calliopes_muse

Title: The Unexpected - Epilogue

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

Pairing: Emily/Cindy; Cindy/Lindsay and Emily/JJ implied.

Rating: NC-17 (sorry, couldn’t help it! I had to have them go out with a bang…so to speak. *wg*)

Disclaimer: Don’t own a damn thing so don’t sue.

Warnings: This is un-beta’d. All mistakes are mine.

AN: Thanks to everyone who has been following and reading this fic. It was so much fun that I think this x-over will be reappearing at some point in the future. It really took on a life of its own. This is an epilogue to clean up the loose ends. Being slightly superstitous, I didn’t want to call this “Chapter 13,” but it’s long enough to be that, I think.

AN2: Don’t forget this fic was nominated for Best Crossover at the 2008 Criminal Minds FanFic Awards. If you really liked it, I’m pimping for another vote or two here. I have no shame!!!

Emily leaned against Cindy’s bed, brushing the back of her fingers gently against her cheek. With a sigh, Cindy stirred and smiled when she saw the beautiful woman standing next to her bed.

“Hey you. How are you feeling?”

“Like some crazed woman whacked me in the head with a cane,” Emily smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, flinching at the sharp pain in her ribs. Cindy took Emily’s hand in hers, reassured by the warmth.

“I have good news.”

“Really?” Cindy groggily mumbled, the pain killers kicking back in.

“You get to go home tomorrow.”

Cindy fought to keep her eyes open, “Oh goodie. I get to see my surprise.”

Emily smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead, “Sleep, baby. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Cindy sighed in her half-sleep, “Mmmmm, even better.”

Stepping from the room, Emily ran her long fingers through her hair. Even though the ordeal was over, she still felt overwhelmed and it was only partially due to killers and life-threatening situations. This fiesty redhead had swept into Emily’s life and turned it upside down, in a frighteningly wonderful way. Emily looked down at her hands and could still feel the ghost of Trish’s head in them and the distinctive snapping sound echoing in her ears. She closed her eyes tight at the memory, seeing those same hands caressing the curves of Cindy’s neck and feeling the warmth between her legs.

Emily slid down the wall, cradling her head in her arms. Fears and images from past nightmares flooded her mind, thoughts that kicked in a raw survival instinct that Emily thought was no longer needed. In split seconds, she let the animal in her take over and it terrified her.

“Em?” She looked up shocked at JJ. “How is she?”

Emily stood, not sure how to handle JJ’s genuine concern, “She’s going to be fine. She’s getting discharged tomorrow.”

“Good,” JJ looked down at her feet, “How about you?”

“Nothing that won’t heal.”

JJ tilted her head to the side, “You sure? You looked kind of upset.”

Emily rubbed the space between her eyes, offering a half-smile, “You know how it is after a case, especially when some nut wants to end your life. It takes a little time.”

JJ silently nodded, remembering the demons that still chase her from running into that barn after Reid. The silence became unsettling.

Emily motioned back to Cindy’s room, “Well, I better…”

“Emily.” She turned back to face JJ, who was struggling with the right thing to say. “I’m…I’m really sorry. For everything. I was an idiot, and I made a stupid mistake. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Emily felt like she should say something, but she wasn’t sure what. Saying “it’s okay” would be a lie, because it’s wasn’t and still isn’t. She couldn’t say she understood because she didn’t. Instead, she said nothing.

“I ended it with Will, and before you start thinking what I probably think you’re thinking, I’m not telling you this to win you back. I wish I could win you back, but you deserve better than what I gave you.” JJ walked to the glass so she could see Cindy better, then turned to face Emily. “She risked it all for you. She put her own life on the line for you. To hell with the consequences and to hell with what anyone thought. That’s the kind of love you deserve, Emily. I couldn’t even risk being honest with myself, much less anyone else.”

Emily stared at her former lover, shocked at the admission. “JJ…”

“Don’t. It’s okay.” JJ took a deep breath. “I’ve decided to take some time off. I need to get my head together. I’m not good for the team right now…Hotch agrees.”

Emily shook her head in disbelief, “Jennifer, you don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. It’s okay…really.” JJ suddenly reached up to take Emily in a hug, surprising the other woman. She had no time to react before JJ pulled away and quickly walked off. Emily stared at the retreating form of the blonde before she disappeared in the crowd of people down the hall.

