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, 9/?

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

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

Rating: NC-17, FINALLY! I hope it was worth the wait.

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

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

AN: Thanks to my friends and everyone reading. You knew I wouldn’t let you down! 

Emily tugged the redhead out into the crisp night air. Walking hand-in-hand, she purposefully ignored the stares of Hotch and Rossi in the car across the street. 

She raised her free wrist closer to her face, being subtle about the motion, “I’ve got it from here, Hotch. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Hotch raised an eyebrow at Rossi, who was fighting a knowing smirk from showing, “What, Aaron? It’s a smart move. She’s drawing the unsub out of hiding.”

Hotch turned back to see Emily pinning Cindy against the wall, “Can’t say she takes her job lightly.”

One block down, Jacobi snickered, “This is a side of Cindy I never expected to see.”

Lindsay squirmed in her seat, remembering the taste of Cindy’s lips. She had no right to be, but she was feeling the twinges of jealousy poking at her. She pushed it away though knowing that whether out of cowardice or comfort, she was sticking to the known path her life was taking. Pete was a good man, and it wasn’t that she didn’t care, but having him on the other side of the world while she chased the worst that humanity had to offer was comforting for her. She couldn’t live, day in and day out, wondering if someone she gave her heart to would be taken from her. Pete was safe and Lindsay couldn’t take anymore pain or loss, not now.

Silently, she started the car and pulled away from the curb. 

********

Cindy pulled back with a gasp, looking into the endless depths of Emily’s eyes. She studied her face, letting her fingers run along the elegant planes and dipping into the hollow spaces beneath her chin.

“You’re beautiful.”

Emily smiled, leaning in to softly kiss her one more time, “You’re drunk, but the feeling’s mutual.”

Cindy looked at her with a smirk, “You do realize that you just kissed another woman in front of your boss. I think the argument could be made that you’re the drunk one.”

“Only if I’m drunk on you.”

Cindy’s heart flipped at the look in Emily’s eyes, “God, stop that! You’re quite literally charming the pants right off of me.”

Emily bit her lip, “I hope so.”

Cindy pulled away and started walking to her car, never taking her hand away from Emily’s. When they got into the relative silence of the garage, she slowed to walk beside Emily.

“What’s this about, Emily?”

Emily scrunched her eyebrows together, “I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“You do know what I mean,” Cindy leaned against the door of her car when they got close enough, “I’ll admit that when I first saw you, I was immediately attracted to you. You’re…stunning. But, I didn’t feel anything mutual coming from you. So, again I ask you, what’s this about?”

Emily closed her eyes, obviously gathering herself together, before moving to lean against the car next to Cindy.  

“Emily?” The brunette looked up into Cindy’s warm brown eyes. “I don’t randomly sleep with women, but I really want to do this with you and I need you to talk to me.”

“Now I see why you’re a reporter. You could make a concrete wall spill its secrets.”

 Cindy held her gaze, refusing to let her get away with it. 

Emily held up her hands in surrender, “Alright, I give.” She took a deep breath before continuing, “I have this thing about not letting people in. It’s something I’ve always done. I don’t try to be this way. I just am, and sometimes it’s misunderstood.”

Cindy nodded, “With the job you do I imagine that’s helpful. You haven’t always been like that though. You had to become that way. It sounds like a survival tactic.”

“You could say that,” Emily fought the walls from instinctively coming up, slowly she told Cindy more, “My mother…she’s, how can I put this, really well-known in political circles. Okay, that’s an understatement. She IS politics. She’s an ambassador, and I spent my life hiding my feelings, who I am, because I didn’t want to harm my mother’s political career. I certainly didn’t want my life to become fodder for anyone to use against her. And depending on where we were stationed, it could have even been dangerous. To all of us. You were right, it is a survival tactic, and it just kind of stayed with me.”

“That’s a good start.”

“Start?”

“Yeah, start. There’s a lot more to your story than that, but I’ll let it slide for now.”

Emily laughed out loud at Cindy’s mock seriousness, “I tell you what, firecracker. I’ll tell you more when you tell me more about this thing with you and Inspector Boxer.”

Cindy’s eyes got big as saucers, “How did you…?”

Emily tilted her head to the side and cocked an eyebrow. Cindy buried her face in her hands, “God, I AM a terrible liar!”

“Yes, but you’re an adorable one.” Emily stopped all further conversation with a slow, deep kiss. Stepping back, walking backwards to her rental car, she smirked at Cindy, “I’ll follow you.”

*******

Realizing she was driving in a haze, Cindy looked in her rearview mirror and could catch an outline of Emily with her hand resting on top of the wheel. She thought about those hands and the tips of her own fingers tingled. She gripped the wheel a little tighter and tried to will away the butterflies in her stomach. If Emily’s kisses were any indication, she was going to be lucky if she could walk tomorrow. Good God, Cindy thought. The images running through her head made her squirm.

“No pain, no gain, Thomas.”

She pulled up to her apartment and cut the engine, watching as Emily effortlessly got out behind her. Together, they walked to the door and Emily held back a laugh as Cindy fumbled, dropped, and fumbled again with her keys.

Cindy threw her keys on the kitchen counter and ran her hands through her hair, “Jesus, I’m really blowing this.”

“Hey,” Emily stepped up behind her, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman, “there’s nothing to prove here.”

Cindy leaned back, letting out a deep sigh, as she relaxed into the strong arms of the other woman. She noticed her body curved perfectly into Emily’s, Emily’s hips nestled just above her own and her breasts were distractedly brushing against Cindy’s shoulders.

“I didn’t expect you,” Emily whispered, as if she was talking to herself. “This. I never expected this. I compartmentalize everything and everyone. I did it partly to protect those I love, like my mom, but I did it to protect myself too. As long as I shut down, I couldn’t be disappointed or hurt. I don’t want to be hurt, but I don’t want to live like that anymore either. I can’t.”

Emily’s voice broke with emotion and Cindy turned in her arms. She reached up to push Emily’s hair away from her face, “You don’t have to guard yourself with me.”

“I want you to know. I did notice you, right away. It wasn’t that it wasn’t mutual. I just didn’t let you see it.” Cindy wrapped her arms around Emily’s neck, enjoying the feel of the dark hair running between her fingers.

“Better late than never,” she pulled the taller woman down and teased her lips with a soft kiss, until she parted her lips, letting Cindy in. Cindy closed her eyes, losing herself in a taste that was as complicated as the woman in her arms. She was a dichotomy. Sweet and salty, hard and soft, raw yet tender, pliant yet aggressive. 

Cindy broke the kiss feeling overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. She wanted Emily. She wanted her in a hard, rough and tumble kind of way, but she wanted to feel the soft touches and kisses too. She wanted to take her time, memorize every sensation, and commit every kiss to memory. The animal part of her, however, some primitive beast rearing its ugly head after a few millenia of evolution, wanted to rip Emily’s skin tight shirt off with her teeth and leave marks down her milky white back.

She shook her head, looking into the dark eyes that simmered with a barely restrained desire. She traced a finger along Emily’s exposed collarbone and slowly slid it along the top curve of her breast, disappearing in the abyss of cleavage in front of her. She noticed the quick intake of breath from Emily and with a renewed sense of confidence, used her roaming hand to undo two buttons, her mouth following the trail of her touch.

