http://bellacortez.livejournal.com/ (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
bellacortez.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
criminalxminds2011-06-11 12:00 am
bellacortez.livejournal.com) wrote in criminalxminds2011-06-11 12:00 am
Entry tags:
In Birth And Death: Chapter 5
Today I'm going to leave you with chapter 5 AND a banner I created for this fic. It's not fabulous because I don't have experience with this kind of thing, but well... I hope you like it! =D
Banner
Title: In Birth And Death
Author: BellaCortez
Chapter: 5
Pairing: Morgan/Prentiss
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: T
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.
Warnings: Chapter 1 contains spoilers to S03E02
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
"Martha, the kids have finished their lunch. Gloria and Paige are going to put the little ones down for a nap and I'll be outside with the older ones for play time," a young woman said as she grabbed a set of keys from behind the front desk. Emily noticed that she had to be in her mid-twenties.
"Thank you, Laura," Martha thanked her. "I'll be out with you in a second." Laura nodded, smiling briefly at Stacy and Emily.
"Why don't I show you the place while Laura has the kids doing their hygiene?" Martha suggested.
"I'd like that, Martha," Emily said, agreeing to the older woman's suggestion.
"Let's start upstairs, shall we?" Emily nodded and followed Stacy and Martha to the colossal staircase right in front of them. As she climbed the stairs behind the other two women, she examined her surroundings intently.
Martha stopped right at the end of the staircase and turned around to face Emily. "To the left," she started, pointing to the left corridor, "we have the boys' bedrooms. There are two of them." Martha started walking again, turning to the left and stopping by the first door. "Here is the bedroom for the younger kids." She opened the door and entered the bedroom, with Emily and Stacy following right behind.
Emily looked intently at the spotless bedroom and smiled appreciatively. She was right: the conditions were excellent. Everything was in place, clean and very child-friendly. The room had 6 beds, 3 against each of the two biggest walls, positioned with a considerable distance from each other, and 3 cribs at the end of the bedroom.
"In this bedroom sleep 15 boys," Martha said, missing Emily's frown.
Stacy smiled. "These beds have trundles and drawers," She explained.
"Yeah, I was trying to figure out how you were keeping 15 boys in a room apparently made for 9." Emily smirked.
"We use the trundles," Martha confirmed. "That way we have more room when we are trying to get them ready or simply when they are toddling around." She smiled. "Plus the beds also have drawers which is fantastic so the two kids on that bed can keep their outfits and night apparel."
"I'll have to consider getting one of those for David." Emily smiled. "I could remove the mattress and use it to store winter or summer clothing, depending on the season," she said, without realizing Stacy and Martha were listening with amusing faces.
"Let's move on to the next bedroom," Martha said, walking out and stopping right outside. "In front of each bedroom we have the appropriate bathrooms for the respective age groups," she said. "I'm not going to show it to you at this time because our colleagues are helping the boys get ready before their nap."
"That's absolutely fine with me," Emily said, following Martha to the next bedroom and entering after Stacy. "Is this David's bedroom?" she asked curiously. The room was also child friendly with nice colours to the walls and enough room to ensure that the boys wouldn't bump into each other.
"Yes, it is," Stacy nodded, smiling.
Martha walked forward and stopped in front of the third bunk, against the door wall. "He shares this bunk with another boy," she explained, looking at Emily.
Emily walked slowly to where Martha was standing and sat on the bed, running her fingers lightly over the comforter. She didn't know what made her do that; she simply had the urge to touch his bed. Maybe it made her feel closer to the little boy, or maybe it made things feel a lot more real… She didn't know why she was doing it, but somehow it made her nerves dissipate, and she smiled a small longing smile.
The next 20 minutes were spent checking the girls' bedrooms, the kitchen and play areas as well as the dining and movie areas. Emily was pleased to see the place was big enough for the amount of kids it had and that at the same time it was comforting enough to at least transmit a fraction of security to the lives of the already scarred children.
"Would you like to see David now?" Martha asked suddenly as they stopped before the door that would give them access to the exterior play area.