********

Emily woke to a soft tap on the shoulder. She had fallen asleep in a chair next to Cindy’s bed, her sore body protesting the unnatural position she had been in for hours as she tried to move.

“Detective?” Lindsay stuffed her hands into her back pocket in what Emily was learning was a nervous gesture.

“I can take over for a while if you want to get up and move around.”

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.” Emily stood and started to brush past the other woman. She barely caught the murmur from Lindsay.

“What?”

“I said, don’t hurt her.” They stared at each other, a silent message passing between them.

“I don’t intend to.”

“Good.” Emily watched as Lindsay sat in the chair and took Cindy’s hand in her own. The easy familiarity of it struck a chord in Emily. She made a mental note to ask Cindy about it later before leaving to take a quick walk.

*******

The next morning, Jill and Claire joined Lindsay in seeing Cindy home from the hospital.

“Hey guys!!!” Cindy was feeling much better. She had even managed to walk from the bed to the bathroom without her head spinning. Emily was on the other side of the room packing their bags to leave.

“Hey squirt!” Jill was the first to hug her friend. “I’m so glad you’re feeling better.”

Cindy hugged her back, “Oh, believe me, me too!”

Claire wiped a tear from her face before giving in to the urge too, “Oh come here, you!” She whispered in Cindy’s ear, “Don’t ever scare me like that again, got it?”

“I can’t make promises like that,” Cindy pulled back from the hug.

“Don’t make me ground you and put you in time out!” Cindy saluted Claire.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Claire nodded with approval, “Damn right.”

The nurse bustled into the room, breaking up the merriment, “We have to do one last check on you, Ms. Thomas, and if all’s good then we’ll have some paperwork for you to sign.”

The nurse looked over her glasses at the women in the room, effectively dismissing all of them. When Emily made no move to leave, “Ma’am, you’ll need to leave.”

“It’s okay,” Cindy smirked at Emily, a small blush coming to her face, “She’s my girlfriend. She can stay.”

Emily fought back her own smirk at the huff from the nurse, “Very well then.”

Lindsay shuffled her friends out of the room, “Come on, mother hens, let’s go.” Cindy giggled at the sound of Jill doing chicken sounds down the hall and Claire joining in.

********

By lunch time, Emily was pulling Cindy’s car to the curb and racing around to open the door. Cindy slowly got out of the car, the pain in her legs making walking a difficult process. It didn’t help that the painkillers were wearing off. Thank God Emily stopped at the pharmacy on the way home! There was a little pill with a powerful punch with her name on it in the white bag in her hand. Cindy clutched the bag closer to her as she took her first steps up to her apartment.

Once inside, Cindy flopped down on the couch and immediately tore into the bag. Emily went to the kitchen, pausing with a smile at the gift still sitting there, before returning with a glass of water. Cindy downed the pill and the liquid without taking a breath.

Emily sat down next to her, wrapping her arms silently around the redhead. A few minutes later, both were sound asleep with Cindy curled up against Emily, her arm snuggly around her waist. When Cindy finally stirred, it was dark outside, moonlight streaming in through the windows, settling on Emily’s face.

She traced the outline of Emily’s lips with her finger before reaching up to kiss the other woman, “Mmmmm, that’s a nice way to wake up.”

“Yeah, it is,” Cindy smiled. “I never did thank you for saving me.”

“Actually, you saved me.”

Cindy buried her head in Emily’s neck, “Augh, and I failed miserably!”

“No, you didn’t. You have saved me.” Emily looked in wonder at Cindy. “You amaze me.”

The romantic words stirred a memory for Cindy, “Hey.” She pushed off of Emily, “I haven’t seen my surprise yet!” Cindy hobbled slightly as she headed for the kitchen. Emily was close behind.

“Oh my God, Emily!” Cindy had her hand over her mouth as she held the paper in one hand and a set of keys in the other.

“It just seemed like you. I hope I was right.” Emily shrugged as she walked further into the kitchen and wrapped an arm around Cindy’s waist. “After the other night, I just knew I needed to get away with your for a little while, get away from all the madness, just the two of us.”

Cindy stared at the paper and then back up at Emily before throwing her arms around her neck, “Are you kidding?! A week at a private lodge in Tahoe?! No woman in her right mind would turn that down!”

