So busy lately! Trying to stick to this story as much as possible! Thanks to everyone who's still reading! -J

Chapter 8

"Spence…Spencer! Did you hear that?" Alex shook her girlfriend awake; keeping her voice low as she tried to listen for what had woke her. "Spencer."

"Hmm? What?" Spencer grumbled, rubbing her eyes before squinting up at Alex. "What's wrong?

"I heard a noise from downstairs," Alex sounded panicked. "Didn't you hear it?"

"I was sleeping," Spencer groaned sleepily. "It was probably just Sergio, Lex," she then said, grabbing Alex and trying to pull her back down beside her. "Come on. Come back to sleep. It's okay."

"It wasn't Sergio," Alex shook her head as she let Spencer pull her into her arms. "He sleeps under Henry's crib when he doesn't sleep with me and he never gets up before Henry does," she explained as Spencer rubbed up and down her arm. "Spence, what if someone's…"

"Alex, it's nothing. Just…" Spencer froze as she too heard a sound coming from downstairs, both girls sitting up. "Maybe it's just Jessie," she said as the distinct sound of footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

"Yeah…maybe," Alex nodded robotically, grabbing Spencer's hand and squeezing it tight, unable to look away from her bedroom door as they continued to listen to the footsteps.

Sitting frozen in place, both girls felt on edge, as the sound of the footsteps got closer, until the doorknob began to turn. Not knowing what to do, Alex and Spencer remained where they were as the door slowly opened, revealing a dark shadow in the doorway, which immediately made both girls scream in fright.

"Whoa, whoa, Lex! Spencer!" Emily flicked on the bedroom light as Jessie came running out of her room. "Girls! It's just me! It's just me!" She held up her hands.

"Mom!" Alex jumped out of bed, still trying to catch her breath as she wrapped her arms around the taller brunette. "What are you doing here?"

"I came home," Emily sighed, rubbing her daughter's back. "I didn't mean to scare you guys. I just thought you would be asleep and I wanted to check in on you. Are you okay?"

"I think so," Alex nodded, her heart still beating rapidly in her chest. "Where's Mum?"

"She's still in Austin with the team," Emily leaned back, tucking Alex's hair behind her ear, before turning around to face Jessie who was still waiting in the hallway. "I'm sorry we woke you Jessie. I had to take a late flight out so I couldn't let you guys know I was coming home early."

"Just glad everything's okay," Jessie nodded. "I'll check in on Henry before I go back to bed."

"You came home early?" Alex looked guilty. "You left the case?"

"You were scared," Emily shrugged. "I talked it over with Hotch and he understood where I needed to be. I need to know you're safe," she kissed the teen's forehead.

"It could be nothing," Alex's voice was quite, leaning forward to rest her head under Emily's chin.

"Yes, well I'd like to make sure of that before I go anywhere else," Emily replied, taking a few quiet moments with her daughter in her arms before letting go. "You should get back to sleep. It's late. We can talk more in the morning."

"I can go sleep in the guestroom," Spencer went to stand up.

"I think it's okay if you stay in here tonight Spencer," Emily stopped her. "I think you'll both feel better if you're together."

"Thanks Mommy," Alex hugged her Mother again. "I'm sorry you had to come home for me."

"Don't be," Emily shook her head. "I'll always come home for you Lex. Always. I love you," she kissed her again. "Now get back to bed."

"Love you too," Alex smiled, making her way back into the bed beside her girlfriend. "Night Mom."

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"Mom?" Alex knocked on Emily's bedroom door rather early the next morning, obviously up getting ready for school. "Are you up?" She let herself in the room, poking her head in to find the older brunette sitting up in bed.

"Come on in Honey," Emily patted the bed next to her, smiling when the teen ran into the room, immediately climbing into the bed and cuddling up to Emily's side. "Are you okay?" She asked, kissing the teen's head, knowing her daughter was more likely to open up now that they were alone.

"I don't know," Alex admitted, sighing as Emily ran her fingers through her hair. "Sort of…I feel bad you came home…but I'm also really glad you're back too…it's a little confusing," she looked up, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. "I don't really know if I should really be scared about this whole thing or not. I mean it could still be nothing but what if it isn't? When I thought it was Lucas I was mostly annoyed, but it was easier knowing who it was. Now that it isn't him I just feel like," she shook her head, unsure how to explain. "I just feel really freaked out."

"I know Sweetheart, but it's going to be okay. We're going to figure this all out," Emily assured her. "And I'm not sure I'm ready to give up on this Lucas fellow as a suspect quite yet. I'm not sure you can just trust what he said Lex."

