Here's the final chapter. Enjoy.

No one was there to greet Emily when she landed at Dulles on a blustery Friday afternoon. The team was off in New Mexico on a case and when she volunteered to immediately head to the BAU to help them from there, Hotch vetoed the suggestion. He told her to enjoy the weekend and they would see her bright and early at the office Monday morning. Emily didn't put up any resistance, figuring she could use the time to do her laundry and rest up from the flight. Even though she had slept for part of the trip, travel and going through customs always wore her out and she was looking forward to sleeping in her own bed.

After retrieving her car from long-term parking, Emily made a minor detour before heading for her temporary home away from home at Dave's. She wanted to see how much progress Derek has made on her rowhouse, figuring he wouldn't have waited for her to return and she was right on the money. Emily was surprised and delighted to find the demolition was done. As she walked through the now open space, she knew she had made the right decision going with the open floor concept and was already picturing where her furniture would go. It will be so nice to finally get all of her possessions out of storage and arranged the way she liked. And some day soon she'll be watching Sergio exploring his new home. Visiting him at Penelope's just wasn't the same as having him living permanently with her. Satisfied with the progress and vowing to help with the rest of the renovation as best she could, Emily locked up and headed for Dave's.

It was there that Emily got the welcome home she deserved. Mudgie literally mugged her the second she stepped through the door, body quivering and tail going a mile a minute. In his mind she had been gone for years and he missed her very much. To show her how much, he either danced around her or stuck to her like Velcro, both actions preventing Emily from moving any further away from the door. After a ton of petting and sweet-talking, that she would deny if anyone heard her, Emily extricated herself and retreated to her room to unpack.

Since Hotch told her to take the weekend to relax, that was exactly what Emily planned to do, but that didn't mean she had to be alone to do it. She missed her friends so when Dave called later to check in with her, Emily used that opportunity to ask when he thought they'd be returning. When he said no later than Saturday hopefully, she kindly asked if he would allow her to host a little team gathering, with his help cooking of course. He readily agreed and offered to tell the team.

Come Sunday, everyone was at Dave's for a late lunch prepared by Dave with just a little help from Emily. Emily was anxious to give them their presents she had wrapped yesterday with Mudgie unwanted help. As punishment for constantly putting his nose where it didn't belong and getting hair in the tape, she made him wear a large pink bow on his head that was still there when Dave got home. She decided not to wait until Christmas, preferring to do it in person to see their reactions, especially the boys'.

After a delicious and filling lunch, Emily couldn't wait any longer and passed out the presents. In addition to the gifts she picked up in France, she included a bottle of the winery's new mondeuse blanche that she asked Robert to ship over. By an unspoken agreement, the team let the kids go first. The adults looked on as the two boys tore into their presents, sending bits of wrapping paper into the air and over the floor. Jack got his open first, eyes widening in delight as he pulled out a blue sailboat with a white sail.

"Daddy, look at what I got!" he cried out excitedly, holding it up for all to see.

"I see, Buddy. That's a cool sailboat."

"It is," he agreed, studying it in greater detail. "Gonna to need a big place to sail it cause it's too big for the bathtub." He ran a finger over his name in french painted on the stern.

Hotch laughed. "When it's warmer we'll go to the lake at Constitution Gardens. You're still allowed to sail boats there." He could remember the time when it was okay to sail them in the reflecting pool by the Washington Monument.

"Sweet."

"Shouldn't you be thanking someone for such a nice gift?"

"Oh yeah." He hurried over and gave Emily a big hug. "Thanks, Em'ly. I love it!"

"You're welcome, Sport," Emily said, returning the hug.

Meanwhile Henry finished opening his gift. He looked from his red sailboat to Jack's blue one and burst into tears.

Emily went to kneel next to him and ran a hand over his long blonde hair. "What's wrong, Pancho? Don't you like it?" She really thought he would like it and she made sure to get them the same thing so they wouldn't be jealous. Guess she was wrong.

"I like blue."

"I thought red was your favorite color?"

He sniffled, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. "It is, but I like blue too."

Ah, so the color is the issue and she thought she knew a way to fix it and make Henry the happy go lucky kid he normally was. Gently she took the sailboat from him. "Henry, I had this made just for you," she explained, stretching the truth just a little.

Another sniffle. "You did?"

"Uh huh. I had them paint it red because I knew red is your favorite color in the whole wide world and…" Emily turned it around so he could see the back of it. "I also had them put your name on the stern so everyone can see that it's your boat and nobody else's."

Jack pointed at the lettering. "That doesn't look like Henry and mine doesn't either."

