Emily understood hiding. She had done a lot of it back in the day, when she had still been with Doyle, spying on him, finding out his secrets. She had had to hide herself away from his prying eyes, become a totally different person from the one she truly was. And then, when she had thought that chapter had been over, he had come back with a vengeance, and she had gone into a very different sort of hiding. The one that it now seemed Erin Strauss had gone into. There was no other reason that she would be in Glasgow when she was supposed to be dead.
As if the woman had picked up on the fact that she was being watched, Erin looked around, almost looking straight at Emily. She turned her face quickly and let out a deep breath, watching Erin from the corner of her eye. The woman shook her head and then turned back to the flowers she was examining. She plucked a bright pink bloom and went to pay for it before settling in behind her ear. It gave her a very flowerchild feel, and Emily smiled gently.
Erin slipped into the crowd and Emily decided in that moment to follow after her. She wanted to see what had caused Erin to come to Scotland, what had forced her to abandon her previous life for something much different. Again, it was almost as if Erin sensed that she was being followed, as every so often she would check her gait, glance around at her surroundings, before continuing on. And then, she was gone.
Emily shook her head, taking stock of where she was in the city. To her left were the steps that led to St Andrews's Cathedral. It would have been easy enough for Erin to have climbed those steps and disappear into the sanctuary that church offered. Sighing a little, she turned and made her way up, pulling the door open and stepping inside the cool, dimly lit, building. Emily headed down the aisle and looked around for the person she'd been trailing after, but found no sign of Erin.
Another heavy sigh escaped her lips as she sank heavily into one of the pews, her head bending forward. A tiny scurry of a sound caught her attention, and she tensed up moments before she felt the shark prick of a knife in her side. "Who are you, and why are you following me?" a very familiar voice hissed, and she turned to lock eyes with Erin.
The flower was still in her hair, and the juxtaposition of knife and bloom made Emily think of a wild earth goddess. Smiling a little, she tilted her head to the side, waiting for Erin to pull back the blade. "I'm surprised you don't recognize me, Erin."
"Catherine. And you can't blow my cover. The Marshal service had a hard enough time thinking of a place to put me that wouldn't have been compromised by Curtis. There's nowhere else for me to go." Bright tears clouded her eyes and Emily nodded hurriedly before gently taking the knife from her, closing the blade and then putting it in Erin's pocket.
"I promise, I won't break your cover. But we're going to have to act like we know each other, now. We can't have any suspicions raised."
Erin nodded and stood, holding her hand out to Emily. She clasped it and let Erin pull her to her feet before wrapping an arm around her waist. "Emily?"
"Even here, people tend to not look at the faces of people who walk like this. Trust me, it's safer this way." Again, she nodded and they walked out of the building. Emily took the lead and turned them down the road towards her hotel. "I'm in Glasgow for a week, on vacation. Our paths crossing must have been an act of Fate."
"Fate? You believe in Fate?"
She stopped them and stared at Erin. "Yes, I do." Erin laughed derisively. "You've changed."
"I had to. Did you know that David had the choice to come with me? I thought it was Fate, too. And then, he told me, the woman who had gone out on a limb to have a sexual relationship with a subordinate, that there was no way he could leave his life behind. That he didn't care enough about me to join me. I couldn't even take my kids, Alan wouldn't agree to it, so I was thrown here with nothing. If that is Fate, she is a cruel bitch."
The words that tumbled from her lips were harsh and full of hurt, and it was all Emily could do not to reach out and pull her into a tight hug. "I see," she finally murmured, leading them on to the hotel. The doorman nodded to her as she took Erin over to the elevators, pressing the button and waiting for it to arrive. "I'm on the top floor. Clyde finagled me a suite, seems his charm can work wonders."
Erin nodded absently, looking down at the floor. Her earlier outburst seemed to have drained the life from her, and Emily felt her heart clench a little as she noticed the first tears begin to roll down her cheeks.
When they were finally in the hall that led to her suite, Emily once more pulled Erin close, forcing her to lean against her. "I'll be fine, Emily."
"In time, yes. Right now, you are hurting deeply." Erin shrugged and followed Emily to the door of her suite. "Now, is there anything that you want from room service? It is lunchtime."
