Disclaimer - I don't own anything you recognise.

AN - A three shot that wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. I know things wouldn't happen as fast as they actually do in the final chapter, but eh, lets call it artistic licence and leave it at that. I hope you enjoy, and please review.

Home Is Where You Are

"We have stand down for two weeks, Emily, you promised," Penelope whined.

Emily chuckled. "Send me the dates, Garcia, I'll see what I can do, alright?"

"Nope, not good enough, Princess. You promised that when the team had a decent amount of stand down, you'd come home and see us. I expect you on a plane next week."

"You do realise I have a job, don't you?" Emily asked rhetorically. She heard Penelope growl down the phone and had to stifle another laugh. "Send me dates now and I'll call you tomorrow and let you know what I can do."

"Don't let me down, my love. I miss you."

"I miss you too, you know that. How is everyone?"

"We're all fine, sweetheart, have no fear. We just miss our leading lady, is all."

Emily could feel the guilt trip Penelope was laying on her weighing her down. She missed her old team more than anything, but didn't Garcia understand how painful it was for Emily to go back to DC. The thought of leaving them again, after only two weeks, was heartbreaking.

"I have to go. I'll call tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll be awaiting the good news. Speak to you tomorrow, Princess."

"Bye, Pen."

Emily tossed her phone on her desk and sighed. When it bleeped, she knew it was Penelope sending her the dates of the BAU's stand down, and with a tired huff, she pulled her diary towards her, and picked the phone up. If she was going to get two weeks off, she'd need to speak to Clyde.

xxxx

"Did you speak to her?" JJ asked as she walked into Penelope's office.

"I did," Penelope replied with a smile. "All systems are go. She got the go ahead from Easter, and she's booked her flight."

"Where is she staying, cause she can stay with me," JJ replied, resting against the desk.

"She insisted on a hotel," Penelope said, her face falling. "But maybe we can persuade her differently when she gets here. I'm doing nothing that will make her think twice about coming home until I know she's already on the plane."

"Good plan. Have you told the others she's coming?"

Penelope shook her head. "No. I don't want to get their hopes up, you know? Besides, it'll be a nice surprise. She'll be flying in on our last day, so I'm going to pick her up from the airport and fetch her here to meet up with everyone."

"You do know I'm rubbish with secrets, right?" JJ muttered. Penelope laughed.

"It's not long, chick-a-dee, she'll be here before we know it. Now, shoo, I have magic to work."

JJ laughed as she left the office, a hopeful feeling burgeoning in her chest. It would be really good to have her best friend back for a while.

xxxx

Emily was being squeezed almost to death before she'd even fully cleared security. She moved, with difficulty, to the side, her arms wrapping around Penelope without conscious thought. When the two women separated, neither were surprised to see the tears on the others cheeks.

"I missed you, my girl," Penelope choked out, keeping her hand clenched on Emily's sleeve.

"I missed you too, Pen," Emily replied, wiping at her cheeks gently.

"You're here now. Come on, lets go and surprise our family," Penelope said as she too rid herself of the tear streaks.

Emily frowned. "They don't know I'm here?" she asked.

"Just JJ," Penelope confirmed. "They're all at the office, finishing up the paperwork. I thought we could surprise them, and we can all go out for dinner."

"Let me guess, you've already made reservations?"

"You know me too well," Penelope grinned. "We're going to Gustoso, a lovely little Italian I found with my Chocolate God."

"Sounds perfect," Emily said with a smile. It was no secret that she loved Italian food.

Penelope bent to pick one of Emily's bags up, and linked her arm with Emily's. "Then let's go my lovely."

xxxx

Emily followed Garcia through the familiar building, a slew of memories and emotions threatening to drown her. She moved them into their respective boxes in her mind as quickly as she could, but she was still feeling overwhelmed when Penelope opened the doors to lead her into the office she had spent the happiest years of her life.

"Where you been, Baby - EMILY!" Morgan said, finishing with a happy shout as he gathered her up in his arms.

"Hey you," Emily muttered against his ear as she returned the hug tightly. He lifted her from the floor, spinning around with her in his arms.

"It's so good to see you," he said as he released the hold he had on her. "How long are you here for?"

"Two weeks, while you guys are on stand down," she told him, before accepting the hug of an impatiently waiting Spencer. JJ was next, and possibly the hardest for Emily so far. She'd missed JJ badly, it was hard having your best friend on the opposite side of the world.