Emily looked down at Cindy as her tongue snuck out to tease along the edge where her bra met skin. It was all she could stand. She pulled Cindy back up to look at her.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom.”

She followed Cindy down the hall, undoing a couple more buttons on her blouse as she went. Cindy turned and smiled at Emily, who was leaning against the door frame watching her, looking like she had stepped out of some cheesy lesbian romance novel.

“You know, I think I would be happy if you just stayed right there, never moved, and let me stare at you all day and all night.”

Emily pushed off the door frame, her voice low and slightly dangerous, “That’s all it would take to make you happy. Certainly Cindy Thomas needs more than that to be completely satisfied.”

Cindy gulped, “Well, I say ‘happy’ but you say ‘completely satisfied.’ Actually, those are very different concepts for me.”

“Hmmm, I’d hope so. Tell me, what would completely satisfy you, Cindy?” Emily sat on the bed and leaned back on her elbows so she could look up at Cindy.

“Would it be too trite to say you?”

“Under ordinary circumstances, I’d probably say yes. But this is anything but ordinary, and I intend to be the one and only thing that can satisfy you tonight.” Cindy felt the implication of the words hit her low.

“How do you propose to do that?” Emily sat up, pulling Cindy by the waist of her skirt so close that Emily could have licked her stomach if only she had stuck out her tongue. She ran her hands up the outside of Cindy’s thighs and under the skirt.

“Slowly and thoroughly, taking painstaking detail to leave no territory uncharted.” Emily’s fingers teased along the silk fabric of Cindy’s panties where it met the crease of her thighs. She slid the fabric down over Cindy’s thighs, helping her step out it.

Emily raised Cindy’s skirt and leaned over, nibbling at Cindy’s hipbone. Cindy couldn’t stop the automatic reaction of her body arching into Emily or her hands slipping into the dark hair to hold her in place.  Emily unzipped the skirt and quickly removed it, leaving a path of kisses following where her hands had been and then back up to Cindy’s stomach. The quick gasps and low, throaty moans were driving Emily crazy. She could feel a steady throbbing ache building inside her with each arch of Cindy’s body.

With one hand at the base of Cindy’s back, she held her in place while her other hand pushed up Cindy’s shirt, exposing more skin to Emily’s mouth. Cindy must have helped her at some point, because she didn’t remember unbuttoning or removing Cindy’s shirt, but she looked up to see the gorgeous redhead in nothing but a white lace bra, so stark and bright against the tan skin that it almost glowed.

She watched Cindy, head hanging down and red hair obstructing her face, while she gently stroked her nipples through the thin material. Cindy reached down and placed her own hand over Emily’s, applying the pressure where she wanted it, before reaching around behind her back to undo the snaps of her bra.

Emily watched in awe as Cindy put her own hands back on her breasts, guiding her fingertips over tightening nipples, and tugging on them. Placing a hand to the back of Emily’s neck, Cindy urged Emily to suck her breasts. Emily circled her tongue along the outside, teasing the nipple until it was painfully erect and then taking it into her mouth. Cindy’s head fell back at the sensation of Emily’s mouth on her.

“Oh Emily,” she moaned, “Mmmmm, harder.” Emily pulled her in deeper, until Cindy’s nails began to dig into her back. She let up and moved to the other breast until she got the same reaction. Wrapping her arms around Cindy’s waist, she effortlessly moved the smaller woman onto her lap then turned and laid her on the bed.

Kneeling over Cindy, Emily stripped off her shirt and quickly stood to take off her jeans, before sliding back up over Cindy’s body. Cindy pulled her down into a deep kiss. She nudged Emily’s head to the side and kissed along the base of Emily’s ear, letting her tongue tickle the sensitive spot behind her earlobe. Emily let out a shuddering sigh. She felt Cindy guide her hips to the side until she was straddling one of her thighs and when Cindy moved her kisses back up along her neck, her thigh involuntarily slid along Emily’s wetness.

“Oh God…Cindy,” she pushed down to increase the friction. They built up a steady rhythm, until Emily buried her head in Cindy’s neck, “Oh Cindy.”

Cindy groaned with need but she wasn’t quite ready yet. She pulled back and deliberately removed the contact of her thigh, only to replace it with two fingers effortlessly sliding inside Emily. Reaching down, she grabbed Emily’s hand showing her she needed her touch. When Emily entered her, she leaned up whispering in Emily’s ear, “More.”

Cindy wrapped a leg around Emily’s waist giving her better access, “Is that good?” Emily panted.

“God, yes,” Cindy sighed in perfect contentment, her body working on automatic pilot as the pressure inside her built up, her hips and hand moving in sync with Emily’s thrusting fingers. Each watched the other, gasping and panting, muscle and bone burning and aching for release. With her free hand, Cindy wrapped her fingers in Emily’s hair and pulled her into a kiss, muffling the sound of their screams.
 

Title: The Unexpected, 7/?

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

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

Rating: PG/maybe PG-13. There will definitely be some NC-17 at some point, but I’ll forewarn you.

Disclaimer: Don’t own a damn thing except what’s in my head! If I did, I wouldn’t have to write these fics to fill in the blanks.

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

AN: Apologies for the delay in getting a new update, but RL has this nasty habit of interfering with my writing time. It’s some ugly little word I keep hearing called “work.”
AN2:  This fic was nominated for Best Crossover over at the 2008 Criminal Minds Fan Fic Awards site.  First of all, whoever nominated me THANK YOU because I never get nominated for anything, so that's way cool.  Second, if you do like this fic, throw a vote down for me.  Against such great competition, I have no chance of winning, but I'd like to give it a shot.  Thanks guys!

Eight minutes and fifty-seven seconds later, Morgan’s cell came to life and with a knowing smirk, he held it out for all to hear.

“Whatcha find, sweetness?” 

“Looks like Catherine Holloman is one busy lady who likes the ladies, but she’s definitely not a killer.”

Hotch stepped forward, wanting to be sure before they moved on to another target, “And you’re absolutely sure, Garcia?”

“Check it out,” a few clicks were heard and across the room the computer projected on the screen came to life, making Lindsay jump since she was standing next to it, “Here’s the outside of the bar, from the Lafayette Street side. The woman on the left is our Ms. Holloman and though it’s a little hard to tell considering where her face is at,” Garcia giggled, while Reid looked away and JJ and Emily fought the urge to make eye contact, that one on her knees is our first vic.”

“And you know this how?” Emily’s voice was strained, shifting uncomfortably.

A few more clicks and the camera zoomed in and cleared up the image. Coming into view was a well-defined dragon tattoo just above the hip of the kneeling woman.

“That, my dear friends, is the same exact tat our first vic had.”

Lindsay ran her fingers through her hair, “What I’ve seen so far does more to incriminate Catherine Holloman than to clear her.”

“True,” Garcia’s voice held in the secret information for a very calculated one-two punch, a few more clicks were heard, “but this does.”

On the screen was a new image, already cleaned up and crystal clear, “This is outside Catherine’s condo, that’s a kiss goodbye, that woman turning and walking away is our vic.”

