Chapter 26: The Performer
Emily walked out of the interrogation room, leaving a confused Paul Davies behind. She sighed as she made her way down the hall, stopping when she bumped into Detective Kim.
"He ok?" Kim asked, gesturing to the interrogation room.
Emily shrugged, "I'm not sure," she replied, "He blames himself for what happened to all the victims… and maybe he's right." She raised her eyebrows and shook her head, "How's it going with Gina and Ray?"
"Your guys are working on it, but I think we'll have a confession from him soon," Kim replied, "At least Gina will be able to get some help."
Emily nodded, "It's sad, isn't it?" she remarked, continuing at Kim's confused expression, "Gina already had issues before Ray targeted her, and now… what happens when she's lucid and finds out she killed all those people?"
Kim shrugged and glanced over Emily's shoulder, watching as one of his officers escorted Davies down the hall, "I saw Gina when they brought her in… I think it'll take a while before she'll be able to understand what happened here."
Emily nodded and let out a sigh, "Well, I might go and see if the rest of the team are ready to go," she said, gesturing to the conference room, "It's been great working with you, Detective."
Kim smiled softly and nodded, holding out a hand for Emily to shake, "Nice to meet you, Agent Prentiss."
Hotch was in the conference room, packing up the files with Rossi and Reid. He glanced up and saw Emily and Kim heading towards them, talking as they walked. At one point, Kim laughed and reached over to squeeze Emily's arm, and she blushed and shook her head.
Hotch felt a strange stirring in his stomach at the sight, but ignored it, turning back to the piles of evidence. Emily was an adult and was free to talk to whomever she wanted. The case was over, so if she wanted to "talk" with Detective Kim, there was nothing officially wrong with that. Hotch couldn't help but wonder why the sight of Emily talking with the detective was making him nervous, but he shook it off. The case had been weird from the very beginning, so it shouldn't be a surprise for him to feel a little unsettled.
As Emily and Kim entered the conference room, Rossi looked up from the box he was packing.
"Any word from JJ?" Emily asked as they walked into the room, glancing between the other three men.
Rossi shook his head, "Morgan's at the hospital with her now… they said she needed some scans so they might be awhile."
Emily nodded and looked to Hotch, "Do you guys need a hand here? Or… do you think I can run an errand and meet you at the jet?"
Hotch shrugged and nodded, "I'm sure that would be fine…" he paused and tipped his head, "Care to share?"
Emily smiled softly and shook her head, "I just have to… take care of something while we're in town… it won't take long."
"Take your time," Rossi added, "We'll see you at the airport."
"Can I give you a ride somewhere?" Kim asked, unaware of the look Hotch made instinctively, "It'll be impossible to get a cab at this time of day."
Emily smiled and nodded, "That'd be great."
"Where are we headed?" Kim asked as they started out of the room and down the hall. He grabbed his jacket and keys from his desk and turned back to Emily.
"Pasadena?"
Emily wandered up the path towards the front door of the large concrete building, glancing back to find Detective Kim watching her. She smiled briefly, before she turned back to push her way into the building. Looking down at her phone for the directions, she made her way up the first flight of stairs, and then to the left, down a corridor of offices. When she found the right room, she tapped twice on the door and waited.
"Office hours are closed, come back tomorrow!" Zac called from behind the door.
"That's no way to speak to your mother!" Emily called back, laughing when she heard the door open.
Zac's stunned face appeared in the doorway, and Emily laughed again.
"Hey sweetheart," she said brightly, stepping forward to pull Zac into a hug. When his arms wrapped around her waist, she smiled softly.
"What are you doing here?" Zac asked, blown away by the unexpected visit, "Wait… does this have something to do with the Dante murders?"
Emily frowned and nodded, "Yeah… we just closed the case."
"Closed the case huh?" Zac asked, "So I'm guessing you don't have long."
Emily pursed her lips and shook her head, "No… unfortunately we're on our way to the airport now, but I couldn't stop in LA without visiting."
Zac nodded and turned back to lock his computer, then he grabbed his messenger bag and stepped into the hall, "Well, since you don't have long, I say we skip the stale office coffee and I take you out for a real one."
Emily nodded and waited while Zac locked the office, and then he turned back and linked his arm through hers, "So where are we going?"
An hour later, Detective Kim pulled the car up to the hangar, where the jet was waiting, the rest of the team having arrived only a few minutes earlier.