"Did I hear someone shout Emily?" Hotch asked, walking out of his office. His face broke into a smile when he saw the brunette, and he walked down the stairs quickly to greet her.

"Prentiss," he said, enveloping her in his strong arms, a tight but brief embrace.

"Hey Hotch," she replied, grinning at her former supervisor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his smile not diminishing.

"Two weeks," she told him. "How's Jack?"

"He's good, thanks. He'll be excited to hear you're here," Hotch replied. "You'll come and see him?"

"Oh, of course, I've missed him," Emily said. She turned her head when Morgan started to speak, but her eyes were caught by movement across the room.

"Dave," she whispered.

David Rossi was stood staring at her with more disbelief than he had when she'd come back from the dead. She watched as emotions flitted across his face, too fast for her to identify most of them, before he turned back into his office and slammed the door behind him.

"That's not good," JJ muttered, looking at Emily with a raised eyebrow. "What's going on there?"

Emily sighed, glancing from face to face, seeing all of them looking at her with a mixture of concern and confusion. "It's... complicated."

"Right, you lot finish up your paperwork," Penelope demanded after a few seconds of paperwork. "I'm going to run our returning beauty to her hotel, and we will meet you at the restaurant I've arranged at seven, okay my peeps?"

"What restaurant?" Reid asked, frowning.

"Gustoso. I'll message you all with the directions," Penelope promised, before she ushered Penelope along with her. "And you my sweet, are going to tell me exactly what is going on with you and SSA Rossi," she added to Emily quietly when they were far enough away not to be overheard.

xxxx

Emily sat at the dressing table in her hotel room. Penelope lay on the bed behind her, gaping open mouthed at her.

"How can you have been with him for months without the rest of us knowing anything about it?" she asked for the fourth time.

"Pen, we were profilers too. We knew what to hide to save on any suspicions. We kept things completely professional when we were out in the field," Emily explained, as she applied a light coat of mascara to her long lashes.

"Well, yes, but still," Penelope said, pouting her lips. "So that's why he looked so mad? Cause you left when you were together?"

Emily winced. "Not quite."

"Well, then what happened?"

"I left because we broke up," she murmured, so quiet Penelope almost didn't hear her. Raising her voice slightly as Penelope moved closer to the bottom of the bed to listen better, Emily continued, "Well, sort of, anyway. I left because it hurt to see him move on so easily after we... When we broke up. I thought there was still a... I hoped that we still had a chance to make up. Then he went with Strauss and I... I couldn't stay. He was so... normal with me. Like nothing had happened, and I couldn't stay with her being my boss after they... You get the idea."

"Son of a bitch," Penelope hissed. "How could he do that to you?"

Emily shrugged. "It is what it is, I guess.

"And then today, he acted like you'd done him wrong. You wait, I'll get revenge for you Princess. His bank accounts won't know what have hit them. And I'll hack his private network and delete his latest manuscript and I'll -"

Emily cut her off. "Penelope Garcia! You'll do no such thing, you hear me?"

"But Em-"

"No. I don't want you to do anything. You will act like your normal beautiful bubbly self where David Rossi is concerned. I don't want him to think I still care, Pen."

"But you do," Penelope surmised, climbing off the bed to hug Emily. "I'm sorry princess. You're right, I'll behave."

Emily let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Now, are we ready?"

"We are."

"Then let's go eat. I feel like I haven't eaten real food since I left."

xxxx

Emily sat between JJ and Morgan, the rest of the team surrounding them. They all sat together on a circular table. When she arrived, she'd wondered briefly who had persuaded Dave to join them, so she could kill them, but she quickly shook the thought off. Regardless of what had happened between them, he was a part of the team, and therefore, had every right to be there.

She was just happy he wasn't sitting next to her.

"Tell me again why you're staying in a hotel," JJ said after the waiter had arrived with drinks and taken the food orders.

Emily shrugged lightly. "Seemed easier."

"You can stay with us," she argued. "We have a guest room."

"JJ, I'm good at the hotel, honestly. Besides, it's central to all of you. Easier, you see?"

JJ pulled a face, and Emily smiled, knowing she'd won that argument.

"So do we have you for our full stand down, Emily?" Spencer asked, looking hopeful.

She nodded. "Unless there's an international terror attack, I'm here for the next fifteen days."

