Early... Again. Enjoy.

Chapter 23: Talk

"Hotch?" Emily called into the office where Hotch was sleeping. "Are you awake?"

No. "Huh?"

"Are you awake?"

"I am now."

"I know it's late, and I'm sorry, but I need to talk."

"Alright," he sat up. "Let's talk."

He sleepily patted the space on the bed next to him for Emily to come sit. He had no idea how she was still up and running. He was tired and he wasn't the one that was bruised all over and in pain. He checked with the doctors, said it was official business, and knew she had a few bruised ribs and deep bruising on her stomach. The doctors took pictures and wrote a detailed report for them to add to the case files and Emily would be giving a formal statement in the morning. Point was, no way was she not tired.

"What's going on Emily?"

Just loud enough for him to hear, she said, "It's about Nate."

"Did he wake up? He ok?"

"He's fine… Mostly. What I meant was…" she stumbled with her words. She was tired, a little emotional, and not sure what she was expecting to get done in the middle of the night. "Vince is dead, James is in the hospital, and we don't know when or if he'll fully recover."

He waited for her to continue.

"I've spent a lot of time with Nate. I've known him most of his life," even if mostly through letters. "And now, I need to take care of him. I want him to have a good life and I want to keep him here with me so that I can give him that while James remains in the hospital."

"What are you asking, Emily?"

"As a former lawyer, I need you to help me get legal custody of him or tell me what to do. I don't know what happens next, but I want Nate to be a normal, happy kid. I want him to go to school, a real school, and stay in that same school for as long as he can."

"You want to give him stability."

"As best I can. He just… he's important to me. I want him to know that, and I owe it to him… and James," she added, "to do right by him."

He saw how worried she was about it, so he put his hand on her good leg and squeezed. "I was never in family law, but I can look into it in the morning."

Emily just nodded.

"We'll figure it out. In the meantime, you need rest. There's nothing we can do right now."

"I know… I just wish there was."

"You don't need to worry. Tomorrow, we'll come up with a plan."

"Ok."

"Get to bed. Do you need help?"

"I think I can do it," Emily said, but her voice was a little shaky. She was a ball of emotion.

"Let me help you anyway. Did you take anything for the pain?"

"No. I never picked up my prescription."

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have stopped on the way here."

"I just wanted to get here. Thanks for the clothes, by the way."

"It was no problem. Now," he stood and helped her up. "Come on. To bed."

He helped her to the room and sat her on the bed before abruptly leaving. He came back quickly with a bottle of water and some pills.

"It won't do much, but it should take the edge off."

"You didn't have to, but thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome. There's an extra pillow to put under your leg to keep in elevated. Use it. Get some sleep. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Emily smiled and nodded before taking the pills he gave her. Their fingers lingered a little longer than necessary before she withdrew to pop the pills in her mouth. Usually, she didn't like people fussing over her, but after weeks in hiding, always on guard, it was nice.

"Night, Hotch."

"Night Emily."

This time, when Emily's head hit the pillow, she fell asleep right away. There were still plenty of thoughts floating around her mind, but weariness outweighed the stress of it. It seemed the case for Nate, too. He hadn't woken that night.

No one even woke up before nine, and at that point, the place got loud when Jack came running into the apartment with his aunt. It was quiet when they went in and Hotch wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Dad! I'm home," Jack yelled. "I brought breakfast."

"Hey, no yelling. Go put the food in the fridge, Jack, and then put your things in your room," Jessica instructed her nephew.

"Ok," he agreed.

Jessica then went in search of Hotch, heading to his room. "Aaron?" she called out to the sleeping form in the bed. "Aaron, come on. Get up. I know you worked last night, but I have a busy day today and Jack –"

She paused when she saw the person in the bed move, the face becoming clear.

"You're not Aaron."

Emily scrunched up her eyes and tried to shake the sleepiness. "Jessica?" she asked.

"What are you doing in Aaron's bed?"

"Sleeping," she stupidly answered.

"Jessica?" Hotch asked from the doorway.

Jessica faced him. "What is she doing in your bed? Are you sleeping with her?"

"What?" They both asked.

"Dad? Why is Nate sleeping in my bed?" Jack asked, joining the party in Hotch's room. "Emily's here, too?"

Hotch gently took Jessica's arm and nudged her. "Why don't we go talk in the living room and give Emily a moment to wake up?"

"Fine," Jessica agreed, glaring back at Emily as they left.

As soon as they were out of the room, Jessica quietly, so that Jack couldn't hear, asked, "What is going on? You didn't do that to her, right?"

Hotch froze and looked at her like she was out of her mind.

