WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING

This is pretty angsty right here. I cried a little when I was re-reading it.

A/N: Hope that was enough of a warning. No deaths or anything, just a very emotional set of circumstances for our young Emily and her daughter. Read and review please.

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Criminal Minds.

Emily didn't understand what went wrong. She thought back over the past eighteen months. She thought about the sacrifices she had made for Peter. She couldn't imagine why he was saying the things he was. "Emily, you've always been reserved. I've never had the whole you. I don't know where you are, but you're not with me," he cried out in frustration.

Emily shook her head and put her face in her hands. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" she cried out, "Do you realize everything I've sacrificed? I gave up my career, I gave up my life and my friends and my family because I love you. Because I WANTED YOU PETER! I wanted to be with you and have kids with you and grow old with you," she sighed.

Peter shook his head. "No. That's what you thought you wanted," he replied. Emily looked up at him in confusion. "You thought you wanted this life. But honey, the minute you thought she was old enough, Emma was in daycare so you could go back to the FBI," he said.

Emily shook her head and stood up. "So now I'm a bad mother because I want to work? Because I want to have a career? Being a good role model for my daughter… trying to make this a safer world for her… how does that make me a bad mom?" she cried out.

Peter shook his head. "It doesn't make you a bad mom. It… I don't know," he shrugged, "It makes you independent. You don't need me." He looked down at his feet and Emily walked over. She tried to get him to meet her gaze but he shook his head. "Peter, honey, I need you. I need you everyday. I need you to back me up and stand next to me. I need you to hold my hand, to give me hugs, to make love to me. Because you're my husband. And …" she pulled his hands up to her chest, "because you want to. I know you want this too. I know you want to be together and raise our family." He looked at her hands then stepped back from her, dropping her hand.

"I need some time. I need to figure some things out," he said quietly. "Take as much time as you need. I'll be waiting here," she said. He nodded and walked over to Emma's crib and kissed the top of her head. "I'm gonna go to the house in Sacramento," he said. Emily nodded.

She watched him walk upstairs and heard him opening and closing drawers as he packed a small bag. "Call me when you get there," she said. He nodded and walked to the door. He paused before he opened it and walked out. Emily walked over to the window seats and sat down. She watched him climb in the jeep and the tears fell the moment he drove away.

It had been a couple of days since Peter had left for Sacramento. He'd called Emily that night, when he arrived at their small cottage, and said that he needed a few days to think about things. Emily nodded, though of course he couldn't see. They said goodbye and that was the last time they'd spoken.

It was Wednesday, and she was coming home from work a little early. She was hoping Peter would be there. He had SMS'ed her asking her where she had put his dark grey suit. He needed it for something but wouldn't tell her what. Emily had gotten so excited, that he was coming home. She had told her partner, Dan, that she needed to take a half-day. Emma was at daycare so she hoped that when she arrived home, they could talk and fix things. But when she did arrive home, it was a different story.

She felt something was different from the moment she walked into the house. She had expected Peter to be there, but it was eerily quiet. She walked through the front door and called out to him. No answer. She walked through to the study, but he was gone. And his laptop was as well, not strange, given that he usually took it with him. But if his laptop wasn't there, then maybe he wasn't either. She walked further into the study and half the shelves were bare. All of his textbooks were gone. His medical dictionary, his copy of the DSM-IV. They were all gone.

Emily couldn't shake the strange feeling in her gut. She turned and walked quickly up the stairs. She walked into their room and felt like throwing up when she saw the closet open. All of his clothes were gone. His shoes, his socks, his ties. The only things left in the wardrobe were her clothes and a couple of old Michigan State sweatshirts that she wore to bed. In the bathroom, his toothbrush and shaving kit were gone. She slowly walked back downstairs, into the living room and sat on the lounge. She picked up her phone and called his cell. It went straight to voicemail. She hung up and walked back into the study. This time, when she looked at her desk, she saw it.

