DATE: December 2009
DISCLAIMER: Don’t own anything associated
with the show… I just like playing with the characters in it from time to time.
Dance Monkeys! Dance!
RATING: T - Teen
SPOILERS: Through US Aired Episodes of
Seasons 4 & 10 respectively.
WORD COUNT: 2514
SUMMARY: Prentiss is giving a presentation
at an old Ivy League academic association when she runs into an old friend.
A/N: Mingsmommy
& Alicat were trying to put the bug in someone
else's ear about a crossover fic between CSI &
CM, and a plot bunny was born. This is the result.
REVIEWS: Reviews are the way I know if
people are enjoying the work or not. So, if you leave one, THANKS! And if not,
I hope you found at least a little something to brighten your day, and thanks
for taking the time to read.
PASSING SHIPS
“Following
a highly successful academic career at
“Thank
you very much.” She nodded, waiting for the applause to die down before she
spoke. Carefully straightening her note cards once more, Emily launched into
her prepared speech. “It is a real honor to be invited to speak at one of these
functions. For many years I have sat out there among you and marveled at the
many women who have graced this dais, but I never imagined I would one day have
that privilege.”
The rest
of her speech droned on in her head. She had given variations of the same basic
presentation to numerous colleges and new recruits to the Bureau for a couple
of years. And she hated it. Emily hated the speech, but she really hated the
fact she had become the poster child for the Bureau to recruit over-privileged
young women looking to give back to the world through federal service. She may
have grown up in a world of politics and pandering, but that did not mean she
enjoyed even one minute of the process.
Looking
out into the first row, Emily saw J.J. patiently enduring her speech for the
umpteenth time. The worst part of the whole thing was that J.J. would have been
a much better choice for this kind of presentation, but the Bureau did not look
at a graduate of the
When her
speech, and the other presenters concluded, it was time for the meet and greet
that always followed these things. Most of the time Emily tried desperately
duck out at the last minute, usually feigning a call from the unit, but there
was no hope this time. J.J. was right there and would bust her for certain.
This
particular presentation was for the Ivy League Women of Distinction Alumni
Association. They were so high minded, they could not even be bothered to have
a name with a good acronym. And Emily was pretty sure calling them ILWODAA
would get her some serious scowl time for the rest of the day.
Shaking
hands and listening to the latest society matron praise her brave (albeit
foolish) choice to work with the FBI just made Emily long for a quiet night on
a leather couch with a black lab warming her feet and a smooth Italian warming
her heart.
Thankfully
J.J. brought her out of her daydream before it became apparent to the other
woman talking to her. “Yes, it can be very dangerous,
Ma’am, but we take all of the proper precautions. Isn’t that right Agent
Prentiss?”
“Oh, yes,
we do take care.” Emily nodded at the woman and smiled as she calmly walked
away, before leaning over and whispering to J.J., “Body armor, big guns and the
occasional fire bomb tend to keep the rowdier suspects in line, as well.”
Emily’s dark humor never failed to get J.J. to crack a smile, but it also had a
tendency to get them into trouble.
“And a
little water-boarding now and then never really hurt anyone, did it?” The
woman’s voice caught Emily totally off-guard and she quickly turned in its
direction to make her apologies. The moment her eyes found a familiar
gap-toothed smile and twinkling brown eyes staring back at her, she laughed.
“Nice to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor, Prentiss.”
“You had
me going there for a sec, Sidle.” The two women quickly embraced, still
smiling. “I haven’t seen you at one of these things in forever. What finally brought
you out of the shadows?”
She
shrugged and waved the program as she answered, “Oh well, I’ve been traveling a
lot lately, and when I saw the presenters’ list, I just had to come hear you
speak.”
Emily was
still completely shocked by the woman’s presence, until J.J. cleared her throat
as a reminder that she was standing there. “Oh, god, I’m sorry. Jennifer Jareau, this is Sara Sidle, an old acquaintance and fellow
rebel from way back.”
“When you
say it like that it makes us sound ancient or something.” Sara reached out to
shake J.J.’s hand as Emily laughed. “We actually met
at one of these presentations when we were both undergrads.”
“Yeah, we
were both sitting in the back row making snide comments under our breaths about
whatever ultra conservative Suzy Homemaker socialite they had on the dais back
then. And it was friendship at first wisecrack.” Emily still remembered their
meeting fondly. She and Sara had bonded over shared discontent and their dark
senses of humor.
“Even if she was only a Yalie.” Emily stood in shock as Sara
winked at J.J. with her comment.
“Oh, I
can’t even believe you went there.” All three women laughed until they were
interrupted by the ringing of J.J.’s cell phone.
Looking
at the display, J.J. frowned. “I’m
sorry, but I have to take this. Excuse me.”
Once the
two were alone, Sara shook her head and said, “You look fantastic, Emily. I
don’t think I’ve seen you smile this much in years.”
“The same
could be said of you. You don’t seem quite so restless anymore.” Emily tried to
put her finger on the difference in her old friend and then it came to her in a
flash. “You seem to really be at peace now. What’s happened?” She was at a loss
for understanding just what would have had such a drastic affect on Sara. “Last
time we spoke you were about to get on a boat to
Shrugging
her shoulders, Sara simply said, “I guess I finally managed to get it on
straight.” Emily eyed her suspiciously and then watched Sara fold her arms over
her chest self-consciously.
The light
was working in Emily’s favor when it glinted off of the single gold wedding
band on Sara’s left third finger. “Or maybe you got a little help straightening
it out.” She glared and pointed at Sara’s hand, and the woman instantly
blushed.
“Oh,
yeah, and I um, got married.” Sara guiltily looked at down at her hand.
