Chapter Four
"Emily!" She saw her own shock reflected on his face, his eyes as wide as hers, his mouth gaping at her as she stared at him staring at her. JJ glanced between the two of them, brow furrowed with curiosity. It took them a moment too long to regain their composure and, profiler or not, the blonde couldn't have missed their shock if she was blind.
Everything came rushing back to her as she met his eyes. They travelled, just like they had that evening when he gazed up at her from the cab, from her ankles, up to her legs, to her waist, her chest, finally landing on her face. His tongue shot out, wetting his lips, and Emily remembered how his lips felt on her throat, on her mouth, tongue flicking over her nipple-
She felt her face flush, and shook her head slightly.
"Agent Hotchner." Emily said, trying to pull herself back into the present moment and maintain some semblance of professionalism. She was all too aware of JJ's eyes on them, and the effect that thinking about him in that way would have on her, as she offered him her hand. He hesitated a moment before taking it, and his warm skin against hers made her breath catch in her throat. She pulled her hand away too quickly and JJ cleared her throat beside her.
"I'll leave you to explain the rest of the admin, Hotch." JJ said, then glanced at Emily. "It's been nice meeting you, Emily. I look forward to working with you." If I stay here that long, Emily thought, as she returned JJ's smile, turning to face her, grateful to have her back to Hotch for a moment.
"You too, thanks JJ."
As the door swung shut behind her, Emily stayed staring at the wooden door, wishing she'd never entered through it, all too aware of his wide, shocked eyes behind her.
"Emily-" He began, in a voice full of surprise and sincerity, "I-uh, I had no idea, I hope you know-" She turned to him, quickly.
"Agent Hotchner," She said, with a polite and entirely professional smile. "I want to thank you for the opportunity to work in your department. The BAU's reputation precedes itself, I'm really looking forward to working with you and your team."
He stared, trying to process the fact that she was standing right in front of him, in the middle of his office. Remembering the phone calls she had ignored, and their texting conversation from earlier that morning, Aaron felt embarrassment burn in his chest. She looked different, standing here, in the light of day. She was dressed so modestly, her make-up so soft and light, and with a nervous energy about her that he couldn't associate with the women he had met only a few evenings before. She levelled him with those warm brown eyes and he found that he saw nothing there beyond polite, professional interest. Even with all of his profiling skills, even staring her down with his own dark eyes, he couldn't read her. There was nothing behind her eyes; no embarrassment, barely any recognition at all. She had reigned in her shock, compartmentalised him, put him into a little box inside of her brain and locked him away there.
"Emily-" He began, but, again, she cut him off.
"Agent Prentiss." She corrected him, abruptly, and he was taken aback by the coldness of her tone. He paused, eyes falling from her face to his desk, pointlessly shuffling around a few papers, not really seeing them. He nodded, clearing his throat, all too aware that she hadn't dropped those eyes that stared at him as though he hadn't seen her naked.
"Right. Agent Prentiss." He followed her lead, his own tone now as cold as hers, as professional. "Have you met the rest of the team?"
"I've met Agents Jareau and Morgan, and Dr Reid." She recited their names, Hotch nodding along as she did so.
"JJ didn't find time to introduce you to our technical analyst yet, then?" He pressed. Emily shook her head, curls waving around her face. He tried not to focus on the soft vanilla scent of her shampoo that drifted across his desk. "Penelope Garcia. Her office is next to Agent Jareau's. I'll have her take you down and introduce the two of you. Agent Gideon's office is just next door. I presume you've not met him, either?" Again, she shook her head. "I'll take you next door and introduce you."
He crossed the floor, walking around his desk and towards her, leaning past her to reach for the door handle. He was only being polite, but Emily stepped back from him, purposefully backing away from his touch, as the scent of his cologne invaded her space. He glanced at her, noting the movement, but said nothing. Stepping back, he held the door open for her and Emily passed through it first, with just a quiet thank you.
Stepping out of his office, grateful for another moment where he couldn't see her face, Emily closed her eyes a moment, unable to believe her bad luck. Upon opening them again, she saw, in the bullpen, JJ standing near Morgan's desk, speaking with both him and Spencer. As they stepped out of his office, she saw three sets of eyes turn to her. She met the blonde's eyes, but found she couldn't hold them. Emily wondered, as she dropped her eyes, what JJ was telling the boys about what she had seen, what she had noted about the interaction between Aaron and Emily in his office.
