Hotch glanced at his watch. It was well past noon and Prentiss wasn't up yet. They had managed to move most of his stuff down to the living quarters in the basement that night, and decided to just get rid of the rest. He didn't need that much anyway, and it was getting really late by the time they had finished. The basement living quarters were actually really nice, a definite step-up from the apartment anyway.

Not that I'm ever going to be there...

The Ambassador disliked Prentiss sleeping in, especially this late, but he had convinced her to make today an exception since she had stayed up most of the night to help, or rather he had forced her to help him, since he lost his apartment. It only seemed fair.

He knocked on the large oak door. He didn't hear anything so he stepped into the room and walked over to the long white lace curtains that covered the bay window that overlooked the garden. He glanced at the inelegant sleeping form of his charge. She had wisps of dark hair splayed about, and a trail of drool on her lower lip. She was snoring softly when he opened the curtains abruptly. The light poured in like Jesus had returned and she yelled, throwing her blankets over her head.

"What are you doing!?" She groaned, not moving from her comforter cocoon. It was white, and really thick. The estate could get quite chilly at night, so she typically used this comforter all year round. She had brought it with her from school.

"Get up." He ordered, grabbing the comforter and ripping it off.

"This was not part of the deal!" She sat up angrily, hair still stuck to her face.

Hotch leaned over the bed next to her, "Neither was losing my apartment. You're lucky I convinced the Ambassador to let you sleep in as long as you did."

Prentiss huffed. Hotch would never admit it aloud, but she looked incredibly cute right now. Her eyes were sparkling with annoyance as she glared at him. He stepped back, giving her space and walked out the door to let her get ready. Closing it behind him, Agent Manelli popped around a corner.

"Boss man!" His Brooklyn accent reverberating through the paneled halls. He wore a similar dark suit as Hotch and a lopsided red tie.

"Look!" He smiled and pointed at his tie. "I wore it just for you."

Hotch had pulled him to the side last night and informed him of Hotch's new assignment. Wade Manelli initially had a look of pity for the younger man, but then was replaced with self-pity instead when Hotch informed him of the extra work he was going to have to help his boss with. Hotch had also reminded him of the dress code. Manelli being the second in command for the security team needed to look as professional as the rest, and he had a habit of bending the dress code...a lot.

Hotch snagged the older man's tie, and re-tied it. He briefly wondered how he had been doing this job for as long as he did and still did a lousy job tying a proper tie."How did the morning briefing go?"

Manelli shrugged, "Fine. I was notified there's a gala were gonna have to run OT on in about 3 days. The French Prime Minister, and some other big wigs will be attending, so I'll fill you in on the details tonight, if you want, and you can tell us where to go from there."

Hotch nodded. " Sounds good."

Manelli nodded his thanks, patting his freshly knotted tie, and whirled around disappearing around a corner.

Hotch exhaled loudly, and put a hand on his hip. He stared at the old oil paintings that decorated the walls. The statues, and gaudy rugs. He glanced up at the twinkling chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. Advisers walked quickly around him, and a couple of press members whirred past. He noticed there was a steady stream of traffic all the time in the estate during business hours, but more so for the upcoming gala. He understood why Prentiss wanted to escape all the time. It was almost suffocating to be here.

He decided to make his way up to his office, and look through the reports that were laid on his desk every morning. If Prentiss needed anything she could find him. He wasn't obligated to follow her every move inside the estate. He climbed up the dark wooden stairs, walking past some visiting officials, and entered his office.

He closed the door, and the noise died down instantly. Muffled voices and footsteps echoed past, but it was significantly better. He looked around at the cameras. All seemed in order. He sank into his chair and rubbed his eyes. He only got a few hours of sleep before his shift started, but that's what coffee was for. He pondered leaving his office and getting some coffee down in the kitchens, but the loud murmur outside his door made him change his mind.

He sifted through the papers of the daily reports, and upcoming events. Sure enough, the gala Manelli had mentioned was on here, and he skimmed through the details. He would have to start working out logistics with the other agencies tomorrow to start preparing.

