Last time I'm going to write the disclaimer. Pretty evident by now that I don't own Criminal Minds. That will still be true with each chapter.

I had the day off from work, so had some free time to edit. Can't promise I'll always be this quick about updates. Probably won't.

Chapter 3: Friendly Favor

"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."

James looked away from her, saddened. "Yeah. He didn't want to involve you unless we had to."

"Damn it, James. You should have come to me sooner," her voice rose. "This isn't a game. This is his life. If you and Vince want to play fast and loose with your lives, that's fine. I can't stop you, but with him… You should have come to me."

"I know… I know that we should have. I should have. But this is where we are. We need your help."

She huffed, trying to squelch her feelings.

"Don't be mad Emily, you know how he feels."

"I'm not mad. I'm just trying to understand how he could be willing to put you and Nathaniel at risk just because he doesn't want to talk to me."

"It's not like that."

"It doesn't matter. Right now, we just have to focus on the problem." Or try anyway. "What else happened? Have you been here the whole time?"

"In England?" Emily nodded. "No. our trip was to Italy. We thought it would be faster to just get on the plane like planned and get out of Italy as soon as possible. Problem is that Joe Bardolino is a very connected man. There were guys waiting at the airport for us when we landed. We spotted them at baggage claim."

"What did you do?"

"Grabbed our bags and ran. They tried to grab Nate when we were getting into a cab, Emily. I had never been so scared. Nate was crying, Vince pushed the guy away, and we got in the cab just to get out of there."

"Where did you go?"

"We went to the apartment we were renting out for our stay. We paid in cash and made arrangements over the phone, so we didn't think they could track that so easily. At the very least, we had a little time there before we had to move again."

"And?"

"And we stayed there as long as we could. We needed a few days to figure things out. We were lying low, gathering a few supplies, and then we were out of there. Vince got us fake IDs, nothing high quality, but something good enough to pass through borders if we needed it. Hopped on the Eurorail and just traveled a while. Finally, I decided we couldn't put it off. We needed to come to you. You could help, and you deserved to know what was going on. I mean… Nathaniel is…"

"I know," she stopped him. "I wish you came to me sooner. How love have you been in England, then?"

"It's been a week or so. Nate has still been under the weather, so we didn't want to make it worse. He needed rest."

"Is he doing ok?" Emily asked with concern.

"Yeah… He's doing better. I think all the travel and stress made it hard for him to get over his cold. He's ok," he assured her.

"James… What was the plan here? Nate can't live on the run forever…"

"I know… I know that, Emily. I just… I didn't know what to do. Vince already changed his name to escape his father. We've been trying to live a normal life. As a family, we wanted to travel. How was I supposed to know that the moment we choose to settle down, all hell would break loose?"

Opting to view that as a rhetorical question, Emily asked, "Where are Vince and Nate now?"

"They're at the apartment. I got us one. Paid in cash and used a fake name."

"That's a good start… But it's not enough. I don't know all that much about him, but I'm worried that Bardolino can still find you. Can you take me to them?"

James looked skittish. He didn't think that was the best idea.

"James… This is about Nate. You can't just worry about Vince."

"Nate is my son, too, Emily. I am worried about him…"

Emily read his face, something in her clicking, anger settling in once more. "Vince doesn't actually know that you came to me, does he?"

Shamefully, James shook his head. "No."

"Damnit James. I'm happy you came to me, but this is just going to piss him off more. The last thing we need is his ego getting in the way."

"It's not his ego Emily."

"Ok," she said pointedly and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever. But if you want my help, we're doing this my way. I don't care what Vince has to say. I want to keep you and Nathaniel safe. That's what matters to me."

"I want to keep Vince safe too, Emily."

"Then get him to follow my lead. I will not risk Nate for him."

Silently, he nodded, knowing she was right. Vince was a good father and great husband, but he and Emily had their issues. That wasn't going to change and allowing her to help was only going to cause problems. It would be even worse when Vince's stubborn streak and pride kicked in and Emily's equally stubborn side and impatience with Vince came roaring its head. James was always stuck in the middle. He missed the good times before things went sour with Emily and Vince.

