Welcome back all. It was good to see the positive response to last weeks. Again, much appreciated. Well I hate to say this but this is the second to last chapter. It wrapped up much quicker than I thought it would but stories will dictate their own length and I'm not going to stuff it with filler just to make it longer. That said the next one is already in the works. I believe I have at least four chapters done already. Ain't that sweet? Now go, read and enjoy.
Detective Nyland and entourage pounded down the basement stairs like a herd of stampeding buffalo. Of course when the medics tried to approach Emily and tend to her injuries, she redirected them to the victim, stating that the woman needed them more than she did.
Derek arched a concerned eyebrow. "Prentiss, you need to get checked out. You took a nasty header down the stairs."
She laid her hand on his knee. "I know and I will, Morgan. I promise."
"You're not going to fight me on this?" he asked, disbelief echoing in his voice.
"No."
He let out a low whistle. "You must have hit your head harder than I originally had thought. Normally she doesn't like going to the hospital," he explained to the detective who was watching their interaction with an amused smile on his lips.
Emily made a face. "I just want to get things wrapped up here first. Then you can drive me there."
They all paused as two officers guided the now conscious but woozy Greene over to the stairs. The medics carrying the latest victim on a portable stretcher followed them.
"Why don't I take your statement now?" Nyland volunteered. "Then you can head to the hospital."
"Sounds good to me," she agreed.
Derek chuckled. "Yup. Definitely not my normal Prentiss," he remarked, earning another glare from Emily.
Detective Nyland was impressed with how well the two agents meshed as a team. It was a working relationship he wished he had with some of his former partners.
"Agent Prentiss, would you like me to find a chair or a stool for you to sit on?" he asked solicitously.
Emily gave it some thought. "I think I'll stay where I'm at. The floor is quite comfortable."
In actuality it wasn't. But her whole body had started to ache in time with her already throbbing head and shoulder. The less moving she did before she actually had to get up, the better.
"Okay," Nyland said and settled awkwardly on the floor. He glanced at Derek. "I need to speak to Agent Prentiss alone."
"Of course," Derek said. He got up and went to watch the crime scene techs crawl all over the hidden room.
The detective nodded to Emily as he pulled out his notebook. He flipped it open to a blank page and proceeded to slowly and deliberately take her through her version of the events. When they were done, he gave her an appreciative smile.
"Thank you, Agent. I'll have your statement ready for your signature tomorrow," he said, having a strong feeling they weren't heading home tonight.
"You're welcome," she said with a smile of her own.
He rose stiffly to his feet. I'm not built for sitting on the floor, he thought ruefully. "I'll let Agent Morgan get you to the hospital."
That was Derek's cue to return. He held out his hand to his partner. "You ready to go, Trouble?"
Emily sighed. She really didn't want to get up. "Not really."
He arched an eyebrow. "Remember that you promised."
She blew out a breath and brushed her hair off her face. "So I did," she agreed.
Emily took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She couldn't help but groan when her sore muscles protested. Derek wrapped his free arm around her waist when she swayed in place.
"You okay?" he asked, worry wrinkling his brow. "Maybe we should send for another ambulance."
"I'm fine, Morgan. Relax," she said somewhat testily.
He nodded. When he tried to help her up the stairs, Emily stiffened. She shrugged off his hands. "I can walk by myself," she said with a glare.
He backed off with a grin on his face. "Ah ha! There's the stubborn Prentiss I know and love. I was wondering where she had gone to."
She turned and leveled a withering gaze at him. "Shut up, Morgan," she retorted. "Now get your ass into gear." That said, Emily grasped the handrail and slowly made her way up the stairs under her own steam.
"Yes, Ma'am," he said with a chuckle and hurried to catch up with his wounded best friend.
It seemed like forever to Derek before he was finally allowed to see Emily. When he walked into the examination room, she was reclining back against the pillows and staring at the ceiling. She was dressed in a hospital gown and wore a resigned look on her face. He knocked lightly on the doorframe to announce his presence.
She looked over, her eyes lighting up in recognition. "Hey."
He smiled. "Hey back at you."
The smile in her eyes faded. "How is the other woman?" she asked immediately.
Derek settled into the room's only chair. "Her name is Annette Veasey and she should be fine with time."
