DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters or Criminal Minds. If I did it would be so different and yet so much the same.

SUMMARY: An injured Prentiss joins Morgan and his family for Fran's birthday and stumbles on a string of cases which could mean tragedy for a loved one.

NOTE: This story takes place sometime after the season 7 opener but does not follow cannon. Thanks so much for reading! As always, reviews are a writer's fuel so make sure to tell me what you think.

*CM*

Emily Prentiss isn't exactly sure how she ended up here. 'Here' being the red eye from D.C to Chicago next to a bored-looking Derek Morgan flipping through the celebrity gossip rag Emily had purchased at the duty free shop.

She winced as she shifted, trying desperately to find a relatively comfortable position in which to spend the remainder of the flight. If asked, Emily would put it down to her bruised ribs, healing head wound and sprained wrist, she would never admit to Derek that she was accustomed to flying first class and the tiny hard seats in coach were not something she had anticipated.

"Is it time for another pain killer?" Derek asked quietly, concern for his friend creasing his brow and twisting his lips into a small frown.

"No" Emily answered "Well, yes, but I want to wait until we're settled" she assured him with a weak smile. "I want to be able to thank your mother for inviting me without drooling." Derek seemed to accept this reasoning after a moment, although his concern is still evident when he offers her his flimsy complimentary in-flight pillow.

That look Derek was giving her now; that was how she'd ended up here on the red-eye to Chicago.

They'd been on the heals of a sexual sadist, running like mad through the back woods of Virginia hoping like hell they were in time to save 7 year old Christy Sherwood from ending up dead in the river like 4 other girls before her. Emily had heard Derek go down with a strangled yell behind her and had turned just in time to see their UnSub wielding a large rock in one hand, a beaten and frightened looking Christy caught tightly in his other arm. She saw the rock coming back down, Derek was already unconscious so it was clear the UnSuB not only wanted the dark man incapacitated, he wanted him dead.

Emily hadn't thought, she'd simply acted, diving towards the UnSub causing him to drop the rock and the girl but the momentum sent both Emily and the UnSub tumbling down a long steep hill and into the shallow but freezing river. On the bank she managed to cuff the injured and unconscious man to a nearby tree and radio for help before allowing herself to succumb to the concussion she'd sustained and pass out.

When she'd come to in the hospital nearly two days later, Derek was by her bed, his eyes full of fear, guilt, shame and concern. He'd apologized profusely, hardly letting her come fully into consciousness before begging her to forgive him. Somehow, in his groveling, he'd come to the conclusion that she should spend her two week recovery leave in Chicago with him. He'd wanted to take care of her and help her relax but he'd have to do so in Chicago because he'd already promised his mother he'd be home for her birthday.

Emily blames the intravenous drugs the hospital had her on for being so quick to agree. Now she can't help but feel awful that she was intruding on Derek's time with his family, not to mention his family's time with him. Sure she was injured, but the ribs and the wrist weren't any worse than she'd suffered before and although the concussion had been pretty severe and she'd been hypothermic when help had finally come the doctors had assured her that she'd make a full and quick recovery.

"It's not too late for me to book a hotel" She told him as they exited a cab and pulled their luggage into the front entrance of his mother's apartment building. Derek rolled his eyes.

"Yes it is." he told her, leaning on the button that would let his family know they'd arrived. "Mama would be heartbroken if you did, after I told her what happened she seemed pretty determined to have you." His head dipped and he seemed almost shy when he added "You saved her baby boy's life."

Emily gazed into his eyes, her look filling in for the mantras she'd been bombarding him with the last 48 hours. 'It's not your fault, I am going to be fine, you'd have done the same for me.' The moment was interrupted by a giggle.

"We buzzed you up nearly 5 minutes ago, but if you'd prefer we leave you two alone in the cold I'll just head back up." it was one of Derek's sisters speaking, the door propped open with her foot while she leaned back into the warmth of the building.

"I was just waiting for you to come and help me with these bags." Derek grinned at his sister, doing his best to hide the blush that heated his cheeks. A blush that matched Emily's at being caught in such an intense moment with her colleague.

