For some reason this one kept giving me trouble to write, but, here it is!
Disclaimer: I do not own CM
-kbrewster.
Four days. Emily hadn't seen Gabby in four days. It was the longest amount of time the two of them had ever spent apart, and Emily just knew Gabby had to be completely miserable. It was taking the police forever to try to find the other man in Gabby's drawing that had once been overlooked. It was driving Emily crazy.
Emily, Hotch, and Jack had all been staying with JJ. None of them really wanted to go back to their house just yet. In the few days they'd been here, Emily had not once left the guest bedroom she and Hotch were sharing. She wouldn't talk to anyone. How could she? She envied everyone's ability to fall asleep at night. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to her. It was nearing 2am. She heard Hotch's slow breathing beside her and knew he was asleep.
Slowly, Emily got up from the bed and sat herself down on the edge. She wrapped her arms around her middle and sat there, not knowing what to do. She didn't even realize she had started to cry until she felt two arms quickly wrap around her shoulders.
Instead of pushing him away like she had been, Emily felt herself leaning into Hotch, burying her face into his neck, letting the sobs continue to wrack her weak body. Hotch didn't shush her, he didn't tell her to calm down. He knew she needed to break down, as she'd spent much of her time trying to hold herself together. She needed this right now, and she needed him to be there for her.
"She's gone," Emily choked out. "She's gone and its all my fault,"
"No," Hotch said firmly. "This is not your fault. You did everything exactly right,"
"Then why isn't she here!" Emily said, her voice cracking.
Hotch gently pulled Emily back so they were facing eachother. He wiped away the tears that were still falling down her cheeks. "Listen to me," he said, but Emily quickly looked away. He brought a hand to her chin and gently lifted her face up to his. "Are you listening?" This time, he got a slight nod.
"You did everything you could," he said calmly.
"No I didn't! I should have never left her by herself! I should have stayed. I should have taken her out the back door and never looked back!" Emily nearly yelled, pushing Hotch's hand away and flopping back onto the bed.
Hotch laid on his side next to her, and allowed the broken woman to curl into him. He brushed her hair back as she continued to cry.
"You did exactly what I would've done had that been Jack," he told her honestly. "Your only thought was her safety, right?" Emily nodded into his chest.
"Then you did everything right," he said simply.
"Its not fair," Emily said, moving away from Hotch and sitting upright again. "Its not fair!" She repeated. "I made so sure she was safe. I promised her I wouldn't let anything happen to her!" She said loudly, too upset to care everyone else was sleeping.
"We're going to find her," he said, also sitting up. "We will. She'll be back in your arms before you know it,"
Emily sniffled a few times. "I almost lost her," she admitted in the smallest voice Hotch had ever heard her use.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"When she was born," Emily said, closing her eyes. "She was 6 weeks early," she recalled.
"Em," Hotch said when he noticed her struggling. "Its okay, she's okay. You didn't lose her,"
"She didn't cry," Emily said, balling the comforter on the bed up in her fists. "They took her from me before I even got to-got to see her. I didn't know if she was-" Emily didn't continue her story any farther, she couldn't speak anymore. She was crying too hard.
"Emily," Hotch said, instictively taking her in his arms once again. He slowly began to rock back and forth, much like he had when Jack was little and needed comfort. "She's okay," he reminded her again.
It took Emily awhile to calm herself down. But eventually, she'd stopped crying. Hotch's arms had started to go numb as he still held her in them, but he didn't care. Emily leaned up and turned her body to face him, wiping at her eyes one last time.
"I love you," she said suddenly. "Thank you," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I love you too," he replied. He hadn't expected Emily to press her lips to his, but she had. Without breaking apart, Hotch moved to lean up against the headboard of the bed with Emily straddling him. He cupped her face in his hands as she ran her fingers through his hair.
They continued for a few minutes, before Emily reached down and tugged at the end of Hotch's shirt.
"Are you sure, Em?" He asked quietly, not wanting her to regret the decision he knew she had made.
"Please," she breathed. "Should I lock the door?" She whispered, he nodded, and she removed herself from the bed and locked the door. She took her spot again, straddling Hotch's lap. He allowed her to unclothe him, and then he did the same for her.
"I love you," Emily said again, in between kisses, afraid she just couldn't say enough. He returned the phrase, brushing her hair back as they laid down together.
Emily tried to suppress her moans of delight with each roll of his hips, biting her lip the whole time.
They were both out of breath, laying in each others arms under the blankets, not bothering to get back into their clothes. Neither of them spoke, just enjoyed each other's company. Before long, Hotch noticed Emily's breathing slow. She was asleep. He knew she hadn't slept in at least four days, and even before Gabby had been taken she never slept much. He found himself slowly drifting as well, and they slept together through the rest of the night.
They woke to knocking on the door, and JJ's voice on the other side.
"Are you guys up?"
"Yeah," Hotch called back softly, not wanting to disturb Emily who was finally getting some rest.
"The police just called, they think they found Doyle's accomplice,"
"Emily," he said softly, running a hand up and down her back. "Wake up, they found him,"
Emily's eyes fluttered open. "They did?" she said, quickly sitting up, the blankets still over her body.
"They think so," he said. "Come on, let's get dressed and go out there with JJ so we can figure out what's going on,"
"Okay," she agreed, hurriedly getting out of bed and tossing on whatever clothing was closest, not caring what it was, Hotch did the same and they then opened the door, where JJ awaited them.
"They got him?" Emily asked hopefully.
"They think, but... but they can't find him,"
"What do you mean?"
