Hmmm...lets see. Where did I leave off? Oh, yes! Emily decided to take a little snooze. Shall we see if she has decided to wake and join in all the fun? Lets. So sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Emily stirred under his head and let out a low moan. Jack was instantly awake. He latched on to an arm and shook it vigorously. "Wake up, Em'ly. Wake up!"
Her forehead drew down into a frown. "Jack, stop jumping on the bed," she said weakly.
Jack paused. "We don't have a bed."
Her eyes fluttered open. "Then stop whatever you're doing. You're making me sick to my stomach."
"Sorry," he apologized jerking his hands off her arm and behind his back.
She smiled faintly. "That's okay." Suddenly she squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed hard. "God," she croaked. "I think I am going to be sick."
Emily bent her right knee and attempted to level herself over onto her side since she knew it was not a good idea to throw up while flat on your back. Without the use of her hands and a barely functioning left leg, she was unable to get enough leverage. Seeing her distress, Jack scurried over to her other side and pushed. Between the two of them Emily managed to roll over. As her body was wracked by the dry heaves Jack rubbed her back in small circles in the same manner his Mom did when he was sick.
When the shuddering stopped, he peeked over her shoulder. "Better?" he asked concerned.
She nodded. "Better." She turned her head to rest her forehead against the cold floor. The cold had a soothing affect on her pounding headache; her head no longer felt like it was going to split in two. She swallowed trying to get the bitter taste out of her mouth. She squinted up at him. "Did Mr. Doyle leave you any water?"
Jack looked around. "Yeah," he said spotting a bottle by the door. He didn't recall seeing it before so Mr. Doyle must have slipped it in while he and Emily were asleep.
Dashing over he scooped up the water and flopped down in front of her. Awkwardly he held it up to her lips and she managed a few sips without spilling too much. "Thanks, Sweetie. That tasted wonderful."
Jack beamed as he recapped the bottle.
"How long have I been…" she struggled to wrap her brain around the word she wanted.
"Asleep?" He volunteered.
"That works. Do you know how long?"
Jack shook his head. "A long time. It's light outside now." He pointed to the morning light streaming through the tiny window.
Emily craned her neck to look and groaned. It was morning outside which meant she had been unconscious for the entire night, quite possibly for eight or more hours. If she didn't have a concussion before this, she definitely had one now.
"Can we go home now?"
She shifted her eyes back to the little boy, his desire to leave was clearly written all over his face. She felt bad for him. "Soon, Sweetie. Real soon. As soon as I can figure out to get us out of this room."
"Oh." Jack grew quiet and Emily wasn't sure if it was an indication that a tantrum might be brewing. She needed to focus his mind on something positive.
"Jack?" she asked. When he didn't respond she called his name a little louder. "Jack?"
He looked up. "What?"
"I need your help. Can you untie my hands?"
He shrugged. "I guess." He climbed over her and attacked the knots, the tip of his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth.
Emily gritted her teeth as the tugging started to restore circulation to her arms and hands that had gone numb from laying on them all night. She looked straight ahead into the glassy eyes of the red panda that was also lying on its side.
"Is that a raccoon?" she asked, hoping to reengage him in conversation. She didn't like the silent Jack.
"No." She could hear the frown in his voice. "He's a red panda."
"Oh," she said lightly. "I can see it now. The striped tail fooled me. I take it you like them?"
"Yeah. I do."
"I think he's cute." Emily looked over her shoulder. "How is it going back there?"
"Okay. It's tied real tight."
"That's alright," she said in a soothing voice, not wanting him to get frustrated with the knots. "Take your time. You'll get it."
"They have red panda cubs at the zoo."
"They do?"
"Uh huh. Would you go and see them with me? Daddy said I could ask you when you came back."
"I would love to." She smiled to herself. A date. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone on one and if she couldn't then it must have ended badly as usual.
Jack gave a particularly hard tug and Emily bit back a cry of pain not wanting him to think he was hurting her, which inadvertently he was.
"I bought him for you."
"You did?"
Jack smiled shyly. "Yep. I was going to have Daddy send him to you so you wouldn't feel homesick."
