Prologue
Emily frowned as she read the same sentence for what had to be the fifth time.
They'd boarded the plane about half an hour ago and would soon be preparing to land. There wasn't enough time to do more than a very short debriefing on the plane – the journey from New York to Boston took less than an hour – so the team had decided to go through the case folders and discuss their initial impressions and findings once they arrived at the local police station.
However, Emily hadn't exactly gotten that far with the files in her lap and it was really starting to irk her.
She was nervous, that much was clear. Her hands were cold and her head was aching, her pulse was accelerating more the closer they got to their destination.
Boston.
The name alone left a bad taste in her mouth.
Merely a year ago, Emily had died in Boston. More than once actually.
She'd crashed once in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and twice while the doctors were fighting and ultimately succeeding to save her life.
Later, Emily Prentiss had succumbed to her wounds and "died" in that very operation room. She'd been dead for seven long months, hiding away in a tiny apartment in Paris as Emilia Lefevre while her family was mourning at an empty grave, laying down flowers in front of the elegant gravestone.
One didn't just come back from dying. Not the way you were before.
And the experience had changed Emily, had made her stronger but also more vulnerable, had left her open to the world but more closed off at the same time.
She was a walking contradiction and it was becoming very tiring being her.
And now, now that they were returning to Boston, to the city she'd first met Doyle and the city he'd "killed" her in, now Emily Prentiss found it hard to concentrate on even that single sentence. As it stood, even just to breathe seemed to be a challenge.
She startled violently as a soft hand found its way onto her shoulder, all too aware of the worried looks that followed her atypical reaction.
"Em, you all right?" JJ's blue eyes showed true concern as she posed the question, a question that Emily didn't know how to answer.
There was nothing physically wrong with her.
But was she all right?
Not really.
Her compartments weren't functioning as they should and her heart was pushing her to talk to JJ, to ask for the comfort she knew the blonde would gladly offer.
But she didn't. Her compartments might be broken but Emily wasn't simply going to roll over and let her heart rule her tongue. It was dangerous to listen to it, especially where JJ was concerned.
"I'm fine, Jennifer."
"Emily-"
"I'm fine."
"Okay," JJ raised her palms in defeat, leaning back in her seat and scooting closer to the brunette, taking her right hand into her left and intertwining their fingers.
"Jayje, I said I -"
"Just because you're okay doesn't mean I have to be," JJ said quietly, looking deeply into Emily's dark eyes. "We almost lost you, Emily. Don't think you're the only one who's hurting about going back to that city."
"I'm sorry JJ," Emily squeezed the warm hand in her own, feeling her own nerves settle from the simple touch, the closeness of JJ.
"Don't be," the blonde profiler whispered, resting her head on Emily's shoulder and closing her eyes. "Just let me stay here with you until we land and hold my hand."
"Okay," Emily let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Okay. I can do that."
And after giving another gentle squeeze to JJ's fingers, she actually managed to leave behind that annoying sentence and read the rest of the information they had received on the first of the four victims.
Chapter 1
"Hotch," Emily approached the man as they were walking into the tall brick building that was the home of the Boston PD. "Would it be all right if I joined you later?"
"You okay, Prentiss?" the unit chief's concern was obvious in his voice. He'd been watching her and JJ on the plane earlier and knew it couldn't be easy on the brunette. He knew it wasn't easy for him either, coming back to this city. Prentiss was a part of their little family and losing her had been hard on anyone. Keeping the secret that she was alive and hiding somewhere under a false name - with JJ as her handler nevertheless - had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Prentiss nodded but didn't meet his eyes. "I actually just wanted to check in on an old friend of mine who lives in Boston. I didn't exactly manage to see her the last time we were around."
Hotch hesitated, remembering all too clear how his agent had run away from the team to chase down Ian Doyle on her own. He really didn't want a repeat of that situation.
"She actually works in the building," Emily added, realizing that he was unlikely to let her go without further information. She'd hurt his trust in her and it wasn't something you repaired over night. He had the right to question her motives and the right to worry.
"Your friend is a police officer?"
"No," she shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "She's the Chief Medical Examiner. We uh, we met overseas. Our mothers moved in the same social circles."
"Well then, by all means. Go and say hello but meet us upstairs in 30," Hotch granted the request, detecting nothing but honesty in Emily's dark eyes.
"Thank you, Hotch."
"You know we're all here for you?"
"I do."
