* This is my first try at writing something for Criminal Minds, but I have watched the show for a few years now and have seen every episode there is, so I definitely know and love these characters. And although I love SVU and will continue the stories I have started, I felt that a change in show would be good. So this story includes everyone but Hotch (for now), as I have Emily in charge like she is in the most current season. Derek never left, but Tara Lewis has joined the team (no Alvez or Walker). I can promise drama, cliffhangers, and hopefully a good story for you all. Read and please, please enjoy! *
"This killer is not going to stop unless he is stopped. He is at his peak right now and he knows that he is going to continue to get away with what he is doing. But this also means that he could begin to get sloppy because he is overconfident. We will continue to go over all the men in these women's lives, even the ones they may not have even realized were there. All of you need to make sure that the public is aware that this man is hunting in their community and they need to be hyper-vigilant at all times."
Emily Prentiss dismissed the group of Portland cops standing in front of her team. With the profile delivered, it was now time for everyone to buckle down and find this killer.
Tara Lewis, who had left in order to answer a phone call to the precinct returned, a hopeful look in her eye. "You were right, he's getting sloppy. That was a man who just saw a woman being abducted and the man who took her matches our description to a T and our witness knows who he is."
The rest of the team followed Tara's lead, grabbing their Kevlar vests. Emily was the last to grab her vest. The moment that her hand gripped the fabric on the bullet-proof vest, she felt like she had hit a wall. Her head was swimming and everything around her was spinning. She did her best to hide what she had been feeling for the entire trip to Portland.
"Em, you good?" JJ had come back to grab something she had forgotten.
The commanding agent looked up, trying to even out her breathing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
The blonde wasn't blind, she knew that her boss and friend was not okay, but she wasn't going to call her out on it when they needed to be worried about their current case. She would get to the bottom of whatever was happening with Emily when they got back to Washington.
However, before they could get back to DC, they would have to deal with the killer that was at hand. And he was one of the worst that he had seen. When they got to the house that the witness had led them too, the team was not prepared for what they saw. The man they were after would slowly skin his victims while they were still alive. He would tie them up and torture them for forty-eight hours at a time. And although it was lucky for the victim, it was unlucky for the team to find the man in the middle of cutting up his latest victim.
Prentiss had led herself and Morgan into the basement where the man was keeping the woman. But the moment her eyes saw the young woman tied to a table, Emily was frozen in place. Derek Morgan acted immediately, not even noticing what the brunette was doing, or not doing.
The rest of the take down was a blur for Emily. The rest of the team rushed into the room around her while she still stood in the same spot, unable to move her legs. She had seen it all this point in career, but for some reason this crime scene affected her differently than any of them had before.
"Emily? Emily?" David Rossi stood in front of her now. The young woman was on the gurney headed up to the ambulance with paramedics. The unsub was handcuffed and resisting as Morgan pushed up the stairs. "Emily, what's wrong?"
But she couldn't get an answer out. She was feeling the same feeling that she had earlier and the room was spinning around her again.
"Emily?" Rossi's worry was evident in his voice.
She didn't answer him, instead she pushed past him and ran up the stairs. She clambered out the door and around the chaos that was now ensuing in the front of the house and outside on the front lawn.
The woman barely made it around to the side of the house, away from everyone, before she lost her lunch in the bushes. She laid her hand on the siding, trying to keep herself upright as another wave of nausea made her loose the rest of what she had eaten that day. Her legs started to feel like jello underneath her; she leaned all of weight against the house now to stop herself from falling over. She shut her eyes, willing her nausea to pass.
"Em?" JJ laid a very gentle hand on her back, but Emily jumped at the touch.
Emily took a deep breath, trying not to gag again on the taste of vomit that was in her mouth still. "I'm fine."
"Like hell you are." JJ sounded less sympathetic now.
"JJ…" Emily had to stop, taking another few deep breaths to steady herself as she stood up, but she was obviously swaying.
"Come on. We're getting you checked out." JJ tried to grab Emily's arm to guide her toward the car.
Emily pulled her arm away, almost falling over from the sudden movement. "I'm not going anywhere. I am fine."
"I've worked with you this long and I have never once seen you get sick at a crime scene. And earlier today at the precinct, I know you weren't feeling good. You can try to hide this all you want, Emily, but something is off with you."
Emily sighed. "Look, I probably just picked some virus up while we were here. It's no big deal. I will go see someone when we get home."
