Disenchantment
Disclaimer: As per usual I own nothing related to any TV show, book, movie, etc. How sad D:
Pairing: Hotch/Prentiss friendship and romance. Everything else is friendship :D.
Genres: Crime, Drama, Friendship, and Romance.
Rating: 14 Advanced. There will be swearing, violence, and sexual implications. Nothing too bad without me warning you (or) changing the rating.
Spoilers: Some time during season five I suppose.
Summary: Aaron and Emily have an accord but it is put in jeopardy when the illusions of one man finally push him over the edge.
Dedication: To my adoring fans ;D. I couldn't (or wouldn't?) be able to do this without you. Thank you.
Date of Completion: Monday March 29th 2010.
Author's Comment: Welcome to chapter two! Yes, I actually updated the story! I am very proud of this development. Seriously. Now as you may have guessed from the previous chapter I do indeed involve flashbacks, which I think, are a lot of fun and very interesting! So I hope you like them too because I'm sure if I looked my sister's crystal ball I'd see many more in the future of this fic ;D.
Chapter Two. Motherly Love
"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."
— Rajneesh
9:45AM
Tuesday March 23rd 2010
The Nolan Household
Emily Prentiss did not have a hangover and yet her head was aching as if someone had just smashed a sledgehammer into it. She groaned quietly and rolled over on to her stomach and felt the softness of a mattress and pillows beneath her tired body. With one hand reaching out, the SSA felt for another body beside her but came up short, how upsetting. Peeling her sleepy eyelids open, Emily scanned what she could see of the room before deeming it unfamiliar and unwelcome. Where the Hell was she? Naturally she flipped on to her back to inspect the rest of the room.
From what she could tell the room she was in was not dangerous or unkempt, in fact it looked rather nice. The bedroom was painted a calming shade of azure and accented with sandy brown furniture and knick-knacks. There was a chandelier for a lighting fixture and it hung above the center of the room that was shaped something like a large circle with a bay window on the side of the room parallel to a door that Emily assumed led into a bathroom. Nonetheless it was certainly not where she had fallen asleep the previous evening and that was not helping her already incredible migraine. Briefly she pondered over the likelihood of this foreign house having a coffee maker and some beans to brew; somehow she doubted it.
Out of the unfamiliar--albeit comfortable--bed, Emily tiptoed around the bedroom carefully, inspecting it really. There were few personal touches aside from photographs of a woman, some of which were of her alone and others where she had people surrounding her. Tucking the information in the back of her mind for later Prentiss continued on her covert tour of the bedroom. She checked the bathroom next to find everything not only in order but shockingly sterile, obviously someone had a maid or OCD for cleaning. Continuing back into the main bedroom area the SSA peeked through a set of dresser drawers only to find neatly folded clothes suited for a man and a woman. Weird. Emily told herself as she moved towards the one door she had yet to open yet, the one that she assumed would lead her into the rest of this beautiful but alien home.
"Hello?" Prentiss called out softly. "Is anyone home?"
There was no answer but what else had she expected?
Deciding not to waste time exploring the other rooms on the floor, Prentiss found her way to a winding wooden stairwell that led down to another level of the house. With every step she took the stairs echoed and she found herself holding her breath as her feet betrayed her presence until she finally came to a stop on the hardwood floor. Peering around the foyer she was amazed by how large and spacious it was; the double French doors letting the morning sun pour right in and the lemon coloured walls smiling on her. That's when she heard it; talking.
As quietly as she could manage, Emily followed the hushed conversation down the gaping corridor until she reached a giant cut out of wall that served the purpose of a doorway, one that entered into a gorgeously designed and furnished living room and kitchen en suite. In the kitchen half of the room she could see four people sitting around an oval shaped, white oak table, speaking amongst themselves and eating what smelt like a delicious breakfast. For a moment Emily felt eyes on her; at first they were the eyes of one man tracing down her body with ease followed suite by the shy gaze of a woman fluttering over her before returning to her meal, and then twin eyes regarding her with half-interest until they refocused on their food as well.
