In Birth And Death: Chapter 1

[bellacortez.livejournal.com]

This is my first post on LJ so here's the required Dossier:
Name: Isabella
Age: 18
Favorite TV Show: Criminal Minds
Other Shows Watched: Leverage and Desperate Housewives 
Favorite Color: Orange. Or maybe green...
If I was a criminal, I'd be... oh jeez... Idk...

On with the fic...

Title: In Birth And Death
Author: BellaCortez
Chapter: 1
Pairing: Morgan/Prentiss
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: T
Warnings: Contains spoilers to S03E02

Summary: At the end of the episode "In Birth and Death" 3x2 Emily makes a decision that will not only change her life, but the life of someone much smaller than her.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.


 

The team had been called on a case to Milwaukee. Even with Gideon missing and without either Emily or Hotch, JJ, Morgan and Reid, accompanied by section chief Erin Strauss had to hop on the jet and work on a 48 hour timeline to catch the UNSUB. Of course Emily Prentiss wasn't aware of any of these events. The last thing she remembered was walking in on Hotch and Strauss' heated conversation and politely informing Hotch she was resigning. After that she had walked away from the building, leaving behind her badge and gun. Right after that she hopped on her black SUV, making her way back to DC, to her condo.

---

She was having a relaxation moment, sorting things out in her head and pondering her options. Of course she could take a few weeks off before starting to look for a new job but that wasn't her will. She needed the action in her life, the routine, something to distract her from her own issues. As soft music played on the background, Emily grabbed a glass from her open kitchen, which connected elegantly with her tastefully decorated living room, poured some wine and sat on her favorite spot on her beige L couch. Emily had been enjoying the calm for a couple of hours now, but she couldn't quite shake the team and the BAU out of her head. Flipping back to consciousness she focused her eyes on the book on her lap and resumed her reading. Moments later she heard a knock on her door. She quietly closed her book and put it on the small table in front of her couch. Getting up she glanced quickly at the watch on her wrist and frowned. She wasn't expecting anyone. She was never expecting anyone. Emily walked to her door and looked through the peep hole.
"Hotch…" Emily thought shaking her head and sighing. Composing herself she opened the door.
"Can I come in?" Hotch asked, staring at Emily. Emily didn't reply, she simply moved to the side, clearing the entrance, and moved her arm to show him he could indeed come in. Hotch was quick to enter and made his way to Emily's living room without even looking back or waiting for her. "The team needs us. They're working a case in Milwaukee…" Emily walked behind Hotch, grabbed the remote for her stereo and turned it off before stopping in front of Hotch, keeping a large distance. "Gideon hasn't shown up, you quit and I put in for transfer." Emily opened her mouth in shock at his last statement.
"You put in for transfer?" Emily asked astonished.
"We're both still lost in the system so technically we're in dereliction of duty by not being ." Hotch told her as she went to say something else.
"I'm sorry, I can't go." Emily said in a calm but still surprised voice as she shook her head and looked at Hotch.
Hotch looked at Emily for a second, analyzing her. "Right… Sorry I barged in." He said coldly as he turned to leave.
Emily lifted her left hand signaling him to stop. "Wait." She said forcefully. "Wait. Can I ask you a question?" Emily tried to gather her thoughts, processing all the information Hotch had just dropped on her. "Why are you really here?" Emily asked, suspicion in her voice.
Hotch stopped and turned around to face Emily. "I told you." Emily lowered her gaze for a second, knowing what was coming. "I think Strauss came to you and asked for dirt on me." He replied looking intently at Emily.
Emily nodded, visibly disturbed. "Why would she do that?" Emily asked forcefully with a tone of anger in her voice. Her eyes were serious and she was frowning slightly as she kept her gaze on Hotch.
Hotch fixed his gaze on a spot in the living room as he started talking. "I think if you have your eyes on top leadership of the FBI…" He started. "You want to know who might stand on your way." Hotch said sincerely connecting his eyes with Emily's.
Emily took a step forward as she thought about her next words. "And… what could I have told her?" Emily was now facing Hotch close enough for him to understand she wasn't kidding and that she wanted some honest answers right then and there.
"That one of my agents might have murdered a suspect in cold blood." Emily's eyes widened for a second as Hotch told her that, and she tilted her head, studying Hotch very intently as he kept talking. "Or another might have had a serious drug problem which I didn't report and if Strauss had any evidence on that, my career would be over." Emily's face softened as she broke the eye contact with Hotch and looked down. Emily was surprised and understanding the importance of that information and how she had been used to ruin Hotch's career. "I think she put you on our team and expected something in return." Emily looked guilty but Hotch kept talking. "And to your credit…" He said calmly. "You quit." Emily looked at Hotch. "Better than whisper in her ear."
Emily replaced her dumbfounded look with an apologetic look. She had realized the severity of it all, that's why she had quit. "I told you." She said. "I hate politics." Emily said through gritted teeth, putting all of her emotions into the word 'hate' to show how much she really meant it.
"Come to Milwaukee." Hotch said. It definitely wasn't a question. He needed her to go, the team needed the help it wasn't the time to be shy about begging. "I want you on that plane with me." Hotch said. Emily looked unsure as she kept shaking her head and looking at random points, trying to make a decision.
Emily gasped, looking at Hotch. "I already turned in my badge and my gun." She said shaking her head, hoping that would give him the hint and make him go away.
"That's just hardware." Hotch stated.
"You do realize we could get in trouble for doing this. We're not on the team anymore." Emily said, still unsure.
"Are you not listening? The requests are still somewhere in the system so it's not official yet, Garcia is stalling, and Morgan told me over the phone they absolutely need us there. They are running short on time." Hotch explained calmly. "I need you on that plane. Right now, agent Prentiss. We don't have the time…" Emily nodded.
"I uhm… give me a minute to get my go-bag." She said as she turned her back to Hotch and hurried to the stairs.
"I'll wait in the car." Hotch informed.

