Chapter Text
Emily Prentiss woke up with a groan to the sound she suddenly hated most in the world: her blasted phone.
She groped around clumsily in the dark as it rattled violently against the hardwood.
Who the hell is it?
She grunted, leaning out dangerously over the edge of her mattress, arm outstretched, her hand still roving in vain over the bedside tabletop.
Where the hell is it?
“Shut it off…” A voice mumbled from beside her.
Emily started in response, promptly tumbling out of bed. She landed on the floor with a thud, flat on her bum. Wincing, she twisted around and rubbed her behind where it hurt-
-and touched bare skin. It was mute testament to how hungover she was that it still took her another fraction of a second to realise that she was completely naked.
What the hell-?
Hazy memories from the night before suddenly came flooding back.
It began with the locking of gazes. Smoky emerald, flirtatious eyes. An inquiring, suggestive smile. The clink of shot glasses. Laughter. The touch of a hand on her arm…the gentle caress of soft lips…fervent kissing…
Uh oh.
A sudden moan from the bed snapped her back to the present. Emily looked up blankly at the red-headed figure barely wrapped up in the sheets, her mouth agape.
Don’t tell me…
The slight figure shifted sensuously in bed, slowly pulling at the sheets. The white cover slid off her body, like a thin wrapper slipping off milky white chocolate, revealing a pair of beautifully symmetrical breasts.
Oh God!
“Mmmm…shut it off and come’re, Emmy…” The woman sighed sleepily, patting the mattress beside her invitingly, her husky voice full of want.
Emily blushed hotly. The FBI agent was now officially wide-awake. The next few heartstopping moments passed by in a blur. She leapt to her feet, snatched her phone (swearing to destroy it later), dashed into the bathroom, and closed the door behind her.
Breathing heavily, she was greeted with a flashing picture of Aaron Hotchner smiling at her from her phone.
“Damn it.”
She glanced into the mirror and hesitated. Strangely enough, it felt as if her boss had caught her in the nude.
She blushed.
It just felt wrong.
Emily snatched a towel from the rack and wrapped herself with it, before finally clicking on the green answer button.
“This is Prentiss.” She finally whispered into the phone.
“Prent-” The man on the other side of the phone paused. “Is everything okay? I sent you a bunch of messages.”
Emily blinked. It was a simple question.
Well, Hotch, I just woke up naked next to a strange woman, and- ohmygod, could she be a hooker..?!
“Emily?”
Emily cleared her throat. “Um, yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. I just woke up.”
“It’s 10 am, Prentiss.”
What!
She instinctively turned her wrist to check her watch before she remembered that she had nothing but her towel on.
“Well, it is the weekend, Hotch.” Emily retorted defensively, clutching her towel a little tighter.
“Fair enough.” Hotch murmured softly. His voice sounded grim.
“You need me to come in?” It was barely a question. Emily knew the answer before she had even asked.
“Please.”
It wasn’t her boss begging. It was Hotch-speech for “I needed you here yesterday.”
Emily nodded. “Sure, Hotch.”
It must be serious.
“I’ll have Garcia send you the briefing notes on your phone.”
“Thanks. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
And that was that.
She glared at her now silent phone for a couple of seconds.
You’re lucky I still need you.
The phone dimmed as if it had lost interest.
Emily looked up into the mirror; her unfocused gaze belied her racing thoughts.
There was no time to lose. She quickly charted out her next few steps in her head, and tapped on her phone again to check her location.
Incredibly, she found that she was in a hotel just ten minutes away from the office. It was too late to run back home now, she decided. She would just freshen up at the BAU.
Emily closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. Her head was aching, but she needed to be sharp for her quick exit.
Drawing in a deep breath, she opened the bathroom door gingerly, praying that the woman in bed was fast asleep.
She poked her head out and was relieved to see her breathing slowly and rhythmically.
Emily tiptoed out into the room. Despite her state of undress, the agent prioritized the search for her badge and gun, breathing a huge sigh of relief when she had located them.
Hurriedly gathering up her clothes that had been scattered all around the floor, she occasionally stole glances at the curled up woman to check that she was still in the clear.
Emily hesitated suddenly as she buttoned up her shirt, her gaze turning to the woman in slumber.
Is it alright to just leave like this?
She took an indecisive step forward, and craned her neck to study the woman in bed more closely.
The slight smudging of the woman’s make-up could not mar her beauty. Long waves of auburn framed high cheekbones and spilled over the white pillows. The woman’s dark delicate eyebrows matched her long dark lashes that cast shadows over fair, glowing cheeks. Her plump red lips were slightly parted as she slept.
Emily sucked in her breath and swallowed thickly.
She’s gorgeous.
Almost by instinct, she leaned down to pull the sheets over the woman’s shoulders protectively.
The woman’s lush lips curved beautifully into a gentle smile even as she slept.
Emily felt her heart skip a beat.
I should leave my number at least…
Emily proceeded to scribble a short note on the hotel pad at the desk and allowed herself one last look at the sleeping woman before heading out resolutely.
***
“Fifteen minutes, I win!” Penelope Garcia cried out triumphantly to the other seated members of the BAU who looked up with amused smiles as Emily pulled open the door to the briefing room.
“Darn it. So close.” Spencer Reid lamented, leaning back into his chair and folding his arms.
“Oh yeah? You said she would miss the jet.” Penelope quipped.
“Hey, hey, guess who decided to drop in.” Derek Morgan cut in cheerily as Reid looked like he was about to retort. He eyed her rumpled shirt with a grin. “Looks like someone was out late partying last night.”
Their easy banter was a stark contrast to the soft gasps of the flustered brunette.
“Can it, Morgan.” Emily replied, slightly breathlessly, taking the seat next to him. “Sorry I’m late, everyone.” She looked around. “Wait, where’s Hotch?”
“He just left to answer a call.” JJ replied helpfully. Emily looked over at the blue-eyed blonde and felt butterflies in her stomach.
“Strauss?” She enquired, trying to keep her voice neutral.
“His expression suggested it might be something worse.”
“What’s worse than Strauss?” Emily asked rhetorically, rubbing her temples. “Ugh. You think there’s time for me to get some coffee?”
“Maybe, but I think there’s definitely time for some tea.” Penelope grinned suggestively, wagging her eyebrows at Emily. She clasped her hands together and leaned in. “So, who was the guy last night, Emily? Spill it!”
“W-what do you mean?” Emily nearly choked, bracing herself in her seat.
“Penelope…” JJ chided, shaking her head with a slight smile while ignoring the grins the guys were trying to suppress. “Sorry, Em, I think I took the last cup. But here, there’s still some left. You can have it.” She pushed her mug across the briefing table.
Emily felt her heartbeat quicken.
“Thank you, JJ.” She mumbled, accepting the coffee with a grateful nod. “At least someone’s being helpful.”
“Hey, I’m plenty helpful! Right, guys?” Penelope turned to look at the amused faces of the team, appealing to them for support.
There was a general murmur of agreement.
“See?”
Emily rolled her eyes and raised JJ’s mug to her lips. She saw a faint imprint of lipstick on the rim, and was sorely tempted to press her own lips to it. But she turned the mug slightly at the last second out of respect for the blonde.
“When I saw that you had checked into a hotel, I wanted to be sure that you were safe and that there wasn’t some creep who had drugged you or anything.”
Emily paused mid-sip. More hazy memories of last night were starting to return to her. The two of them had gone for a round of drinks after work at a bar nearby but Penelope had left earlier remembering that she was waiting for a delivery at home.
“Right…you texted me some time after you left the bar last night.”
Emily looked at Penelope hesitatingly. She desperately wanted to know if she knew anything about the woman whom she was with last night, but she knew it was a lost cause.
‘Who was the guy? ’ It was clear that Penelope had no idea. Damn.
As she stared at the bemused faces of her team in front of her, a nagging thought was growing louder in Emily’s mind.
Her eyes widened suddenly. “Wait, how did you know I had checked into a hotel?”
Penelope coughed, embarrassed. “Ah, well, don’t be mad…it’s really just for safety…I mean I wouldn’t have felt good leaving you alone earlier if not for…um nothing.” She backpedaled.
Emily’s brain worked fast. She suddenly whipped around to face the shrinking blonde maverick. “Did you place a tracker on me?”
“Heavens no!”
The brunette relaxed.
“I mean…I placed it in your phone …and technically that’s not on you…”
“You did what?!”
Penelope shrank. “Don’t worry, i-it’s not just your phone…”
“Garcia! ” The team chorused in protest.
“What? With the number of times you guys go missing on a case, can you blame me for being worried?”
“It’s a total invasion of privacy!”
“Baby girl…”
“Come on!”
The glass door to the briefing room swung open again, and a tall man in a black suit walked in as he slid his phone into his coat pocket.
“Thanks for joining us, Prentiss.” Aaron Hotchner began with a soft murmur. “JJ, where did we stop-” He paused, reading the room. “What happened?”
“Penelope put trackers on all of our phones!”
“Ah- Reid, you tattletale!” Penelope gasped indignantly. “I am shocked.Shocked.”
Hotch frowned. “I didn’t authorise this, Garcia.” He pulled out his phone and stared at it, his eyes narrowing. You never mentioned anything when I wondered where Prentiss was…”
“Well…I didn’t want you asking questions about it then, sir.” Penelope mumbled meekly, before turning to the Police Liaison officer who stood by the screen projector and urged her to speak with the wagging of her brows. “But um I believe JJ has more to add about the case at hand!”
JJ, however, had been strangely silent. She was studying Emily’s rumpled white shirt, her features twisted into a look of confusion.
