Inner Demons

6

I'm sitting on my couch texting Prentiss when the door opens.
"Ivan," I say as I type, "Did your mother forget to teach you any manners?"
"Shut up," he growls. "Are you any closer to getting what they want?"
"I got Jareau to open up to me. I got her number, and I've been invited to hang out with them in the future."
"You already had her number. It was in your briefing."
"Yes, Katya Chernovsky had her number. Katie Cherny did not, until Jareau gave it to her a couple days ago."
"That's hardly an accomplishment. The contractors are getting antsy. Sergei is thinking it might be time for him to take a trip to see your sister. He hasn't seen Vanya in a while."
Ivan knows nothing he can say will get to me, except for that.
"Leave Vanya alone. I am doing my job exactly as I'm supposed to. Getting a federal agent to willingly give me her security codes for a top secret database is not an in and out task."
"Quit wasting your time fucking that other agent then, and maybe it could be."
"Jareau is a careful person. My relationship with Prentiss is the only reason she's warmed to me thus far. You're only a handler because you're a pushy son of a bitch who couldn't make it in the field. I suggest you don't speak on my methods when I'm the one behind your success rate."
"You've had a month. You have five months left and if you don't have the codes by that time, your sister's life is over."
He walks out, leaving me shaking with anger. Five months is not enough time for a task of this magnitude. He's set me up for failure, and I almost wonder if that was his plan. I hear a knock at my door. Fuck. I open it up to see Prentiss, standing there with flowers. I hope she didn't see Ivan leaving my apartment.
"Hey, I thought you were away on a case," I say, gesturing for her to enter.
"We got back earlier than expected. Uh, who was that leaving just now?"
Fuck.
"One of my coworkers, we're on a case together and he stopped by to review."
"It couldn't wait?"
"I wasn't in the office today and it was information he needed to review immediately I guess. Believe me, I wasn't a fan of him stopping by either."
"Okay. Well, I do have to get back. Case paperwork."
"Come over later?" I ask, wrapping my arms around her waist.
"Absolutely."
She kisses me, then waves as she walks out the door. For a minute, I almost miss her. That, however, is quickly overshadowed by anger. From my cabinet, I pull out the phone to contact Ivan. He picks up on the third ring as arranged.
"Ivan, you stupid motherfucker," I greet him. "Emily saw you leaving my apartment. If my cover is blown because you won't leave me the fuck alone, you know who will be to blame."
I hang up, satisfied, but worried. Not only about my cover, but myself. This is the first time I've addressed her by anything other than her last name to a non-BAU member. I hope they don't pick up on it, and more so I hope that I'm not losing my touch. If I were to actually develop feelings for her... no. Simply a slip-up in character caused by my anger. Katya, you're losing it.

I hear a knock on my door at 7 that evening. Prentiss. My stomach turns as I let her in. This is a dangerous line I'm toeing. But tonight is solely about information. I hand her a glass of wine as I shut the door.
"Tell me about yourself," I say, sitting down on the couch. She follows suit, leaning against me.
"What do you mean?" She asks.
"Tell me what has made Emily Prentiss, Emily Prentiss. Everything that's shaped who you are."
"Alright, well, my mother is an ambassador, so I've lived lots of places-"
I know most of what she says from my background research, but to hear her tell it firsthand gives me the perspective I need. I refill her wine as she talks, plying her to reveal more. She gets to her time with Ian Doyle, then her near-miss with death at his hands. She tells me about how she found out Jareau's transfer was a backstop. That's what I was hoping to hear. Despite my subtle prying, she doesn't reveal more. I don't think she knows the finer details. Her words slur as the wine begins to overpower her. She forgets her train of thought, but I've heard what I was hoping to hear. Now to find a way to bring that up in conversation with Jareau. Prentiss passes out in my lap, wine stained lips parted as she begins to snore. I shift slowly until I'm laying beside her, pressed against her on the couch. I really should just get up and go to my bed, but something about her is comforting. It's not long before I'm asleep as well, head resting on her back.