He frantically began looking around the ballroom. He saw so many people, all laughing and enjoying themselves. It was obvious that he was alone.
He saw Senator McAllister and his wife, talking to some other snooty couple. He saw Ambassador Prentiss floating between groups of people. He saw Mr. Prentiss engaged in a deep conversation with the bartender. But the one person he wanted to see? He couldn't find.
Wait, he thought. Let me just think about think logically. Emily is upset, embarrassed. She would go somewhere where she could be alone, where I wouldn't find her… the ladies' room!
Reid took off. He bumped into a few people, and apologized as quickly as he could. He nearly knocked a waiter over, but Reid didn't even notice. All he cared about was finding Emily.
He arrived at the door to the ladies' room. Knock knock. "Emily!" he called. "Emily! Are you in there?"
He didn't hear an answer to his question. He leaned in closer to the door and heard faint sobbing. "Emily! EMILY! Is that you?"
"Y- yes," she whispered.
"Can we talk?"
"You- I don't want you to see me like this."
"Em," he said softly, "that doesn't matter. I just want to talk to you."
No answer.
"Emily, I- it doesn't matter what you look like now. You looked gorgeous before and you're such a beautiful woman and I feel terrible that you're sitting in here crying. And I want to come in there and talk to you. But I'm not Morgan, so you'll have to open the door for me."
Reid heard a quiet laugh. Then he heard footsteps, and the door unlocking. It opened slowly.
Prentiss still looked beautiful. Her eyes were a little red, and her makeup was a little smudged.
Reid walked in and shut the door. "Em, what's wrong? What did I do?"
Her lip started to quiver. She looked up at him with sad eyes. "It- it's not you, Reid. I- I just- freaked out. I- I-" She started to cry again. She turned away and leaned against the wall.
"Prentiss. Emily. Em." Reid walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of kindness. "You can tell me. What's the matter?"
She turned around. "It sounds so stupid, though."
"I promise you. It's not stupid."
"You sure?"
"Absolutely. You can tell me."
Prentiss took a deep breath. "It's just that- that I got scared. I'm so used to my relationships blowing up in my face because I inevitably do something wrong. And then you'll find out that I'm not as pretty or talented or smart and wonderful as you thought I was and you'll dump me, cold and hard. And I'll get that same awful feeling that I always do. I just- I can't get hurt again. Not now, Reid. Not at this point."
Reid took both of her hands in his. "Emily, you don't have to worry about that. You will always be pretty and talented and smart and wonderful. That's why I decided to be your escort. And we all hate that feeling of being worthless. It was so hard being a child genius in high school. I didn't have friends, let alone girlfriends. So I'm new at this. But you're never going to say or do the wrong thing. And I'm not going to leave you."
Prentiss bit her lip. "Really? Because every time I get to this point, something happens, and I lose. It always happens."
"Em, you're not going to lose this one. Not with me here."
Prentiss tried to smile, but all she could do was start to cry again. Damn it, she thought. Stop being so emotional right now.
Reid pulled her into a hug, and gently stroked her hair. "Emily, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere."
"Th- thanks, Reid. I- I'm sorry about this. About ruining this night."
"Ruining it? Em, it's only 9 o'clock. And we haven't even gotten to the dance floor yet!"
"Dance floor? But-"
"You and I are going to dance. Even if we both look like idiots doing it."
Prentiss couldn't help but laugh. "Okay," she smiled. "But just give me a couple of minutes to wash my face."
Reid started to walk out of the bathroom. "Oh, wait!" Prentiss shouted. "You have to be really sneaky walking out of here. And don't wait for me. Because if people see us walking out of here together, they'll think we were… you know…"
Reid was puzzled. "Think we were what?"
"They'd think we were- oh, never mind. Just waiting in the ballroom by the bartender and I'll meet you there in a minute or two."
"Okay, Emily." He shut the door behind him.
Oh my gosh, what is this? I've never had a guy who didn't want to dump me, especially after he saw me crying. I always screw something up. Always always always. And then he's out of here faster than anything. I can't believe Reid isn't leaving. And I can't believe he wants to dance with me! I guess… I guess this evening isn't going to be so bad after all.
Prentiss took a tissue and wiped the makeup smudges off of her face. When she felt that she looked presentable enough, she grabbed her bag and went to go find Reid.