There were so many memories and so much history between him and Emily, but he loved Vince in a way he never loved before. If it came down to it again, given the situation, he didn't know how it would play out. Emily was the person he was counting on, but Vince was his partner, his husband.

"I understand."

"Take me to where you're staying. I want to see how safe it is, and we should talk to Vince."

"Let's go."

Emily stood from the table, throwing money down to cover the tab and tip. Both of their drinks remained untouched. She allowed James to lead the way, her watchful eyes keeping a tight lookout. After the little she learned, she knew they couldn't be too careful. She asked James how he got there. He told her that he bought a cheap car that would keep them afloat temporarily. Emily wasn't sure about that when she saw it but got in it anyway.

They were staying a good ten to fifteen kilometers away from the pub. There wasn't much traffic either, so the trip was quick, quicker than Emily hoped. She didn't have enough time with her thoughts. They were still all jumbled.

"This is it," James said when they were pulling up to a little parking area. "First floor."

Emily surveyed the streets. It didn't look like a bad neighborhood. Nowhere near as security driven as her place, but a good place to lie low for a little while. It would have to do for now.

"You've been here the whole time?"

"Just about. We had to stay at a hotel the first few nights until I found this place."

Her head snapped toward him. "You covered your tracks, right?"

"I learned from the best, of course I did."

"Good," she said and got out of the car, once again letting him lead her as she stayed on alert.

They walked up the building's entry stairs.

"1 C," he told her when they reached the lobby area, pointing at the other end of the hall. "Vince is probably pacing wondering where I am."

"Where did you tell him that you went?"

"To stock up on snacks and things we need around the apartment."

"How bad is he going to take this?"

"Imagine if roles were reversed. How would you react?"

She scoffed. "I know how I feel now and believe me… You don't even want to know."

When they reached the door, Emily paused behind James, causing him to still as well. Emily didn't know what she was walking into. She was nervous, and it wasn't about the danger or even facing Vince, poor idiot Vince…

James put his hand on Emily's shoulder. "He's not going to bite you."

"I'm not worried about Vince," Emily stated.

"I know." James nodded. "Nate's probably sleeping. He hasn't quite adjusted to the time change yet."

"Ok." Emily took another deep breath. "Let's go in."

Nodding again, James took his hand off her shoulder and moved toward the door, his jingling key making its way into the lock. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Emily answered and waited for James to push the door open. She didn't know how she would feel once she got inside that apartment, but her heart was already pounding.

Quietly, James let them in and gestured to the living room. "Make yourself at home. I'm going to find Vince and check in on Nate."

She nodded and walked past the half wall, disappearing into the room behind it. Meanwhile, she could hear Vince call out to see if that was James.

"Yeah, it's me," he responded.

"What took so long? I was worried."

"Sorry, I had to take care of something. Actually, we need to talk," James said. "Nate still sleeping?"

"Yes… Talk about what?"

That was the last Emily could hear from their conversation. After that, she heard them walk further into, what she assumed was, their room and the door shut behind them. Nervously and impatiently, Emily paced about the room. It was scarcely decorated, but a child's drawings were scattered around the floor near a fallen box of crayons. Emily kneeled down near them and looked at each of the drawings.

They were happy and full of life. Nathaniel used a lot of color, green the most. That was probably his favorite, she thought. Green… Green was a good color. Yeah, she liked green.

"God, I'm profiling," she muttered to herself.

As she inspected the pictures more, she could hear yelling. Vince was not a happy camper after learning James went to see her and that she was there in their apartment. She heard a vague, "How could you" from Vince. She tried to ignore it and hoped that Nate was a deep sleeper. And while she continued to wait for the yelling to quiet, and the inevitable confrontation to happen, Emily continued to look through the drawings. Nate was no Picasso, but he had a handle on capturing people and things that not all kids had at his age. She was so lost in the drawings and tuning out all the ambient noise, that she completely missed the sounds of approaching footsteps.

"Who are you?" a little voice made her body still, catching her off guard.

"Nathaniel," she said, more to herself, but loud enough for him to hear before turning around slowly. "I'm… Emily." Facing him, she swore her heart skipped a beat and she was incredibly nervous again. "What are you doing up?"

