Hi! This is my first story so please be kind if it is really bad... spoilers to quite a lot of episodes, including the season finale, but if you havn't watched any of that then why are you reading this story? Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, CBS does.

She sat in the bullpen packing up the last of her things. The desk that had been hers for the best years of her life would soon hold another agent. She was saddened that she would no longer work for the BAU but it was not really her choice...she couldn't keep working rest of the team had already gone home, even Hotch was with his son, leaving behind his mountains of paperwork. It was wierd, she was no longer part of the team, her family, today had been her last day as an agent of the FBI. Everyone had known it and the day had been full of agents she hardly knew coming over to say goodbye.

The goodbyes within her own team had been the hardest. Garcia had cried and hugged her super tight while making her promise to call from wherever she's going and reminding her that she'll aways be a part of their family. Morgan had once again begged her to reconsider and just take some time off but she had just smiled slightly and shook her head. Rossi had looked at her worriedly and reminded her that she could always talk to him about anything to which she had responded, 'I know'. Hotch had told her that she'll always be welcomed back and that he'll keep the position open for awhile just in case she changed her mind. JJ knew that something was wrong as she had been avoiding the blonde profiler lately but all she had said was 'goodbye' as she tried not to cry. Reid had been the hardest. He had looked so broken at the thought of someone else leaving him that she had took him aside to tell him that she would miss him and would always love him like a brother. They had shared a brief hug before returning to the group.

At least they all thought that she just couldn't handle the stress anymore and that was why she was quitting. She was slightly guitly that she hadn't told them the truth but it would be better for the team in the long run. If things didn't work out well then they would all just assume that she dropped off the planet as part of some CIA or Interpol scheme and would hopefully forget about her soon. She was going to stay in touch for a bit but slowly stop emailing so hopefully they wouldn't worry too much. She knew that this wouldn't hurt nearly as much as the truth would.

She knew the memory of that doctors appointment would stay with her forever, Dr. Wilson's proffesional voice trying to be comforting as he informed her that she had tested positive for Stage 2 Breast Cancer and that it would be best if she started treatments immediately. That had been 2 weeks ago, she had handed in her resignation 2 days later and now that she has finally quit then she would be able to begin the treatments she had put off, not wanting her team to see her weak.

She started the long walk down to her car, but as she got in she found herself unable to make her way towards her almost empty apartment. She had never fallen in love with the new place she had gotten after her 'vacation' to Paris and she couldn't stay there now. Her team might stop by just to check even if she told them she was planning on taking the job in London and it was also too close to the regular places the team hung out at and too far from the hospital she would be spending a lot of time at. She had packed her small amount of belongings and had already picked out a new place across town, conveniently located just 5 minutes from the hospital.

She wasn't planning on telling her mother about any of these changes and she spared a thought about whether the Ambassador would even notice that she wasn't calling her anymore. They had never been close and after she had figured out that her mother had not even attended her 'funeral' they had drifted even farther apart. Her only family was the team that she had just left.

She drove randomly until she came to a park. She stopped the car and started slowly walking towards a stream in the distance. Once on its banks she sat down, her flagging strength having been drained by the emotionally and physically hard day. She wondered how she would ever make it through the chemo, the surgery she knew would come, and the gruelling recovery, IF she survived, without the support of the people she had come to depend on. They were her only friends and she would miss everything, Garcia's cheerful personality and peppyness, JJ's friendship and companionship, Rossi's guidance and father/daughter relationship, Morgan's playful flirting and teasing, Hotch's support and even his death glare, and Reid's sometimes useful but very annoying statistics. They were the constants in her life for years and now they were gone.

She didn't notice she was crying until the tears hit her hands, but once she did she attempted to stop. She was a Prentiss and Prentiss' didnt' cry. 'Oh well' she thought as the tears didn't stop and started falling harder and faster,'I'm guessing Prentiss' don't get cancer either and I already did that.' It was going to be a hard battle but she wouldn't give up, she would keep fighting and she would be part of the percent that lives, even if she was going to do it alone.

She was not just a Prentiss, she was Emily Prentiss and she had gone through the CIA, Interpol, and the FBI with highest honours, as well as been beaten by countless Unsubs, but each time she had survived and they hadn't, and it was going to be the same thing this time. She would make it and maybe one day she'd get her life back, but she had almost always been on her own and she could be on her own again... the only thing she was afraid of was that the team would figure out the real reason why she had left.

SO...what did you think? Please leave a quick review and tell me if you liked it... I could continue this if you'd like or I could just leave it here. It is up to YOU. If I do continue there will be no slashes(I don't right that sort of thing) but there will be strong friendships. And sorry for any writing errors or mistakes regarding Breast Cancer as I'm only 14 and got everything off the internet.