He logged into his computer and waited for Windows to finish turning on. The familiar bleep shook the speakers, causing him to jump in his seat. He turned the nob all the way down to silence them.

"Manelli..."

Prentiss finished getting ready for the day, donning some comfortable jeans and a white blouse. She made sure her hair looked on point one more time in the mirror, and left her room, closing the door behind her. She looked around the hallway and noticed Hotch had disappeared. She frowned.

Where is he? Prentiss looked down the hallway both ways and made her way into the large foyer, quickly getting out of the way of a large herd of press members. They were all setting up a press conference in the conference room. She made a mental note to stay away from there.

She continued searching for him when one of his agent's called out her name. She turned around, and inwardly cringed. Callahan...

"Hello, Agent Callahan. How can I help you?" She asked, putting on her best politician face. She smiled politely. She folded her hands in front of her so he wouldn't try holding her hand.

Callahan was skeezy, and always creeped Prentiss out. The tall, middle-aged, blue-eyed blonde was a long-time agent at the estate, and worked for her mother for years. He would always corner her in the most inopportune times and his hand would linger on her shoulder a little too long for her liking, but he never did anything outright inappropriate for grounds for termination.

"I didn't realize you were here for the summer! Welcome back!" He said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. She smiled tightly.

"Thank you, Callahan- If you'll excuse me." She said turning away, when his hand grabbed her by the shoulder preventing her from leaving, and turning her back to face him.

"Where are you going? I wasn't quite finished." He said lowly, his predatory eyes checking her out.

Prentiss' eyes glittered with anger, "You touch me again, Callahan, and I will rip your hand off, and make sure you get sent to Antarctica for the rest of your crumby career." She growled. She wrenched his hand off of her, staring him down. He broke into a grin.

"Feisty as ever, Emily." He purred.

"It's Ms. Prentiss to you."

"Are you alright, Ms. Prentiss?"

Relief washed over Emily immediately when she head a familiar voice. She would recognize that accent anywhere. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Manelli...Callahan was just leaving."

"I'll see you later, Ms. Prentiss. I heard you were looking to go sight-seeing in Paris today. Paris is at a tumultuous time in its history...I would be careful... Alot of things could go wrong."

Manelli's mouth dropped as he heard the tone in his voice. That was unmistakably a threat. Manelli's hands found the other agents tie, and spun him into a back hallway. Callahan collided with the wall, the breath being knocked out of him. Manelli's face was dangerously close to his, "One more fucking word and I will end you right here."

Callahan laughed, "Go ahead, make a scene. You can explain to the Ambassador why your assaulting another agent in front of the press."

Manelli glanced over his shoulder, and saw the curious eyes of a number of individuals who had stopped what they were doing to watch them. He scoffed, and looked back at Callahan. "You think I'm afraid of a few punk ass press rats? It would be worth it to beat your sorry ass."

"Manelli, it's fine." Prentiss said quickly, gently easing him off Callahan. She looked around and saw everyone watching. She waved at the people to move along, and after a few moments, the incident had already been forgotten. The last thing she needed was for her mother to hear about a fight right in front of the press. She'd have a field day.

"Yeah, Manelli. It's fine." Callahan whispered while smiling at Emily. He straitened his suit jacket. "Don't worry, Ms. Prentiss. I won't mention this to the Ambassador."

He winked at the two of them and strided back through the foyer, out of sight.

Prentiss was seething. As the years had gone by Callahan had grown more bold with his advances, and each time she dissuaded him, he grew increasingly persistent. Whether he was the type of man that liked the challenge or not, Prentiss just liked to be left alone. For some reason though, she had a bad feeling this time. Something felt different. He had eyed her like a piece of meat, a prize waiting to be claimed. It made her feel sick.

"What the fuck was that about? Pardon my french." Manelli asked through gritted teeth, his face was contorted in barely contained rage, and she noticed his whole body wound up like a tight coil. His eyes never left Callahan's form until he disappeared out of sight.

Prentiss shook her head, "It's Callahan, he's a creep. Don't worry about it."

Manelli turned to face her, his face very serious. It was actually one of the few times she had ever seen his face this serious. "If you want Callahan gone, you just say the word, and he's gone."

