Hurt

DISCLAIMER : I do not own Criminal Minds, wish I did, but for creative purposes I'm going to use the characters of the TV series. Story takes place after the episode "Distress" S2, E17. I'm normally prefer to be a Morgan/Prentiss shipper so if some of the things Reid says/does seem off...please don't stone me. The concept of Dean Simpson belongs to me, Yale and Princeton do exist along with Princeton Charter School.

SYNOPSIS : After a small drunken fling wth Reid, Prentiss discovers she's pregnant, but when Reid blows up at Emily when she recalls his behaviour and mentioning his drug abuse, Emily leaves the BAU for a professors position at Princeton Law. She fears rejection and severs all contact with her BAU team mates. Story will be written through character POV's and a third person's (narrator) POV.

"One, two, three FOUR! Ready or not here I come mommy!" Six year old Lily Aubrie Prentiss ran and searched for her mother former FBI agent turned law school professor Emily Prentiss. The tall brunette hid behind a door while Lily searched and searched. Finally the leggy child found her mother and tackled her to the ground. "I got you Mommy." Emily laughed and nodded "You sure did Lil. Now let's get you ready for school. You have that big spelling bee today so you can't be late." The obedient child ran and got dressed while Emily went downstairs to make Lily a bowl of cereal and some toast. Hide n' Seek was their normal morning routine before school and work. The bond between mother and child was so strong, they often finished each other's sentences sometimes. For six years old, Lily was exceptionally smart. By ten months old, she was running throughout the three bedroom house she lived in with her mother. By two, she was reading Dr. Suess. Not only was she articulate in reading and spelling, but she was a whizz at math and science. Emily was even teaching her Italian. Teachers often approached Emily about allowing Lily to skip grade levels, but Emily always said no. She didn't want Lily getting seperated from her friends, and the little girl didn't complain. She dwelled on her friends.

While Lily ate, Emily quickly showered and got ready for her work at Princeton University, it wasn't Yale like she had wished but at the time Yale wouldn't hire someone who was five months pregnant and expected to go on maternity leave shortly after the first semester began. But with Emily's background as not only a former Interpol/CIA agent but a FBI agent who was among the top tier in the Behavorial Analysis Unit, Princeton jumped at the opportunity no questions asked. With financial help from her mother, Emily packed up and moved to Princeton, New Jersey. She found a quiet country home on the outskirts of Princeton, it was surrounded by horse farms and the home itself had a small barn big enough for three horses and a small paddock. She promised Lily, that one day, Lily could ride up and down their street on a pony of her own, and her seventh birthday was fast approaching and Emily's computer search history was nothing but local horse ads.

Emily checked the time, 7:03a.m, time to get into the white, current model, Chevy Tahoe and get Lily to school and herself to work. Emily finished packing her daughter's lunch and carried out the lunch box, and her work computer and briefcase while Lily eagerly hoped in the back, putting her pink Disney Princess backpack next to her. Sliding into the driver's seat, Emily looked into the rearview. "You buckled up sweetie?" Lily nodded and smiled, she had Emily's smile. "Yes mommy." Emily smiled back, turned the key and started the suv's engine.

After dropping Lily off at Princeton Charter School, Emily arrived to the university and after walking to her office before her first class, she checked her email. To her surprise, there was a message from Jennifer Jureau, the BAU's media liason. Emily hesitated, and moved the mouse over the email and opened it.

Emily, it's been six years since you resigned here at the Bullpen, but we need you. The agent hired after you left has suddenly quit and we're short-handed. There's a serial killer loose in Vermont and so far there have been seven murders of women with red hair in their twenties. Please Emily, please we need you. It hasn't been the same since you left. Please. -JJ

Her friend's pleading rocked Emily with surprise, JJ wasn't known to beg. The begging alone told the former supervisory special agent that this was serious. Before class began, Emily sent out an email to her students saying the day's lecture was cancelled. While packing her things to go get Lily from school early, a knock on her office door startled her. "Come in." Emily was looking down at some paperwork she was getting ready to stuff into her computer bag and did not notice her former boss, Aaron Hotchner walk in. "Prentiss..." Hearing his voice made her heart skip a beat, his visit unexpected.

Emily had an enormous amount of respect for Hotchner. He was a devoted father and once loving husband until his wife Haley began to file for divorce. The entire BAU team pooled together and offered to help, but Hotch was an independent person.

"Hotch..? What're you doing here?" Emily motioned for one of the chairs in front of her desk as she put her students' report papers in a manilla folder. Hotchner taking the offer after he gently closed the door so no one could infringe on their conversation. "Have you gotten JJ's message?" Emily nodded. "Yes sir, I just read it. What do you expect me to do? Just up and leave my job? I can't go back to the BAU, I have a dau-" She stopped before she could finish her sentence and subconciously licked her bottom lip. "I can't go back to that lifestyle. Only being home maybe two days out of the week. Calls in the middle of the night telling me to come in for a case. I can't do that Hotch." Her former boss looked at his watch to check the time and straightened out his sleeve. "Prentiss, as you probably could have been able to tell from JJ's email, we're short-handed and you are the only one that Strauss will approve to come in and help with the case. You are one of the best profilers to work in the unit. Prentiss I'm asking you, just this one case, will you come back and help?" Emily looked down at her desk and her gaze shifted to a school picture of Lily. She mentally smiled at her beautiful little girl, the spitting image of Emily with Reid's smarts and love for statistics and a master of chess. Emily thought hard, it would be a wonderful opportunity to see her BAU family. The life she was leading of isolation from her dear friends was driving Emily nuts. She misssed Garcia's quirkiness and JJ's gentle voice. Rossi's fatherly presence, and Morgan's protective and ensuring hugs. Hotch's brute honesty and undying loyalty. But most of all, she missed Reid. She missed his laugh, his ability to toss out random facts about anything you could possibly name...she even missed his mismatched socks. But most of all, if he knew of Lily, how would he react to his unknowingly being a father for the past six, going on seven years? "Ok, but I have to send in a leave of abscence." Emily got up and walked over to her filing cabinet to grab the designated form. "I've already spoken to Dean Simpson, your L.A has been approved for as long as you need. The school will be offering you students online courses to fill in their class time." Emily was taken aback with surprise, as always Hotchner was one step ahead of the game. "Oh..." She went to grab her purse, computer bag, and keys. "Thank you sir. Before we leave I have to do a couple of things." Hotchner nodded.

