Safe now ( Emily prentiss )

A new case

When they arrived back at Jj and Emily's apartment Addie went straight to her room, ignoring Emily's attempts of conversation. The empty roomed stared back at her as she quietly sat on the bed.

"Lipgloss?" Jj inquired, a puzzled look spreading across her face as she watched Emily pull almost a dozen small lipglosses out of her pocket. "Yep. I saw her take them after we bought the clothes." Emily replied, "could be because her father isn't around to watch her? I don't know really." Their talk was ended by a heavy knocking. Immediately, Emily hurried to the door. Her hand lingered on the handle before she opened the door.
Addie's father stared down on her, crossing his arms in front of him. "You have Ariadne." He didn't even ask but simply spoke with confidence. Jj had joined Emily shortly and was staring back at the man in front of them. "Is there something you want?" Jj asked plainly. "She's my daughter. I want her back of course." He sneered, peering into their home. "She's busy..."
Addie appeared by her side having heard her father's booming voice. "Father?" She pushed in front of Jj and Emily. Emily attempted to grab her hand to which Addie just pulled away. "Come on, you're going home." His firm hand landed in her shoulder. "You can't just take her," Emily said. "Legally, we're her guardians," Jj helped Emily's defence. "That's bull. She wants to go home with me. Don't you Ariadne ?" He tightened his grip on her shoulder causing her to wince. She didn't know what she wanted but she knew she had to choose. Helplessly, she nodded her head. "See. We're going." He forcefully steered her towards their home. Addie looked back at Emily and Jj apologetically.

They turned to each other solemnly when they heard the door slam down the hallway. "Can he do that?" Jj questioned. Emily paced the living room, rapidly running her hands through her dark waves. "Emily, she's going to be fine. Okay ? Even if she's not with us we can keep an eye on her. She's next door," Jj comforted the older woman. She walked over to where Emily was standing. "It's going to be ok," she repeated, though she didn't fully believe this herself.

"Give me your phone and go to your room." His voice was unnervingly quiet. Addie obeyed, walking back to her room and pulling out a book to read. She had read Alice in Wonderland many times. She allowed her mind to wonder as she sped through the chapters. 

Emily called Garcia. "Can he do that? He can't, right? Garcia please..." Garcia's fingers fluttered across the keyboard as she rapidly searched for information. "Sugar plum... he's her dad." She let the silence linger. "Yes but... what if... are you sure?" Garcia nodded and then replied verbally after realising she was talking over the phone. "Addie's father was cleared." She said softly. Emily felt bile rising from her stomach; she had failed to protect the girl. "Thanks Garcia," Jj took over when Emily said nothing. They stood there in silence for three minutes.

Addie's father thudded to her room holding a lock and an electric screwdriver. She heard the loud noise as he screwed it outside her door. "Father?" She whispered as he walked steadily away.
Darkness filled her room, the hours slowly passing by. Her stomach rumbled, "father?" She called out. Instead the sky thundered . Rain tormented the thin glass of her window, mercilessly inching its way in. A flash of lightning broke through the clouds. Suddenly, everything was dark. Her body shook as she scrambled to look for a torch or any light emitting thing. "No. No. No." She breathed heavily, waiting for this bout of terror to leave her. It didn't. The wind howled like a thousand wolves, making Addie flinch. It was almost pitch black and Addie's small frame shivered in the corner of her bed.
"Get up," his voice hissed. He grabbed her arm and threw her into the wall. "Please..." she shook violently. He then shoved her into a chair he had dragged into the room, tying her wrists and ankles tightly. She struggled and pushed him and hit with all her might. "Sit...still." He demanded. She breathed out a long sigh as he walked out the room. "It's ok. They're going to find me." She murmured back to herself. She closed her eyes, hearing him approaching. He was carrying a machine she couldn't quite describe: was it a tattoo machine? He set it down next to her and turned it on, the electric buzz that came out startling her. Piecing together the limited knowledge she had she came to a conclusion of what it must be. "No... please. Please don't..." she mumbled. "Now be a good little girl. Stay quiet... And don't move." He placed the hot metal below her shoulder. The smell of burnt flesh filled her nose as she held back a guttural scream.
"Help...please," she whispered into the damp air. "Stop." Her words entered the air uncertainly. She opened her eyes and instantly put her hand over her mouth. Tears streamed from her eyes. She willed herself to stop crying, to stop being afraid. Fear ripped through her as she heard footsteps hastily approach her door. "Stop screaming!" Her father's words burst her ears. "I'm sorry. Im really sorry," she apologised profusely. He undid the lock and walked in to see her curled up in the order of bed. "Get up." Still trembling, she followed his instructions. This time the slap wasn't unexpected. She had disturbed him; she had done something wrong which deserved to be punished. However, the quiet snap was. He locked the door on his way out, leaving her alone with her pain.

Emily and Jj were already in bed by the time the power went out. "Night Em," Jj murmured and closed her eyes. "Goodnight Jen," she said, kissing her forehead gently. Emily tossed and turned; she couldn't get rid of feeling that something was wrong. Jj, noticing her girlfriends fidgeting, snuggled into the brunette. "It's not your fault," she whispered before going back to sleep. Emily calmed a bit, allowing herself to rest.

Addie held back sobs as she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in with her hurt arm and bruised shoulders: the pain was overwhelming. Shakily, she drifted off into a broken sleep of nightmares and pain.

**

Jj woke up entangled in Emily's arms, swimming in her loose curls. "Morning, love," she murmured and got up.
"Hey Jj, there's a briefing at nine if you and Emily wanted to come. We haven't heard any update on Addie yet so I wasn't sure if you'd make it." Penelope chirped through the phone. Jj - barely awake - sighed, "yea I suppose we could. I don't know if Emily will definitely be there but I'll try my best," she did her best 'happy to be back at work' voice. It was only half seven so Jj decided to go on a run and shower.
When she finished the shower at half eight Emily still hadn't moved. "Hey Em. Emily?" Jj ran her hands across Emily's cheek. "Em there's a briefing soon." Emily opened her eyes resentfully. "I think I'm gonna stay home." "Emily, I will not let you do this to yourself. Get up. Come on we're gonna be late." Emily reluctantly got up.

"Hey sugar plums." Penelope bounded over to them as soon as they walked into the building. "Hows..." she trailed off after looking at Jj's face. Hotch joined them as they walked towards the round table, "There's a new case. I wasn't sure if you two would be joining us, so it's okay if you guys want to stay here and do paper work," he nodded at Emily. "Yeah, I think I'll stay here if that's alright with you," Emily confirmed. He looked over to Jj who said she would still be doing the case.

"Pick up. Come on Addie. Pick up the phone," Emily tapped her foot against the desk. No answer. She bit her nails periodically. Penelope had gone to her bat cave and the rest of the team were boarding the plane leavening her alone with her thoughts. She had left Addie with that wretched man; she should have done something ( like call Derek to break down the door ).

Jj felt strangely isolated not sitting next to Emily on the plane despite being with the rest of the team. Hotch sat diagonally to her as he spread out the case files on the table. "Three murders, college campus. Morgan and Jj, you guys go to the campus and speak to the witnesses and students. They're closing the college soon so try to find out as much as you can. Rossi and Reid can go to the crime scene. I'll head to the police office before joining you at the campus." They all nodded.