With the warm reception, I thought I would post this one early. With work and life, I'll try to do one chapter a week to give myself some time to edit the chapters. Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter and stuck around. Enjoy.

I still own nothing but my own words, the plot, and the characters I've added, and most definitely do not own Criminal Minds.

Chapter 2: Old Ghosts

It had been a long day at work. Emily was up to her neck in paperwork. She loved her job and she loved England, but the paperwork really did suck. Apparently, that was one of the biggest downfalls of being the boss.

"How did Hotch do it?" she found herself asking that often.

Still, though, she really was enjoying her time in London. Despite missing her friends and family back in the states, she was happy to be where she was. After settling into her life there, she realized that she had more time to get out and do things, and she wasn't letting that go to waste.

Honestly, she thought having down time wouldn't be good for her, boring even, but she learned it was great. She would take day trips on weekends. She dated more than she had in years. It felt like she was truly living, like she was where she was supposed to be. Sightseeing the lesser explored, less touristy parts of England had become her hobby, and she was feeling like a real native.

That didn't mean she didn't miss everyone every day. She did, but she hadn't lost touch with them. She and her mother were working on their relationship. After finally getting in touch with Elizabeth once she returned from the dead, things were rocky between them, rockier than ever before. But they were both making an effort to improve things.

Plans to travel back to Virginia around the holidays were set, and they talked on the phone occasionally. It was improving slowly but improving. And she spoke with the team regularly, sometimes not as much as she or they'd like but still pretty regularly. JJ would call her at least once a month and they texted and emailed updates and pictures frequently. She did the same with Hotch, Dave, Derek and Garcia. She loved getting emails with tons of pictures of the kids and a few of the team snuck in. She and Spencer did video chats every other week. He would tell her about BAU happenings and his dating life and she would tell him about places she found in England and people she was meeting. It was great, though definitely not the same as seeing and interacting with him each day.

Garcia and Derek came for visits on occasion. Spencer did once as well, but they hadn't seen each other much, and Emily was looking forward to seeing them around Christmas. But that was months away and tonight she just wanted to soak in her jacuzzi tub and go out with Bobby, her current suitor. She was looking forward to it. But the night wasn't going to go quite as she planned. Life for her was about to throw her for an unexpected loop.

It was a Friday, midafternoon. No case came up and Emily was headed home. She lived nearby so it was a quick trip but she was more than ready to just get there. That tub really was calling her name. She parked in the garage and made her way up to the penthouse apartment – flat, she corrected. She was a Londoner now. When she reached her floor, she made her way in and threw her briefcase down onto the kitchen table, keys right beside that. As she was stripping herself of her blazer and shoes, her phone went off.

She raced to get to it all the way across the room, tripping over her heels halfway there. She landed on her butt with a thump, working to get up. But it was too late. Her phone already stopped ringing; the caller sent to voicemail.

"Damn it," she hissed, rubbing her tailbone as she walked toward the kitchen. "No point in rushing now," she thought and sauntered over to her phone.

Checking the caller ID, she didn't recognize the number and neither did the phone, apparently. It was local, though, and whoever it was left a message. So, she tapped the keys to get to her voicemail and let it play. A familiar voice hit her ears.

"Emily… uh… This is James… James Hadley. I'm sorry to be calling you out of the blue like this, but it's very important. Vince and I are in London. I still had your number. I'm glad you didn't change it." Emily could hear the stress in his voice. "I know you're here too. Please. Please call me back as soon as you can. I think… We need your help. All of us. We're in trouble. You were the only person I knew to call. It involves you too, you know… Please. I know it's hard, and we didn't end things well last time… Please just call me. I… I need you. We need you. And we miss you… Ugh…" She could just picture him running his hands through his light hair, pulling at it just a little too tightly. He used to do that when he was frustrated. "Call me back at this number. I'll have it for a little while. I'll try you again later. This is serious, Em. I… Bye…"

Emily listened to the message again and again. Hearing his voice brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad. Over the last few years, their only contact was through letters… And it was better that way. It was how it had to be, so hearing him, being reminded of so many things… it was a lot for her. It was a tsunami hitting stagnant land.

