A/N: This is my very first Criminal Minds fic. I hope I did okay... Ah! I'm so nervous about posting this! Please tell me how I did!
This takes place after "Coda" and before tonight's episode. It's just a version of something I'd like to see.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds. But I can't wait to watch it! I'm addicted to it!
ENJOY!
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Derek Morgan wasn't easily fooled. As a profiler, his job was to uncover what an unsub was hiding, what dirty little secrets they kept oh-so close. He did this when he had a case, and even when he didn't. Today he did not.
There was an unspoken agreement among the team not to profile one another, but it had been broken on several occasions. Like when he'd been arrested for murder back in Chicago. Sometimes they didn't even know when they were profiling each other, it just happened, but this time he knew exactly what he was doing.
He knew, as he drove his car down the streets of D.C., that he was purposely profiling a teammate, a friend. There was something off though. Not all was well in Quantico. So for a few days he'd been, well, prying into her life. Always asking her what she'd been doing, whom she'd been with over the weekend, and she'd never answered. Not once.
There was no doubt in Derek's mind that Emily Prentiss was hiding something. Something big.
She'd been increasingly evasive, which in turn spiked his curiosity. She'd gone out of her way to avoid him. The only time they were ever in the same room these days was when it was absolutely necessary. Even then, it was difficult to get her to even speak to him. She wouldn't do so unless he asked her a question, or if she noticed Hotch getting suspicious. Derek could tell that their unit chief was wondering the same thing he was: what did Prentiss get herself into?
Days went by as he noticed Prentiss's behavior get stranger and stranger. At first, around the time of the case that ended in Spokane, she was only a little secretive. That, however, was weeks ago. Plenty of time for things to change, for problems to progress into a full-blown crisis. Then, she started canceling plans she had with him. Every time a particularly unpleasant case ended, he, Prentiss, Reid and Garcia would go out for drinks. Well, unless they worked the next day. Finally, once the case with the autistic boy ended, she had begun avoiding the team outside and inside work.
At first, when he used to ask what was up with her, she'd gently tell him to lay off, that it was personal. But, as the weeks went by, saying something was "personal" held less and less meaning; it just became a flimsy excuse, like a kid telling their teacher they left their homework at home when they really just didn't do it. Now, when he asked her about her "personal" problem, she'd snap at him, telling him to mind his own business. Tell him that it was none of his concern, that she could handle things just fine. So he tried to refrain from asking these days, but sometimes the part of him that was suspicious cop would get the better of him. Either way, evasive or not, she'd still been the same Prentiss. Always the agent, but now, never the friend.
As he drove closer to his destination, he wondered if the distance she was putting between herself and everyone else had a reason. She must've had some sort of motivation for avoiding everyone. It couldn't just be random, because just a few weeks ago they'd been one team, not a team plus one agent. She was separating herself from the rest of them for a reason. He only hoped that this "reason" was benign.
Derek knew that he was the nosy one. Out of all the other agents in the BAU, he was the one who was always pushing for answers. The one who wouldn't let it go. Both Hotch and Rossi were fine to let Prentiss's problem slide, for now, but Derek wouldn't -couldn't- let it go. Especially once Prentiss started refusing to go anywhere with him on a case. She was always partnered with either Reid or Rossi now. He suspected that it was because he kept pushing her for answers.
Those were the things that made him jump in his car earlier that night and start driving. Where to? He hadn't known at first. He'd only been thinking about needing to get away from work for a while. Though, as he pulled into a parking lot of an apartment building far from his own home, that ended up being exactly what he kept thinking about. He'd wanted to get away from the suspicion in the BAU as of late, but had ended heading right to the heart of it.
He got out of his car, locked it, and headed into the building. Within minutes he was standing in front of a door that lead into an apartment he knew to be Emily's. He knocked a few times, waited for a minute or two, but didn't hear any response from inside. Derek frowned; rummaging in his pocket for a spare key that Emily had given him upon JJ's departure. She'd told him that JJ used to feed her cat when she needed to leave town, but now that she'd gotten that promotion to the Pentagon she needed someone else to do it. There hadn't been an occasion that he'd needed to use it yet; the team had been so busy with cases lately that there was little time to leave D.C. when they were around. While he searched for the key, he heard another door nearby open. He looked up, down the hall a young woman had emerged from her home.
