When I returned to work on Monday - only after spending a half hour convincing Mick that I was fine after the weekend - the team didn't mention anything. I was still mad, though. He told them that I wasn't coping and that angered me, because he knew that I didn't want them to know that. I was more upset with the team, though, for telling him. For not covering for me when they knew I liked to handle my own.
We briefed a case that came in this morning, and then headed for the airstrip to head for Seattle.
We went over the case more thoroughly there, and then were left with three and a half hours of flight to go.
"How was your weekend?" JJ asked me quietly.
"Infuriating." I replied dismissively.
"…What do you mean?"
"I mean both my boyfriend and my team discussed me despite all parties knowing that I wouldn't be happy about it."
"He was concerned. We all were." JJ defended them. I knew she was right; I knew that he and the team alike where only trying to help me. It still made me mad. I didn't reply or look at any of them, although I felt them all watching me. I kept my eyes on my file as I skimmed over the information repeatedly despite nothing knew jumping out at me. My jaw was rigid as I tried to calm myself down.
"Prentiss, I need your head in this." Hotch spoke after a few beats of silence.
"It is." I stood up and made my way to the bathroom down the end of the plane.
I looked at myself in the mirror and ran the tap, slashing some water onto my forearms. Realistically, I wasn't okay at all. My head wasn't really here for this case; it was still with the last one. Seeing someone slice a 7-year-old girl's throat right in front of you was bound to cause some trauma. More so, the parents had blamed me for it, too. Not to me personally but I heard their accusations when JJ told them the bad news. It absolutely shattered my heart hearing their cries.
I took a few deep breaths to calm my rising tears and managed to squish them all back down. I dried my arms and took one last glance at myself before I walked back and returned to my seat.
They were quiet, keeping a side eye on me as they read through files or books. It irritated me knowing that they were watching and most likely profiling me, but I fought against making any snappy remark this time.
I needed to watch myself; if Hotch thought that I shouldn't be on this case, he would send me home without hesitation. The last thing I wanted was to be sent home and then be reprimanded by Mick for lying to him, followed by him not letting me out of his sight like he had done on Friday passed.
When we finally landed in Seattle, I knew that Hotch was suspicious of my state when he paired me with him instead of Morgan. There was not a more obvious way for him to indicate that he was worried.
I was quiet on our drive to the morgue, and I flipped through the case again. "Has the information changed?" He asked after a while. I looked at him with a confused expression. "You keep flipping through the file despite memorizing the little information in there. Nothing is going to change. What is on your mind?"
I closed the file and put it down beside me. "This case is on my mind, and nothing more." I dismissed his concern, but I knew he wouldn't accept that.
"When we finish this and get back, I'm booking you in with the therapist again," His eyes stayed on the road. I opened my mouth to argue, but he spoke again before I could, "I don't care how many times or how confident you sound when you tell me that you're fine. I know that you witnessed something traumatic and that isn't going to just go away within a weekend. I'm not going to force you to have time off, I'm not going to take you off the case without cause. Just speak with the therapist and heal." The way he spoke the last word indicated that it was the end of the conversation. I didn't bother trying to argue this time; he was as stubborn as me, and his mind was not changing.
I sighed and dropped my head back into the head rest as I looked out the window. "Thank you." I whispered quietly, barely loud enough to hear. I knew he heard it though, because I saw a slight dimple and the corner of his mouth turn up. Whether he was smiling because he won, or because I was accepting his help now, I wasn't sure.
After the case in Seattle, I attended a therapist appointment the same afternoon we returned home. She gave me "homework" where I had to document what reminded and distracted me from the ordeal and then she scheduled me in for a second appointment next week. I was really hoping that one would be enough, but I suppose telling your therapist that you were too afraid to face another unsub with a victim in hand caused some concern in this line of work.
The next day, we received a new case with young girls as victims. After reading the therapist's report, Hotch demanded I stay at base and work remotely with them. I tried to argue, to assure him that I was okay. It wasn't enough.
At least I could sleep in my own bed at night.
Tonight, I received a call rather late, and it woke both Mick and I up. I picked it up and answered the call, "Prentiss."
"You were asleep. I'm sorry."
"…Mother?" I threw the blankets away and wrapped my robe around me as I walked out. I motioned for Mick to go back to sleep and went downstairs. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine. I am just finishing up an assignment in Belgium. I'll be back in the states next week, I was hoping we could get lunch or dinner?"
We hadn't seen each other in years now. Her offer threw me off, "…Sure. Sure we can."
