A/N: Ok I had an epiphany at work this morning, and I decided that Emily needs to be a little more Emily and I had an idea on how to UP the drama level without the same old shit different toilet, if you pardon my phrase. So yeah, here is the long awaited Garcia chapter! : ) Might be 2 Chapters today btw, so be on the Lookout!
"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely."
Pam Brown
Emily paced back and forth nervously in the large empty foyer. Ian had left yesterday morning and so far nothing eventful had happened. But today, today was different. Today was Garcia's date of arrival. Emily had not slept a wink last night due to excitement and nerves. She hadn't told anyone from the BAU that she was pregnant, and she wasn't quite sure how Garcia was going to take it.
She looked up suddenly she heard the crunch of little rocks in the brick driveway under the tires of the black car that pulled in front of the drive. She was originally planning on meeting Garcia at the airport, but Declan had awoke with a fever and ear ache. She assumed it was Swimmer's Ear from his frequent trips to the pool and ocean. So she had opted to stay home, instead sending a car for Garcia with a message.
She bolted out the front door and onto the giant stone stairway that led down the drive. She watched in angst as the car door opened and a blonde head with a giant purple bedazzled flower pinned to the side emerged. Screaming in excitement she dashed down the stairs and ran into Garcia's waiting arms. They were both crying within seconds and exchanged heartfelt hellos.
Hugging for what seemed like hours, Emily wiped her eyes, sniffling and welcomed Garcia into the house.
"My god Emily! This house is gi-gasmic!" Exclaimed Garcia, mouth gaping as she looked up towards the high cathedral ceilings and massive grand staircase.
"Yeah, just wait til you see the view. The baby's room is gonna have a great view too." She said slyly, wondering how long it would take Garcia to pick up on what she said.
"Oh I can imagin—WAIT WHAT?" She squealed, hands immediately waving in frantic excitement.
"Yeah, 4-5 months from now there might be a little Penelope running around this massive place," she said sticking her tongue out.
"My god, Emily. This is huge! First you run off, then you get MARRIED, now your preggers?" Garcia breathed, still fanning herself, like she was going to pass out from shock.
"Yeah, it's a lot to take in…" Emily chuckled awkwardly, not really sure what to say to that.
"Uh, hells yeah!" Garcia laughed. "Alright, Now. I want a tour, and I must see my golden haired angel child soon, or I might just die!" She commanded playfully.
"Okay, yeah, let's go see Declan, and then I'll give you the grand tour." Emily said waving her towards the grand staircase. They walked to Declan's room, Garcia chatting emphatically telling her all the newest gossip of the BAU and all the goings on she'd missed. Emily felt pangs in her heart at the mention of her other friends, her family. She felt a twinge of guilt for how she'd left. It felt like she'd faked her death all over again, except, this time they knew she was alive and well. She just missed them, and they her; according to Garcia.
They walked into Declan's room and Garcia smothered him with hugs and kisses and gawked at the awesome entertainment set-up of his room. Declan wasn't really up for a lot of company at the moment, so they promised to come back in a little while to catch up some more after he'd rested.
So they meandered the open hallways and Garcia brought up the topic Emily had been surprised the first thing out of her mouth.
"So, Em, SPILL! Tell me all about him!" She gushed, grabbing Emily's arm for dear life. Emily blushed. She'd been dreading this moment from the moment Ian had said Garcia could come.
"Well, his name's Isaac, Isaac Farrell." Emily started…
"Oh my God. Emily Farrell! How cute!" She blurted out.
"Yeah, yeah, He uh, He works in the oil business. That's why we moved here. His company is based here in Dubai." She explained.
"Wow, oil? Emily Prentiss marrying rich into the big oil business!" She teased.
"Yeah, it's not so exciting. I hardly ever leave the house except to shop. Which, you know how I feel about that…" She said rolling her eyes.
"He sounds so great! You have everything a girl could ever want!" Garcia said.
"Yeah, it's pretty great," Emily said evasively. She really did not want to keep talking about Ian. She could feel Garcia wanting more info though, and she couldn't really blame her, but the less information she gave about Ian, the better.