Prentiss exhaled and shook her head, "It's not that simple. Callahan is my mothers bodyguard. He's assigned to her."

Manelli deflated slightly. She had tried in the past to get him re-assigned to another ambassador, but he was excellent at his job and he got results. Her mother wouldn't do anything unless there was proof of some wrong doing, and her mother wouldn't fire him over her feeling uncomfortable with him.

Manelli gave her elbow a reassuring squeeze, "I'll talk to Hotchner about it."

Prentiss shook her head, "It's fine...I'll talk to him."

Hotch looked up as his office door opened, and saw Prentiss come in. She gave him a half smile and looked at the chair that sat in front of his desk, as if she wanted to sit down. He waited for her to sit, but he noticed to his surprise, she didn't. Something was bothering her.

He stood up and walked around his desk and sat down on the edge of it, facing her. He leaned back comfortably and folded his arms. His dark eyes studied her a moment, taking in her tense posture.

"Prentiss."

Emily looked up at him, and smiled, "Sorry, it's nothing. I just have a lot on mind."

Prentiss originally walked in there and was going to tell him about what had just happened, but one look at him made her change his mind. He had dark circles under his eyes, and looked exhausted. I guess he didn't get to sleep in too. It almost felt like a silly thing to tell him now, and nothing really happened. It was just Callahan. She didn't need to burden him with another thing so trivial.

Hotch furrowed his eyebrows, "Tell me."

Prentiss, folded her arms, and smiled again, a little more genuinely, "It's nothing really. Can we just get out of here for awhile?"

Hotch nodded, and stood. "Yeah, sure."

The two walked off the grounds, through the security check point and soon found themselves strolling through the busy streets of Paris. Prentiss had always enjoyed traveling growing up. Most of the countries she had lived in were Middle Eastern, and not as advanced as Europe, but the different cultures and languages fascinated her. She never had much time spending with her mother, and she really didn't know her father, so she would always take the time and interact with the local people to help fend off the feelings of loneliness she would often get. It was odd to be surrounded by so many people every day and still feel alone.

Here in Paris though, she had a few favorite places she would always go to when she wanted to get out a little. The bookstore adjacent to Notre Dame was her favorite. It was filled ceiling to floor with hundreds of century old books, and dusty papers, as well as modern books readily available to purchase by the public. It was called Shakespeare and Co. Although originally when it opened in 1919, it was called Le Mistral, and was a hub for exceptional writers of the time, including Stein, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald.

She got excited when they turned a corner and it came into view. She was a bit of a book worm.

"Hey Hotch, do you like to read?" She remembered seeing some books on his bookshelf when she helped him pack his things, but they all seemed to be job related.

"Sometimes." He said absently, scanning the crowds around them as they made their way closer. Being right next to the world famous Notre Dame meant many crowds of tourists squeezing by and pick pockets would be out in droves.

"What do you like to do for fun then?" She asked, looking up at him curiously when they made it through the majority of the crowds.

Hotch pondered this for a moment, "What's 'fun'?"

Prentiss rolled her eyes.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" He asked quickly. His black sunglasses shielded his eyes from her view. When she didn't reply, he stopped walking and stood in front of her, facing her, cocking his head to the side. Prentiss was annoyed at his relaxed, yet commanding posture.

Prentiss stared back at him with a straight face, " It was nothing."

Hotch nodded slowly, "Okay..."

He noticed her visibly relax. Of course, he wasn't just going to let this go. When he returned to the estate, he planned on questioning some of his agents to see if they had seen anything. He didn't like staying in the dark, or being the last one to know. That was what happened with him and Hailey. It first started out with her just going to bed angry, or they would fight about how much he worked, going over so many case files as the district prosecutor, and getting phone calls in the middle of the night. Then he noticed her withdrawing from him, and avoiding him, staying with her sister Jessica at times. Sure, he knew they were having problems with the marriage, but he realized too late that it had become unsalvageable when he received his divorce papers.

