Erm, hello there. As you know, it is indeed Taylor here. I come bearing sequals- er, sequal. So, I may have sort of, kind of, maybe, completely lied when I said this would have to wait until after I got the next chapter of "A Long Way Gone" out. I got writers block on it, and this just seemed to flow, for the most part. If you have not yet read my story "Important Principles" and wish to read this, I suggest you hop on down the bunny trail to my profile, and read it, because you won't have a clue who this new character is and why she's in this story. It' sort of - okay, extremely - important here.

That aside, I want to thank all of you who have stuck with this little puppy since it's beginnings as a whimiscal little plot bunny. For the reviews/alerts/favorites on IP, I love you all, you're totally amazing. This one jumps directly into stuff, no looking back, no preparation time; just roll with it, okay? I'm not 100% sure how often updates will be because it all depends on whether or not my mind wants to write fluently or not on either story. I'm thinking every two weeks, maybe? Does that sound fair? Too bad, my choice.

I've been feeling odd lately, in a depressed sort of way. Not fun. Having struggles, but hopefully I managed to write it out of here. This was originally supposed to be out yesterday because of Bethany's birthday being October 31, but, like always, I got distracted on Saturday, and was too tired from life yesterday to do much of anything outside of watch the Addams Family and Pitbulls and Parolees, both of which I very much enjoyed. So as I ramble on here I see it fit to ask all of you a big favor: I had serious trouble comnig up with a name for this, and I was wondering if at any time you had a better idea than what is now being used, just shoot me a review or a PM, that would be TOTALLY amazing and I will probably love you forever. Anyway, hope you enjoy this! Ooo! And I took some creative license here as well. You see, the mall itself is real, but as it stands, I've never actually been there, therefore have no idea if stores mentioned are in there at all. :) Love you! - Taylorrr! xx

Disclaimer: -instert generic "I do not own Criminal Minds" disclaimer, as well as "I do not own Zumiez, Pac Sun, or Joe Boxer's" disclaimers here-

Chapter One

"Forgiveness is the final form of love." -Reinhold Niebuhr

"Hello?"

"Yes. May I speak to Emily Prentiss?"

"This is she."

"Ms. Prentiss, my name is Officer Rankin down at Georgetown Park mall in DC. We have Bethany down here with a few other kids. We caught a whole group of them skateboarding around here and grinding on the fountain. We believe them to be a danger to the public and are asking you if you could come down here and get her."

Her jaw practically hit the floor. "Wha- yes, yes, I'll be there in a few minutes. Sir, I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. See, Bethany isn't that kind of kid," she assured, rising from her spot on the couch, ignoring the looks JJ and Garcia were giving her.

He gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "Of course she's not." There was a click, and all Prentiss could do was stare at the phone in her hand.

"What was that?" JJ spoke up, eyebrows halfway up her forehead.

"Apparently Bethany - you know the kid I just busted my ass to get custody of a month ago - got caught with a bunch of her so called 'friends' skateboarding around Georgetown Park."

"Our Bethany?" asked Garcia.

"Yes." Emily picked up her purse and swiped her keys off the kitchen counter.

She shook her head. "Somebody's in trouble," she sing-songed.

"You guys can stay if you want, but when I get back there's going to be one very unhappy teenager here, too," she warned, slipping on a pair of clogs from beside her front door.

"I have to head home anyway. I promised Will that we could take Henry to his friend's barbeque today," JJ explained, rising from the sofa and heading for the door.

Emily looked to Penelope who once again shook her head. "I figured I'd stay here to do some damage control when you get back. After all, she said I'm like her older sister so it's only natural."

She raised no objection, so the two women exited, and parted ways at their cars. The entire way to the mall, Prentiss was fuming. How could she have been so stupid? Especially after what had happened only one month before. Her rage had not been watered out by the time she arrived either. In fact, people actually jumped out of her way as she stormed to the small mall police office on the top floor. There was a slightly large man sitting behind the front desk, feet out to the side, starring at the woman before him. "Can I help you?"

She automatically pulled out her credentials and flashed it to him. "Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss," she introduced, accompanied by an icy stare. "I'm here to pick up my daughter Bethany."

Alarmed at her full title, the man jumped up, revealing his cheap mall-cop uniform. "Right this way, Agent Prentiss."

She followed him through a door behind his desk, down a hallway and right to a line of benches where seven or eight kids were sitting with the same expression of boredom and bitterness. Bethany was sitting in the middle, the only girl in the line of guys. She had her favorite black beanie she got from Morgan on her head, some extra material falling backward, black skinny jeans with the belt Garcia had given her, and a white tee shirt with graffiti letters spelling out 'Ninja' in multiple colors. She was starring at the ground in front of her until Emily pointedly cleared her throat. All eight heads snapped up, but only Bethany actually jumped. Beside her, she recognized the face of Justin, looking nervous and guilty at the same time.

