Chapter 11

Emily was nervous. More so than she expected to be. The second she walked Caroline out the door and put her into the rental car, a myriad of questions and concerns flooded her mind. Emily belted the little girl into the back seat, behind the passenger seat so she could keep an eye on her. Would it be safer to put her behind the driver's seat? Should she have a child safety seat? Was 6 too old for those? Where should she take the girl for lunch? Probably not fine dining. What exactly was the kid-friendly fare these days? She really, really didn't want to have to find a Chuck-E-Cheese. Did the child have any allergies that she needed to be aware of for lunch? Daley would have told her, right? Maybe he didn't know; he said something about medical records after the hearing. There were just so many questions.

"You doing okay back there?" Emily asked Caroline as she dashed off just one quick text and then put the car in drive. One question she could ask without qualifying as neurotic. Or helpless. She hated to be seen that way. By anyone, but especially him. One question would be alright.

" 'm okay," Caroline responded. She was looking out the window, not appearing to be any more wary than she had been earlier.

Emily nodded. "Okay then, kid. We're off to lunch. Is there any kind of food you particularly like? Or don't like?"

Caroline scrunched up her face, thinking. "No onions," she said after a moment.

Emily smiled, "I think we can handle that."

Caroline nodded, "kay."

Emily started driving, guided by the car's GPS, heading into the shopping district part of town. There were bound to be some basic chain restaurants there, something for any palate – even a child's. The car, as she drove, was silent. Caroline wasn't talking; she must still be scared and wary, Emily surmised. It's not like she didn't have cause to be. She was pretty much just packed up and sent off with a relative stranger into the unknown. Emily gave her own performance with Caroline this morning about a 5 (if she was being generous) as a parent. Food, Emily knew, would help. It would be a good buffer. Meanwhile, she was making a list in her head. The things they should do before the hearing. It was 10:30 am now, a little early for lunch but she didn't eat breakfast and Caroline had said she was hungry.

Emily pulled into the parking lot of an Applebees, hoping for the best. They passed several restaurants on the way. Emily had offered them all up and Caroline had made a little sound. It didn't sound like a word, but it didn't sound affirmative either. She made the executive decision on the Applebees, as they had a list of things to do before the hearing now. The list in her head kept growing. Throwing the car into park, Emily turned and looked into the backseat. Caroline was dwarfed by the backseat. She was determinedly looking at her backpack, which she was clutching a little too tightly. She was tracing a patch that had been sewed on to the front, an elephant.

"Hey," Emily called. The child turned her head, but didn't look up. "Is this alright, Applebees?" she asked. Caroline nodded. Emily frowned. She was concerned. It really seemed as if Caroline was moving backward. She had been, well not chatty exactly before when they were coloring, but somewhat communicative. Was it just the fear of being away from the relative safety of Social Services that was scaring her? Was it being alone with Emily, herself? (She hoped not) Or was it the enormity of the situation in general? That would certainly be understandable. Her father died suddenly and she was cast adrift. Of course that was frightening for a six-year-old. It would be frightening for anyone. Emily sighed and got out of the car. Of course, she thought, it could also have been the confrontation with James, which Caroline had heard through the door.

Emily glanced at her phone as she took a moment to gather herself. A new text message. Hotch. She doesn't need a car seat; she needs a booster seat. Social Services will give you one. You can pick up one of your own back in DC. And there's no need, ever, for Chuck E Cheese. Emily smiled. Information, reassurance, and a sort-of joke all in one shot. She liked this Hotch. Brings up a new problem though. Daley did not give her a booster seat when she left with the child who apparently needed to be in one. She sent off one more text to Hotch to that effect and opened Caroline's door. The child, as predicted, didn't look at her.

Emily crouched down and unhooked her seat belt. She looked intact and uninjured. "Hey kiddo," Emily started. No reaction. "Can you look at me?"

Caroline gave a little sigh. She turned her small body toward Emily and then her face. She looked wary more than scared. "This is okay," she said, not sounding okay at all.

"It's not," Emily clarified. "It's okay that it's not. But you have to tell me what's wrong." Emily so very much wanted the child to trust her and it appeared that she did not. Emily certainly understood that; it would take time. Still. It was surprisingly painful, this feeling that Caroline didn't trust her.

Caroline clutched her backpack tighter.

"Do you not like the restaurant? We can go somewhere else" Emily assured her.

Caroline shook her head. "It's fine, I…just…I…" she stammered, then trailed off. She traced the outline of her elephant patch and tried again. "I've never, um, been to … here." She looked down again.

"That's okay. It's just a restaurant, honey. Nothing special." Emily reassured. As she did, she watched Caroline's face crumple just a bit and then smooth out again. Emily frowned. No child should ever have to learn to control her facial expressions. Not until she was much older. Emily felt a pang of sadness for Caroline, and a pang of frustration at herself because she was clearly misunderstanding the child's reticence.

And then she got it. Caroline had never been to a restaurant before. Oh. How very short-sighted of her. Emily softened her expression. "It's just like eating a meal at someone else's house. Except that a bunch of other people are eating there too, and we have to be on our best behavior."

Caroline looked up at Emily; the girl seemed to be searching her face for signs of…something. Of what, Emily was not sure. The child smiled a small smile, "okay."

"Besides," Emily said as she helped Caroline out of the car, "it can be fun, and we don't have to clean up."

A few minutes later, they were sitting at a table. Their waitress brought Caroline a booster seat and some crayons. Apparently, Emily thought, everyone knew about booster seats but her. Hotch had texted her back about the booster seat. Emily made a mental note to stop at her rental car company and pick one up this afternoon. Caroline was coloring happily, at least it seemed so to Emily.

"So you really like to color, don't you?" Emily asked.

"Yep," Caroline replied.

Emily waited for more of a response, but that was it. She never even looked up. Chatty, this girl was not. She was very good though; she was very neat and completely inside the lines. "Well, you're very good." That, however, got a reaction.

The girl looked up and smiled, "thanks."

Progress. Emily decided to press her luck. "How'd you get so good?"

Caroline looked up again, but this time an odd expression crossed her face. "If you do something, better do it good."

"Ah. Yes." Emily sighed. She recognized the child-version of the Prentiss family mantra. John might have distanced himself from his family and he may have denied to his child that they had a family, but he had certainly steeped her in the prevailing Prentiss attitude. Emily could hear her mother in her own head as she closed her eyes briefly, "If you're going to do something Emily, you'd better learn to do it brilliantly. Otherwise, there's no point. Prentisses reach for perfection." Emily shook her head, clearing the cobwebs a bit.

"You know," she began, "it's okay to do something just for fun. You know that, right?"

Caroline nodded, but didn't look up.

"Caroline," Emily prodded.

The child raised her head and considered Emily. "It's fun," she said and dropped her head again to keep coloring.

Emily let it go. Besides, their food was coming. She did not have to unravel all the mysteries of Caroline Prentiss in a few hours. She had time. Lunch went pretty well. While Caroline was no more talkative than before, Emily did learn something pretty revealing about her. The kid was a mimic. While they were eating, the girl did everything her cousin did. The first thing Emily did once the waitress set their plates in front of them was unwrap her napkin from around her silverware. Caroline watched and then did the same. Emily unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap; Caroline immediately followed suit. This continued, more or less throughout their meal. When Emily took a bite of her burger, Caroline would eat some of her mac & cheese. When Emily sipped her iced tea, Caroline would have some chocolate milk. It was cute until Emily's behavioral training kicked in. Children of alcoholic, addicted, and/or abusive parents often mimicked behavior. It was a survival mechanism. They had to learn young how to read their parents so that they would know how to act. How to act in order to not be hurt or yelled at or worse. These kids were little profilers in training, for the worst of reasons.

While they were eating, Emily explained to Caroline a little about what they would be doing that day. Their next stop was the mall, which thankfully was right across the road. The child couldn't go to court dressed in a juice-stained t-shirt. Okay, she probably could, but Emily wasn't comfortable with the impression that would leave. She wanted to show that she was capable of being a good parent. Clearly, in this instance being a good parent meant making sure the kid had nice, clean clothes and that Emily could make sure she was presentable. Because, after all, everyone knew that "presentable" meant "well cared for." Emily internally rolled her eyes at herself, but nonetheless was moving forward with her shopping plan. After lunch, Caroline pulled out the few items of clothing in her blue backpack. Nothing was up to Emily's standards, so to the mall they went. Almost two hours later they left the mall with outfits for the next few days (just to be safe, Emily reasoned), some pjs, and a new pair of shoes (Not sneakers, Emily explained; sneakers were for everyday wear, court wasn't every day clothes). Caroline wasn't too picky. She let Emily pick out pretty much everything, choosing between color options when Emily put them in front of her and only outright vetoing one item: a frilly pink skirt with ruffles. That was okay. Emily was just testing her on that one, trying to gauge her taste since she wasn't being particularly vocal during the trip.

From the mall, they headed to Target to pick up some kid-friendly toiletries and the new coloring book and crayons Emily had promised her before they left the Social Services office. They stopped off at the car rental agency to rent a booster seat on their way to the courthouse. The very last thing Emily needed today was to be pulled over because Caroline wasn't safe. That, she did not think, would go over well with the Judge.

20 minutes early, Emily walked into the courthouse holding Caroline's hand. It was a fairly large and busy place. Caroline's eyes widened and she tried to walk closer to Emily. Emily smiled and squeezed her hand. The child might not be chatty today, but she must have done something right for Caroline to unconsciously think of her as safe. Emily bent down and made eye contact with the suddenly scared girl. "Hey, it's gonna be okay," she assured with a smile. "This is just something we have to do. It's just a conversation with the Judge. It'll probably be pretty quick. Then, we'll go get ice cream or something, okay?"

Caroline nodded, but did not look comforted.

"There is nothing to worry about," Emily made one more attempt at reassurance. Caroline smiled weakly. Whether it was because she was comforted, or because she thought she was supposed to, Emily wasn't sure. But she'd take it. Looking around, she saw her lawyer and the social worker. She started walking Caroline in their direction. One person she did not see was Hotch. That was a little surprising. During their texting about booster seats earlier, he had asked about the hearing. Emily was sure she gave him the time and place.

Daley, the social worker, gave them a quick run-down on what would happen. The Judge would want to speak with him first, then Emily, then Caroline, then everyone all together. Daley seemed to think it wouldn't take more than an hour or so. Her lawyer, Simon, agreed. Emily sat down on a bench to process everything that was about to happen. Caroline climbed up next to her, refusing to let go of her hand. Despite Daley's and Simon's assurances, she was suddenly nervous. Looking at Caroline's small hand in her own, she really hoped that was a good omen. You know, if she believed in omens.

TBC