AN: This is the last chapter for this story. The epilogue will uploaded later today.
CHAPTER 30
Hotch and Emily walked down the hallway towards the courtroom they had been told her case was going to be heard in. Their lawyer, Neil Anders had told them that he would meet them there before the hearing. The day she had been waiting for had finally arrived.
As they came closer, Emily could feel her nerves increasing. They had steadily been increasing since she had received the call earlier in the week that the judge was ready to schedule the hearing.
But she knew after today, her life could return to some semblance of normal. A call from Strauss had confirmed that she could return to her position the following week after meeting with HR. Strauss also wanted to talk to her about some changes to her job responsibilities the day she returned. She had promised that Emily would still have her team and the changes were meant to be positive. Strauss had also promised her a couple of days to settle back in before her new subordinates would start on her team.
When they reached the courtroom Neil Anders was waiting for them just outside the doors. After exchanging greetings, he led both of them to a private consult room nearby stating that the case before them was running over and they could wait here until they could go into the courtroom.
As they walked into the room, they noticed a fresh pot of coffee had been prepared. Walking over to the coffee pot, Hotch prepared cups for him and Emily as Mr Anders declined. As they sat down at the table and waited, Neil updated them on developments on finding the two missing lawyers from the Prentiss family firm. They had both been located and detained and they were just waiting on extradition now. The investigation of the firm had started to raise red flags not just on Emily's case but also on other trust accounts. He shared his optimism that this evidence along with the taped testimony from Boyd Keeler, the case against both of them appeared strong.
During their discussion, there was a knock on the door before it slowly opened and Dave stuck his head into the room before stepping fully and closing the door. As he walked towards the table, he looked at Emily and asked, "are you ready?"
As planned, Dave had flown back with Spencer on Diana's medical transport the previous week. Since then he had been busy helping Spencer get Diana settled and heading back to work now that his suspension was finished.
However he had made the time to come over for dinner most nights after work. At Hotch and Emily's insistence Spencer had come as well. It wasn't at all unusual as Spencer had been a frequent visitor to the house particularly after Emily left the team. And right now all of them wanted to be there for him. They knew that the younger agent was struggling with the medical diagnosis of his mother and could use the emotional support.
Emily and Dave had also used those evenings to start talking about what they had learned in New York. Dave had been similarly conflicted about what Boyd Keeler had told them. He had been upset with both Boyd Keeler and Mildred Taylor for so long that he hadn't considered what their side of the situation could have been.
He had been at the house the evening Emily had received the call about the court date being set. When Emily told him and Aaron what the call was about and when the date would be, Dave promised he would be there. Emily found out later that he spoke to Strauss first thing the next morning and had gotten the day off.
After dinner the night before, Dave had let her know that he had gotten a message from Boyd Keeler's lawyer with the shipping information for Emma's belongings that they both had been anxiously awaiting since they had been made aware of the boxes.
Emily nodded nervously as she said, "yes. Are they ready for us?" before standing up and walking over to hug Dave.
As he kept an arm around her shoulders, Dave nodded and said, "the last case finished about 10 minutes ago and they are letting people in now." Hotch and Neil walked over to them before the four of them walked out of the room.
When they stepped into the courtroom, Emily was shocked but not surprised to see the team in the first row. These were the friends who had been with her throughout the whole emotional roller coaster she had been on since she had received the notification of the Ambassador's death not that many months ago.
After walking up to them, she, in turn, hugged Spencer, Garcia and JJ before turning to greet Will. JJ explained that Alex offered to stay behind as contact for the team so the rest of them could be there.
Looking around, Emily sighed when when she didn't see Derek with them. She had been hoping after their talk last week that he would have come. In addition to a couple of sessions in the gym they had gotten together another time to talk but only after Derek had apologized to Dave. According to others on the team Derek had received an earful from Dave. She had thought that they had been making progress.
Just as she was going to head up to sit where her lawyer gestured they were going to be sitting, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Derek standing there. He leaned in and gave her a hug as well. Standing back, Emily then saw Katie Cole, Cooper and Strauss sitting in the first row on the other side of the aisle.
Derek grinned at her and explained, "I was holding Dave's seat for him. Now that he has found both of you, I'm going to go back and sit next to Baby Girl."
Emily smiled as she saw Dave take his seat next to Cooper. Looking at the four of them sitting there in the row together, Emily could see the closeness between the long time friends. They had supported him through everything for years. They had continued searching even without him knowing because finding her had been important to him.
