CHAPTER 27
The next day came rolling in. Bright rays of sun rays enter through the windows announcing another morning.
David arrived around 11, bringing in a homemade Italian breakfast.
He brought in macchiato for him and Dani while bringing in Decaffeinato for Emily, knowing that the woman quit caffeine a while back.
This was accompanied by some fine Italian bread and his main course, Frittatas.
Dani wasn't sure what it was at first but she deduced that it was like an unfolded omelet. Whatever it was, one thing was for sure.
It was delicious.
The girl admired the culinary skills Rossi had. David is a man with many talents.
An FBI agent, an author, a cook, and a founder of the BAU. Dani wondered if David hadn't become a profiler would he have chosen the career of a chef?
Surely the man would have opened up restaurants with Michelin stars by now. He is a pretty talented cook, no doubt about it.
Emily is finishing up some paperwork in her office that David brought for her while he and Dani were in the living room playing on the PlayStation console the teenager received last Christmas.
She usually plays it during the weekends or when Emily was away on a case.
One of the best gifts she has received. Both of them were playing Call Of Duty, one of David's favorite games.
He remembers playing with the first version that came out in 2003, he thought the first-person shooter video game was a very good game with great graphics at the time.
Now in 2017, he sees that the game is better than ever with on-the-dot graphics and brand new features.
With years of playing older versions of the games, David knew all the tricks and gags in the game.
He knew all maps by heart, knowing where the opponents would be spawning and hiding. He was no Rookie in this.
He is a total expert.
Daniela isn't a bad player at all. She had this game for almost a year, having good practice on it. She knew most places and moves that would get her on top of the game.
She had earned powerful weapons that combined with the tactics David has taught her so far would make her a pretty good player.
David is a far better player than she was but she knows playing with him is a strong advantage. She really liked playing with him.
He was competitive but also calm in showing her what to do in order to improve.
He was also very fun to hang around with, always making her laugh while playing the game.
The girl is glad in knowing she can always count on the team for the company.
She knows everyone makes an effort in helping her in any way they can, including visiting her. She truly appreciates the kind gestures of everyone.
She feels good knowing she finally has a group of people to rely on.
She is glad David stopped by for a visit. She really has fun with him in kicking ass in this game.
Both of them are sitting on the couch while holding each controller. Both are solely focused on the TV where the game was going on.
The screen is split in two, each of them having its own screen.
There was a 10-second countdown on-screen giving them an opportunity to choose their weapons.
"It's Nuketown. I am using a CR- 56. I am not risking running out of bullets out here," Dani tells Rossi as she clicked on her weapon of choice.
"Ahh, I see you want to take out as many people as you can. Very ambitious of you," he says with a smile.
"I will cover the team from high ground. A classic sniper," he said as he clicks the controller.
They see the countdown go to one and they start the game.
Emily is in her office with her door partially open.
Her office is right across from the living room which allows her to hear what was going on inside. She can hear the two rambling talking about the game.
She hears how they both cheer as they are taking the lead in the game and she also hears how they yell each time they would get shot.
An overall hectic environment.
"Awww crap! They surrounded us like a swarm of piranhas!" She heard the girl exclaims.
Emily smiles and shakes her head while working.
She is glad to hear Dani being herself again. Even if she has to deal with the loud video games.
She refocused her attention on the small stack of papers Rossi brought for her.
It was from the cases the team worked on the past weeks while Emily took some time off to look after Dani.
Reports of each individual case and how it went. She had to go over every single one in order to make sure everything was on track.
She reads through the case files, reading some rather gory content.
One case was about an unsub who would burn and take out the eyes of his victims while they were still alive, killing them with a shot to their head.
Torturing them before ending people's lives in an instant.
Another one was about an unsub who would dislocate every joint of the victim's body with the final kill being a snap on their neck.
Emily feels goosebumps going through her skin while reading this.
Part of her is glad that she wasn't there to see these murders in person.
The acts that sick delusional people can do is atrocious and unbelievable.
