Author's Note: Hey guys! I hope y'all enjoy a sweet little one-shot that I dreamt up. This has a few spoilers for Season Six, so be careful. The characters will be a little OOC, just a little warning. This is NOT a ship fic by ANY means. It's just a very tight friendship between JJ, Emily, and Hotch. This story is going to be as if they had been the closest of friends forever. Anyway, have fun!
This is my own little take on what happens in Season Six. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
"This is who I am. I… I just hope you understand. It's time let go of me…"
Those were the last words that the Behavioral Analysis Unit team heard from their Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss before she stalked off into the night, never to be seen again.. Or, should they say, Lauren Reynolds?
By now, they had no idea what to call her. Was she Emily Prentiss? Was she Lauren Reynolds? Could she possibly have another alias? Hotch had ordered Garcia to run Emily through Interpol, ViCap, and the FBI fugitive system, but there were walls that even Garcia couldn't get through.
Sitting down at the round table was JJ, her head buried in her hands. It had been about three months since Emily walked out on them. JJ was distraught without her best friend. Her heart sinking, she recalled the day Emily left.
"Emily? Can I talk to you?" JJ caught her arm just as she tried to escape into the elevator. Emily turned around, a look of defeat on her face.
"Um, yeah, sure Jayje. What's up?" she gave in nervously. She bit down on the corner of her lip.
"Do you know a Lauren Reynolds?" JJ inquired, stopping the elevator with her hand. Emily swallowed the lump that was building in her throat, but it wouldn't pass.
"I… No," she lied quickly. JJ sighed and put her hands on her hips. She joined Emily in the elevator and yanked the emergency stop. The elevator was unmoving, and the doors remained open.
"Yes, you do. You ARE Lauren Reynolds," JJ spat out. Emily was stunned.
"How could you make an accusation like that?" Emily cried, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Emily, it's not an accusation. It's a fact," Hotch butted in bitterly, followed by Reid and Rossi.
"No, it's not. You must have made some sort of mistake," she replied matter-of-factly. Reid shook his head.
"Sorry, Emily, but Penelope doesn't make mistakes," the young agent said quietly.
"He's right, Em. Honey, is there something you're not telling us?" Garcia gently coaxed, Morgan on her heels.
"Emily, you need to talk to us," Rossi said, firmly but with compassion.
"No, I don't. I don't have to tell you people anything," Emily replied vindictively. Morgan's eyes were wet.
"Princess… Please? Tell us what's wrong," Morgan prodded in a gentle voice.
"No, stop. Don't 'Princess please' me. This is my personal life, so stay the hell out of it," she whispered dangerously, looking each team member in the eye, pushing them out of the elevator with just her glare. Then, finally, so soft it was almost inaudible, she added tearfully, "This is who I am. I… I just hope you understand. It's time to let go of me."
With that, the elevator doors slid closed, giving the six confused agents their last glimpse of Emily Prentiss.
Until now.
"JJ, we need to meet Hotch and Rossi downstairs. Now," Reid said quietly, poking his head into the room. JJ lifted her head from her fists and shrugged.
"Did he say what it was about?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Nope. He, uh, he just sounded really serious. We have to go," he replied. She hauled herself unwillingly out of her seat and followed Reid into the elevator.
Once they reached the ground floor, they were met by Rossi, Hotch, Garcia, and Morgan with sullen looks on their faces.
"What the hell happened? Did you all get hit by a bus?" JJ demanded incredulously.
"It's… It's Prentiss," Hotch finally broke the silence. JJ's lunch immediately came up in her throat.
"Prentiss? As in, Emily?"
"Yes. We'll explain in the cars," Rossi said hastily, making his way to the garage.
-General Hospital, 3 p.m.-
"We're here for Emily Prentiss," Morgan flashed his badge at the nurse. She immediately nodded and lead them down a hall into the ICU. After a number of turns and stairwells, they finally made it to Emily's room.
"She's in there. Be careful, she just woke up," the nurse warned. The team entered the room and crowded around her bed.
"Guys…" Emily began.
"Shh, Emily. It's okay," Rossi assured her. She closed her eyes and winced.
"No, it's not. I let you guys down. I'm so sorry," she whispered.
"Could you at least tell us what happened?" Reid asked quietly.
