Last chapter folks! Dave gets cold feet and a visitor- and what a visitor! And what a roller coaster ride this whole thing has been. I will be honest, this chapter almost didn't make it out of the thought process- especially when this whole thing was supposed to start and end at "Daddy's Favourite Fool". Three times I've been more than half to ¾ of the way done, when I would go back and rewrite whole sections. But I think I've made it come together. Thanks to all who have reviewed and read the whole series. You are dears and I am truly grateful to you.
Oh, by the way, I don't own Criminal Minds.
Song prompt: Miracles Happen by Myra
Miracles Happen
While the women were busy getting Emily together for her big day, on the other side of the church in the Groom's room, was a stark contrast.
Four men in different states of dress stood around in the small room, their conversations kept to a minimum. Not out of respect for their surroundings, but for the headaches they were all feeling from the previous night's Bachelor party thrown in Dave's honour.
Dave had tried to bow out- considering he had been there done that three previous times and each one ended on a bad note. He wasn't sure if tempting the marriage gods for the fourth time would be a wise thing.
Unfortunately he didn't get much say as Hotch and Morgan literally kidnapped him and forced him into the back of Hotch's car. Dave was ready to give in and laugh them off, until he saw who was behind the wheel: Reid. His hands were handcuffed behind his back, so he was unable to cross himself, but Dave figured the mental thought would count as he started reciting the Rosary.
Twenty minutes later, and ten years older, Dave was deposited in a chair fit for a king and the show began. Every guy from the BAU, married and single, seemed to be there as they celebrated the end of David Rossi's bachelorhood for good. That alone was a reason to throw the drinks back.
Semi-peaceful and uneventful- honestly, with a room full of FBI agents, how could it be anything else? - Dave watched as some of the guys hit on the waitresses and dancers. Not him. He had everything he ever wanted and needed and tomorrow he would make it forever. Sipping on his scotch, he spied Morgan on the dance floor with a pretty young woman doing…dear God! Was that move even legal in the state of Virginia? Oh to be young and single again. He chuckled to himself as Hotch sat down next to him.
"Well, how are you holding up?" Hotch asked.
"Pretty good all things considered." Dave nodded toward Reid who was surrounded by two women and looking uncomfortable. "I wonder how long it will take for him to scare them off."
Hotch nursed his Budweiser long neck. "Won't happen; Morgan and I paid them twice as much to hang around him."
"Trying to get him out of his shell?"
"It's going to have to happen sometime. A bachelor party is a great start."
Dave looked around the room and compared the scene to his first three bon voyage parties- he lovingly referred them as because it seemed he had no sooner sailed out of port only to turn back around and dock. Maybe he was feeling older, or maybe it was that he had finally found his home and heart in Emily and the baby, but his attitude was subdued.
Hotch finished off his beer and called for another. "And another scotch for Dave."
"Whoa! I'm okay with this one," Dave waved off the refill.
"Aw, come on Dave; it's not every day an FBI agent with your reputation gets hitched."
"Aaron, it's happened three previous times."
Hotch thought it over for a second. "True, but never to Emily Prentiss." He lifted his bottle in a toast.
"True," Dave agreed and raised his glass. And that was the last thing he consciously remembered before waking up in a hotel room across the street from the club.
Blinded by harsh sunlight, he looked at his watch and noticed it was already 10 am. Tripping over bodies on the floor, he somehow managed to locate Hotch- unconscious, but still breathing- but not for very long once Dave got over his hang-over.
How much did he drink last night? Right then and there he decided that last night would be his last bachelor party ever!
Once he got the room to stop spinning and everyone was showered, it was a mad dash to the church and the changing into tuxedos. Reid came in with reports on how many women he counted going in to help Emily prepare.
"Twenty women! What are they doing in there?" he asked in astonishment.
"Trust me son," Dave assured. "You don't want to know."
Reid did the mental math. "One woman, one dress…how many women does it take to dress one woman?"
"It will all be worth it," Hotch comforted.
"I'm eloping," Reid decided on the spot.
Morgan sighed. "I'd never get that lucky; my mother and sisters would be on my nuptials faster than a dog on a bone."
"Haley and her sister took care of everything," Hotch remembered wistfully. The room got quiet for a second before he continued. "The only time I remember getting involved is when they asked me to help choose the flowers for the altar. Honestly, what is the difference between a lily and a Day Lily? They looked the same to me. I was banished from anything else related to the wedding."
No one spoke. Hotch's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "To this day, I still don't know the difference between the damn flowers." He smiled widely while Dave and Morgan burst out laughing. Reid thought for a moment.
"Honestly, the difference between the two flowers is…"
Morgan jumped in quickly. "Kid, it was rhetorical." Reid nodded. "I'm telling you, unless we get you straightened out, you'll die of old age before you have a chance to elope." Tying his bow tie, he took a look at himself in the mirror. "Oh yeah! Mmmm! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Turning around, he looked at his friends. "Excuse me guys, but I'm going to check and see if there's a bridesmaid that might need escorting down the aisle." He left the room.
Reid looked at Hotch and Dave in despair. Neither man had an answer.
