Cassie squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. It felt as if she was nursing the worst hangover of her life. Noticing the girl's rapid blinking, Emily fished out a pair of oversized black sunglasses out of her purse.
"I should of given you these earlier," she said handing Cassie the specs.
Slipping them on, Cassie felt a bit better, not only because the sun was at bay, but because it acted as another barrier to the outside. She stared at her lap the entire time Emily pushed her through the hospital hallways, not saying a word. Emily pushed the chair as fast as she could, not wanting to put Cassie through any awkwardness. It was already bad enough they had a cop walking twenty feet behind them to aid in security.
"How does it feel to have the fresh air in your lungs," Emily asked as she took a seat on the bench next to the wheel chair.
"Better than inhaling that stuffy air I guess," Cassie admitted, still looking down at her lap.
Emily knew that being outside of the hospital room made the situation much more real.
"It's a big step going outside, especially in your condition. You're braver than I ever could be," Emily told her, meaning every word.
Cassie looked startled, "what do you mean, because I was able to be dressed, propped up in a chair and pushed outside."
Emily shook her head, "that you even let someone do that for you, and that you were willing to."
Cassie shrugged, "I couldn't take another rerun of Friends."
Emily smiled, "I'll pick you up some reading material next time I run home." Cassie nodded, happy to know she'd have something to fill her days other than tv.
"You're brave too you know," Cassie said after a bit of quietness.
It was now Emily's turn appear puzzled, "what did I do."
Cassie continued to look down, while playing with the string of her hoodie.
"You're a BAU agent I mean you capture killers all the time. And your staying with me even though someone is out to kill me," she said softly.
Emily's heart melted, and all she wanted to do was to tell the girl all of her fears.
"Cassie trust me I'm afraid of a lot of things, and this situation is by far the most terrifying. But I will not let you go through this alone, because things aren't as scary when theres someone going through it with you," Emily answered, hoping she wasn't too sappy.
Cassie shook her head, "I've spent the last few months pushing everyone away so they wouldn't have to go through it with me. Before the doctor called you on Friday, your life was fine. Then I dragged you into my mess, my life," Cassie's voice trembled, as tears began running down her face.
Emily sat there with her mouth open, almost overwhelmed with the amount of pain in Cassie's voice.
"You're not going to be able to push me anywhere, I'm like a boulder that won't move," she said.
"And you didn't drag me into anything Cassie, I made a conscience decision to stay with you, because I wanted to. You are an adult and didn't need a legal guardian, so I could of just walked out, but then I would be missing the chance to gain a beautiful person in my life. Someone who I need more than she needs me," Emily continued, surprised at the wavering in her own voice.
Cassie was touched by her aunt's words, but could not understand how she could be of any benefit to her aunt's life.
"One day it will feel better, right" Cassie whispered.
Emily nodded, "one day you'll be able to wake up in the morning without wanting to burst into tears. I don't know when that day will be Cassie, but it will come for us, eventually."