Sighing, Emily entered the conference room where Reid, Morgan, and Rossi were diligently working. Standing in the doorway, she watched Derek work for a few long seconds. She had already made up her mind as to what she wanted to do. Knowing Derek, he probably wouldn't like her idea, but she was determined to do this. With long strides, she was by Derek's side in three steps. Placing a hand on his back, she leaned into him to speak privately to him. "Can we talk in private?" Her voice was quiet and her tone insinuated that whatever she wanted to talk about was important. Receiving a nod of agreement from her husband, Emily led him outside the conference room and down an empty hallway so that they could talk. Halfway down the hallway, Emily stopped and rubbed her palms over her pants and took a deep breath.
"What's up?" Derek asked concerned, placing a hand on her upper arm. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't worried about Emily. She'd been spending a lot of time with Mallory, getting attached. While attachments were good, they were also harmful in this job. When the case was over, he and Emily would fly home to D.C. and Mallory would forget that Emily Prentiss even existed and nothing would change in her life. It was best not to get attached in their line of work.
Shaking her head, Emily released the breath that she hadn't of known she'd been holding. "I want to help her, Derek," she confessed. Her dark eyes were sincere and full of determination, Derek noticed as she looked directly into his dark eyes. Of course Emily wanted to help Mallory. That was no surprise to Derek. After all, Emily was by nature a caring and nurturing person. In fact Derek would have been more surprised if Emily didn't want to help the young woman. But how did Emily want to help Mallory? Their hands were tied here. They couldn't do a whole lot to ensure a better life for her.
Sighing, Derek nodded his head in agreement with her statement. Although Emily had spent more time with Mallory than he had, Derek wanted to help her too. The woman lived on the streets. Someone so young and with a whole future ahead of them shouldn't be there. At least that was his opinion anyway. Not only that, but there was a sad, almost depressing aura about Mallory. She didn't have a certain zeal for life. Dying seemed like a better option than living to her. So yes, Mallory needed help. And if Emily wanted to help her, then Derek would do everything he could to help Emily help Mallory.
"How?"
Dropping his gaze, Emily averted her eyes and looked down their shoes. Her actions told him that she was unsure of what she should say or unsure of how he would react to whatever she said. Avoiding eye contact now only told Derek that Emily was uncomfortable. Footsteps in the hall, coming towards them did nothing to help. To make Emily feel a little more comfortable, Derek waved the officer off and used his finger to push Emily's chin upwards so that she was looking at him once again. Her dark hair fell back behind her ears and she closed her eyes, pacing herself.
"Don't get mad," she mumbled, barely audible to Derek. Furrowing his brows, Derek wondered why he would get mad at Emily for wanting to help someone. It was one of the many things that had made him fall in love with her in the first place. "I haven't talked to Mallory yet or anything," Emily continued. Her voice was still quiet, but she rushed her words as if they couldn't come out of her mouth fast enough. "But I want to take Mallory back to D.C. to live. With us."
Now it was Derek's turn to release a breath he hadn't know he'd been holding. So that's what Emily wanted to do. She wanted to bring this depressed young woman home with them. What was going through Emily's mind, Derek wondered. Mallory was a human being, not a stray animal. Wanting to make a stray cat a pet was one thing, but wanting to invite a total stranger into their home to live with them was another.
Derek remained silent for quite some time and Emily wondered what was going through his mind. How did he feel about this? She couldn't be sure, just gaging his facial expressions. Right now his face was blank. His eyes were wide, his brow raised and Emily knew that what she had said surprised him. That was understandable though. His eyes narrowed though and Emily knew what was coming next. Her eyes narrowed too.
"No," Derek eventually spoke, shaking his head.
It was now Emily's turn to raise her brows in question. "Excuse me?" She asked him, pouring her sass, sarcasm, and emotion in that question as her hand went to her hip.
"You heard me, Emily."
His voice was firm. If the alpha male was speaking to anybody else, the conversation would be over and whatever he said would be it. However, Emily was just as stubborn and strong-willed as he was. She wasn't afraid to stand her ground. Dark eyes narrowed and met another pair of dark eyes in staring contest as if it were a battle of will and wits.
"She needs help, Derek!" She seethed.
"And living with us is the only way to do that?" Derek questioned haughtily.
This was strange for them. Most of the time, they were both very understanding individuals. Because they seemed to understand things better than most, they hardly ever raised their voices even when the person they were speaking to give them attitude. And never did they raise their voices to each other. They always communicated well. Besides ever since they met that fateful day in the BAU when she replaced his former partner Elle, they had always been so intuitive with one another. Words weren't always needed. But now, they both had a point to make and when one is so focused they get blinded by tunnel vision, yelling seems like the only viable option to make them listen.
"Yes!" Emily shrieked.
"Why do you think you have to do this?"
