So here it is… the last chapter. I'm kind of sad it's over, but it feels like the right point to finish it. Thank you so much for all your reviews and encouragement along the way. As much as I love writing this stuff, and would regardless of reviews, please believe me when I tell you that reviews spur any writer on and we appreciate you taking the time to do it…. Anyway, enough of my babbling… Hope you enjoy!
The three men watched the road, leading from the rear entrance intently. After about the thirtieth time of looking at his watch, Easter finally pointed, "They're here."
Hotch made to the door of the jet with haste and waved frantically to Morgan and Emily in an attempt to hurry them up.
"What's he doing?" Morgan said, confused at his boss's actions.
"Derek, there's something wrong. Hurry up."
Before he could lower his foot further onto the accelerator he felt himself lose control of the steering as the loud bang of a tyre being blown out resonated through the car.
They skidded round and a shot flew through the rear window causing both Agents to duck down.
The car came to a stand still, with Emily's door closest to the jet and Morgan saw the two trucks screeching onto the tarmac having followed them on to the compound. There was no way he could get out of the car his side….. He would be right in their line of fire, so he remained as low down as he could.
"Emily. Get out!" Morgan shouted, seeing Hotch beckoning for her, crouched down as he made down the jet steps and used their car for cover.
"I'm not leaving you!"
"Just go. I'll be right behind you."
She shook her head.
"Go Emily…..! Now!"
But before she could protest once again, she was being dragged out of her seat by Hotch.
"Morgan, climb over." The Unit chief shouted over Emily's shoulder.
"Ok… Just take her Hotch." The dark Agent called back desperately.
Hotch's strength was too much for Emily as he pulled her backwards the short distance on to the jet. She grimaced as he crushed her broken ribs and the pain stifled her screams for Morgan to follow.
As they got through the entrance, she wrestled free of Hotch's grip making back towards the door, but as they heard a shower of gun fire begin outside, she was pulled backwards once again.
"Clyde, what's going on?" She screamed at him as she made it into the main carriage. But her attention was immediately drawn to the grey haired man who was sat gripping a cell to his ear. As he looked at her, her breaths got heavier, "… what the hell's he doing here?" She snarled at her old boss.
"Emily we don't have time for this right now." Easter said cutting her short, his face an inch away from the window.
They watched as the shell of the car Morgan was ducked down in, was littered with bullet holes.
"Clyde, do something please…." She said desperately, then turning to Hotch, "… please!" she begged.
"Take the shot Matty!"
Emily spun around and saw Castello shouting into the cell.
"We've got em cornered boss." Rang out from the speakerphone.
They looked over to the third vehicle screeching on to the tarmac, with three men hanging out of the windows, headed for straight between the two trucks. Machine gun fire quickly hailed over Doyle's men's vehicles as the four by four sped between them. They could all only assume that all six men had been taken out as the fire on Morgan's car stopped instantly.
Everyone stared outside…. Everything went deathly quiet. Emily's eyes bore into the car, willing Morgan to appear…..
"Why isn't he moving?" She almost whispered.
"He doesn't know if it's safe yet. That's all." Hotch attempted to reassure, inside hoping to god he was right.
"Boss. We got em, but I don't know what's going on here. Can't see Emily."
"Just leave." Catello told the man.
"We're just checking the trucks. Make sure they're all dead."
Easter leaned in….. "Get them out of here. We need to take off and the cops will be here any minute."
Castello did not respond, just looked at the Brit with contempt…. As if he needed another reason to hate the authorities.
"Ok…. Just hurry…." He said into the cell, "…. If Emily is there and she sees you, she can identify you and you'll go down for murder."
"Ok, Baxter is just coming back from the truck. We'll go now…." There was a short pause from the speakerphone, "…..Wait a minute. There's someone in that car….. It's that fed that worked with Emily. The black guy."
"Just get out of there." Castello repeated, attempting to sound calm.
"He's bound to have seen us. We're going to have to take him out."
Emily's heart began to race once again and she couldn't breathe as she watched Morgan begin to crawl across the seat, at the same time as one of Castello's men took aim at him.
"Call him off!" Hotch growled to Castello under his breath.
Castello looked from Hotch to Emily, who was now looking at him with the biggest, most scared eyes he had seen….. pleading with him silently.