Okay then, Emily thought silently, is someone going to say something or was am I going to have to speak first?
Suddenly Emily felt as if she was Goldilocks and at the mercy of the three bears and to be completely truthful that thought terrified her.
"Why don't you come sit, Temperance? Have breakfast with us." The man, handsome and confident, asked her without a trace of malice in his tone. Approaching with caution, Prentiss nodded slowly and crossed the threshold to where the group of four was sitting. It was only then did she notice that the table was set for five.
Taking the seat at the side of the man's, Prentiss stared at the old fashioned but pretty silverware and dishes while poking at the scrambled eggs that were still steaming on her plate. She felt the eyes on her again.
"Children it is not polite to stare," the woman told the two children who were sitting across from Emily, the two children who instantly dropped their attention back to their breakfasts; a peanut butter sandwich for one and a jelly for the other.
"Come now Renée," the handsome man spoke again and equally as softly as before. "The children are just curious about their mother, after all they haven't seen for so long."
Reluctantly the woman shrugged and nodded, returning her focus to her bowl of dry cereal.
Temperance? Their mother? What the hell happened and why can't I remember last night? Prentiss thought, desperately trying to piece together the past few hours.
"I'm so glad you're home now, Temperance." The man spoke sincerely and with a pleasant smile on his face. Prentiss swallowed awkwardly and took a bite of her eggs, afraid to do or say anything else for the time being.
10:02AM
Tuesday March 23rd 2010
BAU, Quantico, Virginia
"So wait," JJ demanded with her hand held up like a stop sign. "What were you doing with Emily at four in the morning?"
It would be a blatant lie if Hotch were to claim he had not been expecting this line of inquiry but he certainly had been keeping his hopes up that it would wait for later, preferably after they had a clue as to where Prentiss had gone or even better; once they had her back safely. Unfortunately for SSA Aaron Hotchner today was clearly not going to be an easy one or at all in his favour. He decided the "Boss Man" approach was the best choice, given the situation.
"Nothing unprofessional," he informed the team who all looked like a cross between "as if" and "thank gosh" but he was not quite sure which he preferred. "Not that it matters right now, the thing we should be concerning ourselves with is that we learn whatever we can about Prentiss' disappearance as quickly as we can."
Curiosity aside, the team agreed unanimously and went back to business.
Hotch decided to update the team on what the police knew so far and how everyone could be of service during the investigation. "Since I have already spoken to the local PD and gave them my statement my home is now being inspected for any evidence of invasion or forensic evidence. To differentiate if this was an intentional runaway or abduction the police will want to speak to you all at some point today. However for now I want to contact local establishments, hospitals, and clinics as well as canvass the neighborhood."
Normal procedure, of course, but it did offer a strange kind of comfort to realize that they had all done this before and managed to save the day.
"Garcia, you go see who else shows up in Missing Persons matching the report I compiled of Prentiss." Hotch directed to the technical analyst sitting to his left.
"Rossi, you and I are going back to my place to the help the police while Morgan and Reid canvass the neighborhood as well as Prentiss'." The three men arranged around the room nodded and waited for Hotch to finish giving his instructions.
"JJ, I want you to contact transportation services, hospitals and clinics, and just local establishments in the are. Remember that missing person cases usually have a time limit so we'll regroup later with our findings." JJ mentally compiled a list of places she would check first, people who she should contact, and if name-dropping would be necessary or not.
Standing before the other agents, Hotch tried very hard to shut down any free reign his emotions may have had over his face, his body language, and his tone of voice. It was not as if he wanted to give his team the perception that he did not care or that he was cold but rather that he knew that in cases like these, personal ones, it was very difficult to keep a leveled head and right now that was exactly what was going to save Prentiss. "Remember that missing person cases usually have a time limit so we will be regrouping later with our findings."
Filing out of the conference room, Garcia and JJ retreated to their respective workspaces while Reid and Morgan got their jackets and made their way to one of the SUVs. Hotch was about to leave as well when he was stop by the sound of his friend's voice, a voice that he recognized in a heartbeat.
