Heal Me
Sometimes, to fix the broken, you have to break the rules.
. . .
Chapter 14
Rossi was sitting in the hard chair beside Emily's bed, watching her sleep calmly and running his thumb over the back of her hand. The engagement ring was sparkling on her finger and, like usual, it brought a wide smile to his face. Hotch was lounging in a chair in the far corner, engrossed in a Bureau file and a furrowed brow. Rossi fought the urge to roll his eyes; did this guy ever take a break? Emily stirred and drew herself upwards, still slow due to the stitches in both shoulders. She threw a glance at Rossi, raising one eyebrow and jerking her head towards the concentrating figure of Hotch. He shrugged, allowing a smile to cross his face. Emily cleared her throat.
"Aaron, there's this thing and it's called taking a break!" she commanded, laughing when Hotch's face morphed into confusion.
"How long have you been doing work here?" she asked.
Hotch checked his watch. "I got here when, Dave?"
"Ten" Dave responded, leaning back in his chair.
"You!" Emily snapped, turning on Dave. "What's the time now?"
He checked his watch. "It's one o'clock now" he said, giving Hotch a meaningful look. The Chief was in for it now. Emily hated it when people put themselves out because of her.
"Don't give me that look Em" Hotch warned, turning back to the paperwork.
"You should be at home with Jack!" Emily blew up. "Or at the office! I am not worth you getting into trouble with Strauss"
"Actually I don't mind" Hotch said mildly, tongue between teeth as he signed the last form. "I wanted to visit you but I had paperwork to do so I mixed both together and compromised. Jack's fine, he's at school now so I hardly think that matters"
Rossi smirked at his fiancé. "He has you there tesora" he chuckled.
"For the record he does not have me, you do" Emily said, tossing her head and smiled seductively at him.
"Emily" he warned, hyper aware of the heat flooding to his groin.
"Keep the sexual innuendos until after I've left if you please" Hotch interrupted, stowing his files in the briefcase next to his chair.
Emily giggled. "Glad to have your full attention now, thank you Hotch" she said slyly.
"Evil minx" Rossi said humorously.
"So" Hotch said, changing the subject. "Have you two set a date yet?"
Emily looked at Rossi. "Well as soon as this asshole gets me out of here I'm getting straight down to business. This may be my first time down the aisle, but I can assure you it will be the only time"
"She's been harping on at me for ages to get her out of hospital" Rossi told Hotch. "But I told her she had to stay until she was fully healed"
"Asshole"
Hotch grimaced. "I'm with you on this one Dave" he said, sighing. "Once you're out I'd rather you didn't make a return visit"
A strange sound met Rossi's ears and he looked up, peering out the open door. A commotion between the nurse on duty and two people was ensuing. He furrowed his brow; did these people have no respect for hospital patients? Oh wait a minute; he knew that hair colour, it was similar in so many ways to a woman he knew too well. And he'd seen that pinched face before at many a government party. He cleared his throat and excused himself quickly, before slipping into the hall and closing the door behind him. Clearing his throat, he smoothed his goatee over and edged towards the group of people. The nurse, an elderly woman with a pleasant face, shot him a grateful smile and dashed away. Rossi turned to face Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, who was holding herself stiffly and staring at him through hawklike eyes.
"Agent Rossi" she greeted him. "It's been a long time. I'd heard you'd returned to the BAU but I really was not expecting to find you here of all places"
She was steadfastly ignoring the tall, broad shouldered man next to her. Rossi raked his gaze over the man and instantly recognised Emily's large, chocolate eyes. This man had to be her father. That defiant setting of the jaw was there too, Rossi noted with an inward chuckle.
"Ambassador" he said, turning to Elizabeth. "Seeing as I am on the same team as Emily, we thought it prudent to keep at least one team member with her at all times. There are of course still some Valhalla operatives running about the place. Agent Hotchner is in with her now"
"I thought that Interpol had taken care of that riff-raff" Elizabeth sniffed.
"Certainly ma'am" Rossi agreed. "But, as I'm sure you can appreciate, we need to make absolutely certain that Emily is completely safe. Her wellbeing is my top priority"
"Well I'm glad some of us have our priorities right" Elizabeth said waspishly, turning a sharp gaze on the man next to her.
