AN: This story is a sequel to my fic Date with the Devil. You don't have to read it to read this one but it would help you to understand who Carina is, why she's staying with Emily and her back story.

Disclaimer: I do NOT, in any way shape or form, own Criminal Minds or its characters but Carina is mine :) Enjoy.

Chapter 1 – A New Beginning

Emily Prentiss hadn't brought company home for a while and never in the form of a homeless teenager who she was now the parental guardian for. Cruising down the street it felt right to have someone looking out of the window at the world she called home. It felt nice to have someone sitting beside her, fiddling with the radio stations. Someone else to help fill the void. It was funny that she had only just been talking about finding someone to help fill the void in her life. It may have come from not having the child when she was fifteen years old. Either way it made Emily think for a moment. She forgot about work, forgot about unsub's and trying to catch criminals. For the first time in months, she thought about home.

Turning right and entering a side street she took the next left and then turned right into her driveway. The car cruised to a stop as Carina looked through the window in awe at the size of her home. "Ready to go inside?" Emily asked.

"This is where you live?" Carina asked, her parent's old home was half the size of this mansion.

"Yeah this is it," Emily replied as Carina turned to look at Emily's dark brown eyes amazement still gleaming as she stared. Emily just smiled before she removed her seatbelt. "I told you I would have plenty of space," she laughed as she opened her door and stepped out onto her driveway. Carina removed her own seatbelt, opened the door and stepped out of the car as Emily removed her jacket, bag and Carina's box of stuff from the back seat. Closing the door with her hip she looked to Carina who was still looking up at the building in awe. "Hey," Emily called drawing her attention from the home to her left. "You want to open the door for me?" Carina smiled as she closed the door and stepped forwards. Emily passed her the key, balancing the box on her knee as she fished it out from her pocket. Carina took it and walked up one step to the front door. A welcome mat lay on the front porch. It was so inviting.

Looking through the many keys that were attached to it she turned around and asked, "Which one is it?"

"It's the biggest one, but not the car key." Emily replied. Carina finding it immediately and using it inside the lock, turning it right until it clicked before she opened the door inward and saw her new home. The home was two stories, bedrooms and one bathroom upstairs, kitchen lounge and a second bathroom downstairs. The floors were polished wood until the lounge where a large white and soft carpet lay underneath the television cabinet, coffee table and white lounge suite.

Emily walked in behind Carina and put down her box of items on the coffee table before she walked toward the kitchen. Taking two glasses from the cupboard she filled them with cold water from the fridge before she looked to Carina, still standing still near the lounge room. Emily walked toward her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Hey," Emily sighed. "What's wrong?" Carina looked back to Emily before she began to cry. Emily immediately took her into her arms and held the teenager close to her as she cried over her shoulder. It had only just hit Carina that this was somewhere new. Stroking her hair as she cried into her shoulder, Emily waited for her to speak. The healing process for the teen had not even started yet. "It's just..." Carina began as she leant back, Emily bending slightly to look her in the eye. "It's just so beautiful."

"Come on, let me get you some lunch," Emily replied. "I need to thank Garcia for a few things, would you mind if she came with us?" Carina shook her head. It would be nice to see who Emily wanted to thank. "Okay I'll give her a call. There is a glass of water on the bench if you're thirsty. How's the head doing?"

"It's just a dull ache," Carina replied before she walked to her box and removed her laptop.

"If it gets any worse then tell me. I'm going to have a quick shower and get changed. Will you be alright down here?" Carina nodded her head as she took a seat on the comfortable couch, the sounds of Emily's boots clicking loudly as she walked to the stairs and up them to the next level.

When Carina opened her laptop she saw a picture of her parents on the desktop. They looked so nice, her mother with long, flowing brown hair and her father with short black hair. Dad's blue eyes were looking straight through the computer and it felt like they were becoming a part of her soul. Her mother's brown eyes, the eyes she had inherited. Sadly, the world that she once knew had all changed. Lifting a photograph from the box she looked at it for a moment before she found the soft white tiger toy that her grandparents had given her for christmas. Lying back in the seat she looked around at the homes pristine condition. "Wow," she sighed to herself, hearing the water turning on upstairs. Carina felt a little uncomfortable, this wasn't her house. She didn't put her feet on the couch, sit on the floor, turn on the television, nothing. Carefully she took a pillow and placed it under her head as she lay down and closed her eyes.

Emily had finished her shower ten minutes later, walking into her room she opened her cupboard and removed her clothes, closed her door and got dressed. While pulling on her boots Emily dialled Garcia's number. It might have been the middle of the week but she was sure that Garcia had been given the two days the team got after each assignment they had to tackle. "Oh Emily how are you sweetie?" Garcia asked.

