CHAPTER 123

ALL THIS DIRTY TALK IS MAKING ME SWEAT

"I'm sorry…" Rossi said, a few hours after Emily had blown up in his face.

"What for?" Emily smiled at him before her face turned a bit more serious.

"I deserved to hear that. I had no right to talk to you like that. To you, out of all people!" She added.

Her last sentence was bothering her. She still hadn't worked out the reason why she had gone off at him like that. She worshiped that man!

"Well, I shouldn't have brought up politics." He shrugged, knowing perfectly well how much of a low blow this had been for Emily.

Her beginning at the BAU, years ago, had been pinned as a whim, something that her dear mother – Ambassador Prentiss, had to simply make a phone call to arrange. Truth was, Emily hadn't even told her mother about her career goals within the Bureau and the woman certainly had not been aware of her transfer to the BAU – all of which Emily had achieved based on her own hard work, integrity and years of experience.

"I think I might need to talk to you soon. I mean, as soon as I figure out why the Hell I blew up like that. But for now, I need to focus on this case. The suspect has not uttered a word since we left the interrogation room and he is still waiting for his lawyer." Emily said calmly.

"Whenever you want, you know I'm always here for you." Rossi offered her a smile.

Emily loved his smile and the way his whole face would light up. He was oozing positive vibes and she knew it for a fact that, no matter what, he'd always be there for her. All these years David Rossi had never let her down. He had held her hand, he had helped her make one good decision after the other, he had hugged her numerous times when she'd cried. He had been her anchor, her safety net, her Guardian Angel, and she knew he would continue being that for her, for many years to come.

Unaware of time and space, she allowed herself to think back of certain significant moments of her life.

Her first memory that flew up was Rossi's first day on the job. She remembered vividly how Hotch had brought him into the bullpen and introduced him to everyone. Not that The Great David Rossi needed introduction, since the BAU was kind of his baby and everyone else was just looking after it, while he had been away, writing his bestsellers.

Emily remembered the speed, with which she had stood up from her chair. She had instantly forgotten all about the funny crap Morgan, sitting right in front of her, had been saying. The moment David Rossi came in, her attention had flown to him. In a very Angela-like manner, Emily had felt self-conscious around this great profiler; she had made sure her dress had not ridden up too high, that her hair was in place and that her dorky self was intact, when meeting the man.

"SSA David Rossi, this is SSA Emily Prentiss…" She remembered Hotch introducing her first.

Had that been a sign? Or was it only because she was the only woman around and also the closest one to Hotch, from where they were standing? Clearly, he'd have the manners to introduce the female first.

For a brief second, Emily had contemplated which thing she should pour over Rossi first – her appreciation for all of his years of service, her obsession with his books, her great respect for him for returning as an active Agent or her overall burning desire to work besides the man that created the BAU – that one place that she started to feel at home in.

"Sir!" This had been the only thing to have come out of her mouth. Barely. Her lips had been like sewn shut and she remembered how she tried really hard not to grin like a star struck teenager at a boy band concert. Those attempts had failed miserably and the corners of her lips had nearly touched her ears, as she had smiled wide, accepting this new person into her life, her career and her heart.

Hotch had then asked the team to move to the conference room, where JJ had been waiting for them. Emily had followed him like a sick puppy, not much because it had been an order from her Unit Chief, at the time, but because The Great David Rossi was walking right after Hotch and right in front of Emily. Therefore, she had followed him. In her heart she must have felt like this new introduction to this brave, intelligent man would naturally evolve into a friendship so deep and inexplicable, that she'd one day find herself telling him the words that she had never imagined she'd tell a man and mean them, too.

As that memory slowly faded, she remembered something else – a certain chain of late night phone calls she had placed to the Rossi Mansion, straight from her penthouse, right smack in the center of London.

"This is not exactly what I imagined…" She had whispered on the phone, one late night.

"Emily, relationships are complicated. Don't be so harsh on yourself." Rossi had said instantly, knowing a bit more about the source of her latest troubles.

"I kind of thought that being here I could finally have that fresh new start, you know? New apartment, new job, new boyfriend…" The moment she had mentioned the man she had been seeing, she trailed off.

"And you now have all of the above." Rossi had smiled, while speaking. "What is really troubling you, Emily?"

"I don't know. I just thought it would feel different. I needed to feel like I was around people who'd back me up, no matter what, but it just feels…the same…" Emily's words had once again confirmed Rossi's suspicion that she had left the BAU and the entire country, after feeling like her team had failed her.

Emily had not been the same after the Doyle drama. She had literally come back from the dead and yet Rossi saw she still felt dead, on the inside. Everyone had been tiptoeing around her, like she was a porcelain doll that was bound to break. Morgan had treated her like she was a cotton ball under a strong tropical rainstorm – shielding her from everyone and everything, without realizing that the human umbrella that he had created all over Emily Prentiss was suffocating her, more than it was saving her from possible troubles. JJ had been super cautious with Emily and she had only opted for some small, insignificant talk, whenever she had been around her. Nobody had ever dared ask her about her trauma from the whole Doyle experience. Nobody had asked why she had been in Paris for those seven months, who she had been with while healing, how she had survived…or how she felt now, about this whole thing. And, consequently, Emily had felt like she had to bottle it all up and put a brave smile around them, pretending like everything was peachy when really, nothing had been going the way she'd want it. She had felt like she had to hop into the shoes one of her many fictional aliases and to just jump right back into her old life and pretend like nothing had happened. But how was she supposed to resume her life, after seven months of pure Hell and a trauma so deep and dark that she still, to this current day, had nightmares about? No wonder she had snapped under the pressure and she had fled the country, right after JJ's wedding.

"And you feel like Mark isn't supportive of you?" Rossi had asked, trying to understand her London troubles a bit better.

