Every single part of her body ached. A nurse was supposed to be bringing her some sort of painkiller, but Emily wasn't sure she wanted to take it. She had things to do. She needed to check on her girls for one thing, she needed to check on Nikki and Isis too, and plan funeral arrangements, and get her clubs ready to open again. She needed to beg Maria's forgiveness for getting Cooper killed. But she was stuck in a hospital bed, while an orthopedic resident covered most of her hand with a white cast. Dr. Sandhu had offered a range of fluorescent colors, but Emily declined in favor of white.

Emily had twisted her hand and wrist very badly, but didn't break any of the bones in either. She had however broken her pointer, middle and ring fingers. The doctors had had to drain some of the blood coloring her thick, swollen fingers a deep purple before fitting the cast. Her fingers looked slightly less disturbing now, but Emily was almost grateful they were being covered. The orthopedist finished wrapping the last part around and then rested Emily's hand on the swinging tray table attached to the bed.

"That just needs a little while to dry," she said, pulling off her gloves and rising from her seat. "I'll have a nurse bring you instructions for the cast when you're discharged tomorrow –"

"Tomorrow?!"

"Yes, Ms. Berne. Dr. Taylor thinks it's best, and I agree completely, that you stay overnight at least, and rest here where we can monitor you."

"Dr. Taylor was the one that said my injuries weren't severe. Why do I need monitoring?"

Dr. Sandhu sat back down, and studied Emily with large, dark eyes. "Emily, you were in car accident and then abducted by a serial killer. You suffered a concussion, broken bones and numerous contusions and abrasions. You're lucky you don't have broken ribs or a severed kidney. You need to rest right now."

Emily's jaw tightened. "I know what I've been through, Dr. Sandhu. But I have things to do and people who depend on me. I need to be released."

"I'm aware of who you are and what you do, and your kids can take care of themselves for a night." At Emily's frown, the doctor smiled. "Three years ago, a seventeen year-old girl came into our ER in worse shape than you're in now. She'd gone to see her abusive boyfriend, and he'd punished her for seeking help. She kept asking for "Mama", and when I asked for her parents' phone number, she became almost hysterical. She told us to call a club called Mother Night instead and ask for Emily. We promised to do so, and she calmed down and allowed us to treat her immediately. After I treated her for a broken cheekbone, a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs, I asked around. The maternity ward was particularly familiar with you."

"Then you know why I don't have the time to hang around here. In fact, two of my girls are here and I really need to check on them."

Dr. Sandhu rested a hand on her arm, and Emily resisted the urge to shake it off. "I will have a nurse bring a wheelchair for you, so you can visit both. But only if you agree to stay overnight and get some rest. You will be useless to your charges if you don't allow yourself time to heal and recover."

Emily sighed and looked at her lap. She really wanted to get home, but the doctor was probably right, the girls could handle things for one night without her. She was exhausted and emotionally drained, and if she rested tonight, she'd be fresh and ready to get things done tomorrow. "Okay."

"Alright, now I believe there are some people outside who have been waiting to see you. Okay?" Emily nodded that it was okay to let them in, and settled back against the pillows.

JJ and Hotchner came through the door first and she tried not to be disappointed that it wasn't Wendy or Danni. She couldn't even look JJ in the eyes, the guilt about Cooper settling heavily on her chest.

"It's good to see you're okay. We were afraid Filar was going to kill you before we found you," the detective said.

"Nope, he wanted to torture me."

"Well, he's very dead now, so you don't have to worry about him anymore. You and your girls are safe," Hotch said.

"Yeah, that still leaves seven bodies to bury," she said, staring out the window into the dark.

"Seven? We only found six girls. Did he tell you about another?"

Emily turned back then, her eyes burning. "And Cooper."

JJ frowned. "Cooper's two flights down in ICU."

"What?" she could feel her eyes widen and her mouth hang open.

"We got to him just barely in time. He's intubated and unconscious, but he's alive. Maria has been in with him for hours." When Emily failed to speak, JJ continued. "The doctors say that he's not quite out of the woods, but they're optimistic."