"Maybe an omelette. With ham and cheese. And green peppers. Oh, and milk." Emily nodded, knowing that Erin was trying to be difficult, but failing. They entered the suite, and while Emily put the call in for Erin's omelette, and a salad for herself, Erin drifted over to the sofa and took a seat, curling her legs up to her chest. Emily tried not to pay attention to the fact that the woman was quietly sobbing, her head buried in her legs, but it tore at her heart to see her so sad.
Once the order was placed, Emily gently sat next to Erin, thoroughly shocked when the woman leaned against her, her head coming to rest on her chest. "What's wrong?"
"I didn't think I'd miss everyone so much. It's so lonely here, by myself, and I'm having the hardest time making friends. I just want to go home and hold my children once more." The words were so broken, so desperate, and all Emily could do was hold her, rub her arm gently, and murmur soothingly in her ear. She had no words that could magically fix everything that was wrong, and she knew Erin wouldn't be placated by them anyway.
The firm knocking on the door a half hour later startled them both, and Emily popped up off the sofa, heading over to the door. A bellman stood there with a cart, and she welcomed him in, watching him set the table up with their food. "Thank you," she said, slipping him a ten pound note. He nodded and left them alone once more. "Are you ready to eat?"
"I suppose so." Erin walked over to the table and took a seat, picking up her glass and sipping at the milk. She lifted the lid off her plate and dug into the huge omelette, devouring it in short order. Emily ate with the same gusto, meeting her eye every so often. "Is it silly for me to want to go home?"
"No. I wanted to go home, too, when I was in Paris. At least I could talk to Cheeto Breath."
"Who?"
"JJ. She couldn't say it was her, but I sort of figured it out. Has Rossi even tried to reach out to you like that?" Erin shook her head. "What a fool."
She made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. "I need to sleep now. My eyes hurt." Emily knew that Erin was trying to pull herself back together emotionally, so she just nodded, watching the woman pad over to the sofa once more, slipping off her shoes before curling up on her side. Within minutes, she was deeply asleep, and Emily went over to the closet to grab out a thin blanket, draping it over her body.
And then, she sat in the chair across from Erin and watched her. In sleep, she could see the faint lines that now graced her face, telling Emily the story of what she had endured to survive. She also saw a few threads of silver in her hair, and the sight made her sad, for some reason. All the more, Erin reminded her of an old lioness, someone battle scarred and lonely, yet still fighting for her place in life.
The quiet of the room was broken by her cellphone ringing and she hurriedly jumped up, rushing over to where it was charging, answering lowly. "Hello?"
"Emily! Did Derek make it to you safely?"
It took her a moment to place Penelope's voice, and she shook her head slowly. "I haven't seen Derek since I left the US. Why?"
"He caught a flight from Newark to Glasgow last night. I know you're vacationing there right now, you told me about it, and I thought that he was heading right to you. I mean, you two were sort of getting serious there for a while."
"He made it quite clear what his feelings were when I left, PG. If I see him, though, I'll tell him you called."
"Thanks, Sugar! Have a good day!"
Shaking her head, she hung up with her friend and then quickly called Derek. "I hear you're in Glasgow," she said the moment he picked up.
"Yes."
"And I know who you're looking for. She's with me at the moment. I found her in St Andrew's Cathedral, and brought her back to my hotel suite. We're at the Marcliffe at Pitfoldels. I suppose we'll see you soon?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do. Erin is sleeping on the sofa in my suite. She'll be happy to see you. Is she coming home with you?"
He sighed deeply. "If she agrees. I've grieved for two of you now, and you've both turned up alive. I don't know what she'll do if she rejects me, too."
"Why, Derek, I didn't know you had feelings for her." Emily tried to tease him, only to hear the sound of annoyance he made. "Derek?"
"I went and fell in love with a friend's girl. It's never a good situation to be in. But then, almost as soon as she had been buried, he was stepping out with Penelope. I was so angry at him, Em, and her. It's like they were spitting on her grave. And then, he calls me, telling me that the Marshals had told him that he could go and tell Erin she could come home, and he didn't want to. He knew about my crush, and thought I should be the one to do so." Emily could hear the tears in his voice and knew that he really was that upset with the whole situation. "How do I tell her that he couldn't even be bothered to care enough to bring her home?"
Emily looked at the still sleeping Erin and shrugged. "I can't answer that for you. Just, get over here as soon as you can."
"All right. I'll see you in an hour?"
"Sounds good." Emily hung up and took her seat once more, watching Erin sleep. The time passed slowly, but she was content in not moving, in letting her thoughts wander about the predicament her friend had found himself in.