"Excuse me?" He held up a hand to tell her to stop and then squeezed it into a fist. "Jack, can you go back to your room and wake Nate up. He and Emily will be staying here for the day. See if you can help him find some clothes that fit that he can borrow for the day."

"Alright. And then can we go to the park. You said we could play baseball before school starts."

"We'll see."

Jack went to help Nate and Hotch glared at Jessica.

"Please tell me that you didn't do that to her neck and that you didn't send Jack to me so you can go on a date or something."

Hotch sighed. He noticed it too. Her neck was very bruised. He didn't know how he missed it the night before, but there was no missing it now.

"Of course I didn't do that to her, and I told you there was a case. You know me better than that."

Jessica looked remorseful. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just… jumped to conclusions, but something is going on. What happened?"

"You remember Emily, don't you? We worked together in the past."

"And she is staying here because?"

"The place where she was staying is a crime scene," he said, summing up all the explanation Jessica needed.

"Oh. Is she ok?"

"She will be. She needed a place to sleep last night that didn't have stairs because of her leg. I offered my place."

"How long is she staying?"

"I don't know. That's something we're going to have to discuss, both her and me and Jack and me, too."

"So, she was the case?"

"She was part of it. We can't get into it, Jessica."

"Who's Nate and how does Jack know him?"

"He's a child that is a friend of Jack's."

"Emily's kid?"

"Jessica, why are you giving me the third degree? You never do this."

"I don't always walk in on your home being occupied by random people."

"They're not random, and I'm helping a friend."

"You've always been a helper, Aaron." Jessica smiled. "It's where Jack gets it from. Look, I have to go. The kids have a soccer game, but warn me next time someone's going to be here so there's no awkward moment."

"Will do," he said. "Thanks for watching Jack."

"You know I don't mind. We'll talk later."

"Bye Jessica."

"Bye. Bye Jack," she yelled.

Once she left, Hotch ran his hand through his hair and asked, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know she thinks we're an item and either very kinky or in an abusive relationship. Don't know that I could picture you in either category."

"Stop picturing anything," he said, rolling his eyes. "She sometimes forgets reality when she is met with a potentially uncomfortable situation. Not that she gets a say, but she gets a little territorial when it comes to girlfriends being around Jack."

"Sister loyalty. Nothing wrong with that."

"No. So," he turned to face her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good."

"Yeah? Your voice is a little hoarse."

"What can I say, rough night."

"One of them tried to strangle you?" he asked.

Self-consciously, her hands went to her neck. She hadn't looked in the mirror since after her shower. It looked bad then. She supposed it looked worse today.

"Yeah," she admitted. "It's nothing."

"It's something, but we don't need to talk about it now if you don't want to."

"I don't."

"I'll respect that."

"Thanks." Emily made her way over to the couch. Hotch ran to her side and escorted her the rest of the way.

"So, Jack is obviously home. He's helping Nate find some clothes for the day. I thought I'd get dressed, find some suitable clothes for you, we'll have breakfast, and then we could talk about last night. Also, I know Reid took a preliminary statement at the hospital, but someone outside of the team is going to want to take a more formal statement from you and Nate."

"Later," Emily agreed. She knew it would have to happen. There was just so much she had to do and think about.

"Stay here while I get you some clothes. Maybe we can have JJ or Garcia grab some stuff for you."

The rest of the morning was spent keeping the boys occupied and waiting for Garcia and JJ to come with some clothes and necessities for them. As expected, Penelope wasn't happy that Emily disappeared from the hospital before she got her big hello, but she got over it when they got to have a little girl time while Hotch took the boys out for some play at the park. First, he checked on Dave, who was home resting comfortably, and worked on making some calls for Emily to learn more about the custody situation.

Immediately upon arrival, Penelope roped Emily into a bone crushing hug, telling her how awesome it was to finally see her in person.

"You don't look great."

"Um, thanks PG. That's what every woman likes to hear from one of her best friends."

"I just mean, well," Penelope gesticulated and pointed out her neck making a choking gesture.

"Yeah, I know. It's not pretty."

"Ignore her, Em. Here," JJ said and passed her a bag. "I grabbed what I could. I have another bag for Nate."

"Thanks."

"Nate's a love, by the way," Penelope added.

Emily proudly replied, "He's pretty great."

"Cute as a button."

"And funny."

"He reminds me a lot of James," Emily told them, looking through her bag. "Give me a minute. I'm going to change."

"Go ahead."

The ladies chatted amongst themselves when Emily left, but were prepared to pepper her with questions once she returned.

