To address a comment, I understand where the feelings that this story has similarities to the Doyle and Declan storyline come from, but if you keep reading, you will see there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Or don't read. That's your prerogative. There's no stabbing with a table leg.

Chapter 4: Choices

They agreed to do it. Vince, James, and Nathaniel were going to be reborn with new identities and everything as soon as Emily could manage. She was reluctant to even leave them that night, desperately wanting a little more time with Nate and James before she said a final goodbye, but she had to go do some research and set the ball in motion. Their exit plan began the moment she left their somewhat rundown London flat.

Emily went home saddened but intent on keeping them safe. The first thing she did was pour herself that glass of wine she absolutely needed and nearly chugged it before heading to her bedroom. There was a large wall safe buried deep in her closet with a box in it that she wanted to pull out. She always knew exactly where it was, and, generally, avoided it, but there was no better time to face it.

She pulled the box out from the safe, brushing her hand over the wood detailing. The box itself was special, something she fell in love with and bought during her travels. She was in Peru before starting college and she met this older man. Maybe she was crazy for talking to him, a stranger, but she was young, and he seemed harmless. Thinking about her occupation and all she had witnessed, she was definitely seeing her own naivety then, but it was a different time.

The point was, he showed her this beautiful handcrafted box and told her about the history of Peru. In the wood were Incan symbols, intricate weavings of the Incan history and Nazca lines. The dark wood had the flower of life prominently displayed on the top, a beautiful geometric pattern that remained the oldest known holy symbol. Around it were coca leaves and a dragonfly, but her favorite was the butterfly. The symbol for transformation stuck with her because so much of what was in that box was part of her own transformation, a small piece to the Emily puzzle.

The box was special, but what was inside of it was just as important to her. Pulling the key out, she unlocked it and looked through the contents. There were neat stacks of envelopes and small trinkets, each connected to each other. There were nine years' worth of letters from James and Nathaniel. Every year, she'd get at least two: one from Nate's birthday, which happened to fall in June, and one at Christmas. They were her gifts and she looked forward to them as much as she feared them. Sometimes it was just hard to hear from them and see how they had changed when she wasn't a part of their lives.

Along with the letters were pictures, stacked in chronological order. On the top of the pile was one of her with James and Vince. Looking at it immediately sent her mind drifting back to the beginning, back when she and Vince got along well enough, and James was still one of her close friends. That was before everything changed.

Emily thought long and hard about her answer, and, even though the rational part of her was telling her she should say that she couldn't do it, her heart said yes. Her friends wanted a baby, and she was their choice to help make it happen. That made her feel special, but also worried which was why she made a point to talk with them as much as possible. Every time they talked about it, James lit up. He became so hopeful and so happy at the possibility that she found it hard to turn him down. She hadn't seen him like that since before his mother died. So, despite her qualms, she told him yes. She'd do it, and his reaction was priceless.

"Yes! Yes, as in you'll do it?!"

"Yes," she agreed.

James ran to her and squeezed her, kissing her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't wait to tell Vince. I'm going to call him right now."

The biggest smile on his face, James spoke with Vince and Emily swore she heard a squeal on the other end of the phone once the words, "Emily said she'll do it. We can have our baby," were uttered. James walked over to her and passed her the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

She took the phone and put it to her ear. It turned out that, despite his hesitancy to use someone they knew as a donor, Vince was incredibly excited. He wanted to thank her personally and asked her to come to dinner. She agreed mostly because their excitement was contagious. The joy was everywhere.

"I really can't thank you enough. You know you're one of my favorite people ever, right?"

"I know, James," Emily said as he continued to squeeze her in the longest hug known to man. "We'll talk more details later, ok?"

"Sure. I should get home to Vince. He's just as thrilled as I am and we're going to celebrate. But we'll see you for dinner tomorrow, right?"

"Right. Have fun."

"We will. Go have some fun of your own… just not too much fun."

