The Stripper Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Not Mine

A/N – Sorry this has taken me so long to get out, RL and work blew up at the same time. I've got a lot going right now so I can't write or get on FF as frequently as I would like or as much as I used to.

~~CM~~

Emily pulled into the Hotchner driveway not the least surprised to see Pen's car already in front of the house. She barely put the car in park when JJ and Garcia exited the front door, both headed determinedly in her direction.

"What's going on?" She questioned nervously as they approached.

"Nothing. We're going to the gym." Garcia informed her.

Emily frowned and pointed towards JJ's house. "I thought we were doing this here?" She wasn't quite ready for an audience yet. Sure she was determined to see this through but she wanted an opportunity to prepare herself before she had to dance in front of others.

JJ shrugged her shoulders. "I don't have a horizontal exercise bar."

"You mean stripper pole." Garcia snorted. "I swear, some of the stuff you say."

"So we're going out in public?" A little bubble of anxiety was showing through.

JJ nodded and threaded her arm through Emily's. "Yep, and once you realize that this is all just in your head you can go back to being your awesome self."

"That or I'll embarrass myself horribly." Emily scoffed, allowing herself to be pulled along.

"I've got to say, it's nice to know that some things scare you." Garcia told her as they made their way to her vehicle. "You're usually so fearless."

"I'm usually fully dressed with a gun on my hip, not half naked in stilettos. Easy to be fearless with a glock strapped to your side." Emily replied caustically. "Did any of the leads that Hotch had you looking into pan out?"

Garcia shook her head as she gave Emily an update. "We've got one club owner that has a history of sleeping with his girls and knocking them around, no evidence that it's gone any further but you know Hotch, anything hinky needs a second, third and possibly fourth look. Right now we don't have anything tying him to the case but we're keeping an eye on him.

Then there is a bouncer from another place whose background is a little sketchy – not that there is anything drawing our attention other than the fact that there's not a lot there. He's most likely using a fake name. We'll keep digging to find out what he's hiding."

"Do we have anyone watching him?" Emily questioned.

"I'm sure as we move closer to your performance we'll have eyes on both of them." She said confidently. "Reid and Blake were able to rule out the two that they were checking on. Both their alibi's checked out. I didn't get any updates from Rossi so I'm not sure where he is with whatever it was he was looking into." She finished, making a mental note to herself to circle back with Rossi.

Emily frowned. "I just don't get how this guy is slipping in and out of these places with no one getting suspicious." She had studied all of the reports on the women that had been killed. They were all strikingly similar. Their unsub definitely had a type. But he was obviously unsuspecting enough to fly under the radar. There had to be something they were missing.

"Someone saw something they just don't realize it was anything of value yet. You guys will catch him." JJ told her confidently.

"Let's hope it happens before I have to get up in front of a room full of weirdo's." Emily mumbled as Garcia pulled into a well-lit parking lot.

Emily wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when the girls told her they were going to a gym but it wasn't this. The space was bright and clean and there were poles everywhere. Apparently pole dancing was the latest exercise craze. Hopefully their unsub wasn't aware of the fact or he would start hunting somewhere new.

"Jeanine doesn't have a class tonight." JJ announced. "I called her earlier and asked if she would work with you."

Emily spun around. "What? I thought you were helping me."

"I am." JJ assured her. "I'm making sure you get instructions from the best there is."

"Look at you!" All three women turned around at the raspy voice. "Looks like you've been doing a different kind of pole dance." The woman gave a bawdy laugh as she rubbed her hand over JJ's extended stomach before zeroing in on Emily. "This must be my newest protégé." She gave Emily a wink.

"Yes ma'am." Emily nodded as the older woman approached her. She was surprised, when JJ mentioned that there would be someone else working with her, teaching her, she immediately expected some young nubile thing. Jeanine was probably in her sixties with bleached blonde hair, weathered skin and a voice from smoking at least a pack of cigarettes a day. But she was tall and toned. And she was currently circling Emily like prey.

"You've got the legs for dancing." The older woman stated when her perusal was complete.

