A/N: I want to say one thing, you may think this is a bit more of the same in this chapter, but there are clues on where some of the plot is going.
"It must have come in through the mail earlier today," Frank Williams replied when briefed on the incident with the clover.
"There's no identifying markings on the envelope. Just Emily's name printed on it," Reid said as he looked closely at the plain, brown sleeve.
"It was probably in some other envelope and someone sorted the mail," Williams continued. "There's no other way it would have gotten in here. Ms. Garcia checked the tapes and it clearly shows the envelope in a mail delivery cart from this afternoon."
Reid saw Emily and Easter exchange glances.
"So, what does this all mean?" Garcia asked as she stared fearfully at the seemingly innocuous clover on the conference room table.
"It means Doyle will contact me soon," Emily replied grimly. "He'll probably set up a location he'll want me to go to."
"A trap," JJ stated.
Emily nodded. "A trap."
"He has to know we won't let you go alone to such a meeting," JJ continued.
"Which means he'll done one of two things, a forceful extraction resulting in potential casualties if anyone gets in his way, or he'll try something tricky and maybe kidnap me on my way to the meeting site." Emily's voice was cold and detached, causing her BAU friends to send sidelong glances at her.
"If Doyle wants the guys so they can be hurt in front of Emily," Penelope asked. "Then, wouldn't they be safer if we just keep Emily off the streets and here? I mean, he won't hurt them unless she's there to watch, right?"
"He'll probably then start to send back body parts as a way to encourage Emily to come to him. A finger, an ear…" Reid supplied. "Be glad that he hasn't sent any video or pictures of them being tortured to incentive Emily into a more compliant state. The lack of such evidence potentially increases the odds that they are in fairly good shape."
Garcia had paled at Reid's words and both JJ and Emily glared at him, chiding him for his thoughtless, if accurate assessment of the situation.
"That's not going to happen, Pen," Emily said as she laid a gentle hand on the tech analyst's shoulder.
Garcia shrugged off the hand and stood up unsteadily. "I-, I-, oh God!" She turned tear-filled eyes towards Prentiss. "I can't be here now. When I think of Derek possibly-. Why! Why did this have to happen? If only you hadn't come-!" She bit her lip and then sprung from her chair. Garcia ran out of the room with JJ following her.
"She's just upset," Williams said kindly to an obviously perturbed Prentiss.
"No," Emily replied quietly and sadly. "She's absolutely right, it's all my fault."
"It shouldn't be too long now, lads," Ian Doyle sang out cheerily as he came back into the room.
They all glared at him.
"You've seen Emily," Rossi asked, trying to take control of the situation and praying Hotch kept his mouth shut.
"Not yet, but I have confirmation she is indeed here," Doyle replied, a bright glimmer in his eye making the other men uncomfortable. If they didn't know better, Doyle would have given all the appearance of a love struck man waiting for his girl to arrive. In some ways, that was an accurate description but they knew he was also a ruthless killer and his obsession was Emily Prentiss.
"Where is she?" Dave asked, trying to not only find out more information, they were, after all, working in a bit of a vacuum, but also trying to find some leverage, something they could use to help them out of this situation.
"Surprisingly, she went to your offices," Doyle replied, still smiling.
"Why wouldn't she?" Derek snapped out. "She knew she would get help there."
"Really?" Doyle arched an amused brow. "Help. You don't mean anger and rejection? Isn't that what you were all feeling when you found out she was alive? Angry that she had deceived you? Because your friends certainly feel that way and are making it known to her." He shook his head in mock understanding. "I know exactly how you lads feel. After all, she faked her death with me too."
"She's family, we'd never turn our backs on her," Rossi replied tightly though he had an uncomfortable feeling that a reunion might be rocky with some of the others.
"Oh, they haven't turned their backs completely on her. After all, they need Lauren to get you three back. That's all your little friends are interested in."
"Emily!" Hotch snarled out, no longer able to keep quiet and making Rossi groan silently. "Stop calling her that name!"
