Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter One. 

The whole team knew that the Emily that had come back to them after five years wouldn’t be the same one that they lost. Five years away can change people into unrecognizable figures who just so happen to share a few facial features. 

No one talked about it. Everyone could see the changes. The way she was constantly tense like she was anticipating someone to attack her. The way that she never wore short sleeves even if it was a hundred degrees in the middle of the desert. The small scars across her hands that hadn’t been there the last time they’d seen her. The faint scent of cigarettes that perpetually lingered around her. No one talked about any of these things. 

Maybe it was because talking about all the changes would make them that much more real. Maybe it was because deep down the team was afraid of whatever the reasons for all of the changes were. Maybe it was because they didn’t care what the reasons were. Maybe they were all just too pissed to ask Emily about any of the changes. 

It had been a whole month since Emily had come back to the BAU and the team had done little to mend any of the obvious burned bridges. To Emily’s credit, she never stopped trying. 

A text to JJ went unanswered for hours or even days before a one or two word response was replied. 

An attempt to start a conversation with Reid about a new science thing she had seen ended with him all but running out the door. 

 A question to Rossi was met with a cold and withering glare which wasn’t even accompanied with a reply. 

A coffee given to Garcia was later seen thrown in the trash with the stopper not moved an inch. 

A look in Derek’s direction wasn’t even met or on some occasions returned with a snare of dislike. 

A question to Hotch about anything even the current cases that they were working on was received with his patented disappointed dad look and replied to with ‘ask someone else.’

So Emily kept trying. Even if it hurt her everytime they ignored her, she knew that this was her penance to pay. After JJ and Hotch had helped her fake her death she had run away. She seeked out safety in the darkest corners of the Earth. She did whatever it was that she had to do in order to survive. No matter what it had cost her. And it had cost her the people that were closest to her. 

Emily accepted that this was the role that she forever stuck at playing. And Emily had made her peace with it, she truly had. Maybe one day the team would forgive her for what she had done. But that day wasn’t going to come soon. So what else could she do except make peace with it?

Everything else had changed about her, but one thing remained the same. She would rather be hurt a hundred times over then see anyone on the team hurt. Even if it killed her, she couldn’t see them hurt again. She wouldn’t let herself hurt them again. 

************

Derek knew he wasn’t being fair to Emily. He knew that it wasn’t right to ignore her and treat her like shit when she was trying her hardest to be nice to them. When she was trying her hardest to repair the relationship that had broken. That she broke. 

Don’t get him wrong, Derek was pissed at Emily. He was beyond angry at the fact that she had led them all to believe that she was dead for five fucking years. He had mourned her. He had carried her coffin to the grave. He had grieved for her in a way that he hadn’t mourned for years. Emily was one of his closest friends and he had lost her. And that had fucking hurt.

So Derek hadn’t been too stoked when Emily appeared out of nowhere refusing to talk about where she had been for the last five years. 

************

One Month Ago.

The whole team knew something was wrong when Strauss called them all to the conference room. She barely interacted with them unless she absolutely had to. Everyone was agitated at the fact that no one had any semblance of what was going on. Even Hotch was left in the dark. 

“I have an announcement that needs to be made.” Strauss started. 

The problem with having a room full of profilers was that everyone could clock her agitation and her nerves. Facts that only added to the tension in the room. 

Strauss hesitated before continuing. “Five years ago a decision that impacted this team was made. At the time I was not made aware of this decision, but recent developments have revealed them to me.” Her statement was punctuated with a stern look towards Hotch who was sitting at the head of the table. 

Strauss continued and ten minutes later a familiar face walked into the room. 

************

Derek knew that he was well within his right to hold a grudge to Emily, but he also knew that she was Emily. The same Emily who did whatever she had to if it meant the team was kept safe. The same Emily that laughed at his stupid jokes with that twinkle in her eyes that promised more laughter. 

No matter what had happened to her, whatever reason she had for leaving them for the years that she did, part of Derek knew that it had to have been justified. 

Doyle had been captured within a year of her ‘death.’ But she still hadn’t returned. She had left them to believe that she was dead and that they had buried her six feet under. 

So Derek knew that he wasn’t being fair when he blatantly ignored her. But Derek couldn’t find it in himself to treat her the same as he had half a decade ago. After all, they weren’t the same people they were five years ago. 

************

Penelope had cried more tears in the past month than she had since the so-called death of Emily Prentiss. She had gone through all of the stages of grief and tears had been present for each and every stage. 

First came the denial. 

The fact that Emily came back to life was impossible. She was dead. Doyle had stabbed her in the chest and she had bled out to death at the hospital. There were medical records, there were files, there was evidence for all of this. So whoever was standing in the FBI office these days was obviously an impersonator. 

A very good impersonator, but one nonetheless. 

Penelope’s denial quickly turned to her using all of the computer skills she possessed, which was a lot, to find any possible evidence that could support the fact that Emily Prentiss had not died all those years ago. Because Strauss, JJ, and Hotch were probably lying to them, right? Right!?

Her denial was only further supported when she couldn’t find anything. There was no record to support the fact that Emily Prentiss had not died. Every trail ended with a heartfelt eulogy or a coffin and grave. 

The tears began to stain the stacks of papers Penelope had laid out on her desk during her endless search to prove herself right. To prove that Emily Prentiss was truly dead. Because she had to be. Because if she wasn’t, that meant that someone who she considered one of her closest friends had kept themselves dead even when it was safe to come home solely because Emily wanted to. 

Penelope knew that there was more to it than that, but she wasn’t about to admit that. 

These tears bled into tears of anger when the tech wizard realized that Emily had purposefully not returned to them. Penelope saw firsthand how much the team grieved for her and the whole time the superspy had probably been gallivanting across Europe or something like that. 

Emily had left them. Emily had left her.

When it came to bargaining with grief, most people would plead to gods they barely believed in to reunite them with whomever they had lost. But not Penelope.  

It was in the darkest hours of the night that she stared up at her ceiling and had one thought. A wish that Emily hadn’t returned. 

Penelope hated herself the moment that the thought crossed her mind, but she couldn’t stop her brain. The team had been the closest they had ever been and then a ghost from their past had returned to haunt them. 

She cried herself to sleep that night. 

It was two weeks after Emily returned from the dead that the tears of depression started for Penelope. She wasn’t sad about the fact that Emily had returned. No, she was upset because Emily had completely changed and Penelope didn’t know why.

She might not be the same profiler that the rest of the team was, but she could tell that there were differences and for a multitude of reasons that upset her.

It wasn’t like she expected Emily to be the same woman that she was five years ago, but wouldn’t it make everything easier? Wouldn’t everything be simpler if they could all simply slide into the roles they had five years prior? But they couldn’t do that. They were stuck where they were until they changed again. 