"His last known residence in the area is just a few miles from here, but he wasn't there. It appeared he had been recently, his things are there. They're staking it out in hopes he'll come back," JJ informed her friends, wishing she had something more to share.
"Oh," Emily said, feeling herself lean backwards into Hotch's chest for support. Her whole body began to shake. "I'm so sick of this," she moaned. "I'll find her myself!" she said, using what strength she could muster to run back into the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her.
She refused anyone's requests to enter the room. She needed to think. She knew Doyle better than anyone, at least she had in the past. She knew how his mind worked. She could figure it out of she really thought about it. She searched for something to write on, not caring she was completely tearing up the room in the process. When she'd found some scrap paper and a pen, she quickly began scribbling down thoughts. Where would he take her? She would figure it out, and she would make it her mission to get Gabby back herself.
Gabby liked not having Doyle around the villa. Sarah was a lot nicer than he was. Gabby still hadn't been able to figure out a way to get into the study, where she was sure there would be some sort of way to contact her parents.
Earlier in the day, Sarah had mentioned that the two of them needed to go get groceries. Gabby knew she'd never be able to convince Sarah to let her stay at the villa all by herself, but maybe if she could separate herself from Sarah long enough to find someone to help her...
Gabby was devising ways to escape when Sarah knocked on Gabby's bedroom door, causing her to jump a bit.
"Are you ready, dear?" Sarah asked.
"Yes," Gabby answered, turning the knob and walking out of the room, following Sarah down the stairs, outside, and into the car.
The ride to the store was a quiet one, and it felt like it took forever for them to get into town. Once they arrived at the store, Sarah grabbed tightly onto Gabby's hand. Gabby fervently protested being sat in the shopping cart when Sarah had tried to get her to do so.
"I'm nine," she huffed. "I haven't ridden in the shopping cart since first grade. I can walk,"
"Fine, but stay close," Sarah warned, to which Gabby agreed.
Gabby waited for just the right moment, and finally the moment came when she heard Sarah say she had forgotten to pick something up a few aisles back.
"I'll go get it," Gabby volunteered.
"No, no. I can't have you running off by yourself,"
"I'll be fine," Gabby protested.
Sarah took a moment before agreeing to let Gabby pick up the forgotten item.
Gabby walked slowly to the desired aisle, making sure Sarah wasn't watching her. When she was sure she wasn't being watched, she cut across the store as far away from Sarah as she could get. She glanced around at all the people, looking for someone who had a phone out. Her eyes fell on a man standing next to the fruit, his phone in his hand. Gabby ran up to him and waited to be acknowledged.
"Hi," the man said. "Are you lost?"
Gabby wasn't sure what to say, so she just ignored the question. "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked. "To call my mom?"
"Are you here alone?"
"No," Gabby responded, growing anxious. Sarah would be looking for her soon. "I'm with my grandmother. She doesn't have a phone,"
"Okay," the man finally agreed, handing Gabby his phone. She ran off quickly and into the bathrooms so no one would hear what she had to say, she was thankful she was the only one there. She hurriedly dialed Hotch's cell phone number, grateful Emily had made her memorize it.
It rang a few times, and Gabby was scared no one was going to answer, but then she heard the unmistakable voice of her father on the other end of the line.
"Hello?" he said, sounding a bit confused.
"Daddy?" Gabby asked, trying to remain calm.
"Gabby?" he asked in disbelief. "Oh honey. Em! It's Gabby!" She heard him call.
"You're on speaker, sweetie," she heard Hotch continue. "Your mom's here too,"
"Mama? You're okay?" Gabby asked, as the last time she had seen Emily she hadn't been in a great state.
"Yes, ma chere, I'm right here," Emily replied. "I'm fine," she said. Gabby could tell she was crying, something Gabby was trying very hard not to do.
"Where are you?" Emily finally asked.
"I don't know," Gabby admitted. "There's a huge house, and Ian isn't here he's in America and we took a plane to get here and a lady named Sarah is watching me but we're in a store and I ran away and found a phone,"
"A big house?" Emily asked. "Oh my God, I know where she is!" She heard Emily exclaim. "Sweetheart, I know where you are, okay? I'm coming,"
"You promise?" Gabby asked quietly.
"I promise," Emily said.
"Okay," Gabby said. "I love you. And Daddy," she added, knowing they needed to end their phone call.
"We love you too," Emily said.
"So much, we'll see you soon, okay? Just hang in there," she heard Hotch say.
Reluctantly, they said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Gabby opened the door to the bathroom, the man who's phone she had borrowed standing outside the door, shooting her a glare.
"Um..." Gabby said, handing him back his phone. "Thanks!" she said quickly, running off to find Sarah who was surely looking for her by now. She found the older woman just a few feet away, frantically searching for Gabby and calling her name.
"I'm right here!" Gabby said, making her way over to the woman.
"Oh, Gabby," Sarah said. "Where on earth did you go? I sent you three aisles down!"
"Uh," Gabby said, buying time for yet another lie. "Bathroom," she decided on saying. That wasn't a complete lie.
"Next time, tell me. Honestly. I was worried sick!" Sarah said. "I ought to make you sit in the cart, but now there's no room,"
"You worry too much," Gabby said, skipping ahead of Sarah, who quickly caught up to her. "Can we go now?" Gabby asked.
"Yes, we're done here," Sarah said, directing them towards the check out lines.
As they paid for the groceries, put them in the car, and made their way back to the villa, Gabby found herself feeling happy for the first time since she'd been here. Her parents knew where she was, and she was well on her way to going home.