Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.

Angel

Part 8

By
N. J. Borba

Emily watched a mother and daughter.

The mall was trimmed from one end to the other for Christmas. Thick boughs of real holly and cedar hung over shop entrances. Garland and ornaments adorned stair railings and escalators. There was a jolly mall Santa with elf helpers and a North Pole village. And every song that played was a holiday tune. Added to that was the noise from all the shoppers running hither and yon, performing their last minute gift hunts. Same as the mother and daughter Emily was watching.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed little girl, who couldn't have been more than six, was pulled along by her desperate looking mother. The scene made Emily wonder if there were any happy mothers and daughters in the world, or if they were all doomed to shuffle along gloomily. Those thoughts drifted as she spotted Reid approaching her table in the food court. He looked just about how she'd expected in a mall full of holiday shoppers; out of place.

"Hello," Reid greeted her with a wan smile as he deposited two bags onto the chair between them. He sat down in another plastic chair that faced her.

"This is about the last place I ever expected to meet you," Emily remarked.

"Sorry," he sported a sheepish grin now. "I had some shopping to do."

"Really?" that surprised her even more. "Christmas is four days away. I figured you for an early bird shopper."

He nodded. "I bought my mom's gift three months ago," Spencer said. "It's, uh, Angie's gift that's been causing me some trouble. But look," he plunged one gangly arm into a bag and pulled out a leather bound book. "I found this just now," he excitedly passed it across the table.

Starring at the title, Emily frowned. "It's a book of laws and criminal cases," she observed. "You bought a law student a book about the law?"

"Yes, but let me show you something," Reid snatched the item from her hands and flipped through several pages. His left index finger pounced on the page he stopped at. "Right here is a case we were discussing just the other night. Angie insisted it was 1985, but I knew it was 1983. And see, I was right," he turned the book so she had a better view.

Her brows arched. "So, you bought her a book that proves you won an argument?"

"Not an argument," Reid protested. "A healthy intellectual conversation…" he trailed off, finally noticing the expression she wore. "Not a good idea?"

"No," Emily's head shook.

His shoulders sagged. Reid closed the book and placed it back in the bag. "There's always candy," he brandished the large bar of imported dark chocolate he'd purchased for the girl. "I know she likes chocolate," he confidently added.

Emily nodded. "True enough, but also rather generic as far as Christmas gifts go." It'd been three and a half weeks since Emily had walked out of her daughter's life. They hadn't spoken in all that time, not a single call. But that certainly didn't mean Emily hadn't thought about the girl every day.

"Okay, well… I did see a nice silk scarf at one shop," Reid was still searching.

"A scarf's something you buy more for your mother or an aunt," Emily let him know.

He sighed. "I haven't been on a lot of second dates. Actually, none," Reid confessed. "And a few of my first dates only lasted minutes," he added. "Angie's hung around for two months now, and I think we're both… well, it feels very serious. So, what do I buy a serious girlfriend?" he asked. "Jewelry, maybe?" a shrug punctuated that possibility. "I know she really likes that ring you bought her. Maybe I should give her a ring," Reid pondered.

"Do you want to give her a ring?" Emily asked.

His eyes grew wide. "Oh, no… not that kind of ring. I mean, well… maybe that kind of ring someday, a while from now. A lot longer than a few days from now, which is when Christmas will be," he stammered. "So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Reid promptly changed the subject.

Emily would've laughed at the young man, if not for his question. She'd summoned him to talk. Now she was nervous about what to say to him. "Have you ever had a slip?" she finally asked. "You know, since you stopped taking the drugs?" He'd never really come right out to any of them and confessed his drug abuse after what happened with Tobias Hankel. But it was fairly well guessed by all of them that he'd had a problem.

"No," his previous jumpiness was replaced by an easy calm. "But there've been times when I wanted to," he let her know in all honesty. The food court's bustle continued all around them as they spoke about the serious issues of their addictions. "Have you had a slip?" Reid asked.

She nodded. "I did," Emily didn't mention it was the last day she'd seen or talked to her daughter. Reid didn't seem to know they weren't speaking, and she preferred to keep it that way unless Angie brought it up with him. "I just had one drink. That was three weeks ago, but..."

"Three weeks is better than one or two," he smiled. "I've been drug free for two years, seven months, three days, five hours, nine minutes and about…" Reid glanced at his watch for a moment. "Thirty-two seconds," he concluded.

"Of course," she actually smiled, expecting no less than exactness from the young genius.

He reached into the right pocket of his sweater-vest and pulled something free. "The first time I went to a support meeting someone gave me their six-month sobriety coin. I gave it back to him when I got one of my own," Reid handed the item over. "I'd really like you to hold on to this one for a while," he offered.

"Do you think…" she took the offering and clutched it tightly in her left hand, "Should I do a twelve-step program or support group… something like that?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Everyone deals with stuff differently. You said you felt more comfortable talking to us, so we could just keep doing this. Or you could talk to Morgan. I know he's willing to listen, especially since you two are…" he noticed the arch in her brows was back. "If I've noticed it then the rest of the team probably knows."

Emily nodded. "I'd like to keep talking like this," she let him know. "The two of us."

Spencer smiled again. "Maybe it can work both ways, because… gifts aside, I'm kind of worried about Angie."

"What about Angie?" Emily was instantly concerned.

"It's nothing bad, I don't think," he assured, seeing she was alarmed. "I just know she was really excited about doing some traveling. But her dad got upset about the idea, so she agreed to stay in school at least until the end of this semester. She doesn't seem very happy about it, though, kind of depressed really. And I'm not sure what to say to her about it. Or if I should even bring it up again," he shrugged.

His use of the word depressed made Emily's stomach twist in a knot. "You don't think her father… he'd never hurt her, would he?"

"What do you mean?" Reid grew a bit anxious.

"If she did drop out of school," Emily added. "Would he be upset enough to…"

"I haven't met him yet," he said. "But he's your… actually, I don't even know what he is to you. An uncle or…"

She gulped. "Cousin, distant… very distant on my mother's side," Emily lied again.

He seemed fine with that answer. "Angie always talks about him amiably, aside from this issue. I don't get the feeling he'd hurt her or press the matter."

Emily breathed out. She'd never gotten that impression from Scott either, but it was always better to have a second opinion. "Has Angie mentioned doing anything drastic? Dropping out completely to defy her father, or, maybe… drinking?" She watched his eyes cloud with concern. "It does seem to run in the family."

Spencer thought it over. "No, I don't think she'd do that. Her addiction is more… well, harmless. Angie wishes she had a mother to confide in, and she told me she gets lost in daydreams a lot, ones about her mother. It's hard not having her mom around. I know what that's like."

She easily sympathized with him and Angie both, because she'd often wished for a mother to confide in. "I'm sure Angie will figure this phase out for herself. It's actually a pretty typical age when life starts getting serious and you question what you're doing."

"Oh," he replied. "There wasn't a lot typical about my growing up. I guess I wouldn't know about this phase."

"You have plenty life experience to understand what she's going through," Emily insisted. "I think all she needs is someone to listen."

His smile was one of gratefulness. "I knew you'd help. Thanks," Reid gathered his bags. "I should get going. The mall closes in two hours and I still don't have an appropriate gift."

"Reid," Emily stopped him from leaving right away. "Just be creative," she suggested. He nodded and waved. In a matter of seconds he'd disappeared, lost in the sea of shoppers. Emily starred in to the depths of that sea again and spotted the same mother and daughter that she'd seen earlier. The little girl had a candy cane in one hand and was beaming at her mother as they walked away from Santa and the North Pole village.

"If only it was always that easy," Emily whispered.

xxx

Her apartment was dark when she entered. Emily left it that way until she reached the living room and turned on a lamp. She spotted Derek seated on her sofa. "At least I left the lights off this time," he said, getting to his feet and coming around to meet her. His lips aimed for hers, but she turned so that they only brushed her cheek.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, shrugging off her jacket.

Morgan watched the cat bound down the stairs. "Wanted to see you," he replied. Derek couldn't help feel like an outsider as Resi meandered around and between Emily's legs, clamoring for attention. Emily plucked the kitten off the floor and cradled the cat in her arms.

