A/N: Hello everyone! I honestly could not come up with any ideas for a sequel to Mannequin, so I've just decided to make this a series of one-shots, mostly songfics probably. I really enjoyed writing this one. The song at the beginning is Misguided Ghosts by Paramore, it's one of my favourite songs by them. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this one! Thanks so much for reading/reviewing.

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1, 2, 3, 4

I'm going away for a while

But I'll be back

Don't try and follow me

'Cause I'll return as soon as possible

She hated leaving. She hated the whole situation. She hated not being able to tell the truth, and not being able to continue living her life the way it was. That was all she wanted - to be normal again. It will happen, she told herself repeatedly. Doyle would be caught eventually. And then she could go back home. But who knows how long that could take... she thought at the back of her mind.

You see I'm trying to find my place

But it might not be here where I feel safe

We all learn to make mistakes

And run from them, from them

With no direction

We'll run from them, from them

With no conviction

She didn't want to run away. This was her home – it was her friends, her family, her job. It was where she felt safe. But she didn't have a choice. Because this time, she might actually get killed if she didn't do something about it. It was a mistake to have kept her situation from the team – but she didn't want any of them to be in danger. They were practically the only people in her life that were important to her. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if anything happened to one of them and it had been her fault. But she could hardly bear doing this, even though she knew she had to.

'Cause I'm just one of those ghosts

Travelling endlessly

Don't need no roads

In fact, they follow me

And we just go in circles

Well now I'm told that this is life

And pain is just a simple compromise

So we can get what we want out of it

Would someone care to classify

Of broken hearts and twisted minds

So I can find someone to rely on

And run to them, to them

Full speed ahead

Emily could not get used to the fact that what she was doing was for the best. It just wasn't right. She didn't feel comfortable hurting her friends – who had become like family to her – just to protect herself. Other than Hotch and JJ, they all thought she was dead. She felt a sudden rush of guilt. How could I do this to them... She just wished that she could go back and tell them all the truth. But she couldn't. As she continued driving to the airport, she thought of Reid. Secretly, she missed him the most. She smiled sadly as she remembered all the time they had spent together. Her heart ached as she realized that she would not see him again for a long time. I should have told him... she thought. She had always had feelings for Reid, but she had never admitted them. And now it was too late.

Oh you are not useless

We are just misguided ghosts

Travelling endlessly

The ones we trusted the most

Pushed us far away

And there's no one road

We should not be the same

But I'm just a ghost

And still they echo me

They echo me in circles...

As images filled her mind from past experiences, she began to feel overwhelmed with guilt, nervousness, and regret. She started to feel nauseated, and she couldn't think straight. Unable to function properly, she pulled her car over to the side of the highway. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she tried to clear her head. All she wanted was to go home. She leaned back in her seat and cried tears of frustration. What have I gotten myself into, she thought. Her life was a mess. For a split second, she imagined what might happen if she were to turn around right now. She found herself torn between her heart and her mind. If she were to continue driving, it would tear her up inside. But if she turned around, she would be risking not only her own life, but the lives of the people around her, just for her selfish comfort. But I can't do this... she couldn't do it. Not without him.

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She knew that this was a stupid decision. Possibly the stupidest she'd ever made. But once again, it was a feud between her heart and her mind. She should have listened to her mind. But she had realized that the mind cannot function without the heart. So she had taken the next exit and turned around. And now, her heart was leading her to a place that she knew her mind would regret taking her.

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She arrived at her destination feeling panicked and nervous. This was a stupid decision. What if he wasn't home? What if someone else was there with him? What if he thought she was a ghost? No. She had made her final decision, and she was not turning around again.

She walked into the small building and up a few flights of stairs, and she then found herself standing at his door. She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing... she thought, and she rang the doorbell.

Spencer Reid got up from his laptop and walked over to the door. He looked through the peephole, and stepped back slowly. No, it couldn't be her... Impossible. He must seeing things. He looked again, but he saw the same person. This can't be right, he thought. Emily was supposed to be dead... Wasn't she? Hesitantly, he unlocked the door, and opened it slowly.

