Late September 2007
Prentiss leant back in the chair, taking a sip of her fourth coffee for the day. The team had returned on the morning flight from a case in Kentucky where three teenage boys had been missing, and thankfully, they'd been found alive and in good spirits. Now came the boring part of writing up the field reports; Emily had spent the majority of the morning skulling back coffee and getting refills in the hopes that she'd find some motivation to write.
"What number is that?" Morgan asked as he strolled past her desk, "seven?"
"Actually, it's four." Spencer piped up, to which the brunette simply rolled her eyes. Trust Spencer to be counting the number of coffees she's drunk.
"Okay, seriously… What is the matter with you guys? Don't you have anything better to do than critique my diet?"
Morgan shrugged his shoulders as he planted himself down in his chair. "Nope, sunshine. Spencer and I are done with our reports. Hotch is just waiting on you."
The brunette sucked in a breath, silently berating herself. She'd spent three goddamn hours staring at a page with barely ten words written. Prentiss had always equated reports to fishing, sometimes the bait would lure dozens of fish in, other days it felt like Morgan and Spencer were snatching them right before they took her bait. "I honestly don't know what to write."
Both men stared in Prentiss' direction oddly, "It's a field report Prentiss, not a column for the New York times."
"I KNOW that Morgan, I just…" She grit her teeth together, getting increasingly frustrated by the second. "Don't you guys ever find it difficult putting down what you saw into writing?"
Spencer interlinked his hands behind his head, "Well yeah, of course, except it doesn't usually take four refills of coffee for me to start."
Raising an eyebrow, Emily shook her head, "coming from the guy who has a photographic memory and an IQ of five hundred and seventy. No offence Reid, but you've got things pretty easy."
"An eidetic memory hasn't actually been proven to exist. It's virtually impossible to recall every minute detail of an image after one viewing, even in a person with a seemingly photographic memory." The genius continued. Emily and Morgan rolled their eyes while Spencer sat there in the chair with a smug look on his face.
"What are you trying to suggest kid? That you're actually normal?"
"No, what I'm trying to say is that having an eidetic memory doesn't mean someone can put all their thoughts down onto paper. You see its all to do with the frontal cortex and the connections with the hippocampus- "
"OKAY. WE GET IT." Emily interrupted, shutting Spencer up. Time had already been wasted on the report, and she didn't need a lecture from Reid explaining the intricacies of the human brain. Before Emily had a chance to write another word, Hotch stormed out from his office, flustered.
"There's a missing child at the Potomac mall. We need to get there as fast as we can." All three subordinates jumped up from their desks in a matter of milliseconds, grabbing what they needed.
"What are we-" As Emily turned around, Hotch had already bolted out of the bullpen, "looking at?" Emily trailed off. She followed Morgan and Spencer out into the elevator lobby, "you don't think this is the same person who murdered that little girl in the mall last week?" The kidnapping and murder of Jessica Davis had been prominent in the team's mind for days.
Morgan closed his eyes, "You and I both know that it's a possibility Prentiss." Seconds later emerged Hotch, Penelope and JJ. Morgan held the door open as they all crammed inside the elevator.
"I am not entirely sure of the circumstances; all I know is that a young girl has gone missing about ten minutes ago." Emily nodded her head, knowing that time was of the essence when it came to finding missing children. "We'll take separate cars. JJ, Prentiss, I want you guys with me, the rest of you can follow behind. Also… I want you all to be super alert. If this is related to last week, then the unsub may still be nearby."
Hotch felt like a ship was sinking in his stomach. The last thing he wanted was to tell that little girl's parents that she wouldn't make it to her next birthday, and knowing the statistics about child abductions, he knew that it was entirely possible.
"Only six years old…" Emily whispered, shaking her head slowly. "It never fails to astound me how far some people are willing to go to hide the truth." A 'whirlwind' of a day wouldn't ever be enough to describe the events that had occurred. At first, the team believed they were dealing with a serial killer, but then after finding Katie's necklace and figuring out about her molestation, everything seemed to click into place.