It also worried her. There were reasons they kept their distance. If he was calling her like this, it wasn't good. He sounded panicked, she thought. There was a tone in his voice that went beyond stressed and straight to desperate territory. If he needed her help, of course she'd do what she could, but she was nervous to even talk to him. Last time they talked things were, well, hard. Things went down between them that made it best if they kept some distance. Years of distance.

Was Nathaniel ok? Was that why they were calling? What if he was sick? What if… There were many what ifs playing through her head, but she didn't want to stay on that track. She was just going to call him back and find out what was going on.

Emily must have picked up the phone a good five or six times, and each time she did, she put it back down hesitant to call. She was just so nervous to find out what James had to say. But he was James, her high school friend, someone she knew for a very long time. Their problems never truly stemmed from him. He didn't help them much either though.

"Just do it," she chastised herself. He said they needed help, so she couldn't put it off. She had to suck it up and just do it.

Emily tried again, taking a deep breath and dialing. She held her breath waiting for an answer and still wasn't prepared when she got one.

"Emily! Is it really you?" She was greeted.

"It's really me."

"Thank you for calling back... I need you Emily. He needs you."

"What's going on James?" She asked.

He cryptically responded, "Can we meet up somewhere? I need to explain in person."

"Where are you?"

"No, not here. Let's go somewhere public… Or I can come to you."

"Just say where James, and I'll be there."

He gave her an address and she told him she'd meet him there in an hour. James thanked her and hung up, leaving her to do what she needed before it was time for her to leave. For a moment, she mulled her plans. She would definitely have to skip the soak and wine, but would whatever was going on be resolved in time for her date? By the sound of his voice, she was guessing no, and, even if it was, she knew she wouldn't be in the mood for anything, especially not romance, after anyway.

Sadly, Emily made a call to Bobby and canceled their night. He wasn't thrilled about it, and neither was she. It was supposed to be a fun night and, now, she was anticipating nothing but stress. Quickly, Emily ran to her bedroom and slipped out of her formal work attire into something a little more casual. The entire time she readied, she couldn't help but run through potential possibilities as to what was going on. Emily could count on one hand the number of times James asked for serious help, and each time he did, it was never pretty and never ended well. She was really hoping this wasn't going to be one of those things.

Not wanting to waste time, Emily put on a pair of boots, grabbed the essentials, and left her flat. The place James picked was a good twenty minutes from her home, a little hole in the wall pub. It wasn't crowded at all when she arrived. Her eyes scanned the place seeing if James beat her there, though she was early. Not seeing him, she took a seat in a corner booth, one that gave her a full view of the space.

She waited, snacking on the bar peanuts set on the table as she surveilled. That was the only thing she could do to keep from biting her fingernails. She had been doing better with that, breaking the habit almost completely. Now the urge was back in full force. The sitting and waiting wasn't helping much. That was for sure. Anticipation was a killer.

Finally, she saw someone who could pass for James coming toward the bar. He had the same mess of light brown locks that he always had. It reminded her a bit of Spencer, actually. His physique seemed unchanged and his style improved, but he looked to have aged much more than the six years that had passed since the last time they met in person.

He approached her with a weary smile. He was happy to see her, but wished it was under better circumstances.

James hesitantly made the move to hug her, waiting to see how she would respond. She leaned into it and he said, "Emily, you look as beautiful as you did in high school."

"You've always been a bad liar," she said, returning the hug.

Once they released, she asked him to sit down and returned to her spot. She waited for him to settle, though he continued to fidget and remained quiet. He was as uncomfortable as her, though they both had to admit it was nice to see each other again.

Unable to watch him squirm, she asked, "What's going on, James? Is it Vincent? Nathaniel?"

When she said their names, his eyes lit up. "It was his birthday recently. Did you get the pictures and the letter I sent?"

"I did. He's… He's amazing. Growing up so much."

"He loves the baseball cap you got him. Wears it everywhere."

"I'm glad."

"He likes to play baseball too. He's not the best because we travel too much for him to play on a team, but he plays whenever he can and he's getting good at hitting."