After parking his vehicle at Prentiss' house, he joined Emily while she drove to pick up Lily from school. It was a quarter to ten in the morning and Emily knew she would be enjoying her science lecture from her teacher at the moment. She unconciously smiled when she remember how much Lily enjoyed science. The little girl had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Lily loved animals and once when she was four, a bird had broken its wing and Emily assisted Lily in caring for it until it made a full recovery. Emily even took note that that same bird returned to nest on the property every spring since its recovery. Hotchner watched the road and the surroundings as they turned into the parking lot of the school. The unit chief was confused as to why Emily was coming here but soon realized that his teammate was a mother when she came walking out with a leggy, tall child with healthy alabaster skin and long brunette hair. She was the spitting image of her mother.

"Lily, i'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Mr. Hotchner" The little girl waved and smiled before climbing into the back and into her booster seat. "Mommy why is my suitcase in the car?" Emily backed out of the parking space and looked into the rearview mirror back at her pride and joy. "We're going on a little vacation sweetheart." Lily got excited and clapped her hands. "To Disney World?!" Emily laughed and shook her head, no but maybe to King's Dominion."

After dropping Hotchner off to get his vehicle, Emily followed Hotchner down to Quantico, Virginia...the home of the FBI Headquarters. When Emily laid eyes on the big, grey brick building memories flooded their way back into her mind. "Mommy, where are we?" Lily, newly awakened from a long nap, asked. "We're at my old job sweetheart. Would you like to meet some new people?" Emily parked and helped Lily out and held her hand into the building. Getting to the elevator Hotchner handed her a key. "You can use the spare office for as long as you need and Lily is welcome to stay with Haley and Jack when we leave." Emily nodded, taking in the information and looked at Lily who was clutching her stuffed teddy bear she affectionately named Suess, after her favorite author. "Will you be ok with that? Jack is really nice and Ms. Haley likes horses too." The six year old agreed and drew closer to her mother when they entered the Bull Pen. Lily took in all the sights and the obvious smell of coffee. Emily spotted JJ who was working on case files at her desk, then Morgan reading a Sports Illustrated, Rossi reading the newspaper. Then her gaze shifted to Reid's desk, he was fiddling with the new Rubix Cube, but he looked up, he locked eyes with Emily and dropped the cubed puzzle. When the other team members heard the plastic hit the wooden desk, they looked up and followed Reid's gaze to Emily. Morgan smiled, and put down the magazine he was reading and ran to his friend and scooped her up in a hug. "It's so good to see you Prentiss." After getting released from the near suffocating hug, Emily smiled, "it's nice to be back."

Hotch led Emily to the spare office and left Emily to set up what she had brought with her. Lily laid back down on the available sofa across the small room and quickly fell back asleep, clutching Seuss closely in a death grip. She didn't like unfamiliar situations, and Emily felt guilty for thrusting her little girl into such strange terroritory. Lily was used to a schedule, and everything was going to be different and hectic now. Emily sat down in the large leather office chair and looked over some of the case when suddenly Garcia burst in squealing happily. "Emily! You're ba-" Being shushed by her new, temporary coworker, Garcia looked over to a still sleeping Lily and her hand covered her mouth. Finally dropping her hand, Garcia whispered the best she could. "You're a mommy Em? Oh she is beautiful. Looks just like you. What's her name?" Emily finished reading the sentence she was on and closed the file. "Her name is Lily." Garcia waved her hands in front of her face and ran over and hugged Emily. "She is positively, and absolutely stunning! Oh and she's named after my favorite flower! Ohhhh you're a mommy Em! Whose the lucky guy?" Emily got out the hug, and looked over at Lily and back to Garcia. "He's not in the picture..so don't worry about it ok?" Garcia's shoulders fell and the smile on her face dropped to a frown. "Oh i'm so sorry Em. I didn't mean t-" "It's fine Garcia" Emily forced a smile. "What's done is done, but regardless Lily is my life. I'm not going to let a stupid drunken decision deter me from loving my child." Garcia nodded as JJ walked in, taking note of the sleeping child. "Hey, it's time to go over the case. And Em," JJ handed Emily her old FBI identification and badge. "Welcome back, even if it is only temporary. Shall we go?" Emily and Garcia nodded and then Emily went to wake up her sleeping daughter. "Hey Lil, sweetheart wake up." Emily smiled as Lily opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing the sleep from them. "I have to go do some work things, can you go with Miss Garcia. She has a couch you can lay on so you can go back to sleep again." The little girl looked up at Garcia, then back to her mother. "Can I take Seuss with me?" Emily nodded, "Yes of course babygirl." Getting up from her kneel, Emily retrieved Lily's Winnie the Pooh blanket that Lily has had since she was born, and handed it to Lily. Smiling at her mother, Lily grabbed her blanket and tossed it over her shoulder before walking over to Garcia and extending her hand to introduce herself. "Hi Miss Garcia, I'm Lily." Smiling and scooping Lily into a hug, Garcia led Lily to her office and the last Emily could hear was Lily's sweet laughter as Garcia introduced herself. "You can call me Penelope sugarplum. Aunt Penelope works for me!"