"Okay. We'll see you later." Hotch briefly squeezed her shoulder in a gesture of affection, something he only rarely did with his agents, and watched as she pressed the down button on one of the elevators.
"Em, where are you-" JJ started to ask but Emily had already stepped onto the elevator once she'd noticed what was happening. She turned to their unit chief. "Hotch, where's Emily going? Is she okay?"
"Don't worry, JJ. Prentiss will join us in a little while."
"But-"
"She's gone to see a friend who works here as the medical examiner. Now, the rest of us should go and meet with the detectives."
Emily was nervously fiddling with the hem of her dark red blouse for the whole elevator ride.
She hadn't seen her in several years and both of them had gone through hell during the last 12 months alone. They talked on the phone of course but there was only so much a simple phone talk could convey. Also, they really only rarely found the time to talk for longer than a few minutes.
Emily also knew that the other woman was still trying to come to terms with her 'death' and the fact that she'd heard about it from her mother a week after the burial had taken place. She'd told her about the day she'd visited her grave and how much it had hurt her that she couldn't say goodbye or even attend the burial.
She was unsure how their reunion would go but she really needed to see her, it had been too long and things in life didn't tend to go the way one planned them to. If she died tomorrow, she did not want it to happen without having seen her best and once only friend again.
Once she got off the elevator, Emily walked through the hallway, finally stopping at a door with a small brass sign on the wall next to it.
She smiled, briefly letting her fingertips glide over the name, finally raising her hand to rap her knuckles against the office door.
"Come in."
Emily stepped into the office and – seeing that her friend had yet to look up from a piece of paper – spoke up: "You're still into these African masks, I see."
The honey-blonde's head snapped up.
"Emily!"
The smaller woman was on her feet in a second, rushing around her desk and throwing herself into Emily's waiting arms just another second after.
Emily wrapped her own arms around the blonde, holding on tightly. She hadn't really realized just how much she'd missed her until now.
"I really missed you, Maura," she then confessed in a rare show of emotion, her walls down, her compartments forgotten for the time being.
"I missed you, too. I can't believe you're here!"
"Yeah, well, I am actually here with the team-"
"Oh," Maura stepped out of Emily's arms, a contemplative look on her face. "I knew they were calling in the bureau… I should've realized it would be you. So you're here for the girls, I take it?"
"We are," Emily agreed, taking the chance to give Maura a once-over. She was wearing a grey pencil skirt and a cobalt blue blouse, looking just as elegant and put-together as she remembered her. Most people wouldn't even wear to a fancy dinner date what Maura wore to work. It perfectly suited Maura though. "Five years. And yet you haven't aged a single day."
"Right back at you, Agent Prentiss," Maura smirked, her eyes twinkling with happiness. "You'll have to stay with me of course. You will, right? Say yes!"
"I would love to Maura, really. It's just... I already kind of promised to bunk with JJ and Garcia. Penelope's hell-bent on sharing a room with us since she so rarely gets to come along and I believe I've heard the words 'slumber party' more than once before we boarded the jet."
"Just bring them along, Emily. Please? I've got plenty of room for all of you and I'd really love to stay up late with you and a bottle of wine or two. There's so much I have to tell you. And I haven't seen my best friend in five years."
"All right, all right. I'll ask them. But don't complain once they're in your house and getting on your nerves," Emily laughed, playfully nudging the ME's side. Checking her watch, she realized it was time to go and join her team upstairs. They still had a case to solve after all.
It had been the right choice to go and see Maura first though. She felt so much better about being here now that she'd seen her.
"I'll have to leave you for now, I'm afraid," she stated, nodding towards the clock on one of the walls. "Gotta go and solve that case."
"In that case, I'm riding up with you. Maybe I can help. I just finished the last autopsy report, actually," she pointed at the papers on her desk, the ones she'd been working on when Emily had surprised her.
"Melanie Gibbs?"
"Yes. She's the third girl to land on my table in two weeks. Jane's really frustrated because they haven't caught their murderer yet."
"Jane?" Emily raised a brow, easily reading the doctor's tone and body language. Whoever this 'Jane' person was, Maura obviously cared for her a great deal.
"Detective Jane Rizzoli," Maura blushed, knowing that Emily had seen in a minute what Korsak, Frankie, Frost, Angela, and even Jane hadn't managed to see in years. Well, she actually believed that Angela did suspect something. So far though, the woman hadn't approached her about it so it was safe to say she didn't know. Yet.
"You like her, don't you?"
"She's my best friend," Maura supplied, hoping it would be enough.