Then since her search for her birth parents had identified Dave as her father all three had been incredibly protective of him. She just hoped that she would have that close of a bond 20-30 years from now with the team even when they all moved onto different roles.
Aaron touching her arm brought her back to the present. Moving forward, they stopped at the table where their attorney was waiting for them and they all sat down.
Before her nerves could grow after she sat down, they all stood as the bailiff called court to order. They all watched as the judge walked into the courtroom carrying a large stack of paperwork.
After everyone was settled back into their seats Judge Clark adjusted her glasses before addressing Emily, "Mrs Hotchner, the circumstances of what happened to you has presented what all in the legal community strive to never happen. While the leaders of the ring that transferred your custody as an infant were arrest, tried and incarcerated over a decade ago, as you have found in the last few months the consequences have continued for those affected. I refuse to refer to it as an adoption since none of the laws governing adoptions were respected and as such did not meet the legal threshold for a legal adoption.
We are here today to attempt to reverse as much as we can the effects that the maleficence cause by greed years ago. However the unique factors in your case have challenged this court in reaching that goal. In addition to a name change, in your case your date of birth was also deliberately changed which has added an additional level of complication to determining your true identity.
While it wasn't this court that participated in the misconduct, it became the responsibility of this court to remedy it as best as we can. This is a responsibility we have taken seriously. While it has taken longer than any of us would have like to have gotten to this point, we are finally here."
The judge paused and turned her focus the the pile of papers in front of her. As she paged through the papers, she said, "after reviewing the evidence that had been in possession of the prosecutor's office from the original McRae/Howard trial including the documentation that the FBI was able to link to you along with the adoption papers you recovered from the Prentiss bank box, the taped testimony from Mr Keeler, documentation of Emma Taylor's maternity record, and the results of the DNA test done the court had concluded that you are indeed Sophia Alessandra Maud Rossi born to Emma Louise Taylor and David Rossi on October 23rd 1970." There was a buzz in the spectator section of the courtroom which caused the judge to pause and stare until the courtroom was quiet again.
While looking across the courtroom at Emily, the judge continued, "for the record, the Prentiss adoption was never legal and has been voided. The court however is unable to grant your request to sever your Prentiss identity from your record. It was this aspect of the case that has caused the most questions from the court. The decision was made after consultation from the DOJ. Your substantial history with the FBI and the legal record you establish under the name Prentiss while executing your position as a federal agent has made that impossible."
Emily nodded. She was disappointed however had been expecting this outcome after the last few discussions with their lawyer about the delay. "I understand you honor."
Judge Clark nodded at her answer before continuing, "that said, what we have done is to compartmentalize that part of your record. It will only come out if required. A notation will follow you throughout your career however it will be separate during your day to day life."
At that she stopped and looked around the courtroom. With no objections, she flipped to the next document in front of her and said, "I also have a request for a name change, is that correct?"
Emily nodded as she responded, "yes your honor."
The judge nodded and looked down at the document in front of her as she said, "that request has been granted. Your legal name has been changed to Emily Sophia Maud Rossi. However is it correct that you have chosen to take the surname of Hotchner?" She glanced up to look at Emily.
Emily nodded before she answered, "yes your honor, that is correct."
Looking back down, the judge responded, "OK then that will become official for the record and you will now be known as Emily Sophia Maud Hotchner." The judge paused and looked at Emily compassionately before continuing, "it is unusual that we do this however part of the court's effort to make right what was done to you, we have gone ahead and updated your legal documentation. The bailiff will hand you each item as I go through this pile." She stopped and gestured for the bailiff to approach the bench. Emily cocked her head not sure what was now happening.
After handing a few items to the bailiff who then brought them over and handed them to Emily, the judge continued, "we spoke to the Virginia DMV and they have your updated driver's license." Emily opened the first envelope to see a VA driver's license with her picture and name on it. Her now legal name along with her real birthday.
As soon as she looked up, the judge continued, "we also spoke to the State Department and explained your situation to them. They expressed their regrets that their staff were involved in this illegal act as well as utilized their positions to keep you out of the country and away from your biological family. They expedited your updated passport. I would also expect a phone call from them." Emily looked down and opened the next envelope with contained a US Passport. Opening the booklet, she saw her picture on it with all of her information updated. She closed it and placed it on top of her drivers' license.