“Damn,” Lindsay muttered and slumped down into the nearest chair.

“Garcia, would you run the same images for the nights running up to the latest vic and let us know what you find? The bartender didn’t recall seeing her leave with anyone, not even the illustrious Ms. Holloman, but we need to see if anyone suspicious was in the vicinity,” Morgan asked.

“Sure thing, hon.” With that, Garcia was gone on her mission.

Emily stepped closer to the screen, “12:33 am. She wasn’t found though until that morning by a tourist.”

“Plenty of time to slowly snip each finger off,” Morgan chimed in with the gory details.

“Jesus,” JJ muttered from behind all of them.

Emily ignored her, lost in her thoughts. She drew a line down the middle of the whiteboard, “Okay, there are two possibilities here. One, either our unsub is some random person that wanders the streets at night, or two, he’s purposefully targeting his victims. He watches them. He knows where they frequent. He knows where they live. Based on what we know about the type of murder involved, ritualistic and detailed, we can safely rule out the random public.” She draws a big X over the random column.

Hotch completes the thought, “That leaves anyone who knows or has had some individual contact with the victim. We’ve cleared the bar owner. Nobody else was seen with her that evening.”

“Whoever it was though would feel driven to kill by the sight of two women together, angered so much by it that he had to kill to rid himself of the image,” Rossi added.

“So, it has to be someone who would have probably come in contact with the women that evening, even if it was just visual contact,” Morgan finished.

“There had to be hundreds, maybe even a thousand people, either in or near the vicinity of that bar that night. There’s no way we could find the perp out of that kind of number,” JJ stood and started pacing, her arms wrapped protectively around herself. Emily watched her, rhymically moving back and forth like a caged animal, when the idea struck her.

“Maybe there is.”

********

“No way!” Everyone turned at JJ’s outburst. The blonde pulled back her glaring eyes from Emily in time to avoid the concerned looks of her team, but not before the brunette noticed the barely concealed look.

“Why not, JJ?” Emily started, but not before Lindsay could interrupt.

“I’m with her,” the two women stood only a few feet apart, practically staring each other down, “If anyone should be doing this, it should be me.”

Lindsay knew the attempt to put the game back in her court was completely off base, but the idea of Cindy going into a dangerous situation without her by her side was inconceivable to the detective.

Morgan jumped in, “How long have you been with the SFPD, Inspector? How many times have you been quoted by the paper or had your picture in the paper? You’re far more likely to be spotted as a cop than Prentiss is.”

“It’s unnecessarily dangerous,” JJ looked at Emily with a dull sadness and a touch of something else, concern…worry. Emily wasn’t sure, but she would’ve given anything at one point if JJ had shown even a fraction of that emotion months ago. JJ continued, looking to Hotch for support, “We could just as easily do external surveillance on the club and have Garcia log any suspicious characters.”

“True,” Hotch started.

Emily waved off the concern, “No, this guy is driven by his hate. It takes a visualization of his target in a compromising, immoral situation to set him off. He needs to see Ms. Thomas before we can drive him out of hiding.”

“And we’re sure as hell not sending Cindy in without protection,” Lindsay crossed her arms, determinedly.

“Right,” Emily agreed quickly, making both women look at each other in a type of shock at finally agreeing on something.

“Prentiss is right,” Hotch settled the discussion, “Let’s get Ms. Thomas in here so we can get rolling with this.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take care of it,” Lindsay stated.

With a nod, Hotch settled it, “Sure.”

*********

Cindy was awakened from her nap on the couch to a soft knocking. The events of the last 48 hours had worn her out and all she wanted to do was crash when she was given the green light to go home. Cindy’s hands started to shake slightly when she reached for the door. Even though she had 24 hour watch outside, she couldn’t help but think twice before opening the door. 

Looking through the peephole, she saw Lindsay’s unmistakable dark hair. Cindy wanted to ignore the knocking now, but knew she couldn’t or else draw Lindsay’s worry and suspicion. She hadn’t talked to her since Lindsay had walked out the door of the interview room. Now, everything had changed between them and she wasn’t sure how to deal with it.

With resolve, she opened the door, “Hi.”

Lindsay had her hands in her back pockets and was rocking, nervously, on her feet, “Hey…can I come in?”

“Of course,” Cindy moved aside.

Lindsay moved into the living room but didn’t sit on the couch. Cindy stood at the entrance to the hallway, simply looking at her.

“So…”

“Cindy,” they started at the same time.

“Cindy, let me…,” Lindsay struggled with the words, “I’m sorry…about the other day. I shouldn’t have stormed out like that. I should have talked to you.”

Cindy shrugged helplessly, emotion lacing her voice, “I should have told you.”

“I wish you had.”

“Me too. But, I didn’t want it to be weird between us. I wasn’t sure how you’d take it, and…well, now I know.”

“No, don’t. Cindy, it doesn’t bother me that you’re gay. Really. I guess I just feel like I didn’t really know you. I thought we were friends.”

Cindy stepped into the room, “We are. At least I hope so.”

Lindsay finally smiled, visibly relaxing, her shoulders slumping under the pressure, “Absolutely. Just don’t keep anything from me, okay? You can tell me anything.”

Cindy bit her lip. She fought the urge to rush forward and hug Lindsay. She missed her. She missed seeing her relaxed and smiling. It made her heart do a little leap. As if reading her mind, Lindsay stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the smaller woman’s waist. Cindy could have sworn her heart would simply stop if it didn’t jump out of her chest first.

Still holding Cindy, Lindsay became concerned at the unusual silence, “Okay, what’s up, Thomas? Something’s still going on in that head.”

Cindy swallowed. She knew this was stupid, but par for the course, she couldn’t stop her mouth once it got started, “Just how honest can I be with you, Linz?”

“Completely. Why? What’s up?” Lindsay pulled back to look at the redhead.

Forever seemed to stretch between them. Cindy felt like time had stopped as she memorized the look on Lindsay’s face, letting herself get lost in the dark eyes and soft lips. When her eyes zeroed in on Lindsay’s lips, the taller woman sighed her name.

“Cindy.” It was all Cindy needed to urge her forward, letting their lips softly touch. With a tilt of her head, Cindy deepened the kiss, making sure Lindsay had no doubt about her feelings. Lindsay closed her eyes only briefly before pulling back. Her hands on Cindy’s shoulders.

Cindy shook slightly at the moment passing. She saw the look in Lindsay’s eyes change from curiosity to regret, but Cindy couldn’t regret anything. A serial killer was on her list and she didn’t want to regret a thing.

“Now you know everything, Linz.” Before the brunette could respond, her phone chirped. It was a familiar ring that Cindy had heard more than once. Lindsay got a goofy grin on her face that she tried to stifle.

“Pete.”

“Pete,” Lindsay took a couple of steps back and leaned against the column by the doorway, letting everything sink in. She silenced the phone and looked back up at Cindy.

“Cindy.”

“Don’t, Lindsay. I know.”

“We’re okay?”

“Yeah. We will be.”

Lindsay shrugged and shyly smiled at her friend, “I’m flattered.”

