A Second Chance

Prologue

January 13, 2004
Thirty-three year old Emily Prentiss shut her eyes and screamed out in pain. When she opened them, she saw bright lights and people hovering over her. There was a nurse to the right of her hospital bed trying to keep her calm, and a doctor down near her legs delivering the baby coming out of her.

"You're almost there," the nurse next to her said in a supportive manner.
"Yeah, Em. Come on," her doctor, Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, added.
Prentiss shook her head and cried out,
"I can't. I can't bring a child into this world just to give them up."
With a little smile, Addison said,
"You should've thought of that about nine months ago."
Prentiss looked at her like she wanted to tear her apart.

Emily could feel the baby's head between her legs and it freaked her out.
"Please tell me I can push," she begged.
The Doctor didn't say anything at first.
"Addie!" Prentiss screamed.
The woman waited a second then gave Emily the go.
Once the next contraction hit, Prentiss squeezed her eyes shut and pushed as hard as she could and she literally felt the baby slide out of her. Dr. Shepard helped pull the baby out and Emily, with her eyes still shut, sighed, thinking it was all over.
"Is it out?" Prentiss wanted to know, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.
"Yeah, she's out," Addison said with a light laugh.
The brunette's eyes shot open.
"She?" Emily asked.
"It's a girl," the woman confirmed.
Prentiss laid back and closed her eyes. Then she felt the doctor put something on her stomach and it started moving. She opened her eyes to see what it was and started crying once she realized it was her daughter.
The little baby was still covered in goo since she was just delivered seconds ago. Doctors and nurses were wiping her off on top of Emily and Prentiss was just laying there crying. Soon enough, the baby started crying too, which made Emily even more emotional.
"Addison," the new mother called out.
"Emily, it's okay. Everything's fine," the doctor assured her.
"I can't!" Prentiss said and turned her head away from the infant. Once she found out she was carrying a killer's child, she could not bear the thought of it. Emily couldn't go through with another abortion, so she decided on an instant closed adoption. She didn't want anything to do with the baby.
"Just look at her. She's your daughter, give her a chance. You're going to regret it if you don't," Addison told her friend.
Slowly, Emily brought her hand down to touch the squirming infant.
Prentiss looked to see her daughter's face.

Instantly, she fell in love.

The girl had dark brown hair and even darker eyes. She was an exact copy of her mother. Emily was glad the child didn't inherit her father's eye color because then she would always think of him when she looked at her kid. The baby glanced up at her mom and just stared at her. Emily stared back and for a second, she could've sworn the child smiled at her. The baby was very comfortable laying on top of her. The new mother started to run her hand up and down the infant's back and it kept her calm. For a moment, Prentiss forgot about all her troubles. Her daughter was the only thing on her mind. She didn't care that no one was with her for the delivery. Yes, Elizabeth Prentiss was kept out of the loop about the pregnancy, but it would've been nice to have her support, Emily thought.

As Prentiss started bonding with her newborn, the doctors continued to exam both mother and daughter. Once they were done with the baby, Emily lifted the kid up and then placed her closer to her chest. She was extra careful handling the baby, because she feared of accidentally hurting her. The child was laying in between Emily's breasts and she was very content being close to her mommy.
Dr. Shepherd told Emily how important skin to skin contact was for the baby right after delivery.
A few minutes later, Prentiss was taken out of her trance and heard Addison talking to her.
"I hate to take her from you, but we need to run some tests on her. We just want to make sure everything's okay."
"Okay," Emily said and removed her hand from the infant.
"You did great, Em," Addie said with a smile.
The woman carefully took the baby and instantly, the little girl started crying. Prentiss just watched helplessly as the doctor carried her daughter away.
"Addison wait," she called.
The redhead turned around for a second.
"Thank you...for everything," Emily said tiredly.
"It was my pleasure to bring the little Prentiss into the world. Get some sleep, Em. You look awful," the doctor said with a grin then walked out.