"You saw me at work earlier," she said dismissively.

He nodded. "I know. You left there around five-thirty and are just getting home at a quarter past nine," Derek observed. "Where've you been?"

"Out."

Morgan sighed. "Out where?" he tried not to sound like he was interrogating her.

"I went shopping at the mall," she finally revealed.

"You went shopping for about three hours and didn't buy anything?"

Emily's eyes narrowed as she put Resi down. "What makes you think I didn't buy anything?"

"No bags," he noted.

She sighed. "Well, maybe I put your lump of coal on layaway. They're expensive," Emily quipped. "I really need to clean Resi's litter box. It's been a few days," she quickly changed the subject. Without waiting for him to slam her with more questions, Emily headed for the small utility room near the front of her apartment. It contained a washer and dryer, as well as a water heater and furnace. It also housed Resi's litter box, which she proceeded to clean out as planned.

"You'd really rather clean a litter box than talk to me?" Derek stood in the doorway watching her.

"Funny…" she scooped poop into a small trash bag, keeping her back to Derek. "It doesn't feel like we're talking. I feels like you're grilling and I'm a shish kabob."

He would have laughed, but was too aggravated by her avoidance. "Okay, I'll just come out and say what I really want to say," Derek took a deep breath. "You haven't been yourself lately. You're pushing me away again, except this time you don't have the decency to say it to my face. And if it's because you've had a relapse, if you've taken any kind of alcoholic drink recently, I won't think less of you. You can confide in me, Emily."

The litter scoop was dropped as she stood and turned to face him. "I don't want to tell you everything, Derek," she protested. "Don't you get that? I don't want you to have to deal with all this shit in my life. It's not fair to you, and..."

"Hey," he interrupted, taking her by the hand and pulling her close. Derek pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You can tell me anything you want. And I promise I'll let you know if it's too much for me to handle. Deal?"

She fretfully chewed her bottom lip for a moment before finally spilling everything to him about Scott and Angie, even about the drink she'd taken three weeks ago and meeting with Reid an hour ago. "I know that sometimes when people quit one addiction they find something, or someone, to take its place; something that eventually becomes another crutch for them. When I stopped smoking I gained ten pounds because I reached for a handful of peanuts every time I wanted a cigarette. I just don't want you to be a crutch, Derek."

"Honestly," he looked her in the eye. "If you want to reach for a handful of Derek Morgan every time you want a drink, I have no problem with that."

Emily's eyes rolled. "I was trying to be serious," she pushed him away and returned to the litter box job.

Morgan mentally kicked himself. He let Emily finish the job before walking her back to the living room where they sat beside one another on the sofa. "I'm sorry about before. In all seriousness, since we're being honest tonight, there's something I really need to tell you," he primed.

"What?" she asked. Emily was grateful for his steadfast support, even when he tried to make jokes.

He didn't crack a smile. There wasn't an easy way to tell her, so Derek just came out and said it. "Doyle is in the US."

Her body chilled. "How could you possibly know that?"

"When you were at Virginia Beach with Angie, I told Hotch about Doyle." Morgan watched as her brows shot up her forehead. "I know it's all classified, but did you really think I was going to just sit on information like that?" his head shook. "Hotch has a contact at TSA and he hinted around that someone fitting Doyle's description might be trying to enter the US. They found him pretty quickly. He had a fake passport, chartered a jet. There was no way to track him after he left the airport, but… he's here, Emily."

She'd already guessed as much after the number of hang-up calls she'd received. "I've had someone following Angie for the last three weeks."

Derek shook his head again, though he wasn't terribly surprised. "The lack of communication in this relationship has certainly reached a high point. Hopefully."

"I love her, Derek," Emily let him know. "I don't want anything to happen to her."

"You ever think maybe you should tell her that, not me?"

Emily sighed. "She deserves a normal life."

"She deserves you in her life," he countered. "And right now I'm a heck of a lot more worried about Doyle coming after you."

xxx

It was the night before their four day Christmas weekend, and the BAU holiday gathering was in full swing.

