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“You're absolutely beautiful.”
“It’s the raggedy lounge pants, isn’t it?” she asked.
“They're not raggedy, and even if they were you'd still be beautiful.”
“I think you just get soft hearted when we do domestic things together.”
“Can you blame me?” He asked.
“Oh I could,” she grinned. “But I won't.”
Stephen smiled. They were walking around the Giant grocery store in Alexandria, Virginia. It was a quiet, rainy Sunday afternoon and the place wasn’t packed. Cheesy 80s adult contemporary played over the PA system and they were holding hands. If Stephen let his mind go there, which he had been lately, it was quite domestic. But there were parts of him that didn’t want to hold on too tight. Emily Prentiss was like a lightning bug, if you kept her in the jar too long her light would fade.
“I bet I know what you're thinking.” Emily said.
“Three guesses.” He replied.
“I only need one.”
“Go for it.”
“You're thinking about Special K. If you have it for breakfast, along with a healthy lunch and balanced dinner, the odds are you could lose up to seven pounds in a week.”
“How do you do that?” Stephen asked. “It’s like a gift.”
“Oh c'mon,” now she was smiling. “That one was written all over your face.” Emily reached up for a box of cereal and put it in his basket. “We’re getting Frosted Cheerios.”
“I'm sure I can make due.”
Stephen rarely even ate cereal. He kept some at his new place, for her, but he did a lot of things for her. Most of the items in his cart would be late dinners for them, or weekend snacks. He never bought too much. She was gone a lot and he frequently dined out in the city. It was part of his business expenses.
“It’s funny, I usually hate the supermarket.” Emily said. “That could be some of the reason why the thing I have most in my condo is cat food. With you, it’s not so bad.”
“That’s because I let you buy whatever you want.”
“It’s more than that.”
“Oh do tell, Emily Prentiss.”
She looked at him and smiled. He was so damn cute and she liked him. She liked him a lot. She loved him actually and while that was scary, it was also comforting. It was nice to love someone; to be with them.
It was really nice with Stephen. He never pushed too hard. Maybe there were times when he should have but he didn’t. In the end she guessed it worked out for him because here she was. Emily might be a little worse for wear but Stephen thought she was great.
When someone felt that way about it you it was hard not to feel that way about yourself. Still, the cold was right under the surface. She was still working on that…Emily didn’t plan to give up. Happiness could be hers but happiness was about more than a warm bed and even a great mate. She had to be happy with herself. It was coming along, slowly but surely.
“The Egyptian cotton sheets are nice too.” she said. “And the car service has completely spoiled me. Still, I’d probably like you if you were dirt poor. You're just so adorable I can't help but be crazy for you.”
“You don’t mind dating a little old man?” Stephen asked.
“Dr. Seuss says you're only old once. Anyway, I'm not getting any younger...only more sore and temperamental.”
Stephen kissed her hand as they turned the corner. He needed to get salad dressing. There was actually a list of things he needed to get. He and Emily were just walking around holding hands and chattering back and forth. It was nice but if he ever wanted to get home then he should probably shop. They just didn’t get to do things like this very often; they were lingering.
“Do you have the list?” he asked.
“I have the list.” Emily reached into the pocket of her GAP hoodie.
She really was low key dressed today; army green lounge pants, a grey old school GAP hoodie, and grey New Balance sneakers. Her hair was in a ponytail. Stephen’s idea of casual weekend chic was perfectly pressed black Sean John slacks and with a blue sweater. They didn’t look like they were cut from the same cloth but the smiles on their faces as they held hands and moved through the aisles were obvious to everyone.
“What dressing is on the list?”
“Um, balsamic vinaigrette and light honey mustard. Is that for me?”
“Yes ma'am.” Stephen nodded.
“We have most of the things on this list. You just need lamb chops, asparagus, and ooh ice cream sandwiches.” Emily looked at him. “Are those for me?”
“Yes.”
“You must be crazy about me.”
“You're a keeper.”
“That’s a ringing endorsement. C'mon, let’s get all this stuff so I can go home and do nasty things to your body.”
Stephen laughed as he grabbed the salad dressing and put it in his basket. He turned when he heard Emily’s name. He actually turned before she did. But when she did, Emily gasped and ran into the woman’s arms. Stephen didn’t know who she was but was sure, almost sure, he’d be introduced soon enough.
“Oh my God, look at you.” Jordan Todd caressed Emily’s face. “I heard that you were…I kept meaning to come and see for myself.”
“Lets not even get into how damn busy we are.” Emily hugged her tight. “I should've called; I meant to. I thought of it a million times. How are you?”
“How are you?” Jordan countered.
“Nothing’s changed. I still work too much and rest too little.”
“Something’s changed honey.” Jordan looked at Stephen. “Hi.”
“Hello.” Stephen held his hand up to wave.
“Oh, I'm sorry. I was just so happy to see you I wasn’t even thinking straight. Jordan Todd, this is my boyfriend Stephen Thorne.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Jordan walked over and shook his hand. She still had her arm around Emily.
