REQUIEM - Emily Prentiss

Ch. 9, Where Do We Go From Here

The small hospital outside of DC was rather empty. Emily anxiously paced back and forth outside the room as the doctors examined the teenager inside. She tried to sit patiently on a chair, but had found no luck at that.

Emily was interrupted by her phone ringing, "Prentiss."

"It's JJ," JJ said on the other line. "I just wanted to check in and give an update."

"Yeah, okay," Emily's mind wandered. 

"Still no sign of Matt," JJ sighed, "We have a bolo out for him, and Reid and Garcia are trying to trace anywhere else he might have gone. And we found the other children in the shallow graves. None of them made it. Nellie was right. But there were seven graves. One was recently dug. It's good we got there when we did."

"Yeah," Emily closed her eyes and let out a breath she had been breathing in.

"You okay, Em?" JJ asked, sensing something was off with her friend.

"The case," Emily started, "It's just hitting too close, you know."

"Yeah," JJ agreed, "How's Nellie?"

"Waiting for an update," Emily informed JJ, "She was in really rough shape when we found her. Nothing looked severe in terms of physical injuries, but they are checking her out now. Nellie put up a bit of a fight when we got here. They had to give her calming sedative."

"Sounds a bit like you," JJ tried to joke.

"Yeah," Emily replied. "Okay, I should get going. I see the doctor."

"Okay," JJ nodded.

Emily put her phone in her back pocket and walked to meet the doctor down the hall. The older woman in a white coat gave Emily a sympathetic smile.

"How is she?" Emily asked.

"Nellie got lucky," The older woman said. "She has a high amount of diazepam in her system, but it didn't go into a vein, just a soft tissue; which is giving her many side effects. She is just going to have to sleep it off over the next few hours. We gave her a mild sedative to help with the anxiety, so hopefully that helps. Physically, Nellie had some cuts and bruises. Her shoulder is most likely sprained and will take a week or two to heal. She is extremely dehydrated but we got her IV fluids. She's just going to have to keep drinking water over the course of the next few days. Nellie was close to hyperthermic, and I'm shocked she wasn't from what happened. Her temp is fine now, but she needs lots of rest. All things said, she is very lucky. I have cleared her to go."

"Okay," Emily nodded, "Can I talk to her?"

"In a few minutes she'll be ready," the doctor smiled, "I will come get you."

Emily nodded turning back around, running into Maggie.

"Nice to see you again, Agent Prentiss," Maggie said. "How's the kid?"

"She's been through a lot," Emily looked down, her brow furrowing, "Where is Nellie going from here?"

"Look," Maggie sighed, "There isn't a good option for her. Group homes won't take her, families won't take her."

"Juvie," Emily hissed.

"I'm sorry," Maggie, "There is not much more I can do."

"It's the middle of the night," Emily fought, "That child had just been tortured for the past twenty-four hours. She cannot be taken there."

"I don't have another option," Maggie sighed.

"You aren't taking her then," Emily frowned, "Matt Tanner is still out there. This is an open case. I am taking Nellie back to Quantico for proactive custody for now. At least until we find Tanner."

"Fine," Maggie threw up her hands. "That buys time, but I don't know what will change."

Emily nodded and Maggie shook her head huffing and walked off. Emily stood in the center of the hall with her hands at her side. She needed to find a way to get this kid out. Her heart wouldn't let that child walk off easily again. Emily leaned against the wall and pressed her fingers to her temples and tried to run scenarios through her mind. She knew what she wanted to do.

"Agent Prentiss," the doctor stepped out of the room, "Nellie is ready. Right this way."

Emily followed the lab coat down the hall to a small room, giving the doctor a silent thank you. She looked in. Nellie sat on the edge of the bed her legs dangling down, and blindly staring at the wall ahead of her. The blood had been wiped away from her face, and the small cuts had been dressed. The teen looked smaller draped in the oversized hospital pants and gown that was covered in small zoo animals.

"Hey, Nellie," Emily said gently stepping into the room. She took a seat in one of the chairs across from the girl. "How are you feeling?"

Nellie's lips parted and her eyes squinted trying to hold back tears, "He didn't touch me, you know. Like...like that."

Emily nodded looking up and for the first time made eye contact with the girl's hurt eyes.

"But he, he um," Nellie sniffed, her eyebrows arching and eyes squinting again as if she was trying to process the confusion of the situation, "He, um, he...he, um, he made me dig my own grave. I thought...I thought."

Emily stood up and took a few steps over, draping her arms around the girl's body gently, "I know."

Nellie rested her head in the crook of Emily's neck and let out a small sob.

"Shhh," Emily cooed, "You're safe now."

Nellie nodded and snaked her arms around Emily and grasped onto the fabric of Emily's shirt, not wanting her to go anywhere far away. Emily felt the girl shake, and she began rubbing Nellie's back for as long as it took for the girl to let out whatever she needed to at that moment. After a few minutes, Nellie nervously pulled back and began picking at her fingers. Emily took the teen's hands in her own and waited for Nellie to look back up at her.

"What is happening now?" Nellie asked in a small voice.