Her job makes her look at the darkest and cruel side of humanity.
She sees how low a person can go in committing vile crimes which in some cases makes her sick to her stomach, especially if victims are women and children.
She knows these heinous crimes from people are one of the reasons why she joined the BAU in the first place.
She knows that each time they would solve a case there would be one less psychopath in the world to deal with.
They make towns feel safer each time they make an arrest, assuring them that there is one less person who can harm them and their families.
It also gives Emily the satisfaction of knowing that she is helping out by keeping people safe.
She especially did it for Dani.
After everything that happened Emily feels a deep fear of losing her. She almost saw her child die in front of her without being able to do anything to stop it.
The woman vowed never to let that happen again.
As long as Dani is under her care she will do everything order to protect her.
No matter what it takes.
After a few more minutes, Emily is done with all files.
She is glad to finally finished reviewing these case files, one less thing she has to worry about.
She neatly stacks up the paperwork and places it on the side of her desk, hoping she won't forget to give it to David when he leaves.
She stands up and heads towards the kitchen, hearing Dani and David plotting against the opposing team.
"I will be taking the left side of the house. I see the radar is pointing them that way," Dani said.
"I will be up in the house. Sniping from the window," Rossi said while pointing at the TV.
They start the new round, moving their fingers on the controllers.
They both start out with no problems, easily taking down the opponents.
They think they have this game under their hand until they are surrounded by flying bullets all over.
"Oh no! They are everywhere!" Dani exclaimed as she was frantically moving her fingers on the buttons.
"We tied for the lead", they heard the TV say.
"There are too many for us to handle," David said as he tightened his grip on the controller.
"Crap! I got killed," Dani said as she slumped on the couch.
"We lost the lead", they hear the game tell them.
Rossi takes a quick glance at the girl.
"I don't like the sound of that. What do you say about taking the lead again?" He asked her.
Dani looks at the man and sighs. "Let's do this," she said while sitting up.
She leans slightly in order to get a better view of the TV and starts to play.
Sitting position. Full gamer mode.
David glances at her once more and sees the girl is driven with full determination in winning the game.
He smiles and looks back at the TV. David had always been fond of the girl. Ever since Emily took her in, David had noticed how the girl was slowly changing different aspects of the woman's life.
Emily seemed to be warming up again and letting her guard down when it came to her team. She was a little more open when it came to talking about her personal life.
David knows Emily trusts him and the rest of the team but this job surely has changed her.
In all honesty, anyone working in the BAU is bound to be changed. both in positive and negative ways.
Emily isn't the exception to this. This job has showed her the darkest sides of the human mind. How cruel and sadistic a person can be.
It has also shown her how vulnerable she can be. Ian Doyle coming back to her surely changed her.
Emily never fully recovered from her confrontation with him. She became more distant.
She became a little cold. She was starting to feel numb, both in and out the field.
But then the Unit Chief did something unexpected. Well, it didn't completely surprise Rossi when he heard Emily was taking in the girl.
Emily isn't exactly a fan of playing all by the book. Whatever she wants, she tends to get it.
Since then, the woman seems to be more happy, more engaged. Most importantly, she was starting to feel complete. David is glad to see Emily like this.
Though most would say that what Emily is doing a noble deed, helping out a girl who needed someone for guidance and support.
David knows Daniela has also helped her just as much as the agent has. She just doesn't know that yet.
Emily enters the living room where she sees both of them playing. Dani and David had their eyes glued on the TV, hardly ever blinking.
She chuckles lightly as she carefully walks to the nearest couch, not wanting to disturb any of the gamers.
Both of them are still playing, not noticing Emily's presence.
"We are running out of time. Dani, you take the right side and move forward. I will cover your back," David instructed her.
"They only need one more kill, we need five," Dani replied.
She sees one of the opponents start to shoot her but suddenly they fall. David sniped him out.
Dani sighs in relief.
"Told you I got your back," he said with a wink. "Just don't run out of bullets."
