Author's Note: Unless I can figure out how to write it, the events at the end of Season 2 (the Frank mini-arc) can be ignored but I think I'm gonna make Gideon leave in this AU, anyway. The signs of his departure had been apparent since the Pilot and of all the characters…it's not like I hate him but I don't really know how to incorporate him in a story. Plus, Gideon's departure opened the door for Reid to come into his own skin faster, in my humble fangirl opinion.
And I really started watching CM with the current team roster so I'm definitely gonna introduce Rossi into the game. After Reid (obviously...) and Morgan, Rossi's my favorite male lead and it just doesn't feel right to write a fic without him. We'll see. Enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"
-Jacqueline Prentiss' International Delight Recipes #10-12: Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breasts, Shrimp Biryani and Naan-*
~*Materials Needed and Instructions (in order) *~
Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breasts
1 garlic clove
1 1/2 tsps coarse salt
1 green chile (fresh red or serrano or cayenne)
1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsps ginger root (grated peeled fresh)
1 1/2 tsps coriander seeds (ground)
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg (freshly)
1/8 tsp ground cloves
4 boneless chicken breast halves (skinless boneless chicken breast halves about 1 1/4 pounds total)
1 red onion
2 tsps vegetable oil
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 pinch cayenne
1) Mince garlic with salt and mash to a paste. Wearing protective gloves, mince chile (including seeds for a spicier paste) and in a bowl stir together with garlic paste and remaining spice paste ingredients.
2) Make 3 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep in each chicken breast and rub spice paste into cuts and all over chicken. Marinate chicken, covered, 30 minutes at cool room temperature.
3) Preheat broiler and line broiler pan with foil. Halve onion through root end and reserve 1 half for sauce. Thinly slice remaining onion half, separating layers, and in a small bowl soak onion slices in ice water to cover while broiling chicken.
4) Arrange chicken without crowding on rack of broiler pan. Brush chicken with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and broil about 3 inches from heat 8 minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with remaining teaspoon vegetable oil. Broil chicken until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 6 minutes more.
5) Mince enough reserved onion to measure 1 tablespoon and in a small bowl stir together with all sauce ingredients.
6) Drain soaked onion and pat dry between paper towels. Top chicken with onion slices and serve with yogurt sauce.
Shrimp Biryani
3 lbs shrimp (peeled and deveined)
20 ozs rotel tomatoes
1 onion (chopped)
2 tsps oil
5 cups rice
1 cup coriander (finely chopped)
1 package mixed spice (fish biryani, shan brand)
1) Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
2) Cook rice in rice pot.
3) Heat oil and cook onions until golden brown.
4) Add tomatoes. Cook until dry.
5) Add fish biryani spice mix. Mix.
6) Add shrimp cook until almost done.
7) Add coriander.
8) Mix shrimp with rice.
9) Put in oven for 30 minutes.
10) Serve.
Naan
4 oz active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tbsps milk
1 beaten eggs
2 tsps salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsps minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup melted butter
1) In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2) Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3) During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4) At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.
"Nona?" 8 year old Emily yawned.
"Oh, Emily. I'm sorry for waking you up so early."
"S'ok. The birds woke me up with their chirping. Spring's coming. You look pretty."
Nona smiled at her and shook her hips slightly, causing the golden bell belt around her hips to jingle. Her skirt was ankle length and purple with a golden vine design. She had on a sleeveless purple top and her silver hair was wrestled up into a braided bun, a light blue butterfly hair clip holding it together. A pair of dark gray slipper like shoes finished the look and Emily cocked her head in silent curiosity.
"This, Little One…is what I was wearing when I married your Nono. Well, the let out version. I'm a little meatier now than I was then." she informed her warmly as she kneaded the naan dough.
"But, I thought you were supposed to wear white when you get married."
"Yes, yes, that's traditional but as you know, tradition and I have a love/hate relationship. Your grandpa and I met in India. I was studying abroad there and he was a photographer for National Geographic. He's shown you his work…"
"My favorite picture is the one of the elephants near the Taj Mahal. It looks so pretty."
"Mm. Anyway, he and I decided to return to India for our honeymoon and as a thank you and a recreation of our first date, I cooked him this meal. And now on our anniversary, I cook it to share with him and my family."
Emily squealed as her grandfather picked her up and twirled her from behind. Her Nona laughed at his silliness and he entered the kitchen fully. Like her daddy, he was tall and skinny but his hair was silver and long instead of short and black. He was in blue flannel pajamas and the squeaky fuzzy bear slippers Emily had gotten for him in New York City.
"And that meal is the reason why you are here, Dolcezza. Your father is our ultimate honeymoon souvenir." Dominic Prentiss finished cheerfully, making her Nona blush and giggle as he spun them around the kitchen in a slow ring around the rosie circle. After 7 spins, her Nona stopped them and gave him a loud smooch on his scruffy cheek. Emily smiled sadly at the sight. Her parents never did silly married things like that. Her mother was always working and her father spent all his time split between his own darkroom and playing with her. Emily enjoyed the time with her daddy, don't get her wrong but sometimes, she wished her parents could be more like Nona and Nono.
Maybe they'd all be happier…
"Happy 28th anniversary, you crazy man…"
Nona gave him a smacking kiss on his lips and he smiled dreamily.
"…now, stop distracting me so I can get this done, eh?"
"Do you need any help, love?"
"Nico, you burn water!"
"It was just that one time and it was the tea kettle itself, not the water, woman!"
"It was both and the fire chief got to see me in my towel! Out, out, out…take the Little One with you!"
"Fine! Emily and I are gonna go on an adventure and you're not invited so...nyeh!" her Nono declared with childish indignation before sticking out his tongue, making them all laugh…
A knock at her apartment door made Emily stop loading Tupperware long enough to pick up her gun. It was 6PM on a Friday night and instead of joining the team for a night at the bar, she was going to see Spencer. Their recently solved case had taken them to rural Texas, an UnSub kidnapping and murdering migrant workers. The man's justification had been the preservation of American jobs for Americans. The whole case had turned her stomach and she spent a lot of time at night talking to her favorite genius.
Over the phone, he had listened to her rave and contributed his own ideas, leading them to crack the case. It was just like he was there and it hit her just how incomplete the Team was without him. They still caught killers and saved lives but there was a hole there, a void that needed to be filled. His desk was left preserved, much to the disdain of Strauss and the filler agent (a Louis Martin transferred from Counter Terrorism) and Emily had nearly taken the annoyingly arrogant man's head off when he tried to sit there when they got back to the bullpen that early morning...
"Look, Prentiss, I'm tired and it's just a chair…"
"It's not your chair. Get up. Now."
"You know, you're gonna have to get used to me being around. The kid's probably not coming back for at least another month and…"
"As a matter of fact, Spencer's leave is up on Monday and I know he'll be back in his seat where you don't belong and on this team where he does belong and you'll be gone. Fucking move, Martin. Now. I won't tell you again without kicking you where it hurts the most…"
With a mock salute, the blonde linebacker did so and headed home, leaving the rest of the team to look at her with varying levels of incredulity. In response, Emily had pushed the chair back in and clicked off the lamp. Grabbing her bag and a stack of files, she had walked through the team with her head held high and into the lobby. Before the glass doors shut behind her, she could hear JJ ask what was all on their minds.
"Spencer?"
She opened the door and Derek Morgan came in, looking at her like he was putting the puzzle together in his head.
"Morgan, if you're here to tell me that we have another case…" she started.
"Spencer? Since when do you call him Spencer?" he cut off.
"That's his first name and…"
"You've never used it outside of introducing him to people and not only did you use it in the bullpen, you did it while going all Sheldon Cooper meets Xena on Martin about his desk."
"It's really not Martin's desk and it's not like he's staying on the team for good. Look, I…"
"…and not only that, you talked to Reid all through this case. I could hear you through the wall…"
"I needed a sounding board and…"
"…and you're cooking Indian food for him, his favorite. You've been cooking for him for weeks now and I know you've been staying at his place a couple of times a week. Garcia traced your phone's GPS…"
"Why the hell did she…?"
"…you know how she is when she's curious. You've been secretive but happier. She thought you had a boyfriend but it turns out you were at Reid's. At first, I thought it was just you helping him get his head back on straight but this morning definitely proves that it's a lot more than that. What's going on, Emily?"
Emily sighed and went back to loading the Tupperware, trying and failing to ignore Morgan's gaze on her. While she usually put on sweats or pajamas on her visits, Emily had decided to wear her black hiphuggers and the bright red tank top that made everything look supermodel good. Instead of slippers or her running shoes, she had on her good black flats with silver sparkles dusted onto the leather. She had curled her hair and put on her raspberry lip gloss, lip gloss she usually reserved for…dates…dates…oh, god…
And the light goes on, ladies and gentlemen…
"Are you sleeping with him? I mean, if you are, that's great. Disturbing on a few levels but great…"
"I'm not. We're not…we're just friends, Morgan and what do you mean, disturbing? If he's old enough to shoot guns and shoot up opiates, he's old enough to get laid, don't you think?", she asked with a hand on her hip.
"Right. It's just that…it's Reid."
"So, what? Just because he's a little awkward and the youngest doesn't make him any less of a man. What? What's with the smirk?"
"You may not be sleeping with him but you've obviously thought about it. No, no…it's okay. Kid's had the hots for you since your first cases with us."
"Reid hated my guts until after New Orleans."
"That didn't stop him from looking at you like he wanted to lick you like an ice cream cone."
"You're disgusting."
"And right. Look, just think about it okay? And prepare to have this conversation with everyone else, too. Garcia's already picking china patterns for you two and once Martin opens his big damned mouth, Strauss is gonna want to talk, too."
"Oh, my god. Okay, you know what? The food's getting cold and I told him I'd be over there at 7:30 so…"
"Get out?"
"Now, please."
"Tell Lover Boy I say hi, okay?"
"Get out, Morgan."
* I adore Indian food. If I could eat the stuff (and Gatorade and white chocolate…) all the time, I'd die a happy woman. My big sister got me into the cuisine, belly-dancing, saris, and Bollywood and as a matter of fact, listening to a Hindi romantic song (Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai) with the English translation on loop on YouTube helped me write this chapter because I think it fits so well with our heroes and all the other couples and not-couples out there. The recipes are from Yummly again (I love that site...) and the Biryani is under Rabia's Famous Biryani.