and I could hear gunshots outside. I didn't know who the shadow was or if it was related to the gunshots. All I knew was there was danger and I couldn't… I couldn't do anything…"

Her eyes watered. She pulled the sheet to her neck and tried to turn away from him.

"What is it? Talk to me, please," he held her shoulder.

"David, I am sleeping in your arms after sex and I dream of shadows and I punch you…? I...I don't understand what is going on in my head. What is wrong with me all over again?" the distress and fear were clear in her voice.

"Nothing is wrong with you," he replied, hugging her and kissing her forehead, "Something is stressing you out. We will figure it out."

He felt a few tears on his skin and a kiss on the forming bruise.

"Please, get some sleep yourself," she whimpered pulling her head back after some minutes.

"It's okay, bambina…"

"I'll stay here. I'll try. But, please, rest. I feel already bad enough for all this mess tonight," she caressed his cheek.

If he wasn't that tired, he would have argued more. But he was exhausted and her skin warm and he dozed off. Every time he came out of his sleep, he felt her touches on his face or his chest. She didn't want to close her eyes again. She had eventually given in the morning and was sleeping, when he woke up to get the car ready.

No, he didn't know what was going on. He had asked her earlier what she was so much afraid of. He was aware that the only thing that could ever scare that woman was to be alone all over again. But she wasn't alone. All the other times, when he touched her, when she was in his arms she would be happy and calm, sleep like a baby. That didn't seem enough anymore...

They went to Michael's shop, met that old Cadillac he was currently working on. Apparently David's Buick needed an engine part, nothing extremely serious but he had to be careful while driving not to increase the damage. The guy promised to look for an original part. If he couldn't find one, he would make a replica.

Tara had kept thinking of their earlier conversation. Even the little she knew Rossi, seeing him so overly worried had unsettled her.

"Sorry for bringing it up again, but is Gloria dreaming of something specific?" Tara asked on the way back, a new idea in her mind.

"No. That's the problem. She dreams of shadows or unspecific stuff. Sometimes she doesn't even clearly remember what she saw," he replied not annoyed at all, despite the little break, his problems were already at the forefront of his mind.

"Has she become overly protective? Hyper-vigilant?"

"No more than her usual, but Gloria's usual is a lot."

"Are you sure you are all safe?" Tara asked tentatively.

"What are you implying, Tara? That there is some danger? That the nightmares are somehow foretelling?" he frowned.

David Rossi believed in a lot of things as he had said when the younger team members had once tried to profile him. He believed in Great Good and true Evil. He believed in God, redemption and sin. However, he drew a line at sixth sense, psychics, ghosts and stuff. The only ghost story he had ever believed was the one told by Clyde Easter two years ago, the one that send them to Gloria and Emily's rescue. It's not that he completely dismissed anything else as sometimes it seemed. He was just aware that if he started being too positive, this paranormal stuff could be a rabbit hole.

He had noticed two things with Gloria. One, she could get some strong hunches from time to time which didn't really have much of a logical base. However, she had lived through tough situations, she had developed skills to evaluate them and act at the drop of a hat, in the same way he could sniff a psychopath in three minutes. Two, she always seemed to know in advance if he came home from a hard case. He avoided giving her too many details when he was away so as not to make her worry, only if he was debating something. She knew, though, every single time and she would be waiting for him on the sofa no matter the hour of the night with a plate of warm food for him, freshly served whiskey for both and no underwear beneath her clothes for later. After more usual cases she would be already in bed, at the office or waiting for their return with Emily and the kids in Hotch's place. But probably she sensed his voice over the phone when he called the previous days; she had a very strong attachment to him. There was nothing beyond reality in both of these situations.

"I'm not talking about anything supernatural, Dave," Tara rushed to clarify, "There is a possibility her instincts have kicked in, she senses a threat. She thinks that someone is watching or some events may mean that something is going on."

"She had no problem pinpointing that before..."

"Before her sense was only about herself. Now, she has you, our team her friends, your goddaughter, your daughter, your grandson, her team. She cares about a lot of people. She feels some danger to someone, but it's new to her, she can't process it properly and it stresses her mind. I know it doesn't sound like the most professional explanation but I have seen it before. It's no psychic ability. Something has triggered it."

David turned to her thoughtfully balancing her words. He got startled when his phone rang.

"Aaron?" he said answering the call.

"Sorry to interrupt our weekends, but a child has been abducted in New York and they want us there by the evening."

"OK... I am with Tara. I'll drop her to her car and we'll meet you in Quantico," Rossi replied ending the call, "We got a case."

They reached his house. Tara went straight for her car, she had her go-bag in the trunk. David parked the Buick. Before he went for the other car, he got inside to grab his gun and badge and looked for Gloria. She was lying on the swing in the backyard with her eyes closed. She had files in her lap and the ashtray was left on the patio. She hadn't followed his advice, at all. He approached her quietly but she jumped up when he was just a couple of feet away.