The man's features twisted into a horrible glare, which knitted his brows and pulled his cheeks into angry dimples. "Elizabeth if there is anyone here who is guilty of doing the wrong thing by Emily it is you!" he snarled angrily.
"Really Michael, if it weren't for you . . ."
Rossi tuned out their bickering and reflected back into his thoughts. A wave of indecision had suddenly seeped into his being. He was marrying Emily, and he hadn't even asked her father's permission let alone dated Emily solidly for six months or more. Granted they had been "together" for six months but their relationship was not conventional. But then, what on earth was a conventional relationship? Rossi sighed and bit down on his tongue. Though Emily wouldn't approve of him spilling the beans to her parents without her there but he couldn't afford for Ambassador to discover her only daughter was engaged by default. Time to entice the lion's wrath, he thought grimly.
"Michael, is it?" he said to the man. "You must be Emily's father"
"I am indeed" the man said. "Rossi, you said your name was? Italian I'll bet"
"You'd be correct there" Rossi allowed, nodding his head. He sighed. "I have something to say first off, and please just let me say everything before you ask me questions"
"Spit it out then" Elizabeth said tartly, tossing her head. "I don't really have time for this, I have to see Emily and I have a meeting with the senators in two hours"
"Would you let the man speak, clearly it's something important" Michael snapped, folding his arms.
Rossi took a deep, fortifying breath and spoke; "Six months ago" he began. "I entered into a relationship with Emily, granted it was just before the State Martial entered into protection but we both chose to carry the relationship on even though we could not see each other"
Why was he baring this all to her parents? Why couldn't he have stuck with I love your daughter, I'm going to marry her, Capiche?
"I understand that it is not what you would call a normal relationship but I love Emily with every fibre of my being" Rossi said. "Hence I have asked her to become my wife. Normally I would have asked your permission first sir" he continued, gazing at Michael. "Having said that, I could not chance the risk of losing Emily again, she has accepted my proposal and I hope to have your blessing"
Elizabeth was staring at him, mouth open in shock. Michael's eyes widened, staring at Rossi who was silently counting the seconds that passed slowly, deliberately. Rossi could see the cogs turning in his mind effortless. Italian, nearly as old as I am, took my daughters hand in marriage without permission, can't say anything or he may call the Mafia onto me. Michael opened his mouth, and then closed it deliberately before raking his eyes over Rossi's form. Rossi could feel his hands shaking slightly and he mentally kicked himself, he was not some silly schoolboy so he shouldn't feel nervous! He'd been married three times for God's sake! He could handle vicious, murderous Unsubs but not the father of his future bride?
You sad person Rossi; you sad, sad person.
Michael seemed to have regained his voice. "You're a cocky bastard I'll give you that" he deadpanned, running a hand over his face. Rossi winced inwardly. "Having said that" Michael continued, "That is exactly the kind of man I want my Emily to be with"
What?
"What?" Elizabeth screeched.
Michael burst into laughter, clutching his sides. "Any man that loves my girl enough to propose and apologises for not asking for my permission, especially when her mother is an Ambassador has to be the stupidest, craziest bastard. And for that I respect you"
Rossi wilted. "Thank you, I think" he said breathlessly.
"Michael!" Elizabeth hissed. "How can you be okay with this?"
"Oh go boil your head Lizzie" Michael tossed at her, ignoring her paled face at her nickname. He shook Rossi's hand firmly. "Congratulations son, you're a brave man for marrying into this family. The old hag over here can be quite a riot to deal with"
"I suggest you stop talking Michael" Elizabeth said quietly. "Now if you'll excuse me I must go and visit my daughter. I have better things to be doing than fighting with a fool. Mr. Rossi is it? We will talk at a later date"
That said she swept past the two men and stalked into Emily's room. Michael leaned over to Rossi.
"Has my baby girl got her gun on her person?" he asked.
"I believe our Unit Chief has it actually"
"That's probably a good thing. Be kind of a pain to clean the blood stains off the walls" Michael mused, digging his hands into his pockets. "So, you know most of the whole Ian Doyle debacle I'd wager?"
Rossi sighed and inclined his head. "Yes" he replied. "It damn near destroyed her"
Michael shrugged. "It looks to me like it damn near destroyed everyone" he said bluntly. "When Em first told me about this Doyle thing it caused quite an argument"
"How do you mean?" Rossi asked warily.
