Series 7 One-shots: It Takes a Village
Disclaimer – I own nothing but the ideas.
I am putting a note on all of my stories to try and let people know that my updates may become a little erratic due to increased responsibilities at work from now until Christmas. I am sorry to do this. Please bear with me. I was going to leave posting this until I had some more one-shots done, but decided to post and work on the others as I can.
I did this for Series 6 – wrote a one-shot for each episode using a prompt from the episode. I am aiming to do the same for this series. I wrote this a few weeks ago, but haven't had the chance to type it up until now.
. . .
Prompt:
Prentiss – So, urn, how angry is the team?
JJ – (sigh) They're in shock.
Prentiss – Of course.
. . .
Penelope Garcia
Sat alone on the couch Penelope, absentmindedly, stroked Sergio; the sleek black cat purred contently, as he received his temporary owners attention.
She smiled as she snuggled down with the glossy feline. Sergio had been her prop. Pen had taken him in out of respect for her lost friend, but any day soon she knew she would be handing him back to his rightful owner. Emily Prentiss was alive and back where she belonged.
Penelope had not come to terms with Emily's 'death'. Reluctantly she had moved passed denial, but admittedly she had then got firmly stuck somewhere in the depressive stage. Nowhere close to acceptance.
She had plastered on her bright cheery face daily, determined not to show the impact to those surrounding her. However at home with Sergio the tears had flowed; his soft fur soaking up a river full over the months.
Morgan had given her days focus. Their joint drive to end Doyle made dealing with the false reality bearable.
Now all of that was in the past. A night terror that had stalked her 24/7 was to become a distant memory as she awoke into a bright new day.
Emily Prentiss was alive. It was an undisputable fact. Penelope was certain as she had seen her, held her, laughed and cried with her.
Finally her family were reunited.
. . .
Jenifer Jereau
Taking a large gulp from the hard liquor the glass contained, JJ steadied herself on the table by her side. Relief was flooding her body as her brain finally registered the fact that there were no more lies.
The enforced deceit of the last seven months had come to an abrupt end. Since the moment she had stood by Hotch's side and briefed the team to the end of today's Senate hearing, her world had spun, double time. JJ hadn't had the time to breathe let alone come to terms with what had happened. Looking up at Will as he re-entered the lounge area, having put Henry to bed, she registered the look on his face.
"I don't know what else I am to say," she murmured, hugging the glass tumbler to her chest as she leant back against the hard wood surface now behind her.
Will flopped lifelessly onto the couch, shrugging as he did so.
"I thought you'd understand," JJ claimed.
"Obviously not."
JJ had been ready for the impact of lying to her friends and colleagues, but had not prepared herself for Will's reaction to the deceit.
"I was under orders to tell no-one," a sentences that seemed to be on repeat the last few days.
"And that includes me? I'm a no-one!" Will spat.
"Yes," JJ retorted, "I mean no."
Shaking his head Will stood, turning back towards her just before he got to the study door, he faced her squarely.
"Every night I held you, comforted you as you cried, trying to pick up the pieces once Spencer had left. God Babe you are convincing coz I was certain you were falling to pieces."
"I was, some days I think I still am. Will this is the hardest thing I have ever done. It's why I wanted to leave the Pentagon. Hotch would never expect me to lie to everyone I love. I lost a friend, she may not have died but I lost her, and instead of talking it through I had to bottle it up, building boundaries between myself and everyone else," JJ could no longer contain the sobs.
Will closed the space he had created between them. Pulling JJ close to him, her tears rapidly soaked a patch on his shoulder. Smoothing her long blonde hair, Will tried to wipe away the pain.
He hadn't considered JJ's view. Will had no way of imagining how hard the last few months must have been. He had assumed her returning to the team was some sort of personal therapy, but really it was torture. Facing daily the impact of the lies she had helped create.
Holding onto Will for dear life JJ closed her watery eyes. One weight had been lifted from her shoulders, only to be replaced with a heavier one.
Her family, both of them, were fractured, but she hoped healing.
. . .
Derek Morgan
Hitting the leather coated bag as hard as he could, Derek punished the equipment as if it was his own personal nemesis.
Presently his world was spinning on a wonky axis, and he couldn't get a hold on the handle to steady it.
Since the second Emily Prentiss walked into the conference room, everything he was certain of in life had been cast into doubt. If her death was a lie, what else was?
Punch after aggressive punch met its target as the sweat poured down his back. This was real. The scream of his muscles as he pushed them further then he had before and the pain in his knuckles as he pummelled the punch bag. The thud that echoed through his skull, as he kept time with the beat of the music he had pumping into his ears.
Right here, right now was all his confused mind could deal with. This was concrete, uncomplicated and simple. The rush of emotions he felt each time he saw them, which was abstract, alien, befuddling and at the moment was crippling him.
Dropping to the floor in pure exhaustion, Derek sat his body unable to withstand the strain any longer. Slumping, resting his forearms on his raised knees he knew he had to move forward. He had to accept and move on.
After all don't all families have their secrets? He had lived a lie with his Mom for years, before she knew what he had faced. Was this any different?
. . .
