I Love You, Emily Prentiss

Chapter 12

     Laying in bed with Emily, you hold each other. You were having a rough time lately, especially while wrapping up this case. Days had passed, and the team had caught the Unsub. After hours of exhausting interrogation, Hotch had declared that the team was leaving. Being a man down and getting nowhere even after days of interrogation, the team was needed elsewhere.

     Curled up in bed and tangled within the sheets, Emily laid the front of her body against the back of yours. She ran her fingers through your hair with one hand and draped her other arm around your waist. Though you were having a rough time, you never wanted to pity yourself. Not like this.

     You slid out from under Emily's touch and the comforter without another word. You knew exactly what you had to do but never wanted to do it. In nothing but a bra and panties, you hunched over the bedside table and unplugged your phone from the charger.

     Half asleep, Emily squinted her eyes and raised her head to look at you. "Hey, what're you doing? It's like 5 am?"

     "I need to call Spencer." You reply, not making eye contact.

     In a way, you were ashamed at hitting your breaking point. You didn't want to call Spencer because you wanted him to ask you for help. You were afraid that if you had called him when you wanted to, you would have freaked out on him and said something you couldn't have taken back. But now you were calmer and as level-headed as you could've been.

     Before she could say another word, you threw on a top and a pair of pants and stepped into the hallway. You listened as the phone rang on Spencer's end, anticipating him picking up.

     S: "Hello?"

     T: "Hey, Spencer."

     S: "Did... uh... did Hotch tell you to call?"

     T: "Yes, he did. But don't worry, he didn't tell me why."

     S: "Theo, I-"

     T: "Spencer, you know that you can come to me for anything. Even if I am your little sister, it doesn't mean I can't help. For the longest time, you were all that I had. You were my best friend."

     S: "I don't want to fight, okay? There were just a few things I needed to work out, and this time off... it's helping."

     T: "You're at mom's, aren't you?"

     S: "Yea."

     T: "So she knows about dad."

     S: "Theo, I had no one to talk to about this."

     T: "No Spence, you did. I'm here, why don't you ever believe me on that? You don't always have to go to mom about everything. She's sick, you can't dump this all on her."

     S: "You talk about mom's schizophrenia like she's some sort of invalid, Theodora. She has a mental illness, she's not a child."

     T: "I know, I just-"

     S: "I'm sorry, I know you didn't mean it that way. But It's just been so weird between us lately."

     T: "Yea, I know."

     S: "Theo, I have something to tell you. Mom's in rough shape."

     T: "What do you mean she's in rough shape? Is her condition worsening?"

     S: "I really didn't want you to find out like this, over the phone over four hours away. The reason why I wasn't, in this case, was because the doctors at her facility called me and asked me to come to Las Vegas. Mom has early onset Dementia, and she's only going to get worse."

     T: "Oh my god."

     S: "Yea."

     T: "I... um... I gotta go. Emily's waiting for me."

     S: "Oh that's good, she's helping you get through everything. It's nice to hear that you have a friend to help you through this."

     T: "Sure, a friend."

     S: "What's that?"

     T: "Nothing, Spence, I'll call you back when we land in Virginia. You can come by for a coffee and we can talk things over, see what we want to do."

     S: "Definitely. See you soon, T."

     Hanging up the phone from the lengthy call with your brother, you fell into the wall with your back. You had to take in the information that was dropped onto you, but you didn't know what to tell Spencer now. You slipped up by mentioning Emily, and now you'd have to answer for it. That was a conversation you had to have with Emily that you didn't think you would have to discuss so soon.

     Gathering yourself, you walked back into your hotel room. You didn't know how to tell Emily what was going on. As soon as you opened the door, you found her ruffling through her purse. You stood just an infant of the closed door, nearing tears.

     "Hey," Emily said in a quiet tone.

     "Hey." You replied.

     "What was that about?"

     "That was Spencer. He, um, had some news."

     "About what, Theo?" She asked, stepping toward you.

     Moving forward reluctantly, you answered, "It's my mom."

     Quietly, she stepped closer again wearing a sincere expression.

     "The doctors told Spencer that they diagnosed my mom with early-onset dementia."

     Emily embraces you, you are not returning the hug. You were completely numb, not even having the energy to let go of the tears you were once holding back.

     "God," she sighs, tightening her grip on you.

     Pulling away from her, you fell down onto the edge of the hotel bed, emotionless. Staring at the wall in front of you, not knowing what to do next, Emily sat down beside you. You leaned into her and placed your head on her shoulder. In mere seconds, her arms were wrapped around you once more. Your head fell to the inside of her chest as you allowed yourself to become vulnerable with her.

     "It's ok, Theo," Emily whispered as she made circling motions with her hand on your back.

     "Em, I don't know what to do." You replied.

     "Shh," she reinforced, letting this information set in.

     She knew how much your mother meant to you. Although she was always so sick, she was always there for you. Through her episodes, you could always rely on her to comfort you in the end. Even though Spencer was the one who acted as your parent the most throughout these episodes after your father left, your mother was... exactly that. Your mother.

     Pulling away once more, you looked at Emily. "I think-"

     "What do you think, T?"

     "Nothing," you said, holding back. "Thank you."

     "There's no need to thank me. I'm always gonna be right here for you."

      You tilted your head and gave Emily the best smile you could. Thinking of what could have come of what you were about to say, there was a part of you that was thankful you didn't let it slip. The way her chestnut-coloured hair fell neatly on her shoulders and her deep brown endearing eyes were laid on you made you want to tell her just how much you cared for her. The way she knew when something was bothering you, how she always knew just what you needed, and how she knew how to do everything you didn't. You loved every bit of her. You loved the good things and you even loved the bad things about her. She was your world and she was the only one you wanted to love in this life.