Title: Au Natural (Part 14)
Author: dustytiger aka Trista Groulx
Rating: T (like the show to be safe)
Disclaimer: I do not on CM. I am still poor. CM still belongs to its creator, network, writers, actors and actresses who bring it to life weekly.
Summary: Prentiss and Reid are getting married, but what brought them to this point?
Notes: Thank you for the support as always it means so much to me. Also welcome to the new reviewers heart! This one kind of deal with Reid's headaches again… so I don't have a final chapter count because I'm still polishing the last five chapters or so (and I sometimes add stuff I realised I've missed) but we are getting to about the half way mark now so 'ya know.
Since their date Prentiss and Reid had not had a chance to see each other outside of work. They had been called in early the morning after and had been out of town since. It had been five days and they wondered if they would ever catch their unsub. Prentiss was in her hotel room brushing her hair when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and was surprised to find Reid on the other side. He was holding a file in his hand.
"What's up Reid?" she asked him.
"Can I come in?" he responded.
"Sure."
She moved out of the way and he went inside. Putting the file down on the table, she knew that meant that the file was only a cover. She knew that this case was hard on all of them. The unsub they were after was hurting kids, and she was sure that the stress was going to make his headaches worse. She wished he would tell the team the truth but she understood it wasn't easy for him. She knew she should be happy he had even told her the truth. She took his hand gently to reassure him, and to make sure he knew she wanted him there.
"I know that this is a terrible idea, but could I maybe – stay in here tonight?" he asked her.
"Is your head bothering you again?" she asked.
"It is. I'm not sure I'll be able to focus on anything tomorrow if I don't get a good night's sleep. Those kids need us to be at our best. I need to be able to help them. I'll set my alarm to go off earlier than usual so I can get back to my room before anyone knows I'm not there."
"All right," she agreed.
She knew that it was probably a bad idea to share a bed on a case but she didn't care. She too wanted a good night's sleep in hopes of being able to focus more the next day. She wanted to ask him why he hadn't come to her sooner. He went to pull her toward him but she pulled away from him. He sighed softly and scratched his head.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked.
"I'm just confused," she told him.
"About?"
"What's going on," she sighed. "The other night was amazing it was a perfect first date, but you haven't said anything about it since then."
"We've been at work," he reasoned.
"You're here now."
"I'm here because I am in a lot of pain and we have an agreement. I can leave if you'd like."
Prentiss was even more confused. One moment she thought there was more going on between them, and the next he acted as if nothing had changed between them. She wanted to help him with his headaches, but she also wanted to move forward with their relationship. Everything always seemed so simple to Reid, since they were at work they were supposed to pretend like nothing had changed because they were both professionals, but there was so much more to it than that. They had agreed not to lie to anyone about their relationship, and since they weren't directly working they should be able to do what they wanted as if were personal time.
"Dammit Reid!" she growled. "I don't want you to leave. I just want to know what the hell is going on between us."
"We're dating," he told her as if it was the most obvious thing the world.
She felt a little like she'd been slapped in the face. She was shocked to hear him say that. She was starting to think she had dreamed their date. But he clearly saw it the same way she did; something very important to them and the moment that changed their relationship. She wanted to act professional on cases but she also wanted her boyfriend to somehow show her how he felt when she was feeling insecure or overwhelmed. The only reason he had come to her room that night was to help with his headaches, which she had agreed to do as his friend.
"Then why haven't you done or said anything along those lines in the past five days?" she asked him.
"Because we've been on a case, I know we said we wouldn't hide any of this from our friends, but I don't feel that flaunting it is the best way for us both to keep our jobs."
"I'm not asking you to flaunt it I just would have liked some sort of reassurance."
He ran his fingers through her hair. "I love you Emily. Isn't that enough?"
The way he was looking at her, and the mix of sincerity, confusion and hurt in his voice was enough to convince her that with him that was going to be enough. She hugged him tightly, and when she did he kissed the top of her head. She had never felt like this before. She had never been the kind of woman that needed reassurance from her partner before. She knew he was right but a part of her wanted to feel his hands on hers just something that no one else understood to reassure her that what they shared was always between the even when they were working.
"I don't know Spencer but we can talk about that later. How bad is the pain?" she asked him.
"It's pretty bad. Do you mind if we just lay down?" he asked her.
"Of course not make yourself comfortable."
"Thank you."
She watched as he began to unbutton his shirt. She took off the bathrobe she was wearing revealing she was wearing a long nightshirt. She climbed into the hotel bed, trying not to stare at Reid. She was relieved that he was getting more comfortable with her. He began to fold his shirt, and placed on the dresser. He then removed his pants, putting them with the shirt. Prentiss smiled noticing he hadn't brought anything else with him. He got into the bed wearing only a pair of purple boxers. He pulled the blankets over them both, and within moments her lips were on his. He pulled away a few moments later.
"It might be best if we put that on hold for tonight," he reasoned.
"Because we're on a case?" she sighed.
"Not only that. I am in a tremendous amount of pain I would doubt that if we move forward it would be enjoyable for you. We can talk about what to do while we are on a case when we're home if that would make you happy though."
"All right that would be good."
She was on the other side of the bed from him not sure what else to do. She wanted to curl up closer to him but they hadn't talked about the boundaries when they were on a case. She didn't want to pretend like they were just friends anymore, but she also worried that they might get caught in bed together. Reid was laying on his back with his eyes closed for a moment then he opened them again and moved his head to make eye contact with her.
"Emily you may as well come closer you always end up with your head on my chest," he reasoned.
She moved closer to him, and laid her head on his chest. He yawned, then began to run his fingers through her hair. She was amazed by how much he seemed to enjoy running his fingers through her hair. There was something she found comforting about this soft and gentle touch. It was helping to lull her to sleep and get her mind off her worries about being caught. She had never felt so comfortable in anyone's arms before. Hearing his heart beating as she slept reassured her that she wasn't alone in a foreign hotel room hiding from all the people she loved anymore.
"Emily," he whispered.
"Yeah," she replied.
"I love you."
"I love you too Spencer."
It was only moments later that they both drifted off to sleep. Both content to be in each other's arms, knowing they would be safe from the nightmares which haunted them. Neither of them were worried about the consequences of their actions. They both needed to rest in order to solve the case. They were both relieved to have a source of comfort on the long case.
End Part 14
Notes: All right so I didn't want to totally abandon the headaches once they started to date so that was that… Let me know what you think it's always appreciated!