Emily laughed and pulled back to kiss Cindy solidly on the lips, “And the best news is that there isn’t another cabin anywhere. There’s a hot tub, great views, and lots and lots of privacy.”

Cindy licked her lips, “Oh, I’m liking the sound of this more and more.  I have so many wicked thoughts running through my head right now!”

Emily moaned at the thought, kissing Cindy deeply, the desire for more warring with her urge to be gentle with her. Emily let her hands brush over Cindy’s breasts, making the smaller woman gasp. Cindy bit her lip, trying not to squeeze Emily’s sore ribs.

“Emily…I want you. There’s so much I want with you, and I don’t want to waste time.”

“I know. Me too, but I don’t want to hurt you. Maybe we need to wait.” Emily wasn’t even sure what to do with her hands anymore. She settled for resting them on the counter behind Cindy.

“I have an idea,” Cindy ached at the thought. It wasn’t something they had the chance to do the other night, and pain or not, she didn’t think there was a thing Emily could say to talk her out of it now. She took Emily’s hand and walked her to the bedroom. Guiding her to the bed, she stripped and stretched out on the bed. Emily took in the skin glowing in the moonlight. She licked her lips at what she knew she wanted.

“Are you sure?”

Cindy only nodded.

“Will you stop me if I hurt you?”

“You won’t. I trust you.” Emily let her eyes roam over Cindy’s body, relishing the gentle rise of her breasts, the soft curve of her hips, and the sight of curls already dampened and ready for her. She let Cindy watch as she stripped every piece of clothing off. The only thing remaining was the wrap around her ribs that kept her from being completely naked.

Kneeling between Cindy’s legs, she kissed the soft flesh, taking special care to gently brush her lips over the purplish marks across her thighs, as if doing so would erase the pain and memories. Slowly, she kissed her way closer to the destination. Cindy’s breathing became faster and Emily looked up at her watching for any signs of discomfort or pain. All she saw was Cindy biting her lip, her head thrown back, a hand buried in the pillow under her head.

Emily reached around to take Cindy’s free hand into her own, their fingers linking together easily, before dipping her head lower. The first touch pulled the air from Cindy’s lungs. She tightened her grip on the hand in hers, already overwhelmed with the sensations Emily was sending through her body. She chanced a glance down, amazed that the beautiful woman wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

“Emily,” Cindy whispered. When dark desire-filled eyes locked on hers, Cindy’s body instantly spasmed, her head slamming back into the pillow and her body arching. Emily kissed her way up Cindy’s body, bracing herself above her, letting her lips linger over Cindy’s. Her tongue flicked out playfully, tasting herself on Emily.

“Damn…,” Cindy quirked an eyebrow, “If it’s like that when we’re in pain and injured, imagine the damage we’ll do when we’re both better.”

“And for a whole week too!” Cindy laughed and nibbled at the tender spot under Emily’s ear.

“Hmmm, can we leave for Tahoe tonight?” Emily’s eyes rolled in the back of her head when Cindy hit a nerve.

“I’ll pack the bags.”

Title: The Unexpected, 11/?

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

Pairing: Emily/Cindy; Cindy/Lindsay and Emily/JJ implied.

Rating: PG-13, maybe higher due to some pretty descriptive violence.

Disclaimer: Don’t own a damn thing so don’t sue.

Warnings: This is un-beta’d. All mistakes are mine.

AN: I don’t know how long this is going to end up. I’m honestly surprised it’s been this long. Having this kind of dedication is kind of shocking for me.

She sat on the bench craddling the lukewarm coffee in her hands with Jill and Claire on either side of her, rubbing comforting hands across her back, hoping to ease some of her fear. She watched silently as Lindsay and the BAU team gathered their resources and began to analyze where to go now.

“Garcia was able to isolate an image of the person our second victim left with. We traced to her apartment and got footage from the lobby of the vic leaving alone. After that, she disappeared for several hours before being found late morning by a jogger,” JJ finished.

“So both victims left the apartments in the early morning hours, perhaps even before sunrise, never made it to their jobs that morning, but were found during the day by passerbys. It seems like our unsub has a lot of morning time free. We’ve ruled out the chance of random homeless people fitting the profile…,” Rossi locked onto a new piece of information with Hotch finishing it up.

“Meaning our unsub has a job that allows him to be free when these women are leaving the bars and to hold them for most of the day before killing and dumping them.”

