JJ and Garcia already knew of her plans to leave the BAU. Emily had tried to keep it a secret after her confrontation with Morgan and Hotch, but it had been a silly goal to try to hide anything from her girls. After JJ and Will had said "I do" and the team had danced to some favorites, JJ and Garcia pulled her aside, under one of the maple trees in Rossi's yard.
"Emily, we think we know what's going on," JJ said.
"Oh, JJ it's your wedding! We can talk about this tomorrow," she said, blinking rapidly, trying to hold back tears.
"We could talk about it tomorrow, or we could talk about it now. Emily, it's us," Garcia insisted, squeezing her upper arm lightly.
"We love you," JJ reassured her. "No matter what." Emily nodded, pushing her black hair behind her ear.
"I'm leaving." It was quiet, despite the music from Rossi's speakers and the laughter and clink of glasses from the dance floor. "Clyde offered me our old unit, and to run to London office."
"That's amazing, Emily. It's quite the promotion," JJ said, her eyes bright with tears. Garcia was smiling too, but her chin was wobbling a little and she was on the brink of tears. Emily lunged forward and wrapped them both up in a hug.
"This isn't like last time, you guys! I'll just be across the ocean, it's a six hour flight. And my mother still lives here, and more importantly, you still live here. You are my family."
They both smiled. "We know," they said in unison. The two blondes hugged Emily tightly before they made their way back to the dance floor. An hour later, Emily had made up her mind. She would tell them tonight. At first she was worried it would ruin their night, but when she saw JJ dancing with Rossi, and Henry balanced on Will's feet as he half danced, half walked around the floor, she knew that nothing could even come close to making a dent in the perfect night.
Her first target was Hotch. She knew he'd be the most understanding, because he understood her, sometimes better than she understood herself. She knew they had a date in the morning to talk, but he already knew her intentions. Beth was dancing with Spencer, and she slid in front of Hotch and Jack. She knelt down to look at Jack.
"Hey, mind if I steal your dad for a little bit?" She asked the child.
"Okay, Emily! Can I have him back later?" He asked, reaching up and taking his father's hand. She smiled widely.
"I think I can manage that."
Hotch knelt down next to his son. "Hey Jack, why don't you go ask Aunt Penelope to dance?" Jack smiled, and Emily saw how much of Hotch was reflected in his son. He nodded and ran over to Garcia. Emily and Hotch stood up and he took her hand in his, her waist in his arms. They swayed silently for a few seconds before Emily started to speak.
"I'm leaving, Aaron. You don't know how hard this has been for me to think about, but it's all I can do. I need change and-"
"Emily," he pulled back to look her in the eyes. "You don't need to explain to me. I understand. I'm just glad we got you back for a little while, and that you're okay." She smiled sadly and hugged him while they danced. One down, three to go.
The next was Rossi. When he extended his hand to her, he knew that he didn't even need to be told. He'd always been able to read her like a book. When she'd pressed her cheek to his to tell him he'd stopped her.
"It's okay, kiddo. I like London, I'll see you all the time." She'd let a tear slide down her cheek and nodded.
Their dance had drawn out, until the song changed and she looked or Spencer. Out of all the men on her team, she'd been dreading breaking the news to him the most. He'd taken her death harder than she'd expected, and since they'd been back, the wound between them had healed and they'd grown even closer. He'd been surprisingly agile on the dance floor, despite his insistence at bars that he did not dance.
"Spencer, I need to tell you something," she began, squeezing his hand a little tighter. "Clyde Easter offered me his former position at Interpol, in London." Quick and painful, she said to herself. "I'm going to take it."
He was silent, and she wondered if he'd even heard her.
"Emily, I won't pretend I'm not upset. But I also won't pretend I'm surprised." She let her head fall onto his shoulder.
"If I had a diary I'd be nervous you'd all read it," she said.
"We're profilers," he said. She laughed a little, tinged with sadness.
"I was the most worried about telling you," she admitted as they danced. "I know the whole Lauren thing really took a toll on you, Spencer. I hated thinking that it was all happening again."
She felt him smile against her cheek. "You aren't doing it again. Not at all, Emily. You're moving onto bigger and better things, and we'll all support you, okay? Statistics show that people in law enforcements with solid personal relationships are more likely to-"
"Reid," she said. He stopped. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now, I think there's one more person you have to tell." He tilted his head towards Morgan, who was spinning JJ's mom across the dance floor, smiling and charming her silly.
"He's never going to forgive me, is he?" She asked, locking eyes with Spencer.
"I think you should give him a little bit more credit, Emily." She knew he was right. They made their way over to Morgan and traded partners. The next song was a slower one and Derek drew Emily to him, one hand on the small of her back, one cradling her other hand gently.
For years they'd been close, in the field and out of it. There was some innocent flirting in the beginning, over Kilgore Trout on the jet, over Morgan's work out habits in the mornings, but nothing came to fruition. It was a gentle attraction at first, one that grew into something harder to place but powerful.
How many times had she saved his life, and how many times had he saved hers? Too many to count without feeling a bit queasy. Each time they put more trust in each other and now there was nothing they reserved for themselves, and every thank you went unsaid, simply because they didn't need to vocalize it for the other to understand.
"Derek, how long have we worked together?" She asked, her mouth close to his ear.
"About 5 years, give or take," he said quietly.
"You know I don't want to leave you," she said. "But, I have to. There's nothing left for me here. I…I have ambitions and I have goals. The FBI…the BAU…" She couldn't finish her thoughts, make them make sense, and she didn't want to. If this made sense to her, this urge deep down to pack up and move away from the group of people who actually cared for her, it would make her a bad person in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Emily," he said.
"Why?" She asked, feeling his breath against her ear as he spoke in his quiet deep voice.
"I'm sorry you feel the need to justify yourself to me. I thought we were past that. After I made my peace with you coming back and what happened, I stopped needing that from you." She smiled and held him closer.
"Derek, I love you, you know?"
"I know." When she said it to the other team member, she meant it. But when she said it to Derek, she felt it. He hugged her while they danced and when she shut her eyes tightly she thought this was better than London, working with Easter again, heading up her own unit. She could easily stay like this forever.
When she opened her eyes however, she found herself looking up at Derek Morgan, and she knew no matter what happened, they'd never be together, get married, have kids. None of that. She was able to let go, and he gave her that.