Disclaimer: I own nothing!
This is my first fan fiction so please review and let me know what you think. I'd like to try and write some more so please send me any constructive criticism to help me make the next one better. It didn't really end up they way I had planned it in my head but hopefully it's not too terrible. Hope you enjoy it.
DAY1
A harassed JJ hurried into the bullpen, grabbed the TV remote from a desk and pointed it at the screen on the opposite wall. Morgan looked up to see a reporter standing with a ranch visible over his shoulder explaining what he called 'a violent and deadly standoff' occurring between local police and a religious group. An uncomfortable chill crept up his spine and through his body.
"JJ tell me that's not the ranch that Prentiss and Reid-"
"They're still inside." She answered before he could finish, not able to pull her paling face away from the TV. Morgan's stomach dropped in a sickening attack of fear as he jumped to his feet and yelled for Hotch.
Within hours they were setting up camp within view of the ranch. Since JJ had turned on the tv that morning Morgan felt like his life had been turned upside down. This couldn't be happening. Emily can't be caught up in this. He knew he was only making it worse by freaking out but no matter what he did he couldn't shake his fear. Morgan was amazed how calmly Rossi spoke when they first made contact with the group's leader Cyrus. Everyone else was doing their best to stay focused and rational to handle the situation as just another job but Morgan was struggling to think straight. He was desperately fighting the urge to throw the rules out the window and march straight up to the front door with his gun. He couldn't breathe when Rossi asked Cyrus about the child care workers in the compound (the cover Prentiss and Reid had used). He was gripped by terror so painful when Cyrus said one of the three was dead. The painful tension in his chest loosened slightly when he named the victim as Sandy but even knowing Emily was alive wasn't enough to comfort him. He had never been so rattled on a case before and it didn't look like things were going to get better any time soon.
It was late now but he knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. With a heavy sigh he glanced out the window to his right where through the darkness he could see the soft glow of light coming from several windows of the ranch a few hundred yards away. He knew Emily was in there somewhere but he didn't know where, didn't know if she was ok. The waiting was killing him. He needed to know. Needed to get her out, get her back safely. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms and tell her how much she meant to him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Emily Prentiss had always met a lot to Morgan, as did Reid and all of the other members of the BAU team. There's a special bond that develops between people who put their lives into each other's hands every day. This team had faced terrible things together, horrors and tragedies that only brought them closer as a team. But with Emily there had always been something a bit more. She was smart, funny, beautiful, interesting. Morgan always loved to spend time with her, he was drawn to her. They had always got on well together and there was no denying the spark between them. Their banter often strayed to flirtation. For almost 2 years Emily and Morgan had played with the boundaries of being partners, teasing each other with innuendo and suggestive banter as they bonded and got to know each other as friends. But neither was brave enough to actually make a move.
This had all changed earlier in the year after their last case in New York. The case came to a dramatic end when a reckless Morgan drove a rigged ambulance bomb out of the hospital. He had escaped only seconds before it exploded in the safety of an empty central park. Morgan had been very confused and slightly hurt when he realised Emily was avoiding him for over a week after that. After a particularly boring day of paperwork at Quantico - which had been full of cold shoulders and one word answers from Emily - an irritated Morgan drove to her apartment after work to try to clear the air between them. He didn't like not having Emily talk to him and he especially didn't like the thought that he'd done something to annoy or upset her.
Despite Emily's initial stubbornness Morgan persisted, desperate to get his happy and sweet partner back. Wanting to see that dazzling smile again. What started as an angry exchange soon developed into an awkward and tearful confession. In her rage Emily blurted out how much he had frightened her in New York, how scared she had been that she had lost him before even having a chance to admit how she felt about him, to herself as well as to him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"Prentiss talk to me!" he pleaded "Just tell me what I did wrong and I'll fix it."
"I was terrified Morgan!" she spat out. He stopped short, confused by this. "I was so scared that we had lost you in New York. That I had lost you, before getting-" She quickly stopped herself casting her gaze down.
