SSA Emily Prentiss' alarm blares at 5 in the morning. She wishes it wouldn't have gone off. Prentiss just got to sleep an hour ago. But it's time to start a new day.

On her way to the washroom, she stares back at her own reflection in the bedroom mirror. Have I gotten bigger today? No it can't be. She rushes to the washroom and savagely pulls out all three of her scales from the closet.

120.6 pounds, 121.0 pounds, 119.8 pounds.

Her mind tells me to trust the second scale. Always trust the highest number. The lower numbers are just lies. According to the scale, she's gained a pound since 3 hours ago when she last weighed herself at 2 am. This can't be happening. But isn't 120 pounds below healthy for her height, she thinks to herself? But the voice inside her head asks her why she still feels like an ugly pig?

If this is going to be a good day at work, she's going to need to burn off that pound. Emily furiously gets dressed into running gear and by 5:30 she's already running laps around the park.

It's 6:30 and Prentiss is still going strong. She even set a personal best for myself. She needs to keep up this pace.

If 3500 calories equals 1 pound, and I've burned 650 in the past hour, I have to keep running for approximately 5 hours and 23 minutes to get rid of the disgusting pound of fat that has coated my body in the past 3 hours, she thinks.

By 8:30, her body is yelling at her to get the hell inside and relax, but Emily's mind tells her to suck it up, so she continues.

At 9am the pain in her chest is almost unbearable. I can't do this. Maybe if I rest on the street bench for a minute, I can go for longer.

Her body directs her to the nearest bench, and she immediately finds it hard to keep her eyes open.

If I can reach the bench, I'll be okay, she tells herself. But as she nears the bench, she can feel herself drifting out of consciousness….

She's awaken by a familiar face, but her vision is so blurred she can't distinguish who it is. As she tries to get up immediately, realizing how vulnerable she is, a voice she recognizes so well tells her not to protest. It can't be happening. It's … Hotch?

"Emily, don't even try it. Are you okay? What happened?" he asks.

Her mind is racing. This is not happening. It can't be happening. As she dismisses his request to stand, she sits up, and sees that he's in his running gear. He must have been out for a run himself. Not good.

"Prentiss, can you hear me?"

"Um, thank you Hotch", she says as she forces herself up as graciously as possible. "I'm absolutely fine." And with that she got up and practically sprinted to her apartment before he can turn around and offer me some water. She sees him turn, and as he opens his mouth to speak, she says "I'll see you at work, Hotch" and she quickly walks away.

HOTCH POV

It's so wonderful to take a morning run before work, especially when you don't have to be at work until noon. He sees so many familiar people whenever he goes on a run, and Prentiss is usually one of them. She works out very much, and her determination is definitely admirable.

He sees Emily in the distance and just as they are going to cross paths, Hotch sees her fall to the ground.

Is she injured? He rushes to her side and puts one arm underneath her head as he uses the other to check for a pulse.

Something is definitely not right. What's going on? As he feels her pulse, it's beating at least 180 beats per minute. Not good, he thought.

It's not the first time Prentiss and I have bumped into each other during our runs, but it's the first time I've seen her faint. She's so pale. Well, paler than usual.

When he braces his back to lift her up, Hotch realizes how fragile and light she is. It's almost too easy to lift her up and onto the bench. Her protruding collarbones looked razor sharp, and her cheeks were sunken in.

As he calls her name her eyes flutter and when they finally open, she looks petrified. Why was she afraid of him? He asks her what's wrong, and the frantic expression on her face dulls into her normal cool and kept together façade.

Something's up, but she tells me she is fine.

As I reach for my water bottle, I hear footsteps on the concrete. Emily has gotten up and left. Before I can protest for her to come back, she says "See you at work", and I know this conversation is over.

This is not the Prentiss I thought I knew, and I think it's time I had a talk with her. But it'll have to wait.

Hey everyone. So this is my second fanfic, but the first one that will ever be over 5k words. I was inspired to write this because many, including myself, are going through some problems right now. And what better way to portray my feelings than through writing? :) So I just started this today, and there will be more chapters, don't worry! Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter!