Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.

Disclaimer II: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. All medical stuff in this chapter is from a small bit of internet research I did.

I really did not think many people were still interested in the Pact/Foster series, guess I was wrong.
Thank you all very much for your comments. Here is a little bit more for now...


Camp

By
N. J. Borba


Emily tapped her foot against the tiled floor of the doctor's office.

"Maybe I should just go ahead and tell you what I know," the man on the other side of the desk offered. "Or we could reschedule this appointment at a time that's more convenient for your husband?" he offered.

She didn't bother to correct the doctor about Derek not being her husband. It didn't seem very important to the matter at hand. "No, please. Just give him another few minutes. He'll be here," Emily spoke with confidence. "He promised," her tone turned a bit wistful.

There was a gentle knock on the door and a nurse opened it. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Dr. Bauer, but the kids are getting a little antsy out here."

"I'll talk to them," Emily offered as she stood and eyed the doctor. "Just a few more minutes?" she asked again.

He nodded with a warm smile.

In the medical center waiting room, Emily found Zach with his nose in a book. Kate had a jumble of yarn on her lap, her newest sedentary hobby of learning to knit in full swing. Neither of them looked at all antsy as the nurse had reported. But as Emily glanced around the waiting area her heart leapt into her throat. "Where's Carly?" she asked.

Zach didn't seem worried. He simply pointed down.

The girl was curled up beneath Zach's chair, her back pressed against the wall. "Why'd you let her down there?" Emily was not amused by the child's regressive behavior. Carly had been doing great the last few weeks at home and even marginally better in public. But Emily knew it wasn't Zach's responsibility to watch the girl at all times and she felt a little guilty for making her question sound accusatory.

He didn't appear upset. "I think it's the doctor's office," Zach replied with a shrug. "She's probably having flashbacks from her time at that mean psychologist's office. I tried to talk her out, but she seems content there, and I figured you'd get her out when it was time to leave," he concluded.

"Smart boy," Emily admired his simple observations and logic.

"Hey, can we get something from the vending machine? I'm hungry," he easily transitioned to his own needs.

On her hands and knees, Emily made eye contact with Carly. "Yeah," she spoke to Zach. "Grab my purse, and try to find something healthy. Derek said he was taking us somewhere after this meeting. My guess is to lunch." She smiled as Carly reached for her. "Come on out of there, mouse," Emily coaxed.

Carly crawled out and latched on to Emily.

She stood with Carly on her hip and guessed the girl would need to sit in on the meeting with them, if Derek ever showed up.

"I am so sorry," Morgan's voice echoed down the hall as he approached. Derek patted Zach's shoulder as he passed the boy by the vending machine. He greeted Emily with gritted teeth, noticing the frown marring her pretty face. "There was a head-on collision in the south-bound lanes and of course everyone feels the need to slow down and have a look," he sighed, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Is Dr. Bauer still available?"

"If we hurry," Emily contemplated what to do with Carly for a split second.

"I have peanut butter crackers," Zach brandished three packs of them as he re-joined Kate.

Emily sat Carly down between the two older kids and handed her a pack of crackers even knowing they weren't very healthy. "You're safe here, mouse," she assured the child. "I want you to stay next to Zach and eat your crackers, okay," Emily instructed. "Please try to keep her on top of the chair?" she gently asked of Zach.

He nodded and Emily was satisfied for the moment as she directed Derek to the office.

Dr. Bauer stood as they entered and he shook Derek's hand. "Mr. Prentiss, glad you could make it."

"It's Morgan, actually," Derek glanced at Emily with questioning eyes.

She shrugged and the three of them sat. Dr. Bauer opened the file in front of him. "Well, as you know, I examined Kate on Monday and have spent the past few days going over her medical history. We're here today to talk about that and further treatment for her condition."

"She needs a heart transplant, right?" Morgan asked.

"No, actually she doesn't," Dr. Bauer replied.