She picked it up, knowing it wasn't going to be good. She walked into the kitchen, put it on the bench, and pulled the gin out of the freezer. She picked up her phone to call Pip, Dan's wife, and one of Emily's few west-coast friends. "Hey, Pip," she started, hoping her overly cheery voice wasn't a give-away. It wasn't. "Hey Em. What's up?" she asked. Emily took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice level. "Uh, I'm hoping you can do me a favour. I've got a bit of an emergency here. I was wondering if you can pick Emma up from day-care and take care of her until tomorrow afternoon?" Emily asked. Pip said she'd be happy to and after Emily explained a few, diapers and bottles etc, things they hung up.

She didn't want to go out in public, and if this letter was as bad as she was anticipating, she didn't want to do that until the next morning. Emily picked up her cell and sent a quick message to Dan. She knew if she called him he'd pick up on her voice and come straight over. D. Just letting you know I won't be able to make it in for the next couple of days. Family emergency. Sorry. Talk to you soon. E. She waited for the reply. E. No worries. Call me if you need. I'll take care of the deposition for you. See you in a couple. D. P.S. Call Pip if you need a hand. She loves you Em. Emily smiled at that last part. With that taken care of, Emily took a sip of gin, a deep breath, and opened the letter.

Emily,

I don't really know what to say. It would be easy to blame you but that's not really fair. I don't know when it happened, or what exactly happened, but I've fallen out of love with you. I still love you, and I always will. You're the mother of my little girl and I will always love you for that. Even though I've realized that this life isn't what I want anymore, you gave me two wonderful years with you, and ten wonderful months with Emma.

When we first started dating, you warned me that your job was important to you, and always would be. And I thought I could handle it. Even when I asked you to move to San Francisco with me, I knew in the back of my mind that you'd never really leave DC. I used to love the dedication you give to your work but over time, I've grown to really resent it. Your job, being an agent, being in the Bureau, it will always come first. You're an agent first, a mother second, and a wife third. And for a little while I thought that was enough for me. But it's not anymore.

Even more than my growing frustrations with that pecking order, I realize now that your team, your family in DC, they are what's important to you. You have never cared about me like you do them. You worry when you hear that one of them has been hurt, and you immediately drop whatever you're doing to call them. But when I called to tell you I was promoted or that I was picking up lectures at the university, you argued about how I was picking up more work but not contributing at home. Emily, that hurts so much. That you care more about what's going on with JJ or Reid or Hotch more than you do your own husband. I don't know how to fix it. I only know that if I don't leave now, I'm going to ruin the rest of both our lives.

I'm not going to fight you for custody of Emma. You are a wonderful mother and I could never take her from you. I hope you will tell her how much I love her and how much I care. But I can't just stay for her. I need to think about what's best for me too.

I also want you to have the house. You put so much work into making it a home, and it's Emma's home. So I want you to have it. I'll be staying in Sacramento until I figure out what to do next.

Take care Emily. Know that I will always care for you. I hope you'll eventually be happy, that you'll find what you're looking for.

Peter.

Emily was stunned. She couldn't move or speak or even cry. She couldn't believe it. She just sat there and stared at the paper. She didn't know whether she had the energy to stand, even if she wanted to. After she took a deep breath she put the letter on the coffee table and took a sip of the gin, the cool liquid sliding down her throat. She looked down at the note and she could feel the tears begin to well up. She shook her head and stood up, placing her glass on the coffee table. She slowly walked upstairs, into their bedroom, and made her way to their bed. She lay down on her side and curled up in a ball. She ran her hand over Peter's side of the bed and felt the tears start to fall. Maybe, she thought to herself, maybe after he's taken some time to think about it he'll come home. After a good fifteen minutes of crying, she fell asleep.

A/N2: Ok, so poor Emily. I felt so sad for her. And then I realized that this is basically what happened to Hotch when Hayley left in Season 3. He comes home to find the house empty. Although in Emily's case she's fortunate enough to have her baby with her.

So the end of this is also the start of her grief. She's already gone through denial, wondering if he'll come back. Next chapter has the next three stages: anger then bargaining, and finally she hits depression. Please Read and Review.