"I'll try my best," she teased, smile still plastered on.

Both left, James meeting Vince before they went out to have a romantic celebration. Emily, however, remained unsettled as she went home and contemplated her choice. She wanted to do this for them, but there was something in the pit of her stomach saying this was a bad idea, to turn back now. But that was nullified the next day when Vince showed up at her apartment before they were supposed to meet, much to her surprise.

"Hey… Did I get the time wrong? What are you doing here?" she asked, sticking her head out the door to look around. "Where's James?"

"Sorry, just me. Here," he shoved a bouquet of yellow roses her way. "These are for you."

"Thanks. Come in."

He followed her as she made her way into the kitchen and began putting the flowers in a vase. All the while, she looked at him curiously, wondering what made him come over alone and with a gift. He nervously shifted waiting for the moment to begin talking.

"So," Emily began. "You going to tell me why you're here?"

"I just… I just wanted to see you."

"Why?"

"We're friends?"

"We are friends by circumstance. We get along, we like each other, and in any other situation, we'd never speak. And none of that is news to you. So, what's really on your mind?"

"I just wanted to thank you. I know this couldn't have been an easy decision for you, but it means the world to us. I was worried at first, asking you because, well, I thought you'd say no, and James would be heartbroken. He was dead set on it being you. He has this image in his head about what the kid would look like… You know a little piece of you and him or you and me. A baby girl with your hair, your chin, and his blue eyes, his button nose… A baby boy that had your eyes, my messy, gelled hair… There are so many different versions of these tiny people and I… I can picture them all. I fell in love with the idea of those kids, of our baby, boy or girl. So, I became attached too. For that dream to become reality, we need you. You're part of our dream."

Emily didn't know what to say. It was a vivid picture, one that she found herself imagining in a daydream like state as he spoke, but now she felt more of a pressure than before. Over the years, she and Vince had become friendly – she wouldn't necessarily say they were friends – but they were never incredibly close. They were just two people who came to enjoy each other's company because of their mutual love for James. But in that moment, as Vince was talking about how she was part of her vision, she felt connected to him. That hadn't happened much before.

Vince continued on, speaking about the future, about how he could see the kids growing up with her wit and intelligence, James' outgoing nature, and his enduring tenacity. "The kid's doomed to be the most stubborn human on the planet with any of our DNA."

Wasn't that the truth? That kid, that nonexistent kid already wormed its way into Emily's heart. She was falling into the trap. She was picturing it too, more and more as he spoke.

"So I need to make sure you get this, that we want this to happen. You want it to happen too, right?"

"Yeah… Yeah I do Vince."

"Good…" That was what he hoped and the main reason he came over there, so he was set. "Then I guess I'll leave you to it, and I'll see you tonight."

"Ok… Um… thanks for the flowers."

"You're welcome."

Emily wordlessly walked him to the door, not opening it just yet.

"One question before you go."

"Yeah?" he responded.

"Who's going to be the father… biologically speaking?"

"Yet to be determined." Emily let that go. The curiosity wouldn't last long, anyway. James told her everything, so when they knew, no doubt she would too.

She pulled the door open for him and waited behind it, but he stopped in the doorway.

"Emily," Vince quietly said.

"Yeah Vince?"

"It's not just James… I love you too, you know? We're more than friends of convenience. I want you to know that… And thanks for doing this."

A bit astonished, she responded, "I… You're welcome."

And just like that, her fears were temporarily quelled. The way she felt in that moment, the great feeling of the impact she would be making, was enough to make her forget or at least ignore her worries.

"Focus," she told herself, locking the box back up and returning it to its hiding place. Out if sight, out of mind. It wasn't the time to stroll memory lane. There were things to be done. So, after the much-needed moment to herself to reminisce, she pulled out the secure laptop. Her tech guys taught her a few tricks to help keep searches private and hard drives clear, so she would be able to do what she needed without leaving a trail, and she'd make Garcia proud in doing so. Putting all else aside, she got to work.

