Author's Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter and don't forget to check out dustytiger's Matters of the Universe, a companion piece of sorts to this one! I'm having so much fun reading how different our stories are turning out!
The prompt for this chapter was 'Prentiss and the gals have a girls night and they call her on her feelings for Reid.'
~Angie
"Wowza," was Penelope Garcia's greeting when she opened the door. "Emily Prentiss, you clean up real nice," she complimented.
"Thank you," Emily said as she stepped inside. She'd chosen her sleeveless emerald green dress despite the fall air. She wouldn't be able to wear it much longer, after all, and it made her feel sexy. It had a simple round neck style, cinched in at the waist, and then flowed over her hips to fall in a Grecian draped style that stopped just above her knees. The loose curls in her shoulder length hair completed her look. As per her simple style, the only jewelry she was wearing were a pair of diamond studs her parents had given her for her eighteenth birthday.
"Hey," Ashley and JJ said as she walked into the living room.
"OK," Penelope said, getting down to business. "We've decided to start at Renaldo's for dinner and drinks, and then we're headed to Quarter's for a night of absolute intoxication and dancing. Complete with men hitting on us, and should we choose to go home with one of them…well…no judging. Got it?"
Emily grinned as she nodded. "Got it."
"OK," Penelope said. "And young Agent Seaver here as agreed to be our designated driver for the night."
"Oh, no. You know what? I'll drive tonight."
"Nonsense," Penelope said. "You're still new to the field and probably getting used to those gruesome images, and—"
"Actually, I'm still Rossi's prodigy, and as such, I've only been exposed to facts and pictures. No real life dead bodies yet," she assured the team. "And it was a rough week. I think Seaver here deserves to drink. I'll drive."
Penelope grinned. "Great. Now let's just hope you can handle Esther."
"Who?" Emily asked.
"Fifty bucks says she goes home with him," JJ said as she studied Ashley on the dance floor.
Penelope wrinkled her nose "Him? I'm not so sure about that. But she'll definitely go home with somebody."
"Does she do that often?" Prentiss asked.
Penelope nodded with a gloomy grin. "Almost every night."
"Daddy issues," JJ explained.
Penelope winced. "Well, if anyone is allowed to have them…"
JJ nodded in agreement, and then turned to Emily. "Ever heard of 'the Redmond Ripper?'"
"Is there anyone who hasn't?" she remarked.
"Did ya know he had a daughter?" Penelope asked.
"No," Emily admitted. "Poor kid must be one screwed up…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes flew to the dance floor. "Seaver?"
Penelope and JJ nodded in unison.
"Wow," Emily said. "Explains why she's so quick on the draw when she's in the field," she mused as the song ended and Ashley returned to the table, sitting in her spot across from Emily.
"Is it just me, or is it hot in here?" she asked.
"It just you," Penelope and JJ said at the same time.
"Excuse me?"
They all looked up at the man who'd just approached them unnoticed.
"Well, hello there," Ashley said with a grin.
"Hi," he said, his gaze going straight to Emily. "Would you like to dance?"
"I…uh…you know what? I'm actually the sober one tonight, and as such, it's my duty to make sure these girls don't do anything stupid," she explained, then smiled sweetly. "And I'm not one to abandon my post."
"Nonsense," Penelope said. "I'm still on my first drink. We'll be fine. Go."
"I—"
Ashley's eye narrowed and Emily tried again. "I'm flattered—"
"Go!" JJ commanded.
"I—" Emily nearly shrieked as the man took her hand, tugged her out of her seat and onto the dance floor.
The song seemed to go on forever, and Emily could feel Seaver's piercing stare nearly boring holes in to her back the entire time. As the song ended and a slow one started, Emily had to extricate herself from the man's hold in order to get away from him. She hurried back to the table, surprised to find only Seaver there.
"Where'd JJ and Penelope go?" she asked.
"Bathroom," Seaver said shortly, and then cut right to the point. "If you break Spencer's heart—"
"By dancing with another man?" Emily asked.
Ashley took a deep breath. "If you break Spencer's heart," she repeated, "There aren't enough Derek Morgan's in this world to protect you from me."
"Whoa! If you recall, I didn't even want to dance with that man," Emily reminded her. "I was practically pushed into it and then dragged out onto the dance floor." Her eyes narrowed. "And why…why are warning me like this? Are you interested in Spencer?"
Ashley laughed. "I'm not your competition, Emily. Spencer is like a brother to me. And since I don't have any other family, he's all I have."
"I'm sorry that you don't have any other family," Emily said. "But what's going on between Spencer and me is not your—"
"What's going on between you and Spence?" JJ asked as she and Penelope made their way back to the table.
"No—"
"They're dating," Ashley interrupted.
Emily's jaw dropped and she turned to glare at the young woman beside her. Ashley shrugged. "The more people who know about it, the less likely you are to dance with other men."
"Retract the claws, Ash," Penelope told her.
Ashley sighed. "Claws retracted," she conceded caustically.
"You and Spence?" JJ asked.
"Yeah—" Emily started.
Once again, Ashley interrupted. "Want to know the best part?" she asked.
"Ummm…yeah," Penelope answered.
"They met right here before she started at the BAU."
"Really?" JJ asked.
"But that's not the good part. Morgan hit on her and she turned him down." Ashley grinned. "And then she hit on Reid."
Penelope chuckled. "Lucky for you," she said.
Emily grinned. "Don't you mean lucky for you?" she shot back.
"No!" Penelope said, blushing furiously. "That is not what I meant."
"Yes, it is," JJ said. "She just doesn't know it yet."
Penelope rolled her eyes. "This conversation takes place much too often," she complained.
"And yet we never get anywhere," Ashley reminded her.
Penelope sighed. "Conversation over."
It had been a fun night all around. Seaver was actually coming home with them, and in light of her background, Emily found herself understanding the young woman a bit more. Although, she still wasn't impressed that she'd 'outed' her relationship with Spencer. Especially since she wasn't sure how much longer it would last once he found out about her present condition.
They were riding down the road with Esther's radio cranked, belting out the lyrics to Pat Benatar's "Shadows of the Night—" all except for Ashley, who had never heard the song—when the car suddenly jerked to the right and hauled them up onto the curb.
"There's a spare in the trunk," Penelope said. "I just...don't know how to change a tire."
"Me, neither," JJ said.
"Do you have Triple A?" Emily asked. She knew how to change a tire, but she wasn't sure how much stress she should put on her body. Knowing that her age put her at risk for more problems with her pregnancy, she was hesitant to take on the task.
Penelope shook her head.
"That's OK," JJ said, pulling her cell phone from her purse. "Luckily I do."
"Forget it," Penelope said, hitting one on her speed dial. "Derek can get here quicker."
Emily lifted her eyebrows. Oh, you're right," she said dryly. "You don't want him at all."
Penelope gave her a teasing grin. "You just worry about keeping a smile on Dr. Reid's face."
Emily held back a wince as Penelope unknowingly struck a nerve. That was something she was incredibly worried about.