Cindy laughed, “You should be, Boxer!”

“Gee, smug much?”

Cindy held up her fingers about an inch apart, “Just a little bit.” Cindy smiled. They would be okay and it made her feel really good for the first time in a long time. 

Both women smiled at each other until Lindsay pushed off the wall, “I guess I better get going.”

“That’s it? You came by here just to apologize. The great Lindsay Boxer made a special trip to see yours truly, just to apologize.”

“Oh, I knew I forgot something! No, don’t flatter yourself. We have a plan. Well, actually, Agent Prentiss has a plan.”

Cindy sat on the arm of the couch, “And this would be the point where you’d tell me the plan.”

“Hope you have your dancin’ shoes because you’re going out tonight.”

“What? I thought I was practically under house arrest.”

“Not anymore. Whoever this guy is he seems to be compelled to act by seeing his target in compromising situations. So, you need to go out and get picked up by some hot chick.”

“In any other situation, I’d say hell yeah to that, and I’m good, but even I can’t guarantee getting picked up.”

Lindsay smiled knowingly, “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that. Just show up. 9 sharp. The FBI will take care of the rest.”

“And you?”

“I’ll be close. Don’t worry.” With that, Lindsay turned and walked out the door.

Title: The Unexpected, 5/?

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

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

Rating: PG-13 or so for some bad language. There will definitely be some NC-17 at some point, but I’ll forewarn you.

Disclaimer: Don’t own a damn thing except what’s in my head! Trust me, that's scary enough.
Warnings: This is un-beta’d. All mistakes are mine.

AN: Apologies for the horrible delay between chapters.  I'm going to try to be better about it over the holidays.
AN2:  For those who need their memories refreshed, the other parts are here:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Chapter 5
 

Claire quietly opened the door to the morgue. It was now well after dark so the only light she saw was the soft glow of the lap on her desk. She stopped for a moment at the door to her office, looking at the huddled form of Cindy on her couch, the light streaks through her makeup the only indication she had been crying. If she could get a hold of Lindsay right now, she swears she’d…she chuckled at the mental image that came into her head of her bending Lindsay over her knee like a naughty child for hurting Cindy.

It wasn’t the first time, and certainly won’t be the last time, Claire will have the urge to knock some sense into the lanky Texan. All three of the women in their “club” were more than just her friends, they were her family and as she watched Cindy stir on the couch, jerking at a nightmare threatening her peace, she felt all of her mother instincts come out.

She pushed down the tears and tried to not make any noise opening the door. Cindy was going to need all the rest she could get, but a creaky door had other ideas. Cindy jumped up, her eyes wild at the noise, only calming when she saw Claire.

“Jesus, Claire, you scared the hell out of me!” Claire sat down next to her, taking one still shaking hand in her own.

“Sorry, I was trying to be quiet. How you holdin’ up, honey?” Cindy took a deep breath and put on a brave smile.

“I’m good. I’m okay.” She nodded her head as if trying to convince herself.

“You’re a terrible liar, kiddo. Spill it.”

Cindy flopped back on the couch and sighed, “I’m an idiot, Claire. A first rate, slap an underpaid stamp on me and send me off to Antarctica idiot.”

Claire scrunched her eyebrows together, “Huh, that’s a new saying! Why are you an idiot? Which you’re not, by the way. You know I’m going to eventually convince you that you’re not, but I thought I’d humor you.”

Claire winced at seeing Cindy smile but not really laugh. This wasn’t going to be good.

“Lindsay knows.” Claire put her arm around the younger woman. Several months ago, about the time Pete showed up and the Lindsay all of them had known got invaded by aliens, Cindy came out to Claire and Jill over her third round of Appletinis. Neither was really surprised since Cindy had been pretty obvious in her adoration of Lindsay. Unfortunately, Lindsay didn’t have an intuitive bone in her body and totally missed all the signs.

“She knows and she hates me, Claire.” Cindy’s bottom lip started quivering.

“Oh no. No, you don’t. You will not cry over her, do you hear me? I’m positive she doesn’t hate you. She could never hate you. She’s just blind as a bat about personal stuff and probably never saw it coming.”

Cindy rolled her eyes, “Oh God, then she’s the idiot! It’s not like I tried to hide it!”

“See? I told you that I’d convince you that you weren’t an idiot.” This time Cindy did laugh as she wipe at the already half-dried tears.

Claire gave Cindy’s hand a final pat before standing up, “So, what’s the plan?”

“Your sofa’s not that uncomfortable. I think I’ll stay here.”

“Nope, I don’t think so. The sofa at my house is far more comfortable, and besides, I have brownies. Double fudge brownies. Homemade too, not that box crap. You know you wanna.” Cindy groaned, her mouth already watering.

“Double fudge? Damn, you drive a hard bargain. Okay, you got me, I give.”

“Good!” Claire linked her arm through Cindy’s, leading her out and locking the office door.

********

The team wandered down the hall of the hotel, exhausted from a long day. Emily had just put her bag down when she heard a knock at the dividing door between her room and JJ’s.

Emily sighed and unlatched the door. When she saw JJ standing there, her arms crossed and an accusing look in her eye, she turned away to start unpacking her clothes. She could feel her whole body tense at the silence. She finally turned to find JJ standing only inches from her.

“We need to talk.”

“Now? It’s been a long day. Can’t we do this another time?” JJ rubbed her own hands up and down her arms. It had become a nervous gesture, something she picked up after the Henkle case and after… She shook her head attempting to rid herself of the memory.

“No, Emily, it can’t. I’m worried about you.”

Emily snorted, disbelieving, “You’re worried about me. Why? And why now?”

JJ shrugged, “It kind of hits close to home for you with this unsub killing…” She couldn’t say it.

Emily stepped a little closer, not quite in JJ’s space, but enough to make her uncomfortable, “Lesbians, JJ. The word is lesbian. You know you can say it without becoming one.”

JJ swallowed, her voice getting shaky, “I just thought it may be affecting you, that’s all.”

Emily smirked, perversely enjoying the way JJ couldn’t make eye contact with her, “I’m good. You, on the other hand, look like you’re about to come apart at the seams. Trouble in paradise with BabyDaddy?”

“Em, don’t.”

 

“Don’t! Don’t what, JJ?” Emily gritted her teeth, trying to keep her voice down. “Give a damn? Maybe love you too much? Maybe offer you everything, including my heart, only to have you run to the safety of social acceptability?”

Emily slammed the shirt she was holding down onto the bed, closing her eyes trying to shut off the run away feelings. She was loathe to admit it, but JJ was right about one thing. This case was striking a nerve and having JJ within reach yet unreachable only set her further on edge.

When she turned, JJ was looking at her, icy cold indifference etched in the lines of her face. It was this face, the one that mocked her on sleepless nights, that turned away from her in Miami when he showed up unannounced. It wasn’t the face of the woman she had loved. JJ was a stranger. Emily felt bile and anger rise up inside of her. 

“And you all say I compartmentalize?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t hold a candle to you.”

“Emily, you know I care about you, but you know I can’t do this with you. I told you. We talked about it.”

