Jumping back in with Tom Kohler for this one. Bobbie23 had requested this one, and I was all too happy to oblige. Enjoy.
Also, happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!
"Friends are the siblings God never gave us." –Mencius
"Ily-"
"Would you please stop calling me that," she hisses, fixing me with a glare.
"And why should I do that?" I reply with a laugh. It's too easy to push her buttons sometimes.
"Because I'm asking you to. And because I've been asking you since you first called me that."
"You know, I think I do remember you asking something like that many years ago," I say slowly.
"Hey!" she protests. "Many years ago?"
I let out a deep belly laugh as she protests my indirect reference to her age. "Right, sorry. I forgot we only met last year," I amend with an eye-roll.
She holds her neutral expression for just a moment before she breaks and a wide grin spreads as she lets out a laugh. She looks happier than I've seen her in many years, and I find myself wondering what the cause is. Had her change in career really had that big an impact on her happiness and well-being?
Just as I'm about to say something, we're interrupted by an excited yell. "Emily!"
I watch her grin widen even further as she spies Declan heading directly toward us. "Hey, Dec," she says happily, her eyes twinkling.
"I didn't know you were coming today."
"Well this one here," she says, jerking a thumb in my direction, "let it slip that you had a big game today, and I thought I'd swing by to watch you in action."
He smiles, and I can tell he's genuinely happy that she's here. "I gotta go," he says when he hears his coach calling everyone in.
"Yeah, yeah," she says, waving her hands for him to go ahead and join his team. "Don't worry about me. I'll see you after the game."
"Yeah," he calls over his shoulder as he heads over to the team bench.
"Oh my god," she says, her eyes wide. "I can't believe how tall he is."
"You just saw him a few months ago, didn't you?" I say, my brow furrowing in confusion.
"Well yeah, but he grew since then!"
"I guess he did, yeah."
"He's growing up so fast," she says with a bittersweet smile. I'm struck by how much this is getting to her, and how much emotion she's showing. She's never been one to let her emotions run freely, and yet here she is, damn near waxing poetic about how fast Declan is growing up.
I've known her for more than 20 years, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen her where she's allowed her emotions free reign. I guess the changes in her life lately have had a bigger impact than I thought…
"Tell me about it," I reply with a wry grin. "I'm not looking forward to the day that he towers over me."
"No way he's going to be taller than you," she says.
"You sound very confident."
"I am. I think he maxes out at 6 feet. Doyle wasn't that tall, and from what I gathered of his family history neither were his parents."
I can't help but bristle at the mention of Doyle. Emily notices and she shoots me an apologetic look.
I close my eyes and breathe in deeply before letting out a heavy exhale. I vowed long ago to not let that fraction of a human being ruin my, my son's, or Emily's life. "So spill, Ily. What's going on?"
Her brow furrows, and I can't tell if it's because I moved past the awkward moment or if she's confused by my question. "What do you mean?" she asks after a moment of awkward silence – her contemplating my reaction, and me wondering what she's got going on in her life.
"You're different," I point out.
Her brow furrows further. "I am?"
I nod. "You're…lighter."
"Lighter?" she repeats with an arched eyebrow. "Are you really making a comment on my weight?" she adds as a half-hearted attempt to deflect attention away from the topic. Just as she's always done.
"Even when you were happy, you always seemed to have a weight on your shoulders," I explain, ignoring her efforts at humour. "But now I'm starting to see the Emily I met at Yale. The Emily whose smile could brighten the shittiest of days, and whose laughter was so damn contagious."
She shifts in her seat, clearly uncomfortable with my assertion that she hasn't been truly happy for many, many years. Her reaction tells me I hit the nail on the head.
"So what changed? It can't just be the change in job…" I press on.
"That's helped," she admits, almost shyly. "But not in the way you think. I could have dealt with the evil and the frustration of fighting a seemingly endless battle against the crappy people in the world. But I couldn't deal with the expectations of trying to fit into my old life."
Her explanation is an honest one, and I admit I'm surprised by how forthcoming she is with these details.
"So you left that life behind and started building a new one?" I guess.
She nods. "Yes."
"And what's different about this new life?" I ask.
"Well, the job is different…"
"Mmhmm…" I prompt, a small thought beginning to form in the back of my mind.
"But I, um…" she trails off, and I find myself surprised. She's not generally one to resort to those filler words in her speech. "I'm seeing someone," she finally says quickly, as though she's getting the words out before she loses her nerve.
"Tell me about him," I reply, giving her a small smile of encouragement.
She seems to relax now that she's spit the words out, and her words come easier. "He's a good friend of mine. We, uh, actually worked together until I left the BAU."
