Hey guys. Welcome to the latest chapter of Private Life. It's been awhile. How's everyone doing? I'll tell you guys all about what's been going on while I've been away at the end. LOTS of different writing. But for now...
ENJOY.
Aftermath
Previously
"I'm not running."
"What do you call what you're doing right now then?"
"I'm just going for a ride," Emily says as she switches jackets.
"Okay." Elizabeth sighs and steps closer to her daughter. "Emily, I know we haven't been close or had the relationship we should have had, and that's mostly on me because I should have been there for you, but I was 4,000 miles away when you ran into a hostage situation to rescue your girlfriend, someone I didn't even know existed."
Emily didn't know what to say. She did not expect this from her mother and she definitely couldn't deal with it now. "I have to go."
"I know. Go clear your head. But please come back. I'd really like to talk." The ambassador steps out of the way of Emily's motorcycle and opens the garage door.
Emily straddles the bike. "Bye, Mother," she says awkwardly before pulling on her helmet and starting the engine. She rides away.
Rachel's Apartment
Ashley slips through the door of Rachel's bedroom. She finds Rachel pacing back and forth with her cellphone to her ear. Rachel tosses her cellphone onto the bed. She runs her fingers through her hair before dropping onto the bed.
"Rach," Ashley says as she sits next to her best friend and rubs Rachel's back. "Your parents are worried."
"I thought she'd answer for me. It's been hours," Rachel says. "It just goes straight to voicemail."
"That means it's off, sweetie."
"I know that," Rachel snaps. She sighs. "I'm sorry. I just…I've left messages and I don't know what to do." Rachel turns to her best friend helplessly. "She quit her job, Ash."
"I know."
"And it's my fault," Rachel cries. "I should've just seen her."
"No. You weren't ready. It wouldn't have gone well for either of you."
"And this is better?" Rachel challenges.
"Maybe. You both need time to sort through what happened," Ashley says. "Emily knows you love her and she'll come back."
"What if she doesn't?"
"She will." Ashley pulls Rachel in for a hug. Emily needed to come around. Ashley didn't know what Rachel would do if Emily stayed away.
Emily Apartment
JJ makes her way up the stairs to Emily's floor. She turns and sees Garcia on the floor outside of Emily's apartment door with a tablet on her lap.
"Still nothing, Pen?" JJ asks as she gets closer.
"No. And no movement on her phone." Garcia gestures to the tablet. "It's still off." Garcia stands. "I was waiting for you to go in. I'm worried."
"Yeah, let's do it," JJ says. "Emily stopped by the hospital earlier. Rachel didn't want to see her."
"So, she could just be in there curled up in bed eating chocolate brownie ice cream and cookies?" Garcia asks optimistically.
"Hopefully." JJ puts her emergency key in the lock and turns it.
When the door opens, they are both struck by how still the apartment is. It's bright. Sunlight streams through the large window illuminating the large empty space and betraying the sadness that it's owner must be feeling. The apartment is so still Garcia jumps when Sergio purrs and rubs against her.
"Emily?" JJ calls quietly and walks further into the apartment. JJ calls again as she makes her way up the stairs.
Garcia picks up Sergio and cuddles him. "Hey, Serg, is Emmy here?" She asks the cat as she follows. When she reaches the stairs, JJ exits a room.
"She's not here. Her go bag isn't up here."
"I'll check downstairs. She wouldn't just leave."
"We thought she wouldn't quit either," JJ reminded. Worried, Garcia simply heads down the stairs in search of Emily's go bag.
JJ started following Garcia when her phone rang. Her screen lit up with Ashley's name.
"Hey, have you heard from Emily?" JJ asks.
"I was just about to ask you the same," Ashley says on the other end. "So, I guess she's not home?" Ashley sighs. "Rachel's been trying to call her. Her phone's still off."
"Yeah, we know."
"JJ, could this be bigger than what happened yesterday?" Ashley asks carefully.
JJ knew where Ashley was heading with her line of questioning. "This doesn't look like anything more than Emily dealing with everything that happened yesterday."
Ashley lets out a sigh of relief. "Okay."
"How's Rachel?"
"Feeling guiltier by the second. A call from Emily would do wonders, a text even, I think. She needs to know she's okay."
"I know. I'll let you guys the know the second we know anything."
"Thanks."
"Tell Rachel the whole team's on this."
"I'd expect nothing less."
"I'll be in touch."
"Bye." They ended the call.
JJ reaches the first level of Emily's apartment with her mind on Emily and Rachel's relationship. She had never seen Emily as happy as she was while dating Rachel. There was a change in her. A great one. Her eyes shined at the simple thought of Rachel. And the two of them together was an endearing sight. SSA Emily Prentiss turning into a nervous wreck over her girlfriend was pretty adorable. She wanted Rachel and Emily to work out. They loved each other. And JJ wanted their love to work out.
JJ was brought out of her thoughts by Garcia saying, "It's not here."