Based on what Vince told her, Bardolino was involved in some nasty things. Just from their conversation, she could connect him to several cases in Interpol's databases that even the agency hadn't figured out he was involved in.

"Pays to have an inside source," she quipped.

If she could find cold, hard proof of the misdeeds and really work out the web, she knew that she could eventually pull them out of hiding, and that was something she wanted to work toward. No kid should have to grow up in hiding if there was a way out of it. Until then, she had to get the documents set up, move them or make their location more secure, and make herself okay with all of this.

Nate was being raised by two men she once trusted and who, she had come to find, had done nothing but lie to her. To top that off, they were in immense danger. Bardolino posed an imminent threat to them, so she had to act quickly. Arrangements needed to be made, and that included for herself. While the rest of the night was spent getting background information and calling in a few favors from her less than on the up and up contacts, the first thing she did in the morning was call work and arrange for a little vacation time.

Using spending time with her mother as an excuse, especially with Clyde who knew their relationship, was a no brainer. At least it bought her a few weeks to get things straightened out, help the family move, and get their new life on its way where no one would find them. She had a few locations in mind, but she wanted to talk to them and Nate to see which was best for the little boy. He would always be the deciding factor, and she wanted to put them somewhere he would be happy.

When she left the apartment, she was vigilant. Her eyes wandered for potential goons and mobsters ready to follow her to them. Though, at that point, she wasn't sure that anyone even knew her connection to them. Still, she couldn't be too careful. On her way to their place, she stopped off at the store to pick up a few burner phones and essentials, even a few groceries. The less they left their house, the better it was for everyone. She made that clear before leaving the previous night. They were under strict instructions not to make any calls or leave under any circumstances, barring a medical emergency. She gave them a contingency plan for that too.

"How do you know so much about this?" James had asked her. "I mean, I knew you'd be the right person to go to because of your work, but… how?"

"I just know…" was her vague response. "I know."

She didn't want to go into that further, nor did they have the time. But she left them with a list of things to do and Vince with the task of writing down everything she could use against his father down the line, and she was very honest that that was exactly what she intended to do.

Emily was hoping that she would arrive at their place to find some of that actually taken care of. With Vince, she didn't always have high hopes, but she was trying with him to keep the peace for all their sakes. Before going in to see them, she had a few things to get taken care of. Phone packages in hand, she opened each and set them up. The only numbers they were to use were the ones she put on the phones and one of the phones was only to be used if they needed a change. It was the backup burner, and the only numbers on each were the burners she kept for herself.

Gathering everything into bags, Emily stealthily made her way to the apartment, knocking one, two, three times. "Coming," she heard through the door, causing her to sigh, already frustrated.

"You didn't check through the peep hole before answering the door or saying anything." She was disappointed. "What if I was coming to get you?"

Vince rolled his eyes and responded, "Then you wouldn't have knocked?"

"Says who? The bad guys manual on how to kill?"

"Are you coming in or not?"

"Yes," she said, and pushed a bag into his hands, brushing by him. "Where are James and Nate?" She didn't see them around. Part of her hoped that they were busy and would remain busy in a separate room for a while, even if it meant extended alone time with Vince.

"Nate spilled milk all over himself. James is giving him a bath."

Emily felt a little relief. "Good, then it gives us a chance to talk, Vince. Or should I call you Dominic?" Her eyes narrowed pointedly.

"I don't know. You should probably call me whatever name I get with the new identity."

"Let's skip the names for now and get right down to business. Did you do what I asked?"

"Am I supposed to be done already? It's been about ten hours since I saw you last. How much do you think I've had time to get done?"

"Probably more than you actually did," she sniped. "Just show me what you have. I don't want Nate overhearing any of this."

"And you think I do? I know how to take care of my kid." Vince was becoming angry. That was their relationship. One of them always ended up on the defensive.