The banter continued all the way up two flights of narrow stairs and into Fran Morgan's apartment. Emily stood back and watched as Derek was embraced by each of his family members, starting with his mother, then the sister who'd helped them up -Sarah, Emily finally remembered- and a glowing Desiree. Emily noticed almost immediately the swollen baby bump under the young woman's sweater and smiled remembering Derek confiding in her that though he was happy for his sister, he was concerned about her raising a baby by herself and eager to beat the hell out of the boyfriend who'd left her upon hearing the news. That baby was lucky to have such a wonderful uncle. With a note of self-pity Emily thought how lucky that baby was to have this whole close-knit family to support him or her.

"It's nice to meet you again Agent Prentiss." Fran held out her hand and warmly smiled.

"Please, call me Emily, I am officially on leave for two weeks" Emily smiled back and suddenly she was being pulled into a tight hug. She tried not to let the pain in her ribs show on her face as she accepted the embrace.

"Thank you" Fran whispered loudly in her ear. "For making sure my boy made it home"

"It was nothing" Emily said, pulling away.

"It wasn't nothing" Sarah insisted, putting an arm around her mother, the other resting on her sister's belly. "Derek's the only brother we have and as much as I hate to admit it, we'd be quite lost without him" she stuck her tongue out in Derek's direction.

Desi reached for Emily's arm. "We're going to spend the next two weeks thanking you as best we can, starting with dinner"

Emily had dined with presidents, prime-ministers and nobility around the world and yet the idea of sharing a cozy family dinner with the Morgan's suddenly made Emily feel slightly uncomfortable. The Morgan children got to work setting the table, their loving banter seemingly endless while Fran pulled a delicious smelling casserole from the oven. Emily, having no real reference to draw on, wasn't sure where she fit in such a cozy, warm family occasion.

When they were all seated the chatter slowed and the Morgan family started asking about Emily and her life, making sure to make her feel welcome and included in their conversations.

"So where are you from, Emily?" Desi started. Emily chuckled a bit as she realized that the girls thought they were starting off easy in their curiosity fueled questions about this mysterious women Derek had brought home. But as with most things in Emily's life, this question wasn't so straight forward.

"Well, I was born in Germany" she shrugged. "My mother is an ambassador and my father is with the World Bank so we moved around a lot, I am not really from anywhere."

"Moved around a lot where?" Sarah asked, the Morgan women leaning eagerly over their plates, faces full of excited curiosity over what they surely thought was a romantic upbringing. Emily was used to this reaction.

"From Germany to Belgium and France, Russia and the Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, then Spain and Italy. Then I came back to the United States to finish school." Emily laughed nervously.

"That must have been so exciting." said Fran. Emily shrugged and complimented the food; Derek noticed her discomfort and changed the subject.

"Prentiss is a total nerd" he offered, earning a glare from Emily. "She's into Vonnegut and Bradbury. She reads almost as much as Dr. Reid" Emily gave him a confused look, trying to figure out where he was going with this. "Sarah's a librarian" he offered by way of explanation.

"Oh! I wanted to be a librarian when I was a kid" Emily smiled widely, happy for something in common.

"Really!" Derek asked his turn to be confused.

"Sure" Emily nodded. "Well, I really wanted to be a super hero, but my mild-mannered alter-ego was going to be a librarian... Or an astronomer" she told him seriously. The whole table laughed at that.

"How long have you been with the BAU?" Sarah continued.

"6 years" Emily said then hesitated. "5 and a half I guess, I'd been away recently" she amended. Derek dropped his gaze to the table and Emily picked at her salad. She wasn't sure what, if anything Derek had told his family about her death and subsequent resurrection, and she immediately regretted bringing it up as she's not sure she'd like to explain.

"Emily makes a habit out of doing stupid reckless things to protect others" Derek offered his curious family but the words are low and bitter. Emily put down her fork about to excuse herself when Fran's voice stopped her.

"Derek Anthony Morgan, that's no way to speak to a guest, especially not one who saved your life not 5 days ago." she scolded. Derek seemed to shrink under his mother's hard gaze but his face remained set in it's scowl.

"No it's ok" Emily sighed, meeting the older woman's gaze. "He's right." she shrugged. "Thank you so much for dinner, but I am a little late taking my painkillers and the flight is starting to catch up with me." She got up trying her best not to jostle her ribs too much and took her plate to the sink.

"I'll show you to the guest room" Sarah offered and grabbed her bags from the doorway.

Please Review and let me know what you think! Do you like the set up? Should I continue?