Emily
Emily maneuvered her bike to the side of the road and crawled to a stop. She pulled off her helmet. She was as far away from the city as she cared to be and, more importantly, away from bank robbers, and hostage takers, and rejecting girlfriends, and confusing mothers, and concerned friends. Well, she was probably exacerbating that last one, but here, on the side of a road, none of that existed.
She hadn't ridden her motorcycle in awhile. Work took most of her time, and the time it didn't take she had committed to Rachel and their relationship. She missed it though. The time spend riding as far as she wanted, exploring, clearing her head. There was just the road ahead. That was her only focus when she was riding. And when she stopped, she could take in her surroundings and just enjoy it. Being alone and having a clear head.
But today was different.
Today, when she stopped riding, her head immediately filled with thoughts and emotions that she didn't want. And this time being alone didn't come with the sense of freedom that usually came with riding. It was the type of alone she'd felt growing up. The type that came with grand mansions with empty hallways. And not just alone, but she was alone and overwhelmed with the sense of dread.
And the note burning a hole in her pocket didn't help.
Emily dismounts the motorcycle and pulls the Rachel's note from her pocket. She's read it twice already and still can't seem to understand it. She knows the words. She just doesn't know what to do with them. She doesn't know what to do about them. Emily unfolds the paper and runs through the words again.
Emily,
I'm okay. I'm getting discharged today. I can't see you right now and I'm sorry for that, but I can't. I just need time. I love you.
Rachel
She loves her, but she can't see her.
She loves her, but she needs time.
Was love enough in this situation? What if Rachel couldn't get past this? What if this was the end of their relationship? And why wouldn't Rachel let Emily help her. She knows Emily's been in these situations before. She's dealt with being in them and dealt with people who have been in them. Emily could help her through this. She would in a heartbeat. She knows how. And most importantly, she loves Rachel…
But Rachel doesn't know.
Rachel doesn't know she loves her. Is in love with her.
Emily shakes the thoughts from her head. Emily pulls on her helmet and fastens the straps. She needs to ride more.
BAU
All of the team members, save Garcia and JJ, sit around Hotch's office.
"I checked her usual bars," Morgan tells the group. "No one's seen her."
"So, no sight of her since she turned up at Rachel's hospital room," Hotch says.
"And, no one's heard from her since she called you and quit," Rossi adds.
"Speaking of, you're not actually going to file it, are you, Hotch?" Morgan asks.
"You can't," Reid says. "Emily's not thinking clearly. She loves the BAU. She loves us. She wouldn't just leave. Not without saying goodbye."
"I hate to say it, but maybe this just pushed her over the edge," Rossi states. He truly hated to say it, and he hated that it had happened. But he knew how hard it was to get back to BAU-normal after a case had creeped it's way into your personal life.
Aaron knew it too. He knew it from an agent's perspective and a supervisory perspective. After everything with Foyet, he came back. It was hard. And it wore on him at times, but getting back to work and their kind of normal helped him. But as a team leader, he saw how it could tear someone apart. Elle. It made her bitter and untrusting and caused her to turn her back on everything the FBI stood for, what the BAU. What she stood for.
He would never let that happen again. If Emily needed to quit in order to stay the person they all knew and loved, then he would file her request.
"I'll talk to her," Hotch tells the men.
A quick tap on the door alerts the assembled team before the door is pushed open and JJ and Garcia enter and sit next to Reid on the office's couch.
"Any luck?" Rossi asks.
"Nope. I spoke to the doorman," JJ informs the team. "Emily never returned after her trip to the hospital."
"I searched the traffic cameras near the hospital and it caught Emily's car heading East, but it lost it not too far down the line. And her car's GPS has been disabled," Garcia added.
"So, she's in the wind," Morgan says.
"What do we do now?" Reid asks.
"We can only wait for her to contact us," Rossi answers.
"Could this be bigger than what happened with Rachel?" JJ questions, echoing Ashley's worry. She told Ashley that this was just Emily trying to cope, but she needed reassurance herself.
"Until we hear otherwise, it's not," Hotch answers.
"So, we just wait?" Garcia voices.
"For now," Rossi says. "Emily doesn't want to be found right now, but she knows how to reach us."
Everyone looks between the group. No one liked this situation. It was helpless and if there was one thing this team didn't do: it was being helpless. But Emily had forced them into a stalemate.
Rachel's Apartment
A soft knock sounds on the closed door to Rachel's office. She really did not want to be bothered right now. She was writing. And she needed to write right now. Rachel sat at her desk, getting lost in connecting letters to words to sentences. She heard the turn of the knob and the lock click out of place. She closes her eyes in annoyance.
"Hey, Rach." Rylan moves into the room with a sandwich on a plate — no doubt made by their mother. "I thought I'd bring you something to eat. Mom was prepped to make a whole meal. I talked her down to just this."
"I'm busy." Rachel doesn't look up from the paper.
"You need to eat."
"Don't tell me what I need to do, Rylan."
Rylan sets the plate down on the desk. "Sorry, Rach."
"Are you?" Rachel challenges angrily. She looks up at her twin for the first time. "What exactly are you sorry about Rylan? That you're telling me what to do? That you're disturbing me after I said I was busy?"