Not wanting to escalate, Emily just sat down and waited on him to join her. He sat across from her and she pulled out a voice recorder. "Start talking," she ordered.

"Is this necessary?"

"I think it is, but if you don't agree, I can call my guy and tell him to only forge two identities and leave you to the wolves."

"You've always been a bitch," he hissed.

"Right back at ya." Emily hit record and, once again, told him to start from the beginning. "Go back as far as you can remember. What crimes do you have knowledge of? Tell me specifics and names if you remember them. Everything is important, so leave nothing out."

"Is it necessary to record this? Really? I thought I was writing it down."

"Oh, you are, but we're doing this too. So, just get talking. I want to get as much done before James comes back." She gave him pointed eyes. "I'm sure you wouldn't want him to hear a lot of it."

"At least you've got one thing right." He gave her a dirty look and began to talk about his past in greater detail than the previous night.

Vince gave her as much as he could, and it would prove helpful down the line. There were some names she recognized, big criminal names. Some of what she learned surprised her. Some of it didn't. Vince, despite what she didn't like about him, wasn't an all-out bad guy, but he was no saint and he was deep into the mess, too.

"My dad was grooming me to take over the business, but I never had any interest. I was busy thinking about boys and cars."

"I need you to be honest with me. Have you ever done anything for your father? Anything illegal?"

"Yeah… Yes I have."

"What did you do Vince?"

Ashamed, he met her eyes and honestly told her, "I once helped my dad traffic girls. I think. Look. The drugs I knew about. I won't lie. I had a messed-up life with him as my father. Drugs were everywhere and sometimes it felt like the only escape. If I didn't bother my dad, he didn't bother me, so I ignored that. I even ignored the guns that were everywhere, but I couldn't ignore this."

"What happened?"

"Dad called me into his office. Uncle Gino was there."

"Uncle Gino?"

"Yeah, not a real uncle. Italian, thick accent. Only came around when something big was about to go down. I think his full name was Eugenio R… R something. He died back in the early 2000s. Anyway, that day, Mario was out on business with his brothers and some of my dad's other stooges, so he asked me to do a job for him. I knew better than to say no, so I went along."

"What was the job?"

"He handed me an address and told me to drive Gino there and make sure I took care of whatever he needed." He shook his head. "It was a long drive and Gino kept going on about something he had in the works back in Italy. His accent was thick, and I didn't speak Italian, so I didn't understand much. Occasionally, he'd throw in words I could catch like girls, a couple places and names. I knew most of it wasn't anything of substance because he didn't trust me like he did my father, but there was something there that I put together by the end of the night."

Emily said nothing, giving him a chance to collect his thoughts and continue without her urging. That was exactly what he did. One big breath in, exhale, and he was talking again.

"There were a few cars in the lot when we got there. We went through the back. It was called Mangia, I think, a restaurant. I could hear people in the kitchen and smell the food."

"All this for a restaurant?" Emily thought. There had to be more, and, sure enough, there was.

"We had another stooge with us. Armando. He met us at the back entrance. I guess my father informed him we were on our way and he knew Italian, so he got along with Gino. Gino asked him something and Armando took us through the building, further away from the restaurant part. It looked like a cigar club. Inside there were a bunch of old pervy looking men… Everyone was drinking and smoking. There wasn't a stage or anything, but there was a bar and a small catwalk."

He shook his head at the memory before divulging what came next. Vince lowered his voice and quietly told her that he never saw girls look so scared. They were taken to a VIP booth. Music was playing and Armando signaled one of the workers. A parade of girls, most of whom Vince would swear were underage or barely past 21. They were pushed out in front of the men and they'd bid on them like livestock. It sickened Vince. Emily seconded that notion.

