This chapter is mostly centered on character growth.
The team gets closer to the truth as they prepare to head to Boston. Will they get there in time?
Christian was jarred awake when he heard the trunk of the car jerked open as the man in the blue baseball cap struggled to remove him from it. He groaned in pain as he felt the barrel of a gun connect to his temple before he felt the man grab at his shirt and pants, pulling him from the trunk. The felt sensation of pain hit him again as his body was thrown on a hard concrete surface before the man proceeded to drag his body towards an unknown destination.
At the moment, the man in the blue baseball cap was dragging Christian's body from a garage to inside a small home, opening a door that came off the kitchen and led to a flight of stairs. "This might hurt a little" he warned with a grin as he pushed Christian down the flight of stairs, causing the man to wince in pain as his body collided with the steps before reaching the hard floor. "Don't be such a fucking pussy Kane" the man ordered as he ripped the duck tape off Christian's mouth.
"What the fuck Ray?!" Christian yelled, still blinded folded. Nevertheless, Christian already knew who the man was, tipped off by his voice.
"Oh I haven't even gotten started with you, you rat fuck" the man replied. "You think I would fucking forget the shit you pulled you cocksucker?! Did you forget how you fucked me over?! You betrayed me! You took what was supposed to be mine!"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Christian asked as Ray's foot connected with his shoulder.
"Don't play fucking dumb with me Jackie! Don't you fucking do it!"
"Fine" Christian relented as he felt another blow connect to his back. "What the fuck did I do? Okay? I don't know."
"You're a fucking cop!"
"Well la-di-fucking-da Sherlock, obviously, but I didn't take anything from you. What the fuck am I going to do with an old pizza box and a collection granny porn?"
"SHUT UP!" Ray screamed as he punched Christian in the temple again. "You took everything from me you stupid fucking rat" he shouted back he paced around the room. "You were supposed to be my brother! I treated you like a fucking brother!"
Christian tried to breath through the pain as he spoke up, "Well I don't know what the fuck I took from you. Care to enlighten me?"
"No" Ray simply replied as he shot Christian in the ribs with a rubber bullet, causing the other man to hiss in pain. "I don't give a shit if you know or not. Irregardless, you're going to suffer for what you did because I fucking know."
"'Irregardless' isn't a fucking word you illiterate fucktard!" Christian mocked with a small chuckle that sent pain coursing throughout his body. "It's just regardless you dumb fuck. Maybe you should read a fucking book for once, and if you're still confused a book is a hard thing filled with words" he taunted as Ray stomped on his ribs, satisfied when he heard a crack.
"I've been waiting for this for seven fucking years" Ray replied as he re-taped Christian's mouth. "Fitzy Bryant isn't around anymore to pay for your sins you fucking pussy. And you know what Jackie? I'm going to make you suffer and make that federal agent bitch you're fucking witness it, just like I had to. And it's gonna be wicked pissa" He concluded as Christian tried to threaten him through the duck tape. He didn't care what Ray tried to do to him, but he couldn't let that psycho touch Emily. Christian wasn't going to allow it.
Additionally, he really didn't know what Ray was alluding to. Yes, he was undercover and had helped convict him, but what did he take from him? And what did that have to do with Ray viewing him like a brother? Unless…
He knew. He knew about Providence.
"Absolutely not" Hotch replied in a firm voice after Emily requested that they have Garcia hack into the Massachusetts's State Police Undercover files. "We cannot just hack into confidential Undercover files, it a breach of security."
"Aaron, what other choice do we have?" Rossi asked as the team gathered into the conference room.
"So what is going on exactly?" JJ asked, confused about why it was 8pm and she still wasn't able to relieve her baby-sitter.
Hotch furrowed his brow as he glanced over to Emily, "All outward appearances seem to point to Lieutenant Cavanagh being abducted. However, we can't find a motivation and Prentiss and Morgan seem to think it had to do with his undercover days."
