Author's Note:

Expect more tears here, so grab Kleenex or some other kind of tissue or whatever you'll be wiping your eyes with here, even though these should be happy tears. Now, if my Internet will continue to work, I shall add this chapter before going to bed...or just add the chapter then stay up even later...who knows...

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 11:27 AM
Local hospital, North Carolina

Amy waited patiently in her hospital bed, as usual. Hotch had left after apologizing for what had to be the millionth time - not that she was counting or anything - and Prentiss had apologized for his constant apologies. The two brunettes then talked with the doctor, addressing the healing of certain injuries and the possibility of being released in the near future. JJ had taken the doctor's place after it was decided that Amy's release would rely on her healing, and the two agents had left, laughing. Now Amy was waiting on Reid and the friend he said he wanted her to meet. She was excited that, after what had happened, he had something to go back to, but something about returning to their normal lives eventually hurt her. Maybe it was the fact that she had nothing to return to, since Stan destroyed everything including his most prized part of her: her ability to dance. Maybe it was the fact that she was finally able to be up-front with her eidetic memory, meaning she could enroll in college now like Reid had. That was too much for her, she felt, but it was still a possibility. Or maybe it was the fear that she'd never be able to enjoy life the way she had before, with all of those she had known and loved. Whatever it was, it was troubling her.

There was a knock at the door as Amy was listening to a Japanese song Rebecca had gotten her hooked on that always cheered her up. Amy looked up, pulling out an earbud as Reid walked in with a young woman behind him.

"Hello!" he said cheerfully.

Amy smiled. "Hey, Dr. Reid." She carefully tried not to eye the woman who had followed him in.

"It's Spencer, remember?"

Amy sighed. "Right. Spencer. It'll be a bit. I'm so used to seeing and hearing and thinking Dr. Reid."

Reid smiled as he walked closer, taking the woman's hand. "It's alright. Take your time. However, Amy, this is Eloïse. She's my fiancé."

Amy's eyes widened, her mouth open slightly. "Fiancé?"

Eloïse laughed, her brown curls bouncing. "Yep! Spencer's been talking about you non-stop since I got here! I just hope he's not wrong...but then again, Spencer's never wrong."

Amy smiled slightly, blushing. "Well, I'm sure you heard quite a bit of flattery. People tend to exaggerate about me."

Eloïse laughed again. Amy was liking the way those curls bounced and her dimples showed. "Well, so far what he's said is true!"

Amy blushed deeper as Reid put his arm around Eloise's waist.

"Well, I have another friend for you to meet," Reid said, but his smile only widened as Amy's shrank into a puzzled frown. "Come on in!"

The rhythmic sound of a man on crutches came towards the room from down the hall, and slowly, the anticipation built as Hotch (who had decided to replace the officer on duty outside Amy's door) allowed in a man whom Amy almost didn't recognize.

"Amy," Reid said, his smile brightening as Amy's confusion turned into tearful shock and recognition. "I think you already know him, but this is now-retired CIA Agent Domonick Nickhoales."

Amy's braced hand flew to her mouth. "Dom..." she breathed.

The Agent smiled, tears falling from his own brown eyes. "Amy."

"Dom!" she exclaimed, her arms flying into the air despite the pain it caused her as her brother made his way over to her. "Oh, Dom! I thought-"

"It was necessary for you to believe I was dead in order to save the both of us. If you knew I was alive, Stan might have found out, and he would have killed us both," Domonick said, sitting in the chair Reid had moved directly next to the bed, taking her hands.

"But he shot you!"

Domonick nodded. "He missed, luckily. I escaped with only a bullet in my leg and another had scraped between my arm and chest. The fabrication was good enough, but I'm surprised the, uh, FBI over here didn't see through it." Domonick winked at Reid as he said the last line, raising his voice so Hotch could hear. Laughter from outside settled it.

Reid smiled, shaking his head. "Well, it nearly cost you your leg. I mean, when I was shot I was lucky I regained the use of it after being on crutches for so long."

"True," said Morgan, who had just walked in holding a box of Munchkins followed by a nurse carrying lunch for Amy.