She smiled, thinking about the young boy whom she cared very much about. She listened as James went on about his son. Every year around Nate's birthday, she would send him something and she and James would exchange letters. James would always include information about Nathaniel's life and an updated picture. She loved getting them, really, but it always made her a little sad too. She hadn't seen him since he was two years old and now, he was eight.

James got quiet for a moment and met Emily's eyes, sliding a picture from his pocket and over to Emily. She took it in her hands and looked at the happy little boy staring at her, all smiley and bright eyed. "He reminds me a lot of you."

Feeling more uncomfortable, Emily covered the picture with her hand, bit her lip to provide a physical pain, exhaled, and said, "No more stalling, what's going on?"

"I… Vincent's father found us. I don't know how, but… He found Vincent and, let's just say he's not happy. He's not happy that we're married and definitely not happy that we have a kid together."

"James… You told me he left home because he was gay, and his father didn't accept that…"

"That's true…"

"But? Obviously, there's more." … Or a bad excuse for them to meet again.

"But his father is… His last name used to be Bardolino… His name used to be Dominic… As in Dominic Bardolino of the Boston Bardolinos…"

"What?!" She was so loud, the few other patrons turned to look at her, but she didn't care, and she couldn't control it. The name immediately registered. That wasn't a name that someone who spent any time in the Boston area wouldn't know. "You lied to me James! You told me… That was the only reason I agreed to… You lied!"

"I know… I'm… I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough," she hissed, but she knew she had to focus on the problem. It was much more serious than she thought and being angry could cause her to make mistakes. She took a deep breath and shook her head, shoulders tensed and fists balled. "When did his father find him? How do you know he found you? Did you speak with him?"

"I didn't… It was… It was an accident. Things were going well. We decided to settle down. Nate's tired of moving. We thought we could stop homeschooling him and put him in real school, you know, truly settle down… It's been over ten years since Vince had any contact with his dad…"

"And?" She urged him to continue.

"We found the perfect place. It was right on the water, a park nearby. It was back in Virginia and Nate loved it. Everything was great, but then it was all shot to hell."

"James, not that I don't want to know the details, but I need you to tell me what I'm dealing with." That was her way of telling him to get to the point.

"Sorry," he said. "It's just. Things were perfect, Emily. We thought we were finally able to give Nate the stable life he deserved."

"What changed?" Still trying to hold her anger and even sadness back, Emily tried to get as much information as possible.

"We were planning one last trip before we officially moved into the new place. Before we could leave, we had to finish packing up the last of our stuff from the apartment in North Carolina. Nate had a cold, so I decided to stay with him in Virginia instead of going back with Vince, and since we were supposed to fly out from there anyway, Vince was going to meet us. Only, he didn't, not when he was supposed to."

"What happened?"

"He called me that night. Nate and I were getting the last of the things we needed for our trip. Vince was frantic. He sounded like he just ran a marathon and just kept saying his cousin Mario was there. He saw him. I don't know how they found him, but they did. And if they were at the apartment, they know about Nate. They know he's biologically Vincent's."

Emily's eyes bulged. This wasn't good news at all. If Vincent Hadley was once Dominic Bardolino, son of a high-powered mob boss in Boston, then there were reasons he ran and changed his name other than being married to James, apparently. Emily was dead set on doing an even more thorough background on the people she once thought she knew.

"Did Vince speak with them at all? Did they say they knew anything about Nathaniel?"

"Yes… Mario and his crew cornered Vince in the apartment. They said that they'd been looking for him for a long time. He called him Dom when he saw Vince, so he started running. Somehow, they ended up at the apartment. There was another guy there waiting. They started asking questions and telling Vince they've been looking for him for over 12 years. Mario called his father right then and there and told them about Nate. Vince heard his father say to find the boy and kill who ever got in their way. They want Nate, Emily."

Now she was more concerned than ever. "How long ago was this?"

"Three months."

"Three months?! Why are you just coming to me now?" Another reason for her to be frustrated…

"Vince thought we could handle it."

"What you mean is that he didn't want me involved," she sharply stated, angered that they waited so long and probably worsened the situation. "Not again and not after what happened."

And there was no way she could forgive either of them if that was a costly mistake.

Hope you enjoyed this one. Chapter 2 down. I tried to respond to comments, so please check your PMs.

Until next time.