Both Derek and Emily sat there for a moment, shocked silent. "But we thought…" Emily didn't really know what to think. She'd roped Garcia into helping her track down the best pediatric cardiologist on the east coast with her swift computer search skills. And they'd found him in their own backyard. But she hadn't been expecting those words to leave his lips.

"You're Kate's foster parents, as I understand it?" the doctor asked for clarification and received two nods. "So can I venture to guess that you've only had her in your custody for a relatively short time?" he further prodded. When they nodded again he continued. "Unfortunately, I have reason to believe your daughter has been the victim of a crime."

"What the heck does that mean?" Morgan was instantly upset.

Emily held a hand to his arm in an attempt to calm him, but she was pretty riled herself. "Can you explain?"

The man wore a compassionate expression as he went on. "Kate has a ventricular septal defect. It's serious if not fixed, but it is not heart failure. I'm sure she's been experiencing some considerable difficulties given the size of her defect and the fact that it's gone so long without being properly repaired. Most VSD's of Kate's size are properly detected and surgically repaired much earlier in a child's life," he explained.

"Kate has had three surgeries, hasn't she?" Emily began to question everything she'd been previously told. "If that's the case, why wasn't it fixed? And why are we all under the impression that she needs a new heart?"

"The VSD in Kate's heart is a rather large hole in her left ventricle which is allowing blood to pass into the right ventricle and also out into the lung arteries," he explained some of the basics first. "That means the heart and lungs are working a lot harder. It's also what is causing her recurrent lung congestion. VSD's are not uncommon. Normally something like this is caught within the first few months after being born, which it was for Kate. The surgery to repair the defect is serious, but it's performed often, usually with favorable results."

"So for some reason Kate's wasn't repaired with three surgeries?" Derek asked, doing his best to digest the news. "Is her defect more serious than usual?"

"Unfortunately, her surgeons are likely to blame for the lack of a fix," Dr. Bauer sighed with regret. "Two different surgeons performed Kate's operations - both of them from the same medical complex. They're also the ones who then claimed she was in heart failure. I learned a few weeks ago that this very same medical complex has recently become embroiled in a lawsuit for unethical surgeries performed for the sake of garnering insurance money," he revealed.

Derek was beyond shocked. "Kate is a foster kid, how could they make much off her?"

"Kate's insurance under the district for being a foster child is minimal," Dr. Bauer agreed. "But enough that they were able to make a small chunk of money off her surgeries. That's how they work, even the smallest bit of monetary gain helps build their unethical empire."

"Son of a…" Morgan's hands balled into fists. "And they got away with it."

"Because she's a foster kid," Emily guessed. "Mrs. Denton is overworked as it is," she didn't blame the foster system, and certainly not Mrs. Denton who had been so kind to them. But she was pissed off at the surgeons who had needlessly cut up Kate. Emily reached over to take one of Derek's hands, hoping to calm him down, and console herself. "So what did they do exactly, during those surgeries?" she inquired.

"Judging from Kate's scar tissue I'd say they at least attempted to repair the defect once," the cardiologist explained. "But it seems likely that those other two surgeries were a smoke screen. I doubt they even bothered to fix the defect and only cut her open to make it look like they'd done their job."

Derek's head shook. "Unbelievable."

"It is a crime, more often seen perpetrated against the elderly, but no one is immune to their treachery," Dr. Bauer repeated his earlier sentiment. "However, what we need to do now is concentrate on actually helping Kate live a normal healthy life, which I believe is entirely possible. That will entail another surgery, but I have faith that I can correct Kate's VSD in one procedure, the procedure that should've been done right the first time."

"When?" Emily asked.

"How soon?" Derek said at the same time.

The doctor smiled, able to tell how much they truly cared for their new foster child. "I'd like to perform the procedure as soon as possible. With my schedule that means not until the end of October; day before Halloween, actually," he conveyed.