"We're going to find her." Rossi promised his friend, as they both remained rooted to the ground for a moment, Hotch holding eye contact for a moment before breaking it with a sure nod of the head. Of course they were going find Prentiss, it was a requirement in their field of business for one thing, but more important than that Prentiss was a part of their family and there was no way anyone of them were going to give up on her. Hotch was damn sure of that.
10:08AM
Tuesday March 23rd 2010
The Nolan Household
"Now I know you just got home, honey, so you won't have to do any housework today but I do expect you to make up for lost time. These children have grown older with only a mother figure but no real mother so you will be required to do you motherly duties." The man told Prentiss once he dismissed the two children from the table and the woman, Renée, cleared their napkins, dishes, and cutlery.
"Motherly duties?" Emily inquired while keeping the fear from her voice; she couldn't give this man anymore of the upper hand, after all he had home field advantage whereas she had been unconscious likely by drugs for the past few hours. God only knows what he has already done to her; she tried not to shudder at the thought.
Leaning back in his chair, the man nodded and listed a few of the expectations he had of her. Laundry, cooking, cleaning, and handling the children pretty much made up her entire schedule apparently. The man explained how she would have to do these household chores since he would be at work most days, which turned out to be a construction site. So Prentiss definitely had no intention of sticking around to play house with her captor and his kids but before she went AWOL she would have to think of an escape route and work out the logistics of running away. If the man were really the sole-provider of this family he would likely be at work a lot, which made that prime time for a getaway. Alas Emily was not in the habit of encountering "easy" situations in her life so she figured there would be a catch, probably security or imprisonment or something equally as awful. This was so not good.
"Oh would you look at the time." He said again, peering at his watch quickly. "I am going to be late for work; I told my boss I was taking Phoenix to a dental appointment and would be at the site before eleven."
Phoenix? Now which one was that? Prentiss asked herself. It doesn't matter as long as he is going, I can always learn about the children after he leaves.
He placed a firm, strong hand on Emily's shoulder, squeezing it kindly and then dropped a kiss on her head. "Goodbye, sweetheart."
"Goodbye." Prentiss replied emotionless, watching as he stepped towards the other woman and hugged her half-heartedly; the woman stared at Prentiss over his shoulder as they embraced.
Once Emily heard him call out a goodbye to the children and exit the front entrance of the house, the BAU agent turned to the woman in the kitchen and raised an eyebrow to her.
"Why am I here?" She asked, her tone all force but it did not rattle the woman in fact the woman gave away no emotion at all.
For a moment Renée did not answer, instead she only regarded Emily with her blank brown eyes; the two women stood in silence and scrutinized one another. Renée was tall, taller than Emily herself but only by a half an inch or so, however it was not so much her height that Prentiss figured intimidated people but rather her detached demeanor. At the moment her hair was a scraggly mess of curls that almost fell past her breasts and on to the black sheath dress that she was wearing, the one that hugged her curves and flattened her mid-section. She wore little to no makeup but Prentiss wondered if the woman should because she did look a little pallor. The one thing that really caught Emily's eye however was not so much what Renée was giving away physically but more so the aura around her.
When Renée finally did speak it came not cold or bitter or fearful or pleasant, it just sounded as if she was stating a fact and nothing more.
"Because Zephyr needs a wife, or rather his wife."
Prentiss could actually feel her eyes widen despite herself.
"And I am to assume that I have to be that woman?"
Renée shrugged a pale shoulder and turned back to the sink where she was dunking dishes into white, foamy bubbles. Pushing a manicured fingernail through the clear film, she lifted the bubble into the air and held it under the light, doubling as a kaleidoscope. Prentiss stared at the other woman and when the bubble did pop Renée frowned; it was clear she was disappointed with this.
"To him you already are."