She nodded and resumed her study the ceiling, knowing exactly what he had meant. She would heal physically but it would take time to heal mentally.
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "So what's the verdict?"
Emily looked back at him with a half smile on her lips. "The good news is that the x-rays and CT scan both came back normal. I didn't break the collarbone again nor was there any ligament damage in the shoulder. It's just bruised so I'm back to wearing the sling all the time."
She held up the arm to show him and instantly regretted it when pain shot down the limb. She eased it back down to lie on her chest, trying not to grimace. Derek winced in sympathy.
"And your noggin?" he asked.
"No concussion; just a hangover type headache. I've got a nice goose egg on the back of my head."
Derek nodded. "And the bad news?"
Emily sighed heavily and ran her hand along the sling. "Because I can't remember if I had lost consciousness or not and that it's the second blow to the head in three months, they're keeping me overnight for observation."
"Bummer," he said, secretly glad that they were. She hadn't looked to steady on her legs earlier when she had walked out to the car. "How did they find out about your previous concussion?"
"I made the mistake of mentioning that I was under the care of another doctor," she said and scrunched up her face in annoyance.
Derek repressed a chuckle, not wanting to have a laugh at her expense. Though the look currently on her face was priceless. "I take it that they called her?"
"That would be a yes. And as earlier predicted, Dr. Barrett was not a happy camper. She's the one who ordered the observation and recommended to them to use restraints if I refused to stay put," she groused.
This time he did chuckle. "I think you've met your match in the good doctor." Emily snorted. "So when are they moving you to your room?"
"As soon as they find an available bed. I guess the computer system is down."
"Well I just hang out with you until they do," he said and leaned back, trying to get comfortable in the hard chair.
Emily, who had let her gaze drift back up to the ceiling during their talk, locked her eyes on him. The hand rubbing the sling stopped. "No. You need to go back to the police station and find out why he killed those women."
"I don't think I should leave you right now," he protested, his desire to protect her overrode any other concerns.
Emily's eyes narrowed. "I don't need you watching over me while I sleep which I plan on doing as soon as I get rid of you."
"Emily—"
"I'm fine, Derek. Go do your job," she insisted. "I'll still be here when you get done."
Derek sighed and slowly got to his feet. "Okay. I'll go. I'll see you later."
She nodded. "As I said before, I'll be here." Emily made a shooing motion with her good hand. "Now scoot or I'll throw something else at you that is harder than the snowball."
He laughed and pretended to protect his head. "I'm going," he said with a smile. "Bye, Trouble."
"Bye, my royal pain in the butt."
Emily waited for him to fully leave the room before she reached up to rub her forehead. Her headache was still with her but the pounding was lessening. Before Derek had walked in, the nurse had administered some painkillers. Normally she hated what they did to her; they mucked up her mind and dulled her reflexes. And when the meds were really strong, she was down for the count. The only benefit of being knocked out, besides not feeling the pain, was that she didn't dream. And right now she could use some more nightmare free sleep. The medication must have started to kick in because she could feel the lethargy settling into her bones. She yawned and closed her eyes, letting herself succumb to the call of the drugs.
Emily wasn't the only one who was sleeping. Mitchell Greene had his head resting on his cuffed hands as he sat at the table in the interrogation room. Detective Nyland was watching him through the one-way mirror when Derek stopped next to him.
He glanced at the dark agent. "How's Agent Prentiss?"
"They're keeping her overnight for observation."
Nyland nodded. "I figured that they would. I'll bring her statement by in the morning. That way you won't have to drag her back here. The two of you can head for home directly from the hospital."
"That would be much appreciated," Derek said. "Has he said anything yet?"
The detective turned his focus back to the window. "Not one word. He's been like that since he was brought in here." He frowned. "How can he possibly sleep?"
Derek crossed his arms. "Because worrying about getting caught can be physically draining. Now that he has been arrested, he can relax."
"So what do you want to do next?"
"Give him something else to worry about," Derek said with a wicked grin.
Nyland gestured to the door. "Be my guest."
