AN. I do not own Criminal Minds nor associated characters.
I'm not 100% on where this is going - I'm exploring my own writing through this story and these characters and having fun with it!
Emily Prentiss is a fallen agent, felled with a bullet to the chest and on the operating table. Her teammates anxiously await an update on her condition and Aaron reflects on Emily as a friend and colleague.
The stern Unit Chief stood in the corner of the family room, his dark, brooding eyes trained sightlessly upon the door and his thoughts elsewhere. Even now, one of his agents was fighting for her life. Even now, she might be bleeding out on the table or slipping into the abyss. To Aaron it seemed unthinkable that one stray bullet could end the life of the unstoppable woman, that one bullet could finish Emily Prentiss when she had survived countless injuries and ordeals in her time with them. Could a bullet end all of this, all that she was?
He thought of her, not as he had last seen her – A broken shell of a woman flat-lining in the back of an ambulance with a bullet through her chest – But as she was. He thought of her dark eyes, full of compassion and knowledge, courage, the flash of cunning he saw in them when she had an idea. He thought of how, when she smiled, her eyes smiled too and how they so perfectly represented her honest soul and the depth of herself when she could otherwise conceal it so well. He thought of her big grin and the way she shook her head in pleasure, her dark hair bouncing at her slim shoulders. He thought of her bitten nails, the way she gnawed at them absent-mindedly in moments of anxiety or distress. He thought of how, when he annoyed her, her mouth would open and close in irritation as she struggled to verbalise her feelings. He thought of her infinite patience and of her love for her colleagues and teammates, the times she had reassured and supported each one of them – the rock of the team. Aaron Hotchner's brow furrowed in distress. The team needed Emily. He needed Emily.
The small creak of the door in its hinges was loud in the oppressive silence.
"Emily Prentiss?" A bespectacled, nervous looking young doctor enquired, stepping tentatively into the room. Derek and Spencer stood up immediately, and Aaron saw Penelope clutch at JJ's hand like a child seeking reassurance. Dave, like Aaron, maintained his steady stare across the small room. "That's us."
"She's out of theatre and on ITU, just down the corridor. It was touch and go in there but it seems she pulled through." The doctor announced as Penelope let out a long breath, tears of relief rolling down her face.
"C – Can we see her?" Spencer asked the question on everyone's mind as he ran a long-fingered hand through his messy hair.
"She's still out. When she comes round she'll be confused, and very weak. It's better if you take it in turns, maybe go in pairs if you must, rather than crowd her."
"Understood," Aaron said, speaking for the first time since the youthful doctor had entered the room and trying hard not to trip over his words or choke, trying hard not to show his utter relief that Emily was still alive. He knew he needed to maintain his posture and control, like Dave, as a leader of this team. Emily was still alive. For the moment at least, his team remained whole.
"I'll take you all over now, you can see for yourself. Then maybe one or two of you can stay with her, be there when she comes round. The rest of you can be provided with updates in the morning." The team rose and bags were hitched onto shoulders, glances shared.
"Thanks," JJ and Spencer muttered simultaneously as the team filed out behind the doctor, Aaron and Dave at the rear as they strode along the corridor, this silent family whose missing element was lying in a hospital bed down the hall.