JJ nodded from the front seat of the car with a sombre expression. "And to think that Susan was in on it too and knew what was going on the whole time… It makes me feel sick to my stomach."
Leaning back in her seat, Emily rested her hands upon her belly and gazed out the window. "At least we know that she won't ever be in contact with them ever again… That's the only good thing that came out of all of this." Part of Emily wanted to ask Hotch how he was doing, she'd heard that he'd performed CPR on Katie for a solid five minutes. Doing that on any adult was difficult enough, but having no choice but to perform it on a child… That would shake any decent person to the core.
An eerie quiet filled the car, apart from the tread of the tyres zooming over the rough highway back to Quantico. Emily took the time to observe Hotch in the driver's seat. For the ordeal that he'd just gone through, he seemed relatively calm. But as Emily had witnessed in the past, he tended to keep his emotions buried deep down. And she couldn't forget that he was still actively trying to grieve his relationship with Haley and work on spending time with Jack.
"You got any plans for tonight, Em?" JJ asked her, snapping the brunette out of her thoughts.
"Yeah… Yeah, I do actually. I met this guy at a bar last weekend and… He's asked me out on a date." Emily could have sworn that the blond nearly leapt out of her seat. She whipped her head around with the brightest sparkle in her eyes.
"EMILY! That's amazing! Is he cute? What does he look like? Is he nice?" The brunette laughed whilst she rolled her eyes. Even Hotch let out the tiniest of smiles.
"Um… JJ. I don't think I'd be going out with him if he wasn't cute." Emily stated, making sure to be cautious about her words whilst Hotch was in the car. She would probably die of embarrassment if she happened to accidentally say something sexual in front of him.
"What's his name? Do you know where he works? OH wait… Don't tell me he's a cop." As Hotch listened in on the conversation, he couldn't for the life of him understand how JJ had so many questions for Prentiss. Is this all they talked about outside of work?
"OKAY, no more questions… You will be debriefed later."
JJ pouted, "Can't I at least know what his name is?"
"NO," Emily stated, making that clear.
Hotch shot a glance up to the brunette in the rear-view mirror, "how's that field report coming along Prentiss?"
Emily's face dropped to her chest, and she shook her head. Of course, Hotch hadn't forgotten about that goddamn field report. It's like he lived and breathed the blimming things. And it's not like she exactly had time to do it whilst at the mall. Resisting the urge to say something snappy, Prentiss replied, "it'll be on your desk by tomorrow morning." She'd pull an all-nighter if she really needed to.
Hotch simply stared her down in the mirror, slightly intimidating the brunette, but she shrugged it off and continued gazing at the stars. She was looking forward to her night out with Devon; It was about time that she got back into the dating scene.
At last, they arrived back to Quantico. Before Emily sprinted off from the SUV, Hotch kept her back for a moment. "Don't worry about the field report, Prentiss. I'll give you until Thursday to finish it. You've done great work today."
The brunette's jaw wanted to drop all the way down to her feet, but she resisted the temptation. Two extra days to complete a field report? That was unheard of with Hotch in charge. She felt speechless for a few seconds, the shock weaning its way out of her system. "I… How… What? Are you sure? You need to give them to Strauss, right?"
Aaron locked the car, "she's out of the office for a few days. It can wait."
Emily nodded, still in disbelief. "Thank you."
"Hope your date goes well." He stated with a slight smile before walking off to his car, leaving Emily with her thoughts.
Not bothering to drag the creaky door securely shut, Aaron tiptoed over to Jack's bed, immediately burying his head into the boy's dark blonde curls. A comforting scent of baby moisturiser overcame Aaron, and for the first time that day, he allowed himself to fall apart.
The memory of performing CPR on that little girl wouldn't be one forgotten so easily. Even though life had surged back through her veins like the way a car accelerates down a highway, Aaron couldn't help but reminisce her fragile corpse stuffed into that cupboard as if she was some piece of trash. He'd manually pumped the blood around her body for at least five minutes, but that five minutes felt like it had lasted hours. And at one point, Aaron thought she'd permanently gone, and that feeling of losing her had him completely numb.