"Well," Emily looked up, debating of telling the truth or not, "Matt Turner still hasn't been found. You are going to come back to the FBI building in Quantico, so we can make sure you are safe until he is found. My friend Derek will come to get us, but you've been cleared from the hospital."

"And what happens after?" Nellie asked, her bottom lip quivering.

Emily shook her head, "I don't know. But I promise it will be something you agree to."

"Okay," Nellie tried to smile. She knew she couldn't get her hopes up, but Emily's eyes made her believe maybe this time it would be okay. "Can I get out of these scrubs and into my clothes? These are not comfy and childish."

"You're clothes are in evidence," Emily frowned, "I'm sorry, but we can get you something at Quantico. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," Nellie frowned.

"Those look a little big on you," Emily smirked.

Nellie rolled her eyes.

After a few minutes, Derek arrived outside. Nellie protested the wheelchair the whole way down, but once standing to climb into the back of the car, found her balance wasn't back yet. She settled on the seat of the large SVU behind the driver's side. Emily climbed in the front passenger seat and looked back at the small teen curled up.

"Ready," Derek asked, looking at the expression Emily was showing toward the small girl.

"Yeah," Emily nodded, taking her eyes off the child.

The drive was about forty minutes. Nellie kept her eyes on the view outside, wondering how long she would've had if the night had gone differently. She glanced up at the clock. It was 2 am. All of these people had shown up for her, to get her out, and now she was sitting in the back of a car with people she hardly knew. It was just how her life played out. Nellie watched the stars form patterns in the sky and tried to count how many consolations she could make out. It was peaceful watching the shadows of the night; almost therapeutic, almost magical.

Derek stayed quiet, not wanting to intrude on the silence the other two had imposed on the ride. Emily had a concerned look in her eyes. Derek knew her mind was running a million questions through it, and he had a feeling it had to do with the child in the back seat.

As they pulled into Quantico, Nellie's eyes lit up at the scale of the buildings. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't this.

Derek go out of the car and helped Nellie out. Emily placed her hand on the small of Nellie's back as they walked into the warmly lit building and took the elevator upward to the floor. Nellie self-consciously retreated behind Emily before remembering the time and hardly anyone would be in site. The elevator dinged and the agents and Nellie got out, greeted by Hotch and JJ.

"Everyone is still out looking," Hotch told the group. "Reid and Garcia have a few leads. Morgan, I want you to question Gerald again. We are bringing him here."

JJ watched the fear build in Nellie's eyes and quickly jumped in, "But he is locked up."

Emily looked down seeing that Nellie had moved closer to her side, "I'm gonna go get Nellie settled."

Emily led Nellie down the hall, her hand still protectively on the teen's back, "So I can get you something to wear, but do you want to shower? I know the hospital tried cleaning you up, but sometimes you just also need a shower. But it's up to you, I know that you are exhausted and need sleep."

"A shower would be nice," Nellie replied.

"Okay," Emily nodded.

Emily led Nellie down to a locker room at the end of the hall. Nellie rested her back against the wall as Emily reached into her locker grabbing a toiletry bag. "Prentiss" Nellie read. That was a name she didn't think she would ever forget.

"The shower is through that door," Emily pointed. "There are towels at the entrance. I've got shampoo and anything you'd need here. I'll grab some fresh clothes and leave them right inside the door of the changing area. Okay?"

"Yeah," Nellie nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem," Emily smiled patting Nellie's shoulder, "Go on. I'll be back with the clothes and I'll wait outside in the hall."

Nellie nodded and disappeared into the other room. The hot water cascading over her body provided more comfort than she knew she needed. She could almost taste the sweat from days prior rolling down from her hair. Nellie shrunk to the floor and sat there with her eyes closed for a minute just trying to stay in the moment. The thud of the water pellets canceled out any thought in her brain and steadied her heart. Nellie tilted her head upward and pursed her lips, feeling the water pool into the crevasses and weigh down her eyelashes. It reminded her how alive she was and that had still not been taken from her. After a few more minutes, Nellie stood up and washed her hair and body; physically feeling the dirt scratch off her head. Her fingertips had turned to prunes by the time Nellie was done, and she stepped out, wrapping the white towel around her shivering body.

Meanwhile, Emily walked down the hall to a small storage closet and opened the door pulling out the smallest size she could find of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. It would have to do. She made her way back to the room and slowly opened the bathroom door and sat the items down, not wanting to startle Nellie. She used her fingertips to ensure the door closed without a sound and headed back out into the hallway and leaned against the wall.

"Hey, Em," JJ walked up to her friend with her arms crossed.

JJ furrowed her eyebrows and looked over at her friend.

"What's going on in that mind of yours?" JJ asked. "Talk to me."

"Is it that obvious, "Emily sheepishly asked?

"Yes, Em," JJ smirked, "I'm your best friend and a profiler. I know how to read you. It's about Nellie."

"Yeah," Emily looked down. "I don't want to see her go back into foster care or most likely juvie. I blindly let her walk away the other day and look where she is."

"And she's Doyle's other kid," JJ noted.

"Yeah, that too," Emily said with a smirk, "She looks so much like him, those eyes, and has his loyal feisty tendencies. Those were two things I liked about him."