Well everybody I'm back for yet another story! I still can't believe I'm already on story 13! It feels like I just began this little adventure, and I'm still having the best time writing for all of you! Like the last story, this one is going to involve a LOT of angst, but I really think you guys will like it! There's going to be a lot involving Spencer and Alex, but I'm hoping to use that to also focus on the relationships with Emily and JJ as well as the team!

I'm also hoping to have a pretty major Emily storyline in here, and of course I always do my best to have lots of JJ because I just love her!

I really hope you guys will enjoy where we go, and I promise if you stick through the whole story, the next one will be a BIG one, full of happiness!

Thanks so much for being the amazing readers you have always been! -J

Chapter 1

"Em you need to let it go for now," JJ told the brunette the day after Veronica had forbidden Alex and Spencer from seeing each other, coming up behind her fiancé who was sitting in the bullpen nervously picking her nails. "You can't beat yourself up about this all day," she said; quiet enough so that Morgan and Reid wouldn't hear. "I know you feel bad but there's nothing you can do right now. We'll deal with it when we get home."

"I should have dealt with it yesterday," Emily shook her head in frustration. "I lied to her and now I'm keeping something from her. Something huge and I hate it," she sighed. "I've completely messed this up."

Looking over to see Morgan watching them out of the corner of his eye JJ realized they needed to have this conversation somewhere else in order to get Emily to really listen to her. "Okay get up," she eventually told the brunette.

"What?" Emily asked, eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Get up come on," JJ repeated quietly. "We need to talk so let's go," she said, not saying another word or waiting before heading in the direction of her office; Emily hesitating a moment before eventually standing from her seat and following, ignoring Morgan's gaze still watching her. As soon as she entered JJ's office, the blonde shut the door, turning her attention back towards her. "Em you can't spend all day beating yourself up about this. Alex has been through a lot. She's going to take this hard. We agreed we would give it a day so she could recover from all of this and we'll talk to her tonight," she said, remind her fiancé of the conversation they had, had the previous day after Veronica had left their house. "I know you hate that you didn't tell her the truth yesterday, but we were just trying to protect her."

"I wish we could protect her from this," Emily sighed, moving to sit on the couch, putting her head in her hands. "This is the one thing that scared me about her and Spencer," she continued. "I mean I love Spencer, and I really do think those two are perfect for each other, but I've been in Spencer's shoes. I've had her family life, and I was afraid of what that would mean for Alex. I hate that she's going to have to deal with this kind of thing."

"I know baby," JJ said, sitting down beside Emily and placing a comforting hand on her knee. "But unfortunately things like this happen," she said. "The Hastings only care about their reputation and they're afraid that Spencer and Alex being together will tarnish that. This whole thing is going to end up hurting both Alex and Spencer, but you know there's still a chance that Veronica will come around. I mean maybe if she sees how this affects Spencer she'll change her mind."

"Yeah…maybe," Emily shrugged.

"Emily," JJ prompted. "Baby what is going on? What else is bothering you?"

"I just….I don't know how much more of this she can take Jen," Emily replied, looking up at the blonde with big, brown eyes full of worry. "She's 15 and look at everything she's had to deal with. It's just not fair," she sighed. "Now we're coming up on a year since her parents were killed and I know that's hard on her even if she's not really talking about it," she continued. "I thought things couldn't get worse after Parrilla, but of course I was wrong. We just went from one problem to another, and I just know this is going to break her heart. I'm worried it's all going to become too much."

"Babe, Alex is so strong," JJ said, taking the brunette's hand in hers. "Of course this is all going to be hard on her, and sure it's probably going to be a bit rough for a while, but she'll be okay," she assured her. "We're going to be there for her and so will the team and Jessie, and probably Zoey and Olivia too. We'll make sure she gets through this; all of it. That's all we can do right now."

Hating that JJ was right; Emily rested her head on the blonde's shoulder remaining silent as JJ drew comforting circles on the back on her hand. "How can you be so sure?" She eventually asked, her voice quiet and a little sad.

"That's easy," JJ smiled. "Alex is strong. She's been through hell, yes, but she always perseveres and she will again," she said. "She's a Prentiss Em. She's just like you and you're the strongest person I know."

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Though she had wanted to go visit Spencer as soon as she was home, her mother had told Alex that Veronica had come by, explaining that Spencer really needed to rest as she was still pretty shaken from the whole ordeal with Parrilla. Alex thought that it would probably help Spencer to have her by her side, but decided to listen to her mother, and instead spent half the day on the phone with Olivia and Zoey before joining her mothers on the couch.

Alex went to sleep that night with her thoughts on Spencer, anxious to see her girlfriend, and hating that she had been away from her for so long. So when her mother had come in to say goodbye before work, telling her that she shouldn't go over to the Hastings until she has heard from Veronica or Spencer, she was a little surprised. The teen couldn't understand how she was expected to stay away from Spencer for another day and she was practically fuming with Jessie had also told her she couldn't go across the street when she had finally gone downstairs for breakfast.