Thankfully, Emily merely commented her words with a wink and a "u-huh", choosing to let it go for the moment. Of course, Maura knew, she would probably just grill her sometime later.
"Well, let's head upstairs then," Emily strode to the office door, holding it open for her friend who quickly picked up her finished autopsy report.
"Em! I was worried about you!" JJ was at Emily's side the moment she stepped into the conference room they'd set up camp in, her concern momentarily keeping her from noticing the beautiful blonde at her side who was casting curious glances at her.
"I'm fine, Jayje, really," Emily placed a hand on JJ's arm, trying to reassure her. "I just went to meet a friend." She gestured at Maura and JJ's eyes finally landed on the newcomer. The newcomer who was standing very close to Emily. Emily, who usually had an issue with people getting into her personal space.
"JJ, meet Dr. Maura Isles, Chief Medical Examiner of Massachusetts and an old friend of mine. Maura, this is Agent Jennifer Jareau, my… best friend."
Maura noticed the pause in the other blonde's introduction and wondered just how much the young woman actually meant to her friend. However, she had also noticed the ring on the blonde's finger and decided to talk to Emily in private about her observation.
"It is nice to meet you, Agent Jareau. I am glad someone is looking after Emily in my absence. Does she still drink so much coffee? I told her numerous times that it is really unhealthy to consume such an amount of caffeine each day."
"She sticks to tea nowadays," JJ smirked, shaking the doctor's outstretched hand. "It is nice to meet you as well, Dr. Isles. Call me JJ, please."
"Well, then you should call me Maura. I hear we might be having a slumber party after all."
At JJ's raised brow, Emily hurried to explain. "Maura's invited us to stay at her house for the duration of the case. I told her I'd have to ask you and Garcia first since Pen seems to have something planned."
"Sure," JJ nodded. "If you really don't mind having us. I'm sure Pen will be game. She'll probably pounce on you once she learns you're Emily's friend. Our Em here is pretty private and we've been dying to get some dirt on her."
"Oh, I might have one or two stories to tell you then," Maura smiled, already liking the blonde agent.
"Seriously? You two are teaming up against me two minutes after meeting?" Emily pouted, earning herself a laugh from both women. "I think I'll join Derek instead.."
And with a theatrical sigh, she did just that.
"So, who is she, Princess?" Morgan drawled out, having watched the three women's interaction with interest.
"Maura and I met in London almost sixteen years ago. Our mothers knew each other from a couple of beneficiary functions and introduced us one day," Emily told him, leaving out the details of their friendship and the two years they'd lived together. She didn't share things readily and even though Derek was one of her closest friends and her partner, she just wasn't used to being open around people.
"So you're friends?"
"We are," Emily smiled, a warm and genuine smile, before she moved to the bulletin board. "But let's get justice for these girls, shall we?"
"You know it."
The two agents were working together for five minutes when a gentle tap on Emily's shoulder interrupted them.
"Hey Emily, I wanted to introduce you to someone." Maura gestured at the tall brunette standing next to her, an attractive woman with obvious Italian roots.
"Detective Jane Rizzoli," the taller woman gave her a smile but didn't extend her hand, a fact that the profiler immediately noticed, followed by the twin scars on her hands. There was definitely more to the the detective than what met the eye at a first glance.
"But you can call me Jane. Already met your boss and your team earlier. You'll meet my partners later, detectives Korsak and Frost. They are having their lunch break right now."
"It is good to meet you, Jane. I'm Emily."
"I know. Maura's told me about you the day she learned that you died. I'm glad that isn't true by the way. She was really shaken by the news."
Emily felt a familiar pang of pain and guilt at the detective's words. She knew how hard it had been for everyone on the team to get over her death and hearing how much it had pained Maura added another name to the list of people she'd hurt because of her past.
"I should get back to work," Emily had to get away from this conversation, she already felt her palms grow sweaty and her heartbeat turn faster. A panic attack in the making. They, too, had become familiar over the past months.
"I would like your input on the murders though," she added, unwilling to push Jane Rizzoli away, knowing how much she meant to Maura. Plus, they were here to solve this case – together.
"Sure thing." The other brunette immediately joined her, starting to retell what she'd seen at the last crime scenes and giving her opinion on the UnSub.
AN: So, prologue and chapter #1. Did you like/hate it? What do you think about the whole Emily/Maura dynamic?
Well, leave me a review if you have the time.
I will try to update this once a week. Chapter 2 should be ready within the next one or two days though. :-)