The Face of Love: Chapter Eight

"I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up." Lauren Oliver

Emily Prentiss sat in front of the large vanity set staring at her own reflection noting that her curly long hair, her long lashes with the exact amount of mascara, and the red lipstick offsetting her porcelain skin. She was wearing a very elegant white, embroidered sundress with a pair of diamond rings. She looked absolutely stunning…just like one of those perfect model pictures; the only thing that was out of the ordinary was the sadness in her eyes. Those beautiful dark eyes only showed pain and sorrow. Emily breathed in attempting to calm herself, remembering the last time she felt like this, so empty and heartbroken, while her memories quickly traveled back like a time warp.

Fifteen-year-old Emily Prentiss sat in front of the full-length mirror in the room that once belonged to her in the luxury mansion of her parents. She looked at her reflection in that white taffeta ball gown that had a beautifully beaded satin bodice and dramatically layered tulle skirt. She was wearing pearl earrings and a necklace that was way too expensive for anyone her age to be wearing, along with satin, elbow-length gloves which made her feel like one of those porcelain dolls on display. Finally, her perfectly styled hair held a tiara with beading to further make her feel like a porcelain doll.

Emily felt if she had the opportunity to run away from the embarrassment, she would do it; she couldn't believe her mother was making her do this against her will. But, for Elizabeth Prentiss it had never mattered what Emily wanted; all her mother cared about was her reputation as a sophisticated ambassador. Emily turned when she heard the door open to see the sixteen-year-old boy wearing a tuxedo and tie and remarked.

"You look like the 'godfather." The younger girl stated laughingly.

"And you look like real royalty...forget Princess Diana..." The boy joked as he came to sit on her bed pulling a flask out of his suit. He took a large drink and handed the flask to the smiling teen. Emily drank from the flask and turned to look at the mirror again.

"You know what would be funny, if I was totally covered in blood and came downstairs like that." She opined, smiling evilly. "I would totally be the hero of the party, the Carrie of our time."

"You are deranged! "Matt said. "Come on, Em, just try to have fun tonight, not everything has to be such a tragedy." The boy huffed.

"You actually look very beautiful." He said, coming close to her kissing her cheek. This is your party, it's your special night."

"Right! A special night where my mother is auctioning me off to society."

"It's a debutant ball, Em." Matt Cruz laughed at his friend's exaggerated statement.

"Oh yeah, a ball where everyone is going to know I am officially open for business." Emily rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"You have everything you can possibly want" Matt said looking at her and then around her room. "Any other girl would kill to have this lifestyle…what else do you want." The boy inquired taking another drink from the flask.

"I want to be happy." She reiterated.

"You have everything you need to be happy!" He laughed ironically. "You have money, you are easily the most popular girl at school, and your parents are important ambassadors...this life is a dream, Em."

"Yeah, you're right." The teen said sadly as her eyes filled with tears. "It's a cage made out of diamonds."

Emily opened her eyes again, as her eyes started to burn. There really wasn't much difference between now and back when she was a teenager. All her life, she fought against her mother and everything her mother had ever required of her to escape the prison her house once was, only to be here many years later trapped in a world she was never sure she belonged to.

Just at that moment, Ian Doyle entered the room smiling at her and looking comfortable and smooth.

"Good morning, love?" He said as he walked in. "Did you sleep well?" He asked, stopping behind her and leaning forward to press a kiss on her cheek.

"You look marvelous" He said looking at her in the mirror.

"But, I think there's something missing." His coy smile making her feel nauseous. He pulled a jewelry box from his suit, opening it to reveal a delicately elegant sapphire necklace. Carefully taking it out of the box, he placed it around her neck, caressing her skin softly as he did. Emily fought the tears in her eyes again, just looking at him through the same mirror.

"There's a beautiful stone for an equally beautiful woman." This time, he placed a kiss near her lips and grabbed her hand pulling her up from the vanity. Emily slowly watched him as she faced him.

"Come on, love, the car is waiting." He announced.

"Where are we going?" She asked, feeling a knot form in her stomach.

"It's a surprise." Ian replied and took her hand leading her from the room.

Emily just followed him unable to say anything else; at this moment, nothing else mattered to her. The truth was Ian could do whatever he wanted with her and she wouldn't even care. She not only lost her kids and husband, she had also lost her entire soul, her desire to live and everything else…it was like suddenly she was dead inside.