"Thanks for grabbing my stuff," Emily said, feeling a little better after changing into clothes that fit her.

"No problem," JJ said.

"Yeah. We're just happy to see you. You just left last night, not bothering to even let us know."

"I'm sorry," Emily told them. "You were both asleep and I was dead on my feet, in desperate need of a shower and bed. Any talk would have been rushed. This is better, right? Now we have time to talk and… gossip." She knew that would make Penelope happy.

"Gossip?!"

Emily had just the thing to share. "Jessica walked in on me in Hotch's bed this morning."

"What?"

"Was he in there too?" Penelope asked, salivating at the thought of something scandalous.

"No, of course not." Emily grinned. "He slept in his office and gave me his bed. Nate took Jack's room."

"Ah, that's no fun," Penelope grumbled. "What did Jessica say?"

Emily gave them a rundown of the morning. They were amused even if it wasn't juicy, but it didn't detract from some of the questions they had. Penelope was still upset that Emily didn't come directly to the team, and more importantly, directly to her.

"I mean, Reid. Really? Reid! He may be a boy genius and all, but I'm the goddess of all knowledge cyberspace and beyond."

Emily explained to her that she didn't want to reach out digitally. Reid was her analogue friend. The way she reached out to Reid was covert enough that, she honestly believed, only he could possibly understand it. It wasn't anything personal. She didn't think, at first, that she would need any help aside from her forger friends, but then things went south. They went south so quickly, there was no time to even ask for help until things cooled down.

"I'm sorry that you feel offended or upset that I didn't come to you right away, but it wasn't personal, and I didn't want to risk Nate's safety or yours."

"But you went to your mother."

"Well, she had the money and ability to get me what I needed without needing government permission."

"Fine," Penelope huffed. "I can't argue with logic. I just wanted to help. I could have helped more."

"You did help. All of you did, and I didn't get to thank you, so I am now. Thank you so much. I'd do anything to keep Nate safe, but I was only able to do that because I knew all of you were there to help me do it, to help me keep him and myself safe."

"You make it really hard to be mad at you," Penelope said.

"She's right," JJ agreed. "And you're welcome. We love you and we just want you to be alright."

"I am… I will be."

"Want to tell us about what happened with them last night?"

"What's there to tell?"

"How that happened to your neck for starters."

"And the lip," Penelope added.

"Oh," Emily's hand went to her mouth. "I bit my lip." Of course, getting hit there made it worse, hence the slight bruise on her face. "And you're both smart enough to figure out how the bruise got on my neck."

"I think we are."

"I just made him angry. Shouldn't have bit him, you know, especially when I wasn't in a position to really fight back."

"You bit someone?"

"Well, he was being an ass."

"Talk to us," JJ encouraged, steering them away from the darker stuff. "Tell us about Nate and everything."

"What do you want to know?"

"Let's start from the beginning. You know James from high school, right?"

"Yeah. We were best friends at Garfield High."

"You stayed in touch?"

"For a while, then not so much. We've exchanged letters and the occasional email." Her eyes grew darker and her expression a little sullener. "We lost touch after I started undercover work. I suppose that's to be expected."

"And Nate?"

Just thinking about him made her glow. "He was born while I was away. When I came back, and met him, I fell in love. He was the sweetest baby."

"You sound like a proud mama," Penelope threw out there and immediately made Emily more conscious of what she was saying.

"James and I were always very close, so I spent a lot of time with him and Nate while Vince was working. Vince and I didn't get along, and he didn't like that I helped out with Nate when he wasn't around. We started drifting after that. They moved, I moved, and we talked a couple of times a year after that. It became less and less, but we still exchanged mail every so often until James called me."

They liked hearing her talk about Nate and learning more about the Emily from before they knew her. Still, they wanted to move on to what happened much more recently. They wanted to hear the side of things that they couldn't uncover with their research and detective skills.

"I don't want you guys to worry. I don't have any PTSD or trauma from Bardolino and his goons."

"Emily, we saw what they did to James and Dominic, or Vince, whatever name we're using."

"Vince," Emily stated.

JJ nodded and continued, "If they did any of that to you…"

"They didn't get the chance. And if they did, I've been trained to handle it and worse. I'm ok. Really. A little banged up and my leg will likely need surgery. I may be a little on edge until it sinks in that he's in jail, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," she assured them. "If something comes up or I feel like maybe I need to talk, you two are the first people I will go to."

"Not Reid or Hotch?" Penelope asked, pouting.

"The two of you," she promised.

"Alright, then can we get back to gossip. Boy do I have a story for you."

