Title: It's all Relative
By: realityaskew
Pairing: Hotch/Prentiss & minor Morgan/Garcia
Rating: PG-13
Warning: now a AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing from CM.
Summary: Prentiss has a younger sister who is on the path to self destruction. Can she help the BAU solve a case and catch a monster and will she and Prentiss finally reconnet?

***

At the current moment Aaron Hotchner had Emily Prentiss exactly where he wanted her. She was pinned securely against her apartment door by his body and her long fingers were tickling their way up his bare back. He was surprised that they had actually made it inside of her apartment at the speed they were going. His suit jacket, tie, dress shirt, and under shirt were scattered on the floor and she was working on his belt and pants. Just as she pulled her own light pink shirt off her cell phone began ringing.

"Screw it." Hotch said in between kisses. Normally he was attached to his phone but he didn't give a damn right now.

Prentiss reached for her phone inside her pocket and put her hand on Hotch's chest stopping him. "That's what I was hoping for." She bit her bottom lip seductively and flipped the grey phone open. "Prentiss." She answered a bit out of breath. She tried her best to keep from moaning as Hotch latched his large hands onto her waist and began kissing and nipping at her neck and collarbone.

Hotch stopped when he felt her body grow stiff. He looked up and her face had become pale and the playful smile was gone. "What's the matter?" Hotch mouthed.

Prentiss snapped the phone shut and let out a shaky sigh, her eyes cast heavenwards. "Is everything alright?" He asked. Hotch's voice brought her back to the present and bent down and picked up her shirt and slipped it back on. She opened the door and was relieved and angry at herself for having left her keys in the lock. She and Hotch had been so caught up in what they were doing she had forgotten to grab them before they stumbled into the apartment.

"I have to go."

Normally Aaron Hotchner was not the type of guy who would stand in the way but in his current "situation" he grabbed her arm and stopped her. "What's the matter? What's going on?"

"My, ah, sister is in the hospital and my mother just called and said she wasn't dealing with it this time."

"Dealing with what?" Hotch asked.

"She tried to kill herself again."

***

Emma Prentiss was only 19 years old but she had already been through more shit than most 40 year olds. She was born into a wealthy family with a much older sister. When she turned 18 her parents handed her some money and decided that they were basically done with her. She wasted the money on drugs and alcohol. She only saw or heard from her sister once in a blue moon and it was never anything to jump for joy about. All they ever did was frustrate and anger each other. Emily was the golden child and she was the bad seed.

As soon as she hit the double digits Emma began experimenting with drugs, heroin becoming her one of choice. No one ever understood why such a beautiful and gifted young lady would dabble with such dangerous things and she would never give them an answer. Through out her early teens she was in and out of hospitals and getting in trouble with the law but she always managed to slip free from the legal system's clutches due to her mother and father's statuses. The first time she had tried to take her own life was when she was 14.

Emma had a head ache so she took two aspirin and 15 minutes later she had gone back into the bathroom and taken the rest of the bottle. All she wanted was to numb the pain and fall asleep. The second time she was 16 and tried to take her life by jumping off the roof of an apartment complex but by some twisted hand of fate she ended up landing on the top of a delivery truck and breaking her left leg and right wrist. The third time when she was 17 she purposely overdosed but her dealer freaked out and called 911. The fourth time she slit her wrists in the bathroom of a motel she was staying in but the housekeeping woman found her. Now she was lying in a hospital bed too drugged up to even know what day it was or what her own name was.

…

Emily Prentiss sat outside of her sister's hospital room waiting for the doctor to come out and give her the okay to go in. Hotch sat right next to her holding her hand. He didn't have to be there but when she told him what was going on back at her apartment he insisted on going with her. She was lucky she had him but was too afraid of telling him. Their relationship was still pretty new and mainly physical. She leaned on him when things got too overwhelming and vice versa. They were a support system for each other but no one else knew.

"Your sister is going to be alright." Hotch told her breaking the uneasy silence that had fallen over them.

Subconsciously flinching away Emily shook her head. "No it's not. It's never going to be okay with Emma."

Before Hotch could say anything else the doctor came out of the room. Prentiss and Hotch shot up and waited for him to say something, anything.

"You're Emily Prentiss, Emma's sister?" The doctor asked.

"Yes."

"Emma is going to be fine." Prentiss let out a relieved sigh. "She cut her wrists up pretty bad though, any deeper and she wouldn't be here. She's lucky she was found when she was. I have her on a few drugs to stop the pain and help her sleep. Because of the situation she will have to be released into your care when we let her out and some sort arrangements for psychiatric hospitalization can be worked out from there. You can go in and see her now."

Prentiss uncertainly made her way into the small room and had to look away when she saw her baby sister lying in a hospital bed unconscious. It wasn't the first time she had seen her like this but there was something so strange about this time. She hadn't seen Emma in six months and now she had to see her like this. Her wrists were tightly bandaged and an IV was stuck in her arm. Her skin color was a ghostly white and she looked so broken and helpless. Prentiss was so used to the smart mouthed little wise ass that had a fuck you attitude towards the world and the people in it. The only time she really remembered her being sweet and carefree was before she turned 11-years-old. Prentiss walked over to the edge of the bed and brushed Emma's long bangs out of her eyes as Hotch watched on.

"Looks like it's just going to be me and you kid."

Emma shifted in her sleep and leaned into Emily's touch. "Did I finally do it? Am I gone?" Emma asked in her slurred and drugged up state.

Hotch's cell phone began vibrating and he slipped out of the room and answered it. "Hotch."

"Hotch it's JJ. You better come in, it's bad."

***

"Hey where are you off to kid?" Emily tucked her long dark hair behind her ear and turned her head to see her little sister Emma getting up out of her chair. She was tugging uncomfortably at her frilly white dress.

