Thanks go out again to those who read and review the chapters. Your feedback is always appreciated. Jumping back into the mind of the great Penelope Garcia in this one... I find her character very difficult to write, so here's hoping she's convincing. Happy reading =)
"The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death." – Oscar Wilde
"EmmyEmmyEmmyEmmyEmmyEmmyEmmy!"
"Bonjour, mon petit!" Emily says as she picks up a speeding Henry and hugs him tightly, pressing kisses to his forehead and cheeks, which prompt a wide grin to spread across his face. For a woman who stands toe-to-toe with some of the earth's most foul individuals every day, and had a supremely less-than-warm childhood, she is surprisingly affectionate with children.
"No fair, how come he knows your name?" I reply with a pout.
"Because 'Emily' is significantly easier to pronounce than 'Penelope'?" JJ offers with a shrug.
Emily is too busy crooning to Henry in French and tickling him to notice my conversation with JJ. I swear she forgets anything and everything she's thinking about when that kid is around.
"But I shower him with presents and spoil him rotten! I'm his fairy godmother! Shouldn't that count for something?!"
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that once he's showing off all his new tech toys to his friends. But for now, he goes with the names he can pronounce," JJ says with a chuckle.
Henry is giggling uncontrollably, and Emily's laughter soon joins his as he presses his face into her neck. That little boy really does adore her. And she certainly seems to adore him. It warms my heart to see her this way – it's such a contrast to her professional demeanor that I'm used to. It's different from the 'outside-of-work' Emily I know too. It makes me wonder just why Emily Prentiss is not already a mom – she's clearly meant to be one.
"Okay Henry, I think you and your dad have some stuff to do, don't you?" Emily says with just a touch of sadness in her tone.
"That's right. C'mon buddy, let's go," Will says as he sweeps into the room and grabs Henry from Emily's arms. "Give momma a kiss."
Henry obliges and gives JJ a kiss on the cheek and turns back to his dad, his eyes alight with excitement.
"Hey! What about me? You just stole him away from me!" Emily says with a mock pout, hand on her hip to emphasize her point.
"Okay, okay. Give your Aunt Emily a kiss, Henry."
Will steps closer to Emily to allow Henry to lean over and plant the most adorable but very slobbery kiss on her cheek. He keeps his face in front of hers for a moment and grins widely when she scrunches her face with a smile, touching her nose to his.
"Emmy!" he exclaims, reaching his arms toward her once more.
"Sorry handsome, you've gotta stay with your dad," she says, again with a hint of sadness in her voice, as she tousles his hair.
"Hey! Don't forget your Auntie Penelope!" I say, wanting a kiss from this precious little boy.
"'Course not," Will drawls as he steps closer to me, and Henry leans in and plants a slightly-less enthusiastic, but still very slobbery kiss on my cheek.
"Oh, aren't you just the cutest baby boy, ever!" I exclaim with glee.
"Okay you three, try to behave, won't you?" Will drawls as he smirks.
"Not a chance, good sir!" I reply with a wink.
"I'll see you later. Have a good time," he says as he kisses JJ gently. Those two are completely and utterly sickeningly adorable.
"So PG, are you and Kevin ever going to, you know, have some baby tech geniuses?" Emily asks, smoothly directing the line of questioning away from her.
"Hey, I wasn't done asking you questions," I reply with a pout.
"You have been interrogating her for 20 minutes straight Pen. I think the subject change is fair," JJ answers diplomatically. Curse her and her level head.
"It's not my fault her worldly travels are interesting! She's like a superhero - her past is still shrouded in complete mystery."
Emily scoffs in response, shaking her head, "You didn't answer my question."
"Err, well it's not really something we've talked about," I shift uncomfortably in my seat. "Hey, how come you don't have any mini crime-fighters of your own?"
"Oh no you don't. If I had to talk about my strained relationship with my mother, and that arrogant, jerk Mick Rawson, then you're gonna have to give me more than that," she says casting a quick glance out the window.
Damn. She's good.
"I- Well- Maybe."
JJ and Emily merely stare at me, their raised eyebrows clearly demanding more explanation.
"I'm not entirely sure the whole 'motherhood' thing is really for me. I think I might be content to play fairy godmother and the oh-so-utterly-amazing aunt roles."