"Oh god," she said, shutting her eyes, a few stray tears sliding down her cheeks. "I thought he was dead. I thought I watched him die."

JJ walked up and took her hand then. "He suffered a lot of blood loss and a punctured lung, but the surgery went really well. Half the NYPD was here donating blood earlier."

"How's Maria holding up?"

"Valenti has been keeping her company." JJ offered a sad smile. "She's the wife of a cop, she's strong."

Emily nodded and exhaled, finally meeting the detective's eyes. "She is."

Hotch cleared his throat. "Your daughters and mother are outside."

Her joy at the thought of seeing her daughters was considerably dampened with the thought of her mother. "I don't suppose I can decline to see the Ambassador?"

"You could, but you shouldn't," he said, a slight smirk on his lips.

JJ gave her hand a squeeze and then the cops left. Wendy came through the door first, took one look at her, and ran for the bed, throwing her arms around Emily. Emily felt hot tears leaking through the thin hospital gown and ran a hand over Wendy's head, her arms sliding around the girl. "I'm okay, honey. It looks much worse than it is."

Danni wasn't far behind, but she was more reserved. She stood at the foot of the bed, her grandmother behind her, and bit her lip, unsure of what her next move should be. Emily continued to stroke Wendy's head, as she offered her other daughter a reassuring smile. She ignored her mother's presence.

"Are you okay?" Danni asked.

"Yeah. I'm a little banged up, but I'm really okay, I promise."

Wendy unburied her face then, and backed up, wiping tears from her eyes. Danni took a step forward then stopped, hesitating. She made her feet move again, and then threw herself into Emily's arms. Emily held her back, trying to keep her emotions at bay.

Danni whispered and she barely heard it. "Please don't leave me, I just found you."

Emily kissed her head and whispered back to her. "I'm not going anywhere."

The Ambassador cleared her throat. "Did they tell you when you'll be released?"

"Tomorrow sometime." Emily kept her tone level and cordial.

Elizabeth nodded. "I need to check in at work, but I'll come by the club tomorrow after you've had some rest."

"You don't have to."

"I know…" Elizabeth paused. "But, I'd like to."

Emily simply nodded, not confirming her feelings about it one way or another. She would deal with the woman for Danni's sake, though hopefully their contact in the future would be minimal.

Wendy was pushing her and Danni walked alongside the wheelchair as they headed to the hospital's Emergency Department. Wendy had updated her on what was going on at home, how some of the older girls had come back and how they were all taking care of each other. It made Emily incredibly proud of them. Though she'd failed Sasha, Casey and Josie, she'd done right by so many of her girls. She hoped she could add Isis to that list, but was cautiously optimistic about the girl.

Isis had been put into a curtained-off room just outside the department where they evidently kept the overflow. As soon as they got close though, they saw the curtain open and the bed empty, fresh linens set by the pillow, waiting for someone to change the bed.

Emily craned her head toward Wendy. "Did they release her?"

Wendy shook her head. "I checked on her a couple hours ago, she was here and she was fine."

She turned to her other daughter. "Could you flag down a nurse?"

Danni came back only seconds later with a young nurse. Emily smiled at the woman. "We're looking for the young woman who was in this room, she suffered a miscarriage and numerous injuries from physical abuse. Her name was Isis."

"Yeah, she was one of my patients. That poor thing checked-out AMA and took off."

Emily wasn't surprised at all, but tried to hide her disappointment from the girls. "What about the girl that was with her?"

"She was very upset, begged her friend to stay. I don't know where she went though, sorry."

Emily's chest tightened. If Carla followed Isis back to Scooter, she could be hurt, killed or forced into the same hell that Isis was trapped in. She forced a smile. "Thanks for your help."

"I'm sorry, Mom, I should have stayed with her or something to keep her from leaving."

Emily reached up and squeezed Wendy's hand with her good one. "It's not your fault. If Isis wanted to leave, you couldn't have stopped her." The most endlessly frustrating truth in Emily's line of work was that you couldn't save them all, no matter how much it broke your heart.