"Well, Amy, I see you have quite a few visitors! Family and friends, I presume? Or just more agents?"

"Both," Amy said with a smile as the nurse began taking her blood pressure. "This is my brother, Dom, whom I only just found out was still alive. This is Eloïse, whom I've only just met, and the rest are the usual FBI agents, but friends nonetheless."

The nurse smiled as she exited the room. "Well that's lovely. I'll be back soon."

The instant she left, Amy frowned. "I really didn't have the heart to tell her I've lost my appetite...ooooh! Jello!"

Domonick, Reid, Morgan, Eloïse, and Hotch laughed as Hotch, Prentiss, and JJ re-entered the room. "That's my sister!" Domonick exclaimed.

Amy beamed, holding the Jello cup and a spoon. With everyone she now cared about around her, she felt complete again, the pain disappearing, too. This was a moment for which she was glad she had an eidetic memory. Nothing could capture the sight better.

Soon Reid and Domonick were discussing rooming arrangements (the two had become very close friends in a matter of hours, and were already thinking about how much it would mean to Amy especially if the siblings lived close by Reid and Eloïse) as well as what was going to happen in the days to come considering Amy's health and belongings in the house in the woods (which Amy was almost perfectly fine with burning until she remembered how expensive everything there was and what she still actually liked and so on). Eloïse and Amy were discussing books and fashion (nice, a girl that understood her ideas on style and reading!) when Hotch stepped out of the room and returned with a pretty brunette that looked quite a bit like Amy but older.

She was in her mid to late twenties, about 5'8", petite, and smiling. Her brown eyes were nice and round, her nose angled slightly and pointed a smidge. She wore a dark grey skirt suit with a silky magenta tank top underneath, black stiletto heels, and minimal make-up besides eyeliner, mascara, faint lipstick, and soft magenta eyeshadow. Her ears were pierced, sure, with little silver treble clefs hanging off of them, along with a necklace with what looked like the bass clef or something similar and a simple silver charm bracelet with various music notes, clefs, miniature instruments, and a few red and pink hearts. If this woman didn't love music, Amy didn't know what to think.

Hotch let the woman speak. "Thank you. Hi, my name is Danielle Hunt, and I'd like to conduct an interview with little miss Amy here and a Dr. Spencer Reid for the Bethel Beacon, Danbury News Times, and a few other Connecticut papers as well as possibly the New York Times, if my boss there wants me to as well, meaning I have to do more writing and waiting and so much more boring stuff that takes me about two weeks to get done if sufficiently motivated."

Amy looked to Reid and Domonick, then looked back at Danielle almost instantly, her face turning bright red. Domonick was staring at the reporter with such a look Amy felt his eyes might bore holes into her skin if she wasn't careful.

Domonick shook his head quite suddenly, blinking. "Well, if my sister wants to, then sure, why not? What about you, Spencer?"

Reid shrugged. "Sure, why not? What harm could it do?"

Amy met the eight pairs of eyes suddenly trained on her individually before nodding. "Okay, yeah, sure. I mean, it'll be in Bethel, so yeah."

Danielle nodded, smiling. "Alright, thank you so much! You have no idea how much I need these articles - I'm in such a need for something actually interesting that isn't way out of 'my league,' as my boss says most of my ideas are. When can we begin? I can come back tomorrow, I can start now, if you really wanted, but it's kind of late, but that really means nothing right now. Whenever you are ready, we can begin."

Reid looked at Amy, who was looking at Domonick's face as he stared at Danielle with this look that Amy hadn't seen since he first met Rachel and when they first had Grace. It was his analysing look, Amy had finally determined, and so far, he seemed pleased with what he was seeing.

Danielle shifted under everyone's gaze. "So, when should I return? And, if it's possible, can I get smaller interviews with all of you? I mean, since you're here, you have to be connected somehow, so I figured that I might as well try to paint a full picture and possibly get more free reign over these articles if what I get is good enough for my boss." She shifted again nervously, edging closer to the door as Amy looked away, noting the reporter's discomfort.

Reid looked back at Amy. "Whenever you're ready, Am."

Amy nodded. "I was afraid you'd say that. I'm probably not going anywhere for a long time now, so whenever you're ready, actually, would probably be a better idea."

