Hopefully you guys like this chapter : )

Disclaimer: I do not own CM

-kbrewster.

Emily spent the rest of the day locked in the guest bedroom, unwilling to let anyone inside. After their conversation with Gabby, Hotch had immediately informed the police. Emily grew frustrated when they were told that since she was out of the country, they would need to wait to hear back from officials in Italy.

This pissed Emily off. She was tired of waiting. She was tired of being told to let the professionals handle it. She was tired of being told to calm down. She knew where Gabby was, and she knew she wouldn't get her back any time soon if she continued waiting.

So, she spent the day locked away in the guest bedroom. She wouldn't even let Hotch in, because even he was agreeing to wait. She was angry with him, even though she knew deep down he was being rational. She just couldn't understand how he could keep such a level head. She was confused and upset, and all she wanted to do was go get her daughter back.

While she was alone, she took it upon herself to book a flight to Italy. She was going to leave in the middle of the night, to avoid any protests Hotch and JJ would give her. She knew they'd never agree to letting her go alone, and she doubted they would willingly come with her. Not when the professionals were taking over. Emily rolled her eyes at the thought. They used to be the professionals, didn't they? Why were they so hell-bent on sitting back and letting someone else handle it?

She shook her head, quietly packing the smallest bag she could find, shoving it under the bed. She would leave as soon as she was sure the household was asleep. Maybe she wasn't thinking clearly, maybe this wasn't the best idea Emily had ever had, but she didn't care. She was going to get Gabby back on her own terms, no matter what she had to do.

Emily groaned slightly when she heard a light knock on the door.

"Em?" she heard JJ's familiar voice ask.

"Yeah?" Emily acknowledged.

"Can you come out now? You've been in here all afternoon. I made dinner," she tried coaxing.

"I'm not hungry," Emily said coldly.

"No one is, Emily. But you need to take care of yourself," JJ said softly.

"I'm fine in here, thanks anyway," Emily said, hoping that would make JJ go away. She knew JJ was just trying to help, but she didn't want help.

"Will you let me in anyway?" JJ asked quietly. Emily couldn't ignore the request, even though she really wanted to. She twisted the doorknob, allowing the blonde inside, quickly locking the door behind her so no one else would come in.

Emily sat on the bed, not sure what to do or say. She brought a fingernail to her mouth and started biting, though there were no nails left to bite.

"Hey," JJ said softly, sitting down next to Emily. "It's gonna be okay. You figured out where she is when she called, she'll be back here before you know it," she said, putting an arm around her clearly broken friend.

"I'll be better when she's here," Emily said simply, not giving away any hint of what she was planning to do that night. She was going to get Gabby back, regardless of what anyone told her, and she didn't want to hear their protests and reasons why she shouldn't.

"I know," JJ half-smiled. "But come on, come downstairs with everyone," she tried again, but Emily shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she told the blonde quietly. "I just shouldn't be around people right now,"

"Okay, if you're sure. If you decide you want to come down you're more than welcome," JJ replied, lightly patting Emily's knee before standing up and heading over to the door.

"Thanks," Emily said, her voice barely above a whisper, and then JJ was gone. Emily was alone again, thankfully. She loved everyone that would be gathering downstairs momentarily, but she just wanted to be by herself, think of her plans, get into Doyle's head as best she could before she got to Italy. She wouldn't let Doyle get away with his plans this time.

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Emily waited until she was sure Hotch was sound asleep. When he started to snore lightly, she knew her getting out of bed wouldn't disturb him. She moved slowly, getting out of bed and reaching down to pick up the small bag she packed. She tip-toed down the stairs, remembering to turn off the alarm system and resetting it as she made her way out the front door. She had the keys to Hotch's car, and she hurriedly got in and started the vehicle, taking her desired path to the airport. She knew once Hotch and JJ figured out she was missing, along with his car, it would only be a matter of time before they figured out just where she had gone to. But by then, Emily assumed she would have Gabby with her and would already be making her way back home.

Bringing the car to a stop in the airport parking lot, she got her bag out of the car and proceeded to go inside, annoyed that despite the late hour, everything seemed to be taking twice as long as it should have taken. Finally, she had boarded her plane and was impatiently waiting for it to take off.

It felt like it took years, but finally Emily's last plane had landed at the desired location. She practically flew out of her seat, down the aisle, and off the plane. It was nearing mid-day in Italy by the time she had arrived. As she made her way through town in a rental car, she found herself feeling extra paranoid, scanning everyone she passed, making sure none of them were Ian or Gabby.

