After her work out, Emily is standing in her room getting dressed when she catches her reflection in the mirror. She steps closer, studying the scars on her body, the muscle tone, the overall look. She nods.

"Not bad, Prentiss, considering your life."

She turns to get looks from all angles. Her eyes fall on the tattoo on her hip. She runs her finger over it. She sighs. "You're no longer alone, Emily. It is long overdue to get rid of that."

She stares at it, considering getting it removed. But it had defined her at one point. It shouldn't be forgotten.

"Cover it. But with what?"

She starts to think about her wife and children. They had been the ones to show her how good life can be when you let in love; when you start to care about others more than yourself; when you put down roots. She slowly smiles as an image takes shape in her mind. Though she is no artist, she quickly sketches out her idea. She snaps a shot of it and texts it to Morgan with a note.

"Morgan, can your tattoo guy do something like this only nicer? And leave places to work in the twins initials once we know who they are?"

She hits send and smiles. It would be a gift for JJ if the guy can do it. Hopefully for Christmas if Emily can get home soon. Christmas is one week from today. Will she be there or not?

She gets dressed and heads down to the restaurant for breakfast, wanting out of her room for a little while.


JJ's jaw drops. "You mean it…they took pics that…and Emily saw? Oh my God." She buries her face in her hands.

Liz pats her on the arm. "It's taken care of Jennifer. I promise you. A full retraction will run tomorrow with an explanation of who Luciano is and his relationship to Emily. Everything will be okay. And on the bright side, you look radiant in all the pictures."

JJ rolls her eyes. "Small comfort. Emily must have been devastated at first."

"Most likely. But then she remembered your heart, Jennifer. And that's when she sent that email to me to fix it. If she didn't believe in you she wouldn't have been so kind in her demands."

JJ grins. "You're right. Still with all she's dealing with she didn't need that, too. After brunch the kids and I will call her just to set her mind at ease."

"Good idea. Now, let's eat."

JJ nods and accompanies Liz to the table that had been set up with all sorts of breakfast goodies. She runs a hand over Henry's head.

"So, Henry, see something you like?"

He nods happily. "All!"

JJ laughs. "Good. What about you, Rock Star?"

"Yummm!" the little girl says happily as she stares at the spread.

Elizabeth lifts Henry up. "Come on, Henry. Let's get you a plate of food."

Gerald picks up Rocky. "And I have you, Rocky. What shall we eat this morning?"

JJ just smiles as her in-laws help her kids get a good breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit and pancakes. JJ shakes her head. The meals the kids had enjoyed with their grandparents are far from the nutritiously balanced ones Francesca makes but one weekend of fun won't destroy all the good.

She hopes.


Emily has just finished her second cup of coffee when Sara drops into the seat in front of her.

"Morning!"

Emily smiles. "Hi. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. But my brother says he has this hotel guest that doesn't know when to check out and go home. She's a real pain in the butt."

Emily laughs. "And does this hotel guest have a name?"

"Nope. But I have a picture of her." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small mirror. She holds it so Emily sees her reflection. "Kind of a shady looking character, eh?"

Emily nods. "I wouldn't trust her, that's for sure. So, do you have a way to get this guest evicted?"

"I do if she's up for an adventure."

Emily nods. "If it gets me home before my son leaves for New Orleans I am most definitely up for an adventure. Uh, as long as you have plenty of barf bags around."

Sara chuckles. "I'll have them." She lays a map out on the table. "Here's what I'm thinking based on the weather patterns."

By the time she finishes explaining her plan Emily is on board. It wouldn't be easy and her AmEx Black would be taking a hit but it would definitely be worth it. She nods.

"When do we do this?"

"If the weather doesn't change, we take off at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Keep in mind, at any point these first two legs the weather could change and get you stranded somewhere else."

Emily bites her lip as she considers that. Here she knows people, she is comfortable, she even has the Amaruq kids to keep her somewhat sane. But the chance to get home is too tempting.

"I have to try, Sara. I have to try to get home." She takes out her credit card and hands it to the woman. "Get it going."

"Awesome! I'll call my two friends and we'll be ready to relay you home."

"Perfect. I can't thank you enough."

"No thanks needed. We just want you to get home to your family by Christmas."

As Sara leaves to go get things in play, Emily can't help but say a prayer that things work out just the way they have planned. If so, she should get to see Henry before he leaves.


"So I see you've found someone new to warm your bed," Emily jokes as she answers the call from JJ that afternoon.

JJ groans. "I cannot believe they ran that bullshit."