JJ nervously ran her fingers through her hair, before looking at her watch, “We’re running out of time. If he sticks to his routine,…”

Morgan shook his head, “No, this has thrown off his routine. If she had her ID on her, he could very well be aware that he’s kidnapped an agent. It could be the perfect opportunity to toy with us or her,” indicating Cindy sitting outside.

JJ swallowed hard at the other possibility, “Or she could already be dead.”

The whole team was silent. JJ slumped into a chair, letting her inner fears and regrets finally catch up with her. When Garcia heard the strangled cries that JJ desperately tried to hold in, she went to her and put an arm around her.

“Come on, honey. Let’s go take a walk.”

Cindy watched in stunned silence as JJ was escorted down the hall by Garcia. She turned frantic eyes towards Lindsay, her shaking hands causing some of the coffee to spill onto the floor.

Lindsay turned back to Hotch, “I better go talk to Cindy before she thinks the worst.”

Hotch turned stonily to Rossi, a determined look on his face, “We’re missing something. It’s right here and we’re missing it.”

He looked to the door where JJ and Garcia had passed, then back at Rossi, shaking his head, “I hope JJ’s wrong. For her sake. I don’t think we’ll get her back from the brink if she is right.”

Rossi clamped a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Emily’s tough. She can handle herself until we can get to her.”

Lindsay crouched down in front of her friends, “Lindsay…”

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not what you think.”

Claire looked beseachingly at Lindsay, “Tell us some good news then.”

“Well, we think we’ve narrowed potential suspects down a little more. Since this guy is taking the victims in the middle of the night and they’re being found the next day, during the day, he must have a night job or at least nothing that makes him have to be somewhere first thing in the morning.”

Cindy did some quick mental calculations, when it clicked, “He gets rid of them the day after he takes them. She could be…”

“No,” Lindsay quickly stopped where she was going, feeling her stomach lurch at the unsubs real intentions, “They seem to think that Emily’s different. She wasn’t who he intended to get, so he may not stick to his routine. He may hold her longer.”

“Or he may just get rid of her quicker,” Jill blurted, making Lindsay glare at her, “Sorry.”

Cindy looked at Jill with a shocked face, while Claire buried her face in her hands, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

Claire and Jill stood to go with her, when she turned on them, “Alone…please.”

Lindsay gave her a cautious smile, “Sure, take your time.” No matter how much it hurt to see, this was exactly why Lindsay couldn’t let them be anymore than friends. That pain in Cindy’s eyes was too much to bear, and she didn’t want to be the one to put it there with a uniform showing up in the middle of the night to give her the bad news.

“Thanks,” Cindy wiped at her eyes as she went on a hunt for the nearest bathroom.

She rounded the corner and saw the blonde agent and the other woman heading out the side door. She wondered what had her so upset and had a brief moment of wondering if Lindsay was telling her all of the story. Cautiously, Cindy followed the pair, keeping a safe distance until they rounded a corner out of earshot. She stopped at the edge, listening to the conversation.

JJ ran her fingers through her hair, “I’m sorry, Garcia. I’ve just got to take a deep breath, get myself together.”

“Yes, eventually you do, but right now, you need to tell me what’s going on with you and Emily.”

“It’s nothing…really.”

“Those tears aren’t nothing. You haven’t been yourself for weeks. Pretty much ever since Barney Fife showed up in Miami,” JJ gave Garcia a pointed look.

“Please, Garcia. Don’t start in on that.”

“Hey, I don’t have to point out the obvious.”

“And what does that mean?” JJ crossed her arms.

“Well, let’s see, before Mr. Yuck-Yuck showed up, you and Emily were practically inseparable. You laughed, you joked, you even went clubbing with us after work. He, and yes, I refuse to say his name, shows up and suddenly you and Emily stop talking. Morgan told me he heard her crying after you took off with him that night.”

“She told me to go for it. I thought…,” JJ looked away.

“I don’t think she meant him.” JJ took a few steps away, letting the words sink in. Realizing she had nothing left to hide from her best friend, she turned back and threw her hands up in the air.

“I’ve messed up, Garcia.  I’ve really lost her. I kept thinking I could find a way to fix things, that I could talk myself out of this thing with Will, but he’s been so persistent and he’s made it so easy and…”

“And he’s safe,” Garcia stated matter-of-factly.

