The day passed slowly. Emily and Riley remained on the bathroom floor. The sun moved across the sky and soon was setting again, sending a soft purple glow through the window behind them.
Emily was sitting up again, leaning against the wall. Riley had stopped crying and seemed calm now. Her fingers lingered on the lines of the linoleum, her thoughts elsewhere.
"I wish I had been there," Riley whispered.
"What's that?" Emily said, having not understood.
"I wish I had been there. When he died." Riley explained. She continued to trace the lines with her index finger. "Hotch told me not to go with the ambulance, I shouldn't have listened, I should have gone with him… I should have been with him when he died."
Emily didn't know what else to say. No words could make this better. The pause turned into an awkward silence.
Riley looked to her. "You don't have to stay here, you know."
"I know," Emily replied. "I want to stay with you."
"Why…" Riley asked, looking away again. "I know you guys cared about Spencer, but you don't have any responsibility to me."
"I'm not watching out for my friend's girlfriend, Rye… I'm here to comfort my friend… we all need people in our lives. I'm one of your people."
"Like I told Morgan, I don't need anybody." Riley moaned, crawling into a partial ball, trying to push any human contact away. "I'll be fine on my own. I've always been fine."
"Riley," Emily snapped, pulling her attention to look to her. "Shut up and let me be your friend."
Riley sat up, meeting her eyes. After a long, deadly stare, she gave a half smile. "You're almost as stubborn as Spencer."
Emily smiled at her, and Riley nestled on the floor again. Emily debated if she should bring it up. Riley needed to mourn the loss of Reid right now… but her insides were twisted. The words came out before she could stop them. "I slept with Morgan."
The words seemed to shatter in the silence of the bathroom. Riley looked up, meeting Emily's worried eyes. "Okay…" she uttered slowly, "Emily… we've been sitting here for this long… and you're just bringing it up now?" It was exactly the push to get Riley off the floor. She sat up, wrapping her stocking feet under here. "When did this happen?"
"Last night… Morgan took me home from the funeral. We had a drink… we were both so distraught over Reid and we just… we needed each other."
Emily looked away. Riley could feel her professional instincts kick in, unable to stop her questioning. "What do you think this means?"
"I think it means I'm pathetic and used a friend for my own selfish needs." Emily snapped, furious with herself.
"If you had used him, than he reciprocated the same intentions… but I'm certain that's not it." She thought for a moment. "What happened this morning?"
"Afterward, I told him I wanted to leave early because I wanted to check on you. It was enough of an excuse to avoid a very awkward conversation. He understood and left right away. We didn't say much to each other."
"What are you going to do?" Riley asked, sounding more like a friend now.
If Emily knew the answer to that question, she wouldn't feel so mystified about the whole thing. "We work together. Even if it meant more than a one night stand… we could never have a relationship."
Riley took a long time to respond. "You have feelings for him." She finally said.
"That's ridiculous, Riley." Emily said, avoiding eye contact.
"You're first concern is that you work together. That's completely rational. But, if you didn't have feelings for him, Emily, you'd be more worried about your job than a hypothetical relationship."
Emily looked to her. She was apprehensive the woman might be right. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the ring of her cell phone. Opening it quickly, "Prentiss."
Riley waited as she listened to the other end of the conversation. "I don't understand, sir, is there another case?... But for what reason, are we in trouble or do they… I will, sir. I'll be there in about twenty minutes… Where?... Why there?... No, sir, I understand… Yes, sir."
Slowly, the phone flipped closed with a click and Emily looked to Riley. "I have to go. Hotch is requiring the entire team for something."
"Did he say what?" Riley asked.
"No… but it might have something to do with…"
Riley pushed the mess of hair away from her face. "Nathan Harris?"
Emily was reluctant to say his name in front of her. "Yeah…"
Riley tried to keep from crying again. Slowly she gave a nod. "Well, you don't want to keep the team waiting."
"I won't be long," Emily explained, "I'll be back later."
"I don't need a babysitter, I'll be alright." Riley explained.
"So if I were to come back later, I won't find you sleeping on the bathroom floor?"
One tear began to slip down Riley's cheek. She wiped it away, "I can't sleep in that bed, Emily."
"Then sleep on the couch, or set some sheets up in the bathtub. It'll be more comfortable than the cold floor." She hesitated, but brought up another point. "Spencer wouldn't want you to torture yourself like this."
Her brown eyes were sparkling as she looked to Emily. "Okay, here's what you're going to do. You're going to get off this floor and you're going to change your clothes… and you're going to brush your teeth, because your breath reeks."
Riley smiled as Emily took her hand again. She helped the poor woman to her feet "And you're going to make up the couch and try to get some sleep. It won't be easy, and… you might not sleep at all, but you should try."
"Thank you, Emily," Riley said, wrapping her in a hug. "You're a good friend."
"I'll be back as soon as I can. If it's not about the case, I shouldn't be more than a few hours. If you need anything, you call me. Or Hotch, okay?"
"I will." Riley led her out into the hall.
In the main room, Emily took out the spare key and handed it to her. "Here, I found this on the doorframe and used it to get in."
"Keep it," Riley said, giving it back to her. "At least for now."
Emily pulled her into a hug again. "You're going to be okay, Sweetie. We'll get through this… all of us. Try to get some sleep."