"I'm going back up to the room to get into my comfortable pajamas and watch TV."

Emily laughed and offered to go with her. Emma shook her offer off and slipped into the crowd of people, disappearing from sight. She couldn't blame her little sister. The boring political parties that her mother dragged them too were awful. It was pure torture sitting there and having to staple a phony smile to her face and act like the perfect little lady. A few hours later when Emily could finally escape she didn't find Emma curled up on the sofa with her teddy bear. She heard the shower running which was odd due to the late time of night.

"Kid are you in there?" She asked, knocking on the bathroom door.

After a long moment she heard the shower finally turn off. "Mmmmhmmmm." Answered a tiny distressing voice she could hardly recognize.

…

Morgan, Reid, JJ, Rossi, and Garcia were already waiting in the conference room when Hotch and Prentiss arrived. Hotch told Prentiss that she could stay at the hospital but she insisted on coming with him. Emma wouldn't be awake for hours and she needed to get her mind onto something else no matter how horrible it was.

Prentiss and Hotch took a seat and Hotch reached for a case file, flipping it open. "How bad is it?" He asked JJ.

JJ picked up the small remote and pointed it towards the white screen. Crime scene photos of a young girl who couldn't have been older than eight or nine appeared and Garcia closed her eyes. Morgan comfortingly squeezed her leg and she let out a shaky sigh. The little girl's body was lying lifeless among rubble and sheet rock. Her clothes looked as though they had been stripped off and put back on haphazardly.

"This is Rebecca Sanderson." JJ began.

"Sanderson? That name sounds familiar." Rossi interjected.

"It should." JJ said. "She's the daughter of James Sanderson who's the founder and owner of Sanderson and Sons Construction. The man is worth millions and right now he's on the war path and ready to murder whoever did this to his little girl."

"Her clothes look like they were taken off and then put back on in a sloppy rush. Maybe someone could have interrupted the person who did this to her and he was in a rush." Prentiss said studying the photos closely.

"A piece of Rebecca's dress is missing meaning that our unsub took a souvenir along with him." Morgan said.

"Last month Lydia Cole was sexually molested in her bedroom by a stranger. He also ripped off a piece of clothing from her night gown as souvenir. Lydia was badly beaten and her nanny found her on the floor when she went to check on her before bed. She was lucky to have survived. Rebecca Sanderson was strangled to death." JJ brought up a photo a bruised nine year-old Lydia Cole that had been taken at the hospital a month ago."

"Lydia Cole? As in Cole Oil?" Reid asked.

"It looks like this guy has a sick taste for girls who come from a background of money." Hotch said.

"You know most cases involving sexual abuse are usually linked to someone who's close or even in the family." Reid told the team.

"I'll do a background check on all listed sexual predators in the D.C. area. Maybe one of them is connected to both of the families." Garcia said closing up her lap top and leaving the conference room for her office.

"Reid and Morgan you two go and talk to James Sanders and find out anything that you can about what happened that night. JJ wok your magic with the press because I have a bad feeling this is going to become story number one. Prentiss…."

Prentiss's phone went off and she answered it. "Miss Prentiss this is Doctor Jones. You're sister woke up earlier than we expected."

***

Being greeted by an empty flying bed pan was no surprise for Emily Prentiss as she opened the door marked 112. Two nurses were standing in defensive modes, one wielding a needle probably filled with some type of sedative. Emma was standing on the other side of the bed wobbling slightly and her IV was ripped out. She looked angry and confused. She expected and wanted to be dead so it was a bit of a crushing blow to wake up in a hospital and find out just the opposite had happened.

"Sweetheart you need to calm down." One of the nurses said in a shaky voice. She obviously wasn't prepared for something like this.

"Don't call me sweetheart! I'm not your fucking sweetheart!"

"Emma calm down." Emily told her younger sister.

Emma looked over to the doorway and she dropped the tray of disgusting hospital food she was planning on throwing next. Her back hit the wall and she slid down it until she was sitting on the floor. She ran her hands over her face and through her long straight hair. "I'm in hell aren't I? This is hell isn't it?" She was half joking and half serious.

"I think I can handle it from here." Emily told the two frightened nurses. They both gladly got out of the room as soon as possible.

"Well, well if it isn't little miss perfect." Emma said bitterly.

"Why did you do it? It was the only thing that Emily could ask.

"Hmm let's she shall we. I think the logical and best answer would be because I don't want to be living anymore!"

"This is the fourth time Emma."

"Yeah and I'm obviously doing something wrong if I'm still here."

"They're releasing you into my custody for the time being."

"What? That's bullshit! I'm not a two year old I can take care of myself."

"Emma you're a suicide risk and a drug addict, put two and two together."

"Oh please I've been taking care of myself for years now."

"No, you've just been pushing everyone away for years." Emily corrected her.

"I don't need or want anyone's help."

"Too bad, try and get some sleep because in a few hours I'm taking you back to my place."

Emma was completely silent as Emily gave her one last look over her shoulder and left the hospital room. Once the door was closed behind her Emily let out a deep breath she didn't even realize she had been holding in. This wasn't going to be easy but she knew it was time to help Emma out. Her parents weren't going to give her any support in that department but she knew in some way that Emma didn't really want to die. She just didn't want to deal with life and the problems that came along with it. She decided she was going to help Emma. She helped victims every single day. It was a huge part of her job.

…

Prentiss's entire body went into high alert mode when she got home and discovered that her door was unlocked, despite the fact that it was 5:30 in the morning and she was dead tired. She quietly pushed the door open and let her tense shoulders drop in relief when she saw Hotch sitting on her couch."

"You scared the shit out of me." She told him, throwing her bag and keys onto the kitchen counter. "How did you get in here anyway? I don't keep a spare key outside."