He wouldn't say he was an expert, but he had gotten damn good at reading people in the court room, and knew Prentiss had been really bothered by something. In fact, her thumbnails were being picked at this very moment. So, he decided to drop it for now. He would broach the subject when he found out what it was and a solution to deal with it.

Prentiss was a little surprised when he backed down so quickly, but was also relieved. Her and Callahan had some rocky history between the two, and she was nothing but excited to be rid of him when she was finally able to go to college. Too many times he had made her uncomfortable or made lewd comments to her, and seeing him this morning had started reminding her of how much she really didn't like him.

She had nosed through the books at Shakespeare and Co. for about half an hour when she looked around to see what her fearless bodyguard was up too. He really wasn't hard to miss. He stuck out like a sore thumb. He stood uncomfortably in a corner next to a very tall pile of books, scanning the room, surrounded by various people browsing for the latest titles. She shook her head and chuckled.

"Please tell me you look this awkward in public all the time." She asked as she approached him.

Hotch raised an eyebrow. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Unfortunately no, but that just means we can come again another day." She said, winking at him. "Ya know, more time out of the house."

Hotch just nodded and followed her back down the narrow steps to the first floor. They were about to clear the stairs when he looked around and something felt off. The room was empty compared to when they arrived, save the two men surrounding a woman at the counter, presumably a cashier, and noticed each one held a knife. Prentiss saw it too. She stopped suddenly, and her body stiffened. Instinctively he gently touched her shoulder and guided her behind him.

The woman looked at them in desperation, her body shaking as one of the men-presumably the leader- shouted at her again. The two men hadn't taken notice of them yet since their backs were to the stairs.

Hotch stepped down onto the landing and quietly slid a book from it's shelf, an older looking one with a hard cover. He had thought about using his gun, but he didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to them. The gun laws in Paris were quite strict, and was uncommon for citizens to be carrying any firearms on their person, so he opted for a weapon of opportunity. He could easily take care of these two with it.

The two men kept yelling at the petrified woman until Hotch tapped the nearest guy on the shoulder. The first man whirled around and was met with a book to the face. He heard the satisfying snap of the man's nose and grabbed his wrist that held the knife, and slammed the book down onto his forearm, causing a sickening crack. The man screamed and fell. His partner rushed to his aide, shouting in french. Hotch threw the book in the air and it collided into the other man's face. The perp flew back hitting his head on the wooden floor. Nobody moved for a moment, and dust swirled around in the room.

Hotch quickly turned to Emily, "We should probably go..."

His words snapped her out of her trance, and she nodded quickly. She hurried over to him, hopping over moaning bodies. She looked over at the woman at the counter, and she seemed as shocked as she was.

Hotch placed a hand onto the small of her back and guided her quickly out the door and through the crowded plaza once more. Once they put some distance between themselves and the bookstore, Emily stopped and turned around to face him, almost causing him to run into her.

"That-that was incredible! You have to teach me how to do that!"

Hotch was puzzled by how excited she was. It wasn't really a big deal, although he most definitely was going to have to write it up in a report and notify local authorities as soon as they got back to the estate. Playing nice with local authorities was always a priority.

"Teach you?"

Emily nodded quickly. "Yes! I've been taught a few basic techniques by a few agents a long time ago when I was little, but I think it's important to learn these things. My mother had forbidden it years ago, but I'm an adult now, and I need to learn it eventually anyway if I'm going to be working in criminal justice."

Hotch exhaled, staring at her silently. She had some plausible points. In his opinion, she should have already been taught some practical self defense courses. He was a little surprised at this revelation. Being the Ambassador's daughter was dangerous in nature, and with her past of slipping security he was growing more irritated at the fact she would slip the guards so often.

He was also growing quite aware she was practically buzzing with excitement. In fact her eyes were wide and begging for him to agree, and her lips were slightly pursed in determination. Focus.

"Let's just get you back first." He said, noting the crushingly disappointing look that washed over her face.

They walked back to the estate in relative silence, and Prentiss had returned to her room. He had made his way back up to his office where his colleague had been waiting for him.

About an hour went by as he listened to Manelli's detailed report from this morning's briefing and he was just about done with the incident report at the bookstore for the Paris police. All he had to do was fax it and if they required anymore questions, he could pay them a visit tomorrow.