"Before the other's get in, can I claim you tomorrow?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Of course you can," she agreed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Oh, uhh, there's a comic auction tomorrow afternoon," he mumbled, making the others chuckle. Emily just smiled indulgently and nodded her head again.

"I'm there," she assured him.

Before she knew it, Emily also had plans for a day at the zoo with Hotch and Jack, shopping with Penelope and JJ, a girls night out with Penelope and JJ and a surprise day with Derek. She was apprehensive to say the least about the last, but she trusted him not to get her killed. That was something at least.

As the time passed, the laughter and conversation making it pass faster than any of them liked, Emily couldn't help noticing that Dave was quiet. A few times she'd felt his eyes on her, but she ignored him as best she could. She didn't want her trip ruining by arguments that would likely happen if she tried to speak directly to him, so she did her best to forget about his presence at the table.

It wasn't working very well. She was sure the others noticed as well, though none of them said anything, something which she was grateful for.

All too soon, it was time to pay the bill and leave. After many arguments around the table, Emily took the bill from the amused looking waiter and swiped her card on the portable machine he handed her, signing her name quickly on the receipt as it printed.

She smiled at the others bemused looks and shook her head when they offered her money. "My treat," she told them, and they quickly realised she wasn't taking no for an answer.

They walked from the restaurant to the car park as a group before splitting off towards different cars. Penelope raised her eyebrow when Emily leant into Penelope's car, taking her coat before closing the door.

"I'll take you back to the hotel," she said, gesturing to Emily to get in the car.

"I'm going to take a walk, Pen," Emily replied quietly. "It's a nice night, and I've missed being here. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Penelope stared at her for a moment before she nodded her head. "Okay, Princess. But call me when you get back to the hotel, okay, so I don't spend the whole night worrying."

Emily smiled. "Will do."

xxxx

Emily walked slowly, enjoying being back on the streets she'd known for years. It felt so good to be home, just as she'd known it would, and it felt even better seeing her team. She shook her head at herself at that thought. She'd not been able to stop calling them her team, even after being away for a while. She doubted she'd ever stop seeing them as 'hers', really. She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realise she was being followed until he called her name.

She stopped moving when she heard his voice and her heart sunk. Why had he followed her? Why tonight, when she'd had such a good night, could he not leave her alone in her happiness? She turned slowly when she heard him advancing on her. By the time she turned to face him, he was close, closer than she wanted him to be. Not quite in her personal space, but certainly close enough that he was within touching distance.

She didn't say anything to him, just watched him as he watched her.

"Why are you here?" he asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence passed them by.

"I came to see my family, Dave. Is that a crime?"

"Oh, so you'll be seeing the Ambassador while you're here," he scoffed.

She frowned. "Yes, I'm having dinner with her next week, but you knew exactly what I meant. What do you want, Dave?"

"You couldn't have given me some warning that you were coming?" he asked, and she could hear the frustration in his tone.

She shrugged. "I thought you all knew," she admitted. "But I don't really see what difference it makes. You don't have to see me for the rest of my visit, so there's no issue. Goodnight, Rossi."

She turned away, letting her legs begin moving again, her footsteps falling a little faster than they had previously. She didn't even want to be breathing the same air as him in that moment, she was so mad. Why was he being so difficult? He had no reason to be so hurtful to her, she'd done nothing wrong. It wasn't like she'd been the one to break up with him, nor had she slept with anyone else within the same week.

He was following her, and he was gaining on her. She stopped again, whirling around in the street to face him.

"What do you want?" she demanded angrily. She saw shock on his face before he could hide it as he stood in front of her once more.

"I want you to get on a plane and leave," he replied icily.

She gasped, not able to stop the pain from showing on her face at his words. She watched him falter slightly when he saw her reaction, but she didn't care.

"You heard me earlier," she said quietly. "Fifteen days, and I'll be gone. And don't worry Rossi, you won't even know I'm here."

"I already know you're here," he hissed. "That's the problem."

A lone tear fell to her cheek. "What did I do to make you hate me so much?" she whispered, before she stepped to the edge of the curb and flagged a taxi. She didn't even look at him as she climbed into the back seat and gave the driver the name of the hotel she was staying at.

She didn't look at him as the cab moved into the traffic, so she didn't see his façade break. She didn't hear the whispered words, "You made me love you and then you left."