Caution to the Wind

Chapter 23

In between cases, Tara and Emily build a life and a home together. Follows S14E2-S14E8.

It was hardly the first time Emily had woken up in Tara's bedroom or gotten ready for work in Tara's bathroom, but it did feel a little bit different now that the bedroom and bathroom were also hers. Tara already had toast buttered and grapefruit cut when Emily came downstairs, and as Emily stood at the counter pouring coffee into two mugs, Tara came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist. They were at home, of course, but Emily had rarely felt more at home than she did in that moment. As she packed up for the day and got in her car, she felt like her morning was going absolutely perfectly, but when she checked her watch on the way into the office, she saw she was almost fifteen minutes behind schedule, and late for her morning meeting with Garcia.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, "I guess my new, shorter commute wasn't quite as short as I thought it'd be."

"Oh, are you all moved in now?" Penelope asked.

"Yeah, mostly," Emily nodded, "I mean, I still have a few things to unpack, but a lot of my stuff was already at Tara's house, anyway."

"It's really nice," Penelope said, "The two of you moving in together, taking that step. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks," Emily said, "Anyway, uh, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

"No, not at all. I was just going through potential cases," Penelope replied.

"Hey, I meant it when I said you should take some time off," Emily said kindly, "You've just been through a lot."

Penelope shook her head. "That's, like, the job description of everybody who works here: 'Must go through a lot.' I'm okay." She handed her tablet over to Emily. "That just came in."

"A mummy?"

"Yeah, they found it inside of a wall in a cabin outside Varnville, South Carolina; they think it's really old," Penelope said.

"Well, it's not something you see every day," Emily replied, "But it sounds more like a cold case." She handed the tablet back to Penelope.

"So that's a no, then?"

"Hey, wait a second," Emily said, "Rossi's still in Savannah, isn't he?"

"Mmhmm, he comes back today," Penelope nodded.

"And how far is Varnville from the main highway?" Emily asked.

Penelope checked the map. "Not far, like ten miles."

"Okay, well, maybe he can swing by on his way up," Emily said, "Take a look, advise local law enforcement on how to proceed."

She called Rossi to ask for what she thought would be just a small favor, a quick detour on his way back from his vacation, but turned out to be much, much more than that. That mummy was one of several hidden in the walls of that old house, in addition to some more recently deceased bodies suggesting the cold case might still be hot. The whole team ended up flying to Varnville to investigate the case of a reclusive couple who spent nearly twenty years kidnapping and killing young women in an attempt to recreate the daughter they lost, and a grandson now carrying on the couple's legacy.

When the team landed back in Quantico, there was no question of where Tara or Emily would be headed tonight, no "your place or mine?" They just went home, and Tara made dinner while Emily unpacked and repacked the go bags, because that was their life now. Tara hadn't lived with anyone since Doug moved out, and Emily hadn't lived with anyone since...well, she didn't like to count her time with Doyle, and she certainly hadn't chosen to live with another person in over twenty years. They'd both become accustomed to solitude, but they didn't miss it now, not when being together felt so comfortable, so right. They didn't just share a house or a bed; they shared a life. They shared everything.