Emily looked over to Kim and smiled, "Thanks for the ride, Detective. I hope to see you again… or not."
Kim chuckled and nodded, holding out a hand for Emily to shake, "I know what you mean."
Emily smiled again and climbed out of the car, Zac climbing out of the backseat to hop in the front, and while they crossed paths, Emily stopped to give him a hug goodbye. She ruffled her hand through his hair and gripped his face in her hands, "I'm begging you, please get a haircut before Christmas."
Zac chuckled and shook his head, "I love you, Mom."
"Love you too sweetheart," she replied, with one final kiss on the cheek.
As Zac climbed into the front passenger seat, Emily leaned down at the open window and smiled at the two men, "Owen, if you wouldn't mind one last request," she started, waiting for an affirmative from the detective, "Keep an eye on this one… precious cargo."
Kim chuckled at Zac's rolled eyes, "Of course, Agent Prentiss."
Emily tapped her head on the window and nodded, standing up and watching as Kim drove away. Then she turned and headed towards the jet.
It was time to go home.
To say that love is pain
An' we'll do it again
I know you're not afraid
'Cause when you stayed
You knew you made the final show
So now you must submit
I'll never quit till you admit…
Emily made her way down the stairs, singing along to Joan Jett as she walked into the kitchen. She took a clean wine glass down from the cabinet, and then turned back to her wine rack to select a bottle. She was in for the night, and tomorrow was Saturday… and that meant she could enjoy a quiet drink to welcome the weekend.
Just as she was reaching into the top drawer for the bottle opener, Emily heard a knock at the door. She put the tool down on the counter and shuffled down to the front door, forgetting her state of dress.
"Hey Hotch," Emily said brightly as she opened the door, "What are you doing here?"
Hotch pursed his lips in an effort not to laugh, but he couldn't help himself and a puff of laughter escaped his mouth. He looked Emily up and down, taking in the sight.
She was dressed in a long sleeved sloth onesie, with matching slippers.
Emily grinned and nodded, but held out her finger to stop the comment she knew was coming, "Before you say a word, someone very special gave this to me as a gift… and I like to wear it when we've had a tough case."
Hotch bit his lip and nodded in understanding, miming zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key.
Emily huffed and stepped back, "Ok… now you may enter."
As she followed Hotch down the hall towards the living room, Emily called out after him, "I just ordered pizza and I'm about to open a bottle of Cabernet if you'd like to join me."
Hotch huffed as they both stopped by the kitchen counter and he nodded, "Planning a big Friday night, hey?"
"Only if you're staying," Emily replied, her face blushing as she realised the unintended innuendo.
Hotch raised his eyebrows, "Wow, Em… I appreciate the offer, but I think we're good as friends."
Emily rolled her eyes and turned back with a glare, "Do you want a glass of wine, or not, smart ass?"
"Yes please," Hotch replied quickly, avoiding any additional teasing. He knew what Emily had meant by her initial invitation, and as much as he got a kick out of teasing and flirting with her, he didn't want to piss her off. He finally felt like they were getting back on track after the whole Peter debacle. It hurt Hotch to think that Emily was alone again, but he'd do his damnedest to keep her company until her forever came along.
Emily poured two glasses of wine and then walked around the counter to join Hotch in the living room. They sat down on the couch, not much distance between them, and Emily leant her elbow on the cushion as she looked over at Hotch.
"That was an interesting time in LA," Emily started, trying to get the conversation rolling.
Hotch took a sip of his wine, watching Emily's face carefully, for any indications that she was ready to share the details of her last-minute errand. He nodded and smiled, "Yeah… it's been awhile since we worked with Detective Kim… good to see a familiar face."
"What was that all about? The Reid-teasing went right over my head," Emily replied.
"Oh, that was back when Gideon was still on the team," Hotch explained, "Reid was protecting an actress and he… pulled a Frank Farmer."
Emily bit her lip and smiled, her mouth resting on the rim of the wine glass, "You're kidding, right?"
Hotch shook his head, "Morgan never gave me the full details, but he was pretty involved."
Emily nodded her head slowly and raised her eyebrows, "Go Spencer."
Hotch chuckled and shook his head, "Anyway… what's the deal with your errand?"
Emily took a sip of her wine while she contemplated how to answer Hotch's question, but apparently her silence backfired.
"Or was it an excuse to spend some time with Detective Kim?"