Reid pulled on his tux jacket. "I'm going to find Morgan." He started out the door then ducked back inside. "Rossi. Hotch. Guess who just showed up?"
"I have no idea," Hotch replied as he tucked his dress shirt into his waist band. Whoever it was must be pretty good to get Reid excited.
"Ambassador Prentiss!"
Dave and Hotch exchanged a look. Uh oh!
"The Ambassador is here?" Hotch croaked. This could not end well.
"Just saw her walk into the room and everyone inside came out," Reid reported.
Hotch hurried and tied his tie. Shrugging on his jacket, he cast a look at Dave who was putting on his cuff links. "Stay here; I'll go check it out." He opened the door and let Reid out first.
"Aaron," Dave called out. Hotch turned around. Stepping over, he patted Dave's shoulder.
"Stay here and I will find out what's happening, okay?"
Dave nodded as Hotch left the room. Sitting down on a chair, he bowed his head in his hands and waited.
"Guys, we have to get into that room and find out what is going on," Hotch whispered.
"Why?" Morgan whispered back.
"I think Dave's getting cold feet."
"No way! He loves Emily."
"It's normal- considering this is his fourth time- and then when you throw in Emily's mother, it's no wonder he would be nervous," Reid observed.
"So what do we do?" Morgan asked.
"Find out why she is here," Hotch whispered conspiratorially.
"How do we get inside?" Reid asked.
"That's the million dollar question."
Morgan cast a look at the closed door of the dressing room. "Do you think he'd skip out?"
"I don't know. It's possible but not probable."
"You'd think he'd have run one of the first three times," Morgan quipped. "Now he finds the perfect woman and he wants to bolt? What exactly did he ingest last night? Did he mix liquors?"
Hotch shook his head. "I don't know, but if we have to handcuff him to the altar, he's not running."
Morgan straightened his jacket. "Guess it's time to go charm a few bridesmaids." He beamed a smile at Hotch and Reid.
Reid looked at Hotch. Putting his hand up, Hotch stopped the question before it was asked. His head hurt too much.
Little did they know that their conversation was being overheard.
******
Dave sat alone in the groom's room as a hundred thoughts ran thru his head. The Ambassador is here? Dave asked himself. He didn't want to delve into why Elizabeth Prentiss would have chosen today of all days to visit her daughter. It could not end well.
He knew that Elizabeth had her contacts and there was no doubt in his mind that she would have done her investigation into his past. Knowing what he knew about his own past, if his daughter even entertained thoughts of marrying a man like him, Dave would lock her in a tower.
Daughter! It dawned on him that it was possible that the baby could be a girl. A girl! A tiny replica of Emily. Oh God! Suddenly, Dave realized that everything was catching up. He had to get out of there- and fast!
He looked around for a piece of paper and a pen, but found nothing. He wanted to leave her a note, an explanation for why he chickened out. Frantically he opened drawers and found them empty. Did they really think that men had no use for writing utensils or was this their way of making sure that a promise made was a promise kept?
Pulling out his phone, he figured he'd leave her a voice mail. Lowdown and disgusting, but he was, after all, David Rossi. As he started dialing, there was a knock on the door. Pausing, he called out: "Come in."
Slowly the door opened. "I never thought I'd live to see the day David Rossi would live up to his moniker of bastard."
Dave stopped dialing. Erin Strauss? Slowly he turned around and looked at the cool blonde FBI/BAU director. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Saving your sorry ass from making the biggest mistake of your life," Strauss remarked evenly as she closed the door and locked it behind her. "Though a part of me wouldn't mind seeing you sink."
"Why Erin, I didn't know you cared." Dave's eyes darkened. "Or have you waited until now to have your way with me? One last fling before I'm taken off the market for good?"
"Always the arrogant bastard. Maybe it's just as well you skip out on Emily; you saved her job and her pay, so what else would you owe her?"
"This is none of your business, Erin; I'd appreciate it if you left."
"As long as Emily Prentiss works at the BAU, she is my business. And there is still the matter of the contract you signed. If you do anything that causes my agent to leave, it will null and void the deal and you will be responsible for paying back the bureau the remainder of her salary."
"That wasn't in the contract," Dave contradicted.
Strauss gave him one of her sickeningly sweet smiles. "I put it in this morning."
"What?"
"I figured you'd pull a stunt like this."
"How noble of you. What's next, chaining me to the altar?"
"I am trying not to entertain that thought in my head, but I can say that your co-workers have plans of their own."
Dave eyed her warily. "As much as I would like to believe that you have mine and Emily's best interests at heart, please forgive me if I say thanks but no thanks."
"I-"
"Look Erin, it's no secret that there is animosity between us."
"I wouldn't call it animosity…exactly."
"Okay, hatred. It all means the same thing. You don't like me and that's okay."
"True, but I still respect you. Do you know why I don't like you?" Strauss asked quietly.
"I have a pretty good idea."
"Because you used me and I let you. I had heard about your reputation at the FBI and when I saw you for the first time, I decided to make you mine. I figured you were between wives and I had as good a shot as any other woman. So I made you my mission. I thought once you took me to bed, you would always want me."