They could never go back. 

So Penelope cried for the past. And for the future that could never be. History would not repeat itself this time. The past was in the past.

The final tears of Penelope Garcia’s cycle of grief had yet to fall. Because she had yet to accept Emily back into her life. She knew that she should. It would be the right thing to do. It would be the kind thing to do. 

But instead Penelope was stuck in the apathetic stage that no one ever talks about. The stage of numbness that stretches its claws across the expanse of all the stages. The numbness that faded into the background when other emotions were louder. The numbness that trailed after her like a shadow. 

That was where she was stuck. 

In the gray apathy. 

************  

“Mommy can you tell me a story?” Henry asked as he pulled the blue comforter further over his body so that he was smothered with the blanket. 

JJ smiled at her son fondly as she brushed the hair out of his eyes with a warm and calloused hand. “Sure sweetheart, what do you want to hear a story about?” She replied in a whisper. 

It wasn’t that she was worried about waking anyone up. Will would still be awake and probably driving himself crazy over an unsolved case. But it was an unspoken rule in their house that night time was the time for whispers. Hushed whispers under a ceiling with glow in the dark stars had quickly become one of JJ’s favorite parts of her day. 

Henry scrunched his nose up in concentration. JJ always thought he was cute when he did that. Will said he looked like a pig. 

After a moment of intense thinking her son exclaimed in what was basically a stage whisper “Tell me a funny story from work.” 

JJ faltered for a moment. Her work was never that funny. She was constantly looking at dead bodies and learning more and more reasons to never let Henry leave the house. But she loved her team. The group of people she worked with in the BAU had become family to her. But that family had lost a member years ago. 

And then Emily had returned. 

JJ had known that Emily hadn’t died with Doyle, but JJ truly thought that Emily was dead. That she had died alone in a random place in the world. After Doyle had been killed, she had tried to reach out but she hadn’t been able to find anything that could get her into connection with Emily. She had disappeared from the face of the Earth. 

And now she was back. 

JJ knew things would be different, but now everything was tense. The loving environment that the team had carefully pieced back together after Emily’s ‘death’ had been destroyed and JJ couldn’t stop herself from blaming Emily. No matter how stupid the logic was, JJ needed to blame someone. 

So she chose the only person that she could somewhat justify. 

“How about you choose something else for me, sweets?”

************  

The other members of the team had jokingly dubbed Rossi the Dad of the team. If you asked him about it he would scoff and grumble something about disrespect of elders, but in reality. Dave loved it. He loved all of them as a family and hell, he was old enough to be most if not all of their fathers. 

When Rossi had come back to the team, he had done so because he had nothing else to do and he didn’t do well with nothing. He needed a sense of purpose that he had only ever experienced when catching serial killers. He hadn’t expected to find a home with the members of the BAU. Rossi helped found the BAU, but he never thought the community would turn into what it became. 

A family. Where he apparently was the dad. 

Rossi tried his hardest to look after every member of the team. He hosted team dinners and tried to get them all to go out at least once a week when they weren’t being called away across the country. 

And then they had lost Emily. Their family which they had worked so hard to build up from a group of individuals was torn apart. 

And five years later it was put back together. But it wasn’t truly put back together. They were once puzzle pieces which might not have fit perfectly, but the picture formed was good enough. And when they lost a piece, it took time but they formed the puzzle back together. And now an old piece had shown up and there wasn’t a place for it anymore. 

Rossi still loved Emily. She was the one that had understood him the most and he thought that he knew her pretty damn well. Apparently not enough. She hadn’t trusted them to tell them some of the most important things that had happened in her life until they threatened to kill her. Until they did kill her. 

He had forgiven her because what use was holding a grudge against a ghost?

Emily was back but she was still haunting him. She was back, but so much had changed. Dave wasn’t a fool. He saw all the ways that she attempted to reach out to them and at the same time she was closing herself off more than ever. Dave wanted to help her, he wanted to help his family. But he couldn’t. 

He didn’t know how. 

The puzzle had been torn up and ripped apart and now they were trying to cram it back together but no one knew what the picture looked like anymore. No one knew where the corners were and no one knew where to even start. 

Rossi wanted to help, but he wouldn’t be the first one to do so. 

So he ignored her. He pushed Emily to the side so that he could protect the family he had. The family that had stayed. He needed to protect them like a dad. Even if it cost him someone else. 

************

One plus one is two. 

The square mileage of Virginia is 37,471.7 miles. 

The sky is blue but not really that’s just the color that isn’t absorbed and is reflected back to the human eye and is observed. 

These were all facts that Reid knew. They were absolute truths that would not be changed unless hell broke out in the world of scientists, politics, or mathematics. 

Emily Prentiss is dead.

That was supposed to be an absolute. Something that was true and could not be changed no matter what events transpired. She had been killed by Ian Doyle and Reid would never see her again. 

But that wasn’t true. He had been lied to. Reid prided himself in the fact that he knew more than the average person and that the things he knew were all true. Why waste time learning things that were false? But he had been lied to. He had based his knowledge off of faulty sources and now he was paying the price. 

And he was pissed. 

Reid had mourned Emily because she was his friend. She was his family. But apparently that word meant nothing to her. 

She had made them all think her dead for reasons that he couldn’t even think of. She betrayed all of them and now she expected to waltz back into their lives? She expected him to talk to her like nothing had ever happened?

Reid couldn’t. He wouldn’t. 

It had been five years. 

Five years that would forever be tainted by the fact that she had left them on her own volition. Emily could’ve come back once Doyle was dead. There was no reason that she couldn’t have. But she didn’t. She chose not to. She betrayed them. 

And Reid couldn’t help but be angry about it. 

But he was also happy. Emily was alive. Wasn’t that something he could be happy about? Couldn’t he be joyful at the fact that Emily was back. 

Emily was his friend. 

Reid wasn’t sure if that was an absolute truth or if it was a variable constant. Something that was sometimes true and sometimes not. Something that he wished could always be true, but that wasn’t how the world worked. 

So Reid was angry and happy. 

Anger was easier to show. 

************

Hotch knew some part of this was his fault. Five years ago he had pushed Emily to fake her death. It’s not like he had the idea and then shoved her out of the country, but he definitely helped further the idea along more than it would have if it was just Emily making the plan. 

So Hotch felt guilt. But in his plan, she would come back after Doyle had been caught. She would return to the team and sure it would be a little bit bumpy, but the team would eventually get over it and they would come back together. But that didn’t happen. 

Instead after Doyle was killed and JJ and himself tried to reach out to find her, they couldn’t. Emily Prentiss had disappeared from the face of the Earth and after a year, Hotch agreed with JJ that she had probably died. Emily had always been attracted to danger. 