"They were just girls…" he mumbled. They were dressed in nothing, forced to put on a show for them. If people asked, they'd force the girls to dance or do things. He distinctly remembered one of the workers telling Gino to let him know if he had a liking for any of them. There were rooms reserved for that. The men would touch the girls and do what they wanted. Men, twenty, thirty, or even forty years older than the girls would take them into backrooms and do things. He didn't want to think about what.

"Gino told me to take a girl into the back. He said everyone had to or it meant they couldn't be trusted."

"Did you do it?"

"Yes," he quietly answered. "I had to. I didn't want to die and the look in Gino's eyes… I saw that before in my father and nothing good ever came of it."

"Did you do anything with her?"

"God no! I paid her to say we did." He looked as disgusted by it as Emily did. "I swear, I didn't know my dad was involved in that. But seeing that… those girls… I don't know what happened to them or how they got there, but I could guess. They barely spoke English, they definitely didn't choose that life, and they were just kids… I couldn't be a part of that. That was why I left. By then, I had already met James and Virginia became my home. So that was my last straw. Gino picked a girl and disappeared. I left him there, went right home, got what I needed and took off. I haven't been back since."

Emily wanted to berate him. She wanted to say that he should have went to the cops, alerted someone about what was going on, but it wasn't the time for that. There was no changing the past. Even she would admit that there were complications there that made it a little less black and white, but another part of her was mad that he did nothing and that could still be happening. How many lives were ruined by his silence?

Hearing James and possibly Nate coming, Emily quickly asked, "What were the girls speaking? Do you know where their accents were from?"

"Russia maybe."

Emily nodded and quickly turned off the recorder, slipping it into her bag before James came into the room, immediately greeting her.

"Nate's playing in the room," James told them. "What have you two been up to? I'm surprised I haven't heard screaming yet."

Vince scoffed. "We're not that bad."

"You really are." James squinted his eyes and made sure both of them knew that was the truth.

Not wanting to get into their dysfunction, Emily changed the subject. "How long do you think Nate will occupy himself?"

"We've got at least an hour. He's playing with some trains. Why?"

"We need to talk about the next step and what happens from here."

James joined them and said, "Let's do it then."

Emily nodded and began by telling them that she was going to keep them in this apartment for now. She did some recon and it was a safe location.

"I'm going to set up some surveillance cameras that you will have access to, and I will be able to monitor from wherever I am."

"Isn't that a bit of an invasion?" James asked, worried about how Vince would see it and how Nate would react to cameras around.

"There's no such thing as privacy when you're being threatened. I'll install an alarm system as well. There's no leaving the house."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… We can't leave the house at all, ever?"

"No. Not until we move you."

"We have a young boy. We can't keep him locked in the house," Vince argued.

"You should have thought about that before you lied about some very important things and brought him into this mess, Vince."

He huffed and crossed his arms. If she wasn't helping them right now, he would have said or did something stupid, and he knew that.

"Look. This is the situation and we have to make the most of it. You can't leave because we don't know how far they could have tracked you or anything. We can't risk Nate's safety. Vince, if you'd like to leave, feel free. No one is stopping you."

"I would," James said, his comment ignored.

"But Nate is an innocent child who is forced into chaos because of you. So shut up and bear it or get out. Stay or go?" she asked, demanding an immediate answer.

Sighing, Vince responded, "Stay."

"Good. So, if you need something, you call me, and I get it for you."

Not missing his opportunity to throw something in her face, figuratively, Vince quipped, "How? You told us not to turn on our phones."

"Don't be dumb, Vince. You have to know by now how these things work and that I know what I'm doing."

She showed them the burners and explained what to use them for and when.

"They're not for social calls or pizza deliveries. I'm trying to erase all traces of you, so don't go making new trails."

She went on to explain that she also had one and that would be their way of communicating. She hoped they wouldn't be there too long, but if they were, they would get new burners each week. From there, she explained where the cameras would go and what they would need to work on while she took care of the new identities and location. She didn't mention that she wanted to learn more about Nate before making the location choice, mostly, because she was scared to spend more time with him, but she knew that would have to come eventually. In the meantime, they had things to take care of and she was a tad relieved that he seemed to be independent and could keep himself busy.

