Emily sighed deeply as she walked sleepily into her living room. She was still dressed in her night clothes. She was on her way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. She couldn't even begin to think of getting into the shower without some caffeine in her. She hadn't slept well the night before. Not because of work – how could it be? Work was the same in between cases. The team was in their waiting period these days.

No her sleep was disrupted because of what happened with JJ the previous evening. She sighed as she saw JJ's files and purse where she had left it when she rushed from her apartment. She walked past it to the coffee maker and picked up the mug that she had set beside it the night before. She lifted the hot coffee pot and poured a full mug full. After replacing the pot back into the maker she turned with the mug in her hands and leaned back against the counter. She saw from the corner of her eyes that it was just 6:30 am. She lifted the mug and blew on it too cool the coffee off before she took a sip.

She winced because the coffee burnt her taste buds. She knew she wouldn't be tasting anything for a while. Her eyes wandered until they stopped on JJ's personal items. All that she wanted to taste at that moment was JJ. But seeing how that would never happen, she didn't mind that her taste buds were numb.

Her phone rang causing her to blink out of the haze that she had been in. She automatically reached up to the wall where she kept her phone and brought the phone to her ear. "Emily," her mother's voice said on the other end.

"Hello mother," Emily said without really tuning into her mother, her thoughts were firmly locked on JJ.

"Emily, we need to meet for a lunch at some point." Her mother said, "It's been quite a long time since we have had a chance to get together."

"Yes mother," Emily said as she moved over to stand in front of the counter where JJ's things were. Her fingers of her right hand started to absently toy with the edge of the files where JJ's hands had just been just a mere twelve hours previous.

"Emily," Her mother's voice started to rise on her end.

"Yes mother," Emily said once again in a far off voice.

"Is something going on?" Her mother's voice suddenly asked in a worried voice.

"No mother," Emily said with a sigh. She wasn't paying any attention to the tone in her mother's voice, how could see when she just saw JJ and what happened the previous evening. "It's only wine ..." she murmured.

"What was that about wine dear?" Her mother asked. "Emily ..."

"Yes mother," Emily blinked in surprised as she realized that her mother was on the phone with her.

"What's going on Emily," Her mother said in a hard voice.

Emily sighed deeply and brought her hand that had been toying with the papers up to her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. "Nothing, mother, really."

"Are you currently working on a case? Or will you be heading out on a new one?" Her mother asked in her hard toneless voice that she always used whenever she and Emily spoke about Emily's career.

"No I'm in the waiting period, mother." Emily's voice became toneless herself. She berated herself for not focusing on the car with her mother when she heard her mother's voice on the other end of the line.

"What time do you have to be in office this morning?" Her mother asked.

"Ten." Emily said truthfully, "But mother I am planning on going in sooner than that. I have things that I need to do and I need to return some things to someone." She eyed JJ's purse and files once more.

"Well dear, I'll be at your apartment at eight am sharp. Please be ready." With that her mother hung up on her end.

Emily sighed as she slowly brought the phone away from her ear and placed it back in the cradle. Just what she needed that morning, her mother in her face. Her head moved and rested against the wall as she sighed deeply. If only she had paid more attention to her mother when she first called, than she could have easily gotten out of seeing her that day. Shit. This was going to be a long morning.

--

Emily walked to the door, unlocked and opened it. She had put on a smile on her lips and an impassive expression on her face. "Mother." She simply stepped aside keep her hand on the knob. The door hit her right shoulder which was bare due to the fact that she was wearing a sleeveless silk light violet blouse.

"Emily." Elizabeth Prentiss said in a equal dead voice. Her face also was impassive. As it seemed to be whenever she was face to face with her only child. She didn't know when things had gone so wrong between them. Yes she was shaken out of her socks when she learned that she was pregnant. Yes she still remained strong and didn't allow any of the soft motherly feelings to come to play in the public eye. Sadly even when she was in the privacy of her own home she didn't allow herself to relax and enjoy the child growing inside her. But when she actually held Emily in her arms for the first time, she simply melted. But than her political career had speed up and she was so busy trying to prove herself in a man's world, that she began to raise Emily at an early age that she had to be stiff and formal at all times. Not to relax around anyone, not even your own family, because anyone could use your weakness against you. She looked at her grown daughter now and saw that she had raised a strong woman who could take care of herself in this world. But she herself didn't really know this daughter of hers.

Elizabeth walked passed Emily into the apartment and walked over to the sitting area and she could sense that Emily remained where she was standing just looking at her stiff back. "We have much to discuss." She said finally turning around to face her daughter.

Emily sighed as she closed her door and locked it. She walked into her kitchen and picked up the tray that she prepared. "Seeing how you want to eat with me this morning," She said walking over to her table and setting the plate down in the middle, "we might as well start. I really do need to get to the office, mother."

Elizabeth walked over and took her place at the table and waited for her daughter to sit down. "Now what is going on with you, Emily?" She asked straight forward not bothering to reach for any of the fruit. "You aren't normally so distracted on the phone," She eyed her daughter keenly. "I have raised you better than that."

"You have raised me never to relax or share anything either, mother. Not even with you." Emily said in a impassive voice as she stared her mother in the eye. She knew her mother was trying to stare her down and try to get the information out of her that way. Elizabeth had used this method since her childhood. Her first memory was her mother's eyes boarding into hers as she painfully and steady began to teach her that she couldn't trust anyone. Not even her own mother.

"I'm not going to leave this one, Emily." Elizabeth said in a steady voice.

"Well, mother, you have too." Emily said with a shrug. "Sides I would never confide in you, mother." She said finally telling her mother the truth. "Why should I, when you had never been a mother too me. Not once had you allowed me to find comfort in your arms." She felt tears in the back of her eyes but she was well trained not to even show signs of them. "All I wanted when I was little was my mother's love. That was all." She shook her head, "You just couldn't give that to me could you." She paused. "Either you couldn't, or you didn't want to." She shut her mouth finally and just stared silently into her mother's non emotional eyes.

Elizabeth pushed her chair back and stood to her feet. She looked once more in her daughter's eyes and turned and walked from the apartment without another word.

Emily leaned forward and put her head in her uplifted hands the moment the door closed. Great. Just great.