"Bethany Alyxandria Prentiss," she snapped, arms crossed over her chest.

Bethany physically cringed at the use of her full name, but attempted to put on a defensive face. "Emily, this isn't my fault! I swear I didn't do anything! None of us did!" she exclaimed.

"Then would you care to explain to me why I'm picking you up from mall security, all of whom seem to think otherwise?" She tapped her foot on the ground with an expectant look on her face.

All eight kids launched into motion, all trying to explain the story over each other. Bethany was making vigorous motions with her hands, Justin was speaking faster than she thought possible, and the others had red faces from talking so loud. Prentiss held up a hand, silencing them all immediately. "One at a time. Justin, go."

"Ms. Prentiss, honest, we didn't do anything. We were walking past Zumiez for the third time, and these guys came flying out on skateboards. They were a little older than us, but they had one girl with them. We ran after 'em to see how bad they'd get in trouble, but they had stopped when we got to the fountain, and security got their right when we did, and... They thought it was us. We didn't do anything," he insisted in a quieter tone.

"Suddenly it's a crime to own a skateboard," one kid with a multicolored faux hawk bit, slouching back, baggy jeans bunching at the knees.

"James's right," Bethany said, calmer than before.

Emily lifted a brow. "Now tell me this, did any of you actually ride one of your skateboards inside the mall before the other group did?"

They looked at each other with matching expressions of guilt. She nodded, slowly. "That's what I thought. Bethany, let's go. We're going home."

"Emi- Why? I didn't ride! Why don't you believe me?"

She glanced around for a second. "I'm not saying I don't. All I'm saying is that you don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to telling the truth."

She opened and closed her mouth a few times before making a high pitched scoffing noise. "That was completely different!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air in exasperation. Sensing her friends' awkwardness, she turned to them. "Will one of you please tell her the truth?"

They just sat and starred for a minute before one with bleach blonde hair spoke up. "Dude- Miss, she didn't do nothin'."

Emily narrowed her eyes again before turning to Bethany. "We'll discuss this at home," she said in a low voice.

Bethany glared at her, jaw set and eyes burning holes into her head. "Fine," she replied through clenched teeth.

The ride back to the Prentiss apartment was completely silent, neither words nor music broke it. Bethany had her feet on the dashboard and was staring straight ahead, still fuming. When the front door slammed behind her, Garcia nearly jumped out of her skin. "Well, hello to you, too there kiddo," she said, but it lacked its usual brightness.

Not noticing nor hearing, she turned to her adoptive mother. "I can't believe you embarrassed me in front of my friends!"

"Your friends? You call those kids your friends? They got you into trouble, Bethany! All of you had complete disregard for the rules. You knew exactly what you were doing."

"Emily, I freaking told them not to!" she yelled, her face growing red.

"And they just didn't listen?"

She raised her eyebrows at her disbelief. "Yes!"

"So what did you do, just sit there or run with them?"

She ran her hands through her hair, pulling on it slightly and shutting her eyes. "I went into Pac Sun and bought myself a tee shirt, which the stupid mall cops confiscated," she explained, her voice shaky with anger.

"Is that it?" Emily's own voice was calm now, not as agravated anymore.

"Yes."

"Give me your iPod and your cell phone."

Bethany nearly blew a blood vessel in her neck. "What the hell? Why?"

"For talking back to me."

Once again pissed off, she reached into her pockets and pulled out both items, slamming them into Prentiss' outstretched hand, then running up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door. Penelope, who had shrunk back into the couch at the first sign of raised voices, stood and gapped at her friend. "Emily..." she began, but couldn't seem to find the right words." Her birthday is tomorrow, honey, you shouldn't punish her if she really didn't do anything."

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose. "I know... It just seemed like the right thing to do. I should probably go talk to her." sh was about to leave the room when her friend stopped her.

"No, Em, she'll be too mad to talk to you. Let me do it - she has no reason to be mad at me," she insisted. After a moment, she saw the subtle nod, and so she was the one walking up into the dragon's lair.

She knocked, but never waited for an answer. The door was unlocked, so she simply opened it to see Bethany sprawled out on her bed, face down. She heard a muffled voice attempt to yell "go away", but she took no heed. "It's Pennie, sugar," she said, closing the door behind her. "We need to talk."

Slowly, she flipped onto her back, scooching up a little so she rested her back against the head board. Her eyes and nose were red, but there were no traces of tears anywhere. "Talk."

