Emily walked into her parent's house, ginger in hand, and greeted her brother and sister. "Well hello there stranger. Get lost on your way back?" Elesia teased. Emily rolled her eyes. "No I didn't. I just took my time." "Got the ginger?" Milo asked as he all but yanked it out her hand. "Clearly. Was it necessary for you to attack me for the ginger?" "I didn't attack. The sauce will be ruined if I don't hurry up and add this." Emily and Lisa watched as he ran back into the kitchen. Emily looked around for her parents, "They're upstairs. They both decided to get iPhones, so Brayden is helping them figure out how to use them", Lisa said with a laugh as she answered Emily's unspoken question. Antonio ran up behind Emily and hugged the back of her legs, "Aunt Mily! You've been gone forever!" Emily laughed, "I've only been gone for 6 hours." "That's 5 too long. Did you get it?" he asked with his best puppy dog look. "I did. But it's staying at my house, so you don't get caught with it." Antonio pouted a little, but it quickly went away when he realized that his aunt would let him have as much as he wanted. Emily went into the kitchen and took a seat at the kitchen island. Lisa joined her and offered a glass of bourbon. Emily took it and took a healthy swig out of the glass. She paused for a moment, "This is new. How long have you been a bourbon fan? I thought it was wine and champagne for you." Lisa arched an eyebrow, "Cute. How long have you been chugging bourbon? I drink wine and champagne to please the public. I thoroughly enjoy the rough stuff to simply unwind."
Milo hadn't said a word, but he knew that Lisa was talking indirectly about their parents; Emily caught on to the same exact thing. "Lisa." "What? I'm just saying. I do the typical Elizabeth Prentiss thing to uphold the sophistication and prestige of this family. But when I'm out of the eyes of the prying public, I do what all of us do and become one with the darkest of the dark." "Lisa, I thought you were giving Mom and Dad a second chance?" Lisa scoffed, "You don't get it Mily. You and Milo were the golden children. And when he decided to do his own thing, you became the standard and we became the failures. I chose fashion, Milo chose cooking, and you chose law enforcement. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which of our careers is the most closely related to politics." "Are you calling me a sell out?" "I'm calling you a conformist. You conformed to the expectations of our family. Although it isn't direct, you've managed to somewhat uphold the Prentiss legacy and boy aren't they proud. What is it that you told me a long time ago? People don't change, they modify." Emily was fuming, so Milo decided to change the subject. "Where did you run? To O'Hare and back?" Emily appreciated Milo trying to lighten the mood. "I stopped for a smoothie. Then I went down by the pier. Today, was the first time that I've been able to take my time doing everything. No worrying about a work call or anything." "How is the new job going?" "For the most part, I'm still bogged down in the start-up process. But I'm satisfied with it so far. What about you? Any plans to open a restaurant in the city?" "Yeah. Right now, I'm scouting out locations and looking over population demands. You know…all the boring stuff." Milo looked at Lisa. "And you? What are you doing with fashion." "Not a damn thing right now. I have to get accustomed to Chicago's fashion world. I may open a boutique if I find the right neighborhood and customer base. Milan and Chicago are worlds apart, so it's harder for me to adjust."
Emily refilled her glass with more bourbon, "What about the boys? Have you guys figured out where you want them to go to school?" "I'd prefer homeschooling them", Lisa replied nonchalantly. "Yeah, that definitely won't stunt their social skills." "Fuck off Milo." Emily raised a calming hand, "Okay. okay. Why don't you just send the boys to our old school? It's hands down the best private school in the city…maybe even the state. We succeeded there. The committee is still relatively the same, so that shouldn't be a problem. We are all alumni, so that'll go a long way." Milo and Lisa thought about it for a moment before nodding their heads in agreement. "Mily, can you turn the lamb for me please? Lisa, can you julienne slice the squash and zucchini?" Both women looked at each other before laughing. "Anything else your Royal Highness?" "Ha ha very funny."
Milo continued working on the sauce and side dishes as they all worked in relative silence with the radio playing in the background. "Does being back here give you guys the same amount of anxiety that it gives me?" Milo asked out loud. Lisa shrugged, "Not really. I'm pretty sure that our parents are under the impression that you and I will jump ship again. I mean that is what happened the last time that we were here." Emily was silent until she spoke up again, "Being back in Chicago makes me anxious and a little depressed. Not counting the BAU, the last time I was in Chicago was when Hank Morgan died. Dad was destroyed for so long. I remember him not eating or sleeping much. When he wasn't shut down, he was so angry. I remember thinking that I lost my dad because he lost his best friend. I think it was a week after the funeral, when mom hung his picture up on the remembrance wall. I sat in front of it for, I don't know, hours and I just cried. I didn't know him that much, but his death took the light out of dad's eyes and took his happiness. I fell asleep on the floor on top of the Great Dane, Doc, that we had and mom had to carry me to bed. For a while, I fooled myself into thinking that hadn't he died, this family would be happy and together. The simple truth is that this family has been damaged for a long time. Probably way before any of us were even born." Emily finished with a couple of stray tears falling. She wiped them away quickly with the back of her hand.
"I remember Mom crying a lot. I'd never seen her cry so much, but she did it for so long after the funeral that it scared me. When she wasn't working, she was crying. She put on a good face when she was around us. I don't think that anybody knew how sad she was but me. I would sit on the steps in the middle of the night and hear her on the couch crying herself to sleep. I think she's doing the same thing that she did back then. I think she's pretending that being back isn't tearing her up on the inside." Emily and Milo turned to look at Lisa when they heard her crying. "Was I really that much of a bitch? I didn't know anything. I thought everybody was so fine. God, I was so self-absorbed and pissed that I didn't notice a thing. I was annoyed because I didn't have everyone's undivided attention, that I didn't even notice that my family was falling completely apart. I've spent years hating them, when they probably already hated themselves. What kind of daughter am I? What kind of example am I setting for my son? What kind of sister am I?" Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Lisa from behind and hugged her, "It's okay. We've all made mistakes and handled things the wrong way through the years. We're all here right now to fix the mistakes of the past." "I'm sorry Mom. I'm so sorry for what I put you through." "It's okay." The adults were an emotional wreck and the kids chose that exact moment to walk into the kitchen. "I thought we were eating dinner?" Antonio asked before taking a seat at the table, causing everyone to laugh.
