As the principal looks confused and maybe even fearful, Emily's heart drops to her stomach and a spell of dizziness sets in once again while Aaron stares at her. She pushes through the dizziness and asks with the voice she barely has, "What do you mean in trouble ?"
"It's nice to hear your voice, Emily," David says softly, the emotion coming through the phone. When Emily provides no response but a sad look at Aaron, he continues, "He's missing. His former nanny was killed as were two agents watching the house," David says.
"By Doyle?" Emily asks, the name rattling around in her head and raising her anxiety.
Cutting in quickly, David answers, "We have him in custody, and we don't think he's connected directly to whatevers happened with Declan. But of course, we don't know him like you do."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Aaron says protectively with so much authority in his voice. Emily looks at him as that voice throws her back in time.
"I get that, Aaron. Believe me, I wish this wasn't how we were you guys bringing back. I couldn't even wait till the end of your workday to call, but we still don't know enough about Ian or Declan to be able to do this well. Emily has more information in her head than any of us could find on paper," David says quickly.
"And we're going," Emily says firmly, looking at the terrified man that she loves so much. "I have not gone to hell and back just to let Declan end up in the hands of some unsub. I did not fake my death twice and I did not have to suffer through faking the death of two children I adore to let Declan be hurt. You and me and Jack did not almost die for Declan to end up being hurt." The principal gasps for another time and goes again unnoticed by them as they stare silently into each other's eyes.
"Guys?" David says.
"We're coming. But Jack will be kept within the BAU at all times and Emily won't go out into the field," Aaron says, looking at her.
She nods at that statement, rubbing a hand over her belly. "I will be interrogating Ian if necessary though. Don't argue me, Aaron. I have been an FBI agent for how long now? I can handle this."
"Okay, but to be fair, I have been an FBI agent for longer," Aaron says while rubbing his thumb over the back of the hand he's holding.
"And that's why you were my boss," Emily says. "When do we leave?"
"An hour. Same landing strip as before."
"That gives us exactly no time to prepare," Emily says.
"You'll survive, Emily," David says with a bit of a chuckle.
Emily responds with a soft laugh. "A wooden table leg to the stomach, yes. Jack sobbing because we forgot a toy we didn't have to time to pack, I think not."
"We'll be there, David," Aaron says. "But we will need all of our things shipped to us as soon as possible, and we won't have time to clear out our identity."
"And don't even think of trying to fake our deaths again. I have had too many funerals as it is, David," Emily says.
"Done, done, and done. Just pick up that boy of yours and get your asses back to DC. It's about time I hug my favorite people. You too, Aaron," David says jokingly.
"Back at ya, Dave," Aaron says, and the phone call ends.
Left in silence again, the principal looks at them stunned. "Sorry about this," Aaron says as he stands and helps Emily to do so as well. "We had to fake our deaths to keep safe. Teaching here was a part of the identity constructed for us."
"We really loved it. Being here, teaching, the students and our coworkers, it was way better than we ever could have imagined. I'm so sorry to leave you in the lurch and to leave our students behind," Emily says.
"Sounds like you have something more important to do," the principal says, still in shock.
"More dangerous, but what you do here is really important too," Aaron says.
As they head to the door, Emily turns to her and says, "Do you think we could write a letter or something to our students once everything calms down?"
"Yeah, sure. I think they would like that," the principal says as she watches them go and tries to determine what they will do in the meantime. They really had been good teachers. "Be careful," she says as they walk out into the hall as the bell rings and the kids leave for the day with some of them saying goodbye to the two of them as they go. Emily goes out to the car while Aaron runs to get their things from their classrooms.
When Aaron joins her in the car, he speeds to Jack's school to pick him up, and Emily waits in the car because her leg cramps when Aaon heads inside. Jack jumps into the car happily, saying, "Hi, Emmy!"
Aaron comes around the car as Emily says, "Hey, kiddo."
Aaron is driving quickly again towards their apartment. "Why did I get out of school early?" Jack asks.
Emily squeezes Aaron's hand as they approach their apartment. He parks the car and looks back at his son. "We're going back home, Jack. To DC," he says.
"Really?" Jack asks.
"Yep. We're going to go to the FBI, and we'll get to see the team again," Emily says.
"And once we're done with a few things, we will see Aunt Jessica again," Aaron says.
"And I really want you both to meet my parents," Emily says.
Jack is still pretty concerned. "Will we be safe?"
Aaron and Emily look at each other for a moment. "We will be safe," Aaron says definitively. "Now, we don't have much time to pack up, so get together the stuff that you really want quickly and put it into your backpack, and Emily and I will take care of getting the other stuff that we need. Everything else will be sent to us later, so pick what you will want the most for now."
Inside the apartment, Emily and Aaron go to pack up their own things, specifically clothes as well as the photo album and photographs. Emily then goes to get together Jack's clothes as he had already filled his backpack full of toys and snacks while Aaron carries their three duffle bags out to the car. Jack insists on bringing a stuffed bear for the baby though Emily assures him all of the things will be shipped to them long before the baby is born.
Aaron comes back inside to find Emily standing out on the balcony overlooking the city with Jack is standing by her side. "What are you two thinking about?" he asks.
"I think I'm going to miss it here," Emily says.
"Me too," Jack says, and they both smile at him. He is so little, but he's just been through so much. "I don't want you both to be gone working all the time again."
Aaron kneels down next to him and says positively, "I don't intend to live like that again."
"Me either," Emily says while smiling down at them.
Aaron picks up Jack, holding him on his hip while wrapping his other arm around Emily's side. "We have grown so much as a family here, but we will continue to grow in DC. And we will get to be with everyone else again too," Aaron says while looking at Emily.
"Andy, I think it's time we take off these wedding rings," Emily says.
"I agree, Amelia," he says, smiling at her. He turns to her as she presents her hand to him. He slides the wedding band from her hand while leaving the engagement ring behind, and then she slides his ring from his hand.
"Just us again. Just Emily and Aaron and Jack," Emily says, smiling while ruffling the little boy's hair.
"And baby girl Hotchner," Jack says happily.
"Yes, and I'm so excited about that," Emily says.
"Me too. It's time for us to go," Aaron says as they return inside the apartment. As Emily places Sergio into her emptied purse while sitting on the arm of the couch, Aaron looks down at his watch and then back at her and says with mock authority and a smile on his face, "Wheels up in 20." All of the memories over the years flash through Emily's mind, and the absurdity of their situation causes Emily to burst out in a full, belly laugh as Aaron comes to her side while he chuckles. He holds her hand as they walk out of this apartment for the last time on their way to see the rest of their family once again.