"Have you heard from Spencer at all?" Alex asked Olivia on the phone early that afternoon. "I've tried calling but I haven't gotten an answer."

"Yeah me either," Olivia replied. "Maybe her mom took her phone while she's resting up or something. I mean it's not like Spencer to ignore you," she said. "You know how the Hastings are. They've probably put her on complete bed rest with total technological shut down or something. You know she would call you if she could."

"Yeah…you're probably right," Alex agreed though she still sounded rather disappointed. "I just really miss her."

"Well are her parents' cars in the driveway?" Olivia asked.

"Not that I can see," Alex replied, turning towards her girlfriend's house as she sat on her window seat in her bedroom.

"So then just go over there," Olivia suggested. "I'm sure she wants to see you just as much as you want to see her."

"I want to," Alex said hesitantly. "It's just that my mom told me not to just go over, and Jessie said the same thing. She's not going to just let me leave."

"Well then don't let her see you," Olivia told her. "I mean she's with Henry right? He must have her attention most of the time, so sneak out," she said. "You could go over and be back and no ones parents or nanny even have to know."

"You know you're a terrible influence right?" Alex laughed. "But that actually does sound like a pretty good plan. I'll give it a shot."

"Good!" Olivia replied excitedly. "Tell her hi for me and let me know how it goes!"

"Will do, thanks Liv," Alex said. "Talk to you later."

"Good luck," Olivia called, before both girls hung up.

Hearing Henry crying downstairs, Alex realized Jessie would probably be distracted, deciding it was her best chance to sneak out, slipping on a pair of flats and quietly making her way out of her room. Careful not to make a sound, the brunette tip-toed down the stairs, spotting Jessie pacing the family room with Henry as she slipped out the front door, closing it softly behind her. Feeling a rush of excitement, Alex practically ran down the driveway, not stopping until she was standing in front of the Hastings' front door, crossing her fingers that neither Peter nor Veronica would be home as she pressed her finger to the doorbell.

"A-Alex…what are you doing here?" Spencer asked when she opened up the door, looking both surprised and nervous.

"I…I wanted to see you," Alex replied, a little thrown off by the fact that Spencer didn't look happy to see her. "I missed you and I was worried," she said. "I…I know your mom told my mom that I should let you rest for a while but I couldn't wait. I thought you would be excited."

"I'm…" Spencer began, hesitating as she obviously struggled with what to say. "I am happy to see you Lex…really I am but…I thought you would have heard about what happened."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Alex asked. "I've tried calling you but I never get an answer."

"My mom took my phone," Spencer replied. "She…she doesn't want me talking to you."

"What?" Alex gasped, completely surprised. "But…she…why?"

"She told me that it was because of what happened with Parrilla," Spencer told her, her brown eyes filling with tears. "She said she's worried about what other dangers may come from my friendship with you but I don't think that's really what it is," she explained sadly. "She hasn't said much about what she walked in on, but she told me that I'm not to tell my father under any circumstances. She said I need to sort out my priorities and then she forbid me from seeing you."

"She…she can't do that," Alex replied, choking up. "We can't listen to her. I mean…you're not going to listen to her right?"

"It's not that simple," Spencer shook her head. "I tried talking to her. I tried telling her how important you were to me," she continued. "But she is beyond reason. You know how my mom is. You know the kinds of things she can do…we…I can't…"

"Spencer she's your mother," Alex tried to reason. "I know she's not happy about us but she'll warm up to it eventually. I mean what are you really worried about? It's not like she would ever do anything to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Spencer replied. "She's…she's threatening to destroy your family if she finds me anywhere near you. I can't…I can't do that to your moms…to you."

"I don't care what your mom does Spencer," Alex said, sounding slightly panicked as she reached out and grabbed Spencer's hands, the taller brunette visibly flinching. "My moms can handle themselves, hell I'm pretty sure my grandmother could take care of your mother," she said. "We can't let your mom keep us apart. You're my best friend and you're so much more to me. I know you feel the same way so we can't let your mom destroy that just because she's worried about her reputation. Please. This…this can't be the end. We can still be together."

"She's my mom Alex, I can't just go against her word," Spencer replied. "It's not that simple. She has ways to keep us apart."

"We can go to your dad!"

"That would only make it worse," Spencer said, shaking her head. "Trust me he'll side with my mom on this."

"So what then? That's it?" Alex asked, unable to hide her anger, unable to believe that she was even having this conversation.

"I…I'm so sorry," Spencer replied, tears finally falling as Alex quickly dropped her hand. "Alex…"

"No…no I get it," Alex shook her head, also unable to control her tears, feeling both angry and heartbroken. "That's…that's fine," she said, choking back a sob before turning away and taking off running towards her own house.

"Alex," Spencer called after the shorter brunette, tears still streaming down her cheek. "Alex wait," she tried again, not all that surprised that it was to no avail, realizing with a sinking feeling in her stomach that it was too late; it was already over.

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After her talk with JJ, Emily had calmed herself down enough to focus on her paperwork, eventually finishing with the file on Parrilla; the brunette ready to put everything to do with the man behind her. Since the team had been working on the case for a few days they had quite a bit of paperwork to catch up on, Emily doing just that when her phone began to ring.