The pieces fall into place, and all of a sudden I know exactly who it is she's talking about. Derek Morgan. I've never met the man, but I know her now former partner is incredibly important to her, and that he played a large role in hunting down that sad excuse for a human being that served to bring Declan into my life. I know he had surveillance on the house and on Declan while Emily was…away, to make sure Doyle didn't get to him.
"Derek," I say knowingly, and her widened eyes tell me she didn't expect me to connect those dots.
"Yes," she confirms. "And before you ask," she says, cutting me off, "he treats me incredibly well."
My eyes narrow briefly. "I still want to meet him."
She rolls her eyes. "Tomkin, you're ridiculous. Who do you think you are? My father?"
"Well someone needs to check him out and make sure he's good for you."
"He does work for the FBI…"
"So?"
"So he's passed rigorous background checks."
"That doesn't mean he's not an asshole," I point out.
"I was his partner for years," she points out.
"You're not the best judge of characters, sometimes, Em."
She looks offended by my words, and I just laugh. "Do I need to remind you of Gavin?"
She makes a face and shakes her head vehemently. "Please don't. I've repressed all things relating to him," she says with a half-chuckle.
"But seriously, Em," I say, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. "I just want to meet the man who's stolen my soulmate's heart," I say with a smile. "Have to make sure he's up for the challenge that is Emily Prentiss, after all."
She smiles at my words and leans in to kiss my cheek. "You're very sweet, you know that?"
"I've been told a time or two."
"Thank you," she says. Her gaze meets mine and I can tell immediately that this isn't just an ordinary thank you. This one is for more than just being sweet.
"Anything for you, Ily."
She lets out a huff and drops my hand. "Will you please stop calling me that!?"
"I'm sorry I'm late," he apologizes as he arrives at the table. "Traffic was terrible," he explains as he leans down to press a quick kiss to Emily's cheek.
I feel my eyes widen as I see her cheeks tinge red ever so slightly. Clearly she's not 100% comfortable with PDA yet. Or maybe she's just worried about what I think of him. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from teasing her.
"Derek Morgan," he says, holding out his hand once he meets my gaze.
"Tom Kohler," I reply, shaking his hand, and making sure to give it a good squeeze so he knows I'm not just some guy. If he wants to be a part of her life, then he needs to get through me first.
He takes a seat next to Emily and I take a moment to scrutinize him, from his posture to his expression. There is a confidence about him – a swagger if you will – that doesn't surprise me. The man hunts down serial killers for a living. I'd be surprised if he didn't portray some kind of alpha-male vibe. After all, it's not just anyone who can face that darkness day in and day out, and do so successfully.
At first I'm a little surprised by Emily falling for a guy with that kind of alpha-male personality, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Beneath the confident persona that she puts forth is a woman who doesn't mind letting someone take care of her and protect her on occasion. Besides, even when she doesn't particularly want to be protected, it probably presents a challenge for her.
"So you're the famous Tom Kohler," he says with a friendly smile.
"Not sure how famous I am, but yes, that's me," I reply as I continue to watch him carefully.
He's fit. Scratch that. He's very fit. Seems like he makes sure to work out regularly and maintain a high level of fitness in general. Which I can't fault him for, given what he does for a living. Being fit could mean the difference between life and death for him or anyone on his team. Which used to include Emily, so I definitely can't fault him for that.
Before we can continue our conversation the waitress of the café interrupts us to take our orders. We each peruse the menu quickly and then put in our orders.
"So Emily tells me you're an engineer?" he ventures once the waitress has left.
I nod, and keep the skepticism off of my face. I know for a fact this man did a thorough background check on me when he found out that I was the one raising Declan. Emily had warned me of just that.
"Yeah, I'm a construction engineer with the State Department."
He nods politely and looks appropriately interested in the conversation. At least he has good manners…
"Lots of travel with that, I'd imagine."
"Yes and no. From what Emily's told me, you guys in the BAU travel a lot more frequently than I do. I tend to travel somewhere and then spend a bit of time there on a project before I head back home."
"How long do the projects usually last?"
I shrug in reply. "It varies. Could be a few weeks, could be a few months, could be up to a year. It changes with each project."
He nods in understanding. "That's gotta be tough."
"You get used to it," I reply with another shrug. "I imagine getting called into work at all hours of the day isn't exactly fun either."
He shakes his head. "Definitely not. But, like you said, you get used to it. Although I'm never happy when I get that call in the middle of one of our dates," he finishes with an expression I can't quite place. I let his words sink in, but it's his eyes that really capture my attention. There is an element of softness to them that seems to betray the tough guy image he perpetuates. I'm sure they're downright fierce when he's staring down killers, but in this non-threatening context, they are kind. And when he looks at Emily, I swear I can see the love in his eyes.
