A/N: As promised, the freshly beta'ed final chapter. Thank you for the wonderful reviews and feedback, you guys are really great! Sorry for the wait, I thought for sure that I posted this last night.
Emily was astonished by the sudden flow of information. The content of which, was all the more staggering. Eyes blurry with tears of her own that she refused to let fall, Emily was having trouble making out the man who was professing his love for her. There was no way she'd be able to give a verbal response at this point. Her throat was so constricted that she was having difficulty breathing. She settled for shaking her head from side to side.
Derek had to take a calming breath before he could continue. "Because I'm a damn fool."
She wanted to tell him just how right he was about that, but then she'd be a hypocrite. Truth be told, she just as easily could have been the one to confess her feelings for him. They were both fools, and she couldn't believe that it had taken them this long to realize it. If they'd only figured out that they were in love with one another before she'd left, before they were thousands of miles apart and Emily had extraneous commitments to tend to, they wouldn't be having this conversation through a computer.
Time was passing steadily, but she was frozen in thought. It hadn't taken her long after leaving to realize that what she was missing, what was truly wrong with her life in D.C., was a family. Emily's life was finally in order, she finally had the opportunity to settle down, but she hadn't recognized the window for what it was. Instead, she had packed her bags and taken on the responsibility she was now fully saddled with. It had taken Morgan's stark affirmation for her to see what she had missed out on, to understand completely how poorly she had handled her unexpected freedom. She had been all too willing to condemn herself to a life of serving others, and never truly having the things that she wanted.
Derek had just lifted that weight for a second time, and she wasn't about to screw it up again. She raised her eyes to the monitor only to be met with the man's retreating form. She watched as he darted from the room, clearly startled by Penelope. She couldn't believe that he had abandoned that question, and that her answer wasn't worth sticking around for. Emily hastily cleared her face of any stray tears, and took a couple of deep breaths. As Garcia sat down to continue their chat, Emily could only think of Derek. She cleared her throat and, before her friend could say anything, she was already apologizing. "I'm sorry Penelope, but I have to go. I… I have a lot to get done before I can leave for the evening." It wasn't a total lie, but she felt bad about it anyway. Garcia had dragged out her goodbye for a few more minutes, pleading for the brunette to take some vacation time and come home. The thought of going back there had only proved to make Emily more upset than she already was.
"Garcia?" It was only Hotch's forceful, yet somehow caring, tone that finally brought Penelope out of her terror-induced search. She had completely melded into her computer, and had unintentionally tuned out Blake's concerned questions for the past five minutes or so. Her sole prerogative had been to find Emily.
"Pen, what's wrong?" She could hear J.J.'s thinly veiled anxiety, and it was only then that she realized how much of mess she probably was.
Garcia wiped away at her tears for only a few seconds before kicking herself for wasting time. "It's Emily," she managed. She picked up the previously discarded cell phone, and cradled it in her hands like it would explode if it were to be jostled. "I called and called, and she finally answered." Offering the phone to Hotch, she continued. "Only, she didn't actually answer. I heard a soft whimper though, Sir, and I know it was Emily. I just know it. I think she might be hurt."
It was difficult for four people to get a good look at the face of a cell phone at the same time, but the newcomers obviously had little concern of personal space. Rossi, J.J. and Reid immediately crowded around the unit chief, vying for a decent view.
Spencer was the first to speak after the initial shock had subsided. "Look at that cloud formation through the passenger's window. That's not a side view." Garcia hadn't noticed that, and released a small gasp after coming to terms with just exactly what it meant.
Hotch was the second to come around. "Do we have a location, Garcia?" His voice was now void of any emotion that had previously shown through.
Penelope spun around to her laptop once more, the boss' demeanor effectively setting her back into business mode. "She's about an hour east of Brecon on autoroute A40. It appears to be mostly surrounded by farmland, Sir. It took me a little longer than usual to track the call, I didn't understand their cellular network. You'd think that it wouldn't be all that different from our…"
"Penelope!" To the tech's surprise, it was J.J. who had lost patience and shouted her name in an effort to get her back on track.
Garcia kicked herself again and got down to what mattered. "What I'm trying to say is that now that I have a location, I don't know what to do with it."