He always asked. He had always cared about her and he had never been scared to hurt her briefly by asking an uncomfortable question, if he knew that after she'd answer it, she'd be a little more at peace with her daemons. How could she not adore him for that!?

"I don't know what I feel. We never talk about important stuff. We never make plans, like…there is nothing to look forward to, the two of us together. I mean, it's no lie that this whole relationship is 99 percent physical and 1 percent 'I don't know what I was thinking – he's my damn employee!' based." Emily had chuckled, feeling a bit shy to reveal such a thing to Rossi.

"Didn't you say it was good? And I don't mean the physical part – I mean the whole 'casual fun' type of an arrangement?" He needed to remind her of her own words from when she had called him weeks ago to tell him she had been seeing someone.

"Yeah, I guess. It was fun in the beginning and he's an awesome person. But I don't think I'm happy with just a physical connection…no matter how insanely good it might be." Emily had chewed on her lip hard, after adding that last bit.

It had been way past midnight in London and Mark had currently been taking a long shower, after reaffirming Emily's statement that this 'physical thing' between them was insanely good. Three times. She grinned to herself, mentally going through all the things he did to her and all the reasons why she suspected she was being crazy to even think that she might want something else, something more, from a guy.

But she did. She wanted something more meaningful than just intimacy. She wanted someone to worship her, to challenge her, to fuel her up and to stand his own ground in a conversation when their views would differ. Getting naked, just to make the other partner forget about an argument and shut the Hell up, was not healthy and as much as Emily Prentiss had been enjoying her naked moments with Mark, he had not been able to fulfill her, in ways that she had then found herself longing to be fulfilled.

"That's not a bad thing. It means you're possibly at the point in your life where you are realizing you need a deeper connection with someone. Have you, maybe, tried talking it out with Mark?"

"I have. I don't know what went wrong with that talk, once we were both naked…" Emily had chuckled. Of course she'd try to resolve all of her issues, wearing none of her clothes. So typical of her.

"Ah, Emily…" Rossi had exclaimed. "Can I be blunt?"

"Oh, I know you can." She had laughed, because David Rossi had always been nothing short of the bluntest, most brutally honest person she had ever met.

"You are hurting, Emily. You've lost people you cared about and I know you are blaming yourself for carrying some resentment towards the team…and please, don't try to deny it." He had paused, but Emily had not dared deny his suspicions.

"Maybe right now you need something casual, like the thing you have with Mark. Maybe it's a good transition for you. Maybe you are starting to realize you want more from your partner, but I know you know that you're not ready for that kind of a commitment just yet. And here comes the blunt part – you'll never be ready for the kind of commitment you're craving, until and unless you stop running from it. You're a smart woman – figure out what I'm saying here…" He had added cheekily.

"I'm sick of random, meaningless dating, Dave. It honestly gives me nothing." She had confessed.

"Then work on your communication skills. Work on yourself, Emily. And maybe try to work out your anger towards the BAU. You know none of us ever meant to push you away, right? And I get it – I do. I get why you needed to leave. But I also would like to see you strong enough to want to come back, one day. And I know you called me to discuss your private relationship status, but can you really strive to be in a healthy relationship that fulfills you, when you can't even work out why you are unable to look your best friends in the eyes? The change starts with you, Emily. Change the way you see yourself, give yourself the credit and respect that you deserve, work on your relationship with those people that you know are crazy about you first. And maybe then try to work on that dating problem. Makes sense?"

Emily had continued nibbling on her lower lip. Of course it made sense – David Rossi was the master of words.

Little did she know – that same conversation with him and those same words of wisdom would be the beginning of what would create The Great Emily Prentiss – the BAU Unit Chief, in the future. She'd work on herself and she'd want to fix her relationship with the BAU so much, that she'd one day return and give them a fair chance. No more running. No more pretending. She'd grow up and she'd turn into someone the team would be proud to call their Boss and friend. And it would be all because of that one short phone call, with that smart man.

"Can I trust that all I tell you stays just between you and me?" She had asked, with a voice weaker than anything he'd ever heard escape her lips.

"Always."

"I miss everyone. I never meant to leave, but I felt like I had no other choice. I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I wasn't even being myself anymore, just so I can jump back and be the old Emily, the one you guys knew before you knew about Ian Doyle." She poured it all out breathlessly.

Rossi remained quiet, giving her time to continue speaking.

"I didn't want all of the bottled up residual consequences of my trauma to weight on any of you, so I pretended. And I know it wasn't healthy to do it, but I did it anyway. Then it got to the point where I couldn't even get out of bed in the morning, as I knew I had to do it all over again – smile, pretend, play the role of an Emily Prentiss that was gone…changed. I just didn't know how to deal with it all…"

"So…you left." Rossi continued that last sentence of hers, knowing painfully well that she didn't want to admit to it herself.

"Yup."

"Emily, it's perfectly fine to run. Look at me – I've ran from three wives." He cracked her favorite kind of a joke and it worked, it made her laugh.

"However, running does not solve anything. It feels great right when you do it - you watch all of your troubles disappear behind you and you shout out the occasional 'bite my ass' over your shoulder and you're happy to be going in a different direction, but-…"

"But nobody said it was the right direction to go." Emily cut him off and added the ending to what she was sure he was going to say.

Screw therapy. David Rossi was the real deal for when Emily need to talk something out.

"Brava, Emily."

Her whole face lit up, hearing him congratulate her in his native language. Rossi was extremely proud of his Italian heritage, even if he would always crack jokes about his roots. Emily knew that he only ever resorted to throwing in an Italian word or two when he felt extremely comfortable with the person next to him. To Rossi, his Italian comments were a privilege that not many people got to experience.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to come back?" Emily had asked weakly, hearing Mark turn off the water in the bathroom. She knew she only had a couple more minutes left to open up and she was meaning to take full advantage of each second.