"But..." Emily prompts.
"But, if Kevin wants to..." I trail off. "I answered your question, now it's my turn."
"No, you half-answered my question. What's the end of that sentence? If Kevin wants to then... what?"
"Then I guess it's something I'd consider."
"How seriously would you consider it?" JJ interjects.
"I don't know. Enough. It's not something I'd just agree to blindly, even if I can't say no to his handsome face. And those eyes – OH those eyes."
Emily's phone begins ringing for the third time tonight.
"Sorry," she says as she pulls it out of her purse.
Her brow furrows as she looks at the screen, and she blows out a breath slowly before turning off the phone altogether.
"Everything okay?" JJ asks her.
"Yeah, it's fine," she says with another slow exhale. "Just some random long-distance callers. Probably calling to tell me about a new credit card I'm eligible for, or a cruise I've miraculously won despite not entering any draws."
"Oh god, I hate those," I reply.
"Yeah, definitely a pain," JJ adds. "More drinks?"
"Yes please!" I say enthusiastically.
"I'm good Jayje, thanks," Emily says.
"Hey now, what's this? We've got the whole weekend off to recover from this. And you, Emily Prentiss, never turn down a drink. What's up?" I ask with a tinge of concern. It's really not like her at all. Not that she's an alcoholic or anything, but she can, and usually does give even Rossi a run for his money.
She shrugs and shifts in her seat, "Nothing, just don't really feel like waking up with the hangover from hell."
"Can't handle your liquor anymore, Prentiss?" JJ says, goading her a bit.
Emily just glares in response, "You're one to talk Jareau. I seem to recall a visit to a bar after a case where I literally carried you back to the hotel. And you'd only had a couple drinks."
"Hey! They were strong drinks. The bartender was flirting with me and was being very liberal with the alcoholic portions of the fruity drinks I ordered for us."
"How come I didn't get plastered then?" Emily responds with a smirk.
"I- Well he obviously didn't like you, so my drinks were stronger."
"Whatever lets you sleep at night, JJ," Emily says, failing spectacularly to contain her smirk.
"When did this happen? Why was I not informed? More importantly, why was I not THERE?" I interject, confused about the topic of their discussion.
"It was after a case wrapped up, and we weren't scheduled to return home until the next morning. So Emily, Morgan and I hit up a local bar to drown some of the rather nasty feelings left from the case. Morgan got a call from his mom and had to leave, so Emily and I were left to do the BAU proud."
"Where was this?" I ask, trying to determine which case it was.
"Uh..." JJ frowns in concentration.
Emily continues smirking.
"You know what, it doesn't matter. Those are the important details, Pen. I promise," JJ says.
I narrow my eyes and give her a look that says "you better not be lying to me".
"Bring me my drink and all is forgiven!" I exclaim.
"Copy that!"
"Em? Emily. Hey, Em!"
"Hmm? I'm sorry, what did you say?" she says in response as she turns her head quickly to face me.
I'd caught her peering out the window again. She'd been doing that a lot tonight. Who knows why. This woman, for all I know about her, remains a mystery to me.
"Is there a hunky guy out there or something?" I ask as I quickly scan the scene outside.
"What? Oh, no. I'm just looking at the stars," she says quickly. Maybe just a little too quickly.
JJ and I share a look, my eyebrow raised in question.
"Mmhmm. I'm sure," JJ says with a doubtful expression on her face.
Emily just shrugs, "What time is it anyway?"
"Just past 12," I reply after a glance to my watch.
"I should head home soon. I unfortunately have a good chunk of paperwork to catch up on and I'll need at least some sleep to get any of it done. I've been avoiding it the last little while in hopes it would disappear. It hasn't," she says with a small smile.
"Not before I ask the question I've been dying to ask!" I reply with a wide grin.
"Oh no. I don't like the look or sound of that," JJ says as she finishes off her drink.
"Not to worry my loves, it's nothing too terrible. Just a little question about lurrrrrrrrrve."
"Lurve?" they both respond in confusion. My goodness, where had these two been living, under a rock?
"Love, of course. So, out with it. Have you ever been in love?"