"What do you mean?" sounded a miffed Rossi. She understood that his anger was only a manifestation of his worry for Emily. "You call it in."
Garcia's hands went up in defeat. "Call it in to who?"
"Get the ambassador on the line," Hotch interrupted, calm and stern.
He strongly felt that there was no better way to fully feel like an ass than to walk down a busy sidewalk by himself. Being the hothead that he is, that was something that Derek had done quite a bit in his life. He'd always rather enjoyed it. Being veritably surrounded by people, but completely internalizing his thoughts in order to ease his troubled mind. He liked the idea of not being alone with his tumultuous feelings. The best part was that none of these people knew who he was, and he'd probably never see them again. It was a strange way of dealing with his issues, but it worked for him. It wasn't exactly the same as drowning his troubles at a bar, but he was on the clock anyway.
A quick glance at his watch told him that he'd been gone for much longer than he had intended to be. He turned on the spot and headed back to the station house. He'd find a way to make up to Garcia later.
Derek was instantly hit with a bad vibe upon entering the conference room. It was a sad tension in the air, and he was almost afraid to ask. Garcia stood from her seat before he had the chance. He was about to apologize, but was taken off guard when she wrapped herself around him and began to sob. He looked to Hotch, and was shocked to find the stoic professional near tears as well. Something had happened, and something bad. He returned the hug a little harder in anticipation for whatever he was about to hear.
Hotch cleared his throat. "Garcia was trying to get in touch with Prentiss. When the video call connected, this is what she saw." He slid Penelope's cell phone across the table to the other man.
Derek gently pried himself away from Garcia and picked up the phone. He swallowed hard, finding his throat suddenly dry. "Where is she?" he asked to no one in particular. He couldn't keep himself from bringing the phone closer for a better look. The rational side of his brain knew that the action was pointless, but he had to try.
"We've alerted the authorities," Blake said. She was, without doubt, the most collected individual in the room. "Garcia ran a trace, and we gave them the GPS coordinates. Told them to look for signs of a wreck. We should hear from them as soon as everything is under control."
"What happened?" Derek could barely contain himself. He was simultaneously scared and enraged. He feared for Emily's life, and he was furious with himself for leaving things unfinished with her.
"We don't know yet," Hotch said. "We called her office, and no one seemed to know where she was."
"But is she okay?" Derek's voice had faltered in the slightest, and that had every one of his teammates turning in his direction. He was no longer able to hide the panic. In that singular question was laced a hopeful innocence, a painful dread and a pitiful uncertainty. His manly stature, reduced to that of a small child.
J.J. looked to the group. None of them spoke, seemingly not knowing what to say to console the visibly disturbed Derek, so she offered the best comfort she could. She walked over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "We don't know yet, Derek," she reiterated Hotch's words.
He broke away from her touch and moved to come face to face with his superior. "I'm goin' over there." Hotch blinked at the finality in Morgan's voice, raising his eyes to meet the other man's. There was no verbal response, only a nod when Hotch must have decided that it would be futile to argue the point.
"You're not going without me," Garcia called out from behind Derek.
Dave stood. "I think all of us are going," he corrected.
Hotch rubbed his brow. "I'll have to coordinate with the Bureau to get another team up here."
Blake shook her head. "I can handle that, and I'll stay to brief them." She sent each of them a caring glance as she spoke. "You guys go, be with your friend." That was the only prodding they needed, and the six of them dashed through the doorway.
Emily awoke to a rhythmic beeping. Her brain felt almost fuzzy, if that were possible. She didn't dare open her eyes though, afraid that the simple movement would only serve to intensify her severe bout of nausea. Instead she focused on orientation and came to the conclusion that she was lying on her left side. She let out a stifled groan as the numbing pain again washed over her, an unfortunate side effect of gaining awareness. She didn't know what had happened, but she could guess that she was in a hospital, and that there was someone holding her left hand.
"I am so sorry." Her eyes shot open to meet with the deep brown ones of the man that had spoken.
Emily blinked rapidly. Maybe she wasn't awake after all, maybe she was dreaming. "You know," she slurred, "I'm on a lot of drugs, but I'm pretty sure you're real."
"I am," he brought her hand up to his chest.
"I must have been out for a while if you're here," her eyes had slipped closed again.