"Before getting what?" Morgan asked softly reaching a hand out towards hers. Prentiss drew herself back slightly, withdrawing from his reach. "Emily?" he said softly but persistently moving closer to her. A little warmth spread through her when he said her name. She sighed
"Before I got a chance to realise how I felt about you." Emily couldn't look at him, too scared of what answer his eyes would give her. After a few seconds she began to panic when he didn't responded. "And then I was furious with you for making me feel like that and making me realise it." She added hastily trying to make herself sound more angry than sad. He reached out a finger, stroked it along her jaw and down to her chin which he tilted up so her eyes met his again.
His dark eyes bore into hers for several minutes as he processed what she had said, a slight flutter forming in his chest. Then Morgan leaned towards her cupping his hand round her cheek with a smile. He heard her breath catch in her throat as he closed the gap between them, his lips gentle brushing against hers.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
That night they allowed themselves to give into their feelings. They ignored the reality of their situation and the complication of being partners in an overly demanding and dangerous line of work. For once they both let down their guards and allowed themselves to feel and to completely open up to one another. After that first night of closeness and affection they both knew their relationship had crossed a line. They couldn't take it back and neither of them wanted to, but they also weren't ready to face the consequences and implications of having a relationship with a colleague. Neither of them was good at relationships and while they knew they were good together they were also both secretly afraid they would ruin what they had. So instead they retreated slightly back behind their protective walls. Not so much that they didn't show their feelings to one another but they didn't act on those feelings – at least not in the way they both wanted to. Silent lustful glances would be exchanged as they worked together. They continued to flirt and have suggestive banter but there was more meaning behind the words than before. As much as they tried to deny it to themselves their relationship had advanced to a new level since New York.
To the rest of the team their behaviour appeared normal – Emily's hand on Morgan's shoulder when he began to lose his temper; Morgan's hand on the small of her back as he let her pass through the door before him. Their gestures and glances appeared innocent enough but their touch would linger a little longer than necessary, their eyes would meet and hold a few seconds more than was appropriate.
It was clear they both cared for each other but neither of them was brave enough to take that final step and allow it to become more, to become something serious. So they continued to tell themselves it was just through close friendship that Morgan would give Emily a comforting hug in private after a particularly draining case. It was through friendship that Emily would attentively rub the stiffness from Morgan's back when he got hurt. It was just because they were partners that they were always the last two left at the end of a work night out, glad to spend time together alone away from work in a relaxed atmosphere.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
DAY2
Morgan sat slumped in a chair repeatedly tapping his foot on the floor in frustration. This was unbearable. How could he just sit her while she was trapped inside with this crazy cult and their sociopath leader? But he knew he had to wait. They had a plan. He reminded himself they had a procedure for this kind of situation. This should just be like any other stressful case. But it wasn't it was killing him inside. Whenever things would get too much it was always Emily he would turn to for comfort. Just being able to share a glance with her, to know they were in this together always reassured him. Morgan had just started to tell himself to trust that Emily was strong and that she was clever enough to be able to deal with this, to survive this, when JJ came running over with a look in her eyes that had a ripple of ice cold fear run through him.
"We've got a problem. Cyrus knows there's an FBI agent undercover."
Morgan, Hotch and Rossi all grabbed for a set of headphones desperately listening to see if their strategically positioned bugs could allow them to hear any of what was going on inside...
A door swung open and clattered off the wall...Quick frantic breathing...'You lied to me'...a clatter and a yelp of pain – Emily's yelp...
OK SO I KNOW THERE WASN'T A WHOLE LOT OF DEMILY INTERACTION BUT I LIKED THE IDEA OF VIEWING AN EPISODE FROM AN EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE RATHER THAN AN ACTION ONE AND I FIGURED AN EPISODE WHERE ONE OF OUR FAVOURITE COUPLE IS IN DANGER WOULD BE THE EASIEST PLACE TO START.
THE REST WILL FOLLOW SOON, I REALLY HOPE THERE ARE SOME OF YOU ENJOYING IT BUT EITHER WAY TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.