CHAPTER 25

JJ and Emily sat on a couch in the basement living room at JJ's house sharing a bottle of wine.

JJ had run into Emily shortly after Dave and Emily were confronted by Donaldson. As soon as she saw her friend upset, JJ had pulled her aside to find out what happened.

The entire team knew that Emily and Dave were waiting for the results of the DNA test. Emily explained what happened between Dave and Donaldson. Before she left Emily's office, JJ had invited Emily over for girls' night and they both had spoken to their respective husbands about staying with the kids.

After they had had some time to relax and a couple of glasses of wine, Emily filled her in on the results of the DNA test. JJ could see Emily's relief on finally having answers after the emotional roller coaster since the day she found out about the Ambassador's death. Along with relief, JJ could also see that there was something bothering her.

"Emily, I thought you wanted to know about your biological parents." JJ said remembering the day in the conference room when the rest of the team agreed to help her go through the paperwork from the adoption case.

Emily sighed and nodded as she leaned forward on the couch and rested her forearms on her legs as she said. "I do. I did." She pause and pushed her hair out of her face before saying, "I'm feeling overwhelmed. I've known this result was possible for days now but now that we have the official results, I don't know what to do."

JJ nodded at her friend and put her wine glass down on the table in front of her before looking over at Emily and asking, "What to do about what? Neither of you need to do anything that you don't want to do. You and Dave will need to discuss and agree on any changes that you both want." JJ reached over and took Emily's hands before continuing, "you know he cares about you Em. You two have had a special bond for years going back to shortly after he rejoined the team."

Emily squeezed JJ's hands before saying quietly as she looked at the floor, "I know. I don't want it to change."

"Things have changed but I think it's for the better. For both of you. What are you really worried about?" JJ asked as she closely watched her friend.

Emily took in a few deep breaths as she tried to put together how to explain to JJ what she was worried about, "I don't want to lose him, JJ. Dave hasn't been just my colleague for a long time. He has become my mentor and a good friend. What if I blow this? Do something he can't get past or that embarasses him? I won't just lose my biological father but everything else he is in my life. I haven't exactly had the best luck with parents."

JJ sighed as Emily spoke. She held back on reminding Emily that part of the issue with the people who raised her was they weren't really her parents and they didn't want to be either. While Emily didn't know that the Ambassador wasn't really her parent, she did.

Deciding to probe further, JJ asked, "Emily where is this coming from? Because I've gotten the opposite impression over the last few days in that now that he has found you, he isn't going to let anything or anyone interfere. Has Dave said or done something that makes you think he would react that way?"

Shaking her head, Emily sighs and looks down as she said, "Emma was the love of his life, Jayje. He has been looking for his child for 31 years and when he finds her, he finds out that she's well, me. I'm not a good person. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of."

JJ looked sympathetically across the table. While she didn't know everything about Emily's past, she knew there were negative aspects of it greatly weighed on her friend. For all of the good things she had done in the time JJ had known her, there were times JJ found that Emily fixated on these unknown to her distressing past events.

Reaching across the table, JJ took Emily's hand before she said sincerely, "Emily, you are a good person. And you, like everyone else, deserve to have a parent who will respect the wonderful person you are. I know you didn't have that when you were growing up but that was the Ambassador's failing not yours." JJ paused before continuing,

"We all have things we did that we aren't proud of. I know I did and Will did. I also know the same is true for Morgan and Hotch. None of that diminishes our worth as a person as much as it fuels our desire to make a positive impact. Hell I'm certain Dave even has done things he isn't proud of.

I know there are events in your past that haunt you. You have mentioned several times over the years about being rebellious and other things like smoking in your teens."

Emily took a deep breath and replied sadly,"This is different Jayje."

JJ took a shot in the dark and asked, "Is it what happened in Rome and with your friend Matthew?"

Emily eyes shot up in response and she pulled away from JJ and stood up, starting to pace as she said nervously, "What? Who told you?"

