Here we are at the closing stages of the story. There are only a few chapters left. Thanks for sticking with me. Enjoy.
By the time Emily got back to the winery the boost from her realization had wore off and she was so bone tired that she wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Just because she had come to her conclusion rather quickly didn't mean she was miraculously cured. There was a big difference between thinking of it and actually doing it. She knew she was incredibly messed up and that it would take a long time for her to right the ship. All the extra thinking and going around in circles on the ride home was also leaving her mentally exhausted. But the rest she longed for would have to wait until she finished what remained on her plate.
After dropping her passenger off, she drove around back and parked the snowmobile in the garage. With tired feet dragging, Emily headed for the house and its inviting warmth. She had given Gideon the key so they could let themselves in and not have to wait out in the cold until she got there. When the back door swung, she expected to see either him or Clyde standing in the doorway, but who was there was the second to last person she expected.
"Mom? What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise, sliding to a stop.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Elizabeth surged forward, wrapping her arms around her daughter and pulling her in close.
The two were still figuring out their relationship so the hug was both awkward and comforting. "I'm fine." Elizabeth squeezed harder. "Really I am. There's not a scratch on me," she gasped.
When Emily thought she was about to suffocate in her mother's strong and loving embrace, she was released and held at arms length. "Are you sure?"
"Positive or would you like me to strip down to my birthday suit here in the cold and snow so you can see for yourself?"
Elizabeth took so long in answering that Emily was worried her mother might actually make her do it. "I'll take your word for it."
"Gee, Mom, thank you so much," she drawled. "Now what are you doing here?"
"I had to see for myself that you were alright," Elizabeth responded.
Emily managed to extricate herself from her mother's grasp. "And now you have."
"Oh, Emily. You always manage to find trouble before it finds you. What happened out there?"
She didn't really want to go through that all again and offered, instead, a very abridged version that would appease her mother. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was hovering, staring at Emily as if giving her a full inspection.
"I was so worried about you," she confessed. "After I got your call…it was terrible, Emily. My heart just wouldn't stop racing." Elizabeth spent hours in a sheer panic worrying about her daughter's well being. Last time Emily went out on her own, she was declared dead. Even if that turned out not to be true, Elizabeth still had to live thinking her only child was dead. The damage was done. Now, whenever Emily did anything, there was an innate worry.
"I'm fine, Mom," Emily told her after Elizabeth held her gaze a little too long. She loved that her mother was there and cared enough to worry, but she wasn't a child. She didn't need her mommy to kiss her boo-boos better or tuck her in at night. She was perfectly fine.
"Of course you are. Now lets go back inside. It's freezing out here."
It was then that Emily realized Elizabeth didn't have a coat on. "Right," she agreed, grabbing her bag that she dropped when she had been pulled into that life-threatening hug. On impulse she slipped her free arm through her mother's. Elizabeth looked surprised at the touch and then smiled, giving Emily's arm a loving pat. "Is everyone inside?"
"Yes," Elizabeth confirmed. "I must confess you have some interesting men in your life."
Emily wasn't sure how to interpret that. It could mean that her mother couldn't stand Clyde and Gideon or she was getting on fabulously with them. The second one left a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. It would then be three against one and she didn't like those odds. They would have no trouble teaming up to get he to do something she didn't want to do. That sucked big time so Emily prayed it was the first.
Everyone was gathered in the living room, all with some kind of drink in hand or within easy reach. Noah and Amie sat on opposite ends of the couch. Gideon in one of the plush armchairs with his feet resting on the matching ottoman while Clyde stood next to the fireplace and its roaring fire with one arm casually stretched on the mantle. Emily's eyes went back to the young couple. There was definitely something off about the two. Before they were always near each other so that they could hold hands or touch each other. Now they looked liked they couldn't stand being in the same room.
"I see the great Arctic explorer has returned," Clyde said with a smirk.
Elizabeth pressed a mug of hot chocolate into her daughter's hand before settling into an empty chair. "I asked what's going on, but your friends said they would prefer to wait for you."
Emily ignored Clyde's little jab, breathing in the aroma of the hot beverage, before taking a long sip. The warmth quickly spread throughout her body chasing away the chill of the snowmobile ride. "I'll answer that in a moment, Mom, but there's something I need to know first." She turned to her old boss. "Clyde, how did you know where I was? You never gave me a straight answer."