Emily Prentiss
Looking around the blank apartment Emily was disappointed. This was nowhere near as nice as her last one. The one she had called home prior to Doyle's destruction of everything she held dear.
The perfectly neutral background gave Emily plenty of room to start a fresh and recreate her perfect personal abode. She needed to feel at home, settled, safe and secure.
Seven months of uncertainty in enforced solitude had done little to recuperate her. It had impacted on Emily. It had built her suspicions, increased her inability to trust and generally shattered her confidence in mankind. Yet she found herself craving the love of those she had left.
Now she was home, the first place in the world she had called home. Back with those who mattered most. The very people she had endured all of this to protect.
Tapping the cardboard boxes that contained all that JJ had stored for her, Emily begun the task of putting her life back together again.
Opening the first carton marked lounge, she pulled out a selection of similarly framed photos. Each housed a cherished moment from her life. As she begun to arrange them on the modern pine mantel, Emily realised how many involved members of her BAU family and how few her real family.
If only bringing the family back together would be as easy as placing them next to each other again.
. . .
Aaron Hotchner
Hotch hadn't moved from his office. In silence he had watched the team gradually leave after Strauss had delivered the Senate's verdict. No-one had been in a rush to separate.
He knew they had got away with this by the skin of their teeth. He also knew that so far the ride had been relatively smooth.
Okay Morgan had flared up initially and Reid had sulked, but Hotch was wise enough to know that they had barely scratched the surface of the emotional ice covering the situation. Start applying pressure and the cracks would soon reveal the raging torrent of the deep waters underneath.
Pouring a large scotch he settled back, contemplating the future of his team. Garcia would be fine now things were apparently back to 'normal'. She would never intentionally rock the boat. JJ would need his support, something they had become use to offering each other in the preceding months. Morgan, now he was unpredictable. Though he had calmed Hotch wasn't certain they had heard the last from him. Emily herself, she was eager to please and would work hard to regain the team's trust. Rossi, well other then the odd sarcastic quip, Hotch could see no problems there. Reid, it's always the quiet ones. He would need watching.
As head of the household, Hotch took his responsibility seriously. He had lost one family through his actions. He wouldn't lose another.
. . .
David Rossi
Sat in the corner of the dingy bar David Rossi observed those around him. He loved to people watch; he considered it homework, a way to keep his profiling skills honed.
Staring at the couple in the nearby booth, he smirked at the lads vain attempts to impress the young lady who had accompanied him. Rossi didn't need to be a profiler to register the negativity in her body language. The youngster's over ambitious advances were almost comical, if he hadn't of felt sorry for him. For a moment he considered going over and offering to pay for her cab back while he schooled the lad in old fashion chivalry.
But Rossi didn't want company tonight. He had not wish to share his time tonight, even if it was for the greater good.
David had been in the game long enough to spot a lie when he saw one and he had seen it clearly seven months ago. So Emily's return had neither shocked or surprised him merely amused him. Proving his superior training yet again.
David had never believed Emily's 'death', but he had realised the consequences of the truth. Applying his knowledge, he accepted the deception and played along with the game.
However he wasn't celebrating tonight, rather pondering the consequences of such deceit. As he had learnt years ago nothing could tear a family apart like lies.
. . .
Spencer Reid
Sat on his study floor Spencer was surrounded by text. Each a fine example of the impact of lies. He had re-read them all, repeatedly. Hoping to find an answer to his own problems. Just how did he deal with deception?
Spencer had hardened himself from childhood to the worse that human kind could throw at him. However the last few years he had allowed his guard to slip. He had accepted the first genuine friendships of his life. More fool him. Obviously an IQ of 187 doesn't bless you with common sense.
Anger was consuming Spencer, worse than he had ever experienced before. He was angry at Emily for not trusting them in the first place. This was all her fault. If she had let the team help her then the lies would never have been necessary. He was angry with JJ. The one person he had turned to week in, week out, as he tried to come to terms with his grief. Each time she had blatantly lied to him. Then there was Hotch. How was he supposed to trust him? Spencer knew he had to follow his orders, but how could he be directed by a man he had no faith in. Lastly he was angry with Garcia and Rossi who were happy to draw a line under it all as if it was no big deal. His only ally was Morgan.
Spencer stared once more at the text around him. Wondering how he had become such an outsider in his own family.
. . .
Erin Strauss
Breathing deeply Erin returned to her immaculate office. If only her life was as clean and tidy.
Sitting behind the glass topped table Erin sighed. She knew how close things had been today. The Senate had not taken her team's renegade action lightly and neither could she.
Erin was willing to admit she had been hard on them in the past. Maybe her professional life was reflecting her personal life. After all hadn't she recently learnt that an overtly strict parent leads to a rebellious child? At least in her personal life only one of her children was taking an obstinate path, rather than the whole team she had to reign in.
Reflecting on the recent private issues she had needed to deal with, Erin wondered if a change of approach was necessary.
Rather than beat them into submission, maybe she should learn from them, infiltrate the tightest team in the FBI. Some invisible force held them together. If she could harvest that, then possibly she could move them forward, keeping everyone happy.
Erin was not one to shy away from a challenge and that was what she was facing now. Pulling her elite team back into a functioning family.
. . .
The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works is the family.
Lee Iacocca
