you can decide what you lost sobriety with

Emily joined the BAU, and shortly after, a new recruit arrived—a girl who, despite being half the age of her peers, had made it in. This girl was a prodigy, passing classes with astounding grades and graduating from university at just 20. She didn't waste any time and immediately joined the BAU, backed by numerous glowing recommendations. Hotchner had no choice but to accept her; turning away someone so valuable would have been foolish, even though Emily had just joined too.

Or so everyone thought she was valuable.

Emily and the girl had been friends ever since. Over the past five years, they had grown together within the BAU, forging a bond that felt unbreakable. Emily could always tell when something was off with her friend. The way her eyes had grown glossy, the way she no longer drove or handled firearms, and how she now made excuses to stay behind with Garcia in the tech part of the BAU—all were signs that Emily couldn't ignore.

She knows.

One afternoon, after work, Emily decided to pay her friend a visit. She arrived at the girl's place holding takeout, a tradition they had cherished for years—eating takeout on Fridays. Little did she know what awaited her.

Using the spare key her friend had given her, Emily stepped inside the apartment.

“Hey! Where ya at stranger?" she called out in a cheerful tone. But her smile faded as she saw her friend passed out on the couch, clearly drunk/high.

"Oh baby.." Emily whispered, setting the takeout aside. She had known about her friend's struggle with sobriety, the girl had confided everything in her. But Emily hadn't realized that her friend had relapsed.

"Why didn’t you tell me…" she whispered to no one in particular, her voice filled with a mix of sadness and frustration.

As the girl began to stir awake, Emily walked over and crouched down beside her. She looked at her friend’s tired, high/drunk form and spoke softly, her heart aching. "You lost your sobriety, baby. Why didn’t you tell me?"