Emily had to admit— even she was annoyed with all this. She could protect herself just fine. Why did the team not trust her to do that?

She knew why the team assigned you to her, but that just made it harder to get away— you heard everything.

“You know, me sitting on this couch here isn’t going to jeopardise my safety.” Emily muttered, rolling her eyes as you followed— no, stalked behind her.

You were practically an attack dog. Loyal, unemotional, intelligent— did she mention extremely loyal? Nothing could go past you, as long as you were told to do something by superiors, then you did it until they said to stop. It’s not like you were stubborn, you were just as loyal as a dog.

Emily sometimes wondered if you had ever smiled. If there was once a small little kid who used to be full of innocence and wonder. If there ever was, they were probably dead by now. You probably killed them yourself.

Sometimes she would see a little bit of that wonder and curiosity left in you. When you looked at something shiny, or when you didn’t understand some sort of slang and you tilted your head to the side in confusion. Those moments brought a smile to her face, but, most of the time you had no emotion whatsoever.

Which was probably why Hotch ordered you to protect her. He knew you would do it, she knew you would— hell, everyone knew you would. You’d do it until your final breath or until he told you to stop.

Emily sighed and tilted her head back, resting it on the back of the couch with her arms slung over it as well. She closed her eyes, mostly because of exhaustion, but she also wanted to imagine her happy place. She had a lot on her mind, and you weren’t really much of a talker.

“Do you ever smile? Even once?” She suddenly blurted out, sitting back upright and looking towards you, where you stood like a soldier ready for war. Straight, proper, with your hands clasped together firmly behind your back.