Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds and all characters and recognisable themes belong to the respected creators.
Moments:
Emma's POV:
With my eyes tightly shut, I now feel nervous. I know I have no reason to be because I know that Spence will stop them if I want to stop remembering. I'm tempted to stop them now, before it's even begun, but I know I can't. I have to be brave, face those horrible thoughts that I know are lurking in my brain somewhere. But Spence's words are still lingering in my mind, about how my brain's not letting me remember what happened to protect me...
Emily's voice quickly snaps me out of my train of thought and back into reality.
'The first thing I need you to do is to think back to your journey yesterday - what the air felt like on your skin, the things you could hear and smell', she tells me quietly.
I take a deep breath and think back to when I first left the house, the cold breeze in my face as I trudged through the snow.
'It was cold', I say. 'Freezing actually - the wind was making it worse. It was blowing my hair everywhere. The snow felt soft under my feet, like it was absorbing all sound, even the traffic seemed quieter'.
'And the sounds?', Emily asks.
'Trains', I say with a small smile. 'When I reach the tube station that's what I always hear'.
As I realise what part of the journey I'm coming to, I start to feel panicked, my breathing becoming quicker. My brother must have noticed this because he squeezed my hand tighter, reassuring me.
'What do you remember next? What did you hear or feel, anything significant?', she asks softly.
'I heard footsteps behind me. They...they were running. Something didn't feel right, I remember feeling colder, shivers down my spine', I whisper.
'Then what happened?', Morgan asks gently.
'I turn around. I-I didn't see him...all I saw was a baseball bat. Then everything went dark. I...I can't see anything. It hurts, please help me, it hurts', I'm aware of my voice becoming gradually louder, because suddenly I feel so scared. It's all real again, the darkness, the searing pain in my head. I don't want to be here. I want it to stop. Then my brother's voice pulls me back to reality slightly.
'Can we please stop this? Em's getting distressed, she's in pain!', he says, angrily. It's when I hear this that I realise, I'm okay, they're just memories, nothing more. I must have calmed down a little bit, because I hear Morgan argue,
'She's doing alright Reid. We've come this far, we might as well see if she can remember any more'.
My brother must have nodded, because a few seconds later, Morgan asks,
'Can you remember the journey to where you were taken at all? Did the ride feel bumpy, or smooth?'.
'A-a truck. That's what I think we're in. I can hear the engine, roaring. He...he's driving, shouting...it smells funny, like burning.'
'That's good, that's really good', Emily tells me soothingly.
'We stop moving. I thought maybe he'll leave me in the truck..until he-he grabs me. His arm is so tight, I can't feel my arm...the ground, I can see, mud, underneath the snow, tracks of mud...It-it's quiet, only the birds...It's black again now, I-I can't see anything again!' I cry.
'Hey, hey, it's okay sweetheart, it's okay', I hear Spence whisper to me and I can feel his arms wrapping tightly around me.
'What can you remember when you woke up? How did the ground feel under your feet? Could you smell anything, cooking maybe?', Emily asks tentatively.
'The ground's soft, like a rug...I can hear him walking around, opening and closing doors. A-a lake, I can see it out the window. I...I can smell iron, like blood, my blood...I-I can see it on the floor. I feel dizzy', I stop because I know this is when I passed out again.
'Can we please stop now?', Spence says and it sounds like he's almost crying.
'Wait, just one more thing', Emily says. 'Did he say anything to you, in this place or in the warehouse, anything that sounded odd?'.
I'm in the warehouse now. I know because I look around and the ceiling seems so far away. The walls...it's like they're closing in on me. I look ahead of me.
'He, he's coming towards me, he's got a knife. He, he says 'Spencer', something about revenge, he's got no reason to live, he says. He's angry, he's coming towards me. NO! No, no, please, Spence help me, Spence!', I scream and suddenly I find myself back in the hospital room. Spence takes one look at me, worry in his eyes, before wrapping his arms around me once more, pulling me into a tight hug. I sob into his jumper, my arms wrapped tightly around my brother, holding onto him as if he's my lifeline away from all of those horrible memories. I hear Spence tell me that 'It's okay. Ssh, everything's going to be okay. You did so good Em, you're so brave sweetheart. I love you', whilst he kisses the top of my head. Eventually, my sobs stop and the morphine kicks in again. I slowly feel myself drifting out of conscioussness, though I still don't let go of my brother, for fear that those bad memories will resurface in my dreams...
'How did it go?', Gideon asked tentatively as Emily and Morgan emerged from the hospital room. The rest of the team had been waiting outside and they'd all heard Emma's piercing screams as she relived some of the worst moments of her life.
'It went well actually', Emily said, causing JJ, Garcia and Gideon to look surprised and Hotch to raise his eyebrows at her. 'Emma said that he hit her with a baseball bat then took her in a truck to a house in what sounded like the middle of nowhere and she could see the lake from the window'.
'That's good. A deserted house could really help us to track down his location', Hotch said, looking slightly hopeful.
'How's Emma?', JJ asked, sounding concerned as she glanced into the hospital room where Emma had fallen asleep in Reid's protective hold of her.
'She's strong, I don't think I would've been able to go over what she did', Morgan replied, looking impressed as he too looked back into Emma's hospital room.
'Like her brother', Garcia said with a small smile.
'You got that right', Prentiss sighed, looking worried as she added, 'Reid's pretty mad at us for making her go through that, do you think he'll be okay?'.
'Yeah, he'll be fine', Morgan replied. 'He's just being protective. It's what older brothers do.'
The team all smiled at this, before Gideon said,
'Shall we get back to the police station and go over what we've learned?'.
The team all nodded in agreement before setting off once again in the heavy snowstorm.
When they finally arrived at the police station, Garcia quickly sat down and switched her computer on whilst Hotch and Gideon added the latest information to the board.
'So, my lovelies, what do you want me to do?', Garcia enquired, looking expectantly up at the rest of the team.
'Search for isolated, country houses near a lake within a 20 mile radius of where Emma was taken and cross-reference that with people who own a truck', Morgan told her, as Garcia began to type furiously on her computer.
'Okay, I have six matches. You got anything else I can search to reduce the list?', was Garcia's response.
'Only include people in the search who've brought the property in the last two years', Emily added.
'Okay, I've got three people now. How do we know which one's Parker?', Garcia said, exasperated.
'This unsub's been planning this kill for two years, like we said, it's the one he's been waiting for. If he feels that strongly about Reid, it's likely he'll have brought the house under a name that has something to do with him', Gideon said, pacing around the room in frustration.
'Do you mean, like an anagram?', JJ asked, her eyes following Gideon's pacing.
'Nada', Garcia growled, 'None of these names are anagrams of our boy genius'.
'It was at college that he first met Reid. The place must be significant to him. Garcia, try anagrams of the name of the college Reid went to', Morgan told Garcia, walking over to her and leaning over her shoulder.
'Just give me a second', said Garcia as she began to type away. 'BAM! Found him. And the house is called Bramsbey Cottage - it's about 10 miles away from where Emma was taken.'
'We got him', Hotch said, sounding relieved. 'It's likely he'll be waiting there still - he thinks Emma's dead and he's waiting to hear about her funeral, so hopefully we'll catch him at this cottage. Garcia, can you send the address to all of our cells?'
'Already done it!', Garcia announced, with a smile.
'That's my girl', Morgan said as he began to get on his bullet-proof vest and gun ready.
'I've just let the detective know we have his location. There gonna send a team of officers to come with you', JJ announced, walking back into the room.
'Okay, let's go, it'll take us a while in this weather', Hotch said.
'Wait!', Garcia called stopping the team in their tracks. 'What about Reid, aren't you gonna tell him?'.
'I don't think that's the best idea, he was so upset when we found his sister that I don't even know what he'd do to Parker', Emily said.
'But', Garcia said, exasperated, 'Don't you think he has a right to know - I mean, this guy tortured his sister, how would you feel in his situation?'.
There was a moment of silence, before Gideon said,
'Alright Garcia, tell him where we're going and send the address to his cell. If he decides to come, make sure you tell him to wait for us to get there', he emphasised.
'Got it', Garcia replied, 'Good luck!', she and JJ called to the team with mirrored worried expressions on their faces.
Reid's POV:
Em's asleep now, thank God. I hope she can get over this, I know I wouldn't be able to bear seeing that fear on her face again, the fear I'd seen during the interview. She looked so much like Mom when she's scared, the exact same expression Mom had when she was having one of her episodes and didn't even realise it was me standing in front of her. In some ways, I feel like part of what I'm doing is for Mom - she didn't wanna give Em up, but after my father left and sent the adoption papers, Mom realised the best thing for Em was to live with someone else, so she too didn't have to worry about coming home to a Schizophrenic episode. But I still remember the day Em was taken away though...
