Domino

By Fabrisse

Pairing: Emily Prentiss/Spencer Reid
Characters: Emily Prentiss, Spencer Reid
Rating: FREveryone, there's mentions of dating
Summary: Spencer Reid gets Emily Prentiss a cat.
Author Note: This takes place immediately after "The Fight" and certain of its characters are included. There's also a scene set during "Exit Wounds. This story is to apologize to lj user="madlori" for getting her birthday story to her late. It's inspired by the Get. The. Cat. drive over at Television Without Pity.

Reid hadn't had a great deal to do on the case. This other BAU team had worked another angle, and the whole thing had ended in a roof top chase. He was never fond of those, but this time he couldn't even think about participating because his knee was still bad.

He was easing his leg at the party by leaning against a folding bar, holding a jar of chex mix under his arm, and munching continually to keep from saying things he shouldn't. The conversation had been general for a long time, but now, this corner had just him, Morgan, and the British guy, Mick from the other team.

"So, Morgan, what do you know about Agent Prentiss?" Mick was staring at Prentiss as he asked.

"Speaks at least six languages and can swear in a dozen more. She's better than I am at kick-boxing -- does it French style -- but I can kick her butt at most hand-to-hand."

"And you have the bruises to prove it," Reid said.

"How is she with a weapon?"

"None of us can touch Hotch for that, though JJ's a pretty good shot. Don't know about Rossi. I'd say Prentiss and I are duking it out for third. Reid might actually mean we're fighting for fourth." He grinned at Reid. "I know your rating's gone up since you switched to a revolver."

Mick looked him over. "Yeah, you look real threatening."

Reid shrugged.

Morgan clapped Mick on the shoulder. "Why are you asking about Emily? Got a little thing for her?"

"Watch who you're calling little," Mick said elbowing him lightly. "I think there might be a little something there between us. I'll bet she's a wild cat in the sack."

Reid put down the chex mix and said, "How would you feel if I spoke about LaSalle that way?"

Mick winked at Morgan, then said to Reid, "I wouldn't mind. We've already scratched that itch."

"I'm going to head back to the hotel."

Mick stopped him. "Let me tell you what I've figured out about you."

"Profiling me?"

"Sure. We're all profilers, aren't we? Now, I'll admit, I'm not too good with American accents yet, but you're definitely not from the East coast. And I noticed you weren't drinking, plus I know something about recent FBI recruitments. My take is that you're probably Mormon, western, but not from Utah. You've lived in Washington long enough to pick up some dress sense. Your teammates refer to you as Doctor Reid. I'm going to bet the doctorate is in anthropology or sociology rather than psychology, just because of all the statistical analysis you do. Oh, and you've never been in a real life or death situation, though no doubt you've been close while out in the field."

"That's not profiling. That's a Sherlock Scan." He held up his hands placatingly. "It's a useful interrogation tool. You're right, I'm from the West, and I've lived in DC for several years." Reid flashed a grin at Morgan. "Don't tell him how accurate the rest of his analysis is." He turned back to Mick. "It'll give you something to do on the plane tomorrow." He walked out after letting Hotch know he was leaving.

Mick turned to Morgan. "I got under his skin. Must have been pretty close."

Morgan's shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. "I'll give you one for free. Reid's not a Mormon."

"Is he gay?"

"What?"

"Nothing against him if he is, he just didn't seem to get guy talk.'

Morgan took a swig from his beer. "He doesn't get guy talk when he thinks it's disrespectful to women, and he's pretty old school about what constitutes disrespect."

Mick raised his bottle, and Morgan tapped his against it.

Mick glanced over at Prentiss. "You're seriously telling me you've never tried to tap that?"

"I have a policy -- never pursue a woman who carries a gun."

***

Reid couldn't keep up the mystery on the plane the next day. Unlike her teammate, LaSalle had done her research, and she chatted to him earnestly about his articles in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology until JJ gathered up Emily and Mick and dealt a poker hand.

"I hope you don't mind," she said to the others. "We always play stud or draw."

"No problem," Mick said. "I just think it's a pity to play poker without cigars or beer." He looked to Reid. "You're not Mormon, but you don't drink. Alcoholic?"

JJ and Emily both stiffened at the question.

Reid thought a moment. "Allergic to alcohol is out because I wasn't bothered by the one bottle of beer that broke. Not bad."

"So you are an alcoholic?"

