A Journey | Emily Prentiss

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Emily Prentiss had a very different child hood compared to most. Her parents met at a conference in D.C. She was born in Italy when her mother worked as a diplomat in the embassy. Her father, like her mother was also into politics. He was a former marine who now worked as a high level officer in the CIA. To say that she was a surprise to them was an understatement.

When she was born her Father had insisted on naming her Emily, but her mother said that Emilia Elizabeth Prentiss. After all she was her daughter, she had to have her name. It was a Prentiss family tradition that all of the daughter would have their mother's name, as would the son's their father's. 

Due to the nature of her father's job it wasn't safe for her to live with him or have his name. So it was decided that she would stay with Elizabeth and Edward would visit when ever he could.

By the time she was 6 her mother had worked her way up to being a Ambassador, and barely had anytime for her. Emily spent most of her childhood pawned of to nannies. When ever Edward visited he would bring her a souvenir from where ever he went.

Emily had everything she could ever want in the world, but absolutely nothing at the same time. The one thing she wanted couldn't be bought with money, time. They never stayed anywhere long enough to make friends. So she spent her time in doors reading and studying.

When she was 10, she was a regular appearance at her mother events. A way for Elizabeth to have a good public appearance. Simultaneously her father was promoted to Deputy director of the CIA. Causing her to see him even less. So she spent even more time indoors with a book. Only released for her mothers events.

As she grew even more, her mother had 3 rules.
1. She had to keep her academics up.
2. Had to go to all her mother events
3. She could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't ruin thier family appearance in any way.

And she did what she could to please her mother, she was a straight A student and always was perfect for apperances. But no matter what she did Elizabeth never noticed. 

Thats how when she was 14 she found herself, stealling cigarettes and her mother's expensive bourbon. She would sneak out onto the roof at night, smoke and get drunk. She found her self drifting. She was smart enough finish high school. So she really didn't care about anything. 

When she turned 15, she had lived 7 different countries, entering her 8th, as her mother was being posted in Italy. She was born here, but she had no recollection or photos, her mother had left Italy before Emily had even turned 1. 

One night, she goes to a party. And ends up blackout drunk. She wakes up the next morning in her bed with no memory of how she got there. John would go on to tell her that he found her passed out in one of the rooms at the party, so her brought her home. 

Mathew was the one who held her hair back, as she puked her guts out in the weeks to come. He suggests her go to doctor, but is she went, he mother would find out. And that couldn't happen. 

He finds her a no questions asked clinic just outside Rome. She was pregnant. She was raped. John her other best friend vowed to go door to door till he found out who did this to her. But just days after him finding out his parents had got an emergency posting and he was gone,  

He friend Mathew helped her. They found a clinic and she did what she had to do. If was gone. Emily felt empty. She could just imagine the labels that would be put on her if someone were to find out. Murderer. Sinner. 

Emily was losing it, and so was Mathew. And soon they both found themselves in the wrong place. Drugs. Emily found it quick to get addicted but nothing was as good as the first hit. She started to forget her problems

Elizabeth could see something was wrong, but had no clue as what to do. So she called Edward.

Edward was there within the week. He talked to Emily. Her father was the one person she trusted with everything. When she told him what happened, she expected him to be angry, dissapointed, yell at her. He just hugged her, and they both cried. She told him about the drugs. He had already guessed, but her saying it out loud showed that she could be saved, 

Telling her mother didn't go as well. She just walked out the room. Edward saw that this was not where Emily was coping. So he got her to sit all her exams and finish high school early, then brought her back to live with him.

When she was 16 she found herself in America for the first time for more than a holiday. She got clean. She put her life back together. She also a tattoo of the date she said goodbye to her child with a little heart on her ribs, as a way to move on.

Once she was coping better she started Yale. She saw her father more often, and he began teach her to shoot and to defend herself. If something were to happen she needed to be able defend her self. Spending more time with her father she realised what she wanted to be. At 18 her father got promoted to Director

At the age of 19 she graduated Yale with she double majored and got her masters degrees in Law and Criminology. She minored, with a masters degree in Linguistics. Her father sat in the front row cheering her on. Her mother was no where to be seen

That same year she got the call. Her father had been killed in a bombing in Vienna. She was completely distraught, but told herself that she wouldn't go down the rabbit hole. Her mother moved back to the states after his death.

He had left her everything. His house and all his money. 

After her fathers death, she got tattoo of a gun, crossed over with a rose. Rose was what her father would call her. Underneath she had the word "Always" written under it. She added to the tattoo, she got 3 years prior, and got the words "and Forever" written under the date. "Always and forever" for the 2 people who changed her life.

She also had her name changed. She removed 'Elizabeth', which only enraged the original Elizabeth even more, but Emily saw no use in having the name of someone who did nothing for her. She also changed Emilia to Emily, to what her father always wanted. 

He fathers death brought her too the notice of the CIA. Who previously didn't know their Director even had a daughter.

They saw potential in her, but she was still to young. They funded her for a another 3 years at yale. So she went back, and in 2 and a half years she graduated once again with with masters degrees in International relations, Sociology and Psychology.

Emilys scared 15 year old self, would not believe she got here. 6 degrees,7 years, and 8 languages later. Emily found herself walking through the gates of Langley at the age of 22.