"Stand down!" He bellowed into the cell.
"But boss, he's right here. We've got a clear shot. What do you care if we kill a Fed? You've never cared be…"
"The last thing I need is them all over me because we did one of them in…" Castello interrupted, even though he knew it was too late to try and hide what his worker was about to say, "….. Now get out of there!" He shouted.
"Baxter's just told me there's a load of drugs and cash in the back of one of the trucks. We can't leave that behind."
As much as it went against the grain to pass up such an opportunity, Castello knew leaving it behind would mean the Comando Vermelho, with a bit of help from police corruption, would be reunited with their merchandise and Emily would be off the hook with them.
Castello lowered his voice, the venom almost spitting from his mouth, "Matty, I swear to god if you don't do as I say, you will have nothing to come home to. Do I make myself clear?"
There was a short pause and then the young man spoke, "Yes. Loud and clear." The words spoken through clenched teeth before he ended the call.
Emily stared out of the window. It felt like an eternity, but eventually she felt the tight pain in the top of her chest subdue as the large four by four wheel spun and accelerated off the runway out of sight.
Immediately, she ran out of the door and down the steps, flinging her arms around Morgan's neck as he finally climbed out of the passenger door.
"Are you hurt?" She asked, pulling back and looking him up and down.
"No I'm fine….. But what the hell happened there?" He chuckled nervously.
She put her arms around him once again and he placed one arm around her back, feeling her whole chest expand and contract more than he'd ever known.
He felt her say something into his neck, but it was muffled as her lips teased against his skin, so he couldn't make out exactly what, but he thought he just about heard, '…you're ok.'
"Morgan. Prentiss. Come on. We've to get out of here."
He looked up to see the Unit Chief stood at the top of the steps.
He figured she hadn't heard him though as she remained clung to him, so he gently took hold of her arms and pulled out of the embrace.
"Come on Emily…." He muttered, "…Let's go home."
~~CM~~
Morgan stood with Hotch at the back of the plane as the Unit Chief made them both coffee. Emily had opted for the whisky she was promised by Easter and after watching Morgan nearly be gunned down for the second time, it was exactly what she needed.
As Hotch stirred the hot liquid he glanced over to the dark Agent who looked like he was in a world of his own, "You ok?" He asked with concern.
"I'm fine…." Morgan replied, leaning his head back against the wall, "…. Just glad this is over. I'm exhausted."
"You did a good job Morgan." Hotch assured.
"Thanks…." He muttered. No matter how long they had worked together, Hotch's acknowledgement was something Morgan always appreciated, and if he were honest, longed for on occasion…. And it worked both ways.
As Hotch looked over once again, he smiled cautiously seeing a smirk form across Morgan's face.
"What?" The older man asked.
"So…. Do I have a job to come back to?"
Hotch stared at him seriously, but couldn't hold if for long before he broke into a small chuckle, "Really, the only thing you did wrong in the end was lie about being ill. Other than that, you flew out to find a friend and you were going to bring her back as soon as it was safe right?"
"Right." Morgan agreed.
"And then of course, as you were about to come back you got shot and you realised just how dangerous it was….. What you were up against out there."
"That's the truth Hotch." Morgan assured.
"I know. I think I'm still going to have to sweet talk Strauss though."
Morgan pursed his lips and took a sharp intake of breath, "Sorry man…" the younger Agent said picking up his cup of coffee, "….. Hey may be Rossi's the man for that job." He added with a wink.
Hotch laughed, "I think you may be right." He agreed as he went to walk past Morgan.
"Er Hotch…."
"Yes?" The Unit chief halted, turning back around.
"Do you have Robert Prentiss's cell number by any chance?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I just need to ask him something. That's all."
Hotch frowned at his evasion of answering the question, but reached into his pocket anyway, "Sure…. here."
"Thanks Hotch…." Morgan said, tapping the number in to his cell. As he finished, he looked back up to Hotch, "…. For everything."
"No problem. It really was a team effort…" Hotch said with sincerity, then turning back to glance at Emily, "…. Just don't screw that up."
"Hey, I've already had the fatherly chat from Rossi." Morgan protested.
