A/N: Hi everyone! Long time, no see! I'm sorry I haven't updated in SO long, as you can see it took me quite a while for me to get my muse going again... but nevertheless, I am back! Thanks to everyone who continued subscribing to this story, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Reviews are great :)
Emily sped out of Hotch's office, taking care to avoid walking in Reid's direction – he had waited for her just outside of his office.
"Emily, wait!" Reid called after her desperately. But she continued walking as if she heard nothing, speeding right through the bullpen. Quickly, she grabbed her purse and jacket off of her desk and walked off in the direction of the stairs, not wanting to be stuck inside an elevator with him.
Still, Reid continued to follow her; down the stairs and out into the parking lot. He had about a million questions running through his mind at that moment, and there was no way that he was going to let them go unanswered.
Finally, he caught up to her – just as soon as she was about to open the door to her car.
"Emily, stop, please, I need to talk to you."
She just stared at him, her eyes filled with desperation.
"Is this why you've been ignoring me all month?" he said quietly.
She looked down at the ground guiltily, still without a word. He studied her.
"Emily," he gently lifted her chin up. "Please, talk to me."
She just stared at him again, and he lowered his arm. She turned away from him, crossing her arms and looking out at the parking lot.
"I didn't want to believe it," she said. "It was so obvious... but I didn't want to face the facts. They say you can learn from your mistakes... well, I guess I didn't."
"This isn't your fault."
"Even if it wasn't... it was still irresponsible," she stared at the ground and said nothing for what felt like a long moment. "I can't get another abortion. I just... I can't."
When she looked back up, her eyes had filled with tears.
"Emily, I...'' he trailed off, a bit shocked at what she had just said, not knowing how to reply. He reached out to comfort her, tentatively putting a hand on her shoulder. When she didn't react, he gently guided her into his embrace. At first she did nothing, but after a moment she yielded to her emotions and wrapped her arms around him tightly, letting her tears pour out.
"What am I going to do," she cried helplessly.
"You're not doing this alone. It'll be okay," he whispered reassuringly. "I promise."
Reid emerged from his kitchen holding two steaming mugs of tea. He passed one to Emily and joined her on his living room couch.
"Thanks," she said before taking a long sip. The soothing peppermint tea relaxed her immediately.
"Reid, I am so sorry... I've been so awful to you... I didn't mean to be so rude... I was just so humiliated, and embarrassed, and—''
"Emily – please, it's okay. There's no need to apologize; I understand," he gave her a small smile. "But I need you to promise me one thing."
She eyed him suspiciously. "What?"
"No more stressing out. From now on."
Emily opened her mouth in protest. "Reid! I can't control what I get stressed about—'' she had started to go on, when Reid placed his hand on top of hers. She stopped talking abruptly, surprised at this sudden form of contact.
"Hey, just promise me you'll try... okay?"
"I promise," she said quietly, tearing her gaze away from his gentle hazel eyes.
"Thank you," he paused, withdrawing his hand. "Now, about the baby..."
Emily looked down, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. "I—I was thinking that maybe we should look into adoption..."
Reid studied her anxious expression. "Adoption?"
She nodded slowly, making shifty eye-contact. "Well, it would probably be the best option, right? I mean, we're both working full-time with dangerous jobs, and we're not together..."
When he said nothing, she continued.
"With adoption our child can grow up living in a safe home, with two parents who have enough time to look after them..."
Reid was still studying her carefully. "Is that what you want?"
She said nothing for what felt like a long time. "It's not really about what I want anymore. If that's what's best for my baby, then yes, that's what I want. It's the right thing to do."
After Emily had left, Reid was left alone to think. He still couldn't believe it. Emily Prentiss, pregnant, with his child. And they were putting it up for adoption... He shifted uncomfortably as he thought of his mother. She'll be disappointed that we're not keeping it... he thought with a sinking feeling in his stomach. But what was even worse, was the fact that Reid could swear that he was starting to have feelings for Emily... and he could tell that she didn't feel the same way.
It all seemed so bizarre to him. Normally, Emily was the toughest woman he knew. Most of the time, she was nearly void of emotion. But around him... all of that changed. When they were alone, he found her talkative, and, he wasn't sure, but... maybe even a bit flirty. Before that afternoon, Reid had never seen her shed as many as a few tears. But earlier in the parking lot, she had flat-out cried in his arms. He had somehow gotten her to open up to him...
He thought back to their conversation in his living room. He recalled her body language as the subject changed topics, her shiftiness, the nervous tone of her voice... Reid wasn't a profiler for nothing. If she was really sure about adoption, why had she sounded so uncertain? He had to get her to open up to him again. He had to make her feel more comfortable around him... but how?
Emily shut her apartment door behind her, and leaned against it for a moment, feeling slightly perplexed. There was somewhat of a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away.
She wandered into her bedroom and sat down on her bed in a trance-like state; still trying to process the recent events. Why did she always get this feeling around him? It was so strange; she just couldn't place it... She had never felt anything like it before...
