chapter 20

disclaimer

disclaimer: i do not own any of the criminal minds characters, i do own the victims/suspects/officers.

this story will become very dark and may contain material that upsets some peoole

RATED : Mature Audiences only

please leave any comments below, this is my first criminal minds fabrication! please let me know what i can do better!

—

He had no idea how to tell her, or if this was the right time. Was she strong enough to handle the news? Well of course she was, but he didn't want her to shit down even more. He felt her brown eyes staring at him intensely.

"Hotch? What's wrong?" She said, concern evident in her voice.

She cocked her head at him, and he decided to tell her.

"It's Chris. He escaped. Police officers were escorting him, and he overpowered both of them." He broke the news quickly.

She swallowed, and her eyes grew wide. She bit her lip, a signature Prentiss move, then closed her eyes.

"What do we have on him." She asked confidently.

"Emily, don't worry. We will get him." Hotch said, avoiding her question all together.

"Hotch tell me."

He scratched his head and responded, "Garcia said some locals saw him on a surveillance tape leaving town." He said, pausing at the last part.

"He's coming after me, isn't he." She said.

"Emily, we don't know that. For now you're going to be staying with one of us and an officer will be with you at all times until he is caught." Hotch said, trying to be as gentle as he could.

"I don't want to be a victim, Hotch. I won't live like that." Emily said, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Em, I know. But we can't risk it." He said.

She nodded, "who is living with me?"

"I was thinking Morgan or JJ?" Hotch suggested.

She hesitated before responding, "Morgan? I don't want to take JJ away from Henry and Will."

Hotch slowly nodded, "Ill talk to him when we get back. For now, just get some rest." He said, rubbing her shoulder. He noticed she tenses up when he touched her, and quickly removed his hand.

She just looked to the side and bit her lip. He knew she was struggling and didn't want to make her feel any worse than she already did.

Emily leaned against the window but every time she closed her eyes, she would see Chris's face. She sat there for the rest of the ride staring blankly out the window.

Once they landed and we're back at the BAU, everyone left besides Morgan, Emily and Hotch. The others left after giving Emily looks of sympathy and comforting words.

"Derek, I have decided it would be best if you would stay with Emily for a little while." Hotch said, looking outside at the brunette agent patiently waiting.

"But man, she was scared of me. She didn't want me to go near her, how will she be with me living there?"

"Morgan, she requested you." Hotch said directly.

Morgan raised his eyebrows, "she did?"

Hotch nodded, "we don't know what's going on in her head, but she requested to have you with her. Let her get some rest tonight, but tomorrow we need her statement in order to track down Chris."

Morgan sighed, he knew how hard it was for victims to give statements.

Victim. He had just referred Emily Prentiss as a victim. She didn't deserve that label. Nobody did in reality. She survived hell, and was still standing. That was pretty damn strong if you asked him.

"Alright, I'll bring her back in tomorrow morning. Goodnight Hotch." Morgan said.

"Goodnight."

Just as Morgan was walking out, Hotch started talking again.

"Uh Derek, take care of her, okay?"

"Of course."

He walked out of Hotch's office and found Emily tapping her leg nervously on the ground.

"Ready?" He asked.

She quickly turned around, clearly startled.

"Oh yeah, lets go." She said, trying to regain her control.

The drive home was silent. Derek didn't want to pry just yet, and wanted to give her space. He focused on the road and tried not to let him mind wander to much. He didn't want to come up with his own ideas of what happened to her until he knew what actually happened.

"Hotch said we have to go in and you have to give your statement.." He said gently.

"What? To who?" She said suddenly.

"I don't know yet, I'm sure you can choose which one of us you tell. Don't worry about it Em, we can go and get breakfast after? If you want."

"Um yeah sure." She said.

Once they pulled up to Emily's apartment building, they both got out of the car and went to the elevator. Morgan pushed the button and they both went in.

Emily watched as the doors started to close and her mind started raving. She was closed in, the door shut and she was trapped. Her heart started racing and she felt like hundreds of bricks were placed on her chest.

"Em? Em what's happening? Are you okay?" Morgan asked worriedly, "Em look at me. Focus on my face. You're okay, just talk to me." He said frantically.

"I–I can't...cant breathe..." She said, putting her hand by her chest.

The elevator dinged. They were two floors away from hers.

"Emily, just breathe." He tried to coach her.

She attempted to take a big breathe, but it turned into more of a hiccup.

Just then, the doors flew open. Morgan turned and saw the red painted hallway and then looked back at Emily. He could see her noticeably calm down, he saw her hand was clasped around the metal bar and her knuckles were white.

"You good?" He asked, trying to look into her eyes.

"Ye–Yeah." She said, taking another deep breath.

They exited the elevator and walked to her apartment. Morgan unlocked the door and let her go first.

She walked in, feeling uneasy. She knew she should be extremely happy to finally be home, but she didn't feel anything. She just wanted a hot shower and to go to sleep.

"I'm just gunna go take a shower, then get in bed. You can go in the guest bedroom, it's to the left of mine. I probably don't have any food though, sorry." She said, realizing she hadn't been home in over two weeks.

"Thanks fine, let me know if you need anything. I'll be down here."

She nodded and walked up the short staircase to her second floor. She went into her room, grabbed some pajamas then headed to the bathroom.

She paused when she passed the mirror. She looked so beaten down and tired that she barely recognized herself. She still had some slight bruising on her face, and her arm was now in a removable brace. She took out the painkillers from her bag and put them by the sink. She didn't think she was going to take any though.

She turned the shower on, and set it at the hottest it would go. She felt so dirty, and could still feel him all over her. She hadn't been allowed a real shower when she was at the hospital because she couldn't get her stitches wet.

She stepped in and immediately felt the burning water touch her pale skin. She winced at the burning sensation it created, yet she never moved or turned it down. She began scrubbing at her skin, desperately trying to get him off of her. Soon enough, tears were streaming freely from her eyes. However, she barely knew she was crying as the water washed the salty tears away.