"What about Carla?"

Emily pursed her lips. "Can you call home, see if anyone has seen her?"

Wendy started to nod, but stopped and looked at Danni. "Can you take Mom up to Nikki?"

Danni nodded and quickly took Wendy's place manning the wheelchair. She wheeled Emily into the elevator, and they were quiet it as it ascended until Danni asked. "What's going to happen to her?"

Emily looked at her. "Isis?" Danni nodded. She inhaled, trying to think of what to tell her daughter, how honest she should be. She finally settled on something simple. "Nothing good."

Danni went silent then, and Emily didn't start up a conversation, she was too focused on Carla. The girl already had one foot out the door, she was afraid she'd be snatched by Isis's traffickers or just return to the streets on her own. Emily had been making progress with her, she didn't want to lose Carla now.

Emily gave a short knock on the open door before Danni pushed her into the room, and her heart nearly flipped when she saw Carla sitting in the chair by Nikki's bed, holding Nikki's newborn son.

"Mama!" Nikki called, a big smile on her face. Carla's head shot up, and she smiled too, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"Hi, girls. How're you feeling, Nikki?" Danni wheeled her next to Carla, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Sore, but okay. The adoption lady came and showed me folders. I picked a family in New Jersey. They have a big yard with a swing set and a dog for him to play with."

Emily smiled. "That's great…I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."

Nikki gave a half shrug. "I was worried when you didn't come. Then Wendy called and said you were missing. I'm just glad you're alive."

"Me too," Carla said, her voice soft, barely audible.

Emily gave them a soft smile. Nikki asked quickly, "Do you want to hold him?"

"Of course I do." Carla shifted the tiny, baby boy into Emily's arms, and her stomach ached as it always did when she held an infant. Inevitably, she'd think about the first time she'd held Danni, and that memory was always filled with the pain of having her little girl taken away from her. But Danni was barely a foot away now, and Emily tried to will that gnawing feeling away.

"He's beautiful, Nikki."

She nodded, her smile falling slightly. "I hope he don't look like my daddy when he's big."

"I doubt he will, he already looks a lot like you."

Emily slid the baby back into his too-young mother's arms, and regarded Carla. "I'm sorry about Isis."

"Yeah, me too," Carla said. "Scooter's gonna kill her."

Emily didn't bother correcting her grammar. "Let's hope not."

Carla nodded, but didn't seem to hold out much hope. Wendy came in the room then and started at the sight of Carla. She didn't say anything, but walked over to the unoccupied side of the bed and fussed over Nikki and the baby.

Emily exhaled. She still had one more person to check on. "When are they releasing you, Nikki?"

"As soon as the couple comes to get him. They won't be here until the morning. The nurse said that I should spend time with him until then."

"I think she's right about that." Emily went to glance at her watch, but her wrist was bare. She sighed. "Alright, I need to go see Detective Cooper, will you be alright?"

Nikki and Carla both nodded, while Danni stood up and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair. Wendy went with them, back to the elevator and down to the ICU.

They found the room easily, because JJ and Hotch were standing outside of it, talking quietly. They stopped when they saw her, and JJ's eyebrows just about hit her hairline. "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"After I see Cooper and Maria." When she didn't comment, Emily said, "I wonder if I could impose on you for a favor?"

"What do you need?"

"A ride home for Danni, Wendy and Carla."

JJ started to nod her head, but Wendy and Danni immediately objected, both insisting that they weren't leaving and wanted to stay with Emily. Emily quickly quieted them down, and told them that it wasn't up for discussion. Wendy caved quicker, having been raised by Emily, and used to obeying her, but Danni wasn't far behind, following Wendy's lead. JJ gave her shoulder a squeeze before aiming the girls toward the elevator and ushering them out.

"You're a good mother," Hotch said.

She snorted. "I think Danni would disagree."

He shook his head. "She's already taken to you."

"I'm lucky."

He seemed to abandon the argument. "I'm sorry."

She started, but quickly collected herself. "You saved my life, what do you have to be sorry for?"

