Chapter ten

Emily could feel the blood drain from her face, she felt a little dizzy. How could something so wrong now this was supposed to be a day. How was she going to deal with this now?

Not even an hour ago her heart was filled with so much joy and now it was broken again. She tried to put on a fake face, she would tell JJ but right now was not the time. She must not have been to good at it, because when she walked in she saw the team just look at her, and she couldn't hold back.

"that was my mother's second in command, apparently she was speaking at an anti-terrorism seminar and something went wrong, she was… killed" she said as the tears rolled down her face. JJ wanted nothing more than to get out of the bad and hold her, but the unexpected delivery of their son had left her bed bound for a few days. Derek walked up and just wrapped his arms around her, soon after was Garcia, the team gave her condolences and left the family to spend some time together, that way there wouldn't be some many people there when Annabelle arrived.

JJ placed Chris in the bassinet and then she wrapped Emily in her arms as she cried. It had been such an emotional day, and JJ could tell that Emily had fallen asleep from crying.

She didn't have the heart to wake her when Annabelle got there, so she just let her sleep. JJ knew that they were a family but she still thought that she and Emily should tell Annabelle together so after a couple hours JJ woke Emily up.

"Sweetie wake up Annabelle is here"

"huh, oh hi hun how was school. Did you tell everyone about your little brother"

"yea, mom what happened you look sad is Chris ok?"

"oh no he is fine, it's about your grandma, something happened today, and she is in heaven now."

Annabelle couldn't believe that her grandma was gone, she started to cry which made Emily cry again. JJ was trying to fight the tears now was her turn to be strong for the family, she couldn't possibly imagine the hurt that Emily and Annabelle were feeling right now, what if it had been her mother…

*2 days later*

Emily had taken time off for the loss, she was going to spend this time with her family, with her mother's death and a new baby at home she really wasn't getting any sleep anyway.

Today was her mother's funeral, this drew a lot of attention, not just because her mother was an ambassador, but many people also came for Emily, members of the team, even a few cops that she had once worked with. The funeral was to be done in a Catholic church, which still harbored some mixed emotions for Emily, but today wasn't for her battles against her religion. Today she was to bury her mother, the woman who raised her, who helped her with her daughter when no one else would, and the woman that would never get to meet her grandson.

Both Emily and Annabelle would be speaking about Elizabeth today. JJ's parents had been such a comfort these last couple of days, they had helped with anything that they could have, which included watching little Christopher while they went to the service. After the music played it was Emily's turn to speak, she almost didn't think she could do it, but she had to it was the last thing she could do for her mother.

"First off I would like to thank everyone for being here today it means a lot for my family and for my mother. It is hard to give a eulogy for one's parent, it's More than the death of a classmate or sibling, the death of a parent is not only a loss, but also a reminder that we are all following an inevitable path. We are all "Outrunning Our Shadow". My mother's love for travel is a gift that she gave to me. My mother was a complex, multi-faceted person. Many of you here today knew my mother personally, and many of you knew my mother indirectly through one of her work. You may have known her as a coworker, a friend. I, of course, knew my mother as a mother. As I have reached adulthood and become a mother myself, I have also known her as a friend. It was so special to hear of these things that my mom said and did, to know some of these other parts of her life. I hope that her friends and family will continue to share these stories with me and with each other so we can continue to know and remember my mom."

With tears in her eyes she carefully placed the purple rose on her mother's casket as if it were going to break, she stood and prayed there for a minute for her mother's peace, and then she just cried. She didn't realize that she had been standing that long until JJ came up and helped her back to her seat. Up next was Annabelle, for a 12 year old girl her words were wise.

"When I was little there were only two people that I would ever let touch my hair, my mother and my grandmother. Moving my head in reaction to the slightest direction from her hands became natural. There were many times that I realized that I had never known my grandmother's life story. I don't know the struggles she must have had. I do know that she was a strong, dignified woman. I do know she had no problem telling a person off when they overstepped their bounds. She was by no means a conventional grandmother. There are so many things that she won't get to be here for, she will never see me marry, or have children of my own, she will never she me graduate or become whatever it is I chose to be, and she never got to meet my little brother. Rest in Peace grandma I hope that you are watching over me and that I will make you proud." She cried as she laid her rose on the casket.

Emily and her family stayed to wait for the casket to be let down into the ground, and then they slowly made their way home. Emily knew that even though the world would continue to spin, her life would never be the same again.

I think that is where this story is going to end. I am going to start another one, but it will be about 3 or 4 years into the future.