The first case back wasn't all that bad. A child abduction in Oklahoma. It wasn't anything Emily hadn't seen before. No, it wasn't the case that was difficult. It was the worried faces and stolen glances from her colleagues making sure she was doing okay. Making sure she wasn't about to break. And she was, but she wasn't about to do it in front of them.

The second case was in Virginia, and the team seemed to relax a bit before her. Some guy kidnapping girls from college campuses. And Emily was tired, but she did her best not to let it show. Because she still had a job to do. People to protect. And so they wrapped up the case rather quickly.

"Emily."

Rossi's voice was quiet, but powerful. They had just stepped off the elevators and were headed into the bullpen.

"Let's talk."

Emily turned toward him, her face hiding the dread she felt for the upcoming conversation.

"How're you doing?" Rossi's question was gentle, but his eyes searched Emily's face for any sign of emotion.

"I'm fine," was the automatic reply.

Rossi raised an eyebrow, urging her to try again and tell the truth this time around.

Emily sighed. "Look, I can do my job. I can go through and help the team with these cases. If you need extra hands with JJ gone, I can stay and help out."

"But?"

Emily shifted uncomfortably. "But I'm not fine. I can't help thinking about JJ, wondering how she's doing, if she's going to be okay. And I won't be able to stop until she is. I can do my job just fine, but…everything is a little less clear, a little more complicated, a little more difficult without her."

Rossi was silent, studying her.

"You're doing excellent work out here. You're indispensable from the team. But I think the fastest way for us to get the both of you back on the team is if you be with her," Rossi said, choosing his words carefully. "Help her heal. Help her fight. Then the two of you come back and help this team to heal and fight. We can't do it without you."

Emily smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"And Emily. One more thing," Rossi held out a yellow folder to her. "JJ needs to do this. The incident report. And you need to be the one to walk her through it."

Emily paused, staring at the folder.

"She can't…she's not ready."

"Emily. She needs this. You need this too. I know it might seem early, but both of you will eventually need to come to terms with what happened in there."

Emily bit her lip and took the folder in her hand.

"I'll go see her tomorrow," she said quietly.