Z Nameless, Faceless and Gone ONESHOT, a criminal minds fanfic

FYI—this story is not a happily ever after, so if that's what you're looking for, unfortunately you came to the wrong place. I was watching the first episode of Season Five last night, Nameless, Faceless, and got this idea for a ONESHOT. It takes place approximately one year after Haley's death.

As I was sitting here writing this little story, I was listening to a new CD I got from iTunes. The lyrics to this song seemed to fit, so I'm including them. (I'm totally pimping Thriving Ivory here, because I love them! LOL) The name of the song is Some Kind of Home.

You don't say much
You don't say any more than you have to
Have you lost touch
With the ones you adore and sought after, yeah
And you don't know why
Yeah, they put a bullet through your heart
And told you not to cry
You know life should be beautiful
So come on out of your shadow for while

I wanna know where you go
When you're dreaming
I wanna see what you see
When your eyes close
And when it all goes down
Will you have a place to run?
Cause I don't know and I can't tell what you're thinking
So we'll just drive through the night
Till we find some kind of home

I swear I never mentioned this to anyone
So go on, you can tell me what it is
You see I, I'm barely hanging on to you
And the way I feel, yeah, somethings got to give

"Agent Prentiss, could I see you in my office, please?"

Emily looked up at her Unit Chief. "Of course," she said as she stood. The paperwork on her desk would have to wait. She'd known this was coming, and she hadn't been looking forward to it, but she was glad to finally be getting it over with. She followed Hotch to his office and closed the door behind her.

He walked behind his desk and motioned to the seat across from him. "Have a seat." After she did as he'd requested, he sat down in his own chair and held up a piece of paper.

"Why did you put this on my desk?" he asked.

Emily met his gaze, forcing herself not to blink. "Because a transfer request can't get approved until it's been signed by the present supervisor," she pointed out.

Hotch studied her face for a moment. "I'm sorry; I guess I wasn't specific enough. Why didn't you hand this to me?" he asked, rephrasing his previous question.

"Because I was afraid you'd try to talk me out of it," she answered.

"Of course I'm going to try to talk you out of this," he told her. "You want me to sign a transfer for a desk job. Do you really think you're going to be happy, Prentiss, with a job that's not in the field?"

"It was the only thing available," she told him.

Hotch's brows furrowed. "The only thing avail—did something happen?" he asked.

"No," she told him. "I'm ready for something…different."

"You love this job, Emily. You're one of the top agents in the bureau. Why would you be willing to move to a desk job?" he asked.

She shifted uncomfortably under his stare and then cleared her throat. "I can't…work for you anymore," she said so softly he barely heard her.

He sat there for a moment confused. "If I said or did anything to upset you in any way…" His voice trailed off.

Emily cleared her throat as she stood. "Are you going to sign my transfer or not?" she asked.

He looked up, studying her face for a moment. "Sit down, Agent Prentiss," he said his tone so firm that it was almost angry. "I am still your supervisor. And if you want me to sign this transfer, then you're going to have to give me a damn good reason to."

She complied, returning to the chair across from him.

"Talk to me, Prentiss," he said. "Was it…Los Angeles?" he asked. It had been a rough case for all of them; none of them had walked away unscathed. He'd thought they were all dealing with it, but he could be wrong.

She closed her eyes as she shook her head.

"Prentiss—"

"I fell in love with you," she said quickly, looking away. "While you were still married. Do you know what it's like…to be in love with someone who's is still married? Do you know the amount of guilt that you have to carry with that?"

He didn't answer her, but she wasn't looking for an answer.

She laughed angrily. "And then…I walked into your apartment—your blood filled apartment—and nearly had the life knocked out of me when you were nowhere to be found."

She turned her head to meet his gaze, and she'd taken him by surprise. He'd really had no idea.

Her voice fell to a whisper. "I listened to you say goodbye to your wife in the hospital; I heard you tell her you'd spend the rest of your life making everything up to her, and still…" She forced her voice to remain calm. "I loved you. I've watched you grieve her death for the past year…and still…I've loved you." She lifted her eyes to his. "It's time for me to move on. Away from the BAU. And away from you, Hotch." She stood up once again. "I've tried to stop loving you…but I can't. And it's hindering my job in the field. I can't…be an effective agent under these circumstances." Emily took a deep breath. "If you're not going to sign my transfer, then I'll have my resignation on your desk by the end of the day."

And with those last words, she was gone.