Hotch slaps the speaker button as his phone rings.
"Hotch! We got her!" Morgan yells.
JJ drops down into a chair. "Oh, thank God."
"Morgan, can she talk? He'll want proof she is okay."
"Yeah, Reid and the medics are with her. As soon as they okay it, he'll call you so she can talk to her father."
Morgan hangs up without even a goodbye so the line will be clear for Reid. Hotch and JJ exchange relieved looks.
A few minutes later the phone rings again.
"Reid?"
"Yeah, Hotch, I have her."
"Hold on let me conference you in to Emily." He hits the conference button and rings JJ's phone.
"Hotch?"
"Sheriff Delpy, I have your daughter on the line."
Emily watches as Delpy's legs nearly give out. He leans on the desk, his finger reflexively tightening on the trigger of his gun as his hands clench. Emily moves a little to the right to get away from the weapon's aim.
"Laura? Laura are you there?"
Emily hears Reid telling someone to take the phone. "Daddy? Is that you?"
Delpy bursts into tears. "Oh, baby! Yes! It's me! Are you okay?"
"I hurt, Daddy. I hurt bad. But they got him, Daddy. They got that prick Anderson who did this to me!"
"Good, sweetheart. They'll make him pay for this. I swear. I love you so much, Laura."
"I love you, too, Daddy. The medics say I have to go now. I'll see you soon, right?"
"I love you, sweetheart. So much." Emily notices he doesn't promise to see her soon and worries what that might mean.
When the cell is hung up, Hotch takes over the call. "Sheriff Delpy, we have rescued your daughter. It's time to let my agent go."
"Yes, yes of course. Thank you, Agent Hotchner. Thank you for saving her."
Hotch disconnects the call. He and JJ sigh at the same time and let out a relieved chuckle. They had saved the girl with 12 hours to spare. They head out of his office and approach JJ's, expecting the door to open at any moment. Instead they hear Emily scream.
"NO!"
And the sound of a gunshot. They pull their guns and race down the hall.
********
Sheriff Delpy bursts into tears as the call is disconnected. Emily rubs her face with her hands. It was finally over.
"You're team did a damn fine job, Agent Prentiss."
"Thanks. I'm just glad your daughter is alive. She's really going to need your help to recover from this," she says caringly.
Sheriff Delpy slowly shakes his head. "I never even suspected one of my own men. I mean, how can a cop do that to those women just because he's pissed at me?"
"You can ask yourself that question for the rest of your life but you'll never have a satisfactory answer," she states, full of sympathy for the man. "Just be there for her through all of the healing, the nightmares, everything. Remind her that it's not her fault. Or yours."
Delpy nods and stares into Emily's eyes. "You're a good woman, Agent Prentiss. Will you talk to her. Help her through this?"
Emily is surprised by the question but manages to nod. "Sure. Of course."
"Good. Because we all know I can't just walk out of here and help her."
"Look, this whole thing can be chalked up to extreme emotional distress. You may lose your badge but you may not get jail time."
He laughs humorlessly as he walks over and unlocks the door. "You don't lie very well, Agent." He starts to bring the gun up. Emily's eyes widen as she thinks he is going to use it on her. Then he brings it up to his mouth. "Please, make sure she knows I love her."
"Wait! NO!"
She screams and leaps towards him but it is too late. The gun enters his mouth and he pulls the trigger. Emily can only stare in shock at what he's done. A moment later the door is thrown open. Hotch and JJ, guns ready, scan the room. Their eyes go from Delpy to Emily. Emily is shaking.
"He…he…I tried…he…," Emily can't speak.
Hotch looks at JJ. "Get her out of here."
JJ goes and takes Emily by the arm and leads her out. Garcia meets them in the hallway. Emily still doesn't speak as JJ unlocks the cuffs, tossing them down the hall as if they would magically reattach themselves to Emily. Garcia and JJ wrap Emily in a hug. As they feel the normally stoic agent start to crumble, they pull her into Garcia's office so that no one else will see her breakdown.
"It's okay, baby. It's okay. There is nothing you could have done. That was his endgame this whole time," JJ says soothingly.
Emily continues to cry as Garcia and JJ continue to console her, relieved that the Sheriff only took his own life and not Emily's, too.