Riley gave a nod as Emily left. Riley closed the door, securing every latch. Nathan Harris was still out there and Riley had learned not to take chances. She leaned against the door as her tears began to fall. She was alone again.
…
Emily made it to her destination. It was in the middle of DC, a place they all had driven by once or twice, but had no reason to visit. It was a government building, but not connected to the FBI. What could Hotch possibly want with everyone here?
Inside it was dark. There were minimal lights in the lobby, security lights mostly. Emily stepped to the door. She tried to open it, but found it locked.
This had to be the right place. Her hand thudded on the glass, hoping for someone to send her in the right direction. Nothing moved inside. No one answered her knock.
"Prentiss?" she heard a voice call. Carefully, her hand instinctively checking the presence of her gun, Emily looked for the voice.
"Morgan?" she called, hoping it was his voice and not her wishful thinking.
"I thought that was you." He said. "I've been trying to get into this building for ten minutes. I was beginning to think this was the wrong place."
"There has to be a security guard or something." Emily said, knocking again on the glass.
"Maybe we should call Hotch, maybe we're at the wrong door." Morgan said, pulling out his phone.
Emily nodded, knocking for a third time. Louder and harder. "There has to be someone here. These buildings always have watchmen or something. At least someone can tell us what this place is."
"Hotch, it's Morgan. I'm here with Prentiss. We here at the address you gave us, but we can't find a way in. Call us back and let us know what's going on. Thanks." He hung up. "Voicemail."
"Someone has to come along eventually," She checked her watch. "Any idea what this is about?"
"Not a clue," She continued her knocking, not noticing how Morgan continually stared at her. "How's Riley?"
Emily rested her hand on the glass, trying to peer inside. "She's… she'll be okay." Her eyes traveled to Morgan. The very thought of this conversation made her feel sick, "Listen… I know neither of us want to bring it up, but… I think we should talk later."
Before Morgan could respond, the two were startled as movement was seen on the inside. Emily and Morgan waited, two figures heading towards the door. One was an old man in a blue security guard uniform. The other was the familiar form of Aaron Hotchner.
The guard unlocked the door. "I'm sorry, guys, they were supposed to leave the front door open for you. JJ, Rossi, and Garcia are already here."
"What is this about, Hotch?" Morgan asked as he and Emily were allowed entrance.
Hotch didn't respond. He led the two through the dimly light building to a set of stairs. The guard didn't follow, only locking the front door once more.
The stairwell was bright. Hotch began a long journey downward. Emily and Morgan were in close pursuit, growing more impatient and nervous as they descended more and more levels.
"What is this place, Hotch?" Emily asked.
That question he decided to answer. "It's a security building apart of the Smithsonian. They store artifacts and possessions of the museum when their not on display."
"It doesn't explain why we're here." Morgan pointed out.
"It's one of the most secure buildings in Washington. The FBI and CIA invest their services sometimes in delicate circumstances, when certain things need to be kept safe and hidden."
"No offense, Hotch, but you're starting to sound like the next National Treasure movie. Now what's going on, why are we here?" Emily wondered.
Still, Hotch kept silent. Finally, two floors from the bottom level, Hotch opened a door and let the two enter before him. They stepped into a small room where the rest of their team had gathered.
"Hey," Garcia said as she spotted them. "It's about time you guys got here."
The mood, though solemn, seemed much better than at the funeral. Morgan stepped to give Garcia a hug. Emily went over next to JJ. "What's going on?" she whispered.
JJ gave a shrug. She had an idea, but other than confiding in her husband, had kept silent about her suspicions. She wanted to hope it were true, but would be heart broken if she expected something… only to be proven the opposite.
The only person who didn't seem a bit curious or nervous was Rossi. Hotch secured the door, then moved to each of the group. He handed them each a red badge, "These are your security clearances. You have to wear them at all times when visiting."
"What's going on?" Emily urged, taking her badge. She slipped it over her neck like the others.
Hotch put his own badge on. "Each of you has been given clearance to come here. What you see here has to be kept confidential. No one outside of this group is to know about it. Discussion outside of these walls is to be kept to a minimum. Is that understood?"
No one could speak. Each one gave a nod. Hotch took his badge, giving it a swiping it through the lock, which released open. He stepped inside, Rossi moving second, and the rest of the team bringing up the rear.
The team headed down a long corridor. There were several rooms situated every fifty feet, but they walked right by. No lights shone in any of these rooms. The silence of this place was unnatural. It gave the impression of an asylum in some horror flick. What could possibly be so important, it had to kept hidden in this place? And what kind of circumstance was Hotch talking about?
Not far from the end of the hall, Hotch stopped outside of a door. There was a key pad instead of a handle. He typed in a code. A soft buzz and the door released.
There was a soft light in the room, unseen through the tinted window of the door. Hotch opened just enough for one person to enter at a time. He and Rossi stood aside, letting the others go first. Each one walked in, all gasping in shock individually.
Reid lay in a hospital bed. He looked weak and a little pale. There were several intravenous tubes going into him along with an EKG machine, giving off a steady rhythm of beeps.
He was asleep, but his breathing was steady and calm. Hotch and Rossi entered behind the others. The sound of the door lock startled him and he woke with a grunt. His hazel eyes opened slowly. Reid looked around and noticed the people staring at him.
"Hey guys," he whispered, giving a small smile.