Derek nodded and stalked into the interrogation room. He stopped at the table and glared down at the sleeping prisoner. He was furious that this asshole had put his partner in the hospital. He had also inadvertently shown Derek that he wasn't doing enough to keep Emily safe. He balled his hands into tight fists and slammed…them down on the table. Greene's head shot up as if he had been shocked.
"Wakey, wakey, you bastard," he taunted. "It's time for you to start singing."
Greene blinked his bleary eyes. "About what?" he asked with a yawn.
Derek came around the table and got in his face. "About the ten innocent women you murdered. You might as well start talking because you're never going to see the light of day again. We've got you on murder, rape, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, assault on a federal officer and a host of other charges we haven't thought of yet."
A slow smile spread across Greene's face. "Oh. Them."
"Yes, them," Derek repeated. He jerked out the chair and sat down. He folded his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Lets start with you sister, Marcia. What prompted you to kill her?"
Greene sat back in his chair and rested his cuffed hands in his lap. "I was relieving my parents of the burden of constantly taking care of a troubled daughter," he said proudly.
Derek frowned. "You were helping your parents?" he asked, skepticism lacing his voice.
"Yes. I relieved them of the constant worry and the constant bailing of her out of jail. She was younger than me, you see. Her behavior took all of my parent's attention."
"So you were jealous of her?" Derek asked.
Anger flared in Greene's eyes. "Damn right I was. And I hated what she was doing to them."
"How so?"
"I watched as my parents aged quicker than they should have. And my Mother was always sad so I decided to make her happier by getting rid of Marcia."
"Why did you rape her?"
Greene grinned. "Because she was asking for it. She was always flirting with me so I finally obliged her."
Derek kept the disgust off his face and out of his voice. "So were your parents happier?" he asked and refrained from making air quotations around the word happier.
"Very much so," he answered without a second thought.
I hardly doubt that, the dark agent thought. Having a child go missing was just as debilitating as when they were in trouble.
"Why didn't you stop with Marcia?" he asked instead.
Greene gave him a sly smile and casually rested one ankle over his knee. "When I saw how better off my parents were after Marcia had 'run off', I decided to help other families gain the same type of closure."
"And how did you do that?"
"It was easy. All I had to do was to lure them to a secluded spot with the promise of some good drugs. Then I took them home."
Derek shook his head. Greene sounded so proud of himself. "What did the brand stand for?"
Greene dropped his foot to the ground and leaned forward as if he was about to reveal a deep, hidden secret. "Nothing," he said with a chuckle. "I just liked how it made them scream."
Derek stared at them, grinding his teeth in anger. An unwanted thought surfaced in his mind. Had Emily screamed when Doyle had branded her? Emily could be extremely stoic when it came to expressing pain but he had a hard time picturing her holding her tongue when a hot piece of metal was seared into her flesh. He closed his eyes briefly to vanquish the thought. When he opened them, Greene was looking expectedly at him.
Suddenly he no longer wanted to be in the same room with this sorry excuse of a human being. He would rather go and hang out with Emily. Greene was the police's problem now, not his. Without another word, he got up and left.
"I've heard all I want to hear," he announced when he rejoined the detective on the other side of the glass.
"No problem," Nyland said. "I can take it from here, Agent." He went over to the door but paused before opening it. "Why is talking to us without his lawyer present?"
Derek glowered at the window before answering. "Because he doesn't want us to think that he is a menace to society. He wants us to believe that he is some sort of family savior. He's just a cold blooded killer."
Emily flipped through the television channels, not to find something to watch, but because it was simply something to do. She felt pretty good. The headache was gone and the pain in her shoulder was down to a dull ache. All were leading her to the opinion that staying overnight in the hospital was a waste of her time. She could be doing the same thing back at the hotel with better food and a more comfortable bed. Her dinner currently sat untouched on the rolling table.
The rapping of knuckles on the doorframe drew her eyes to the open door. "Hey," she said with a smile when Derek entered.
"Hey," he smiled back. "How are you doing?" he asked when he had stopped at the foot of the bed.
Emily turned down the volume on the television. "I'm good. I really don't see the purpose of having to stay."
She shifted on the bed, making Derek think that she was going to get up and try to leave. But she was only tying to find a more comfortable position. Maybe I should consider hiding her clothes, he thought.
