Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement is intended
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He couldn't concentrate on the book he was reading although he let her think that he was. He watched as she silently looked out the window as the plane soared through the clouds, her beauty marred by the cuts and bruises that religious freak had bestowed on her. Her left eye was red and puffy while her lip was cut and a little swollen. She had told him that it looked worse than it was but he wasn't sure he believed it, he knew what a severe beating felt like. None of those bruises belonged on the lovely face of Emily Prentiss.
She'd even taken his hand and told him none of what happened to her was his fault. She had comforted him when she should be the one receiving comfort. I should have stepped up, he thought. Why didn't I? Why did I leave it to Emily to take the beating? She was so brave. She just plucked up her courage and said, "It's me," knowing full well what would happen and I just sat there while my partner went through hell.
He should have told Cyrus that Emily lied, that he was the FBI agent. But would he have been able to accomplish what Emily had. Could he have convinced Kathy Evanson to get the women and children into the tunnel in time to save them from the explosion? He didn't have the best track record in talking to women, did he?
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She knew that he thought she was so brave and she hoped that he'd listened when she said it wasn't his fault, that it was her decision. It was an easy decision to make actually. Once she saw Benjamin Cyrus point that gun at Reid's head, the pain she'd felt, the pain they'd all felt, as another religious freak had pointed a gun at his head and pulled the trigger, came flooding back. She couldn't feel that agony again. It was far worse than anything Cyrus could dish out. It had been automatic to say, "It's me," and save her heart from that pain. Like she'd said, she could take it.
She hazarded a glance at him as he read his book. He hadn't escaped unharmed. When they had both been in the ER, separated only by a thin curtain, she had heard the doctor tell him that his abdomen was very bruised from where he had taken brutal hits from the butt of Cyrus's gun. He should watch that the bruising didn't increase, the doctor told him. That could be a sign of internal bleeding. Reid had said nothing to the team about any pain or bruising. Only she knew the truth.
What if it had been the other way around? Cyrus would have been much harder on Reid than he had been on her. He and Reid had developed a rapport. Cyrus would never have listened to anything she had to say. He didn't respect women but Reid could get through to him and did. She'd made the right decision.
She'd wanted to go back for Reid but Morgan had insisted she go with Rossi and the others. He was my partner. I shouldn't have left that building without him. When the building exploded my heart almost leapt from my chest. I prayed Reid and Morgan were alright but all I could see was smoke and flames. Then there they were like Phoenixes rising from the flames. Reid looked so bedraggled with his shirt hanging out as he stumbled and coughed. They were the most beautiful sight these eyes have ever seen. I had to wrap my arms around him and feel that he was really there and okay. My partner and I were walking away from this together.
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When I looked up through the smoke and saw Emily on the stairs, my heart flooded with relief. I had been so nasty to her in the aftermath of Georgia when my mind was still clouded with Dilaudid that I hadn't realized what a good friend she was. I noticed the blood on her shirt, evidence that although Cyrus had battered her, he had not beaten her. She came up to meet me and I was enveloped in her warm embrace. I could feel her softness, but more importantly, her strength. We'd made it through. My partner and I were walking away from this together.