"Not for anything that happened recently…for the past."

"Oh."

"I didn't…It wasn't my intention to hurt you."

Emily shook her head. "It's not your fault. I was stupid to think you could ever love me."

"No, you weren't." He swallowed. "I was just already in love with someone else."

Emily nodded. The wife he didn't mention when he held her close after sex, not like a john, but like a boyfriend. Or when he brought her flowers or stroked her hair with the gentlest touch she'd ever felt. She'd believed in all that, had believed that he cared for her, when all she really was to him was a hooker that he happened to like. Even with his apology, it still hurt.

But people make mistakes, and they are forgiven for those mistakes. "You're still with her?" Emily asked.

"Yes. We just had a baby, a boy."

"Then forget me, Aaron. It was ten years ago, none of it matters anymore. Forget me, and teach your son to be a better man than you."

He said nothing, but grabbed the handles of her wheelchair and wheeled her into Cooper's room, before exiting silently.

Maria was asleep in the chair by the bed, her slightly swollen stomach pressed against the mattress. Her slumber gave Emily a chance to study Cooper. He was pale, sickly so, and a half dozen wires monitoring him crept out from underneath the sheet covering him. The tube in his throat blocked half his face from her view, it was so large. And he was still, so unnaturally still.

Emily desperately wanted to hear him laugh. She wanted to see his smile as he flirted with her, one eye on Tommy as he watched his partner's temper rise. He'd always loved riling Tommy up, and messing with Emily was a quick way to do it.

Tommy had been the detective that responded when Ben had died. Even though Ben had died from a heart attack, his death was investigated as a homicide until the medical examiner was able to confirm cause of death. While the patrol cops and CSU shot her suspicious looks, Tommy had spoken softly and kindly to her. She'd felt safe with Ben, and cared for, even wanted. They'd enjoyed each other's company, though their friendship was unconventional, and Tommy had seen that her grief over Ben's death was real. Tommy had taken her home with him when he found out that she had nowhere to go, and she'd slept on his sofa. And he'd sat with her in Ben's attorney's conference room while he read the will, shielding her from Ben's kids' burning glares.

Tommy had become almost instantly protective of her for reasons that Emily still didn't really understand. He'd been partnered with Cooper for a year before bringing him to meet Emily. And though Cooper had flirted with her almost constantly to irritate Tommy, he'd become just as protective as his mentor. Part of that was probably because of Tommy, but part was because they'd built a deep friendship in the five years they'd known each other.

"Emily?" She started and turned to see Maria awake and stretching.

"I'm so sorry, Maria," she said.

The other woman frowned in confusion, and then shook her head, but didn't acknowledge the apology otherwise. "You know, Jay's unconscious, has 14 stitches in his stomach and one tube down his throat and another up his penis, but you actually look worse."

Emily chuckled. "You should see the other guy."

"Detective Jareau told me that he was dead. I just hope it was painful."

"It was." And bloody. "How's the baby?"

"Good, healthy. The doctor said that he or she is developing perfectly."

Emily smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

"Jay called me yesterday." Maria brushed some of her dark red curls away from his eyes and tucked them behind her ear. "He said that he met your daughter."

"It's a long story, Maria."

The other woman shrugged. "I'm not moving until my husband opens his eyes, and I could use a distraction."

Emily nodded and began to tell Maria about Danni.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go a whole month without updating, but October is always kind of a circus for me. So there will be one more chapter and an epilogue set several months in the future and then this story is done. A guest reviewer asked if I would write another story in this world with this crew solving another murder, and unfortunately, the answer is no. I have Naked Soul and two other chaptered stories (currently languishing on my hard drive) that aren't getting enough attention as is, so I can't take on another one. I do enjoy writing in this world though, so I'm not opposed to writing a few one-shots, depending on demand. If there is a character you want to see more of or a particular story-line you want to see (or see more of), let me know, though I'm not going to make any promises.

And finally, thank you so much everyone who is still following this story, and thank those of you especially who are still reviewing, it makes my day!