"I know you can, Emily!" Rossi had reassured her instantly. "But you need to work on yourself first. Then, when the time is right, you need to come back home. And then, when you least expect it – love will come knocking at your door."

"Ha, doubtfully!" Emily had thrown in one of her usual snarky remarks.

"It will! You'll see!" Rossi had smirked to himself.

It was useless to tell Emily right then and there that she was singlehandedly the most insanely intelligent, beautiful woman he had ever met. Of course she deserved love and of course she'd find it one day. But first, she had to pick herself up and see herself for what he saw her in her. He wouldn't just tell Emily her true worth. He'd rather guide her into figuring it out, on her own.

"Mark my words Emily – one day you'll find the person who challenges you, the man who makes you smile, the one who does small little things for you just to cheer you up, the guy who would worship you for everything you are…the man who would make you feel protected, make you feel whole again. He'd fill the last void you're feeling and I will be right there, to tease the Hell out of you for being head over heels for him."

Rossi's closing statement made her laugh once again. Until then, Emily had been doubtful about such a thing even happening, but after she laughed, she realized it wasn't such a bad concept – being in love, being happy.

"Yeah?" Rhetorically, she had asked for just one more confirmation.

"Oh yeah! Take it from me, I'm the relationship master."

"Weren't you marred, like…five times?" She continued laughing.

Rossi had smiled victoriously. Emily had no idea how he was playing her and telling her exactly what she needed to hear. If anyone else had told her she'd fall in love one day, she would have laughed sarcastically in their face. But Rossi…oh, Rossi knew exactly how to make her laugh with excitement over the idea of ever maybe falling in love.

"Let's get our facts straight – I've only been married three times…so far." Rossi had pointed out, only semi-jokingly. "And yet, I'm not opposed to the idea of ever falling in love again and doing this crazy dance once more. Or twice…we'll see what the future holds."

"Oh my God, Dave!" Emily had laughed uncontrollably, hearing those words.

If Rossi was willing to jump at it again, after being burnt three times already, then who was to say that Emily did not have the courage to even try to maybe find that right person…maybe once? Once would be good. She wasn't greedy.

"Aaaight, ya got'chaself a cream crackered Hank Marvin ova' here, luv'." Mark had then called out, poking his head out the bathroom. "I'm gobsmacked – innit weird how ya can be so full o' beans right 'bout now? Fancy yaself a cup o' tea before I leave or ya want me to stay at'cha mint gaff tonight?"

"What the Hell did he just say!?" Rossi had questioned audibly, without intending to do so.

"He's tired and hungry and I'm full of energy, so he offered me a tea and asked if he'd be staying over at my place tonight." Emily had 'translated'. "And before you say you're impressed with my Brit slang knowledge, let me just tell you that most of the time I have no idea what Mark and his Cockney accent are on about. I just nod…"

"Well, one day you won't need to nod." Rossi had snuck in yet another comment that was meant to give Emily the courage to look forward to a future with a man who'd know her, want her, respect her and make her excited about things, other than intimacy.

"Thank you for talking to me, Dave."

"On it like a car bonnet!" Rossi had hit her with his unexpected knowledge of UK slang.

"It means I got it under control." He had then translated, sensing Emily was not familiar with this one.

"I really miss you, Dave. I miss everyone…"

"Then come back. And maybe make it permanent, this time?"

"I will. One day, I will."

With that, they had finished the call and Emily Prentiss had spent the rest of the night, quietly contemplating and making a carefully thought-out plan on how to make David Rossi proud and how to get her family back.

The very next memory Emily had when, in current time Rossi and her were standing in the hallway of the Police Station, was when she had been going through hard times, with her old friend Matthew. It had been a bit before the whole Doyle thing had blown up in her face and it had, probably, been the biggest downfall, one during which she needed the biggest support. Hotch had given her leeway, only to then rip it away and judge her actions. Her own team – those people she constantly put her life in danger for; they had not believed in her. At that time, Emily had felt like nobody understood, like nobody backed her up, like there was no one in her corner. No one, but David Rossi. Even when Emily's own partner Morgan failed to be there for her the way she needed him to, Rossi had backed her up and fought for her cause. He had listened to her troubles, without even making her utter a word. Rossi had his way of just knowing what was going on, of understanding, without asking too many questions, and Emily admired him for that superpower. He just knew thins and he knew that Emily needed support and he had been the only one to make her feel safe, to make her feel less crazy for wanting to find out what had happened to her childhood best friend.

Emily had liked Rossi way before that instance, but from that point on he had her full respect. It had taken insanity, for her to go against Hotch and the team, in search of the truth. But it had taken great courage and loyalty, for Rossi to back her up completely, through all of it.

No wonder her next memory was the one where he had taken her to a complete dump, a disgusting site, where their shoes had gotten completely trashed by mud and the stench of something rotten had hit their noses before even approaching their destination.

It had been the perfect place for her to open up and share her imperfect past with him. He had just backed her up blindly and loyally, so she trusted him. She had felt vulnerable and weak, yet strong enough to speak up about some of her troubles. She had told him something that nobody knew, something that she had never said out loud. It was something so dark and deep that the mere thought of it had always freaked her out. In a way, it might have been the reason why Emily Prentiss – the Ambassador's perfect daughter, had chosen a career in Secret Services, fresh out of University. She had dived into the lives, lies and schemes of multiple personalities with ease. Had it been her intention to hide from her own miserable reality? Had she desperately wanted to be someone else - anyone else, and to leave Emily Prentiss behind?

Standing in the middle of mud and looking at nothing but ruins, she had once told Rossi about getting pregnant at fifteen. For some reason, she had felt secure enough, to speak those words, in front of him. She knew her secret would be safe with him. And yet, she hadn't trusted him enough, to tell him the whole truth…

"Uh, Emily?" Rossi continued his attempts to get her to reply to the long suggestion he had just told her about.