"That is so sweet of you, Jack, I love him. Though I don't know how well Sergio will take to him. He'll probably end up stalking him." Sergio, she thought. I wonder what happened to him. Maybe Penelope rescued him before her Mother had a chance to dump him at the nearest shelter. She was never fond of animals.
He laughed at the image of the black cat pouncing on the defenseless stuffed animal. "They'll play together."
"Probably but not in the way you may think." All she could see in her head was the gutted toy and stuffing strewed all over the apartment. Going to be a bitch to clean up.
There was a sharp pull and her hands were free. "Got it!" Jack crowed in triumph.
With a moan Emily pulled her arms forward and rolled her shoulders. She lay there slowly rubbing the feeling back into her hands. "Thank you, Jack. I knew you could do it."
The boy blushed at the compliment.
"Shall we see if I can sit up without getting sick?"
"Lets."
Emily planted her good elbow on the ground and pushed, managing to get into a semi-upright position. Jack came to her rescue again by moving behind her and pushed her shoulders. Within moments she was completely upright. The room spun but she didn't get the queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She smiled at Jack who looked on in concern. "So far so good. Now lets see if I can make it over to the wall."
With her good hand and leg Emily scooted backwards until she bumped into the wall. There she leaned her head back, closed her eyes and sighed in relief. "Made it."
Jack picked up the panda and went over to her. "Can I sit with you?"
Emily opened her eyes and smiled. "Sure."
He grinned and settled in as best he could in her lap. He contently leaned back against her chest. Emily wrapped her arms about his waist and rested her chin on the top of his head. They sat for a while in silence so that Jack could begin to feel safe. Eventually he started playing with the panda.
"What are you going to name him?" he asked.
"I'm horrible at picking out names," she answered eyes studying the room, looking for some way to escape. "It took me two weeks to name Sergio. For awhile I was afraid that he was only going to respond to 'yo, cat'."
Jack giggled. "I like Sergio better."
"Me too." Emily tilted her head slightly to look at the wall to her left. "You have any suggestions?"
"I don't know." He examined the animal in his hands. "He kinda looks like Uncle Dave."
"How so?" she asked glancing down.
"They both have furry faces."
Emily laughed. "That they do. Think we should call him Dave?"
Jack shook his head. "Doesn't quite fit. What's Uncle Dave's last name?"
"Rossi."
"Rossi," he repeated. His face split into a grin. "I like it."
"Rossi it is," she said giving him a squeeze. Emily was about to say something else when a glint of metal caught her eye.
"Jack, I need you to move. There's something I need to look at."
Puzzled he did as she asked. He moved off her lap and to one side and watched Emily, using the wall as support, push herself shakily to her feet. She paused to let the room right itself. Before moving she carefully put weight on her bad leg. It did not buckle under her but the slightest move had the hip screaming in agony. Keeping one hand on the wall, she painfully hobbled over to the opposite wall with Jack following.
What she found had her slightly puzzled. "Is this what I think it is?" she asked herself looking at the metal hatch three quarters of the way up the wall.
"What is it?" Jack asked trying to see.
"I think it is." She ran her hand along the edges.
"What? What? I can't see." He tugged urgently on her bad hand.
Emily ignored him and the pain. On the bottom of the hatch she an indentation and slipped her fingers in and pulled. The hatch swung up on rusty hinges and locked into position exposing a shaft. Emily peered into the gloom and felt her pulse quicken. At the other end was a glimmer of light.
She turned to Jack smiling. "Do you know what this is?"
"Course not. If I did, I woulda be asking," he retorted.
She patted the hatch. "This is your way out."
Hotch felt his anxiety ratchet up to a whole new level when the deadline came and went without Doyle calling. That was proof enough to him that Doyle had Emily in his clutches. Their assistance was no longer needed. This also made Jack's position more precarious. Instead of being used as a bargaining chip to get the team to turn over Declan, Doyle would threaten to do physical harm to him to get Emily to talk.
But the more he thought about it he realized that Emily also had an advantage. She could refuse to talk if Doyle harmed Jack. They would be at an impasse and the longer she held out, the more time they would have to find them. Just hold on Emily, he thought. Hold on.
