BAU: The Book of the Dead – Chapter 10
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Too many times, things did never go as planned;
That morning when they had pancakes was a Saturday so Hotch was off as he an d Emily finally gathered every one and were about to leave for a special trip when the doorbell rang.
Intrigued, Emily answered the door and saw standing before her on the other side was an elderly gentleman in a traditional Egyptian long shirt called the gallibaya. It was loose fitting with long strips and made of linen. He was also wearing a traditional headgear called the shaal or a turban that was wrapped around his head leaving the tail end of the material hanging as a scarf. He was estimated to be in his 70s with a white long beard.
"May I help you?" Emily asked him.
"Are you Emily Prentiss?" He inquired.
"Yes, and you are?"
"I am Sheteptawy. I was sent to help you." He announced.
Emily frowned, "I'm sorry, am I supposed to know how you are? And who sent you?"
He nodded and smiled, "The Princess Noor, mother of Amun and Jamilla. You have the children, do you not?"
"Noor? Is she found? Where is she?" Emily was becoming nervous and excited at the same time.
"Em?" Hotch came to the door and looked over the strange elder man. "Who is this?"
"He said that Amun and Jamilla's mother had sent for him to help us. His name is Shete…?"She looked back to him for help.
"Sheteptawy, you two are the protectors of the children and Amun and Isis."
Growing even more confused, Emily shook her head, "Look, I don't know if I should allow you to come in. I mean, Noor did not mention who you are to me and…."
Suddenly Amun came to the door, "Sheteptawy, you have come in time. We have only less than one hour until the crest of the moon."
"Crest of the moon? Amun, it's only late morning. And who is this?" Emily looked at him.
The elder man lifted his hand and showed Emily and Hotch the sign of Ra on his hand, "I have been sent."
"Emily, it's okay. He will help us."Amun nodded.
"Help us what?"
"Answer Egypt's pleas."
"Okay, kid, you're freaking me again."Emily shook her head.
"Emily," Hotch said. "Just let him in."
She looked at Hotch and nodded as she stepped aside. The elder man entered the house.
As he did, Emily suddenly felt a peaceful feeling washed over her.
"Where is Isis?" Sheteptawy asked Amun.
"In her room, come I'll show you." Amun led him up the stairs, Emily and Hotch followed behind.
"I feel as if I'm somewhere else." Emil said.
When they entered Jamilla's room, Emily saw her on the bed as if she was sleeping.
"Jamilla! What is going on?" She then noticed Jamilla holding the amulet of Isis on her hands.
"Emily, it is okay, trust Sheteptawy."Amun said as stood next to her on the edge of the bed.
Emily turned to Hoch, "I don't know if I am comfortable with all of this."
The elderly man place a bag Emily hadn't seen him carrying on the table and opened it as he pulled out a headgear; she recognize it as the Ancient Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt – or known as the Pschent. It was a red Deshret Crown of Lower Egypt and the white Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt. Sheteptawy reverently placed it on Amun's head as he bowed low.
He then asked Amun, "Where is the Book?"
"Declan and Jack has the Book."
Sheteptawy turned to them and asked if they could retrieve it from their children.
Hotch shook his head, "I don't know if Jack had it with him, I'll ask him."
"Me too." Emily said as the two went into Declan's room.
Jack was in there too.
"Hey, you two. Did Amun and Jamilla give you two a book? I mean two halves of a book?" Emily sat down on Declan's bed.
Declan nodded and went to his back pack and handed it to Emily, "He said the two halves should never be put together."
Jack nodded, "Yeah, that's what Jamilla said too." He reached into his overnight bag and pulled out the other half of the book and handed it to his father.
"Thanks guys, just stay here for a while, okay?" Emily nodded as she looked at the old book.
"Sure." Declan nodded happily as he and Jack returned to their video game.
Entering the other room, Emily and Hotch saw Amun had the amulet of Ra out as well as he held it out until it almost joined Jamilla's Isis amulet.
Sheteptawy saw the Book and began to chant in a strange language as he took the bottom half of the Book from Hotch and lay it near Jamilla, then continuing the chant, he took the top half of the Book and placed it on top of the other half and instantly a bright green light flashed and sparkled and Emily and Hotch saw the Book was now joined and the Book was now a whole Book. And both amulets were glowing as well.
Sheteptawy began to rock back and forth as he continued to chant.
"What is he saying?" Hotch whispered to Emily.