"Fatherly…?" Hotch began with a raise of the brow, "…. Do you want me to have that chat with Strauss or not?"
Morgan laughed, "Ok, sorry….Slightly bigger brother chat."
"That's better…." Hotch smiled briefly, quickly returning to his serious face, "….But seriously, don't screw it up."
As his boss walked away with a chuckle, Morgan slipped into the bathroom to make a call…..
~~CM~~
As Morgan made back to his seat, he paused, looking down at the brunette who had not even noticed his presence next to her. She was staring absently at the man she had learned was her real father only a few days ago. He was sat a few rows ahead of her, his head rested back on the seat as he slept.
Morgan lowered himself into the seat beside her and lightly nudged her elbow.
"You ok?" He uttered.
She turned and smiled at him, "Yeah, I'm ok."
"You wanna talk to him?" He asked, nodding toward the sleeping man.
She shook her head, "I don't know."
All of a sudden Castello stirred as if he had known they were talking about him and glanced up at Emily. They locked eyes, but he was the one to give in first and look away. He couldn't read her, but he could tell it definite wasn't a warm stare.
"Do you feel like you've got something to say to him?" Morgan asked.
She shrugged, "I guess."
"So go and say it…." He whispered, reaching his hand over to grab hers….. He squeezed gently, "…. It's ok."
"I don't know." She mused.
"Emily, there's nothing he can do to hurt you. If it doesn't go well, just get up and walk away. It's that simple."
She took a deep, contemplative breath and placed her forearms on the armrests, ready to push herself up, "Ok. I'm gonna speak to him."
Morgan stood to let her by, but as she passed him, he took hold of her hand and gently kissed the palm, "…It'll be ok." He whispered.
She smiled a thank you and took the few steps towards the stranger.
He noticed her approach and shuffled in his seat as he watched her, his eyes following hers as she sat in the seat opposite him.
"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say to you." She said directly, her voice far more shaky than she'd of liked.
"It's ok, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to." The man answered.
"But I want to."
He smiled at her contradictions, "So say whatever it is on the tip of your tongue. I'm guessing there's something."
"Well…." She began, struggling inside herself with what she was about to say, "…. I wanted to thank you…. for helping us get out of there…. and for Morgan."
"It's the only thing I've ever been able to do for you Emily, your entire life."
"And….. And I'm really sorry about Shane." She continued.
She watched as the man's shoulders lowered, almost as if he deflated right in front of her. But even with this feeling of sorrow for him, she couldn't help the words that came next.
"But this doesn't mean I want you to be my father."
He looked at her for a few seconds, his eyes dark and sad…. She was sure she saw his heart break just a little.
"I'm sorry…" She began, "…It's just….."
"It's ok Emily…." He interrupted, looking her straight in the eyes, "…..I get that we are from different worlds and I understand they can't mix. I know I stand for things that you fight against every day, but there is something I need to tell you. Something that I can give you."
"What?" She said with trepidation.
"You have another brother."
She nodded, "Yeah I know. Michael."
The older man shook his head and she frowned, "No. Not Michael. I mean, he is your brother, but you have another brother…. And a sister."
"What?"
"Their mother left me just like your mother did. Enemies of mine back then started threatening her…. Threatening that they would hurt the kids. So she left to protect them. At first I went after them, but she made me understand… just the same as for you. She made me realise the best thing I could do for you all was leave you alone, so that's what I did. That's when I stopped trying to be in your life."
"What about Michael and Shane? You stayed in their lives."
He shrugged, "Their mother was a junkie. Couldn't even warm a bottle of milk for them. They were better off with me."
"So do you know where they are? My brother and sister I mean."
A small warm smile crept across his lips, "Their mother had moved them to New Jersey, but they both ended up back in DC because of their work. Kaitlin has just had her second baby. Kaitlin's beautiful, just like you…. And Gregory recently got married. He's a lawyer."
She paused, almost unable to take in what the man was telling her.
He let her ponder for a while in silence before asking, "What are you thinking?"
"How do you know all of this stuff if you weren't part of their lives?"
"I know a lot about you all… I know everywhere you travelled…. Europe, the Middle East. I know you graduated from Yale with top marks in your year and I know that you worked for Interpol and then came to DC. I also remember the exact thing I was doing when I found out you were dead. I even put flowers on your grave…" He paused as her eyes widened, "….. and when you came back from Paris…. Well, you have no idea how that made me feel."