“Can’t has a very different connotation than not wanting to,” Emily voice dropped, anchoring the suggestion in JJ’s mind. She could read the shift in JJ’s body, the darkness slowly creeping into her blue eyes. She stepped close enough to smell JJ’s perfume, “And you do want it, don’t you? You can put up walls and shut yourself off from everyone, but I know you. I know what makes you whimper and moan. I know how far to push you to make you shake with need, and only I know you’re not that nice, innocent girl from Pennsylvania.”

JJ dropped her arms so she could brace herself against the desk that Emily pushed her back to, her breath coming out shallow.

“You don’t want to talk, do you, Jennifer? You don’t want me planning your baby shower or being your maid of honor at your wedding,” Emily licked her lips, savoring the energy dancing between them. “You want this,” Emily pulled JJ to her brutally, kissing her with a raw, hard force and a hand gripping greedily at her ass.

JJ pushed away from her, trying to break the kiss, eventually bringing her hand up enough to strike against her cheek. Emily stood there stunned. JJ had never hit her, even in play. Then she saw it, the walls dropped and she saw the JJ she knew months ago.

“Goddamn you, Emily Prentiss! You drive me fucking crazy.” JJ kissed Emily fiercely, while Emily ripped the buttons on JJ’s shirt, her blunt nails digging at the soft skin. Emily worked fast at the zipper on JJ’s jeans, trying to hurry before she changed her mind. One more time, Emily told herself, just one last time.

With strength she didn’t realize she had, Emily lifted JJ until long legs wrapped automatically around her hips and JJ was resting on the desk. Emily pulled at JJ’s jeans making room for her hand to sneak between slender thighs.  She could feel the warmth long before she reached her destination. She ducked her head to suck and nip at JJ’s pulse point, feeling the life beneath her lips speed up and become more frantic with each pass of her hand.

It took a moment for the foreign sound to register. JJ pushed away from her, already pulling her pants back up as she talked into the phone.

“Hey! Yeah, I’m fine. No, I’m not going in the field, I’m staying at the station. Yes, I promise I’ll be careful. No, Will, you don’t need to come out here. Please, just stay there. No, I still haven’t felt the baby move.”

Emily turned away, closing her eyes, trying to shut out the sound of JJ’s voice talking about things they’ll never share. Her hands shook and she wasn’t sure if it was the abrupt end of the adrenaline rushing through her body or the tears she was fighting. Either way, she just wanted JJ to leave. This was too much.

A cool hand touched her on her arm causing her to jump, “Hey, sorry about that. If I didn’t answer, he’d never stop calling.”

“Get out,” JJ strained to hear the whispered words even though Emily’s body language said it all.

“What?”

“You heard me, get out.” Emily’s voice was flat and cold.

JJ reached to touch Emily’s shoulder, “Baby…”

Emily turned on her in a flash, her dark eyes red and brimming with unshed tears, “Don’t. Don’t you dare call me that. You don’t have a right.  You lost that right when you spread your legs for him.”

Emily stared hard into JJ, the coldness reaching into the blonde’s soul, making her back up, “Didn’t you hear me? I said, get the fuck out.”

JJ backed up wordlessly until she reached the still open door before turning and closing it with a soft click behind her. Alone, Emily felt the acid bubble to the surface. She fought it, her body bending in on itself in an attempt to keep it in. Eventually, she raced for the bathroom, barely making it in time. She closed the door and slumped against the cold porcelain tiles creating distance between her and the room next door, so JJ couldn’t hear her crying.
 

Title: Cindy a la Mode

Fandom: Women’s Murder Club

Pairing: Lindsay/Cindy

Rating: OMFG, is that even legal?!!

Warning: Raunchy, food sex. 

A/N: Sofia gave me a midnight deadline to write this. She’s a slavedriver, I tell ya! A slavedriver! In other words, it’s all her fault.

Pushing the food around the plate, Cindy didn’t notice the penetrating stare of the dark-haired woman across from her until Lindsay nearly knocked over her beer in her distracted haze. They had been together for nearly a year. In fact, the anniversary of their first official date was in 12 days, 18 hours, and 31 minutes. Not that Lindsay was counting or anything.

Cindy smiled up at her, “You okay?”

Lindsay fiddled with the label on the beer bottle, “Yeah!” Then she shrugged, “Just thinkin’.”

“About?” Lindsay sighed, not for the first time, at the inquisitive reporter-slash-girlfriend. She still what the hell she was thinking when she kissed Cindy for the first time during one of their more heated arguments about Cindy risking her life for a story.

“I love you, you know that right?” Cindy’s face fell as she fought back the tears she knew would come.

“Nothing ever good starts that way.”

Lindsay panicked, seeing the fear dart across the red-headed face, “No, no! That’s…that’s not what I mean, Cindy. I just…it’s our first anniversary coming up and I wanted to do something special. Not just roses and dinner, but something really…different.”

A shy and relieved smile passed over Cindy’s face.

“Did you have anything in particular in mind?” 

Lindsay flinched, “I was hoping you could help me with that.”

Cindy bit her bottom lip, thinking. Lindsay watched in fascination, having a suddenly urgent desire to kiss the girl senseless.

“I’ve got it!” Lindsay raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

“Yes?”

“The twelve days of Christmas,” Lindsay scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, “Lesbian anniversary style.” When Lindsay continued to look at her blankly, Cindy continued. Her hands becoming animated. “See, each day between now and our anniversary we buy one gift, but instead of giving it to each other every day, we save it up and give it as one big gift on the day of our anniversary.”

Lindsay expected more and was less than enthused, “Yeah, I guess that could be fun.”

Cindy smirked and upped the ante, “Oh, and a couple of more little rules: the gifts can be as naughty or as nice as you want them to be and whatever you buy, I can use on you.” The redhead leered at her girlfriend, giving the older woman just enough rope to hang herself.

Lindsay was catching on to Cindy’s motive, “Damn, too bad we can’t use a gift a day.”

Cindy rose to start clearing the table and stopped to come over to a still-seated Lindsay, “And one final rule: no sex until our anniversary.”

*****

Twelve days, 18 hours, and a torturously long 15 minutes later, Lindsay held out an oversized bulging gift bag to Cindy.

“Anxious much, Linds?”

“Oh, come on, baby! Stop torturing me! For the last three nights, you’ve been walking around naked after your shower much longer than was necessary. You’re driving me crazy!” Cindy tried unsuccessfully to hold back her smile. She could practically see Lindsay on the verge of stomping her foot in frustration, “Please?”

“Oh, alright!” She took the lanky inspector by her hand and walked her to the living room, “Sit. I’ll be right back.”

Lindsay heard rummaging in the hallway closet, then she made a pit stop in the kitchen to rummage some more. Lindsay fought the urge to yell for Cindy to get moving. She knew what was in her bag and that was enough to have her on edge. She had been thinking about one gift in particular for eight days.

Cindy came back sporting, not one, but two bags, “So, who goes first?”

Lindsay proceeded to dump her bag out on the floor, “Subtle, Linds. You were an only child, right?” 

Cindy smiled at the first item that caught her eye. She held it up, with the label facing Lindsay, “Body chocolate? You’re kidding, right?”

