It hurt all over for that matter. She was feeling bruised and broken. More on the outside than on the inside, but her ego had suffered a little too. And, she still felt bad about Reid. She was worried that he still didn't understand. He had nodded his head and said he heard her, but she didn't think he understood why she did what she did.
She came by his apartment around 10:00. "Hey," she said as she forced out a smile. Reid looked confused, but still understanding. "Can I come in?"
The next half hour was fairly silent. He had offered her a drink, some food. She shook her head. He asked if she wanted to watch TV, to which she consented. He flipped through movie channels, but each time a violent scene broke out, he could feel her tense up. So he changed the channel, finally settling on Star Trek.
"Reid, I—" she stopped. She wasn't quite sure how to say what she was about to say. She moved the slightest bit closer to him, and reached for his hand. He seemed startled.
He thought, "Maybe Emily's just being nice. She's a nice girl…" He smiled a little.
"Reid… Spencer." She looked up into his deep brown eyes. "Spencer, I know I already thanked you, but I felt bad. You still seemed worried on the plane."
"I was."
"I know. I just—" she faltered again. "I just didn't want anything to happen to you. That's why I gave myself up to Cyrus. I didn't want him to kill you. I didn't think he'd be able to kill a woman." She rushed out that last thought, like she was lying. And it was obvious that she was. Especially to a profiler.
"No, that's not it. I mean, it is. But there's more, Reid. There's more…" her voice trailed off. "I gave myself up to Cyrus because I didn't want him to hurt you. If something happened to you, and I watched it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. You've been through so much, but you have your whole life ahead of you, and you can do so many great things. Because you're so smart, and so capable of anything. I was so grateful when the team raided the ranch, but when I saw the building blow up, I freaked. I couldn't imagine if you and Morgan were still inside. What if you two didn't make it? What if I never saw you again and I could never tell you that I—" She paused. She almost said it. But something was stopping her.
Reid was taking all this in. He had feelings for Prentiss, too, and it was probably really obvious to the rest of the team. But he was never the recipient of reciprocated love. Especially not from someone so gorgeous, so experienced, so knowledgeable, so…
Prentiss smiled a little as she looked at Reid. She could see in his eyes that he was taking this all in, and that he felt the same way. "Spencer, I— I love you."
Reid froze. No one had ever said that to him before. He didn't know how he was supposed to react. His brain began to sort out all of his options, but his heart finally took over. "Emily… I love you, too."
Her smile spread a little bit. She suddenly felt comfortable, safe, in his arms. She pressed her body against his and lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped her arm around her, and gazes at her. "Thank you," Prentiss whispered. "Thank you."