She had red hair that was cut short and was in a robe and slippers, staring at him curiously. She knew that her neighbor, while rarely home, had a few visitors from time to time, but she'd never seen this man before. The woman smiled to herself, it was about time that her neighbor had gotten a boyfriend. She'd started to think that she had renounced men altogether.
She took a few steps toward Derek, "Can I help you with something, sir?"
Derek looked around for a few moments, didn't see Emily anywhere, and held up his badge, which he still had on his person along with his gun. "SSA Morgan, FBI. Have you seen the woman that lives in this apartment anywhere?"
The woman's eyes widened in surprise. FBI? What were they doing here? "I haven't seen her, Agent. She left a few weeks ago and I haven't seen her come by since."
A few weeks? Derek's mind was racing, rapidly firing theories and scenarios. Why would Emily leave her apartment and not come back? What were the reasons for that? Suddenly, Derek remembered the woman standing before him. "Thank you, ma'am, your help is appreciated." Your help is appreciated? Now he just sounded like an unconcerned asshole, but he was too preoccupied to care. His thoughts were full of ideas on where Prentiss could've gone. She had to be in town because of work, but where was she?
Derek made his way back to his car. He couldn't even begin to understand his colleague's reasons for everything she'd done recently, but he would find out. He pulled his cell phone from the depths of his pocket and typed in Prentiss's number without even looking. He knew his teammates numbers like the back of his hand. The phone rang twice before she picked up.
"Prentiss," Was all she said.
"Emily, where are you?" He asked, "I stopped by your place, but your neighbor said you left weeks ago?"
He could practically feel her grow distant, even over the phone. When she spoke, her voice was cold, detached, "What were you doing at my apartment, Morgan?"
"Look, I know something's up," Derek got right to the point, "and I want you to know that you can tell me. No matter how bad you think it is."
"Nothing's wrong." She said quickly, "Now leave me alone. I'm tired and want to go to bed, you should too. It's late."
"Don't try and change the subject, Princess. This has been going on for too long. Where are you?"
She sighed, "The Holiday Inn on Seventh Street. I'll meet you in the lobby, don't let anyone see you." Then she hung up.
Derek threw his phone onto the passenger seat. This whole thing smelled fishy. At least now he'd find out what the "thing" in question actually was.
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Some time later, Emily Prentiss found herself pacing in the lobby of the Holiday Inn in her pajamas. She'd found it much easier to sleep once she left her apartment, not that it came easy to begin with. It still took hours for her to fall asleep, even if she was only half-asleep the whole time.
Then, at a quarter to midnight, the front door to the hotel opened, and in walked a suspicious Derek Morgan. He spotted her and started walking over. Emily didn't move from her spot, she waited till Morgan caught up with her before she started back to her room.
"What's with-" Morgan started only to be cut off by a silencing motion from Emily.
She approached the door, looked both ways as if crossing a busy intersection then opened it. She quickly ushered Morgan inside, not wanting anyone to see him enter. Hopefully, no one did.
"Now we can talk," Emily said. She moved to sit in one of the chairs provided by the hotel. Morgan sat opposite her, he laid his forearms on the small table between them and leaned forward, a question was evident in his eyes.
Emily sighed, "I know I've been a bitch, but I've had some... troubles in my life recently." She saw that Morgan was getting ready to ask a question, and, anticipating what it was, cut him off, "I can't tell you about it."
"Prentiss," Morgan said, "I told you: No matter how bad you think it is, you can tell me. The team and I," Morgan hesitated for a moment, "we've noticed the changes in you, and we're just trying to help."
"I know, I know..." Emily looked away, "But you have to understand, I really can't tell you what's going on right now. Not yet."
"What can you tell me?" Morgan was beginning to get frustrated with all the crap. He hated beating around the bush.
Emily took a deep breath, "I can tell you that... some old friends of mine are in town, and we're not all on the best of terms right now."
Morgan snorted, "That's nothing, Emily, and you know it."
"Then I guess there's really nothing I can tell you. Except," Emily locked gazes with him, "be careful."
Morgan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Why would she be telling him to be careful? Was the team in danger? Was she in danger? Suddenly it all fell into place. Her erratic behavior, the distance, the abandoned apartment. If she was being threatened, it was only logical that she'd try and keep her team, her friends, safe. He should've seen it coming.
