Blind Eye

A past revealed

It was still winter outside, as the days grew shorter and the snowflakes continued to fall on the city. The air was cool and each exhalation created a cloud of smoke that quickly dissipated into the atmosphere. It was already 9.30pm but the atmosphere in the city centre was still in full swing. Christmas was just around the corner and every evening for the past week, the city had been transformed. First it turned white, then it lit up with garlands and sumptuous shop windows, and finally married couples, engaged couples, couples with or without children, and groups of friends wandered the streets looking for the perfect Christmas present.

JJ was particularly fond of this time of year, as was Garcia, who was filled with wonder every year, by the same thing of course, but everything in her nature invited her to see New Year's Eve as one of the most beautiful days of the year. With a smile on her face, she stopped for a moment to look at the spectacular and so familiar surroundings of the streets she was walking through and turned to her friends. They had left the BAU fifteen minutes earlier and had gone to eat, together, like du. In two lines, they had been following the pavement for several dozen metres, hoping to find a restaurant that would satisfy everyone. Rossi walked in front with Nora getting to know her. Garcia couldn't really hear what they were saying from where she was standing, but she had a feeling that the two of them would have no problem holding a conversation. Rossi was an exceptionally kind and intelligent person who had a lot to say and, on closer inspection, Nora seemed to be a lot like David. She must have experienced so many different situations as she travelled the length and breadth of Mrs Prentiss's career that Garcia admired her for it, and in doing so, she remembered her first meeting with Emily. Wow was probably the first word she'd uttered after hearing Prentiss read Arabic as if it were her native tongue or a merciless banality.

For her part, she was walking behind, alongside JJ and Reid. They were deep in conversation about Henry and Will, JJ's two one and only loves. Lost in her thoughts, Penelope was smiling, already thinking about what she was going to give her beloved little godson. Yet another reason to love the Christmas period that she cherished so much: she could spoil everyone she loved to their heart's content.

- What are you thinking?" asked JJ as Garcia rambled on, still moving at a steady pace through the snow.

- to what I'm about to give your son

- Don't you dare give him thirty presents, Penelope!

- Count on me, beautiful blonde

- Well, if only I could pretend not to question what you're saying," said JJ, laughing and rolling his eyes. "Oh look! I love this restaurant, I went there last month with Will! It's really top notch!"

- Let's go and see" announced Rossi, who had turned round when he heard JJ cheering.

The little group headed for the menu outside the restaurant and each looked to see if they could find something to their liking. The choice was quickly made, not that they didn't like any of the dishes - far from it - but they were all starting to get hungry and the snow flurries were increasing outside as the temperature dropped.

For her part, Prentiss continued to walk slowly through the streets of the city. She didn't really know where she was going, but what was certain was that she was moving away from the restaurant where she had just confronted her mother. She was putting up with less and less of her mother's character and her lack of interest in anyone but herself. Sometimes Prentiss even wondered how Elizabeth could be her mother when she, Emily, was nothing like her. And that was true. Apart from her appearance, which Prentiss took a lot after her mother, her character and behaviour were quite different. As a child and teenager, Emily had been what her mother liked to call "rebellious" or "ungrateful", anything but the perfect little model girl her mother had clung to for years. Prentiss wanted to convince herself that she was where she was today because she had been capable of it, that she deserved it and not because she bore the name Prentiss. Perhaps that was why she was so stubborn. The hope of believing in her abilities and in no-one else: she alone was master of her destiny and of what happened to her.