I ended up writing most of this while I was in the car this weekend, since I spent quite a bit of time there. Thanks everyone for your continued interest and motivation for this story! :)
-kbrewster.
When Hotch had gotten the phone call about JJ, he could swear he felt his heart stop. JJ had been taken to the hospital after being knocked unconscious by a head on collision. Emily and Gabby were nowhere to be found. As soon as he was told the back seat belts had been cut, he knew this was Ian Doyle's doing.
He had dropped Will and Henry off at the hospital, and waited with them until they heard anything about JJ. They were told that she was fine, she just had a concussion but that she would be okay and back to normal in a few days. He was thankful JJ was going to be okay, he couldn't imagine anything ever happening to her. JJ was supposed to be kept until the next morning, and she sent Will and Henry home to rest. Hotch dropped them both off back at their house, then he left to clear his head, giving the two of them time alone.
He had sent Jack to Jessica's, unwilling to let his son be alone despite his age. Then, he let himself break down. He went back to his house, since it had been cleared for being used for evidence, but no one had been back yet. He went inside, slowly walking up the stairs into Gabby's room. He looked around, growing angrier and and angrier each second that neither Gabby nor Emily would be home that night. He allowed himself to cry, something he had tried not to do, especially around Emily. He sank to the floor, leaning his back against the wall, crying into his hands.
When he decided he couldn't cry anymore, he rose to his feet. He was still angry. He was sick and tired of Doyle hurting the people he loved the most. He went out into the hall and paced back and forth, but it did nothing to calm him. He became so frustrated, he punched the wall, putting a hole right in it. He winced a little at the pain from the impact, pulling his hand toward him, noting the slightly skinned knuckles. He waved it off, not caring enough to do anything about it. Then, he did the only thing he could think to do.
He called Derek Morgan. He was taken aback when he answered, since he had not been answering his calls lately.
"Morgan?" He asked.
"Hotch?"
"Yeah."
"What is it?" Morgan asked, hearing the sadness and desperation in his voice.
"He's got them, both of them. I don't know where Emily and Gabby are. Please, Morgan. We need you on this case." Hotch practically begged.
"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, sounding concerned.
Hotch went into detail, describing everything from the first incident at the Aquarium, to Gabby's kidnapping, to the accident.
Morgan said he would do whatever it took to help. He hoped to be there by the next day. Hotch was eternally grateful for Morgan's sudden change of heart.
"Thank you," Hotch said sincerely. "I need them back,"
"I'll do whatever I can to do that for you. I'm sorry I basically shut you out before. It was just... a lot to handle,"
"I know. I'm sorry too,"
"Don't be. Thanks for keeping her alive," Morgan said softly.
"I'll see you soon," Hotch said, not knowing what else to say.
"I'll keep in touch," Morgan promised, as the two of them ended their call. Hotch spent the rest of the night talking to local police, hoping to get them to invite Morgan's team on the case. He would stop at nothing, he wouldn't accept no for an answer. He would get Emily and Gabby back no matter what.
_._._._._._._._._._._._.
Emily, Gabby, Ian, and Paul were still driving. Emily knew they were headed North. They seemed to be on the road to Boston. Of course, she thought to herself. Where else would they be going? They had been driving for almost two hours, and Emily had only just gotten Gabby to calm down a few minutes ago. The younger brunette had stopped crying, but was leaning into Emily and hadn't spoken a word yet.
"We're going to Boston," Emily said as a statement, not a question.
"Yes," Ian confirmed.
"Why?" Emily asked.
"We're going to end this where it all started, that's all I'll say. Now, quiet, love, we still have a long drive ahead,"
Emily rolled her eyes, but bit her tongue, preventing herself from saying something that might set Ian off. She refused to do anything that put Gabby's safety in jeopardy.
"How did you find us?" Emily asked. "You were supposed to be back at the villa in an hour,"
"I was. Got held up here, though. I had someone watching the house. They saw you leave, they contacted me, and then I found you. Not that hard, really,"
"There are other ways to do this, you know. You want to get back at me for doing my job? Fine. But you don't have to bring my daughter into it. None of this is her fault. Let her go home, and take me with you instead," she tried, knowing that it would get her nowhere, but she was desperate to get Gabby to safety.
"We've been over this, Love. You took Declan from me. I tried taking her from you, but you seemed to have other plans. So now, I'm taking you both," he explained. Emily had never wanted to punch him in the face more than she did in that moment. Instead of continuing the argument, she sat back in the seat, defeated in her attempts for now.
They drove in silence for another hour, and if they were really driving the whole way, they still had hours to go. Emily knew it was at least an 8 hour drive to Boston from DC. Gabby was growing more restless by the minute.
"Ian," Emily said quietly.
"What, Love?" Emily wished he would stop calling her that.
"It's getting late, why don't we stop somewhere for the night?" She asked.
She heard him chuckle lowly. "Are you crazy?" He asked, turning in his seat to look at them. "We'll surely get caught if we do that."
"No we won't. Gabby's getting restless. She had to sit on the plane the whole flight from Italy, anow now we're apparently driving the whole way to Boston. You need to at least stop somewhere, so I can get her some food, and some things to keep her entertained for the rest of the trip," she told him.
