Beauty and The Beast (Criminal Minds fanfic)

Chapter Four

Beauty and The Beast

Running a brush thru her damp hair, Emily took another look in the mirror and sighed. The shower had been a blessing and helped take some of the sting out of the sprain in her ankle, but as she peered closely at her reflection, she realized that nothing could help the tiny cuts and scrapes on her face.

Tightening the robe belt around her waist, she knew that in time they would heal. Still… She was a little vain about her looks and knew that a pretty face and charm could go a long way to finding out what she needed to know. Something told her that Tony could help her find David Rossi. She would bet her credentials that he held that missing piece to the puzzle.

Although all she knew at the moment was that she was in a cabin somewhere in the woods being guarded by a rabid dog and a hunter who didn"t take kindly to trespassers. On the other hand, he did get her into shelter and tend to her injuries. Maybe he wasn"t so bad after all. All she had to do was bide her time to ask the right questions.

Dave checked the grill and laid the steaks on the heated surface. For the first time in a long time the sound of the sizzling beef was music to his ears. But more glorious than the sizzle was the sound of a woman"s voice in the cabin. How long had it been since a woman had spoken to him? Ten years? Maybe more? It had been so long he had lost track of time.

Poking the fork in the meat, he checked the underside and turned it over. Almost perfect. And not just the meat. The night was almost perfect, too. And maybe with some luck, and a little wishful thinking, she could end up being the thing that could break the spell.

She was beautiful and mysterious, and seemed to have dropped from the heavens above like an answer to his prayers. So it had to mean something. Maybe ten years had been long enough to make him suffer. He had done nothing so horrible to have warranted such a harsh sentence.

No, you just manipulated women until all the fun was gone and then you moved on, the voice sang in his head - the same voice that reminded him on more than one occasion why he was here in this never ending hell.

"It"s not fair!" he spoke out loud and stirred the potatoes. "But what does it matter…if she"s not the one."

But what if she is?

Dave"s heart picked up speed at the thought. She hadn"t cursed him or tried to shoot him like the other women in his past had attempted a time or two. Nor had she run away. Okay, so she was incapable of running - much less walking - but that had to be a sign. Right? He almost had to remember to breathe as the air caught in his chest at the possibility. Turning the steaks again, he straightened up.

You wanted your chance to break the spell, well here it is.

"What if…?" He didn"t want to think negatively and ruin the moment.

No "what if". Just keep your arrogance in check and let things fall into place.

"And with any luck, I will be out of here by the end of the week," he gloated. Placing the lid back on the potatoes, he turned the flame down and waited.

As the scent of grilled steak wafted up, Emily felt her mouth water. No matter what her rescuer did or didn"t do on her behalf, if that steak tasted half as good as it smelled, he could be forgiven. Her stomach rumbled in protest as she debated calling him for help down the stairs.

Opening the door, she was greeted by a black furry door stop. The low throat growl caused her to pause in mid hop.

"Hi, Mudgie," she greeted with false cheeriness. "How are you doing boy?" Mudgie gave a low growl in response. Oh boy! This is not going to turn out well.

Taking another hop forward, she tried to get the dog to move. Unable to do much, Emily sucked in her breath, squared her shoulders, and called out for help.

"Uh...Tony? I think I need a little help here." No response to her request came.

"Tony?" she called out again. Nothing. Bending over, she touched Mudgie who jumped up and began barking furiously. Startled, Emily jumped back in shock.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Dave was putting the finishing touches on dinner when he heard the commotion upstairs. Nearly jumping out of his skin, he ran out of the room thru the cabin and up the stairs to where Mudgie had the frightened woman cornered between the toilet and sink.

"Mudgie! Back down!" Dave ordered. Looking at Emily pale face, he reached out his hand. "Are you alright?" Nodding, she ignored his hand. "Why didn"t you call me?"

"I did; you didn"t answer."

Dave thought carefully. Had she called him? Vaguely he remembered hearing the name "Tony", but he wasn"t positive. "I"m sorry; I was busy in the kitchen." Moving into the room, he pushed Mudgie aside. "Dinner is ready if you are."

