Emily Prentiss One-Shots

Emily/Ian/Declan

Title: Purgatory on the Tarmac - pagetfan

Summary: Emily isn't sure how long she kneels there clutching Declan's quaking body in her arms. One of her hands is in his hair, and the golden locks are stiff with the dirt and sweat of trauma but when she breathes it in she is sure it still smells like sunshine and sweet Tuscan air. Eventually, the child's hand lets go of his dead father's and he turns his scared confused eyes on her. Despite the violence, he's just witnessed and the flashing red and blue of its aftermath, Declan's face lights up just as it always has and her returning smile is just as habitual.

Takes place immediately after the team rescues Declan

Rating - Teens and Up Audience 

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Emily isn't sure how long she kneels there clutching Declan's quaking body in her arms. One of her hands is in his hair. The golden locks are stiff with the dirt and sweat of trauma, but when she breathes it in she is sure it still smells like sunshine and sweet Tuscan air. Eventually the child's hand lets go of his dead father's and he turns his scared confused eyes on her. Despite the violence he's just witnessed and the flashing red and blue of its aftermath, Declan's face lights up just as it always has and her returning smile is just as habitual.

"Lauren?" Her heart stops. His voice has lost the soft melodic quality of the child she once knew yet she thinks she would still recognize it anywhere.

"Hey Scout" her voice trembles with waning adrenaline and relief. "Are you hurt?" His head shakes but his eyes never leave hers. Emily wonders what he is remembering. The boy shivers, from shock or from the biting night air so she shuffles out of her jacket, pulling it around his shoulders with a tender smile as though she's tucking him into bed. Does he remember how she'd checked for monsters under his bed, and sang him soft lullabies to comfort him as though the real monsters weren't right down the hall planning an arms sale to rebels known for using child soldiers not much older than Declan himself?

Suddenly JJ is beside her, a gentle hand on her shoulder drawing Emily back to reality. EMTs want to check them over, and the profiler's mind swings from past to future. Does he know yet that Louise is dead? Does he know he is alone? He will need time to heal, someone to love and support him while he processes the violence that's been visited upon him. He can't just go back to school on Monday as though his entire world hasn't been turned upside down again. Declan does indeed seem to know this because he clings to her through the EMT's exam. He confirms he was there when Louise was killed, and that the woman who took him claimed to be his mother. He's dehydrated and bruised but otherwise unharmed, they offer to take him to the hospital to wait for next of kin and her heart leaps into her throat.

"No" her voice has more power than she'd expected but she's glad for its authority "I'm his guardian, I'm taking him home" wherever that is. The house in Reston is a crime scene and she's not even bothered to book a hotel for the night. Yet she knows without a doubt that she will not leave him again.

"I asked you to be a mother to him and as angry as I am with you, that's exactly what you've done"

The journey from Quantico to this Baltimore airstrip had been mostly subdued as each passenger prepared for the final chapter of this ordeal. Yet as the lights of the runway loomed, Ian had laid a gentle hand on Emily's and forced those words through the noise of the chopper. She isn't sure what to make of the statement. It wasn't an apology, she knows he'd never admit to any wrongdoing. It was almost a blessing. But mostly she thinks it was a plea, that she continue to keep his boy safe from harm. Doyle had no illusions about what he was walking into and how it would end. He'd pressed a kiss into her knuckles, then her long fingers had curled around his and stayed that way until it was time to escort him to his execution.