Emilia walked through the halls of the Training Academy with a warm coffee in her hands. Dr Lecter and Mr. Graham had stopped by late last night after a rough case. A man by the name of Eldon Stammets had been putting his victims in diabetic comas to turn them into a fertilizer for his mushrooms. He had avoided capture and almost kidnapped Abigail Hobbs. Eldon had learned about the girl from a Tattle Crime article posted by Freddie Lounds. Will Graham was a bit shaken by the incident and Dr. Lecter thought it best for them to visit the evidence of how Mr. Graham had saved Abigail, to try and quell his guilt in involving her in this case too. The trio spent most of the visit talking about Abigail and her father, making the woman itch even more to go the the young girl. The more she looked into the case the more she was torn on Abigail Hobbs. The girl could have very easily been a tool in her father's crimes, the footage of the pair on campus tours that Emilia had found certainly gave Jack's feelings some footing, but the woman needed to talk to Abigail herself to get more information rather than speculation. She had barely slept the last couple nights, her mind constantly running with thoughts of Abigail and a pair of intense maroon eyes, so she found herself feeling slightly drained this morning. Her tired state made her opt for comfort today, wearing a floral navy dress that fluttered around her thighs above her knee high brown boots. Her long brown hair flowed freely over her shoulders.

It was just after lunch when Emilia found herself strolling down the fifth floor hall, a hot cup of coffee in her hand. Her third one that day. As she turned down the hall to the elevator a raven haired woman joined her at her side and matched her easy stride.

"Katz" the woman said with a smile.

Beverly Katz smiled back, taking a sip of her own coffee. "How's it going, Monroe?"

"Can't complain, almost done with the Minnesota Shriek exhibit. You? How are Zeller and Price?"

The other woman shook her head. "Pains in my side, as usual. You still seeing that guy?"

Emilia almost choked on her coffee, "Bennett? Oh god, no. Haven't been with him for almost a month now. He was sweet but... almost too sweet, ya know?"

"Oh I get it" the woman said with a laugh. "Nothing screams sexy like a man with a bit of edge. Too bad there's a shortage of them."

A familiar face flashed in the woman's mind, one that definitely shouldn't have. She shook her head and tried to ride the image of those high cheekbones and thin smile.

"How about you?" the brunette asked, nudging the raven hared woman. "Still chatting with... oh what was his name? Gerard?"

Laughter echoed down the hall. "Noooo way. Got a little too touchy on the second date, kicked him to the curb real quick. Oh, I almost forgot the reason I came to find you! Have you hear the news about the Hobbs girl?"

The pair paused and Emilia stared at Beverly. "What news?"

The raven haired woman leaned in, "Abigail woke up from her coma early this morning. Jack sent someone to see her, Dr. Bloom or Will Graham I think. Jack won't give up on this thing, he's convinced Abigail had something to do with Garrett Jacob Hobbs' murders. He's having us triple check the evidence and comb through every last detail over and over. It's getting crazy. We've found some stuff that could maybe be more that a coincidence but nothing substantial in my eyes. This is turning into a manhunt..."

Emilia only half heard the rest of what Beverly had said, her mind already racing on how she could get to see Abigail. She couldn't ask Jack to send her without his questioning why. If her boss really was on a manhunt, then she would only add fuel to the fire by asking to go see Abigail out of the blue. Jack would see it as her doubting the young girls innocence in the murders. As the women reached the elevator they said their goodbyes and parted. Emilia felt like her whole was vibrating with anticipation as she reached her floor and practically sprinted to the Evil Minds Facility. Reaching her desk she placed her coffee on the top, already committing the remains to getting cold and sitting there until the next morning. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the bottom right draw. Putting her purse on the table she began to fill it with the items she planned to bring to Abigail. Emilia had carefully selected items that would not be needed in the Facility and would open a possible window for conversation with the young girl. The woman had one shot at this, knowing that once Jack found out she had been to visit the Hobbs girl she wouldn't get a second chance.


"Special Agent Emilia Monroe, here to see Ms. Abigail Hobbs."

