Sunday afternoon Emily lets Alaska out on the front lawn as a car pulls up carrying Sandy and Henry. The dog is beyond excited to see his buddy and pees everywhere. Elizabeth, holding Rocky, just laughs.

"Good call, Emily."

"It's called experience, Mother. Trust me," Emily assures her.

Emily walks to the driveway and opens the backdoor of the car.

"MAMA!"

"Hey, Champ. Did you have a good week with Daddy?"

"Si! Eated crawfish!"

Emily blanches. "Uh, gee…um, lucky you?"

"Yummm!"

Emily nods. "I'll take your word for it, Champ."

She gets him out of the seat as the driver carries the luggage up to the house. As Emily stands up with Henry she sees Sandy glaring at her from across the car. Emily sighs.

"We'll talk when we get inside. Okay?"

"Count on it," Sandy insists.

Emily nods and gives Henry a kiss. She then puts him down so he can get a "kiss" from Alaska. He then notices who stands at the front door.

"MA!"

He runs to the house to greet his grandmother. Emily walks up beside Sandy.

"Just know anything you say to me I've probably already said to myself. I swear, Sandy, I'm trying to get better. I don't want to lose her but I…I've lost myself somewhere along the way. I have to find me again to be worthy of her."

Sandy stares into Emily's pained eyes. She slowly nods, some of her anger dissipating. Some. "Let's get everyone inside. Once Henry is regaling Liz and Rocky with tales of Louisiana you and I can slip away to talk. I'll…I'll try to listen without judging but know when a mother hears her daughter crying because she's heartbroken it's hard to be civil to the person causing that pain."

Emily bites her lip and looks into the distance, trying to stop the tears at the description Sandy has given of JJ. Finally she nods. "I'll remember."

The two women head inside. For half an hour Henry tells his Mama all about the fun he had with Will, Helen, and his Bayou cousins. Emily is just glad not to hear anything about Aunt Jolene. When he finally winds down a bit, Liz nods to Emily. The younger Prentiss turns to her mother-in-law.

"Sandy, there's something upstairs I'd like you to see."

Sandy nods in understanding. "Lead the way."

Emily looks down at her children and then walks from the room. Liz gives Sandy an encouraging nod. Sandy takes a moment to steel herself then follows Emily.

When they reach the bedroom, Sandy closes the door behind herself, in case words get loud and, well, if words kids shouldn't hear are used. She sits down on the bench at the end of the bed and glares at Emily.

"Well?"

Emily is pacing. "I…I don't know what Jen told you. It's probably all true so don't think that I'm giving you excuses or…or trying to…I don't know, get you to just forgive me. I'm not. I just need you to understand where my head is and why my heart is so fucked up I'm close to losing the best thing that ever happened to me."

Slowly and carefully Emily explains all the things that are haunting her life, both when awake and asleep. She finally finishes the story and stares out the window, refusing to look at Sandy.

For her part, Sandy had sat in stunned silence during Emily's recitation of the various events shaping the pain her daughter and daughter-in-law are dealing with. She slowly stands and approaches Emily. She tentatively reaches out touches Emily's shoulder, not surprised when the woman flinches.

"Emily, I…I don't know what to say. But know I am here for you. I always will be. There is one thing I know: what you have gone through would have broken most people long ago. The fact that you have been able to deal with all of this for so long is amazing to me. It doesn't surprise me that you have finally, well, cracked under the pressure of holding it all inside you." She slowly turns Emily around and stares into her eyes. "I believe in you, Emily Prentiss. I believe you will face your past head on and come to terms with it. And I believe you will make things right with Jenny. In all you told me at no time did I sense your love for my daughter has waned. You will make this right for both of you. I know you will."

Emily sobs. "Thank you."

Sandy pulls her close and holds her as the woman cries.

"Shit…how many fucking tears do I have left in me?" Emily mumbles.

Sandy smiles. "Something tells me you spent a lot of years holding your tears inside. It's about time that dam burst completely. I think you cracked it a bit a few times but finally you're letting all that crap flow out of you. It's about damn time, Emily."

Emily smiles. "Thank you."

Sunday at about 6:00 Emily is enjoying dinner with her mothers and children when her work phone starts to ring. She frowns as she sees who it is.

"Excuse me," she says stiffly as she quickly heads out of the kitchen. "Harlan, what's up?"

"Baltimore police are acting on a tip of bombs being made at one of the houses we were just alerted to. They plan to move in tonight."

"Son of a bitch. Stop them!"

"No go. Commissioner's son-in-law's sister lives in the neighborhood. With or without us they are going in."

"Shit. How much time do I have?"

"They plan to go in after midnight."

"Get the team up there. And tell Baltimore we're taking the lead."

"Already done. Their SWAT commander is expecting you."

Emily glances at her watch. "Damn it. Wish I had lights and sirens on my Lexus."

"Give me the plate, drive with your hazards on. You'll be cleared by the police in Virginia and Maryland."

"Good. Be there as soon as I change."

She hangs up and steps back into the kitchen. Elizabeth and Sandy both see how tense she is.

"I have to go to Baltimore. I'm not sure when I'll be back. If you two need to leave before I get back Francesca should be here by 6:30 tomorrow."

Elizabeth nods. "I can be here until then."

Sandy also nods. "I'll stay as long as I need to."

"Thank you. Excuse me."

She races up the stairs and changes into black cargo pants, a black tee shirt and her combat boots. She puts extra clips for her guns in the pockets of her pants and straps her clutch piece to her ankle. She goes into her closet and pulls out her tactical holster instead of her normal hip holster, wanting the strap to secure it to her thigh in case she has to run after anyone. Slipping both guns into place she goes back downstairs.

