It has been a long time since I have written fanfiction, or any fiction at all. I have deleted all previous stories, and I may review, republish, and continue those at a time in the future. This is a short start to a new story, but hopefully something that will progress as I get my writing fingers together again! As always, Criminal Minds does not belong to me; I am only borrowing the characters a bit. Please review for this story and if you have any specifics you used to read that I took down and would like to see back, please let me know! Enjoy!
She tried to pay attention to the paperwork sitting on her desk. She had tried really hard. But damn if her eyes did not just want to close on their own, her body jerking awake every time her neck reached an odd angle. Finally she just folded her arms on the desk and let her head rest on them, falling into a fitful sleep.
"Emily? Emily, time to wake up." She heard her name and felt her shoulder being shaken. "Come on, Emily, wake up." She groaned, not wanting to open her eyes and feel the world spin again. But, the insistent shaking of her shoulder was worse than opening her eyes, and finally she blinked a few times, looking up to find her boss standing next to her desk. "Prentiss, if you're sick, maybe you should go on home for the day. There are no cases, nothing pressing."
Her mouth was dry but she managed to wet her lips a bit before telling him she was fine. She stood to emphasize her point but stumbled just enough that he reached out to stabilize her. "Really, Hotch, I'm fine. Just, uh, gonna go find a cup of coffee." He narrowed his eyebrows, analyzing every facial movement she made, looking for anything that contradicted her statement. It was there, subtle, but there. Her brow glistened with the slightest bead of sweat, her lips chapped, her eyes slightly unfocused. Emily moved to get up from her chair, placing both hands on the desk in front of her to steady herself a bit. Her boss watched her carefully, but avoided assisting her knowing Emily's tendency to want to appear strong in front of him.
Hotch watched Emily slowly walk away from her desk. He moved to Reid's desk to review a profile he was writing for a small case in Florida. Reid did not need his work reviewed; he knew what he was doing and Hotch trusted him. They all provided these notes to local law enforcement throughout the year; ideas, insights, preliminary profiles. Yet, by standing there rather than returning to his office, Hotch gained the advantage of watching Emily's walk more carefully. It had only been a couple of months since she returned from hiding, shocking the entire team except JJ and himself, and they had not yet fully accepted her back into the fold. He wondered if the others even noticed how ill she probably was.