She shook her head, "I don't know, I've never heard of it before, probably some ancient Egyptian language…" Just as she said the last word, there was another flash of bright green light appeared from the Book and Amun fell to the ground as Emily rushed in to his side.
"Amun!" she shook him slightly. The double crown fell from his head.
Emily looked up at the old man, "What have you done to him?"She glared at him.
Sheteptawy leaned forward as he braced both hands for support, "I broke the curse and we have set Egypt to right again." He then bent down to retrieve the Crown and replaced it in the bag. Using two large linen cloths, he wrapped the Book which was once again split in two, separately as he put both halves in his bag as well.
Hotch had sat on the edge of the bed and was checking on Jamilla who was opening her eyes as well.
"Jamilla, are you all right?" Hotch asked her.
She nodded as she sat up, "Yes Mr. Hotchner. What is going on? All of a sudden I felt so tired just now and wanted to take a nap."
He nodded, "I'm glad, sweetie." He looked down at Emily and Amun who was sitting up by now.
"Wow, I felt so sleepy just now." Then he noticed he was in Jamilla's room and Emily and Hotch was also in the room. "What is going on? Why are you here? Why am I doing in here?"
"Amun, you don't remember what happened? Sheteptawy…"She looked up at the elderly man and realized he was gone!
Emily stood up and rushed out of the room and looked around the hallway, then down the stairs and out of the house, but no old man.
"That old man couldn't have walked that fast!" Emily looked around her neighborhood but there was no one about.
Sighing, she returned to her house and up the stairs.
Amun was sitting by Jamilla, they were talking to Hotch.
"Did you find him?" Hotch asked her.
She shook her head, "He just disappeared…just gone."
"Who are you talking about, Emily?" Amun looked up at her.
"There was an elderly man, Sheteptawy… he came here saying he was sent here by your mother to help you and Jamilla. He asked for the Book and put the Pschent, the…the double Crown of Egypt, on your head and then began to chant. And then this bright green light flashed and then Amun fell." Emily was waving her hands all over as she was talking.
"Sheteptawy?"Amun thought.
"Who is he? How did you know him?" Emily looked at him.
Amun shrugged, "His name sounds familiar and I don't remember any old man here, Emily. All I remember being was being sleepy and then nothing. And when I woke up, I am here in Jamilla's room."
Just then, Emily's cell phone buzzed, she pulled it out and saw that it was her mother, the Ambassador.
Stepping out of the room she answered it in the hallway.
"Mother?"
Emily! I have great news! Noor and Hassan are all right!
"They are? What happened?"
Can you believe their jet crashed in some desert in Egypt and Hassan and Noor were the only ones alive? Some old tribal group saved them but they did not have any way to get a hold of the Egyptian authorities so they hiked in the desert for two days and a night before they came upon some village and thank goodness they have phones there.
Emily sighed with relief, "Well, I'm glad they're both fine and well."
Me too. Emily, Noor will call as soon as she is released from the hospital; they're being treated for dehydration at the moment. How are the children?
"They are fine, we're having a blast with them here."
We? Who's we?
"Declan and I, mother." She said quickly.
Oh, I thought you…never mind...Anyways, I have to go, I'll call you sometime. Bye.
"Bye mother."But Elizabeth Prentiss had already ended the call.
Shaking her head, Emily walked back into the room and told them the good news.
Amun and Jamilla grinned widely, "That is very good news, Emily." Amun nodded. "I miss our mother and father."
"I do too." Jamilla said softly.
"Hey, you're going to see them soon."Emily assured them.
Declan and Jack came over and stood by the doorway, "Mom," Declan said. "Can we have something to eat? We're hungry."
Emily nodded, "Well, we were going to a restaurant and have lunch and then we have to do a special shopping."She smiled at Hotch.
"A special shopping? What is it?" Jamilla asked.
"Oh, you guys will see when we get there but first how about lunch first?" Hotch said as they stood up and left Jamilla's bedroom and walked down the stairs.
"Hotch, look!" Emily was looking at the back of her hand, the mark of Ra was gone, it was as if it had never been there at all.
Hotch looked at his hand and saw that the mark had also disappeared from his hand too.
…
"It's too big, Hotch." Emily said.
"No, it's not." He countered. "What do you think, Jamilla?" He looked at the little girl sitting beside him.
Casting a critical eye, Jamilla frowned, "It's too small. She should have a bigger one."