"I'm okay Garcia."

"That's good to hear, what about Carina?"

"I think she's okay, she hasn't talked about anything yet." Emily explained before zipping her second boot into place. "She will when she's ready honey just give her some time." Garcia replied.

"The reason I rang is because I wanted to ask you if I could shout you lunch." Emily asked opening her door and slowly walking down the stairs toward the kitchen. "Yeah that sounds lovely," Garcia replied. "I'll meet you at yours then?"

"Sounds fine," Emily replied before she noticed that the water glasses she had poured hadn't been touched. Looking around the room she couldn't see Carina at all. "Garcia, I've got to go, I'll see you when you get here." Without waiting for Garcia to end the call Emily turned off her phone when she began to hear muffled groans. "Stop," Carina's voice mumbled. Emily stepped closer to the couch to see Carina fidgeting. "Stop! Stop it! Leave me alone!"

"Carina!" Emily called kneeling on the ground and taking the teen by the shoulders. "Carina wake up." Carina's eyes shot open before she released the breath she had been holding. Taking some deep breaths Carina finally looked to Emily. Her concerned eyes staring into her. "It was a nightmare," Emily explained as Carina sat up and put a hand to her head.

"Is the headache getting worse?" Emily asked as Carina nodded her head slightly. "I'll go and get you some painkillers, hold on." Emily quickly got to her feet and moved into the kitchen to find the bottle of pills that JJ had given her. Taking two from the packet she took one glass of water and walked to Carina who was looking downward. "Here," Emily placed the two pills in her open hand as Carina took them in her fingers and placed them into her mouth. Using the same hand she took the water and took a sip to swallow them before she passed the glass back to Emily. Emily sat on the lounge next to Carina and placed a hand onto her shoulder. "Garcia is coming over, then we are going to lunch." Emily explained with no reply from the teen. "Should I cancel, if you aren't up to it I can call her back and explain, I'm sure she will understand."

"No," Carina replied quickly, turning to her left and looking into the raven haired agents eyes. "I'm okay, we can still go out."

"You're sure?" Emily checked. Carina nodded her head and tried to pull a convincing smile. Emily knew it was fake of course; she was a profiler after all. She had been trained to read people and their actions like well written science text books. Carina was no exception to her extremely detailed eye. "This is your home now too," Emily explained. Carina nodded her head.

"Tomorrow maybe we can go out and get you some things for the room. I need to get some food for the fridge anyway," Emily explained.

"That would be great," Carina replied before Emily heard a knock on the door. Walking down the hallway she opened the front door to see her friend Garcia. "Hey Garcia," Emily greeted as the two hugged. "Thanks for everything,"

"It's okay," Garcia replied. "I am the keeper of the magic society's secrets." She smiled.

"Come in," Emily offered as Garcia stepped past her and into the hallway. Emily walked in front of Garcia as they went to greet Carina. "Carina, this is Garcia." Emily introduced as Carina stood to her feet. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you," Garcia replied. "Can I give you a hug?" Carina looked to the friendly woman as Emily gave her a reassuring smile. Stepping slowly forwards Carina felt Garcia's arms around her body. It didn't feel too bad. The hug ended as Emily took her car keys from the kitchen bench and the ladies escorted themselves to the car before they drove away to their local restaurant.

Taking a seat Carina took a deep breath. There were so many strangers around her. She felt slightly uncomfortable. The waiter approached the table. "Hi," he greeted. Carina closed her eyes for a moment as a memory flashed through her mind. That was what Zack had first said to her. Noticing Carina's reactions she asked the waiter if she could order at the front desk instead of making a bill. He agreed swiftly before walking back into the restaurant. Emily reached over the table and took Carina's hand in hers. "Hey," she greeted. Getting Garcia to place a hand on her shoulder. "Is this moving too quickly?"

"It's okay," Carina replied, "I'm fine, why don't you go and order." Garcia looked to Prentiss; both knew it wasn't a good idea to leave her alone. Emily stood to her feet, taking her order from Garcia and getting a 'whatever there is' response from Carina she entered the restaurant to order their meals. "She's trying," Garcia commented making Carina look to her red headed friend. "She's trying really hard."

"I know," Carina replied softly, "I'm trying too."

AN: I know that Emily lives in an apartment but decided to make it a house for the purposes of my fics. This story is going to be a little darker and more dramatic than the last but there won't be a lot of action. Let me know what you think.