"Pen, that's a silly question, I have Will."
"It's not so crazy, Jayje. Yours and his relationship raises more than a few eyebrows. Just why haven't you married him yet?" I reply. It's a topic that confuses the best of us. And it's a question I've wanted an answer to for a while now.
"It's complicated."
"It's really not. He's amazing, Henry is adorable and you clearly love them both dearly."
"Well yeah, but that's not all there is in the equation."
"What else is there?"
"Pen, let her be. It's JJ's to deal with," Emily says forcefully. Not in a mean way, but in a very Emily Prentiss 'I really do mean what I say' kind of way.
My focus shifts to Emily, "Fine. But you, my currently unattached raven-haired beauty of a crime-fighter, still have to answer."
"Have you ever been in love?" JJ asks, her curiosity clearly piqued.
Emily's gaze seems to drift far away from the present moment and her expression turns thoughtful. She's likely lost in a memory, which is more than I thought I'd get from her. I assumed she'd either shift the topic again, or else skillfully avoid answering the question in some way like she always does. Her considering the question means I'm in for an answer of some kind. She frowns, as if she's arguing with herself, and shakes her head minutely.
"I'm not sure," she finally says slowly. "In a way, maybe. But he was..."
She trails off, clearly trying to choose her words carefully. The mere seconds of waiting seem like forever in my mind. An admission like this is uncharacteristic of Emily to say the least.
"Far from ideal," she finally finishes.
"Doesn't have to be ideal to be love, sweet cheeks," I reply.
"I know. This one was... complicated though. I think a part of me might have loved a part of him. But I'm not sure it was really me that loved that part of him."
"Wait, what?" JJ asks with a confused look.
"Sorry, I'm not making any sense. I guess I really do need sleep. I'm really not sure Pen. I wish I could give you a more definitive answer than that," she apologizes.
I narrow my eyes at her vague response, but going against my inner sleuth's advice I drop it, "Well I'm sure you'll be swept off your feet by an amazing man one day. I just hope I'm there to see the day Emily Prentiss becomes mushy and romantic."
She smirks, "Who says I want to be swept off my feet?"
"Don't try to tell me you haven't fantasized about some deliciously sexy guy who carries a gun and badge-"
"Don't forget the accent! He will most definitely have an accent!" JJ says with a smirk toward Emily, clearly still holding the image of Mick Rawson in her head.
"- and has an accent coming and sweeping you off your feet, and having his wicked way with you."
"I haven't," she replies plainly. "Really. And another thing, who said that was my type?! You two just made that up."
"Are we wrong?" JJ challenges her.
"Well no," she admits slowly. "Not entirely."
"Oh, so who is Emily Prentiss' ideal man?" I ask excitedly. She never reveals anything about herself – this is new territory for us.
"Sorry ladies, must be going. My bed calls to me, and piles of paperwork want to have their wicked way with me," she says as she stands and collects her coat and purse.
"But Emmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" I whine.
"Nice try Pen, if Henry's whining doesn't work on me, yours definitely isn't going to."
My lips form a pout.
"Not going to work, PG. May as well just accept it," she says placing a hand on my shoulder to emphasize her point.
"You're gonna be the toughest mom ever when you have kids," I say in response, partially to provoke her, and partially to gauge her reaction.
JJ laughs, "Haven't you seen her with Henry and Jack? I'm pretty sure she'd rob a bank for them if they asked. Despite what she's trying to convince you of, their whining more often than not tends to work. She might even spoil them more than you do, PG."
"Hey! How did I go from being a hard-ass to a complete pushover? Can't I have middle ground here?"
"No," we reply in unison, grins widening on our faces.
She sighs, "Come here you two."
She pulls us into a tight hug, and promises another girls' night sooner rather than later. I huff in frustration; I had been oh-so close to getting real information from her.
"Shall I call you a cab, PG?" JJ asks.
"Nah, I'll text Kevin."
I would get it out of her. My initial snooping and internet trolling upon her joining the team hadn't brought anything terribly interesting up, so any information would need to be extracted directly from the source. I need to know who this mystery man and potential love from her past is, and most definitely need to know just what is Emily Prentiss' type.
If you have the time, I'd love to hear what you think! =)