A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I'm starting to find the flow of this story again so I hope you enjoy the update :)

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Lucy Winter. That was the name chosen for the child who knew little more of the world than the four walls of the isolation unit which had been her secure palace, and the apartment where she'd made her dramatic entrance to the world. It was a name that revealed nothing of the death and mystery which surrounded her existence and even less about her parentage. Chosen by a group of hospital staff, it could have been given to any child, born at any time. She could have been the child of a wealthy socialite, or of a homely school teacher. She could grow up to be a ballerina or a surgeon or the president.

Lucy Winter could be anyone, but for the time being, and for the few who were trusted with the knowledge of her existence, she was the tiny girl sleeping peacefully in the arms of a federal agent.

Emily adjusted her position, as Lucy stirred in her sleep and one small arm escaped the pink blanket which had provided extra protection from the cold on the journey from the hospital. They were safely inside now, but still, she tucked the soft fleece closer around the girl. The weather had hardly let up since the night of the child's arrival and Emily had been unexpectedly concerned about a creature so small leaving the unnatural warmth of the NICU.

"She's perfectly healthy - the doctors wouldn't have released her otherwise - and it's warm enough in here," JJ had assured her, the first time she fussed with the blanket. "Trust me."

"There's a draft," Emily had insisted holding Lucy closer and smoothing a hand over her soft, downy head. She wondered if the baby should be wearing a hat.

That had been ten minutes earlier, before the meeting had started and before she'd realised the time. He should be finished by now; he should be there. She adjusted the blanket one more time and tried to tune back in on the conversation.

"Ian Doyle was a dangerous man, who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. We have to assume that anyone acting in continuation of his legacy will be of the same mentality."

Strauss's words were unnecessary for most of those in the room. JJ, Hotch and Emily barely showed any sign of a reaction to the warning. The face of the unfortunate social worker, who had been appointed to represent the child's welfare, told a different story. Her eyes grew wider with every mention of this deceased terrorist's name and she was already wishing the department had agreed to work alongside the FBI without having such direct involvement. Emily noticed the colour draining from the woman's cheeks and wished she could do something more than attract JJ's attention so the blonde could pour more water into her empty glass.

"As such, nothing said here can leave this room," Strauss explained, her eyes lingering on the social worker. "Agent Jareau will..."

The opening of the door to the conference room interrupted her explanation of JJ's role. All eyes turned to where an apologetic Morgan was trying to slip quietly into the empty seat beside his girlfriend.

"Nice of you to join us, Agent Morgan," Strauss remarked, raising her eyebrows, but lacking the sting that her tone often held.

"Sorry, ma'am," he nodded, taking his seat.

Emily met his gaze, communicating silently with her partner. She needed to know how his earlier meeting had gone. It was vital to their next steps. "Is it good news?" her eyes asked.

Under the table, he pulled his newly returned FBI credentials from his pocket and held them out for her to examine. Forgetting everyone else in the room, for a moment at least, they shared a smile and Derek placed a hand on her knee.

"I trust you have been fully reinstated?" Strauss asked, unable to disguise the hint of a smile brought about by the exchange between the two agents.

They glanced up to see that everyone in the room was watching, and wearing the same half-smile as the section chief. Derek quickly withdrew his hand, as Emily felt her face flush.

"Yes, ma'am," Derek confirmed, allowing the grin he'd had to restrain since leaving internal affairs to show.

"As I was saying," Strauss continued, getting back to business. "Agent Jareau will act as a liaison between Agents Prentiss and Morgan and the rest of the BAU. Agents, you will be provided with false identities and will take the child to a safe house, where you will remain until the investigation into Sophie's death is concluded or the threat has passed. Your job is to ensure the safety of the child. If you encounter any trouble, you will contact Agent Jareau, do I make myself clear?"

"What if Agent Jareau is unavailable?" Emily asked. She'd known there would be a catch to Strauss's agreement to them taking control of the child's safety and it seemed that catch was that their role in the investigation would be greatly limited.

"Then you will contact Agent Hotchner or myself. I can't foresee a situation where all three of us would be out of reach," she responded, already prepared for Prentiss to push her conditions as far as they would stretch. "Need I remind you that you are operating as part of a multi-agency team in this operation? It is not a solo mission."