Across the country in Washington D.C., Dave sat at the small kid's table. He couldn't believe the extraordinary Dave Rossi was now seated at a child's play table, and with a beaded necklace around his neck, playing tea party; he smirked as the little girl handed him one of the dolls and smiled, pleased with herself.

"Now, we have to feed the dolls." Violet stated as if it was something very important.

"Do we?' Dave asked amused.

"Mhhm, and you have to rock them to sleep, too." She pointed out handing him a small doll blanket.

JJ walked into the room and started laughing at the image in front of her. She wished she hadn't left her phone downstairs...this image right there was worth a million dollars for years of teasing the Italian man.

"Wow, Dave!" She said, laughing, "You really have gone soft, if only the team could see you."

"Hush!" Dave hissed, standing up from the table. "You tell anyone about this, and we will never be friends again." The older man placed the doll on the end of Violet's bed and turned around to face the little girl.

"Come on, Tesoro, let's give uncle Dave a break." He picked the girl up in his arms and said, "Let's go see what aunty JJ made us for dinner."

The three of them headed downstairs and walked into the kitchen where JJ took Violet and let Dave set the table.

Aaron had called Dave the night before when he had found Emily had abandoned them, and now, he and JJ were trying to help with Violet and supporting Aaron in whatever he needed. They could simply not believe what happened the night before. For JJ, this was still a bad dream, one she was hoping to wake up from soon and hug her best friend. Dave was more realistic…he knew he had to be the main support for Aaron and make sure he didn't lose his mind and reasoning. This kind of situation was always hard, he knew so by experience since he had been married and divorced three times. He knew exactly how Aaron was feeling, and the only thing he could do was be there for him and be an emotional support. So, here they were, he and JJ, watching Violet for Aaron at his house while Aaron arranged matters at the BAU and brought clothes and stuff from his apartment. It seemed to make more sense for Hotch to live at his own apartment and not face the emptiness his old house gave him, but it was the only house Violet had ever known, and he wanted to stay there for his daughter's sake. He still had not told their daughter about Emily…the truth was, he wasn't sure he could do it.

As they got comfortable in the kitchen, Hotch came through he door looking more tired and older than Dave had ever seen him. Dave knew exactly how much this was affecting his best friend; Hotch had been able to recover from his failed marriage with Haley, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to recover from this.

"Hey guys, thank you for staying here." He placed his briefcase on one of the kitchen stools at the same time Violet bounced from JJ's lap to her father's arms.

"Daddy!" Violet hugged him and clung to him. Aaron closed his eyes as he held Violet close.

"Hi, sweetheart." He said hugging her tightly.

"Daddy, when is mommy coming home?" Violet suddenly asked looking at her father with sad eyes. Hotch looked at Dave and then at JJ unable to say anything. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell Violet and Jack that Emily had left them.

"Hey, Vi, come here...why don't we finish dinner, and then we can build that puzzle." JJ said, reaching over in an attempt to take Violet from her dad's arms.

"But, I want to stay with daddy." She pouted.

"JJ, it's okay." Hotch said, holding Violet and looking at her. "How about you watch a movie while daddy showers, then I can help you build the puzzle." He suggested.

"Okay, daddy." Violet answered as she rested her head on her daddy's shoulder. Hotch turned to look at his two friends. "Thank you so much for doing this." He had no words to even explain how grateful he was feeling.

"Aaron, go shower...we can stay a little longer." Dave suggested kindly.

"Thank you, Dave, just five more minutes." Aaron said, heading out of the kitchen.

"Just take your time, don't worry." JJ added watching him go up the stairs. She turned to look at Dave with her eyes glistening while shaking her head.

"Tell me, what mother just leaves her child like that!?" She stated, angered.

"Jennifer, you don't know what motives she had." Dave cautioned.

"What motives, Dave?" She questioned angrily. "She literally had everything...the most kind and loving man, a perfect life, who leaves that to go be with someone else?"

"How do you know she's not in trouble, or something bad is happening to her?"

"Come on, Dave, don't be naïve." JJ yelled at him exasperated. "She left him a letter…she clearly is perfectly fine!"

"We don't know that." He said in a warning tone. "You call yourself a profiler, but you can't even pull one up for your best friend." He glared at her, and JJ just rolled her eyes.

"The only thing I know is that she left her daughter behind, that doesn't make any sense."