But she wasn’t dead. She was alive doing shit knows what and now she was back. She was back and he was left to deal with the fallout. But Hotch didn’t want to deal with the fallout. Yes he was the leader of the BAU and he should probably have his team work out their problems with each other, but Emily had dug her own grave hadn’t she?

Hotch knew it was wrong to ignore her like he was doing. He wasn’t oblivious to how Emily’s ever present slightly fake smile faltered wherever one of them ignored her. He wanted to sit her down and talk to her. He wanted to know every single thing that had happened to her over the past five years. He needed to know why she was so different. 

But at the same time he had to take care of the rest of the team. And none of them were treating her any better than he was. 

Hotch knew it was wrong. But there was nothing else he could do for now.

************

Emily was starting to think that she should give up. The team was never going to change how they viewed her. She didn’t blame them. She had broken their trust and deceived them in a way that was beyond cruel. She knew that what she had done was wrong, but she did it for a reason and as much as she wanted to regret it, she couldn’t.

Emily was sitting on the fire escape of her apartment building staring at the cloudy night sky with a cigarette in her hand. These small moments in the night were the only time she could think clearly. Work was too loud. Her brain at work was too loud.

She was constantly worrying about what she should be doing to make the team more comfortable. Not that it mattered to any of them. They just continued to ignore her or on the rare occasion glare at her. 

Emily chuckled weakly at the irony as she tapped the edge of her cigarette on the dirty railing of the fire escape. She was starting to wonder why she had even returned. 

That was a lie. Emily knew why she had returned. When she was away, bad things had happened to her. Things had happened to her which were now documented on her skin in the form of various scars and tattoos which she was desperately trying to hide from the profilers she worked with. It was getting harder and harder to stop the knee jerk reactions she had accumulated in her time away. 

The day before she had almost pulled a knife on Hotch when he walked into the conference room she was alone in. 

Emily counted herself lucky she hadn’t actually stabbed anyone in the office or in the field. She had come very close with a couple of unsubs, but who in the office hadn’t wanted to kill some of the people they were hunting down.

Emily’s thoughts were interrupted with the vibrating of her phone. She sighed out an annoyed breath and pulled her phone out of her back pocket and answered without looking at the caller ID.

“This is Prentiss.” She answered solemnly. 

“Hello love.”

Fuck.  

Chapter Text

Chapter Two.

“What do you want, Clyde?” Emily didn’t hold any longing to be talking to the man who was once her handler. She hadn’t talked to him in a little over two years. She hadn’t been surprised when he had sought her out when Emily Prentiss was supposedly dead. He had always seemed to know more about herself than anyone else in her life. He had at one point been one of her closest friends. Maybe he still was.  

“Now that’s not a kind way to answer the phone.” Hints of amusement laid barren in his voice. “Afterall, you don’t even know what I’m going to say.” 

Emily let out a long breath and ran the hand still holding her cigarette down her face. She was tired and wasn't especially wanting to deal with him right now. “Clyde, I don’t have time for whatever it is you want from me.” That was a lie. Emily had nothing but time these days.

“I’m arriving at Quantico tomorrow. There’s an international case that those up top want your team's help with.” His tone had turned away from humor and the familiar firmness of an agent bled into his voice. 

Emily scoffed. “Of all the gin joints, of all the towns in all the world.” She mumbled more to herself then into her phone. “Why do you need our help? Aren't there much more qualified teams across the world you could turn to?”

There was a beat of hesitation from the Interpol agent following her question. 

“Easter.” Emily ground out. “What’s going on?” A million possibilities flashed through Emily’s mind. Was it going to be another one of her Doyles from her past? Was it something specifically with Clyde? 

“Ricardo Blaine has resurfaced.” Emily’s grip on her phone tightened. Blaine was a notorious arms dealer that had been at the top of all the wanted lists for the past decade. He was responsible for hundreds of organized crime related deaths, bombings, gas attacks, and more. The CIA had worked closely together with foreign powers to try to bring him down but they neer managed to pin anything on him. And then two years ago, Blaine along with his whole organization disappeared.“He was spotted at a bar in downtown Los Angeles by an agent the CIA had planted. Unfortunately he clocked the agent and shot the poor lad eighteen times.”

Emily grimaced solemnly. It didn’t matter how much carnage and destruction she had seen in her life. Being shot that many times still didn’t paint a pretty picture. 

“Blaine fled the scene and has gone into hiding but sources say he hasn’t left the States yet and isn’t planning to do so for at least a month.” 

“If he’s planning on staying, that means something big is going to happen.” Emily concluded. “This still doesn’t explain what you need my team for.” If Emily was being honest with herself, she knew what Clyde wanted out of her team. 

Emily could hear the small chuckle that Clyde let out. “You know as well as I do that we don’t need your team. We need you. But unfortunately you decided to head back to your beloved BAU and have made yourself almost impossible to reach. So I can’t just take you.”

Emily sighed as she took another drag. She knew there wasn’t actually a choice to be made. She just had the illusion of one. If she helped Clyde how he wanted her to help him, there would be no turning back. The rest of her team would probably never trust her again. But if she didn’t, there was a strong possibility of hundreds of people dying. She had to help him. No matter what it cost her. And cost her it was going to. 

He needed a version of Emily Prentiss she thought she had long since buried. Looked like it was time to grab the shovel.  

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Emily hung up the phone before he could respond. She didn’t need to hear his gratitude through his smug smile. Emily was well aware she would be regretting this decision come morning.

“Fuck.” She muttered to herself as she leaned her head back against the brick wall of her apartment.  

************

Emily really didn’t want to go into work today. She wasn’t sure when Clyde was going to show up or how he was going to explain his presence to the rest of the team. The possibility of him telling the truth was there. Slim enough to not bother her, but it was there. 

Whatever he was going to do or say, Emily had a strong inkling that it wasn’t going to be for her benefit. She was half considering bringing a flask into work with her for the day. Maybe Clyde would already have one for her. 

She grabbed her guns off of her kitchen table after chugging the last of her coffee. She hesitated before slipping her pack of Malbaros and her trusty lighter into her back pocket along with her phone. She was well aware they all knew she smoked but they all refused to mention it. 

Maybe she’d get a nice long lecture from Reid about the risks of lung cancer if she pulled one out in the middle of the case. 

A girl could dream. 

************

Emily walked into the conference room to see that everyone was already in there chatting with each other. Clyde was nowhere to be seen. She noticed how Morgan and JJ visibly straightened in their chairs as they clocked that she was entering the room. Neither Hotch or Rossi visibly changed but she could sense the tension seeping out of their pores. 

To her credit, Emily didn’t say anything as she calmly walked to her seat. 