“I can’t fix this,” she shook her head and closed her eyes, fighting new tears that were springing to her eyes, “I’ve lost her to a cute little redhead that’s fun and open and cute.”

“You said that already,” Garcia smirked slightly, hiding her amusement at JJ’s mini rant, “You still care about her though.”

JJ nodded, “And I always will.”

The tears started to fall again, “But I won’t get to tell her. She might…”

“No, you will. Let’s think this through and get our girl back.”

JJ wiped at her eyes and laughed at the innuendo, “So, she’s your girl too!”

“Oh honey, I am all things to all people. You should know that by now! Okay, so, what are we missing here?”

JJ started pacing, walking through the information. Cindy listened carefully, running through her own mental inventory of what she knew and what she had heard. Suddenly, a thought struck her and realization shocked her so that she had to put her hand over her mouth to stop from blurting it out.

She ran back inside and cut through a back hallway out of Lindsay’s line of sight. She jumped in her car and had to remind herself not to spin out of the parking lot with cops everywhere.

“Son of a bitch,” she mumbled, “Maybe Emily was right. I should have been a profiler.”

********

Thirty minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot. It felt weird to go into a bar in the light of day, but she couldn’t wait with Emily’s life in danger. Before getting out, she checked her makeup. She knew Charley’s type so it wouldn’t hurt to use every available resource she had, just in case she was resistant. It wasn’t like she intended to follow through!

She walked in and looked around for the bartender. Hearing noise in the back, she walked around the bar and went into the kitchen.

“Charley? Is that you?” Charley poked her head out from behind a shelf.

“Don’t tell me that your day’s been so rough that you need one of my special concoctions already,” the lanky woman leaned against the shelf and gave Cindy a wink.

Cindy smiled coyly at her, “Well, I do need something from you, but it’s not a drink.”

Charley cocked an eyebrow at her, “Really?”

Cindy ran her tongue over her lips and stepped closer to Charley, “Yeah, I was hoping you could help me with something.”

She stood and put her arms out, “I’m at your disposal.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

********

Garcia and JJ came running back into the room with the rest of the team, “It’s not a guy.”

Everyone turned at the simultaneous interruption. Lindsay stepped up, “What do you mean?”

Garcia, not wanting to waste precious time, ran to a computer to start running checks on all the faces she saw go into the bar last night. She accidentally bumped Reid in the process.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, sugar. You can’t stop magic when it’s in progress.”

JJ excitedly told Lindsay, “All this time we’ve been saying ‘he,’ ‘him,’ and ‘this guy.’ What if we’re not even looking for a man?”

Noticing the perfect opportunity for statistical information, Reid happily jumped in, “Research has found, by and large, that most serial killers, indeed killers in general, are of the male gender.”

JJ had Hotch’s attention, “Yes, but there’s always an exception to every rule.”

“Exactly!”

Hotch turned to the tech, “Garcia, could you…?”

“Already on it, boss.”

Morgan wondered, “So what would be the motivation for a woman to kill another woman?”

“Jealousy,” JJ stated unequivocably. Garcia paused and turned to look at her friend.

He shook his head, “But there has to be more to it than that. These were brutal murders. Well thought out and planned. This killer watched these women before actually kidnapping and killing them. He/she took the time to send warning information to both the victim and the press. These weren’t revenge killings or even spontaneous moments of rage or jealousy.”

“Trust me, it’s a factor.”

The computer whiz broke the moment, “There are no matches on the patrons. A couple with some shoplifting convictions, but nothing major.”

Hotch felt they had one last chance, “Check the bar staff too.”

Garcia nodded and went back to work. Lindsay knew it would be a few minutes before they learned any new information so went to tell Cindy what she knew. She went out to the hallway where they were waiting to find one redhead reporter noticeably absent.

“Where’s Cindy?”

Jill shrugged, “She hasn’t come back yet.”

Claire looked at her watch, realizing how much time had passed, “She’s been gone for about 30 minutes.”

Lindsay threw her hands up into the air and took off in the direction of the bathroom. She threw the door open, “Cindy, are you in here?”

All three stopped at the silence and looked at each other. Lindsay lost it first, “Goddamn it, Cindy!” She turned back to the others, “I swear that I’m personally pad locking that girl in a cell!”

“I’ll help,” Jill added, making Claire smirk and quip.

“Can we just make it a party then? I’ll bring the dip.”

