Home of Emily Prentiss –

She'd started again, he thought to himself as he noticed the state of her fingernails. She was nervous and she paced the room as they watched her from the couch. She looked so fragile not like the Emily Prentiss they'd known over the years. So much had challenged and changed them that none of them were the same anymore.

Garcia felt a twinge of guilt for all the times over the last several weeks that she'd refused to visit or talk to the woman who'd been one of her best friends for the last nine years. So consumed with her own feelings of insecurity and her fear of losing Derek in all of this that she hadn't fully understood what Emily had gone through. Now she was here to only add to her misery and confusion.

"Emily, come on talk to us. What's going on?" Morgan began.

"I received a phone call."

Out of reflex her hand went to her mouth and just as she was about to begin biting her nails she shoved her hands in her pant pockets.

"From who?"

"That's just it Morgan, I don't know. I didn't recognize his voice."

"What did he want?"

"He said that if I didn't get you both to stop looking for our son, then he'd kill you; both of you."

Penelope gasped as she looked wide-eyed at Morgan. Immediately he pulled her close wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"What else did he say?"

"He said that we were looking for a child that no longer existed."

"That's not true!"

It was the first time she'd spoken since they'd arrived. Both Emily and Derek now turned their attention to her. She waited for a moment before she spoke again.

"It's not true. The baby does exist."

Derek removed his arm from around her shoulders and turned to face her.

"What are you talking about, Baby Girl?"

"The baby…I was trying to tell you before Em called…"

"Wait…what…did you find something?"

Emily sat across from the couple as her knees suddenly felt weak.

"Y-Yes…I found a birth certificate for your baby, Emily."

"Oh my god!"

"But…"

"But what? Talk to us, please!"

She could hear the tinge of panic in his voice.

"I found the hospital where he was born and when."

Something was wrong, Derek could see it in her eyes.

"What aren't you telling us?"

"I'm sorry, Derek…"

"Sorry? Why, what are you trying to say?"

"According to the dates, Derek…the baby isn't yours."

"I don't understand, of course it's mine."

Emily began to pace the room again; she'd come so far in remembering and sorting fact from fiction and now there was one more thing to remind her that the nightmare wasn't over.

"No Handsome. This child was conceived three months after Emily moved to London, so unless you made a secret visit across the pond and didn't tell me, this child cannot be yours."

He looked at her in disbelief and then at Emily who'd now taken her seat again. The knowledge of this child had already turned his life upside down he'd grieved the loss of it and had been obsessed with finding his resting place only to be told now that he wasn't even his child. Everything in his life seemed unreal, even the people in the room seemed unreal and he sat stunned unsure how to feel or how to react.

Penelope placed her hand on his chest over his heart. The look in his eyes broke her heart; the confusion and the pain were evident as he struggled to find words and to contain his emotions. She felt his heart beat racing and his breathing increase.

"This can't be." Emily began. "I know when I was pregnant, I wasn't with anyone else…I…"

"Emily, this…the baby, all of it was a part of a much bigger plan…" Penelope interrupted.

"…And we're getting too close." Morgan added.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it Emily. If Garcia's searches hadn't gotten too close to whatever someone is trying to hide then you wouldn't have gotten that phone call."

"Oh my god! My baby…"

"Is still alive." Garcia added. "There's no death certificate, no indication that the baby died."

Emily slowly turned and looked at Garcia desperately.

"Garcia, I don't know what to say, can this really be true?"

"Yes, Emily it looks that way."

Morgan stood and moved to the front window still trying to make sense of this latest news and now feeling a different sense of loss. He wanted to feel pity for himself but he had a greater need to know the truth, the whole truth once and for all.

"There's only one thing to do."

Both women turned to face him.

"What?" Penelope asked.

"We're going to London."

McMartin Estate – London, England – Next Morning –

Patrick McMartin knew by the hurried steps approaching behind him that there was a problem. He'd had strict standing orders that he was not to be disturbed during his morning tea unless it was an emergency. So, as he turned toward the noise that was about to signal the end of an otherwise peaceful meal on his private veranda, he looked square into the face of his assistant just as he stumbled into the room.

"Sir?"

McMartin stood and entered his bedroom grabbing his glasses as he moved toward his desk.

"What is it, Styles?"

The young man shifted as he waited for his employer to look his way; he dreaded having to give him the latest news but it was his job to keep him informed.

"They're coming."

"What do you mean, 'they'?

"Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan and Penelope Garcia boarded a plane an hour ago headed to London."

"My, my, Emily Prentiss, you and your friends are quite stubborn. Ian Doyle never stood a chance."

"Sir, shall I inform Louise to prepare to leave?"

"No. I don't think so. Derek Morgan will just keep looking. No, I think we'll just have to finish this once and for all. Alert Karl and his men that we're expecting company."

"Right away, Sir."

The young man quickly turned and hurried out of the office. McMartin smiled to himself as he leaned against his chair. Ian Doyle's problems continued to plague him long after his mentor's death. He knew that if he didn't handle things now, Derek Morgan and his friends would continue to disrupt his life and he wouldn't have that. He had to put a stop to them once and for all. Today, Derek Morgan, Penelope Garcia and Emily Prentiss would die.

The three sat quietly as the plane made its descent; no one wanted to express their doubts and fears about what lied ahead. For Emily she'd accepted the sorrow of the loss of yet another child believing that happiness was not meant for her she'd made too many mistakes, too many enemies and her punishment was a life exiled from her friends and family.

Derek had thought non-stop about the son he'd never know-his firstborn. His guilt for a careless encounter with his close friend had left her burdened with his child to be birthed and raised alone in secret. He couldn't bear to think of what she had gone through to satisfy an evil man's desire for revenge. It was a mystery to him how she had survived it all and even now as he glanced at the vacant stare in her eyes he wondered what was left for her or them.

Penelope, who had been the seeker of the truth and now the bearer of bad news, sat breathlessly still as the plane glided toward the ground. Nothing had turned out like any of them had imagined. A surprise visit from a good friend had become a living nightmare filled with secrets, lies and danger. She was afraid of losing Derek to his need to be the one who saved the day and his guilt would surely eat away at him leaving only a mere carcass of the man she'd fallen hopelessly in love with. He hadn't said a word, had barely moved and as his grip tightened around her small hand, she knew that if they survived this trip nothing would ever be the same again.

Henry Stiles had proven his worth to his employer time and time and again. He was a stickler for details and a creative being with his time and resources. This would be no exception, as he'd make sure that Patrick McMartin's, "problem" would be handled quickly and efficiently. Now as he watched the trio head toward baggage claim, he nodded to a man dressed in black near the exit as he swiftly made his exit.

Now, it was all about timing…