The man behind the desk stared at her ID in his hand before flickering his eyes to her face then back down. As Emilia waited for the receptionist to verify her ID, she pushed down the sick feeling in her stomach. She hated this place. After all this time she never thought she'd set foot in the stone walls of Port Haven Psychiatric Facility ever again. Finally the man reached over and pulled a white book over to himself. He leafed through the appointment jotted down in it, stopping on the current date.

"I don't see an appointment here for you, Ms Monroe. The only person slotted in here for Abigail Hobbs is Dr. Alana Bloom earlier this afternoon. I'm afraid I can't let you in without an appointment."

Emilia pursed her lips. She tried to think of something to say that would get the receptionist to let her in. Before she could find anything a voice spoke from behind her.

"Let her in Burrows, Ms. Monroe doesn't need an appointment to visit anyone in these walls."

The young woman spun around and was surprised to see a familiar grey haired nurse. "Penelope" she said with a sad smile.

The older woman nodded to the man behind the desk who promptly grabbed a blue VISITOR's badge and handled it to Emilia. "Come dear" she said, motioning to the staircase. "I'll show you to Abigail Hobbs' room."

Emilia followed the Penelope passed the desk and up the stairs. "Thank you" she whispered as the pair reached the top. "You didn't have to. I don't want to get you in any trouble."

The older woman waved off the comment. "Please, my dear, it's nothing. I'm glad to see you though. It's been a while. My, how long now..."

The brunette nodded, her lips pulling down into a frown. "Three years in November." Despite that, Emilia could remember this place like the back of her hand. The halls were still dimly lit to not make the white walls appear too asylum like, and the air still smelt like bleach masked by artificial vanilla.

With a sad look, Penelope placed a hand on the woman's shoulder as they stopped in front of a door. "This is her." With one last squeeze the nurse turned and walked back in the direction of the staircase. With a slight pause in front of the door, a slender hand raised up and gently knocked. A faint and confused 'come in' could be hind from behind the wood so Emilia reached for the knob and twisted it open.

A pale brunette girl sat on the bed in the centre of the room. She lowered the book that was in her hands and stared at the older girl with large blue eyes.

"Hi." Emilia said softly.

"Are you another psychiatrist?" Abigail asked coldly.

The woman shook her head. "No, I'm Agent Emilia Monroe of the FBI." She could have sworn for a moment she saw a fleeting emotion of fear in Abigail's blue eyes. She smiled to try to assuage the girl's feelings. "Before you ask, I'm not here to ask you any questions. I'm here as... let's say as a friend."

Blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Sounds like something someone would say to get the right answers to the questions their 'not' asking."

"Touche" Emilia grabbed a chair and pulled it to the bedside. She sat down, eyeing the untouched shopping bags beside the night stand as she set her bag on the ground beside her. "I see Dr. Bloom brought you some clothes. That was nice of her."

Abigail eyes the bags suspiciously before looking back to her visitor.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you, Abigail" the woman continued.

The young girl snorted. "I've been hearing that a lot. And every person who's said it has looked at me with that same look. They all think I helped him. That's why you're here isn't it?"

The older girl smiled sadly. Abigail was a smart girl, she knew what situation she was in; yet she didn't seem overly concerned about any of it. Her only concern was putting up walls to protect herself, because she felt like she's all she has. More fight then flight, always. She was more and more like Ashley by the minute. Emilia reached for her purse and brought it to her lap. "Actually" she countered, "I'm here to help you survive the hell that is Port Haven."

Abigail stared, slightly taken aback. "Have you ever stayed here...?"

Chocolate curls bobbed as she shook her head. "No."

"But you know what it's like here. So you know someone in here?"

"Not exactly" Emilia replied. "But you can take solace in the fact that I want to make your time here as painless as possible, and help move along you release. Now," she shifted in her chair as she changed the topic. "I'm dealing with the evidence regarding your father's case. Given that he was killed before we got a statement from him or your mother, your entire house was considered evidence. I brought you some things that I don't need, but I think you do."

