A/N: Oh my gosh, thank god I'm back. Hopefully, I will be updating more frequently for the next couple of weeks!

I do not own Criminal Minds!

Chapter 11

She used her keys and opened the door. She immediately felt the warmth of her apartment. She felt almost like the frost on her skin was melting. As she walked further into the apartment, she was met by her girlfriend, with a concerned frown on her face.

"Bloody hell, Em? What happened to you? You're freezing!" Remi took Emily's wet jacket off and held her hand as the profiler darted her eyes away from her girlfriend. She brought her to the couch and wrapped a blanket around her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Emily didn't know how to reply. She wanted to tell Remi everything. She wanted to be open with her. She wanted to be better than she had been. She opened her mouth and whispered, "I walked home. Hard day."

"Oh," Remi said and kissed Emily's cheek. "I'm sorry, darling. But I have good news to cheer you up!"

Emily frowned. She wanted to tell Remi the rest, but it was obvious to her that Remi's mind was on something very different. "What is it?"

"After I ate at that Mongolian restaurant that you don't like with Jordan, I got a call from the foster agency. A family wants to adopt Maia!"

The profiler felt a wave of nausea and she ran to the bathroom. After a few minutes, her whole stomach was empty. She flinched away from her girlfriend's touch.

"Em… is it the news…?"

The ambassador's daughter didn't know how to reply. She apparently saw the news as everything but good. She lied and shook her head. "I don't feel well. I'm going to go to bed. I just need to go to bed."

"Oh," Remi said again, not knowing how to help her girlfriend. "Okay. I'll help you to bed."

"No!" Emily almost yelled. She lowered her voice and said, "I mean, I'm good. I'm just going to go." She got up from the bathroom floor and took off her shoes.

She walked to the bed and took some sleeping pills. And then took some more. She crawled under the warm covers and in the back of her mind, she hoped that she never had to get out of the sheets. She wanted to go to sleep and never wake up to this nightmare.

Emily threw the rocks at Matthew's window and waited for him to open it. After a few seconds, he opened it, looking agitated.

"What the hell, Em? It's 3:00 A.M. and my parents are going to kill me if they find out that you're here." She didn't reply. He waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. And when they did, he saw that Emily wasn't okay. Her face was red and her cheeks looked wet. He was officially concerned. He had never seen Emily cry. "Move. I'm coming out."

After Emily got out of his way, Matthew hopped out of his window. He walked up to Emily and noticed right away the smell of cigarettes and liquor. But this wasn't a new scent for her. He didn't even flinch. He took her hand and led her to a bench a few blocks away. They sat down in silence.

"I'm pregnant," Emily whispered as soft as the wind in their hair. She let the tears flow down her cheeks. She wasn't even afraid for him to see her this way.

Matthew was speechless. He felt empathy for her. Then sadness. Then anger and frustration. "John…"

"Doesn't want anything to do with me," Emily told him, her voice shaking.

Matthew's fists curled up into a ball of madness. "He's an idiot, Em. He'll see. We'll show him that he's being stupid."

She shook her head slowly, her lips quivering. "I don't- It's my fault. He doesn't want anything to do with my mistake."

"Your mistake? Em, you both did this! It isn't just your fault."

Emily ignored his comment and said, "I can't tell my mom. She hates me enough already. I- I don't have anybody. I'm so scared."

He gaped at her. He had never, ever, heard Emily Prentiss say that she was scared. He wrapped his arms around her and murmured in her ear, "I'm here. I'm here for you. You have me. It'll all be okay."

"Daddy, I don't want you to go," Emily whined as her six-year-old arms wrapped around her father's legs.

Elijah Prentiss crouched down on his knees and said, "I'll only be gone for a few months, Emmy. I'll be home in no time at all."

Emily let a tear fall down, but her dad wiped it away, showing her a big smile. "I don't want to be alone with mom."

He nodded as if he understood her worries. "I know. But it will only be a little while. And then I'll be back and we can have fun together again, okay? Daddy needs to go. But he will be back soon."

The small girl threw her hands around the man's neck and cried into his shoulder. "Please don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry, love," He said and gently pulled her away from him. "I have to go. But here, look." He tugged a small bear out of his coat pocket and held it in front of her. "This is… uh… Terrance. He will be there for you when I'm not. He will love you and protect you just like I do. So whenever you miss me, just hold him." He passed her the teddy bear.

She held the soft stuffed animal with kind eyes and then she squeezed it, loving the gift her father gave her. She looked up at her daddy's eyes and found them to look sad. She smiled at him and said, "I'm going to give you something, too!" She turned around in her room and remembered the bracelet she had made only a few days ago. She picked it up and brought it to her old man. She tied it across his wrist. "There, daddy. Now you can remember me, too."

He smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Emmy."

"I love you, too, daddy."

He got up and walked away. Emily sneakily followed him and heard him talk to her mother.

"Are you all packed?" Elizabeth Prentiss asked.

"Please don't make me do this," Elijah muttered darkly.

"We agreed, Elijah. A few months of rehab and you kick the drugs and alcohol, then you can stay here again. This is best for you and Emily."

"Bullshit! That's bullshit and you know it!" Elijah yelled at her. "You never think about what is best for Emily. You haven't thought about her since the moment you gave birth to her. That little girl doesn't even know you love her."

"I am just trying to give her the best life possible-"

"By dragging her across countries? By leaving her friends behind? By making her study so hard she doesn't know how to be a kid?"

Emily heard a few seconds of silence until her mother said, "Just leave, Elijah."

Emily didn't hear her dorm room door open. She didn't hear her mother enter the small room. She just heard her mother clear her throat and she stopped sucking the skin off the girl in her bed.

The redhead saw the older woman and freaked. She grabbed her t-shirt off the floor and bounced.

Emily easily hid her fears. She had learned how to do it her whole life. So when her mother walked in on her having sex with a woman, she knew how to act all nonchalant about it. She slowly pulled on some clothes as her mother turned around, to not see her naked daughter.

"So…" Emily started to say. "You ever learn how to knock?"

Elizabeth turned around, her arms crossed, and her eyes daggers. "You ever learn how to lock your doors? Anyone could have walked in here."

Emily shrugged as she got up from her bed. "I'm an adult, mother. Remember that? I can do what I want."

"I'm still your mother, Emily. I can pull you out of this school in an instant."

The eighteen-year-old rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. What do you want?"

"I want to tell you that I decided that I'm not staying in the states. I've been posted to Ireland."

Emily was not impressed nor was she surprised. "Great. Can you leave now?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth as if she was going to say something and then closed it. She then said, "I expect that you won't tell anyone about your… choosing of partners?"

"Of course, mother. I would never try to embarrass you by telling all your friends that your daughter is a lesbian-sexual-freak. Thanks for stopping by," Emily replied as she basically pushed her mother out of the door.

"Hey, little girl," An older boy said as he sat down next to Emily in the small cafeteria. "How are you, sexy?"

The fourteen-year-old flinched at his ugly words. But she didn't let him know it. She turned her disgust into a fake smile. He might have been the grossest guy in their small school, but he was one of the most popular. "Good. How can I help you?"

He grinned, trying to look charismatic, but he just looked like an overexcited pervert. "Party tonight. Only a few are invited. My house. Parents gone. You in?"

She pretended like she had to think about it for a few seconds. She hadn't been busy at all during her life. "Yeah, I think so."

"Great, see you there, sexy."

She smiled, happy that for the first time in years she had been invited to something.

She put on the shortest skirt she could find that night. She put her hair up in a ponytail. She was ready. She snuck out and walked a few neighborhoods down to Alistair's house. It was the biggest one around.