He watched as a horrified grimace appeared across her face, but he chuckled.
"I know you probably think that is really creepy, but it was for no other reason than I just wanted to know what became of you and that you were ok. You are my flesh and blood."
"Ok…" She began hesitantly, not sure how to process the fact he had been watching her all these years. So in Emily Prentiss style, she changed the subject, "…. So how many kids do you have?" She asked.
"Just the five of you…" He paused, realising it really was only four now.
"Will you tell me where they are?"
"Kaitlin and Gregory? Of course… but what about Michael? Do you not want to know him?"
She swallowed, "Is he like you….? Does he do the things you do?"
The man nodded.
"Well then I don't want to know him right now… Do you have any idea how much misery and pain you cause people?"
"It's the only thing I know." He answered as a matter of fact.
"That's bullshit. You could have gotten out."
"No I couldn't. This is my life. This is who I am Emily."
"I can't accept that." She said shaking her head.
"I'm not asking you to…." He shrugged, "…. We just have a different outlook on life."
She scoffed, "You're sure right about that. I think our moral compasses are at entirely different ends of the spectrum."
"Probably….. But do you know, out of all my children, I have worried about you the most with the things you've been involved with?"
"It's none of your business….." She defended.
He laughed warmly at her defiance, "I know you're strong and capable. I also know you've got money and there's a whole load more of that if you want it."
She shook her head, "I don't want a cent from you. It's blood money."
"Ok, fair enough…. But all I was going to say was, get out of this life while you can and be happy Emily. Live a simple life with someone who makes you happy."
She stared at him for a few seconds and then stood, "May be you should take some of your own advice." She told him looking down.
"I'm not too good at that." He responded holding her gaze.
As she looked at him, she felt a shudder flow through her. All of these years, she believed she had gotten her stubborn, slightly ruthless streak from her mother, but meeting Castello had blown that theory apart for her. She wondered how much like him she really was…. May be they had just channelled their traits in different things… hers for good and his for evil. How different her life could have been if he had been a part of it.
Everything spinning through her mind was getting too much and she was exhausted, so she averted her stare from his and walked the few steps back towards Morgan. He rose and let her sit.
"You ok?" He asked quietly, placing his hand over hers.
She shook her head, "No." She murmured.
"What did he say?"
"Nothing really important, other than he told me I have another brother and sister."
"You're kidding me?"
"Nope…. But they don't have anything to do with him…. like me."
She looked over to him when she didn't hear him respond and he was staring at her with a big smile.
"What?" She asked, confused.
"Emily you always said you wanted a brother or sister. And now you got both. This is a good thing right?"
She swallowed hard, "I don't know."
He shifted in his seat to face her straight on, "Look, just because you're going to have nothing to do with him, doesn't mean you can't get to know them. I know there's a long way to go, but something good may just come of this big mess."
"I think you're jumping the gun Derek."
"May be I am…." He began, lightly tapping the end of her nose with his finger and smiling, "….But don't pretend that you're not just a little bit excited. I can see that glint in your eyes."
Her head dipped, but her eyes looked up at him, and whilst her mouth was trying to hide her smile, her big dark eyes couldn't.
She leant her head against him and closed her eyes, tiredness finally getting the better of her….. Somehow, Morgan made her feel safe to dare to dream for the rest of the journey home, of that family that she had always longed for.
~~CM~~
Once the plane landed, as they walked across the tarmac of the private airport, Morgan felt Emily's fingers slip in between his. He squeezed her hand as they got nearer to the building upon seeing Garcia and JJ frantically waving through the large glass windows at them.
"I can't believe they're here Hotch. It's like two in the morning." Emily chuckled to her old boss.
"You think I could stop them?" He said, glancing at her with a smile and then walking ahead of them.
As they approached the doors, Emily stopped and loosed Morgan's grip, feeling a tap on her shoulder.
Turning she saw Harry Castello,
"I thought you might want this." He offered, holding out a small piece of paper to her.
She cautiously accepted it, Morgan looking on with a concerned frown.
Opening it up, she saw his scrawly handwriting…. It was the full names and addresses of Gregory Martin and Kaitlin Riley.