“Come on, I think I know where she’s gone.”

*******

Charley smirked at the redhead, “And to think that I was flattered by your interest. Seems you have a thing for older women. Guess I’m out of luck.”

“It’s nothing personal, Charley. Really. I’ve just been watching her for a long time and I had to know. They say bartenders know everything, so…,” Charley shook her head and laughed.

“Well, now you have her address, phone number, everything. Go, go get the woman of your dreams,” she said, doing the word dreams in air quotes, “I tell ya, you’re going to make her day.”

Cindy gave Charley a quick hug of appreciation, in case she never got a chance again to thank her, and ran to her car. Her heart was pounding in her chest. This certainly had to be the craziest thing she’d ever done and if she made it out of it unscathed, Lindsay would probably throw her in not just a cell, but a padded one at that.

She revved the engine and zipped through the congested San Francisco streets, praying she wouldn’t get to Emily too late. Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, she turned on a side street heading to the outskirts of the city.

Title: The Unexpected, 8/?

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

Pairing: Emily/Cindy; Cindy/Lindsay and Emily/JJ implied, if you squint really hard.

Rating: PG/maybe PG-13 for now.

Disclaimer: Don’t own a damn thing so don’t sue.

Warnings: This is un-beta’d. All mistakes are mine.

AN: I think I’ve lost some of my readers thanks to my delays in posting. I’m trying to work faster on this, I promise.

JJ slammed the door open against the wall when she entered the bathroom, making Emily a few steps ahead of her jump.

“Jesus, JJ! What the hell is your problem?”

“My problem is you,” JJ crossed her arms and leaned against the wall on the other side of the room.

Emily shook her head, a sad smile crossing her face, “I’m not your problem anymore, JJ. You made a choice, and it wasn’t me. You don’t get a say-so anymore in what I do.”

JJ looked down and shuffled the toe of her shoe against the floor. When she looked back up, tears were in her eyes, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

Emily threw up her hands, her voice straining not to raise where it could be heard by others, “How was it supposed to be, JJ? I can’t imagine any potential scenario that works well for all involved. Somebody was going to get hurt, and I refuse to let it be me.”

JJ bit her bottom lip, “But that could still happen. If you do this, if you put yourself in the middle of this, you could.” She fought a new surge of tears, “And I don’t think I could stand losing you, Em.”

“You already did, Jay. Now you just have to let me go, like I let you go.” The words hit JJ like a physical blow and what little control she had shattered as she slipped down the wall and cradled her head as she cried. Emily fought the overwhelming urge to reach for her, her nails digging ruthlessly into the palms of her hands. She knew she had to end this, cut it off before the whole team was ruined and before either of them did something that couldn’t be taken back.

Silently, she left the way she had entered, leaving JJ to find her own way.

********

Cindy pulled her little red car into the parking garage and looked in the mirror one last time to check her lipstick. With a sigh, she exited and adjusted her skirt, a short little number that she hadn’t put on in a long time. When she left the garage and started down the street, she saw a couple of non-descript dark cars along the street and sure enough as she got closer to one a familiar dark head came into view. With a slight smile and a barely visible thumbs up, Lindsay signaled that she had Cindy covered.

She supressed the smile on her own face, not wanting to give anything away to anyone watching her. She had taken a chance earlier that day, but she didn’t…couldn’t regret it. It almost surprised her that she and Lindsay were closer than before. That wasn’t what she expected, but it was a welcome opportunity. Like the two of them had their own little secret now. Cindy knew nothing would come of it, and that wasn’t the point. She simply knew that she had to put all the cards on the table. She needed Lindsay to know everything, and now that she did, it was like a weight was lifted from Cindy’s shoulders. She was practically giddy.

As she approached the door of the bar, she instinctively shuffled through her purse to get her ID. Apparently, being assumed to be twelve didn’t reside as the sole belief of the SFPD. The bouncer, Trish was her name as Cindy recalled, happily lit up as Cindy approached.

“Ahhh, my favorite redhead! How are you, Cindy?” She waved her hand at Cindy when she reached out with the ID. “That’s not necessary. If I don’t know by now that you’re legal, then my old mind is more feeble than I thought.”