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. Even in the dim room, she looked familiar to him. "I know who you are."

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah. You're the Emily in Daddy's picture. You and me when I was a baby."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm." He moved closer to her, holding something close to his chest. "You're pretty."

"Thank you," she said and took a seat on the small couch. "What are you doing out of bed?"

He shrugged and whispered, "They're fighting."

"I know."

Sadly, Nathaniel told her, "I can't sleep. My dads fight a lot now and then they wake me up sometimes."

The way he said that broke her heart, even more so because she knew that, this time, it was about her. "I'm sorry that they're fighting."

"It's ok," he said and sat beside her. Her heart was racing again. "They always stop."

"Are you ok? Do you want me to help you back to bed?"

His big eyes looked to her and he asked, "Can't I stay with you?" He looked almost scared, like he wanted some company other than his fathers just as much as she did.

Nodding, she responded, "Of course. But only if you lie down and relax."

He agreed and made himself comfortable against her. He's a friendly kid, she thought. An amazing kid.

Emily grabbed the throw blanket and wrapped it around him. "Try to relax. I know they're loud, but they'll be ok."

"I know," he sighed. After a moment of silence, Nate asked, "Daddy said he was going to see someone special. Was that you?"

She smiled and fully took in the boy's face, the streetlights streaming through the window and onto his features. He was such a handsome boy and in desperate need of a haircut. His long dark hair fell over his eyes, and she had to hold her hand back from brushing it away so that she could get a better look at his face. But she left him alone as he laid on her.

"Maybe. You'll have to ask him."

"Ok."

There were so many things she wanted to talk about with the little boy, so many things she wanted to learn, and she was too afraid to even try. "What's that you have there?"

"This is Patch, my dog. I've had him forever."

"Can I see him?"

"Ok, but you have to give him back," Nate agreed.

"I promise."

Nate slid his hand out from under the blanket and passed her the stuffed dog. When he put it in her hand, Emily felt tears well. That dog was the one she gave him when he was just over one year old, and he still had it. It would appear, simply by how beaten up it was, that he loved it. A part of her knew he would when she bought it for him.

"He looks special."

"He's my best friend."

If her heart wasn't broken before, it was then. He moved as much as she did as a kid making finding and keeping friends hard. He didn't deserve that.

"I bet you take very good care of him."

"I try. Sometimes he gets hurt when we play. Daddy had to give him stitches before." Nate yawned as he told her about the time Patch's eye fell off and they couldn't get it back on, so now he only has one.

Seeing him falling asleep, Emily took one last moment to squeeze the dog and put him back with his rightful owner. "It just shows how much you love him," she said.

"Yea."

Seeing that he was nearly asleep, Emily did something her father used to do to her when she was tired and fighting it. She put her hand on his head and rubbed gentle circles on his scalp. It didn't take long for him to succumb to slumber and Emily to soak in the moment.

"Sleep well," she whispered to him. "I promise I'll help keep you safe."

The fighting seemed to slow as Emily sat in the quiet room. Either that, or she was so enamored by the little boy that she just continued not hearing it.

"What are you doing with him?!" Vince yelled when they came into the room. He was stunned to see Emily near him.

"Quiet," both Emily and James hissed. "He just fell back asleep," she told them. "Your arguing woke him up."

Vince and James looked away from her embarrassed, but Vince didn't stay that way for long. "I don't want you here, Emily. Stay away from my son."

"I don't care if you want me here. I am. I am here. James came to me like you should have from the very beginning, before we ever got to this point. I'm here to help. I'm here to protect Nate, whether you like it or not," she said, holding her ground.

Vince rolled his eyes. Their bad blood was still running deep into their veins, and, though it laid dormant for many years, was starting to boil inside them. "Come on Vince. Sit down and let's all be adults. And please, be quiet. Nate is sleeping. We already woke him once."

Huffing, Vince agreed, and the couple sat in the loveseat adjacent to Emily.

"I need you to start from the beginning," Emily told them firmly. "Tell me all the lies and truths you've kept from me over the years." There was an anger in her tone, and it was justifiable. She was realizing there was a lot more to the story dating back years that, had she known about it all, would have affected many of the choices that she made. It was all a little frustrating.