To think that her parents were standing there, watching everything, feeling hopeless and not being able to help in any way… That was any parents' worst nightmare. Katie's mother's cries wouldn't leave his mind for some days to come, but it comforted Aaron knowing that the little girl had taken another breath and she would never have to endure the pain and torture of her aunt and uncle ever again.
It was cases like these where the fragility of life made itself known. As he had said earlier, all it took was seven seconds for a child to disappear. Aaron couldn't bring himself to imagine Jack being abducted, let alone by somebody that they both trusted.
He breathed a sigh of relief, observing his son peacefully sleeping. Jack's tiny body had grown so much within the past week. It brought a sad smile to Hotch's face. His little hand curled up next to his mouth, and his eyelids fluttered as he dreamed.
Aaron honestly didn't want to leave; he wanted to stay and just watch his son with eyes like a hawk. For some reason, glancing at the rise and fall of Jack's chest soothed Aaron. It brought him a sense of calm and that tranquillity he desperately craved every day- something that could only be sought through his baby boy.
Some cases like today were traumatising, but it put a smile on his face that he saved that little girl. She could have another birthday, return to a normal childhood, and most importantly, be loved and treasured by those around her. Standing up, he silently placed the smallest of kisses to Jack's forehead before tiptoeing out the room.
There weren't many words muttered between Haley and himself. Aaron only requested that he have Jack for a couple hours on the weekend to which Haley agreed to. Then he left, returning to an empty, sombre, and dark house.
Emily approached the restaurant hesitantly, carefully checking that she arrived at the right address. It seemed to be the same Mexican place her date had suggested online, and she strolled in. The slender blood-red dress flowed loosely over the curves of her hips, coming down to just above her knees and revealing her pale, slim legs.
A man stood up in the far corner of the restaurant, releasing a pleasant smile to which Emily returned. She approached the table, taking in his dapper appearance. His short, light brunette hair had been groomed so that it poked up away from his skull. And the beige blazer he wore comfortably complemented the white blouse underneath, with one button undone at the top-revealing a little chest hair.
"Emily…" Hmm… She'd missed his hot, British accent that had attracted her in the first place, "wow…"
"Devon." Emily returned.
The handsome man nodded, pulling the seat out for Emily before sitting down himself. "Might I just say… You are looking smegging beau-iful tonight."
"Smeggin, huh?" She had never heard such a word before. But those were the Brits, creative and original in their own way, "I must say you look quite dashing yourself." Emily caught a whiff of his cologne, one that she didn't readily recognise. She could tell that he'd spent a lot of money on it though.
"So, Emily Prentiss… Tell me about yourself…" Before Emily had a chance to say anything, a waiter approached the table with a few menus.
"What do you want to know?" She retorted back with a sly smile. Devon let out a chuckle, his light green eyes sparkling into her own.
"All I know you is that you're absolutely stunning with a passion for languages." He said, referring to the weekend prior where she'd impressed him with her French and Italian. "Tell me how many do you speak?"
Emily shot a glance down at the menu, wondering whether she should choose burritos or tacos. "Five."
"Well, I know two of them already… What are the others?"
"Spanish, Arabic and English..."
His eyebrows raised in surprise as his mouth curved into an O shape. "Arabic… You live in the desert at some point?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Emily leant forward, discretely trying to get another whiff of Devon's cologne. She'd met a lot of men in her time, but something about Devon's scent intrigued her. "My mother was an ambassador in several middle eastern countries growing up. I had no choice but to learn the language."
"Let me guess… The UAE?" The brunette nodded, "No way… I lived there for several years too."
Emily couldn't believe her ears, "You're kidding, right? When?"