Emily nodded in acceptance of the situation, but she pursed her lips and bit down hard to stop herself from making any kind of a comment that she would regret. Despite their section chief's softening towards the team, she still had an occasional dig to make and there was no mistaking her words for anything else. Though looking back to how she had handled Doyle's appearance in the past, and at how she was addressing the present situation, it wasn't entirely undeserved.

In a way she was still going it alone, only this time she was dragging Derek down with her. That somehow made it worse. Strauss's comments were most likely meant as a more general warning than an expression of suspicion. But that didn't stop Emily from being reminded of the dangerous game she was playing or prevent the accompanying sense of nausea from settling in her stomach.

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The rest of the meeting passed without a hitch, if Lucy's party trick of projectile vomiting across the table was ignored. That was probably one of the many reasons babies weren't really encouraged within the offices and conference rooms of Quantico, but it prompted a few laughs from those around the table. Or at least those who had experienced the joy of parenthood laughed, while Emily and Derek looked on with expressions of horror and surprise. Regardless, they soon reached a point where all aspects of their plan had been finalised and discussed.

The social worker had left not long after Derek's arrival, sworn to secrecy on everything she had been told, but free from the danger of knowing any of the important details. The hope was that she would ensure Lucy was a properly documented citizen and that she could one day return from hiding, but her role was limited to the greatest extent possible. They didn't need any civilian casualties.

After the others headed back to their respective offices, Derek and Emily found that, for the first time, they were left alone with the baby.

"I've got to stop underestimating you," Derek commented, as Emily settled Lucy into her car seat and frowned at the overly complicated straps.

"What do you mean?" she asked, finally hearing the successful snap as the device clicked into place.

"You said you wanted to protect her, you came up with your crazy plan, and look where we are now," he grinned, shaking his head in disbelief while also looking impressed by what she had achieved.

"I've manipulated our friends by holding back information and twisting the situation to suit what I wanted - it's nothing to be proud of," she replied, feeling the familiar sensation of guilt as she thought of all that her friends didn't know about Marissa or the looming threat of "Valhalla" - whatever it involved.

"Telling them everything wouldn't have got us any closer to Sophie's killer or Doyle's men," he assured her, becoming more serious. "If anyone had tried to trace Marissa it would probably have got her killed before it got us anything useful."

"She might be dead anyway," Emily responded with a sigh. She'd heard nothing from the girl since the afternoon in the café, despite spending countless hours wandering the grounds of the hospital in the freezing rain on the off-chance that she might appear. Everytime her phone rang, she hoped it was the girl just so that she had some proof of life. Because, without it, there remained the possibility that her only lead had been caught and punished for the treachery of speaking to the authorities.

"There's no point thinking like that," he replied, taking his turn to drag Emily away from her self-doubt. "Did you get anywhere with the name she gave you?"

She shook her head, recalling yet another deception. She'd taken the name Marissa had scribbled on a napkin to Garcia the day before, having exhausted all her own means of working out who it could be. As casually as she could manage, she'd asked if the technical analyst could run the name Winston Sinclair and see what she could dig up. Garcia had asked very few questions and simply got to work, proceeding on the assumption that the information had come from the man who had tried to abduct Lucy from the hospital. He was still in custody, held without bail as he awaited trial, and while he was largely uncooperative he'd occasionally let something slide. Emily made no attempt to correct the assumption.

"Garcia didn't find anything," she told Derek. "There is no one using that name - real or as an alias - in the area." Marissa had been reluctant to give up anyone, so she supposed it could have been pulled out of thin air. She'd just hoped it was real.

"We'll catch a break eventually," he assured her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her forehead.

She leaned against his chest, accepting the moment of comfort. Of all her decisions, bringing Derek in on what was happening had brought her the most strength and certainty, but she still couldn't help fearing the repercussions he would face if everything went wrong.

"Right now we'd better focus on getting a certain baby girl to her new home," he continued, hoping concentrating on the present task would keep Emily out of her own head long enough to stop her shutting him out again.

Emily took a deep breath and sighed, turning to Lucy, who stared back from her car seat. The baby was safe; that was something. And she suspected that their role as "parents" to the girl would give them more than enough to do until they found a lead.

Derek picked up the carrier, ready to meet their escort to the safe house.

Even if they didn't get anywhere with the case, she could rest easy on one thing - she was keeping her promise to Marissa, no matter what.