"You know me, Darling. I never do anything the easy way." She shot him a dirty look. He remained unrepentant, but he did address her question. "When your team lost contact with you, Agent Hotchner called me because of my expertise."
"Shit!" she swore, almost spitting out her hot chocolate at the thought of Hotch actually calling Clyde. He detested the Brit and vice versa. "I forgot all about them. I promised Garcia to let her know how it all came out. Everything went downhill after I talked to her. I have to call and let them know I'm okay."
"I've already called them. They're relieved you're safe, but they still want to hear from you when have a chance," Gideon spoke up.
"Thanks." Hearing her voice would appease them, but they wouldn't be fully satisfied until they physically laid eyes on her. Her friends were very protective of her as she was of them. Gideon knew that and that was why he took it upon himself to make the call.
"After a few more little chats, Hotchner put me in contact with the Ambassador." Clyde nodded politely to Elizabeth. "I was already at the London Gateway office dealing with a staffing issue so it was easy for me to hop over the channel and get on the helicopter she hired."
"And when I heard the police officer you were dealing with was under investigation, I knew I couldn't just sit on my hands doing nothing so I immediately flew to Lyon where Robert picked me up. I wanted to be as close as possible to you in case you needed help," Elizabeth added.
There were certainly a lot of phone calls flying between Clyde, her mother and the team, Emily thought wryly, and none of them that she had been privy to, but that was her fault. She was the one who initiated the radio silence.
"Capitaine Dubois is a dirty cop," Emily stated.
Clyde's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "How do you know that? The joint investigation between Interpol and the National Police is still ongoing."
Emily went over to her go bag and removed Renaud's journal. She slowly turned it over in her hands as she returned to the group. She would love to hold on to it and go after him herself. To take him down and make him pay for every crime he committed, especially Rolf's murder, but it wasn't her place. She had no authority and would be considered a vigilante, a lawbreaker if she tried to take him down, but she has a great respect for the law…in any country. There was only one person in the room who has the proper authority to do something about it. It was the right thing to do.
"This is Alain Renaud's private journal. Dubois figures prominently in what I've read so far."
"Alain Renaud?" Clyde and Elizabeth exclaimed at the same time, his was a name they were very familiar with.
"Yes."
"How did you get it?"
Emily nodded at the young woman now shifting uneasily on her end of the couch. "Amie is or I should say was Renaud's mistress. She took the journal as insurance, thinking he would leave her alone."
"Which backfired horribly and got my nephew in this whole mess." Gideon did nothing to keep the distain he had for her out of his voice. Surprisingly Noah didn't jump to her defense this time.
"Of course it was the mistress," Clyde said snidely and held out his hand. "May I see it?"
Emily hesitated, reluctant to let the journal out of her possession. Her distrust of him was rearing its ugly head and possibly preventing her from doing the right thing. She pushed the feeling aside and extended her arm, but stopped with the journal mere inches from his outstretched hand.
"Clyde, do you promise to turn this over to the team in charge of the investigation and see that Renaud goes down hard for his crimes?"
There was an eager gleam in his blue eyes. "Trust me, Emily. He won't know what hit him."
This time she did. Clyde may be an arrogant prick and a royal pain in her ass, but he was a damn good agent. Once he sank his teeth into a case, he wouldn't let go until it was solved. Emily nodded and turned the journal over to him. "Don't let me down."
"I won't," he asked, tucking it away in the inner pocket of his jacket. "It would be wise for me to take Miss…"
"Amie Beauchene," the young woman supplied.
"Miss Beauchene into protective custody and the rest of you will have to be interviewed."
Gideon and Emily both knew that was going to happen, after all it was standard operating procedure, but before they could give their consent, Elizabeth stepped into the fray. "Which will happen on the grounds of the embassy with whatever representation required." She wanted her daughter and her friends safe on American soil.
"Of course, Ambassador," Clyde readily agreed. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
Within hours they were on Elizabeth's private jet flying back to Paris and the relative safety of the U.S. embassy. While Emily napped, Amie found the flight scary and exhilarating. It was a novel experience since it was her first time flying and she was enjoying every second of it. But before leaving the winery and making the drive to the Lyon-Saint Exupery airport where the jet was waiting, there was something important to do. She had to make a long overdue phone call.
