Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandom:
Characters:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 64 of Criminal Minds After Series
Collections:
Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
Stats:
Published:
2020-11-05
Words:
597
Chapters:
1/1
Comments:
1
Kudos:
1
Hits:
765

After Bully

Summary:

small scene takes place after ep "Bully" -- Dave has a conversation with Alex's dad, Damon Miller.

Work Text:

Retired Kansas City Police Captain Damon Miller’s sanctuary was always his study. Two walls were floor to ceiling book shelves. There was a flat screen TV and DVD player on another wall. A plush couch sat under the window facing the back yard. The desk was solid oak and everything on its top was neat and tidy.

Dave sat into the chair in front of the desk. He looked around and smiled. “I like this room. It reminds me of my study at home. There’s something about the smell of books.”

“Old books with leather covers,” Damon agreed as he sank down into his desk chair.

“First editions.”

“Have to be.” Damon grinned and took a cigar box from one of the desk drawers. He held it open for Dave. “What better to go with the smell of books than the smell of cigars?”

Dave took one and checked the label. “Nice. Expensive.”

Damon took one for himself and put the box back in the drawer. He tossed Dave a book of matches. “I only get one on special occasions and I won’t ruin the experience with a cheap cigar,” he said seriously.

“I agree completely.” Dave lit the cigar and took a moment to savor it. “That’s good. It’s been a while for me too.”

Damon sat back in his seat. “You have nagging family too, huh?”

Dave chuckled. “And they’re all profilers. It’s tough to keep secrets and they don’t like hearing it’s none of their business.”

“We’re safe in here.” Damon waved an arm. “This was the only room that was ever really mine. The rest of the house was Annie’s.” He sighed wistfully but the smile didn’t disappear. “It still bears her touch.”

“How long’s she been gone?” Dave asked quietly.

“Eight years,” Damon answered. He set his cigar in the ashtray. Then he grabbed one of the pictures off the desk and handed it to Dave. There was a bittersweet edge to his voice. “That was our fortieth wedding anniversary.”

Dave saw a woman with long silver and brown hair and laughing brown eyes. He handed the picture back. “She was beautiful.”

Damon stared at her. He chuckled and shook his head. “She always had this spark. It was one thing the cancer never took from her.” He took a deep breath and nodded at the picture. “She insisted that we throw a big blow-out. We had family in from all over the country. We had almost seventy-five people at Arthur Bryant’s. She always loved barbecue.”

“Sounds like a great time.”

“It was.” Damon held two fingers to his lips and then gently pressed them to the photo. He set it back down at its place of honor at his right hand. He shook his head and grunted. “I’m not trying to bring you down.”

Dave smiled gently. “You’re not.”

Damon shook his head one last time and rolled back to the shelf behind him. “While I’ve got you here…”

Dave watched Damon take four books off the shelf. He arched an eyebrow. “You’ve got my books.”

“Course I do. First editions,” Damon said gruffly. He put them on the desk in front of Dave. “I wasn’t sure what to make of it when I first heard of profiling. It seemed like psycho mumbo jumbo, but the more I read, the more I realized that it’s just another tool to catch the bad guys. I’m all for that.”

Dave ran his hands over the covers. “So you want me to sign these.”

Damon had a pen ready. “If you’d be so kind.”

Series this work belongs to: