It was going on seven o'clock and Emily was just sitting down to play a game of Candy Land with Amanda when she her cellphone started buzzing on the living room coffee table. She picked it up and glanced at the ID before answering – it was Aaron.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Hey, Prentiss." We're back to Prentiss? Well, I guess I know it's not a personal call. "Uh, I know this is really bad timing, but we've got a case and we need you with us in New York." Emily got up and walked into the kitchen in an attempt to not let her dismay show to Amanda.
"But I put in for personal days. Hotch, you know I can't leave right now. Mandy and I still need to get used to living with each other. She needs to get used to relying on me. And she needs to know she can count on me to be there for her."
"I know. Emily, I'm sorry. I wouldn't ask, but it's a really bad one and it's international. We need your translation skills. This guy's been killing women all over Western Europe and now he's in New York City and he's already killed 2 women there." The line was silent for a long while and he was starting to wonder if she'd hung up on him. "Emily?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just wondering what to do. I really hate to leave her. There's still a lot to be done. She's supposed to start school in just over a week and I haven't even registered her at a school yet. I haven't even worked out who she'll stay with when I leave." Emily was just barely holding back on the panic button. How had her life suddenly gotten so complicated? Wasn't it just last week when she'd get a call and pick up her bag and go, just like that? But now, there were a thousand and ten things to worry about, none of which she actually had time to worry about if this killer really was as bad as he sounded. And knowing that Hotch wouldn't call her elsewise, she could definitely assume that he was.
"I know this is far from ideal, but this is what parenthood is like with this job. Sometimes you have to make hasty decisions and a lot of times you have to leave at the drop of a hat. It won't be easy for Amanda at first, but she'll get used to it and so will you." He gave her a moment to let that sink in before continuing with his persuasion. He was trying to avoid having to order her onto the jet, because he knew that would just make the situation worse, but if it came down to it, he'd pull rank to get her on this case. "Jessica can watch her this one time and then you can decide when we get back if you want her to continue watching Amanda or if you want to have someone else do it, okay? And as for registering her for school, well hopefully we'll be back before school starts, but if we're not I'm sure we could get Jessica or Garcia to take care of it. And frankly, if you want her in the best school, then you should just go ahead and register her at the private school Jack will be starting kindergarten at. When I had to pick a school for him, I had Garcia do a very thorough background check on all of the schools in the area, and all of the teachers and staff at the schools, and George Washington Elementary is by far the safest and has the best academic standards."
This was a lot to take in, but ever since Monday night she was starting to feel like a real pro at absorbing a lot of unexpected information all at once. She hated the idea of leaving, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to stay behind in good conscience. "Okay, I'll go. If you're sure Jessica really doesn't mind, I'll leave Mandy with her while we're gone. And if we're not back within a few days, I'll deal with the school issue then."
"Okay, great. Thanks, Emily. I know this isn't ideal, but I promise it'll get easier as time goes on. Just pack a go-bag for yourself and one for Amanda and I'll swing by your place in 30 minutes to pick you up and we can drop the kids off together before heading to the jet." They said their hurried goodbyes and Emily hung up the phone.
"You're leaving?" Startled, Emily turned around to find that, unbeknownst to her, Amanda had followed her into the kitchen. She walked her into the living room, where they both took a seat on the couch.
"I have to go. For my job. You and Jack will be staying together at Jack's Aunt Jessica's. But I'll be back in a few days, and I'll make it up to you, okay sweetie? We'll play Candy Land and we'll have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."
Amanda stood up off the couch and started yelling. "I DON'T WANNA HAVE PANCAKES WITH YOU! I DON'T WANNA LIVE WITH YOU! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!"She ran out of the room and a few seconds later Emily heard the girl's bedroom door slam shut. She knew that Amanda was just hurting and lashing out, but that didn't stop her words from inflicting a painful sting right into Emily's heart. She wanted to cry but knew she had to be the one to keep her emotions in check. But thinking about how much she knew her niece was hurting in that moment hurt a lot worse than the words that had been yelled at her, and she had to blink rapidly to keep the stinging in the backs of her eyes from turning into tears.
Figuring it was best to give the girl some time to cool down a little, she busied herself with making a go-bag for herself and then pulling some clothes from the suitcases she'd brought back from the Davis' house to make a go-bag for Amanda. A few minutes before Hotch and Jack were due to arrive she knocked on Amanda's door and let her know it was nearly time to go. When she emerged from her room, she refused to talk to Emily, her face set in an expression of anger. The way she clenched her jaw in a fierce show of stubbornness and fury would've been almost cute if it wasn't for the fact that it was heart-wrenching for Emily to see.
When Hotch came to pick them up, she made small talk in the car with Jack to ease the awkward silence, hoping that the boy wouldn't pick up on the tension, though knowing she'd have no such luck with his father. The hardest part came when they dropped the kids off at Jessica's and she kneeled down to give Amanda a hug goodbye and Amanda refused to hug her back. After that, she crawled into the car and gave up the pretense of everything being okay as she broke down into the tears she had been trying to hold off on for the last hour.