Doyle's attention was now focused again on Hotch and his grin took a more feral turn. "Em-i-ly," he drawled out in a way that turned her name into an obscenity. Hotch shifted in his chair and everyone could see his jaw clenched tighter and his brow darken more. Doyle waved a hand dismissively. "For all your fine talk about family, Emily seems to be on the out's with you lot. So sad since all she really was trying to protect you lot. Ah, I remember hearing her begging me to make sure I would leave you alone. You know, not once did she plead for her own life? How did she put it, "They're innocent." She bargained you, offered up herself in all those many delightful ways to protect you." He smiled when he saw Hotch tense even more. "And how do you people repay her? Pffbbbttt! Anger and accusations." Doyle shook his head in mock sorrow. "Ahh, poor Lau-, Emily. She would be better off with me, I think. I always protected her, loved her. When we're finished here, I think I will take my beautiful Lauren, oh, excuse me, Emily, find my son and live out our days in blissful harmony. Have another child. Ahh, that would be happiness to see her heavy with my child."
"You sick, bastard! You'll never touch her again! You're not taking her anywhere!" Hotch growled. "I won't let you!"
Doyle glared back at Aaron and bit out his own response. "You don't get a say in anything, Hotchner! None of you can even appreciate or know a woman like Emily. Do you know what her skin feels like? How she tastes? The soft sounds she makes when you satisfy her? The smell of her skin in the morning? How she feels in your arms after you've made love? What do you know of her, Agent Hotchner? Nothing."
A muscle in Hotch's jaw twitched as he listened to Doyle talk about the ways he knew Emily, ways he never had a chance to experience. Jealousy and hatred burned through him. Why was this man, this killer, sociopath, terrorist, allowed to experience and have something as wonderful as making love to Emily Prentiss.
Doyle grinned as he watched each of his arrows hit their marks. "Tell me, Agent Hotchner, what was your relationship with Emily? A look? Maybe a touch here? Or did you use her in other ways, not for her body, but for her other qualities?" He titled his head to the side as he contemplated a silent Hotch. "In your work, I'm sure you talk to many children. Emily is quite good with children. They gravitate to her. Did you make her talk to all those children who have seen and gone through such unimaginable horrors? Did you make her feel every bit of their pain and shame and allow her to carry that burden for the wee ones? Were you all glad to have her do it to spare yourselves? To make her hear the sins of those who inflicted the pain and shame on those tiny souls in such graphic detail that every time she closed her eyes, she saw it happening?" He allowed his eyes to roam over the faces of the men and while their expressions remained impassive, Doyle saw enough.
He leaned forward, closer to Hotch and spoke softly and gently though it was so quiet that his voice seemed loud. "So who truly loves Emily more? Me, who worshiped her body and cared for her, tried to protect her, or you and your "family" who asked her to take on the horrors and nightmares of the children because the rest of you were too cowardly to do the deed yourselves?"
"Hey," JJ asked Garcia who was trying to gather herself in the hallway. She glanced at the people passing them by. "Are you okay?"
Penelope took a deep breath. "Yeah. Yeah. I'm okay. I was just…"
JJ nodded. "I understand. I mean, I knew about it, the faked death, but I still can't believe she didn't tell us sooner about Doyle. I feel…"
"Betrayed?" Garcia sniffed. When JJ nodded, she added, "I feel horrible feeling that way. I mean, I can understand why she did it, but if she only had told us, none of this would have happened. JJ, Derek, Hotch and Rossi would be safe." She started to sob again, not caring about the curious looks she drew from the other agencies' representatives.
Ignoring them as well, JJ drew her friend into her arms to comfort her.
"I don't even like this, Emily," Clyde hissed. "You know they're not going to go along with it!"
"That's why I don't intend say anything to them," she murmured. "Look, Clyde, I think I can get Doyle to release the others. The last time, when he realized the lengths I went to protect Declan, I saw regret in his face."
"Before or after he drove a table leg into your stomach?" Clyde asked waspishly.
"Both," she retorted. "What I mean is, I think I can at least get him to release the others if I agree to go with him."
"And you'd do that?" Clyde breathed out. "Sacrifice yourself for these three men?"
"In a heart beat."