"Shh... It's me. We got a case in New York, I have to leave," he rubbed her shoulder.

"OK... What is it?" she rubbed her eyes.

"Child abduction. I thought I suggested you to relax..." he commented looking at the papers.

"Well, I couldn't..." she replied annoyed.

"Gloria, you are practically looking for a dead body. With everything else, don't push yourself even more."

"I know, OK? But you also know that exactly because it's a search of a dead body, they dropped it to us. I need to give the answer that nobody cared about in the first place!" she raised her tone a bit and then she regretted it, "I'm sorry... It's not your fault..."

"It's fine," he soothed, "You cannot burst to the person that is the responsible. Take it out on me," he smiled.

Gloria dropped her eyes.

"Will you cancel with Joy? She has invited us over tomorrow," she spoke again quietly changing the subject.

"Let me see the case first. Everything may work smoothly, we may be back tomorrow. At the very end, you go to hers and I'll come straight there."

She nodded.

"Hayden will be there, too, right?" she asked tentatively.

"She hasn't gone back to France yet," he replied neutrally, he was very much aware of where that question came from.

"Alright... Go, then. Call me when you can."

He nodded kissing her.

"Stay safe, please..." she breathed.

Was there a bit more worry in her voice than the usual or was he just influenced by Tara's opinion? He didn't know.

"I will," he promised her giving her one more kiss and he walked around the house to the front.

He got in the car checking that the latch on the garage of the Buick was down and he had put the locket in place. It was not that important. His house was equipped with latest technology electronic doors and alarm system but with the Buick he always went old-fashioned, too. Some habits die hard. That car was always important to him. Even more since the day he had proposed to Gloria in it...

Gloria was swirling the engagement ring on her finger while waiting for the red light to turn off. She could tell that David would think that for one more time she wasn't helping herself by driving to the office that same Saturday afternoon. She was making him extremely worried, one with the nightmares, one with this story at work, one with her insecurities before all. He had been very patient, no question about that. But she had been tormenting him and that was the very last thing she ever wanted. Normal life demands normal people and she wasn't the woman next door...

She was approaching their premises. It was very convenient that the Red Cell was based away from Quantico, in a modified warehouse in an industrial and artistic area. They could come and go as they pleased and without formalities. But she had to fish the chain out the glovebox soon. She wasn't wearing the ring at work on her hand but on a long chain hidden behind her clothes. People had quite a few field days gossiping about the relationship back when FBI narrowed her down from MI6. His history with women, her shady and unknown to the majority past, the age difference hadn't helped. Both David and she didn't want to make their business everybody's business all over again. Only the people close to them knew.

Reaching the next light, she was about to text Emily if she wanted her to pass by later on to help with the kids, when she got the feeling that she was followed. With the mess in her head and the lack of sleep, she couldn't be too sure but the feeling she got was even stronger than that. She changed route, made a few abrupt turns. The feeling didn't get away. A dark blue sedan always appeared in close proximity, even though not right behind her. Whoever was driving could guess her tricks successfully. Shaking a tail wasn't rocket science but the driver seemed to know ahead that she would pick that particular road and that direction to turn. They knew her and that didn't leave many people on the planet.

She parked her black Mustang at a very obvious spot in front of a traffic camera and went into a coffee shop. She bought a coffee and she sat at one of the tables on the pavement. She didn't need to wait for long but a big surprise was also waiting for her.

"For which bloody reason do I get to see 'you' again?"

David was driving to his daughter's house on Sunday. Thankfully, that case in New York was solved and closed really quickly. A local sex offender had abducted the kid. With their profile and Garcia's data comparison they had located him quickly and saved the little boy before any harm came to him. They had even managed to fly back by Sunday noon. He had called Gloria. She should be already in Joy's house. He checked his phone for any texts and he realised that it had turned off on its own again. The device was playing numbers on him all day. First thing tomorrow he would get it fixed. For the moment he looked forward to playing soccer with Kai.

But the second he turned in Joy's neighbourhood the blood drained from his face. An ambulance and two police cars were parked in her driveway...

"I've seen the future, brother; it is murder." ~ Leonard Cohen

I promise this story will not take as long as the previous one to be completed. Actually I am applying a new system: I will upload a chapter only when the next one is almost finished and I have started the one after, so I can control the storyline better. This means that the second chapter is done. Once the third one is figured out I will be uploading.

I haven't really decided what I will be experimenting with in this story. For sure there will be lot of personal stuff to the characters. This Rossi storyline with the daughter and the ex was interesting but it felt forced to me (like much stuff in CM over the last five seasons…) so I'll try to work on it more.

Don't forget to let me know of your thoughts!