Everyone continued to talk around her and refused to look her in the eye let alone rope her into whatever it was they were talking about. It wasn’t until a few moments later when Garcia walked into the room that everyone stopped talking. The arrival of the “tech goddess” as she often referred to herself normally symbolised the beginnings of a case. 

Noticing the quietness in the room, a smile overtook Penelope’s face. “Aw I’m so glad you all value my presence so much but I was called in here along with the rest of you.” She let out a dopey smile before taking her seat next to Morgan. 

Her words caused a ripple of uncertainty to run through the room as questioning looks were exchanged between everyone besides Emily. Her eyes were trained firmly on the doorway. She knew it would only be a matter of time before Clyde walked into the room. 

Emily knew that Hotch was looking at her staring at the open doorway, but she couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge him. She wondered if he would even match her eyes or if he would immediately look away. They treated her like her eyesight and even her presence was a poison that would infect them and kill them within minutes. Maybe she was.

Emily didn’t even have the option to meet his eyes as seconds later the one and only Erin Strauss appeared in the door. The rest of the team straightened in their seats, Emily had never relaxed, but this time it was out of professionalism instead of the caution that had followed Emily’s entrance. 

The room was silent as Strauss walked to the front of the table. Strauss briefly glanced Emily’s way and Emily would like to think she saw something other than the cold and stoic look the woman always had on her face. Could Emily be imagining she saw something akin to amity? 

Before she could dwell on that thought, the supervisor began to speak. “I’m sure you are all wondering why I called you here. Our unit has been contacted by Interpol along with the CIA for our assistance in the tracking and acquisition of an arms dealer that has been seen in the States and is believed to be in the midst of planning something that could affect and hurt thousands of Americans. The only information I have been allowed to give you for now is that the operation’s name is Bellona .” 

That Fucker. 

Looks of confusion were once again exchanged throughout the room but it was Hotch as Unit Chief who spoke up. “All due respect ma’am, but we’re profilers who target serial killers. This isn’t our jurisdiction or area of crime.” Emily would have laughed at the slightly baffled look on Hotch’s face if they were anywhere else. And if she had the right to laugh at the team she had betrayed. 

A look of slight annoyance ghosted over Staruss’ face which would have remained a ghost if she wasn’t standing in a room full of profilers. All of them immediately clocked the agitation.

“These orders came from higher up than me. I have not been made aware of the rationale behind this decision, only the decision.” Strauss elaborated in a tense voice. 

Emily knew damn well that Strauss had been made aware of why their unit was chosen. But she wasn’t revealing that fact. Emily would have to buy her a bottle of wine for that. Maybe a whole ass case of wine. The longer Emily could delay the inevitable the better. 

No one wanted to accept her answer, but no one else spoke up and Strauss took that as her cue to continue. 

“Interpol is sending in a representative to work with and brief all of you on the case. It is my understanding that they should be here within the next ten minutes. I implore you to work in cohesion with the agent along with any other agents that are added to the case. You are representing not only the BAU and the FBI but our country. Don’t let me down.” With that ominous last message, she walked out of the room leaving behind a group of confused agents. 

“This seems really shady. Like extra shady of the slim variety.” Penelope began. “In what world are we handpicked to defend our nation against terrorist when it’s our job to stop serial killers.” Emily could tell she was starting to panic. Penelope never liked being left alone in the dark. She always knew everything and not knowing things threw her for a loop.  

“Even from a profiling point of view it doesn’t make sense.” Reid added with a quizzical look on his face. “The foundation of the differing profilers are unique. Arms dealers aren’t looking for the same end goal that serial killers are. In the end arm dealers are nothing more than creative businessmen.” He concluded with a shrug. 

Now that was a statement that Emily disagreed with. Doyle was only an Arm’s dealer after all. And he had wanted nothing more than to see the world burn in the end. He just wasn’t going to be the one who flipped the switch. She had met a lot of arm’s dealers in her life and known of them had simply been businessmen. 

“And if the CIA is already involved, why would they need us?” JJ asked the room. “They aren’t really known for playing well with others.” No one could answer that question. 

Well Emily could, but she wasn’t going to. She just hoped the CIA stayed out of their way. The case was already complicated enough on its own and the added “assistance” of the CIA would only fuck things up even further for Emily. Especially if certain members were to get involved. But Emily really didn’t want to think about that possibility. 

She didn’t realize that her leg was bouncing until Rossi tossed her a confused look across the table before he glazed to the table between them which was shaking slightly. She forced herself to relax and tossed back an apologetic smile she hoped looked sincere and not like she was on the edge of running out the building. She needed to calm down before she ruined this for herself. Her fingers itched for a cigarette to be held between them as she had to forcibly stop herself from fidgeting in some way that would reveal anything to those in the room. 

************

Rossi wasn’t an easily confused person. He prided himself on the fact that he knew what was going on around him. With the cases he was involved in, with the teams he was involved in, with the people he was involved in. But Erin walking in and declaring that they would be working with both Interpol and the CIA threw him into a state of confusion. Not only that, but it seemed that one of their own knew more than they were letting on. 

It wasn’t rare for Prentiss to be quiet when they were all together. Even when she wasn’t quiet she was usually ignored to some degree. But usually she at least tried either starting a conversation or throwing her two cents into a discussion the rest of them were having. But She hadn’t even tried that. 

Rossi didn’t think anything of it at first. He just filed away the information for later. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when he noticed that the table was shaking did he absolutely know something was wrong. He could tell that Prentiss’ leg was the one that was bouncing and the fact that she wasn’t controlling her fidgeting as she usually did so well told him that something was very wrong. Rossi took a good look at her for the first time in what was probably a year and noticed things he never had before. 

The way her chair was pushed further away from the table than a normal person would. In case she needed to escape the situation quickly. 

The fact that there wasn’t an inch of her skin besides her face and her hands that he could see even though it was in the mid seventies. Covering something up. Marks of somesort. 

The small almost non visible scars across her knuckles on the hand which she was resting on the table. Scars from fist fights. Scars that hadn’t been there before she left. 

The way she was tense and ready for anything. Constantly anticipating a fight. 

She must have noticed his eyes on her as she slowly raised her head so she was no longer staring at the table but instead into his eyes. He did nothing but give her a slightly confused look. 

The shaking instantly stopped. She offered him what he assumed was supposed to be an apologetic smile but from his point of view looked more like a grimace. And then she looked away.

Rossi knew that the team had made a mistake in not welcoming her back. He knew they had the right to be hurt, but it had been a year. A year of her being here and being ignored. They had lost her for five years and now she was back but they were pushing her away. If they continued down this path eventually they would lose her again and this time it truly would be their fault. 

Rossi vowed to himself that he would do better. They would get through this case as a team and he would do better. Maybe then he will finally learn what had happened to Prentiss all those years she had been away to create the person who she had become. He would make it up to her. 