Prentiss thought about what Renée had said and what it could mean. Already? It would explain why he had referred to her as "Temperance" and why he expected her to care for the two children. She wasn't stupid, she saw these kinds of cases everyday but she had never been this up close and personal before. If she were profiling right now, in the safety of the BAU with case folders and the team it would be equally as horrifying but not as truly confusing. Emily knew that you could say whatever you wanted but until it's you facing down the barrel of a gun you don't know how you will feel. In this particular case Emily was baffled by how a man could believe that a total stranger (i.e. her) could be his spouse. Mentally she could follow the logic easily. The man probably lost his wife tragically, he likely has some kind of health concern; he may even be psychologically impaired. However it is not the habit of many people to initially follow their head instead of their instincts in such situations and in Emily's situation her first instinct was to run. Fast.
"Look, Miss…" Emily began but let the latter half dangle in the air between them until Renée regarded her again.
"Renée." She stated. It was not said rudely or reluctantly; again as if it were just simple fact.
Prentiss fought to roll her eyes. Okay, so we're not going to be helpful and give me any information. Wonderful.
"I'm SSA Emily Prentiss of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and that man—"
"Zephyr." Renée informed the BAU agent as she dried a plain white plate, placing it in the wooden rack beside her gently.
"Zephyr." Emily nodded slowly, wondering who Renée was in relation to the man, Zephyr. "He took me last night, abducted me. Now I don't know why he did that but I can't stay here and you have to help me get out."
Her pale hands paused beneath the warm water in the sink and the only sound you could hear in the room was the sound of the fork she had been washing fall to the bottom of the sink. Renée dropped her chin down slightly, speaking quieter now.
"I cannot do that, Miss Prentiss."
Emily let out a breath and tipped her head so she could see beneath the curtain of Renée's hair since it was hiding her face from view. It was only now that Prentiss' really took in the few cuts and small bruise that marked the woman's face.
"You can't or you won't?"
Both women knew it wasn't much of question.
"I helped kidnap you so it would be rather stupid of me to let you go, now wouldn't it?" She asked plainly and it had to be the most rhetoric question Emily Prentiss had ever heard.
Something took over Emily in that moment, something that she often felt when she was in these situations and by "these situations" she did not mean being captured and delivered to an unfamiliar house so that she could be forced to play Betty Homemaker. No. When she thought "these situations" she was thinking more along the lines of speaking to a person who has been warped by trauma, someone who has been tortured, abused, and manipulated time and time again. There was no doubt in SSA Emily Prentiss' mind that Renée had been the subject of this man's manipulation.
"Renée," Emily as in the tone of voice she reserved for the people who have just had their world turned upside down. "Has Zephyr ever hurt you?"
The woman stilled and Emily could see the firm set in Renée's jaw and the narrowing of her dark eyes. Obviously Emily had struck a nerve and she was a little nervous to see how Renée was going to respond to it.
"Zephyr is a good man; never speak ill of him." Renée was strict and bordering on angry but she continued. "He lost the love of his life and must care for two children, he is hard working and gentlemanly. I owe my life to him and I will not have you insult him in his own home."
Another pregnant paused filled the air before Emily decided on taking a new approach to things.
"So tell me about Temperance."
10:32AM
Tuesday March 23rd 2010
The Hotchner Household
Upon their arrival to Hotch's house, Reid and Morgan decided it would be best for each of them to take a sector of the neighborhood so they could survey the people quicker. They each were equipped with their IDs, guns, and a photograph of Prentiss that was taken by Garcia at a restaurant the team ate at recently, the photograph had been photocopied for the convenience of the police who were on patrol or were assisting in the neighborhood survey. In the picture they had of Emily she was smiling at something someone had said and was wearing a flattering red shirt; she looked like a perfectly happy woman without a care in the world. Reid, Morgan, and a few other police officers promptly went to work.
Since Emily didn't actually live in the neighborhood it did not surprise either BAU agents when most of the neighbors did not recognize her and to make matters worse no one could recall a young woman with car troubles at four something in the morning. They were beginning to lose their trust and patience in surveying but they also knew that until they had enough information to accumulate a profile of an UNSUB they were limited in their options.