She thought the house would be piling with people, but was surprised to find only about a hundred people were inside. She was greeted by the older teen, who gave her a toothy smile.

"Sexy, I'm so glad you could make it. Here's a drink," He passed her a red-solo-cup and said, "Want a tour?"

Emily nodded and took a sip of a funny tasting drink. It tasted a little fruity, but otherwise, it tasted wrong. But she drank it all anyway, for it was what everyone else was doing. She followed him to his bedroom, ignoring all the giggles from the people they walked by. She couldn't really hear them anyway. Everything felt a little fuzzy.

Walking up the stairs became difficult for her. She felt extreme tiredness. She thought she was going to fall down until he caught her. He said something, but she didn't understand it. She felt her body being lifted as she also felt like she was floating.

Her vision went black.

She woke up naked and outside. She was nauseous and sore and she couldn't tell anyone what she had eventually realized had happened to her.

She got up from her bed past her curfew. Emily tiptoed down the stairs to find her mother talking to Jimmy, her bodyguard.

"So he wasn't murdered," Elizabeth asked the larger man in the kitchen.

"They declared it a suicide, Ma'am. Overdose. They said it was Heroin."

The ambassador snorted. "Figures. It was the drug of his choice when I met him. That bastard. Now, what do I tell Emily?"

"You could tell her what we are telling everyone else. That it was a car accident."

"Maybe. But that girl is intuitive. She'll know something is up."

"Honestly, Ma'am, she's a little kid. She'll believe anything you tell her."

Emily looked down and ripped off the bracelet her father had returned to her at the lake only a few weeks previously. She hated what it meant to her.

"You okay?" He asked her as he drove down the long road, hours of driving ahead of them. "You haven't said anything since… since…"

Emily stared out the window. She felt her hair fly across her face. She couldn't explain to him how she felt. She couldn't put her feelings into words. "I'm fine."

He knew that she was lying. He knew her better than anyone. "I'm here for you, Em. No matter what. You made the best decision you could have made."

"I ended a life…"

"No," Matthew argued. "You saved your own life. You're fifteen, Emily. You couldn't have raised a child. And you would have been ostracized for getting pregnant. You made the right decision."

Emily turned to look at the boy. He wasn't as classically attractive and charming as John was, but Emily knew Matthew's beauty came from the inside.

"How could you support me when everything I have done goes against everything you believe?"

It took a while for the boy to reply. "Maybe I just don't believe anymore."

"Emily, darling. It's time to go. We don't want to be late," Elizabeth said as she knocked on her daughter's door for the fourth time. She was growing agitated with her daughter's lack of response. "Okay, I'm coming in." She used her key and entered the room.

She found young Emily sobbing into her ratty old teddy bear. Elizabeth almost cringed at the sight.

The almost ten-year-old didn't want to let go to the only thing that connected to her to her dead father. She held it tight and didn't want to let go.

"Emily, we have to go. Put the bear down and put on a dress. We have to go to the funeral now," Elizabeth ordered as she crossed her arms. There wasn't a comforting bone in her body.

Emily shook her head. She wouldn't say goodbye to her daddy and she wouldn't let go of her bear. "I'm staying."

Elizabeth sighed loudly. "I'm not asking you, Emily. I'm telling you to let go of the stuffed animal and put the dress on. We have appearances to make."

Emily looked up into her mother's eyes with flaming hatred. "You didn't even love him."

Her daughter's statement horrified her. She twitched uncharacteristically. She wouldn't be affected. No, she had things to do. "Emily Elizabeth Prentiss, if you don't come here in an instant I am going to call Jimmy so he can pry the bear out of your hands and burn it. Is that what you want?"

The young girl glared at her, tears still running down her cheeks. She let go of the one thing that kept her happy. She placed the bear on the bed and got up. She put on her dress and combed her hair. She did what her mother told her.

Before she entered the church, her mother pulled her to the side.

"Wipe your tears, away, Emily. No one can see you cry. We're strong, Emily. We don't cry for our loss. You're too old to cry." She stood up straighter and tugged on the young girl's hand.

Emily wiped her tears and promised herself to never feel anything as much as this so that she could be strong. So that her mom wouldn't see her cry.

Emily woke up with her body feeling achy. Her head hurt as she tried to hear whatever Remi was saying to her.

"Em...10:00… alarm… wake…" She heard her girlfriend's voice go in and out. She pressed the pillow onto her ear, trying to keep from hearing her. She felt Remi touch her back. "Em, darling. You slept through the alarm. I've gotten texts from your team. They need you right now."

The profiler squeezed her eyes shut, trying to make everything in her sight dark. She didn't want to wake up. "Let me sleep."

"Darling, I need to go to work. I can't stay…"

"Then leave," Emily murmured harshly. She didn't want to hear her voice anymore. "Please, just go."

Remi was confused. She didn't know what to do. She had never seen Emily look so depressed. She then noticed that Emily was sickly pale. "Em, are you sick? Do you feel ill?"

"Please go away," Emily said quietly. "I'm sorry, but I just need you to go."

That scared Remi more than anything. Emily has had a cold before and she worked through it. She knew that if Emily was sick she would pretend she wasn't and would try to work through the sickness. She got up from the bed and walked out of the room. Before she went to work, she called the one person that she thought could help Emily. Even though calling her went against everything that she wanted.

"Has anyone gotten a call from Prentiss?" Hotch asked in the conference room, checking his watch for the third time in the last few minutes.

The rest of the team shook their heads, concerned for their team member who hadn't come into work.

"Remi said that she was sick," Reid told them. "But every other time she has shown signs of symptoms of sickness she has come to work. She has only been late to work three times and they were days of heavy traffic."

"Her friend died," Rossi mentioned. "She's grieving."

The rest of the team nodded. They forgot that Emily couldn't possibly compartmentalize everything.

JJ was interrupted in deep thought with a phone call. She recognized the number so she walked out and answered.

"Hello?"

"JJ. Thank god. Something's wrong with Emily. I don't know how to help her and I have to go to work."

JJ's heart raced at the sound of Remi's voice. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"I don't know! I don't know! She came home last night, and I told her that Maia got adopted and she threw up. She went to bed. And now she doesn't want to wake up. I don't think she's sick but I'm not sure. I couldn't think of who else to call."

"Right. Right. I'll be there shortly." JJ said before hanging up. She quickly walked back into the conference room and said, "Remi called me. She's worried about Emily and she wants me to check up on her. I'll try to figure out what's wrong."

"Good. Go. Make sure she's alright. And if she needs a day off, make sure she gets it," Hotch told her seriously.

JJ nodded and left the room. She needed to figure out what was wrong.

"Emily?" The woman whispered as she entered the apartment. She had found the key under the placemat, just like Remi had texted her to do. She felt weird entering an apartment without being invited in. She walked inside and headed for the bedroom. She knocked on the door gently before entering. She was startled by how dark the room was. She went over to the window and opened the blinds. She jumped when she heard Emily groan. She turned around and saw her.

Emily had pulled the covers all the way up to her chin. She was hugging a pillow. Her face was almost translucent. Her body was shaking. It terrified the blonde.

"Em? Can I help you in some way?" She asked the woman who tried her hardest to not listen to the loud voices. When she didn't receive an answer from the brunette, she said, "I heard about Maia. Did you tell Remi about Rome?"

The brunette didn't reply. She felt dizzy and blackness was rushing into her vision.

JJ walked to the side of the bed to try to get closer to the woman. She stopped when she heard a crunch and felt something below her feet. She looked down to find a bunch of pills including a pill bottle. She let out a gasp. "Emily, how many sleeping pills did you take?"

The profiler groaned and rolled on to her back. "Only a few."

That did not make JJ feel any better. She put her hand to Emily's forehead and asked, "How many is a few?"

She coughed and replied, "Four. Maybe five. I don't know. It'll pass."

"You've done this before?" JJ asked her, concerned for her friend.

Tears fell down Emily's cheek in embarrassment. "Not in a long time. You can leave. It'll pass."

JJ shook her head, not knowing how to deal with this situation. "I'm staying. How long will it take for it to pass?"

"It'll be a while."

The blonde sighed and laid down on the bed next to the brunette. "When's the last time you did this?"

"Before the BAU," Emily admitted. "Not for a while. The memories. They… they were too much."

"And then the news of Maia," JJ added, finally understanding what the brunette was going through.

Emily let out a harsh chuckle. "It's fitting, isn't it? Almost like the Universe telling me that I don't deserve kids for what I did."

JJ cringed at her friend's words. She wrapped her arms around the breaking brunette. "Oh, Em. That's not true. The Universe doesn't control us. You did what you had to do when you were fifteen. No one blames you. You deserve children just as much as I do. As anyone does. And you will be a parent someday. You know you always have Henry."

"It's not enough. It's… when I met Remi, everything seemed so perfect. She wanted a family. She had Maia. It seemed perfect. But now… Maia's going to be adopted. And Remi thought I would be excited about that. She… I love her. But she doesn't understand parts of me. And I don't have the courage to explain them to her."

JJ nodded, understanding exactly what she said. "I felt the same way about Will. I thought that we could have everything. That we could have the suburban life and the 2.5 kids and everything my parents would have wanted for me. But I didn't want it. I love Henry and I want children. But I want the job. I love it. And I wouldn't let Will in to see that about me. I never will be able to let anyone fully in. That's just who we are."

"Do you think… do you think there's hope for us?"

The blonde thought about it for a second and replied, "I know there is."

Remi walked into her apartment many hours later. She brought home some Thai food, hoping that Emily would feel better enough to eat. She found Emily and JJ in the living room, Emily looking much less sick. She didn't know what she was hoping for. Part of her wished that JJ wouldn't have been able to get through to her either.

"Hey, guys," Remi said as she put the food on the table. "I brought home food. JJ, you're happy to stay, there's enough food-"

"I think I should get going. I miss Henry," JJ replied as she turned to Emily. "You good?"

Emily nodded and gave her a short smile. They had spent hours sleeping and talking. JJ was able to convince her that she should just tell Remi the truth about how she felt.

"See you tomorrow, JJ. Thank you for everything."

JJ smiled gently before leaving the apartment.

Emily turned to Remi and tried to give her a reassuring smile. She knew that she really worried her girlfriend this morning.

"What'd she say?" Remi asked as she sat down on the chair. She started taking out the food from the take-out bag, avoiding looking at her girlfriend.

The profiler didn't understand her question. She got up and walked over to the table. "What do you mean?"

Remi sighed, tired of feeling like she was going around in circles with her girlfriend. "I mean, what did JJ say differently than me that got you out of bed?"

Emily could tell that Remi was upset with her. She didn't know how to make things right. She just felt like she owed the professor the truth. "She didn't say anything. I… uh… took too many sleeping pills. My body needed to recover."

Remi dropped her chopsticks that she was holding and looked up to find Emily looking ashamed and guilt-ridden. She didn't know what to say to the woman. She definitely hadn't expected that. "I- did you try to take that many?"

"Yes," Emily breathed out. She looked down at the food. It made her nauseous, but it gave her something to do. "It was the first time I've done it in years."

"Did you do it so that you could sleep for a long time?" Remi asked her, not understanding what she meant.

"Kind of. I wanted to sleep. But I also didn't want to feel. But don't worry, okay? I won't do it again."

Tears started falling down Remi's cheeks. She finally found out that Emily was hurting and she didn't know what hurt her and why. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong? What didn't you want to feel?"

Emily bit her lip. She didn't want to burden Remi with her feelings and emotions. "I don't want to let go of Maia."

Remi frowned. "Em… I told you at the beginning that she was going to be adopted. I- I'm so sorry, darling. I love Maia, too, but we have to let her go. We did our job."

"I know," Emily replied, tears forming in her eyes. "I guess, I just thought that we could have her. That we could be a family."

"Oh," Remi muttered, feeling like she had done something wrong. "I wanted us to be a family, too, Em. But Maia shouldn't have been the only thing that was holding us together. We've been having problems for a while now."

Emily nodded sadly, knowing that her girlfriend was right. "That's my fault. I've been keeping you at a distance the second we got together. It's not your fault. It's all mine."

The professor shook her head. "It's not all your fault, Em. Not only did you keep yourself at a distance, I let you do it. I'd either let it go or I'd push you too far. You never felt at ease with me. And I'd try to deny what was happening. You have walls, darling. I know that. And I should be patient. But it's-"

"Hard," Emily finished for her. "I'm so sorry about that."

Remi gave her a short smile as the tears fell down. "I know, darling. I know. But it wasn't just that, was it?"

"JJ," Emily stated, knowing how the professor felt about the blonde.

Remi sighed. "No. Yes. No. I know that you'd never cheat on me. I know that you never meant to have feelings for her. I never worried that you'd leave me for her. I was always afraid that I was pushing her to you. Or, even worse, I kept you from her."

Emily shook her head rapidly. "I love you, Remi. Not JJ. She's straight. She's my best friend. She means a lot to me."

"I know that. Which is the reason why JJ isn't the main cause of our problems. Our problems stem from the fact that we're in two different places."

"We both want a family," Emily argued. "We have solid jobs. We love each other. We want the same things."

Remi shook her head and took a deep breath. She was finally going to come clean. "I got a job offer about a month ago. After my semester ends, I was invited to teach at the University of Delhi. I was going to invite you, Em. And I know you'd say yes. Not for yourself, but for me. But you wouldn't want to go. Your life is here. Your family is here. I wouldn't take that away from you."

Emily wanted to argue with her. She wanted to tell her that she'd go anywhere with her. But deep down, she knew that wasn't the case. "You really want to go?"

"I don't want to leave you. But I don't spend too long in each place I stay. I become anxious and bored. It's not you, Em. I just have to leave." She got up from her seat and she walked to the other side where Emily sat, crying. She cupped her hands around Emily's cheeks. "I don't want to hurt you, Em. I know you're in a dark place right now. So I wasn't going to say anything, but I need to be honest with you. I love you."

The profile let out a soft whimper. "I love you so much."

"I know. But sometimes it's not enough. This doesn't have to be a bad thing. We loved each other, Em. That's the most we can do. Just because we're ending, doesn't mean we can't be happy. It's just a new beginning. And we can stay in touch, right?"

Emily nodded and wrapped her arms around the professor. "I'm so glad I talked to you in that bar that night."

"Me, too."

She spent the night binge watching The Mentalist with Remi. For the first time since the beginning of their relationship, she felt happy just being with her. She felt comfortable laying with her ex-girlfriend. She didn't feel like she was being someone she wasn't.

They went to bed and cuddled. It was intimate but not at all romantic. They held each other as if they were holding on to the connection they had rather than their relationship. Nothing was forced. It was how it should have been the whole time.

Emily went to sleep with a clear conscious. And for her, that was a big deal. And she woke up refreshed. She knew the next day was going to be a sad one, but she held on the good memories to keep her warm inside.

The next morning, Emily texted the team and told them that she needed another day off. She received many worried texts, but she assured them that she's fine and only needs to get over a sickness. All of which is a lie. But it wasn't the same lie as the previous day. This time, she wasn't crawling in a pit.

Today was the day the two women decided to take Maia to the adoption center. Today was the day they were going to give Maia away to her forever parents. And they were sad. But they were also so thankful for the time they had with the little one.

They drove in silence, but it wasn't awkward or depressing. It was hopeful and reassuring. They parked and looked at each other. They got their strength from each other.

Holding hands, they walked inside the building. They were given a few minutes of alone time so they could say goodbye the baby they had grown to love.

"Maia," Remi whispered as she and Emily picked her up and held her close. "We are going to miss you. But I know you're going to be happy in your new home."

"You're going to have two daddies and a brother, Maia!" Emily cheered softly. "Isn't that exciting?"

"And you are going to be so loved just like we love you." Remi pulled out a photograph from her back pocket and showed it to the babbling baby.

Emily caught a glimpse of the picture. She smiled. She remembered taking that photo fondly.

"Ugh, why did we choose to go to the park again?" Remi asked as they walked through the green field, trying to find a spot to sit down and eat their food.

"You were the one who said that we should do something romantic," Emily joked, making faces at the giggling baby that she was holding. "Remi's a bit silly, isn't she, Maia?"

Remi rolled her eyes and said, "Let's sit under the tree. At least we will get some shade."

Emily followed the woman to the tree and watched her lay the blanket on the grass. She sat down next to her girlfriend and put Maia in the middle of them.

"You're right, we should just stick to our show watching," Remi complained as she looked around herself making sure no bugs were on here.

"Aren't you the girl who says that she loves nature?" Emily snickered, amused by her irritated girlfriend.

Remi glared at her. "Shut up."

"Come on! This isn't so bad!" Emily said, putting on a huge, fake smile.

"You're lying just to make fun of me aren't you?"

"Yep! And you love it!" Emily said, enjoying herself way more than she thought she would. She pulled out her camera and added, "I want to take a picture and remember this."

"My misery?" Remi asked her.

"Exactly," She joked before leaning into Remi and taking a picture of them.

"Hey, Em?"

Emily turned around to look at Remi looking closely at some watermelon they had brought. "Yeah?"

"There are already ants all over this. Can we just go now?"

Emily snorted and said, "Of course. But we are leaving that food here. Let's go."

She looked at the rare photo where all three of them were smiling and cherished it. She was so happy that Maia could keep a piece of that.

As Remi put the picture in her blanket, she asked Emily, "Do you think she'll remember us?"

Emily didn't know the answer to that question. She thought about her past and everything that she has gone through. "I hope so. I really do." She wrapped her arm around Remi's shoulders, pulling her into a hug as they both sobbed.

But it was okay. They were going to be okay.

"I called the University and took the job," Remi said as they ate some Italian food that Emily decided to make. "The job starts in a month."

"Oh, good. You have time to prepare," Emily commented, happy for her friend.

"Yeah, except I'm leaving in a few days. I've decided that I'm going to travel for a while. I'm going to tour places of Asia I haven't been to yet. I'm really excited."

Emily was sad that Remi was leaving. But she was also glad that Remi was doing what made her happy. "That's amazing, Rem. I'm so happy for you."

Remi grinned at her. "Thanks, Em. That means a lot. So I was thinking that you could take the apartment and most of my stuff. Or we could give some of it away. They are giving me a place to stay and I don't need much stuff… so…"

Emily nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you. Let's give some stuff away, then. Do you have a flight picked?"

"Yep. I'm leaving on Saturday. That way you can see me off. That is if you don't have a case."

"I'll be there," Emily promised her. "No matter what." She gave her a reassuring smile and then changed the subject. "So what's the first place you're going to see when you land?"

They spent the rest of the night laughing and talking and watching. Like old friends catching up after not seeing each other for so long.

Sad but some-what happy chapter! Very emotional! I hope you guys like flashbacks because I wrote a LOT of them :/ I know a lot of you are going to be sad about the ending of their relationship, but I think that they are going to be so much happier on their own as close friends.

Thanks so much for reading and reviews are very welcome and appreciated! XX