It had been seven months. Seven months since he had seen her face other than in pictures. Seven months since he had heard her laugh. Seven months since he had felt her touch. Seven months since he had let go of her hand. Seven months since JJ had told him the news that broke his heart in two.

2 days earlier:

"Hotch, are you sure?" a concerned JJ asked her boss in the privacy of his office.

"You don't want her back?"

"Don't get me wrong, I want Emily back more than anything but I just don't know if she is ready. I agree with you that we need her to find Declan but I just…I don't know,"

"We promised her we would call her when she was safe, we have Doyle in custody and we need her to help us find Declan. Don't you think that this would be the appropriate time to bring her home?"

"But…what if-"

"JJ," Hotch stated, leaving no room for argument.

"Fine," JJ finally relented.

"How you holding up?" JJ asked the woman seated in front of her. Emily had gotten in late last night, heading straight for the room offered to her in JJ's apartment. Although the blonde had wanted to talk and catch up with her friend who had recently returned from the dead she understood that she needed some space to process being back with her friend and in the states.

"Fine,"

"Em," JJ warned. "Don't play this with me,"

"Play what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're not fine; you and I both know it so spill,"

"It's just…I abandoned them Jay, I lied and they'll never be able to trust me again. Especially not Morgan," Emily finished, mumbling the last part under her breath.

A smile graced the features of the blonde as she heard the last sentence. "It will take them awhile, some more than others, but they'll all come around in time. Especially Morgan," she added with a wink as she walked away.

"Are you ready Em?" the former media liaison called through the bathroom door of her apartment.

"Yeah," she said, opening the door. "Just a little nervous,"

"Understandable, I'm sure you'll be fine. The team will be ecstatic to know that you're alive,"

"Yeah just…actually, you can go ahead. I'll call a cab and meet you there. I don't want to hold you up there's just somewhere I need to go first,"

"Take your time Em," JJ put a comforting hand on her shoulder knowing exactly where she was going.

The dark-haired woman walked solemnly up to a grave, a rose in her hand. She gingerly placed it in front of the headstone, tears flowing silently down her face. She thought about all that she had lost, although she was gaining a lot of it back it would never be the same. Never would she have the same trust. Never would she have the same ease when she was with them, when she was with him. This was the second time in less than a day that she had visited this same grave, shed tears over the same things, had these same thoughts. The second time in less than a day that she had placed a rose on her own gravestone.

Derek walked up to the all too familiar gravestone, a white lily in his hand. Tears threatened to fall as he leaned down and gently placed the lily on top of two fresh roses. He could still feel that heart-wrenching pain he felt the day when her hand went limp in his. That ever-present ache became just a little bit stronger as thoughts of her plagued his mind. Day in and day out he thought of what he had lost, what he should have said when he had the chance. 'Never hesitate to tell your special girl how you feel'

"Dad?" a nine year old Derek looked up at his father.

"Yes?"

"How did you know that you wanted to marry Mom?"

Charles Morgan caught the football that had been spiraled through the air to him by his son, caught off guard by the unusual question. "Well, son, there are some things that you just know. When you really love somebody and the time seems perfect, you'll know what to do. Never hesitate to tell your special girl how you feel though, tell her as many times as you can,"

'Never hesitate to tell your special girl how you feel'

Derek continued his routine, which he had done for the past seven months every day before work. He said the thing he should have said to her all those months ago. "I love you Emily Prentiss, I always have and I always will. You are-were," Derek quickly fixed his mistake even though there was no one there to witness it. Even after only seven months he still had adjusted to talking about his partner in past tense. "You were the only girl that I ever truly had feelings for I was just too stupid to act on them for fear of rejection. I would be more than willing to work around the policies for no interoffice relationships for you…I just never had the courage to do it," he finished, finally letting a tear roll down his cheek as he turned and walked away from the grave of the person he loved so much.

"I love you," he whispered one last time as he looked back.

Little did he know that the object of his affection was sitting behind a tree planted close enough to her own grave that she could hear anyone who came near. Hanging to his every word, her own tears fell down her cheek, her feelings matching his.

A/N: I hope you like it! And sadly, I didn't come up with this idea because I really, really liked this idea when I first read it but I have to give credit to the proper author, AddictionHigh, who not only gave me the idea, but also edited this, as well as psychedoutpineapple, so thanks to you both! Again, I hope you like it so tell me what you think because reviews mean lots!