"Moved there in 89… My father was a teacher, he is credited with setting up new tech systems in the schools." The waiter strolled past, pouring a glass of wine for both dates. Emily squinted across at Devon with a tiny smile, realising they shared much in common. "I take it you were there way before I was though."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Emily reasoned. She explained to Devon that she first moved to Abu Dhabi when she was ten, then a year or so later to Dubai. When she turned fourteen, her mother had been given the opportunity to work in Iran and Emily had no choice but to follow along. "I moved around so much as a kid that it really didn't take long to learn the local language. Arabic was one that came naturally to me."
Devon chuckled to himself, "the best grade I got for languages was for French back in high school. I received a D." This caused Emily to laugh. Why did all the men she met have such bad experiences with learning a new language?
"You obviously didn't try hard enough." He rolled his eyes, intertwining his fingers together.
"What are you thinking of having? Personally, I think the enchiladas look quite riveting." Devon asked as he skimmed through the menu.
"Tacos." Emily decided swiftly before taking her first sip of wine. Devon motioned for the waiter to come over who took their orders. "I'm still trying to figure out where you work… It must be somewhere high esteemed, like a business company, or some sort of successful family business. You just don't strike me as a lower-class sort of guy."
Emily could have sworn his eyes widened.
"That obvious, huh?"
"The cologne gave it away…" She muttered. He laughed awkwardly, and Emily immediately thought she'd done something weird. "I'm sorry…"
He shook his head in confusion, "For what?"
"Being awkward… It's just a part of who I am." Devon shrugged his shoulders, not giving a care in the world. "I work as a profiler, you see…"
"You work for the FBI?"
Emily nodded, grinding her teeth, not knowing precisely how he'd react. When he didn't say anything, Emily continued, "I try and make an effort to not profile people when I go on dates, but… like I said, it's a part of who I am."
He smirked nodding. "I work at the Washington Times in DC."
Her mouth widened. Of all the professions Devon could have been in, Emily hadn't expected him to be a journalist. "REALLY? That's incredible! So, you write for the newspaper?"
"I'm working on it. It's mainly just opinion pieces and short articles. I haven't exactly had any of my work published on the front page." Devon explained slightly flushed. Emily had a few friends over the years who had gone into journalism, and from what she'd heard, it could be quite a competitive career.
"Maybe one day it will happen." Emily whispered, "I mean… Personally, I don't know much about journalism, but I know that with patience, hard work and dedication, people start to notice you." A silence hung in the air as they both stared into each other's eyes. She hadn't realised until now how incredibly long his eyelashes were; Devon indeed looked dashing.
"So… A profiler huh." He asked, eyeing her as he sipped his glass of wine. The brunette nodded, not really wanting to get into the nitty, gritty, and gruesome details of her job. "Do you enjoy it?"
Enjoyment wasn't really the right sort of word to describe how she felt working in the BAU. Seeing murder on a daily basis wasn't exactly 'enjoyable'. So, she looked down into her wine whilst twisting her glass and shrugged. "Yes… I guess you could say that I enjoy my job. However, there are… Aspects of it that I'd prefer not to elaborate on."
Devon nodded, seeming to get the point. "Oh…"
"Yeah…" Emily muttered, biting down on her bottom lip. "I'm… Sorry. I just… Every time I've talked about my job, people are either weirded out, or they just don't want to know me at all. So, if you don't want to know, then feel free to just not ask. Or if you can't be bothered with me- "
"Emily I… I don't give a crap that you're awkward, or that you have a job where there's a lot of death involved… I feel like what we have could really go somewhere." A hot flush overtook her body, and she could feel intense heat rising to her cheeks. This guy had an interest in her- unlike so many men she'd dated before.
The brunette smiled, closing her eyes. "I… I feel it too… You are the first person I've had in a long time who hasn't run off five minutes into the date."
"They sound like really superficial men you've 'dated'." The remark made Emily chuckle.
"I guess you could say that…" She took a moment to glance around the restaurant, noting where the bathrooms and exits were before turning her attention back to Devon. "So, you come from England?"
