"Damn," Emily muttered under her breath when the alarm blared, waking the half asleep FBI agent from her slumber. Yawning, Emily threw the covers off of her and sat up. Stretching, she opened her eyes and looked to the other bed where Mallory had fallen asleep the night before. Only this time, the bed was completely empty. The rumpled sheets confirmed that the younger woman had been there. Panic settled in like an incurable disease. Alarmed, Emily rushed to the bathroom.

Broken glass, bloody sheets of crumpled toilet paper and small droplets of blood was the scene that Emily had come across. It almost looked like a crime scene that she and Derek might analyze during a case. But it wasn't a crime scene. It confirmed that Emily had failed to help Mallory and the young woman had fled sometime during the night.

God, what was the matter with her? She was a profiler for heaven's sake! She should have seen this coming. But she'd been too wrapped up in herself and angry at Derek to see the deep levels of pain that Mallory was in. Why was she so stupid? She knew that Mallory was in a dark place with a fragile mental state. Arguing with Derek shouldn't have happened. At least not some place where Mallory could have overheard the shouting. Hating herself at the moment, Emily couldn't help but let the tears that were fogging her vision to run down her pale cheeks.

She cried for her own incompetency because she should have done something more to make Mallory feel loved. Yes, Mallory needed help and probably required more help than Emily could give, but more importantly, Mallory needed to feel loved. She needed to know that someone cares for her. That someone loves her. Emily had failed to do just that.

She cried for Mallory because she had left in the middle of night hurting worse than when Emily had found her out on the street. Emily wanted love her and care for her so that if Mallory did choose to leave, she would be leaving with some sort of hope. Emily had failed to do that too.

She cried for Derek because she wasn't the kind of wife she'd promised she'd be. When they married, she had promised to love him, care for him, honor him, and defend him. She hadn't of done any of that since they'd met Mallory. Instead, she had cursed him, cared more for herself and a stranger, deliberately gone against his wishes and fought with him, and she had told him to find someplace else to sleep. Derek was probably still upset with her and she prayed he wasn't regretting his decision to marry her. Emily had failed to be a supportive and loving wife too.

Her list of mistakes in life seemed to be increasing at an alarming rate.

But Emily Prentiss was not the kind of woman to wallop in self-pity, trying to bargain with God to go back in time to erase the mistakes of her past. Instead, she was the kind of woman to own up to her mistakes and face the upward battles those mistakes sometimes caused.

It might have been too late to make amends with Mallory, but she could still go and apologize to Derek.

Not even bothering to get dressed or slip her slippers onto her feet, Emily wandered down the hall in a pair of shorts and a faded t-shirt to Derek's room.

Standing in front of Derek's closed door, Emily felt her courage leave her as she found herself unsure of what to say to him. Closing her eyes, Emily quickly swallowed her pride and raised her fist to knock. However, before she could announce her presence, the door flew open to reveal Derek dressed for the day. Surprised to see him, she lowered her fist to her side and stepped back.

"Emily?" he asked, her brows knotting together, confused to see her outside his hotel room. "Come in," he said, noticing her appearance and quickly ushering her inside the room so that they could talk. Closing the door behind her, Derek led her farther into the room. He sat down at the edge of his bed. She sat down on the edge of the other bed so that they were facing each other.

"I'm sorry." Her voice trembled and was so quiet, it was barely a whisper. Yet, Derek had heard her loud and clear. Normally, he would cup his ear with his hand sarcastically, asking her to repeat herself. But now wasn't the time for jokes and he knew that. Now was the time for him to listen whole heartedly to her as she poured her heart out to him.

At a loss for words, Derek found himself unsure of how to respond to her apology.

Before he could say something in reply, Emily continued.

With her gaze adverted away from Derek's eyes, Emily looked down at the ugly gray carpeting on the floor. "I shouldn't have been angry with you," she quietly admitted. "All you wanted to do was protect me." Shaking her head, a renegade tear fell from her eye. Why was she still crying, she had wiped her tears from earlier before she had thought of going to see Derek. Tears were a sign of weakness. Emily Prentiss was not weak. "It doesn't matter anyway, Mallory left."

Finding himself able to speak once again, Derek asked, "What?" His tone was quiet, but calm and full of concern for the sobbing brunette in front of him. "Why?" He asked, standing up and walking the short distance to her. Standing in front of her, Derek grabbed Emily's hands and pulled her to her feet.

"She must have heard us last night," Emily admitted.

Derek would be lying if he said he was heartbroken over this piece of news as he still thought it best if Emily didn't get involved with someone like Mallory. But because he loved Emily, he chose to support her. And that meant comforting her when she was upset about this. Unsure of what to say to her though, Derek pulled her closer to him and dropped her hands to circle his strong arms around her petite middle section.

Her body did not relax to his touch as it normally did as Emily kept her body rigid. Nor did she wind her arms around his neck like she normally did when he hugged her. Emily Prentiss was a strong woman and she was not going to let him see for a moment how weak she sometimes felt.

How she felt now when there was absolutely nothing she could do.

"Are you going to go after her?"

Derek's question sounded more accusing than curious to Emily's ears. That was expected though, Emily mused. He still didn't like the fact that she wanted to give Mallory a better life.

It didn't matter though. Not now.

Shaking her head, Emily's dark hair fell into her eyes. Pushing it back, she quietly replied with a simple, "No."