Penelope took a seat on the chair at the computer desk and turned to face the younger child. "First off, both Emily and I believe you." Bethany opened her mouth, but she held up a hand. "Now, tomorrow is your birthday, and I don't particularly care if you pissed off a mall cop or not, but everyone needs to have a good birthday. So, I have taken it upon myself to come and talk to you about living with Emily. It's been an easy month so far, as I understand, but you need to know how passionate she can be. She takes everything extremely serious, but especially when it comes to your safety and well being. Trust me, every time she is gone for more than a day, JJ and I get an earful of 'I hope Bethany will be okay with me gone'. I mean, she does it on her off hours, but still. So, you're getting your stuff back, but, and that's a huge but, only if you apologize for talking back."

She bit her lip and nodded, rising from her position to hug her friend. Then, she turned and went back down the stairs slowly. She couldn't look at Emily for a few minutes; instead she chose to stare intently at her feet and fingers at her beltline. Her mother stood there patiently until her chin finally lifted and she could see into the bright green eyes she had come to adore. She hid a frown at the redness around them, as well as her nose, but ignored it as soon as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I was so far outta line, I felt like you weren't listening, and that's the only way I know how to handle stuff."

She nodded, and gently pulled her into a warm hug, which she eventually returned. They stayed like this for a moment as Penelope silently 'awwed' from the stairs.

They slept soundly that night, mostly from emotional exhaustion. Emily was the one to wake first, at 6:03 a.m. She showered and dressed before silently slipping out of the apartment at 6:57, knowing her destination was not work, for it was her day off, but elsewhere. It was there she arrived with a grin on her face just as the shop was opening, and a certain teenage girl was beginning to stir.

Bethany woke briefly to pee before falling back to sleep in her warm and cozy bed once again. She didn't wake again until quarter after nine. She sleepily rubbed her eyes, sitting up, and then stretched out her stiff limbs. She felt the usual soreness of her ribs - the doctor had assure her it was completely normal, even after they healed - then finally exited her room still dressed in her baggy, plaid Joe Boxer's and Skillet tee shirt, trudging down the stairs in her usual, half-awake state.

Prentiss was not in the kitchen, but then again, she couldn't see anything besides the kitchen until after she got her morning shot of coffee, even if it was barely half a cup full. After three sugars and a tiny bit of milk went down mixed in with some coffee, she finally was able to semi-function enough to find her way into the living room where Emily was sitting on the couch, watching Dr. Phil, or something. She plopped down beside her.

"Morning, hun."

Bethany made an indistinguishable noise from the back of her throat.

"Happy birthday."

Another strange noise.

There was a beat before she spoke again. "Hey, I'm gonna get you some of those bagels you love for breakfast; can you grab my shoes out of the front closet?" she asked, gesturing towards the door behind her.

With a grunt, Bethany stood back up and dragged her feet all the way to the closet. Reluctantly, she flung the door open, and as soon as she did, she felt something small and -alive- wiggling its way across her feet. She looked down to see a small, chestnut-brindle and white puppy sniffing her pants enthusiastically. It had a small green bow around its neck, and when it looked up at her, not only did its tail begin to wag furiously, but its entire rear end did as well. She glanced from the puppy to Emily twice questioningly before kneeling down to its level. "This for me?" she asked, the pup crawling into her lap, attempting to lick her face.

"Yep, she's all yours. She's half Boxer, half Pit bull. She's a rescue, too; she had three brothers and a sister, but her mom was too emaciated to care of them. The vets think she's about four months old."

"Does she have a name?"

"Not yet. Your choice."

Bethany picked her up so they were face to face. "Hmm. What should I name you?" The mutt simply blinked at her and licked her face, causing a smile. "How about... Pibbles?"

Emily, who had gotten up, lifted a brow. "Why Pibbles?"

"I dunno. It sorta sounds like Pitbull if you say it fast enough. She's half Pit bull, so it kinda fits," Bethany explained with a shrug, putting Pibbles down.

She chuckled. "Okay, then. Why don't you go get dressed and take her for a quick walk?"

As soon as the two scrambled up stairs, her cell phone began to ring. With a sigh, she picked it up off the coffee table with a less than enthusiastic "Prentiss".

"Em, it's JJ. I really hate to do this to you on Bethany's birthday, but we have an emergency case in Indiana," came her friends voice.

She groaned. "Why the hell do all the weirdos have to come out on Halloween?"

JJ gave a short laugh. "I dunno, but this one's probably the new standard for weirdos."

"Great."

When Bethany reappeared with Pibbles at her heels at the bottom of the stairs, she stopped dead, seeing the disappointed look on Emily's face. Her own face fell, and she turned as she said, "I'll go get my bag..."

Emily threw her phone on the couch and buried her face in her hands. She let slip an aggravated, albeit strangled, cry and shook her head. If this was any indicator of what kind of case this would be, getting home would involve a lot of chocolate, sleep, and tequila.

"Aww, Pibbles!" came Bethany's aggravated yell from above her.

Yep, it was going to be a long case.