He nodded, "I grew up on a farm about two hours north of London. My mother worked as a farmer, and my father worked at the local primary school. When it came to high school, the closest one was over an hour away, so my brothers and I were home-schooled." Emily leant forward, fascinated. "When I was sixteen, dad had the opportunity to move to the middle east, it was there that I found my passion for journalism."
Smiling, Emily nodded, "You grew up on a dairy farm?"
"Yes. I know. Hard to believe, but I did. I should take you back there and show you."
The thought of travelling around the world with Devon sent her stomach flying, "I would love to… Although I do have to admit, I don't have much experience with the farming industry."
"It's all very practical based… And there is not much to learn."
A moment of silence passed as Emily played with her glass of sprite. "You've been in DC for how long?"
"3 months." The poor guy must not have known that many people. Emily remembered her first time moving back after a 2-year long stint in Italy, it's such an awkward phase.
"And you're settling in okay?"
"I have some buddies…"
Emily quirked a brow, "apart from your cows?" Both chuckled into fits of laughter.
Soon enough, their dinner arrived. The chef must have snuck some hot sauce into Emily's tacos as her nostrils were flaring from heat exhaustion. However, she still enjoyed it. They stood outside the restaurant after Emily had refused to let him pay for the entire meal, instead splitting it between them. Out of nowhere, Devon pecked a kiss on her cheek, before whispering, "You have my number, right?"
She couldn't help but let a blush flow through her cheeks, and she whispered back, "Of course, I'll keep in touch." Butterflies flew through her stomach as Devon walked Emily down to her car, wondering whether she'd found her happily ever after.
The moment Emily stepped into the apartment; her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Glancing at the caller ID, it was JJ. "SO… How did it go?" JJ droned on slowly.
"I didn't spill the wine, and I made sure about twenty times that I had no food stuck in my teeth, so all and all, I think the date went well," Emily stated as she removed her shoes.
"Sounds like it went more than well from what I am hearing." You didn't need to see the blonde to know that she was beaming from ear to ear. "Can I know his name now?"
The brunette rolled her eyes, "why? Are you gonna find him in the FBI database and stalk the heck out of him?"
"No, don't worry, Penelope will take good care of that task. Name?"
Emily laughed and settled herself down on the sofa, "Devon. Devon McSniegal."
"Hmm… Hot name."
"He's English." Emily continued.
"OOHHH… DOUBLE hot name. You're going on another date with him, right?" The brunette sighed and shook her head.
"I don't know… Probably. We have each other's number so I guess we could set up another date?" Emily heard scoffing from JJ's side of the line.
"You know what Emily; I'm astonished that you guys didn't go steady tonight. Is there something else that I should know about?"
"Nope. I'm just… Trying to take things slowly. I feel like half of my problem when it comes to men is that I jump straight in from the deep end. And Devon… I feel like we could actually go somewhere. And I haven't had that feeling in almost fifteen years." She confessed. There was silence from JJ for a few seconds.
"I'm happy for you Em… And there is nothing wrong with taking things slowly."
Emily rubbed her eyes, "I better go JJ… It's late, and I want to get a good night's sleep. If Hotch pairs us up tomorrow, I'll give you some more details."
"Sounds good, See you tomorrow." The brunette snapped the phone shut and lay back on the sofa armrest. The truth was that she wasn't tired at all, Emily felt buzzed. Like someone had injected caffeine into her system without her knowing. Add to that the swirling emotions in her stomach, and Emily definitely knew that she would not be getting much sleep tonight.
A/N: Hey Y'all! Yes, I know that this is not Hotch and Prentiss dating, but we will get there eventually. I think it's about time that I gave Emily some sort of relationship and this episode seemed the perfect opportunity to do so. So far, I am really liking Devon's character and I'm excited to see where it takes us. If you can, please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. And if you have any ideas or prompts where you would like to see Hotch and Prentiss doing something together, leave it in a review and I'll do my best to incorporate it into a future prompt.
Thanks for reading!