A/N: Alright, so I've been away from work for the last few days firstly for a conference and then for a public holiday. Then I came back to a crazy-busy Friday at work followed by a similar type of weekend. But now I'm back and here is the conversation (grilling) everyone is eagerly awaiting between Emily and Carrie.
My reviews are currently helping me through a heatwave at the moment. All of you saying such nice things are filling me with warm fuzzies, which are distracting me from the fact that I'm dying here thanks to 40+ (Celsius) and high humidity. This is one of those times where I really wish it were cold...anyone experiencing Winter want to house swap with me? Anyways, huge big thanks to HGRHfan35 (both for chapter 18 and The Road to Nowhere, Life's An Alphabet and The Quiet Moments), Hazmatt, HPforever-after, Wtiger5 and greengirl82. Thanks for being so faithful to let me know what you think guys...I really do appreciate it more than I can put into words.
Rated M for violence, torture themes, drug use, coarse language and sex scenes. (yes, this is going to have a little bit of everything)
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds at all, although they do own me and I do own Carrie and Toby, Chloe and India, Kelly and Brad and Ben.
Arabian Nights – Chapter 19
Emily narrowed her eyes as she watched Mirkal slip out the door ahead of their exit. She had no doubt about where he was going, but she did doubt that Carrie, clearly impatient to go, would get back to her room as fast as either of them would like.
She slipped her arm through Carrie's as they stepped out of the FBI building and into a light snowfall. "How'd you get here?"
Carrie shot her a quick look and shrugged as she looked down. "I caught a taxi."
Mhmm...sure you did. You need to work on your lying skills, particularly when lying to a profiler.
"Well then, Aaron and I will take you back to the motel with us. You'll have trouble getting a taxi now that it's started to snow again."
She smiled slightly and nodded. "That would be great, thanks."
Sure it is...you'll just have to text Mirkal not to wait for you and you really need to work on hiding your impatience better as well.
They walked in silence to the nearby parking lot and Aaron handed them both into the car before getting in himself and starting it up. They were about a minute into the trip when she heard a soft rustling coming from the back seat and checking the mirror briefly to see Carrie pulling out her mobile, she smiled in amusement.
I wonder if you seriously think you're fooling anyone?
She shot a look at Aaron, who was focused on the road and controlling the car in the icy conditions. Despite that, and the dark surrounding them, she could see the faint smile curving his lips slightly and as he pulled to a halt at a red light, he shot her the briefest of grins as he flicked a look towards the woman sitting in the back. She returned the grin with the silent message that she would get all the goss and share it with him later. He inclined his head just slightly in agreement and they settled back into stillness as he started them moving forward again.
When they arrived back at the motel, Aaron again helped them out and offered an arm to each of them. Emily accepted gracefully but had to cough to keep a snort of amusement to herself at the reluctance Carrie quickly hid with a smile and murmured thanks.
She honestly thinks she's going to get away without a grilling...ooh, this is gonna be fun.
Aaron led them up the stairs to the balcony running on the second level of rooms where Derek and Jordan and Dave and Teresa had their rooms.
Emily lifted a hand to knock and winced at the pained look on Derek's face as he opened the door; they could immediately hear babies crying.
Despite her clear need to be somewhere else in a hurry, the part of Carrie's brain that allowed her to be an amazing nanny clearly kicked in and she slipped past Derek to head in the direction of all the noise. Her own mother's heart beginning to cry in sympathy, Emily ran a hand in comfort down Derek's arm and followed the younger woman into the main room of the suite.
"You could have called if you were having issues with the girls. I would have come to the rescue."
Derek snorted slightly as he shook his head. "Don't be silly man; Emily needed you more. And truthfully, they were doing just great until Ben woke screaming from his nap. Then they all just got more and more worked up. It's only been this bad for the last ten minutes."
Aaron nodded as the ladies returned, with Jordan and Ben in tow dressed warmly.
"I'm going to walk with Ben down to where Emily and Carrie have rooms. I'm hoping the movement will soothe him enough that I can get him back to sleep."
"I could take him..."
"Actually, you could go with Aaron to pick up the boys and bring them down to us. Then, when you get there, you can walk Jordan and Ben back to here."
Derek narrowed his eyes as he looked at the innocently sweet smile on Emily's face and the look on his wife's that clearly told him to leave it alone. Figuring Jordan or Aaron, who looked slightly too knowing for his liking, would tell him what he was missing, he nodded obediently and kissed his wife and son as they passed him on their way out the door. By the time he'd grabbed his jacket, and key card, the girls were out of sight and hearing.