Emily chuckled. "That's because both names are in French. Jacques for you and Henri with an 'I' for Master Henry here. Now the two of you will be the only little boys with French named sailboats."

"Cool," Jack whistled.

She turned her attention back to Henry. Emily wiped away the remnants of his tears before lightly tapping him on the nose with one finger. "You better now?"

He nodded and then abruptly threw his arms around the neck, sailboat squished between them. "Thanks, Auntie Em," he whispered in her ear.

"Glad you like it, Pancho," she responded, giving him a one armed hug since the other was occupied with holding the boat. At the same time Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Another crisis averted.

Now it was the team's turn. A lot of thought went into picking the right thing for each of them and she hoped they knew that once they opened them. So, not wasting any time, she gave each of them a present and a bottle of wine and stood back to watch as they were opened.

The looks on their faces and their exclamations of appreciation told Emily everything she wanted to know and she loved it. They liked the gifts and that made her feel good. She was even happier when Penelope bounded up and wrapped her arms around her, engulfing Emily in a tight hug.

"I love my couture umbrella. It's so frilly and so pink, thank you," she said to Emily before squeezing the brunette tighter, taking her breath away. "But what were you thinking not telling me you owned a winery. That's something you tell a girl who likes wine and invites you to girls' night all the time. Wine is a must, Emily."

"But I don't own the winery," Emily said once Penelope broke the embrace. "Mother does."

"And one day it will be yours."

Emily arched an dubious eyebrow. "Pen, are you planning on knocking my mother off so that I can inherit the winery and supply you with free wine?"

Penelope tented her fingers over her heart. "Don't be silly. Mommy dearest doesn't need to die," she said with a light laugh. "You just need to open the supply chain and start sending some vino my way."

"I just gave you a bottle of our new mondeuse blanche."

"One measly bottle isn't going to do it."

Derek leaned in and said in a loud stage whisper, "Don't do it, Partner. Baby Girl will drink that winery of yours dry."

"Don't I know it," Emily responded.

"Hey! I would not. I'm not lush," Penelope defended herself.

They laughed as Emily came up with something she knew would appease her friend. "How about I have Robert send you a different bottle each month? A wine of the month club type thing."

"Yes! Do it!" Penelope happily accepted before linking her arm with Emily's and moving them closer to the group. "Now sit down and tell us all about your adventure. And leave nothing out."

Emily did as she was told and filled them in on what happened from the moment she had Gideon had stepped onto French soil. Even though Penelope had commanded her to tell all, Emily intentionally left out anything personal like Gideon's prying, her return to her old apartment and the nightmare. Only Hotch knew about the nightmare and she was confident he would never mention to anyone. By the time she got to the chase and the resulting avalanche, everyone was sitting on the edges of their seats, hanging on to her every word.

"That must have been terrifying," JJ said with a shudder, prompting Will to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. "To see all that snow hurtling towards you."

"It was," Emily admitted. "My hands were aching from clutching the handle bars so tightly and I bet beneath my gloves my knuckles were bone white. I had the throttle fully open even though I knew it was an act of futility to outrun an avalanche. All I could hear as I fled for my life was my grandfather's voice lecturing me what to do if I ever got caught in one." In her eyes they could see how close Emily could have been to death.

"Statistically speaking, on average, 25 people die in an avalanche each year. Just like your situation, Emily, snowmobiles account for almost half of the deaths. Their weight, the machine vibrations and most importantly they can easily and quickly take you places you shouldn't be. But if you know what to do and have the right equipment, your odds go up and you have a 9 out of 10 chance of surviving."

Everyone turned to stare at the young genius. "Gee, Reid, what a fun fact," Derek smirked.

He brightened. "Really?"

"No."

His face fell. "Oh."

"Thankfully our Emster here knew a little something about something and got herself out safely," Penelope said, breaking up the little riff. 'Or I would have had to bring her frozen corpse back just to kill her myself."

"Ew," JJ said, wrinkling her nose at the image.

"Do you know what's happening with Alain Renaud?" Hotch asked.

"According to Clyde when he stopped by the cabin, Renaud is hiding in his home and behind his expensive lawyers. Building a solid corruption case is going to take some time, but his journal is turning out to be a verifiable gold mine. His little empire is collapsing about his ears like a house of cards as he tries to call in favors and everyone is backing away, fearing they are in the journal."

"Smart people," Dave observed, "But I don't think it's going to work. Got a feeling a lot of heads will be rolling by the time this is over."

"Corruption is far reaching especially with murder and attempted murder charges tossed in. The Capitaine and his Lieutenant Gideon and I dealt with has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation," Emily explained.