Penelope began a long-winded story about some office watercooler talk. Emily was happy for the change of pace. Eventually, though, Emily had to ask them to go. Hotch called and let her know that an agent was coming to talk to her and Nate. He had just gotten off the phone with Agent Rodgers who was taking over as case liaison between Boston PD and Interpol.

"I also talked to a friend of mine while the boys were wearing each other out. We'll talk tonight," Hotch told her.

"Ok."

She wasn't looking forward to giving the formal statement, nor was she looking forward to hearing Nate's version of events, but she knew they had to do it. It was better to just get it over and done with. Which was what they did.

After Hotch returned to his apartment, Emily had Nate get cleaned up and made them all something to eat before they met with Agent Rodgers. Emily asked to listen in as Nate gave his statement. She didn't want to be in there, wanting him to feel free to openly talk without worrying about her, but as she listened, it was clear that he was terrified. He hadn't seen a lot, but it was the not knowing and what the imagination brewed up that really made it difficult. She was determined to have a talk with him and get that settled.

Hotch found both statements enlightening. It gave him a better sense of what they had been through in the past month or so between the traveling and hiding and the attacks. It also allowed him to get a better idea of where their heads were at and what help they might need. Hearing Emily fill in some of the blanks helped him better understand what she was feeling and confirmed that she had been through more than she was letting on.

When the statements were given, Hotch offered to take Emily and the boys out for dinner. "We'll call it a welcome back to DC dinner, on me."

"Sure. I think Nate and Jack are becoming fast friends, so they'd like that."

"Good. We'll let them pick the place."

"I imagine it will be some place with games."

"Probably."

It was. As the kids played the arcade games, Nate as best he could one handed, Hotch and Emily talked.

"I called my mother. She said Nate and I could stay there if we want. All I have to do is say the word and she'll have people set up rooms on the first floor for me and Nate."

"Is that what you want?"

"I love my mother," Emily prefaced. "But I'm not sure how we'll do in one house for so long. It didn't work well when I was younger."

"You don't have to, you know."

"Don't have to find somewhere to stay? I think I do."

"No. I mean that you guys are more than welcome to stay with Jack and me."

"We'd take over all your space."

"No you wouldn't. Jack's bed is actually a bunk bed. I can get the other half out of storage. Jack's been bugging me to do that anyway so he could have sleepovers at our place. He'd probably be thrilled to have someone to play with all the time."

"Yeah? And what about you? I can't stay in your room, Hotch. You work and need a good night's rest all the time."

"I don't mind staying in the office. The pullout's pretty comfortable."

"How about I agree on the condition that you take your room back and I take the pullout?"

He sighed. It wasn't really that comfortable. "I'll make you a deal. You stay in my room at least until you see a doctor about the knee, and then we'll talk about switching."

She didn't know if she planned on staying with him that long.

"I still don't know. I feel like we're aliens invading the previously male only space."

"Trust me, you're not. And I can use you for free babysitting."

Smiling, she nodded and said, "I'd be happy to help out."

They hammered out a few more details, Emily saying it would remain a temporary situation. Just until she figured out what happened next and things with Nate were solved. She didn't want to keep jumping places with him. That went against the stability she wanted to provide.

"Speaking of Nate," Emily looked at the boys to see them still playing nearby. "What did your friend say?"

"Well, since James and Vince entrusted his care to you and James isn't currently in a position to care for him, we could easily make a case for legal, temporary guardianship. There's no other family?"

"Just the Bardolino family. James doesn't have any family alive."

"That's good to know. Less of a challenge if there's no family to claim guardianship."

"I sense a but coming."

"Do you know if James has a will?"

"Maybe. I know he had one a long time ago. He probably updated it since then."

"So, whatever is in there might say exactly what they would have wanted to happen with Nate if a situation like this ever happened. That could be very important in moving forward. Do you know what law firm he used?"

"Actually, I do," Emily told him. "We used the same one. It's a local place."

"We should pay the house they bought a visit and see what we can find first. Then, if we can't find the documents, we can talk with the law firm."

Emily remembered what Spencer found in the house and knew they'd probably find what they were looking for there, but that there was no way she wanted anyone else but herself looking for it. Who knew what else was hiding in there?

"Are you working tomorrow? We can go then. Nate would probably like to get some of his things."

"It's Sunday tomorrow, Emily. No one's working."

"So we can go?"

"I'd be happy to take you."

"Great."

Emily wanted to find the will, but she also felt like she needed to see the place they wanted to raise Nate as well as find everything else that might be related to her and her relationship with Nate. He wasn't her secret, but he also wasn't really hers. She didn't know what she was to him beyond a biological link and maybe a friend.