The Face of Love: Chapter Seven

"Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat It." ― Chuck Palahniuk

Emily rode the cab from the airport to her destination; she gazed out the window as she watched the city pass by, a city she had not visited in years. Not for fun anyway…she remembered a few years ago when the team was called to a case near Lake Tahoe in Nevada. She had wanted to go and visit her grandfather's cabin for years, but she never did, and she simply didn't know why. She always had been the kind of person who ran away from the things, no, not because she was irresponsible, but throughout her life, she had realized there were things that were simply not worth her time and effort. It wasn't that Lake Tahoe particularly brought her bad memories, it was just that they were painful, and Emily Prentiss didn't cry, she had not allowed herself to cry in a very long time. She closed her eyes for a moment as fond memories filtered through her mind.

A seven-year-old Emily Prentiss was running around the forest filled with snow, old strong man behind her. They had been out to find the perfect Christmas tree, and Emily was happy and carefree and without a troubled thought in her mind. This was probably one of her favorite seasons of the year maybe because it was literally one of the very few times in her life she saw her entire family together enjoying each other's company. Even the ambassador who always traveled around the world and was always too busy to be worried about Emily's well-being, was also there. Of course, Emily didn't mind when her mother was away, for her usually meant she could be herself; she couldn't even count the number of babysitters she'd had up to this point. But, being in this particular place was just about her favorite thing to do and place to be. She always enjoyed the cold weather and snow. Her grandfather's cabin was absolutely gorgeous, and they spent almost every day hunting and playing outside in the snow, only to go back home, light a fire, and then, she would listen to her grandfather tell her the most amazing stories she had ever heard. The old man called to her as he dragged the very tall white spruce around the cabin.

"Piccola, not so fast, wait for grandpa!" Gregory Prentiss called the girl, and she turned around and ran back toward him…her big dark brown eyes focusing on his as she smiled, her alabaster skin flushed from the cold.

"Come on, Nonno." Seven-year-old Emily called, laughing. "We still have to set up the Christmas tree." She yelled with excitement.

Emily rushed inside the cabin and ran up the stairs as Gregory Prentiss laughed, bringing the beautiful tree inside the house and setting it by the fireplace. In a few seconds, she came running down the stairs with an angel figurine made of carved wood, one that Gregory Prentiss carved for her when she was only two years old.

"I found it, Nonno." Emily said happily, handing the angel to her grandfather. He smiled and lifted the little girl up, so she could place the angel on the top of the tree.

Emily opened her eyes again as the taxi came to a stop, and she looked out the window at the beautiful cabin that she used to dream about. Now, that same place seemed terrifying and frightening; she paid the cab driver and stepped out of the cab walking up the long driveway, gradually becoming aware of the many black trucks around the house. Two tall men dressed in black met her both reaching for their guns. Suddenly, the front door of the cabin opened, and Doyle called them.

"Gentiluomo metti via le pistole, è la nostra ospite d'onore." He called out to the guards to let her in. Emily just watched him stand there smiling at her like she had never seen him smile.

"Hello, love." He smiled as he made his way down the steps to meet her, "Welcome home."

"You wanted me back, right? Here I am." She said through clenched teeth.

Emily knew if she was going to do this, she would have to absolutely never show him any fear. Ian just smiled and placed his hand on her back feeling her tense as she followed him inside.

Emily stepped in looking around the house with a small flashback running through her mind of her seven-year-old-self running around the house.

"I tried to make sure the house was exactly the way your grandfather left it." Doyle told her proudly.

"Why are you doing this here? Is this your way of punishing me?" She glared irritated.

"Emily, love, I want nothing except to make you the happiest woman alive." He said looking at her in adoration…she just smirked.

"Making me come to this cabin against my will is a way to prove your love for me?" She queried, looking at him with venom in her eyes.

"Oh no, love, there you're wrong, I didn't make you come; I could have taken you off the street and brought you here by force at any time." He assured her. "It was you who decided to come here all on your own, and that only proves to me that maybe you still love me, after all." Emily smirked angrily at him...she knew she needed to control her anger if she wanted to be able to take him down at some point.

"I didn't come here on my own, you killed someone to blackmail me into coming here...that's not love, that's torture, Ian." She barked.

"Oh, come on, Emily, you killed my son, someone had to pay for that."

"Jackie was innocent, Ian, she did nothing to you."

"So was Declan and that didn't stop you from killing him!" He warned. "Now, let's take a small tour around the house, shall we?" He grabbed her hand and tried to kiss her cheek, but she recoiled looking away from him.

"Your room is upstairs, of course, until you're ready to stay with me in my bed." he said while caressing her cheek and making her shiver in disgust.