They were still standing in the hallway of the Police Station and Rossi was now trying to make Emily snap out of her dreamy state. Emily seemed completely zoned out and he didn't know she was, in fact, thinking about him, at that moment.

"Emily?" He spoke softly, not wanting to startle her.

Whatever it was that she was thinking about, it was clearly important to her, if she allowed herself to space out during work.

"Huh? Yeah. Sorry…" She finally replied, returning to her current day reality.

In her head, she was preparing a speech on why she had spaced out for those few minutes. She'd tell him that she was mentally contemplating a brilliant new plan that had just struck her, so she had shut off in order to allow herself to focus. He'd call her a bluff, but she'd say it anyway.

And then, as she opened her mouth to form that into words, an unexpected reaction took place instead – a more physical, rather than vocal one.

"Woah…okay…" Rossi said, taken by surprise when Emily leaned in and gave him a hug.

For a few seconds, he put his hands on her back, holding her tight. And then he did the most endearing thing – his right hand tapped on Emily's back a few times, making her feel like she was just a baby, being held by someone who tried desperately to calm her down, with no words needed.

That spontaneous little thing he did, allowed her to open up a little more than what she had planned.

"I never told you this, because of my stupid ego and because we work together and this is weird for me to say…" She started speaking, but broke the hug since they were at the Police Station and it would be extremely inappropriate if someone walked by and witnessed that.

"But you are the most accurate representation of a fatherly figure I've ever had in my life and I am thankful to God, every single day, to have you by my side." She added in a whisper.

Emily Prentiss was not a softie, not when it came to her own feelings. She was the master of denial and deceit. She'd deny anything and everything, until her least breath. She'd never say something so intimate, so openly.

And yet, there she was – bearing her soul to him. And it felt good. She had always wanted to say those words and it felt…right.

"Emily…" He almost whispered, forming a comforting smile.

He had always known how much she cared about him, but he never thought she felt that strongly, about him. And, with a hand on his heart, he could swear that he had never before in his life felt this proud.

"As a man and as your colleague – I cannot tell you how much those words of yours mean to me. And as a parent, myself, I can only tell you that one does not have to share someone's DNA, in order to be their child. You know that, Emily. I'm proud of you and I'd be proud to call you my daughter, which is exactly how I feel about you."

"He asked to talk to you." JJ informed, once Emily walked in the private room where the team was.

"Me?"

"Yes, only you, Emily." JJ confirmed and led the way to the interrogation room.

The team was in the adjacent room, watching the entire thing and listening to everything they'd say to each other.

"So, you now have special requests, other than a lawyer?" Emily smirked, walking in the room like she owned the place.

Intimidating him was the best way to break him.

"What can I say? I have a thing for a sinner." Their number one suspect licked his lips and Emily cringed.

The team listened intently and, as usual, some of them had comments that needed to be said out loud.

"Is this guy getting a kick out of Prentiss?" Tara raised an eyebrow, on the other side of the mirror.

"Wow, Prentiss is a magnet for idiots!" Luke laughed, but received a scolding look from everyone else.

"Guys, shut up and listen!" Rossi spoke. He wasn't a fan of people making fun of Prentiss.

"What is so important that I had to take a break from my afternoon coffee break, for you?" Prentiss raised an eyebrow at the suspect.

"Like I said, I like me a sinner." He replied again.

It was starting to be hard for her to hide the disgust she felt. The way he objectified her was disturbing and yet she could not deny she had pushed her bra up right before entering that interrogation room. If she had to use her own body as a tool to bring justice, then be it. She'd done way worse in her past.

"What exactly do you think it is that I do, that makes me a sinner?" She asked, sitting back on her chair and casually popping open that top button on her shirt.

"Oh God, I could name a few things…" JJ whispered quietly, remembering some sweet details that the girls had shared with each other, on their last girls' night in, after a few too many glasses of wine.

Rossi shushed her as well. They needed to focus on Emily's interrogation tactics, not on her words, per say.

"Screwing around before you'd take the holy vows of matrimony?" The suspect suggested, as an answer to Emily's question. He also eyed her up and down hungrily as she fanned herself with some folder, presumably with all the evidence the FBI had against him.

"Oh, I hate to break it to you, but I wasn't exactly a virgin before that, so…" Emily could not contain her laughter.

Who did this guy think he was? Did he have a God complex? Why was it any of his business who she, or anyone else, screwed around with?

"You bitches disgust me." The man spat across the table, without being able to reach Emily. Oh, she'd have been pissed if he ruined her favorite work shirt. She was already ruining her dignity by unbuttoning it and playing along, just to make this guy confess.

It took Emily a second to get up on her feet and to grab his collar, forcing him to get up as well.

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you. Mind speaking up?" She said angrily, looking him dead in the eyes and feeling him try to pull away from her grasp.

"You're just a stupid whore like the others, okay!?" He yelled at her face.

It took Emily all she had in her, to not punch him out. Something about his words triggered her and she flipped out, completely.

"Oh yeah? And you are so damn holy and peaceful yourself, huh? The way you killed those girls, sure, you're such a Saint!" She screamed in his face, still holding his collar.

Rossi was watching her intently. Ever since she got called the 'w' word, Emily went savage. Her eyes now had a devilish glow to them and he could tell her breathing was ragged, at best.

"You know what? Yeah, I'm screwing around with a man I don't even know a thing about! And it feels great! I love every second of it, forbidden or not. And I love being a little whore, again…and again…and again! So you can take your holy vows and shove them up your-…" Emily was on a roll, until he screamed on top of her words.

"You deserve to rot in Hell, like the other sinners!" He was getting way too worked up and it was only a matter of time until he'd blow up, too.