Emily emphasized that Vince and James had to start from the true beginning. She wanted to gage how much James knew before things between the three of them went down and got messy, how much he knew and entangled her into the web.

"Start with how you met. The truth."

"What I told you was true, Em," James assured her. "We met at a club about two years before I introduced him to you… We got to know each other and fell in love." He looked so nostalgic, but Emily wasn't feeling it with him.

"Did you know? Did you know who he was from the start? Who his family was?"

"He didn't," Vince answered. "Not at first."

Now Emily asked for the details. She learned that the two dated in secret for a little over a year before James learned some, but not all of Vince's history. When they met, he introduced himself to James as Vincent Kane, the name he used when he went to gay clubs and wanted to escape from his father's world. It was a name only he knew about, and it stuck when he fell in love with James. Vince quickly revealed that his father was unaccepting of his lifestyle. Basically, Vince told James that his father was a racist homophobe and, James said that made him love Vince more for still living his true life while his father was such an oppressive figure.

If Emily wasn't so upset and frustrated by the situation, she would have found the story romantic and adorable, but now, she just needed to know the important things.

"When did you find out Vince was really Dominic Bardolino?"

"Right before I introduced you," he responded.

"I had to tell him the truth. I didn't want to hide him, my real self, or our relationship anymore. I just wanted to escape from my life and start over with him. So, I told him that my father was not a good guy, that he…"

"Was a mob boss?"

"Not quite, but I alluded to it. He knew that my father did some terrible things and was a very bad man. I told him the rest later on."

Emily tried not to read any more into that. She didn't want to be more upset than she already was, though, the more she learned, the more some of her anger landed on James for keeping all of this from her. But she remained mum while they continued their story.

James told Emily that they worked to cover his identity. Vince's family was from Boston and, at the time, he was going back and forth between there and DC to be with James, so it was more than time for him to make the break from his family he always wanted.

"I loved James and I wanted a life with him, but if I didn't leave my family and they found out about him, they would have killed him and sent me to one of those camps that claim to turn gay people straight. So, I moved out here, completely changed my identity, and officially became Vincent Kane. My father had my brother, so I didn't think he'd worry too much. I knew we'd be ok."

"But you're not. Not anymore."

"We were for a long time."

"I need to know more about your father, and let me start this by saying that, the moment I leave this apartment, I will be doing an in-depth search, so don't leave anything out."

Vince silently nodded and told her everything. His father was a murderer, a drug smuggler, an arm's dealer… "Hell, if you told me he was a suspected terrorist, I'd believe that too. He's mixed up in everything and willing to do anything to make a few bucks. All he cared about was getting women in his bed and keeping his wallet fat."

Emily didn't like anything that they were saying. She asked specific questions to better understand her options. How much did Vince know about his family's business? Had he ever seen a crime be committed? Did he ever take part in any of the illegal dealings? She needed to know the answer to all.

What she gathered was that Bardolino was a very connected man with a reach that went far beyond Boston and the whole North East. Emily was only vaguely familiar with the name and the crimes connected, but that was enough for her to worry more about Nate's safety.

Emily gathered as much as she could. She asked about more recent times, last contact, and all that. Though it felt like something was missing from the story, Emily knew enough to see the real danger in their situation. So, reluctantly, she made them an offer.

"If this is as bad as I think it is… Say the word and… And I'll make you disappear forever."

"Forever?"

"Yes. New names, new identities… Everything you would need for a fresh start. You'd have to cut off all contact with everyone that you know and start over."

"But Emily… If we did that then…" His eyes shifted to sleeping Nathaniel who Emily had been trying and failing to avoid all night. The boy was just comfortable with her and, god help her, she was comfortable with him.

"I know… I know," she said. Ten years ago, she made a choice, and now she had to make another. Helping them, she knew, was the right choice, no matter the personal cost to her.

Emily was stunned… Absolutely stunned with what James just asked her to do. She sat there across from him really trying to pick her jaw off the floor. Did she hear him right? Was he really asking her what she thought he was? He wanted her to… to what?

"James that's… That's crazy. You're crazy. You understand that, right?"