---

"You're here." Reid stated surprised as he saw Emily and Hotch entering the room they were at. Morgan and JJ looked back and a sigh of relief was all they could muster. Strauss wasn't so pleased as she glared at them disapprovingly. Emily nodded at Reid and took a seat next to him.
"What do we have here, exactly?" Emily asked grabbing a file.
"The unsub abducts women from public places, the mall for example, holds them for 48 hours and then dumps their bodies in public places with their hearts carved out." JJ explained.
"From the security tapes we've managed to understand how he lures them in." Reid said. Emily looked at him intently.
"He is using his son as bait and he most likely has borderline personality disorder. People around him may definitely notice he has mood swings and he may abuse of alcohol or any other substance." Morgan finished.
"Right now we are focusing on the boy and how his dad may be affecting his behavior at school." JJ pointed to the files to her left. "We have all the files of kids who may fit to this profile. We've selected kids who show disrespect and inappropriate behavior towards females, boys that steal or are withdrawn and boys being followed by therapists."
"We have hundreds of files here." Emily frowned, reading one of the files. Reid nodded.
"How long do we have until he dumps the body?" Hotch asked.
"About 8 hours." Morgan replies.
"Then there's no time to go through all of these." Emily warned.
"What if…" Strauss, who had been silent, started. "What if the boy is not the problem?" She suggests. Hotch nods.
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah." Reid nods in approval. "Sometimes a child with a disturbed single parent may not show bad behavior… instead of that he could very well be a boy who aims to please his dad." Reid explains.
"He's trying to be a perfect child and seek his approval." Emily whispers her understanding.
Immediately the team starts to work based on that profile and, 8 hours later, soon after finding another dead victim Garcia calls Morgan with some news. Apparently there is a 7 year old boy, David Smith, who fit perfectly in that profile. Hotch and Emily head to the boy's school right after the call and come to learn the boy's father was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and that his mother is deceased. The teacher, sadly, manifests her concern for the boy who has no family left and in the short run will have no place to go. They are able to get an address and even though the teacher doesn't believe David's father is the unsub, the team rushed to his house. They found out the little boy wasn't feeling well and the school's nurse had left with him to drive him home. They were now facing another victim and in no time the whole team, including Strauss and two local police units gathered in front of the boy's house.