"If these instructions are too difficult for you to handle, tell me now and you can move into my place so I can watch you 24/7."

"No!" Vince quickly responded. "We can do this."

"Great, then let's get started. James, I'm going to need your help setting things up while Vince keeps Nate occupied. I don't want him to see what we're doing and get nervous."

"Em, you know I'm no help with any kind of power tools or tech stuff."

"It's installing an alarm system…"

"I can do it," Vince reluctantly offered. "It's your turn to work with Nate on his math homework."

"Yay me," James laughed. "The kid is smart as a whip but hates to do math."

"But he's better about it with you."

Emily watched the exchange. As much anger as she had about Vince and his omissions, they loved Nate and wanted to keep him safe. To her, that was what mattered in the situation. There would be plenty of time to be angry later. So, their little back and forth over, James left, promising to keep Nate busy, and Emily showed Vince what they needed to do. For the most part, they were having a pretty easy time getting the work done. It was a lot like old times. They go to the point where they used to be friends.

Soon after Emily agreed to give them her eggs, they set up an appointment at the fertility clinic they were using for a complete medical work up. Emily would be checked over and, if everything was alright, they were ready to move forward. Both Vince and James had physicals and were tested for fertility. Both seemed to be in great health and perfectly capable of fathering a child, so the question of who would be the biological father was up in the air. Still, they wanted this process to start as soon as possible, and since they had Emily on board, they weren't wasting any time.

Emily picked up on their urgency and she tried to make it clear that she wasn't backing out, though she did have her doubts about it all. They read that on her and tried to move things along as quickly but naturally as possible. Once she was given the clean bill of health, the doctor put her on hormones, two injections a day for several weeks. She and the surrogate were both given the medicine to put them on the same cycle so that the harvested eggs could be implanted without delay.

It was a rough few weeks. Emily was up and down emotionally, and, surprisingly, Vince was the one who calmed her down best. He would tell her stories and distract her until her emotions seemed to regulate. He would talk to her and listen without making her feel like she was crazy, but really, she was.

"I can't wait for this to be done. Crap," she passed him the needle and pulled down her pants just enough to expose more of her hips. "Stab me with it."

"What?"

"I can't inject myself anymore. It sucks. Just do it."

That became his job after that. Every day for the month, he'd go over to her place or meet her at lunch when she worked to give her the injections. It was worth it to him. It even helped them bond. They actually became fairly close. Emily began to see him as more than James' partner and he saw her as more than James' friend. So it worked out. And when it came time for the eggs to be harvested, he and James were by her side. She was the first to admit that was a little uncomfortable, for the guys too, and that she would have preferred to do it alone, but it was important to her friends to be there every step of the way, so she let them. She was sedated anyway.

Twelve eggs were retrieved. They were told that was an excellent number and the most they would take. It would offer them up to six tries. James and Vince were excited by that, but the gravity of a child with her DNA was starting to hit Emily. She tried not to think about it. Denial and ignorance were her friends.

James and Vince decided that for their first try, each of them would be the donor father to one egg that was implanted. If one took, then there would be a fifty-fifty shot for each of them to be the father and they never had to officially find out if they didn't want to.

About six weeks after the process had officially begun, they got word. Heather, the surrogate, was pregnant. They were with Emily when they found out. She was over at their apartment when they got the call from Heather.

Vince answered the phone and the emotions played on his face like a three act play in mere seconds. First, he was indifferent, answering the phone like he always would. Then he cracked the slightest hint of a smile when he learned who was calling. And after that, he was ecstatic. He thanked the caller and hung up, running over to James. He screamed, "We're having a baby!"

James jumped up, eyes wide. "Heather's pregnant?"

"She's pregnant. We're going to be daddies."