Great, her first day, and she was already the subject of gossip, already the girl screwing the boss. This was the last thing she had needed.
Falling into step beside Aaron, she turned away from the bullpen, avoiding their questioning eyes. In her peripheral vision, she saw JJ turn and disappear through the glass doors they'd entered through. Spencer moved back to his own desk and Morgan turned away from her, looking guilty, like they'd been caught talking about her behind her back. Which, she supposed, they most likely had.
As they neared the second office, Emily heard raised voices from inside. Aaron paused, glancing back at her, and she raised her eyebrows, questioningly. Aaron frowned, turning back around and leaning his ear towards the wood of the door, before rapping on it lightly with his knuckles. There was a beat of silence, as the voices fell silent, and then the door was pulled roughly open from the inside. The man who answered the door was frowning, deep indentations across his forehead.
"What?" He asked, shortly, not even sparing Emily a glance. Emily could see behind him that, inside of the office, there was a woman standing in the middle of the room. She looked to be in her mid-50s, mousy blonde hair curled into an up-do, pinned at the back of her head. She wore a stern expression upon her face, her arms folded tight across her chest. She, too, was looking at Aaron. On her face, there was an unimpressed expression. Actually, Emily thought, as she glanced over Aaron's shoulder and caught sight of the woman, narrowing her eyes at the expression on her face, she was looking at him with an intense dislike. Emily's eyes flitted away as the blonde looked in her direction, though she wondered what Aaron had done to inspire such hatred.
"Jason, I'm sorry to interrupt." Aaron said, pointedly. "Is everything alright?" His told was soft, but insistent. Agent Gideon looked from Aaron, to Emily, and back again.
"Everything's fine." The older agent brushed him off, easily and unconvincingly. "Who's that?"
Emily was taken aback by his rudeness, unused to being referred to as though she weren't standing right there. She raised her eyebrows at the question, about her, which was directed to Aaron.
"This is-"
"Agent Emily Prentiss." Emily said, interrupting him as Aaron stepped back to introduce her, still annoyed by Gideon's rudeness and unwilling to be treated as an object rather than a person. She reached out a hand, which Gideon regarded a moment before taking it.
"She's joining the team," Aaron continued, "Today is her first day. I just wanted to introduce the two of you before we consult with the rest of the team."
"Yeah, Great." Gideon said, shaking Emily's hand briefly, and a little roughly.
He looked as though he was ready to be done with this conversation, and, frankly, Emily was, too. She had heard good things about Agent Gideon from her mother, but all she could see in front of her was a rude old man. Another old man who wouldn't listen to what she had to say. Perfect. She'd gotten her hopes up too high, meeting the other members of the team. She should have know it was too good to be true.
"Chief Strauss," Aaron addressed the woman behind Gideon, "You should meet Agent Emily Prentiss, too. Agent Prentiss, this is Section Chief Erin Strauss."
The woman behind Gideon, who had looked at Hotch with such an intense dislike, walked towards the door. She had turned her eyes on Emily, and they were marginally more polite than Gideon's had been, as she reached for her hand. Emily took it, and noted that Strauss held it a moment too long. Despite the number of profilers she had met today, Emily felt as though Strauss was the first one truly appraising her. She had eyes like a cat's, analysing and sharp, and they bore into Emily's. Uncomfortable as it made her, Emily refused to back down, holding her eyes, despite the uneasy shiver they sent down her spine. She waited for what Strauss might say.
"Good to meet you, Agent Prentiss." Strauss said, a tight smile on her lips. Emily was relieved ."I don't suppose you're related to Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss?"
Emily's heart sank in her chest. Strauss knew perfectly well who Elizabeth was; she knew perfectly well of their relationship, and was making sure Emily knew it. It wasn't the first time somebody had dropped Elizabeth's name into conversation as a power move. "She's my mother, actually."
Even here, at the centre of the FBI, in a world where she was trying to make a name for herself, regardless of Elizabeth, and without the Ambassador's house, Emily couldn't avoid her mother's reputation.