Little Henry sat on Emily's lap, one chubby fist clutching a sippy cup and the other holding a half gnawed Christmas cookie. She held the boy close while watching JJ and Will dance in the middle of the bullpen. "Mommy and daddy are having fun, aren't they?" she spoke softly to the boy. Not in a baby voice, but gentle, on his level. "You got two really good parents, you know that, right? They love you lots and they'd never push you away."

"Stop beating yourself up," Derek's voice interrupted.

"We were having a private conversation," Emily chastised him in a not-so-serious tone. "Weren't we Henry?"

Morgan watched as the boy tried to feed his cookie to Emily. She tickled his tummy. Henry giggled and Emily's resultant smile made Derek ridiculously happy. He felt bad she'd never gotten a chance to experience Angie's childhood in that manner. "Sorry I interrupted," he apologized. That earned him an Emily smile as well.

"Have you two seen doctor Reid?" Garcia asked as she and Kevin planted themselves in chairs across from Derek and Emily. "I thought he was bringing the elusive Angie tonight. His first real girlfriend and only Hotch and JJ have seen the girl. Oh," she waved to Emily. "And you, of course, since she's your cousin."

Derek watched Emily tense and knew she hated the lie she'd started about Angie's true parentage. And even though he wished for her to rectify it, she remained stubborn, while he remained in her corner. "He's actually having dinner with Angie and her father tonight," Morgan supplied. "Reid said they'd try to stop by later."

Penelope nodded as her attention turned to Emily again. "So, spending time with kids is relaxing after all?" she asked.

"I guess," Emily shrugged. "Henry is easy to be around. He's so happy all the time," she kissed the boy's cheek and marveled at his cheerful grin.

"If only we could go back to a time before our innocence was lost," Kevin mused. "We could be happy all the time, too."

"Hmm, not so sure about that," Emily scrunched up her nose as she held Henry aloft and sniffed his backside. "Hanging around in poopy pants is a high price to pay for that youthful innocent feeling," she said. "I'm gonna grab the diaper bag and change him so JJ and Will can keep enjoying their time together."

Kevin jumped up and took Garcia's hand. "Shall we join them on the dance floor, fair maiden?"

Derek chuckled as he watched the goofy duo head toward the music. His eyes soon slid back to Emily. "Need a hand?" he asked.

"If you think you're man enough," she nodded with a wink.

They walked Henry to the floor's family restroom where there was a proper changing table. Derek proved himself, snatching up the diaper bag and assisting by handing her wipes, a new diaper and cream when prompted. He nearly lost his lunch, though, when she requested he fold up and dispose of the dirty diaper. "How can something so small produce something so disgusting?" Morgan asked as they walked back into the bullpen.

Emily was about to sling a snarky comment when she spotted an unexpected visitor in the bullpen talking to Hotch and Rossi. Scott Hayden turned and locked eyes with her, and Emily knew something was very wrong. She moved somewhat in a daze as Will approached and took Henry from her. Emily mindlessly followed the whole team up to the conference room. And she braced herself for the words that were about to come out of Scott's mouth.

The man did not disappoint. "This is why I didn't want you in her life," he was in near hysterics, waving a purple-cased cell phone in her face.

"That's Angie's," she recognized.

Scott clutched the item tightly in his hand. "I finally gave in on her dating Spencer, because she agreed to stay in school, and because he seems like a good person from what Angie's told me. But I knew this would happen. I knew…"

"Mr. Hayden," Hotch tried to calm the man down. "Why don't you sit, please," he pointed to a chair. "Why don't we all sit." When the rest of the team had followed his order, Hotch looked to the worried man. "You said something earlier about Angie having gone missing?"

He nodded. "I went to the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Angie and Spencer. But all I found was her cell phone on the table," Scott explained. "At first I figured she was there, maybe just in the restroom. But then the phone rang, so I answered it. A man told me that he had her and the doctor."

"JJ, try Reid's phone," Hotch immediately instructed.

"What else can you tell us, Mr. Hayden?" Rossi questioned. "Anything about the man's voice? Did he say why he took your daughter?"