"Thank you," she replied before Dave lifted her into his arms. "What are you doing?"

"I can"t very well let you hop down the stairs so you can fall and hurt yourself."

"I won"t fall…" she protested weakly. Her heart thumped wildly as his grip tightened around her and held her close.

"How did you hurt yourself?" he asked as he carefully navigated the staircase.

Emily blushed. "I fell." He raised an eyebrow in question. "But I was wearing high heeled boots," she corrected. "I think that helped…along with the fact that it was snowing and it was dark."

His crooked smile caused her heart to race. "It"s nice to know you aren"t a klutz."

"In my line of work it would be detrimental to my health and bank account."

Dave walked into the kitchen and set Emily carefully in a chair. Carefully, he arranged and propped her leg up on the extra chair. "What do you do?"

Catching her breath, she realized she may have given too much away. "I"m a researcher."

"That sounds…" pausing while getting the plates out of the cupboard, he searched for the right word, "…interesting."

"It is. More than it sounds."

"What kind of research? Medical? Environmental?" He tried to make small talk.

"Umm…more like…genealogy."

"Discovering the past?"

She nodded. "In a way."

A flash caught his eye. Looking down at her hand, he saw the large diamond. Any thought he had of getting out of the cabin for good went out of his head, and his pleasant nature was instantly replaced by sarcasm. "What does your other half have to say about your line of work?"

"Excuse me?" She gave him an innocent look.

Dave placed the dishes on the table. "I saw your ring. You"re married?" He kept his eyes downcast as the anger he tried to suppress came out in his voice.

"Engaged. Sort of." Emily nervously played with the ring. She had seen his look of interest but now it was replaced by indifference. A wall slowly went up.

"Sort of? That"s just a fancy way of saying you"re taken but not all the way. Guess you"re off limits." Dave went back to the stove. "So, what does he do?"

"He runs his family"s business."

"A trust fund baby," he nearly spit the words out.

And here he thought he was far enough away to avoid complicated headaches.

Emily became uncomfortable. "I guess you could say that." She picked at her serviette.

"I hate him already."

"Oh."

Quietly, and with purpose, Dave set the meal on the table. Dishing up his plate, he began eating. Emily looked at him in an uncomfortable silence. Swallowing quickly, he looked at her. "What?"

"I thought…maybe…me being your guest…" she tried to point out the obvious but stumbled.

Dave pointed at her with his steak knife. "Your ankle is sprained; not your wrist."

Stunned, she felt her appetite go south. "I would like to go to my room now."

Dave raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Why? I thought you were hungry."

Emily felt the tears well up along with her anger. "I"m not hungry anymore. Besides you assumed I was hungry."

"Weren"t you?" He added more A-1 to his plate and continued eating.

Raising her chin, she avoided his eyes. "No." She was acting childish, but she didn"t care. He was being rude and inhospitable, and her book, two could play that game.

Watching her reaction, he took a long moment to chew his bite. Swallowing, he shrugged. "Okay. Then leave."

"What?!" Emily wasn"t sure if she heard correctly.

"If you"re not hungry, then leave so I can finish my meal in silence." His meaning was clear: he had just dismissed her from his sight and his life.

Debating whether or not to say what was on the tip of her tongue, Emily got up and hobbled away. At the door way she paused. "You never even asked me my name."

"Excuse me?" he mumbled around chewing the chunk of steak in his mouth.

"I know your name, but you never asked mine," she tried to at least meet him halfway.

"Because I don"t care."

Emily"s heart broke at her host"s callous attitude. "What do you mean?"

"You belong to another man, and you are leaving in a couple of days. What good can come of knowing your name?"

With her ankle throbbing painfully, and wishing she had something to toss at his head, Emily tried to hold her anger inside. "For the record, it"s Em." Awkwardly she made her escape.

Watching the woman leave the room, Mudgie looked up from his basket by the stove and whined.

"What?" Dave asked gruffly. Mudgie whined again. "You want her food?" he offered the steak. In response, Mudgie got up and turned around so his back faced his master.

Sighing, Dave picked up his utensils and continued eating although he too had lost his appetite. Outside the snow hit against the window panes as the blizzard picked up in intensity.