Well it's been a few days with no update, I was waiting for a review, but then realized no one has probably reviewed because nothing really happens in Chapter 1 :P This, however, sort of gets the plot rolling. I have a lot of this story already typed out, and another idea in the works... 0.o what can I say, I think I've found a new obsession. :P Anyway, don't forget to review! Even to say that this sucks, just leave a review ;) However even if there aren't any reviews, I will probably put up what all I have written so far tomorrow, seeing as I really don't have a life ;)
And also, special thanks to the individual who added this story to their alerts list! :)
Anyway, I'll shut up now. I present to you; Chapter 2 of my first chapter-length story: Perfect To Me (BTW this chapter is Emily's point of view!)
Uhm, sorry to interrupt again. BUT I almost forgot to mention two things: one, this story does contain some language, nothing too bad as of right now, and two, I do not own Criminal Minds, the actors, or the characters. :) NOW, onto the update!
Emily Prentiss
I walked out of Kaila Fisher's hospital room, trying not to cry. I've seen so many things since I've worked with the BAU. I've dealt with children who lost their parents who had to go into foster care. I've pretty much seen it all. Why was Kaila's story getting to me? I know how to compartmentalize. Why am I almost in tears?
I walked outside, and tried to call the social worker I had been discussing Kaila's future with, Maggie Johnston.
My phone, however, was dead. There was one to use, I was told, in the hospital waiting room, so that is where I ventured to.
I found the phone, then found the card I had with Maggie's number on it, then dialed it. She answered on the third ring. "Maggie Johnston." she said.
"Hi, this is Agent Emily Prentiss. We spoke earlier regarding a Kaila Fisher, she's-"
"Ah, the girl who's mother was murdered? Yes, I remember. Poor girl." Maggie said. "But I have good news! I found a foster family, they seem great. They've started an organization for traumatized children. They'll know how to work with her."
"Oh..." I said, hoping the disappointment wasn't evident. "Oh, that's really great. They'll be really good for her." I said, trying to sound happy.
"You want to take her, don't you?" Maggie asked.
"Is it that obvious?"
"I deal with this kind of thing daily. I always know. I haven't notified the family yet, so you could potentially take her."
"Potentially?" I question.
"Well with your job... you're gone a lot. Something might happen to you. She'd have to stay with someone when you went on a case. I don't know if your line of work is appropriate for children." Maggie replied.
"Look, she has nobody. I've talked to her, she's not gonna go with a foster family. She's not going to a group home. When she turns sixteen, technically, the state can turn her out on her own. Something is guaranteed to happen to her if she's out on her own at sixteen! At least with me, I know she will be safe!" I argued.
Maggie was silent for a moment. "You make a good point..." she finally said.
"I'll make it work." I practically begged. "I can get time off. I can stay at the station when we go on a case to prevent something happening to me. I can get a desk job-"
"Emily, that won't be necessary," She said, cutting me off. "I will allow Kaila to go with you, but I need proof she is taken care of properly. Can you do that?"
I nodded my head vigorously, as if Maggie could see me. "Yes, of course!' I said.
"Alright... are you still at the hospital?"
"Yes." I replied.
"Okay, I will be there later to discuss the details."
"Thank you!" I said, smiling big.
I hung up the phone, and directed myself towards Kaila's room. I honestly had no idea how to make this work out right, but I swore to myself as I walked into her room, and saw her lying there sleeping, that I would find a way. Whatever it took. I sat down in the chair by her bed. The chair that had become my home as of early Tuesday morning. I'd been to my hotel only a few times, to shower, change clothes, and take short naps. I wasn't going to leave Kaila alone for long. The rest of the team had already gone back to their homes. But, I was still in rural North Carolina, where this case took place. They knew I was planning on staying, but not this long. Then I remembered my phone, which hadn't been charged in almost 24 hours. I knew I would have ridiculous amounts of missed calls. I thought about getting up and going back to the hotel really fast to get my charger; but instead, I rested my elbow on the arm rest of the chair, and rested my head in my hand. Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep there.
-
"No! No! Mom!" Kaila yelled.
I woke with a start, and looked over at Kaila. She jumped, and then began screaming. I rushed to her side, sitting on the bed and pulling her into a hug like I had before.
"Shh, its Emily. It was a dream. You're safe. No ones going to hurt you." I said softly, as Kaila latched on to me, and cried on my shirt.
"I'm so sorry." She said suddenly, letting go of me and pulling away.
She wiped her eyes, and I told her, "Honey its okay. Nightmares are common with trauma victims."
"You don't think I'm weird? I hardly know you and I just hugged you like you were my...moth- uh. Someone I know."
