AN: TW for this chapter- brief mentions of rape, torture, kidnapping, DV, suicide
The SUV was silent as Dave and Emily drove back to the precinct after talking to Karen and Stephen Foley. He had agreed to go with her this time instead of Morgan hoping between the two of them they could convince the reluctant victim to share with them what she remembered from her experience years earlier. There were two women currently missing and they needed a lead quickly in order to find them alive as well as arrest their UNSUB.
Dave found himself deep in thought after the interview. They had finally been able to get Karen Foley to open up about her experience which had yielded significant new information. It had been an added bonus when Stephen had arrived home and they could talk to him as well.
And while Stephen's record had a couple of red flags Dave was now confident that he was not the person that was committing these horrible crimes. Everything from his words to his body language indicated that he was telling the truth about what he knew and what he didn't.
That he saw the long-term effect that Robert Wilkinson's attack had on his mother. Dave saw no indication that he was going out and hurting other women the same way.
What currently had Dave unsettled as he hadn't been expecting it was a reaction not of the Foleys but of the woman sitting next to him. It had taken him aback when Stephen Foley was talking to his mother about how he figured out what happened to her. Describing the moments he had put the pieces together after he had found old newspaper clippings.
Emily had been standing behind Karen Foley. Then Stephen had mentioned knowing that someone had hurt her badly. He was then citing that she had never married or dated and cried herself to sleep at night. And as Stephen mentioned each one of his points as expected Dave noticed Karen Foley nodding. But where he found himself stunned was as Stephen was listing off the points, Dave also noticed Emily looking at the ground and unconsciously nodding as well.
As they had more answers about the case as they left the house, Dave thought about how Stephen had put the pieces together and now had confirmation from his mother about what he had long suspected. But Dave, he now had some unsettling suspicions about his colleague.
Should he broach the subject with her? Even if he did, would she give him an answer?
He sighed knowing that mentioning anything to her about it would not get him anywhere even if he could find a nonthreatening way to ask. As he considered it, he thought back to her reaction to that room in Montana. Hotch had downplayed it but all three of them had seen her reaction. Did Hotch know why she reacted that way or did he just want to talk to her privately?
Did it have anything to do with the inconsistencies in her file that he noticed? He noted that most of her experience had been with Crimes Against Children. Had a case gone bad and the Bureau classified it?
He sighed as he considered that it wouldn't be the first time that something like that happened. As much as it rubbed his curiosity, if that was the reason he couldn't go and start asking questions. If he was to unintentionally poke in the wrong place, he could put her in danger.
And he refused to take that chance, at least not unless he could learn more first. Ever since he had learned who her grandfather was, he had felt protective of her. Not that he would tell her that as he was fairly sure she would tell him where he could stick his protection.
Would telling her about his connection to her grandfather help or hurt his interactions with her? He had no way of knowing what had happened to his mentor when he left DC. As much as all he had was positive memories about Breckenridge, he had no idea about what Emily's relationship with him had been. Or if they had even had one?
He would need to wait for the right time to touch on that topic and see how she reacted. But as he glanced over at her, today was not that time.
####
As the team travelled back to Quantico from the case, Emily considered what they had found. Two mothers and two sons. Neither of the sons had met their common father as he died before either was born. One of the mothers was married to him and experienced his abuse until she, as she confessed during the case, killed him. The other woman he kidnapped, raped and tortured with her son being a product of the experience.
Each of the sons had learned who their father was by accident. Steven Foley found some old newspaper clipping and put the pieces together while Charlie Wilkinson found old journals that his father had left at the family home.
When the team had been able to determine who their suspects were from the similar attacks 29 years earlier, they were greeted with the possibility that it was one of these two sons. And as the case came together that had indeed been the case.
For Emily, the case was particularly disconcerting as she considered another father-son dyad that rarely left her mind these days. The son that she felt compelled to protect not only from his father's associates but also from those that would hurt Declan because of who his father is.
Emily was still being pressured for information on Doyle supposedly to be used in his interrogation but she didn't trust the people providing that explanation. Jeremy and Tsia had both approached her for information. It was only a matter of time before Clyde would crawl out from under whatever rock he was hiding under and approach her as well. She had no idea what they would do if they learned about Declan and she was going to do whatever she could to make sure that they didn't get their hands on him.