Emily's train of thought was suddenly jolted to a halt when her doorbell rang. Confused, she got up to answer it, wondering who it could be.
She opened the door to find a concerned-yet-determined-looking Penelope Garcia.
"Oh, Pen, it's you..."
"Yes, it's me!" she exclaimed as she let herself inside the apartment, closing the door behind her. "Care to tell me what happened at work this morning?"
Her expression faltered. "Well, um... it's kind of a long story..." she said, looking slightly uneasy.
Penelope studied her for a moment. "I know what'll cheer you up!" she announced, marching off in the direction of the kitchen. "A nice glass of wine."
Oh no. Emily quickly followed her.
"Pen, that's really not necessary..."
"Em, trust me, it'll do ya some good."
"Penelope," she put her hand on her arm to stop her, looking her straight in the eye. "Really, I can't."
She looked at her questioningly.
"Trust me, I have my reasons."
"You, my dear, have a LOT of explaining to do."
She sighed, feeling a bit flustered. "I know."
Instead, Emily made her a coffee, and they sat down in her living room.
"So," Penelope started. "What's going on with you and Reid? You two have been acting pretty odd around each other lately, if you know what I mean."
She suddenly looked very uncomfortable again. "Well, um, like I said before... it's a bit of a long story."
"I've got time."
Emily looked up. She was completely serious. She looked back down at her hands, trying to figure out how she was going to explain this.
"Honey, I'm no profiler... but it's got to be damn obvious that something's up between you guys. So, spill."
Emily shut her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose and exhaling sharply, and then opened them again after a moment.
"Okay. It all started about a month ago, when Reid had that personal case in Las Vegas... I thought he was taking it pretty hard... I felt bad, and I invited him out for drinks... and..." she trailed off.
"And?" Penelope's eyebrows were raised suspiciously.
Her gaze shifted. "And... well... we kind of, um... did some stuff..."
Once she made the realization, her jaw nearly hit the floor. "Emily Prentiss – are you trying to tell me that you did the nasty with Dr. Spencer Reid?"
"Um...yeah," she looked down, feeling a bit mortified.
"Oh. My. Goodness! Emily how did you keep something like this from me for so long? I totally saw this coming!"
She looked at her with a bewildered expression on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on, don't play that card with me... it's so obvious that you have a thing for each other!"
"Penelope, please... I mean, we're talking about Reid here..."
"Emily, trust me. I know these things."
"I do not have a 'thing' for him..." she mumbled.
Penelope nodded, not looking too convinced. "Mhm. Sure. Whatever you say. I know a crush when I see one... and I have a feeling that there's a little bit more to this story."
Emily stared at her, stunned. "You really do know everything."
"They don't call me the oracle for nothing," she grinned. "Now quit changing the subject!"
"Okay, okay..." she exhaled again. "I'm just going to come right out and say it..." she paused again.
"Emily Prentiss, for the love of god, would you just spit it out already?"
"Okay, alright, fine. Um... I... I'm... I'm pregnant."
Penelope looked as if someone had just thrown a million dollars into her face.
"What! Emily! Oh my god, this is amazing! You're having a baby! And—'' she stopped short when she noticed her expression. "You're not happy. Sorry about the wine thing, by the way."
She stared at the floor. "I thought I'd learned my lesson when I was 15..." she hung her head in shame as an unexpected wave of grief suddenly came over her.
Penelope frowned in sympathy. "Oh, Em," she walked over and sat beside her. "You don't have to feel so ashamed. It's different now, you're an adult... you can afford a baby."
"It's not that I can't afford one... but honestly, Pen. Just think about it. I'm single, I work full-time with a dangerous job, I'd probably have to hire a nanny... the poor kid would feel neglected! And if anything ever happened to Reid or I..." she shook her head. "I can't, Pen. I just can't."
"Hotch and JJ seem to be managing just fine," she countered.
"Yeah, but... JJ has Will. Haley's a great mom, but Hotch doesn't get to see Jack as often as he'd like... And let's not forget that they were once happily married..." Emily buried her face in her hands. "Reid and I, we're just... it won't work out," she mumbled.
"Emily, quit bringing yourself down," she said, concerned. "I know you'd be a great mom. You know why? Because you're strong. And even though you hide it sometimes, you have a big heart. You'd do anything to protect the ones you love. And, about Reid... just give him a chance. I know he's young but he's still an adult, and he's not always treated like one... I know you know that. And I think he loves you, Em, I really think he does."
Emily stared off into space, trying to digest her words. Reid. Love me? No. No, that can't be true... he's young. Why would he even bother with me?
"I can't even tell if he's in love with me or not... for all I know I could be in love with him, too... I don't even know what love is!" she said, sulking. "And I'm supposed to be a profiler... right..."
"Well... how do you feel when you're around him?"
"When I'm with him we always have a good time... but whenever I think about him I get this weird, fluttery feeling in my stomach... I don't know why! Why are you staring at me like that?" Emily blurted, feeling a bit flustered again.
"Because," Penelope said, grinning. "You're definitely in love with him."