Dani nods as her character moves forward. She suddenly runs into a group of people from the opponents.
They start to aim at her when all of the sudden she presses her controller hard on the buttons, shooting all of them without ever letting the buttons go.
One person goes down, then two, three, and a final shot aiming right at the fourth.
The screen is filled with the victory badge in the front, announcing that they won.
"We won?" Dani said in disbelief.
"I believe we did," David said with a smile.
Dani smiles and pumps her fist in celebration.
They watch the repetition of the last play which showed Dani taking down all four.
"Good job, soldier," David said as the two of them high-fived each other with pride.
Dani's face is practically beaming with pride.
Emily's smile widened as she saw Dani in such good spirits, something she was afraid the girl was going to lose.
"Good job, you two," Emily said with a smile, looking at both of them.
"I'm glad you guys won. I was scared of what you two would have done if you were to lose. Maybe break the TV or something."
Both David and Dani chuckle.
"Yeah. Maybe I might have thrown the controller at it but you don't have to worry about it. I would have paid for a new one," David said while placing the controller on the coffee table.
Emily rolls her eyes with a smile.
"Of course, you would," he told the Italian rich man.
"Were you doubting us taking the win?" Dani said with her brow up.
"Of course not. I see that you two are complete experts in this," Emily told her.
"Oh, I'm no expert. Just a student in training," Dani said with a smile.
"A very good student," Rossi points out.
Dani puts down the controller on the side of the couch and stretches her arms.
"That was fun but also quite stressful. I'm going to get a drink of water. You guys want me to bring something from the kitchen?" She asked both adults.
"I think I'm good here. Thank you for the offer," David said with a polite smile.
"I'm good too, hun," Emily told her.
The girl nods in response and stands up. She walks out of the living room, leaving both adults alone.
"I'm glad you stopped by today, Dave," Emily said with a smile.
"Me too. It's great having fun before returning to work," he replied.
"Oh, don't tell me the great David Rossi doesn't like going to work anymore?" Emily said with a brow raised.
"Your office is like your second home."
David chuckles lightly.
"I never said I don't like going to work. It's just that it's good to de-stress before stepping on high grounds," David defended himself.
"This job can take a toll on even the best of us."
"I completely agree with that," Emily said with a nod.
"Just when you think you have seen everything, there is always something new that never fails to rattle you up."
"Like that case, you guys closed two days ago. Jesus, burning and cutting out eyes while keeping the victim alive? The sadism is just atrocious."
"Oh man, that was not an easy case to solve. The guy was very meticulous with his steps and covered his tracks really well. Penelope had to look under and beyond the radar to find him."
"But you guys found him. I'm really proud and grateful to all of you, especially you Dave. Thanks for stepping up for the team," Emily said honestly.
"You know I do it with great pleasure," he said with a smile.
"You take care of Dani and I will make sure the team stays afloat. Oh, how did the visit to the doctor go? Is she all good?"
"Yes. The doctor said she is doing fine. She will heal fine for the most part. Well, except for the cut on her brow. That will leave a scar... permanently."
"Well, at least she will be fine and healthy," Rossi told her with a smile.
"And the scar? Declan said it himself, she will always remember that day each time she stares at the mirror," Emily told him.
"He said that but Dani is the one who decides what to remember and take home," David explains.
"The kid, you know more than anyone that she has been through so much already but all those negative experiences that she went through didn't shape what she is today. A scar can't define her either."
Emily takes in what David said. From what Emily knows, the girl has been through hell and back.
Going through obstacles that can make or break a person, she somehow pulled it off with minimal to no support.
This time will be different. Emily will make sure to help Dani heal from start to finish.
Unlike in the past, Dani will have a shoulder to lean on.
"You're right. This won't define her," Emily stated.
David nods in agreement. "If anything it will make her stronger. More than she already is," he said.
"Remember, the scars remind us of where we've been, but they don't have to dictate where we are going."