It was her.

Still sceptical, he blinked a couple times, and then rubbed his eyes. But she was still there, standing in his doorway.

"Emily...?" he barely whispered.

"It's me," she whispered back, trying to hold back her tears. He took a step closer. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch her face. It was the same Emily he knew and loved. She looked like she had been crying.

"It really is you..." he said in awe. Suddenly, Emily found herself wrapped tightly in his embrace.

"I missed you so much," he whispered.

"I missed you, too," she pulled away so that she could look at him.

"Reid, I am so sorry," she cried. "I should have just told you the truth in the beginning..."

"Why don't you uh, come and sit down first," he led her over to his living room couch, still slightly in shock.

"Do you want a coffee?" he asked her as he walked into his tiny kitchen.

"Uhh..." she could certainly use one. "Sure."

"One milk and two sugars, right?"

She grinned. "Yup," she was surprised that he remembered what she took in her coffee, until she realized that he had an eidetic memory. Reid came back with two mugs, and handed her one.

"Thanks," she said before taking a sip. He studied her. It had not been long since her 'funeral', but it had felt longer than that to him. Much longer. He didn't know why she was back, or how long she was staying, or if she had even left at all – he was just glad that she was there, with him. He was glad that she was even alive!

"Emily, first, I want you to tell me one thing."

"What?"

"Are you actually here? With me? Or am I just imagining things?" he paused. "Am I dreaming?"

She smiled. She had missed him a lot more than she realized. "No, I'm here. And you're not dreaming."

"So you were never... dead?"

She shook her head. "I survived... but Doyle got away. I had to – well, I was supposed to go under witness protection. JJ helped me with that."

"JJ knows you're alive?"

She nodded. "And Hotch."

He looked slightly confused for a moment, but then brushed it off. "And you said you were supposed to go under witness protection?"

She looked away from him and bit her lip. "I was supposed to leave tonight. I was driving to the airport and I just... I just couldn't do it." Her eyes were filled with tears.

"I felt so guilty. I felt frustrated. I know I should have told one of you about this a long time ago, but I didn't want to put any of you in danger. You guys are my family, I would be destroyed if anything happened to you... But then everything got so much worse, and I didn't know what else to do..." a tear slid down her face.

"And now everything's just a huge mess. I swear to God, lying to you guys was the worst thing I've ever done. I feel terrible about it. I was supposed to just go away for a while, until they caught Doyle... but I had to make everything so much more complicated. And I... I couldn't leave without telling you first."

"Telling me what?"

"Something I should have told you a long time ago..." she looked up at him, and stared into his eyes. He waited silently.

"I-I'm in love with you."

Before she could say anything else, Reid had pressed his mouth against hers. At first she was shocked, then she realized what was happening, and she kissed him back. They broke away for a moment; both of them were out of breath. They just stared at each other. Emily felt her heart sink in her chest. There was no way she could pull herself away from him now.

Overwhelmed, she collapsed into his arms. "Reid, what am I going to do now," she nearly sobbed. "How am I supposed to protect myself from Doyle if I can't be without you?"

"I'll go with you."

She pulled back slightly so that she could look at him. "No," she shook her head. "You have a life here. I'm not going to take that away from you."

"Emily, my life is with you," he said. "When you were gone... I felt like my life had been taken from me. You make me feel alive... Nothing else can make me feel the way I do when I'm with you. I've always loved you, Emily. I don't want to be without you ever again."

Unable to say a word, Emily embraced him fiercely and buried her face in his chest.

"I am so, so sorry," she looked into his eyes. "I will never leave you, ever."

"I don't need an apology. You being here with me is more than I could ever ask for."

Emily leaned in to kiss him slowly. "I love you. But I need you to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"That you'll never let me run away from you ever again. I tried, but... it didn't work out very well."

He smiled. "I promise."

THE END