************

Emily’s nerves were starting to grow even more. Clyde should have been there by now. It had been fifteen minutes since Staruss had left and she could tell that the rest of the team was starting to become agitated about the time delay as well. 

“Where is this guy?” She heard Morgan mumble to himself. 

Her head snapped up to the door as the man of the hour made his entrance. It wasn’t until a British accent started to fill the room that she finally relaxed. Or relaxed as much as she did these days. “My dearest apologies for the time, traffic over here is much worse than it is across the pond.”

Hotch was the first one to react but Emily noticed the looks of disbelief that flickered across some of their faces. Clyde had told her how he had helped the team find her when Doyle had taken her hostage. From what he had told her, they hadn’t started out on the best foot but they eventually worked together to find her. Or something as equally friendship and rainbows like. Clyde wasn’t the most accurate reteller of events.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again Agent Easter, I just wished it was under better circumstances.” Hotch greeted with a forced smile and an outstretched hand Clyde received in a firm handshake. Emily could tell that Hotch was brimming with questions for the agent and was only not asking out of courtesy. 

“Same goes for you Agent Hotchner. I’m sorry for the suddenness of the case, but between the information we received and the classified nature of the case we weren’t able to give your unit much warning.”  

Hotch nodded, but Emily knew he didn’t want to take his words at face value. “I’m assuming there’s a lot to be done. Are we debriefing here or is there somewhere else to go.”

“Headquarters are being set up for this case in Los Angeles, it would be better if we could get on a plane as soon as possible. I can debrief your team on the way there and we can start to devise a plan.” Emily expected this as the time sensitivity of the case was the biggest problem.

It also seemed that Hotch expected this as he turned to the rest of the table. “Wheels up in thirty.” Everyone stood up from their chairs to leave including Emily before Clyde spoke up. 

“Emily, if I could have a word?” Everyone stopped for a split second before resuming their way out of the room. Emily lowered herself back into her chair as Rossi turned to her with a questioning look on his face. 

Emily nodded at him trying to tell him that she would be okay and then he too left the room so that it was just her and Clyde. 

He was the first to speak. “You’ve started smoking again.” Emily couldn’t tell if he was more amused or concerned at this fact. He had never approved of this particular habit of hers. 

Emily rolled her eyes in response. “Is this really what you want to talk about?” She questioned with a small smile dancing across her lips. It always made her happy to annoy Clyde. 

He shrugged from where he was still standing. There was no use dancing around the subject. “Are you going to be okay with this mission?” 

“Yes.” She answered firmly.

“Good.” He replied. Emily wasn’t sure if he actually believed her, but for now she had given him no reason to doubt her abilities. 

“What are you planning on telling them?” She questioned when he didn’t say anything else.

This time a full amused smile broke out on Clyde’s face. “Oh I was planning on spinning poems about your talent as an undercover operative and how it just happened that we are great and very close friends.” 

Emily rolled her eyes but was also smiling. “They’re going to think we’re fucking.” She deadpanned. 

“Well it did happen once.” Clyde added with a wink. 

Emily snorted in reply. “And that was the only time that it will ever happen.” Emily would deny that it had happened to anyone that ever knew both of them, but there had been a moment after a particularly hard case where Emily had fallen into the comfort of Clyde along with the bottle of vodka they had shared that night. She didn’t regret it, but it wasn’t exactly something she was planning on doing again.  

He smiled for a moment at the familiar quip before the look faded once more to a serious look. “Don’t worry about that part. I’ve got it all figured out.” He stated, answering her previous question.

“We both know damn well there’s no way we can make it out of this without them knowing most of the things.” She pointed out the fact that they were both ignoring. 

“No, but we can damn well try.” Clyde replied. 

She stood up and walked over to him before wrapping her arms around him. “It’s good to see you Clyde.” 

He returned her hug which she knew everyone in the bullpen was watching. 

“Let’s go get our arms dealer Bellona.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Three. 

Hotch knew that there was more to this case than what they were being told. It was from his past experiences that he had learned there’s no such thing as a coincidence. Everything happened for one reason or another and the fact that Clyde Easter of all people was the one to show up for this case was nothing more than another motivated action. 

If only he could figure out the motive. 

Hotch watched from the bullpen as Emily stepped forward and embraced the Interpol agent in what seemed to be a familiar embrace. His posture and expressions held none of the ire that was always present in his team when they were around her. It was clear that Easter didn’t hold the same contempt over Emily for faking her death and remaining dead even when she could come back. He had to be missing something and as much as he didn’t want to admit it, the possibility of Easter knowing she was alive and maybe even reconnecting with her was becoming more and more of a concrete hypothesis. 

He just didn’t want to admit it. Because that meant Emily trusted him more than she trusted her team. And that possibility fucking hurt. So Hotch wasn’t going to admit that. Instead he was going to focus on the case. 

Hotch knew that this case wasn’t going to be like their standard cases. Whatever the true intentions of getting the BAU involved in a case of national security, he could only hope that they didn’t come out of it more damaged than they already were. 

************

Emily and Clyde were the last ones to walk onto the plane. Emily wasn’t sure what she was expecting to be different but everyone was in their regular spots. Some were chattering quietly while others were looking out the windows. She knew that they would be getting antsy to know more information about the case. The level of unknown which was being presented to them was causing ripples of anxiety to waver through the air. 

She just hoped the flight wouldn’t be too bad. Afterall, what else could go wrong?

************

“Ten days ago, Ricardo Blaine was sighted in Los Angeles.” Clyde stated as the rest of the team watched him carefully. 

“The arms dealer?” JJ questioned. 

Clyde nodded. “He was sighted at a bar where there was conveniently a CIA agent undercover. However, Blaine caught on to the agent and killed the poor lad.” 

“He’s either trying to keep a low profile or he doesn’t like people getting in his way.” Derek added as he flipped through the file that Clyde had handed to each of them. 

“From previous knowledge of him, it’s a little bit of both. In past situations like this Blaine flees wherever he was and doesn’t resurface for months, sometimes years. But this time, he’s sticking around.” Clyde finished. 

“And you’re worried that he’s planning something big he wants to see the outcome of.” Rossi concluded. 

“Exactly. We have sources that have confirmed that this deal has connections that tie back to various groups which all have very strong opinions about who should be in certain leadership roles across the country. Specifically within California.” 

There was a beat of silence before Reid asked the question Emily knew they all were wondering. “This is all very terrible, but why get the BAU involved? The profiles for terrorists and arms dealers are vastly different from those of serial killers.” 

Emily held her breath waiting to see how Clyde would reply. 

There was a moment of hesitation before he did so. “It might not make sense now, but the BAU has one of the most successful records across the bureau and we needed to work with good agents who we could trust. The profiles may be slightly different, but not so much that they won’t be useful in finding Blaine and taking down the organizations that he is working with.” 