That didn't sound like Emily, Derek mused, surprised by her response. She was determined to help Mallory, which he knew. Why was she so determined to sit back and do nothing now? Taking a step back so that he could look at her better, Derek raised his eyebrows in question. He wanted to say something, to ask why, but he wasn't quite sure what he could say. So he let the silence remain.

Finally, after a few silent minutes passed, he spoke. "That doesn't sound like you," he commented, his voice low and quiet. It was Emily's turn to remain silent. Emily was surprised by his comment and her eyebrows rose to her hairline as she glanced up at him. But, she did not speak. She let her expression filled features speak for her. So, Derek continued and elaborated on his last statement. "The way you fought me yesterday told me you were passionate about helping Mallory," he explained. "And now you're not going to go after her?"

Again, Emily shook her head. "She'd only reject me if I went after her. Trust me, Derek. I know her better than you think."

"How?"

The question was out before he had time to think about it. They knew each other well, but when it came to the past, they didn't talk about it. Derek and Emily had an unspoken agreement that they did not break. The only past they talked about was their past unless one had something they though the other should know.

Refusing to answer, Emily shook her head, deflecting the question. Her eyes were sad.

Yet Derek was curious. He knew that Emily had done some things in her past that she wasn't proud of and heavily regretted. Her high school yearbook photo that had circled around the BAU was proof of that. But Derek had done some things in his past they he regretted as well. Emily wouldn't tell him anything now. Maybe someday. Not now though.

Derek couldn't shake the inevitable, ominous feeling though that his and Emily's well maintained relationship would crumble to pieces and he could do nothing but sit back at watch.

"It's getting late," Emily said instead, changing the subject. "Hotch'll be expecting us back at the Police Station soon."

Agreeing with her, Derek nodded. Scaling her body up and down with his eyes, Derek whistled appreciatively. Smirking, he said, "Though I really don't think Hotch would appreciate you showing up to work in booty shorts that say Baby Girl on the butt and an old t-shirt from the academy."

Smacking his arm, Emily laughed, leaving Derek to go back to her own room. Opening the door, Emily paused outside the room in the hallway. Derek followed her to the door. Leaning against the open doorway, Derek told her to go change and to meet him downstairs for breakfast. Emily smiled at his request. "Derek," she said his name ever so softly that he had a hard time hearing her. Yet, he knew that she did speak. Turning back around so that she was facing him again, her lips turned up into a small smile. The smile was sad, much like her eyes. "I love you," she whispered as if he needed to be reminded of it and maybe he did.

She had an awful feeling that the beginning of a terrible storm was just ahead.

Reaching his hand out, Derek gently stroked her cheek. "I love you too."

xXx

Like always, Hotch was the first of his agents to arrive at the police station that morning. Glancing at the clock on the wall of the conference room, the unit chief knew that his subordinates would be arriving soon. Until then, it was best if he looked through the case file again going through the facts planning out what he needed each agent to do.

Unfortunately, Hotch found himself unable to focus on the facts of the case. His mind was too busy swimming with thoughts of Morgan and Prentiss. Ever since Emily had first joined the team, replacing Agent Greenaway after her hasty departure, she and Derek just worked well together. While everyone on the team got along and worked well together, sometimes Hotch couldn't help but think that Morgan and Prentiss worked better together than with anyone else on the team. They brought out the best in each other on and off the field.

As friends their relationship was simple and full of flirtatious banter. Yet they were professional and always got the job done no matter what, even if it meant breaking protocol. And Hotch never had to worry about them crossing the very distinct line between friends and lovers.

Yet even when they did cross the line and started dating, Hotch didn't have to worry. As a couple, they worked even better together, if that were even possible, connecting with each other at an even deeper level. Of course they worried more about the other's safety and Hotch prayed that that would never cause them to compromise their roles in the field. It hadn't happened yet, but still Hotch worried. He worried about that as much as he worried about them being able to remain professional on the job. They had done a good job until now.

Arguing wasn't like them, Hotch mused. He figured they argued occasionally outside of the Bureau. Every married couple did. Yet, whatever they had been fighting about didn't seem like a simple, petty argument couples sometimes had. Morgan was angry and lashing out at his equally upset spouse. Prentiss was more on the defensive and unwavering in her opinions. Whatever they were fighting about, Hotch only hoped that they could work through it and come to an agreement. Splitting up the team was not something he ever wanted to do. He was blessed to run a team that loved, respected, and looked out for each other like a family.

He was quickly brought out of his wandering thoughts by his team's voices carrying throughout the building. It sounded like Rossi was teasing the poor young genius again. Soon Rossi, Reid, and JJ were joining him in the conference room. All seemed to be well rested, carrying cups of coffee. Morgan and Prentiss were still nowhere to be seen.

"Have you seen Prentiss and Morgan this morning?" he asked the three.

Rossi and JJ both shook their heads no and Hotch let out a heavy sigh. As much as he hated to split the team up, he would have to. He had promised he would do so if they could not settle their disagreement quickly and efficiently and Aaron Hotchner was a man of his word.

"I saw Morgan in the hotel lobby," Reid replied in answer to Hotch's question. "He said he was going to ride over with Emily."

Good. Hotch thought to himself. If they were going to ride over together, it must mean that they had been able to come to an agreement. Hotch knew they would never ride in the same vehicle if they were upset with each other. Emily Prentiss was notorious at holding grudges.

"I'll get Morgan and Prentiss caught up when they get here but for now…"