"I can't find anything else that makes sense" Emily spoke up as JJ shot her a sympathetic look. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her friend. Much like when Haley disappeared, it didn't matter that the two were no longer together. They were expecting a child together, they would be always connected. Emily ran her hands through her hair as she continued on, shaking JJ from her thoughts. "Garcia hacked into this personal and work computer history and nothing points to his disappearance having to do with that. His time undercover is the only thing that makes sense" she offered with a shrug.
"I understand that Prentiss" Hotch sighed as he looked over to Rossi and Morgan. "Do you have any contacts in the Massachusetts's State Police Gang Unit?" he asked hopefully as Emily shook her head. Hotch took a deep breath as he rubbed his tired eyes and addressed the team, "Does anyone have a problem with taking this case unofficially?"
After the entire team shook their head 'no' Hotch continued on. "Here's what we're going to do. JJ, Morgan, and Reid, I want you to filter through every psychological profile request we've received until you find one from Boston. Rossi and I will convince Strauss that is our next assignment tomorrow morning. We do not tell Strauss about Cavanagh's disappearance. We do not have the jurisdiction to work this case. Garcia, I want you to hack those files, Prentiss see if any names ring a bell from Doyle's old contacts. We're leaving for Boston in the morning" he ordered in a firm tone as he left the conference room.
Finding Christian became ever more complicated when, after an hour of searching, Garcia found the encrypted undercover files. However, the files did not list what cases each officer was working on, and actually had a notation for the officers to refer to the paper files that were probably kept by the Gang Unit Captain. This newest piece of information led Hotch to alter the plan yet again. The next morning the team would fly down to Boston, under the pretense of doing a psychological profile on an inmate at Framingham Penitentiary, and meet with the Lieutenant who supervised Christian's case. Emily also had a roundabout idea of how to find out Christian's undercover identity and was frustrated when Hotch ordered the team to head home for the night. She knew that they needed sleep and there was nothing that could be done, but it didn't make it any easier.
It was nearly 10pm when she finally trudged into her dark quiet apartment, slumping on to the sofa next to Sergio. She knew that she shouldn't blame herself, but she couldn't help it. She also knew that she couldn't allow herself to get so stressed, it wasn't good for the baby, but she couldn't help that either. After a few minutes of complete silence, Emily was surprised to hear a knock at the door. She quickly got off the sofa and looked through the peephole, only to find Garcia, JJ, and Henry on the other side of the door.
"Hey guys" Emily greeted in a warm, but confused voice.
"We thought you'd want some company" JJ stated as she shifted a sleeping Henry on her hip. He was getting a little big to carry.
"Come in."
'We brought you chicken noodle soup" Garcia said as she held up a brown paper bag which she was carrying along with a few other bags. "We're doing a sleepover…" she whispered as she pointed to the sleeping blonde boy.
"Uh, are you sure about this?" Emily asked JJ with an eyebrow raised. Didn't JJ have to spend time with her boyfriend?
"Will's working the night shift so yeah, we're sure" JJ reassured as she walked toward's Emily's bedroom. "Do you mind if Garcia takes the guest room and Henry and I sleep with you?"
"You guys can take my bed, I'll just sleep on the couch" Emily offered with a smile as Garcia loudly gasped, making Henry momentarily wake up as his mother took him to Emily's room.
"Gumdrop, we are not letting a pregnant woman sleep on the couch. We're not animals!"
"Yeah" JJ agreed as she returned from Emily's room to the other women, "Plus you should get used to sleeping with a child. You can eat soup right?"
"It's like the only thing I can eat" Emily complained as she walked to her kitchen and took three bowls out of the cabinets. "I've been throwing up so much that I've actually lost weight…"
"OH MY GOD!" Garcia shrieked in horror as she ushered Emily from the kitchen back to the sofa, the shrill noise prompting Sergio to retreat to the guest room. "Let Jayje do that. Aunty Pen-Pen is here to care for you" she ordered softly as she stroked Emily's hair, making JJ laugh.