"Well it occurred to me very quickly that if he were to come back he'd want to pay her back in spades. I mean yes she did do the right thing by everyone, including Declan. But I was worried it would come back to bite her on the ass. You have no idea how angry I was when I found out I was right"
"Did you know she was alive?" Rossi asked, shoving his own hands into his pockets.
"State Martial told us she was in a coma and being kept at an undisclosed location. Guess they didn't want to tell her parents she was dead" Michael heaved a great sigh. "I wish they'd told us the truth"
"Would that have made it any easier?" Rossi queried. He knew himself that the truth had caused a greater ache then her death had.
"You know what?" Michael said. "I don't actually know"
. . .
Hotch had seen a lot of things in his time but the sheer amount of tension he had just seen between Emily and Elizabeth Prentiss sent shivers down his spine. He could see Rossi and a man he assumed to be Emily's father hovering just beyond the doorway. Elizabeth had left only seconds ago and Emily was still seething like a freshly boiled kettle. The two men outside the doorway moved into the room and Emily's frustration melted away quickly. She smiled broadly at Rossi and Hotch felt the familiar pang in his stomach. As much as he had given his blessing to the pair it still hurt like hell to see them together. Emily had dragged his ass out of black hole after Haley died and slowly, very slowly he'd found himself being drawn to the brunette's warm and bright nature. Doyle's involvement had wrought him as much stress as Foyet had. When he had found out about Emily and Dave he had been unable to contain his jealousy and he had told Emily things he wasn't exactly proud of but he planned to make it up to the pair as soon as he could. A nice honeymoon in Hawaii should do the trick, he thought with a small smile.
"Dad" Emily was saying. "You're here?"
"Of course I am pumpkin" he said, grinning at her. "You thought your old dad would miss seeing you?"
"I'm so glad to see you" Emily gushed, embracing her father as best she could in a hospital bed. Rossi moved quickly to seat himself on the arm of Hotch's chair.
"Hotch this is Michael Prentiss, Emily's father" Rossi said. "Michael this is Aaron Hotchner, our Unit Chief"
"Pleasure to meet you sir" Hotch said genuinely, reaching across Emily's bed to shake the man's hand.
"You're one of the people who helped hide my pumpkin" Michael stated, grimacing.
"Yes sir" Hotch admitted.
"Well thank you" Michael said, smiling weakly and wrapping an arm around Emily's shoulders. "I don't know what we would have done if Emily had died"
"Dave and another of our team members, Jennifer Jareau, deserve part of the credit too. They helped keep that secret" Hotch said, gesturing to Rossi.
"Really? He forgot to mention that" Michael said dryly, quirking an eyebrow in Rossi's direction. Emily giggled and out of the corner of his eye, Hotch saw Rossi roll his eyes at Emily before smiling sheepishly at Michael.
Hotch smiled. "He does tend to forget his own contributions to good things" he said, smirking at Rossi over his shoulder. A vibration against his inside jacket pocket and he excused himself, pulling the iPhone from his pocket and answering it once he was out of range.
"Hotchner"
"How is she?" Ashleigh's voice echoed down the line.
"She's resting and happy, her parents have been. Granted her mother caused her some stress but her father seems to be keeping her happy" Hotch answered.
"That's good" Ashleigh's voice was warm, less worn than the last time they had spoken.
"Are you still okay to pick Jack up?" Hotch asked.
"Of course!" she said. "He's been looking forward to this trip all week right? And it'll be nice to spend some time with the little angel"
Hotch chuckled. "You've fallen for him, just like everyone else I see"
"Hey don't knock that little angel's puppy dog eyes, that kid is freaking cute!" Ashleigh snapped playfully.
"I know; I see it all the time at home" Hotch muttered darkly. "Okay thanks Ashleigh, I owe you one"
Ashleigh laughed. "Sure, we'll see you soon okay?"
"Sure, thanks"
. . .