Emily chuckles. "Welcome to the world of scandal, Jen. Probably should have seen that coming and warned you."

"Yeah, you should have. Just glad you saw it early enough to get Liz on it first thing this morning. Garcia saw it and her head nearly exploded."

Emily laughs. "Oh, geez. I do have to admit I was mad as hell at first. Took me a while to remember who Luc was. I can't believe he's in the States now."

"He is pretty excited about meeting up with you. He also said to tell you that you have wonderful taste in women and your children are adorable."

"Well, I surely can't argue with that." For a second Emily considers telling JJ about the crazy trek to try to get home then decides not to. "So, any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Nope. Just going to watch football and relax with the kids. I need to get Henry's bag packed for his trip Wednesday."

"So that's still a go?"

"Yep. Weather should be good. Mom and Dad had thought he'd be leaving this weekend but Will's days off had to be adjusted. They are still going to stop in Nashville to see the Country Music Hall of Fame but aren't going to do some of the other things they planned. They want to be here for Christmas and don't want to get delayed by weather."

"That's understandable this time of year. Especially with having to come through the mountains. At least they are having a bit of a vacation together."

"Yep, they will have fun." She sighs. "Dare I ask what your situation is?"

Emily rubs her eyes. "I just…don't know, Jen. I swear I will do what I can to get out of here safely."

"That's the key to me, Em. Safely. Don't take any risks, okay? I'd rather not see you until April than have…just be safe, okay?"

Emily starts to pace. Maybe the idea Sara came up with is too crazy to be risked. But if the weather reports don't change drastically it should work. Right? Maybe. Damn it.

"Em? Did I lose you?"

"Oh, uh, no. Sorry. Just glanced outside trying to decide what the weather might do to me tomorrow."

JJ smiles. "Good luck with that prediction."

"Yeah, right. So did Garcia have fun in the suite?"

"She sure did. And she was even allowed to pet the bracelet from harry Winston."

Emily laughs. "Did she orgasm?"

"She might have," JJ concedes with a laugh. "And the kids had so much fun, too. They ordered sundae's for lunch on Saturday while I was meeting with Liz and Gerald about some last minute details for the night."

"Oh, geez. Francesca will kill her if she spoiled them too much."

"Well, the kids were well spoiled by Garcia and by their grandparents. Hopefully Francesca can get them back on track with good meals tomorrow."

"Why not today?"

"I'm so tired we're just going to order pizza for dinner. Francesca will join us so I may order salads, too, so she doesn't scold me."

"Good idea. Does she know about Luc?"

"Nope, I figured I'd tell her over dinner. If he was just as much an imp as you I can't wait to see what she says to know what he's like now."

The two talk a little longer. Finally JJ glances at her watch. "Well, let me go wake the kids from their naps or they won't sleep tonight. We'll call you after dinner to chat, okay?"

"Sounds perfect. Have a great day, Jennifer. I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Em. And, God, I miss you so much."

Emily's eyes tear up. "I miss you, too. I will talk to you soon, Jen."

"I know. Love you," she says again.

"Love you, too. Bye, baby."

"Bye."

Emily hangs up and stares at the ceiling. She had always said a lie of omission is still a lie but to make JJ nervous about this trek home would be bad for the twins. Right? Emily nods. Right. She just has to cross her fingers that all works out perfectly and JJ forgives her for this minor little omission.

"Damn, Jen, I hope you understand why. And I hope it works as well as we think it will."


That night Emily checks her email and groans when she sees an email from Orchard to the whole team. They would all be questioned once more on Monday and there were no exceptions allowed. Emily pinches the bridge of her nose. If they don't leave at 9 tomorrow she could miss her window for another week. That means no Christmas with her wife and daughter.

"Not fucking acceptable," she mutters as she grabs her phone. "Hotch? I just got the email from Orchard. I have a problem with being questioned tomorrow." She lays out the elaborate plan to get her back to the States. "If we don't stick to schedule we'll never make the window."

Hotch thinks a moment. "Then go. I'll explain to Orchard you are trying to get back to the States. If you have a chance to call in the afternoon do so. How's that?"

Emily nods. "I can do that. If we make each jump as we plan we should be done for the day by 4 Eastern. He'll still have time to question me."

"Then that's what I will tell him. In the meantime, email me your flight plan so I can show him we're not lying about where you are."

"Got it. Thanks, Hotch. I really appreciate this."

"Not a problem. Hope to see you soon, Emily."

"Thanks. You too, sir."

Emily hangs up, her heart slightly more at ease. Now, if only it works the way Sara had devised.