Hello readers... I have missed writing this so much, so I've tried to make some time to get these chapters out to you guys... I apologize for the long absence! =)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zilch... unfortunately.
Also, this is definitely considered an AU story... I have kind of disregarded Haley and Jack, altogether, even though I didn't mean to, it just happened. So, don't assume they don't exist, they just haven't found their way onto my paper yet... maybe they will later on, maybe not... I'm still not even sure yet. And also, Emily as a "ghost"... so yes definitely AU.

So, anyway... I hope you all like it! Enjoy!!

Time Changes Everything

Looking up at Hotch's door, it opens slowly. After a moment a woman appears. She's tall, with long auburn hair and green eyes. Emily watches as she descends the stairs in front of her and passes by swiftly. She goes to follow her, but is distracted by a familiar face.

JJ. Her hair is longer than Emily remembers, but it's still blonde.

I'm glad some things haven't changed, Emily muses to herself.

Emily watches intently as JJ heads toward Hotch's office. She knocks on the door, enters his office, and closes the door behind her.

Emily quickly gets up from her chair, debating on whether or not to follow her. She stands there, excited, upset, and nervous all at the same time. She desperately needs to see Aaron, but can't bring herself to move. She wrings her hands together and shifts her weight anxiously, waiting for the door to reopen.

Minutes later, JJ emerges and attempts to head back in the direction of her own office, but is stopped by a voice. She turns around back toward Hotch's office and reaches out to grab the case file she apparently left behind.

And stepping through the doorway to hand it to her is… Morgan?!?

Taken aback, Emily stares dumbfounded at her former colleague. He's dressed in a business suit… and a tie! No more tight t-shirts, showing off his impressive six-pack… it's all business now. She was wrong, so much has changed in the last six months since she di-… well, since that day.

Shock is quickly replaced by confusion.

Why is Derek in Aaron's office? Where is he?

So many questions bombard her, it's almost debilitating.

"Derek!" she calls, not remembering she cannot be heard.

She starts for the stairs.

"Derek Morgan!"

He doesn't respond. As she reaches his office, he shuts the door. Unbeknownst to him, he shuts it right in her face. Frustrated she reaches for the handle. Anger building up inside her, she prepares to open the door… and forcefully. She doesn't appreciate being ignored.

But instead, she is surprised as she simply falls through it.

"Ughhh," she groans, as she regains her composure. She is slightly embarrassed at her clumsiness… even though no one can actually see her.

This is going to take some getting used to.

Reminding herself again of her current predicament, she focuses on the other person in the room.

Morgan.

Besides the new wardrobe, he looks relatively the same. Slightly disheveled, and maybe a bit stressed, but for the most part, relatively the same. From the outside he still looks like the tall, dark, and handsome tough-ass with guns she can still see, even with the suit jacket on.

"So, I'm glad to see you're still working out," Emily says to Morgan, but to no one really. "You look good in your three-piece. Very professional."

She chuckles to herself. She feels awkward talking to someone who can't hear her, but it makes her feel alive again… for the moment anyway.

Morgan is sitting at his desk… Hotch's old desk. He props his elbows onto the shiny wood surface and places his head in his hands. He rubs his eyes, as if he's tired.

"I really need to get to the gym today…"

Morgan is talking to himself.

Emily smiles.

She takes a minute to look around the office while Morgan continues to monologue. It's relatively similar to the way Aaron kept it. Neat, simple. She didn't know Morgan could be this organized. Turning her attention to the shelves behind him, she lets her eyes wander to the various pictures he has framed. There's one of Garcia, making a funny face for the camera and one of his sister with a small girl, maybe around six or seven years old.

She didn't know Morgan was an uncle.

And it upsets her that she will never be able to ask him about her.

Derek has quieted, and she turns to look at him. But something catches her eye. Another photo frame, at the other end of the shelf.

It is face-down.

Out of curiosity, she reaches for it. Upon looking at the picture it holds, she instantly regrets picking it up.

It was a beautiful spring day, a Sunday if she remembers correctly. The team had gotten together for lunch at a small diner not far from the office, and about halfway through, Garcia pulled out her digital camera. After a weak refutation by both Rossi and Hotch, Garcia lifted the camera up over her head and snapped a shot.

Everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy, and together, and just having fun.

She looks at Aaron, studies everything she has come to love about his face… the creases in his forehead when he scrunches his nose, or the darkness of his eyes she could simply get lost in forever.

A tear escapes, and she roughly wipes it away.

"Where is he Derek?" she questions him.

He remains unmoving, facing the door, away from her. She knows she's not getting an answer, but it doesn't keep her from asking again.

"Where did he go damn it? I need to know… please."

Emily lowers her head in defeat and sighs.

"I know, I know… you can't even hear me."

But then Morgan does something she did not expect. He turns in his chair and faces her. He looks upward from his seated position, and leans back slightly. She is stunned. It looks like he is staring right at her, but it's impossible. She's not really there. Right?

Then he stands. He reaches out in the direction of the shelf and grabs the picture. The same picture she had in her hand not even a minute ago.

But she never put it back down… how could he…

Emily glances into her empty hands.

Turning them over, she deems this as just another sad reminder of what she no longer is, what she can no longer do.

I can't even hold onto a simple picture frame. It's like I never even touched it.

Sitting again, Morgan stares at the photo. Glancing at every face, he tries to remember those good times. He misses them, Hotch and Emily… every single day of his life. It wasn't long after Emily died that Hotch just disappeared. There were no warnings from him, at least not intentional ones. But he could tell. He knew what was happening to his boss, and it was happening fast. Within the month, he was gone.

To this day, he still doesn't know where he is.

'Knock, knock, knock.'

It's soft, but it startles him all the same.

"Come in," he says putting the picture face-down on his desk.

Emily watches as the same woman from earlier walks in. Now getting a better look, Emily decides she is probably around her own age, and that she is a very beautiful woman. Her demeanor is quiet but strong. She doesn't have to say anything for Emily to feel her presence.

"Hello again, Agent Morgan," she says sweetly, yet confidently.

"Agent Byrne, is there anything else I can do for you?" Morgan asks.

She smiles.

"Sorry, it's just VICAP is a whole different ballgame, so it's going to take some time to adjust. But it's good to be here sir. I felt inclined to tell you that."

"Well, we're happy to have you. Agent Jareau should be briefing us shortly."

"Yes sir."

And with that she turned and left the room quietly.

As the door closes behind her, Morgan leans over and opens up his bottom drawer, withdrawing a manila folder. This will be the third time this week he's had to read over her file. The first time, for when she transferred from the VICAP field office. The second to log a complaint that was filed against her. Now today, just because he feels he needs to give it another glance before their next case.

He reads through the complaint again. It was filed in Denver, her first case with the BAU and coincidentally, her first time out in the field.

"She accused the victim's fiancé of adultery? Ohh, Morgan you've got a feisty one on your hands," Emily laughed, reading over Morgan's shoulder. He shakes his head and exhales loudly, running a hand over his bald head.

"Yeah..."

Emily freezes.

Did he just hear me?

She stares at him with wide, curious eyes. She could swear he just answered her, like somehow her words actually reached his ears. She concentrates, trying to remember what the angel said to her.

… you'll be inside their heads. Like one of their thoughts.

Another minute goes by, and if Morgan did indeed hear her, he hasn't given any other indication of it. Slightly disappointed, she turns her attention back to the folder in his hands.

As Morgan flips through the rest of the file, Emily continues to scan the pages along with him. When he turns back to the cover page, she reads through Agent Byrne's personal information.

Emily stands up straight, and sighs.

"Keira. Well, it's nice to meet you Agent Keira Byrne."

Okay, I hope everyone is happy with this installment!! I was pretty excited when I wrote it!

Just to clarify, it's AU, so I'm not following any particular time line... I've kinda ignored the whole situation with the Reaper, so Morgan was never in charge before now. Also, I'm not sure if Morgan is actually an uncle, but in this story he is... and VICAP is another branch of the FBI, I didn't do much research so I'm not sure what that department is all about, I just needed somewhere for our new Agent to transfer from so that she had a background with the FBI but not particularly the BAU.

Feedback is very much appreciated!! =)