"Its not weird. And hey, I'm the one who's been sitting here for 2 days! You must think I'm weird." I said, jokingly.
For the first time, Kaila smiled. "You're not weird. Thank you, though. I don't know what I'd have done without you." I smiled.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I broke the silence by saying, "I talked to that social worker again."
Kaila didn't look too happy. If possible, she looked even more heartbroken than she had before. Her light brown hair was tangled and matted to her head, and her hazel eyes almost looked gray, like a rain cloud. "Oh," was all she said.
"I have good news though. Someone wants to adopt you." I smiled.
Kaila's eyes widened, and she let out a small gasp. "What? Are you serious? Who?" She asked. "Why would anybody want me? I've only been awake for like an hour. I was just admitted Tuesday. No one knows about this yet, right?" She rambled.
"Well, if it's alright with you... I'd like to adopt you. It'll be awhile before it becomes official, I'll have to foster you first and prove I can provide a good environment for you."
Kaila didn't say much of anything, she just looked at me, in utter disbelief.
"You...you want to adopt me?"
"I'd like to. I just don't want to see you go somewhere you'll be unhappy. I want you to be safe." I replied.
"Emily, you really don't have to do that. You've already done enough, by being here with me. I'm sorry I got so upset about being alone and making a big deal about foster care. I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to take me." She said, looking down at her hands.
"No, no! I really do want to. I promise. I want you to go somewhere I know you'll be safe." I said again.
"Are you sure?" Kaila asked, looking at me again, her eyes searching for reassurance.
"I am positive! The social worker said I could take you."
"Well, if you're sure. I really appreciate all you've done, Emily. If you hadn't been here both times I woke up I don't know what I would have done..." She took a deep breath, before continuing. "They're so real feeling. Like... like I can't tell if I'm dreaming or not. I just replay that same thing over and over, and every time he hits me in the head I wake up." She teared up, and began to nervously finger the hospital blanket she was covered up with.
"When will that stop?" She choked out.
"Look at me, Kaila." I told her.
She did, and I put my arm, very gently, around her shoulders. "I know how scary nightmares can be. I've had my fair share of them. I'm not going to lie to you, it's going to take some time to get them to go away completely, and even if you stop having them nightly, they'll still show up, when you least expect it. Sometimes, the nightmare will change, and be scarier, or maybe less scary. But, I swear to you, I will help you. I'll be there every time you wake up screaming. I know how much that can help, just having someone there telling you it's okay." I reassured her.
"You must have nightmares a lot, with all you see." Kaila stated.
"I do, but not as frequent as you may think." In fact, my nightmares started way before I was in the BAU. I was only fifteen. After my abortion, I woke up every night, heart rate sky rocketed, completely drenched in sweat, and out of breath. No one was there to tell me I would be okay. No one was there to hug me and comfort me. My dear friend Matthew had been a help, but he'd never stayed the night with me. I never told anyone about my nightmares, I did the only thing I knew how to do, and that was to wear a mask and act like I was fine. I didn't know what it felt like, to have people around you to get you through it, to make sure that they were there for you every time you needed someone; but I knew it had to be better than trying to do it alone. I still have nightmares, not just about what happened in Italy all those years ago; but also some of the things I have seen and endured during my time with the BAU. I figured Kaila didn't need to know all this information right now, though.
"Thank you," Kaila said. "For being so nice." She smiled; it was a very small smile, but it counted.
"Don't mention it," I replied.
About an hour later, Maggie came into the room. Kaila and I were enduring in an intense battle of Uno.
"Oh, hi Maggie," I greeted her, when I saw her enter the room.
"Agent Prentiss," She replied.
"Are you the social worker Emily's been talking to?" Kaila questioned.
"Yes, I am." Maggie replied. I was becoming increasingly concerned. Why was she being so serious?
"I was going to come later, but I have received some news I thought you both need to hear..."
"What?" I asked, alarmed.
"Yeah what is it?" Kaila chimed in.
"Kaila, I've spoken with your friend Amelia's parents."
"Who's Amelia?" I asked Kaila.
"My best friend," Kaila said, sounding disappointed.
"Her parents want to take you in, and I told them they could. They'll pick you up when you are discharged." Maggie stated.
"WHAT?" Kaila and I yelled simultaneously.
"You told me I could take her! She agreed to come with me!" I said, angered at the fact Maggie would do something like this.
"I don't wanna go with them. I CAN'T go with them!" Kaila threw her hand of cards down, and pushed the small tray we were using as a table off the bed, causing a loud crashing noise.
I put my arms around Kaila, trying to console her before she hurt herself even more.
"Shh. Calm down, you might hurt yourself even more than you already are. Let me talk to Maggie outside, you just calm back down. I'll fix this." I assured her.
