Beauty and The Beast (Criminal Minds fanfic)

Chapter Three

Beauty and The Beast

Screaming in fright, Emily felt her world spin then go black. As she hit the ground, Mudgie jumped over her and lunged for the big brown bear whose paw swung and missed Emily. Sinking his teeth into the bear"s forearm, Mudgie locked his jaw and held on tight as the bear swung wildly.

Glancing briefly at the unconscious woman lying on the ground, Dave took aim at the monstrous beast but was unable to find a target without possibly hitting the dog.

Growling in pain and anger, the bear looked down at the dog. Mudgie narrowed his eyes and bit harder.

With one powerful jerk, the bear threw his arm back and launched the dog into the brush. The sound of a painful yelp reached Dave"s ears. Eyes narrowed to slits, he took aim at the bear and pulled the trigger. The report of the shotgun echoed thru the forest, followed by the painful cry of the grizzly as buckshot hit him in the backside. Turning around, the bear looked at Dave, growled and took a step forward.

Lining his target again, Dave waited.

Sizing his opponent, the bear looked at the man with the gun, then turned around and ran off. Dave let out a shaky breath and set his gun down on the ground. Stepping over to Emily, he put two fingers against her neck and felt for a pulse. A little weak but steady. She was alive.

Damn it! Where the hell had she come from? he cursed to himself. Unable to make out her features in the dim light, all he could remember was the look of fear in her big, round eyes before she fainted. He debated taking her back to the cabin.

Well, Dave, you can"t very well leave her here in the snow.; she"ll die. And with everything else you"ve done, you don"t need that on your conscience, the little voice in the back of his mind taunted.

Picking up his shotgun, he placed it in the holster on his back before bending over and taking the slim woman in his arms. Lighter than a feather, he wondered how anyone could function being as thin as she was. Then it passed thru his mind how well she fit in his arms. In fact, she felt good.

Shaking his head, he tightened his grip around her as her head nestled against his chest. Fighting the unfamiliar feeling coursing thru his body, Dave called for Mudgie.

"Come on, boy." Slowly the dog emerged from the brush. Glancing around, he tried to sense if the situation was okay. "The bear is gone, boy." Mudgie looked at the woman in his master"s arms and growled. "We"re taking her home." Mudgie growled again. "We can"t leave her here; she"ll die."

Mudgie whined plaintively. Dave shook his head.

"I know, boy. You"re hurt. Let"s get her home and I"ll take care of you. How about a steak for a job well done?" Dave offered. Mudgie panted excitedly. Hoisting Emily closer, Dave started forward. "Get ahead of me, Mudgie, and keep a look out."

Excitedly the dog did as he was told. Forging a path, Mudgie kept an eye open as Dave followed behind. As the snow fell faster, the pair hurried back to the safety of their home.

****

Emily felt the cool cloth against her skin as she slowly came back to consciousness. As the images of running thru the dark forest flashed through her mind, she involuntarily shivered. The gentle touch of a rough hand on her forehead gave her a little comfort as she tried to forget the nightmare of earlier.

"Hello there," the male voice greeted. "You decided to come back."

Keeping her eyes closed, Emily snuggled deeper under the covers. "I had the weirdest dream. I was running thru the forest when I was attacked by this black wolf and a guy holding a shotgun."

"Really?" the voice replied with an amused chuckle.

"I"m so glad to be home again. I"m not doing any more jobs for you, Nick," she replied dreamily.

"Who"s Nick?"

Emily"s eyes flew open as she sat up and looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where am I?"

"At my cabin," Dave replied from his place on the edge of the bed.

Looking at him, it dawned on Emily that this was the same man who had pointed a shotgun at her. "You!" she gasped. She started to throw the comforter back when she realized that she was wearing nothing but a robe. Pulling the comforter up to her chin, she glared at her "captor". "You tried to shoot me!"

"Honest mistake, but you were trespassing on my land," Dave pointed out.

"No I wasn"t. I was lost," she corrected.

"Likely story." Dave went to run the cloth over Emily"s forehead again but she pulled back. Sighing, he got up and moved to the chair beside the bay window.

"I was trying to find my way back to my car when your wolf attacked me."

"My "wolf" didn"t attack you, he was protecting you," he corrected. "And for the record, he isn"t a "wolf", he is a black Lab and his name is Mudgie." Hearing his name, the dog came over and laid his head on his master"s lap. Keeping one careful eye on Emily, he gave her a little growl.

"He certainly fooled me." Emily shivered involuntarily. "How did I get here? Like this?"

"You fainted. From the look and condition of your face and clothes, you certainly put up a good fight with more than one mulberry bush and tree branch. You were in shock and hurt. I brought you here to my cabin."

"My clothes?" She glanced at the chair beside the bed for her jeans.

"Torn, wet, muddy…I couldn"t very well leave you in them."

Emily looked at the blue terry cloth robe. "You put me in this?"

"It was that or leave you in your underwear. I figured you would appreciate this more."

Uncomfortable, she tried to meet his eyes but couldn"t. "So, why did you bring me here?"

"I didn"t have much of a choice. It was bring you here or leave you out in the snowstorm. I might be an arrogant bastard, but I"m not cruel."

"Gee, thanks." Emily tried to move her legs to the side of the bed. A sharp pain shot up her left leg. "Ow!"

"What are you doing?"

"I have to leave."

"Sorry, sweetheart, but that isn"t happening."

"What are you talking about?" she demanded and tried to move again. "I have to get out of here."

"Good luck with that one. You don"t have any clothes and your ankle is sprained. Badly, I might add."