"Two months?" Emily was shocked. "Are you kidding? I figured it would be a lot longer wait."

Derek was still feeling apprehensive. "And she'll be okay after this procedure?"

Dr. Bauer nodded reassuringly. "There's always risk with surgery of this sort, but I honestly believe I can have Kate through this surgery and up and running around in about six months, maybe a little longer, maybe less. In just the short time I spent with her the other day I was able to see what a strong spirit she has and I'd like to help her express that physically as well. But, given all that's happened to Kate, I'll understand if you want a second or even third opinion."

Emily and Derek shared a quick glance and agreed immediately. "No, we want you to do the surgery," Emily spoke for both of them. "Can you answer a question for me?"

"Certainly," the doctor offered.

"If Kate isn't experiencing heart failure then why is she so frail, so weak most of the time?" Emily was curious. "Is there something else wrong, or does this defect have similar effects?"

The man leaned forward at his desk. "Kate's condition is likely responsible for some of her fatigue, but a lot of kids with this defect still live relatively normal with it. I'd venture to say that her failure to thrive condition stems more from the environment in which she's grown up. Not to say that foster care is the culprit here. But in Kate's case, she was diagnosed with a heart condition which has meant no parents, foster or adoptive, ever dared to take her on. And she's essentially been told all of her life that she's sick and will likely die."

"So you think a lot of her symptoms are psychological," Derek guessed, knowing it made sense.

"Children learn by what they're shown and told," Dr. Bauer agreed. "Kate has obviously been able to fight through a lot of it, which is very commendable. A weaker spirit may have given up all together by now."

That thought broke Emily's heart more than anything.

Dr. Bauer stood and shook their hands again as he moved toward the door. "My assistant will schedule Kate's surgery. If you'll excuse me I'm a little late for my next appointment. Feel free to use the office for a while if you need."

"I'm sorry for making you late," Derek apologized to the kind doctor.

The other man smiled again. "It's okay, I'm just glad I was able to deliver the good news."

They remained seated as the doctor left and Emily realized she was still gripping Derek's hand tightly. "Hi," she flashed him a smile. "I haven't seen you in several days."

"Hello to you," Derek leaned over and kissed her.

"Did that really just happen?" she asked. "We should tell Kate, right?" her lips curled into a happier smile. "She'll be excited, I think. I hope. Jeez, she's spent so much of her life thinking she was going to die and now…"

Morgan squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I have an idea. Let's not tell her just yet," he suggested. "Remember I said I had a plan for today after we left this appointment?"

"Yes?" Emily tried to sniff out more of an explanation.

"We're going camping," he revealed. "I thought about doing it in September but then I remembered Zach starts school in a week so we should go now."

"Derek, I…" she was fine with a camping outing, even a surprise one. But she bit her lip as she allowed herself to think about the pregnancy test she'd taken four days ago and the doctor's confirmation she'd received yesterday. "I really need to talk to you about something."

"What's that? You don't want to camp? You hate the idea?" he asked.

"No, camping sounds good," Emily assured. "Although, I have nothing packed or planned. Do you even own a tent?"

"You don't have to worry about any of that. I had Garcia help me order some camp equipment. It was delivered to the office yesterday," he explained. "When we get home Zach and I will pack everything else we might need. Then we'll grab a bunch of hotdogs and marshmallows at the store and be on the road in no time. You just have to relax," Derek said.

Emily sighed, "Easier said than done."

"I talked to Hotch about the time off and I'm cleared for the next five days," he continued excitedly. "We have reservations at James River State Park, which is about a three hour drive from here. If we head home now, pack up and take off right away we can be there by dinner. And we can tell Kate the good news there."

She smiled to see how enthusiastic he was about it. "I think she'll like that. And Zach will love camping. Carly…"

"Carly will be fine," he supplied. "She'll have free reign of the great outdoors; animals, grass, river, and sleeping outside in a tent. It's gonna be great," Derek was confident. He finally took a moment to regard her and remembered she'd wanted to talk. "I'm sorry. You said you had something to tell me?"

