Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Still don't down anything…like that's ever going to change.

A/N: This chapter occurs a week before the prologue. And thanks to those who reviewed the first part, it is really encouraging.

Please let me know what you think :)


Friday, April 6th – 7:41 a.m.

The BAU team had just gotten back from a case in Florida and were supposed to be finishing up some files for the case, but Emily would not be joining them because she had been suspended. It was her first infraction since her return from the "dead".

As soon as the jet had landed, early in the morning, Emily had been called into Hotch's office. Even before they had touched down Emily knew she would be reprimanded for her behaviour towards the local authority.

She reluctantly walked up the stairs to stand in front of Hotch's door as the rest of the team filed in to begin their paper work. Emily hesitantly knocked and opened the door when she was told to enter.

"Hey, you wanted to see me?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes, please take a seat Prentiss," but before Hotch could continue with his speech, Emily interrupted him.

"Hotch, I know I shouldn't have yelled at Officer Reynolds, but the man had it coming!"

Hotch sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew that Emily Prentiss would not take what he had to say lightly, "Prentiss, you yelled, cursed and punched at a police officer."

"With all due respect Sir, he deserved it. He asked me to get him coffee because he liked to watch a 'pretty women' served him," Emily replied using air quotes to mock the Officer. "He also said that the ladies should leave the criminals to the big boys and I should stay the precinct where he could keep me safe. Even JJ was going to take a swing at him sooner or later!"

"I'll admit he was out of line, but that still did not give you the right to break his nose," Hotch stated, sounding like he was talking to a child rather than one of his agents. "Prentiss, you will be suspended for the remainder of the day. And then desk duty, until our superiors have time to look over the complaint."

"Hotch! Are you serious?"

"Yes, if I don't suspend you the higher ups will feel that we are an unprofessional unit. I'm sorry and I will see you Monday," he replied looking down to his case files indicating that the conversation was not up for debate.

Emily stopped arguing, got up and quickly went to her desk. She packed up her files because she knew that Hotch would expect them to be completed by Monday, whether or not she was in the office or not. Emily exited the bullpen without looking at her fellow agents and headed home. If she would have looked up at her friends she would have noticed JJ, Morgan and Garcia's concerned glances and Reid diligently working on his case files totally oblivious to his surroundings.

As Emily drove home she tried to see the positives of being suspended. At least she could finish unpacking her belongings, which had been in storage, into her new apartment. That was really the only good thing she could think of.

Suspended! What a great way to start off the day…

xXxXxXx

8:29 a.m.

Emily barged up the stairs to her apartment, the drive over had just ended up making her angrier. Since she was furious she missed the warming notice on the front door of the building as she rushed to get inside.

With the key in the lock, Emily turned the knob and opened her door. She was met with water leaking over the threshold, as she looked inside she saw her whole apartment was filled with water. She sighed and waded into her home. At least most of her stuff was still in plastic containers.

Emily set her bags on the counter and pulled out her cell phone. She called her voice mail to see if she could find an explanation for her flooded apartment. There were two missed calls on her phone; the first was about her over due library books, so she just skipped past it but the second message from the apartment manager.

"Hello Ms. Prentiss. Its Susan, I am in charge of the apartment complex. I am sorry that I was unable to reach you in person, but if you are home you have probably noticed that there was a water pipe break. We had to evacuate your floor of the building. Hopefully you are able to find a place to stay in the meantime. I am hoping that the repairs will only take a couple of weeks to be completed. Anyway, please grab your belongings, or at least the ones you wish to save and your insurance policy should cover the rest. Please call me back, so I can ensure you have gotten this message and evacuated, so the repairs can begin. Once again I would like to apologize, and I hopefully will speak to you soon."

Emily groaned, that woman was way too cheery for delivering such problematic news. She called Susan back. Grabbing a few bags, Emily spent most of the morning packing up her things, especially her belongings that she did not wish to become damaged by the water.

She did not want to stay at a hotel because she spent enough time in them while on cases. So she loaded her car full of boxes, bags and containers of her possessions and drove to her mothers.

"This is already a shitty day!" Emily complained to herself.

xXxXxXx

11:12 a.m.

It hadn't taken her too long to pack up her things because most of it was still in boxes form storage. With her car full, Emily pulled her vehicle into her mother, the Ambassador's house.

Emily approached the steps gingerly, her relationship with her mother had improved since she had helped with the case a few years back, but they were still on bumpy ground. Emily rang the bell and was greeted by one of the many house workers.

"Ah, Ms. Prentiss, please come in. Would you like to speak with the Ambassador?"

"Yes, please Gregory," Emily replied as she stepped inside the house.

"One moment please," Gregory said as he made his exit to retrieve the Ambassador.

Over fifteen minutes later, the Ambassador finally came to the door to great her daughter.

"Emily, dear. What can I do for you?" her mother asked polite as ever.

"Umm... Mother, would it be possible for me to stay here for a while, you see my apartment has flooded and it's now under repair."

"No, Emily we will just find you another apartment," stated the Ambassador as was interrupted by Gregory bringing her a phone with an obviously important call.

Emily internally rolled her eyes; of course her mother wouldn't want her to stay where she could be seen by members of her political circle.

Emily decided she would just go, "No need Mother, I will just find another place to stay. I will call you later so we can meet for lunch some time soon."

The Ambassador nodded in agreement to her daughter; with a good bye she closed the door on Emily.

Emily jumped back into her car and thought about where to go. She really didn't have anyone other than her team. Maybe she could burden one of them for a few weeks. So even though she was suspended, she headed to Quantico.

xXxXxXx

12:43 p.m.

The BAU team had been working hard to finish their case files so that they could get home to start the weekend. Hotch had sent them home at noon, when the team was almost finished their work, saying that he did not want to see them until Monday.

When Emily got into the building she noticed that everyone had left for the afternoon, even Hotch had gone home to see Jack. She had been hoping to talk to any of her team mates and get some advice on where she should stay. It looked like she would not receive any help until Monday.

Emily could not believe the turn of events. The day had started out with the team heading home from a case like normal, but then she got suspended; now her home was flooded and she was out of a place to stay. She brought some of her stuff inside and set up camp at her desk. Weren't Friday's suppossed to be the best day of the week?

Emily pulled out some of her case files and began to work because she really had nothing better to do. After writing for a few hours Emily fell asleep out of sheer boredom.

A/N: That's all for chapter 1!