Danielle looked almost relieved while still nervous to have so many eyes on her. "Well...we could do a little now if you're up to it...I've got fifteen minutes before I have to leave for a meeting I really don't want to go to, then I could come back sometime tomorrow to finish up one interview, then start writing the questions for other interviews - I won't be writing too many more, maybe one or two per paper? - so that way I'll have some different material to use for the unique articles. The Times paper will have to have fresh information from fresh questions since it's the most-read paper, so that I'll save for last..." She started to do some calculations in the air with her fingers, then grabbed a little red spiral notebook from her purse and started jotting some things down. After a minute she cut herself off, clicking her pen slowly and looking back up, her face bright red. "I just started rambling, didn't I?"

Amy made an iffy sign. "More or less."

Danielle closed her eyes and sighed. "Great. I am so sorry about that. I'd probably better get some things straightened out first, like actually getting permission to write the articles, then come back and worry about questions and information and all that stuff."

Amy's eyes widened. "Wait - you haven't even gotten permission to write the articles?"

Danielle sighed again, her voice becoming strained as she pressed her hand to her forehead as if in stress. "No, I was hoping that my boss would like the idea more if I had some information already gathered about the case and names of those I'm interviewing. I need this so much...I've been following this case since the start last year...I lost my fiancé in the bombing, you see, so my bosses have been on the brink of firing me because I can't get a decent, well, anything lately, but because of my loss they're afraid I'll be suiciding if they do, and they're probably right. This reporter job is my landline, my one last hope of getting back to normal. If I lose it, well, it's almost like getting kicked in the face, because I've known all along that those silly awards I won in high school didn't mean I was a good writer..." She shook her head, opening her purse and taking out a prescription bottle and doing mental math before tossing two of the pills in her mouth, washing them down with the water bottle she pulled out next. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "So yeah. I'd at least like to get those that are interested in being interviewed for various article possibilities so I have something to present tonight at the meeting."

Amy nodded. "Well, mine's easy, and so's Spencer's, so you've got two.

Danielle nodded, scribbling their names in her notebook.

Hotch gave his name, followed by Prentiss, then JJ, then Morgan, then Rossi, then Eloïse, then Garcia (who had only just arrived to hear the last part of Danielle's depressive speech).

Danielle was biting her lip when she shyly addressed Domonick. "And are you interested, sir?"

Domonick had been scrutinizing her for so long that his smile took both Danielle and Amy off-guard. "Yes. The name's Domonick Nickhoales."

Danielle started writing his name, saying it as she wrote it, then stopped, the pen slipping on the page. She repeated the name to herself, then looked up at him, then at Amy, then back at him, then at her notebook, then back at him, then back at Amy.

Domonick sighed. "Yes, I'm alive."

Danielle shook her head. "No, I can see that one - I may have blonde highlights and been born strawberry blonde but I am most definitely not stupid - but why do I feel like I know you? What year did you graduate?"

"2004, Bethel High."

Danielle's shocked look turned into one of recognition. "Domonick Nickhoales...Danielle Murphy. I started taking my fiancé's last name after he died even though we never really made it official. But we graduated together, and you were always in my math and history classes."

Domonick's expression matched hers. "Yeah, you're right! No wonder you looked so familiar! You were...what's-his-name's girlfriend at one point...oh, what was his name? Amy, do you remember who he was? I know you were little, but do you remember? He was over a lot..."

Amy's eyes narrowed in concentration. "Russian?"

Domonick nodded. "Yeah, he was Russian...oh this is going to bother me until I get it right..."

Amy snapped, eyes opening. "Pietr Garder?"

Danielle and Domonick's eyes both lit up. "Yeah! That was the kid!"

Danielle laughed. "Gosh, I'd forgotten all about Pietr! And yeah, at first he was a pretty nice guy. Until, of course, he decided he wanted to get serious and so much more..." Danielle and Amy both shivered, then Danielle checked her watch and bit her lip. "Alright, I will get this through my bosses even if these end up being my last articles. It was nice meeting you all, and I hope to be able to work with you soon enough...and that actually sounded worse than I intended, but when one plays with words for a living, you get used to that kind of stuff." With that, the reporter left, a slight spring in her step as she walked out the door and down the hall, her black heels clacking on the floor.

