A/N: Edited 17 June 2015 to add comma...
Chapter 2
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Prentiss was pretty new to the team. He had never been to her home before. It was a large historic brownstone split into two homes. He climbed the steep concrete steps and rang the bell, hearing it echo through the home.
The sounds of a child yelling and small feet running on wooden floors surprised him as did the softly uttered curse word that filtered through the heavy door.
When the door finally opened, he was shocked. Emily Prentiss, Supervisory Special Agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit, was standing before him in jeans and Kermit the Frog t-shirt with a toddler on her hip. A toddler with black curls, pale alabaster skin, and bright blue eyes. If it wasn't for the eyes, he would be a miniature version of Prentiss.
"Sir, I wasn't expecting you."
Speechless, he took in the appearance of the small child and tried to recall if she had ever mentioned a nephew or a cousin.
The boy reached out his arm, holding his hand out for Hotch. "Hello Sir, my name is Liam Prentiss. Nice to meet you." His little voice spoke each word clearly and confidently.
Hotch shook the tiny hand that was offered to him, "Hello Liam. My name is Aaron Hotchner."
She stepped backwards and waved her hand towards the interior of the house, "Come in, Hotch."
He followed her through the entryway and into a comfortable sitting room. Liam wiggled and she released her hold on him. The toddler slid down her leg and took off running the moment his feet hit the floor.
Indicating to the couch, Prentiss sat down across from her supervisor, her bottom lip firmly between her teeth.
"It never came up." She stated quietly.
A harsh laugh escaped from him, and looked to see where Liam had gone but the boy was no longer in the room. "This is a surprise."
"Sir," she faltered for a moment, "I am a private person so I wasn't comfortable sharing with the team that I had a small child at home."
"How, I mean, it wasn't in your employee file. In fact, your employee file had quite a few inconsistencies and I never really learned how you were transferred to the BAU. I have a feeling that is part of this resignation, am I wrong?"
Prentiss stood up and began to pace around the room, "Hotch, I swear I had no idea about how I was placed in the BAU. For the last three years, I applied to the unit each time there was an opening. Liam and I moved here from Chicago when the transfer came through. I did not pull any strings or ask for special favors."
Hotch remained in his seat and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, as he spoke, "And now you are willing to resign your position without notice."
"Yes. I realize that the situation is unusual." She slipped a neutral expression over her face. "Hotch, why are you really here?"
Liam raced back into the room, his arms filled with plastic dinosaur toys. He lined them up on the coffee table and looked at their guest expectantly.
"Wow! You have a lot of dinosaurs." Hotch told the boy.
The boy held up each one and announcing their names, "Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Apatosaurus"
Hotch raised his eyebrow at Prentiss, noting how she tried to hide her proud smile.
Liam began to play with the dinosaurs, making them fall off the table and crash into the ground, shouting out their terrible fates.
Prentiss returned to the couch, "He's absorbed into his game. You can speak freely."
"Why did you resign?"
No longer able to meet his eyes, she shrugged her shoulders.
Hotch wanted to stand, to pace, to intimidate, to demand answers. Truthful answers! The presence of the little boy made him hesitate. "I think Strauss asked you for dirt on me. To your credit, you didn't whisper in her ear."
She released a breath she didn't even know she was holding and sank back into the couch. "I told you, I hate politics!"
"I was going to ask if you had your ready bag packed; Gideon is a no show and with both us being gone, the team is down by three agents." Hotch titled his head in the direction of Liam. "If I could have Strauss back off, would you be willing to come back? Your resignation is hung up in the system as is my suspension."
She nodded, "My go bag is ready and my next door neighbor watches Liam all the time. I'll give her a call."
Both agents reached for their phones; Hotch called Garcia to arrange a commercial flight for them and cleared his throat at the sound of her high pitched squeals. Clearly, Garcia was convinced their involvement in this case would lead them back permanently.
~~~~~CM~~~~~
Episode referenced: Season 3, Episode 2: In Name and Blood
A/N: Liam speaks clearly and very well for a two and a half year old. I based this off my own experience with my kids. My son spoke early (full paragraphs when others in his age group were speaking their first words). His younger sister didn't bother speaking as she relied on him to do all the talking ~ lol.