Emily swung her legs over to the floor. Gingerly she tried to stand up and put weight on her injury. Crying out, she sat back down immediately. At her cry, Mudgie let out loud bark. Emily cowered against the head board.

"Mudgie, back down," Dave commanded then turned his eyes to Emily. "What the hell do you think you"re doing?" he demanded.

"I have to leave."

Dave shook his head reluctantly. "Not tonight, you"re not."

"But I…"

"Look, lady, it"s dark and snowing outside. The odds of finding your car are going to be nil in a blizzard…especially when the temperature is below freezing."

Emily turned her chin up defiantly. "I don"t have a problem with the cold. If you can get me my coat, I will get out of your hair."

Dave raised his eyebrow. "Your coat? You mean that thin piece of nylon with a thin cotton lining?" Emily felt herself blush. "If that is the coat you are referring to, I hate to tell you, but I had to throw it out."

"Why?"

"It was torn and muddy. There was no way to salvage it."

"Well, get me another coat so I can leave," she demanded haughtily.

"I"m not letting you outside in a blizzard."

"I don"t care what you want. I"m leaving and you can"t stop me." Emily tried again to stand up, but sat down after her ankle screamed out in protest.

Dave raised an eyebrow. "I might not be able to stop you, but I think your body might."

"I can"t stay here."

"If you want to leave, feel free to head out the door. But if the thought of no clothes, no coat, a blizzard, and the dark of night won"t stop you, maybe the bear who tried to attack you earlier might change your mind."

Emily swallowed hard. "Bear?"

He nodded. "Yep. There was a big brown grizzly standing behind you. That is why I leveled my gun at you; I was trying to protect you."

"What happened?"

"Obviously you got too close to his den and he was angry. I had no choice but to shoot him."

Em"s eyes widened. "You shot him?" she sputtered incredulously.

"Your life was in danger! It was him or you!" Dave retorted, angry that his good deed had been tossed back with such ungratefulness.

"But you shot a bear!"

Dave shrugged. "Wouldn"t have been my first time."

"Why?"

Dave gave her a confused look. "I can"t believe I am stuck with an animal rights activist."

"No, I"m not!" she protested at the label. "But you didn"t have to shoot him."

"Sorry, but I didn"t think he was willing to negotiate and listen to reason while Mudgie sank his teeth into his arm. You do realize that one swipe of his paw could have ripped off your pretty face and you would have probably died, right?"

Emily looked down at the flower print on the comforter. What he said was right, but she couldn"t admit it. After all, he did level a gun at her head.

"If it makes you feel better," Dave continued, "I wounded him in the ass."

"Really?" A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Nothing like a spray of buckshot to change a ravaging beast"s mind."

"Thank you."

"Don"t thank me; I didn"t do it for you, I did it for Mudgie."

Emily"s finger stopped tracing the pattern. "What do you mean?"

"You were passed out on the ground; the bear didn"t care about you, but he did care about my dog attacking him. He threw Mudgie down and would have killed him if I hadn"t taken the shot. Honestly, I don"t give a damn about you, but my dog means everything to me."

Chastised, Emily tried to mean his eyes. As her eyes met his dark brown ones, she felt her mouth suddenly go dry. Self-conscious, she drew the comforter higher. "Thank you. And I thank Mudgie too."

"Well, that"s all fine and dandy," he shrugged, "but considering he is all I have, it"s going to take more than a simple thank you to make it up to us."

"What do you mean?"

"I know I"m going against my better judgment, but I can"t let you leave. So if you would like, and you don"t mind being with me a little while longer, I want to invite you to stay for dinner."

"You want me to eat with you?"

"Why not? You look like you could use a good meal."

Emily debated with herself for a moment. She didn"t want to stay, but the thought of a blizzard and bears didn"t sound as inviting as a nice hot meal in a warm cabin. "Okay." She shifted her weight as her bladder began protesting. "May I ask a favour?"

"Sure."

Emily pushed back the comforter. "Could you help me to the bathroom? Please?" She hoped her voice didn"t sound too desperate.

Dave reached down and picked Emily up in his arms. Carrying her out of the room and down the hall to the closed door, he set her down but his arms stayed around her.

Feeling her heartbeat race, Emily tried to gather her thoughts as she relished in the safety of Dave"s arms. "Thank you."

"You"ll be alright?"

Nodding, she stepped back, careful not to put too much weight on her injury. "I should be."

"You"ll find everything you need in the cupboard. Shout if I can get you anything else."

"Okay." Turning, she opened the door.

"By the way, how do you like your steak?"

"Medium well."

Dave felt his lip twitch. "Really?"

"Is that wrong?" She wondered if she had said something wrong.

He shook his head. "No. It"s just unusual for a woman to order it that way."

"Why is that so unusual?"

"I take it the same way."

"Oh." Emily found herself speechless. Turning toward the door, she stopped and looked back at Dave. "Umm...I was wondering, what—what is your name?"

Dave thought for a moment. He debated telling her the truth, but deep down inside he didn"t know who she was and what her agenda might be. Although beautiful enough to lead him anywhere, this woman could destroy everything. He couldn"t risk it.

"Tony," he replied simply.

"Thank you, Tony."

"Go freshen up. Dinner will be ready soon." Turning away, he started to walk away. Hearing the door close, Dave whispered to Mudgie, "Stand guard, boy. Don"t let her out of your sight. There is something about her I don"t trust."

Lying down by the door, Mudgie did as he was told although his instincts were telling him the same thing.