"None of it does, JJ." The older profiler explained. "Do you really know Emily? There is nothing she wouldn't do for those kids." Dave reminded her. "She's one of the most devoted mothers I've ever known...this isn't like the Emily we know."

"Honestly, I don't even know who she really is." Said JJ, leaving the kitchen and going to check on Violet.

Rossi closed his eyes tiredly. He knew everyone was going through a very rough time, especially Aaron, but Dave refused to believe that Emily would just take off and abandon his daughter and husband for no reason, especially not for another man. He was almost certain something bad was happening to her, and he was going to find out what no matter what he had to do…he couldn't let Aaron and the team lose hope in their friend and the closest thing he ever had to a daughter.

After he left Aaron's house, Dave headed back to Quantico. He had some paperwork he needed to complete from a few cases. Maybe he could investigate what was going on with Emily and maybe find leads or clues that could help him discover why she had left and where she had gone. He spent a few hours in his office focusing on the files he was working on, but he was really unable to concentrate on anything, he simply couldn't stop thinking about Emily. He had a bad feeling, he knew something was going on because he knew there was no way in the world Emily had left of her own free will.

Taking advantage of the fact that he was in Quantico, Dave headed to the eleventh floor where the Counter-Terrorism unit was located. The entire floor was quiet and solitary, and the only noises he could hear were a few computers nearby that had been left on. He slowly made his way to Emily's office hoping to find anything that could help him. Dave hated going through a friend's personal life, but maybe if he could profile Emily, he could really find out what happened with her.

Her office was just as neat if not more so than his own office, nothing seemed to be out of place. The large bookcase along one wall held her collection of books and a few awards she had received in her years with the F.B.I. Her desk was painstakingly in order, no files out of place or pens lying around where they didn't belong. There was a medium-size metal frame that held a picture of the Hotchner's that had been taken at a park somewhere. Emily and Aaron both were sitting on the grass with Emily resting against Hotch's chest, Violet on her lap, and Jack standing behind them hugging both. Everyone was wearing jeans and a red sweater. It was a beautiful picture, one of his favorites of the family; and also hanging from the picture frame was a small medal of St Joseph…Dave knew the religious meaning of that medal. He knew St Joseph was considered the protector of families and homes. It obviously had a special meaning to Emily if it was hanging around a picture of her family.

He continued checking through her desk drawers and her computer hoping to find anything that would lead them to find why Emily had left the way she did. He almost jumped out of the chair when the door opened, and Cruz entered the room looking at him with questioning eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Dave quickly jumped and asked the Deputy Director.

"I could ask the same for you, Agent Rossi." Matt glared back. "What are you doing here this late?'

"I'm picking something up for Agent Hotchner." He quickly lied, and by the look on Cruz's face, he knew very well the Deputy Director didn't believe a word he was saying.

"Right! How is Emily feeling?" Cruz asked not averting his gaze from Dave.

"Emily?" Dave quirked his eyebrows in confusion.

"I know she's been sick these past few days, I wanted to see if she needed anything, but she isn't really returning my calls." Cruz explained still scrutinizing the older profiler.

"I'm not really sure." Dave lied again for lack of anything else to say, he wasn't sure what Hotch was planning to tell the Bureau about Emily.

"Look, can you ask her to call me please, it's urgent." Cruz said worriedly. "I need her to sign some documents, and I have some important information to relay to her."

"What kind of information?" Dave questioned, narrowing his eyes at the Deputy Director.

"With all due respect, Agent Rossi, that's confidential information between Agent Prentiss and the Bureau." Matt lied.

"Look, Cruz, I'm not going to beat around the bush anymore, okay?" Dave stated standing up. "You know where Emily is, right?" He accused.

"What!?" Matt said, really surprised. "What are you talking about!?"

"Let's not fool around anymore, you know very well Emily left Hotch, now tell me where she is!" Dave had a very strong feeling Cruz knew exactly where Emily was.

"Wait, Emily left Agent Hotchner? When?" His face showed real surprise this time.

"Last night, she left a bogus note that she had found love with someone else." Dave said, walking toward Cruz. "I was here trying to find anything that could help explain why left like that."

"Oh God." Matt said closing his eyes.

"What?" Dave asked realizing the fear in Cruz's eyes. "What's going on?"

"She didn't leave him for someone else." Matt said, looking at Dave worriedly.

"She's in danger, and we need to find her as quickly as possible." Cruz rushed out of the office followed by a very concerned Dave Rossi.

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.

-Elvis Presley