“Emily, why do you have-” JJ’s eyes suddenly widened in realisation and bit her lower lip. The blonde forced her gaze away, but failed to do so in time.
Emily had looked at her questioningly and followed JJ’s gaze down to the base of her own shirt collar. She pulled at it to take a closer look and blushed instantly.
There was lipstick on it. A very distinct red imprint of lush lips.
“That’s not yours.” Reid quickly remarked.
Morgan grinned, nodding appreciatively with his arms crossed. “Some night you had, huh, Prentiss?”
“Ohmygod, Emily! What?! ” Penelope gasped. “The hook-up was with a…woman?!”
Rossi merely leaned back in his seat with tented fingers, his eyes filled with mirth. “Well, well, well.”
Emily looked at them helplessly, feeling scandalized.
Thankfully, Hotch rescued her.
If he had any thoughts about this new development, he kept it strictly to himself. His face, as always, was set as grim as stone.
He cleared his throat meaningfully. “I’m sorry for calling you all in on a Saturday. This unsub appears to be escalating rapidly. He’s had four kills in the span of a week, with a shorter time in between kills.”
“Hey, you don’t need to apologize, Hotch. We get it.” Morgan interjected seriously, prompting the rest of the team to nod and murmur in agreement.
Hotch returned his team’s levelled gaze grimly.
Nodding curtly, he murmured, “JJ, please continue.”
It still took extreme self-control for Penelope to tear her gaze away from Emily and turn to the screen, though she threw one last muted glance at Emily, indicating that she was definitely not about to let this go.
Everyone else sobered up to stare intently at the grotesque photos on the screen in front of them. Each photo featured a different female body that had been broken and brutally twisted at their elbows and knees. They resembled crumpled dolls with bloodied chests. Permanent bleeding smiles had been cut deeply into their cheeks so that the flesh gaped. Penelope suppressed her gag reflex and turned her face away with a shudder.
JJ’s gaze flickered uncertainly to Emily. This was not lost on the brunette. Emily caught JJ’s gaze, causing the latter’s eyes to widen in surprise. The blonde turned away abruptly and shifted to the rest of the team, before opening her mouth to speak.
“As I was saying, the local PD of New Lexington, Ohio, reported one more body in town that was discovered late last night in the back alley of a local diner. 26 year old, Michelle Durman. Worked as a barista in the local coffee shop. Victimology appears to be consistent. Mid twenties to thirties, local female. Elbows and knees broken. Deep cuts into their cheeks. Cause of death: a knife wound to the heart.”
“It appears the unsub has a type…these women have no other connection?” Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow.
“That was the first thing I checked, my sweet.” Penelope replied promptly, her fingers poised over her laptop’s keyboard, ready and waiting. “They all went to the same local high school but only the first and third victims, Harper Brown and Charlotte Smith were there at the same time.”
Emily's searching gaze had lingered on JJ, but she now turned her attention to her case notes and crime scene photos with business-like focus.
“Cutting smiles into their faces, breaking their joints? It’s overkill. No evidence of sexual assault?” She muttered, staring critically at the photo of the latest crime scene.
“None based on the preliminary reports from the M.E.’s office.” JJ replied.
Questions started pouring in from all sides as they tore the case apart, helping Emily temporarily forget about the awkwardness between her and JJ.
“The dump sites have all been around town. Strange that the unsub would dump Michelle's body out in the open.”
“He’s getting bolder for sure, the previous dumpsites were somewhat hidden and the bodies buried.”
“But the nature of the kills has remained the same, even as the frequency of kills has escalated. I’m sensing more desperation than anger here…”
“But these kills seem disciplined…”
“Well, at least we know that means the unsub probably hasn’t skipped town.” Rossi sighed.
“What makes you say that?”
“He’ll need more of his fix- fast.”
“Look at the location of these rope burns.” Reid remarked suddenly.
“They’re not just around the wrists and ankles. They’re above the elbows and knees too.”
“Restraints?”
“Think again.”
“God. Marionettes.” Emily groaned, absently lifting JJ’s mug to drain it of the last few sips of coffee. She lifted her gaze and caught JJ stealing another glance at her, prompting the latter to turn away again immediately.
The brunette didn’t need fancy profiling skills to realize that JJ was deliberately avoiding eye contact with her.
Emily’s heart plummeted. But of course. JJ was uncomfortable. She didn’t think that JJ was a bigot, but it must’ve still come off as a surprise.
The brunette chewed on her bottom lip, and forced herself to focus on the case again.
She flipped to the photo of the second victim who had deep auburn hair.
The image of the auburn beauty in her hotel bed flashed in her mind, causing her eyes to widen.
“Emmy?” She whispered in sudden realization.
“What was that?” Reid whispered back, leaning in towards her.
Emily coughed, embarrassed. “N-nothing.”
Reid studied her curiously for a moment, before turning away.
She called me Emmy..