---

David is inside, sitting on a couch watching tv. Morgan and Hotch spot him as they look through a window and go around the house to make sure there's no one outside to surprise them. The police units are quick to get in position around the house and are instructed to wait for Hotch's orders.
Hotch gathers in front of his SUV with Morgan, Emily and Strauss.
"The boy is alone in the living room." Hotch states.
"Where are your other agents?" Strauss asks, referring to JJ and Reid.
"Covering the other side." Morgan replies harshly as he puts on his Kevlar.
"Any sign of the nurse or the dad?" Emily asks, concerned.
"No." Morgan replies quickly.
"What are we waiting for?" Emily asks.
"A warrant. We can't just barge in." Strauss answers visibly annoyed.
"Ma'am with all due respect but he is holding a woman inside! He could be torturing her to death right now for all we know!" Morgan raises his voice looking straight at Strauss and pointing to the house.
"We don't know that for sure and even if he is we have 48 hours to act." Strauss says bluntly.
Bitch… Emily thinks as she joins Morgan. "He's changed the dump sights, he's taking random women now, he's desperate. Do you want to risk and wait for a warrant?" Emily says exasperated. "What makes you believe he'll wait the 48 hours?"
"We have to do this legally." Strauss says.
"Let me go in alone." Emily says calmly, surprising everyone. Hotch looks at her. "The boy is in the living room, he will answer the door." She explains.
"No." Strauss says as if nothing is at risk. Emily rolls her eyes and turns around to face her.
"We need to get invited in!" Emily tried to make Strauss understand, pointing to the house behind her, but still looking at Strauss. "He's looking for female authority figures. If he lets me in I can signal as soon as I see anything that gives us cause." Emily says, now calmly, trying to make a point as she looks from Strauss to Hotch.
"Technically you are not with the FBI anymore." Strauss says, reminding Emily of her position.
"All the better." Hotch says, nodding and obviously standing for Emily.
"She is interfering with a federal investigation!" Strauss raises her voice to Hotch. Emily follows Morgan as he hands her his gun and communication device to signal the team they can barge in.
Emily hears Strauss and hiding the gun under her sweater she turns to face her. "Well… if I'm no longer in the FBI you have no authority over me." Emily reasons. "I'm just a civilian knocking on a little boy's door." She adds.
"As soon as you have a cause you hit the button and get out of there." Hotch warns her as she starts to walk towards the door. Emily nods. Strauss shakes her head in disapproval.
When Emily reaches the door she gently knocks and isn't surprised when the little boy is quick to answer it. She kneels down in front of him and smiles sweetly.
"David Smith?" She asks. The boy nods. "Hi sweetie. I'm your daddy's friend and he asked me to come over. Do you mind if I come in?" Emily asks with a smile. The boy looks unsure but ends up letting Emily in. Emily caresses his hair as she goes in.
"You're locking the door." Emily states.
"Daddy says I should always have the doors and windows locked." He replies returning to the couch to watch the cartoons. Emily stands there looking around and trying to figure something out of place.
"Smart man..." she mutters. "Where is your daddy, honey?"
David points to a door that leads to a basement. "Working on a project."
"Do you mind if I go in there to check on him?" The boy shrugs. "He is waiting for me, I'll just go in there to let him know I'm here." The boy looks at Emily and nods.
Emily wasn't expecting the situation to be too difficult to handle, but as she entered the basement it all happened too quickly. Someone appeared from behind and hit her hard on her head. She didn't pass out but it was enough for her to get disorientated and drop her gun. The man quickly grabbed it and called his son.
"DAVID GET IN HERE!" The man yelled. Emily was on the floor trying to focus but her vision was all blurry.
David appeared in less than a minute, scared but always making sure he is a good boy. The man hands his son Emily's gun. The boy takes a step back, afraid to hold it. Emily looks at him and is able to understand the little boy is frightened.
"You don't have to do it, sweetie." Emily mumbles, trying to focus on him.
"Hold it!" His father yells. The boy immediately grabs the gun. "Step right there and when I say you pull the trigger." The man says explaining his son where to press and helping him aim the gun at Emily.
"I don't want daddy." The boy cries, but the disrespect and his sobbing earns him a hard slap on his face that is sure to leave some serious bruising.
"David…" Emily starts, but she knows the boy is much too scared to disobey. He is probably scared he'll be beaten, it probably isn't the first time it happens. Suddenly Emily remembers the device and presses the button, alerting her team.
"Shoot her David!" The man yells, stepping away from his son to admire the scene.
"Daddy… nooo" He cries. Just then the team barges in.
"David do it or I'll swear you'll be sorry!" His father threatens as Morgan knocks him to the ground.
"Son, give me that gun." Hotch says calmly as he takes small steps to the boy. The kid looks scared and he doesn't want him to shoot out of fear. David looks at him, scared and hands him the gun. Hotch immediately hands it to Morgan and takes the boy in his arms, leaving the house. JJ hurried to Emily and helps her to her feet and out of the house.

---

Twenty minutes later David is in a police car and Emily is sitting by an ambulance getting the gash on her forehead treated. JJ approaches her, but she's looking intently at the boy in the police car. He has fear in his eyes, but refuses to let it show. Emily knows how that is like, to feel like a disappointment to the parents, she knows what it is like to hide emotions.
"How are you feeling?" JJ asks.
"I've had worse." Emily smiles slightly. JJ nods. "What's going to happen to him?" Emily asked, pointing to the boy and looking at JJ.
JJ turns around just enough to see the boy. "Child protection services will be contacted and he'll be thrown in the system until a family comes forward and takes him in." Emily purses her lips.
"With his background what are his chances?" Emily asked, knowing the answer perfectly well.
"Very slim to none." Reid answers, approaching the two agents. JJ and Emily look at him. "Parents looking to adopt are looking forward to create a happy and perfect family. No one wants a kid who will probably cause them problems and test them beyond their limits." Emily frowns and something tells JJ and Reid she is in deep thought.
"I can take him." She says slowly, staring at the boy.
"What?" Reid asks, eyeing JJ.
"You know… back to DC. I can take him in." Emily meets JJ's eyes and then Reid's. "I haven't gone through an ordeal like this but I sure know what he is feeling right now and I know how he acts and why." JJ frowns slightly and looks at Emily in interest. This was the first time Emily was opening up to them and giving a hint about her personal life. "I have the money and can provide all he needs. I want to take him in." Emily says forcefully.
"I can see it happening. It can work." JJ nods and smiles sweetly. "You'd be a great mom, Emily." JJ adds, making Emily look back at her with emotional eyes.
Emily was definitely going to do this. At least she was going to try and put a fight to give that boy a home.

Comments

[wagrobanite.livejournal.com]

Can I give you a comment on the story? For this line: "technically we're being negligent with our duty for not being there."

The line is: "we're in dereliction of duty by not being there"

Comment Reply

[bellacortez.livejournal.com]

Thank you :) I will change the line.