"I don't need to do anything. Besides, I haven't heard her complain once,"
"In case you haven't noticed, you've scared her. So badly, she hasn't said a word in hours. Now are you going to listen to me, or not?" Emily pressed. Even though Gabby had been calmer for awhile now, she hadn't been still yet. She had been picking her nails, kicking her legs back and forth, playing with the hem of Emily's jacket, or switching her position from leaning up against the window to leaning against Emily, constantly for the past hour. Emily knew it was because of all the traveling and that she was growing bored.
Ian sighed, staring at Emily for a long moment, before dropping his eyes to Gabby.
"I suppose we need to switch cars anyway, can't risk someone having seen the plates. Paul, drop us off at whatever store you find open, then get another car and come pick us back up," he instructed and Paul agreed.
A few minutes later, Paul had dropped the three of them off at a Wal-Mart. Emily got out of the car, followed by Gabby. Emily grabbed Gabby's hand and held it tightly. Then, she felt Ian grab onto her arm.
"You try anything, I'll leave you here and take the girl with me. I'll make sure you never see her again. Understood?" He said into her ear, just loud enough for her to hear.
"I'm not going to, Ian," Emily said, backing away from him and taking the lead into the store. Before he could say anything else, she led Gabby into the bathrooms, knowing it was the one place Ian wouldn't follow them. She looked around, considering trying to find a way to sneak the both of them out without Ian's knowledge, but she didn't. She wouldn't risk getting caught and possibly having herself separated from Gabby again. And if she was being completely honest, she was sick of running away.
After Gabby had washed her hands, Emily bent down to be eye level with her. Emily could see how scared she was, even if she hadn't voiced it yet. Emily had always been able to tell how much like Hotch their daughter was. She could practically recall every moment in which she compared her actions or her features to his. However, now, she realized how much of herself she saw in Gabby, too. She recognized the look on her face, and noticed the way Gabby's eyes mirrored her own when she was upset or worried.
"It's okay," Emily said calmly, allowing herself to smile at Gabby. "We're together this time, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Your Daddy's most likely already looking for us,"
Gabby nodded, but still said nothing.
Emily reached out and cupped Gabby's face with her hand. "I know you're not a big fan of talking about stuff, I never have been either," Gabby seemed to perk up at this.
"Really?" Gabby asked, her voice just above a whisper.
"Really," Emily confirmed. "I hated talking about stuff that was bothering me when I was younger. But I learned the hard way that it's okay to trust people, and it's okay to talk about things with them," Emily explained. "That's why when I can tell you're upset about something, I make you talk to me, even if you say you don't want to,"
"Oh," Gabby said. "I didn't know you kept stuff from people too,"
"I used to. I still do, sometimes. But you know you can always tell me anything, right?" Emily asked.
"I know. That's why I always tell you even if sometimes you're annoying," Gabby said quietly. Emily had to laugh at that. She hugged Gabby, keeping her arms wrapped around her when the embrace ended.
"Do you wanna ask me anything while we're here by ourselves?"
Gabby thought for a moment before finally asking, "Why are we going to Boston?"
"That's- that's where Ian and I me for the first time..." Emily settled on saying.
"But why is he taking us there now? What is he going to do?"
Emily sighed."I don't know, Gabby. But someone will find us. And I won't let him hurt you,"
"What if he hurts you again?" Gabby asked quietly.
"Whatever happens, we'll get back home where we belong," Emily told her. She couldn't promise Ian wouldn't try to hurt her again. In fact, she was almost counting on it. Last time they had been in Boston, Ian had nearly killed her. Of course, she wouldn't let that happen this time.
"Anything else?" Emily asked after a few moments of silence.
"I don't wanna get back in the car," Gabby complained, sounding a little more like herself. "It's no fun and it makes me feel sick,"
"I know, I'm sorry. But, actually, you probably don't feel good because you haven't eaten anything in awhile," Emily reminded her.
"No, it's because I want to go home," Gabby insisted. Emily gave her a small smile, moving to stand behind Gabby and take the elastic out of her hair, fixing the pony tail that had fallen down.
"Tell you what, we'll get you something while we're here, and if you still get sick, aim for Ian's shoes," Emily joked, causing Gabby to actually laugh a little.
"Deal," Gabby agreed.
Emily took Gabby's hand, then led Gabby out of the bathroom, where Ian was waiting for them nearby.
"Took you long enough," he said impatiently.
Emily rolled her eyes. "You'll be okay. Now come on, I'm going to buy some snacks for Gabby and some things for her to do the rest of the ride, since you insist on driving the whole way,"
She saw him start to protest, but then he stopped, and motioned for her to walk in front of him. Emily led Ian around the store, purposefully walking slower than normal, mostly to give Gabby more time to be out of the car, but if she was being honest, she was also doing it just to annoy Ian.
"Okay, we need to leave now," Ian said quietly, after they had checked out.
"You good now, Gabby?" Emily asked. Gabby nodded, so the three of them went outside and found Paul, who had since gotten a different car. Instead of a black SUV, he had some sort of sports car. Great, so they'd be even more cramped than they already were. Gabby got into the car, and Emily got in next to her. They still had hours to go, and Emily wished she and Gabby would be able to sleep, but she knew neither of them would be getting much tonight.