"You going to fill me in or do I have to wait for Jordan?"
Aaron checked his watch and sighed. "Damn; less than a minute. You do realise I now owe Em twenty bucks thanks to you, don't you?"
"I do now. Well?"
"Did you notice anything odd about Carrie's behaviour just now?"
He frowned, trying to think what Carrie had to do with anything as he remembered their brief exchange in the doorway.
"No; shouldn't you be asking Dave that question? After all, he was the one collecting the boys today."
Aaron shook his head. "Maybe we should update your observation skills. Carrie turned up late today with Mirkal in tow, both of them acting like they'd just met up in the lobby. But it was clearly obvious to both Emily and I that they'd come from her room. And she was obviously trying to break away from both of us just now until she realised she was needed and her mother's heart kicked in."
Derek's frown deepened as he tried to fathom what his boss meant. They were almost to Dave's room before it hit him.
"They aren't."
"We're pretty certain they are."
"Jordan and Em are going to grill her aren't they?"
"Absolutely...and we'll hear all about it later."
"All about what?" Teresa asked from behind them as she peered out the door at them.
"About Carrie and Mirkal."
Her eyes went huge. "They aren't."
Aaron just grinned at her as her jaw dropped and gently moved her to the side so they could enter the warm room. His moving her seemed to wake her up though because she immediately moved to pick up her jacket.
"Dave, I'm going downstairs to join a really juicy conversation. Don't wait up for me."
"Whoa...what'd I miss?" Dave demanded as he appeared from the back room.
"Girl talk is what you missed and what I am currently missing. The guys will clue you in."
"Come back here! That jacket isn't nearly warm enough!"
"Oh please. I'll be inside for most of the time anyway I'm sure. Entertain your guests and I'll be back. Or better yet, help Aaron collect Jack and Toby and you can make your way downstairs to see I'm taking perfectly good care of myself and to eventually walk me back upstairs."
"But..."
Her laughter met him as he stood frowning in the doorway and he growled as he turned to the other two men.
"Did you have to tell her?"
"Why are you so protective of her Dave? It's not even that cold outside; she'll be fine."
"It's not the same and there's ice on the ground."
"Which she is just as aware of as you," Aaron said thoughtfully as he narrowed a look at his older friend. "Dave, what aren't you telling us?"
Dave muttered something under his breath as his face went red and he turned away.
Derek leaned over to Aaron and murmured, "If I point out that Dave has a secret he doesn't want to share with us, can I skip the observation training?"
Aaron chuckled as they followed Dave to the spare room where the boys were sound asleep on the spare bed.
"Behaviour like yours Dave, is very reminiscent of Derek's over-protective behaviour towards Jordan while she was expecting Ben and much the same as mine with the twins. Is there anything you want to share with us?"
New Section
By the time they'd hit the bottom of the stairs, all three babies had stopped crying and fallen asleep. The three women exchanged amused looks as they tucked blankets closer and adjusted holds to that which was more comfortable.
Emily waited until they were standing in the shadows near the parking lot at the end of the building before turning to Carrie and saying, "Spill."
Carrie looked startled for a moment, but even in the dark it was obvious to both Jordan and Emily that she was blushing. Chloe shifted in her arms and Carrie used it as a distraction but when she looked up, the older women were waiting with all the patience they'd learnt in their jobs with the FBI. Feeling defeated, Carrie sighed heavily.
"How'd you figure it out?"
Emily rolled her eyes. "Sugar, what do I do for a living?"
Carrie's blush deepened as she sighed again.
"Is he the guy you mentioned for your first kiss in India that night Penelope challenged us?" Jordan asked curiously as she settled Ben deeper into her embrace.
Carrie nodded slowly. "Yes. I wasn't so sure at first when he arrived at the hospital, but the more I kept studying his face, the more I knew it was him. Then he confirmed it and we talked when he should have been interviewing me over the kidnapping and then...well...um..."
"Okay, I'm here. What'd I miss?"
Emily laughed at the dismayed look on Carrie's face as Jordan filled Teresa in, finishing with, "Where are the guys? I thought for sure they'd be here now doing the protective thing after what we've been through recently."
Teresa snorted elegantly. "No doubt they're still back in our room grilling Dave."
Jordan frowned as Carrie asked eagerly, "Why are they grilling Dave?"
Teresa wagged a finger back and forth. "That's neither here nor there. What's up with you and the hunky Indian guy."
Carrie's hands balled into fists as she said through gritted teeth, "Get your eyes off my man and keep them on your own."