"Huh?" Jack looked up at her in confusion.
"This is your way out," she repeated. "It's a coal chute."
Jack looked from her to the hatch and back again. "Coal chute?"
Emily realized that she had lost him. "You know how houses are heated by electricity or gas?" He nodded. "Well not too long ago they use to be heated by coal and they needed a way get the coal inside. This is how they did it." She pointed at the opening. "Follow me so far?"
"Sorta."
She thought for a minute. "Think of it as a slide. The coal gets on at the top outside, slides down through the tunnel and pops out here."
"Oh!"
Emily saw the dawning in his eyes. "And I bet at the playground you have climbed back up the slide part. I know I did when I was a kid."
Jack nodded. "It's fun. And slippery," he added.
"That is what you're going to do with the coal chute here. You're going to climb up it."
"Cool. You'll be right behind me?"
She shook her head slowly. "No. I won't fit. The chute is too small for me but not for you. Besides one of us has to stay and keep Mr. Doyle entertained."
Jack's face grew very serious. "He'll hurt you again."
"I doubt it," she lied smoothly. "I'll be fine until you send your Dad to get me."
Emily got down on one knee. She took Jack by the shoulders and turned him so that she could look at him directly.
"Jack, I need you to listen carefully to me. Can you do that?"
Dark brown eyes met hazel eyes. He nodded.
"Good. Now when you get outside I need you to find a good hiding place."
He scratched his head. "Why?"
"Because it won't take Mr. Doyle long to realize that you are gone and he and his friend will go looking for you. We don't want him to find you do we?"
"Nope."
"Right, we don't. I know you like to climb so what I want you to do is to find a tree and climb up as high as you can."
Jack frowned. "Why?"
Emily smiled. "Because when people look for someone they never look up. Mr. Doyle is going to look behind and under things for you. It will never occur to him to look up a tree."
"Cool," Jack grinned. He decided he couldn't wait to try it out with his friends Josh and Ryan.
"When Mr. Doyle goes back inside, wait a little longer to make sure he doesn't return, then climb down and run as fast as you can. Got it so far?" She looked hopefully at him.
"Yep."
"Good. Like I said run as fast as you can and go up to the first person you see and tell them you are lost and that you want your Dad."
"Okay."
"Now this part is really important. When you are running I need you to try to remember which direction you came from so that you can tell your Dad how to find me. I know I am asking a lot of you but I think you can do it."
"You do?" Jack sounded unsure of himself.
"I do. You are a very smart boy, Jack, and I think you can do anything you set your mind to," she said in encouragement and tousled his hair.
Abruptly Jack threw her arms around her. "I love you, Em'ly."
"I love you too, Sweetie," she said returning the hug. She gave him another squeeze. "Let's get you on your way. Your Dad is waiting."
Emily reached up, grabbed the edge of the chute and pulled herself back up onto her feet. She then maneuvered Jack around until he was between her and the wall.
"Ready, Jack?"
"Ready."
She bent over and wrapped her arms around his waist. With a grunt of pain she heaved him up and into the chute. Jack paused in the entrance and looked back at her.
"Go," she said and reached in to give him a gentle push forward. He waved and then disappeared into the gloom. She peered in but couldn't see anything, not even the glimmer of light she saw earlier. Jack's body was probably blotting it out. She could hear his scrambling and could tell he was getting further away. There was a creaking noise and then the chute was flooded with light.
"He made it." She sagged against the wall in relief. She glanced back in and light had disappeared. Reluctantly Emily reached up, pulled down the hatch and moved it back into place. Slowly she limped back over to the other wall and collapsed against it and sank to the floor. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. There was nothing left for her to do but to wait and hope that reinforcements would soon be on their way.
Jack paused in the entrance and looked back. Emily smiled and nodded encouragingly. She told him to go and gave him a gentle push forward. He waved and turned to look up the chute. He could see sunlight twinkling through a crack up ahead. He made a beeline for it. The slope of the chute wasn't as steep as a slide would be so he was able to scramble up it fairly easily. His movements did stir up quite a bit of dust that tickled his nose and made him sneeze several times. In no time flat he reached the other end and found the second hatch over his head.
