The Return

by Insanity on High

Part I – Prologue

FBI Agent Emily Prentiss was running. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins and her senses were heightened. She took in everything around her from the red and orange leaves to the darkening sky. Yet she could not see any disturbances in the soil apart from the footsteps of her boss. She and her boss, Agent Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner, had split from the rest of the team in an attempt to cover more ground. He was running slightly ahead of her. The Unsub was identified by the team as a Patricio Martinez. They knew he was hiding out in that forest and they were determined to find his refuge.

Prentiss stumbled on a root that was sticking out of the ground and gasped as a spurt of pain shot through her body from her ankle. The noise made Hotch turn to look at her. With this action he could see a black-clad figure grab his colleague's arm. Vulnerable after her stumble, Prentiss had not struggled because she had reacted too late. Her attacker rendered her unconscious and carried her off. Hotch sprang into action, but his initial shock and lack of knowledge of the terrain put him at a disadvantage. He eventually lost sight of the figure.

That was the last time Hotch saw Agent Prentiss. He was convinced it was his fault. To make it worse, they had caught their intended target and it was not the kidnapper.

The profilers were stumped on how to find the Unsub that had taken their friend. After a few months, the team had lost all hope. Nothing was the same without Agent Prentiss.

It was the second anniversary of Prentiss' kidnapping and Hotch was sitting in his office staring blankly at the stack of papers on his desk. In his mind, he was replaying the incident. He missed the raven-haired profiler that had been the most passionate and empathetic person on the team. He would have given almost anything to have her back. The team had tried to find her for a long time, even though they all knew that she was probably buried six feet under.

The entire team was in a somber mood that day, mounting the loss of their caring and strong coworker. The BAU was like a family and Prentiss' absence was akin to having a beloved sibling missing. Since that day the team had not functioned well. They still solved cases and caught criminals, but they could no longer find contentment in saving men and women, girls and boys from becoming victims.

Hotch had noticed these and many more differences in his team. He had seen the flirting cease between Morgan and Garcia. Reid was quieter than before and spouted fewer statistics. Rossi had toned down on the sarcasm and looked even more worn out. JJ had returned to the team, but she rarely smiled at work or when they went to a bar after finishing a case. Hotch still grieved for the loss of his subordinate, but he was not blinded to the changes around him. What pained him the most was that he wanted to tell the others to move on and honor Prentiss' memory, but he could not ask such a thing of them if he was unable to follow his own advice.

Since the team did not have a case at the time, he told everyone to leave early and to be in on time the next day. He, however, stayed until late to finish up paperwork. Then he did what he had done the year before: went to a bar for a drink.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, even if I wish I did. The name used is totally made up and just so happened to be the first thing that came to mind.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! It would be nice if I could receive some reviews and hear your thoughts! This is set to be an 8 part story, and I've got the outline done.

Teaser:

"I bought this book yesterday and found the story to be slightly strange. One of the scenes from the book was almost exactly like Prentiss' kidnapping according to Hotch's statement. Certain other parts are eerily similar to some of the cases we've worked."