His answer barely answered the question, but it seemed good enough for the team. Emily exhaled slightly although her shoulders remained tense. 

It was going to be a long flight. She laid her head on the window of her spot across from Clyde and closed her eyes in the futile attempt that the warm hands of rest would take her. 

************

Morgan knew that something wasn’t right with this case. It wasn’t even just a gut feeling. It was in the details. It was the fact that Clyde Easter of all people was the agent from Interpol to show up. It was the fact that he had a history with Prentiss that the team was still mostly in the dark about. It was the fact that this was predominantly a CIA case and yet they were being asked for help of all people. It was the cagey looks being sent towards Easter from Prentiss when she thought no one was looking. 

It was the fact that Prentiss seemed more stone faced and blocked off from the rest of the team even though Morgan recognised her non-stop efforts to try to form back the relationships that she had broken. 

Don’t get him wrong, he was still pissed at her. But something was going on and he didn’t want to be left in the dark on this one. The last time Prentiss left them in the dark, they all paid the price with what they thought was the death of their friend. 

Derek looked up from his spot on the plane to survey the rest of the cabin. They had been in the air for a little over four hours so everyone had trailed off into their own worlds. Doing what they needed to do in order to prepare for the upcoming case. Reid was across from him nose deep in a book with a title that Morgan only understood two words of. JJ was next to Reid with her own book in her hands. He could understand that title. Rossi and Hotch were on the other side of the plane from them both looking through the heavily redacted case files that Easter handed to them prior. There was more information blacked out then there was readable. 

Another reason Derek knew something was wrong. Who the hell redacts that much information about an arms dealer?

And finally Derek looked towards the other end of the cabin where Easter and Prentiss were sitting across from each other. Easter was in similar fashion to Rossi and Hotch looking over the case file, but his file seemed to have a lot less blacked out lines on the page. 

Emily on the other hand was resting her head against the window and her eyes were closed tight with sleep. Her sleep however seemed anything but restful. Pure lines of tension were radiating off of her as her eyebrows scrunched tightly together and she was flinching every so often. 

Derek continued to stare at her unsure of what to do. She was probably just having a bad dream and wouldn’t want to be coddled in front of the team. It was Rossi that noticed him staring at Prentiss. 

Derek watched as the senior agent looked over at Prentiss and Rossi’s jaw clenched slightly. The action by itself showed annoyance but the deep seated concern in his eyes showed anything but. Morgan looked away from Rossi and back to Prentiss.

Across the silent plane he could only slightly hear the hushed sounds falling out of her mouth. They were words but not any that he recognized. His brain supplied him that she was speaking a different language but he couldn’t pinpoint which one.

It was then that Easter looked up from his papers with a concerned look on his face that mirrored Rossi’s. He seemed to analyze Prentiss in the same way that agents analyzed a case. Trying to figure out the best approach to a dangerous puzzle. 

Derek recognized that the rest of the team was now watching as Easter tentatively reached across the table with his hand.He hovered his outstretched hand over hers but didn’t move to touch it. 

“Emily.” Easter spoke loudly enough that everyone could hear the name but in a soft enough tone that it didn’t come across as harsh. He was trying to get her attention without startling her. His actions did anything but the intended effect as Prentiss flinched in her seat and continued to mumble words under her breath at a much further rate. 

Derek risked a glance at Reid to see if he understood what she was saying. The genius had set the book down on the table and was looking at Prentiss with his eyebrows pinched together the way he always did when he was lost or confused. This only made Derek more confused as he knew Reid knew at least the five most common languages fluently and was proficient and shit ton of others. 

Morgan’s eyes flickered back to Prentiss as Easter began to speak. 

“Bella.” The Interpol agent spoke with a tone that was louder than what he had used previously. 

The name meant absolutely nothing to Derek besides the name being shared with the terrible character in the Twilight series. Although it meant nothing to him, the name sure got a reaction out of Prentiss. 

Her head snapped up and within moments she was deathly still and there was a gun in the air between Prentiss and Easter aimed at Easter’s head. 

Everyone else reached for their own weapon but Easter only raised his hands like a guilty criminal would and smirked. “I think this case would get a whole lot messier if you shot me on the plane ride Bella.”

There was a moment of complete silence within the cabin before a broken chuckle made its way out of Prentiss’ throat and the click of the safety Derek hadn’t even realized had come off was flicked back on. 

Morgan watched with everyone else as Emily quickly slid the gun away into her holster before she dragged her hand down her face. “Fuck. I’m sorry Clyde.” Derek was surprised at the rawness that was sewn into the very foundation of her voice. 

Easter in response tilted his head to the side slightly with a smile that was stuck somewhere between concern and amusement. “There’s no need to apologize, Emily. I should’ve known I wasn’t making it out of seeing you without one gun pointed in my face.” His words implied that this wasn’t the first time that this event had occurred and that only served to deepen the worried frown across Morgan’s face.

An action Easter seemed to notice. His eyes flickered away from Prentiss and to the rest of the plane. A movement which Prentiss noticed and Derek watched as her shoulders tensed back up as if she was prepping for a fight. Her back was to the rest of them but Derek heard her whisper a soft ‘fuck’ under her breath before she turned to them with an absolutely plastic smile in place. 

************

Emily was no stranger to nightmares. But just because she experienced them frequently didn’t mean she had gotten any better at dealing with them. One could argue that she only had gotten worse as she continued to ignore them. 

By some absolute miracle that had Emily thanking a God she no longer believed in, so far she hadn’t had to deal with any bad ones in any of the slightly run down hotels that the team was always staying the night in for cases. Maybe it was the pressure of the case or the chance that all of the secrets she had tried so hard to bury were digging their way out that had made this one happen. 

Whatever it was that led her to the patented look of English concern that only Clyde easter could pull off on the other side of her gun, Emily didn’t know. Only that it was about to lead to a conversation she wasn’t ready to have.  

Emily didn’t dare look at Clyde as she plastered on the fakest smile she could and turned to the rest of her team who were all looking at her with varying looks of confusion and worry. Reid was the most confused and Rossi was the most concerned.  

“I’m sorry about that, I was just having a bad dream and didn’t react the best.” She added a shrug of her shoulders that she was aiming to look somewhat casual, but her body was coiled like such a tight spring that she was surprised the action didn’t make her literally snap. 

There was a pregnant pause in which no one spoke as Emily tapped each of the fingers on her left hand against her thumb in a repetitive motion out of sight of the plane full of profilers. It was a nervous habit she had never managed to drop. 

In the end it was Rossi who broke the silence. “Are you sure you’re okay, Prentiss?” Email almost didn’t react out of pure confusion. That was the most words he had exchanged with her since she had come back. 