"Why do you have to question me on everything?!"
xXx
One thing that Hotch didn't expect to hear upon entering any precinct was bickering officers or two of his agents to be more exact. Shouting voices immediately reached his ears and the stern Unit Chief wandered in the direction of the familiar voices. The voices grew louder as he came nearer to the bickering agents. The officers, detectives, and the rest of his team watched curiously from afar as the two agents went at it. He found Morgan and Prentiss halfway down an empty hallway toe to toe and head to head.
Morgan and Prentiss arguing with each other was almost unheard of, Hotch mused as he watched them. Both of them were both independent and stubborn as hell and both of them had an "it's me against the world" mentality. While both of them had trust issues, they trusted each other like they trusted themselves and when they were together they worked well together as if it were them against the world. Hotch had witnessed their "it's us against the world" mentality when they had announced their engagement. Remembering that day as if it were yesterday, Hotch recalled reminding them that the bureau frowned upon intimate relationships upon agents that worked together out in the field. He had reminded them that while one wouldn't necessarily have to leave the BAU; one of them would have to transfer to another team. They both refused and wouldn't take no for an answer as they told Hotch either he kept both of them or they both left. Strauss wasn't too happy with Hotch's final decision but agreed because she didn't want two empty positions on a team at once.
Now though, Morgan and Prentiss both had their "it's me against the world" mentality as they fought with each other, knowing that neither one would give in to the other. Whatever they were arguing about was non-negotiable as they were far from reaching an understanding.
Clearing his throat as he stood in front of them, Hotch waited to get their attention. Once both of his agents turned to look at him, he cleared his throat once again. "I want to speak to both of you outside now." His voice was quite stern and he abruptly turned on his heel without waiting for an answer from either one of them and led the way outside. Hearing two very distinct sighs behind him, Hotch knew for a fact without looking that Morgan and Prentiss glanced at each other, both letting out as sigh as they followed their boss to be reprimanded for arguing. The late afternoon sun shone overhead as Hotch stopped out onto the front steps of the police station. Leading the now silent agents off to the side a little ways, Hotch stood as still as a statue with narrowed eyes. His stern gaze simply told Morgan and Prentiss that he was not happy. Neither agent dared say something to their superior. Taking a deep breath, Hotch began to speak. The tone of his voice was clear and leveled with reason. "When you came to me stating that you wanted to marry, as your superior, I agreed with you not to transfer either one of you to another team because you promised you would keep your relationship out of the office and the field and stay focused. And as your friend, I congratulated you. To be honest, I'm a little surprised at how well you've kept your promise." Still, Morgan and Prentiss remained silent with bowed heads like school children being sent to the principal's office as they waited for Hotch to finish his lecture. "I don't care what is going on between you right now," Hotch stated, perhaps a little too harshly. "Just make sure you have it taken care of by morning." His subordinates only nodded. "If this issue is not resolved," Hotch continued, "you will not be working together the rest of the case and when we arrive back to Quantico, one of you will be transferred to another team. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," Emily mumbled. Derek nodded in agreement.
Knowing his agents understood, Hotch left them outside and reentered the station to continue working before he sent his team to the hotel to get some sleep for the night.
xXx
Once Hotch had disappeared back inside, Emily turned so she was facing Derek again. Placing her hands on her hips, she sighed. Derek turned to face her as well. "What are we going to do?" She asked, her voice quiet and uncertain.
Derek sighed too, shaking his head. "We'll talk about this later, Em. Let's just get back to work."
"Fine," Emily shrugged before disappearing back inside.
Burying his face in his hands, Derek let out another frustrated sigh, wondering when and how he and Emily would get over their differences and come up with a solution they both agreed with.
xXx
By the time Emily made it back to Mallory, she had completely forgotten about bringing something to drink back with her. Entering the conference room once again, Emily found the younger woman sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall with her knees up to her chin. She was crying. Depressed people cried a lot and many times because there was simply nothing else they felt like doing. Emily understood this and let the girl cry. Settling on the floor herself, Emily scooted closer to Mallory so that their shoulders were lightly touching. Not too close to invade Mallory's space, but close enough to let her know that she was there if she needed a friend.
The pair sat there just like that in complete silence except for Mallory's sobs for quite a few minutes. When Emily heard the sobs lessen, she broke the silence. "Is there someplace you want me to take you?" Emily asked, keeping her voice calm and caring, "a shelter or someplace?" Mallory shook her head no, not bothering to even look at Emily. Although Mallory couldn't see her, Emily nodded, trying to think of something else. "Okay," she drawled. "Well, you can't stay here and I'm not letting you go back out on the street…" Her voice trailed off as she continued to think of what she could do. An idea popped into Emily's head and she stood up. Facing Mallory, she looked down and held out her hand. "Come on," she said. Mallory picked her head up and her sad blue eyes met Emily's chocolate colored ones. Although she wasn't sure at first, Mallory grabbed a hold of Emily's hand and allowed her to pull her too her feet. "I'm taking you to the hotel. You can stay with me."
"Are you…" Mallory started to protest, but her question trailed off, afraid of the answer she might receive if she finished it.
