"You can come home"
Emily held tightly to the phone in her hands as she sat on the edge of her hotel bed, had he really said that? She was sure she'd heard it but over the past months without Reid she thought she heard a lot of things. She pressed the play button again to hear the message that had been left on her phone.
"Ian Doyle is dead and the case is closed. You can come home" It was a shock to hear Hotch's voice again, the last time she'd heard it was in the briefing room the day she'd run away.
"Home" She whispered to herself as she put the phone on the bed with shaky hands. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and sucked in a breath. "Home" She told herself as a few tears streamed down her cheeks despite the smile on her face.
She wiped the tears away, not that it helped the ones that followed, and grabbed the suitcase she'd kept under her bed for the last few weeks as she waited for the month to be up and to move to another location. Her hands were shaking but she forced herself to pack the suitcase with the few clothes and other possessions she'd picked up along the months of travel.
She took one final look at the empty hotel room and smiled, she'd seen too many of these recently and all she'd wished for was to get that call. The call that told her she could go home to her apartment, take a sip of coffee out of her coffee cup and sit down next to Reid.
She thought about the last time she'd seen him. She could distantly remember hearing his voice after Doyle had stabbed her but what she really remembered was the conversation before she left. The way he'd tried to talk to her at the office, the concern in his voice when he offered to drive her home. His hair might have grown longer… He'd told her he'd cut it to get rid of all the bad memories that had been made while he had longer hair. Maybe he'd keep it short after what she'd put him through.
She'd missed him so much. For the first few months she found herself in a dark and lonely hotel room with Reid's number on her phone and her finger on the call button. He'd always been just a call away and she'd always had to delete the number and put the phone down to protect him.
She handed her hotel key in at the front and tipped the bellboy who'd been so eager to help her despite how many times she insisted she could cope just fine. She hopped in a taxi and was driven straight to the airport where she was ushered into a private room and eventually escorted to a jet Hotch had booked for her the day before.
After the escorts were satisfied she was alright the plane took off on its eleven hour one way trip. Emily leant her head against the plane window and smiled as she saw the familiar sight of clouds so close; it was almost like being back on the team's own jet. It must have been hard for Hotch to persuade the airline to take her.
She closed her eyes and imagined the house her and Reid had always talked about owning in the future. They talked about the big yard out back and the white picket fence in the front. The big library she'd imagined for him filled with all the books she'd buy him. The upscale kitchen Reid had promised so they wouldn't have to live off of takeaways.
Emily slowly pulled her phone out of her pocket and played with it in her hand for a minute. She dialled Reid's number and pressed the phone to her ear, from her estimate it was in the early hours of the morning in Virginia. As she'd guessed the phone rang four times then switched to answer machine.
"Hi, this is Doctor Spencer Reid. I can't take your call right now but leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as possible" She heard his recorded voice down the line. She hung up just before the beep but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
She had been with him the day he'd recorded the message. She'd tried to make it a little less official which led to them laughing uncontrollably while he tried and failed to record the message three times before they calmed down enough for him to do it properly.
She smiled fondly at the memory and watched the clouds drift by outside the window. "We're going home" Emily whispered while she gently rubbed her belly as the baby kicked.
Again, it's another short one but it's only a mini chapter to give you a little insight into what Emily's doing. And, as a lot of you guessed, she's pregnant! I was hoping to make it a big dramatic twist but I guess I didn't do a very good job seeing as a lot of you guessed/ hoped for the twist. Oh well, I hope you like it anyway and the bigger chapter coming tomorrow! :)