"Thank you." She almost whispered, giving him the faintest of smiles.
"You're welcome…." He began, holding out his arm cautiously towards her. But he thought better of it and pulled away hastily, "….Be safe Emily." He uttered, before walking past her and away hurriedly.
She felt Morgan's hand squeeze the back of her neck gently, "Come on. Let's get inside."
Before she opened the door fully, she could hear the squeals of Garcia and as she took a step into the lobby, she was enveloped in between the techie and JJ.
"Ahh guys my ribs." She breathed.
"Oh my god sorry." Garcia said, pulling away.
"It's ok….. It's really good to see you guys." Emily smiled, holding Gacia's hand tight and rubbing JJ's arm.
"You have got to stop doing this to us Em… seriously; you're going to put us all in an early grave." JJ chuckled.
"Why did you look at me when you said that?" Rossi's voice came from the side of them.
Emily looked around the blond seeing the older profiler and the young Doctor approach, "Thank you all for everything….." She said.
Reid smiled awkwardly as Rossi winked at her.
Garcia then stepped in front of Morgan and reached up putting her arms around him, squeezing tight. As she pulled away she looked at him sternly, "I really want to slap you and hug you at the same time Derek Morgan."
"Hey… It all worked out ok didn't it?" He protested.
"Yes it did…." She said, leaning in and lowering her voice, "…. Thank you for bringing her home safe….. And you."
Morgan smiled at his friend as she moved to now stand in front of Emily, "And you madam…. We have some serious girl talk to have." She said waving a finger between the brunette and Morgan, who immediately looked worried. He now knew that not one part of his life would be sacred.
"Of course Pen…. May need a few glasses of wine though." Emily said dryly.
"Girls' night it is then." Garcia clapped gleefully.
"Hey Em…" JJ said softly, touching her friend's forearm gently, "….There's some others waiting to see you."
"Others?"
"Your mom and dad. They're waiting in the private lounge."
"They're here?" She said, her eyes wide in shock.
"They insisted." The blond told her.
Emily looked back to Morgan who just smiled and nodded in encouragement for her to go to them. She said nothing though, and he could see her eyes were screaming for him to go with her; The woman had stared death in the face with contempt more times than he cared to think about, yet he had never seen her so filled with dread as right now.
He took a few paces, closing the gap between them and placed his hand in the small of her back, "Come on," He whispered.
~~CM~~
She spied her mother first, nervously pacing the room, rubbing her hands in front of her.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Morgan asked as they stood in the doorway of the large longue.
She touched his hand lightly, "No. Just wait here."
"Sure."
She slowly walked towards the Ambassador who was stood with her back to her…. no idea her daughter was there.
"Mother."
The dark haired woman spun round, a look of shock and fear on her face.
"Emily…." She rushed forward, but stopped short of throwing her arms around her, unsure of the reaction, "…Thank god you're ok…. You are ok right?"
"Yeah I'm fine. It a bit bruised, but nothing that won't heal."
"Emily I'm so sorry I lied to you. I know you probably hate me right now but I…."
She held a hand out to her mother to halt her, "….It's ok. I mean, we do need to talk about it, but I don't want to fight with you."
Her mother smiled sadly, holding back her tears, "Of course." Her words broke at the end as she finally wrapped her arms around her daughter. It was an awkward hug, but she was grateful that the younger woman hadn't entirely rejected her.
"Emily….?"
The brunette immediately spun around hearing his familiar, homely voice. Leaving her mother's embrace abruptly, she almost ran to him, flinging her arms around his shoulders, "Dad." She cried into him.
"Angel…. You have no idea how good it is to see you." He breathed into her hair, swaying her in his arms and rubbing her back gently.
He just held her as she sobbed and gave her time to compose herself, before she pulled away from him to look him in the eyes, "Please know this won't change anything between us. You are and will be my only father."
"I know sweetheart…..." He said with a smile, wiping away her tears, "…..Come over here. I've got something for you."
He led her to the seats at the edge of the room and guided her to sit down. She hadn't noticed the small bag he had in his hand until he was reaching inside it and she watched as he pulled out a dark green box.
"Here….." He smiled, handing her the gift.
"What is it?"