"Why did you bring me here to this house?" She asked maintaining her glare and as much distance as she could away from him. "Is this part of your demented obsession with me?"

"Come on, love, you're giving me zero credit here." He replied, hurt. "When we were in Tuscany together you told me once that your favorite childhood memories were in this house." He explained. "I just wanted to make you happy again, I want to make you love me again."

"You really are deranged!" She exclaimed sadly, unable to believe what he was doing; all she could do was keep repeating to herself that she was doing this to save her kids. She was doing this for Violet and Jack; and for Aaron.

"Why don't I take you upstairs…" Doyle smiled pleasantly showing her the way upstairs.

She followed him, hesitant because part of her was still terrified he was just playing with her and any minute he would snap and torture her, or maybe even kill her; she truly wasn't sure what he was capable of anymore. Emily had no hope, of course…she knew very well that she was going to die, and she had already prepared for that. She only hoped Aaron could forgive her and make the children happy and safe in her memory.

When Emily walked into the one of the large suites at the cabin, she was almost speechless. The room had been designed with such similar tastes as hers; she would have picked many of the furnishings in the room. The king-size canopy bed made of dark cherry wood was in an antique design. The fluffy, elegant bedding and mounds of pillows were exactly the way she liked. There was a small fireplace which gave the room a cozy feel; the large windows looked toward the mountains with one of the most beautiful views she had ever seen; it also contained a large bookcase with almost every book Emily had ever read, and lastly, a very elegant, expensive-looking arm chair. The room was so like the one she had shared with Ian when she was in Tuscany with him as Lauren, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I'll leave you to yourself, so you can get comfortable, love." Ian said politely. "You have everything you need in this room, but if you want anything else, just tell me and it's yours." He stood at the doorframe looking at her.

"One more thing, I left you a dress on the bed for you to wear for dinner tonight, it's just your taste." He smiled smoothly leaving and closing the door.

She spotted the dress lying on the bed, a red strapless, floor length gown, with a pair of red 4-inch heels, and next to that was a long velvet box that held a very expensive diamond necklace. Emily was certain it was the same price as the cabin if not more. This wasn't exactly the kind of welcome she had expected from him; for some reason, she had expected him to lock her in a basement and submit her to some twisted kind of torture and abuse, or for him to shoot her as soon as she arrived. God, she didn't even know how many tragic scenarios she had played out in her head about the kind of welcome that was awaiting her, all of them as gory and violent as the next one. But, she wasn't expecting any of this. It was then she realized that maybe just maybe he truly wanted her back in his life, he truly did expect for her to be his lover again and share a life with him. For some reason, that possibility scared her even more than him actually killing her in the most violent possible way.

Emily looked around the room once again at the elegant and expensive furniture, the large walk-in closet already filled with very expensive designer clothes for a female, another small closet filled with many shoes. As Emily would never have imagined, all the same style and colors she would have worn. She spotted the dresser that also held an antique jewelry holder. Emily walked over to the dresser touching with her fingertips, and then she opened the jewelry box...just as she had imagined, it was full of expensive diamonds, antique and gold jewelry, portraying the kind of life Emily would have had with her mother, with everything any other woman would have dreamed of, any day of their lives. She dropped on the bed looking around again, feeling emptier and more alone than ever in her life. She grabbed on the pillow on the perfectly soft bed and hugged it to her, breaking down for the very first time in a while and sobbing uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, back in D.C., Aaron was driving Violet back home; Emily had asked him earlier in the day to pick up Violet after school, claiming she had an emergency to take care of. She never explained what the emergency was, all he knew was that she had left the office very early during the day and never returned. Even Matt Cruz was trying to get in touch with her, but it seemed that whatever she was doing was keeping her from answering calls from anyone. He had tried calling her himself a few times to discuss when to drop Violet off, but she never answered his messages nor his calls.

The truth was she had been acting like this for a few weeks now; they already had a very rocky relationship after their divorce, but now, it seemed as if she was avoiding him completely, something that really bothered him. Just a few weeks ago, Aaron had spent the night with her…'really spent the night with her,' and they had made love and spent the entire night in each other's arms. He was shocked that night when he offered to take her home after having dinner after the case they had been working, and she said yes. At first, he really wanted to blame the liquor, but he knew that night between them was way more than a few glasses of alcohol. She had even admitted that she still loved him when they were in such an intimate moment dancing the same dance they had being doing since they started their relationship; he was hopeful. He really thought they would finally work their differences out and get back together, at least, that was what she had make him feel that night.

