Chapter Eleven – The Storm

Emily woke with a start, gasping for breath. It felt like her throat had closed in and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't get any air into her lungs, and she was panicking.

"Emily!"

Hotch's whip crack command brought her back, and she snapped her eyes to his. When Hotch saw he'd caught Emily's attention his expression softened. He wouldn't need his "I'm unit chief of the BAU so don't screw with me" voice anymore.

"Breathe," he told her gently.

Emily closed her eyes and took a few steadying breaths. She could feel the panic starting to recede, but she doubted it would disappear entirely. When she had it as under control as it would likely get she opened her eyes again. Hotch was still watching her closely, so she nodded to him despite the fact that she was still shaking.

"Hotch, I…" she began before her boss shook his head.

"You don't need to say anything."

No, of course she didn't. Hotch wouldn't need an explanation. He already knew. When Hotch jerked his head in a "come here" motion, Emily finally realized that he was on the end of his chain. Apparently she'd shifted out of reach during the throes of her nightmare. Emily moved closer, and Hotch rested a hand on her am.

"I know you can handle this on your own, but sometimes it's easier to share the burden."

Emily knew it was true. Plus, coming from the man who never shared any of his pain, it meant a lot more.

"Thanks, Hotch. I'll be fine. It's not like I'm cut off from you guys this time."

"Damn right, Prentiss," Morgan called out. "We're all here."

Emily glanced from his face to Rossi's, JJ's, and Hotch's. Their eyes all held the same message. If she needed them for anything, they'd be there, even if she didn't want them to be. Emily felt tears pool in her eyes and fought them back. They didn't need to see her cry.

"Your team is really close. It's nice," Olivia told her gently. It was her way of helping Emily not dwell on whatever it was she'd just seen. She caught the slight smiles on everyone but Hotch's face. From what it looked like this team was rather like her own team. A family.

"Yeah. I know," Emily replied, a tiny smile lingering on her face despite everything she'd been through.

The click of the door opening caused Emily to flinch and pull away. It was only Hotch's hand on her shoulder that kept her from fully jumping out of her skin. As much as she tried to tamp down on her fears, she wasn't able to completely hide them. This unsub wasn't Doyle, but she still didn't want him anywhere near her.

Hotch caught the tiny hitch in Emily's breathing when Bill started to approach her and squeezed her arm in reassurance. Emily immediately forced herself to hide what she was feeling and watch Bill as impassively as she could.

When Bill noticed her expression shift to a more solid, determined one his face fell a little. Apparently he hadn't found the right mix this time either. No matter how strong she was, it wouldn't have mattered if he'd been successful.

"So, Miss Prentiss, you seem to be handling this alright now. Unless, of course, you're just faking~. Considering how nice and high your heat rate got, I'm guessing that's the case."

He reached toward her and grinned happily when he saw her cringe away at first.

"Ah yes, that's what I thought!" he continued, much bubblier now.

Emily forced herself to stay calm as he peeled the monitoring device off. He gave her cheek a happy little pat that would have had her pulling away had she been expecting it. Since it was so sudden, she was in too much shock to even respond before he turned away.

"I think that's enough for one day," he sang to all of them as he headed toward the door. "You'll all need your beauty sleep to be prepared for tomorrow~."

The unsub twirled on his heel to give them a goofy wave goodbye before walking out the door. When the door clicked shut, the agents' eyes met. They weren't really sure what to think. After what had happened, a moment of respite could be just as much of a bad thing as a good one.

"I get the feeling that this is just the calm before the storm," Morgan stated, breaking the silence.

"Most likely," Rossi confirmed. "Emily?"

He wanted to be sure the storm hadn't already hit without them knowing. While Prentiss seemed to be in control, she was more quiet than usual, and he knew she was good at hiding things. Rossi watched her after the question, but she seemed to be somewhere else.

"Emily."

She still didn't focus on him, but she at least answered.

"Do you know how close you came to being killed?"

All heads swung toward her in confusion. She had never really spoken much about what had happened when she was with Doyle. They'd come to suspect she'd left to protect them almost right away, but this was some of the first proof they'd gotten.

"Doyle was planning on taking you out first."

She finally met Rossi's eyes, her own gaze unsteady.

"But he didn't," Rossi told her.

"No. He didn't," Emily confirmed.

She seemed a touch more relaxed, but Rossi could see she was distracted. That could easily mean she was hiding something. He needed to make sure it wasn't what he thought.

"Did he in your dream?"

Emily's head shot up in surprise.

"What? No! No. Nothing really different happened. Honest."

Rossi nodded, trusting her. She seemed genuine, and if she wasn't, Hotch would look after her.

"Everyone should try to get some rest," Hotch broke in, taking the attention off of Emily.

"You make that sound really easy," JJ murmured. She doubted she'd be getting any sleep no matter how frayed her nerves were or how tired she was.

"As hard as it may be, we're all going to need it."

0~0~0~0

It took a few hours, but eventually sleep had overcome almost everyone. JJ had attempted to stay awake but had eventually drifted off sitting up. Her head was resting on a sleeping Rossi's leg. Morgan and Olivia were sprawled against the wall a short distance away from each other. Without anything to keep them distracted worry had driven them both into sleep. Only Emily and Hotch remained awake.

Hotch seriously doubted Emily would be getting any rest. As the others had started to drift off, she'd turned away from him, rested her head on the wall, and remained still, likely in hopes of convincing him she was asleep. Hotch knew better though. The tenseness in her shoulders and uneven breathing told him she was awake. His suspicions were proven correct when she began picking at the skin around her nails.

"Prentiss."

She stilled immediately, hoping he was just checking to see if she was awake or asleep.

"I know you're awake, Emily."

So much for that. She turned a questioning eye on him.

"What you told Rossi."

Emily knew what he was asking but kept her mouth shut. She wasn't just going to volunteer information if she could help it.

"Sergio?"

Emily winced, her suspicions confirmed. There was no way Hotch was going to let her out of this one. She was going to have to answer him.

"No. It's not like that. I'm telling you the truth. Nothing different happened."

Emily met his eyes solidly. Hotch didn't need any more proof than that. He nodded and let it go.

"Try and sleep, Prentiss."

"Yeah. Sure, Hotch," she answered even though she knew it was impossible.