"What about the goons chasing you?" Derek asked.

"The two that were arrested aren't talking, but their fingerprints connect them to a faction of the French mafia led by a man named Louis Aumont. They're assuming he's one of the two still missing men."

The couple of days she spent up at the cabin, Emily could see in the far distance the helicopter searching for the bodies of the two men who had chased her. The mountain and its snow are stubborn and won't surrender its dead until spring. They did find her snowmobile and the last she heard Robert was still bemoaning its condition and how much it was going to cost to fix it.

Derek continued. "And the investigation should eventually lead to Renaud hiring them to do his dirty work."

"That's what I'm hoping for," she agreed. "Clyde promised to keep me informed. He may be lacking in some things, but he does keep his promises."

"Thought you might want a second," Emily said, handing Derek a fresh beer. She found him standing by the French doors watching Jack and Henry romping with Mudgie in the backyard.

"Thanks, partner," he said with a smile, clinking bottles with he. He took a swig of his, turning his back outside. "The cold doesn't seem to bother them."

She followed his gaze and smiled. " I think all children are impervious to it." Outside it was in the mid-thirties without a hint of snow in the air. Forecasters where predicting it was going to be a green Christmas even if it was still a few weeks away. "If they had their way, they would be out there in nothing but a shirt and shorts."

"Probably," he agreed with a chuckle, remembering how many times his mother forced him to wear a jacket when he didn't want to and how uncool it made him look.

Emily took a sip of her beer. "I stopped by the rowhouse to see how much progress you made and I was amazed. It appears you're a one man wrecking crew. The whole place has been gutted."

Derek grinned. "Yup, but I can't take full credit for it. I had help."

"Oh?"

"I had some help from Russ and his friend Jimmy."

Emily choked on her beer, forcing Derek to clap her on the back. "Russ?" she sputtered. "You met Russ?"

"Yup. They just showed up one night armed with sledge hammers and eager to smash down some walls."

"Boys and their toys." Once she got over her shock, Emily was relieved Derek wasn't the one who initiated contact. He would have known she wouldn't be a happy camper, preferring to be the one to do the introductions. It never occurred to her that Russ might seek out the rest of the team after he met Dave.

"He's a great kid, Emily. We talked about baseball, school, his desire to know more about remodeling."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"Probably because he hasn't had the opportunity to use the skills he learning in woodworking class." He gave her a sideways glance. "Oh, he did ask me for some dating advice."

Emily chocked on her beer a second time. "Please tell me you said no, Derek," she said once she could speak again.

"I didn't. You got a problem with that?"

She couldn't hold back the groan. "The last thing I need on my hands is a younger, white version of you."

"Is that so bad?" Flashing her a cheeky grin.

"Yes. It's going to take me months to break him of all the bad habits you taught him."

"What a way to hurt a guy." Derek placed his free hand over his heart as if wounded, earning a snort of derision from Emily. "Seriously, he wanted to ask out a girl in his history class that he was certain didn't know he existed so I suggested he ask if she would like to got get some coffee after class."

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "You didn't feed him any of your corny pick up lines?"

"Only if you're counting 'Hi, I'm Russ and I was wondering if you would like to get some coffee with me' as one. Otherwise the answer is no. Scouts honor."

"I'll take your word or it, but," she leveled her beer bottle at him, "if I find out you did, your ass is mine, Morgan."

"My ass has always been yours, Partner."

They gazed at each other and then burst into a round of chuckles. They clinked bottles again before taking sips. Bottles still in hand, the two stood watching the boys and dog play in a comfortable silence. There was something on Derek's mind about Russ and he wasn't sure how to bring it up, but he didn't want to risk not saying anything at all. Either way Emily was going to be pissed at him.

"Hey, Em?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't talk to Russ all that much about yourself, do you?"

Her eyes wrinkled. She wasn't sure where that came from. "I tell him what he needs to know, I guess. I answer the questions he asks. He's a kid. I don't think he wants all the personal details."

"And if he did?"

"What are you getting at, Derek?"

He took a deep breath. "He asked…about your past?" he blurted out.

"My past? Which part of my past? What did you tell him?"

"It wasn't anything bad."

"What did you say?" she asked more forcefully.

"I just told him…"

"Told him what?"

"Russ wanted to know about the five months you were away," he explained. "I kept it vague. I just told him a bad guy wanted revenge. You were injured in the process and went into protective custody until he was caught. That's it."