Kaila looked at me with tear-filled eyes.
"Do you promise me I won't have to go?"
"I promise." I said, standing up and walking out into the hall, asking Maggie to follow me.
"What the hell are you thinking?" I asked her, much louder than I had intended.
"Amelia's father heard about this case, and what happened to Kaila. He got in touch with me. Amelia and Kaila have been friends since pre-school. Eric Lambert, Amelia's father, says he considers Kaila a member of their family, and he isn't going to allow Kaila to go anywhere but with them."
"Kaila doesn't want to stay here! You saw her reaction! This place, this town, this whole damn state is going to bring nothing but bad memories for her! She's traumatized enough as it is. She doesn't need to wake up every morning and remember she's just down the street where some bastard killed her mother! What kind of social worker are you? You're supposed to do what is best for her well-being!" I shouted.
"Agent Prentiss, I am doing my job. The Lamberts have a house, two parents, and someone Kaila's age. You live in an apartment in the city, with a job that requires you to go God knows where at any given moment for God knows how long. You risk your life nearly every day. Kaila doesn't need to be around you, because your life revolves around the bastards who shoot innocent girl's mothers! She'll look at you, and hate you, because you didn't get to her house just a few moments earlier." Maggie spit back. Now, I was beyond pissed.
"I told you I could do something about my job! My team got to the scene as fast as we could. We saved Kaila's life and tried to save her mother, too! She's going to be unhappy at Amelia's house. Let her come with me. If she doesn't like it, I'll take her to Amelia's myself." I tried to compromise.
"No, Agent Prentiss. My decision is final. Eric and Shanna Lambert will have custody of Kaila. I am sorry." She turned and walked down the hallway to the elevator. I cursed under my breath, biting my lip.
As I stood there, contemplating what to do, Kaila's main nurse, Janet, approached me.
"Agent Prentiss, you have a call in the waiting room. It seems important." She told me.
"Did they say who they were?" I asked.
"Aaron Hotchner." Janet replied. Damn, I thought. I'm gonna be in trouble. I told Hotch I would alert the members of the team frequently, but I hadn't. I walked with Janet to the waiting room, and picked up the phone.
"Hotch?" I asked.
"Prentiss where the hell have you been?" My boss, Aaron Hotchner, yelled into the phone.
"North Carolina, at the hospital with Kaila Fisher still. My phone is dead. I haven't had time to charge it, and in all honesty I just forgot to call anyone. I'm sorry, Hotch." I said.
"We agreed you would be home by now." Hotch said, his voice steady and somewhat intimidating.
"I am trying to adopt Kaila." I said.
"What have I told you about being objective?" Hotch replied.
"What have I told you about being human?" I shot back.
"We need you back here, now." Hotch told me.
"Do we have a case?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. However I have been trying to contact you since this morning to see if you were okay, we all thought you were dead. That is, until we called the hospital. Anyway, about the case: In Atlanta, there have been double homicides reported twice a week for two weeks now. I don't know why they're just now calling us in. The victims, as far as we know, do not know each other when they are killed. Each pairing has been a man with dark hair, and a woman with blonde hair. The victims have been found within walking distance from each other, with the exact same injury marks, and exact same cause of death. We're flying out in an hour. You can meet us there, it's not too far of a drive from you."
"I need to take some personal time, Hotch." I told him.
"Prentiss, you have a job to do." Hotch reminded me.
"I need to take some personal time," I repeated. "You all will be fine without me on this case. I'll double up my paperwork load when I come back, or something. Just give me a week." I half-begged.
Hotch took a moment to say anything. "If Strauss finds out what you are doing, and that I let you take time off to do it, it could put both of our jobs in jeopardy. Are you willing to take that risk?" He asked me.
"Screw Strauss! If she finds out what I'm doing, you had no idea, and I lied to you and said I had the flu."
"That would be lying."
"Telling the truth puts both our jobs in jeopardy. Are you willing to take that risk?" I questioned.
"Damn you, Prentiss." He sighed in defeat. "One week. That is it. Do you understand?" His voice serious, more than the usual.
"Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you... thank you so much." I told him sincerely.
"Don't mention it. We'll miss you out on the field."
"I'll miss you all too. Please be careful, and have someone call me every so often so I know you're all alive."
"Will do." He said, hanging up. That could have went worse. I thought to myself. That's one thing I love most about our team; we're like a family. We get annoyed with each other, we get mad at each other, but no matter what, we've got each others backs.
Now, all I had to do was break the news to Kaila I could not keep my promise... at least, not right now. But I had a plan.
There you have it :) Don't forget to write some reviews, people! :)
-Melina(: