Thanks to everyone who has been continuing to review! I'm really enjoying writing this story so I'm so glad you guys are enjoying reading it!
This chapter isn't as happy as the last one. I kind of felt like I needed to remind myself that Alex only lost her parents like 2 weeks ago, so while she's bonding with Emily she's still grieving and struggling, so I wanted to show that here with this chapter. Also took the opportunity for a little Alex/Morgan bonding time!
I hope you like it! – J
Chapter 4
Alex was walking home from Rachel's house, having just spent a relaxing day by the pool with her best friend, returning home to eat her favourite meal with her parents, a great end to a perfect day. As she walked up the front pathway the teen felt a familiar happiness that always greeted her when she returned to her home, which held so many great memories. When she opened the front door though she immediately knew something was wrong, an eerie silence filling the house.
"Mom? Dad?" The teen called out. "I'm home! Where are you guys?"
When she walked into the family room the teen froze at the sight that greeted her there. Her parents were tied to the dining room chairs, which were placed in the middle of the room facing the teen, looks of panic across both her parents' faces.
"Oh my god!" Alex called out, attempting to move towards her parents but being stopped by a hand that pulled her back, a sharp object held to her back.
"Hello Alexandra," came the voice of Jeffery Fields, his breath hot on the back of her neck. "I've come to save you."
"No…no…I don't need saving!" The teen replied, her voice shaking, tears filling her eyes. "Please just let them go!"
"You have to choose," Fields replied, ignoring the teen's request.
"Choose?" Alex asked, confused.
"Yes, choose," Fields replied, turning Alex to face a third chair that the teen had not noticed, where Emily sat tied and gagged just like her parents.
"No! No! Please! You have to let them go!" Alex yelled, trying to get out of the man's grip.
"I said choose!"
"No! I can't! I won't! Please! Just let them go!" Alex cried, now sobbing uncontrollably.
"You have to choose, you can't have them all," Fields said, watching as the teen continued to cry, shaking her head and refusing his request. "If you won't choose then they all die," he then said, his voice eerily calm.
Suddenly Alex found herself tied to her own chair, facing her parents and Emily, watching as Fields approached the three adults.
"No! No!" Alex shouted, struggling to get out of her chair as Fields started to lift his knife, approaching her father. "NO! PLEASE! DAD! MOM! EMILY! NO!"
"You should have chosen," Fields said, his knife now covered in blood.
"NO! MOM! DAD! EMILY! PLEASE! EMILY! MOM! PLEASE! NO!"
"ALEX!" Emily yelled, desperately trying to wake the teen who was now yelling and crying, still trapped in some terrible nightmare.
"Mommy! Please! Please Emily! DAD!" She sobbed, breaking Emily's heart.
"Alex honey, wake up!" Emily said grabbing the teen by her shoulders as she shot up, her eyes wide open, but clearly not recognizing where she was.
"No! No!" Alex yelled, tears streaming down her face, looking around in panic, shaking uncontrollably.
"Alex! Alex look at me honey. Look at me," Emily said still holding onto the teen's shoulders, her eyes finally meeting brown eyes that were clouded by tears. "It's Emily. You're safe."
"Emily?" Alex asked shakily.
"I'm right here," Emily replied rubbing her hand up and down the young girl's arm as she struggled to get her breathing under control.
"He had you. He had all of you." Alex sobbed. "He said I had to choose," she cried throwing her arms around the older woman's neck, tears immediately soaking Emily's shirt.
Though Alex wasn't making complete sense, Emily got the gist of the nightmare, tears filling her own eyes at the teen's distress, rubbing her hand up and down the young girl's back.
"Oh honey," Emily said. "It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. You're safe, he can't hurt you ever again, I promise. It was just a dream," she comforted, desperately wishing she could take away Alex's pain.
Emily had been woken from her sleep by the now familiar cries of the young girl beside her, cries which soon turned to shouts. When she looked at the clock Emily saw that it was only 3am, and she knew that the teen would struggle to sleep the rest of the night, terrified by the nightmare which seemed to have changed drastically, as this was the first time she had called out for Emily in her dream.
"Just try to take a deep breath," Emily instructed, feeling the teen continue to struggle to calm down, her shaking worse than it had ever been before. "You're okay," she soothed, placing a kiss on the top of Alex's head, running her fingers through her mess of dark hair.
"Why won't it stop?" Alex sobbed, refusing to take her face away from Emily's shoulder. "Why won't they stop?"
"Oh honey, they will," Emily said, moving to lay the both of them down, not bothering to turn off the light, keeping her arms wrapped around the smaller brunette. "The dreams will stop, I promise. It's going to be okay."
"I'm scared," Alex admitted, crying harder.
"I know," Emily said, pulling the teen closer. "But I'm right here. You don't need to be scared. I'm right here."
CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM
Emily awoke the next morning surprised to find that no hand gripped her t-shirt, unsure of when she had fallen asleep or how long she had been sleeping. Her eyes still closed, the profiler reached out for Alex, her eyes snapping open when her hand met cold, empty sheets.
It had been about an hour before Alex's tears had completely subsided the night before, the teen never once removing her face from where it was buried in her birth mother's shirt. Emily had done her best to consol the young girl, offering words of comfort and stroking her hair, wishing that there was more that she could do. After she had stopped crying, Alex had lain awake, listening to Emily breathe, neither one saying a word. Emily must have fallen asleep sometime after that, exhaustion taking over.
It worried Emily that Alex was not still in bed, noticing that it was only 8:30, meaning the teen had probably gotten next to no sleep, if any at all. Not hearing any noises throughout the condo, Emily quickly got out of bed, grabbing a sweatshirt before heading for the hallway. Poking her head into Alex's new bedroom, Emily found the room empty, as well as the bathroom.
Starting to feel a bit panicked, Emily headed towards the stairs, desperately praying that the teen had not run off again.
"Alex?" Emily called out halfway down the stairs, receiving silence in return. "Alex?"
Reaching the foot of the stairs Emily was able to breathe a sigh of relief, finding Alex sitting on the couch, wearing her father's sweatshirt, her knees pulled up to her chest, staring off in a daze.
"Alex? Sweetie?" Emily called out, sitting down in front of the teen who still didn't move. "Alex," she said softly, placing a hand on Alex's knee, startling the young girl from her thoughts. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Alex answered quietly, looking up to meet Emily's eyes, her own brown orbs red from crying, dark circles surrounding them.
"Did you sleep at all?" Emily asked, tucking some of the teen's hair behind her ear.
"Not- not really," Alex replied, her voice laced with sadness, obviously trying to keep the tears at bay.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Emily asked.
"It was just a stupid dream," Alex replied, the tears in her eyes betraying her, her body shaking despite the large sweatshirt she was wearing.
"I think it's more than that," Emily said, watching as the teen shook her head, a lone tear running down her cheek. "You said last night that he made you choose?"
"He…he had all of you. You, my mom…my dad," Alex explained, tears now falling freely. "He said I had to choose…but…I…he killed all of you," she finished, a sob escaping her throat.
Her heart breaking, Emily moved closer, opening her arms and pulling the teen towards her.
"You know, that you don't ever have to choose right?" Emily soothed, holding the teen tight. "I care about you so much honey, but I would never try to replace your parents."
"I know," Alex said, resting her head on the older brunette's shoulder, tears continuing to fall. "I…I just miss them."
"I know sweetie," Emily replied, kissing Alex's head. "I know."
The pair sat in silence, Emily stroking Alex's hair, as the teen continued to sniff, completely exhausted from the night's events, her eyes beginning to drift shut.
"I think that you should talk to someone," Emily said, breaking the silence, Alex looking up at her in surprise, tears blurring her vision.
"What?" She asked, sounding panicked. "Like….like a shrink?"
"I found someone in the area, Dr. Sullivan," Emily explained softly, hoping the teen wouldn't try to pull away. "She specializes in grief counseling. I think it might help."
"But…but I don't need…I talk to you," Alex choked out, crying harder now.
"I know, honey, I know," Emily whispered, placing another kiss on the teen's head, subtly brushing away her own tears ,which were beginning to fall. "I just think that you need to talk to someone else. Just for a little while at least. I'm just worried about you."
"O-okay," Alex replied, a sob once again escaping her throat, as tears soaked through Emily's sweater.
Once again wishing there was more she could do, Emily pulled Alex closer, willing herself to keep her own emotions under control, trying desperately to be the rock that her daughter so needed right now.
CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM-CM
Later that day Emily was standing in the kitchen, pulling things out for dinner, the condo filled with silence, a drastic change from the laughter and joking that filled it the day before. Just as she settled on what she was going to cook there was a knock on the door.
Looking through the peephole Emily found Morgan standing on the other side waiting patiently. With all that had happened the night before and that morning Emily had forgotten about Morgan coming over to finish painting.
"Derek, hey," Emily greeted when she opened the door, letting the profiler into the condo.
"Hey Princess," Morgan replied, taking note of the silent condo as he walked in, noticing that Emily looked pretty beat. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I….I just forgot you were coming," Emily replied, only half lying. "It's been a long day."
"Where's your mini-me?" He asked looking around for the teen.
"She's on the computer in my office," Emily replied pointing towards the closed door. "She's had a pretty rough day."
"Ah, right," Morgan said with an understanding nod.
"Well why don't we head up," Emily said gesturing towards the stairs, figuring she would help Morgan and deal with dinner later, knowing Alex would probably claim she wasn't hungry anyways.
"No, no, I got it," Morgan replied, noticing the things Emily had pulled out for dinner. "You do your thing here, I'll see if Little Princess wants to help."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Emily replied, looking once again towards the closed office door.
"Well it's worth a try," Morgan said moving towards the door, knocking lightly before letting himself in.
"Hey kid," Morgan greeted Alex who was sitting at the desk chair, her chin resting on her knees, which were pulled up to her chest.
"Hi Derek," Alex replied, not ever looking up from the blank computer screen that she had been staring at for the better part of an hour.
"I just thought I'd see if you wanted to help me finish up your room," Morgan explained, saddened by the exhaustion he saw written all over the teen's face.
"Oh," Alex replied finally looking up and meeting the kind eyes of the man in front of her. "Yeah sure," she finally answered, getting up and following Morgan out of the office.
When she heard them exiting the office Emily looked up from where she was pouring herself a glass of wine, surprised, but relieved to see Alex following close behind Morgan. Giving Morgan a grateful smile, Emily simply nodded, watching as the pair made their way upstairs, deciding to get started on dinner.
When they reached Alex's room Morgan poured some paint into two trays, leaving one in front of one of the walls for Alex, while he moved to another. The pair began giving the room a second coat of paint, working in silence for a good 15 minutes before Morgan looked over to Alex, deciding that he should at least say something.
"You know I lost my dad when I was about your age," Morgan said, continuing to paint, keeping his eyes on his work. "He was shot right in front of me."
Alex continued to work, not daring to look towards Morgan, knowing she would surely break down again. Just when Derek thought the teen wasn't going to say anything, Alex broke her silence, still looking forward.
"How…how did you get through that?" Alex asked quietly.
"It was tough," Morgan admitted. "I got myself into a bit of trouble, but everyday it got easier."
"Did you ever have nightmares?" Alex asked.
"All the time," Morgan replied honestly. "Sometimes I still do."
"Did you…did you ever talk to anyone about it? Like a professional?" She asked looking at the profiler for the first time.
"No. I didn't," Morgan replied, meeting brown eyes that looked so much like those of his friend. "But maybe I should have. Probably would have helped."
Alex nodded, continuing to paint as she mulled this over. The pair continued to work in silence, Morgan working quicker than the small teen, eventually moving to help her on the last wall.
"You know kid, you're lucky to have Emily," Morgan said when they were finally finished just over an hour later. "I know it's tough right now, but Emily; she'd do anything for you. She just wants what's best for you," he said understanding why the teen was asking about talking to a professional.
"I know," Alex replied quietly. "Thanks Derek…for everything," she said, giving the profiler a small smile.
The pair cleaned up before making their way downstairs where Emily was just finishing up with dinner.
"Smells good down here," Morgan said as they came into the kitchen.
"You're going to stay right?" Emily asked, pulling out plates from one of the cupboards.
"Actually I'll take a rain check if that's okay with you?" Morgan said letting his eyes fall on the small brunette who was lingering near the dining room table.
"Of course," Emily replied in understanding. "Thanks for your help Derek."
"Anytime," Morgan replied with a smile. "I'll see you later kid. See you soon Princess."
"Bye Derek," Alex replied moving towards the kitchen island.
Emily followed Morgan towards the door, thanking him once again, watching him leave before closing and locking the door behind her.
"You hungry?" Emily asked moving into the kitchen.
"Yeah," Alex replied, placing Emily's wine glass onto the dining table, along with a glass for herself. "It looks really good," she said as Emily dished some pasta and chicken onto two plates.
"Could you pull the garlic bread out of the oven for me?" Emily asked as she placed the plates on the table.
Alex took the bread out, placing it in the breadbasket Emily had left out, bringing it to the table where she sat down across from Emily, placing the basket in the middle. The teen then took a big bite of her dinner, suddenly realizing that she was starving, having had refused to eat anything at lunchtime.
"This is great," Alex said, taking another bite.
"Thanks," Emily smiled, getting to work on her own plate. The two ate in silent for a few minutes, both unsure of what to say to the other.
"Emily…about earlier," Alex finally began, disliking the distance that seemed to be separating them since the conversation they had that morning. "What you said…about talking to someone. I think…maybe it would be a good idea," Alex finally spit out, looking down at her plate.
"Are you sure?" Emily asked, feeling like she may have pushed the teen too soon.
"It's worth a try right?" Alex asked.
"Right," Emily replied, both brunettes once again busying themselves with their dinner.
When they finished they both got up, cleaning up the table, and moving to put the dishes into the dishwasher.
"Emily," Alex called out, standing near one of the island stools while Emily started the dishwasher, looking up at the sound of her name. "Thank you."
"For what?" Emily asked slightly confused.
"For being here," Alex replied with a shrug.
Emily moved to the teen, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl.
"Always," Emily replied, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Always."