"You weren't there Mom," Alex shook her head. "I think I was reading him wrong before," she said. "He was watching me and Spencer because he was surprised to see us acting like a couple out in the open like that. He said he's gay. I really don't think that it's him."

"Well even so, I would like to speak to him before I trust that," Emily replied, continuing to run her fingers through Alex's long, dark locks. "I'm going to come to school with you this morning. I'd really like to speak to Dean Hackett about all of this. I really think it's most likely that it's someone at your school, especially since you got that one text while you were in the library with Spencer," she continued. "I feel like the Dean will be able to help and I would like to talk to Lucas."

"Is there any point arguing about that?" Alex asked with a sigh as Emily simply shook her head before placing a kiss on the top of the teen's head. "What if it isn't someone at school though?" She asked sounding worried as she began to play with the material of Emily's shirt. "What if it gets worse? What if something happens?"

"I'm not going to let anything happen," Emily replied firmly, tightening her hold around the younger brunette. "I'm going to figure this out and I'm going to stay close by until I do."

"You can't," Alex was quick to argue, pulling back so she could see Emily better. "You like traveling with the team and they need you. What about your job? What about Strauss? What if you lose your job?"

"I'm not going to lose my job Lex," Emily was quick to assure her, kissing her head again. "I talked it over with Hotch and technically I am allowed to opt out of travelling because of my pregnancy. I'm not doing fieldwork so if I stay back and work with Garcia for a while that's okay," she explained. "Besides, Hotch and the team want you to be safe too Honey."

"Okay," Alex nodded, putting her head back on Emily's shoulder. "Are you going to go to work today?"

"After I visit your school," Emily replied. "Although Mum texted me pretty early saying she thinks they've got a pretty good lead. Maybe they'll get home today. You know she really wanted to come home with me. She hated hearing you sound upset as much as I did."

"Well I get why she can't be here," Alex told her. "I miss her though. Will you tell her to call me later?"

"I don't think I will need to tell her," Emily smiled, taking a look at the time. "You should get ready for school Sweetheart," she laughed when Alex shook her head, cuddling closer. "Come on. We'll both get ready. It's going to be okay."

"Okay," Alex sighed, kissing her Mother's cheek before pulling herself out of bed. "We'll be ready in like 30," she told her before heading for the door. "I love you Mom."

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"Talk to me," Garcia answered later that day, her attention still focused on the screens in front of her, all of which were running searches for the team.

"Hey Pen," JJ's voice came through the phone. "I was just…"

"I don't have answers for you yet Sugar," Garcia interrupted before JJ could continue. "My babies are doing the best we can but you all gave me a lot to search for and very little to help me with those searches. You're going to have to give me some more time. I'm only one person and my babies can only do so much and…"

"Garcia!" JJ shouted, putting a halt to the technical analyst's rant. "I'm not calling about that," she couldn't help but laugh. "As much as I want to rush your findings I know better than to try. I was actually just checking in to see if Emily got there yet. She hasn't text me about her meeting with the school and it's starting to worry me."

"She's not here yet Buttercup but I'm sure she will be soon," Garcia was quick to assure her. "Don't stress yourself out," she said. "Besides Emily would probably want you to stay focused on the case. How are things going there?"

"We're so close Pen," JJ sighed. "We're still pretty convinced that Becca is still alive, but I don't think she has very much time. We need to find this guy," she said. "Reid thinks he can narrow down a more exact location so we had to leave him alone to do his thing."

"We'll get him Jayje, we always do," Garcia said. "We've got a picture and I'm going to find out who he is. We'll get Becca home," she said, just as Emily entered the office behind her, waving when she realized the analyst was on the phone.

"I hope you're right Pen," JJ replied, still sounding rather stressed out. "I really just wish I would hear back from Em. I'm really starting to worry about Lex."

"Alex is fine," Emily inserted herself into the conversation, puling up a chair next to Garcia.

"Em!" JJ sounded immediately relieved. "What happened? What did Dean Hackett say? Is it really not that boy?"

"Whoa Jen, slow down," Emily couldn't help but laugh. "I thought I was supposed to be the one who couldn't stop freaking out about it," she joked. "I talked to Lucas and I really don't think he's the one doing this. He was terrified talking to me at first but he opened up eventually. He actually seems like a pretty sweet kid," she sighed. "Which means we still don't know who is sending Alex these messages but Dean Hackett is going to keep an eye on her and she's going to make sure the school has an assembly about cyber bullying. She seems pretty serious about finding out who's doing this though; especially since she received a text at school."

"Well that's good then," JJ said, still sounding worried. "How's Lex?"