"Open it…" He told her gently.
She swallowed hard as she pulled the box open. Her eyes widened upon seeing the contents. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn he was giving her the exact graduation gift he had given her all those years ago. But it couldn't be…. With a shaking hand, she pulled the gold watch out of the box and hesitantly turned it over to look at the back…. 'To my Emily. From the proudest father in the world. Always & Forever.'
She opened her mouth and breathed softly, trying hold back more tears. He had added 'forever'.
"Here…" He said taking the watch from her and winding it around her wrist, doing up the clasp.
"How did you….?"
She stopped as she saw her father glance up at the man stood in the doorway, still patiently waiting, attempting to look as if he wasn't trying to listen to every word they said.
"Listen…" Robert Prentiss said, squeezing her hand, "….You go. I'm sure you have stuff you need to do. Me, you and mom will sit down and talk about this when you've had some rest. Ok?"
She smiled and nodded.
"Go on then…" He whispered, nodding towards Morgan.
She leant in and kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks daddy." She said before turning and walking towards the waiting dark Agent. As she did, she turned back to her mother who had her arms wrapped around herself, stood watching everything going on looking so alone. Emily attempted a reassuring smile, but she wasn't sure she'd pulled it off as her mother attempted a smile back too, but hers was masked with fear and guilt.
"I'll see you tomorrow mother." She called back, her voice softening.
A warmer, relieved smile appeared on the woman's face, "Wait…." She shouted, walking towards them.
The Ambassador stood in front of them and looked from her confused daughter, up to Morgan.
"Thank you for bringing her home safe Derek. Hopefully one day I can repay you."
"No problem….." He uttered. "…. And I really don't want repaying."
"I'll see you tomorrow Emily." The older woman said, looking back to her daughter.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow mother."
The couple turned and walked down the long deserted corridor. Emily leaned into him and mumbled sarcastically, "Derek is it? First name terms with my mother? That's quite impressive."
He shrugged, "What can I say… Even the Ambassador couldn't help but fall for the Derek Morgan charm." He said with a grin.
Laughing, she rolled her eyes, but then stopped, grabbing for his arm. As he turned to face her, she took hold of his other arm and slowly and gently pushed him against the wall.
He looked down to her with a confused smile
"What do you mean, even the Ambassador…? Who else has fallen for those charms?" She questioned with grin, her hands snaking around his waist.
He raised his brow nonchalantly, "Oh well, there's this brunette chick I know who I think kinda likes me."
"Really? Well I think…." She began, pressing her body against his, "…..She kinda more than likes you." She said, placing a chaste kiss upon his lips.
"Yeah?" He mumbled.
"Yeah." She whispered.
She looked into his smiling eyes, "Thank you for everything Derek…." She started, pulling her one arm from around him and holding the gold watch on her wrist in front of him, "…And this… I don't even know what to say."
"Just say you'll let me keep doing this stuff…. Forever…. That's all I want."
"Ok…" She whispered, wrapping her arms around him once again and placing a warm, gentle kiss on the side of his neck, "… if you insist." She breathed into him.
~~EPILOGUE~~
A couple of days later they lay in her big bath tub, her back against his chest, surrounded by bubbles. Their bodies were healing well now they had had some proper rest and decent food… mainly supplied by Garcia. Emily's kitchen was stacked with multiple Tupperware tubs and an array of cup cakes.
They had lay in silence for a few minutes, both happily dozing as the aromas from the oils filled their senses.
"Can I ask you something?" She said sleepily.
"Sure." He answered, gently running his fingers up and down her arm.
"What do you see yourself doing when you leave the BAU? I mean, have you thought about it?"
He paused in thought, "Actually, I have…." She just about heard a breathy chuckle escape his lips, "…. I've probably thought about it way too much."
"Go on… tell me." She encouraged.
"Well, there's a town about fifty miles north of Chicago, right on the coast. There's a really old house that's stood empty since I was a kid. It's pretty much on it's last legs, but my dream has always been to buy it, do the place up and live there for the rest of my life. It's beautiful, but needs so much work… not to mention money."
"That's a nice dream."
"Yeah, but that's not just it…. What I really want to do is go back to the youth centre I used to go to. Coach a bit of football and basketball to the kids. That place could do with so much more support than it gets. There's so many kids out there they can't afford to reach. I'd like to help."