"You're cleaning lady recognized me and let me in."

Prentiss walked over to the couch and fell down next to him, exhausted. She forgot that Anita came in early on Thursday mornings. The only thing Prentiss wanted to do at that moment was curl up in Aaron Hotchner's arms and fall asleep but those dreams were dashed when she noticed the file sitting next to him. "What's that?" She asked, part of her not really wanting to know.

"Garcia did a check for all convicted sex offenders in the DC area and who could possible be connected to Sanderson or Cole. She found one name, Thomas Hall. He's a construction worker for Sanderson. It turns out Sanderson and Cole are pretty good friends so Morgan and Reid are going to go talk with Hall in the morning and find out what they can."

"It already is the morning." Prentiss smiled tiredly at him."

Hotch smiled back and wrapped one long arm around her side and pulled her close placing a soft kiss on her lips. "How's your sister doing?"

"Well she's pissed off and ready to hurt someone so I'd say she's pretty much herself." Hotch let out a little laugh. "I need to pick her up and bring her back here around 11. She doesn't want to be with me which I expected and it's going to be a real bitch trying to keep her from running off. I'll be at work around one, is that okay?"

"That's fine. Family comes first." Hotch said honestly. His job felt like it was the most important thing in his life but his son Jack and the people he loved would always come first.

"I hate these cases." Emily said stifling a yawn and motioning towards the case file.

"Me too, ever since I had Jack any case involving children just really gets under my skin." Hotch left the file on the couch and gave her one last lingering kiss before he got up to leave. "I'll see you at the office later." He said before leaving the apartment.

Prentiss wanted to ask him to stay but she was afraid that it would freak him out. It was sweet of him to stop by and see how things with her sister went but she knew the real reason he came was to update her on the case. The feelings she was having for him were scary and confusing as hell and she had no one she could talk to about them especially him. She really needed him and she didn't want to drive him away even if their relationship was mainly physical at that current moment. Prentiss tossed the case file onto the coffee table and curled up on the couch praying for at least a few hours of sleep.

***

Ricky Brown stifled back a yawn and took a long sip from his cup of coffee. He had never been a morning person but waking up at 4 AM and being at work by 5:30 was part of the job and it paid damn good money which he needed. He put his coffee on the desk behind him and went over to the control panel flicking on a handful of switches which lit up the entire factory. Ricky looked out through the glass window and noticed someone slumped over one of the machines. He reached to his right and flicked on the loud speaker.

"Who's out there?" He asked somewhat annoyed. After waiting a few minutes and getting no response his annoyance turned into fear.

He ran out of the door and down the small flight of stairs out into the factory. Running over to the machine the body was slumped over he was horrified to find a little girl unmoving. She didn't look like she was breathing and a chunk of her dress had been ripped off. Around her neck was a rope with a piece of paper hanging from it. The piece of paper read E & Ein a beautiful old fashioned script.

…

Being the daughter of an Ambassador Emma Prentiss had very few material items. The only things she carried with her were a guitar case with the beat up old guitar in it and a worn out duffle bag filled with what little clothes she had. She dropped her duffle bag onto the tile floor and looked around the apartment, already forming an escape plan.

"Don't even think about it." Emily said eerily reading her little sister's mind by the look on her face.

"I wasn't thinking anything." She lied. "So where am I supposed to sleep?"

"You will be couch surfing until I can figure something out."

"That's a real nice way to treat a guest." Emma said sarcastically.

"You're not a guest, you're a problem child."

Emma turned around and took her guitar case off of her back hiding the look of hurt that flashed across her face from her sister. "So what happens now? I'll play you in a round of dirty Scrabble."

Emily couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "No dirty Scrabble for me, sorry. I actually have to get to work and I'm already running a little late."

"So what? You're just going to leave me all alone in this extremely expensive apartment to do whatever my little heart desires?"

"Well technically I'm not supposed to leave you alone because you're a suicide risk but something tells me you won't try and kill yourself right now."

"What makes you think that?" Emma asked almost challengingly.

"Because if you do and fail AGAIN, I'll kill you."

"Is that a promise?" Emma mumbled under her breath.

"I have to go grab a few things from my bedroom. Don't move and don't even think of leaving."

Emma shrugged her shoulders and looked at her older sister like an innocent little angel. "I wouldn't dream of it sister dearest."

Emily rolled her eyes and watched her sister until she was out of sight. Emma let out a long suffering sigh and prayed that her sister at least had cable and something alcoholic lying around. She was about to rummage through the kitchen for something to eat when there was a knock on the door. Emily was upstairs and she didn't hear it so Emma looked around and figured she'd answer it. She opened the apartment door to a great looking guy in his 30's.

"What?" She asked impatiently. "If you're here to try and sell me a Bible don't even bother." She said taking in his suit and clean cut appearance. "I worship the Devil."

"Hi Emma I'm looking for your sister." Hotch greeted the young girl.

"Who are you and how the hell do you know my name?"

"Hotch!" Emily said a bit too loudly when she came down the stairs with her case file. "Hi."

"How does this Bible salesmen know who I' am?" Emma asked Emily.

"He's not a Bible salesman he's my boss and he went with me to the hospital the other night." She told her. "What are you doing here? I was just leaving." Emily asked turning her attention back towards Hotch.

"Another body was found this morning in one of Robert Lane's brewing factories. I figured I'd stop by and give you a ride to the crime scene, JJ's dealing with the press and Morgan, Reid, and Rossi are on their way over now."

"A body?" Emma looked over at her sister. "I always knew you were never the sunshine and rainbows type of gal. Doom and nerdiness runs in our blood sis.

"Sure, we can leave now." Emily said a bit too quickly.

There was something about the way he was looking at her sister but certain thoughts began bubbling up in Emma Prentiss's mind. "Are you two by any chance screwing?" She asked not holding back anything.