"Agent Prentiss," the Profiler said, picking up the phone.

"Emily, hi, sorry to call you at work," came the response, Emily immediately recognizing her Nanny's accent.

"Jessie? Is everything okay?" Emily asked, immediately worried. "Is it Henry?"

"No, no Henry's fine," Jessie quickly assured her. "Actually it's about Alex," she said. "Henry was being fussy and so I was busy trying to calm him down and well Alex must have snuck out to see Spencer. She couldn't have been gone long, but when she got back she was in quite a state. Completely upset. I tried to talk to her, but she ran upstairs crying, and now she won't come out of her room. I really didn't want to bother you, but I'm a little worried."

"No, no I'm glad you called," Emily replied. "Listen I will be there as soon as I can. Thanks for letting me know Jessie."

"Okay no problem," Jessie said. "I'll see you soon."

Hanging up the phone Emily quickly made her way to Hotch's office, explaining the situation and asking to leave before heading up to JJ's office.

"Jen do you think you can get a ride home with Pen?" Emily asked, anxious to get home.

"Sure, but why?" JJ replied looking confused.

"Jessie called," Emily told her, unable to resist checking the time on the clock behind her, wanting to get to Alex as soon as possible. "Alex snuck over to Spencer's. She came home crying and she won't come out of her room. I need to get over there."

"I'll drive," JJ said instead, quickly gathering up her stuff and throwing it in her briefcase. "Let's go."

"Wait…what?" Emily said sounding surprised.

"You can't really think I'm going to stay here when Alex needs us," JJ replied, grabbing Emily's hand and pulling her out of the office and towards the elevators. "Plus there's no way I'm letting you drive while you're worrying. I'll drive and you can text Hotch on the way and let him know I left with you."

Agreeing since she saw no sense in arguing, Emily followed JJ out of the building and to the parking garage, the couple getting in the car where JJ started it up as quickly as possible and pulled out while the brunette typed a quick text to Hotch to let him know exactly what was going on. After putting her phone away, Emily watched the road, bouncing her leg up and down nervously, wishing they could fly home so they could be there faster.

"Em….are you okay?" JJ asked worriedly, neither having spoken since they left Quantico.

"I knew I should have told her," Emily shook her head. "Now not only is she heartbroken, but she's going to know I kept this from her. How do I even make that up to her? How do I explain?"

"Just tell her the truth," JJ replied. "Tell her you were trying to protect her. That you didn't want her to have to deal with this so soon after everything else," she said. "Honestly Em I think at this point she's just going to need you there. She's probably too broken up about Spencer to be mad at you. You just need to be there, whether she wants it or not. It'll be okay," she said, reaching out and grabbing the brunette's hand.

As soon as JJ pulled the car into the driveway, Emily was out and running for the door, not bothering to announce herself or greet Jessie as she headed straight up the stairs and towards Alex's room. "Lex," Emily called, knocking on the door, trying the handle, which was locked. "Honey, please open the door," she tried, waiting quietly, straining her ears, but hearing nothing coming from inside.

"Here, the spare key," JJ said, coming up behind Emily, holding the silver object in her hand. "I'll be down the hall if you need me," she said, pecking the brunette on the cheek before making her way to the master bedroom.

Immediately unlocking the door, Emily quietly poked her head inside, her stomach dropping as she laid eyes on Alex, curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed, her shoulders shaking, obviously crying. "Oh Lex," Emily sighed, feeling her own heart break as she quickly made her way over to the bed.

"M-mommy?" Alex replied tearfully, as the older brunette laid down next to her, pulling her close to her chest. "Sp-spencer….she…her…her mom…"

"I know baby, I know," Emily nodded, rubbing her hand up and down the teen's back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry. I talked to Veronica yesterday. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how and you were still so broken up about everything that happened. I just wanted to give you a little more time," she explained. "I was hoping to keep you away from Spencer for one more day so I could talk to you tonight."

"I missed her," Alex replied, not seeming too concerned by the fact that her mother had kept something from her. "But she said….s-she told me what her mom said," she continued, having a difficult time explaining through her tears. "I…I d-don't understand."

"I know sweetheart," Emily said. "Some parents they're just…they're more worried about how they look to other people and they expect their kids to live up to their reputation as well," she explained. "The Hastings are big on appearances and your relationship with Spencer just…it just doesn't fit their expectations. I know it's not fair and I know it hurts."

"But how could Spencer just listen to her mom?" Alex asked, looking up with big, glassy eyes. "S-she's my best friend. H-how c-can she just give up?"

"She's probably just scared," Emily replied. "Don't give up on her just yet honey. Just give this some time. It might all blow over. Her mom might come around."

Nodding, Alex wrapped her arms around her mother's waist as she continued to cry, still unable to get control of her emotions. "It j-just…it hurts," she eventually sobbed.

"I know baby," Emily replied, kissing the teen's forehead as she felt tears stinging her own eyes. "It will be okay," she said, unsure if she really believed that was true.