Blame it on Oedipus (Criminal Minds Evolution, Prentiss, F)

[90percenthoneydew]

Hi! I took a break from writing sneeze fics to write other things, but I’m back! I’m currently working on a Steven Universe fic and the final chapter of my Hunger Games fic, but for now, enjoy some Criminal Minds. This is a rewrite of the interrogation scene from 16x05 with an allergic Prentiss. This is the first time I’ve written allergies, and I’m not particularly into them in general, so I’m sorry if it feels off. 

 

Emily didn’t have a single doubt in her mind as she unbuttoned the top of her blouse and tossed her hair. She had seen plenty of men like Benjamin Reeves before, and she knew this was the only way they could possibly get anything out of him. 

“The f- w-what are you doing?” Bailey looked her up and down in complete shock and confusion. 

“Giving him what he wants,” she shrugged, not wanting to waste time explaining the profile to her pompous boss. “Mommy.” 

“No no no no no no, Prentiss, don’t do that.” 

She met his eyes with a look that said “Do you really want to question me right now?” and continued towards the door. 

“Get out of my face or I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you,” she added before opening it. If nothing else, it would give Alvez an idea of what was about to happen. 

“Good luck,” she heard him say as she confidently walked into the interrogation room. She noticed the smirk on his face as he walked by and knew he couldn’t wait to watch. 

“Benjamin,” she said with a sultry voice as she put her hands on the table. “You’ve been a naughty boy, haven’t you?” She watched him eye her like a piece of meat and knew she had the upper hand. 

“Who are you?” 

“Emily Prentiss, FBI.” She sat across from him and was immediately hit with a strong whiff of his cologne. She felt her nose twitch but ignored it, knowing she had to keep up the stoic demeanor. 

“I haven’t done anything wrong.” 

“You had a gun on Jessica Sayer.” 

Emily half listened to Reeves’ smug excuse and promptly ignored his arrogance. Of course he would be the type to bring up the Second Amendment with a sickening sense of pride. Her nose was growing increasing itchy, but she knew she couldn’t rub it in front of him. 

“So, what were you two doing?” She held her breath for a moment, willing the tickle in her sinuses to taper off. 

“Just chatting,” he replied. “Like we are right now.” 

“Oh, well, if we’re having a little chat, why don’t you tell me about Sandra, Claire, and Rose?” 

“Who’s that?” 

“You know who,” she swallowed, wincing slightly at the scratchy feeling in her throat. This was not a good situation. “And I know why. You see, nobody else could figure out about the hair.”

She had him. She knew she had him as she played with her gray locks, but her obvious allergy was becoming too strong to suppress. She blinked rapidly as she shook her hair, hoping to conceal her watery eyes.  

“There’s this idea,” she continued, voice strained, “about women of a certain age, that we’re not relevant anymore. Sexually.” She sniffled lightly, clearing some of the liquid that was pooling in her nostrils. 

Her breath hitched quietly, but she pushed the feeling down. She knew she had played her cards right. Reeves’ was so close to revealing something. She just had to hang on a little longer. 

“That’s how you talk? About your son?” 

“That’s how you were spoken to, isn’t that right?” Sniff. “That’s why you turned those women into your mother.” Another sniff. She continued pushing forward, trying to ignore the dampness in her nose and the burning in her sinuses. She coughed lightly in a poor attempt to relieve the tickle in her throat. 

“Coming down with something, Agent Prentiss?” he snickered. “A pathetic display for a hot shot FBI agent, don’t you think?”

“I’m the pathetic one? What are you gonna be remembered for besides just a footnote in your mother’s obituary?” She was undoubtedly embarrassed that he caught onto her struggle, but she didn’t let it show. 

“Well, they’ll remember Derrick Sesper.”

Now that caught her attention. Emily stayed silent, trying to figure out her next move, as he listed off the names of shipping container victims. It was hard to focus when her whole face felt like it was on fire. The burning in her sinuses had become overwhelming, and it was growing more and more difficult to hold back the sneezes. She pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing she couldn’t suppress them any longer.

“Nh-ghXT! H’nnXGH!” 

She sniffed hard afterward, hoping it could keep her from sneezing again for the rest of the interrogation. 

“You’re connected,” she stated nonchalantly with slight congestion clouding her voice. “Somebody could have leaked those names to you. You want to impress me, tell me something I don't know.” 

“Whitfield County, Georgia.” Oh, that’s new. 

“What’s-“ she cut herself off, feeling the strong urge to sneeze again. She breathed in slowly and blinked a few times, using all of her willpower to maintain control. “What’s out there?” 

“More buried treasure. Just full of surprises.” 

Interesting. She was about to ask another question when a man burst through the door. 