Quote from David Rossi on Criminal Minds
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Buzz Buzz
It's around 6:30 in the afternoon when Emily and Dani are both watching a Netflix series, hearing the loft buzzer going off in the building. Dani looks at Emily with a confused face.
"Did you order a food delivery?" She asked Emily who was sitting on the other end of the couch.
"Kind of like that," she said with a smile.
Emily knows exactly who it is but she wants to surprise the girl.
She stands up and walks to the door, opening it. She is greeted by her two best friends, JJ and Penelope at the entrance.
"Hey you two!" she said enthusiastically.
"Come in," she gestured to both ladies inside.
Emily knew that both ladies were free for the night.
Penelope had no plans other than to spend the night in the cyber world with no other than her fellow loyal companion, Sergio the cat.
JJ told Emily that Will was going to take the boys over to his brother's place and they were going to stay there for the weekend.
Emily thought it would be a perfect opportunity to bring both of them over for the night and hang out with them.
She also thought it would be good for Dani in seeing them.
Daniela was especially close with Penelope.
Her bright energy and caring affection allowed Penelope to be the first person Dani fully trusted when she first arrived two years ago.
Something that Emily was slightly jealous of at first but was happy that the girl was starting to let her guard down. Since then, both of them have had a strong bond.
Penelope was the first to enter with a wide smile on her face.
"Hello, my very fine precious lady. It is so nice to see you," she told Emily as she hugged her.
"It is nice to see you too, P," Emily told her.
Penelope pulls back from the hug and starts looking around the hallway.
"Where is my precious dumpling, Dani?" She asked while adjusting her neon pink glasses.
"Oh, she's in the living room," Emily told her.
Penelope nods and quickly walks to the living room where Emily told her.
JJ enters and extends her arm in order to greet Emily with a hug, her other hand holding a bag of takeout.
"I'm so glad to see you again," the blonde said with a kind smile.
"Me too, JJ. Thank you so much for coming," Emily replies happily.
She looks at the bag of food and smiles.
"Chipotle?" she asked JJ.
"You know it," she replied with a smile.
"Let's take it to the dining table," Emily told her as she guides JJ down the hall.
"Dani will love this."
Both ladies walk down the hall towards the dining room while Penelope walks into the living room, her eyes searching for Dani until she spots her sitting on the couch.
Dani looks up and sees Penelope standing near the living room entrance. She stands up and smiles happily.
"Vaya Vaya. Si no es la Famosa Penelope Garcia," Dani said with a smile while walking toward her.
"I wish I knew enough Spanish to respond with something nice," Penelope said with a slight pout.
She walks toward Dani and engulfs her in a hug. "I missed you so much, sugar bear," she said while still holding her.
Dani lifts her head up and looks at her.
"Didn't we see each other just a few days ago?" she said while cocking her head to the side.
"Exactly. Way too many," Penelope responds.
The teen nods in agreement.
Penelope lets go of the smaller frame and cups Dani's cheek with her palm.
"How are you feeling? Are you good? Do you have any pain? Have you been resting-"
"Pen, I can only answer so many questions," Dani told her with a chuckle, stopping Garcia from going into a full ramble.
"Sorry. I am just very worried about you," Penelope told her.
Dani smiles. She knows the blonde was worried. The whole team was. She hates adding the extra stress on them but she knows that they all worry because they care.
The girl couldn't recall a time in which a group of people cared about her the way they do other than her friends.
"I'm fine. I have been feeling pretty good," Dani told her.
"I've been healing for the most part... well, maybe not this," she said while pointing at her left brow.
The line starts from the bottom part of the brow near the end. The line goes through, about an inch and a half up.
The stitches themselves have faded, after all, it has been a few days. The scar is pretty evident from up close with the wound rather fresh.
Penelope looks at her brow and frowns lightly.
She hates seeing the scar because it is a reminder of how Dani got hurt.
Penelope is always overprotective of the team, telling them to be careful and always tending to whoever got hurt during a case, even if it is just a small scratch.