"Prentiss," he lowered his voice, "are you in-"
"Shhh!" She glanced around wildly, weeks of paranoia and lack of sleep getting the best of her. Even if he suspected something, there was no way she could ever tell him about Doyle. "No," she added, then, almost imperceptibly, she nodded her head ever so slightly. Morgan caught it, his years of training kicking into gear.
He put on an angry face, wanting to make anyone who might be listening or watching believe his act. "Alright, if you're not going to tell me a damn thing, then I'm leaving." He stood abruptly, and the chair scraped against the floor.
"Goodbye, Morgan," Emily caught on. She didn't say anything else, she only lowered her gaze.
Morgan stormed towards the door. Slowly, Emily stood and followed. They exited the room together, but Emily stayed in the hall, just outside her room.
"Oh, and Morgan?" Emily called and he turned around, "I-"
BANG!
A gunshot sounded just as Morgan was turning. He moved just in time to see her spin around due to the force of the bullet. She cried out in pain and fell against the wall opposite her room, slid down it, leaving a streak of crimson on the beige wall. Morgan had pulled his gun as soon as the shot went off. Not caring about his own safety, he ran towards his fallen co-worker. When he reached her she was unconscious and bleeding profusely from a wound to the left side of her chest, just above her breast.
"Shit," Morgan whispered. He set his gun down and pushed both of his hands down on the gaping hole. Scarlet blood seeped through his fingers, pumped out of Emily's body to the rhythm of her heart, which was quickly fading. "C'mon, Prentiss," he coaxed, "stay with me." The only thing that kept his hopes up was the almost imperceptible rise and fall of Emily's chest.
He decided to take a risk. He took both hands of his friend's injury to quickly strip off his jacket. He balled it up and pressed it against the wound. He removed his left hand so he could search in his pocket for his phone, only to remember that he'd left it in his car. "Shit!"
Placing his hand back where it had been previously, Morgan had to resign to the old fashioned way of getting help. "HEY!" He shouted into the seemingly empty hallway, "HELP! Somebody call 911!"
Fortunately, the temporary residents of the rooms next to Emily's had heard the gunshot and Morgan's cries for help. Soon, a middle-aged man of Chinese origin poked his head out the door. "Call 911!" Morgan practically screamed at him, not bothering to think that maybe he was actually from China and didn't speak English. Another stroke of good luck graced them when the man nodded in understanding. He disappeared into his room again.
Morgan turned his attention to Emily, whose skin was now deathly pale. Right then, Morgan was overcome with something he recognized as pure terror. He couldn't handle the thought that maybe, just maybe, he'd lose yet another friend. "C'mon! You can't die on me now!"
It seemed, at that time, that the powers-that-be were currently favoring them, because soon Morgan could hear shouts throughout the building. He saw an older man approaching.
The man's head appeared to be shaved. Little strands, not even an inch long, of gray hair could be seen on his scalp. He was tall and thin, and had a disquieting resemblance to George Foyet. Morgan couldn't squash the feeling that something was off about this guy.
"What happened?" The man asked, bending down as if to help.
"She was shot." Morgan stated, unwilling to tear his attention from Emily for longer than a moment.
"Dear God, that's awful," The man sounded horrified, but there was something about his tone. He sounded like he was... thrilled.
"Did you see any emergency vehicles around? Cops? An ambulance?" Morgan asked. He raised his eyes from Emily's nearly still body to meet the eyes of the man before him.
The man he'd thought wanted to help held a gun pointed straight at Morgan. He smiled a little, cocked the gun, and then he asked, "Are you still angry with her for not telling you the truth? She only did it to protect you, you know. Too bad you were too much of a cop for your own good."
Morgan continued to stare at him. The alpha male in him refused to back down. Unfortunately the other man was the same way. "Oh," he said, "My name's Ian, by the way."
Besides the man's words, the only thing on Morgan's mind when the trigger was pulled were thoughts of Emily. Emily and whatever the hell it was she'd gotten them all into. He could only hope they'd survive to find out.
Then, in a flash of pain, everything went black.
OOOOOOoooooOOOOOO
I'm going to leave you to decide what YOU think happened. I'll leave this just how it is and mark it as complete unless any of you guys want a second chapter. PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Reviews really do make my day!
I hope my very first CM story was okay!
PS: I have high hopes for the next episode in... AH! OMG! like ten minutes!