"Oh yeah? I bet my forbidden adventure would be just amazing, in Hell. I mean, sex would be on fire! Not that it isn't even now, but still…" Emily smirked.

She'd have some explaining to do when the team would grill her, after this interrogation.

"Stop!" The man yelled. Something about the way she mentioned 'sex' so casually, made him flip.

"What? Don't want to hear about my sex life? Don't call me a whore! It's as simple as that." Emily stated, but she knew she needed to push him just a tiny little bit more.

"Do you want to know what he does to me?" She leaned forward, commanding herself not to throw up. She had to stay in character, be strong, overpower him with her words. She had to break him.

She whispered something in his ear and the man kept on cringing and shaking his head.

"And then he-…" Emily continued on whispering more stuff and she could tell her tactics were working.

"…like the good little whore that I am." She ended her long statement and finally let go of the guy.

Emily returned to her seat, across the table, and watched him struggle, sweating and feeling uncomfortable.

Instead of sitting back on his chair, he started fidgeting, playing with his hands, as if they were itching for him to do something with them.

"God, all this dirty talk is making me sweat." Emily said, as if she was talking to herself.

She saw how this man was contemplating, trying to convince himself not to do something, so she needed to give him yet one more reason to do it, instead.

The second button on her smart shirt flew open and she threw her head back a little. That was when he lost it, completely.

"You stupid little-…" He continued, saying the most colorful things to her, calling her names, none of which she hadn't heard before.

Two seconds later, he had tackled her to the floor and was holding her hands to the side, so she wouldn't retaliate.

"Give me time to enjoy this!" Emily called out, as a sign to her team.

"Shit, this guy is insane. We have to go in!" Tara said, the second the man attacked Emily.

"No. Prentiss just asked us to give her time. She knows what she's doing. Stay put." Rossi said, still keeping his eyes on Prentiss.

He couldn't care less about the man. He just wanted to make sure this situation wasn't going to trigger Emily.

"Oh yeah? What would you do to me?" Emily smirked, staying immobile, under the weight of this man's body, hovering on top of her.

And he then sang, like a bird. He described the exact way the previous victims had been killed, in perfect detail – the kind of colorful details that had never been out, in the press. He also stated his reasons for killing the other girls. Apparently, he was against people having an intimate relationship, outside of marriage. His seminars were teaching the importance of family values and he'd chosen these two women, the previous victims, out of the bunch, after they had shared that they were romantically involved with guys, without being married.

He also mentioned his trigger – his wife had been cheating on him and he had just found out recently. So he blamed it all on the other man, because according to him, if he hadn't agreed to be involved with someone else's woman, none of this would have happened.

"What the heck!?" Matt rolled his eyes, watching the scene unravel from behind the mirror.

"Congratulations. You just went from being a person of interest, to a full on suspect, in custody, with a confession. I bet you'd be everyone's favorite whore in jail." Emily smirked and overpowered the man in seconds.

By the time her team joined her in the interrogation room, she had already handcuffed him and was dragging his ass towards the door.

"Oh and do me a favor?" Emily leaned over, trying to whisper, so that only the suspect guy would hear her.

"When the lights go off and the next one in line tries to make you their bitch…" Her voice changed. It was nothing like Emily's real voice. It was low, raspy, quiet, chilling.

"Play along!" She ended off that sentence before she tossed the guy to one of the policemen who were waiting to take him into custody.

Rossi was right next to her and he was on high alert. He remembered her saying the exact same words, to another suspect, years ago, with the same exact tone and that same devilish spark in her eyes. Something was off with Emily, if that was Emily at all. He'd wait it out and gather up the courage to ask her about it, someday, when the time was right. It could not be a coincidence that she used the same exact line, with the same exact intonation and that same chilling look in her eyes.

Lately, he had gathered quite a bit of disturbing observations about Emily and it was getting harder and harder not to say anything to her. Yet, he knew that confronting her would only make her close off even more. He had to be smart about this. He was one of the three founding BAU members, he surely had the wit, the patience and the ability to approach her, when the time was right.

"Damn, Prentiss…" Matt clapped his hands when the policemen walked away with the guy.

Emily just shrugged, feeling very awkward. She knew she had six sets of eyes on her, after the bomb she had dropped.

"So, who's the mystery man in your life?" Luke asked, his eyes curious and wide.

"Seriously? None of you could call me out on the bluff? Come on, guys." Emily played it cool, as she buttoned up and slicked her wild hair back, trying to look more like a Unit Chief and less like the wild dog she had just been, seconds ago.

"There's no way all that raw emotion could have been fake. No way!" Luke pushed it, which was normal, because he was always the first one to ask all the inappropriate questions.

"Guys, drop it, okay? If she says she made it up, then she made it up. Think of how many times we all have had to lie on the spot, huh?" JJ approached Emily as she spoke to Matt and, primarily, Luke.

"We need to check the validity of his words." Rossi changed the subject, walking towards the room where the BAU had been working from, since they had arrived in town.

The team started picking on the little things the man had said to Emily, in his final moments of rage. They played a recording of the interrogation and his every word checked out – the way he had met the girls, the physical descriptions of the girls, the few personal things he knew about them and their lifestyle, including the names of their partners, but most importantly, the details of each crime. He had shared things that were not public knowledge, such as the murder weapon, the place where the attack had taken place and the clothes the victims had been wearing.

"Well, this was an easy one. No kicking down doors, no pointing a gun. Just sitting around and feeding this dumb ass a very pissed off Emily Prentiss and her wild acting skills." Tara grinned after they were done analyzing every detail and they came to the conclusion there was no way any other person could have committed the crime. It was him, for sure.

"Good job on breaking the guy so quickly. I understand now why you didn't want me in that room earlier – you have established a connection to him and you were working an angle - you wanted him to know more about you, so he could say more about him. Very smart move." Rossi said to Emily.

It didn't fully excuse the way she blew up on him, but he now understood where she was coming from.

Emily Prentiss had always been about the power, the authority, but mostly – autonomy. There was no doubt that growing up in a family of politicians would do that to a child - it would reinforce their will to be independent, to take care of themselves. Emily had been showing signs of such a tortured upbringing for years now. The fact that nobody ever asked her about it, didn't mean that they didn't know, or suspect, what her childhood must have been like.

In different occasions in the past, Emily had spoken about instability. She had connected to both suspects and victims, based on the inability to feel safe, to feel at home, to feel connected…to feel anything at all. She would later go on and blame her words on her 'mad acting skills', but the team knew better. They knew. They just knew.

And earlier, Rossi had challenged Emily's autonomy, her authority in the interrogation room. He had walked in, uninvited, and he had made the guy lawyer up. Clearly that must have hit Emily's ego and her initial response, as many times before, had been to blow up in his face. And clearly, she had made sure she'd later on apologize to the man she had nothing but respect for.

"Okay, everyone. We're wrapping up here and I'll see when we can fly back home to our loved ones." The words rolled out of Emily's tongue.

Each time, after a case, they would all say they wanted to see their 'loved ones'. So now Emily simply repeated those words. But this time, she felt a pain.

"Your loved ones, anyways…" She corrected herself quickly, her gaze darting towards her phone.

If they only knew just how much of her inappropriate little confession to the suspect was true…

"Thank you." Emily whispered to JJ when she sat next to her on the plane, on their way back home that evening.

"That's what friends are for." JJ smirked.

She knew Emily was referring to the fact that JJ got her back, knowing the truth, and she covered for her when Matt and Luke were grilling Emily about her relationship earlier.

"And I better be a bridesmaid or I'm telling everyone about George!" JJ whispered, careful not to have anyone overhear that name.

"Oh my God, keep your cheeky voice down!" Emily's hand flew to JJ's mouth, forcing her to shut up.

"Awwh, you're blushing!" JJ pointed out after she bit Emily's finger hard enough to make her move her hand away from her lips.

"I got rid of George a long time ago, okay?" Emily replied.

"Mhm. Then what is in that locked up drawer, next to your bed?" JJ and her cheeky looks were more than Emily could handle.

"May I remind you of Johnny, George's identical twin brother?" Emily raised an eyebrow. If JJ wanted to play dirty, Emily was up for it.

"Oh, right. Johnny…" JJ's hand pushed a strand of hair from her face.

"He went through a phase when I called him Brad. Oh and Will's been introduced to him, a long time ago, so…" JJ stuck her tongue at Emily and watched her squirm.

"Ugh, your husband knows about your…Eww, JJ!" If Emily could only see her rosy red cheeks and that scandalized look on her face at that moment.

"Mhm." JJ nodded gracefully.

"Fine, be a weirdo. But if you tell anyone about my George, I will end you!" Emily's pointy finger rose in the air and stood threateningly in front of JJ's face.

"I thought you got rid of him…" JJ teased.

"I mean, come on. He was expensive. And, well, you've seen him…" Emily kept on blushing, enlisting just a couple of the many reasons why George was still in her life.

"Damn, yeah, I know." With a wink, JJ turned around and walked away, thinking of the many reasons why she liked her Johnny, or occasionally – Brad.

Upon landing, everyone started calling back home. It was a tradition – the team would let their families know they had landed safely.

Emily had never really thought much of it, but looking around, Luke, Tara and her were the only ones not on the phone. She wasn't sure if that sudden pain in her chest was due to the fact that she was a good boss and a good friend, who was upset that Luke's relationship had ended on such a sour note, or maybe she was a bad person who was selfishly thinking about the lack of a 'special someone' she could call to let them know she was okay. Did anyone even care?

She sighed, dragging her Go Bag down the aisle. Had it always been this way? Why was she only noticing these little things just now? Why were they making her so upset, if for years, it had been this way.

Three Uber cars arrived to take everyone back home. The team split up and divided wisely - two people in each car, as some of them lived on the same route and it was always easy for someone to get a lift.

Emily rode with Rossi, who would get dropped off first. She could tell that his curious eyes were studying her, but she kept quiet for the entire ride.

"Everything alright, Prentiss?" He had tried to initiate some kind of a conversation five minutes before they would reach his mansion.

"Mhm." Emily's usual reply followed and he knew that he had to drop it, then and there.

She felt like she could breathe a bit better, once he was out of the car. The driver looked like a shady guy, but she wasn't worried, with a gun holstered to her side. She'd rather be in the presence of a complete stranger, than of someone who knew her. And she knew that Rossi knew her very well, which is what scared her the most.

Now that she didn't have to hide anymore, she pulled the burner phone from her pocket and started to type a text message.

"Hey, we landed a while ago. I'm on my way home now…"

She cringed and deleted it immediately, without sending it.

Landed? She'd be asked where she was. And why would she send such a text anyway? It's not like he had asked her what she was doing.

"Hey, so I know it must be really late, or rather super early in the morning, but I…"

This time she rolled her eyes and destroyed the text once again. Yes, of course it was not a normal time to text someone. Plus, she didn't have anything valid or important to say. It was about four o'clock in the morning where he was and she could not find a good excuse to text him.

"Hey, how are you? …..ugh, damn it I am so lame!"

This time she allowed herself to go off and to actually type out her anger. Clearly, she never sent this message either, but it felt good to type it out. It was weirdly therapeutic.

"It's okay, send it, I'm not asleep." An incoming text message made her smile.

Had she been busted? Had he seen her type and delete, multiple times now? Was that lame? Or was it maybe cute that he initiated a conversation, so she'd relax and send that text after all?

In reality, Richard was chatting away with someone from work at that moment, so he saw one of his other chats continuously showed the 'is typing…' notification before it stopped and nothing got sent.