She smiled and turned, sitting up to face him, her legs draped over his.
"That's a really lovely ambition…" She said, leaning in and kissing him sweetly on the lips, "….Why don't we do it?" She whispered, her lips still touching his.
"What?" He breathed.
She sat back, "I've got money…. Why don't we leave all this behind? I'm tired of all this Derek. We work and work and it feels like one vicious circle."
"Are you serious? You mean quit our jobs?"
She nodded.
"I…" He began, dropping their stare, "…..I don't know if I'm ready."
"Oh…" She uttered, shifting back, feeling her stomach turn.
He grabbed her wrist, "I don't mean I'm not ready for us…. Emily I'm more than ready for us…. I have been all my life…. I just never realised it until the day you told me you were a nerd."
She couldn't help a small smile creep across her face, but she still felt a little sick, so she loosened his grip and carefully climbed out of the tub, wishing she could run a mile.
"Hey…" He reached out as she was putting a towel round her, "…Come here." He whispered, taking hold of her hand as she got closer, lightly tugging encouraging her to lean down to him, "I love you, you know that right?" He said.
"I know." She nodded, placing a light kiss on his forehead before walking out, her mood sunken.
~~CM~~
As she made her way down the stairs after drying her hair and getting changed into her night shorts and vest top, her tummy fluttered with nerves. She had spent the last half hour cursing herself for being so stupid… so forward. Could that be enough to make him run a mile from her if the past few days hadn't already done the trick?
Quietly stepping into the lounge, she spied Morgan sat on her sofa, the low drone from the television in the background. As she stepped in front of him, she saw him intently looking at the screen of the laptop sat upon him.
"Hey…" He smiled, looking at her, "…Come here." He put his arm out across the back of the sofa, beckoning for her to sit next to him.
As she did, he let his hand rest on her naked shoulder, apart from the thin spaghetti strap.
"What you looking at?" She asked.
He turned the screen to face her, "I booked us a long weekend away."
"You did? Where to?"
"I'm gonna take you to see that house I told you about. See what you think."
She turned and looked at him, her eyes widening.
"What?" He asked with a smirk, spying her expression out of the corner of his eye.
"Why are we going to look at the house?"
She watched him pick up the laptop and place it down on the floor, then shifting his body round so he was facing her, taking hold of her hands.
"Listen, I'm sorry I reacted the way I did earlier. It just shocked me I guess…. But only because I never thought I'd be doing any of that for a long while yet. But, when I think about us and what we've been through, not only over the last few days, but the last few years, I think we deserve a break… and to be honest, I can actually think of no reason at all that we shouldn't do it."
"That's a quick change of heart Derek. A few minutes ago you said you weren't ready."
"I'll tell you what I know Em…. I know that I love you…. I know I don't want to be apart from you….. And honestly…? I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you….."
"Derek…" She uttered.
"Let me finish…." He interrupted her, "….The last few days have been crazy, I know that, but spending all that time with you, it felt right and it's making it really hard for me to walk out of that door and go home…. I really don't want to."
She shuffled forward, so she was as close to him as possible, cupping his face in her hands and kissing him sweetly, "So don't leave then….." She whispered. "…Stay."
"You want me to?" He breathed into her.
"More than anything."
Pulling away from her slightly, he placed his strong hand son her thighs, "So you'll come and have a look at the house?"
"I'd love to…. But you're sure about this?" She questioned.
"Of course… Look, Emily there's no pressure. When we see it, if it feels right…" He shrugged, "….It is right."
He watched her beautiful smile fill her beautiful face as she wrapped her arms around him. She allowed herself to melt into him as he slowly lowered her backwards on to the soft sofa and kissed her deeply.
"I love you." She whispered into his ear as he tenderly pecked at the ivory skin on her neck.
He raised his head and looked into her big, glistening eyes, "I love you too."
And at that point, he knew for certain, that when they went to Chicago, everything was going to feel very very right.
The end….
So what did you think? I'm interested to hear what folks thinks about Emily's reaction to Castello… Morally, it was a dilemma… What about the rest of it?
I really hope you enjoyed the last chapter… Thanks for reading!