A Little Faith of Some Kind
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Summary: Set after Demonology. Emily goes to thank Rossi for helping push the case forward.
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"Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand." ~
Thomas Aquinas
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She knocked politely on his office door, waiting like a nervous school girl to be summoned in.
She could see him, buried in paper work, already the day's events forgotten about. He was excellent at compartmentalising too, when he needed to, able to swiftly sweep all solved cases under the rugs, but she remembered that case which had haunted him for twenty years, the case which, he'd confessed, had resonated strongly with him like no other had.
Hell, she'd had her fair share of those cases too, mostly cases involving children.
Rossi would've made a good father, Emily thought, musing randomly to herself as he beckoned her inside. Despite his stern façade, he was one of those people you had to thaw out before you got to know properly, and once you got past that layer, he was someone you couldn't have imagined yourself not knowing. He was strong, confident, dependable, surprisingly tender with some of the witnesses they'd come across, but at the same time firm enough to get the answers he needed, and above all else, he was someone you could always count on to step up to the bat when needed.
He'd done that for her today, with this case. Despite the lack of strong enough evidence, he'd helped push Hotch into letting them investigate further, and she still wasn't quite sure why he'd done that exactly. His motives were never clear, never straight forward, and that was part of the mystery which surrounded David Rossi. There was always another layer to him, another part to learn and be surprised about.
"Prentiss," he greeted, pushing aside a folder to smile at her. "How can I help you?"
She sat down opposite him, uncomfortable with this situation, feeling like it was too formal for what her purpose in being here was. Emily was never tongue tied, but right now she found it difficult articulating exactly what it was she needed to stay. She never felt like she'd treated Rossi the same as the others. With JJ and Penelope, she'd formed a bond because they were friendly, easy to love, and the banter she'd exchanged with them had amused her on many occasions. Spencer Reid was a walking encyclopaedia of knowledge, but when he wasn't quipping facts and trivia for everyone to look boggled at, he was so easy to talk to, so easy to share a laugh with, and he felt like a little brother more than anything else, and if he was the little brother, Derek Morgan had to be the big brother. With his constant teasing of her, but the underlining protective stance he took when it came to her, she felt like if she had had any siblings in real life, they wouldn't have measured up to Derek.
With Rossi, she could joke with him, but only to an extent, because she got the feeling he often felt out of place, that all of his colleagues were younger, and therefore lived in an entirely different world to him. She respected him, admired him, but there were only so many things they could talk about when they weren't discussing cases, only so many things the others could tease him about (his multiple marriage syndrome, for one).
"I wanted to thank you," she said finally, finding her words. "You're the one who pushed the case forward, got Hotch on our side."
Rossi leaned back in his chair, evaluating her carefully, aware they never really had one-to-one time when it wasn't relating to their jobs.
"You're the one who sniffed the case out, Prentiss, not me," he pointed out. "I merely caught the scent and proceeded with the hunt."
She had to smile at his analogy.
"Yes, but I don't think we would've caught the guy responsible without your input," she continued. "I don't think anybody really believe there was a case. It was too random, and the CODs were too different."
"But you put the pieces together," Rossi said firmly. "Don't deny credit where credit is due, Prentiss. You could just have easily dismissed the case, but your gut told you something was wrong, and it was right. You were right. You've got brilliant instincts. Don't put yourself down." He scrutinised her. "But coming here to thank me wasn't the primary reason for this visit, was it?"
"How did you know I was right?" she asked, heading straight to the point. "Other than my gut, I'm not really sure how I reached the conclusion I did myself." She meets his soft gaze. "How did you know to put faith in me with this case?"
Rossi contemplated the question carefully, closing his eyes for a moment, as if visualising the answer. After a moment, he opened his eyes and gave her the answer.
"I have faith in a lot of things. That good will always triumph over evil. That bad people will always get their comeuppance, either in this life or the next. That I will never, for as long as I live, put myself through a fourth marriage." He chuckled after that one, Emily reluctantly joining in. "But above all else, I have faith in my team in being able to find a case. And it wasn't just your belief in the case which sold me on it. It was the families of the deceased – the bereaved. Just hearing what they had to say made me think that some people might've undergone drastic measures to heal the people they believed were supposedly sick – in this case, possessed.
"But even ignoring all that, and despite the fact I'm all for practising what you preach – within legal reasons, of course – there was something about this particular case that didn't sit right with me either. There were too many coincidences to ignore. In this job, coincidences are what usually sells a case as being the result of murder. And though I'm not as religious as I used to be, I hate people exploiting the foundations of religion to carry out their own personal missions. It sickens me. And I could see this case for you was going to be what that double homicide case involving the three kids was for me - unfinished business."
He smiled at her stunned expression.
"Is that what all you wanted to know, Agent Prentiss?"
She stood, silently promising herself never to underestimate this man ever again. He was a powerful figure indeed who, in one breath, could come across as cold, detached, strictly professional, and then in another could completely change that assumption and suddenly be promoting the role of team player.
"Thank you," Emily repeated, sounding slightly dazed.
"No problem," he replied, his smile fading. "I hope the conclusion of this case brings you some peace."
She swallowed.
"It will. I know Matthew is at peace and that – that is all I really wanted. Justice for him."
"It's what we do," he reminded her. "I know this case was personal for you. If anything, Hotch shouldn't have really let you work on it, but sometimes that personal element gets the job done more effectively." He winked at her. "But I wouldn't run that opinion by Hotch, who is even more hell bent on keeping things professional than I am."
She grinned.