When she realized she hadn’t responded she nodded hastily. “Yeah. Not the first time it’s happened.” That did nothing but deepen the concern written across their faces. 

“What language were you speaking?” Reid asked inquisitively when it seemed no one else was going to speak. Emily watched JJ shoot him the look she gave him when he was being insensitive but Emily didn’t care as she turned slightly to look at Clyde with a questioning look of her own. 

He only shrugged. “Couldn’t tell you love. I know a lot fewer languages than you.” 

Emily turned back to Reid with her own shrug. “Couldn’t tell you. Sorry.” This only further deepened his confused look.

Emily was half convinced the rest were about to bombard her with questions when Clyde spoke up again addressing the whole cabin. “We should be landing within the next thirty minutes. It’s going to be quick paced once we get there so make sure you have everything ready to go.” 

His words were met with nods as everyone began to gather the things they had strewn across the plane during the time in the air. 

Emily didn’t fail to notice the concerned looks exchanged behind her back and the rest didn’t fail to notice that her hands were shaking as she picked up her bag.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four.

The rest of the plane ride was blissfully silent for Emily. She wasn’t unaware of the slight looks of concern and worry everyone was sending her when they thought she wasn’t looking. But she chose to ignore them. Nothing good would come from more confrontation with the team. Their current case was already going to reveal some things she would rather keep hidden. Her secrets seemed to be on a timer. And fuck knows what was going to happen when that timer ended. Nothing good.

Emily forced the tension that was being held hostage in her shoulders to leak out as the plane began to descend. She had a job to do after all. She needed to be in the right frame of mind and not act like she had just almost shot another agent over a nightmare.

She was perfectly aware that trauma responses were a real thing and it wasn’t exactly her fault (even if it very much was) that she reacted how she did. Emily was relieved that it had been Clyde and no one else on the plane. That would have been much more of a problem.

After a few quick moments, the plane came into contact with the runway and started the process of stopping.

Along with the rest of the occupants in the cabin, Emily began to stand up and move around slightly. Even though it hadn’t been anywhere close to the longest plane ride she had been on, her legs were stiff and slightly wobbly.

It wasn’t long before they began to exit the plane one by one leaving their thanks to the pilot as they did. As Emily took her first step onto the stairs that descended from the plane, a warm breeze of air greeted her, but it wasn’t the only thing that she noticed.

Approaching them on the tarmac were two blacked out SUVs that screamed federal agents in every way possible. The two vehicles stopped in front of them and without a word all the agents began to pile into the cars.

Emily was in one of the cars with Clyde, Hotch and Derek.

No one said a word as the driver drove them to wherever it was that they were going.

************

“Easter, glad to see that you made it in one piece.” A woman with curly hair and a dark gray pantsuit approached the group as they exited the vehicles in front of what looked to be the Los Angeles branch of the CIA. Hotch could see how there was some form of familiarity the woman held with Easter. This was only proven further as the woman reached forward to embrace the interpol agent in a short hug before letting him go and taking a step back.

Clyde smiled deeply before replying. “And I brought a special guest with me.” His tone was somewhere between teasing and seriousness as he stepped to the right slightly so that the woman could clearly see Prentiss. Hotch wasn’t sure what the significance of this was, but both women seemed to freeze slightly when they laid eyes on each other.

Hotch could see the complete look of surprise on the woman’s face as well as the brief look of acceptance that seemed to pass over Prentiss’ face before it disappeared into a mask. Hotch filed that away for later. Something was going on here with Prentiss and he needed to find out what. For his sake and for the sake of the entire team.

It was Prentiss who spoke first as a sly smirk overtook her face. “It’s good to see you Sam.”

The other woman, Sam, seemed to snap out of whatever trance Prentiss’ presence had put her under as she began to smile before replying. “Not so bad to see you again, Bella.” The name was added on at the end as almost its own statement of sorts.

The same name that Easter had called her. If Hotch was doubting that something was going on before, he was absolutely sure now. One person calling her a nickname was one thing but now two people in the singular case? That was a pattern through and through.

His thoughts seemed to be reflected in his teammates eyes as he briefly exchanged eye contact with Rossi who had a similar look of realization on his face.

Hotch was interrupted from his thoughts as Easter began to speak again. “Why don’t the two of you catch up later? I’m sure there’s plenty we need to get done in the time that we have.” Hotch noticed the playful tone that was lined within the context of the words.

Easter’s words seemed to snap the agent standing in front of them back to the situation as she was still holding eye contact with Prentiss. The slight smirk was gone off of her face and was instead replaced with a more business-like and professional smile that showed no emotion.

“Hello everyone and thank you for coming.” She nodded to each of the members as she stepped forward with an outreached hand towards Hotch. He shook her hand as she continued to speak. “My name is Samantha East and I am an agent with the CIA. I know that all of this is very sudden so thank you for making the journey out here. If you could please follow me inside we can discuss what your team's role is here.”

Agent East turned around and began to walk into the building without a backwards glance towards the rest of them. Easter and Prentiss were the first ones to follow her with Hotch and the rest of the team trailing behind. Hotch wasn’t sure what they were about to get into, but he could hedge his bets that it wasn’t going to be a cut and dry simple case. When was it ever?

************

Emily wasn’t entirely shocked that Sam was chosen as the liaison between the CIA and the BAU. After all she was a high ranking agent that had a long record of successes when it came to cases like these. Maybe it was merely a coincidence that Sam had a past with both Clyde and herself. Emily was lying to herself if she actually believed that. There were far too many ‘coincidences’ on this case already and they had only just arrived in Los Angeles.

Sam led their group to a large conference room that was much nicer than the one they had back in Quantico. There was a long glass table with files neatly arranged like plates at a dinner table. There were already a handful of agents sitting in some of the spots but there was a large open gap that Emily knew was for them.

One of the walls was a floor to ceiling white board that Emily could see Reid marveling at. She wouldn’t be shocked if they purchased one when they got back to their headquarters. The wall next to the whiteboard was filled with TVs of varying height and width. All of which besides one had information on them. Some were maps, some were profilers, and some were lists of possible contacts.

On the final TV which was the smallest one on the wall Emily was surprised to see their very own Penelope Garcia clicking away on her keyboard. The tech analyst didn’t seem to clock that they had entered the room, but a small smile was brought to Emily’s face nonetheless. It was always nice to see Garcia in her natural element.

Sam walked to the front of the room and the chatter instantly died down as the other agents noticed the newcomers.

“If I could have your attention please.” Sam waited a second for everyone to stop completely before she continued. “I would like to introduce you to the BAU. They will be helping us with the case as they have some of the brightest minds that the FBI has to offer. Joining them and us is Clyde Easter, an agent from Interpol.”