“I got that yesterday! I was running out of ideas!” The brunette snatched it from her hands.

Cindy dropped the cheap imitation on the floor, “Besides, if you’re going to do chocolate, do it right.” With that, Cindy pulled out a large container of Godiva chocolate ice cream topping.

“Whoa! What else you got in there, Thomas?” Cindy slapped at Lindsay’s hand and sat down on the opposite side of her messy pile.

“So, what else do we have here?” She lifted a pair of handcuffs. “That’s so unoriginal!”

“I’m a cop!”

“Well, then it’s cheap too because if I’m not mistaken, these are your work cuffs,” Lindsay snatched those from her too.

“Look, are you going to pick on everything I got or are you going to show me your goodies?”

Cindy snickered, “Are we still talking about the gifts?”

“That’s it, Thomas!” Lindsay lunged across at the petite girl, quickly pinning her to the floor and whipped out the cuffs she had previously stolen back. Before Cindy realized what had happened, her hands were over her head and cuffed to the leg of the dining room table. A table she now wished she hadn’t picked out. Why, oh why, did she have a thing for solid oak?! She yanked at the cuffs, but the table didn’t budge.

She watched the slender and alluring form of her girlfriend hover over her, then sit back on her haunches as she pulled the bag closer. “Alrighty, now we get to the good stuff. Let’s see,” she reached in and pulled out a small jar of cherries with the stem still on them, a couple of bananas, several containers of ice cream with the primary flavors of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, an ice cream scoop, the chocolate topping from earlier, and some whipped cream.

“Hungry, Cindy?”

Cindy let a slow smile spread across her face, “No, but I hope you are. Banana splits are your favorite, and I’m your other favorite, so…you’re the inspector, what’s the logical conclusion based on the evidence?”

Lindsay leaned over and teased her tongue over Cindy’s full bottom lip, “That you, my seemingly innocent girlfriend, if definitely naughty and not nice.”

She turned her head, giving Lindsay’s mouth better access to her neck, “And you love it!”

“Mmmmm, that I do, but there’s only one problem,” Cindy couldn’t care less what that problem was as long as Lindsay’s mouth kept doing whatever it was doing to her earlobe. “Seems you only have eleven gifts.”

“No, there are twelve.”

Lindsay shook her head, “Nuh, uh, eleven…I counted.”

“Trust me, there’s twelve.”

“Where?”

“You’re sitting on it.”

“Ohhhh, smooth move, Thomas,” Lindsay leaned down to nip at the space between Cindy’s breasts, causing her to take a sharp intake of breath, “Guess it’s time for me to unwrap my last present.”

Cindy arched at the meaning behind the words, encouraging Lindsay to do what she promised. Quickly, Cindy’s pale green button down was unbuttoned and her breasts exposed. Lindsay kissed her way down a tone stomach, lingering for a moment on the bellybutton that she swore at the moment was the sexiest damn bellybutton in the world. She could already picture the cherry sitting there, the sticky sweet juice running down Cindy’s side, forcing her to lick up every drop. With a moan, Lindsay continued further down, undoing the low-cut jeans with her teeth. She yanked them off her lover with practiced ease.

Looking back up Cindy’s body, she marveled at her deceptive innocence. Cuffed to the table and stunningly naked, Cindy was anything but innocent. Lindsay was concocting the mental image of the picture she was preparing to paint on Cindy’s body, relishing in the squirms of the redhead.

Lindsay eyed the products spread out next to Cindy, contemplating where to start. First, she opened all the containers for easy access and peeled the bananas. Then, she dipped two fingers in the vanilla ice cream and smeared a large path down Cindy’s stomach. The chill of the liquid caused yelp in surprise and moan in delight as Lindsay licked every drop off of her body. She watched as Lindsay’s dark hair draped over her mid-section, tickling her sides. She jerked at the cuffs still holding her. She wanted to grab Lindsay’s head and push her down, but she was helpless to do anything but be at her mercy.

Lindsay took a cherry from the jar and dangled it so it barely touched Cindy’s breast. Cindy arched to try and reach it, only to have Lindsay jerk it away and greedily suck the juice from her nipple.

“Oh, Jesus, Linds!” Cindy pulled at her restraints again and this time flinched at the pain. She was going to have bruises for days from this, but she forgot all about it as Lindsay moved to her other breast, giving it the same detailed treatment.

Lindsay slid between Cindy’s legs and sat back. She pulled the tank top and bra over her head, removing her own jeans, enjoying the look in Cindy’s brown eyes. She didn’t miss the slight flicker of Cindy’s tongue either. She felt the coil tighten low in her belly just thinking about what she wanted Cindy to do with that tongue, but not now. There was so much more she had in store for her.

She ran her hands up the inside of Cindy’s thighs, feeling the quiver of muscles under her fingers. She teasingly brushed the damp curls before sliding a finger easily into Cindy. A harsh moan escaped from Cindy, her hips beginning to rotate against the gentle invasion.

She groaned at the loss of sensation as Lindsay withdrew her finger, “Look at me.”

Cindy saw the wet finger disappear between Lindsay’s lips, and her head thudded back to the wood floor, “Are you trying to kill me, woman?”

“Not yet,” Cindy felt a strange sensation between her legs and she impulsively lurched for it. 

Lindsay was poised above her, looking every bit a goddess, “Whatever you do, don’t tighten down.”

“What?”

“Trust me,” Cindy looked down between their bodies to see a curved white object between her legs.

“Oh fuck, Linds,” Cindy gripped the table leg and focused with every ounce of strength she had to not tense up. It didn’t help that Lindsay was slowly and gently easing the fruit in and out of her. Lindsay finished her work of art by drizzling Cindy’s stomach, thighs, and banana in the decadent chocolate sauce, topped of the banana tip with a dab of whipped cream, and placed a lone cherry to rest in Cindy’s bellybutton.

“My, my. You do look good enough to eat,” Cindy watched, demanding her lower body to relax, as Lindsay licked and nipped at the end of the banana. Each movement she felt deep inside and it was all she could do not to scream. Lindsay took turns between licking the inside of Cindy’s thighs and taking a bite out of the banana. Everything was driving Cindy closer to the edge of insanity.

Lindsay finally had mercy on Cindy when her legs began to uncontrollably quiver and it seemed her whole body was shaking with need. With her teeth she pulled the last bit of banana out and latched onto Cindy, tasting a mix of chocolate, cherry and Cindy. It was intoxicating. In seconds it seemed, Cindy gave in to the desire that had built up in her as she screamed her release.
 

Title: The Unexpected, 3/?

Fandom: WMC/CM Crossover

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

Rating: Probably PG/PG-13 for right now. There will definitely be some NC-17 at some point, but I’ll forewarn you.

Disclaimer: Don’t own a damn thing except what’s in my head! If I did, I wouldn’t have to write these fics to fill in the blanks.

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

AN: All blame is on those who keep poking me.
AN2: Apologies for the delay in getting this out.  RL is kicking my ass and my muse seems to have run off with some other writer's muses.  Combined, it just makes for a bad situation.  I've been trying to say one written chapter on this story, but I feel so bad for not getting this out there that I had to post it without a follow-up finished right away.  I will do it though...I promise. 