Jack put both hands on it and pushed. It flexed but did not budge. He stopped and pondered his little puzzle. Emily had said he was smart so he should be able to figure this out. A thought occurred to him. Maybe he should try pushing with his feet. Shifting around in the cramp space he got his feet under the hatch and pressed up as hard as he could. There was a creaking sound and suddenly it popped open allowing the morning light to pour in. Jack laid there blinking in the sunlight surprised by his success.
Righting himself, he cautiously poked his head out of the chute. He was surrounded by tall grass. Standing up to get a better look he saw that he was only a few feet from the house and right on the edge of a weed choked flower bed. Remembering that Emily had told him to find a good hiding place he quickly clambered out of the hole, covered from head to toe in coal dust. He pushed the hatch closed with a loud clank. Glancing around he spotted an old, tall pine tree with thick branches and heavy foliage. Dashing over he scurried up it like a monkey and settled on a branch about fifteen feet up to wait.
Emily must have dozed off for she hadn't heard Doyle until he was upon her. He grabbed a fistful of shirt and jerked her to her feet. He then slammed her back against the wall.
"Where is he?" He hissed in her face.
"Huh?" She shook her head to clear it of sleep.
Doyle slammed her back again. "Where's the brat?"
"Oh! Jack." She smiled smugly. "He's long gone. I sent him to fetch his father."
He scanned the room. "How?"
Emily glanced sideways then leaned in and whispered. "It's a secret. If I told you then it wouldn't be one."
Emily knew it was a bad idea to provoke him but she had to stall him to give Jack a chance to find a good hiding place.
"I told you before to watch your mouth." He balled one hand into a fist and punched her in the side.
She gasped as she felt several ribs give. If his other hand hadn't been holding her up she would have dropped to the floor. Breathing became difficult. She wrapped her good hand around his wrist.
"Why do you care so much about this kid?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You love him."
"Of course. Jack is a great kid. You can't help but love him."
"Not him!" Doyle growled and gave her a hard shake. "His father!"
Emily's eyes grew wide in bewilderment. "Hotch? He's my boss, for god sakes."
"I'm sure that didn't stop you. We both know that you would willingly sleep with anyone to get what you want," he taunted.
She laughed. "Why, Ian, I do believe you are jealous. And you should be. Hotch is more of a man than you'll ever will be."
With a growl Doyle threw her to the ground. Emily managed to get her arms out to break her fall. She rolled with through it, ribs protesting. She pushed herself up onto her knees. She looked up at him while her left arm shook from the effort to keep herself upright and gave him a wicked smile.
"You do know that you can love the son and not the father."
Her barb hit its mark. Doyle flushed bright red and bared his teeth. He launched a vicious kick. Emily tried to dodge but it caught her squarely on her uninjured side and a few more ribs gave in with an audible crack. She cried out, wrapped her arms around the damaged ribs and curled into a tight ball.
Doyle towered over her breathing heavily, hand clenching and unclenching. "I'm not finished with you but I got to go find that brat."
Eyes clenched shut against the pain, she wheezed. "You'll…never…find…him."
"We'll see," he snarled and stormed out.
Emily struggled to pull air into her lungs. Every breath hurt. She tried taking very shallow breaths and found it worked somewhat. The pain was still there but not quite as sharp. Gingerly she rose to her knees and trying not to jar her ribs, crawled over to the wall and eased into a sitting position.
She knew that Doyle wasn't going to find Jack. The boy knew how to hide. Doyle was going to be furious when he returned and she had no doubt that he would kill her. She was just as prepared to die today as she was all those months ago. She didn't care. The rest of the world thought she was already dead so it really didn't matter if it actually occurred five months after the date on her headstone. There would be no one grieving for her, well, maybe just JJ and Hotch. This time they won't have to pretend. But she wasn't going to make it easy for Doyle. She wasn't going down without a fight and what a fight it will be.
Pushing her back against the wall, Emily forced herself to her feet. She took slow, calming breaths and felt the tension ease as she calmed her heartbeat. Taking hold of every ache and pain she gathered them together into a tight bundle and banished it to the deepest recess of her mind. Emily focused all her mental and physical energy on the door. Surprise was going to be on her side.