JJ could see that she had been right on target with her suspicions however she could also see that Emily was just about to shut down. Seeing that she had to quickly clarify her question, JJ shook her head and replied calmly, "No one told me anything. I'm a profiler Em and I was there during that case. I went with Hotch to visit the Benton's and witnessed their reaction. I saw how you handled the case. I'm not going to claim to know what exactly happened but it was clear to me as your best girl friend that something that deeply affected you occurred when you knew Matthew."

Emily stopped pacing and looked at her pleadingly as she said, "Please don't Jayje."

JJ nodded as she said, "I'm not asking you to tell me what. That isn't why I brought it up but if you ever want to talk I'm here for you." JJ paused as she watch Emily come back to the couch and return to her seat before she said softly, "but Dave does know, doesn't he?"

Emily nodded as she replied, "yeah, he asked me during that case and I told him. He knows what happened. Along with the other stuff I did in my teens that the rest of you know about. That I'm an awful person."

JJ sighed as she could see that while Emily had relaxed a bit about her inquiry about Rome, the self loathing was still just as strong. Changing her approach she asked, "Does Hotch know everything?"

Emily looked at her confused before saying, "of course. I told him when we started to get serious so there wouldn't be any surprises later."

JJ let out the breath she had been holding, relieved that she had been correct about Hotch knowing. It would have negated the point she was about to make if he didn't know as well worry JJ because she knew that Emily told him everything.

She smiled at her friend and said, "so he knows and he still loves you. He proposed to you and married you after he found out. Emily, he let you adopt his son. I don't know what happened but if you were truly an awful person do you think Hotch would have done any of that?"

Emily was quiet for a couple of minutes, considering her words before quietly saying, "I don't know."

Now that Emily was looking at the events the way JJ was hoping she would, JJ continued, "and you said that you told Dave everything. He supported you throughout that case. He sent Morgan to help you save your other friend. He even went up against Strauss when things got hot with the State Department. Did you feel that he was offended by what you told him during the case or anytime afterwards?"

Emily quickly shook her head, remembering how protective Dave had been around her at the time. He had told her the day she opened up to him that he was 'all in' and she never doubted that he had meant it. "No. If anything he was more supportive. But that was as a coworker. He may feel differently about it being about his child."

JJ nodded realizing that she had just gotten to the core of what Emily was worried about. She stopped and looked before making eye contact with Emily and saying, "I don't think so. Can you think of anything that Jack or Natalie would do that would cause you to reject them? Would you if either of them had done whatever it is that you are worried about?"

With a disgusted look on her face, Emily shot back, "No of course not. I'm sure there will be decisions that they both make that I will disagree with, but I will also love them and try to support however I can.

If I found out that either of them was involved in that, I would want to protect them and would probably blame myself for not being there for them."

JJ smiled her, knowing she had made her point before saying, "love and support them? You mean like Dave has been doing for you. Since he knows, maybe Dave is now feeling the same way with the guilt that you needed to go through it.

What it comes down to is you aren't going to know for sure until you talk to him. Just give him the benefit of the doubt until you can. I'm sure it wasn't easy to bring it up with Hotch but you did. Let Dave know what your worries are. What your fears are. I'm sure he has some of his own about all of this."

JJ stopped and squeezed Emily's hand before saying, "Emily, this is something you have always wanted. Trust him as you always have. Trust in him that he isn't going to hurt you. You have the opportunity to have a real relationship with a parent. Don't let the fear of the unknown take any more time from getting to know your dad. I would do anything to have had more time with my dad."

Emily squeezed back remembering when JJ told her about losing her father during her first year of college. She also knew deep down that JJ was right. About everything. As she looking back over at her friend, Emily said, "I will. We have a lot of things to talk through. Thanks Jayje."

JJ smiled and stood up relieved that she was able to get through to her stubborn colleague. Truth be told, she felt for both Dave and Emily and wanted them to have a real chance going forward. But both had been hurt deeply in the past. She didn't want them to lose the chance at a relationship that she felt would benefit both of them. "Anytime. I am really happy for you. Let me go ask Will if he'll take you home." JJ said as she noticed Emily checking her watch and grimacing.

Just as JJ was walking up the stairs, she stopped as a thought came to her. Smirking, she looked at Emily and said, "Em, you do realize who is going to be the most thrilled about the revelation that Dave is your dad?"