"D-Doyle," she rasped, placing her hands over her stomach. "We met up in a warehouse. He had his men there. He b-branded me and we got in a fight. I told him the… The truth about Declan, and we got in a fight. Then h-he stabbed me with the stake," she explained slowly, a pained look on her face.
"Oh, my Gumdrop…" Garcia whispered. Emily closed her eyes again and leaned her head back.
A million thoughts were racing through Morgan's mind. He had his Princess back, but was she really back? Would they still have the tight, flirty relationship, almost similar to the one he had with Garcia? Or would she just let go of everything?
"I can't be in here right now, Emily. I'm so sorry. I-I'll come back when I'm ready," he managed through his closing-up throat. His eyes were wet, and he exited the room, followed by Garcia. Reid came up beside Emily and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"I'm glad you're back, Emily. I'm gonna go see if Morgan's okay," he said softly. Emily nodded with a tight-lipped smile.
"Welcome back, bella," Rossi whispered, dropping a kiss to her hair. She smiled as he slipped out of the room, leaving only JJ, Emily, and Hotch.
"Emily…" JJ piped up for the first time.
"JJ, I am so sorry. I can't believe I just left you like that. Both of you," Emily looked up at Hotch. He nodded firmly.
"I'm not going to say it's okay, but we forgive you," he replied, a smile beginning to form on his lips.
"Thank you," Emily managed meekly. JJ took Emily's cold hand in her warm one.
"I'm sorry," Emily whispered to both of them. Hotch tucked a strand of hair sweetly behind her ear.
"Emily, we brought you something," he reached into his coat pocket. JJ frowned.
We did? she thought. Suddenly, she remembered.
It was the morning before Emily left them. JJ's cell rang just as she exited the bathroom.
"Hotch? What's up?" she answered. It was supposed to be his day off, but as always, he was busy thinking about something.
"It's Emily's birthday next week, and I want to get her something special from the both of us. Any ideas?" he asked. JJ bit her lip.
"Where are you at?" she asked, hoping that would give her more information as to what to buy for Emily.
"I'm at the jewelry store at the mall," he replied, evident in his tone that he was searching for something.
"Well…" JJ began, until she heard Hotch gasp.
"I found something. It's beautiful," he grinned. JJ raised an eyebrow, amused. Hotch could really be different when he was talking to either her or Emily.
"Would you mind telling me what it is?"
"It's a little diamond angel with an opal," he described. JJ smiled on the other end of the line.
"That's perfect. A little guardian angel…"
"I'll take it." JJ heard on the other end of the line, Hotch clearly purchasing the item.
"Alright. I got it," Hotch grinned.
"Good job," JJ hung up.
Immediately snapping back to the present, JJ shook her head.
"Um, yeah, we did," she said quickly. Hotch shot her a look, and she returned it. He pulled the box out of his pocket.
"This was for your birthday, but, we decided to give it to you now," he explained. He handed the small box to her. She pulled it open gently to reveal the tiny angel.
"Oh my God…" she sighed. "It's beautiful…"
"Yeah," JJ smiled. "It's your own little guardian angel. It'll be like we're always with you, even when we're not. You're supposed to keep it in your purse or whatever."
Emily held the cold angel in her hand, feeling it tingle on her skin.
After a few moments of silence, Hotch asked cautiously, "Why didn't you tell us about Lauren?"
"I-I'm sorry, guys. I wanted to tell you- I really did. But, I was getting so used to you knowing the real Emily Prentiss. I didn't want to have to involve you guys in my past," she explained sadly. JJ gave Emily's hand a gentle squeeze.
"But you're back with us now. That's all I care about," JJ smiled. Hotch nodded in agreement.
"She's right, Emily. The past is the past. You're here, and that's all that matters."
"I love you guys," Emily smiled. Hotch and JJ held each of Emily's hands and gave it a gentle kiss.
"We love you too," JJ whispered. Suddenly, Emily's nurse came in.
"Excuse me, agents, but we need to ask you to leave while we give Agent Prentiss her shots," he explained. JJ and Hotch nodded cooperatively. "You can come back in when we're finished."
JJ and Hotch stepped out of the room and watched through the window. Emily gave them a fluttery wave of the hand as the nurse sunk a needle into her arm.
"I'm glad she's back," Hotch whispered. JJ nodded, tears prickling behind her eyes.
"Me too. I'm just happy she knows we'll always be her guardian angels."
The End.