'Hello, you must be Spencer. My name is Sarah and this is Darren. Can we speak to your Mom please?', the lady at the door told me.
She's smiling at me, but I can tell they're both anxious to get inside the house - they're talking to me like I didn't know what was going on, but I know exactly what's happening. They've come to take my baby sister away for adoption. They're gonna have a struggle though - the number of times in the past few days I've caught my mum packing and almost leaving with the baby. I stopped her each time, even if it did mean standing in front of the door and refusing to move until Mom calmed down and put Emma back in her crib. I'm worried she's become more attached to Emma over the past few days than she should have been - Emma slept in Mom's bed with her every night and I can't remember a time Mom had set her down in the past few days - she wasn't playing with her, just holding her, all the time. I know how she feels, I don't want Emma to go either - every time she cries it pierces through my heart, my Mom's too, but I know this is what is best.
'Yeah, she's inside', I tell the people at the door, standing back to let them in the house. They look around and only seem more eager to leave with Emma - my Mom hasn't cleaned for the past few days and the house has never been really tidy.
Suddenly my Mom appears in the doorway of the bedroom. She looks scared, terrified even. I wonder if she's having one of her episodes, but then I see her eyes - she knows exactly what's happening. She's glaring at me, angry for letting these people in the door. She's clutching onto Emma so hard that my baby sister starts crying.
'Spencer what have you done?', she growls, only clinging onto Emma even tighter when she starts crying.
'Diana, you know this is for the best. You've signed the papers, I'm afraid Emma is no longer legally allowed to be in your care', Darren says gently.
But this just makes it worse.
'NO! I'm her mother, you can't take her, not my baby!', Mom screams, backing into the bedroom.
'Diana, please, just hand over Emma, you don't want her to get hurt', Sarah says, slowly walking towards Mom with her arms outstreched.
This only makes my Mom even more panicked. She's crying now, I can see the tears streaming down her face and the pain in her eyes makes me feel sick - she's desperate.
'No! She's mine, I would never hurt her, not my Emma!', she cries, backed up against the wall now.
'Diana, we need the baby', Sarah says, sounding more stern, but still with a gentle tone.
'NO! Don't you come any closer, don't you dare! Spencer stop them!', Mom screams. I want to move but it feels like my feet are fixed to the ground; all I can do is watch.
Sarah's made her way over to my mother now and Darren's right behind her. Sarah begins to grab Emma from my mother's arms, to which my mother wails,
'NO! No, no, no! She's mine, I love her so much, I'll take care of her, don't take my Emma away, please!', desperately grasping at the baby.
But her hold is too weak and Sarah pulls my sister out of my mother's arms. As soon as she has Emma, Darren holds my mother back, while she screams,
'NO! No, please, I beg of you. I'll take care of her, I can, I love her so, so much, she's my baby, she's my beautiful little girl, you can't take her away from me! She's mine, no-one elses, give her back!', as she struggles against Darren's hold of her.
As soon as Sarah begins to walk away with Emma, my sister starts screaming. Not a cry for attention, more like a scream of pain, like she understood and felt exactly what my mother was feeling, and she too wanted to be back in Mom's arms. I catch a glimpse of her bright, pink cheeks and big brown eyes through the blanket she's being held in and suddenly feel faint - this is the last memory I'll ever have of my baby sister: her screaming in pain for my mother, and me, stood here, not being able to do anything. I suddenly feel my own tears forming, but they are nothing compared to my mother's - as soon as Emma started crying, she completely broke down; she's on the floor, sobs wracking her entire body as she wails,
'She's crying see, she wants her mother! She wants me, my baby wants me, I need her! I can stop her crying, I promise, I know what to do, a mother knows best!'.
Sarah nods at Darren, before finally heading out of the door of our house, taking my baby sister away from me and my Mom forever...
Author's Note: Another chapter completed! I've really got into this story again and I love writing it. The secret about Emma will be discovered in the next chapter now - I was going to include it in this chapter but there's some stuff I wanted to include before it and the chapter would have been really long, so I thought I'd update with what I have instead. I also wanted to give you a bit of insight into Reid and Emma's past - I'd love to know your thoughts on the last little bit, so please review, your thoughts really do make my day! :-) I should hopefully have the next chapter up by next week Thanks for sticking with the story! :D