"I can't believe that you actually told her" JJ stated with a smirk as Garcia scowled.
"Well the alternative was allowing her to think that I was sleeping with Hotch" Emily remarked with a chuckle as JJ scoffed.
"Pen, why would you think Emily was sleeping with Hotch?"
"Duh, they hugged."
"And?" Emily asked as she tucked into her bowl of soup.
"A hug is just smacking the salmon with some clothes on" she claimed as Emily rolled her eyes. "So anyway Gumdrop, where is the photographic evidence of my newest minion?"
Emily ate another spoonful of soup and turned to look at the other women with a confused look, "What?"
"The sonogram" JJ cleared up as she sat next to the brunette.
"Bedroom nightstand" was all Emily said before Garcia took off towards the room, prompting Emily to chuckle.
"So how are you doing really?" JJ questioned in a tender voice.
Emily took a deep breath as she put down her bowl and rubbed her temples, "I don't know. I can't lose it you know?"
"Well you can now" JJ began as she rubbed her friend's arm. "It's just us. You don't have to be 'Agent Prentiss' around us. You know that right? You're allowed to be worried."
"Thanks" Emily replied with a small smile. "But honestly, I need to focus or I'll just drive myself crazy…" She trailed off as Garcia rushed back into the room.
"It's beautiful" she remarked teary eyed as she handed off the picture to JJ.
JJ smiled at the photo and pointed to it, "You see this the head and this is the feet."
"It has your eyes Gumdrop" Garcia cooed as Emily saw an opportunity to tease the other woman.
"Garcia that's a blob" Emily remarked in a matter of fact tone with a smirk as she pointed to the sonogram. "I don't even think it has a face yet."
Garcia scowled at the comment, "How dare you Gumdrop. This adorable blob is my godchild…"
"Wait a second" JJ cut in with a stern look as she lifted her hand to stop any possible protests. "Who said you're the godmother? You already have Henry."
"So do you."
"And?"
"And why can't I have another baby?"
"Because I want this baby" JJ shot back as Emily rolled her eyes. Did neither of them realize that it was her and Christian's baby?
"And I deserve this baby."
"So do I! Who helped Emily in Paris?"
"Well I gave her relationship advice. If I didn't tell her to slam the ham with sinfully delicious she wouldn't even be knocked up right now" Garcia argued as Emily chuckled at their antics.
"So?"
"Okay we'll compromise. I'll get mini-gumdrop from birth until age 13, then you'll get him or her until it turns 21, at which point I'll get them back" Garcia suggested as JJ glared at her.
"So I get the crappy teenage years when it hates adults and you get cute baby and fun drunk?"
"Wait a second" Emily interjected with a warning voice. "Neither of you two are getting my child drunk."
"Ugh, so overprotective. This is what happens when you coddle your child" Garcia whispered to JJ who just nodded in reply.
Emily just shook her head at her friends. Yes, they were insane, but they helped distract her from everything. That is what she desperately needed, and they knew it.
After getting Garcia and JJ situated, Emily took a shower and got ready to settle into bed with JJ and Henry which was a little weird. She was used to sleeping with JJ since they shared beds on cases frequently, but she never really shared a bed with a child. Her mother had never shared a bed with her when she was little, never. So the idea was fairly foreign to her as she climbed into bed with the sleeping mother and son.
"Where are you at emotionally?" JJ sleepily asked as Henry curled into her.
"Okay I guess. I'm a little worried. It's complicated because I feel more concerned than I would if it was just an ordinary disappearance" Emily quietly admitted. "I know we're not together anymore, but it doesn't feel like we're really over. You know?"
"Maybe because you aren't."
Emily chuckled at the statement, "You know how some couples say how they complete each other and make each other better people?"
"Yeah."