Emilia pulled out a stack of pictures and handed them to the younger girl. She watched as Abigail shuffled through them, her lips turning up slightly. She muttered a small 'thank you', and Emilia could see it was genuine. There was a small puff of air from her lips that could have been a chuckle as she passed a photo of her and another girl her age. Now was the turning point. Abigail was starting to open up to Emilia, and now would be the time to probe a little deeper into the details of Garrett Jacob Hobbs' crimes and life. But seeing the way her blue eyes lit up at the reminders of her old life, the older girl felt sorry for Abigail Hobbs. There was one piece of evidence that Emilia had brought along that was actually very important to the case. She had found it mixed in with the young girl's clothing, obvious hidden in a draw and tossed unknowing by the cleaners into the bag. She had yet to document it, as something in her gut told her to wait. If Jack found out about this piece of evidence, there was no doubt in the woman's mind that Abigail would be found guilty as an accomplice. Emilia had hid it, feeling that it could be the younger girl's one chance to redeem herself and tell he story how she wanted it to be told. How it actually happened for her and not just what the evidence said.

Reaching her hand in again, the woman pulled out a red journal. Once again she saw fear pass through the blue eyes. She held it out for Abigail.

"That's..."

"Your diary" Emilia finished. "Yes. I know that writing can help deal with traumatic event, so I imagine you need this now more than ever. I read it, I'm sorry to say, but I needed to for the case. You understand. I want you to know Abigail, I haven't documented this yet. I've made copies of all the pages, so if I need anything from those pages I do have them still. Now..." the woman leaned forward. "I want you to take this as a sign of my trust, Abigail. I've seen a lot in this line of work in the short time I've been in it. More importantly, I've see the signs when someone is crying for help. I will be honest with you Abigail, thinks don't look good right now. There are a lot of angry families demanding answers from the FBI, and some people have already made their mind up about you-"

"Have you?" Abigail interrupted. "Have you made your mind up about me?"

The agent leaned back in her chair and ran her right hand over her lips, "in a way. I think you're more a victim than a culprit, but it all depends on how you take control of this situation. Your diary is how you can take control. You may not have said it, or wrote it, but there's enough evidence in those pages that anyone in this field can know exactly how much you were involved in your father's crimes. But like I said, I think you're another victim, regardless of what you were forced to do. I want to help you, Abigail. If you let people in, I think you can move on from this."

Abigail remained silent, staring at the older girl with a wary look. It became evident that she needed time to process this, still not one hundred percent sold on the validity of Emilia's offer and feelings. After a long pause between the pair Emilia spoke again. "I'm not asking for anything from you Abigail, I don't want a false testimonies or to get you to plead to anything that's not true. I know you got caught up in something that you couldn't get out of, I understand that. I just want to help you, and to do that I need you to think long and hard about all this. You're a smart girl, with a lot to offer the world. Don't let this ruin your future." Throwing her purse over her shoulder, the woman stood and turned towards the door. "if you need anything, my number is written in the back of the journal. Ask a nurse named Penelope to use the phone, she'll make sure no one gives you a hard time about it."

"Wait!"

Emilia turned to Abigail.

"Will you come back?" The young girl asked. "When you come to visit whoever you know here, will you visit me?"

Hazel eyes blinked slowly, a sad smile forming on full lips. "I'll visit you again, Abigail, if that's what you want. If not, I don't have any other reason to come to Port Haven anymore."

Blue eyes filled with a bit of hope, "so the person you knew here... they got out then?"

"Unfortunately no." When Abigail said nothing, Emilia spoke. "Take this as another sign that I genuinely want to help you, Abigail... the girl I knew who was forced to live in these walls died in them. She refused the help of people who cared about her and her pain drove her to suicide. I don't want to see that happen to another person with a bright future."

With a heavy sign she turned around and opened the door. The woman barely heard the small and somewhat scared voice asking 'what was her name?'.

Emilia looked over her shoulder. "Her name was Ashley, she was my younger sister."


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