Emily smiled. "Unfortunately I lack rhythm and grace." She shook her head. "I can't dance."

"Sure you can." Jeanine scoffed. "Do you think these two could do anything when they first came to me?" Emily looked at JJ and Garcia who were both shaking their heads. "Alright, let's get you changed and then we can get down to business."

"Changed?" Emily looked down at the sweatpants and sneakers she'd donned before leaving the house.

Jeanine chuckled. "You gotta look the part sweetheart." She grabbed Emily by the arm and took her towards the dressing rooms. "The first thing you need to do is just remind yourself that this is just play time, a means to an end." She gave Emily a pointed look. "I was twenty eight when my husband walked out on me and my three kids. I tried to find a job but apparently I didn't have any skills at least that is what I was told when I kept getting rejected. But I did have assets, if you catch my meaning."

Emily laughed, discovering that she kind of liked Jeanine. At least she thought she did until she thrust a pair of mile high heels at her and a pair of skimpy shorts at her. "Don't you think I should learn the basics before you put me in these?"

"Those are the basics, girly. Your feet will hurt like a bitch but your legs and ass are going to look great." She treated Emily to another wink. "Make it snappy, we've got a lot of work to do."

Thirty minutes later Emily was pretty sure that her legs were going to fall off. This made the obstacle course in basic training seem like a picnic.

"Good, that was good." Jeanine praised. "You need to remember to stay fluid, elongate those arms." She looked at Emily with a frown. "You took ballet, didn't you?"

Emily glanced up in surprise. "When I was like six." She hadn't lasted long because her two best friends were boys and she'd have much rather played baseball, much to her mother's chagrin, than practice ballet.

Jeanine circled Emily as she called out instructions. "I knew it. You've got excellent lines, kiddo. Now we've just got to bring the seductress out in you."

Emily smiled, even though her feet, legs, and ass were killing her, the praise felt good. She giggled as JJ and Garcia grinned goofily at her and gave her a thumbs up. "Do you still dance Jeanine?"

The older woman grinned. "You bet I do. But these days I have a much smaller audience." She gave a little cackle. "But he always appreciates the show. What about you, Sweetheart? You have a special someone?"

Looking directly at her two friends she smiled. "I'm working on it."

"Men like women with long legs." The instructor told her.

"Please," JJ scoffed, "All some men require is a pulse."

"Heck, we've even come across some that liked them without a pulse." Garcia mumbled under her breath.

The brassy blonde looked back at the pair that were observing and shook her head before turning back to Emily. "Tell me about your beau while you work on that twirl."

"He's not really mine." Emily stated as she continued to practice moving around the pole. She might not be as horrible at this as she thought.

"Don't slouch." Jeanine tapped her hand against Emily's spine. "Well why the heck not?" She wondered going back to the former subject.

Emily sighed. "It's kind of complicated."

"Okay, now I want you to bend your knees a little." Emily watched as the woman executed another move. "Is he interested?"

Following her guidance she imitated the move. "Yeah, he says he is." She smiled as she pictured his face earlier in the day when she told him that the interest was mutual.

"Then what's the problem?"

It was a valid question, one she had been questioning for longer than she cared to admit. "We work together. What happens if we get together and it doesn't work out? Then there will be bad feelings and one of us will need to find a new job."

"Keep your chin up. Eye contact is important. That way they can tell themselves you're dancing for them." She watched Emily's movements critically. "You're a natural. Are you adults?"

Emily grinned at the way the woman flipped subjects. "Yes."

"Then I imagine you could figure something out. Sounds to me like you're just looking for excuses. Tighten your rear and lift those shoulders, they aren't coming to watch Quasimodo."

~~CM~~CM~~

Emily groaned as she lowered herself into a hot bath. JJ told her it would help her aching muscles along with the two Advil she had ready when they left the gym. She sighed as she sunk back in the tub and let the water soothe her body. She wasn't going to admit that JJ was right it would be just another thing that she would crow about. She was already smug over the fact that Emily had done well dancing, just like she'd known.