His heart was broken when he woke up the following morning to find her gone from the house. Not a message, not a note, nothing…she was in such a rush to leave before he woke up that she had taken a cab given that her car was still at Quantico. After that night, Emily talked to him very little, and when he attempted to speak to her, she just told him that night should never had happened. Then she went back to ignoring him and pretending nothing ever happened between them; the only thing they discussed was Violet.

So, when she called him that morning asking him to pick up Violet and watch her for a few hours after work, he couldn't say no. He could hear the desperation in her voice, although he wasn't even sure what had happened. He pulled up in front of the house calling her once again to tell her he was outside with their child, and once again her phone went straight to voicemail. He sighed, aggravated, and proceeded to get out of the car helping out his daughter who seemed tired and ready for bed. He rang the doorbell several times until he thought she had fallen asleep.

"Where's mommy?" Violet questioned also realizing no one was opening the door.

"I don't know, baby." Hotch responded using the key he still had to the house to let himself and Violet in.

"Emily, we're here..." He called, but the house was dark, and no one seemed to be there. Violet dropped her school bag on the floor and headed up the stairs in search of the brunette.

"Mommy, we're here." She called in her innocent little voice. "Where are you, mommy."

Hotch looked around the kitchen, Emily wasn't there either; it wasn't until he opened the door that led to the garage when he realized her car wasn't even at the house. Angrily, he shook his head and pulled out his phone again.

"Emily, where are you?" He proceeded to leave a voicemail. "It's late and Violet is tired...are you going to be home soon, or should I take Violet home with me for the night?" He hung up the phone the second Violet walked back in the kitchen looking sad and about to cry, it was way past her bedtime.

"Mommy isn't upstairs." she said with a trembling lip.

"I know, baby...she is just running a bit late." Hotch knelt in front of his daughter "Do you want daddy to help you take a shower and get ready for bed." He asked trying to comfort her.

"No, I'm tired, I just want my mommy." Violet cried as a few tears formed in her sweet, innocent eyes.

"I know, sweetheart, I know, come on, let's put you to bed." He said lifting her in his arms and taking her upstairs.

It took him a very long-time getting Violet to sleep given that she wanted her mother to tuck her in. Hotch was really angry at that moment...it was past ten and Emily wasn't home yet. If she was going to be out and about, she could have at least told him, so he could keep Violet with him for the night. He sighed, making his way out of his daughter's room and heading downstairs attempting to call her once again and getting her voicemail for the hundredth time that day.

Where in the hell was she at this time of night? What could be more important than being home with her daughter and putting her to bed? He walked back to the foyer to look out the front door to see if he could spot her car approaching the house. It was then when he realized there was an envelope on the table in the foyer next to the little basket they usually dropped the car keys and other stuff in. The letter was addressed to him, and he immediately recognized her smooth calligraphy.

Aaron:

I am sorry I must do this with a letter; I just don't think I could do it facing you. I've reached a point in my life where I am simply not happy anymore. I never meant to hurt you, but this isn't what I want; maybe our relationship was a mistake to begin with. I'm really sorry and please understand I never wanted any of this. I've met someone else, someone who makes me happy, and I just have to do this for myself. I trust you will watch after Violet and Jack, you are such a good dad. I just can't do this anymore. I'm really so sorry.

Emily

He finished reading the letter feeling with a sharp pain in his chest; this couldn't be happening, this had to be a bad dream. He went upstairs as quickly as he could and without waking his daughter up, he abruptly opened the door to the room they once shared as couple. His quick steps leading him to the drawers, where he noticed some of her clothes were gone, and so was one of her suitcases. He reached down to the safe, opening it frantically and realizing her passport was gone as well. He finally spotted the small velvet box on the bed and grabbed it, finding her engagement ring and wedding band inside. This could not be real; she would never do that to him, not to his kids, not to Violet.

"Goddam you, Emily." He shouted angrily, grabbing one of the portraits on the nightstand, a picture of their wedding, and tossing across the room angrily.

"How could you do this?" He said furiously, talking to the room. "How could you do this to me! What kind of mother walks on her daughter like that?" He finally felt the angry tears begin to fall down his cheeks.

He never would have guessed this would happen to him again, not after everything Haley had put him through. He had sworn the day Haley walked out on him that he would never, ever fall in love again, he would never allow anyone else close enough to hurt him. Goddam Emily Prentiss and everything she ever meant in his life. He wished he had never met her or laid his eyes on her. He would regret the day he fell in love with her the rest of his life. He wasn't sure how long he was awake thinking about everything and cursing all his memories with her, wishing none of them had ever happened. Eventually, he fell asleep with only one thing on his mind…no matter what he had to do, he would put her out of his heart…it was a promise to God and his sweet Violet.

Betrayal can be extremely painful, but it's up to you how much that pain damages you permanently. - Emily Gordon