Unavoidable

Chapter 6

I wake up the next morning to the ringing of an alarm. I notice my head isn't resting on a pillow and open my eyes confused. I gingerly pick my head up and then realize what, or rather who, I'm laying on. Prentiss and I are facing each other and I'm snuggled up against her chest. My arm is draped across her stomach and our legs are tangled together. I feel frozen in place and swear in my head. What the fuck? The alarm keeps ringing and I feel Prentiss start to stir. I know I should move but I can't get myself to move out of her grasp. She opens her eyes and sees our situation.

"I...," She starts to say. Neither of us has moved an inch and oddly I don't think I want to. What is going on lately. The alarm keeps blaring in the background as a reminder that we have to get going. My eyes wander down to her lips for a split second before I snap out of my trance. I quickly untangle myself from her and I feel oddly cold but I shake it off and head into the bathroom. I shut the door and decide a quick shower would do me some good. I heat up the water and put my dark hair up in a high bun before stepping into the spray of water. The hot water relaxes my tense muscles but also causes my mind to wander. I think back to the... situation... that occurred this morning. How did that happen? Why did we migrate to each other while we slept? I shake my head and step out of the shower. I smack my palm against my forehead. Of course I forgot a towel this fine morning.

"Prentiss?" I call. I try again, this time louder. "Prentiss!?" Still no answer. I decide to try something else. "Emily?!" I yell. I hear the door open and I retreat back into the shower.

"Are you okay Porter?" She asks.

"Can you hand me a towel from out there? I forgot to grab one before I got in the shower," I say.

"One sec," she says and then comes back a moment later with a towel. She places it on the bar next to the shower and then leaves to give me privacy. I grab the fluffy towel and wrap it around my body. I head over to the counter and fix my hair and do some quick makeup before leaving to grab my clothes. I head over to my bag in the main room and grab my grey slacks. I glance over at Prentiss and I catch her staring. She quickly looks away and goes into the bathroom. I change as fast as I can and set about making us some coffee. Thankfully this hotel has a coffee maker in the room so we can brew our own. I pour out two cups as Prentiss steps out of the bathroom. Her hair is lightly curled and she's dressed in black pants and a grey top. I find myself staring before I can help it and quickly look away. I head over to her with coffee in hand.

"Here," I say. "I thought you would want some coffee." She smiles at me. I don't think that's ever happened in my time at the BAU.

"Thank you," She says and takes the coffee from my hand. Our fingers touch for a split second and I shiver involuntarily. Dear God what is happening? I grab my bag with my files on the case and my phone and then we head down to meet the rest of the team.

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We are all very anxious as we head to the station. JJ is fidgeting in her seat and Reid is barely reading his 20,000 words per minute normal. I can feel my breathing accelerate with every minute we get closer to the station, but it's not all caused by the case. The whole teams wants to find Eleanor alive. We arrive and do quick introductions before Hotch pairs us off.

"Alright, Rossi and Morgan I want you to head to the first dump site, Reid and I will head to the second. JJ I want you to stay here with Garcia and work on the suspect list as well as investigating the three girls to see if they are connected in any way. And then Porter head to the abduction site with Prentiss," Hotch says. We all disperse and I once again get paired with Prentiss. This time I drive and I'm thankful for the distraction because I know I would keep looking at her. Either that or my thoughts would drift back to my 17 year old self. I shake my head slightly to clear my thoughts. I can feel her eyes on me and it takes my entire being not to glance over at her. Thankfully its a short ride to the abduction site so I don't have to be in a tight space with her for long. We step out into the fresh air next to the site, which happens to be the local diner.

"So Eleanor got dinner with her friends and then was waiting for her ride home when she was abducted," Prentiss says.

"My question is how did no one hear her? She would've put up a struggle if it was someone random," I say. "Unless... Prentiss, what if it was someone she knew? What if all the girls knew the unsub?" Prentiss eyes go wide and she pulls out her phone. She waves me over and I stand next to her.

"Garcia, did the girls go to the same school or play the same instrument, sport, etc.? Did they know each other in any way?" Prentiss asks.

"I see where you're going with this," Garcia says. "I will look into it! Au revoir!" She hangs up the phone. Prentiss and I linger next to each other for a moment too long before we head back to the car. The drive back to the station feels exponentially long and the tension in the car is thick. I glance over at Prentiss and my eyes leave the road.

"Porter it's red," she says. I look forward and slam the breaks. I instinctively reach across and put my arm in front of Prentiss so that she doesn't fly forward. The car settles and I don't even realize I've left my arm there until she puts her hand on my forearm. I retract my arm. The rest of the drive to the station is even more tension filled than before. I hastily park and get out the car. Once in the station, I rush to the bathroom and lock my self in.

"What is wrong with you Lil?" I ask myself. I quickly shake it off and head into the conference room. The rest of the team is already there going over the possible profile. So far we know it's a white male, ages 35-45, and he's using these girls as a surrogate for something.

"Upon Prentiss' request I looked into the girls' history. It seems while they don't go to the same school or play the same sport, however I did find out that they all play piano and take lessons at the same place. They don't share the same teacher though," Garcia says.

"Who owns the place? The Unsub has to be someone they know otherwise they wouldn't have left with them," I say.

"The owner is 40 year old Thomas Johnson. He oversees all the tutoring because his employees are students too. He was married to his high school sweetheart until a month ago when he found out she cheated on him with, oh boy, his brother," Garcia says. "And here is a picture of his now ex-wife, not surprising at all, all of the victims resemble her."

"Do you have an address for us babygirl?" Morgan asks. She nods.

"I programmed it into your tablets so you can head there now," Penelope responds. We go into the bullpen and let the officers know what we found. We gear up and get ready to head to Johnson's address. We all rush into the cars and flip the sirens on, not wanting to waste any time.