It had been eighteen years since Emily had been to the villa, so it took her much longer than she had anticipated to finally locate it. The magnificent house was much more secluded than she remembered it being. Along the way, Emily had picked up some cleaning supplies, prepared to disguise herself as a housekeeper. She wasn't exactly sure how the plan would play out, as she wasn't sure if Doyle was back yet, but she needed some way in. She recalled years ago the many different housekeepers that had often stopped by to help Louise with Declan. She just hoped her plan worked long enough to get her inside so she could find Gabby.

She pulled into the drive, thankful that the gates were open. She parked the car, and looked at herself in the mirror. She pulled her hair back with a hair tie, and put on some sunglasses. It wasn't a fool-proof disguise, she knew that. However, she had her heart set on Doyle still being gone and only having to face the woman Gabby had mentioned during her phone call. Emily grabbed the supplies she had picked up and walked up to the door. Taking a breath, she rang the doorbell, hearing the familiar sound from the other side of the door.

A woman appeared on the other side, staring at Emily intently. It had to be the woman that Gabby had talked about. It took every ounce of Emily's willpower to not bolt past the woman and run inside in search of her daughter. Instead, she kept her composure, acting as normal as possible.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, crossing her arms.

"My name is Bianca," Emily lied smoothly. "I'm supposed to help clean the house," she said in her best Italian accent, thankful more than ever for her extensive knowledge of languages and accents.

"No one told me you were to come," the woman told her.

"Ian Doyle asked me to come specifically," Emily lied again. It seemed to work, because the woman's expression seemed to soften, and she stepped back away from the doorframe.

"At this hour?" the woman asked skeptically; it was nearing sunset.

Emily thought for a second. "I'm a bit late, I apologize. I supposed I could return tomorrow," she said, preparing to turn around and go back to the car. She nearly sighed in relief when the woman said:

"No, no, you've already come all this way. If Ian specifically asked for you, then by all means do come inside. I'm Sarah by the way,"

Emily smiled, this time she wasn't acting for a part, she was so happy her plan was working. She followed Sarah inside, anxious to look around for Gabby. Sarah led Emily up the stairs into a seemingly unoccupied bedroom. One Emily was all too familiar with. This room had at one point belonged to Declan. It had since been redecorated, but Emily would always remember his room being the third door on the left.

"You can stay here, if you wish," Sarah told her. Emily nodded in response.

"Thank you," she said.

"You can start tomorrow," Sarah told her. "For now, I'm going to finish making dinner,"

"Would you like any help?" Emily asked, crossing her fingers mentally that Sarah would say no, and she did. Emily tried not to look too happy about it.

Sarah turned and walked out of the room, leaving Emily alone in the bedroom. She hadn't looked around too much on her way in, but to her it seemed the basic layout of the villa was the same. There had always been an inordinate amount of bedrooms, they were never all occupied at once. Emily sat her belongings at the foot of the bed, listening intently for the sounds of Sarah continuing her cooking in the kitchen as she took her sunglasses off and let her hair down. When she heard a few pans clatter together, she took that as her opportunity to start looking for Gabby.

She assumed Gabby had her own room. If Sarah had let Gabby accompany her to the grocery store, it didn't seem likely she was locked away somewhere; like Emily had been in the warehouse all those years ago. Emily began searching the rooms upstairs, easily remembering what each room had been in the past.

When she came to a door that was slightly ajar, something told her this had to be the room. She slowly pushed the door open the rest of the way, revealing a bedroom. In the middle of the room there was a bed, with a perfect Gabby-sized lump in the middle. Emily didn't want to startle her, in case she was asleep, but as the door creaked when Emily closed the door behind her, Gabby's head popped out of the blankets, and when she saw Emily her eyes widened.

"Mama!" Gabby said excitedly, but not loudly enough for Sarah to have heard.

The girl practically rolled out of the bed, tripping a little as she ran into Emily's awaiting arms, nearly knocking both of them down in the process.

"You came!" Gabby said happily. "You found me!"

"Of course I did, ma chere. I told you I would," Emily said, her voice cracking as she tightened her grip on Gabby, afraid if she let go she'd lose her again. Emily swiftly picked Gabby up, and sat on the bed with her in her lap, hugging Gabby close to her.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked softly. "Nobody hurt you did they?"

"No," Gabby told her. "Sarah's nice. She always makes me food and she lets me help her in the garden sometimes. And she brought me books. Ian is scary. He's still gone, though. I just missed you,"

"I missed you too," Emily said.

"Can we go home now?" Gabby asked quietly.

"Tonight," Emily replied. "We'll leave tonight when Sarah's asleep. By tomorrow, we'll be back where we belong, okay?"

"Okay," Gabby said. Though it was nearing nighttime already, they both felt as if the rest of the day would drag on forever.