All three women shifted back slightly at the fierce look on Carrie's face but even as they did that, Carrie realised what she'd done and groaned.
"Teresa, I'm so sorry. I know you're just teasing but..."
"Never mind that, just give me all the gossip my one-track mind can handle and then I'll tell you why Dave's being grilled."
Carrie ducked her head and continued shyly, "Anyway, we...um...we kissed in the waiting room at the hospital..."
"What?" Emily and Teresa chorused.
Jordan grinned and lifted a hand to exchange a high-five with Carrie. "Way to go!" When everyone just stared at her in shock, she continued, "Derek and I..."
"Stop right there! Anything that starts with that sentence isn't something that I want to touch," Emily said as she hitched a shoulder up to one ear and used her free hand to cover the other.
Jordan grinned and poked her before turning back to Carrie. "If you want any tips about keeping it daring and adventurous, I'm your gal. Right, so you kissed in the waiting room with the kids sleeping less than metres away from you and then what happened?"
Emily groaned. "This is getting worse; did you have to say that? You kissed with my children in the room?"
Carrie looked at her in confusion. "You and Aaron do that with them present all the time. What's the difference?"
"That is totally not the same thing at all. Aaron and I are very careful what we do..."
Carrie interrupted with a snort. "Please...I do not consider forgetting anyone is in the room and removing pieces of clothing in the heat of the moment careful."
Emily went beet red and muttered, "They were just jackets. We were a bit hot is all."
Carrie sighed. "I had to take the boys out of the room; trust me, they weren't just jackets."
"Maybe we should go back to what happened after you and Mirkal kissed," Emily said hastily, and unknowingly provoking Carrie into blushing again.
"This is really embarrassing and yet very sweet at the same time. Um, we were just staring into each other's eyes after the kiss when I, um, well I, um, I yawned."
"Yawned," Teresa stated flatly, clearly unimpressed with her follow-up.
Carrie nodded as her blush deepened. "He just smiled tenderly at me and suggested we could take this up again tomorrow if we could find someone willing to look after Toby for us and then he walked me back to bed while a nurse kept an eye on the children. I guess Clare and Cassie probably took over from there, unless Aaron and Derek took them?"
Emily shrugged. "I don't actually know either...I just know they were well cared for and as far as I'm concerned, that's good enough for me. I was in too much shock to be too worried about it once I knew they were alright."
The other three women nodded agreement and all eyes turned back to Carrie, who was clearly still uncomfortable with the conversation, but resigned to the fact that it would all be coming out now.
"Mirkal was watching as Dave and Teresa left with the boys this morning and as soon as you were all out of sight, he slipped into my room."
"From the blush and the smile on your face, what happened next was amazing right?" Emily guessed gently, remembering her suspicions that Carrie may have been raped by her abusive ex-husband.
Carrie nodded. "He never pushed me further than I was willing to go, but it was all so comfortable and so comforting being with him that it just happened naturally. Then of course, once I realised that I was alright with being with him, we ah, we went again. And then again."
The girls cheered softly and embraced her around the baby in her arms. Her smile was shy, but pleased as she ducked her head.
"So how was it with someone who actually really likes you for you?" Jordan asked.
Carrie looked up but didn't answer as a look of horror dawned on her face and she recoiled, taking a slight step back as she shifted at an angle to protect the child in her arms. The other three looked in the same direction and froze.
"If you don't make a sound, I don't shoot the baby. And don't think for a second that I won't if you press me. I'm not my brother, falling in love with a warrior woman, but I do love him and for him I would do anything."
Emily stayed perfectly still as the barrel of the gun rested just above India's head. At that range, if he pulled the trigger, there would be nothing left to salvage of her precious baby girl and her mother's heart whimpered and recoiled at the knowledge that there was nothing she could do at that moment to protect her child.
He was clearly competent with the gun in both the left and right hands; this was the guy who had been with the kidnapper from the beginning, the older brother who had clearly done this successfully many times before. A cast encased his right wrist from where Jordan had broken it in their escape and the gun was held steadily in his left.
She found she couldn't take her eyes off of her daughter, who had just woken up and was looking up at her calmly, as if to say, 'I trust you mummy'. She really wished she'd stayed asleep as her tiny head shifted and the guy with the gun twitched slightly at the sudden movement. She hated her whimper, but she couldn't help it as she started praying with all her might for another rescue of some kind.
