We're Gonna Be Okay (Emily Prentiss)

Chapter Six

Trigger warnings: Slight mention of mh issues (sh/ed/sa)

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The whole ride to the hospital Emily stroked the girl's hair, even in slumber Alyvia looked in pain. Once they reached the emergency room, the agent was asked to stay behind, but was promised that she would be the first notified if the surgery went well or if something happened, she was told she could go and they would call her. Emily had already made it up in her mind that she would not be leaving this girl, so she made her way to the waiting area took out her phone, and dialed Montgomery,

" Hey,"

"Hey, what's up?"

" Could you pull all of Alyvia's files?"

"Okay sure, I'll send them to you as quickly as possible."

"Mont?"

"Yea?"

" Can we keep this between us? Just for now?"

" Sure- you'll have them when I have them."

Hanging up Emily returned to staring off into space and thinking, her mind fluttering to a conversation she had with Derek last year after a particularly hard case also involving both a teen girl and a young girl "You know, Prentiss, when I think about the things we see on a daily basis, all the bad, I'm still amazed at all the good. He had said, she had responded "Yeah, but... Do you think it evens out?" "I'd like to think it does." He had told her, she did not necessarily think so at the time but sitting in a cold hospital waiting room in a foreign country she wondered if this would be the case- the moment where she tipped the scale to even it out a little.

Just as she was about to dive deeper into her mind a *ding* brought her back to reality, three files now sat on her phone: Alyvia's school record, her embassy record, and a foster care type record written within her embassy one. Scrolling through them Emily noticed the school one was rather small and mostly filled with "fails" "late" "missing" and "bad behaviour" Alvyia did not strike Emily as the kind who would fail school but she could always be wrong. The embassy one was her bigger more detailed file, within it there were notes of all the places that Alvyia had lived.

From what Emily could gather her Grandmother Allegra was a US Ambassador like her mother is, while she had grown up in places in the Middle East and some time in Rome, it looked like Alyvia had spent short one to two-year posts in London, Japan, Hong Kong, and Cambodia among other places but Singapore had been her longest residence in one location. The file regarding her living situations was written as follows:

"By the ongoing investigation and due to the lack of any identifiable family members, it has been determined that Alyvia, upon completion of the 11th grade, shall be relocated to a foster family within the United States. However, the relocation process has been temporarily postponed as our inquiries, including a thorough examination of Allegra's will and personal notes, have yielded no information regarding immediate relatives or potential caregivers.

The present circumstances surrounding this case, which deviate from conventional protocols, pose a considerable challenge in finding a suitable relocation arrangement. Given the paramount importance of maintaining Alyvia's uninterrupted education, it has been advised that we refrain from disrupting her academic progress at this time. Consequently, we have granted her ward status while the school assumes the role of grand guardianship. Under this arrangement, the school shall provide essential provisions, including housing, sustenance, and education.

This document serves as an interim report, acknowledging the situation as of September. However, please note that an update shall be provided following the conclusion of Alyvia's academic year in June. We will continue our efforts to locate any potential living relatives and explore all available options for her long-term welfare and stability.

This information is classified as confidential and should be treated as such. Any dissemination or unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. For further inquiries or updates, please refer to the assigned case officer."

Emily sat staring at her phone, this girl had no one to care for her and had no idea when or if she would find a good home, let alone her new home with a new family would be across the world. She knew personally from moving around herself as a kid the jump back to America from living abroad was filled with culture shocks and a lot of uncertainty.

She never had a particularly good relationship with her Mother but she at least knew who she was moving with and knew she was moving- did Alvyia even know she was going to be relocated? Emily wondered to herself. A nurse walked up to where she was sitting and asked

" Are you Emily?" The agent stood up quickly introducing herself,

" Yes I am- Is Alyvia okay? How did the surgery go?"

"She is okay, she's resting- we had a few complications during the surgery with internal bleeding as well as the overdose on various drugs she was under the influence of, she is drowsy and will be tired but you can visit her now if you would like to?"

"Yes please." The nurse led her back to room 108, in a hospital bed by the window lay Alvyia still connected to an IV, she looked over when she noticed Emily enter the room,

"Agent Emily?" Emily nodded and sat down in the chair beside her, lifting her hand slowly as if to ask if it was okay for her to place it on the teen's shoulder, Alvyia made a slight nod. As soon as Emily's hand was on her shoulder she felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest, the feeling of comfort, a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. But quickly she reminded herself not to get attached because she knew Emily would have to leave soon.

" Did you stay? Oh, you didn't have too.." Alyvia mumbled into the air more than to Emily,

" I wanted to," the agent rubbed her shoulder in a soothing circular motion " I wanted to make sure you were okay, what happened was pretty scary." Alvyia slowly melted into Emily a little bit, promising herself that it's okay this one time then the walls would come back up.

Alvyia looked down quickly to check if her arms were exposed, or her legs, she didn't want Emily to know, she would think she was a monster. Her legs and arms were covered in bandages presumably from injuries caused by Tomas, she couldn't remember anything past first getting to when warehouse past then it was black. Emily sensed the teen's anxiety; she was not sure what it was about necessarily, but she took an audible deep breath hoping that Alviya would follow suit.

She did, there they sat taking deep breaths together till Alyvia fell asleep. Emily watched the teen sleep for a few minutes before the doctor walked in and asked to talk to her,

"Are you her mother?" he asked

"No,no I'm Agent Emily Prentiss. I was here with the IRT helping out. I just wanted to make sure she was okay." "Ah okay, this information is for Family only."

"She doesn't have any in the country she is currently with the Embassy, I could receive it and pass it along if that's okay?" The agent thought quickly on her feet, pulling from the files she just read.

"I suppose so, as expected we found lacerations on her body but we also found quite a few old and or healing ones as well. There was also no sign of any sexual penetration but there were bruises and cannot account for anything beyond that. Her body was rather weak for her age combined with the  cocktail of drugs, and with the internal bleeding means a longer recovery for her, she is very lucky to have survived. Please pass this on to her regular care team." Emily listened attentively,

"Thank you for helping her- I will pass it on." Looking back into the room Emily saw not only a teenager but also a child who was in need of love, who reminded her of herself a little bit, but also who probably would not survive being removed from all she had known since her world flipped upside down, by the looks of it she had barely been surviving as it is.

A/N

Me being consistent for once? I am just as shocked as you are, anyway helloo! How are you? How is your summer going so far? Mine has been whack because of moving, and over it just feels strange. I hope you liked the chapter- we have entered more of the fluff section of the book (Sort of). Take care of yourself, do a little something for you, drink some water, eat a little something, and remember letting yourself rest is okay :)

& I'll see you next Friday!