"No, but you get points for logic. I don't much care for the taste of beer. If there'd been cider available, I might have had some or not. I'm working on an article at the moment and might have chosen to drink soda water so I could stay up and finish it."

"Did you?" JJ broke the tension. "Finish the article, I mean."

Reid nodded. "I want Rossi to look it over because I'm positing a new theory on organized crime families, but the first draft is definitely done." He passed the deck to LaSalle to deal.

"You didn't take your turn," she said.

"If I deal, they won't play," Reid grinned at his teammates. He raised his eyebrows at Mick. "You were right about where I was from. It's Vegas."

"Got it. Tell you what, you deal a no bet hand. I'll put twenty on it that you can't cheat me."

JJ grinned. "I'll cover that bet."

Emily said, "Cut me in."

Reid smiled at Mick and began shuffling. "The lack of alcohol for me… Mormon was a logical first stroke with Occam's razor, but considering my general build why not posit diabetic for the second one?" He began dealing.

"Honestly, it hadn't occurred to me and in this job, alcoholism is a high risk." He seemed surprised to realize he had five cards in front of him.

Reid turned his attention to LaSalle. "How many cards?"

"Two." She seemed puzzled, but was pleased with her new ones.

Reid glanced at JJ who said, "How many do you think I need?" and he dealt her two as well.

"One for me," Emily said.

"And one for me," said Mick.

"Dealer takes none. Since we're not betting, who wants to lay down first?"

LaSalle put down four of a kind, eights with the ace of clubs as her fifth card.

"Bastard. You gave me four sevens and a king." Mick was shaking his head.

JJ put down four nines and the queen of diamonds.

"Looks like I win." Emily had a royal flush in hearts.

"Not exactly." Reid turned over a royal flush in spades and got laughter and applause from his teammates.

He overheard Cooper say to Hotch, "Does he do that a lot? I didn't even see when he stacked the deck."

Hotch replied, "He doesn't stack it. His sleight of hand lets him deal from any part of the deck, and the eidetic memory means he just has to glance at the pack once after it's shuffled."

Reid got up from the table and headed to the back for some water. He stopped and said to Hotch, "I didn't know you'd figured out my methods."

***

Over the next month, Reid heard Prentiss mention Mick once or twice. Apparently, he was continuing to ask her out even though, so far, she'd turned him down every time.

On the case in Alaska, Hotch had Garcia spend the first night running searches based on the information they'd been given by the local sheriff's office. Reid was going through a couple files to try to give her narrower parameters. Emily and JJ came down and got a couple of cups of herbal tea to help them sleep. Garcia joined them for a couple of minutes while the computer was searching for the uplink.

When she came back to the coffee table where they were working, he asked her, "What was that about a cat?"

"I forget you have ears like a lynx, my genius."

He shook his head. "At least I'm no longer your bitch."

"True. I can be a harsh taskmistress."

"Cat?"

Garcia rolled her eyes and typed for a minute. "I have my strong techno-nerd, and JJ has Will. Emily needs someone. We're trying to convince her to try someone with a sexy British accent. She joked that maybe she should get a cat."

"At least a cat would always be waiting for her when she got home. Someone on another BAU team would probably lead to conflicting schedules." He was pretty sure he'd kept his voice even.

"And even a tiny cat can take up half a double bed as I discovered when I was younger, but it's not the same." Garcia looked at him. "I know you didn't answer JJ about Lila, but are you still seeing her sometimes or are the tabloids right?"

Reid rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she's dating Jason Taylor at the moment, but it's not like she and I aren't still friends. If he proposes, I've promised to be her maid of honor."

Garcia nodded solemnly. "Make sure she lets you pick the dress."

Reid nodded back. "I've been promised that I'll be the only one wearing lavender in the wedding party."

They giggled, and Reid stood up. "I've left a couple of possibilities on the pad there. Can you read my writing?"

"Compared to Rossi, you write very legibly. Get some sleep."

"Thanks, Garcia."

***

On the following Saturday, Reid found himself standing in front of Emily's townhouse with two large bags. This might be his worst idea, ever.

He took a deep breath and walked up the steps to the front door and knocked.

Emily answered. "Reid?"

He looked at her. She was wearing jeans, but something about her outfit and jewelry made him think "date." He said, "I'm sorry. You were waiting for someone. I just…" He gestured with one of the bags.

"Come on in. I have a few minutes before Mick gets here." She looked puzzled, but smiled warmly.

