DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds.
It was 9:30 in the morning, San Francisco time, when they landed As the team made their way down the steps of the jet they were met on the tarmac by a tall, lean man wearing the traditional FBI garb of a black suit. JJ reached out and shook his hand. "Agent Dan Morrissey," he said, "Welcome to San Fran." JJ smiled, "Hey Dan, how are you?" she asked. Morrissey smiled, before looking around the group. "These are SSA's Hotchner, Rossi, Morgan, and Dr. Spencer Reid," she said, gesturing to the guys. Morrissey shook their hands and smiled. "Why don't we get you back to the office before we get down to business," he said, leading them to the two SUV's waiting for them. They climbed in for the drive up the Bayshore Freeway, JJ, Hotch and Reid in one car, Rossi and Morgan in the other.
As they made their way through the streets JJ turned to Morrissey. "So have you called Emily? Does she know we're coming?" she asked, excited at the prospect of seeing her friend. Dan shook his head. "I'll call her when we get back to the office. She's on leave at the moment," he explained. JJ frowned. "What do you mean? Emily and Peter only take holidays at Christmas," she asked. Dan glanced over before returning his gaze to the road. "It's not really a holiday," he started before clearing his throat, "You should probably wait until you talk to Agent Prentiss. It's not my place," he said quickly. Hotch frowned, wondering what was going on. What was Emily not telling them? What was wrong with her? How could she not tell JJ… of all people? And why was Morrissey calling her Prentiss? All of these questions filled Hotch's head.
Twenty-five minutes later they arrived at the FBI office on Golden Gate Avenue. Morrissey pulled the first SUV up into the car park, soon followed by Morgan driving the second car. They quickly grabbed their bags and made their way up to the seventh floor. Morrissey led them through the doors to the offices that would be their home for the duration of the case. "I know this room isn't ideal but it's all we've got at the moment. There's your whiteboard and table. Coffee's down the hall but if you want the good stuff, check with Emily. She can let you in on the San Fran secrets," he said. JJ nodded and thanked him.
Hotch cleared his throat. "Do you think someone could take Agents Jareau, Rossi and myself to the Jacobs' house? We need to talk to the parents as soon as possible," Hotch asked. Morrissey nodded. "Sure. I'll take you there myself," he said. Hotch nodded and turned to the others. "Reid, start working out a geographical profile. See if there are any similarities between the house locations and any possible kidnap locations. Morgan, work on victimology. If we find a similarity between victims, work with Garcia and figure out if there are any preferential offenders that fit the bill. That'll give us a starting point." The others nodded and JJ, Rossi, and Hotch got ready to leave. Hotch was just hoping to put off the reunion with Emily for as long as possible.
"Wow, this is really interesting. Each of the families live in virtual dead-zones for telephone and internet reception," Reid said, colouring in the lines of his map. Morgan looked up and nodded. He paused as he looked at the photos of the four children, the three who had been murdered, and Samuel, the latest child to go missing. He couldn't quite put a finger on it, but something was bothering him as he looked at the photos.
"Hey! Is it time for a break yet?" she said as she walked through the door to the conference room. "Emily!" Reid cried out, quickly walking over to his friend. Emily laughed as he hugged her. Morgan jumped up from his seat. "Hey girl! How you going?" he asked. Emily smiled and patted his back as they hugged. "I'm good. How are you? And seriously, do you want to take a break? I know where California keeps the good coffee," she joked. Morgan shook his head as he stood back to take her in. "As much as we'd love a break, we've got three kids murdered and one more to find before it's too late," he said, noticing how her face fell. Emily nodded. "Alright. So, what've we got?" she asked. When she noticed the incredulous look Morgan gave her, she sighed. "Ok, so I'm on leave. But I'm still a trained behavioural analyst so… c'mon. Let me make sure I haven't gotten rusty," she joked. Morgan nodded and informed her of the details of the case.
"Emily! You're here!" JJ said, bursting through the door an hour later. Emily jumped up from her seat to watch the other three members of the BAU walk through the door with Dan. She nodded, standing up and hugging her friend. "How are you honey?" Rossi asked, pulling her tight. Emily smiled at Dan and nodded before turning back to Dave. "I'm doing alright. How are you?" she asked. Hotch cleared his throat and Emily looked at him and smiled.
"Sorry. I'll go so you can get back to work. I should probably save Emma from Abs," Emily said, glancing at Hotch and frowning. Right on cue, a strange looking woman, dressed in a bright blue dress walked through the door carrying a little girl, her dark curls and pale skin confirming Hotch's suspicions. "Mommy, Emma was starting to miss you," Abby said, handing the little fourteen month-old to Emily. Hotch couldn't help the smile from twitching at the corners of his mouth as Emily took her daughter in her arms, the tiny girl burying her face in her mom's neck. Unmistakable. The little girl was the miniature version of the woman he loved. Hotch shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. Apparently he hadn't stopped loving her. Well, that's not good, he thought to himself.