Emily's eyes nearly popped out of her skull and Hotch choked on his own breath. "We have to go now." Emily said rushing past Emma and pulling Hotch out of the apartment.

"That's what I thought." Emma said to herself once the door was slammed shut.

"What the hell did you tell her?" Hotch asked Prentiss, his face a bright red color once they were out in the hallway.

"Nothing!" She answered truthfully.

***

Emma seriously thought about leaving for a good ten minutes before giving the idea up. The sad truth was she had no where to go, no money, and the only people she could possibly stay with were probably in jail. She did have to admit her sister had some serious skills as she looked through the kitchen. There wasn't an alcoholic beverage in sight and all objects she could have used to hurt herself were missing and most likely locked up somewhere. She gave up and decided to just watch TV instead. She mindlessly flipped around for a few minutes before finally landing on some news station where a press conference was being held. A pretty young blonde stood at a podium addressing the press.

"Our team is doing every thing they can to catch this person. If anyone has any information at all please call the hotline number below. Any piece of information could greatly help us."

Emma flipped the channel again and landed on another news station. A woman who looked like she had way too much plastic surgery was reporting a breaking news story.

"This morning 10 year old Jessica Lane's body was found in one of her father's brewing factories. She was discovered by worker Ricky Brown. Sources say she had been sexually molested. The police and FBI have no leads right now and are asking for anyone with knowledge or information about these horrible crimes to please come forward."

Emma quickly clicked off the television and laid down on the couch curling herself into a little ball. If there was ever a time for alcohol it was right then. She decided to turn the apartment inside out and look for where Emily hid the alcohol.

…

"This girl was only 10-years-old." Morgan said sadly as Hotch and Prentiss ducked under the police tape.

"E&E." Prentiss said curiously looking at the piece of paper hanging from the note. "Any ideas on what it could stand for?"

"It could be our killer's initials. Maybe he's taunting us." Reid offered his opinion.

"I doubt it. This guy's too careful to leave a clue as big as that." Rossi said shooting his theory down quickly.

"I already talked with Garcia and she's going over the factories security cameras as we speak." A disappointing look fell over Morgan's face. "As good as my baby girl is I doubt she'll find something if anything at all. This guy unfortunately is a pro."

"What about that lead we had on Thomas Hall the construction worker for Sanderson?" Hotch asked.

"Thomas Hall has a solid alibi." Reid told him. "He's been in Las Vegas for the past three weeks visiting family and gambling."

Rossi looked over at Hotch. "We even have a few shots of him in the casino roughly around the time both girls were murdered."

"It looks like our trail has been cut off unless Garcia finds something on one of those security videos or JJ gets a really good tip from the hotline number she put out there. This guy isn't going to stop killing until he's caught or he's dead." Reid said.

"When we get back to the office I'll see what I can find about the little note he left behind. Maybe it's the initials of his next victim." Morgan looked at the young girl's body and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to keep an oncoming headache at bay.

"I'll see who else Cole, Sanderson, and Lane are close with that are made of money also, especially the ones with young children and little girls. Our unsub could be going through some sort of list." Hotch informed the team.

…

The last thing Emily Prentiss expected to find when she arrived back at Quantico was her baby sister fighting with a security guard.

"She's my sister I swear! Why can't you just call up and ask her yourself." The security guard refused. "My God why am I even talking to you? You're a fucking security guard which means you probably couldn't cut it when you tried out for the FBI."

The security Guard was getting pretty pissed off so Emily quickly ran over and cut in. "Sorry Patrick it's okay she's with me."

Patrick looked Emma over and let out a loud huff. "You need to teach this kid some manners." He told Emily.

"Bite me you hack." Emma spat at him as Emily dragged her away to the elevators.

"What the hell are you doing here? You weren't supposed to leave the apartment."

"Yeah well I went through the entire place and you ditched all of your booze and there was nothing good on TV. I was bored and you wouldn't want me to hurt myself now would you?"

"I'm taking you back home." Emily said grabbing Emma's arm but she wouldn't budge.

"Forget it. If you drive me back to your apartment I'm just going to leave again and either come right back here or steal some cash and go downtown to look for a quick fix."

Emily cursed under her breath and knew that she only had one choice. "Fine but you sit at my desk and don't say a word." Emily told her knowing already that she wasn't going to listen.

"You got it sis." Emma said allowing Emily to pull her into the elevator a little too roughly. This was definitely going to be interesting and worth her while.

***

"Okay, is it just me or is everyone you work with like insanely good looking?" Emma asked as Emily grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down into the chair at her desk.

"Don't move from this spot." Emily told her, her face completely serious.

"Hey as long as you have Solitaire on this computer I ain't going nowhere." She jokingly said.

"Emma I'm serious. We are working on a huge case right now and you can't get in the way. You shouldn't even be here right now."

Emma put her hands up defensively for a moment. "Relax I won't get in YOUR way I promise."

Emily still wasn't satisfied but she left Emma at her desk anyway. She decided she would claim to have absolutely no knowledge as to who the 19 year old girl was if anything caught on fire.

Emma swirled around in the chair a few times still bored out of her mind until she looked up and saw Hotch walk by. "Hey, Bible salesman! So are you doing to tell me what's going on between you and Emily or what?"

Hotch nearly spilt the cup of coffee he was carrying all over himself. He put the mug down and walked over to Emma motioning for her to keep it down. "Could you please no bring that up around here?" He asked her.

"Ah, I see. So you two are having some sort of little affair on the side or something? What are you married or something because if you are you are definitely no Bible Salesmen."

"I'm going through a divorce right now, not that it's any of your business and what makes you think that there is something going on between your sister and me?" He asked keeping his voice as low as possible.

