Sorry for the delay- pretty busy planning all these weekend trips! Enjoy and review!
Chapter XLIX
She couldn't remember the last time she had been to the beach. Had she ever even seen one before? She must have. If not, then how could she conjure up the delusion of white sand and crystal clear waters that appeared before her? Ana turned, her all black prison jumpsuit clinging to her skin where the spray of the ocean hit it. The imaginary ocean, she reminded herself. Ana was fully aware that she was having a hallucination of sorts- she just didn't know what to do about it. Just as she was about to sit on the sand and let the warmth of the- fake- sun envelope her, she heard a shuffling behind her. She spun quickly, her bare feet stinging on the grainy sand, and came face to face with the one person she never wanted to see again.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Adrian said as he gestured out to the ocean. She watched with caution as he inhaled the scented air deeply, filling his lungs with the fake salty aroma, and sat by her feet. He was wearing exactly what he was the day he had died- a hospital gown- except it didn't seem to faze him. Adrian let his feet sink into the sand and relished the feeling of it between his toes before closing his eyes and smiling up at the sun.
"Wh-where are we?" Ana's voice trembled. The fact that she knew this place was all in her mind, the sight of the man still terrified her. Adrian did something she had never seen him do before- he ignored the obvious sense of fear. Instead of smirking or intimating her, he simply continued to bask in the glory of the sun's rays. A chuckle escaped his lips- not that menacing kind that she had grown accustomed to but a sincere, amused laughter that came from deep in his belly.
"Oh, Ana." She hadn't heard him call her that since the first day they met. It brought back somewhat pleasant memories as she watched him sprawl into the sand and stretch his lean form. The sound of the waves gliding gently against the shore filled her senses and she couldn't resist taking the single step forward it took to immerse her feet in the warm water. She nearly smiled at the feeling before drawing her attention back to the relaxing Hail.
"What does it matter?" he asked her, shrugging his shoulders. As she opened her mouth to response that it did, Hail turned his head and opened his eyes, causing the girl to jump backwards. They were black- all black- and staring straight at her. "It's not like you have somewhere else to be." He spoke with a disturbing calm, as if telling her the weekly weather forecast, and Ana drew back further into the water. Suddenly, the sand beneath her feet started to slip away as if she had landed in quicksand. Frantic, Ana desperately tried to raise her feet and make her way back to the shore- and the still tanning Hail- but was unable to lift them. As she began to sink into the water, a soundless scream left her lips and water entered her mouth and lungs. Struggling against the force of the waves, Ana tried to cry out but failed again- the sound getting caught at the base of her throat. Tears stung her eyes as the beautiful paradise before her turned into a crushing darkness and the only sound she could hear was the utterly paralyzing sound of Hail's laughter.
She awoke to the sound of clanging metal. Opening her eyes, she took in the familiar, dreary sight of a hospital waiting room and immediately shot to her feet. The sound was coming from the room she had fallen asleep next to, Ana's room. Emily could hear the commotion from the room and sped to see what was causing it. When she did, she almost cried tears of joy as she saw Ana struggling against one of the nurse's hold on her. Another stood in her way, a gentle look on her face asking her silently to give the girl some time. Emily acknowledged her slightly before returning her attention to now sleeping teenager. Ana's doctor had introduced herself as Dr. Neopolis when Emily arrived. The short, blonde woman now made her way towards the anxious looking brunette with a sullen look on her face. Emily wondered if that was simply her natural expression.
"How is she?" she asked as soon as the doctor was within earshot. Neopolis closed the door to Ana's room and dismissed the nurses around her before turning to the younger woman.
"She'll live." She replied, jotting down a handful of scribbles on a messy looking notepad. Emily raised her eyebrow, waiting for more.
"And?" Emily crossed her arms as the blonde seemed more interested in her notes than Emily's frantic expression.