None of them seemed too happy about this development, but none of them were willing to openly speak against Sam. Emily forgot just how terrifying she could be. And how attractive it was.

Sam turned back to them and motioned for them to fill the empty seats around the table. Without a word Emily sat down in one of the chairs with Rossi on her left and Easter on her right. She didn’t fail to notice the CIA agent across from her glaring at her, but Emily simply tilted her head slightly and smiled back with a look that was unnerving enough to force the agent to look away.

Sam continued to stand as she pressed a button on the remote she was holding and the largest screen switched to a photo of the man they were after. “By now most of us are aware of the situation. Ricardo Blaine has resurfaced in Los Angeles. Normally he would flee the sight of his transaction as soon as they are done but he seems to be sticking around this time. In a best case scenario this means that he might be planning on putting down roots which means that it will be an easy catch and we can cross his name off of the most wanted list. Sadly, a more likely scenario is that an attack is approaching and he wants to stick around to see the massacre. In that case our job becomes a little bit more complicated.”

Why could their job never be simple?

The remote was pressed again and the image of his face changed to one of what looked to be a sketchy night club. “According to information which we have gathered, this club known as the Twilight Zone is where he is holed up. It is a known place of frequent criminal activity. The plan is to send an agent undercover to compile more information so that we can act. The important thing to remember is that Blaine is not enemy number one. He is only the supplier. We need to get information from him so that if there is an attack we can stop it before anyone is killed.”

Emily found herself nodding along with Sam as she concluded.

“Who will be sent undercover?” The agent who had glared at Emily asked with a smug look on his face. Emily rolled her eyes internally at the pure arrogance seeping off of him. She knew that everyone on her team could see it as well.

Emily looked back to Sam to see a slight look of irritation pass over her face before it was carefully masked. However before she could speak, Clyde answered.

“That is why I am here. I have an extensive resume of running undercover operations to stop those much more dangerous than Blaine.” Emily could sense that Clyde really didn’t want to have to deal with this agent. He had never enjoyed dealing with morons.

“That’s great and all but that doesn’t answer my question. You seem to be nothing more than a project manager. Who’s actually going to be doing the deed?” The agent sneered back at Clyde.

“I’d be careful how you speak to him, Roberts. He has much more power than you ever will have.” Sam replied coldly with a look that would send most cowering and running for the hills. “We have not yet chosen which operative will have the task to go undercover. We still have information to gather and as we will not send someone into the club until later tonight.”

That was a lie.

Emily now knew why herself and Clyde were here. She would be the one sent undercover and he would be the one directing the operation. She would probably be ordered to gather the information by whatever means possible.

She really hoped the seduction would work. She wasn’t a huge fan of straight up torture.

“Everyone but the BAU and Agent Easter are dismissed. I will see the rest of you back here at ten PM.” Sam concluded the briefing with a wave.

It wasn’t until everyone else had left the room that Sam finally sat down in the chair at one head of the table and spoke. “I am sorry about Roberts. He’s only here as a favor to someone higher up. Classic silver spoon story with him.” Emily could have guessed that. He completely emulated the personality of someone who had been handed everything they could ever want in life.

“I wouldn’t have guessed.” Clyde deadpanned, bringing a small smile to Sam’s face.

“I know that you have probably already had a long day, but it’s about to get longer. In front of all of you is a folder with all the information we have regarding Blaine. Who he is, who he sells to and more importantly who he doesn’t sell to.”

“An arm’s dealer with a code?” Morgan questioned.

It was rare but it wasn’t completely unheard of. Most people had their hard lines that they weren’t willing to cross, but those like Blaine were normally the most flexible as they weren’t the ones shooting the guns. Only providing them.

Sam nodded. “Exactly. I would like your team to use this information to attempt to build a profiler not for him but for his clients. If he refuses to give us information we need to be prepared to find whoever he has sold to here as quickly as we can. Time is of the absolute essence right now.”

The members of the team all nodded in understanding. They were on a time crunch racing against a clock with an unknown amount of time. They weren’t even completely sure if there was a bomb on the other end of the clock, but they needed to be ready for any possibility.

“There is one more thing.” Sam started with a slightly nervous edge to her voice. She hesitated before continuing. “Agent Prentiss will be the one that we send undercover and agent Easter along with myself and SSA Hotchner will be running the operation.”

Varying degrees of shock seemed to run through the rest of those in the room with Hotch and Rossi being the least surprised and JJ and virtual Penelope being the most surprised. Sam looked to Emily with a look of slight apprehension like she was scared how the woman would react but Emily only shrugged in reply.

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve picked out for me to wear.” Emily quipped with a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eyes.

Sam opened her mouth to reply with something that was probably going to rival the casual remark from Penelope, but Clyde cut her off before she could.

“I suggest that the two of you flirt on your own time as the rest of us have a profile to create and a slightly dangerous undercover operation to prepare for.” There was a strong undercurrent of affection in his voice as the agent spoke.

You didn’t have to be a profiler to sense the affection and friendship between the three of them or see the slight blush that was appearing on the CIA agent’s cheeks.

Sam cleared her throat as she stood up from her chair. “Agent Prentiss if you could follow me so we can start to prepare you for tonight the rest of you can begin with the profiler. I’ll come find the rest of you when it is time to start. If you need anything, Easter can get it for you.” She shot a smirk his way.

And with that Sam turned towards the doorway and walked out with Emily following behind her leaving behind some slightly confused agents.

Looked like it was time to get into character.

************

Emily hadn’t followed Sam that far into what seemed to be an all purpose locker room when the CIA agent threw her arms around Emily embracing her in a tight hug.

“It’s really good to see you Bella.” Sam whispered into Emily’s ear who was returning the hug with what was possibly an even tighter embrace.

“You’re only saying that because you’re about to make me wear an incredibly revealing dress.” Emily teased in response.

Sam let go of the agent solely so she could slap her lightly on the arm. “It’s not my fault if we need to dress you up.” Sam wagged her eyebrows suggestively at the end of her sentence.

Emily rolled her eyes. “That’s probably the only reason I’m here isn’t it? To give you a good view.”

“It’s not my fault you’re one of the most if not the most successful undercover agents across the world. Or that men are much more willing to give information when a pretty woman is in front of them.”

Emily hummed in response and took a step closer to Sam. “Are you saying that I’m pretty?” She asked in a sultry voice that she knew had an effect on her.

Sam leaned in even closer so that their lips were almost touching. “Why don’t you go take a shower and we can see how you look after all the dirt of Quantico is rubbed off of you.”

Emily chuckled before stepping back. “You going to stay and watch?” She questioned teasingly.

Sam tsked in response. “Unfortunately I have a case I have to run. I’ll take a rain check though.”

Once again Emily hummed in response. “I bet you will.”