"I'm not stupid I saw the way you were looking at her back at the apartment."

"What do you mean?"

"You had that love sick puppy dog look on your face. Trust me I know that look I've seen it a million times before. Unfortunately most of the time it wasn't directed towards me but I know when I see it."

Hotch let out a loud sigh. He didn't even know why he was going to confess this to Emily's little sister of all people but he needed to get it off of his chest. Things with Emily had gone from purely physical to actual love. At first they both just needed someone to go to when a case really got to them but soon it turned into something much more than that. She understood him and the job better than Haley or anyone else ever could have. It was because she was part of the job and knew exactly what he felt and what he was going through. He had actually been in love with her for a while but he was too afraid to say anything because he figured it would scare her off. "I'm in love with her." He said more to himself than to Emma.

Emma smiled knowingly. "Okay as gross as I think this all is I must admit that you two are actually pretty sweet together. I think you should tell her."

"Thanks but I'm not taking love advice from a 19 year old kid."

"First of all by law I'm considered an adult not a kid. Second of all I know my sister and I know that she feels the same way about you too. I can just sense these sorts of things. I also know that if you don't tell her soon you might lose her."

Hotch had to admit that for a 19-year-old she was a smart kid. He knew that she was right. He faced rapists, child molesters, and serial killers every single day but he was struggling to tell a woman how he really felt. What and who was he turning into?

"Hotch!" Emma looked over and recognized the pretty blonde calling for her boss across the bull pen. She had seen her earlier that day on TV.

Hotch nodded a goodbye to Emma and got up to see what JJ needed. Emma smiled to herself and felt like she had done at least one good deed in a long time.

…

Morgan knocked on Garcia's office door a few times before he opened it. She was sitting in front of her rows of monitors and hadn't even heard him come in.

"Got anything good for me?" He whispered in her ear making her jump.

Garcia turned around in her chair and smiled at him, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Oh yeah I got something really good for you….but that's for after working hours." She turned back around to face the monitors and Morgan couldn't help but laugh.

"So you couldn't find anything on the security cameras?"

"The power was cut right around 8:15 pm so I'm guessing you're looking for a guy who knows exactly what he's doing."

"Thanks anyway." Morgan said disappointed. Before he left he stopped at the door. "Hey you know Emily's little sister is here and the kid has got quite the mouth on her."

"Yeah and quite the record for someone who's only 19."

"What?" Morgan asked not really surprised.

"Well I kind of heard a few people discussing the topic around the water cooler and I decided to do a little information hunting." She said as innocently as she could.

Morgan laughed and shook his head. "Baby girl you are incorrigible."

…

Rossi, JJ, Hotch, Prentiss, and Reid all sat around the conference room pouring over every detail of the case that they had collected. They seemed to be hitting one dead end after another and when Morgan walked in and sat down next to Prentiss he didn't help things.

"I looked at all of Sanderson, Cole, and Lane's friends with young children and little girls and none of them have the initials EE which means we're back to square one with that." Morgan said frustrated and through a blue file on top of a large stack.

"Lydia Cole." Prentiss said looking through a file.

"The only victim he didn't kill." Rossi said.

"I know it's going to be hard to get anything new from her but what if we brought her in and tried again. Maybe she could give us a little more information that would be helpful." Prentiss said looking up from Lydia Cole's file.

"I'll go make a phone call it's our best shot right now." JJ said leaving the room.

…

Lydia Cole and her mother had been in the small interrogation room for two hours already and the team was getting nothing from the child. Lydia was too tensed up around her mother to tell the agents anything else.

"Excuse me Mrs. Cole can I speak with you out in the hallway for just a moment?" Prentiss asked the tall bleached blonde.

Mrs. Cole reluctantly agreed and stepped out with Prentiss. "Mrs. Cole would you mind if we spoke with your daughter alone. You can watch through the one way mirror and if at anytime you don't feel comfortable you can come back in the room. It's just that we think that your daughter is too frightened to give anymore information with you in the room."

"But I'm her mother" Mrs. Cole protested.

"Please Mrs. Cole. Any tiny piece of information that Lydia can remember could greatly help us and stop this monster from hurting any other little girls."

Mrs. Cole grudgingly agreed and watched through the window as Prentiss tried to talk with her little girl. Another hour later and they were right back where they started from. Prentiss came back into the hallway and walked over to where Hotch, Reid, and Morgan were standing.

"I don't think she was tensed up just because her mother was in the room. I think that she's not comfortable around any adults right now." Prentiss said.

"Then how are we going to get any new information out of her? It's not like we have another kid around to talk to her." Reid said.

Prentiss suddenly remembered Emma still sitting at her desk and messing around with her computer. She was 19 but she looked much younger and she was great with little kids. "My sister." Prentiss blurted out.

"What?" Hotch asked.

"Look I know we don't usually work this way but maybe I can get my sister to talk with Lydia. She looks young and for some strange reason she's really great with little kids."

Hotch didn't really agree with the suggestion but it was their only chance. He finally agreed to it after five long minutes and Prentiss went to get her sister. Emma fiercely pushed Emily away at first. She didn't want to be involved with the case at all but after playing the pity card and slipping Emma a crisp 100 dollar bill she agreed. Emma was their only hope now.

***

Lydia shrunk down and stared down at her two feet like they were the most interesting things in the entire Universe. Outside of the room Emma sucked in a deep breath and pushed the door open. She knew she had to be gentle and her voice had to be soft. That's what Emily told her. This little girl was like a frightened turtle and one wrong move and she would snap her head in and never come back out. Emma looked at Lydia clinging to her teddy bear and remembered when she used to do that. It was sad but sometimes her stuffed animal felt like it was the only thing that would keep her tethered to reality.