Emily snorted. She herself definitely hadn't been so sure. She lifted a leg and let the soapy suds slide down. Her legs were pretty good looking she thought with confidence. She still had some work to do on her dance, some of her movements came off as choppy, but she was sure that by the end of the week they would have that corrected. She gave a little chuckle. Wouldn't the Ambassador be tickled to see her daughter as a stripper?

That thought prompted another. She wondered what Derek would think when he saw her. If she were honest with herself she would admit that the idea excited her a bit. The fact that they'd both admitted a mutual attraction had butterflies setting up residence in her stomach. This was more than just a mere flirtation. This had the possibility of being much more.

She wasn't lying when she told him that she envied what JJ and Hotch had. She surprised him almost as much as she surprised herself when she admitted that she wanted a relationship like that for herself. A man that she could share both her life and, if she were lucky, a child.

"You should have seen his face when I told him that Sergio." Emily said to her current companion. He responded with his usual disinterested flick of his tail.

After soaking and thinking for a good twenty minutes she drug herself out of the tub, slathered some lotion on and slipped into her pajamas. She was beat. She had just about decided to call it a night rather than turn on the TV when the doorbell rang. She looked over at her clock. "Who could that be at quarter to ten?" Her eyes widened as she looked through the peep hole. There, bold as could be, a grinning Derek Morgan stood on her doormat holding a tube of bengay.

"It's a little late for a social call." She stated as she opened the door.

He just continued grinning. "I saw the video, figured you might need some TLC."

Emily frowned. "Video?"

"I don't know why you thought you couldn't dance." He looked her over, his eyes clearly expressing his interest. "What I saw was pretty darn convincing."

"What video?" She watched as he pulled his phone from the holder on his hip then hit a few buttons before holding it out to her. She winced as an image of her dancing around a pole appeared.

Derek watched her closely. "The beginnings a little rough but you caught on quick."

"I'm going to kill, Garcia." She handed him back his phone and looked pointed at the medicated lotion in his hand. "I suppose she's the one that suggested that?"

"Actually JJ is the one that suggested you might find a massage helpful." He chuckled. "You've got thoughtful friends."

Emily nodded. "Sure, thoughtful, that was exactly what I was thinking."

The grin intensified. "So, are you going to invite me in Princess?"

Emily blinked realizing that he was still standing at the threshold to her apartment. She opened the door wide. "Won't you come in?" She invited.

Derek whistled as he walked into the apartment. It was a nice reflection of her. Bold, clean lines, and bright colors, somehow it was both warm and classy at the same time. "Nice place."

"Thank you." She led him in to her family room silently wishing she would have put on something sexier than her comfy flannel pajamas. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"I'm good." He stopped when she paused in front of a plush couch. "I really just stopped by to make sure that you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked puzzled, dropping tiredly onto the sofa and gesturing for him to join her.

Derek sighed as he sat. "We kind of teamed up on you today trying to get you to take this assignment. Both JJ and Garcia pointed out to me that what you're doing isn't exactly easy." He didn't like the thought that she was coerced to do the assignment.

Emily smiled and rethought her plans to kill her best friends. She let out a soft sigh and admitted. "No, but it's not as hard as I thought it would be either. It's still a little weird. I'm not sure I'm comfortable showing as much skin as apparently you need to show."

"Let me tell you a little secret. You look as hot rocking a pair of flannel pj's as you do those little shorts you were squeezed into earlier."

The flattery brought a lite blush to her cheeks. "I hardly doubt that."

Her eyes flared as he slid closer. He watched as she swallowed nervously as he bent to lift her legs to his lap. "Tell me what hurts?"

"I…What?" She moaned as he took her left foot into his hands and with his thumb applied pressure to the bottom of her foot. "Oh my god, that feels good."

His chuckle sounded intimate as he told her. "Oh, Princess, this is literally just the tip of the iceberg."

Emily's eyes narrowed. "Are you implying that I'm frosty?"

The chuckle turned into a full on laugh. "Hell no, I was just giving you fair warning. I have magic hands." He winked over at her. "But I'll let you be the judge of that."

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