Morgan reaches over and shakes JJ. "Hey, Blondie, we're back."
JJ groans and stretches. "Feels like I just closed my eyes."
"I know what you mean." He takes her hand and pulls her up. "Get moving. You should have time to go home and give your son a welcome home hug and kiss before coming back to the office."
JJ laughs. "Yeah, probably just enough time for that."
He thinks a moment before finally asking. "Will…she be there?"
"No. Her team had to work tonight. She'll have odd hours until the task force ends since they'll be working with contacts all over the world."
"So it could be a while before she takes care of stuff with…with all of us?"
JJ shrugs. "I don't know. I hope not if only for her peace of mind."
"Her piece of mind? What about ours?" he asks, a bit miffed.
"Derek, if she can't get her head on straight we've lost her. She has to find herself before she can truly fix things with us."
Morgan sighs and slowly nods. "Yeah…I guess I sort of knew that. Still…just hurts inside."
"I know, Derek. I know."
These two are the last to leave the lot by the airstrip. When they get to the parking area by their building the see Hotch, Reid and Rossi standing in the parking lot…staring at Emily's Lexus.
"What the hell?" JJ mutters as she pulls into a parking space. She grabs her briefcase and gets out. "Hotch? What's she doing here?"
"We were waiting to ask you that," Hotch answers.
JJ shrugs. "I have no idea. She told me she was working but didn't say it was here."
"Did she know we were coming back?" Reid asks.
JJ nods. "Yes. I sent her a text."
Exchanging wary looks, the team heads inside to see what awaits them. When they get off the elevator on their floor they see Emily at her desk in the bullpen. She is typing on her laptop while talking on the phone. The team looks at each other before entering the office. Emily turns when she hears the door.
"Harlan, they're here. I have to go," she says and hangs up without waiting for a response.
The 6 stare at each other from across the room. The area that can sometimes feel claustrophobic now feels like the Grand Canyon. Emily takes a deep breath and starts to walk across the divide.
"I know I left here in a very shitty way. And I know I have a long way to go to make things right with each of you. I hope someday I can get there. But right now I need you…the country needs you. Tonight my task force helped the Baltimore PD raid a house where terrorists were assembling explosives. When we got there the place had been hastily emptied. Someone tipped those bastards off. And we need to know who these guys are. Regardless of our personal shit, you all are still the best damn team the BAU and the FBI has. I need your help. Please."
When she finishes her eyes are locked with the hard brown eyes of Hotch. The team slowly turns to look at their boss. Hotch slowly nods.
"Give us five and run it all down for us."
Emily nods. "Thank you."
An uncomfortable silence falls in the office as the team goes to their desks to drop off things that can wait until tomorrow and double check any mail or messages that await them. Emily sits down and finishes typing up the report she had been working on. She looks up when she feels she is being stared at. She sees the hurt in Reid's eyes. She swallows.
"I'm sorry, Reid. I really am," she says softly.
He nods. "I'm sure you are."
That stings. Emily finally breaks eye contact and goes back to her report. She closes out the document and heads towards the conference room. The team filters in one by one. Hotch enters last, closing the door behind him.
"So, what's the story?"
"There is credible evidence that an attack on Congress is imminent. We have identified the sect from Al Qaeda that is behind it and we know there are three teams here in the area that are part of the plot. We don't know who they are, their ages or even their nationality. Our overseas contacts are still working to secure that information. Earlier tonight, the police commissioner in Baltimore ignored an order to stay out of a house up that way. He ordered the raid and threatened jobs if it didn't happen. We reluctantly went with them."
She takes a deep breath. "But they had been tipped off. The house had been hastily emptied and they had to leave things behind. We have a unique chance to profile that house and get an idea of at least part of the team we are up against." She pauses. "I know I have a lot to do to make up to each of you. But you are still the best the country has to offer. Please, will you profile the house to help us?"
The team exchange looks with each other. Finally Hotch nods. "Yes, we will. We'll have full access?"
Emily nods. "Yes, sir. It's been left just as we found it. Secret Service has it locked down."
"We're all exhausted. We need to sleep. Can we meet you there at 8?"
"Of course." She takes a deep breath, knowing the next thing she asks for could be denied. "I also have a favor to ask. I have dossiers on each member of my team. I'd like Garcia to run them again. I want her to dig deep and hard. There's a leak somewhere and I need to know if it's my team or somewhere else. She also needs to make sure she leaves no trail and doesn't alert anyone to the scrutiny."
"You don't trust any team now?" Rossi asks.
Emily winces, knowing she deserved that snide question. "I trust myself and I trust the job this team does. Right now I can't afford to blindly trust the information I've been given." Her eyes stray to JJ's. "I have too much to live for to die because I didn't bother to check."
Hotch sees the brief flicker in Emily's eyes as she looks at her wife. It tells him the Emily they know is still in there somewhere and maybe, just maybe, she really is trying to get back to them.
"I'll make sure Garcia does it first thing in the morning with full security protocols on her office while she does."
Emily looks back to her (former?) boss and nods her thanks. "I appreciate it, sir."
Hotch looks at the team. "We leave here at 7." He stands, effectively dismissing them.
Emily is staring at Morgan, who takes his time standing up. She starts to fiddle with her fingers nervously.
"So, uh, how's the shoulder?"
"Better. Unsubs surrendered when they realized they were surrounded so I didn't have to bust any heads," he says with a small smile.
Emily grins. "Lucky them."
"Yeah."
They stand for a second, just studying each other.
"You're still pissed at me, aren't you?" he finally asks.
Emily shrugs. "Honestly, Derek, I don't know what I am right now. I'm…kinda fucked in the head. And…and I can't deal with everything between us right now. But I want to. I swear I do."
He studies her face; she looks to be telling the truth. But a small voice in his head reminds him she was able to fool Ian Doyle for a year so she is a skilled liar.
"Then I hope we get the chance soon, Emily," he finally admits.
She glances at her watch. "Well, I need to get to the office. I'll see you all at 8."
"See you then."
Emily goes back to her desk at the bullpen and packs up her laptop. She looks over at her wife, who had been lingering.
"Jennifer…I, uh…I'm…do you want…shit."
JJ knows what has her wife so nervous. She answers the question Emily is terrified to ask. "Think you'll be home in time for dinner tonight?"
Relief flows over Emily. She slowly nods. "I aim to be. Will just sort of depend on new leads and stuff."
JJ walks over to the desk and stares into her wife's eyes. "We can't fix it if you're not there, Emily. Please…move back permanently. If…if it gets hard one of us can sleep down the hall until it gets better."
Emily smiles. "Okay. Thank you, Jen."
The two walk out together, even though the others watching them see there is still tension between them. At his desk Reid rubs his face.
"You okay, Pretty Boy?" Morgan asks.
"I don't know. I don't know how I feel about her and I hate it."
"You're not alone in that, Reid. We're all feeling the same way. Even JJ."
"Do you think we'll get things back the way they were?"
"Reid, if we get past all this, it will be better."
"And if we don't?"
Morgan studies Emily's desk as if it holds an answer for him. He pats Reid on the shoulder. "I refuse to think we won't. We'll make it back to each other because damn it there just isn't any other option."
"I wish I could believe that," Reid mutters.
"Then I'll believe it for both of us. 'Night, Reid."
"Goodnight."
Reid is the last to leave that night. As he walks out into the night he is still not sure if the team will ever truly be whole again.