Elizabeth and Sandy look up. Neither had ever seen her in her infiltration outfit. Elizabeth swallows audibly.

"Oh, my God…Emily…"

Emily forces a smile to her face. "Nothing to worry about. Just a trip to the office," she says with a pointed look at Henry.

Elizabeth looks to her grandson and back. "Uh, right. Um, be careful, honey."

Emily nods. "I will be."

She walks over and kisses Rocky on the top of the head. "You be a good girl for you grandma's, okay?"

"Love Mama."

"I love you, too, Sweet Girl." She steps over to Henry. "I love you, Henry. Be a good boy, okay?"

"Henry good, Mama. Love Mama."

She gives him a hug and kiss. She then gives hugs and kisses to her mothers. "I probably won't be home before you all leave. It was good to see you. And I promise I'll be better next time we see each other."

Elizabeth smiles. "I believe it. Be careful, honey."

"Always."

"Take care, Emily. I love you," Sandy chimes in.

"Love you both."

And Emily is out the door, her mind switching from family to business with the turn of her ignition switch. With hazards on she punches in the address of the police precinct the SWAT team and her team are mobilizing.

"Well, lady and gentlemen, time to see what you all are made of," she whispers into the dusky sky.

Emily stands with Harlan and the SWAT commander. The man is shaking his head.

"I don't like it. You all are untested by my team and- -"

Emily freezes him with a glare. "Your team is taking the lead, we're coming in behind. And you better tell your men if one of us says run they better run. We're dealing with a terrorist cell which means IED's as well as obvious explosives. If you don't want a police funeral, you'll listen to what we're telling you. We don't give a damn about having a pissing contest with you. We care about stopping these bastards and gathering as much intel as we can to stop other cells they are working with."

Harlan stands back and allows the stare down to continue. He knows who will win. He can't help but grin when the SWAT commander finally nods.

"Okay. But same goes. We say run you run."

"We know the drill, Lieutenant. Trust me."

At midnight Emily approaches the front door of the house with 6 SWAT team members as well as Timothy Noth and Natalie Brent. The other two members of her team, Leroy Allen and Ken Farrelli are with a squad in the back. Harlan remains in the SWAT command vehicle with the Lieutenant and the police commissioner…who no one wanted there but short of cuffing him and dragging him away they were stuck with him.

Emily has her gun up and ready. Her eyes flick to her chest. It seems strange to see plain black Kevlar where normally she would see FBI splashed across her chest. Her team gets settled by the front door. The squad commander starts to the countdown for the no-knock entry.

"One. Two. Three!"

On three the front and back doors of the house are battered in simultaneously. Emily follows three men in and turns to the right to clear the living room as the rest of her team goes right up the stairs. The team from the back splits to clear the kitchen and the basement. Soon the word "clear" is coming through the earbuds. Emily stares at the empty room and shakes her head.

"Son of a bitch…they knew we were coming," she thinks to herself. "We just got word today they were here. That means they cleared out after SWAT decided to raid the house. Where the hell is the leak? BPD or my team?"

Natalie stomps back down the stairs. "They cleared out in a hurry. Left clothes and papers behind upstairs."

Emily walks into the kitchen. Leroy comes up from the basement and looks at Emily. "Boss, there's some crazy shit down there. Looks like materials packaging, an altar and some more papers."

Emily shakes her head. "Who was here? Do we know?"

Ken shakes his head as he walks up. "We just found out about it yesterday. We were to start surveillance on it Monday."

Emily nods. "Okay. We need to get the hell out of here. We leave it just as it is."

Natalie shakes her head. "Emily, they won't be coming back."

"I know. But we need to know them; if not their names at least their states of mind. We need to profile this house to figure out who we are dealing with."

"Oh, come on. They're zealots ready to kill innocent Americans. What the hell else do we need to know?" Ken asks.

"Trust me, Ken, we need to know more," Emily insists. "Get Harlan in here. We need to secure this before the BPD blows any chance we have of using this place to stave off the attack they are planning."

A few minutes later Harlan Wayans strolls in. He looks at Emily with raised eyebrows.

"You owe me dinner for the ass chewing I just got," he tells her.

Emily frowns. "What ass chewing?"

"The commissioner isn't happy the BPD aren't sending in their own CSI's to track this down. Finally had to threaten to call the State's Attorney and have him explain how the Patriot Act works. National security trumps local headlines. I also warned him if his name comes up in any article associated with this house I'd have him arrested for treason."

"Is that even possible?" Emily asks with a grin.

"Hell no. But he doesn't know that. Fucking blowhard."

Emily laughs. "Of course he is. He's a politician, not a cop. Civilian oversight is such a fucking joke."

"Yeah. So you want to approach the BAU for a team to come in here?"

Emily nods. "Yeah. I think I know the right group."

Harlan chuckles. "Yeah, I bet you do. Just so you know a team from the Secret Service is coming in to secure the house. Another burr in the commissioner's butt."

"Yeah, well, he can stand until his butt heals. We're here to stop an attack on the Capital. If he gives you any more guff, remind him he'll be hailed as someone who helped us stop the attack if he works with us. He works against us and he'll never even come up in all the after glory."

Harlan laughs. "I forget you were raised by politicians. I'll keep that in mind. Good job tonight."

Emily nods. "Thanks."

Emily goes back outside. She pulls her cell phone from her pocket and stares at the text she had received soon after she arrived in Baltimore.

Caught the bastards. Flying out of here tonight as soon as the paperwork is finished. See you soon. Love you, Em.

Emily had texted back that she was working and would probably not see JJ at the house. Little did she know she would be seeing her at Quantico. Emily hitches a ride with a cop headed towards the station. She gets in her Lexus and starts to drive south.