"We're so not one of those couples" Emily remarked as JJ quietly laughed. "Things with Christian were different than that. I don't know, I think the only way to explain it would be that he made me feel like I could have fun again."
JJ smiled at comment, because she always knew that Emily and Christian weren't over yet, not by a long shot. "I want you to be honest with me okay? Why aren't you with Christian? Because we both know that you are still in love with him. It's so obvious Em. It's right there in your eyes, those eyes that conceal every emotion but this. And I think now is time for you to be really honest about why you broke up."
Emily took a deep breath as silence filled the room. She smiled when she heard Henry's light snoring, the sound somehow strangely soothing. "My therapist said something to me during my last session. She said that maybe Emily Prentiss did die, a part of her anyway. It sounds so stupid but it stuck with me. And then we were on the Piano man case and I felt like maybe I was forever marked by Doyle. Like there's this part of me that he's always is going to have a hold on. And then there's Christian and he's this crass, hilarious, strangely charming, great guy and he wanted to change his entire life for me. He was willing to do everything for me and he wanted it all right then and I just thought, if he only knew."
"Knew what?"
Emily shook her head before answering, "I can picture the look on Morgan's face when he found out. I can see it. I'm either so messed up that I fell for a terrorist or I'm a cold-hearted prostitute who had sex with a unsub for a profile. I honestly don't know which is worse. And things with Christian were, they just showed me that any part of me that might have thought Doyle was more than just a job was lying. So what does make me?" She questioned as she nervously chewed on her lower lip, feeling both terrified and relived to be so exposed to someone. "I felt like if Christian knew he would never look at me the same way again. Sure he said that he would never judge me, but this isn't a normal situation you wouldn't judge someone about. And I just thought he deserved someone better…" Emily drifted as JJ's heart broke at the words her friend had just uttered. How could Emily think that about herself?
"Emily" JJ spoke up firmly as she propped herself up on an elbow and faced her friend. "You are the first person to accept anyone else, regardless of their past, but for some reason you are so hard on yourself. We all have issues. We all have secrets that we think taint us, no one gets out of the world without them. Spence, Morgan, Hotch, Rossi, Garcia, me, we all have them and judging by what happened I would say that Christian does to. You have to stop being so hard on yourself and worrying about what everyone thinks of you. We all love you, the same way we did before we knew about Doyle. In fact, I would be willing to guess that we love you even more because of it. We love how humble you are, how you never acted superior to us even though you have may more experience. We love you for all the sacrifices we know you made. Not to mention all that you did for Declan. Emily he wasn't even yours and you were willing to sacrifice your life so he wouldn't be turned into some monster like his father. That person, the real Emily Prentiss, didn't die. We just got to know her better, no matter what some stupid Bureau shrink said. You know those are like the worst shrinks on the planet right? If they were any good at their jobs they'd work for celebrities or something. They'd be on the Britney Spears crew" JJ stated as Emily chuckled.
"Emily, you deserve to be happy. If the guy that makes you happy is Christian then you have to tell him. You need to tell him how you feel and fight to fix things with him. And don't lie to yourself and say this is just about the baby because we both know that this is more than that. It has always been more than that. And Christian, God Emily he is so hopelessly in love with you and I don't think that's ever going to change. I think he'll only love you more when he learns the truth, just like the rest of us" JJ concluded as she ran her fingers through Henry's hair. "So I want you to tell me the truth. Do you want to be with him or not?"
"Yes" Emily repeated in a quiet voice as she let JJ's words sink in.
"Then get off your ass and do something about it" JJ ordered as Emily rolled her eyes.
"Wow JJ" Emily laughed. "That was just, I don't know how to describe what that was."
"You needed some tough love" the blonde remarked with a smile. Now, get some rest" JJ kindly instructed as Emily simply nodded and turned on her side.
In the next chapter is mostly case focused and all the little hints I've left so far will start to all connect back together…
Any final predictions before the truth starts to come out?