favorite crime

I

a/n: hey loves! i'm so excited to be dropping this fic, along with another new one in the works! i hope you enjoy my take on what would've happened in the vahalla situation!

word count: 1003

tw: mentions of death

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Lauren Reynolds. An alias. A fantasy. An undercover operation.

But it was more than that.

I knew what it was going to take, going into the Vahalla case. I was Ian Doyle's type, my job was to swoon him over, get into his personal life, and exploit as much information about the international arms deal as I could. Easier said than done.

Easier said than done because the kisses were magnetic. The smell of his cologne in our bed, even when he wasn't. His hands resting on my cheek when he pulled me in. The lilies he left in vases for me on our kitchen counter. And Declan. The way that sweet little boy had me wrapped around his finger. I was emotionally involved in this case, I was in way too deep. But I didn't care. I was in love with Ian Doyle and his son, despite the risks.

I knew if he ever found out who I really was, he would kill me on the spot. But I needed help, I needed to escape Emily Prentiss. I needed to become Lauren Reynolds. I had options. Quit the mission, expose me, and move on forever, knowing they would be safe; tell the team and be pulled before I could ruin the mission, or expose Interpol and run away with Ian. And I never expected to choose the latter, but it was the only way I could walk away happy.

I walked into Ian's office, Declan clutching to my shoulders and hugging me tightly. "My favorite two people," he said, smiling. My free hand fidgeted with the set of rings on my neck, a symbol of our engagement. "Declan, go and play honey, your Daddy and I need to talk." He ran off into the house. "What is it, love?" I sighed, gripping the necklace. "I think the feds are onto us. I caught someone sniffing around a few days ago." He huffed, anger shooting through his eyes. "God damn it. We need to leave. Pack your and Declan's things, we're going first thing in the morning. Inform Louise the plan." "What is the plan?" "I'm going to clean house," he sighed.

I knew what that meant. He was going to burn this place to the ground, even if it meant killing everyone inside, including the Interpol agents. My stomach dropped to the ground, knowing what I did was wrong. There was no turning back now. I knew what I needed to do-fake my death here and run away. "Ian... I want to marry you, I really do, but I don't want to be running our entire lives. What if we.. left the business?" He stood up, meeting me and holding me in his arms. "Lauren, it's not that simple," I sighed into his chest. "But, I want you to be happy. Once we get to our halfway house, I'll pull some strings, but Lauren?" I looked up to him. "I'll need your help. One last job." I nodded, entranced by his words and smile. "One last job," I repeated.

I met with Interpol one last time in the stairwells. It pained me to hear their voices, so unaware of what the next hours to come would be like. It was there, that I dropped two things. A replica of my engagment necklace, and a picture of Tsia and me. When they would see these things, they would have no option to believe I was dead, body or not. It was sheer luck that Tsia wasn't going to be here tomorrow. I said last goodbyes, before loading mine and Declan's things into suitcases. My thumb brushed over a tan sweater.

"Are you going to take care of me?"

"Yes, I am."

"Good."

I was scared. Beyond scared. I loved Ian, but a part of me knew that his duty was to being Valhalla. How was he going to take out the stress, the anger, the pressure, when it was just the three of us? I brought the sweater to my nose, breathing in our scents mixed. My sweet citrus with his thick mahagony. I knew that the next 24 hours, would be the hardest of my life. I was lying, abading a murder, commiting treason, and most of all, killing all ties I had to Emily Prentiss. I was leaving everything I knew, everything I was born to do, all to a man who was an international crime lord.

I laid Declan to bed, before joining Ian in our own. He wrapped his arms around me, my head resting on his chest. "You've always been full of suprises, you know that?" "Hm?" I asked. "From the very first day I met you, in that American pub, I knew you were special. Hell, I knew from that moment I needed you. Your smile, it is thick, sweet like honey." You smiled up at him. "Why are you telling me this now?" "Because, Lauren, I always knew you would ask me to give up the buisness. From the moment you said yes to my engagment. You want a family." I nodded. "This last job, it's not going to be easy, is it?" I ask. "Not at all, princess. But, I need you by my side for it." I nod, before falling asleep, wrapped in his arms.

"Lauren, it's time." I slink out of bed, grabbing the suitcases already packed and headed down to a helicopter landing pad through a secret tunnel. "Declan, this is going to be scary buddy, but I need you to be a big boy, okay?" He nodded, clutching to my fingers. The pad was disclosed, you couldn't see who was getting on or off the airplane. Seconds after Declan, Louise, Ian, and I boarded and took flight, I covered Declan's ears and the world underneath us erupted into an explosive flame.

From the rubble, I could hear it as haunting as a voice inside my head.

"She's dead. Agent Emily Prentiss, also known as Lauren Reynolds, is dead. This mission is over."