"Ah. She's a very impressive woman." Strauss said, as though that were a compliment. They were words that Emily had heard a thousand times before. People always spoke of how impressive her mother was. Emily returned Strauss' tight smile, knowing it didn't reach her eyes.
"Yes, so I've been told." She countered. Thank you, hardly felt like an appropriate response. She knew she hadn't been imagining it; Strauss was appraising her, assessing her, judging her against her mother's reputation, her mother's morals and beliefs. Emily held her eyes, though, still refusing to back down, and thought she saw something like respect in Strauss' eyes, as her mouth quirked up into something like a smirk.
"I hope you'll prove just as impressive, Agent Prentiss." It felt like a threat, and made the hairs on Emily's neck stand on end. Gideon saved her the task of replying.
"Hotch," He gestured to the door, "If you don't mind-"
"Sure, Jason." Hotch stepped back, "I need the team in the conference room in half an hour." Gideon didn't reply, closing the door just as Hotch finished his sentence. Hotch turned back to Emily as Gideon's office door slammed shut behind him. "He's unconventional," Aaron said to her, evidently used to making excuses for his partners rudeness. "But he's the best at what we do. He's one of the greatest minds in our line of work; he and his team were the first BAU. They pioneered behaviour analysis as a staple of the FBI, and implemented using it to understand criminal behaviour and psychology."
"Yes, I've heard good things about Agent Gideon," Emily said, as Hotch began to lead them back to his office. "My mother speaks very highly of him." It was true, though Emily had only heard Elizabeth mention the agent once or twice, and she had no idea of the circumstances of how and why her mother knew Gideon, but that didn't change the way his reputation preceded him, similarly to Elizabeth's own.
"I worked for your mother." Aaron said, as he settled back down behind his desk and gestured to the seat in front of it, indicating for her to sit down. "You would have been at college at the time. Brown, was it?"
"Yale." Emily corrected him, surprised to hear of his connection with her mother. "I went to Yale."
"Yes, of course." He nodded, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. "Strauss is right, your mother is an impressive woman-"
"My mother is a career politician. I'm well aware of who and what she is, thank you." Emily said, shortly. "I'm not here to discuss my mother, and, frankly, I'd rather keep her as far away from my career as possible."
Hotch looked taken aback by her comment, but he nodded, and didn't push it, which she was thankful for.
"Very well," He said, "In that case, I don't suppose I have much more to go over with you. You're aware you need to have a go-bag ready at all times, that we can be called away with next to no notice?"
Emily nodded. She expected he had no idea of just how aware of that she was. Her previous work, after all, wouldn't be in her files.
"If there's nothing else-" Emily began, making a move to stand up, but Hotch opened his mouth to speak. Settling back down into her chair, she inhaled deeply, already knowing what was about to come out of his mouth.
"I just want you to know that I had no idea." He told her, looking genuinely distraught. "Had I known who you were, I never would have-" He shook his head, looking down at his desk. Emily regarded him, taking the moment when he wasn't looking at her to really assess him, raising an eyebrow. He looked thoroughly regretful, and she didn't know whether or not to be offended.
"It's fine, Aaron." He glanced up at her, and she corrected herself, quickly, with a little smile, "Sorry, Hotch. It's fine. We didn't know. It doesn't have to affect our working relationship at all. Nobody else need ever know." She had a feeling that they, especially JJ, suspected something already, but thought it best not to mention that to him. She could deal with their assumptions, but as team leader, he might not be able to. Then he turned those puppy eyes on her, again. "It just can't happen again." She said, though it felt like an obvious and pointless clarification.
"Of course," He agreed, nodding, "Of course. I wouldn't have expected-I mean, obviously, that's the necessary, uh, path, moving forwards." There was disappointment in his tone, that much she could hear easily enough, although he attempted to hide it. She had seen the panic in his eyes as she stepped through the door, but that had quickly clouded into a sort of disappointed shock as they both realised what him being her boss meant.
Emily, on the other hand, was almost relieved to find he was her superior. She'd known since she met him that he was all wrong for her, and that he was smitten. This way, she didn't have to turn him down. This way, she couldn't break him. He'd still have those perfect, puppy eyes for whoever came along next and swept him off of his feet. It was a shame, though, she thought as she looked over him, eyes settling on the large hands he folded neatly over one-another on the desk. He was such a good lay.