"I think torn between feeling bad about me coming home and relieved that I'm home," Emily replied. "She's definitely freaked out but I'm going to keep an eye on her. She wants you to call her tonight though."

"Of course I will," JJ was quick to respond. "As soon as I can."

"Good. I'll let her know," Emily smiled as Garcia gave her hand a squeeze, obviously resisting the urge to let out an excited squeal at their adorable behaviour. "Now what are we doing to find Becca? Are we any closer?"

"Well sort of," JJ sighed. "I mean it seems like we've made some developments but we need…."

"I got it!" Garcia interrupted as one of her computers made a sound. "I finally got a hit on the sketch! I've got a name!"

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It was just after 6 when Emily arrived home that evening, having called Alex to let her know that she would be late as the team had gotten a big break in the case. Alex had understood and promised to stay at the house where Jessie could keep an eye on her and Spencer.

"Babies I'm home!" Emily called when she entered the house, grinning as she heard Henry running down the hallway, giggling with excitement.

"Mommy!" Henry had a big smile on his face as he leaped into Emily's arm.

"Hello, my sweet boy!" Emily placed kisses all over the little blonde's face. "Where is your big sister huh? Where's Alex?"

"Al! Love Al!" Henry replied excitedly.

"I know you do," Emily chuckled just as Alex appeared from around the corner. "Hey, there she is!"

"Hey Mom," Alex smiled, giving the older brunette a hug around her little brother. "How'd it go with the case?"

"Ended better than we could have hoped for," Emily smiled. "We found the girl alive and we got our guy," she explained. "The team probably won't be back until tomorrow though. Your Mum is going to call as soon as she gets back to the hotel. Where's Spencer?"

"Her dad took an early day so he could take her to dinner," Alex replied. "I guess he wants to spend some time with her."

"Well that sounds nice," Emily nodded, glad to hear that Spencer's parents were paying her some attention since she spent most of her free time at their house. "And did you guys eat?"

"This little guy did," Alex tickled Henry's stomach. "I wanted to wait for you though. Jessie made this casserole that looks really good. You're lucky you got home now because I didn't think I could wait much longer."

"Well let's get you fed then," Emily laughed, placing Henry back down on the ground and following him to the dining room where Jessie was already setting up dinner just as Alex's cell phone began to ring. "That's probably Mum."

"Oh she wants to Facetime," Alex said as she grabbed her phone and accepted the call. "Hey Mu…whoa! What happened?" She asked as JJ's mud covered face appeared on the screen.

"Wow, nice look Jen," Emily laughed as she came to stand behind the teen.

"Gee thanks Em," JJ rolled her eyes. "I took a bit of a spill chasing out unsub today," she told Alex. "He obviously ran as soon as we arrived at his place so Morgan and I chased him, but there has been a lot of rain lately and his whole yard was covered in mud. I wiped out just as Morgan tackled him. Face first, right in the mud."

"Oh," Alex tried to hold her in laughter, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Are you okay though?"

"Yes, I'm fine, go ahead and laugh," JJ replied, as both brunettes burst into laughter. "Thanks guys. Where's Henry? He won't laugh at me."

"Hey Henry, come look at your silly Mama," Emily grabbed the little blonde, placing him on Alex's lap so he could see JJ on the screen. "Look Henry. Look at Mama!"

"Mama!" Henry beamed, his brow eventually furrowing as he took in the blonde's face. "Mama, messy!"

"Yes, Henry, Mama is messy," JJ couldn't help but join in the laughter. "How are you doing Lex?" She then asked, turning her attention to her daughter.

"I'm okay," Alex shrugged, turning serious. "I mean I feel better than I did but I'm still nervous about not knowing who's sending these messages. I didn't get any today though."

"Well that's a plus," JJ nodded. "And don't be nervous Sweetie. We're going to figure this out and Mom and I won't let anything happen to you," she assured her. "I'm sorry I couldn't come home with Mom. I really wanted to."

"It's okay Mum, I understand," Alex told her. "Plus you'll be home soon now right?"

"We're leaving first thing tomorrow," JJ replied. "Why don't we have the girls over at our house tomorrow night? I'd like to see everyone."

"Sure I'll ask them," Alex agreed. "But maybe they could come after dinner? I think a family dinner would be pretty nice."

"I think that sounds perfect," Emily said. "I can cook something up for us. Hotch told me not to bother going into the office, so I've got nothing but time."

"Think you can manage to cook something that won't make you nauseous?" JJ laughed.

"I will whip something up that you guys are going to love," Emily replied. "On one condition."

"Oh yeah?" JJ raised an eyebrow. "And what's that?"

"You need to shower first."