"Hi." Emma said softy taking a seat next to Lydia. "I like your teddy bear. I used to have one just like it when I was your age."

That seemed to break the ice in the small room because Lydia finally lifted her head and gave Emma a weak smile. "His name is Fred." She told her.

"Really? Mine's name was Bob." Emma said and was rewarded with a laugh. "Yeah, I still have Bob and every time I'm scared or nervous I hug him real tight."

"Really?" Lydia asked, getting more comfortable around Emma.

"Yeah, Bob's my best friend and I'm 19. I'm sure you'll have Fred for ever. He'll always be there when you need him."

Emily watched through the one way mirror glass and could hardly believe what she was hearing or seeing. She wanted to run into the room and hug her little sister for actually doing this for her and getting somewhere.

"Lydia can I ask you a question?" Emma asked the tiny girl.

"Okay." Lydia answered hesitantly.

"Was Fred with you a couple of weeks ago when you got that bruise?" Emma asked looking at the light purple mark on Lydia's left forearm.

Lydia was quiet for a long moment before she shook her head yes. "Yes."

"Can you tell me anything about how you got it?"

Lydia hugged her teddy bear tighter and shook her head yes again. "He squeezed my arm really tight when I tried to leave." She said, her voice growing very soft.

"Who squeezed it really hard?" Emma asked her.

"I couldn't see who it was. It was too dark." Lydia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "He came in through my bedroom door and told me not to scream. I didn't listen so he put one of his hands around my neck and it was hard to breathe."

Lydia showed signs of claming up so Emma put her hands over Lydia's. "He can't hurt you anymore."

"I tried to get away but he kept on hitting me and it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He started touching me in placed I didn't like but I couldn't get him to stop. I didn't like what he was doing. I remember he said, 'It's your fault. You wanted this, you wanted to feel like a woman.' That's all I remember, then everything went black."

Emma immediately went cold. Everything around her started to spin and she had to use her chair as support to stand up. "Your mother can see you now." Emma whispered her voice low and scratchy. Lydia's mother rushed into the room and scooped her up hugging her tightly. Emma stumbled out into the hallway where the team and her sister were waiting for her

"I don't know if we got enough." Morgan said.

"We don't need anymore. I know who did this." Emma said.

***

"What are you talking about?" Emily asked her baby sister as she watched her slowly slink down to the floor and hug her knees closely to her skinny body. "How do you know who it is?"

"It's all your fault. You wanted this, you wanted to feel like a woman." Emma's voice was soft and sad. "He kept saying it over and over and he was squeezing my neck so hard I could barely breathe. I felt so dirty and disgusting afterwards that I scrubbed myself until my skin was raw. He was right, it was all my fault." Everything was pouring out of Emma so fast that Emily had a hard time keeping up.

…

Emma Prentiss was more than glad to have gotten away from the party. She couldn't wait until she was older and could start doing her own thing. Being nine wasn't fun but things would get much better soon. She wanted nothing more than to get out of her stupid, uncomfortable frilly dress and into her comfy pajamas. Bob, her teddy bear was waiting patiently on her bed and the television was practically calling her name. A bell boy gave her a sweet smile as she rushed past him to the elevators. Emma pushed the button several times trying to make the elevator doors open quicker.

"Hey kiddo." Emma jumped and turned around to see "Uncle" Leo standing behind her. Leo had been a close friend of her mother's for years. He was the goofball at parties and functions who would always ask her and Emily to dance with him and who would always slip them a five or ten dollar bill. He was the type of guy who would tell you a corny joke and then pull a quarter out from behind your ear. Emma was relieved to see it was only him. "I left some business papers in your hotel room. Do you mind if I come up with you and grab them?" He asked.

"Not at all." Emma said, feeling completely safe.

The elevator doors finally opened up with a ding and they both stepped inside. On the way up to the room Leo joked around with Emma telling her some cornball joke and making her giggle. When they finally reached the hotel suite Emma unlocked the door and let him in. She was completely trusting.

"That dress sure does look uncomfortable." He said lightly tugging at the fabric around her waist. Emma laughed and shook her head in agreement. "You need any help getting out of it?"

Emma figured he was just being goofy as usual. No thanks "Uncle" Leo."

"Come on now don't be like that I'll help you with the zipper." He walked towards her and she backed away starting to feel awkward.

"Didn't you say you had some business papers you needed to grab?" Emma asked him as she started becoming frightened at the dark look in his blue eyes. She backed into the wall and was trapped.

She felt his big hand close around her throat and she was having trouble breathing. He roughly tore at her dress and she started crying. "This is all your fault you got that? You wanted this. You wanted to feel like a woman." He wouldn't stop saying that until he was finished with her and left her as a crumpled broken ball on the floor.

As soon as Emma was sure he was gone she locked the door and ran into the bathroom slamming the door behind her. She turned on the shower and got in scrubbing herself until her skin started to turn red. She had no idea how long she had been in the bathroom but at some point she heard Emily knock on the door. She didn't even hear her question but instead gave a muffled "mmmmhhhmmm" in response to whatever the question was. It seemed to work because Emily left her alone. Leo had been right it was all her fault.

…

Emily's back hit the wall as she listened to her baby sister finish her story. Normally she would never believe a man like Leo would be capable of something so horrible but after working the job for so long and seeing what she did every day she could believe it. It was all starting to make sense. It made sense why she saw Leo getting off the elevator when she left the party. It made sense why Emma hardly spoke for months after that night. It made sense because "Uncle Leo" was always touching and tickling her too whenever she saw him. It made sense why she went off on a horrible downward spiral. Emily couldn't say anything to her sister. She couldn't find her voice but she knew she was telling the truth. Emma looked like she was about to be sick and she quickly got up and pushed her way through the team heading for the bathroom. Emily didn't follow her, she couldn't move. As soon as she was in the bathroom she fell to her knees in front of one of the porcelain toilets and was sick. After a few minutes of throwing up she shakily stood to her feet and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She felt dirty and used just like she had that night so many years ago.