JJ wanted to fight her, but she knew that she would never win. Emily was head-strong and if she didn't want to do something, no one could change her mind. She was still worried that something more than a virus was causing her friend to be so sick, but it was not worth the trouble trying to convince her what was best.
"Then let's go get our stuff and get on the plane. We all need to get back after this week." JJ, followed by Emily, headed towards the black SUV's belonging to the FBI.
Two hours later, the team single-file boarded the jet. Everyone was ready to go home. Prentiss had ordered them all to take the next day off, because she knew how draining this case had been. They all settled into their seats and the first part of flight was rather quiet. Reid read some large, complex book. Morgan and JJ were sharing kid stories, trying to remind themselves that there was still sweet innocence in the world. Rossi was scrolling through something on his iPad. Tara and Emily sat across from each other, silently staring out the window. They were the two who were going home to empty houses, no family, no husbands or children.
"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm no chef, but I can whip us up something edible." Tara tried to break the silence that was now becoming awkward.
"Thank you for the invite, but after the day I've had, I don't think food is what I need." Emily could still hadn't completely rid herself of the taste of vomit from earlier.
"Oh yeah." Tara was embarrassed that she had even asked. JJ had told the team what happened and expressed how worried she was about their boss. "I'm sorry I even asked. I think you are much better off with some sleep instead of my mediocre cooking."
When the plane landed and the team had made their way back to headquarters, they all gathered their things and went their separate ways. Emily headed toward her office. She dropped her go bag and case files and grabbed her purse. But before she could even get to the elevators she was ambushed by a certain blonde technical analyst.
"Okay, I know you want to get home and you need to get home and get some sleep, but I know that you never keep anything in that beautiful brownstone of yours. So I got you some things." Penelope held a paper grocery bag in her arms.
"JJ called you?" Emily knew that if she had told the rest of the team, JJ had certainly told Penelope what had happened at the crime scene.
"Yes she did and you need to go see a doctor because this is not normal Emily behavior." Penelope never had a problem speaking her mind. "But that is beside the point right now. I got you some ginger ale and some peppermint tea, because both of those are good for soothing the stomach. There are also some saltines in there because I know that those will go down without coming back up again. And I got you some chicken noodle soup, but I would maybe wait until tomorrow to try that."
Emily couldn't stay angry at Penelope for knowing the embarrassing facts of that afternoon. "You are right. I have nothing at home. Thanks for all of this Pen."
"Anytime, my lady. Now go home and get some rest." Penelope squeezed her shoulder. She was just as worried as JJ had been about the woman.
Emily tried her best to keep her eyes on the road as she drove home, but she was distracted by everything that had happened. And instead of going straight to her brownstone she made a quick stop at the drugstore closest to her house. She picked up some TUMS, Tylenol, and one more thing that she needed.
She walked into her house half an hour later. Sergio greeted her at the door, meowing for his dinner. She fulfilled her cat's needs, put way what she had gotten from Garcia, but not before she made herself a cup of the peppermint tea.
She grabbed the plastic bag from the drugstore and went into her bathroom. She put the medicine away, but left out what else she had bought. She needed to use it, she knew she did, and she had known for a while now, but instead she sat on the edge of the bathtub for the next hour slowly sipping her tea that was getting cold. It took all that she had to stand up and open the box of the pregnancy test. Her hands shook as she read the instructions, even though she knew exactly how to use it, she needed to waste whatever time she could.
Three minutes later, Emily found herself pacing her bedroom. She knew that she needed to go look. But every time she took one step toward the bathroom, she took two steps the other direction. And if she was being honest with herself she knew what the test was going to say.
With one deep long breath, Emily found herself fighting to cross the threshold of the bathroom. She quickly grabbed the test without looking and went back into her bedroom. She sat on the end of the bed, letting out the breath that she didn't even realize she was holding. Emily knew that the moment she looked down at the plastic stick in her hands, her world was going to change forever. She thought if she waited that maybe for just a little while longer her life would stay normal, it would be the same life that she had grown so comfortable with.
And just as she had predicted as soon as she looked down at the test, her world came crashing down around her. She was pregnant. She was having a baby and nothing would ever be the same. The tears she had been holding back all day finally fell down her face.
* Okay, maybe a little predictable, but I will do my best to keep this story interesting. I have so many ideas and ways I want to take this, including baby daddy drama. Leave me all of your thoughts, comments, criticisms. They are so appreciated! *