She cares deeply for them and doesn't want anyone to get hurt. It's one of the few things she doesn't like about their job. There is always that risk of something going wrong.
There is always the risk of one of her friends getting hurt. Each time they leave for a case, Penelope hopes and prays for all of them to come back safely.
But in this case, Dani was the one to get hurt.
She remembers in great detail watching the footage and seeing the blade piercing through the girl's skin. The small whimpers of the girl each time the blade pierced through her skin.
It was a hell of a nightmare to watch.
This scar is just a small portion of what happened to her that night.
She reaches out and lifts the teen's chin up, moving her head to the side so she can better see her brow.
"It's healing alright. It might take more time but it will heal," Penelope assures the girl.
"Plus, it doesn't take away the fact that you are beautiful and gorgeous as always. Don't let this scar be the reason for you to stop beaming, in fact, make it be the reason for you to shine even brighter."
Dani looks at the woman and smiles.
"Thanks, P," she told her.
It always surprises her when Penelope would say something she needed to hear. It's like the woman always knows what to say.
Some people may say that she has a sense of blind positivity. That she only stays positive just for the sake of doing so.
But the girl believes in the woman's uplifting feelings. Something about her smile makes her ease her tension.
"Anytime sugar bear."
Just then, Emily and JJ walk into the living room.
"JJ, you're here," Dani said with a smile. She walked towards the blonde.
"Hey you," JJ tells her, reaching for the teenager for a hug.
"I missed you so much. How are you feeling?"
Daniela lets go of the JJ and looks up at her.
"I'm doing great. Especially now since both of you guys are here," she told her.
"I didn't know you guys were coming over."
"Well, I knew both of them came back from a case and were free for the night so I invited them over for the night," Emily told Dani.
"It's a girl's night out. Well... a girl's night-IN since we are staying inside but nonetheless, it will be fun," Penelope points out.
"We will stay here for the whole night since we are free tomorrow. That means an all-nighter."
"Well, maybe not an all-nighter per se," Emily said. "But we will have fun."
"Yep, and we will start off with dinner because I am starving," JJ told the ladies.
"What's for dinner?" Asked Dani.
"Chipotle," JJ tells her. "Not a typical dinner but Penelope and I passed by to get it when we came here. I really wanted a burrito."
Dani smiles at the ladies."I don't judge. Did you happen to get-"
"A Steak Bowl with Guacamole, Tomato Salsa, Tortilla on the Side, and White Rice? Yes, we did. Emily told us what you liked," Penelope told Dani with hyper energy.
Dani looks at Emily with a surprised expression.
"You memorized the exact ingredients I ordered for a bowl? How did you know what I like?" she asked.
"I may not have Spencer's photographic memory but I pay attention to a lot of things," Emily answered nonchalantly.
"Impressive," the teen replies with an approving look.
All four of them head towards the dining table and get ready to eat. They unpack all the food and sit down, starting to eat.
Topics of conversation were widely varied at the dinner table. Topics were from JJ's anecdotes about her kids.
Specifically about never leaving children unsupervised when they are playing outside because they might bring in an uninvited guest such as a toad.
Apparently, since her two boys wanted a pet, they settled with the first animal that was in their backyard. They even named it Thomas the toad.
Penelope was ranting about how Luke was supposedly doubting her tech analyst skills during their last case in Florida.
"Seriously, the newbie has got to get his stuff together. He was all like, Did you get a location when pinning down his phone?"
"Well, obviously if I did I would have sent it to the team already. How does he not know that by now?" Penelope tells the ladies at the table.
"Relax, Pen. He is trying," Emily said while bringing a bottle of wine to the table.
"Here, take this to help you ease your tension," she said as she poured wine into a wine glass.
"I think I need to relax too," Dani said as she casually stretched her arm, reaching for the wine bottle.
Emily swiftly takes the bottle out of the teen's reach and takes it with her.
"Not for you. You have coke," Emily said while ruffling the teen's hair.