CHAPTER 3

Cindy sat in the hard wooden chair, trying to make herself relax a little. While it may not have been an interrogation room, the effect was still the same, an effect only intensified by the intimidating presence of real honest-to-god FBI agents moving to sit down across from her.

“So, Ms. Thomas,” Hotch started, “tell us everything that’s happened in the last 24-48 hours.”

“Everything?” Cindy wasn’t too keen on telling them about her date Friday night and mentally tried to count back 48 hours to be sure she was in the clear.

Emily noted Cindy’s discomfort, “Just start with when you went to get your mail Saturday morning.”  

Cindy breathed an obvious sigh of relief and began recounting every moment between then and now for what felt like the 100^th time. Thirty minutes later, Cindy finally paused to take a breath.

Silence filled the room, except for a random scribble by Emily on the tenth page of her notepad. Tom and Lindsay had tired of pacing the room and now stood in opposite corners like prize fighters. Emily tapped her pen and braved the question that had been in the back of her mind.

“Ms. Thomas, have you had any altercations or strange incidents happen with anyone else lately?” Cindy furrowed her brow, thinking back to all of her recent interactions. There was another reporter at The Register that hated Cindy with a passion, mainly because Cindy stole a story out from under her while she was busy screwing her boyfriend’s brother. If you snooze, you lose. That was Cindy’s philosophy. Lately though, both had avoided each other at work and hadn’t spoken in almost a month.

She slowly shook her head, “No, not that I can think of.”

“It’s very important you try to remember. Is there anyone that’s crossed your path recently that seemed odd or out of place?  Anyone different hanging around your neighborhood?” Hotch worked to jog the memories loose from Cindy’s head.

“I’m sorry. I’m usually really observant. It comes with being a reporter, but I haven’t noticed anything.”

“Have you had anyone new move in to your apartment complex?”

“Well, there was this 72 year old guy with a cane, but I don’t see him as the angry, violent, threatening type.”

Everyone was quiet as they thought up new angles. Emily spoke first, “Ms. Thomas, have you recently broken up with anyone?”

Lindsay snapped her fingers, “That Jaime kid! I knew he was trouble!”

“I never dated him, Linz,” Cindy rubbed the spot between her eyes, tiring of trying to get Lindsay to accept this small fact.

“But he was kind of weird.”

“And that means I would date him?” Lindsay was taken back by the tinge of anger in Cindy’s voice.

“That’s not what I meant!”

“Then what did you mean?”

Tom jumped in before he had to roll out his secret stash of jello and wrestling oils, “Ladies, can we stick to the topic, please?”

Emily looked on at the two women, intrigued but slightly unnerved. She wanted to know more, but now wasn’t the time.

“Are you seeing anyone right now, Ms. Thomas?”

Cindy slumped back into her chair, the fight completely gone from her and a headache starting to thump in the back of her brain. The look of weariness in the agent’s eyes, softened her face into a smile, “My name’s Cindy. Please, you make me think my mother’s in the room every time you say ‘Ms. Thomas’. And the answer to your question is no. No one serious right now. Though I have been on some dates.”

“Would you mind providing the names of the guys you’ve recently dated?” Hotch asked.

“Ummm,” Cindy’s heart started racing, trying to think fast how to fudge this.

“Is there a problem?” Hotch pushed further, and Emily closed her eyes, having a feeling of what was coming.

“Um, it’s just, um,” Cindy uncharacteristically stumbled over her words. It was like someone has shoved a giant dirty gym sock in her mouth, making it impossible for her to function.

“It’s okay, Cindy,” Emily spoke softly to her, making frightened brown eyes look up at her. Cindy took a deep breath, noticing her shoulders were tightly scrunched up, and deliberately relaxed the muscles.

“It’s just that the names I could give you aren’t of guys.”

“What?” Lindsay stopped her pacing and stared at the top of the red head that refused to look up at her. Instead Cindy looked at the only place that felt safe at the moment…Emily.

Emily kept her eye contact with Cindy but spoke to Lindsay, “We think that whoever is committing these crimes is targeting members of the gay community, particularly lesbians.”

Lindsay was stumped for a moment as she let the information process, “So, does that mean? Cindy?”

Cindy slowly cut her sad eyes over to Lindsay, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

This wasn’t how she wanted Lindsay to find out. A single tear rolled down Cindy’s face as she watched everything she’d dreamed of and hoped for shatter before her eyes at the look of shock and disbelief on Lindsay’s tired face, the look breaking her more than words ever could.

Without another word, Lindsay quietly walked out and shut the door.

Title:  The Unexpected, 1/?

Fandom:  WMC/CM Crossover

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

Rating: Probably PG/PG-13 for right now.  There will definitely be some NC-17 at some point, but I’ll forewarn you.

Disclaimer:  Don’t own a damn thing except what’s in my head!  If I did, I wouldn’t have to write these fics to fill in the blanks.

Warnings:  Can’t think of any, except this is un-beta’d.  All mistakes are mine.

AN:  This idea just popped into my head and wouldn’t leave so I had to start writing it down.  I rarely write chapter-by-chapter, but after a little poking from someone who won’t be mentioned, I caved and decided to do this.  We’ll see where it goes.

CHAPTER 1

“I’m coming!  I’m coming!”  Lindsay cursed as she stubbed her toe on the table in the hallway.  “Whoever’s waking me up at this god awful hour better have a damn good rea…,” her words trailed off when she jerked the door open to find a red-eyed Cindy standing in her doorway.

She reached for the petite redhead to urge her inside, “Cindy?  What’s wrong?  What happened?”

Wordlessly and with shaking hands, Cindy handed over the tear-stained letter she found in her mailbox.  In large box letters was one word:  yellow. 

Lindsay’s face flashed quickly from confused to scared and finally to angry, “Son of a bitch!  When I find this asshole, I’m gonna…”  Her words trailed off when she noticed Cindy’s face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.  “Hey, come here.”  She wrapped her long arms around Cindy protectively.  The shock was finally hitting home.  Cindy was next on the killer’s list.

For the past six months, Lindsay and Jacobi had been working on a case that had produced no leads.  Two women had been killed in the last two months.  Prior to the start of the killings, each month like clockwork on the first of the month, a letter was sent to the local TV stations announcing the killer’s plans.  Each letter was more angry, detailed in its prospective brutality, and hate-filled than the last.  Then on the first day of the month, two months ago, a letter arrived at not only the local stations, but also at homicide, clearly outlining how the first woman would die before the end of the month.

At first, Lindsay had thought it was just some crazy looking for attention.  Why else send letters to the stations?  But, when the first woman showed up under the Golden Gate with her throat slit and every finger cut off, she knew this was for real.  When they searched her apartment, they found a letter open on the dining room table with nothing on it but the block letters that said: red.

The second woman was found in a similar way, throat slit, but this time her tongue was cut out.  In her apartment, a lone letter was found on a table that said:  orange.  Yesterday, letters had arrived as expected with details on the third kill.  This time the killer planned to remove the woman’s reproductive organs.  Claire had found through her autopsies that both women had been tortured before finally being mercifully killed.

