A/N: This is my response to the "JJ's departure" challenge on Chit Chat On Author's Corner.

Disclaimer: Same as usual, I don't own anything...

Love And Loss

Chapter 1

She woke up more relaxed than she had been in quite a while. Her whole body was still humming from the heated passion she had shared last night with the man, whose arms were currently wrapped around her, keeping her close to his warm figure. Smiling to herself, she felt genuinely happy for the first time in years.

They were secretly sharing a bed for five months now, having agreed on nothing but a casual affair in the beginning, but were gradually growing closer without redefining their relationship so far.

They felt comfortable with each other, outside of work, which was still a surprise considering the fact that they had spent the better part of the twenty-something years they had been knowing each other making each other's lives as miserable as possible.

But on this bright and sunny Saturday morning, lying safely in David Rossi's arms, Erin Strauss realized that she might just be a little bit in love again.

Feeling him stir underneath her, she raised her head to see him slowly opening his eyes, blinking the sleep away, a gentle smile forming on his face.

"Good morning, " she whispered, brushing a small kiss against his lips.

"Morning," his sleepy murmur came promptly.

He made no attempts of releasing her from his embrace, so she snuggled her head back against his bare chest, trailing her fingers softly through its hair.

She loved those lazy mornings, when he kept work and the rest of the world at bay for her, letting them both enjoy the peace and quiet of the sanctuary he called his home outside the city. Usually, they faded into another session of slow love-making before getting ready for the day.

Today they simply confined themselves to a number of intense, yet gentle kisses, because they were still a bit sore from the previous night.

Getting up about fifteen minutes later, Dave pressed a soft kiss against her temple and muttered: "Go have a shower, I'll cook breakfast."

He always did that on the weekends, and for Erin it was one of the reasons why she was falling for him so hard. Her ex-husband had never done that. In fact, he had not lifted a finger in the household, making Erin feel like she had two full-time jobs, one with the FBI and one at home.

After a quick shower, she got dressed and went down to join him in the kitchen.