"Hey. Yeah, I was wondering if it was a good time to text and then I realized it wasn't and then I just didn't know what to say and it was just…awkward."

Emily replied back quickly, as she saw the Uber driver pull up in front of her building.

She jumped out of the car and hurried towards the elevator.

"How are you? Is everything okay? It must be late for you as well." He texted just when Emily was opening the door to her apartment.

"I'm fine, just got back home from work actually. It's kind of late, yeah. I have an early morning meeting tomorrow, so I guess I shall skip on my wine routine. How are you? How was the first day back at work? I meant to text and ask you earlier, but I had a very busy day and I had to stay focused…"

Emily popped the go bag in its usual corner, behind the door. She could deal with unpacking tomorrow.

"I understand. And yeah, it was good. I got yelled at by my assistant for twenty-six minutes and a half, but otherwise, it was fine."

His reply made her laugh. It also reminded her of Reid's weird obsession of counting the time it took people to do random things.

Also, the way he always said 'I understand' was endearing. Granted, he had no idea what mess Emily's life was about, so he surely did not fully understand what she was saying, but the simple fact that each time Emily said something, he'd always say that he understood, said something about him as a guy. He wasn't controlling. He had never asked her anything weird, apart from when he asked her to pack that sexy underwear for her trip, but she was willing to let that one slide. Plus, that two-piece lingerie set was already in her suitcase anyway.

"Hahaha, you got scolded by your assistant!? Is there a video of that scene!? I wanna watch it! By the way, I got grilled by my co-workers today. It was embarrassing. I swear, there are no boundaries between the eight of us."

She only shared half of the story.

"Oh, video? You want proof? Or you want incriminating material on my best friend? Oh, yeah, my assistant is my best friend, forgot to mention. I ain't snitchin' on this guy! Hahaha. Now, what did you get grilled about?"

She laughed, imagining him say those words out loud. He had this cool vibe around him and he usually spoke in a very formal and polite manner, but she had heard him go off with some colloquial stuff, too, and he sounded legit.

"Wow, it's a blessing and a curse to work with the besties, right? I would know! And uhm, it's not important what they grilled me about…"

She regretted having let that slip. Of course he'd want to know more now.

"Oh, they figured out Boss is getting a lil' sugar on the side, huh?"

His text made her gasp. She had just stripped down from her clothes and was on her way to take a shower.

"Any other day I would have laughed at your words, but not today when I just got called a whore by this…low life thug. And yes, I may have let something slip. I shouldn't have, though. I don't want them to know just yet. I need to know for myself, first…"

She couldn't help it, she needed to let him know in a very subtle way, that she wasn't very sure about this…thing. Their 'relationship', if it could even be called that. It was weird and it was long distance and it felt unreal. And yet, she wanted to make it work, so badly.

"Wow, what!? Can I have this guy's name and home address? Ugh, absolutely unacceptable. How dare he!? What did you do? Did you defend yourself? And oh…oh…uhm, okay…"

She could catch the shift in his emotions, between the first part of his message and the way he ended it. Of course he'd take it personally, hearing that the woman he liked was not even sure about him.

"My best friend knows some of it. I'm not keeping you a secret, if that's what hit your ego. I just want to be sure about you, before I tell everyone. I haven't really introduced anyone to the family, so if someday this happens with you, I want to know it in my heart that this is the right thing to do. No rushed decisions, no mistakes, right? And no, you can't have this guy's address. Don't worry, I took care of him. Now, can I please go take a shower? I've been freezing over here for five minutes now."

Emily chuckled, making up a challenge for herself as a profiler. If she was right about him being a good guy, he'd text her back saying that it was her decision and any decision would be the right decision, as long as it was good for her. He would also call her out on being naked while waiting for the shower.

"It's your life, your friends, your choices. Anything you feel like doing, do it with no regrets. I respect the fact that you don't want to rush this. Neither do I, although my best friend knows everything about you already. But I guess it's harder, having seven best friends in your corner. Lots of explaining to do, hahaha! And forget about the video of my assistant yelling at me and how about a video of you, in that bathrobe…mmmh."

She had to roll her eyes so hard when he literally confirmed that she was both an amazing profiler and so damn much into him. his reply had been spot on with what she thought he'd say.

"You are sadly mistaken if you think this texting thing would go any further than you, seeing photos of my kitchen counter. I'm smart enough not to put my face on anything that could incriminate me in the future. And who said I was even wearing a bathrobe? Haha. Enjoy the mental image of THAT while I shower. Talk to you in a bit."

She was a tease and she knew it. She put her phone to charge, next to her bed and she walked back to the bathroom. The upside of living on her own – she could walk around naked, without a care in the world.

"It's not your FACE I was interested in seeing, but okay, shoot me down. It's fine. I'll get my doze of Emily in two weeks' time, ha! And oooohhhhh, girl why you do me like that!? No bathrobe? Ughhhh, I hope the curtains are down, I don't want any lucky neighbor to see your perfection. Damn, Emily…damn! Take your time in the shower. Thanks for THAT image. Uhhhhh!"

He texted back and when she read it after her shower, she could feel the cheeky sarcasm in his words. He had a way of speaking and pretending to be stern, while he was really being a huge dork and his words were pure jokes and teases.

"You can now take your hands off of…yourself, and text me back because I'm done with my shower and I am bored :P And shoot, I forgot to draw the curtains again, hahahahaha, I keep doing that! Good thing it's quite late and my curious neighbor is old enough to be sleeping by now."

She put some body lotion on while waiting for him to reply. Richard was into teasing and joking, but Emily was the more direct one. She'd say things to make him blush, just like the first line of the last text she sent him. She was cheeky and she loved being that way.