"My little brother only specified you," he said pointing with his casted wrist at Emily, "but I doubt he'll be too upset if I bring back all four of you. You have three options; the first entails you refusing to leave the babies behind and me killing them as soon as we are out of range of anyone hearing my gun go off. The second gives you a minute to put the little ones down and come with me quietly. The third, and the one I like the least, has you screaming for help and me killing all of you and the babies, before anyone can come to your rescue. Choose now."
"If we leave them behind, they could die anyway out here in the cold," Teresa pointed out quietly, and causing him to shift the gun closer to India's head. Emily looked up and shook her head just slightly, as India protested the tears that dropped onto her face with a small cry. Emily tucked her in closer and she settled.
But in her looking up, she noticed that Jordan looked calm and realised that somehow, the other woman already had a plan to get them out of this in one piece.
"Chances are good they'll start crying pretty quickly once the cold seeps through the blankets," she said softly. "Once they start crying, they'll be picked up pretty quickly."
Everything in Emily rebelled leaving her child on the ground in the snow, and she could see a similar look briefly in Jordan's eyes as the other woman looked back at her steadily, but she could also see determination there; she just had to trust the plan she didn't know the details of.
Swallowing hard, she nodded. "I'll choose option two."
Carrie looked like she'd be sick, but she nodded agreement. "Option two."
"I'm not going to be the reason three babies die tonight," Teresa said softly.
Jordan added, "You know my answer."
"Very good ladies. You can put them down close together so they will stay warmer longer, but do it quickly. We need to go now. And if anyone tries anything..."
Jordan rolled her eyes and muttered, "We know you'll shoot us; stop with the threats already."
"For a woman with a gun pointed at a child's head and her actions determining if that child and perhaps even the rest of you die tonight, you have a distinct lack of fear."
Jordan smiled grimly. "I've already been shot in my lifetime, by a man who had already tortured a woman and then went on to torture a child. How bad can you be?"
She ignored him as she pulled Ben closer in her arms and tenderly kissed his forehead before she crouched down and placed him carefully on the ground on the edge of the patch of shadow. Emily followed slowly with India, and then took Chloe to repeat the gesture. All three babies were tucked in close to each other and covered as much as they could manage.
As she stood up reluctantly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in closer, putting the gun to her side and angling it up just slightly towards her heart.
"As long as you cooperate, you'll make it out of here just fine. Move in close and walk. We're going to that van over there."
Jordan moved closer immediately, Teresa and Carrie following more reluctantly. They obviously hadn't seen the same message in Jordan's eyes that she had but they also wouldn't cause trouble despite their fear of the unknown.
He yanked her round and forward and the others fell into step with them. They left the covered area and walked out into the light covering the parking lot. They could see the van parked in a rare area of shadow at the other end of the lot near the far exit.
Ten meters later, a resigned voice called out, "Where are you going now Bella?"
Teresa flinched slightly but kept moving as if she hadn't heard. Or at least she would have if Jordan hadn't brought the three of them to a sudden halt.
"If she doesn't answer, he'll come after us."
"And if you do answer I'm going to kill this woman. Keep moving," he ordered from between gritted teeth as he continued to drag Emily with him.
"Jordan, where's Ben? Jordan!"
Derek's voice cut through the quiet of the night and the sound of doors opening behind them indicated they'd garnered attention. And as if that wasn't enough, Ben started to cry behind them at the sound of the anger in his fathers' voice and once again set the girls off.
Emily felt everything in her body go perfectly still as the man turned them slightly to keep the other three women in view. Jordan hadn't started moving again, keeping the other two women with her. She knew somehow that the plan was to divide his attention and as she looked at the three men moving rapidly down the stairs now at the realisation that something was very wrong and at the rest of her family trying to figure out what was happening, she knew they were very close to doing that. His hand tightened on her and she yelped slightly at the suddenness of it as Alex appeared in her line of vision, the rest of his team behind him, some with papers in their hands having obviously come from going through their statements.
"If you don't keep moving..." he started in a fierce whisper. Emily felt the gun at her side ease just slightly away and she dropped all her weight immediately into her captors hand; her captor's broken wrist taking all her weight.
As he screamed in pain, she threw her body backwards and away, rolling out as she kicked with her legs in an attempt to avoid recapture. She turned as she gained her feet, falling in step just slightly behind Jordan as they bolted for their children, still lying far too close for either of their liking.
Several people flashed past them as the sound of a gunshot rang loud in the still night air and all time slowed down completely as everyone dove to the ground.
End-
A/N: And we're there...hope it was worth the wait. If it was, let me know what you think.
Please review with the conveniently placed link right under these words. I love to know what you think and it makes me type faster and update quicker.