"Tsk, Tsk, I told you never to tell."

Emma's head snapped up and behind her she saw the reflection of Leo Crawford. Before she had a chance to do anything she felt a sharp needle stab into her neck and everything around her went blurry. She slumped backwards into his arms and everything went black.

***

"Emily." Hotch began to say.

"I, ah, better go get her." Emily said as she shakily pushed herself off of the wall and headed towards the ladies room where her sister had gone.

The team all exchanged glances and Hotch let out a defeated sigh. They knew who they were looking for now but that didn't change what happened to Emma, Lydia, the other two girls, and God knows how many countless others. Hotch now had no trouble seeing why Emma would try and kill herself. She only wanted to get rid of the pain but instead of asking for help she turned inwards and only hurt herself until she would eventually self destruct.

Emily came running back from the bathroom with a panicked look on her face. "She isn't in there. She isn't in the bathroom."

"Okay she has to be somewhere in the building." Morgan said, trying his best to calm her down. "She's vulnerable right now so she probably went somewhere to be alone."

"Fresh air." Emily said.

"What?" Hotch said confused.

"She used to have really bad panic attacks and she would always go out for fresh air to calm her down. I bet she went outside." Emily told them.

"Okay Reid, JJ, and Morgan check the building and see if you can find her. Prentiss and I will go outside and check if she's out there." Hotch said.

The team all split up and Emily and Hotch ran for the elevators. "At least we know the bastard who did this and we can stop him." Hotch reassured Prentiss.

"Emma is still going to be fucked up for the rest of her life."

Once they were finally in the main lobby they were ready to run outside when Patrick the security Guard stopped them.

"Patrick, have you seen my sister go by at all?" Emily asked him.

"No I haven't but someone stopped by to see you I tried calling up but they said you were busy. He left a package for you though."

Patrick handed Emily the package and she looked down at it in horror. Above the beautifully written E&E was the name Leonardo Crawford. Emily looked at Hotch, her face turning ghostly white. Hotch's cell phone rang and he answered it

"Hotch, Garcia got something from the security cameras at the back entrance of ground floor."

"We've got something too." Hotch said gulping nervously.

…

Emily's hands shook as she removed the tiny cassette from the package and handed it to Garcia to put in the tape player. Garcia hit play and braced herself for what was to come. They had gotten a video of Leo carrying Emma out of the building on his shoulder. He had broken in through the back entrance that no one used anymore.

There were a few crackling noises before the tape finally began. "My dearest Emily it's so good to see you and your sister all grown up. In fact ever since I've been back in the D.C. area I've been watching you and your sister. You've both grown into beautiful young women however my taste is a little younger. I want you to know that I have been planning this for sometime and I found the opportune moment to take Emma with me. Don't worry I wont hurt her….well maybe. I'm horrible at keeping promises. If you want to find her just remember where you two always used to hide when you were little."

The tape cut off and Emily's head snapped up. She knew exactly where he had taken Emma.

***

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Emma asked her big sister.

Emily was quiet for a long moment. She let her feet slide back and forth in the dirt beneath her as she sat on the swing. "I'm not sure just as long as it doesn't involve politics."

Emma laughed and nodded her head in agreement. She hated politics almost as much as her sister did. They both swung lazily on the swing set in the empty park park. The sun was setting turning the sky a purplish pink color. Emily had just gotten into another huge fight with her mother. She was going to pick them up and move them to Russia for five months or maybe a year. Why would she do that when she and Emma had finally got settled in again? She was so mad she had to get out of the house so she took Emma up to the old park that was right around the corner from their house. They both sat in the swing set just enjoying being with each other and away from their mother.

"So what do you think Moscow is going to be like?" Emma asked.

"It's going to stink." Emily said.

"At least we'll have each other."

Emily smiled at her little sister. She was right. At least they always would have each other no matter how bad things got.

…

"Where is she?" Morgan asked.

"There's this old park on Lincoln Ave right around the corner from my old house. I don't even know if it's still around but that's where we used to go to get away from the world." Emily said. "I know that's where he took her I'm sure of it."

"Let's go." Hotch said.

…

Emily was the first one to jump out of the black SUV when it arrived at the old park on Lincoln Ave which was now just an abandoned patch of Earth. She adjusted the bullet proof vest she was wearing and took the safety off of her gun. When the swat team shines their flash lights a run down Jeep could be seen about 100 yards away. They all moved in closer.

"You finally made it! I thought I was going to be waiting forever." Leo said stepping out from behind the Jeep looking at his watch. "Ah, and you brought company."

"Where is she?" Emily yelled.

Leo laughed and stepped back to pop open the back of the Jeep. With one easy tug he pulled out Emma whose hands and feet were tied. There was a large piece of duct tape covering her mouth. She landed on the ground with a painful thud and looked up at her sister drowsily. The drugs were still running through her system.

Leo took out a gun and pointed it at Emma's head. "Do anything rash and I'll kill her without even blinking."

Emily swallowed back a hard lump in her throat and looked up at Leo. She had no idea what she was going to do or what she was even capable of doing at that moment.

***

"If any of you shoot I'll kill her. Now, I want Emily to put her gun down and slowly walk towards me."

Prentiss looked towards Hotch and after a long moment he nodded his head yes. He didn't want her to go but right now it was the only choice they had to save Emma. Prentiss dropped her gun and made a move to step forward when he spoke again.

"Do you people honestly think that I was born yesterday? Take the spare gun you have tucked behind your back out and kick it over here and take off your bullet proof vest."

"She leaves the vest on!" Morgan yelled.

