Emily sat up uncomfortably and pulled her knees to her chest. "Clyde wasn't always like that. Mark—possibly. Clyde started drinking heavy when Doyle escaped prison. After Tsia, my really good friend, was murdered…he started using. He was in love with her, but it wasn't reciprocated. He only put his hands on me once and he was completely out of it. I'm not making excuses for what he did, but I am saying that he wasn't sober when it happened. It happened in front of the girls and I immediately got him away from all of us. Now Mark is a different story. He didn't start getting verbally abusive until after I told my entire family that I was pregnant. They all wanted me to come home, but he wanted me to stay. My dad missed out on a lot of time with me when I joined the BAU; he was willing to move to London. For whatever reason, that made Mark snap. The things that he said to me made me so insecure and self-conscious" Emily paused and flicked away a stray tear before continuing, "We started going downhill after that and I could feel the resentment building. Once the girls were born, we got better but still not how we were before. We decided to separate before the girls' 3rd birthday and just co-parent."
She took a few moments to compose herself, "One night, the girls decided that they didn't want to go out of town with Mark, but with my dad. He was livid when he came over that night. You know I never thought that I'd be the type of woman to get battered—because I'm so strong and independent", she let out a sad chuckle, "I thought I was different until the night he hit me. The argument came out of nowhere…and so did his fist." Andrew's jaw set tight and he balled up his fists; Emily saw this and put her small hand over his larger one. He immediately calmed down and look at her with apologetic eyes. "I couldn't believe that he would hit me. I couldn't believe that he would hit me in front of my children. I never wanted them to see anything like that. They tried to protect me, but I just wanted him away from them. Amina saw him hit me again and I hate that she saw that. I never wanted her to think that I would condone something like that." Emily reached over to hug Andrew and he held her close, shivering when she whispered in his ear, "Thank you Drew." He pulled away confused, "For what baby?" "For being so good with the girls. I know my children. I know that Amina seeing her father hit me has weighed on her because she didn't think that I knew. I also noticed how that weight was lifted off of her after the two of you had breakfast. I'm not mad that she confided in you…I'm grateful because that means that she trusts you." She hugged him again and placed a soft kiss to his neck.
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(one year later)
The incessant ringing of the FaceTime call was driving Emily crazy. She answered it with a bright smile upon seeing Savannah Morgan's face. The caramel colored woman smiled conspiratorially at Emily. "So, what's the verdict? Pregnant or not?" Emily smiled wide and chuckled, "Well….."
Andrew was being a good sport in the nail salon. He was having a date day with girls to instill the proper love of a father into their minds and hearts. He was pressured by the girls into getting a mani/pedi as well. His phone chimed and he took it out his pocket
*Text Message from Derek Morgan
So, did you find the ring that you wanted? This is hard for me to help with and not include Babygirl. I know that you want to surprise the hell out of Emily…something she truly deserves. I'll help you with this engagement party anyway I can.
A/N: This is the time up that I was talking about. Good things are coming for Emily and Andrew in upcoming chapters.