Emily frowned and shook her head, "What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on Emily, we all saw the looks you two were exchanging," Hotch teased, trying to sound nonchalant about the topic, "You said you had an errand and he offered to drive… that excuse about not being able to get a cab."
Emily shook her head and sat up, "Honestly… he just drove me out to Pasadena and sat in the car while I… took care of my errand."
Hotch rolled his eyes, "If you're ready to start dating again after Peter, that's great! I mean… LA might be a bit too much of a commute… but at least Detective Kim is a nice guy."
"How many times do I have to tell you, Hotch?" Emily replied, exasperated at the turn this conversation was taking, "I was just visiting a friend who works at Cal-Tech… Owen drove me out there, he drove us to a coffee shop, the three of us had coffee together… because I wasn't going to make the poor guy sit in the car the whole time, and then he drove me to the airport."
Hotch nodded and reached out to take Emily's hand, "I'm sorry… I was just curious."
Emily nodded and squeezed Hotch's hand, "It's fine… just… can we change the subject, please?"
Hotch smiled, "Ok… well maybe you can tell me what Garcia was talking about… you dressing up like a vampire?"
Emily closed her eyes and sighed, "You're joking, right?"
Hotch shook his head and smiled, "Come on, Em… you know you don't have any secrets from me."
Emily bit her lip, considering how to respond, but was saved when there was knocking at the door.
"Pizza's here!" she called out, jumping over the back of the couch and making her way down the hall. As she opened the door, she heard Hotch call out from the living room.
"You're not getting away with it that easy, Emily Prentiss!"
Hotch stared at the photo in his hand. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
It was definitely Emily Prentiss… well it was Emily Prentiss, at least twenty years younger, dressed head to toe in black. Black leather top, with netted arms, dark black hair, and thick black make-up.
Hotch looked down to Emily lying against his side, her head on his chest and arm around his waist. This Emily was dressed in a sloth onesie, and had spent the evening drinking red wine, eating pepperoni pizza, and watching Audrey Hepburn and Humphry Bogart.
He couldn't reconcile the two versions of the same woman.
He smiled as he looked down at the woman in his arms, running his hand over her arm where it rested on his stomach. She looked so small… so vulnerable… so beautiful.
As much as he knew it had hurt her to end things with Peter, Hotch couldn't help but be glad about the outcome. He knew that Emily had her moments where she felt alone, but then they shared nights like this, nights filled with stories from their misspent youth, laughter, cuddling… and Hotch felt like it was all how it was meant to be. The only thing that would make nights like this even more perfect would be if he had Jack back.
Hotch was really starting to come to a decision about what he wanted when Haley and Jack were back from witness protection. He had been oscillating between wanting to ask Haley to try again, to mend their broken family; and just wanting them back because it would mean he had his son back. Moments like this, with Emily, made him wonder if he wanted Haley back because he loved her, or if he just missed having a partner to share life with. To laugh and joke, to share a bottle of wine, to cuddle on the couch… even his fights with Emily were beginning to feel familiar and safe.
Hotch wrinkled his brow, wondering when he had started thinking about Emily in that way… comparing her to Haley. And as his heart started to beat fast in his chest, he realised he needed to get out of there. He didn't think he would do anything stupid, anything that could potentially ruin his most important friendship, but he wasn't about to give himself the opportunity to find out.
He looked down at Emily and tried to gently move her away from him. He slid out from under her arm, keeping hold of her head and shoulders and gently guiding her onto the cushion. Once he had her lying on her side, he grabbed a couple of blankets from the basket by the window and gently placed them over her, tucking them in around her to keep out the cool air.
He turned back to the table and made quick work of cleaning up the empty pizza box and almost empty bottle of wine, leaving the glasses in the sink for tomorrow. One last check of the living room, he turned off the TV and DVD player, and when he put the remotes back on the table, Hotch realised he couldn't leave without taking that photo with him. He folded it up and shoved it into his back pocket, before grabbing his badge and keys from the coffee table.
He leaned over to move the hair that had fallen over Emily's face, tucking it behind her ear, and he impulsively leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"Goodnight, Em," he whispered softly, before standing and heading out the door.
Once the door was shut behind him, and he was standing in the hall, Hotch dropped his head, staring at his feet. Before any more thoughts of a future with Emily could invade his brain, Hotch started down the hall, needing to get out of there before he did something he'd regret.