Dani just raises her can of Soda and takes a drink.
While Emily was serving herself and JJ a drink, Penelope took a sip and exhaled rather loudly.
"It's like the newbie is deliberately trying to make me mad and the worst thing is that it's working. He always says something that makes me go bonkers."
"I have a quick question," said Dani to the techy.
"How come you still call him a newbie? Hasn't Luke been on the team for a while now? You know him longer than you know me."
"That is different my dear. I have loved you since the moment I met you. The newbie is different," Garcia said with a huff.
It's true, Penelope has liked the girl ever since she knew about her. When Emily let her know that she was taking in the girl, Penelope flipped out in excitement.
She was happy for both Emily and Daniela and instantly wanted to be one of the first people to officially meet her.
Luke Alvez is different. He came in right after her platonic soulmate, Derick Morgan, left the team for good.
Penelope knew it was for the best. Derick had a wife and a kid to look after now.
She was happy in knowing that her dearest friend was going out to live a life that he very much deserves.
It was as if Luke took his spot in the team though Luke has said it himself. No one can ever replace Morgan.
That doesn't change the fact that Penelope does not like change. Luke was that change.
It's not like Penelope didn't like Luke as a person. Of course, in the beginning, she may have been acting a little hostile towards him.
Maybe harsher than she intended. Luke is a good guy. Charismatic and hard working. She has nothing against him.
She is just against change. The way things played out.
"I always wondered that too," Emily said, chiming in the conversation.
"I mean, Matt is technically the newest member of our team. Doesn't that mean Luke isn't the newbie? Plus, you guys have worked together in a few cases. You both do very well together."
They have worked together as a duo but only because Emily has practically forced Penelope to do so.
She would occasionally pair them together so that way they get to know each other more.
She also did it because she found it amusing the way both would interact like children. With Penelope mostly bickering about something.
"Oh so are you all just defending him now?" Penelope tells them.
"You all have to be on my side, remember?"
"Right, right. My apologies," Emily said while taking a sip of her wine.
JJ just chuckles lightly at the conversation.
Penelope looks at Dani who is staring at her. She has a very thoughtful expression.
"What?" She asked the teenager.
"Nothing. It's just what you said reminds me of this couple At school. The guy would always pull pranks on this girl in order to annoy her and how she would always complain about how annoying he is but never leaves his side for some reason."
"They ended up going out and dating. Unsurprisingly, of course," she says.
"I don't get where this is going. What do you mean by... oh, oh no-no-no. Are you saying that Luke and I are...? Nooo," Penelope said while stumbling over her words.
Without realizing it, her cheeks begin to flush over with redness. JJ and Emily both laugh in amusement at how Penelope was reacting to the teen's statement.
"I never said anything about you or Luke," Dani said while raising both hands.
"But you implied it!" Penelope exclaims.
"You said that, not me. But I see that you got all defensive and you are blushing when I said that. So it's a might," Dani said while standing up from her chair, going to throw away the trash.
The teenager has had a hunch over the possibility of Luke and Penelope going out on a date.
Of course, right now the blonde would highly disagree with this idea.
She would never think about her possibly being involved with the agent. He is the newbie and nothing else.
A coworker. That's it.
But Dani has seen the way they interact. The way Luke would always mess around with the tech woman and how Penelope would always make fun of him. Playfully of course.
It's like no matter how hard Penelope tried pushing him away, he would always stick closer.
Penelope narrows her eyes at her.
"Are you profiling me? Not you too. I already work with a bunch of profilers," Penelope said with a pout.
"You young lady should stop hanging out with profilers. They will infect your brain."
"That will be impossible knowing that I live with one," Dani said while pointing at Emily.
"Stop infecting her," Penelope pleads.
"Don't you have enough profilers already?"
"The more the merrier," Emily said with a wink.
They all start laughing at the whole conversation. Penelope tried to hold in her laughter at first but quickly gave up, letting out a chuckle at the situation.
They all knew they were going to have a great time together.