"Just…" Emily promptly chickened out. "I'm really hungry. If we can stop for lunch on the way home before packing I'll be good to go."

"You got it," he agreed.

xxx

"Come on vamonos,

Everybody let's go.

Come on let's get to it,

I know that we can do it."

It was two hours in to their drive when Derek and Emily laughed as the three kids in the backseat decided singing to pass the time was a good idea.

"Where are we going?

Mos Eisley!

Where are we going?

To the cantina!"

Morgan glanced at Emily, still keeping his eyes mainly on the road. "Are those Star Wars references mingled in with that Dora the Explorer song?" he asked with amused curiosity. "They never even finished watching that movie when I exposed them to it a few weeks ago."

"They were intrigued, though," Emily replied as the kids quieted down. "If you recall, they only left the room because we were making out. Since then we've re-watched the first and watched all the others."

"We like the original movies better than the prequels," Zach let him know.

"Yeah," Kate added. "I do like little Anakin, but I hate that he becomes Darth Vader. Too sad."

"Anakin and Dora," Carly added to the conversation.

"What about Anakin and Dora, mouse?" Emily asked.

Carly shrugged and giggled softly.

Her laugh made Derek smile. "You guys have good taste," he told the kids while eyeing Emily again. "You've turned them into sci-fi nerds."

"I know. Isn't it great?" she winked playfully.

His brief bout of laughter filled the SUV as he slowed to make a turn. "You certainly seem to be in a much better mood than when I last left you," Derek noted, still feeling bad for having to leave the night of Zach's birthday after only about a day of being home. "You got some cute young guy on the side I don't know about?" he teased.

"Actually, I do," Emily retorted. "He's a lot shorter than you and darker, rather furry and never leaves me alone for very long when he goes out hunting mice."

He groaned, realizing she was referring to her cat, "Very funny, Em."

"Why does Charlie get to come with us and not Sergio?" Kate asked as she let her bare feet pet the dog that was curled up bellow her. The rest of the SUV was packed to the gills with camping equipment, portable stove, tent, folding chairs, pillows and a decent amount of clothing. The kids were packed in, sleeping bags around them, Carly's feet resting on a cooler. And the back section had enough granola bars, juice boxes and other not-so-perishable food to hopefully last five people for four days and nights.

"Well, butterfly," it was Derek who responded. "Dogs are a lot better at following orders and walking on leashes. Cats are just, well… they're sort of," he stopped himself from saying the word useless. It was clear that all three females in the SUV adored Sergio, especially Emily and Carly. "They just like to do their own thing."

"Sergio will be fine, sweetie," Emily added some reassurance. "Garcia has taken care of him before."

Derek initiated a monotonous game of 'I Spy' that lasted most of the rest of their drive, spotting mainly trees and clouds. They entered the park at six o'clock with rumbly tummies. Zach and Kate did their best to help Derek put the tent up and lay out air mattresses and sleeping bags. The tent was huge with two rooms and interior standing height. Emily got a small fire going and opened some hotdogs for roasting. Carly sat on a patch of grass facing the river and seemed mesmerized by the flood of nature surrounding her.

"I can have a hotdog?" Kate asked as they all settled down at the picnic table for dinner.

"Sure," Emily nodded. "Sometimes on special occasions you can have special not-so-good-for-you food. Although, these are kinda healthy hotdogs," she noted. "And I even think we have the makings for some S'Mores later, which are not at all healthy."

"What's a S'More?" Kate asked.

Zach stared at the girl beside him for a moment. He figured maybe Carly wouldn't know what S'Mores were, but not Kate. "You've never had a S'More?" he asked before thinking. "I went to fifth grade camp one summer and that was the first time I had them," he realized. "You'll like them, trust me."

The girl looked to Emily again. "Can I have one of those?"

