Part 4 - The Open Globe
July 15, 2013
As expected Hotch instantly understood why it was happening this way, and Alex wasn't far behind. They'd both seen how damaging DC was to Emily.
Even now JJ and Morgan were trying to talk her out of leaving not just DC but the US. Garcia had given up after seeing Emily's maps and Reid had turned off… refused to engage another person who was leaving him in the hope it would hurt less the day she got on the plane. He didn't yet understand that DC was her Dilaudid. Killing her in the guise of release.
All of her assets have been dissolved except the DC condo which she's renting out. That along with her disability pension will provide a steady stream of income. Emily doesn't know it yet but her mother has deposited a sizable chunk of cash into her savings account. Rossi is planning on doing the same once she's out of the country and can't bitch at him in person.
She has no set plan, once she's sick of where she is she'll decide where they're going next.
The first postcard arrives 6 weeks after they leave, it's from Ushuaia. It's addressed to "The BAU" and has nothing written on it.
A month later another arrives from Uyuni, Bolivia, still addressed to "The BAU" and still devoid of all other details.
Before they left Garcia set up a tracking app for her phone signal so they nearly always know where Emily is, the first time the signal dropped out the tech analyst panicked until Hotch pointed out Emily had been steadily heading into a remote area and there was likely no reception. With time the whole team has come to understand why Emily has to do this even if they don't like it. There are times they each pull up the app and obsessively watch the little dot blinking.
The first photo is emailed to Rossi 4 months after she leaves DC and it comes from a local photographer in Belém. It's a photo of Emily and Keira in profile on the foreshore of the city looking out over where the Amazon meets the Atlantic. Keira is delighted by something off in the distance and Emily is looking the healthiest they've seen her since before Doyle.
Agente Rossi, (Agent Rossi,)
Emily pediu que eu enviasse a foto para você. Tudo o que ela diria é que você precisa mais do que ela.(Emily asked I send the photo to you. All she would say is you need it more than she does.)
Guillermo Santos
The only reason they know Emily leaves South America is the tracking app. 3 months of travelling through Namibia, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania. Postcards are sent from random places she visits along the way. There are no personal messages and they're all addressed to the team as a whole.
Another photo is emailed from another photographer this time it's sent from Tanzania.
Mheshimiwa Agent, (Sir Agent,)
Salamu kutoka Tanzania. Natumaini picha hii inakuletea furaha kama I. (Greetings from Tanzania. I hope this picture brings you as much joy as I.)
Nyofu Mtanga
Emily is standing against a fence with Keira trapped between her and it. Leaning over, hand stretched out to a baby elephant whose trunk is sniffing at Keira's tiny hand.
There's pure joy on both their faces.
From Dar es Salaam she flies into Mumbai and celebrates Keira's 2nd birthday in a rented beach house in Goa where she decides to stop and enjoy the beach for a few weeks.
Instead of a postcard she sends an envelope with a photo of the 2 of them blowing 2 candles out on a cupcake and a short note.
I'm still looking…
Travel through India is different to what she is expecting. The further she gets out of the major cities and tourist traps the more she falls in love with the people and the culture. Most nights Emily doesn't bother looking for a hotel, without fail some local woman she meets will offer them a place to stay. It's in India that Emily starts to remember humanities default isn't cruelty but kindness.
Keira picks up the language faster than Emily which doesn't surprise her. The little girl is a sponge and delights everyone they meet. They arrive in Lucknow in mid May and for the first time Emily feels like this is somewhere they could stop long term. The feeling is fleeting and before she can question it too deeply it's gone and they're heading east into Nepal.
They celebrate the 1 year anniversary of leaving the US in Nepal's Barun Valley but it's weeks before Emily can get strong enough reception to send the photo she takes.
This 1 is a selfie. Keira is sitting in her lap and the vista behind them takes the teams breath away. Giant snow capped mountains dwarf the 2 of them as the sit in the lush green valley.
The 2 of them are rugged up against the Himalayan cold but there's colour in Emily's cheeks and a sparkle in her eye…
Unable to get a visa into Bhutan they head south to Bangladesh and Emily sits at the tiny desk in their hotel room with Keira in her lap and a map of southeast Asia in front of them.
"Where to next baby?"
Why she's leaving the decision up to a 2 and a ½ year olds pointing she doesn't know.
Keira's fingers land on Cambodia so that's where they go. They make their way north through the countryside and into Laos. They celebrate Christmas in Sơn La Vietnam and the email contact between her and Dave is now fairly regular. Emily is sending photos and updates with stories of what they've seen and done. While not quite up to the old Emily colour commentary there is a spark in the story telling that causes them all to breathe a sigh of relief.
They're in Shanghai when Emily is overcome by weariness, they have been bouncing around the world for over 18 months. Keira's 3rd birthday is coming up and Emily starts to long for some stability. She checks out of their hotel in the mid afternoon and goes to the airport, staring at the departure boards she makes a decision and they're on the next flight out to Australia.
When their flight lands in Sydney Emily immediately discounts the city as somewhere she wants to spend any amount of time in so she rents a car and heads south.
For a capital city *Canberra is surprisingly low key. There's a beautiful relaxed feel to it and Emily ends up renting a house in the south of the city with beautiful views over the mountains and for the first time in a long time she feels something she thought was lost to her forever.
Home.
END PART
*Ushuaia - a resort town in Argentina. It's located on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the southernmost tip of South America, nicknamed the "End of the World."
*Kathmandu - Kathmandu is the capital city of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.
*Capital city of Australia, Sydney and Melbourne were fighting over who got to be the capital so they just built a new city in the middle of nowhere.