Don't let go - Emily Prentiss & y/n

You'd tell me, wouldn't you?

TW: Brief mention of a case, mentions self-harm and eating disorders (restriction). Please don't read if you think it'll trigger you and please reach out to someone if you're struggling.

There's only one of you, you'd better take care of them 🫶🏻

Enjoy x

You spent the following night tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep despite how incredibly tired you were. Your stomach ached from the lack of food, and you just couldn't settle. You debated leaving the hotel to find something to eat somewhere, but the thought of Emily stopped you.

What if she decides I'm not good enough for her?

The previous phone call with Emily had reminded you just how lucky you were, having someone who cared for you in the way she did. You might not want the help, but the truth is, Emily was helping you.

But however irrational it seemed, you'd got it in your head that you needed to prove you were good enough for her, and as you debated finding a fast food joint to pig out at, it suddenly became clear in your head that the best way to do that was by losing weight.

If I look better, she'll like me better.

When it got to 5am, you accepted you weren't going to get any sleep and forced yourself to get up. You drank a shitty black coffee you'd made in your room, showered and then headed into the police department.

'Y/n...' Hotch greeted, looking down at his watch, '...you don't need to be here yet.' He stated bluntly, clearly confused at your eagerness.

'You've got me anyway. What can I do?' You asked, trying to skip the not-being-able-to-sleep explanation. Hotch looked around the sheets on his desk.

'You can help me go through this, if you'd like?' He offered. You walked closer to the desk and picked up one of the sheets, realising it was old records from the suspect's school, past jobs, hospitals he'd visited, past purchases... the list went on.

'Okay. Hand me a pile.' You held your hand out and Hotch weighed it down with a pile of records. You looked down at them.

'Have you slept at all?' Hotch asked through one raised eyebrow. You looked back up at him.

'Have you?' You asked, interrogating him back. Hotch pulled his lips into an accepting but feeble smile and bowed his head a little.

'Fair point.' He gave in.

By the time the rest of the team began joining the room, your eyes were fixed firmly on the records. You were so tired you felt like you were sinking into the information, instead of it sinking into you.

'Wow, I thought I'd be the first down.' JJ said as she entered the room. You'd blocked out the background noise and didn't even notice her comment.

When Emily joined, she seemed just as confused as the rest of the team at your working so early. She made general chit chat to the team whilst inspecting the piles of work on your desk.

After watching you from a distance for a while, she realised that the pile to your left were records you hadn't looked through yet, and the pile to your right, a much bigger pile, were the records you had. She pulled her eyebrows inwards in concern and slowly made her way over to you.

You didn't notice her stood in front of your desk until she rested her hands in front of the papers you were studying. You looked up quickly, turning your face into a smile pretty quickly.

'Hey.' You said, happy to see her.

'Hey, you.' Emily smiled back, looking at the piles next to you obviously, as if she'd only just seen them. 'What are these?' She asked.