"Yes, you may," Emily agreed.

Kate paled a little as she stared at her food. Then she bravely asked, "Why are you letting me eat bad stuff? Am I dying?"

"No, Kate, no…" Emily was quick to assuage her worries. "This is a very special occasion and I think we should tell you why now." She eyed Derek and watched him nod his agreement as he chewed a bite of potato salad. "We actually need to talk to you about what happened at Dr. Bauer's office today. Have you been curious about that?"

Kate nodded. "I figured you'd tell me when I needed to know," she said.

Emily reached across the table and held the girl's hand. "Well, you're not dying, sweetie. Dr. Bauer has scheduled you for surgery in two months."

"They found Kate a new heart? Why would it take two months?" Zach asked as he slipped a bare hotdog beneath the table for Charlie.

"She doesn't need a new heart," Derek revealed. "Dr. Bauer is going to fix hers. Then she'll be able to live her life and do whatever she wants to do, even become a famous pilot if she chooses."

"Really?" Kate's eyes were widened by the hopeful prospect. "I'm not going to die?" she asked again.

"There's a one hundred percent chance that we'll all die someday," Zach pointed out.

Emily glared at the boy. "Thank you so much for that statistic. Did you and Dr. Reid chat at your birthday party?"

Zach nodded. "He's cool."

"Anyhow," Emily shook her head. "You're not going to die just yet, Kate," she assured the girl, "Hopefully not for a long time."

"But why didn't the other doctors fix me?" the girl wondered.

With just a quick look, Derek and Emily realized the girl needed to know the truth. They explained it all in the best terms they could to the kids and let them contemplate the rather unpleasant news for themselves. "Are those bastards going to jail for what they did to Kate?" Zach asked.

"Zachary, watch it," Emily scolded the teenager.

"Well, they are, aren't they?" he persisted with a cooler head.

Morgan found it difficult to correct the boy when he'd been thinking the same thing all afternoon and into the evening. "What they did is unethical and inhuman," he said. "But name calling is not a level we're going to stoop to here, okay? I don't want to hear that language from you again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Zach nodded.

"There's a lawsuit against them," Emily went on to explain more - at least as much as she knew. The two older kids ate quietly for a moment, the good news somewhat hampered by the bad. It was Carly who seemed completely oblivious to the whole moment as she jumped up from her spot at the picnic table and darted off after some sort of winged creature that flew circles around the table. Her carefree spirit helped them all settle down some.

xxx

The placid babble of the lazy river echoed through the park as Emily and Derek sat on the shore.

All three kids and Charlie were asleep in the tent several yards behind them. Emily reclined between Derek's legs as he rested his back against a sturdy tree. He dropped his chin against her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "How you doing?" he asked. "You're kinda quiet tonight."

"Long day," she replied. "Good news, bad news, traveling with kids…"

"And too many hotdogs and S'Mores in your belly," he gently rubbed a hand over the blue t-shirt covering her stomach. "I think you've gained a few pounds lately," Derek noticed. "Not sure it's just from the meal tonight, though," he whispered softly.

"That is seriously not something you tease a woman about," Emily shoved his hand away.

He returned his hand and added the second. "I wasn't teasing you, Emily. A lot of women gain a little weight when they're happy, when they're settled," he shrugged. "I have no problem with it," Derek assured her. A long silence stretched outward as crickets chirped nearby. "You already know you're pregnant, don't you?" he finally asked.

Her whole body stiffened for a moment before she turned her head to face him. "Yes, but… how did you…"

"Educated guess," Morgan kissed her cheek upon the confirmation. She lay against his left side, eyes still aimed questioningly at him. "I know your body, your temperament," he insisted. "But what I don't know is if you were planning to fill me in at some point?"

She sighed, relieved to have it out in the open even though it wasn't exactly how she imagined the conversation starting. "Well," Emily rushed toward her comfort zone. "I figured when I went into labor I'd probably have to fess up," she quipped.

