Caution to the Wind

Chapter 19

Punished by Barnes with the worst reassignments possible, Tara and Emily reunite with the fractured BAU team to investigate a case off the books. Follows S13E16, "Last Gasp."

Tara was reassigned as a Bureau therapist. It was an easy enough job, with regular, predictable hours—in that way, it might have been a better gig than the BAU. But it was thankless, soul-sucking drudge work. She was a trained forensic psychologist; she was supposed to be using her skills to get inside the minds of psychopaths, not mediate between squabbling partners. Her days were spent in a revolving door of one dysfunctional relationship after another, and for all her best efforts, nobody ever really left her office feeling completely satisfied—least of all her.

Emily was faring even worse. She'd been reassigned to OPR, and it was all boredom and stakeouts and barging in on agents in compromising positions that were as uncomfortable for her as for them. Her new partner, Odenkirk, was a particular source of unpleasantness, both in his personal habits and his personal hygiene. When Emily wasn't gagging at his body odor, she was gagging at his chauvinism, his bravado, and his crass sense of humor. He had the nerve to flirt with her, no matter how many times she shut him down. Emily was doing her best to keep her head down and be a good soldier, but every minute she spent with Odenkirk was an exercise in self-restraint.

A few weeks into their reassignments, Tara and Emily were still holding onto hope that this was all temporary, and that they'd find their way back to the BAU before too long. But the way back was becoming less and less clear as the days passed, and hope was fading fast. They found comfort and strength in each other, and in knowing that whatever happened, they'd get through it together. They'd walked into this relationship with their eyes wide open, and they knew that being together might come with professional setbacks, but they'd said from the beginning that it was worth it. It was still worth it now. The promise of seeing each other in the evenings helped them get through even the longest days.

Tara finished up her final appointment of the day and shooed her patients out of her office. She was right behind them, grabbing her coat and her briefcase and waiting impatiently for the elevator down to the garage. She sped over to Emily's apartment, and Emily greeted her with a passionate kiss that almost made her forget about her day at work—almost. Emily was always willing to listen to her girlfriend vent her frustrations, and Tara started recounting the details of her day as Emily poured two glasses of red wine and led Tara out onto the balcony.

"I mean, who knew there were so many dysfunctional partners at the Bureau?" Tara said.

"I'm learning the hard way," Emily replied, "I had three stakeouts with Odenkirk last week."

"I know how much you love those," Tara deadpanned.

"And it's one thing to be out in the field with him," Emily said, "But sitting with him in a car for hours on end—he smells! Like dirty tightie-whities dipped in sweat."

"Ugh!" Tara groaned, "Barnes really knew how to punish you; I mean, sticking you with him—a not-so-subtle reference to what happens to agents who transgress."

"And there is no dirt on Barnes in the OPR database," Emily lamented, "She is squeaky clean."

"You pulled her file?" Tara said.

"I thought we might get lucky," Emily giggled.

Tara sighed. "So, what now?"

"I don't know what our next move is," Emily admitted.

"Well, we have got to think of something," Tara said, "I do not know how much more of this assignment I can take."

"You don't-you don't have any regrets, though, do you?" Emily asked nervously.