If there was ever a time to be afraid, it was now. They had profiled and tracked down the unsub, and Hotch had sent Prentiss, Reid and Rossi to his residence. All was going well until the unsub, a 23 year old college student, caught Prentiss by surprise and knocked her down. He picked her gun off of the floor and held it to her side, his way of ensuring that she didn't call out to the other agents for help, and ushered her outside until they were deep in his backyard.
As he held the gun to her lower back and she walked in front of him, obeying every one of his orders, she heard both men call out "clear!" every time they had cleared a room. Emily let out an almost inaudible sigh, wondering how long it would take for them to realize that she was gone. And when they finally realized that she was gone, would they get there in time to save her?
She had no idea what the unsub's plans were. His victims were all male, and their deaths were quick. The weapon of choice was a knife, not a gun. He clearly had not expected the FBI to raid his home, and he was panicking.
As she was led into the woods, Emily brought her hand up to her mouth and proceeded to bite down on the nail on her index finger. It was the only way that she could even attempt to keep calm right now. Her breathing began to quicken as she thought about her team, and as she hoped that they would make it in time to find her. She wasn't ready to die. Not now at least.
The unsub stopped her a few minutes later, taking a moment to figure out exactly where they were and decide the best course of action. It had just begun to sink in that he was holding an FBI agent at gunpoint. His actions had been so 'spur of the moment' that he hadn't even realized that until now. But he knew what he needed to do.
He shoved Emily down onto her knees, and she made a loud grunting noise as she hit the ground. When she looked up, she realized that he had the gun aimed at her head, and she knew that she had no chance now. She had no way to defend herself, and she knew that attempting to talk him down would do absolutely no good. Emily lowered her head, not wanting to watch him as he pulled the trigger and shot a bullet straight through her brain. She couldn't do it.
It felt like an eternity as she waited for him to shoot her. But right as she was about to look up once again, she heard the voice that she had longed to hear, the voice that she never thought she would be so grateful to have grace her ears.
"FBI! Put the gun down!" Rossi yelled as he came into sight, Reid and Hotch coming in from other directions. All of their guns were aimed at the unsub, and Emily noticed as his hands started shaking, a sign of his nervousness. This wasn't good. He was going to shoot her right in front of them.
"Put down the gun, Travis." Hotch held his gun in front of him, knowing that if they said even the slightest thing wrong, they would all be attending Emily's funeral in a few days.
Rossi spoke next. "She's not who you want. You have no reason to kill her. Just put the gun down."
Emily heard the men continue to talk, still trying to negotiate with the unsub. She knew that she only had a slim chance of living, and her thoughts had blocked out anything that the agents were trying to say. It wasn't until she heard a gunshot that she was brought out of her trance. She flinched and fell completely to the ground, her side colliding with the dirt, before realized that the bullet had not hit her. Emily looked up to see what in the hell had happened, and it took her a few seconds to comprehend everything. Knowing that his only option was prison for the rest of his life, the unsub had taken his own life. Prentiss laid on the ground for a few seconds, unable to catch her breath, unable to completely take in all of the events that had occurred over the last few hours. She had been at the hands of an unsub before, but it had never seemed this scary, she had never been so concerned for her life.
They had the medics check her out, and once she was cleared, the team went back to their hotel, deciding to stay one more night. As they all walked up to their rooms, Rossi stayed behind and pulled Emily aside. As soon as they were out of the sight of the others, he pulled her into his arms, an action that surely surprised Emily. He held her tight, and Emily wasn't exactly sure what to think.
"I'm so glad we didn't lose you tonight." He whispered after a few seconds, refusing to let her go quite yet. "I don't know what I would've done if I lost you."
Emily was shocked by his words, and even more shocked by the fact that he was brushing a piece of her hair back behind her ear. He returned to simply holding her, and Emily could feel as the butterflies began to feel her stomach. Between the fact that David Rossi was holding her in his arms and the fact that she was just beginning to process his words and what they meant, the nervousness and butterflies were starting to get worse. If there was ever a time to be afraid, it was now.