"Emily, this isn't funny," his gaze remained serious. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I…" she sighed. "I…" Emily searched for a valid reason but they all seemed lame. "After that rainy night in March I thought we'd decided having a baby wasn't right for us."

Morgan stroked her slightly expanded belly again. "But a lot has changed since then. You went off your birth control, which was a mutual decision. And we have three kids now."

"Yeah, I know. And I promised that three was the limit," she hesitated, "Somehow I completely forgot that we'd decided I'd go off birth control and let nature take its course. I guess Zach, Carly and Kate have kept me too busy to think about it. And when we had that fight on Friday I thought it was probably just hormonal. Then I realized I hadn't had a period in a few months. Then I thought maybe coming off the birth control had my body a little confused. Then I decided to buy a home test the morning I went to get frosting for Zach's cake."

"And you found out it was hormones after all," he realized. "Just not the ones you'd been thinking of originally."

"Yeah," Emily breathed out. "I wanted to take the test with you there after the kids went to bed, but then…"

"I had a case," he supplied. "And you didn't want to distract me," Derek concluded.

Emily nodded, allowing her hand to rest against his atop her stomach. "If you suspected, why didn't you say anything until now?" she asked.

"I thought you'd tell me when you were ready. And I also thought maybe you were exploring other options," Derek delicately added.

She felt his hand press a little harder against hers. "When I was very young, there was an occasion when I took one of those other options," Emily replied. "It was the right thing for me then, but not now. I want this baby, as crazy as that might seem. Five months ago I came to you with this bizarre baby pact idea and you kind of shot me down, and I sorta talked myself out of it… but I think this is the universe telling us different. Or else playing a cruel joke on us," she chuckled nervously. "Are you upset?"

"No. Surprised, but not upset," he assured her.

Her body relaxed considerably. "So what should we do?"

"Buy a bigger house," he shrugged.

"I'm serious," Emily didn't laugh. "We're talking about four kids, Derek. You're hardly ever around and I'm really not sure if I can do it on my own."

He held her a little closer, kissing her neck. "I know you have a ton of concerns, so do I. But for now let's not worry too much. We have months to plan. And we're meant to be relaxing at the moment." Derek massaged her shoulders as he aimed her eyes toward the darkening sky. "The stars are so clear here," he remarked.

"It's beautiful," Emily intoned even as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the gentleness of his touch.

His hands eventually found their way back to her belly, enthralled by the prospect of their child growing inside her. "We haven't had sex much lately. You sure it's my baby?"

Her eyes opened just long enough to roll at his comment. "I'm thirteen weeks pregnant, butthead."

"Whoa, thirteen? Really?" Derek seemed most surprised by that fact. "That's over three months. We were still having sex regularly back then. I guess that means I stand a pretty good chance of being the baby daddy after all," he teased.

"I'm going to hit you," Emily sighed.

Derek chuckled. "So violent, must be those nasty pregnancy hormones I've heard about. Not a very nice way to treat the father of your children," he kept up the teasing. But he could see she wasn't laughing. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Emily replied as the warm summer night surrounded them. "You just said children, plural," she pointed out.

He shrugged. "Yeah… well, what are Zack, Kate and Carly? Our pet rocks?"

"No, it's just nice to hear you call them your children," she said. "I don't think you have before."

"Our children," he corrected. "And I'm sure I must have said it before. I've certainly felt that way," Derek asserted. Quiet settled in again for a moment as they watched the stars grow brighter against the deepening blackness of the night sky. "Thirteen weeks," he repeated with surprise still evident in his tone. "Have you been sick or…"

Her head shook against his shoulder. "Nope, just tired and cranky," Emily said. "Apparently not all women get morning sickness. Lucky me."

"You know," Derek spoke again. "We could put a crib in the laundry room."

"Oh, no," Emily instantly thwarted the idea. "That's our room."


The End