"I'm not taking no for an answer," Emily stated matter-of-factly. Smiling, Emily slung her arm around Mallory's shoulders and squeezed. "Let's go," she added, nodding towards the exit. "What are you hungry for?"
"McDonald's."
Emily nodded as if contemplating the answer. "I could go for a Big Mac."
xXx
Rossi was driving himself, Morgan, and Reid to the hotel to get some sleep that evening. The drive was silent as each passenger had their own thoughts to contemplate. In the backseat, Reid was staring at a map of the city. In the front passenger seat of the SUV, Morgan was watching the world pass by as he looked outside his window. Rossi, although driving, kept averting his gaze from the road ahead to glance at Morgan every so often. The younger man was deep in thought. He had been ever since Hotch had reprimanded him and Prentiss for arguing on the job. And as much as Rossi wanted to say something, he remained silent until he knew that Morgan wanted to talk. He didn't have to wait long. The silence was eventually broken by a heavy sigh.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Rossi asked, glancing over at Morgan.
Shrugging, Morgan sighed again unsure of what he should say to the older man. Honestly, he didn't know exactly what he was feeling. Not well enough to be able to put it into words for another to understand. Shaking his head, he mumbled, "Emily."
Rossi only nodded at Derek's comment, as if he understood exactly what he was saying. And maybe he did understand what Derek was saying. It was no secret that the couple had been fighting. The whole police station had heard them. Afterwards, both Derek and Emily seemed a little on edge, seemingly avoiding eye contact with each other. Although it's been a few hours, Derek was still affected by his disagreement with his wife. Besides he should know better than anyone what it feels like to have an upset spouse.
"Mallory," Derek's voice once again mumbled.
Now the pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in Rossi's head. Derek had been fighting with Emily about Mallory. What about Mallory, he wasn't sure though. Ever since Mallory showed up, Rossi had been keeping a close eye on her, Derek, and Emily. Mallory and Emily seemed to becoming fast friends. Which Rossi was grateful for; that girl needed a friend like Emily. Derek on the other hand seemed almost aloof when it came to Mallory. He chose to keep an eye on Emily, almost spying on her. The man couldn't be blamed though. He was only keeping an eye on his wife, making sure that she didn't emotionally hurt herself by getting attached.
"What about Mallory?" Rossi asked, a raise of his brow.
Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, Derek explained. "Emily wants Mallory to come back to D.C. with us. To live."
Derek's confession about Emily surprised Rossi because it didn't sound like something the Emily Prentiss he knew would do. Emily was a strong, confident, and independent woman and she didn't trust easily. She could know someone her whole life and still not fully trust them. Yet she was caring. If she and Derek ever decided to have kids, she'd make an amazing mother. A few years before Emily had offered to take in a teenage girl who had survived a home invasion. But then she was completely single and didn't have a husband to think about. Not to mention, Emily had gotten to know the girl quite well during the case and had known her a few days. Besides the teenager was remarkably strong and brave even after watching a pair of foster brothers kill both of her parents and her little brother.
Mallory was completely different than that teenager though. For one, she was older and old enough to live on her own. Two, she was depressed. While she was good at hiding the scars on her arms, Rossi had still been able to catch a glimpse when the sleeve of her sweatshirt played peekaboo by inching upwards as she stretched. He immediately knew them for what they were. She needed help. There was no denying that. Emily had only known Mallory a few hours and was already suggesting that Mallory come live with her and Derek. There was only one thing Rossi could do.
He could only pray that Emily knew what she was doing.
Again, Rossi glanced in Derek's direction. "That doesn't sound like Emily."
"I know," Derek agreed, letting out a frustrated sigh.
Apparently, he didn't know what to do or think. Part of him wanted to go along with Emily's plan because it would make her happy and nothing was as quite as important to him as Emily's happiness. The other part of him completely disagreed with Emily because it wasn't conventional and there was a chance that Emily could emotionally get hurt by becoming too invested in what he deemed a lost cause.
"I don't know if this helps you or not," Rossi said, once again glancing in Derek's direction as he navigated the SUV through the streets of Bluffdale. "But there are only a handful of people that Emily fully trusts. One of them is you." Derek already knew that as he wondered what Rossi was getting at exactly. "As long as I've known her, I've only once seen her put her heart out on the line. And that was for you. When it comes to love, she doesn't take chances."
"What are you saying?" Derek asked with a shake of his head.
"If she's willing to get hurt in order to help that young woman, then she must have one hell of a damn good reason to do it."
Rossi was right. Emily wasn't one to make impulsive decisions that she would later regret when it came to matters such love and trusting someone. Every decision she made was always premeditated carefully with every possible outcome thoroughly analyzed. It had always been her against the world as she had learned early on that people only hurt and disappoint.
"Are you saying I should just go along with her idea?" Derek asked with a tinge of sarcasm evident in his tone as he rolled his eyes.
"No," Rossi replied. His voice was calm and contemplative. "But maybe you should trust her judgment."
"I do," Derek huffed, crossing his arms. His eyes never left the window.
"Do you?"