Finally, there was a soft knocking on the door and she got up, opening it quickly. "Is she awake yet?" he asked as he peered into the room.
"No, I didn't have the heart to wake her. Follow me." Emily beckoned him in and laughed to herself when she saw him make a beeline for Erin, crouching on the floor next to her. Derek reached out and stroked her hair and Erin nuzzled into the touches. The woman's eyes fluttered open and the slight smile that began to grace her lips turned into a frown.
"Derek? For a moment there, I thought…"
"He and Penelope couldn't get away. Though he did tell me that he was planning on breaking the news to your children while I was here. Your Marshal is going with him, to give the situation an air of authority."
"Did he say if he was going to meet me at the airport?" she whispered, sitting up and looking into Derek's eyes.
"No, he said I was to escort you all the way home. He and Penelope will be over later to talk to you." As Emily watched, the pain of understanding washed over Erin's face.
"Was, was he seeing her before Curtis hurt me?"
Derek shook his head as he continued to look into her eyes. "No." Emily couldn't tell if he was lying to Erin or not, but Erin seemed to take the simple word at face value. And then, Erin leaned forward and wrapped Derek in her arms, holding on to him while she began to cry once more. "Shh, I'm here, Erin. Just hold on to me." He rubbed her back in large circles, pulling her down onto his lap and cuddling her close to his chest.
The moment was painfully intimate and Emily wondered if Erin could tell what Derek's true feelings towards her were. Shaking her head, she went over to the mini fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, bringing them over to the pair. "Here, you shouldn't let Erin get dehydrated. She's cried a lot today."
They took the bottles from her hands and Erin curled up against Derek as she drank from the bottle. "Is there anything left for me to return home to?"
"Your children. Your friends. Me."
The sharp indrawn breath told Emily the exact moment Erin knew that Derek loved her. "You?"
"Yes." Erin pulled back to look at him, and Emily watched her reach her hand up to cup his face. "Rossi knew about the feelings I harbored for you. I would never have acted on them if he had stayed with you. Will, will you give me a chance?"
"Oh, Derek," she sighed out, nodding slightly. "But I don't know why you would want me."
"Because you are lovely, battle-scarred, a fighter. My heart responded to those aspects of you." He lifted her chin and tilted his head. "I would like to kiss you. May I?"
Erin gave a tiny nod and he covered her lips with his in a tender kiss. Emily found that she couldn't bear to watch the intimate moment any longer, walking over to the window and looking out over the Glasgow skyline. "It's going to take me some time to pack my things, Derek. I got settled in, in these last five months, and picked up some new things. You don't have to wait for me."
"Or, I could hire some professional movers to pack up your things and send them back. I don't think that I could stand a moment out of your presence, now that I know you're alive."
"Even if I'm not going back to the BAU? I know that Matt replaced me, I know that job isn't open to me anymore, not that I want it, but…"
Emily looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Derek stop Erin's words with another soft kiss. "Hey, Pretty Lady, I love you for you, not what job you have. And I wouldn't expect you to go back, not after what Curtis did to you." He rested his forehead against hers, bringing his hands up to cradle her face. "I don't say those words lightly, you know."
"I know." She pressed her lips to his quickly. "Can you love us until I can love you back? My heart is still hurting from David not…"
"I will never make you a promise I cannot keep. And I can love us enough for both us right now." Silvery tears poured down her face, and Emily tried not to stare at them, at the tender scene playing out in front of her eyes. "I refuse to keep us a secret, Erin. If you're going to be my girl, everyone is going to know."
"Good. I've found I hate secrets. A lot." Erin kissed him once more before turning her head to look at Emily. "Thank you for bringing me here. You've made my life right once more."
"I hardly did anything, Erin. Derek is the one who came for you."
The woman shrugged as she cuddled closer to Derek, seeming to want to disappear into the comfort he was offering her. "You were in the right place at the right time. Maybe Fate isn't such a bitch after all. Maybe she knew that there was something greater waiting for me." Her head came to rest on his shoulder, a shy smile spreading across her lips. "May we stay for a little bit longer? You don't have to entertain us, I just need a few hours to settle."
Emily nodded and picked up her key and purse from the table. "I'll head out, and give you some time to talk. Make sure the door latches behind you when you leave." Derek nodded absently and Emily shook her head as she stepped out into the hall. Maybe something was finally going right with the universe for once, she thought as she got in the elevator, a pleased smile on her lips.