Caution to the Wind

Chapter 20

They've survived Linda Barnes, and now the team—and Tara and Emily's relationship—have never been stronger. Follows S13E17-S13E20.

It was really, really good to be back. They'd missed the office and the work, but most of all they'd missed each other. They'd missed being part of a team. They'd missed saving lives and feeling like they were making a difference. Now, with Barnes gone, the team was back where they belonged, and they couldn't be happier. They were still happy to be back even when they got their next case, and they had to fly to the sleepy town of Guymon, Oklahoma, where men were being murdered by clowns, and a seven-year-old boy was in the hospital, completely traumatized and unable to utter a single word after watching the clown kill his father.

They were on the trail of a pair of unsubs who had crossed state lines from Colorado into Oklahoma following the rodeo circuit, and like most killing teams, there was a dominant and a submissive partner. In this case, they were brothers who had grown up in a circus family and were struggling to cope with circuses closing and their family's way of life ending. The dominant brother, Sal, had been a daredevil, and without the circus as an outlet for his reckless impulses, he was robbing homes and killing men he saw as surrogates for the father who abused him. The submissive brother, Tony, had been under Sal's thumb since they were children. Tony was just trying to create a good life for his wife and son, but it wasn't so easy when he'd only ever known life in the circus, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to escape his brother, or the trouble he always brought with him.

But even murderous clowns couldn't dampen the team's enthusiasm for being back at the BAU, or for their traditional post-case team bonding over drinks at O'Keeffe's. They were getting back to normal, back to the routine of life at the BAU, the ups and the downs, the good and the bad, the joys and the challenges. One of those challenges for Emily and Tara in particular was the long hours that came with being unit chief. Emily was regularly in her office long after the sun went down. Sometimes, Tara would coax her out—with logic and reason, with pleading, or with promises of sex. Sometimes, she'd stay and keep Emily company. On this particular late night, though, Emily had sent Tara home with a quick kiss and a promise to spend the evening with her tomorrow, and she'd resigned herself to a long night of reviewing new cases with Penelope. At least Penelope was nice enough to bring takeout. There was a knock at Emily's door, and Rossi stepped into her office.

"Oh, good, you're still here," he said.

"Yeah, it's the BAU, Dave; I've got a pup tent and K-rations in the closet," Emily chuckled, "What's up?"

"Uh, Emily, do you think I could get the next few days off, use some of my annual leave?" he asked.

"David Rossi, time off?" Penelope muttered.

"I think we've entered a parallel universe," Emily deadpanned.

"Okay, you can stop the theatrics," Rossi said, "I got a call this evening from Krystall."

"Krystall..." Emily said, "With the K and two L's?"

"Whoa, wait, what's happening? Did I miss something?" Penelope asked.

"Ah, she was Rossi's third ex-wife," Emily explained, "She was a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas."

"And our love blossomed—as so many of the great ones do—over a deck of cards and lots of casino comped booze," Rossi said.

"Now, what happened? That sounds like a love for the ages," Emily teased.

"Once we sobered up, we had the marriage annulled," Rossi said.