Emily cautiously approached the room that Hotch had just exited from and tentatively knocked on the door. Hearing the 'come in' from the judge, she took a deep breath and entered to find an elderly man with a rather long grey beard sitting behind a desk. She fleetingly thought of Dumbledore, before pushing the thought from her mind and introducing herself. Taking a seat, she waited nervously for the third degree to begin. The judge eyed her for a moment before speaking.
"You can relax. I'm not here to torture you." Emily chuckled a little at this and actually felt the knots in her stomach unwind a bit. "I will have to ask you some personal questions, but I'm just here to find the best solution for Amanda. Alright?" Emily nodded her head, but didn't say anything.
"Well first things first. The ambassador informed me that you have a steady job and the finances to take care of Amanda. Is that right?"
Emily nodded her head again. "Yes, I work with the FBI in the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Actually, Aaron Hotchner, the godfather, is my supervisor."
"Yes, he informed me of that when I spoke with him. He speaks highly of you. It's clear he thinks you could provide a good home for Amanda." Emily didn't know what to say to that, and although she was pleased, she was also slightly embarrassed at his praise and felt her cheeks redden a bit.
"So what about living arrangements? What kind of housing do you currently have?" Emily explained about her two-bedroom apartment and how she could easily convert the spare bedroom into a bedroom for Amanda.
The judge questioned her about virtually every aspect of her life: her job and her working hours, how often she was away, her lifestyle and social habits, her neighbors and neighborhood, her previous experience with taking care of children, etc. Half an hour later, the interview seemed to be drawing to a close, but there was still one subject that he wanted to know about – the one that Emily felt least prepared to answer.
"So Agent Prentiss, I've been informed that you were unaware that you even had a sister until two days ago. Is this correct?"
"Yes."
"And so you never met Jenna or Steven Davis and before today you'd never met Amanda?"
"Right."
"So then tell me Agent Prentiss, why are you so interested in adopting a girl you'd never even met before? A daughter of two people that you never had any sort of relationship with before?"
Emily pondered this question, wondering how to put into words the way she was feeling about this whole situation, how to explain that she already loved the girl even before she met her and wanted what was best for her.
Searching for the right words, Emily slowly started to explain. "You know, growing up I had always wanted a sibling. I've lived all over the world due to my mother's various assignments and even though it shaped me into who I am today, all I really longed for was some sort of permanence in my life, some sort of stability, and someone that I could rely on to always be there. Finding out that I did actually have a sister, all along, and then finding out that she had died and I would never get the chance to meet her – well, in a way, I guess I feel like I was cheated out of that relationship. Or well, at least cheated out of a chance to have a relationship with her. I don't have a lot of family, and really it's just down to me and my mother now, and I don't see her that often. But family is important to me. And I don't think that I could live, knowing that there was this girl out there who was my family and never have a chance at a relationship with her. And knowing that she needs someone to take her in, I could never turn my back on her. I want to be the one that she knows as family, the one that offers her stability and love and a good home after everything she's lost in the past few days. I don't want to lose out on another family member. I've already lost my chance at having a sister. I don't want to lose my chance at having a niece, too."
By the time she was finished explaining, Emily was only just barely holding back the tears again, and wondering when she had all of a sudden become such an emotional wreck – or at the very least one of those persons who puts their heart out there for everyone to see…and break.
The judge didn't comment on her last statement, just thanked her for her time and informed her that he would see her later along with everyone else after speaking with Amanda.