Usually if an incident like that had occurred without him being on a protective detail, he would have stayed and talked to the authorities at the scene, but with Prentiss being there he decided to get her back to the safety of the estate.

He looked up to see the other agent stand up and walk over to the wall and leaned against it, folding his arms.

"Do you know Agent Callahan well?"

Hotch cocked his head and looked up at Manelli, "He is one of Ambassador Prentiss' main bodyguards, and has been for many years. Why?"

Manelli drummed his fingers, "Something's not right with this guy, Hotch."

Hotch furrowed his eyebrows, "What makes you say that?"

Manelli quickly looked back at Hotch, a surprised look on his face. "Ms. Prentiss didn't tell you?"

Hotch stood and walked over to Manelli, "No. She came in here this morning, and I could tell something was bothering her, but she wouldn't tell me."

Manelli shook her head, "I was walking around the foyer when I noticed she seemed wicked pissed at him. They had been talking and she seemed pretty uninterested in the conversation, so she turned to leave and he grabbed her by the shoulder and that's when I intervened. I asked if she was okay, and she said she was fine, but I could tell something was definitely not right."

Hotch nodded slowly taking in the new information, prompting Manelli to continue.

"Then he had mentioned about knowing she was going out today and that Paris was dangerous and to be careful- but Hotch, the way he said it...it was definitely not in a friendly way. I got so pissed I grabbed him and threw him into the wall, she intervened, and I told her that if he was harassing her that we could move him to a different assignment, or charge him, but she said that it was fine, and to forget about it. She said she was going to talk to you, but I guess she didn't."

Hotch walked back over to the monitors and pulled up footage of the altercation and watched it. Callahan seemed pleasant enough in the beginning, but Manelli was right when he noticed Prentiss wanted nothing to do with the conversation.

He rubbed his chin. Why didn't she tell him? If Callahan had been unprofessional in any way or harassed Prentiss, and from her facial expression on the monitor it told him this wasn't the first time, why didn't she say something about it? Had she told the Ambassador?

"Anyway, now ya know..." Manelli muttered, stepping away from the wall, "I'm outta here If you don't need me."

Hotch nodded, still lost in thought, "Thanks, Manelli, I'll take care of it."

Prentiss heard a knock at her door. She crossed the large room and opened it. Hotch stood there staring at her, and after a couple of minutes, she started to feel a little uncomfortable. "What...can I do for you?"

"Is Callahan bothering you?"

Prentiss' jaw tightened, and she looked away, "It's nothing, I can deal with it."

"It didn't look like nothing on the monitors."

Prentiss rolled her eyes. Of course he wouldn't leave it alone. She knew that conversation earlier had ended too quickly. She folded her arms in the doorway and glared at him. "Seriously, it's fine."

They both stared at each other for a few long and tense seconds.

Hotch felt his blood pressure raise as he looked at her. Her stubbornness reminded him greatly of the ambassador. A Prentiss she most definitely was. How could he fix the problem, if she refused to tell him what it was?

Prentiss squared her shoulders and didn't break eye contact. She wasn't about to back down. This had been her problem, for many years actually, and she was finally at a point where she had decided to do something about it. Previously, as head-strong and stubborn as she was, all of her courage would leave her when he came around. She would feel frozen, and so uncomfortable when he spoke to her. No, she would not have someone help her deal with him. She needed to confront him on her own. She had to show him she was in control. She would be the one to show everyone what a lech he was.

She blinked when she saw him sigh.

"Fine. If your not going to tell me, I won't force you to talk."

Prentiss relaxed her shoulders and stared at him curiously as he continued.

"Tomorrow morning, bright an early. Be in the courtyard."

Prentiss furrowed her brows, and cocked her head. "The courtyard?"

"Yes, at 7:00. Don't be late." He said as he turned to leave.

Prentiss raised her hands up in confusion, watching him walk out the door. What was going on in the courtyard that early in the morning? "For what?"

"Training."

Chapter 3 is up! I hope you enjoyed. More to come! Please review!