Healing Together ( Criminal Minds fanfic)

Brunch & Banter

Chapter 37

Prentiss Household

8:24 pm

*Michael Bradley is packed and he's got some young kids around him he's got some experienced players around him*

The TV plays out loud in the living room as Daniela lies comfortably on the couch, watching the start of a soccer match that she was looking forward to seeing.

After spending the majority of their day at the festival, Daniela and Emily headed back home to unwind. They finished putting away the groceries and are now resting in the living room.

Emily is sitting on a recliner with her feet resting up. She is currently reading an ebook, comfortably resting as she scrolls down on her iPad.

She has enjoyed her day with Dani. From their grocery run to their time at the festival. The woman truly enjoyed spending time together with her daughter, especially when they were having fun.

Though she hates to admit it, her job does take a toll on their relationship. If the agent is lucky, she would be out of state for just a few days. She would worry less about the teen knowing that she would be home soon.

Or even better, her case is local to the area, and therefore traveling isn't necessary. But even then there are also downsides when working a local case.

The first one is that most of her cases require her to work for long hours. Spending her time between being out in the field and her office, she normally would go back home late at night. By then, Daniela would be sleeping just for the agent to go back to work early the next day.

The other downside of working locally is the simple logic that if her case is local, the killer is local as well. Emily has mixed feelings when working on a case, knowing well that a killer is only so far from her own home.

She tries her best to push aside her worries. After all, before Daniela, this fear was non-existent. It appears that taking care of the girl has made her fearful of the lurking danger that she knows is around.

The hardest part is when her cases are hard and extensive, prolonging her stay in a different state. Some of her cases would last over a week while others would last at least two weeks.

Those cases are the worst. Her team takes the toll of being unable to save more lives while at the same time, being away from their loved ones. A hefty price to pay for them to do their jobs.

Emily knows that Daniela isn't fond of her leaving for a case. The girl has never expressed her dislike directly to her but the profiler can see through her.

The teenager tries her best to reassure her that she will be okay and for her to focus only on her job. Her motto is that the better Emily focuses on her job, the faster she can solve it and come home.

Despite her smiles and encouragement, the woman can see her facial expression showing signs of sadness and even disappointment when the agent tells her she has to go away.

"Don't worry about me. When duty calls, you have to answer. It is what it is."

"Go on. It's cool. When you have a case that means people are in danger. They need you more than me."

Emily wants to make Daniela her priority. She took her in the first place to make her life easier, giving her a chance to have a better future.

She tries her best to make it work. From having Penelope keep an eye on her to keeping in constant contact with the teen, Emily wants the girl to have the reassurance that she isn't alone.