"Just remember that they threatened to slap you in restraints if you tried," he pointed out, humor dancing in his eyes.
Emily snorted. "I'll like to see them try."
He chuckled at that. "Besides you may feel pretty good right now but you may think differently when the pain meds fully wear off," he observed, noting that her eyes still had a slightly glassy look to them.
"You're annoying. Did you know that?" she countered.
He grinned. "I'm too charming to be annoying." While she scoffed at him, Derek removed the cover on her dinner and wrinkled his nose. "What is this?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I have no idea. I took one look at it and lost my appetite." This time Emily didn't have to blame it on the pain meds.
Derek replaced the cover and pushed the food tray to one side. "I think I can change that," he said and held up a large bag. "I brought hamburgers, fries and milkshakes."
"Perfect," Emily said with a smile. She pushed the button to adjust the bed so that she could sit up straighter.
He sat down in the visitor's chair and divvied up the food. Emily took a sip of her cookies and cream milkshake and asked how the interrogation of Greene went. Derek quickly brought her up to speed. When he was done, Emily let out a soft sigh.
"They never have a good reason," she said with a shake of her head, remembering she had told Seaver the same thing when she had asked if they did.
"No, they don't," he agreed.
Emily asked for some ketchup and Derek obliged. He ripped open the packet and squirted the ketchup on her fries. She picked one up and took a bit. "Did you talk to Hotch?" she asked.
He grimaced. "Yes, I did."
"And?" She finished off the fry and picked up another one, making sure it had a healthy dollop of ketchup on it.
"Lets just say that he wasn't pleased and that we would discuss it when we get back tomorrow. I could literally feel the anger from his frown coming over the line."
She chuckled. "I can believe that. I could sense it when he called to check on me."
Derek smiled and the two turned their attention back to their meals. As they ate in silence, Emily cast furtive glances at him. Coming to a decision, she put down her hamburger and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"I know Hotch is having you do an evaluation of my performance," she said suddenly.
He choked on his burger. "I don't know what you mean," he coughed out.
She cocked her head and gave him the 'don't try to bullshit me' look. "Morgan—"
He swallowed some of his vanilla milkshake. "You're right," he admitted, hanging his head. "How did you know?"
Emily smiled. "I wasn't sure at first then you kind of confirmed it by choking on your food. Plus I've felt your eyes on me for the whole case. I never caught you at it, but I knew you were watching."
"Guilty as charged," he said with a sheepish smile. "Are you surprised?"
She shook her head. "Not really. I know Hotch wants to be sure I'm mentally ready for the field. I just wasn't expecting it to be done by you."
"He thought you would be too guarded in your actions around him," Derek explained, not aware of the trust issues she currently had with Hotch.
"He would have been right," she said. "And you're worried about what to tell him, aren't you?"
Derek wasn't going to answer but changed his mind and nodded.
Emily shifted on the bed so that she could see him better. "Don't be. Just be honest, Derek. I don't want you to lie for me just so that I can stay in the field. If I end up back on desk duty, so be it. Got it?"
Derek took a moment to consider her words. Emily was right, of course. He was a team leader and as one, he had to look out for the best interests of the team, not the individual. As much as he wanted to her to be at his side, he had to do what was right for Emily.
"Loud and clear," he said with a smile. Then he jerked his head at the television. "Do you think we can watch something else while we eat?"
Emily looked up to see Spongebob cavorting across the screen. When she had turned down the volume, she hadn't realized she had stopped on the cartoon channel.
"Sorry," she apologized and picked up the remote. She started flipping through the channels.
"There!" Derek said, pointing at the football game.
She gave him a sideways glance. "So not happening," she declared and continued past it.
She stopped on a channel showing Pride and Prejudice. "No way. I'm not watching a chick flick," he protested emphatically.
"Fine," she conceded and kept looking. "Indiana Jones?" she asked a few channels later.
"Works for me," he said with a grin.
"Good." Emily dropped the remote and picked up the rest of her hamburger.
With the minor disagreement resolved, the two friends settled comfortably back to watch the movie and finish their dinner. Well as comfortably as they could in a hard chair and a hospital bed.
The conclusion is next week so do check in to see if Hotch blows his top with Derek. But before you run away, please let me know what you think. Until then.