"You think so?" Hotch arched his brow, grinning.
Jamilla nodded, "My mother wears a very big one."
"Your mother is a princess, Jamilla." Emily pointed.
"Well, we have these selections…"the salesperson pulled out another black velvet tray and set it on the table.
Jack, Declan, and Amun leaned in and glanced at the tray she had brought out; it was the fifth tray.
Surprisingly, the three boys pointed at one in particular, "This one, try it on." They said at the same time.
Emily looked at them with a skeptical look and glanced down and almost choked, "Guys! I can't …this is too big! He can't afford it!"
Hotch placed his hand on Emily's and said, "Em, just try it, I like it too. Please?"
The salesperson took it out and handed it to Emily but Hotch took it from her and taking Emily's hand, he slid it into Emily's finger and grinned.
"It fits perfectly. As if it's made for you." The sales person said as she smiled at them. "We usually have to resize our rings to fit."
"Do you like it, Emily?" Hotch looked at her softly.
Emily, her throat was clogged with emotion, "I…like it but I have to think about it." She removed the ring and sat it down on the tray.
"I like it Mr. Hotchner." Jamilla. "I think you should buy it.
Hotch frowned as he watched Emily, "Yeah but she is still hesitant." She had stood up and walked away from the table.
"What is hes..?" Jamilla began.
"Never mind, Jamilla. She is still not sure."
"Why is Emily sad?" Jamilla asked again.
Hotch looked at the little girl and smiled at her, "Sometimes adult needs to be nudged."
Jamilla frowned, "I do not understand what you mean, Mr. Hotchner."
"It's okay, Jamilla. One day you will."
The sales person spoke up, "Should I get the account changed and refigure the amount owed, Mr. Hotchner?" He nodded. "By the way, you two have such adorable children!" She smiled as moved away.
Hotch smiled at them, "Yes I do." He looked at them and then at Emily who was not looking at him. "We do."
….
Three days later, the civil unrest in Egypt has ended.
The call for the President to step down had backed off too. The militant groups had been rounded and arrested.
There was still no sign Anwar Fayad.
Prince Hassan and Princess Noor came back to America to pick up their children from Emily's house.
Amun and Jamilla were thrilled and excited as they received their parents at Emily's house.
Hassan was grateful to Emily and Hotch for the care and protection they provided for their children.
As for whom Sheteptawy was, they did not know who he was. Noor did not know what Emily and Hotch meant. Noor told Emily that she did not tell this Sheteptawy to come see Emily.
Although Hassan pointed out that the man's name, Sheteptawy meant 'he who pacified two lands.'
He was a mystery and whoever he was, he had really saved Egypt and lifted the curse.
The danger was over. The children were able to go home.
Emily was sad to see them leave as she had come to love them just as if they were her own, they promised to stay in touch when they left.
Things settled down once they were gone. Emily and Declan continued to close their house and move to their temporary apartment.
But there were some last minute adjustments to be done and arrangements.
…
In the warehouse of the Museum in Cairo, Egypt –
The newly appointed Director was making his rounds in the museum to make sure everything was in order before the Museum was to open for the first time the next day since the civil unrest.
He had heard there were some strange things that had gone on within the museum from one of the guards but he didn't believed such supernatural happenings as he was a man of science; he walked from one room to another and when he came upon the famous room of the God of Ra he was in awed of the opulent of the display the room was showing; it was the largest and most popular in the whole of the museum; the most prominent of it was the two twin pedestal glass enclosures; The Book of the Dead.
It was rumored that this book was split in half as it was now displayed in its individual pedestal. The top half of the Book with its mystical hieroglyphic symbols which was translated by an ancient scribe as 'the book of emerging forth into the Light', while the bottom half of the Book was laying on the other enclosed pedestal. The opening page of the second half of the Book, it was translated was a spell of warning, telling all to not bind the Book together or a terrible curse would begin into the Land of Misr or the two Straits - lower Egypt and Upper Egypt.
Next to the twin pedestals were another enclosed pedestals; two 3000 years finds; the amulets, one of Ra and another, the amulet of Isis. It was believed to be worn by the God of Ra and the Goddess of Isis respectively.
These items were donated by Prince Hassan's family who were descendents of Pharaoh Ramses I. As he was no longer a revered royal figure but only a respected one, he saw no need to keep the treasures his family had kept so many thousands of years, and like his grandfather, he thought, the people of Egypt should be enriched by the heritage of the history of his ancestors.
