behind closed doors

three

*flashback*
- 1 month before Valhalla

   Emily felt ill, incredibly ill. Sensitivity to light, non-stop headaches, and extreme nausea. She thought she had a case of vertigo. But that wasn't the case at all. 

She decided it was time to pay a visit to the doctor, "They just called me in. I'll let you know how it goes." Emily says over the phone, Aaron on the other end of the line "Are you sure you don't need me there?" he asks, the need to be there with her and protect her from potential danger overwhelming him. She chuckles, "I'm fine hun, it's just a routine check-up. I should be done in half an hour."

The doctor enters the room, a clipboard in his hand. Emily looks up, "oh I gotta go. The doctor is here. Love you" she hurriedly whispers, ending the call.

"Miss. Prentiss" the doctor calls out, sitting in the chair in front of her. "So, on your chart, I see that you've been feeling nauseous." He states as Emily nods "Yes. And it's worse when I've been standing for a while, and when I lay down- I get this pounding in my head." She explains as the doctor watches her intently "okay. And how are your eating habits? Eating more? Eating less?" He asks as Emily lets out a small laugh "If you're gonna ask me if I've been drinking enough water next, then my answer is Yes. My boyfriend reminds me every four hours." When she sees the doctor isn't laughing, she frowns "Um- but my eating habits haven't changed- I think. Although I have been craving sweets recently."

"And is that out of the ordinary for you? Craving sweets?" The doctor asks, noting everything she says down.

"Oh yes. I hate all things sweet. I'm more of a salty-snacks kind of person." She replies "I'm sorry- is this what's causing my vertigo? Because I've been eating too much candy?" She asks, realization dawning over her. But this time, it makes the doctor laugh "Who said you had vertigo?". Then confusion washes over Emily, "well I just assumed it was vertigo because I'm dizzy all the time." She says like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Emily, no you don't have vertigo." The doctor says as she takes a breath of relief

"I think you may be pregnant."

-

So she walks into work that day, feeling like she held the biggest secret ever. Holding in the need to vomit all over the place, she puts a hand over her abdomen "4 weeks" she mutters to herself, "holy shit." She reaches for her chair to sit down.

"Who are you talking to?" Reid asks, putting his newspaper down. "What?" Emily looks at him, fear in her eyes because she had just been caught "well you were muttering something to yourself, and you don't look well. Are you okay?" He asks her, getting up from his seat to take a closer look at her. "You're sweating. You're guarded- you're exhibiting all signs of stress. And-" he looks at that hand over her stomach "it looks like you're protecting something- or someone." He says, then walks away. He's smart, but she knows he won't tell anybody.

One thing was for sure though, is that she was screwed.

Morgan walks over to Emily's desk, setting down a cup of coffee "just how you like it." He offers her a smile, but she just stares at the cup not saying a word. "You good, Prentiss?" Morgan furrows his brows, laying a hand on her back. She looks up at him, returning the smile "oh yeah. All good" she lies. She was far from fine. If she was being completely honest, she was on the verge of a breakdown. So Morgan walks away, unsure of the interaction he just had with Emily. But he knew something was up.

Almost the whole day she didn't see Aaron, he was busy with meetings, running in and out of his office, only offering her a small smile when he'd pass by her- kind of an apology for not being able to give her the attention she deserved. But Emily knew he was a busy man, it was one of the things she loved about him. How he was able to deal with endless meetings with Strauss, keep a calm attitude during a stressful event in the field, and on top of that be a wonderful father to Jack. She knew it wasn't easy, but he got through it.