Chapter 1

Emily Prentiss quietly le into her London apartment, it was well past midnight. Her job as an interpreter for Interpol sometimes demanded long hours.

The TV was on low, lying on the sofa fast asleep was her fifteen year old daughter Samantha.

Emily smiled as she fetched a blanket to cover her, the days of being able to carry her to bed were long gone. The teenager was only a little shorter than her mother. She also had the dark hair, her eyes were lighter brown and always sparkled with mischief.

Emily ruffled her hair before going to shower, she wished her job didn't keep her away as much as it did. Luckily Sam was a sensible girl who could be trusted to look after herself after school. Their neighbour Kelly kept an eye on her too.

As she stood under the hot water Emily thought back to when she was Sam's age. Her own mother Elizabeth was an Ambassador and had only gotten married because she thought it would help her image to that end she had picked a up and coming Lawyer. It was a marriage of convenience and Emily had been passed off to a Nanny almost the second she was born. Her father had died in a car accident when she was four, she hardly remembered him at all. Emily was smart and it hadn't taken her very long to figure out that she was more or less an accessory for the Ambassador to pull out at parties. As soon as she was old enough she had been bundled off to boarding school.

Out of sight out of mind.

When Emily turned fourteen she started rebelling, started pushing the boundaries to see if her mother cared about her at all. In response instead of spending the school holidays with her mother she suddenly found herself booked onto numerous trips.

It was during one such trip to Washington D C. that a group of the students decided to sneak out. One of the porters at their hotel had told them his brother was having a party.

Emily had far too much to drink and hardly remembered anything about that night. That is until a few weeks later she found out she was pregnant. The school had immediately phoned her mother who had sent a driver to fetch her home. Her mother had been in the States at the time.

Emily had been terrified but as soon as her mother told her she had made her an appointment for the next morning to have an abortion because the Ambassador couldn't have anything other than a perfect daughter, Emily snapped, that was the final straw. To just be ordered to do that all for her mother's reputation.

As soon as the servants had retired for the night Emily had grabbed a few clothes and fled. It may have started with an act of defiance but she soon realised she would do anything to protect her baby even defy her mother.

Emily walked into a homeless shelter a few hours later, luckily one of the volunteers was a human rights activist and as soon as he heard her circumstances her started telling her everything she could do legally to prevent it.

She didn't need to take her mother to court the smallest sniff of such a thing would ruin her precious reputation. So Emily had called her mother the next day and told her what she would do. The flip side was if Elizabeth disowned her that too would severely damage her image so they came to an agreement, Emily would be provided a small apartment while she finished high school, no more boarding school for her. She would be enrolled in a local school. She would have private off campus accommodation while she was at collage. Emily would have to provide for the child herself. Surprisingly she discovered a trust fund in her name from her father. After that she was on her own.

Emily turned the water off and stepped out towel drying her shoulder length dark brown hair. She wouldn't change Sam for anything. She checked the answering machine. One message in particular caught her attention.

It was from Special Agent Hotchner in Quantico, Virginia asking if she was still interested in a joining their team. She had applied months earlier trying to make more time for her family, while still enjoying her job.

She felt a jolt of nerves as she called the contact number oblivious to the fact she was stood in nothing but a towel.

Sam woke to hear her mum talking to someone in her bedroom, she glanced at the clock, three thirty-six in the morning. Sam groaned hoping her mum didn't have to leave again she couldn't have been home that long. She padded to the bedroom in her socks making her mum jump when she spotted her.

"...Yes thank you sir. We'll be there in two weeks. I appreciate you remembering me. I'm really looking forward to it, sir. Bye." With no warning Emily grabbed her daughter in a hug and twirled her around, laughing.

"Mum?" This was it she'd finally cracked.

Emily let go of Sam and grabbed her towel as it started slipping. "We are moving to Virginia!"

TBC...

A/N. Hi. I'm very new to Criminal Minds fanfiction. (I've been writing Mass Effect) But I had this idea for a story and it just keeps on getting bigger. Its going to be a bit AU plus I love both Emily and JJ to bits so I am planning on getting the two of them together. I love reviews but please be gentle. Have fun T-Rex :)