Strauss gave him a look that dared him to argue. Stepping forward, she grabbed the ends of Dave's tie and made them even. He pulled back, but she yanked him forward.
"Stop it; I'm just fixing your tie. If I wanted to choke you to death, I could do it sans the tie. Trust me." Strauss continued talking. "When I woke up the next morning and you were gone, it hurt. But what hurt the most was the way you acted like nothing ever happened. You looked right thru me. Right then and there I vowed that if I was ever in a position of authority, I would make your life hell. But you retired."
"So you took it out on Hotch."
Strauss looked at the finished tie, shook her head, and pulled it apart to start over. "He was your protégé; I hated him for being your friend."
"Is that the same reason you made me choose between Emily and JJ? Because you want to make me suffer for wronging you?"
"I did. And I was hoping you would cave in and let me have my way. Of course I should have known better; you invented the game. You would thwart me if you could. And you did…twice. Stay still," she ordered.
"You got me to keep Emily, and then you decided to marry her. Always trying to get the laugh on me."
"It's a game between us; it always has been."
"That it is," Strauss conceded reluctantly. "Neither one of us will ever be the victor."
"Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I will let you get the upper hand."
"Neither will I." Finished tying the bow, Strauss took another look at her work and stepped back. "That'll do."
Dave took a look in the mirror and smoothed back his hair. "Thanks Erin."
"Emily Prentiss is a very lucky lady. So, don't you even think about letting her go. Don't you even think about hurting her. There are a hundred women out there waiting for the chance to shoot you, but I'm the only one that can make it look like an accident."
"You wouldn't shoot me; you need me around to make your life hell."
Strauss crossed her arms over her chest. "As long I keep telling myself that, your life and job are secure. But the minute I wake up to reality…" Dave nodded in understanding. "I'll cut you some slack for the length of your honeymoon. My gift to Emily."
"Maybe you could ease up on Hotch a little."
"Call a truce?"
"Why not? He's no threat to your job and he is the best BAU chief. Losing him could hurt the bureau."
"I'll take it under advisement." There was a knock on the door and the handle jiggled.
"Dave?" Hotch called out. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Dave called out. "I guess they're going to be busting the door down soon enough."
"Let them sweat it out for a minute. God know when they open the door, they'll probably die from heart attacks."
"I should've known you'd find a way to eliminate the BAU."
"I hadn't really considered it that way. But it would solidify my reputation at the bureau."
"That it would," Dave quipped.
"Now you go out there and marry that young lady before I shoot you and drag you down the aisle by the thing that started this whole mess." Picking up the tux jacket, she brushed it off and held it open. Looking at him dressed to the nines, it dawned on her why she had been attracted to him and why, in a small way, she always would be. There should be a law against a man looking this good, she thought to herself, but she would never tell him.
She had made her bed, and he had made his. They both had moved on. Her to a husband and kids, him to a wonderful woman who was not only able to keep him in line, but ready to do everything it took to keep him there.
"Are you ready?" she asked, walking over to the door, she unlocked it. Immediately it swung open. If there was ever a moment for a camera, the shocked looks on the other side were it. Straightening her blouse, she leveled a cool gaze at the three men gaping at her. "Hello gentlemen; he's all yours. Now get him down to the altar before he changes his mind."
Then she left them speechless.
"Was that…?" Morgan asked as he looked at the director's parting figure. Dave nodded. "Do I want to know…?"
Dave shook his head. "No you don't."
Hotch looked at his watch. "It's getting close to that time. Morgan, Reid…you need to take your places. I'm going to walk with Dave."
As the two men walked thru the side aisles to the place by the altar, Hotch looked at his best friend. "What did Strauss want?"
"To deliver a wedding present of sorts. I guess in a way we buried the hatchet."
"Well, it must have been a clean bury because you're both still in one piece," Hotch observed.
"It was. She's going to lighten up on you Hotch. I hope you don't mind."
"I won't ask what brought that on. Thank you."
"Who won the bet?" Dave asked as they stepped in front of the altar and took their places.
"I did."
"I should have known," Dave replied.
"Known nothing; I was hoping you'd duck out so I could shoot you," Hotch smirked. Before Dave could reply, the music started.
As the procession started down the aisle, Dave felt himself get nervous. Not now, he ordered himself. Not when everything is reach. Don't do it Dave; I'll shoot you myself!
Swallowing hard, he tried to concentrate on something, anything. As Morgan and Reid passed by with a bridesmaid on their arm, he felt himself sweat. A nudge in the ribs brought him back to the moment.
"What was that for?" Dave asked Hotch.
"Look." He nodded his head to the entrance where Emily and her father waited. Dave felt the air being sucked out of the room. "Aren't you glad you stayed?"
"Thank you Hotch."
"For what?"
"Having faith in me."
"You're welcome."
Then just like that, Emily was down the aisle and her hand was incased in Dave's. Wordlessly, she handed him a white tulip and mouthed I love you.
Taking it, he tried to reply but couldn't. Instead, he lifted her veil, kissed her, and then married her for life.