As they were finishing up the paperwork back in the bullpen, she remembered a conversation she overheard between Reid and Rossi before they left the precinct as they discussed that growing up in a stable loving environment along with positive socialization had a more important role for a child than genetics when it came to determining if they would follow the same criminal path as their parent. They went on to talk about several serial killers that had children who turned out without the same compulsions as their parents.
While from what she saw during her time in Doyle compound, Doyle had kept Declan isolated from his business dealings. But had it always been that way? Had Declan witnessed something at a critical stage in his development? Had he heard what his father had inflicted on her or any of the other women he had been linked to either in that room or in the bedroom?
Now as she thought about what they had said, it gave her an idea. A path for how to go forward with Declan to give him the best chance of a normal happy life. The timing to make a decision concerning him was becoming dire.
She had received word a few days earlier that Louise had been caught trying to make contact with allies of Doyle in Ireland. It had been after she had been confronted that she had threatened to kill Declan if they didn't let her and Declan go. After she was prevented from reaching Declan's room, she had got away and killed herself.
According to the agents guarding the house, Declan had been asleep during the incident but since that night was asking questions about where she was. Timing wise whatever was going to be done needed to be done soon instead of repeated patchwork fixes in his life.
Emily knew her annual leave was coming up in a few days. If she could get the moving pieces in place quickly enough, that would be the time to do it. She didn't know when she could get another block of time available away from the team where it wouldn't result in questions.
####
When the team got back to the BAU, Hotch worked through his part of the report for the case instead of waiting until he received everyone else's reports. He wanted to leave for the day as soon as he signed off on the team's reports.
Tomorrow he and Haley were meeting with the arbitrator for the first time to work on the terms of their divorce. His lawyer had already received the divorce paper from Haley. The terms that she was requesting in terms of a settlement were outrageous. Terms to which he would never agree.
A couple of days earlier, his attorney had sent his filing which listed adultery as his reason along with his terms.
He was relieved to finally get to this point after all the time that had passed since Haley left while he was in Milwaukee as well as what he found when he got home from that case. He just wanted the divorce done though there were certain areas where he would not compromise.
From their interactions since the separation, Haley clearly thought that she had gotten one over on him about her affair. He wasn't quite sure what her reaction was going to be in the arbitration after being confronted with that as the reason he wanted a divorce. She had no idea how much he knew and that he had evidence. He had spoken to his lawyer and they agreed to keep a lid on the types of evidence they had, not wanting to reveal their hand too soon. The element of surprise was their best strategy at this point for tipping the scales in his favor.
Given what he expected Haley's reaction to be, Hotch and his attorney already expected that they would be transferred out of arbitration and into a courtroom in front of a judge. It would increase the time he would be out of the office but he saw it as time well spent if he wanted to remain a presence in Jack's life.
If he didn't push back and Haley got what she wanted he would rarely see Jack as she wanted sole custody with him only having two Saturdays a month along with her having the option of moving out of the area.
Dave had been on a few cases since his return to the team. He stated he would cover for him. Morgan had agreed to help if needed. With him out of the office and Emily on her annual leave, the team was going to be off rotation so it would mostly just be consults on which the rest of the team would be working.
####
The team had been back from the case in Alexandria for a few days now and Emily now had plans completed for the next step with Declan. It had taken hours of phone calls to get the pieces all aligned but it was finally done.
It was about time as she was exhausted. She had still been putting in the 10-12 hour days at the BAU while taking advantage of the time difference to confer with people in Europe. The only unsettled topic now was she needed to leave a day early for her annual leave in order to catch the flight she needed. She was just hoping that Hotch didn't ask too many questions when she made the request. He knew her too well and she didn't want to risk that he would see through her planned explanation.
The plane she was going to catch was the first of many that would have her bouncing all over the world using various documentation and disguises until she ended up in a shipyard in Maryland.
There was a warehouse there that Doyle used as a second US East Coast headquarters. She chose this one instead of Boston as there were landmarks within this warehouse that would identify it in the pictures that would be sent to the interrogators for Doyle.
It was at that location in 5 days that she would be meeting Declan and the agent who had been in charge of his and Louise's care for over a year, Sean as well as several other agents for backup in case they were confronted by any of Doyle's associates..
The plan was once they were there, they would design a scene with the landmarks visible where it would appear Declan had been killed with a gun visible in the pictures. Pictures taken after Louise's suicide would also be included in what they sent.
