Side by side || Emily Prentiss

15.

«The things we fear most
have already happened to us.»

Just two hours later Daisy woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. Emily was no longer in bed next to her, but she could hear the water in the shower running. She smiled thinking about how the previous evening had ended, hoping they hadn't exaggerated and hoping that no one would have seen them leave the same room.

She realized that it was seven fifteen in the morning and that she had let her alarm go off a little too long before she actually heard it, but if she moved quickly she could get back to her room without running into anyone in the hallways since it was definitely still early for their eight o'clock appointment at the police station.

Just as Daisy was getting dressed, Emily, in all her devastating beauty, fresh from her morning shower, entered the room with only a towel wrapped around her long-limbed body. She was perfect, every corner of her body was, and Daisy couldn't explain how she managed to be even more beautiful in the morning, with only a couple of hours of sleep.

"Hey, good morning, I took the liberty of going to your room to get your go-bag, I found the key on the floor, you must have dropped it yesterday. I didn't open it, but I thought you wanted to take a shower." - Emily told her smiling

"I could have gone and done it in my room Em, there was no need." - Daisy replied, a little embarrassed by that situation

"Yes, true, but then I couldn't talk to you and I really urgently needed to." - said the older agent, sliding her shower towel from her body, remaining totally naked

Daisy didn't understand the nature of that
gesture, also because they had absolutely no time for another round and Emily's voice seemed too serious to indicate any joke or similar.

Everything was clearer to her when Emily sat next to her on the bed and took one of her hands, bringing it to the center of her belly and making her caress the enormous scar that cut it in two. Daisy hadn't dared touch it until then, it terrified her.

"This cost me my life, in every sense." - she told Daisy shortly after

"Emily, you don't have to talk about it." - said Daisy that actually didn't want to hear that story again and feel terribly bad

"I would be hypocritical if I forced you to talk about what hurts you and then didn't talk to you about what hurts me." - she told her

"Can I listen to you while I get ready though? Otherwise we'll never be able to get ready in time."

Emily's face contorted into an offended and even a little pained grimace, but Daisy couldn't hear that story while looking straight into her eyes. Emily didn't know, of course, but the younger woman knew every detail inside out, perhaps better than the oder woman herself.

"Sure, I'll follow you to the bathroom." - said the older agent thinking that this was Daisy's way of trying to escape for the umpteenth time from the strong feelings that she was not able to handle emotionally

"Come on, I'm all ears and I'm glad you're telling me about it." - Daisy said pulling Emily with her hand into the bathroom where she slipped under the freezing shower, since she needed something to make her feel awake

"Before working for the FBI I worked with Interpol and a particular operation led me to stay undercover for months and pose as the lover of an international terrorist, Ian Doyle. Eventually we arrested him and my death was simulated. Eight years later he broke out of prison and came back to look for me and to kill me and he almost did." - she said in one breath, trying with little success not to waver.