Summary: Emily is getting ready for her first day back at the BAU and doubts of whether the team will accept her back are beginning to surface.
This is my first fanfiction ever, hope you enjoy! I got into the show Criminal Minds and saw the 7th season promo, and I wanted to give my take on what could play out. Oh and I don't own Criminal Minds by any means.
Emily was running around trying to remember where she had put her black turtleneck in her apartment. Well her new apartment. To be honest everything was in disarray since she hadn't had time to fully move in after coming back from Paris. It seemed like everything had happened in a blur, yet the last 6 months had felt like the longest she'd ever known.
"Damn it, I'm going to be late!" she thought as she rummaged through some more boxes she found in the back of the closet. It was hard for Emily to believe that she was getting ready for work. To go back to her job at the BAU after spending those months in isolation, with no contact with her friends and family, to have them think she had died. Her fight with Doyle had nearly killed her, but leaving without being able to say goodbye and to explain to her team had hurt her more than imaginable.
"Ahh yes! Here we go. Of course it had to be in the last box" she exclaimed in triumph just as her cell phone began to sound. She looked down at the call display and smiled as she saw who was calling.
"Hey JJ, I'm planning on being there at 9:00, is that okay?" Emily asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Don't worry Em, it's fine! I just wanted to call you to see how you were doing. This is your first day of work in how long? And by the way, you might want to take a few deep breaths; I can hear your voice shaking over the phone." JJ laughed at the last part. She knew today was going to be a very big deal. People never reawake from the "dead", even in the FBI career field and she wanted to put Emily at ease as much as she could.
"I guess there's no hiding anything from you anymore now that you've become a profiler huh? I just never thought this day would come you know? I mean, how would you feel if someone you thought was dead suddenly reappeared in your life? What if the board says I'm too much of a risk? What if Reid and Morgan can't bear to forgive me?... OH GOD! What if Garcia refuses to even speak to me? I can't d-"
"EMILY! STOP!" JJ interrupted. "Emily listen to me. I'm not saying things aren't going to be hard, but you have to trust me when I say that the team will be better with you by our side okay?"
"I'm sorry Jay. I'm just so-I don't even know what this feeling is! I'm a stranger in my own life!" By this point Emily was now trying to locate her black boots from another pile of boxes in her bedroom. She took a deep breath as she sat down on the bed. "You know what? I've got to find some stuff right now around the house…I'll see you later?"
"Sure, we'll be talking to the rest of the team before you get there, so there's no rush. See you later." As JJ hung up, she knew Emily had so much more to get off her chest, but her tone was one of "leave it alone". After everything her friend had been through, she would be facing more in the days to come and JJ didn't want to push it. Quickly throwing a few files together and saying goodbye to Will and Henry, JJ made her way to the BAU to make the reveal to her friends that Emily Prentiss was alive.
Sitting in silence for a few moments after hanging up the phone, Emily began to resume her search for her shoes, hating the way the silence reminded her of the months alone she spent in hiding. What were the chances that JJ was right? Could the team really ever forgive her for all the lies and deceit she had done? Settling with a pair of other boots, Emily shoved her feet into them and made her way out of her bedroom. Eyeing the newspaper as she walked across the kitchen, Emily stopped and sat to skim the headlines while she wrapped her dark hair into a ponytail.
"Explosion in Paris Warehouse Kills 10" she read as she chuckled inwardly. It was a nice cover up for what had really happened the last week. There were few details: just an abandoned warehouse that was being used as a drug lab that had exploded, killing those who were inside. Fire crews and response teams had been unable to save anyone, but they suspected that something had caught fire and simply exploded sending the old warehouse into a raging inferno, destroying all evidence. Of course, there had been no drugs. Just a tactical team that included Emily Prentiss and CIA members that were taking care of some arms dealers, one who a certain brunette had a score to settle with. She recalled how she had told them Doyle was off limits, how he was hers to take out and no one else.
"Prentiss, this is Darwin. You're clear to move in. I repeat MOVE IN!" the intense whisper came through on her earpiece. "Take the southwest entrance, all obstacles have been taken out. Target is in the far right room." Sweat dripped down her brow as she shifted her gun in her hand to open the large steel door. There were at least 50 ops members who were watching over her, but she knew this was going to end one on one and this time, either she or Doyle would end up dead. Rounding the corner into a room in the dark warehouse, Emily whipped her gun around in surveillance. Suddenly she heard a sound behind her and she rounded about once again to find a rat scurry across the hall.