I'll admit that he's not at all the kind of guy I thought Emily would fall for. Granted, I'm not sure I ever really knew exactly what kind of guy she would fall for, but I sure as hell never pictured an alpha male and fellow FBI agent.
"I'm not a fan of those calls either," Emily adds, finally finding a way into the conversation. She'd been watching and listening intently before, scrutinizing each of our expressions and answers.
"I suppose it helps that you understand how the job works?" I say, keeping her in the conversation.
They both nod. "Definitely," Derek answers. "But I still wish I could stick around."
We're saved from an awkward silence when our coffees arrive and we each take a moment to appreciate the aroma and the deliciousness of them.
"So how do you two know each other?" Derek asks, looking between me and Emily.
"We met at school," Emily explains.
"Ah, so you went to Yale?"
"And Georgetown," I add with a nod.
"He followed me there," Emily says with a grin.
"You followed me there," I retort.
"They were the only school that had my grad program," she argues. "You could have gone anywhere for engineering."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I say with a roll of my eyes. "Anyway, I ran into this one with her nose stuck in a book-"
"You say that like you weren't also a huge nerd at the time and spending time in the bookstore for fun," she interrupts.
"I'm not the one who left there with a stack of books a foot high."
"And I'm not the one who was lurking in a bookstore trying to pick up women."
Derek lets out a chuckle and his eyebrows rise in amusement.
"I was not lurking in the bookstore. I happened to be there buying books, thank you very much."
"And yet you only left with the ones I recommended…"
"Oh shut up and finish the story already," I say, narrowing my eyes as I send a glare her way.
"I saw her perusing science-fiction, and I was instantly smitten."
"Because she was reading science-fiction?" Derek clarifies.
"Well, also because she happened to be a beautiful woman," I admit with a smile.
Emily blushes faintly at my words, but stays silent, instead choosing to focus intently on her coffee.
"I'm with you so far," he says with a nod, directing a teasing grin toward Emily.
"I knew I couldn't let her slip through my fingers, so I struck up a conversation. One thing led to another, and a month later we'd been out for coffee and lunch, and had studied together."
"We went out for dinner and then he went in the for goodnight kiss," Emily says, joining the conversation once more.
"But when it came to the infamous goodnight kiss…there were no sparks."
"It felt like I was kissing my brother."
"And much to my dismay, it felt like I was kissing my sister."
"So you stayed friends instead," Derek finishes for us.
We both nod. "Star-crossed lovers without a hint of romance between us," I say.
"Well that's quite the story," Derek says with another chuckle. "Have you met Penelope Garcia?"
I shake my head. I recognize the name, and am pretty sure she works on Emily's former team.
"When you do, and I presume that will be happening very soon," he says, looking over at Emily, whose expression is sheepish, "make sure you tell her that story."
Emily shakes her head and lets out a half-chuckle with an exhale.
"I'll make sure to do that," I say with a smile. "So how did you two get together?" I ask, genuinely curious. Emily had been rather tight lipped about her relationship with him after she revealed they were dating.
"Well, this one was threatening to take off to London to run INTERPOL, and I decided I wasn't going to let her get away. So I asked her to stay."
"And instead of taking that huge promotion," she says, a teasing lilt in her tone, "I decided to listen to this guy."
He grins widely, no shame in his expression. "And what a good choice that was," he says with a wink.
The more I watch the two of them interact, the more I realize that they seem to be a perfect fit for each other. They balance each other out, and seem to just make sense together. Years of working together in the kind of setting that life in the BAU brings has fostered a close friendship. They have an intuitive understanding of each other. They seem to know when to tease, when to step off, when to push, and when to lend a little support. That I'd gotten all of that from just a few minutes' worth of conversation is a testament to how well suited they are for each other.
We each sip at our coffees, and keep up light conversation about everything from football, to work, to Declan, to the pain of local road work. When Emily excuses herself to use the ladies' room, I take my opportunity.
My words are few, but my sentiment is clear. "You seem like a good guy, and I can tell you're important to her. But Derek, don't think I'm going to let you hurt her in any way. Because if you hurt her, I will end you."
He nods in understanding.
"Assuming she doesn't do it first, that is," I add on with a cheeky grin, the seriousness of the situation broken back down.
He grins in reply, and I know in that instant that we've reach an understanding. We both know that Emily is more than capable of taking care of herself, and yet we both feel the need to protect her. We're on common ground here, and it's what tips me over the edge. I get a good feeling about Derek Morgan, and it's that gut feeling that convinces me he is the reason she's so genuinely and completely happy. He's the reason I'm starting to see the smile she wore so often during our time in school together again. He's the reason she's finally starting to really live her own life.
And anybody that does that for my oldest friend, is okay in my books.
So...did you chuckle at Tom and Emily's banter? Smile at Tom's thoughts about Derek? Let me know.