“Well,
don’t just stand there turning red…who the hell is it?” Emily began mentally
counting out the various characters she had listened to Sara describe in recent
years and then gave each one voice, “The detective in
“Or…” The
way Sara was dragging out the notion of another option told Emily exactly what
she needed to know, and it completely floored her.
“No friggin’ way!?” Her exclamation brought another
blush to Sara’s cheeks and Emily had her answer as she checked to see who might
have heard her outburst. “Seriously? You worked it out
with the crazy bug guy?!”
Sara
tried to dissuade her assertion with a shake of her head. “He’s not crazy… A little eccentric, maybe…but not crazy.”
Her
argument only served to make Emily laugh out loud. “Ha! C’mon, Sidle… The guy
waits how many years to actually ask you out? And then it’s some cryptic, don’t
tell anyone, nobody can know relationship, that you never really call a
relationship, because neither of you ever talks about it. Not to mention the
bug thing, which, you have to admit, is really kind of creepy.”
“It’s not
creepy. It’s a very useful discipline and he’s done a lot to help solve
significant issues of time using those skills.” Sara’s defensive posture told
Emily she was protecting her own, and that let her know Sara truly was happy
with her choice. “It also enabled him to come to
“That’s gotta be some story.” Emily looked at her watch to see if
they could slip quietly out of the building to get away and have a real
conversation. “Have you got time for some coffee, or something, so you can tell
me all the gory details?”
Before
Sara could answer, J.J. returned with the phone still attached to her ear.
“Sorry, Emily, but it looks like we need to get going.” J.J.’s
face told her all she needed to know; a new case was interrupting their little
side trip to
“Dangit. Just when I was
starting to enjoy myself.” Emily rolled her eyes, but J.J.’s stern expression told her there was no use fighting
it.
“I
understand…duty calls.” Sara smiled comfortably and Emily deeply regretted
having to leave. She had missed having a confidant like Sara around, and though
they hadn’t talked very much over the years, simply knowing she was available
always made things better.
“Hey,
where are you guys based out of? I’ve got some time coming up and I really want
us to reconnect now that you’re back.” Emily had her phone out which was
already buzzing with the call-back from Garcia.
“Well,
that’s a little complicated.” Emily gave her a disconcerted glare. “I’m in
Vegas again, for the time being… And Gil’s teaching in
“Well,
that’s an interesting arrangement, but I’d expect nothing less from you.” Emily
brought up Sara’s former contact information to check it when something sparked
in her mind. “Wait...you’re back in forensics?”
Sara
smiled in that I’ve got a secret kind
of way she had always been known for and said, “Yeah, well, that’s a story for
when we have a lot more time to talk.”
“Gotcha.”
Emily knew when someone was changing the subject well enough, so she held up
her phone and asked, “So, I can call you at the same number?”
“I’ve got
a new cell, but the work number’s the same. I’ll make sure someone knows to
give you my cell when you call.” Sara tipped her head at J.J., who was standing
impatiently at the door with their coats. “I think you need to put a move on
it.”
Emily
scowled at being given the bum’s rush, but she knew it was time to go. “Yeah, yeah. Always when I’m having fun, that’s when those
calls come in.” Pocketing the phone, Emily said, “Thank you so much for coming
out to this thing. You made the humiliation totally worth it. And we have got
to get better at staying in touch. There’s obviously a lot I’ve missed. I do
have some time coming up, so maybe we can do a whole weekend somewhere to catch
up, huh?”
“You’ve
got a deal.” Sara reached out to embrace her and that was when it was Emily’s
turn to blush as Sara quietly added, “Maybe we can even have both of our
significant others along to get better acquainted.”
Emily was
totally shocked by Sara’s assumption, but her next words left her in a complete
daze. As Sara pulled out of their embrace, she tugged Emily’s shirt collar to
pull it tighter to her neck. “You might want to re-think the open neck shirts
if you don’t want anyone to know.” It took Emily a moment to piece together what
she was saying, and then it dawned her as Sara went on.
“I don’t think you can get away with scarves the way I did… FBI
dress codes and all. Maybe a nice turtleneck next
time.” Sara patted Emily on the shoulder and gave her knowing wink as
Emily instinctively brought a hand up to that spot just below her other
shoulder, and above her collar bone, where a certain someone’s bearded chin
liked to nuzzle and rub as he kissed her neck.
“I ah,
um…” There was no recovering her dignity at that point. She might have been
able profile others, but Emily was obviously not paying enough attention to her
own behaviors and appearances if Sara had been able to figure her out so
effectively.
It also
did not help Emily’s case that Sara was merciless when she discovered a person’s
weakness. “I’ve found a little vitamin E when you get out of the shower works
wonders for most beard burn.”
Emily
nearly jumped out of her skin when J.J., tired of waiting at the door, had come
to retrieve her associate, and added her own wisdom to the conversation to
speed it along. “And a warm compress makes the hickeys go away faster, too. But
some people seem to think we’re all color blind or something.” She rolled her
eyes to Sara, who was chuckling under her hand. “Sorry to break up this ‘how do you hide the obvious from people
trained to spot everything’ pow-wow, but we have
to get to
Sara
reached out her hand to J.J. as Emily pulled her coat on. “It was nice to meet
you Jennifer, and you can also take a really hot
shower after the application, and it
can keep most of them from even turning colors.”
“Seriously?” J.J. seemed impressed with that bit of information, but Sara only
nodded. “That’s really good to know, thank you… Believe me,
it’s really good to know.”
As J.J.
hurried Emily to the door, Emily had to ask. “You’re still getting those
hickeys?”
J.J.
huffed and rolled her eyes as she pushed through the outer door and said, “God
yes. Why else would I be wearing all of this makeup, except to blend in all the
stuff I have to put on my neck every other damn day?”