Emily looked around the room to make sure they weren't being observed before stepping closer. She wanted to clock him with the beer bottle, but she resisted the urge. Instead, with eyes burning with indignation, she hissed in a low and dangerous voice, "You had no right telling him even that. It was none of his business."

Derek could see she was angry with him and she has every right to be. He had violated her privacy, but he also thought he had done the right thing so he stuck to his guns. "You're right, Emily. I shouldn't have and I apologize for that, but I had a good reason to do so. Russ said he has asked you several times about it and you always changed the subject."

"He doesn't need to know stuff like that. He's just a kid."

He shook his head. "Russ is no longer that child who needed protecting. He's a smart, well grounded young man who cares deeply about you." He held back the part that he was sure Russ thought of Emily as a mother figure because he wasn't positive if she was ready to hear that yet. It was something that should come from Russ and not him.

Emily blinked at that. Damn if he wasn't right about that. In her mind Russ would always be that red headed twelve-year-old baseball obsessed kid even though she has watched him grow into a tall baseball obsessed young adult. Some of her anger dissipated as she said, "I care deeply for him too."

"So don't be angry at him, be angry at me."

"Believe me that I am."

"As you should be. Talk to him. He's old enough to understand. It might do you a world of good to confide in someone not connected to the team."

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises."

"That's all I ask. We're good?"

She exhaled loudly. "We're good."

Derek's face split into a relieved grin. He hated it when she was pissed at him. She made his life miserable until she decided to forgive me. "For a moment I thought you were going to hit me with your beer bottle."

Emily's grin was more on the wicked side. "Oh, buddy, you have no idea how close you came. Luckily, for you, I didn't want to waste a perfectly good beer on your head."

"Lucky me."

"Lucky for the beer."

They shared a laugh and then Derek frowned. "Uh oh. I better get out there," he said and hurried outside.

Emily turned around and smiled. The boys had abandoned playing with Mudgie and were now trying to sail their new boats in Dave's koi pond. As she watched them, she remembered the other part of the conversation she had with Clyde after he had shown up uninvited at the cabin that she didn't tell the team.

"I have a proposition for you," he said, piquing Emily's interests.

"What kind of proposition?"

He sat down on the couch and told her about his job and the benefits it afforded him. There was an open position that he thought would be perfect for her.

Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "You want me to run the London Interpol office?"

"Yes. You'd have your own team and oversee the operations. You'd be the boss."

As much as Emily liked that idea, she was happy where she was and who she was with. She didn't see herself moving away when she thought she was finally settling back into this life.

"Just think about it," he said.

"No."

"No?" He frowned in puzzlement. " No you won't think about it? Is that a yes, then?"

"No… No I can't take the job."

"Why not?"

"I appreciate the offer, Clyde. I really do. It sounds great and maybe a few years from now, hell, maybe a few months or weeks from now, I'd jump on the opportunity, but I'm not there yet. I am happy where I am, doing what I'm doing. I don't see myself picking up to move after I have just started to put down roots. I've bought a house and I'm in the process of renovating it. So, my answer is thank you, but no."

He shook his head, saddened. "I'm sorry to hear that. You would have been great." But he accepted her answer, adding that if she ever changed her mind, to let him know.

Like She had told him, she was flattered by the offer. It was a great opportunity, one of those once in a lifetime job that people would kill for. She would love to be head of the office and have her own team, but she wasn't ready for that responsibility and the politics that came along with it. She still has a lot of mental healing to do. This unplanned trip with Gideon back to the city of her exile has helped, but she still had a long way to go before she could feel whole again. It was sort of funny that she had gone to Paris to help him find his nephew and in the end Gideon, in his prying and annoying ways, ended up helping her find a missing piece of herself. For that would be forever grateful to him even though she couldn't stand him most of the time.

Emily took a swig of her beer as she looked around at her friends. Reid, Hotch, JJ and Will talking amiably before the fire burning in the fireplace. Dave and Penelope in the kitchen arguing over the way to turn one of his recipes into a meatless meal. Derek with his pants rolled up to his knees, standing in the freezing koi pond, rescuing one of the boats while Jack and Henry. Mudgie rolling in something he probably shouldn't be rolling in. All sent a warm feeling through her body. Like Gideon, who was happy and content with his life in Oregon, Emily was so far content and happy with her life in DC and with how her relationship with her mother was progressing. This was her home and this was her family. What more did she need?

And that's a wrap! Thank you to everyone who stuck with the story and to those who kindly left reviews. All were much appreciated. This one proved to be a tough one to write and fought with me the whole time, but I triumphed and made it to the end. I'll be taking my normal break so I should be back around February (hopefully) with a new one. Until then.

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