Trish ran a hand through her short salt and pepper hair, and she had an infectious smile that distracted most people from the fact that “bouncer” was merely a courteous title. The only real damage Trish could do was whack someone with her cane. Not that she couldn’t do it. Cindy had seen it with her own eyes her second time at the bar when a tattooed, biker chick got smart with Charley, the bartender. She was sure the biker was still feeling the sting of that hit.

“Thanks Trish.”

“No problem, honey. Go, have fun!” The older woman watched as Cindy took a seat at the bar.

Charley waved from the other end of the bar, “Hola, chica! Whatcha havin’ tonight?”

For a moment, Cindy was stumped and not sure if it was smart to drink tonight. In her hesitation, she didn’t see the woman walk up behind her, “Whatever the pretty lady wants, I’ll buy.”

Cindy spun around to see the playful dark eyes of Agent Prentiss, checking her out. Cindy did a double-take. Checking her out? Sure enough, she watched as Emily scanned down her body then back up, adding a lick of her lips at the end. If that wasn’t distracting enough, Emily had done a 180 from her previous work attire. She had on skin tight jeans riding low on her hips and black boots with a complimentary tight black shirt that showed all her curves and a sinful amount of cleavage.

Emily smiled at the stunned redhead and leaned in to end her misery, “Play along with me.”

Cindy gave a nervous smile, “That shouldn’t be hard.”

Charley smiled knowingly at the exchange, “So, what’s it going to be, kiddo?”

Cindy gave her a death glare for the kiddo comment, only making Charley smirk harder, “For that, you can get me a Long Island.”

“Living it up tonight, huh? That’s a far cry from a rum and Coke,” she laughed as she walked away. Cindy made a mental note to get even with the evil bartender.

“Rum and Coke?” Emily quirked a dark eyebrow, enjoying adding to Cindy’s indignation.

“Don’t…don’t even go there, Agent Prentiss.”

Emily held up a finger, “Shhh, not so loud.”

“Sorry,” Cindy fiddled with the rim of the glass now in front of her.

“It’s okay, and please, call me Emily.”

Cindy felt a soft hand stroke her arm and she realized that playing undercover cop wasn’t going to be nearly as painful as she had once thought, now that Emily was playing with her, “Okay…Emily.”

********

JJ rounded the corner and nearly ran over Garcia, “Oh god, Garcia! I’m so sorry!”

The tech goddess saw the red-rimmed eyes of her friend, “Nothing’s broken, I’m okay. But I’m not so sure about you. Honey, what’s wrong?”

JJ mentally kicked herself for not taking a few more minutes in the bathroom to get herself together. She should have known that Garcia sees and knows all.

“I’m fine. Really,” she tried to wave her hands around and gave Garcia an unconvincing smile, “Stupid contact. It’s been giving me fits.”

“JayJ!”

JJ held up her hands, “I can’t. Not right now, okay? Please.”

Seeing the barely controlled pain in JJ’s blue eyes, Garcia acquiesced for the moment, but this wasn’t the end of the story.

“Sure. Whatever you say, JJ.”

“Thanks.” JJ started to walk away when Garcia stopped her.

“Actually, I was looking for you anyway. Morgan and Reid are in the briefing room. It seems they have some info to share.”

JJ gratefully walked off with Garcia, glad to have something else to focus on for the moment.

*******

When JJ and Garcia entered the room, Hotch and Rossi, who had joined Lindsay on surveillance outside the bar, were just coming on the line.

“Don’t start the party without us, boys.” Morgan smiled cheekily at his blonde buddy.

“And that just wouldn’t be a party worth having if you weren’t there.”

Garcia hip bumped Morgan, “Flatterer…don’t stop.”

“Garcia, what did you find from that other cam footage?” Ever serious, Hotch moved on like the joking hadn’t even occurred.

Garcia rolled her eyes at Morgan before whispering, “Remind me to buy him a spa treatment for his birthday. Dude needs to relax!”

Morgan barely withheld a chuckle, “Well, boss, I logged over 3,000 hours of footage outside the bar and aside from the random homeless guy stumbling through, there was no one of significance I could see checking out the place or the patrons. In fact, if anything, the bar is well supervised in and out by the bouncer.”

“Yeah, Patricia Stansfield, or Trish as she’s called by everyone. Reid and I talked to her earlier.”

“Well, Trish was a regular guest on my screen so if anyone saw anything it would be her.”

“Anything come of that convo, Morgan?” Hotch inquired.

