"Did you feel the temperature dropping yesterday? She only wears the wedding dress."
That was the first thing David Rossi heard when he stepped into the conference room. He had pulled an all-nighter, they all had, going through the files of Unsub's who could hold a grudge against them.
And there were many of them. Garcia had been shooting new files to the break room almost every five minutes and there just hadn't been enough time to cover all of them.
"She's okay. If whoever has her wanted to kill her, he would've already done so."
JJ shot him a look. "You're not helping.", it said. The truth was though, that Rossi was way too tired and edgy to beat around the bush. If they wanted to find Emily they would have to talk about the facts without sugarcoating them.
"Anything?" Hotch asked, and glanced around the room. He put the file, he had been reading on the table. When no response came, he rubbed his eyes to give him a few seconds to contemplate their next move. He quickly put his hands down though, as if it was a sign of weakness.
"We're not doing any good here, and we're losing time. We'll have to change tactics."
"We can't stop. We have to find her."
Hotch glared at the dark-skinned agent. "I said we're changing tactics, not that we would stop."
Reid, feeling the tension rising and not liking it at all, spoke up. "Derek, Hotch's right. If we want to help Emily and the baby we'll have to do what we're good at. Profile."
Derek nodded, the tension leaving his body. "Okay. Then what's the plan?"
"Well, think about it." Rossi spoke up. "We want to build a profile, so we have to start with the thing that's bugging us most. What would that be?" The older man gave Derek an inquiring look, however a female voice spoke up. JJ.
"Why at the wedding? That's what's bugging me. There would've have been a lot better possibilities."
"Exactly. The time span was short. You and Garcia left, I showed up 7 minutes later. That's risky."
"But consider this, guys. We didn't start searching right away. Why? Because of the missing things, the toothbrush, the clothes. Someone knew what we would be looking at first. Someone knew how to stall us." Reid piped up. His mind had been racing, while the others were talking. He hated, that know that the woman he considered a sister was missing he couldn't think of more than what he had just said. Where was his eidetic memory when he needed it?
"Law enforcement." Hotch answered the unspoken question. He allowed himself a small sigh. "That's a start."
TAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKEN
Suddenly Emily found herself staring at the blade of a knife.
Jordan grabbed her hands and cut the duct tape open. She put the pen in Emily hand forcefully. "Write."
"No."
"You will write. Or I make sure Derek doesn't live to see another day."
Emily's hand clenched around the pen. She flinched when Jordan retrieved something her bag and held it about two inches from her face. A picture. A photograph, to be exact. Of her and Derek at a small dinner with the team in Rossi's backyard. Penelope had been stalking them throughout the whole evening, trying to get a picture of them. This one, she took it while they weren't even aware she was there. She hid her face in the dark man's chest and Derek pressed a kiss to her hair. Snap, Penelope squealed and Emily was thrown out of her memory.
"Listen, you do it, you can keep it. Otherwise…" Carefully Jordan started to tear the picture apart, a sick smile on her face. Emily knew she didn't only tear apart the picture, but also signal her how serious she was about hurting Derek.
"Okay, okay." Emily cried out. "I'll do it, just leave him alone." She knew Derek would never stop looking, and if the baby was born and she dead he would still be looking. And he would find their son. They would both be okay, and then she would be, too.
"Good. Now calm down, think of the baby." Jordan said, the friendly smile back in place. Emily had never really known who, or what she should classify as crazy. Now she had no doubt.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. I'm going to work and when I'm back you'll be done, right?" A few seconds of silence passed. "Right?"
"Right."
That had been a few hours ago. The only thing she had managed to write was Dear Derek, and every time she read it, it felt so much more wrong than it had before. Dear just didn't do justice to the feelings she had for him. She wrung her hands, when it hit her. Her hands were free. She jumped up from the table and ran towards the door. She grabbed the doorknob and jerked for all it's worth.
Nothing.
TAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKEN
Derek Morgan decided it was time for coffee. He needed coffee or he would pass out. The break room was empty, and he was glad for it. He couldn't take the pitying looks. He hated them. He swore when he saw the empty coffee pot. "Why the hell can't they make new one when they drink the last mug?" the dark-skinned agent quietly mumbled under his breath. The time he wasted making coffee, he couldn't look for Emily.
Suddenly he heard a feminine voice behind him. "Yeah, I hate that, too."
He turned around and found himself looking at the dark-haired woman, who bought brownies when she had something to celebrate. Jordan Todd. He didn't know what to say though, so he just shrugged.
"I'm sorry, Derek. About what happened to Emily." Before he had even registered it, she was beside him, rubbing a hand comfortingly over his shoulder. "It makes me feel strange, you know. I have worked with her and now I realize that I can't say that I ever really knew her at all. I mean, what's her favorite color, her favorite food… all these little things."
"Turquoise and baked figs with almonds and oranges. But when the cravings started she enjoyed pizza with Nutella a lot." A quiet chuckle escaped him, but soon his face turned into the frown again. It almost seemed as if the expression had been carved into his face the past few hours.
Jordan, noticing the change in his mood, gave his hand a squeeze. "Hey, I'm sorry for bringing it up." And while she stared at his perfect face an idea came to her mind. Her baby would need a father, wouldn't it? And Derek, well he was compassionate, caring, sweet…the list was endless. He was everything she needed the father to be. So why not? "Hey, why don't you stop by? I have a small house just outside of Quantico. It's pretty quiet out there. Maybe exactly what you need?"
"I don't know. Maybe after all of this is over."
TAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKEN
He has to understand. He just has to.
Emily held the letter in a tight grip and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she prayed.
Dear god, if you're somewhere out there, make him understand.
TAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKENTAKEN
I was really stuck with Emily running away and that's why I changed it. We have a short holiday and I'm working on the next chapter. I just want to get this out first so everyone notices the changes.
AD: I'm so very very sorry about what happend. I really have no idea how that happend. I hope it works out now!