"Hello Lauren. Took you long enough." Doyle's voice sounded from within the room in a calm tone. A nagging familiar chill ran its way down Emily's spine as she turned around to face him, still holding her glock in front of her. "I see that stake didn't impair your abilities all too much. Tell me, did they have the same luck with that little clover of yours?" he sneered with a gleam in his eye.
Prentiss' stare narrowed in to focus on the figure in the dark. Her blood began to boil as Doyle mentioned the clover. It was hers forever; something that would remind her of the actions and shame she had committed all those years ago. "Wouldn't you like to know? And I see my efforts DID impair your ability to locate your son. I told you I beat you Ian." She spat out.
"Beat me did you?" Ian slowly began to walk towards Emily out from the darkness and into the moonlight that was shining through the window. She leveled her gun as he chuckled once more, "Hmm, I walked away 6 months ago with the information that my son was alive. You on the otherhand, well, how are your beloved teammates? Oh right. They think you're dead." Doyle was trying to play where it hurt the most, and even though she was prepared for the insults, hearing those words still killed her inside. "Do you think even if you get out of here, that the great Agent Hotchner will be able to bring you back? That your friend JJ will drop everything for you once again? Or how about Rossi? You abandoned them all like a coward. I don't think Spencer Reid and Penelope will ever look to you for advice again. And how will your partner Morgan feel Lauren? You can't be partners with someone you don't trust-"
"You know what Ian? Screw you! You can go to hell!" Emily screamed with intensity. Doyle knew just how to toy with her mind, to bring up all her insecurities she had feared about over the past few months. "Lauren Reynolds died a long time ago. You never knew me."
"You're right," he whispered just loud enough for her to hear, "I once knew a girl that I feel in love with, just to find out she was a lying bitch. She died a long time ago. So tonight, I guess it will be Emily Prentiss that will die!" With a flick of his wrist, Doyle produced a small "one shot" gun at his hand and quickly fired at Emily. She of course, was prepared for this and managed to jump out of the way and miss the bullet, rolling onto the concrete floor and scraping the side of her face. Quickly aiming her gun, she turned around to find Ian running out of the room having discarded his gun.
"No, not again you bastard," she thought as she swiped the blood with her sleeve off of her face and took off after him. A voice sounded over her earpiece, as she ran down the deserted hall, "Prentiss, what's your 20? Repeat? Shots heard. Sending in backup!" Emily only had a few moments before her chances to personally end Doyle were foiled. As much as she wanted Doyle dead, she wanted to be the one to do it. Panting with labored breaths, Emily walked into yet another room strewn with metal chairs and glass on the floor. She was about to turn around when she felt a sharp WHACK on her backside, throwing her forwards, sliding into the shards of glass, cutting up her arms and causing her gun to slide out of her reach. Within an instant, Doyle was on top of her throwing punches with intent to kill. Emily was getting weaker with every connection to her face and ribs. CRACK-another rib had broke, causing the pain to sear through her like a knife. Desperately trying to reach her gun, she could hear Doyle's voice over the blinding pain and sounds of punches in her ears.
"This is for Declan! Once I'm finished with you, I'm going to find my son, and you won't ever come between me and my family ever again!" Emily could feel the cool metal at her fingertips, if she could just scoot a little farther as she took her beating. Just a bit further…
"No Ian," she rasped hoarsely, "This is for Declan, and you're never going to come between me and my TEAM ever again!" Emily wrapped her hand around the gun, swinging it in front of her; she fired, sending a bullet square into the forehead of Ian Doyle.
The warehouse incident had been merely a week ago. She had purchased an apartment and had contact with JJ, who had informed Hotch of the situation. Now it was time to face the rest of the team. As Emily put the newspaper down and rose from the kitchen table, she looked at the clock which read 8:30 am. Grabbing her purse and quickly setting the house alarm, she braced herself for the next few hours. She had succeeded in ridding Doyle of her life, but his questions about the team on whether she would be accepted back into their lives still weighed heavily. What if Doyle had been right? Could the team ever trust her after what she had done?
Wow, I never knew how hard writing this stuff was! Major credit to all those who have done this a long time! I hope you enjoyed this. I'm planning on making this story a few chapters. Of course, if it turns out this sucks, I'll have to see whether I should continue :P I appreciate any reviews! If there's a next chapter, it would be the reveal and the team's reaction. Thanks!