“She recognized both of our victims and had seen them both leave with someone. She did verify that our last vic left with Catherine Holloman. She couldn’t give a clear description of the woman the other vic left with though. It wasn’t anyone she remembered being a regular. Dark hair, tattoes, that’s about all she knew.” Everyone was quiet as they processed the information.

Garcia went over to the computer and pulled up a chair. With a few taps, she had an image on screen of two women leaving the bar.

“Could this be who she was talking about?”

Morgan leaned into the screen, “Do you have a little magic left, baby girl? It would be really helpful if you could get a clean image then we could run it through the system and look for a match.”

“You got it!”

********

Emily looked around the bar as nonchalantly as she could, taking in general impressions of the patrons. If there was anything she could say about this bar, it was that there were no two of the same type. It was about as diverse as the city itself.

She ran her fingers up Cindy’s spine, giving a light tease at the base of her neck. Cindy fought down the shiver the touch caused, “Do you see anyone that stands out to you as odd?”

“Emily, I know we have to put on a show here, but you’re really distracting me. You really can’t expect me to answer serious questions right now.”

Emily smiled at Cindy’s reddening face, “That’s kind of the point. It needs to be realistic.”

Cindy groaned in frustration and Emily had to hold back an evil chuckle. She really shouldn’t be so mean, but in spite of the circumstances and her previous confrontation with JJ, she felt awfully flirtatious, even daring. 

Cindy did her best to focus without it looking like she was checking everyone out, “To answer your question, no. It’s a little hard to pick out odd and weird people at a gay bar, you know?”

“Mmmmm,” was all Emily said, lost in the soft skin along Cindy’s waist.

“Oh, so you do know,” Emily realized she had just walked into something.

“What?”

Cindy pulled back from Emily’s definitely roaming hands, “I knew it! Damn, I’m good.”

Dark eyes grew worried, “Knew what?”

The liquor was going to Cindy’s head, making her less inhibited than usual, “It was the walk, by the way, that gave you away. You have that sexy, butch strut going on.”

Finally catching up to the conversation, Emily relaxed a little, smiling at the somewhat inebriated redhead, “I do.”

“Yes, you do, and it’s damn sexy, just so you know. Lindsay has that strut too, but she’s not gay. Butch, yes, but not gay.”

“Good to know,” Emily wasn’t sure if she was referring to her newfound awareness of being considered butch or that Lindsay wasn’t gay.

“Yep, and just think, you can do whatever you want right now and blame it all on your job,” Cindy blubbered out and then finished off the last third of her drink.

Emily grinned evily at Cindy, “So, I could kiss you right now and it would be the job’s fault.”

“Absolutely!” Cindy thumped the bar for emphasis.

Before she knew what happened, Emily’s lips descended on hers, and Cindy wasn’t sure if it was the effect of the liquor or the way Emily kisses, but she grabbed onto the other woman to keep from swaying. Her hands pulled at the loops of Emily’s jeans, drawing her in closer, until long fingers that had been caressing her neck and jaw finally slid into her red hair, tilting her perfectly so they could deepen the kiss.

After a few moments, Cindy pulled back, “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve kissed girls before.”

Emily bit her lip, her voice deep with the desire that had been stirred, “You’d be right.”

Cindy leaned in to whisper, “And just think of all the wonderful things that could happen tonight that you could blame on your job.”

With a moan, Emily leaned her forehead against Cindy’s, visibily fighting to get herself back into control. It would be so easy to forget what they were really here for.

“But I can’t, not while we’re chasing this guy.”

“You want to though.”

Emily couldn’t bring herself to answer, so she settled for sending Cindy an obvious message with another long kiss.

“Take me home, Emily. As long as I’m with you, I’m safe. Just stay with me. You can chase bad guys tomorrow.” Cindy ran her fingers along Emily’s ribcage, just below her breast, not so subtly urging the profiler to be her personal bodyguard.

Emily realized with a bit of absurdity that she was seriously contemplating going home with Cindy. In all of her planning, she hadn’t seen being seduced by a fiesty redhead reporter as a potential scenario. She chuckled at the situation, “How did you peg me so easily? Are you sure you’re not a profiler?”

Cindy smiled, her nose wrinkling adorably, “No, I’m just a reporter, but that’s pretty close.”

Emily laughed and, making up her mind, she tugged the smaller hand in hers as she led them out of the bar.