Emily showed her the pool, walked her down to the barn showing her the horses, and eventually they made their way down to the beach. Walking on the pier, they talked about Garcia's relationship with Kevin, JJ and Will and baby Henry, Reid and Morgan, Hotch and Jack, and of course the mysterious David Rossi.
They laughed so hard they cried, they swapped stories and had drinks on the beach, virgin for her. They ate dinner in Declan's room with him, and played video games with him until his medicine kicked in, making him sleepy. They left, shutting the door quietly behind them. Garcia let out a small yawn, and Emily knew she was probably dead tired after such a long flight. She showed Garcia to the guest room right next to the master bedroom, a bright lilac colored room with a very girly canopy bed with flowy white curtains and gorgeous white orchids from the gardens below the adjoining balcony.
"My god this room is beautiful Emily!" Garcia breathed in awe.
"We had them decorate it just for you; I know how much you love bright colors. I figured white walls might drive you nuts." Emily said grinning leaning against the door frame.
"You had them do this just for me?" Garcia asked in shock.
"Yeah, it was no big deal. We wanted to see how this color looked anyways for a girl if we have one." Emily said breezily, waving her hand.
"My god Emily, this is amazing." She said.
"I'm glad you like it!" Emily said beaming happily.
"Like it? I absolutely freaking Love it!"
"Good, just uh, come wake me up, in the morning, you know if I'm not up before you k? If I'm up though, I'll be in the dining room. You remember where that is right?" Emily said motioning downstairs.
"Yeah, yeah, I think I can find it." Garcia said, offhandedly, smiling.
"Alright, 'Night Garcia."
"Goodnight Em." She said as Emily made to shut the door behind her.
"Hey, Em?" Garcia said suddenly.
"Yeah, hon?"
"I really missed you…"
"I missed you too." Emily said with a sad smile, closing the door behind her. She sighed in relief. This had been a long, emotional day but she was so relieved to see that her friendship with Garcia had survived.
She jumped out of her skin when she felt her back pocket vibrate. Ian. She thought… Damn she was jumpy. She felt a sense of unease with him being gone as she entered their bedroom, before answering.
"Hello?" She said.
"Hello Love." His deep Irish brogue came from the other line. It was odd, but after seven years his voice still made the hair on the back of her neck stand up in a weird way. It wasn't in fear, more like a sensual way.
"How's your trip?" She asked. Not that she really cared. She had told him she didn't even want to know what he was doing in Ireland, because she wouldn't support his going for anything less than legal business, so he might as well not even tell her.
"It's going very well." He said wryly, he knew she didn't care. "How's Declan?"
"He's sick. He woke up with it." She said. She knew he'd freak out when she told him.
"What? What'd wrong with him?" Ian asked concernedly.
"No, Ian, calm down. It's just a little ear infection. In America we call it Swimmer's Ear. It just means he got too much water in his ears. It'll go away with some medication. I had the concierge doctor already prescribe him some stuff." She said reassuringly.
"Oh…" He said, clearly relieved. "How're you feeling? How's the baby?" He asked again.
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm a little tired…Garcia got here this morning and I didn't sleep well last night." She said, yawning.
"Emily. You promised you would take it easy. You need your rest." Ian reprimanded.
"I know, I know. I was just about to crash anyways. Garcia just went to bed." She said placating him.
"Emily, don't make me worry about you while I'm gone. Get some sleep, I'll talk to you tomorrow." Ian said sternly.
"Okay, hey, make sure you call tomorrow during the day or evening, Declan wants to say hi." She said wanly.
"I will. Goodnight, Love…"
"Goodnight Ian." She said. She hung up the phone and held the phone against her chin for a moment. Despite her joy of Garcia being here, Ian being gone left her with this feeling of unease. His presence brought a feeling of safety, even though most of the time she'd needed saved it was from him. She crawled into bed and clutched Ian's pillow, looking out the French doors… She couldn't help but feel like even with all the staff, Garcia, Declan, she felt very very alone…