After about fifteen or so houses Morgan finally stumbled across a small yellow and white painted home with a cliché white picket fence and a silver Lexus in the driveway. Reaching the front porch, Morgan rang the doorbell twice before he could hear the faint strains of someone calling out "I'm coming, I'm coming!" from the inside of the house. When whoever was home finally answered the door it was swung open to reveal a young woman with a bath towel wrapped around her petite body and her hair was wrapped up in what looked like a towel headdress. She was small and cute and looked up at Morgan with pretty green eyes.
"We don't want any." The young woman told him frankly and moved to shut the door so Morgan stuck his foot out like he had fifteen odd times earlier this morning.
"I'm not here to sell you anything; I need to speak to you."
With an eyebrow quirked, the girl opened the door some more but reluctantly nonetheless.
"How come?"
Morgan sighed, relieved more than anything, and took the picture of Prentiss out of the breast pocket of his jacket.
"I'm SSA Derek Morgan of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and we believe that one of our agents, Emily Prentiss, has gone missing. She was last seen in the company of Aaron Hotchner, a neighbor of yours, and I was wondering if you recall anything suspicious or out of the ordinary happening last night?"
The young girl smiled a little at the mention of Aaron Hotchner and when she spoke again she sounded much more pleasant.
"Oh I know Mr. Hotchner," the emerald eye girl told Morgan. "He works for the FBI or something. I baby-sit his kid, Jack—you know him?—and a couple other children from the neighborhood after school on Mondays and Wednesdays."
Jackpot!
"So Miss—"
"Carlton, Jane Carlton." Jane Carlton offered him with a charming smile.
Removing a small pad of paper and a pen from his pocket, Morgan jotted down what Jane told him about watching Jack and a few of his classmates the previous afternoon, the fact that Aaron Hotchner had arrived at her house around six o'clock in the evening to relieve Jane of her babysitting. She recalled a short conversation about midterm testing and Jack having a sleepover at a friend's house that evening. It was at least ten after six in the evening by the time Hotch had left to drive Jack to his sleepover.
After nodding along and taking jot notes of Jane's recap of the evening, Morgan asked her again; "and you didn't hear or see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary?"
Jane concentrated very hard for a moment, retracing her steps the previous evening and very early that morning and after a solid forty seconds she came to a realization.
"Actually, yeah!" The petite blonde realized. "I was coming in at like four in the morning—way past curfew—so I had to climb the trellis at the side of the house to sneak into my brother's room and then to mine. Anyway, my friend was waiting for her ride to come pick her up so we hung out on my front lawn for a while until this car shows up."
Car, Morgan thought. Okay, good, it's finally coming together.
"Well the car rolls up—and let me just say it was in pretty rough condition—with the headlights turned off and out comes these people but we can't really tell who they are because it's so dark out but one was definitely a man. So he goes up to—wait, oh my gosh!" Jane gasped, realization slapping her across the face. "Oh my gosh!"
Derek jumped on the mini-hysteric moment before it could evolve into a full-blown mental breakdown.
"Jane, Jane." Derek snapped as the small blonde's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "I need you to calm down, okay? Take a deep breath and think really, really hard about what happened with the man. Can you do that for me?"
Inhaling a deep breath, Jane nodded and gasped, letting the tension out of her system. "I'm sorry, I just can't believe I didn't remember it earlier. That man and whoever was with him, they walked right up to the sidewalk in front of Mr. Hotchner's house. Laurie—my friend—and I were just sitting and talking on the sidewalk and one minute the man is there and the next he just disappeared. The next thing I know Mr. Hotchner has the porch light on and the woman is going back to her car and a few seconds later the guy comes back and they get in the car and just drive away."
Having just spat that all up, Jane was a little short of breath and appropriately anxious; Derek just wished she had a glass of water or something so she could calm down.
"So does that mean that Emily lady was like kidnapped or something? Is that why you're here?" Jane asked both frantically and inconspicuously, something Derek Morgan didn't know was possible until this very moment. Oh this certainly had the makings of a long morning.