Derek bent his head to drop a kiss on the back of her hand. "I jumped on the first plane I could find."
"What happened?" She sounded groggily.
"Well, we're not really sure," he admitted. "We were hoping that maybe you'd be able to fill us in."
"We?" Emily asked in confusion. Derek's answer was a broad smile as he pointedly looked around her room. She followed his gaze and found the familiar faces of her old team, all of them in various stages of sleep induced comas. Her old team… "Liam?" she queried in a whisper.
Derek's head dropped and she turned away. Tears were not something that she shed freely in front of others. "I'm sorry," he said again.
She faced him with watery eyes. "Mickles? Did they catch him?"
Derek bobbed his head, and she was grateful for that. "Easter was all over this," he began. "Turns out, Mickles was ex-I.R.A. and one of the guards at the prison, a guy by the name of Walsh, was a sympathizer. The guard slipped him the gun when he was supposed to be searching the bastard. Best we can come up with is that they picked a time when Mickles was supposed to pull the trigger, and Walsh came along behind you guys to pick him up." Emily's eyes drifted away from Derek, and he squeezed her hand to regain her attention. "They're both dead. I don't know the details, but I'm pretty sure it's better for Easter if no one does." She just nodded. Knowing that they were dead wasn't much of a consolation.
"I'm sorry." Derek involuntarily pulled back in surprise. "I shouldn't have ignored your calls… or your texts, emails, pigeon carriers and I'm pretty sure I saw some smoke signals at one time." A bright smile flooded his features. Emily knew that avoiding the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach over the loss of Winchester wasn't going to help her, but she needed to set it aside for a little while. That grief would stay with her for a long time, and she'd need to occasionally disregard it.
"I am such an idiot." His smile was still firmly in place. "I can't believe I put that on you and expected you to do something about it." Derek shook his head and looked to the floor.
She studied him quietly. "You are." His eyes snapped back to hers questioningly. "You're an idiot. An imbecile, actually." His reaction betrayed him, and she saw how hurt he was by her words. Emily only laughed in response. "You really think that I don't love you too?"
He physically perked up after hearing that. "I thought… the way you looked at me when I told you how I felt?"
She chuckled again. "Well, if you would've stuck around for more than two seconds," she trailed off, letting him realize where everything had gone wrong. "I would have told you that I couldn't believe that we had both felt that way, and that it was ridiculous for two profilers not to notice. We're both fools."
That bit of logic had him laughing as well. "I thought for sure you were going to tell me to get a life or somethin'."
"Well," she made a show of contemplating his words. "I kinda am telling you that. Only, I wanna be part of it. A big part."
"Hmmm," Derek growled out. "I think we might be able to work that out." He leaned forward and captured her lips for the first time. It was soft, passionate and eagerly returned.
"Awwwwwwe!" The two of them flew apart. Garcia had awoken, and had evidently enjoyed the show. Her outburst brought the others to consciousness. "You two are adorable!"
Emily promptly pulled Derek closer by his shirt in order to use him as a shield. With that action, the team caught on to the situation and was all smiles. Derek gave Penelope the best angry look he could muster, and began to mockingly chide her. "Woman, don't you know how to mind your own business yet?"
"Guys," Garcia addressed the others, "I think these lovebirds could use some private time." She winked at Derek. "You're forgiven by the way. I get that you can't be Superman without your Amazonian counterpart."
Just as she closed out the window into her former home, she heard a quiet rapping. "Ma'am?" Winchester stood in the doorway to her office, patiently seeking approval for entry.
Emily shook off her emotions, and gestured for him to come in. "How long have you been there, Liam?" Embarrassed was a word that would adequately describe how she felt at the prospect of having a coworker witness what had just occurred.
He leaned over her desk to get a look at the screen of her laptop. "Long enough to know that I don't have a shot at landing the new boss after all." He stood upright again, smiling lasciviously. "Relax," he said to her indignant stare, "I was only havin' you on. Seriously though, you should give that bloke a shot."
That had been the start to one of the most treasured friendships that Emily Prentiss would ever have.
A/N: To those of you that care to know, this fic came about because my iTunes played "Sleepless Nights" (by Norah Jones) and "Come Back" (by Pearl Jam) back to back. The story got a little soap opera-y, but it was fun to write!