Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: chapter 3 is coming soon I promise
I tried calling Calleigh back the second I saw the line disconnect, but no one answered. I tried again and when I still got no answer I called a number I hadn't called in two years.
"Jareau," she answered on the second ring, she sounded just like she always used to, professional and upbeat but in a way that made everyone she spoke to relax.
"Jen… I need to talk to you," It was the best I could do for an explanation I just hoped she didn't hang up on me
"Nat, now's not a good time," her voice was icy and I felt tears prick my eyes, my best friend hated me, I was a horrible person that had done horrible things.
"Jen please hear me out I'm not calling about myself I know you hate me, but I need to talk to you about Emily," I told her.
"Emily's dead Nat you got her there what more do you have to say?" Jen snarled at me, and hearing her mad at me made me cry. I clung to the phone as I watched my salty tears cover the keyboard in front of me.
"How did I get her there? I haven't spoken to either of you in two years, and Jen I know she's not dead," my voice was cracking but I knew after seeing the Reynolds file Calleigh was in danger and I couldn't let her get hurt without all the information.
"Do you know the price she paid to get me off after you lied? She played her mothers political game one more time, on international TV, it got her recognized by an old enemy one that killed her," Jen's words and tone were cruel, I sunk to my knees on the floor of the lab. It broke me to hear Jen, my Jen, yelling at me, what was worse was that my lie had not only hurt Jen but now Calleigh.
"Jen I'm sorry I'm so sorry you can do whatever you want to me I'm sorry and I'll find a way to show you how sorry I am, but Jen she's not dead she was just screaming at me over the phone," my voice had gone to the way I used to talk to Nick when he was moments from hitting me. I didn't know what I thought she would do to me from DC, but I knew I was in the wrong and so I presented myself for whatever I was going to get.
"I'm not going to hit you Nat so stop acting like the victim with me. And how do you know it was Emily?" Jen asked a little more gently this time.
"She said she cleaned up my mess when I lied but then she said Emily was dead," I told her.
"So you know where she is?" Jen interrogated.
"She's with a coworker of mine," I stared, " I also know she is Lauren Reynolds."
"You tell no one that do you hear me Nat keep your mouth shut, I'll be there in three hours," she ordered then for the second time that day I was hung up on.
"Eric where's Calleigh?" I asked as soon Eric got off the elevator to the lab. It had been over three hours since I'd talked to JJ and I hadn't heard for Calleigh.
"I don't know I thought she'd be back here by now," He told me.
"But wasn't she with you?" I asked, letting my fingers run through my hair in frustration. I was frantic to find her before Jen showed up.
"She was, then she went all hero on some chick in the glades and told me to get Ryan to take her place, I thought she'd be back Alexx said the woman was fine just to get her checked at the hospital as a precaution, if you need her call her," He soothed.
"I tried, she won't answer, I think she's mad at me," I rushed pacing in front of him.
"Why would Calleigh be mad at you, last I heard from her you were solving her case and she was running off into the glades after her Vic then Ryan showed up and I left her the hummer?" I knew Eric was trying to be calming but it just wasn't helping my emotions were spiraling.
"Because I screwed up, I'm a terrible person and I let the people I care about get hurt, because I didn't listen to Emily and I called Jen, because…" I stopped rambling when Eric grabbed my shoulders stopping me from moving.
"What exactly happened Natalia, who is Emily what happened between you and Calleigh?" Eric help me still making me look at him.
"I…" I started trying to think of where to start, but before I could come up with what to say I felt rather than saw Jen get off the elevator.
"Take your hands off of her," Jen's voice was cold as ice, Eric let go of me backing away.
"Jen it's alright, well no it's not Jen I lost Emily I don't know where they went, but Eric wasn't trying to hurt me, I promise Jen," I turned to her looking at the ground.
"Nat, look at me sweetheart," she waited to continue till I met her eyes, "I didn't expect you to hold on to her, she's good at running and when it comes to Doyle she's a lone ranger, but if she surfaced here enough that you got her name it's likely this will be the last stand, I'm here to clean up the mess I started," then she did the one thing I never thought she'd do again; she pulled me into a hug, "I've missed you," was whispered in my ear. Those small words broke the dam to my emotions and I let the tears fall onto her shoulder.
"God, Jen I missed you so much, I'm sorry, I know I screwed up and there is no way I can ever make it up to you. You went out on a limb for me and I fucked up all I can do now is say I'm sorry," I clung to her not having realized how much I missed her until she was here in Miami.
"Nat, it's alright, calm down and breathe for me baby, I promise you we can talk about us, but I need to find Emily first ok," Jen coaxed gently.
"I don't know where she is, I lost her and Calleigh," I tried to pull myself together but the panic was still there and I wasn't too good at controlling it.
"Who the hell are you?" Eric cut in.
"I'm Jennifer Jareau, JJ, state department liaison to the DOD, previously Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit," Jen said letting me go to shake Eric's hand.
"Why are you here?" Eric asked.
"I called Jen," I whispered looking at the ground.