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Across town, Morgan felt himself sweating under the intense glare that was boring into the back of his head from his mother. He sat in the middle of the living room floor playing with his son. "Derek" he heard his mother say sternly. He turned around sheepishly, "Yes ma'am." "What were you thinking? Just running off and not telling anyone where you were going. What if something happened to you? What if Hank needed you?" Morgan felt like he was a teenager again getting scolded for not cleaning his room. "I'm sorry mama. I just really needed to clear my head. I should've handled it better and told you where I was going. I'm sorry." "What's going on with you baby? Talk to me." "Everything with Savannah is just so stressful." "You never told me the full story." Mrs. Morgan said softly. "I met Savannah after one of my cases. We flew in late and she was moving in the apartment next to mine. I helped her and she offered to repay me with dinner. I declined because of my work schedule, so she suggested coffee. I agreed and that was kind of the start of our relationship. Bells should've went off in my head earlier because it was essentially physical. I kept pushing for more and eventually she gave in and we were 'officially' dating. It was good at first with us living together and then I brought up the conversation about kids. Her not wanting kids and me wanting them became our main argument for nearly 6-7 months. Some important mail came for her, so I took it to her job. I got the shock of my life when I walked in on her cheating on me with her boss. I stormed out and she followed me. She was angry because she was pregnant and it was mine. Her lover was sterile, so Hank could only be mine. She never wanted anything to do with him. She couldn't wait to give him to me after she gave birth. I never saw my life like this. I didn't think I'd have a motherless son to care for. Emily told me that Hank has plenty of love and that she'd always be there for us." At Emily's name, Mrs. Morgan's eyebrow rose.
"Emily. Your old partner Emily?" "Yes. I stopped talking to her while I with Savannah because I couldn't handle it. I knew she'd tell me to run for the hills, but I kept holding out that Savannah would love me the way I loved her." Mrs. Morgan laid a hand on her son's shoulder. "Derek, are you in love with Emily?" The tears running down his face answered her question. Hank tried and failed to pull himself up, so Morgan helped him. The baby boy touched his father's tears before looking at his hand strangely. He smiled at his father and Morgan smiled back. "I think I am mom. I really do." "Does she know that?" "No. I haven't had the guts to tell her because she may not feel the same. She's the one friendship that I can't lose, no matter what." "Is that why you started dating Savannah? Because you couldn't be with Emily?" "I don't know. I felt so guilty telling her about Savannah. She seemed hurt when I first told her but then she said that she was happy for me. What do I do mama?" "You tell your best friend that you're in love with her." "And if she doesn't feel the same?" "At least you'll know. Although I have a feeling that she does feel the same." "How do you know?" "Desi said that you were dropped off in a red SUV, but you left here on foot. She also said that she called Emily. I assume that Emily is in Chicago?" "You should've been a profiler ma. Yes, she's here. Her family moved back here recently. She said that her dad knew Pop." Fran Morgan smiled to herself. "Eli Prentiss has always been a good man. I never met Emily or her siblings when they were younger, but he talked about them a lot. He actually helped your dad get the guts to propose to me. When your team came here years ago and she introduced herself, I immediately saw Eli in her features. I knew then that you were in good hands with Emily as your partner because I knew the kind of man Eli is. He was always good to us even after you father died. We lived a comfortable life because Eli paid the mortgage and the major bills. That's why I was able to work part-time and never miss a thing that you and your sisters did. I didn't want to take help in the beginning, but he wouldn't take no for an answer." Sarah walked into the living room, "Dinner's ready."
Morgan helped his mother up, "Think about what I said baby boy. At least you'll know."
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The next morning, both the Morgan family and the Prentiss family were talked into a picnic at the park by the children in their respective families. Morgan saw Emily, but she didn't notice him. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she was….even on the other side of the park. Her parents didn't look like politicians in their casual wear, but their postures gave them away. Emily's older sister, he assumed, had medium-length light brown hair and a stylish fall outfit on. Her brother looked so much like her with his shoulder-length black hair. Emily was wearing long tan boots that stopped under her knee, burgundy jeans, and a tan colored t-shirt. She was carrying a little boy while the other two were hot on her trail. Morgan didn't hear his name being called until his nephew, Malachi, threw the football at the back of his leg. "Hey." "Come on Uncle Derek. You said that we were going to play football." Morgan looked at Hank, who was mesmerized by everything and then to his mother, "We'll be fine. Go play." Malachi threw the ball really far away and Morgan went running for it, but wasn't paying attention. At the same time, Emily was chasing a frisbee that Antonio threw. She and Morgan ran right into each other and hit the ground fairly hard. Emily sat up and held the back of her head as Morgan held his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." "Derek? Two days in a row. You got a tracking device on me or something?" They both shared a laugh and helped each other up. Their families saw the collision and ran over to them immediately. Mrs. Morgan grabbed Morgan's arm. "Are you okay Derek?" "Yeah I'm fine." She then turned her attention to Emily, "Agent Prentiss are you okay?" She laughed, "I'm fine Mrs. Morgan, but please call me Emily. Your son believes that tackling someone is a conversation starter." Hank wasn't a fan of being ignored and made his presence known with a squawk. Emily smiled wide, "And who is this?" "This is Hank."