Emily nodded stiffly, preparing herself for the much awaited moment. As she once again followed Martha she looked around, trying to spot the one person she wanted to see, but it wasn't until the older women came to a stop that she recognized him, sitting on the farthest corner of the playground, in an empty area. There he was… her child, David. With reassuring nods from both Stacy and Martha, Emily walked closer to the boy. She was well aware of the fact that she was being closely watched and that at the minimal sign of distress from the child she would be pulled away. That alone made her feel more awkward and nervous.
The minute he lifted his head to stare at her, time froze for Emily and she stopped right there in front of him, waiting for the tantrum to start… It never did. She took that as a good sign and squatted to the boy's level.
"Hi sweetheart," she said softly. "May I sit here with you?" She pointed to the spot on the floor next to him, waiting for him to reply, but David only shrugged and returned his gaze to the rock in his hand. Emily sat down next to him, still maintaining a reasonable amount of space between her and the boy.
"You lied to me," he stated, hitting the rock on the floor as if trying to dig a hole.
"I did?" she pushed, wanting to know exactly what was bothering him. Emily studied him intently as David kept hitting the floor with the rock. It seemed to calm him down and allow him to think of what to say next.
"You said you were my dad's friend and that everything was going to be ok." David threw the rock to the other side of the playground and looked at Emily in the eyes. Her stomach clenched as she read the fear and hurt in his eyes. "You took my dad away," he added, averting his gaze to floor, to the hole he had been digging.
Emily nodded, understanding his line of thought. "You know your dad did some bad things, David, and we couldn't let him keep doing them." Emily touched David's arm softly and continued speaking. "I'm very sorry you had to go through all of this, sweetie. I wish things could have turned out differently for you…" she said lovingly.
"I'm alone because of you." He got up and walked to the swings, taking a seat on one of them.
Emily sighed. "You're not alone, sweetheart."
"Stop calling me that!" He yelled angrily. "Why don't you just go away?"
"Things will get better, David," she insisted, swallowing the hurt in her voice.
"I'm just a kid with no parents. I'm no one. Look at all of them!" David pointed to the other children. "No one cares about them, so why would anyone care about me?" There wasn't anger in David's voice now, just an uncomfortable amount of uncertainty and fear.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, David." Emily kneeled in front of the boy, stopping the swing with her hands.
"You're too late. My dad is gone because of you and I have no one left," he accused, frowning at her.
"You have me. I'm going to be here for you David. Always." She cupped David's cheek with a hand and waited until he was looking at her. "You are a smart boy and I know you understand why we had to put your dad away, sweetheart, and I know that you may be relieved because he can't hurt you or anyone again." David looked away from Emily, but she waited until his eyes were on hers again before continuing. "I know you feel relief yet a lot of anger because you think you have no one else. But that's not true because I'm right here David. I will always be and if you'll let me I want to help you."
"I don't need your help." His words felt like daggers piercing Emily. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she hadn't fully realized how much it would hurt to be pushed away. "I hate you, got it?" He got up, pushing Emily out of his away, making her lose her balance and fall. "Leave me alone!" he cried, looking down at her and running away.
Emily just sat on the ground, watching him run away. Maybe she really wasn't fit to be a parent… she had wanted to help, but apparently she was only making matters worse.
"Emily?" She heard someone calling her. She looked up to see Martha and Stacy. She quickly got up and straightened her clothes.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, not caring to hide the emotions taking over her.
"Emily?" Martha called softly. "He hasn't talked since he was brought in. You were the first one who was able to make him talk. I'd say that was a good thing. You elicited a reaction from him- whatever you told him, it will make him think… be patient, sweetheart." Martha smiled with confidence, leaving Emily and Stacy alone.
"I'm not sure I'm good enough for him," Emily confessed. Defeat wasn't on her vocabulary but there was always a first time for anything, and when if it involved a child's life she was more than ready to admit defeat.