“You are to stop asking my client questions right now or I'll have your ass on Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights violations.“ 

Great, she was out of time and not any closer to finding out Sicarius’ true identity than before. Plus, she was pretty sure she was on the verge of a full blown allergy attack. She slipped out of the interrogation room, making sure to avoid Bailey and Alvez. She didn’t want them to see her clearly allergy ridden features. 

By the time she reached the hallway, she could no longer contain the sneezes. She did her best to muffle them into her elbow, knowing there was no way she’d be able to stifle them. 

“Huh’eish’iew! Huh’isshew! Eh’schiew!” 

Emily immediately felt her sinuses fill after the harsh sneezes. Her head suddenly felt heavy, and her eyes were filled with tears, almost pooling over. She heard a door open behind her and knew Alvez and Bailey had caught up. 

“So, what now? Is there anyway Benjamin Reeves actually is Sicarius?” 

“No,” Alvez replied, “The timeline doesn’t match. He was attending college in England when Sicarius started.”

Emily wanted to add to the conversation, but she was too preoccupied with trying not to sneeze. Sneezing in front of Luke was one thing, but she refused to have a full blown fit in front of the Deputy Director. 

“Prentiss, what are you thinking?” Bailey asked, assuming her silence was due to contemplation. 

She opened her mouth to reply but immediately shut it, feeling a strong itch blossom in her sinuses. 

“Hey, Boss, you okay?” Alvez asked. It was unlike her to not contribute her opinion, especially when the Deputy Director was involved, and her nose and eyes were tinted red. 

“I-I’m fiii- hih’ktSHH! Heh-Heh’eetSCH!” 

She sneezed harshly into her sleeve. The burning in her sinuses was unbearable, and she couldn’t hold them back. 

“Huh’schiew! Ei’tschh!” 

“Woah, Prentiss, you good?” she heard Luke ask, although the sound was muffled from her clogged ears. 

“She sneezed during the interrogation, too,” Bailey added. Surprise, surprise, he was stating the obvious and being unhelpful as per usual. 

“I- I think I- ahh- hah’choo! Ei’tschhoo! Allergic to his cologne,” she forced out before releasing another wet sneeze. 

“I should have antihistamines at my desk. I’ll be right back.” Luke hurried off, leaving Emily alone with the Deputy Director. 

“O-Okay uh, Prentiss,” he nervously stumbled over his words. “Let’s get you back to your office, yeah?” 

She nodded, unable to argue. Her vision was completely blurred with tears, but she didn’t want to risk another sneezing fit by wiping her eyes. 

Bailey took her by the arm and guided her to her office. Her nose itched strongly and her breath hitched, but she managed to remain in control as they passed the other agents at work. 

By the time they made it to her office door, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She quickly broke off of Bailey’s arm and turned away from him, sneezing three times. 

“Hehh-StXgh! Hh’etsGH! Ei’tsChH!” 

She sniffed hard and felt tears rolling down her cheeks. The pressure in her sinuses was starting to cause a headache. 

“Here, Prentiss,” Bailey offered her the tissue box she kept behind her desk. She accepted it and blew her nose wetly, hoping to relieve some of the pressure. Luckily, it helped, and she was able to breathe out of her nose again. 

“God,” she complained. “The worst part is I would’ve cracked him with just five more minutes.” 

He hummed in acknowledgment, clearly wanting to say something but holding back.

Emily studied his face to try to get a read on him, but all she saw was genuine concern. 

“When did you start feeling the reaction?” he asked. 

“The second I sat down.” 

“Prentiss,” his eyes widened, “you did that whole interrogation like this?” She shrugged and wiped a tear from her cheek. Her nose began to itch again, and she held up her pointer finger, signaling to Bailey that she needed a moment. 

“Huhh-huh’ktshh! K’tshiew!” She turned back towards him and sniffed miserably. “I knew there was no other way. It was our only shot at cracking him.” 

“God, Emily,” he shook his head. “You did that to yourself for an investigation? Are you insane? You should’ve gotten out of there immediately.” 

She didn’t have time to respond before her office door opened, revealing an out-of-breath Alvez. 

“Here, Boss,” he handed her a small pill. “This should do the job.” 

“Thank you, Luke. You’re a lifesaver. Now, let’s figure this out. There’s got to be another way in.”

“Prentiss, come on, it is over,” Bailey said, exasperated. “Maybe for all of us.” 

“No. Not yet it’s not.” 

[MIN]

Holy.... well... this was simply stunning. Those stifle spellings were beautiful, and I have in fact spoiled it for myself and watched that clip several times bcos... Prentiss 🤩 so adding this to it was just absolutely divine! Props for catching allergy dynamics even though it's not your cuppa tea, I for one, adore allergies so I very much enjoyed this! 

[24Me]

I loved every word of this. Prentiss is amazing and so are your writing abilities.