Finale Fix

BONUS PROMPT: Surprise (Buffy)

CHAPTER TEN

Ghost

A week later, things were balancing out for Emily. Contrary to what she'd originally thought, it was easy to talk to Hotch, their relationship had actually stabilized. He was still weeks from returning to the office, but that was okay. She probably should have realized it was the calm before the storm. They all should have.

There was no indication that anything was wrong until that week after Hotch had been released. Unfortunately, George Foyet's trail had gone cold in the days following the shooting, though Emily knew Derek was still being a little more paranoid than he probably had to be. It was a good thing, actually, for his ID badge showed up in the BAU that week. They'd been doing mundane paperwork, Dave and JJ both reluctant to take them on a case without the rock of Hotch behind them. Otherwise, they'd probably have been somewhere in the continental US trying to track down a different serial killer. Instead, Derek had been at his desk when the rookie came bustling in.

"SSA Morgan?"

Derek looked up, grateful for the reprieve. They all were, and it was the only explanation Emily had for her curiosity snapping into gear.

"Package."

Derek tore into it before the rookie had really even released it, then dropped the thing like it was a hot potato. "Hey!"

The kid turned, looking almost terrified. Emily probably would have been too from the tone of Derek's voice.

"Where did that come from?"

The kid shrugged. "A guy told me to give it to you."

"What guy," Emily demanded immediately, well aware that the only person who had Derek's badge, other than the new re-issued one Derek had gotten when they'd returned from Boston was George Foyet. Emily found her stomach churning painfully, subconsciously picking up the phone and hitting the first number on her speed dial.

"What did he look like? What was he wearing?" Derek shot off quickly as Reid picked up his own phone. A panic settled over all of them as they started to scramble.

"I… I don't… Remember."

"You're going to sit down with a sketch artist, and you're going to remember," Derek said, taking the kid's arm and pulling him up to the conference room. The phone on Emily's end kept ringing and ringing and she found herself almost bouncing while Reid quickly rattled off the order to lock Quantico down, period.

"Hotchner."

"Damnit," Emily hissed. "Where the hell were you? Why didn't you pick up the phone right away?"

"My phone was buried under things, Emily. I'm not moving as fast as usual," he said, reproach in his voice.

"I don't care if you were in the shower or… you answer the damned phone."

"What happened?" he asked, not bothering to pick the fight she quite obviously wanted.

Emily tried to keep herself together. "We're assigning you a protection detail. Foyet just dropped Derek's credentials off at the Bureau."

But that was just the beginning. Psychological torture was perfect, exactly Foyet's plan. He'd done it with the bullet he'd left beside Derek's unconscious body, and he was doing it again now. They'd been tripping over themselves for the better part of a weekend, trying as best they could to get ahead of Foyet's game. Still, however, they had no concrete leads and finally, Dave had ordered them all home for a break.

It was for that reason that Emily was climbing her steps just after dropping Hotch off at his own apartment. Maybe some down time with Cami was exactly what she needed before going back to the Bureau. She needed time to be just Emily. Her keys jangled in her hand as she pulled them out of her purse before stopping dead in her hallway. The door was open, just a little bit. She pulled her gun out of it's holster, dropping her bags where she stood. She poked her head in, pushing it open with just her gun.

"Cami?" she called into the dark apartment. "Honey, are you home?"

There was no answer, and Emily felt her blood run cold. No way. Cami was a smart girl. There was no way she'd let in a stranger. Not her daughter. She climbed the steps her gun still drawn, quickly checking Cami's room and listening closely for the shower. When neither of those things yielded the presence of her daughter, Emily picked up the phone.

"Benton."

Emily didn't have time for cheerful greetings. "Is Cami with you?"

Matthew paused, as if sensing the gravity of the situation. "No."

Emily swore a blue streak.

"Calm down. Did you check with your dad?"

She hadn't, and they both knew it. But that call gave no information as to her daughter's whereabouts either and Emily felt panic settle in her stomach. She was just pacing back into the kitchen, when she noticed the note:

If you stop hunting me, I'll give her back.
For as long as we both shall live.
'Til death do us part.

Emily vaguely recognized the lines. She folded it up carefully and left her apartment, calling Hotch first out of habit, before hanging up half way through the dialling process and calling Dave.

"Rossi."

Emily took a deep breath, willing herself to hold on just a little bit long. "Dave, it's Emily. Foyet's got Cami."

I know it's short, and I know it's a cliffhanger, but I had to do what I had to do. And I had to find a good way to bring Foyet back into the picture as well as keep Cami in it. At least that's how I'm justifying it in my head.

Drop me a line and let me know what you thought of it!