After a few seconds a smile crossed Emily's face and JJ continued up the stairs to find Will.

####

Hotch was walking down the stairs after putting the kids to bed when he heard knocking on the front door. Reaching the bottom, he walked over to the door and saw Dave looking back at him through the peephole, looking a little out of sorts.

Hotch opened the door, not really surprised that Dave had stopped by his evening having heard from Emily that they had received the results of the DNA test earlier that day as well as what happened with Donaldson. After Dave stepped into the foyer and Hotch closed the door, Dave said, "Hi Aaron, is she here?

Hotch shook his head before saying, "No. Her and JJ went out for girl's night or at least they when over to Will and JJ's house."

Dave looked down at the ground before looking up at Hotch and saying sadly, "OK. I'm going to go. Just tell her… tell her I'm sorry."

He turned towards the door and was reaching for the door when Hotch said, "Dave why don't you come in?"

Dave shook his head as he said, "I don't want to intrude."

Hotch sighed before stating, "you're not. I talked to our lawyer tonight and I want to run some things by you."

Dave turned back around looking worried as he said, "that sounds ominous."

Hotch nodded and led them into the family room. He walked over to the bar and poured both of them a glass of scotch before coming back over to where Dave had sat down.

After handing Dave one of the glasses Hotch sat across from him and said, "well it certainly isn't good, at least what I found out tonight. The courts granted a search warrant for the information surrounding their handling of the trusts. FBI White Collar went into exercise it today.

It looks like two of the three partners at the law firm that handled the Prentiss and Breckenridge family estates have disappeared. The remaining partner is cooperating however he never worked on those accounts. He claims to have no idea where the other two are now.

As if that isn't bad enough, all the documents under the subpoena were shredded and cross shredded so they can't even reassemble the pieces."

Dave shook his head as he said, "that's not good. What is the plan?"

Hotch took and deep breath before he continued on about what he had learned during the earlier phone call, "well they now have new charges against them but they have seemingly disappeared without a trace after one of them landed in Amsterdam and the other in Mexico City. White Collar isn't sure at this point if they are holed up in those areas or traveling under an assumed identity."

"Are they going to continue looking?" Dave asked.

"Yes but what can be done may depend on where they are found and if they can be extradited back to the US."

"Damn." Dave said shaking his head.

Hotch paused before he went on to the next part, "all of this leads to another part of the puzzle. William Reid."

Dave sat up and asked, "how did your meeting go with the ADA?"

Hotch smiled as he remembered the response of the ADA during their meeting a few days earlier. The team had managed to show a clear document trail from the company William Reid works for without involving Spencer's memory, "well, I turned over the evidence we had uncovered linking his employer to the group led by McRae and Howard. They were thrilled to have a break in that case. As much as they were able to prosecute that case, they knew there was a large part that was unsolved. I received a call today that William Reid is not living in Vegas again."

"Again?" Dave asked confused.

"Yeah, after he left Spencer and his mom, William Reid disappeared for several years. He only came back about 5 years before we investigated him last time. However we weren't looking at that time range which is why we didn't know back then. About 2 months after you, Derek and Spencer talked to him, he disappeared again and has been off the grid since then. And then six weeks ago, the company suddenly referred out all their cases and several members of upper management have now also disappeared." Hotch sighed, annoyed mostly with himself that the gap wasn't picked up when they had previously investigated him. But he kept telling himself they wouldn't have known at that point the significance of it.

"That is a lot of people disappearing. Do they think the firm is involved?" Dave asked.

Hotch nodded as he said, "That is how they are investigating it right now. The connection between McRae and Howard and the firm William Reid worked for going back over 30 years."

Dave sighed and focused on the scotch in his glass as he said, "it would explain the phone call that Spencer overheard as well as the timing of when he left."

Hotch huff and could feel his anger rising as it did anytime he thought about William Reid had just walked about from his young son and mentally ill wife as he said, "yeah without any care about what potential legal mess he was leaving them in over and above abandoning a minor child and Diana in the mental state she was in."