They hugged and kissed and screamed and the pure joy was infectious. It was hard not to feel it too. When James broke away from Vince, he ran to Emily and hugged her. "Did you hear? I'm going to be a dad. Can you believe it?"

"You're going to be a great father, James," she promised, sharing the moment with him.

When they started in on the thank yous and talking about the future, Emily needed out, so she made an excuse and left. Emily was happy for them, truly, but she felt a disconnect already. She threw herself into work more so than before. She was always committed, but she was really proving her worth those days.

But, though she knew it was a bad idea, when they invited her to the first ultrasound, she couldn't keep her distance. She felt like she had to be a part of that moment just like she was a part of all the other important ones. Masochistically, she forced herself to go. It was torture because she felt a part of it, but so far away from it all as well. There was no middle ground. She had to pull away or she'd become attached.

When the appointment was over, Vince stopped her before she left. "We're going out for dinner, would you like to come?"

"Oh. No thanks. Next time. Dinner on me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah…"

"You're ok with all of this, right? We weren't sure if you would want to come today because it's not your baby, even though it is… But you're so important to all of this, that it felt right to have you there. I mean, it's our baby, but it's yours too in a way."

"Right," she said, praying that he would just stop talking.

"You'll always be a part of our life. The baby will have an awesome aunt in you."

Aunt… Right… "I would make a great aunt," she played along. "I better go. Have fun. And congratulations again, Vince."

"Thank you, and, here." He handed her one of the ultrasound photos. "I want you to have this. You helped create this miracle and I will forever be grateful."

"Thanks," she said, her finger running over the grainy image. "I'll talk to you later." She needed out of there.

She went home and did what she could to keep herself from crying. The baby was hers biologically, but she'd be nothing to it. Á cool aunt," she chided. That wasn't right. She couldn't do it, so she kept her distance from the growing family for the next few weeks, trying to make it seem like she wasn't. Work was her excuse. She wasn't lying, but it was a choice.

One day, she got two very big pieces of news, one work and one… personal. The CIA was recruiting for an interagency task force, looking for the best and brightest. For them, they saw Emily as that person. They wanted her to be a part of it, and she was finding it hard to say no. It would offer her the distance she wanted from the situation. There was a part of her that didn't want to go. She needed to be there for James, she reasoned, but the motive was a bit more selfish than that.

Her decision was all but made for her later that day. James called her in tears telling her they were at the hospital with Heather.

"She was in a freak accident."

The rest was a jumbled mess in between his cries, but she caught enough to put it together. It was bad, Heather was in critical condition, and the baby didn't survive the trauma.

She cried with him, though didn't let it seem that way as she became the compassionate friend she was. But she felt the loss all the same. That was her baby even if it wasn't growing inside of her, and she lost it too. They were all heartbroken.

A week after that, Emily, James, and Vince were together again. They each needed their space but talked a lot. She was there for them through the loss as she battled her own feelings. Now there was something she needed to take care of. There was one issue she had to resolve before she could officially make up her mind about work.

"This may be too soon to ask," she started, "But are you going to try again? With the surrogacy?"

James and Vince looked at each other. It seemed they were in sync with their answer. "Not right now," James said. "We want kids, of course, or we wouldn't have done all of this, but it's too soon. Heather broke her leg and has to heal. That gives us some time, but she said she'd be willing to try again once she's better. We don't know if we'll take her up on the offer, but we're going to take some time to grieve and figure out what's next." He was sad as he spoke, but Emily could see they both needed time. She needed time too.

By the end of the night, she was telling them that she was being transferred out of state. "I got a promotion," she told them. They were happy for her, but sad all the same. They all were for various reasons. Still, Emily felt comfortable with the decision to go at the time. It didn't seem like they were going to try again any time soon and that was all she needed to know before leaving.

If only she knew then what JTF-12 would do to her and all that she would miss… Maybe she wouldn't have gone. Or maybe, maybe she still would have…