"It was a… English accent, maybe Irish," Scott recalled. "I've always been bad at telling the difference. But," his eyes found Emily. "He mentioned you specifically. He told me that he knew Angie was connected to you somehow and that he was going to figure out how. That's it. Then he hung up." He continued to stare at Emily. "If anything happens to her, I'll never forgive you. I told you that being part of Angie's life was a mistake. Anyone who would abandon a child... I never should have let you near her."

"That's enough, Mr. Hayden." Morgan stepped in, seeing what his words were doing to Emily. "We'll find your daughter," he tried to placate the man.

Hotch listened and glanced between Hayden and Emily, then he looked to Morgan as well. "Do the three of you know something I should know?" he asked. He knew Emily had been sitting on Doyle's existence all the time she'd been with the BAU. He could overlook that due to the classified nature of the issue. But he had a feeling pertinent information about Angie was being left out of the discussion.

"Doyle took Angie," Emily finally spoke. "I'm sure he has her."

"Reid's cell phone keeps going straight to voice mail," JJ reported.

"Can you track it?" Hotch turned to Garcia.

"I can and will," she replied, already having her laptop powered up and ready. "Typically when phones go straight to voicemail it means they're turned off, but all of our cells have GPS tracking installed. So…" she typed just a few things before receiving her answer. "2430 Jennings Avenue in Baltimore."

"That's the restaurant where I was supposed to meet them tonight," Scott supplied.

Again Hotch focused his attention on Emily. "Is there anything you need to tell me about why Doyle would go after Reid and your cousin?"

Emily sighed, locking eyes with Derek. He nodded encouragement. "She's not my cousin. I gave birth to her."

xxx

"Do you know Emily Prentiss?"

Reid nodded as the van jostled, bumping along the road. He knew they were moving, but he recalled very little of how they'd been taken from the restaurant parking lot. A small lump on the back of his head was causing some holes to form in his memory. But Spencer did his best to work through the pain, for his and Angie's sake. "We work together," he answered the mysterious man who sported a shaved head and vindictive eyes.

"She's FBI," Doyle frowned, having already found that out.

"Yes," Spencer nodded again, glancing past the man's shoulder to make sure Angie was okay. She was tied like him, at both the wrists and ankles. Her forehead was bleeding a little, but her eyes were open. That was a good sign.

Doyle brandished a gun with his right hand. "When she was in my bed, she went by the name of Lauren Reynolds. Did you know that?" he asked. "Did you know she was sent to spy on me? Did you know that she killed my five-year-old son?"

"I don't… I don't believe you," Reid swallowed, shaking his head. "She wouldn't do that. I know she wouldn't."

"You think you're so smart?" Doyle sneered.

"My IQ is 187, which is unarguably at genius level, so I guess you could say…"

The butt of Doyle's gun hit Reid across the lower jaw. "I don't give a damn about your IQ," his words were dismissive as he turned to Angie. "I've wasted enough time on that one. Now, tell me," he smiled at the young woman who'd been tossed into the corner of the van. "Who is Emily Prentiss to you?"

"She's my cousin…" Angie blinked, trying to catch Reid's eye so they might communicate something, even without words.

"Do you think I'm fooling around?" Doyle crouched beside her. "I saw her at that beach place with you. And I know she had a guard assigned to you for protection, not that he was much help," Doyle grinned. "Tell me the truth, Angela Hayden. Are you willing to bet this young man's life on the fact that she is your cousin?" his weapon was quickly aimed at Reid again. "Do you want to rethink your answer?"

Angie bit her lip, but there was no way she'd let anything bad happen to Spencer. "She's my mother."

Doyle smiled, the lines at the corners of his eyes crinkling with satisfaction. "Good," he nodded. "Then I'm gonna make her suffer the way she made me suffer."

The vehicle took a hard left turn, putting them all off balance. Reid used the opportunity of distraction to lunge for Doyle. He nearly had his tied hands around the man's throat, but Doyle kicked him in the stomach. Reid fell against the van panting as he looked into the barrel of Doyle's weapon. "You don't want to do this," he tried to talk to him.

"You don't know what I want," Doyle repositioned the gun against Spencer's temple. "But I know I don't need you in order to get it."

To be continued…