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Chapter Seven:
Reid was holding a child-rearing book in his lap on the plane ride home from Houston, but he wasn't reading it. He looked out the window, lost in thought.
Prentiss approached him.
"You okay?" she asked
"I'm fine," Reid said.
"Really?" she said.
"I don't know," he said putting his book away.
"Carl Digges made some nasty threats, but he can't hurt you," she said.
"That is what we thought about Cat Adams and Peter Lewis," he said.
"This will be different," Prentiss said. "Everyone who has posed a threat to you is in a super-max."
"That is no guarantee though," Reid said. "I just don't feel as safe as I used to even three years ago after the replicator."
"Are you thinking about leaving the field?" she asked.
"It has occurred to me," he said. "But then I think of all the lives I've saved and how leaving the field means Cat Adams and every other unsub we've apprehended has won. I can't let my life be controlled by them."
"You sound conflicted still," she said.
"I know."
"Just know then that we will support your decision, one hundred percent, no matter what," Prentiss said.
"Thanks, Emily," he said. "I needed to hear that."
"Its what friends are for," she said and left him to his thoughts again.
…
When Clara was due in less than two months, Reid decided to start interviewing nannies with Garcia running background checks. He'd be taking six weeks off after her birth, but then needed someone to look after her while he was at work.
"I have culled the list down from twenty to five," she reported. "All are squeaky-clean and have looked after children before."
Reid found the process to be difficult. He wanted one who would be capable of protecting his daughter while also have a nurturing spirit. One woman admired his security but said little about how she would engage with Clara. Another was outright terrified of the idea of an intruder despite being a master of several forms of martial arts. A woman with a degree in social work seemed like a good fit until she started asking too many questions about the mother. There was also a woman who did a tour of duty in Iraq who thought his house needed further safeguards and kept suggesting probabilities such as that of a bombing. The woman who was a former nurse sounded promising until she described how she carried a knife with her at all times after a home invasion. The final candidate just wanted to hit on Reid.
This left him frustrated at the end. He wasn't sure he'd be able to find someone to look after his daughter.
Then a call came out of the blue. Reid never imagined he would see her again except in passing. But he was delighted when he did.
…
"I love the new place," Alex Blake said as she walked in. "It still feels very you."
"Thanks," he said and led her to his office.
He gestured for her to take a seat.
"So how did you find out about this job opportunity?" he asked.
"Sarah Michaels is friend of mine," she said. "I based one of my articles on the languages of Iraq off her experiences. She told me she was applying a job to be a nanny to this genius FBI agent and she was afraid of messing it up."
Reid didn't say anything.
"She scared you off with disaster preparedness skills, didn't she?" Blake said with a sigh.
"I don't want someone who is constantly looking for threats that she forgets to enjoy time with my daughter," he said.
"I understand and I think Sarah sees how she messed up the interview. You two just weren't a match."
There was a pause in the conversation.
"Let's get down to brass tacks with what you really want to know," she said. "I'm back at GWU because it felt more like home than Harvard and I butted heads with the new department chair. James and I got a divorce last year because he and I just couldn't get on the same page about anything anymore and that is all I will say. I want to be your child's nanny because I want to protect him or her in ways no one else can. I have seen a therapist about some of my issues and feel fully qualified for the job."
Reid sat back.
"My first inclination is to say yes but first I should ask you a few questions."
"As expected," she said with a smile.
…
"So, Alex Blake is part of the 'team' again," Rossi said. "I think that is a good thing."
"This is still such a thing as a happy coincidence," Prentiss said. "Now back to business."
"What did Cat Adams say to you?" Rossi asked.
"She tried to control the conversation," she said. "She kept asking questions. Demanded to know the name of the baby. Made all sorts of empty threats about what she could do to her in six weeks."
"You're sure they're empty?" Rossi said.
"She's been put on suicide watch as a precaution," she said. "I also think she wanted to see if she could get under my skin with some of her comments."
"Did she?"
"No," Prentiss said firmly. "I just can't wait for her to give birth."
"I agree wholeheartedly," Rossi said.
