Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

"Love is for the lucky and the brave." – Author Unknown

o o o o

22 July, 2010

Emily Prentiss bit her nails, a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child, as she watched from a distance while her boyfriend, Eli, and his brother, Isaac, say their goodbyes to their family. Eli Gregg leaned over and picked up his tiny cousin, lifting her at least a foot off the ground and squeezing her tightly. Calliope Sellers held on tightly and Emily knew it was both because Calliope was terrified of having her feet off the ground and because she would miss her eldest cousin terribly.

Emily looked away, feeling as if she was intruding on an intensely private moment between Eli and his family. So instead, she intruded on other family's final goodbyes – or was it 'see you laters?' Emily wasn't sure. She chewed on the cuticle of her left hand pinkie as she watched a stocky Marine kiss his preschooler and the little girl clung to her father's neck, crying for Daddy not to leave. She jumped when Spencer Reid stopped beside her.

"Sorry." His smile was almost a smirk and Emily exhaled, gently hitting his stomach with the back of her hand.

"Jerk."

"You're a profiler. You should have noticed me coming up next to you in a bright purple shirt," Spencer teased lightly.

"You'd be distracted if it were Callie leaving for a three-fourths of a year," Emily snarked and Spencer nodded his agreement as he watched Calliope hug Isaac. They stayed quiet as they gave the family their time and, when Eli finally turned towards where Emily and Spencer stood, Spencer moved away, suddenly fascinated by whatever was to their left.

"Hey."

"Hey back atchya, Handsome," Emily forced a smile that she was sure Eli could see straight through, but if he did he didn't say anything and Emily was thankful. "I don't know how to do this," Emily admitted as Eli stepped close, blocking her view of his family. "They have a lot more practice at saying goo – see you later than I do."

"I dunno," Eli smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "You say see you later a lot."

"Yeah, but those are 'I'll be back in a few days' see you laters," Emily was smiling now, really smiling and she gave a laugh more from relief that Eli had broken the tension than anything else. Eli shrugged her protest off as inconsequential and leaned his head down to kiss her.

"Love you," he smiled.

"You have to come home," Emily whispered, reaching up to touch Eli's face. "I want you whole and in once piece. And back here in nine months."

"I promise you, Em, I'll come home. No matter what," Eli kissed her again softly, threading his fingers through her silky hair and closing his eyes, treasuring the last few moments he had with her before he had to leave.

"I'll be holding you to the promise, Lieutenant Colonel. Because I think I'm falling in love with you and you have to come home so I can know for sure."

Eli smiled, his white teeth bright against his dark skin. "Knowing that I'm that much closer to having you will bring me home for sure. 'Cause I really do love you, Miss Emily."

"When are you going to stop calling me that?" Emily laughed and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Never. You're going to write me, right?"

"Only if you write me back."

"As often as I can."

"Well, I guess I can write, then," Emily teased, hoping her voice sounded happy instead of the miserable and scared she felt inside.

"Don't forget to number the letters, okay?" Eli reminded her as she rested her head on his chest. "We don't always get mail in order."

Emily nodded against the stiffly starched fabric of his MARPATs, letting herself feel safe in his arms for one last time, trying to memorize the way it felt so she could bring it back when he was gone. They stayed quiet for a while before Eli pulled back, reaching into his pocket.

"I have something for you – it's not a ring!" Eli assured her quickly, another smile breaking out across his face. "Relax, Em. I wouldn't do that to you."

Taking the small black box, she pulled the top up and stared at the pretty diamond solitary necklace. Emily looked from the necklace back up to Eli and then back at the necklace again. Neither of them had spent that amount of money on the other before.

"Eli, this is–"

But Eli shook his head, cutting her off and not letting her finish her protest. "No, it's not, Em. It's exactly right. It's not forever, it's just a promise that I'm coming back. And… and I really hope you'll be here when I do."

Emily's nostrils flared and she felt her eyes prick with the familiar tell that mean tears weren't far off. But she wasn't going to let them fall. Not now. Not in front of him. Not when she was supposed to be strong. When she was sure she had control of herself, she looked up at him and nodded.

"I'll be here."

Eli smiled again, that smile that made her smile, and took the box from her. She watched him carefully pull the necklace from its' box with hands that seemed too big for such a delicate piece of jewelry and he motioned for her to turn around. Emily turned with a smile and lifted her hair while he latched the necklace around her neck. Emily turned again and kissed him.

"Why do you have to be so perfect?"

"To keep up with you."

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Miss Emily," he teased her, keeping the mood light lest it turn heavy, not wanting her to dwell on the fact that it would be a very long time until he would be back. He kissed her again. "I love you, Emily Prentiss." Emily opened her mouth, but Eli shook his head again. "Don't, Em. I don't want you to say something you don't–"

"I love you," Emily said over his objection, pushing up on her toes to kiss him silent. "I love you, Eli Gregg, so you – you remember to duck over there, okay?"

"I'll remember to duck," Eli nodded, giving her yet another kiss.

"People are starting to go," Emily said as she noticed other Marines beginning to leave their families and head towards the aircraft. Eli took her hand and led her back to where his family waited. The two brothers gave last hugs to their sisters and cousin, aunts and uncles and parents.

Emily watched as Eli kissed his mother and hugged his father, starting a bit when Calliope squeezed her hand and offered her a tight-lipped smile. Eli heaved his pack onto his back as his mother told them to watch out for each other. Eli and Isaac both promised her they would. Eli turned back to Emily and his usually brilliant smile was sad as he gave her a last kiss.

"Wait for me."

"Stay safe."

And with that he was gone, walking away besides his younger brother in the same direction as the rest of the Marines. Away from everything and everyone that mattered to him. Away from her. The pain intensified with every step she watched him take and, when he queued up and boarded the aircraft, the pain threatened to swallow her whole.

He never looked back. It was as if he were afraid that, if he looked back, he would change him mind, drop his pack and run back to them.

Emily stayed rooted to the ground, her arms wrapped protectively around herself as the plane grew smaller and smaller. When it was gone from view completely, she lifted her hand, touched the necklace around her neck and finally let her tears fall.

A/N:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRILLIANTDARKNESS! I love you SO much! I honestly have no idea what my life would be right now without you and I can't begin to thank you for being the amazing friend you are. So I'm just going to say that I love you loads and toads, I hope the boys gave you an amazing birthday and watched that chick-flick without too much grumbling, and that I hope you enjoyed my birthday present to you!

Okay, so this is my first Emily-centric fic. EEPP! It was actually kinda scary. hahahaha! It takes place within my Mystery Muse universe, which is actually Spencer centric, but Emily/Eli is a small, rarely mentioned sub-plot within. So, I just decided to flesh it out just a little more. For funsies.

Anyways! I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading and, please, tell me what you think - good or bad!

Love, Thalia