She looked up when the judge continued, "the State Department also provided assistance when we spoke to the Social Security Administration and the IRS. They were sent the relevant paperwork and we have sent your information with them. As you can see on the new card, your Social Security number is the same and your name change has been reflected." Nodding, Emily looked down and opened the next envelope which contain the familiar printing of a Social Security card that had her name on it."
Emily placed the card with her license and passport as she looked up when the judge continued, "this court also spoke to the office of Vital Statistics and after forwarding to them your updated information, they have made the changes on your marriage license as well as the birth certificate for your daughter." Emily looked down and opened a larger manila envelope before pulling out both documents that both had her information updated. After looking over each she passed them to Hotch to look at as well. They both looked up when she said, "we have also included a business card for the director of vital statistics that assisted us with the changes. If you have any issues procuring additional copies as needed, please contact him."
They nodded and Hotch placed the documents along with the business card back into the manila envelope. When they both looked back up, the judge continued, "and last but not least, your son's adoption was handled by one of my colleagues. We spoke and he forwarded to this court the updated adoption decree for Jack Hotchner." When they opened the last manila envelope, Emily pulled out the thick document which was indeed a copy of Jack's adoption papers with all of her information updated.
Movement in front of her had Emily looking up. She saw the judge hand the bailiff another piece of paper which he then walked over and handed to Emily. The judge waited until they looked back up before she said, "additionally you are receiving this letter to send to others as needed such as your bank and educational institutions. If you still have issues after submitting the letter, please contact this court and we will assist.
If a problem arises and I am no longer on the bench and my successor is unable to assist you, contact the office of the administrative judge and provide them with the docket number that will be on the final papers from this hearing that your attorney will receive in a few days. This case has been flagged and will stay on the court's radar in the event that you require us to intervene. Do you have any questions?"
Emily shook her head before she said, "no your honor. I do want to thank you and the court for all of the updated documentation."
The judge nodded before saying, "you are welcome Agent Hotchner. We felt it was the least the court could do given the role the court system had in creating the situation in the first place."
The judge paused before looking out into the courtroom and asking, "is Mr. Rossi in attendance today?"
Dave stood up and said, "yes, your honor" as he stepped forward until he was even with Emily.
The judge nodded before saying, "Agent Rossi you also deserve the apologies of the court. Due to greed and abuse of power your right to raise your own child was taken away from you. Laws are in place to assure what happened to you doesn't happen however those safeguards failed in this case. It is especially disheartening given that this happened while you were serving our country. While we can't give you back the time you have lost with each other, we hope that you will have year ahead of you to get to know one another."
"Dave nodded and said, "thank you.'
The judge nodded then said, "this court is in recess" as she tapped the gavel before standing and walking quickly out of the courtroom.
After watching the judge leave the courtroom, Emily sat back down and contemplated what had just happened. After months of putting the pieces together after finding her adoption papers followed by the weeks of waiting for this day, the short hearing itself had seemed anticlimactic.
Emily looked over when she felt Aaron's hand on top of hers. Looking at her, he asked, "are you OK?"
Emily nodded and said, "yeah, let's get out of here." as she stood up. Hotch picked up all of the envelopes and documents that had been given to them to take home. Before they stepped away from the table, Neil told them he would call when he got the final papers before excusing himself.
Katie, Strauss and Cooper each came over to exchange hugs and say goodbye. Strauss let Emily know what she would have her updated badge and credentials Monday morning when they met. The three of them then gave Dave another hugs before walking out of the courtroom together to head back to their respective offices.
The team along with Emily and Hotch walked out of the courtroom before stopping in the hallway. Emily looked at her friends and said, "thank you all for coming today."
They all nodded as JJ said, "it's been a long time coming. For both of you."
"Indeed" Dave answered.
The group was quiet for a couple of minutes before Derek asked, "so what are you going to do the rest of the day, Em?"
Emily chuckled before saying, "well I thought I was going to be spending the afternoon at the DMV trying to get my license sorted out. Since that is done, I don't know. Do you have something in mind?"
Derek looked at his watch before looking back at the group and saying, "well it is almost lunchtime and Strauss gave all of us the day off."
Garcia looked around the group before saying excitedly, "a party. We need to celebrate today."
With everyone nodding, they quickly agreed what each of them would bring. After that was settled, they decided to meet at Emily and Hotch's house in an hour.
A celebration is exactly what was needed today.