Emily stood motionless as she watched the graduation party from afar. Derek wrapped his arms around her from behind, "Penny for your thoughts?" Emily exhaled, "I just don't understand." "Understand what?" "I don't understand how I was gifted with perfection three times over" Emily said as she stared at Koa, Javi, and Hank.
"Princess—" Emily interrupted, "Just look at them. With everything they've been through, I have two college Magna Cum Lade graduates and I'm just questioning if I really deserve all this." Derek turned her around to face him, "Don't go there. Stop putting yourself down. You are amazing inside and out and I'm beyond lucky that you want to spend your life with me. Emily, you have survived some of the worst things imaginable—of course you deserve to have all the happiness in the world. I know that you wish Leslie was here to see it but unfortunately, she's not here. Baby, you deserve everything good that this world can give you." He could see the tears swimming in her eyes, "Please don't cry. Baby, tell me what's wrong."
Emily walked away slowly as he followed, "You remember when I went to the doctor to test for breast cancer?" He nodded his head yes. Emily continued, "I got additional blood work done because I was just too worried about being sick." He placed reassuring hands on her arms, "What did the blood tests say?" Emily was trying to hold back the tears, "I have early stage lung cancer. It hasn't spread that much, but I still have cancer. Derek, what if I can't see Hank grow up? What if I never make it to another one of my kids' milestones?" Derek felt his heart drop to his stomach when she mentioned cancer. When her silent tears turned into sobs, he lost the battle with his own tears. He held her close to his body as she cried, "You're going to fight. You've spent your whole life fighting for others. You are going to fight because you deserve to live the rest of your life in peace and happiness. You will see every milestone that you need to. I am never leaving your side; we are going to get through this."
Emily wiped away some of his tears, "Derek I need you to promise me something." "Anything baby." "If I die from this, please promise me that you won't give up on love. Promise me that you'll try to find happiness. Promise me that you'll make sure that the kids are as happy as they can be. Promise me that you'll keep my memory alive. I know that's a lot to ask but please promise me." Derek couldn't answer; he simply cried uncontrollably. Emily and Derek stayed hidden until everyone started looking for them. Emily went into a nearby bathroom to fix her running makeup. She looked in the mirror at the red-rimmed eyes, "Emily, today isn't the day. This is your babies' day. Tell them tomorrow or next week, just any day but today." She took a deep breath and walked outside to the party.
She was amazed at how put together Derek seemed although she knew how bad this news was hurting him. Everyone took pictures together and Emily tried her hardest to keep up the happy façade. Once dinner started, Javi finally asked a question that had been bugging her for hours. She decided to ask it in the middle of dinner on the hope that her mom would be completely honest with her. "Mom, what's wrong with you? Something is going on and I can tell." Emily shook her head, "Not right now baby. Let's enjoy dinner." Javi dropped her silverware, causing all eyes to go to her, "NO, mom tell me right now what's wrong? I didn't accept any of the job offers. I took the position with RAINN."
Emily looked around the large table that consisted of the kids, Declan, the Morgan's, the Prentiss', and the BAU—and the tears started all over again. Emily was shaking when she locked eyes with Javi and Koa, "I have stage 1 lung cancer. It's been caught early but there still isn't a guarantee that I'll survive it." The collective silence gave Emily knots in her stomach. She could hear the quiet sniffles from various people, but Koa's statement broke her heart in two. They both looked at each other with tears flowing, "It's not fair. I can't lose another mom. How am I supposed to survive that?" He didn't give anyone time to respond before he left the table and ran away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry" Emily cried out as her mother pulled her into an embrace. Derek left the table in search of Koa and found him on the balcony. He sensed Derek's presence without turning around. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I have a mom that is around forever?" Derek pulled Koa into a hug, "Don't say that. There is nothing wrong with you. Your mom is Teflon. She's going to fight this with everything that she has. We're ALL going to survive this. She's got too much living left to do." Koa wiped away his tears, "She's my world."
"Trust me kid, I feel you on that 100%. Right now, we have to band together to give her the strength that she needs." "If she dies—" "When she dies—of old age—she would've seen all her grandbabies grow up and maybe even a few great-grandbabies." "You really think that?" "Yeah son, I do."
No one left the house that night—the news of Emily having cancer wouldn't any of them lose eyes on her for a second. Everyone was cuddled up watching some of Emily's favorite movies after she'd spent 2 hours apologizing for ruining the mood with her health news. Fran placed a hand on Emily's shoulder and said, "Don't ever think that all of us won't be in your corner. It's really hard not to love you."