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thefroggTitle: Earnest Appreciation (2/3)
Series: Of Innocence and Empathy
Author: Frogg
Beta: Adam, Nilandia, annie,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hawk_dancing, fluffnutter (Or pretty much everyone who's ever betaed OI&E)
Rating: FRT-13, mention of f/f slash
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Damnit.
Author's Note: Set after Earnest Victory.
The roses had been moved to the conference room. Out of sight, out of mind, or so Emily had hoped. That, and because they were taking up too much room on her desk.
This morning, a box wrapped in plain silver paper and dark blue ribbon sat waiting for her.
"You gonna open that?"
Emily tugged reluctantly at the shimmering spirals, letting them spring back into shape. Her lips thinned in irritation, but she didn't answer.
"Hey, you okay? This isn't some stalker after you, is it?"
"Morgan, I don't know. This only started yesterday, and I don't feel like I'm being watched." Impatient hands tore the ribbon off, the thin coils discarded in the trash can. "It's probably someone trying to get an in with Ambassador Prentiss."
Morgan frowned. "I thought--"
Emily glanced up, hands stilling on the package, nails caught beneath the paper's overlap.
"Nevermind."
The paper tore and fell away from the box, all pretense of neatness abandoned.
"Damn, girl." Morgan let out a soft whistle as Emily lifted the lid, carefully removing the packing material to expose the contents. "That's some buttering up."
"What is it this time?" JJ's voice was tight, angry as she entered the bullpen.
Emily's breath caught, hand tightening on the box. Then, silently reminding herself she wasn't at fault, she picked it and the lid up and turned, tilting it so JJ could see the Swarovski logo emblazoned in silver across the velvet blue box.
"Open it."
Blindly passing the lid off to Morgan, she pulled the last layer of tissue paper aside, displaying the glint of crystal and gleam of polished granite.
Fury sparked JJ's eyes, her lips going white as she stared at the crystal panther nestled securely in tissue and styrofoam. After a long moment of rapid breathing, she let out a long sigh. "No card?"
Emily shook her head mutely.
JJ glanced at the door to Hotch's office, closed to the bullpen. "I'll let this go today. You get another...whatever...and we're going to talk about this." As a team, she didn't have to add.
"It's probably just--"
JJ wouldn't let her finish. "I don't care."
"I'm not being stalked, JJ, I'd know if I were," Emily shot back in irritation. She felt Morgan go stiff beside her, the bumped chair smacking the edge of her desk.
"Do you know that?" Suspicion sharpened the anger in JJ's voice.
Emily couldn't answer.
JJ raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one foot. "Well, then." She glanced back up at Hotch's office door, as if debating the wisdom of leaving it alone, then pivoted on her heel and left.
The tension didn't ease until JJ's footsteps had faded down the hall and around the corner. Then, Emily's shoulders dropped, hands loosening on the box as she turned back around and set it on the desk, mindlessly replacing the molded styrofoam atop the sculpture.
Morgan turned the lid over in his hands. "JJ's too angry to see straight right now-" he began.
"No kidding," Emily snapped.
Keeping both tone and expression nonjudgmental, Morgan ignored the interruption. "--but if you ever want to talk about what happened to you, I'm all ears."
Emily finally met his eyes as she accepted the lid from him. "I'll keep that in mind," she said blandly, dropping her gaze to the box as the lid slid into place.
~~~to be continued~~~
P.S. For those of you wondering, this is the panther sculpture Emily got.
Series: Of Innocence and Empathy
Author: Frogg
Beta: Adam, Nilandia, annie,
hawk_dancing, fluffnutter (Or pretty much everyone who's ever betaed OI&E)Rating: FRT-13, mention of f/f slash
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Damnit.
Author's Note: Set after Earnest Victory.
The roses had been moved to the conference room. Out of sight, out of mind, or so Emily had hoped. That, and because they were taking up too much room on her desk.
This morning, a box wrapped in plain silver paper and dark blue ribbon sat waiting for her.
"You gonna open that?"
Emily tugged reluctantly at the shimmering spirals, letting them spring back into shape. Her lips thinned in irritation, but she didn't answer.
"Hey, you okay? This isn't some stalker after you, is it?"
"Morgan, I don't know. This only started yesterday, and I don't feel like I'm being watched." Impatient hands tore the ribbon off, the thin coils discarded in the trash can. "It's probably someone trying to get an in with Ambassador Prentiss."
Morgan frowned. "I thought--"
Emily glanced up, hands stilling on the package, nails caught beneath the paper's overlap.
"Nevermind."
The paper tore and fell away from the box, all pretense of neatness abandoned.
"Damn, girl." Morgan let out a soft whistle as Emily lifted the lid, carefully removing the packing material to expose the contents. "That's some buttering up."
"What is it this time?" JJ's voice was tight, angry as she entered the bullpen.
Emily's breath caught, hand tightening on the box. Then, silently reminding herself she wasn't at fault, she picked it and the lid up and turned, tilting it so JJ could see the Swarovski logo emblazoned in silver across the velvet blue box.
"Open it."
Blindly passing the lid off to Morgan, she pulled the last layer of tissue paper aside, displaying the glint of crystal and gleam of polished granite.
Fury sparked JJ's eyes, her lips going white as she stared at the crystal panther nestled securely in tissue and styrofoam. After a long moment of rapid breathing, she let out a long sigh. "No card?"
Emily shook her head mutely.
JJ glanced at the door to Hotch's office, closed to the bullpen. "I'll let this go today. You get another...whatever...and we're going to talk about this." As a team, she didn't have to add.
"It's probably just--"
JJ wouldn't let her finish. "I don't care."
"I'm not being stalked, JJ, I'd know if I were," Emily shot back in irritation. She felt Morgan go stiff beside her, the bumped chair smacking the edge of her desk.
"Do you know that?" Suspicion sharpened the anger in JJ's voice.
Emily couldn't answer.
JJ raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one foot. "Well, then." She glanced back up at Hotch's office door, as if debating the wisdom of leaving it alone, then pivoted on her heel and left.
The tension didn't ease until JJ's footsteps had faded down the hall and around the corner. Then, Emily's shoulders dropped, hands loosening on the box as she turned back around and set it on the desk, mindlessly replacing the molded styrofoam atop the sculpture.
Morgan turned the lid over in his hands. "JJ's too angry to see straight right now-" he began.
"No kidding," Emily snapped.
Keeping both tone and expression nonjudgmental, Morgan ignored the interruption. "--but if you ever want to talk about what happened to you, I'm all ears."
Emily finally met his eyes as she accepted the lid from him. "I'll keep that in mind," she said blandly, dropping her gaze to the box as the lid slid into place.
P.S. For those of you wondering, this is the panther sculpture Emily got.
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