Lindsay squeezed the shaking woman in her arms.  Something had to be done.  This had gone too far and hit too close to home.  Still holding Cindy, she reached for the cell phone on her hall table and hit the speed dial.

“Tom, we have a problem.”

********

“Two women have been brutally killed in San Francisco, apparently by the same person,” JJ clicked through the crime scene images as the rest of the team followed along or read through the files.

“What makes the SFPD think this is the same perp?”  Morgan, always the devil’s advocate, had his usual doubts.

The blonde sighed, “Letters, in the same type of lettering, were sent to both victims prior to the murders.  The local TV stations were notified by the killer in the same style each time.  And, the killing blow for each victim was a clean slice to the neck.  However, each was tortured prior to their death.”

Emily stated the obvious next question, “It seems pretty clear that the perp is the same, but why these women?  What ties them all together?  From what I can tell, neither of them look anything alike, they didn’t work in the same type of job or live in the same neighborhood.  As far as I can tell, none of them have anything in common.”

JJ smiled at the brunette, “True, and the SFPD hasn’t been able to identify any connection yet except that they both lived in San Fran.  However, the killer has a consistent pattern and that is that he likes to telegraph his next kill.  He not only lets the police and the media know his plans, apparently he likes to start terrorizing these women long before he kidnaps them.  In fact, he’s already contacted the third potential victim.”

All heads in the room jerked up at the news, “Yesterday, Cindy Thomas, ironically, a local crime reporter, received a letter with nothing else on it but the word:  yellow.  Being that she works the crime desk, she knows the lead homicide detective on the case…a one,” the blonde looked down at her notes, “Lindsay Boxer.  Ms. Thomas went immediately to Detective Boxer with the information and that’s where we came in.”

After a few thoughtful moments while the team processed the information, Hotch addressed the group, “Wheels up in 30.  Let’s stop this guy before he covers all the colors of the rainbow.”

*******

Forty minutes later, the BAU team was leaving Quantico.  Emily sat in the back, looking intensely over her notes and the files she had spread out around her.  She listened half-heartedly to the statements and comments around her.  Reid was throwing out tidbits of facts on serial killers, while Morgan deflected each saying that the one they’re after could be an exception to the rule.  JJ was at the front of the plane on her cell lining up details with a guy named Tom.

Emily, on the other hand, was trying desperately to focus on the papers in front of her.  Hotch’s flippant comment drove home the possibility of what they could be heading into in San Francisco.  Saying something could have the consequence of outing Emily to the team, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.  But her conscience and her duty to the job wouldn’t very well allow her to keep quiet either.  Perhaps trying a subtle approach would work.

“What do we know about the two victim’s personal lives?”  Emily called from the back of the plane.  “Boyfriends?”  She paused and shrugged, as if it would be an afterthought.  “Girlfriends?”  She looked at JJ, but the blonde was staring a hole in the side of the plane.

“Neither seemed to be involved with anyone,” Hotch stood with a file in his hand, flipping through the pages.

“Whatcha thinking, Prentiss?”  Morgan chimed in.

“Well, consider several facts:  the vics have no obvious connection to each other, there’s no physical or racial resemblance – first vic was black, the second Asian, they’re all from the same city, but not same part of the city, a city, I might add, that is infamous for one thing in particular, and finally, the choice and order of colors the killer sends on the letters – red, orange, and the next one…yellow.  If my guess is right, the next colors to follow would be green, blue, and purple.  The colors of the rainbow.” 

Morgan chuckled, “Are you saying this guy has a Skittle obsession?”

Garcia swatted Morgan on the arm, while the rest of the team looked on blankly, “No.  This is San Francisco, a gay mecca, and the rainbow is a symbol of gay pride and identity.  I think our victims were gay or at least bisexual.”

Title: Mutual Need

Rating: PG

Pairing: Lindsay/Cindy (WMC)

Spoilers: I couldn’t let the moment go at the end of the last episode “FBI Guy.”  The look on Cindy’s face was so intense and Lindsay looked so lost that I felt like something had to happen after that.

Disclaimer:  Not mine.  Wish they were…at least Cindy anyway.

Archive:  Ralst of course, as always.  Others with permission, if you ask nicely.

Unbeta’d…read at your own risk.

Mutual Need

By Calliope

Cindy stood by the window in Lindsay’s living room.  Jill and Claire were saying their goodbyes while she pretended to be finishing her drink.  She couldn’t bring herself to leave, not yet.  She had never seen Lindsay – strong, tougher-than-nails Lindsay – show any weakness or fear.  Tonight, when they were all told the news of the Kiss Me Not killer, she looked like a child lost in the mall – scared, alone, and vulnerable.  It wasn’t the woman she had fallen for, but she couldn’t help but love this version of Lindsay even more. 

Lindsay 2.0 made Cindy feel something deeper, more intense.  It was an emotion that had never been elicited from her by anyone before – protectiveness.  Her intimidating, fearless cop friend had spent her life looking out for everyone except herself.  She was even willing to let this monster destroy her if necessary as long as it stopped him from hurting anyone else.  But whoever looked out for Lindsay?  And not in a fatherly way like when Tom hid her away.  But in a way that set her free and made her safe to let her guard down.

She read it all in Lindsay’s body language.  The way she slumped down in the oversized leather chair, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around own body as if she was trying to fight a chill that only she could perceive.  It made sense now why Lindsay shut them out.  It wasn’t just a way to protect her friends, but also herself. 

It wasn’t until she felt the silky strands of ebony hair against her fingers did she realize that she was reaching out to Lindsay.  She stopped before she made the mistake of waking her.  This was too much and not what Lindsay needed right now.  She made a move to grab her purse and leave.

“Don’t stop,” long fingers reached out and grabbed her wrist.  She was pulled around to the front of the chair, where she could stand between Lindsay’s long, jean clad thighs.  Cindy held it together until she looked up into warm eyes.  The tears welled up in her own eyes and suddenly she was choking back sobs.

Images flashed in her mind of what she had seen the Kiss Me Not killer do to his victims and she saw Lindsay’s beautiful face mangled, her rich dark eyes cold with death, the lips she had dreamed of kissing sealed shut for eternity.  She struggled against the arms circling her, heard her voice raw with fear as Lindsay tried to calm her.

“I can’t lose you,” Cindy gasped out between sobs. 

“I’m not going anywhere.  I promise,” fingers stroked slow and steady through her hair, until her breathing leveled out and the tears subsided.  Cindy nestled her cheek against the warm skin of Lindsay’s exposed chest.  Her arms wrapped loosely around the taller woman’s waist while her hands started to trace invisible lines in random patterns along her back.  She reveled for a moment in the sensation before it hit her that she had fallen apart in her friend’s arms.  So much for being strong for Lindsay, she chided her own weakness.

It was a fleeting thought that disappeared like ether when she felt a reciprocated touch of a hand caressing the base of her neck sending tingles down into her toes.  Cindy understood that being strong and fearless took many different forms because it took everything she had not to crumble into a million pieces from the sensations a mere touch from Lindsay elicited from her body.

Little did she know that at that very moment Lindsay felt ten feet tall and invincible.  She needed Cindy to need her, tonight more than ever.