"Emily? Remember… the important thing here is that you keep coming back to him. No matter what hurtful things he does, no matter what he says…all you have to do is to come back and show him there will be nothing he can do to push you away and make you abandon him." Stacy squeezed Emily's forearm and nodded. "You did good Emily, just keep coming back to him."
Banner
Title: In Birth And Death
Author: BellaCortez
Chapter: 5
Pairing: Morgan/Prentiss
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: T
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.
Warnings: Chapter 1 contains spoilers to S03E02
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
"Martha, the kids have finished their lunch. Gloria and Paige are going to put the little ones down for a nap and I'll be outside with the older ones for play time," a young woman said as she grabbed a set of keys from behind the front desk. Emily noticed that she had to be in her mid-twenties.
"Thank you, Laura," Martha thanked her. "I'll be out with you in a second." Laura nodded, smiling briefly at Stacy and Emily.
"Why don't I show you the place while Laura has the kids doing their hygiene?" Martha suggested.
"I'd like that, Martha," Emily said, agreeing to the older woman's suggestion.
"Let's start upstairs, shall we?" Emily nodded and followed Stacy and Martha to the colossal staircase right in front of them. As she climbed the stairs behind the other two women, she examined her surroundings intently.
Martha stopped right at the end of the staircase and turned around to face Emily. "To the left," she started, pointing to the left corridor, "we have the boys' bedrooms. There are two of them." Martha started walking again, turning to the left and stopping by the first door. "Here is the bedroom for the younger kids." She opened the door and entered the bedroom, with Emily and Stacy following right behind.
Emily looked intently at the spotless bedroom and smiled appreciatively. She was right: the conditions were excellent. Everything was in place, clean and very child-friendly. The room had 6 beds, 3 against each of the two biggest walls, positioned with a considerable distance from each other, and 3 cribs at the end of the bedroom.
"In this bedroom sleep 15 boys," Martha said, missing Emily's frown.
Stacy smiled. "These beds have trundles and drawers," She explained.
"Yeah, I was trying to figure out how you were keeping 15 boys in a room apparently made for 9." Emily smirked.
"We use the trundles," Martha confirmed. "That way we have more room when we are trying to get them ready or simply when they are toddling around." She smiled. "Plus the beds also have drawers which is fantastic so the two kids on that bed can keep their outfits and night apparel."
"I'll have to consider getting one of those for David." Emily smiled. "I could remove the mattress and use it to store winter or summer clothing, depending on the season," she said, without realizing Stacy and Martha were listening with amusing faces.
"Let's move on to the next bedroom," Martha said, walking out and stopping right outside. "In front of each bedroom we have the appropriate bathrooms for the respective age groups," she said. "I'm not going to show it to you at this time because our colleagues are helping the boys get ready before their nap."
"That's absolutely fine with me," Emily said, following Martha to the next bedroom and entering after Stacy. "Is this David's bedroom?" she asked curiously. The room was also child friendly with nice colours to the walls and enough room to ensure that the boys wouldn't bump into each other.
"Yes, it is," Stacy nodded, smiling.
Martha walked forward and stopped in front of the third bunk, against the door wall. "He shares this bunk with another boy," she explained, looking at Emily.
Emily walked slowly to where Martha was standing and sat on the bed, running her fingers lightly over the comforter. She didn't know what made her do that; she simply had the urge to touch his bed. Maybe it made her feel closer to the little boy, or maybe it made things feel a lot more real… She didn't know why she was doing it, but somehow it made her nerves dissipate, and she smiled a small longing smile.
The next 20 minutes were spent checking the girls' bedrooms, the kitchen and play areas as well as the dining and movie areas. Emily was pleased to see the place was big enough for the amount of kids it had and that at the same time it was comforting enough to at least transmit a fraction of security to the lives of the already scarred children.
"Would you like to see David now?" Martha asked suddenly as they stopped before the door that would give them access to the exterior play area.
