𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟒𝟗

"𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝙰𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘

     "BYE, EM," Noah beams and hugs Emily over the car's console.

The teen gets out of Emily's car and steps onto the sidewalk outside of Levine Prep Academy.  Emily waves to Noah and drives down the carpool lane.  Noah walks towards the school but goes around the building.

The teen is out of sight, meaning she is free to walk towards town.

Noah strolls down the sidewalk next to the busy street.  She walks a few blocks and finds the bus stop she and Jess always pass on their walks after school.  The teen waits for a couple of minutes, fiddling with her phone and eyeing the traffic.

Once the bus rolls up to the curb, she steps on, handing the driver a five-dollar bill.  The man lets her on, making Noah find an empty seat.  She watches the town go by until her stop comes.  She gets off and walks down the intersecting street.

The teen puts her headphones in as she walks.  She is not afraid to walk around the town.  Now knowing what is out there, thanks to Emily's job, anyone would think the teen would be on edge.  Nonetheless, she walks down the street until she arrives back home.

Noah opens the front door with her key and goes straight to her room, reminding herself not to put anything down or take her shoes off.  If for some reason Emily comes home, there needs to be no trace of the teen.

"Serg?!" Noah calls out as she walks into her bedroom.  The cat jumps down from Noah's bed and scurries over to rub his body on her legs.

"It's me and you today, buddy!" The teen sighs as she picks him up and puts him back on the bed.  Noah lays down and thinks about going back to sleep; anything to get the day over with.

—
𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘶

Hotch called the team in as early as he could.  They are not investigating the case, but they are willing to do everything they can to help Emily.

"Prentiss," Hotch says as he walks into the bullpen, "His parents were hostile when we mentioned we were helping you."

"I—I told you not to mention me," Emily sighs as she stands, a file in hand.

"You didn't say it would get us kicked out," JJ argues with a sympathetic face.

"Is there something we should know?" Hotch asks.

"Matthew and I met in Rome when we were fifteen.  My Mom was posted there," Emily shrugs, "His parents didn't like us hanging out."

"And they still hold a grudge?" JJ grills her friend.

"They were extremely religious," Emily notes, "They thought I was a bad influence."

"You?" JJ tuts with a smile.

"Yeah," Emily shrugs again.

"And that's it?" Hotch asks.

"That's it," Emily states and walks past the two.  Aaron and JJ watch her walk away, feeling sure there was more to the story.

Hotch gathers the team to discuss their findings.  He had sent Emily and Morgan to identify Matthew's body, seeing as it would be the most fitting task to send Emily on.  Rossi and Reid went to the other victim's house to find any connections between the two deaths.  Hotch and JJ went to Matthew's parents' home and got some information before getting kicked out.

So the team discusses.  Penelope found a small traveling connection between Matthew and the other victim.  They were both in Galicia, Spain at the same time.  There were also similar scratch marks underneath the legs of both victims' beds.  With the religious ties to Galicia and scuff marks underneath the beds, the team puts together a theory of exorcism.