…..
Three weeks later, back in the large back yard of Dave Rossi's mansion –
There was a large gathering as another wedding was happening!
Actually we missed the beginning of the ceremony as we were in the middle of the dinner.
Hotch stood up and tapped his glass, it made a loud tinkling sound as everyone became quiet and looked at him expectantly.
"Thank you everyone for coming to this very happy occasion. I could not have been more thrilled to be here as Dave's best man.
"I've known Dave for over…oh...20 fantastic years although he would not admit to being that old."
"Hey, I'm not tha..t old! I'm only in my …oh hell I'm not saying how old I am!" Dave exclaimed.
Laughter.
"I won't bore you all with long winded toast but here's to my best friend, Dave Rossi!"
Everyone raised their glasses and toasted to him.
Hotch remained standing as he had his glass still up, "And to my surprise, the bride," he arched his brow at her. "Erin, what can I say? Can you imagine our surprises when you two came back from Dave's book tour announcing that you had gotten hitched in Italy?"
Everyone laughed.
"Come on, Erin, how could you have kept this all these years?" Hotch shook his head dramatically. "But I'll spare you the embarrassment, to Erin, may you two have many wonderful wedded bliss and have mercy on our souls!"
Everyone laughed as they toasted to the blushing couple as Hotch sat down.
After a fine wedding dinner feasting, everyone went to the dance floor as Dave and Erin led the first dance.
Derek stood before Hotch and grinned at him, "So, when is it your turn, Hotch?" he glance over at Emily who was talking to JJ and Garcia.
Hotch shook his head, "I don't know Derek, she's leaving for London tomorrow."
Derek frowned, "But Hotch! I thought you two …I mean you broke off with Beth three weeks ago and you've going out with her?"
"I know and I even bought the ring."
Both brows arched high, Derek looked him, "You bought the ring? Man, does she know you're serious?"
Hotch nodded, "And I'm looking at a larger house. For the two boys and two of us."
Derek whistled, "Man you're serious!"
"I am, I really love her."
"Who loves her?" Reid came over and stood near Hotch.
Derek clapped Reid's shoulder and grinned, "Reid, Hotch has done the deed and Em wants nothing to do with him." He stared laughing at him.
Reid looked at Hotch, "Done what deed? And why doesn't Emily want Hotch for it? For what?"
Hotch frowned at the young man, "You know I have a very young lady I think you two should meet and I think you'll hit it off famously."
"Oh? Who is it?" Reid perked up.
Hotch shook his head, "Never mind." He turned back to Derek. "I don't know what to do." He then looked over to Emily.
"Why don't you ask her again?" Derek suggested.
"She keeps avoiding me." He shook his head.
Frowning, Derek said, "Come on man, let's go and you can talk to her." He grabbed his arm and began pushing him.
"Derek!" Hotch tried to push him away. "Stop!" Reid followed them.
But they had approached the ladies by then.
"Em, Hotch wants to ask you something." Derek said, grinning as he nudged at him.
Garcia and JJ watched Hotch expectantly.
"Privately." Derek said as he began to hustle the rest of them away.
Emily smiled uncertainly at Hotch as they watched the BAU team walked to the dance floor as Reid danced with JJ and Morgan sashayed with Garcia.
Hotch and Emily looked at each other.
"That was a nice toast, Hotch." Emily said.
He nodded, "It was short and to the point, just what he wanted."
"They look good together."
Emily nodded, "Yeah, they do."
And they stood in silent for a while.
Hotch looked over to where Derek was dancing with Garcia, he was waving at him, signaling him to get to talking to her.
Hotch nodded and looked at Emily, "Emily…I…"
Emily looked at him, "Hotch, if this is about the ring… I hope you didn't buy it because I can't…I mean I'm leaving for London. The house is sold and all."
"Emily, when are you ever going to call me Aaron?"
She snapped her head at him, "Not this again, Hotch! We're not talking about it. We're talking about the ring and I…"
Hotch stepped close to her and grabbing the back of her neck and pulled her close he kissed her, effectively shutting her up.
Emily softened at his kiss and responded and suddenly she opened her eyes and pushed away from him and looked wide eyed at him and shook her head, "I can't, Hotch!" she walked away in a hurry,
He looked after her, and said sadly, "It's Aaron, Emily." As he watched her walked out with Declan.
…..
End of Chapter 10