"Agent Prentiss," the doctor sighed, removing her glasses dramatically before placing them in a pocket. "Ms. Valerious was transported from the Detention Facility in Virginia. What makes you think I can just tell you-"
"You'll tell me everything I want to know or I'll make sure you spend the next eighteen months as a prison executioner!" Emily cried, bringing her face impossibly close to older woman's. Neopolis seemed to freeze in place, clearly stunned by Emily's outburst, before clearing her throat and pushing her back against the wall. Her washed-out green eyes searched around the room wildly as if expecting one of her fellow colleagues that had heard the threat to help. No one dared. Emily maintained her hardened gaze on the woman until finally, she cracked.
"Ana Valerious, female, age 17, known allergies: shellfish and latex, three prior surgeries: 2 muscle reconstructions and liver, lung and aorta repair procedure caused by a gunshot wound to the abdomen about a month ago." Neopolis risked a look at Prentiss only to see the woman staring down at her with a bored expression. "Valerious was brought in early this morning from the Detention Facility with multiple contusions and sprains. Her jaw, arm and three ribs were broken along with a concussion and moderate damage to the stitches placed after her organ repairs."
"Wha-what does that mean?" Emily shook her head slightly.
"We managed to keep the stitches from tearing on her liver and right lung but the one her aorta is trickier. It'll need constant observation in case it loses its hold."
"Why can't you just fix it?"
"Going back in so soon after such an invasive surgery is riskier than leaving it be. The human body can heal almost anything so if we give it a chance to fix itself, we avoid the risk of giving her a heart attack."
"How long until she can leave?" Emily's question seemed to aggravate the doctor further.
"Agent Prentiss, it'll be weeks before Ms. Valerious can even stand, let alone walk out of here." Neopolis seemed to deflate as she informed Emily of the news. "Perhaps, by the time her trial date arrives, she'll be able to-"
"Emily." A deep voice caused the woman in question to turn on her heel. She saw Aaron quickly making his way down the narrow hallway and immediately made her way to him. She all but collapsed into his arms as he held her upright and rested her head on the crook of his neck. Hot tears forced their way down her cheeks and onto his shirt but neither cared to notice.
"I knew this would happen." She mumbled. "I knew it and I did nothing to stop it."
"Shh, Emily." He cooed as he stroked her hair softly. "This is not your fault. You know that."
"She almost died." Emily continued to whisper against him, her cries shattering his heart from its core. "They almost killed her."
"But they didn't." he stated firmly as he closed his eyes and hugged her tighter. "And now, they'll never get to her again."
"Aaron." She breathed as he led her to the nearest seat and set her down. Still holding onto him for dear life, Emily nuzzled against him and continued to cry. She no longer cared about anyone seeing her or the pride she normally had. All she wanted was to cry in Aaron's arms for everything that had gone wrong- so she did. She cried and cried until nothing more could come out and then she sat still. She felt his large hand push away strands of her hair and place a gentle kiss on her forehead before wrapping his coat around her frame and allowing her to reposition herself against him.
"It's going to be alright." He whispered into her hair. "We're going to fix this." Emily, too tired to argue, simply nodded. She tightened her hold on the man, fearing that something would happen to him too, before falling into an unwilling, fitful sleep. Minutes later, the rest of the team trudged in, clearly still exhausted. Seeing the position the two were in, everyone but JJ silently took a seat around them while the blonde went to finish the conversation with Dr. Neopolis. Before long, JJ nodded, offered the woman what could barely pass as a smile, shook her hand and returned to the team. They look at her questioningly but she simply waved a hand in return. She didn't want to risk waking Emily up and the rest of the team agreed. One by one, they followed the brunette and gave into the temptation to rest their eyes. Neopolis saw the group that had congregated around the criminal's room and frowned. How could a group of FBI agents be so concerned about a girl on trial for the things Valerious was accused of? She crossed her arms as she observed the last of their team, a man closer to her age than the others, give into sleep and thought that maybe- just maybe- there was a little bit more to this girl than she thought.