Emily looked in horror and dismay as Ian died in front of her. His hand slipped from Declan's and he was gone. Standing, she hugged Declan, pulling him away from Ian's body.
"Declan, I need you to stay with Agent Jareau over here for a minute, okay?"
He simply nodded, body shaking in fear and loss. Taking a deep breath, she walked purposefully over to where Hotch stood.
"Hotch." She said loudly over the chaos and airplane noise.
"Yeah? Are you okay, Emily?" He asked.
"I want his body."
"Excuse me?" he asked in bewilderment.
"I want Ian's body." She repeated.
"Prentiss—"
"When CSU and the coroner are done with the autopsy, I want Ian's body released to me." She said firmly. She'd only thought about this in he last minute and a half, but in her heart she knew it was what she wanted. What was best for Declan. Ian, no matter the horrible things he'd done, deserved his plot in the ground, a decent burial like anybody else. Declan deserved to have the memory of the father he once knew, not the nightmare that father had grown to be.
"Emily, are you crazy? I don't think this is a good idea." Hotch said, shaking his head.
"Well, I'm sorry Aaron, but this really isn't about you." She said looking away. This wasn't for her. Or him, or anyone else for that matter.
"I don't follow," he said inquisitively.
"Of course you don't. Okay, I'm only gonna say this once. That little boy over there, see him? He remembers a father. His hero, the man who gave him everything he ever wanted. He doesn't deserve to remember this horrible night, the man who killed innocent people because of what I did, he deserves peace. So does Ian." She looked down at her shoes. Quietly she added, "All he ever wanted was that little boy, and now he's gone." She squeezed her eyes shut fighting back tears.
"Emily, the man is a criminal. I know you had a fake relationship with him, but—"
"I was going to marry him." She said sharply, as if to warn him not to belittle her emotions.
"Yeah, Prentiss, but… It was all a lie, a part of your case. Not reality. You would have never gone through with it. It wasn't real!" Hotch argued.
Emily turned to look him dead in the eyes, with a look that could shatter glass. "It was real to me!"
Emily sat in front of the little headstone, it read simply, "Ian Doyle, In loving Memory. Rest in Peace."
She let a small tear escape her eye as she felt the sunlight hit her face, the wind that gently blew her dark hair around, and she knew Ian was there with her, and in the peaceful silence she whispered…
"It was real to me."