It was decided given his age that as not to cause any trauma to Declan that he would be brought to the warehouse already asleep. The makeup simulating a bloody head wound would be added once they arrived. They would get the pictures they needed as quickly as possible, remove the makeup and then Declan would be taken away as quickly as possible.
On some level it sadden Emily to know that she would not have the opportunity to interact with the little boy who at one point had helped her through a terrible experience. But that wasn't what was best for him. She wasn't even sure if he would recognize her after all this time. If he did, it would most likely be confusing for him to see her only to have her disappear from his life again. She had no idea how they would explain staging his death without traumatising him so him being asleep through the experience was for the best..
Once he left that warehouse, Declan Doyle was officially dead. The agent who was responsible for his care would leave with him and later meet up with the couple who would be raising Declan as their own. They were retiring Interpol agents that Sean knew.
Emily had seen their files minus pictures and names and agreed with the placement. This couple couldn't have children of their own and sought to start a new life with new identities after retiring from service. They had been briefed on Declan and had agreed with the placement. The agent who had been a constant in Declan's life would stay involved during a transition period before gradually moving away from the new family. Neither Emily nor Sean would know their new identities or location for everyone's safety.
Once that was completed, Emily would then take another series of flights again with various identities and disguises before landing back in DC a day before her leave ended.
She would be exhausted, probably more exhausted than she was now but it was the needed step. It would have Declan in a safe stable home where he could grow up without the yoke of being the son of a psychopath. For Emily it was getting a piece of information that had been repeatedly been requested from her so hopefully her former teammates would back off. A rough week for her was a small price to pay for that outcome.
####
Emily nervously sat at her desk. When they had arrived that morning, there was a message that Hotch would be out of the office for the day. From their conversations, Emily knew that it was a meeting as they began the divorce proceedings.
However she didn't know that it was starting or that he was going to be out of the office today. She had planned on asking him about taking the next day off as it was the last day before he leave started.
She sighed. She needed the time and they had been informed that Rossi was in charge in Hotch's absence. Taking a few deep breaths, she walked up to his door and entered when he invited her in.
"Rossi, would it be OK if I left earlier today and took tomorrow off?" Emily asked after taking a seat in front of his desk.
Rossi looked at her with interest as he asked, "what's up?"
Emily sighed before answering, "oh, my annual leave starts after tomorrow. I was able to get a good deal on a plane ticket if I leave tomorrow." She sat there impassively hoping that he wouldn't pick up on that there was more to her request.
Dave silently observed her before asking, "do you have the accrued days?"
Emily nodded before answering, "To cover this and more, yes." Like the rest of the team she rarely took time off.
"What is the status of your consults?" Dave asked since he would need to pass the information on to Hotch when he returned.
Emily nodded before answering, "I'll finish what I'm working on before I leave."
Dave sat back in his chair observing her again before nodding as he answered, "OK. Finish that and pass any that can't wait to Reid or Morgan. Let me know when you are taking off." He couldn't help but feel that something was up but couldn't tell what it was. And he had no reason from an administrative position to deny her request.
"Thanks Rossi." Emily said as she started to walk towards the door.
"Have fun on your trip." Dave answered as she walked out the door and back down to her desk.
####
The next morning just before the morning meeting, Hotch stopped by Dave's office and asked, "do you know why Prentiss isn't here?" he had already tried her phone and it was going right to voicemail.
Dave nodded as he said, "yes, she asked yesterday if she could leave early and then have today off. Something about a good deal on a plane ticket for her annual leave."
Hotch nodded having forgotten that her annual leave was this soon and annoyed that he had missed her before she left.
Dave watched the emotions over Hotch's face at the news. He hadn't thought it was a big deal as it wasn't uncommon for agents to tack days onto either end of their leave. As Dave watched him a questioning thought came into his mind about Hotch's reaction to the news. Why was he concerned?
As Hotch stood there Dave added, "she finished her consults, passed on what couldn't wait to Reid or Morgan. She said she had the time so I didn't think it would be a problem."
Hotch shook his head before he answered, "it isn't. She has the time." it was just that he had hoped to see her before she left. With the divorce proceedings starting, he was going to miss her but he couldn't ask her to change her plans because of that. He would just have to wait and talk to her when she returned.
AN: The next chapter follows the episode Damaged. Haley drops a bombshell on Hotch in court that he finds he can't hide his anger about in the field. The rest of the team learn more about Rossi and decide to make peace with him.