Just a quick little one-shot that came to me at 2 am. Once again Dave Rossi is haunting my dreams! And to add insult to insomnia, he's haunting me with another woman! Totally unfair!

Dedicated to Michaela and Alii.

I don't own Criminal Minds.

Song prompt: "Downtime" by Will Champlin. Please check this wonderful artist out on Reverbnation or YouTube.

Downtime

Emily Prentiss sat crossed-legged in the middle of the king-sized bed as the morning sunlight washed over her. In her left hand, she held an EPT box but she refused to look at it. For the millionth time, she willed herself to take the test, but she couldn't. She wasn't ready to find out what she already knew.

How many sticks had she bought over the past ten months? Bought with hope, but each result only ending in disappointment? She couldn't handle any more disappointment. She had enough dealing with it at work; it should be off-limits in her personal life.

But it wasn't just her personal life, it was Dave's too.

Ever since they made it official, they had been trying. Dave had made it no secret that he wanted children. And deep down inside, Emily knew that her role in life had always been to be a mother. A natural nurturer, she longed to feel that warm bundle in her arms as she rocked her baby to sleep.

They had the room, the rocking chair, and there was a song in her heart waiting to be sung, but no baby to bring joy to their lives.

It wasn't as though they hadn't been trying. Since that first night when they came together- blamed on a bad case and way too much wine- they had never used protection. Dave had chalked it up to destiny that the scare they thought would have chased the other off had only brought them closer together and made them realize that they shared the same dreams.

But it wasn't happening. They had bought tests, seen doctors, tried every position known to mankind, and yet every month it was the same thing: negative. Now the next stop was fertility treatments. Oh, God! Anything but that. She had seen her friend go thru them and it was hell. Plus every month it didn't happen, just increased the disappointment and depression by a hundred percent. Em decided that she couldn't do it. She wouldn't do it.

Last night had been their one-year anniversary and she had bought a test. But after she had opened it, she had chickened out and thrown the stick back in the box. The results were to remain unknown. It was supposed to be a night full of love and happiness and exchanging gifts to show their love for one another. She loved him too much to break his heart on their special night.

Now she sat on the bed trying to figure out why life was so unfair.
****

Dave entered the room and saw the woman of his heart sitting in the middle of their bed holding something in her hands. He didn't have to guess what it was because he had seen that box so many times he wondered at this point if taking stock out in the company wouldn't have been cheaper.

He wanted a child, but he couldn't handle the heartbreak anymore. He was going to tell her that from now on, he was going to concentrate on her and their marriage and not getting pregnant.

Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her. "What are you thinking about?" he whispered in her ear. Nuzzling her neck, he noticed that she didn't arch into his touch as she usually did. He knew then that he had made the right choice.

"Same old thing. I wanted so much to be able to give you good news last night over dinner, but I couldn't bring myself to face what I already knew in my heart."

"Tesoro…" How to tell her without making the moment worse? Dave took a deep breath. "Maybe it's God's will that it hasn't happened. Some people are meant to be parents and others aren't."

"It's not fair." There was a catch in her voice. How does it feel when reality hits you and you realize that you're not invincible? her ego taunted.

"No, it isn't," he agreed. "But I want you to know that no matter what that stick says I will love you. I made a vow to you in front of man and God, and there is no way I am going to walk away. Ever."

Emily sniffled. "Even if it means the woman you are married to is a failure?"

Dave sat down and turned her to face him. "Don't talk like that. You are not a failure. Maybe the fault lies with me."

"Or me."

"Or us," Dave corrected. "Then we share another common bond to draw us closer together." He sighed and pulled her into his arms. "I want children, but I don't want to lose you. I have decided that from today on we are no longer going to try. No more test sticks, or kits, or doctors. I want to make love to you without doing a sperm count first."

"But . . ." Emily started.

"No buts. As erotic as it is to see you standing on your head in the buff, it really does kill the afterglow. I want to love you and then hold you in my arms."

"If you say so." Em dropped her shoulders in defeat.

"Emily, I am not going to ever leave you. I promise." He cocked his head toward the box in her hands. "So what did the test say?"

"I don't know; I didn't take it."

"What do you mean?" Dave raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"I bought it, but when I opened it I got scared, so I threw it back in the box. I didn't want to ruin our anniversary with bad news."

Dave nodded. "I see your point. But it's not our anniversary now. Go take the test."

Emily turned pleading eyes toward him. "Dave, I can't."

"Take it and we'll share the news together."

Emily hung her head. "It's going to be negative."

"Then we go out for breakfast and I let you max out my American Express Platinum card." Dave kissed her forehead.

"If you're sure . . ." Emily looked at the box and hesitated.

Dave crooked his finger under her chin and raised her eyes to meet his. "Tesoro, putting off bad news isn't going to make it magically change to good news. Now go take the test. If it makes you feel better, do it and then hand it to me. Okay?"

Emily took a deep breath and got up off the bed. "Okay. But don't sugarcoat it."

Dave grinned. "I wouldn't dream of it; you wear boots and pack a 9 millimeter."

"Smart ass."

"That I am. Now go," he ordered. Emily headed for the master bathroom and closed the door.

Dave waited patiently. Or as patiently as his feisty nature would allow. Getting up from the bed, he anxiously paced the floor. What was taking so long?

Hearing the toilet flush, he paused and waited. As the door swung open, Emily walked out. Her shoulders were slouched and the look of defeat was on her face. Dave knew this has to be the last time. It was taking a toll on her, him, and their marriage. Enough was enough.

Quietly, Emily handed Dave the box. "What did it say?" he asked, his heart beating rapidly.

"I don't know. I peed on it and threw it in the box like you told me to."

Dave reached in and drew the stick out. He was no more ready to see what he already knew, but he could handle it better than she. At least he hoped so.

Flicking his eyes downward, he read the results. It was exactly what he had expected. Now he had to tell Emily and break it to her gently. Seeing the tears forming already in her eyes, it wasn't going to be easy.

"Em . . ." he started slowly. "Well, it looks like you get to max out my credit card."

Emily bit her lip as the tears fell from her eyes. Her life was so unfair! The one thing she always wanted - aside from being with Dave - wasn't going to happen. She closed her eyes and tried to ward off the sharp pain invading her heart.

"Okay," she agreed, but her heart wasn't in it. She didn't want to go shopping; she wanted to stay in bed and eat a pint of rum raisin ice cream. Or maybe two.

"I was wondering, though . . ." Dave commented, his voice breaking thru her thoughts ". . . if on our way to Macy's we couldn't stop at the Babies -R-Us and pick up a nursery."

Emily's mouth dropped open in shock and surprise. "What?!" Were her ears playing tricks on her? "What did you say?"

Dave turned the stick toward her. Clear as day, two blue lines and a plus sign stared back at her. "Congratulations, Mommy."

Tears of sadness were replaced by tears of happiness. Throwing herself into Dave's arms she held on for dear life. It was real. But what if it wasn't? Pulling away, she looked at him.

"Say it again," she asked, her heart skipping a beat in case she heard wrong.

"Congratulations," Dave replied.

"No. The other part."

"Mommy."

The End