"Does Spencer know all this?" Dave asked.

Hotch shook his head as he said, "Not yet but I do need to tell him. Emily doesn't know about the law firm either. I hate that I need to tell both of them that they may not get justice." He was not looking forward to either of these needed conversations.

Do you think that the law firm partners are also involved with McRae and Howard?" Dave asked though he was almost afraid of what the answer would be.

Hotch shook his head before saying, "No, that wasn't the impression that I got. What the consensus is was that they had been mishandling trust accounts and not just Emily's.

When we showed up for the Ambassador's will reading, they admitted it but thought they could talk their way out of it and we wouldn't know the difference. The lies the Ambassador had told them over the years had given them a false sense of security that she wouldn't know any better. Our marriage in particular threw them a curve ball because they needed to immediately hand over to account without any preparation.

After they realized who we were and then with the added scrutiny after we didn't accept their settlement offer, it appears they shredded the evidence and then left, knowing things wouldn't end well for them as the investigation continued."

"What a mess."

Hotch nodded as he said, "I agree. But we also have good news. We heard a few days ago that the lawsuits concerning Emily's inheritances are almost settled. She just wants the process finished with her stepfather getting as little as possible. Unless something unexpected happens, it should be done before the end of the year."

"That is good news." Dave said smiling at some positive news.

Both of them then sat back, focusing on their scotch before Hotch said, "so you hit Donaldson."

Dave sighed and shook his head as he thought back to earlier in the day, "yeah, he came over as Emily and I talking and I hit him when he insulted her. Luckily where were had video surveillance that the Director and Strauss could view when I met with them. Did Emily say anything about it?" Dave asked before he paused discouraged at how what should have been one of the happiest days of his life had gone. He sighed before he said sadly, "we hardly had time to talk after we got the results and then that. I hope I didn't upset her too much."

Hotch saw how upset Dave was and felt for his long time friend. Hoping to reduce his stress a bit, Hotch said, "Donaldson was who she was upset with when I spoke to her. I know she still want to talk to you Dave. Just keep being patient."

Hotch paused and chuckled before he continued, "and expect an earful about that at work she is an agent and is perfectly capable of fighting her own battles. It's a long rant that I know well. And if I remember correctly, you have given me a similar lecture."

Dave laughed back at him as he said, "I know. I know. Strauss already pointed that out. I screwed up. I'll apologize when I see her."

Hotch nodded as he said, "and that's all you really can do. I for one appreciate you defending her. I probably would have been fired if I had been there."

Dave nodded remembering the meeting in the Director's office and wondering at some points if that was going to be his fate, "yeah, I think that was a possibility for me too until they heard on the video what he said as well as what the news was we just received. When I first walked in, they were under the impression that we were in a relationship and both were none too pleased."

Both men looked at each other and shook their heads before Dave said, "I needed to tell them everything Aaron. They both have known about my search for Sophia for years. And Donaldson had threatened to take not only the two of us but the entire team in front of a review board. He was also going to call into question Emily's promotion. The Director needed cover to squash it. I told them because I couldn't let that happen."

Hotch looked back at him as he took in what Dave had just said relieved that a review board investigation had been averted. Even when the initial complaints were cleared, it would have open the possibility of all actions of the team to be questioned.

Nodding in thanks to Dave that the team had dodged that bullet. As he took in the rest of what Dave had said Hotch asked, "You said they knew about Sophia- how did they take the news?"

Dave chuckled before he said, "they were shocked and I believe thought I was losing it before I showed them the lab report. They are happy for the two of us. Given the circumstances, I ended up with a 30 day suspension…."

Before he could say anything else, they could hear Natalie starting to fuss on the monitor. Hotch dropped his head and Dave said, "…. Uh oh"

Hotch stood up and said, "sorry Dave, let me go get her. I'll be right back." Dave heard Hotch quietly talking to Natalie through the monitor before he heard footsteps on the stairs and well as Natalie's sniffles.

When Hotch walked into the family room, Dave saw Natalie resting her head on his shoulder as he rubbed her back. She stopped crying and lifted her head when she saw Dave, "Aw, what's wrong sweetheart."

Before Hotch could say anything his phone started to buzz. Pulling it out of his pocket, he grimaced.

Seeing the look on his face, Dave said to him, "I can take her Aaron if you need to take that." Hotch nodded as he said, "Thanks Dave, I'll be right back." and passed Natalie to Dave.

As Natalie cuddled into him, Dave replied, "take your time. We'll be OK, won't we Natalie?"

Hotch smiled as he saw Natalie look up at Dave before he walked out of the room as he answered the call.

When he call finished and he walked back into the room 20 minutes later, he found them both asleep.

####

Emily pulled her coat tight around her as she thanked Will for the ride and opened the car door. The wind was making it feel colder. Reaching her front porch, Emily opened the door and waved back at Will who then started to back out of the driveway to head home.

As she entered the foyer and took off her coat, Hotch came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Emily turns and returns his hug before pulling slightly back and looking up at him.

"Did you and JJ have fun?" Hotch asked with a smile as he noticed the tension he had noticed in his wife earlier in the day was greatly diminished. It looked like JJ had come through yet again.

Emily nodded as she said, "yeah, we shared a bottle of wine and talked for a while. Thanks for staying with the kids. It was what I needed tonight."

Hotch looked down at her, noticing her glassy eyes, "good. You seem more relaxed then you did early. Just please drink some water before bed. We still have work in the morning."

Emily nodded and pointed towards the kitchen as she said, "I will. I was planning on making the kitchen my first stop. How are the kids?"

Hotch sighed, hoping she wasn't going to feel guilt when he told her how the evening went, "they were both cranky. Overtired would be my guess."

Emily sighed and shook her head before echoing one of his worries, "hopefully they aren't getting sick."

Hotch nodded before answering, "me too. We should know soon enough though they weren't congested and neither had a fever. They were just cranky"

Still concerned, Emily asked, "Did they go down OK?" Shaking her head, she mumbled, "you could have called."

Hotch reached over and placed a finger under her chin and lifted until she was looking at him. He shook his head and said calmly, "no, like you said you needed that time with JJ. I can handle bedtime. Jack is in bed. Natalie was in bed but woke up about an hour ago."

"Where is she?" Emily said as she looked around having not heard the infant since she walked in the door.

"She's back to sleep." Hotch says as he took Emily by the hand and led her to the family room. As soon as she entered the room, she could see Natalie curled up under a blanket on Dave's chest. Dave had the recliner inclined back, his arms surrounded Natalie as he laid there appearing to be sound asleep. Natalie's current favorite book was resting in his lap.

As she took in the sight in front of her, Emily suddenly felt the weight of fear and worry disappear as it was replaced with the feeling that everything was going to work out. They obviously had a lot to talk about but seeing Dave holding her daughter so carefully as he had done countless times before reassured her that his feelings weren't diminished by the new revelations. That their relationship would only grow from here.

Seeing Emily transfixed on the sight in front of her, Hotch said quietly after putting his arm around her shoulders, "Dave stopped by after bedtime and we talked for while. Natalie went to him went she woke up crying. She fell back to sleep while he was reading her the book. A few minutes later, he was asleep too."

Emily nodded and asked without looking at him, "Can you take her? I need to talk to him."

"Just go easy. He is remorseful about what happened with Donaldson and it sounds like he already got an earful about it." Hotch said as he started to walk into the room.

Emily grabbed his sleeve to stop him. Then they walked out of the room and once they were a few steps away, they stopped and Emily said, "OK. What happened?"

Hotch took a deep breath, knowing what happened was Dave's story to tell though he decide to give her an overview, "Meeting with Strauss and the Director. Suspended for a month." Emily gasped when he said that suddenly feeling guilty since Dave had hit Donaldson defending her. Hotch could see the emotions crossing her face and trying to pull her back said,

"But there is also good news. I got a message earlier, you probably have one as well. The Assistant Director they just hired will take over supervising the areas that Donaldson currently does while Donaldson will switch to cover the areas of responsibility AD Smith was. And if that isn't enough, he will at HQ from now on. The Director explained it in the message as Donaldson will be taking over the area which has had a lot of turnover at the Unit and Section Chief levels to given some stability."