"First date?" Reid gave a wry smile. "Sorry. None of my business."

"Yes. He's been asking for awhile. It seemed worth a shot."

They stood awkwardly in her foyer for a moment and then there was a "mew" from Reid's pocket.

He shook his head. "I wasn't thinking. Garcia mentioned something and there was an adoption drive going on just up Wisconsin and…" One of his broad hands scooped a black kitten with white markings around his eyes and paws from his pocket. "If it's a bad idea for you, I understand. He'll have a home with me, but somehow, I thought…"

"You're babbling," Emily said as she stroked the cat in Reid's hand. "And it was thoughtful. What is all this stuff?"

"Litterbox, litter, collar, automatic food system, food, water fountain, a travel crate, and…" He reached into his other pocket and pulled out a ball with a bell in it.

Emily laughed, and the kitten tried to bat at Reid's thumb. "He's delightful," she said. "You can put him down. You did say him?"

"Yes. There was a female, his littermate, that I thought about, but somehow he looked right for you. He's been neutered."

"Good." She watched the kitten go tearing around her front hallway chasing the jingling ball. "I accept. I'd been thinking about a cat. If I'd known about the adoption drive, I might have gone there myself. Let's get this stuff into the kitchen."

Reid was careful not to seem too curious about her home, but when they got to the kitchen, he looked around openly. "I didn't think DC had kitchens this large outside of restaurants."

"Are you kidding, most restaurants would kill to have a kitchen this size. The previous owners were gourmet cooks. I was embarrassed to put in a microwave." She filled up the water compartment for the drinking fountain while he started filling the automatic food system.

The kitten came tearing in and stopped. He went over to Emily and sniffed her as she put the fountain together and turned it on. He licked her hand and then went over to try the water. "What's his name?"

"That's up to you. I don't think cats come when you call."

Emily looked at the white markings around his eyes and said, "Domino."

Reid grinned. "That's perfect."

Domino went over and tried a couple of bites of his food.

"Where should I set up the litter box?"

"There's a half bath right here." She walked to an alcove off the kitchen and opened the door.

Reid set it all up quickly. "I should be going before…"

The doorbell rang.

Emily picked up Domino so he wouldn't try to run out and went to answer the door. "Hi, Mick."

"Hi yourself. Who's this little guy?" He reached toward the cat who arched away from him.

"Domino meet Mick. You'll have to learn to be nice to my dates." She started to close the door as Reid came up.

"I should be heading out." Reid nodded at Mick. "Nice to see you again." To Emily he said, "I hope I did the right thing."

"What, are you trying to turn her into some crazy cat lady?" Mick shook his head and smiled at Emily. "It starts with one, and the next thing you know there's a dozen flea-bitten moggies around the place."

Emily looked at Reid. "Domino was a great idea. Thank you. And for all the accoutrements as well."

"No problem. You two have a good evening." He left and headed down Q Street toward Wisconsin to catch his bus.

***

When he got home an hour later, Emily was leaning against the black Vespa Reid knew she used around town, reading a book. She looked up at him. "What took you so long?"

He held up a paper sack. "I stopped at Five Guys to pick up French fries."

She laughed. "Just fries?"

"I didn't feel like a burger and I can make a grilled cheese myself."

The pause lasted awhile before Emily said, "It was the 'crazy cat lady' remark. I realized that I liked the theory of Mick or having someone in my life, but I didn't like him. Going out with him was just rewarding persistence."

Reid nodded.

"While you were waiting for your fries or possibly your bus, I did a little bit of online research and discovered that it's better to have two cats if you're going to be gone for long periods, the way we are. I thought I'd have trouble finding the littermate you mentioned, but the people at the adoption drive remembered you."

"You got Nefertiti?"

Emily grinned. "With her eyeliner marking, that's a perfect name. Yes, I got Nefertiti. I hope there are enough fries for two people, because I want you to climb on the back and come home with me tonight."

"I'll share."

"You're not going to ask to drive?"

"Why would I? I'm not familiar with motorcycles, and it's yours."

"Good. Later, I hope you'll help me with an experiment. I have a theory that kittens will not try to share the bed if there are two people in it."

Reid felt his cheeks heat up as he met her eyes. "From my research, I think you're wrong, but I would be glad to help you test the theory."

Emily handed him a helmet and put on her own. "Hold tight."

He wrapped an arm around her and did as she asked.

~

end