Amy sighed, then fell back on the hospital bed. She regretted that decision instantly. "Bad...move," she whispered between sharp intakes of breath.

Domonick turned around almost instantly, forgetting about his own leg in the process, and soon he was laughing and crying at the same time as he sat back down, then started massaging the area around his wound. "You okay, Amy?"

She gave a weak thumbs-up, then said weakly, her voice higher-pitched, "You don't look so good yourself."

Domonick sighed. "Moved too fast. As usual in the Nickhoales-Fernand family, depending on what form you look at."

Hotch muttered, "Fernand, Nickhoales, Fields, Hotchner even."

Both Amy and Domonick's heads were directly facing him, their ears perking up.

"What was that last one?"

Hotch sighed. "Amanda was technically my daughter."

Amy nodded slowly. "Got it."

Domonick shook his head. "No, I meant the one before that. Did you actually say Fields?"

Hotch sighed again. "Yes, yes I did."

Amy put her braced hand on top of Domonick's. "Dom, technically speaking, it was arranged so he became my legal guardian, but anyone could argue that he felt as if I was his wife."

Eloïse shivered. "This all still gives me the creeps. I don't know how any of you can bear knowing all of this rests on one little girl's shoulders."

Domonick smiled. "Well, it isn't just on hers. It's on all of ours in some way, shape, or form."

Reid nodded, as did Hotch, JJ, Prentiss, Morgan, Rossi, and Garcia.

"We share this burden," Reid agreed.

"Together," Garcia added, finally speaking.

Amy waved slightly to acknowledge her equally if not more tech-savvy friend. Garcia waved back, then handed her a small, wrapped package.

"I figured that I would get this replaced," she said.

Amy carefully tore off the wrapping paper to reveal...

Dom's eyebrows raised. "Nice score, Am!"

Garcia laughed. "I took the privilege of sharing all the info I thought you needed from your old iPod to this one after seeing just how much you had stored on that one. I figured that if this doesn't replace it, it'll be adding to the memory you have already, so it'll all work out in the end, I hope."

Amy smiled. "Thanks, Garcia. I'm glad I got another one. I've been meaning to get some new songs that I've been thinking about a lot lately."

Domonick placed his hand on her leg, then removed it realizing how little Amy liked being touched anymore. "Well, I think I do know what some of these songs are, if not all of them."

Amy raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Name a few."

Domonick smiled. "Well, for one thing, I'm going to say the entire Les Mis soundtrack, which you already have."

"Correct," Amy said with a smile.

"I also am going to say that there's some songs you looked up recently that reminded you of people that you want to put on there."

"Correct."

"And I'm sure you'll be looking to see if you've missed anything new from your favorite artists."

Amy frowned. "Correct. Now what's the fun in surprising you with my new playlists?"

Domonick laughed. "No, you'll still find ways to surprise me with your playlists! You always find the smallest details to select and put songs together like that."

Amy smiled, then yawned. "Yep!"

Everyone else around her started to yawn. Soon after, the intercom stated that visiting hours were ending in half an hour. Everyone started stretching and gathering their things, Domonick hopping over to his crutches, which had been placed by the door. Reid and Eloïse were the last to leave, helping Domonick get settled on the couch so the siblings could be together again.

Amy smiled as the lights were turned off. "Today was full of surprises for everyone."

She sensed Domonick smiling. "Agreed. It was nice seeing Danielle again after so many years."

Amy rolled her eyes, giggling then grimacing. "Yeah, I'm sure it was just nice."

Domonick laughed, and Amy knew he was blushing. "Good-night, Am."

"Good-night, Dom."

"Sweet dreams."

"I love you."

"I love you too, sis."

With that, Amy fell into a peaceful sleep for the first time in over a year.

It can be over if you want, but I'm not so sure I'm liking leaving off like this. I have too many ideas left.

I know, pieces of this chapter were pretty cheesy, but I mean really: you can't have wine without cheese.

Alright, thanks for reading again. Hope you enjoy! And, as always, please review!