Jack wasn't surprised when Doyle and his flunky came rushing outside and started searching. Emily was right. They looked under bushes, behind trees, around corners and in several outbuildings but never once did either of them look up. Even if they had they wouldn't have seen him. The layer of coal dust acted as an effective camouflage, blending his shape with the shadows surrounding him. Several times they walked under his perch.
After what seemed to be a long time to Jack, Doyle and the man left. He wasn't sure where they went so he waited a little longer just like Emily had told him to. When his gut told him it was all clear, he shimmied down and took off in the opposite direction. Emily's most important instruction popped into his head. He had to remember which way he came from. He slowed down and tried to pay attention to his surroundings. He burst through an overgrown hedge and ran into a stone wall.
He went down in a cloud of black dust. Pushing himself to his knees he looked around. His jaw dropped in awe. He had never seen anything quite like this before in his young life. He got up and started to walk beside the wall. When he turned the corner, Jack saw some letters etched into the stone. He cocked his head to one side in an attempt to read it. When he couldn't decipher it, he settled for memorizing the letters. He'll ask his Daddy what it spelled when he saw him.
A branch snapped. Jack whirled around and stared at the hedge, his heart leaping into his throat. There came a rustling sound from the other side that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on edge. When the branches started to move he instinctively started to back up. Mr. Doyle had found him, came the terrified thought and he froze.
What to do? What to do? What to do? He kept repeating to himself like a mantra while more branches started to quiver as someone was pushing his way through. RUN! His mind screamed at him. Jack spun on his heels and bolted like a frightened rabbit to the woods bordering the property. A split second later the hedge cleft in two and his pursuer burst through and hurried after the little boy.
Jack plunged blindly into the woods, running as fast has his legs could carry him. Trees flashed by as he dodged around them. Vines threatened to trip him, branches tried to smack him in the face but amazingly he avoided them all. Not once did he look back. Not far behind him he could hear the steady footfall of his pursuer on the fallen leaves. He's getting closer Jack realized and put on a burst of speed that he didn't know he had in him.
His breath was coming out in short gasps and a stitch was growing in his side. He desperately wanted to stop but the fear of Mr. Doyle kept him moving. He plunged down an embankment and leaped onto a fallen log. His shoes slipped on the moss and he tumbled over the side. A thick mound of dead leaves cushioned his fall. In desperation he looked for somewhere to hide. The fallen log was hollow. He scrambled inside and curled up into a tiny ball. He screwed his eyes shut and tried not to breath.
The black and white dog paused with its front paws on the log, ears perked and panting happily. He quickly glanced around for the man-child it was playing chase with. His ears dropped in disappointment. His playmate had vanished. The dog let out a sigh and slowly turned around when a slight rustle reached his sensitive ears. His head snapped to the left, body tense, ears pricked forward. RABBIT! A brown blur shot from under a pile of dead branches and the dog took off in hot pursuit.
Jack laid still and tried to listen which was difficult to do since his heart was pounding so loudly in his ears. He sensed that his pursuer was right above him. He waited for Doyle to haul him out but it never happened. Instead there was the sound of scratching on the log then the footfall started and quickly moved away. Tentatively he crawled out and peeked over the log. There was no one there. Breathing a sigh of relief he stood up, thankful that Mr. Doyle hadn't caught him.
This terrifying event had Jack yearning even more for his father and the safety of his big, strong arms. He desperately wanted all of this to be over. He wanted his father, wanted to sleep in his own bed and play with his own toys. He wanted to show Emily the red panda cubs. Emily. In his flight he had forgotten about her. She was still with Mr. Doyle and he was afraid that he would go back and hurt her. He had to find his dad and started off.
His steps faltered. Nothing looked familiar. Everywhere he looked he saw nothing but trees, lots and lots of the same trees. His stomach sank when the realization hit him. He was lost.
Oh no! Jack is lost. Will he find his way out of the woods? What is Emily going to do when Doyle returns? I'm not telling yet. So stay tuned for the next exciting chapter. See ya'll next week.