Unconditionally

Prologue

13 Years Ago...

Emily Prentiss woke up that morning to the sound of her little girl babbling to herself. Sophia Beth was almost eleven months old and the light of her mother's life. The apple of her eye.

Prentiss got up and then made her way to her daughter's room. The two had been living in a two bedroom apartment in Chicago. After finding out she was pregnant with her daughter, Emily returned to the States and began work at the field office in Chicago for the FBI. Her friend, Clyde even offered to help Emily for the first few months, but ended up staying and renting his own apartment.

"I'm coming," Prentiss called as she made her way to her little girl's room.
When she walked in, a wave of happiness washed over her. Sophia was standing up in her crib smiling at her mother.

"Good morning Sophia," Emily said as she picked her daughter up.
Sophia wrapped her arms around Emily's neck and Prentiss turned her head and kissed her cheek.

She carried the child into the kitchen and put her in her high chair. Luckily for Emily, Sophia was a pretty easy baby. She had extremely good patience and rarely had tantrums. Prentiss took her time making their breakfast. She made them oatmeal and then sat down to feed her daughter. When they finished eating, Emily put her dishes in the sink and then picked up Sophia and brought her back to her room to get changed. She put her girl in a cute little pink onesie and then carried her to her room. Emily set her down and then started getting ready herself.

There was a knock at the door. Emily picked up Sophia and went to answer it.

"Clyde!" she exclaimed when she opened the door to see the Brit.
"How's my favorite little girl doing?" he asked with a smile as he took Sophia from her mother. The baby happily went into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sophia loved Clyde. She saw him almost everyday. He was Emily's go-to babysitter when her usual babysitter wasn't available. Her usual sitter was a college student but she had finals to worry about. It was a cold December morning and Christmas was coming up so Emily was going Christmas shopping.

"I'll be back by the time you wake up from your nap," Emily said to Sophia and kissed her head.
"We'll be waiting," Clyde told her with a smile.

Prentiss wasted no time. She started shopping and by the time it was twelve she was done. She got her daughter some cute outfits and some new toys and she bought Clyde a little gift as well.

On her way home she stopped at a coffee shop to get her daughter a sweet treat and get herself a tea. She handed the cashier her credit card but he declined it politely and said,
"We only take cards with a ten dollar minimum," and pointed towards a small sign. Emily sighed and started to dig through her purse. She had three dollars in cash but she needed five dollars. She bit her lip and sighed.
"I got it," the man behind her said and handed the cashier a five.
Emily turned around to face a taller man with dark black hair and a light beard. He had beautiful olive skin and gorgeous green eyes.

"Thank you," Emily said with a smile.
"Danial Alden," the man said and held out his hand.
"Emily Prentiss," she introduced herself and shook his hand.

Prentiss got her drink and treat and waited for Daniel to get his coffee.
"So, how do I pay you back?" Emily asked sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it. It's on me," Daniel said with a smile. She nodded her head and then watched him walk away.

A few weeks later on Christmas Eve, Clyde joined the Prentisses for dinner.
While Emily was cleaning up dinner, Clyde was watching Sophia. From the kitchen, Prentiss heard a thud and then Sophia shrieked and started crying.
"Emily?!" Clyde called frantically from the living room.
Prentiss rushed into the living room to find Sophia crying hysterically in Clyde's arm and Clyde was holding her head. Sophia reached out to her mother who asked,
"What the hell happened?"
"She fell off of the chair and hit her head on the table," Clyde said. When he moved his hand from her head, he realized there was blood, and a good amount.
"Em?" he said in a scared tone.
She quickly moved her daughter's head to take a look and found the gnash were the blood was escaping from.
"Shit," she said and got up.
"Where are you going?" he asked and got up and followed her.
"The emergency room. She's going to need stitches," Prentiss told him and grabbed her coat. Then she had to put Sophia in her car seat and wrapped her head in a towel and made her way out to her car with Clyde right behind her.
Clyde drove to the hospital while Emily tried to keep Sophia calm in the back.