AN: Ok, so I had help writing part of this (see AN at the bottom) and so I want to dedicated this chapter to her!... So don't kill me… I left you with a surprise!
Disclaimer: I'm not even sure I'm going to claim this after you're done reading this…
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Emily picked up the phone and slammed it back down again when she saw the number flashing across the screen. Apparently George Prentiss did not think Aaron was serious about his threat. Aaron was furious that George didn't listen to him. The constant calling, the mail put directly in the mailbox, the emails, it was all disconcerting to Aaron. He worried about his family, even if Emily brushed off the attempts. He didn't know why, but Aaron had a bad feeling about George. He didn't want to take any chances so he put an armed agent outside their house.
Emily sighed as she slid down the wall next to the phone. She loved Aaron and Jack, but she had a nagging feeling that she was putting them in danger. George had to be dangerous. Why else would he come back after all of those years and then not give up? The phone rang again and Emily picked it up.
"I don't want to talk to you" she snarled.
"Em?" an older voice asked. "What's wrong princess?" Anthony asked. Anthony De Luca married Elizabeth Prentiss two years after the divorce was finalized. Emily had hated him at first, but had come to love him especially after he helped her cope with her mother's growing disappointment in her.
"Hi daddy, sorry I thought you were someone else" she responded. Anthony could hear the tears in his stepdaughter's voice, but he chose not to comment, knowing it would only upset her more. He would call Aaron after he got off the phone with Emily.
"Who did you think it was?" he asked genuinely confused. Emily bit her lip and looked around. She wanted her dad to help her. Anthony closed his eyes and prayed that the woman he had come to love like his own flesh-and-blood would choose to confide in him. He wanted to know what was wrong with his daughter so that he could help her in some way.
"My biological father contacted me, but now he won't leave Aaron, Jack, and I alone. Aaron has even threatened him, but he's ignored it" she said. Anthony froze. It sounded like her father was stalking her. "He found me and actually showed up here the other day. Since then he has been harassing me" Emily said with a sigh. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall as she thought about the contact George kept trying to make. She couldn't get the feeling out of her system that he was dangerous.
"What do you mean Em?" he asked. When he received no reply he worried. "Emily" he warned gently. He knew she had to be having a hard time dealing with her father coming back after all those years. Fortunately he knew that Emily didn't know the whole story. Elizabeth had sat him down one evening before their wedding and explained everything about George Prentiss.
Emily wished that she could take the words back because of how worried her dad seemed. She knew now that she had opened her mouth that she was going to have to be honest with him. She just wasn't sure how to word what she needed to say. How had it come down to this?
"I'm fine. Aaron has an agent guarding Jack and I at all times, even when he is home" she said, wiping the few tears that escaped away.
"Emily" Anthony said a bit sharper this time. He hated snapping at her, but he wanted to keep her safe. He needed her to be completely open with him. He heard her sighed softly.
"He keeps calling me and dropping mail directly in our mailbox. He keeps emailing me too. Nothing I do makes him go away. I have tried and Aaron has tried. There is just something about him that sets me on edge and I don't know what it is. Well it's like I know what it is but I can't exactly put my finger on it. I thought after all this time I wanted to see him just once so I could show him that he didn't break me when he left and so that I could tell him that him leaving was the best thing that happened to me. It was Daddy. Him leaving mom and I brought you into our lives. I know I didn't like you at first but then I learned to and I grew to love you. You are the best dad a woman could ask for and I'm glad that you're my dad and he isn't" Emily said. Everything she just told the man she considers her dad is the truth. She loves him like a real dad and nothing could ever take that away.
"I love you too, I just worry about you baby" he whispered. Emily nodded, forgetting momentarily that he couldn't see her. The tears rushed to her eyes as she realized that her daddy would always be there for her when she needed him. She pushed herself up using the wall and glanced at the clock.
"I've got to go dad. I have to get Jack from the corner" she said.
"Alright, be careful honey" he replied before he hung up the phone. He waited a few seconds before he picked the phone back up and dialed Aaron's cell phone number.
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Emily knocked on the agent's window. He rolled it down and removed his sunglasses, noticing that Emily was carrying her weapon.
"What can I do for you agent?" he asked. Emily smiled.
"Come on Anderson. I need to go pick up Jack and I'm sure you could go for a walk" Emily said. Anderson smiled gratefully, gathered his belongings and stepped out of the car. He had been sitting for hours and needed to get up and walk.
"Thanks Em" he said stretching. Emily smiled and waited for him to finish before he slid his sunglasses back on and followed her down the street. Emily smiled and pulled hers off the top of her head and slid them on as well. She chuckled as they walked down the street. "What's so funny?"
"We look like FBI" Emily muttered waving to a neighbor as they passed. Anderson looked at the two of them walking down the street, him in a suit and both wearing their side arms.
"We do" he said laughing as well. Emily pulled up to a stop at the corner and squinted at a black Escalade parked across the street with tinted windows.
"I've seen that SUV before Anderson" Emily muttered turning herself in front of him so he could look over her shoulder inconspicuously. He swore softly and tried to figure out what to do. The driver's door opened and George stepped out.
"Emily" he called as he walked across the street. Emily could hear the bus coming. It was about two stops away still.
"Aaron told you to leave us alone. I suggest you take his advice" Emily said crossing her arms over her chest. George stepped forward and Anderson stepped next to Emily, setting his hands on his hips to show George that he was packing heat. George took a step back, holding his hands up in surrender.
One stop left.
"I just thought you should know the truth Emily" George said. Other parents were starting to arrive to the corner, watching the exchange in curiosity and worry.
"What truth George?" Emily demanded. George sighed and looked around at the other parents.
"Can we not do this here, please?" he begged. Emily stood her ground. If he was going to talk it was going to be here and now.
"No, what did you want to tell me?" Emily asked as the bus rolled up. George watched the kids jump off the bus and watched Emily's tense face melt into a smile as the little blonde boy barreled into her legs. She bent over and picked him up, momentarily forgetting the man in front of her. Anderson hadn't though. He watched George with hawk-like eyes.
"Emily" he said, drawing her attention back to him. He strode forward, ignoring Anderson as the agent pulled his gun. George stood face to face with Emily. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, ignoring, the stiffening of her body, agent Anderson, and Jack's shaking. "I'm the boss of the Prentiss family. Emily, I'm a mob boss" he said. Emily stood there in shock.
"Hotchner" Aaron answered.
"Hi Aaron, its Anthony" the older man greeted. Aaron smiled as he dropped his pen on top of the paperwork he had yet to finish and leaned back in his chair.
"Hey Anthony, what can I do for you?" Aaron asked. He knew how close Em and her father were and he and Jack had gotten attached to the man as well.
"It's about George" he answered. Aaron immediately sat up.
"What do you know about him?" he demanded. He heard Anthony sigh over the connection.
"Aaron, George Prentiss, aka Georgie Prentiss, is…" Anthony started, but was quickly cut off by Aaron.
"A mob boss" Aaron finished, clenching his hands into tight fists. He couldn't believe he hadn't connected the names before. He thought it had been a coincidence, but no. The one and only George Prentiss, Emily's father, was one of the most wanted men in the FBI organized crime division.
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Ok, so my friend Crystal (aka Angel N Darkness) helped me write part of it! Thank you Crys! Everyone say thank you to her by sending me reviews and PMs telling me how we did!