11:34pm
Monday March 22nd 2010
The Hotchner Household
It was easier when the person coming over drove their own vehicle and tonight they happened to be spending the night at Hotch's. Hotch paced around his bedroom feeling like a caged animal, the tension rising. "Damn it!" Hotch cursed as he realized he was getting worked up over nothing but could he help himself? The correct answer would be "no". He checked his cell phone again and the time had only increased by a mere minute. "Goddamnit!" He cursed again; why the Hell was he agitated? Actually that was a stupid question, Hotch knew why he was having this mini-melt down but there was very little he could do to remedy it. It was past eleven thirty in the evening and she had yet to show up or return his call and text. Yes he was that pathetic.
And then the door creaked open and some evening breeze let itself in.
"Hey." Prentiss said, her mind without a doubt full of excuses and apologies. Hotch didn't want to hear them.
"I made s'mores." He said because he is such a dolt; Prentiss looked a little surprised.
"S'mores?"
"Jack's favourite and they're kind of disgusting and kind of delicious. If you're not hungry Em—"
She cut him off but he didn't mind, in fact he was quite grateful. "That sounds delightful right about now, Hotch."
Eyebrows cocked and faking a "whatever" shrug of the shoulders, Hotch led them into the kitchen where there was in fact a plate of fat-acular, chocolate lathered s'mores. Prentiss gave him a look that almost scared him because of how much it reminded him of Jack when he wanted something. Hotch got out the milk. For next fifteen minutes they ate s'mores and talked and drank their milk and talked and Prentiss had tea while they talked. They talked about the long day Prentiss had and how Hotch wanted to keep Jack at age four forever. They talked until they needed to go to sleep and since that was the reason for her being over they went upstairs and did just that.
They slept; Emily in a pair of old pajamas she brought from home and Hotch wearing a white t-shirt and flannel pants. She slept on the left side of the bed and he on the right also known as "Haley's side of the bed". Positioned on her left side, Prentiss had her left arm stuffed under a pillow and her right hand flattening out her half of the bedspread. Hotch wanted to ask what was wrong but soon decided against it; she would tell him in time.
"Hotch?" A voice called softly, questioning and almost forlorn yet at the same time comfortable.
"Yes?"
The blankets rustle a little and her foot bumps against his; "thanks for this." Prentiss tells him.
"You say that every time." Hotch points out but he is not accusing and he thinks she appreciates that, after all she does keep coming back and continues to let him in, he must be doing something right.
"I know." Prentiss admits, sleepier now, Hotch can tell. "But thanks anyways."
Hotch scooted closer, not touching her yet but closer still. He moved close enough to be only have a few inches between them and when Prentiss did nothing to move away he settled himself beside her. The whole room is black with the only exception being an intruder beam of moonlight that filtered through the curtains, Hotch realizes only now how beautiful she is when she's in the awkward space of half-asleep and dreaming.
"Goodnight, Hotch." She whispers, reading his mind.
"Goodnight, Emily." He replies, really wishing it hadn't sounded so much like a "goodbye".
Author's Note: Okay, I just want to say one thing before I get to all the other stuff and that one thing would be..."wow". Now there are many good reasons as to why I would be saying that after completing this so I am going to go through them all with you! Brace yourselves, coz' you're in for a wild ride.
1) That was one L-O-N-G, Long, chapter. I certainly had no intention of prattling on and on, endlessly but once I started the chapter didn't make much sense without all of the components there. Am I right or am I right? Yeah, I thought so ;D.
2) I want to thank all of you who have been so kind with your reviews; you motivate me like you would never believe. So keep 'em coming! :D
3) You may see something of a pattern arise in each chapter and that would be because there is one ;D. Since the story is essentially Emily's story of her abduction and her own inner and external conflicts I like to make my flashbacks about Hotch. Now I understand that we get to see him in action in regards to the team and the actual investigation but I guess I like having a whole piece of the chapter dedicated to him. (Damn I love Thomas Gibson :O). You didn't read that ;D.
4) I am beginning chapter three ASAP so you do not have to worry about any indefinite hiatuses (refer to any WIP story on my profile) any time soon :D.
5) *Retreats to MS Word to begin the "much" anticipated chapter three* :D