"Damn, busted! Ok fine, hands are all free…now, where do you want them? :P You're bored? Hmm, then I guess we're both bored. Wanna play tic-tac-toe online? And damn, ask that neighbor if he's willing to rent out a room, with a view of your bedroom, of course. Or the bathroom. Or both!"

Richard was tired. He had stayed in his office until half past two in the morning, going over documents and reports that he had missed out on while he was in the hospital. Yes, it had been a medical emergency, but there was nobody else who could do his job for him. Victor was good enough, but he wasn't legally authorized to sign anything. It had to always be Richard, which meant that after a few days of laying alone in a hospital bed, he now had to make up for it by spending a few days and a few more nights, alone in his office, working.

There was this one constant in his life - he was alone. It only hit him now, as he was thinking about his current situation. Earlier that day, a lot of his colleagues had come to his office to welcome him back and most of them had greeted him on their way out of the building. He knew they were going back home, to their families, kids, wives or husbands. And he had none of that. He wanted all of it, but he had none of it. And while that didn't use to hurt him this much, he now felt a certain sharp pain in his chest.

He didn't want to be alone anymore. And, in a way, he wasn't. He had Emily, but did he really have her? Or were they just playing along with a fantasy that was bound to come crashing down?

"If I tell you where I want those hands, I'll ruin the surprise. You need to wait until next weekend. And eww, you pervert! You don't even have to SPY on me, to see me in a bathroom or a bedroom. You just have to wait until next weekend :P"

Her text made him gulp. Clearly. They were grown up people, in something that resembled a relationship, and she was going to stay at his house…so things were bound to happen. But it was one thing to know it, and a whole other thing to have her tell him all about it. Her bluntness was…kind of hot.

"You should know, my hands are quite playful."

He texted shortly. The caffeine he had consumed before he got in his car, to drive back home from work an hour ago, was now wearing off and he was starting to feel exhausted. He didn't have much energy to type out long messages anymore.

"Oh, I remember :P Listen, I really need to get to bed. And we should probably figure out a normal time to text. It's not fair to keep you up so late at night. I'll talk to you some time tomorrow, okay?"

She yawned, feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion as well.

"Emily, you can keep me up day and night. I would not mind, at all."

He texted quickly, but then he read it again and it sounded…off.

"Oh God. Not UP up. I mean. I didn't mean…because you said…about my hands being…and I didn't mean UP, in that sense uh, I meant up as in 'not sleeping', not Up as in…you know – up! Uh, just in case the previous text came out wrong."

He added a second text as soon as he sent out the first one.

It made Emily laugh out loud. He was such a dork, no wonder she was drawn to him - he was basically a male version of herself.

"Shut up, lol! How about we agree that I'd keep you UP in both senses of the word, okay? Now breathe in and breathe out…and go to bed. Sweet dreams."

She would be damned if she missed out an opportunity like this one. It was too good, she just had to text him those words. it wasn't like he wasn't already counting the days until he'd see her again, but after reading that text he'd possibly start counting the hours, too. What a man would not want a woman, who'd tell him all those beautifully naughty things in such a casual, as a matter of fact manner?

"Damn. Daaamn. Ok goodnight. Enough teasing for today. You are a mean one, Emily. And I like you just like that. Haha, talk to you tomorrow and I agree with the 'normal time' suggestion. This time is quite bad for both you and me, apart from today because I had a late night at work. Let's see what works better for us tomorrow, okay? I'll text you when things in the office cool off a bit."

He put his phone on the bedside table and smiled. They had been texting for a few days now, but things were slowly starting to feel less awkward. And she had tickets to go see him soon, this was progress. He had faith in this relationship - he had to, he wanted it so much and he had been waiting for this blessing, for years. He deserved to be happy and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do, for her.

"By the way, I wasn't joking earlier. I really do remember your hands. And I miss them. I miss you…"

Emily texted back after a long moment in which she had wondered whether it was too much, too soon and too forward. But the Hell with it, right? They both had to take turns in taking the first steps forward, if they wanted this thing between them to turn into something long term and real.

"I miss you too. Jokes aside, but I don't miss you just because of your body. I miss you because of YOU, because you are a remarkable woman, strong, independent, feisty and just so amazing. Sweet dreams, ma Chérie."

He smiled again, putting the phone back on the night stand. It was easy to say that nothing could top those last goodnight messages, so they knew that neither of them would text anymore. The chat was done, the teasing was done and the truths have come out. That was all, at least for that night.

REVIEW REPLIES:

"rmpcmfan" LOL, gotta love Emily's urges to destroy everyone and everything first, before she'd sit down and think of a more legal and less evil way of dealing with a problem, hahahahaha! And oh, JJ ain't done prying! Emily may play tough, but ultimately JJ will know all the dirty details she'd ever want to (and even NOT want to, lol) know! Let's just say that there are certain naughty secrets of Emily's that JJ is protecting fiercely and would never tell anyone about! One of those being 'George' :P! And no, I won't tell you more about 'George', lol :)! There's more on the topic later on. Enjoy the idea/image of THAT, now that I've planted it, hehe :P!

"victoriacostavieira" Hi Victoria :)! It's so nice to hear from you again, I'm glad you're still following (and enjoying) my little creation. And yes, Emily/Richard is, apparently, a thing now :P I promised and I delivered! Things are going to happen and chapters/scenes are going to lean towards the naughty Prentiss side lol! And you are going to enjoy it :)! Keep in touch.

"sweetkid45" Rossi saw how useless JJ was in the interrogation room and he needed a shift in the dynamics, with a man present as interrogator. It backfired, sadly, so Emily was pissed off. Btw there is NO romantic connection between Emily and JJ in my story! They are best friends, super close, and they tease each other about the weirdest things, so when JJ is 'jealous', it is meant as a joke :)! JJ is actually super happy that Emily has found a guy she likes so much and she appreciates that she is the ONLY one to know about Richard.