"Great, I'll book a table at that Italian restaurant you love in DC."
I looked over my shoulder when I heard Mick's footsteps on the stairs. He asked me quietly who it was. I didn't answer him, but replied to my mother, "Me plus one…assuming there is no case."
"Plus one? Are you seeing someone? A case…are you seeing Agent Hotchner?"
I almost laughed, "No mother, it isn't Hotch. It's late, I need to get to bed. Text me with dinner details and we'll be there."
I walked into the restaurant in a nice dress with Mick a half step behind me, his hand on the small of my back. I waited for a hostess to seat us as the table labelled "Prentiss X3" and he pulled my chair out for me. I thanked him and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. We looked at a wine menu before I ordered a nice red, and I explained that mother was always late to functions with me.
Eventually, she arrived. She smiled and was polite as she introduced herself to Mick when he stood to greet her. She looked surprised when he spoke with his thick accent. She smiled at me as she sat, nodding approvingly. It put me off; my mother never liked my choice in men. The fact that she liked Mick, made me wonder if I really liked him. I pinched myself for thinking such an immature thing.
When she asked him what he did for a living, she seemed to no longer approve, although she didn't mention anything. She was perfectly polite to him the whole night. To me, not so much. A few remarks here and there, sharing a few stories about my adolescence that Mick didn't need to know about…ever.
It was a successful night overall. I had expected it to end early with her storming out or pretending to receive a call that was too important to miss, and then saying there was an emergency. How many "emergencies" could an Ambassador possibly received at 8pm on a Saturday.
When she paid the full bill and left, we headed out too. I went towards where the cabs were, but he caught my hand and pulled me back to him. I smiled as he pressed a few kisses to my lips, "Thank you for letting me meet her. It helped me understand you a bit better, I think."
"Because she's a nightmare?" I questioned with a smile.
"She was great with me; she just doesn't seem that big a fan of you." He smirked. I rolled my eyes with a nod. This was not a new thing for me. He kissed me again, "Let's go for a walk."
It was freezing outside tonight, but that didn't seem to bother him. He took his coat off and put it around me before pushing gently for me to walk.
We walked around the DC streets for a while before I heard my name being called by a very drunk Morgan. I knew the team was having dinner and drinks tonight; I didn't know it was this close to where I was having dinner. I smiled as he waved a big wave from across the street. Mick pulled me to cross the road with him and when we got there, the others were outside now too.
"It's only nine, you're heading home already?" I asked as Morgan wrapped his arms around me. I smiled and hugged him back, feeling Mick's hand slide away from my lower back.
"Nope, we're going to a bar now," Garcia smiled, "Join us!"
I hesitated and looked at Mick beside me. I wouldn't have minded joining them and having a few more drinks, but tonight I knew Mick just wanted to spend time with me. I smiled at him before looking back to the team, "We'll take a rain check; we're going home. Enjoy your night, stay safe." JJ hugged me tightly before they continued to walk past us, and I linked my hand back with Mick.
"Are you sure? We can go have a drinks with them if you want."
"What I want is to go home and spend the night with you." I winked and placed a long kiss on his lips, trying to indicate my desire to him without having the whole street see anything other than a harmless kiss. When I pulled back, I saw the smirk on his lips. "Let's go." I pulled him with me towards a bay of cabs across the street.
He held me up by my thighs pressed against the wall of the hallway. His lips attacked my throat, I ran my hands through his hair. I wrapped my legs tightly around him and he dropped one from my thigh and pushed my dress up. He dipped his fingers into my panties to make sure I was sufficiently aroused, and then he pushed my panties to the side and entered roughly. I cried out at the sudden intrusion and closed my eyes.
"Are you okay?" He breathed against my lips between kisses.
"Yes, god yes. Fuck me." That seemed to be all he needed. He moved fast and hard. My back slammed into the wall repeatedly. I knew my thigh would be bruised from how his fingers dug in, getting harder as his climax built.
I came suddenly, and then I was off the wall and carried to the couch quickly. He dropped me down and pulled my panties off my legs, and then he was inside me again.
He flipped me over onto my stomach before long and pulled me to bend over the edge of the couch. He pulled my hair roughly as he kept his hips moving hard. I screamed out when I came again, that orgasm being more intense than I've had in a long time, or maybe ever.
That's what did him in, and then he let me fall forward onto the couch. He sat down beside me and leant back, trying to calm his erratic breathing.
I turned my head to the side to look at him, "You've never been that dominating before…I liked it." I smiled when his eyes met him and he kissed me hard.