Emily nodded stiffly, preparing herself for the much awaited moment. As she once again followed Martha she looked around, trying to spot the one person she wanted to see, but it wasn't until the older women came to a stop that she recognized him, sitting on the farthest corner of the playground, in an empty area. There he was… her child, David. With reassuring nods from both Stacy and Martha, Emily walked closer to the boy. She was well aware of the fact that she was being closely watched and that at the minimal sign of distress from the child she would be pulled away. That alone made her feel more awkward and nervous.
The minute he lifted his head to stare at her, time froze for Emily and she stopped right there in front of him, waiting for the tantrum to start… It never did. She took that as a good sign and squatted to the boy's level.
"Hi sweetheart," she said softly. "May I sit here with you?" She pointed to the spot on the floor next to him, waiting for him to reply, but David only shrugged and returned his gaze to the rock in his hand. Emily sat down next to him, still maintaining a reasonable amount of space between her and the boy.
"You lied to me," he stated, hitting the rock on the floor as if trying to dig a hole.
"I did?" she pushed, wanting to know exactly what was bothering him. Emily studied him intently as David kept hitting the floor with the rock. It seemed to calm him down and allow him to think of what to say next.
"You said you were my dad's friend and that everything was going to be ok." David threw the rock to the other side of the playground and looked at Emily in the eyes. Her stomach clenched as she read the fear and hurt in his eyes. "You took my dad away," he added, averting his gaze to floor, to the hole he had been digging.
Emily nodded, understanding his line of thought. "You know your dad did some bad things, David, and we couldn't let him keep doing them." Emily touched David's arm softly and continued speaking. "I'm very sorry you had to go through all of this, sweetie. I wish things could have turned out differently for you…" she said lovingly.
"I'm alone because of you." He got up and walked to the swings, taking a seat on one of them.
Emily sighed. "You're not alone, sweetheart."
"Stop calling me that!" He yelled angrily. "Why don't you just go away?"
"Things will get better, David," she insisted, swallowing the hurt in her voice.
"I'm just a kid with no parents. I'm no one. Look at all of them!" David pointed to the other children. "No one cares about them, so why would anyone care about me?" There wasn't anger in David's voice now, just an uncomfortable amount of uncertainty and fear.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you, David." Emily kneeled in front of the boy, stopping the swing with her hands.
"You're too late. My dad is gone because of you and I have no one left," he accused, frowning at her.
"You have me. I'm going to be here for you David. Always." She cupped David's cheek with a hand and waited until he was looking at her. "You are a smart boy and I know you understand why we had to put your dad away, sweetheart, and I know that you may be relieved because he can't hurt you or anyone again." David looked away from Emily, but she waited until his eyes were on hers again before continuing. "I know you feel relief yet a lot of anger because you think you have no one else. But that's not true because I'm right here David. I will always be and if you'll let me I want to help you."
"I don't need your help." His words felt like daggers piercing Emily. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but she hadn't fully realized how much it would hurt to be pushed away. "I hate you, got it?" He got up, pushing Emily out of his away, making her lose her balance and fall. "Leave me alone!" he cried, looking down at her and running away.
Emily just sat on the ground, watching him run away. Maybe she really wasn't fit to be a parent… she had wanted to help, but apparently she was only making matters worse.
"Emily?" She heard someone calling her. She looked up to see Martha and Stacy. She quickly got up and straightened her clothes.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, not caring to hide the emotions taking over her.
"Emily?" Martha called softly. "He hasn't talked since he was brought in. You were the first one who was able to make him talk. I'd say that was a good thing. You elicited a reaction from him- whatever you told him, it will make him think… be patient, sweetheart." Martha smiled with confidence, leaving Emily and Stacy alone.
"I'm not sure I'm good enough for him," Emily confessed. Defeat wasn't on her vocabulary but there was always a first time for anything, and when if it involved a child's life she was more than ready to admit defeat.
"Emily? Remember… the important thing here is that you keep coming back to him. No matter what hurtful things he does, no matter what he says…all you have to do is to come back and show him there will be nothing he can do to push you away and make you abandon him." Stacy squeezed Emily's forearm and nodded. "You did good Emily, just keep coming back to him."