"I know Hotch just wanted to do his job. I got that. And I know we weren't invited on the case. I know that too." She shook her head. "It bugs me that we were nearly too late."
"Don't get hung up on details like that," Rossi advised.
"Aren't the details what we focus on though, Agent Rossi?"
It was his turn to grin.
"Touché. I think what you have to remember is that it's a team game here. I know it probably felt like you were all alone at first, but even if it takes a kick up the butt to get us started, we'll always back you up one hundred percent, within reason, of course." He looked at her up and down. "Feel better?"
"Yes," she asserted, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. "I'm glad you had faith in me, Rossi. Even if I end up making a mess of things, it's a relief to know someone has my back."
She walked towards the door, glancing back at Rossi who'd already begun working again.
Before she left, he added, "We all have your back, Prentiss. Same as you have ours. I hope anyway."
She flashed him a wicked smile, pretending to contemplate for a moment before nodding solemnly.
"Always do, Rossi. Although I like to think I was a little more appreciative of the help I got for Matthew's case than you were at first for that double homicide."
"It was my case." Rossi looked unapologetic. "What can I say? But fresh eyes did help, admittedly, I will hold my hands up and say that."
"You were running around in circles before we got there," she teased good-naturedly. "You still hear from those kids?"
"I get a phone call every six months or so, letting me know how they're doing," Rossi responded, nodding. "I think in this job sometimes we forget that after solving a case our lives go on, but the lives of the victims and their families don't."
"Well, Matthew's family won't want to speak to me for support after all this," she said grimly. "Even before all this, they weren't discreet about the fact they thought I was the one responsible for his 'downward spiral'." She air quoted the last two words with a note of sourness. "I was somewhat of a wild child, true, but try imagining living with my mother and her political agenda in just about everything, and you tell me you wouldn't have broken a few laws or so."
"A few laws?" Rossi raised an eyebrow. "Are you concealing a criminal record per chance, Prentiss?"
She laughed. "I may have exaggerated a little. I think the only damage I did was to my hair during my experimental years." She tugged at it now, to demonstrate. "If Garcia hadn't shown me the picture, I would never have believed this once used to be an afro."
"You serious?" Rossi actually looked startled. "Huh..."
"Trying to picture it?"
"Yep." He chuckled. "Probably best that I can't. Might change my perception of you."
She laughed, and turned to leave.
"I'll let you get back to your work, Agent Rossi."
He gave a last chuckle as she closed the door. Immediately as she turned around, she saw the inquisitive faces of Morgan, Garcia, JJ and Reid, who all appeared to have been in the middle of theorising what had brought her into Rossi's office.
She raised an eyebrow; Reid buckled first, his face flushing with guilt. JJ and Morgan remained defiantly curious, while Garcia simply muttered something about heading back to her babies.
"Well?" she quizzed, coming down the stairs to greet them. "Can I help you?"
"What was that about?" JJ enquired, gesturing to Rossi's office. "Did you get into trouble?"
"I just went to thank him for supporting me with my friend's case," Emily said, shrugging.
Morgan looked affronted.
"Why does he get a special thank you and we don't?"
She smiled.
"Because you don't need to hear it. Rossi did. You guys know I love and respect you all for helping me with this case."
JJ smiled, put at ease by Emily's explanation, and even Morgan found it difficult to keep up his offended façade.
"We'll always have your back, Prentiss. I'm only sorry I didn't believe you at first," he apologised, looking sheepish.
"I believed you," Reid chipped in.
"As did I," JJ assured Emily.
"I believed you before I knew there was even a case," Garcia said, sticking her head back into view, grinning at Morgan's look of disbelief.
"Thanks for making me look bad here guys," he said, scowling.
"Oh, no, Morgan." JJ patted his arm affectionately. "You did that all by yourself."
Emily laughed at the gentle banter which erupted between her colleagues, and realised between Reid's intelligent approach to just about everything (probably putting aside matters where he still remained woefully ignorant), and JJ's amazing social skills, and the fluent and swift way she could handle the media, and Morgan's fierce need for justice, as well as the cutting way he could talk down any offender, and Rossi's amazing skills at analysing criminals and their behaviour, clearly displaying his passion for helping people, and Garcia's astonishing skills at locating just about any piece of information in the entire world, and her bubbly, determined personality to boot, and Hotch's smooth way of combining all these skills into one strong unit, she was part of such a strong team.
She sighed, stopping herself before she got too sentimental. Today had been a trying day and, honestly, she was surprised they were all still loitering here, after hours.
But she kept sneaking glances up at Rossi's office, wondering if it was the religious aspect which had drawn him into helping.
Her views on religion were nondescript; she liked the idea of their being something more, but, honestly, religion frightened her. It started wars, it became a motive, a weapon, for murder, and people just refused to acknowledge that everyone was entitled to believe whatever they wanted to believe.
Maybe if people had been a little more tolerant, a little more understanding, Matthew would still be alive, and she wouldn't be standing here, surrounded by loving faces, feeling so cold, uncertain, still unable to understand how someone's parents could reach the point where they were so unwilling to look facts in the face, they had to resort to exorcism to try and save their child.
Emily sighed.
Her job was to try and understand the very worst of human behaviour, but sometimes she thought maybe the whole point of it was that they didn't understand it. They had to work it out to save lives, but nothing justified murder. Nothing.
She began to understand what Rossi must've felt like closing that cold case for the final time; comforted, but still wrestling with the knowledge that more evil lay out there somewhere. She wondered if he'd asked himself the same question she asked herself right now, poised on the edge of a new day, yet still clinging to the edges of yesterday, almost as if she were afraid of letting go.
Where do I go from here?