Emily paused, her back pressed firmly against the cold wall, closing her eyes briefly, just long enough to quiet her pulse. The local agent she'd been paired with stood to her right, his panicked breathing too loud for her comfort. Not that anything about the situation was comfortable. Swallowing hard, she counted to three before darting around the corner, gun poised and ready to fire. The empty room made her uneasy as she moved swiftly forward, hearing the young agent stumbling behind her. He was just a kid. She couldn't be angry at him for his inexperience. She could be angry that she'd been sent out to possibly face two psychopaths with only a child to back her up. A shot echoed in her ears and she turned, just in time to see the kid slump to the ground in a crumpled heap. In the doorway she'd stood in moments before were two men. The unsubs. In front of them stood the missing girl they'd been searching for. One held a gun to her head and the other pointed his gun directly at Emily. They ordered her to take her vest off and drop her gun. She complied. With her hands raised, Emily attempted to soothe the men as she dropped to her knees. The girl begged for Emily, twisting away from the men and running forward. Another shot rang out, but the girl didn't fall. Instead, pain exploded in Emily's stomach as she felt herself hit the cold floor. A mix of sharp pain and soothing warmth spread from the single point in her abdomen as her vision clouded, black spots appearing and soon consuming her vision. As one of the men appeared over her, a third shot exploded in her chest, just beneath her right collar bone. She fought the cold darkness that tried to overtake her, but soon felt herself sinking into it, the man above her fading into complete darkness.
"Emily? Ms. Prentiss?" an unknown male voice drug her out of her darkness as her eyes flew open. The bright light above her made her cringe, issuing a strong protest from her abdomen. Blinking, she managed to focus on the man beside her. He wore blue scrubs and held a clipboard. A nurse. Looking down at herself, she internally groaned at the hospital gown she wore. "You're in the hospital Ms. Prentiss... how are you feeling?"
Emily opened her mouth but no sound came out. The throbbing pain in her stomach was annoying to say the least. She felt the throb in her entire body, though it was concentrated just below her right breast. Forcing a deep breath despite the pain, she tried again:
"Agent. Agent Prentiss. When can I go home?"
She didn't understand why the nurse laughed, and her confusion must have shown on her face:
"Your supervisor warned me you were stubborn." He paused to look at his clipboard before continuing, "You can go home in a few moments, once your papers are signed. That is, if you have someone to stay with you." Before she had a change to object, a different voice spoke from the doorway.
"She's got six people to keep her in line." Aaron Hotchner moved into the room, carrying a black duffle bag.
The nurse nodded to Hotch before turning his attention back to Emily.
"You'll need 24 hour supervision for the first week. Total bedrest. The most strenuous activity you can do is sitting upright. The bandage on your stomach needs to be changed before bed and after breakfast in the morning. The one on your shoulder shouldn't need to be changed, unless it bothers you. Your arm needs to stay in the sling for the first week, and then you can use it as long as it stays below your heart. If there's any discharge from your shoulder, come into the emergency room. As far as bathing goes, you can't stand on your own to shower and neither of your injuries can be submerged in water. I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to meet those requirements." Pausing, the nurse looked between Hotch and Emily before continuing, "You can call tomorrow to make a follow up appointment. You'll need one in about a week and a half. If you feel anything pull in your stomach, come in. I'll be back in a minute with these papers. You can go ahead and get dressed." With that, he disappeared through the doorway, pulling the door closed behind him.
"We've fought with them for two days to get power over your medical records. You never redid your power of attorney directive after you were resurrected and they tried to reach out to your mother for power of attorney. I've been on the phone for two days straight. If you still want me as your power of attorney, we need to get that redone as soon as possible."
Emily bit on her lip to keep herself from grumbling her frustration, but nodded her agreement. The dark circles under Hotch's eyes validated his stress and lack of sleep, as did the forward slump of his normally perfect posture.
"JJ went to your apartment and brought you some clothes... They had to cut your other clothing off. Here." Pulling a small pile of clothing out of the bag, he sat her clothes gently in her lap and moved towards the door, "I'll wait outside. Let me know if you need help."
"Thanks. I think I can manage."