Emily could feel the smile on her face grow as he shared the news before she replied, "That is good news. Wow, if I knew decking him was going to get rid of him, I would have done it years ago."

"Emily." he said chidingly though his poor concealed smile negated the reproach.

Emily rolled her eyes at him as she said, still unable to wipe the smile off her face, "I know. I know. No violence. It's the wine talking. I'm going to go get a glass of water." She leaned up and kissed his cheek before she walked away towards the kitchen.

As he saw her walking away to called out in a whisper, "OK, while your in there, I'm going to take Natalie back up to her room so stay out of sight please."

Emily turned and answered, "I will stay in the kitchen until I heard you going up the stairs. Good luck" before walking into the kitchen.

They both knew that if Natalie woke up when Hotch picked her up and saw Emily, she won't settle until Emily fed her. While Natalie would take the bottle with little fuss if Emily wasn't around, she would refuse it and want her mom if she saw her, particularly at bedtime. While most nights, Emily would take her chances, tonight she wasn't because she had been drinking and didn't want Natalie to get her milk now.

While in the kitchen, Emily slowly drank 2 glasses of water. As she sat at the counter finishing her second glass, he could hear Hotch walking up the stairs.

Deciding that was all the water that she could comfortably handle, she walked over and placed the glass in the dishwasher before walking out of the kitchen heading towards the family room.

When she walked into the room, she could see Dave sitting up in the recliner rubbing his face. Not seeing her walk into the room, he jumped slightly in surprise when she said, "Hey, you OK."

Standing up, Dave smiled at as he said, "yeah. I was reading the little lady a book and she nodded off and next thing I know, Aaron was nudging my shoulder to take her up to bed. I guess I was more tired than I thought."

Emily looked down before looking back up before she said, "I'm sorry I missed you when you came by earlier."

She really did regret not being there when he came by since their talk after the lab tech gave them the DNA results was cut short by Donaldson. However she was also glad to have had the time with JJ to get her thoughts straight before sitting down with Dave.

Dave nodded and said, "Aaron said you and JJ were having girls' night."

"Yeah." Emily replied nervously before pausing before continuing, "thanks for defending me with Donaldson today. I'm sorry you got suspended because of it."

Dave reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he replied, "I'm not. He had it coming."

Dave paused because he had no idea how she was going to react to what he was going to say next, "but I do need to tell you something before you go to work tomorrow. The Director and Strauss know about the DNA results. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you first about how you wanted to handle letting people know."

He stopped and sighed before he said, "I wasn't going to but Donaldson was already making insinuations about us being personally involved and threatening to start a investigation of not only the two of us but of the team as well as call into question your promotion. I couldn't let him jeopardize your career or the reputation of the BAU by dragging us before a review board."

Emily smiled as seeing Dave ramble was unusual. However sobered as she realized it was distress and he was just as nervous and uncertain as she was, she put her hand over his on her shoulder and said, "Dave, stop. It's fine. I understand. The two of them were going to have to know regardless. Yeah I wish we would have had some time to get use to it ourselves first but that's not on you or me, that's on Donaldson."

Dave smiled back at her response, relieved that she wasn't angry before saying, "good. I'm going to head out," as he yawned.

Emily looked at him concerned knowing his house was 20 minutes away before she said, "why don't you stay tonight? It's late and you're tired."

Dave looked down almost ready to say no as he generally would when the offer to stay would be made by a member of the team.

However, since that night when Reid mentioned the name of Emma's mother, he hadn't been sleeping well. And honestly, he didn't want to go home. He wanted to stay close to Emily afraid that he walked too far away, she would disappear again. He also recognize that her offer tonight unlike other times was as his daughter and not as a colleague. And since she was asking, he decided to accept.

He nodded before he said, "if you're sure, that would be great. I'll just go grab my bag from the car."

AN: In chapter 26, perspective is given to a member of the team.

An FYI, I'm going to be publishing 2 one shots in the next few days if anyone is interested. They are mostly ready and just need to finish the edits.