"Well the vest wont do her much good anyway if I decide to shoot her in the fucking face and please don't make me do that because it's such a lovely face."

Prentiss hesitated too long and the gun was shoved into Emma's head causing her to let out a muffled groan of pain.

"Fine! The vest goes too." She said slipping out of the FBI bullet proof vest and kicking her spare gun over to him. "Just please don't hurt her."

"Ah, both Prentiss girls all grown up, this is going to be fun."

"Listen you son of a bitch if you hurt either one of them I swear to God I'll…." Morgan began to say.

"You'll what? Shoot me? Make me rue the day? I honestly don't give a fuck what you do to me." Leo said wrapping his finger around the gun pointed at Emma's head. Emily was now only a few yards away from him. "You know Emily it could have been you in Emma's position. In fact I was going to go after you but Emma snuck away from the party and she was just such an easy target. But she did want it after all. I made her into a woman."

"You're disgusting." Emily spat out in anger.

"Am I? Aw, it's a shame that you think that. You know it's a shame that you couldn't save any of those other little girls. They all wanted it too though. I just had to kill them or they'd tell on old Uncle Leo. I knew Emma would never tell on me until now." Leo angrily shoved the gun further into Emma's head and Emily stopped when she heard her sister cry out in pain again.

"Please don't hurt her." Emily begged.

"Do you honestly care what I do to her?" Leo asked. "Isn't she just one big burden for you? I know you secretly wish she would just get out of your life. I know you wish she succeeded when she tried to kill herself all of those times."

"That's not true!"

"We both know it is my dearest little Emily."

Emily looked down at her sister tears slipping down both their cheeks. "You can hurt me just don't hurt her, not any more than you already have." Emily looked down at her sister and saw a strange smirk playing in her eyes. Emily knew that she was going to be all right. She knew that everything was going to be all right.

In a quick flash Emma mustered up all of the strength she had and swung her tied up legs hitting Leo in the back of the legs. Leo instantly fell to the ground and his gun slid out of his hands. Emily grabbed the gun off the ground and held it on Leo until the rest of the team ran over.

"This isn't over!" Leo yelled as he was cuffed and dragged away.

"Yes, it finally is." Emily said. She rushed over to her sister's side and started working on the roped tied around her hands and feet. Once she was free Emma painfully ripped the duct tape off of her mouth.

"Jesus that hurt!" Emma said rubbing her mouth. Emily laughed and pulled her baby sister into a hug.

"I thought I lost you." Emily said.

"I thought I lost myself too." Emma said hugging her sister back tightly.

Hotch looked at the scene before him and smiled. He lightly touched Emily's back getting her attention. "There's an ambulance waiting."

"Great more hospitals." Emma said as Emily helped her up.

"When all of this settles down I really need to talk to you." Hotch whispered in Emily's ear.

***

Emma was sitting on a hospital bed getting patched up and Emily was right by her side. She only had a few minor scrapes and bruises and she had to stay the night just to make sure the drugs that Leo gave her wouldn't do any permanent damage. The nurse smiled at the two sisters and left when she was done. For the first time in a long time there was a comfortable silence between the two.

"I have this strange feeling that I' am always going to be in a hospital for some reason." Emma joked.

Emily laughed. "Hopefully not anymore."

Emma shook her head. "Thanks you know for saving my life."

"Thank you for saving countless little girls lives." Emily said. "If you hadn't of come forward with what Leo did to you then he would still be out there hurting children."

"I'm sorry I never told you." Emma said looking down at her feet. "I wanted to but I was so afraid."

"Hey, none of this is your fault do not be sorry. I'm just glad that you're finally safe. Now you can get the help that you really need."

Emma rubbed her hands over her face and let out a loud sigh. "Yeah I've really fucked up my life haven't I?"

"Do you know how young you are? You still have a pretty good chunk of your life left. Trust me things are going to get better."

"Maybe they will. I have no money. I have no where to stay. All of my "friends" are fucking druggie bums."

"You'll stay with me for as long as you need to."

"Em I couldn't.

"You're staying with me." Emily said. "I'd like to get to know you again without all of the screaming matches and nasty comments."

"Oh there will still be plenty of those we are sisters after all and I' am me." Emma joked.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Em can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"What's up with you and that Hotch guy?"

Emily swallowed and looked at her little sister unknowingly. "I honestly don't know." She said seriously.

"So what are you guys just hooking up then because if you are way to go. He's really cute."

Emily started laughing when Hotch knocked on the door a few times and let himself into the room. "Speak of the devil." Emma said smiling at Hotch and her sister.

"Sorry to interrupt, how are you doing?"

"Well despite the massive bruises all over my ribs and the foreign drugs running through my system I think I'm going to be ok." Emma said.

"Emily can I talk to you outside?"

"Sure, don't do anything against the law while I'm away."

"I make no promises." Emma called out after her sister as she left the room with Hotch.

Hotch pulled Emily aside to a quiet corner and took her hands in his. His head was spinning and his thoughts were racing but he knew he had to tell her what he was feeling.

"Emily I need to talk to about what's going on between us. It's just that. It's just…."

"I understand if you want to end it." Emily said.

"No! I don't want to end it. I, I, I, I'm in love with you Emily.

Emily stared at him wide eyed. Had she heard correctly? Did Aaron Hotchner just say that he was in love with her? Her head started spinning and she couldn't find any words.

"I'm in love with you." He said it again smiling at her.

Emily did the only thing her mind and body would let her do at that moment. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything she had inside of her, with everything she felt for him. "I love you." She whispered against his lips before kissing him again.

Emma stared out the tiny window in the door and smiled at what she saw. Her sister looked genuinely happy for once like she didn't have the weight of the world resting on her shoulders. Emma knew that things were finally looking up and her life was going to get better.

THE END

***