Emily retreated to her childhood bedroom for privacy and called everyone back at the BAU. She figured they must have been worried sick about her if they got Clyde involved and she doubted anyone kept them up to date. How could they when they didn't have any answers until now either? So, she knew they'd be waiting for a call.
Penelope answered right away, not bothering to send out a quippy greeting or anything, just a simple, "How is she? They? How are they?"
"We're fine," Emily said.
"Emily! Guys, it's Emily!" Penelope yelled to everyone who then ran over to her. "Oh, it's so good to hear your voice. You're on speaker. Tell us everything. How are you really?"
There were a lot of inquiries about what happened. She answered everything about her health. She was fine, and that was what she told them. They weren't easily convinced, but she did her best. But it didn't end there. They wanted all the details about the situation, about how things unfolded, about Gideon and, just everything. She answered a few things, sharing just a little to tide them over, but really, she thought the rest was best told face to face.
"What? No! Tell us now."
Emily promised to tell them everything, but she really wanted to do it in person. She really just wanted to get some real rest. This trip proved much more eventful than anticipated and she was tired. Her admitting she was tired raised some eyebrows. A new influx of questions about her health came, and, once again, she promised them that there was no major damage. She was just tired from the adventure.
"We'll talk again soon. I promise. Hotch, are you still there?" she asked.
"I am."
"Can I talk to in private for a minute?"
"Sure." He put her on hold and went to his office for the privacy Emily was requesting. "What's up?" he asked after settling back behind his desk.
Emily started to pace while running her free hand through her hair. "I was wondering after all of this is officially over if you needed me back right away."
"You want to stay a little longer?" He was a little surprised that she wanted to stay after she had been so reluctant to go back to France in the beginning.
"I think I need to." He was ready to jump on that, but she didn't let him. "My mother wants to spend a little time with me. She... She's still a little messed up about everything that happened with me and Doyle, so I think I owe her a little quality mother-daughter time."
He studied the ceiling, unsure if she was truly just talking about her mother or a bit about both of them. "How long are you thinking?"
"Just a week, maybe."
"I think we can manage another week without you."
"Great... I think. Thanks."
"Any major plans for your time off?"
"Other than trying to survive concentrated doses of my mother?" she joked and shrugged. "I don't know." She just wanted to be reminded of the France she once loved so much and the good memories she had there.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out. Take the time you need, Emily. Relax a little. You deserve it."
The next two days were filled with non-stop interviews from so many agencies and departments that they seemed to be coming out of the woodwork. It appeared everyone wanted a piece of Alain Renaud and his connections that they were tripping over each other in eager anticipation. Gideon and Emily, seasoned interviewers and expert witnesses, answered every question truthfully and to the point, never giving out more information than was necessary. It was a difficulty many a witness on the stand encountered. Instead of just answering the question, they expanded on it and dug themselves into a hole.
Even so, Emily was in a bit of a bind. Though she wanted to be as forthcoming as possible, she withheld the facts that she had gotten all of them fake passports and where she got the car that was still stashed in the garage back at the winery. Visiting a black market forger was against the law, but they were important contacts and she didn't want to burn any bridges unless she absolutely had to, never knowing when she might have to call on them again some time in the far future. Clyde would understand and approve of her actions, but the French government may not. If Noah or Amie mentioned it, she would admit to it and take the heat. Luckily she has someone high up in her corner to smooth any ruffled feathers. Surprisingly it never came up so she didn't have to call on her mother to bail her out.
As Elizabeth promised, a consular officer sat in on each and every interview, especially for Noah who was inexperienced in these types of matters. Gideon wanted to be with his nephew, but he didn't want to give off the appearance that he was trying to influence Noah's testimony so he had to let the boy stand on his own two feet and it seemed he handled it well. Even though Clyde wasn't an active member of the investigations, he observed the proceedings. Emily may no longer be one of his active assets, he still considered her a friend, even if she wasn't feeling it at this time, and he wasn't going to let some eager, wet behind the ears whelp run her through the wringer. He was going to be there for her whether she liked it or not.
When it seemed like the end was never going to be in sight, it was announced that the investigators were satisfied with the way everything went down. Noah was no longer considered a suspect in Rolf's murder and Emily, and Gideon to a lesser extent, hadn't violated any laws. They were free to go home.