"Rach, calm down," Rylan interjects.
"That you screamed at my girlfriend? Blaming her for everything that happened?" Rachel seethes. "Ashley told me how you were screaming at Emily in the hospital."
"You shouldn't have been in that situation," Rylan counters strongly. He can't believe she's mad at him. Or that Ashley told his sister how he reacted toward her girlfriend when Rachel was admitted.
"Well, I was, and you know who got me out? Emily," Rachel shouts. She slams her pen down on the paper and jumps from her chair. "She risked her life to come in after me. She did everything she could to get everyone out. She protected me while I was in there and comforted me and shielding me from seeing someone commit suicide right in front of me!" Her breathing is heavy and her head is spinning. "And now she's missing," her voice cracks with emotion. "And you were horrible to her and I was horrible to her." Rachel breaks down.
Rylan is at his sister's side in a flash. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her into his body as she cries. Her head rests against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Rach. I really am," he says. "For everything."
Emily
Emily's been riding for about a half hour since her last stop. She's exhausted and she knows she needs to stop if she wants to be able to recharge for the ride back. She's ridden further than she'd thought she needed, but this has happened before. She was by no means lost. In fact, she knew exactly where she was.
She takes the next turnoff and steers her bike through the streets until she reaches a small strip of independent stores and diners. She pulls into a parking spot in front of the diner and kills the engine.
A woman with long red hair and beautiful green eyes looks out into the parking lot from the diner. She recognizes that bike.
Emily dismounts her bike and pulls off her helmet.
The woman in the diner smiles and meets Emily outside of the door. Her name tag says Meghan.
"Hey, beautiful," the redhead says in a soft voice. "Your usual?"
Emily smiles. "Thanks, Meg."
"Out here, inside, or in the back?" The waitress asks.
"Is the back okay?" Emily asks.
"Of course. Bring your bike around back and I'll bring your food." The woman smiles at Emily as she heads back inside the diner to put in Emily's order.
Emily rides her motorcycle out of the parking lot and around the corner. She turns on a barely-there path and follows it down a dirt road to the back of the diner. Two picnic tables are set up. Emily parks her motorcycle and carries her helmet to a picnic table. It isn't long until Meghan appears with two styrofoam containers. She sits next to Emily and sets the containers down.
"So, what's up?" Meg asks as she opens her own container to find a spinach wrap stuffed with chicken and veggies.
Emily opens her own container with the same thing. "Don't you have to work?"
"On break," Meg answers before she takes a bite. "So, what's going on, Em?"
"Just on a ride," Emily answers quickly before digging into her own wrap.
Meg sets down her food. She studies Emily. She knows something is up. Why Emily tries to hide it, she has no idea. Meg bumps Emily's shoulder with her own.
"You want to try again?"
Emily shakes her head. "Just work stuff, Meg."
Meg wraps an arm around Emily in support. "Did you get the UnSub?" Meg comfortably runs her hand up and down Emily's arm.
"I couldn't talk him down," Emily says as she fixates on eating her wrap. "He ended up shooting himself in the bank. And everything went to hell afterward."
"The bank on 3rd? That was you?" Meg says as she pulls Emily closer in her arms.
"Yeah. I -," Emily pauses. "I don't know what happened. It just —
"You did the best you could. You got the hostages out, Babe. They are all safe because of you."
Emily turns to face Meg head on. "What if it's not enough?"
"What isn't? You're job?" Meg asks, trying to follow Emily's thinking.
Emily shrugs in response. Meghan has never seen Emily like this. Her job was everything to her. She loved it. She loved her team, and she loved the FBI. She loved everything about it.
"Emily, whatever happened you did your best. You always do. It's what—."
All words die, and all thoughts fly out of Meghan's head when she feels lips against her own.
Emily is kissing her. The two pair of lips move in sync easily.
So you've made it to the end of this chapter, CONGRATS! As always I want to hear everyone's opinions, feelings, whatever. How you're feeling about all of the characters and what's happening and all that. So let me hear it all in your reviews!
Now, for why I've been gone for over a month. I have this gig proofing and helping someone develop a show script, so that takes a bit out of me. And I've been working on my own show ideas.
Also I've been working on a pet project where I write scripts for the organization LOVE IS LOUDER. Eventually I'm hoping to film some, I don't see that happening in the immediate future but I wanted to share it with people. So you can find links to those on my TUMBLR.
Follow me on Tumblr. I do post pieces of stories on there that I don't put here. I have a Rizzles one up (kinda) and a Lost Girl (kinda). Just things that I write that I kinda don't know what to do with.
Follow me on Twitter and if you're cool like my friend Oreo1017, you may get DMs of my commentary to my own writing when I read my own stuff. (I reread the hostage section for the first time and holy crap I was horrible to you guys. I start all cute and adorable with secret phone calls and end with Emily sobbing alone in the dark in her apartment)
Alright. Love you guys. Can't wait to hear what you think of the chapter. Have I redeemed Rylan? lol
TVCrazed.