"Alright. I guess I'd better get this one home for her nap," Emily started, "Give me a call when you guys are free and I'll take you out for dinner… my treat," she said. The others said goodbye before turning back to the job at hand She snapped her fingers when she remembered. "Dan, can you tell Pip that I won't be able to make it Friday? I've gotta take Emma to the doctor," she explained. Dan nodded. "Will do. I'll get her to call you," he said. Emily nodded, glancing at Hotch before she left.
JJ told the guys she'd be back in a second and chased her friend down the hall towards the elevators. "Emily," she called out. Emily turned and smiled. "What's up Jayje?" she asked. JJ took a deep breath. "Dan said something in the car so I just wanted to check," she started. Emily nodded for her to continue. "Is everything alright? He said you were on leave, but not on holidays. What did he mean?" she asked. Emily took a deep breath and looked at Emma. "I… I want to talk to you about this, but you've got a job to do. And I'd rather not distract you from the case. But I promise, when this is over, you and I… we'll talk," she explained. JJ nodded and smiled. "Alright. So long as we do cause Em, even though I only get to see you a couple of times a year, you're still my sister," she said, pulling her into a hug. Emily let a single tear drop from her eye before she reached up to wipe it away. JJ turned and gave Emma a kiss. "I'll see you later too baby girl." Emma smiled and looked up at her mom.
Emily watched as JJ turned and walked back to the conference room. As she walked in and joined in on the conversation, Emily's heart began to ache: For that which she had given up, for that which she had sacrificed. And while she had Emma now, she still regretted leaving the BAU, leaving the job she loved, leaving the people she adored. The elevator dinged, breaking her out of her reverie. "Let's go home hey?" she said quietly, turning to her daughter. Emma laughed and nodded. With that laugh Emily was filled with even more love for her little girl: The only good thing that had come out of her decision two years ago; The one thing… person, in her life that she would never regret. "If only I could say that about your daddy," Emily said to herself.
The case had just wrapped and Emily kept her promise to JJ. Hotch had told the team they would stay an extra day so the others could catch up with Emily, before they returned home. JJ had called Garcia and she'd had Kevin drop her at the airport. She was due to arrive later that afternoon, not wanting to miss the chance to catch up with her friend.
As she rocked the stroller with her foot Emily looked at her friend. "Peter left," she said. JJ's jaw dropped but she quickly picked it up, hoping her shock didn't hurt her friend. Emily smiled. "It's ok. It's been a few months," Emily assured her. "What do you mean he left?" JJ asked. Emily shrugged her shoulders. "It was January. I came home from working on a case for three days straight. It was a Wednesday," she paused, "Emma was at daycare so I was hoping to surprise Peter with an afternoon…" Emily cleared her throat and JJ nodded. "Well, anyway… when I got home I found a note on my desk in the study. Peter said that he was sick of never coming first in my life, how my job was always more important than him and then came Emma." Emily left out the part where Peter said that the team was her real family and, no matter how hard he tried, he and Emma could never compete with them. JJ put her hand on her friends. "Emily, I'm so sorry," she said quietly. Emily shook away the tears. "It's ok… really. I just… I've taken the last three months off to try and figure out what I want and what I want for Emma," Emily explained. They spent a couple of hours talking before they said goodbye. Emily was having the team around for dinner that night and had to get everything ready.
JJ arrived back at the hotel and made her way up to her room. She was walking out of the elevator when she ran into Rossi and Hotch. "Hey, how was coffee?" Rossi asked. JJ raised her eyebrows. "Uh… interesting," she replied. Rossi put his arm on her shoulder. "Is everything alright?" he asked. Hotch frowned and looked at JJ. She looked at Rossi, then Hotch, then back to Rossi. "It's Em's news. She'll tell you when she's ready. You guys going out for a bit?" she asked. Hotch nodded. "Yeah, I've gotta go find a present for Jack. I figure since I won't be home tonight…" his voice trailed off and JJ smiled and nodded. "Alright. I'll see you guys later. Meeting at 5?" she asked. Hotch nodded and the guys watched as she walked down the hall towards her room. Rossi shrugged his shoulders and looked over at Hotch. "Wonder what it is," he pondered aloud. Hotch cleared his throat and turned. He shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the elevators.
A/N: So next up: the big reveal. And some nice team moments.