“Jordan and I worked together while JJ was out on maternity leave. She’s from counterterrorism. You're still with them, right?”
“Yeah, we’re still fighting the good fight. I know you're still with the BAU.”
“I told you nothing’s changed. We have to get together…there's so much to talk about. I'm so sorry.” Emily hugged her tight again.
“Don’t apologize to me. I'm just glad you're alive and well. In the end that’s all that matters. I’ll tease you later for not getting in touch with me.”
“I’ll call you this week. Cross my heart and…OK, nevermind.”
They laughed and then hugged once more. It seemed as if neither one of them wanted to let go but they finally did. Jordan kissed her as Emily squeezed her hand.
“If you don’t call me by Wednesday I'm calling you.” she said.
“I will.”
Jordan said goodbye and then walked away. Stephen looked at Emily for a while as she looked after her.
“Old friend?” he asked.
“We met when she joined the BAU for a short time. It’s not often that I click with someone like I did with Jordan. She’s just…” she turned back to Stephen. “She's special.”
“I see that. I'm glad you two are going to get reacquainted.” He held out his hand and she took it. “You really did come back home and jump right into work didn’t you?”
“It was all I knew to do. Anything else would've been too difficult. I had so many people to apologize to and so much to explain. I can admit I didn’t want to do it. Especially since running and hiding was not entirely my choice.” Emily shrugged. “I guess I could’ve come back home as soon as I was well enough. It wasn’t as if I could legitimately hide for the rest of my life. But I was so afraid Ian was going to hurt the people I loved. I’d done that enough.”
“The truth is people are so happy that you're alive, that they have another chance with you, the rest is just the rest.” He replied.
“That’s nice to know.”
They were quiet for a while as they walked around the store getting the rest of the things on the list. It was while they were waiting in line again that Stephen spoke. Emily was singing some ancient DeBarge song under her breath.
“I have to do some traveling for some work. I'm leaving next Wednesday.”
“How long will you be gone?” she asked.
“Five weeks.”
“Five weeks!”
“It’s not ideal but its work.” Stephen said.
“I thought you took this job, and the demotion, so you wouldn’t have to be a journeyman anymore.”
“I did, but some travel is a hazard of a State Department job. You know that Emily.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
There was nothing she could do about him leaving. She did know travel was a part of a job. That didn’t mean she had to like it. But for all she knew she could be spending that time in a variety of cities and towns traveling for her job. Would the running ever stop?
“I’ll be in Vienna for ten days at a U.N. symposium on war crimes. Then I’m going straight to Toronto for an international conference on Global Terrorism and the new threat of the homegrown lone wolf. I’ll actually be speaking there. The good news is I’ll have four days free in Toronto before the conference begins. I thought about coming home but it'll just make me not want to leave again. You should meet me in Toronto and let me lavish you with attention for four days.”
“Have you ever considered I might want to lavish you with attention for four days?”
“Actually I've had several interesting daydreams about just that, Emily Prentiss.”
She smiled, leaning to kiss him. She didn’t give a damn that they were in a crowded place. She was back from the dead and doing whatever she felt like it.
“I could try to get the time off. I’ll schedule it but if I'm in the field when it comes I can't just walk away from a job.”
“I understand completely.” Stephen started putting his food on the conveyor belt. “But if you're saying yes, just say yes please.”
“Yes.” Emily nodded.
“Thank you.”
“I could use the time off. And it’s been a while since I've been to Toronto. It’s a great city with good memories.”
“We’ll make more, I promise.” he replied.
That made Emily smile. She needed to get away. It was a vacation; it wasn’t virtual seclusion like in Paris. And she would be with Stephen, which meant she’d have a good time. They’d indulge in everything the city had to offer and a little more. Emily might be more exhausted when she came back. Stephen had boundless energy; it was one of the things she loved about him.
“Can I ask you something personal?” he asked. They grabbed their four grocery bags and headed out to the parking lot. It was raining harder but they didn’t bother with an umbrella as they walked over to his silver Jaguar XFR.
“You can ask me anything.” Emily opened the back door and put in her bags. Then she climbed into the passenger seat. Stephen got in beside her.
“Were you and Jordan Todd…?”
“Yes.”
“OK.” He nodded.
“Is that going to be a problem?”
“No.” he shook his head.
“Are you sure? It was a long time ago.”
“And that’s why it’s not a problem. It’s just that, well maybe it’s just me but lovers can spot other lovers a million miles away.”
“She's one of my dearest friends.” Emily replied. “We’re really, really good as friends. I don’t want to lose her. It wouldn’t have lasted any other way and that was unacceptable to me.”
“I understand.”
“OK.”
Stephen started the car and headed back to his condo. There was a lot of day left and he wanted to spend all of it with Emily. The faster they got home and put the groceries away, the faster they could get to it.
“Are you going to fantasize about it now?” she asked.
“Yes.” He smirked. “I was going to lie but what's the point. Sometimes a man is just a man.”
“Mmm hmm,” Emily nodded. “And sometimes he's something pretty special.”
***