Emily was feeling much more relaxed and comfortable since her father had visited and she couldn't shake the happy spark that had taken root within her body. Her cheeks ached from smiling constantly and she loved it. It made such a nice change from having to look over her shoulder all the time, always worried that Doyle might be there to drag her back to hell. But she no longer had to live with that fear and for that she was so thankful, and so happy. And to top it all off she was getting married to David Rossi, legendary profiler and Italian maestro. Life was simply great now and she couldn't wait to get out of hospital and get into planning her wedding. Hotch and Dave were discussing the latest game in the corner whilst she flipped through the novel her father had left her, a Paul Carson novel. A shift occurred in her memory and she snapped her head around.
"Guys" she said slowly. "What happened to Alice?"
Hotch's face twisted into a grimace of sorts and he folded his hands on his chest, leaning back into the chair. Dave stared warily at her but set himself on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in his.
"She was arrested and formally charged" he told her.
"Guantanamo" Emily whispered hoarsely. She didn't need to ask, she knew that was where Alice was headed for aiding a terrorist and nearly causing the death of a federal agent.
"Em" Hotch said. "She never told Doyle about you and Dave"
Emily looked up at Hotch sharply. "Pardon?"
"She told Doyle everything but the fact that you had a new lover. In hindsight I guess you could say she saved Dave's life. Doyle would have hunted him down" Hotch reasoned, leaning forward to rest on his knees.
She inhaled sharply. "I figured as much" she whispered. "At the warehouse Doyle seemed genuinely angry and shocked when Dave told him about us"
"Add to that the fact that I had a gun trained on him" Dave quipped dryly, smirking at Emily.
She rolled her eyes at him. "He's a trained terrorist David he's seen much more dangerous weapons than a Glock 17" she said, with a small giggle.
Hotch smiled. "I'd imagine so" he said, before standing up. "Wait here, I have to go and get something alright?"
Emily's brow creased in confusion, what was going on? Hotch was not one to be secretive. She turned her head and then gasped when she saw who Hotch was leading into her room. Ashleigh was there, holding the hand of young boy with a mop of pale brown hair and Hotch's dark eyes. Jack Hotchner's face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw Emily and within seconds he was across the room and on her bed, his small arms around her hugging her for all he was worth.
"Hey Jackers" she said breathlessly. "It's so good to see you"
"Emmy!" he cried, pulling back and grinning like a maniac. "You're back!"
"That's right little man, I'm back for good" she said happily.
"Good, cause Daddy was sad when you weren't around" Jack announced, pouting.
Rossi laughed. "We all missed Emily, isn't that right Jack?" he said, ruffling the young boy's hair.
"Yep!" he said but then his pout returned. "You're going to stay right?"
Emily's heart almost broke at the sweetness of voice Jack used before smiling widely at him, though tears were running down her face. "Of course Jack, you could never get rid of me" she said softly, kissing his forehead.
"Emmy, why are you crying?" Jack asked, kissing her cheek.
"Because I'm so happy Jack" Emily replied, leaning her head against Dave's chest as he rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm back with my family and everything is perfect"
"Grown-ups are weird" Jack announced. "They cry when they're happy, what cry-babies" he said, directing it to his father who shot Emily a sheepish grin.
Ashleigh burst into laughter, clutching the door frame. "He is so adorable" she breathed, laughing harder when Hotch rolled his eyes at the ceiling clearly praying for patience.
Emily felt Dave's chest rumble with silent laughter and she smiled to herself. Children, always speaking the truth whenever they pleased, nesecarry or not. It was one of the reasons why she had loved Declan; he was so honest and sweet. She wondered where he was now, and whether he liked sports or academics more. She wondered whether he had met a girl or if he was still at that stage where girls had cooties. Dave looked down at her and she knew that he had clicked to her thought pattern almost lightning fast. She would explain to him later, not that much was needed but still.
"I missed you Jack" Emily said endearingly, reaching over to hug the small boy.
"I missed you too Emmy" Jack said, snuggling into her.
. . .
Author Note:
Done! I'm not even going to comment on how late this chapter is but my plot bunny decided to bugger off. Done now anyway! :) So Heal Me didn't end up winning the Profilers Choice Awards for best Rossi/Prentiss ship but thank you to the kind soul who nominated and to all those who voted. And to Mingsmommy, who won with her story Shopping with Benefits, a huge congratulations. Anyone who likes Rossi/Prentiss should read that story, it's really good.
Only one more chapter and then an epilogue left guys!
Rusty out,
xx