"Is it though? Emily… You're one of my best friends. We've known each other for years. I know you and your history…"

She shot him a look telling him not to bring things up that were better left in the past. "James…"

"Just think about it, Emily," his eyes pleaded along with his words. "Please. It's important to me, and you know I'd keep you involved if you wanted to be."

"This is… It's… a lot." There was no way to put what she was feeling into words. She was stunned. The voice in her head was saying yes and screaming no… There was an emotional rollercoaster playing out in her mind's eye and she couldn't predict how the ride would end.

"I know, but I can't think of anyone else I'd rather use."

Did he not get it? Did it not sound as absurd to him as it did to her? "We're not talking about you borrowing my favorite sweater here. This is… This is about…"

He cut her off, "Emily, I know."

"You want... you want to have a baby with me," she said, now in her own little world repeating the things he said to her.

"Not exactly."

"You want me to give you my eggs so that you can have a baby... with me. A baby!" She was processing it slowly.

It seemed to come out of nowhere to her. She and James were close. They saw each other as often as schedules allowed and talked when that didn't work out, but this… This was beyond the scope of a normal friendship.

"I don't understand how you came to this point. Please explain it to me. I thought you didn't even want kids."

"For a long time, I didn't think I did. But I love Vince and we're practically married. He's my partner, my husband even if not legally yet. We want a family."

"And I factor into this how?" she asked, an indignant curiosity. She was so confused with all of this.

"Come on. You remember in high school. You were on one of your I hate men kicks; said you'd never settle down. We both said children weren't in the cards for us, but made a pact that if we wanted children later on and weren't in a relationship, that we could have them together and, at least, there would be no romantic feelings between us to mess the kid up because of break ups and problems of the heart. It's kind of like that."

"This is not the same. Not at all. How does Vince feel about this? How did I become a part of your family plan?"

"Vince and I talked about this a lot, Emily. We went through every possibility. We want a child and, as two men, we need a woman involved."

"And that woman is me?" she questioned again. She needed to understand their thought process so that she could understand her own feelings.

"We know we're going to hire a surrogate, but we don't want to use her eggs because we don't want an anonymous donor. We want it to be someone we know and care about…"

"And you thought, 'Emily Prentiss. She's the future mother of my child?'" Sounded pretty crazy to her.

"No. There were many conversations that led there."

"Like?"

"Like the fact that you're the one person other than Vince that I love and trust enough to even ask to be involved in this. And, hell, if you weren't some up and coming Interpol agent and I didn't think you'd get too attached, I'd want to ask you to carry the baby too. But I know you, and you'd… you couldn't do that. Look. We already found a surrogate who has done it before and is willing to be ours, but we need the donor egg. I know it's a lot to ask, but we want you. I want it to be you."

Emily was still silent, waiting for him to continue. He just told her all about what would happen, medically, and how there was nothing too invasive or crazy that she had to do. That kind of thing. She didn't really hear any of it. That was the least of her concern.

"Vince was reluctant to ask you, but I know… I know any kid that comes from your genes… That will be a good kid. A great kid that's half you and half me or Vince."

"I just… I don't understand how this would or even could work."

"We'll talk about it. I promise. I'll make sure you play some kind of role if that's what you want…" Though, even then, he wasn't sure how Vince would feel about that. Still, he wanted it to be Emily.

"I don't know… Have you thought about adoption?" She knew the answer to that. Of course, they did, but it wasn't really an option because of their situation.

"You know that wouldn't work. One background check and the red flags would start shooting up around Vince."

"Yeah…"

"What do you think, Emily?"

What did she think? There was no ready answer. She didn't know what she wanted or what she thought. She didn't know much of anything right then. Her head felt muddled as it went into overload and tried to process this request.

"I need time to think about this… I just… I need time."

"Ok," James agreed. "You're right. It's a big decision. Take the time you need."

He said it, but it didn't come out like he meant it. Emily could tell that wasn't the answer he wanted, and he was sad that that was the result he got. But she needed time. She had to think about it. Was there a chance that it wasn't as out there as she thought it was?

Even if it was… She ended up saying yes anyway. It was the best and worst decision she ever made in her life.