"Why do we need a federal liaison?" Eric asked,
I didn't know if it was directed at me or Jen but she answered, "Because I used to the be press liaison for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, and I'm one of seven people that knows enough to clean up after what Emily is here to do," Jen told him.
"So who is Emily?" Eric asked.
"The lady Calleigh found on the glades," I answered.
"You mean Calleigh found a serial killer and you're only telling me now god Natalia you could have called, Calleigh could be dead," Eric was angry now.
"Emily's not a killer, she's one of my best friends, she worked for the feds until and international criminal came after her last year," Jen cut in stepping between Eric and I as if she was going to stop him from coming at me.
"What happened a year ago why did she lose her badge?" Eric asked.
"She didn't lose her badge she almost her life and in order to protect her we faked her death, Interpol and DOD gave her the green light to track Doyle herself and kill him, I took her to Paris set her up with three identities and quite a bit of money, from what I gathered from our scrabble games she used the french papers first for almost six months then burned the ID and went on to Tuscany to Ian's old villa using the Italian alias but she got burned less than a month in so she backtracked to Russia trying to figure out how he got out in hoped of hunting him down.I think something went wrong in Russia because I lost track of her for almost two months then last month her Russian papers were recorded entering Cuba," Jen explained.
"You think she was trying to get back to the states?" Eric asked.
"I think it's pretty high on the list of options, but if she was coming back to the states all she would have had to do was contact interpol we would have pulled her out," Jen said.
"What if she didn't want to be pulled out?" I asked having thought of an idea.
"What do you mean?" Jen countered
"Well wet foot dry foot is a policy that means if you get one foot on dry land coming from cuba you can file for asylum and get a green card," I glanced at Eric making sure I was correct in my interpretation, "some of the people that come over don't have paperwork so I'm sure there are ways to get it here. If Emily didn't want to be pulled out, but was out of the clean papers she may have tried to use that system to get new papers, but a lone woman with no papers is an easy target for human traffickers," I explain what I was thinking.
"If she tried to run from human traffickers it would explain why Calleigh and I found her left for dead in the Glades," Eric put in.
"If human trafficker got her she would have run she knows our laws well enough to know that we grant asylum to victims of human trafficking without papers, but she wouldn't have given you her name, now that her name has surfaced it's going to up her timetable," Jen profiled.
"What do yo mean upped her timetable?" Eric asked.
"Well as soon as Detective Tripp typed in the name Lauren Reynolds it triggered four electronic alarms, one that was put in place by the DOD and went straight to me and Aaron Hotchner in Afghanistan who is on his way, the next was put in by interpol and went to Clyde in London, one that was out in by Penelope Garcia with the FBI and went to the BAU, the last we are working on tracing but it looks like it went to Doyle which means he's coming here," Jen said. As if on cue the elevator door opened and Frank Tripp walked out followed by four people two of which looked like feds and one I knew from pictures to be Penelope Garcia. The young man, whose appearance didn't really scream fed I assumed to be Doctor Spencer Reid, that made the black man Derek Morgan and the aging Italian David Rossi.
"Delko, where is Calleigh?" Frank's voice boomed across the atrium.
"Why does everyone think I'm her keeper?" Eric sounded exasperated.
"JJ what are you doing here?" Morgan asked.
"I was just taking my old College roommate Nat here and her new boyfriend mister Delko here out for lunch," Jen lied smoothly giving me a pointed look, "We'll have to catch up after lunch I'm sure you have a case to get to."
"Yes lunch," I said grabbing Eric hand and dragging him to the elevator, I was glad it was still on our floor so we didn't have to wait. As soon as the door closed behind us I turned on Jen, "They don't know do they?"
"No and I can't tell them, not till Doyle is dead," Jen whispered
"What was that?" Eric asked.
"Jen never told her team that Emily was alive," I explained.
"It will just put them in danger, the only people that know are me, Hotch, Clyde, Cruz, Strauss, the director, and Emily herself, well and you two," Jen told us.
"And Calleigh maybe Alexx, so what do you plan on doing at 'lunch'," Eric added.
"Well you're going to tell me a few things about the area and Calleigh and then you and Nat go back to your lives…" She started.
"No, I'm going with you," I cut her off as the elevator dinged letting us off on the first floor. She gave me a look that said I hadn't won but now wasn't the time to debate it. I knew it would be a fight, but their was no way in hell I was letting Jen, Calleigh and Emily do this alone. We walked out of CSI and Jen led us to an unmarked black car.
"Where would you go if you needed guns and ammo but didn't have a permit?" Jen asked getting into the drivers side.
"I don't know I would have to look it up," Eric replied opening the door but not moving to get in.
"I would go to Calleigh," I answered assuming she was trying to get a step ahead of Emily.
"What do you mean?" Jen raised an eyebrow at me as I slid into the passenger seat.
"If I needed a gun I would go to Calleigh," I explained, "and Emily is already with Calleigh which means if they go to Calleigh's house they have all the guns they could ever want. She's not our ballistics expert for nothing."
"So we go to Calleigh's house," Jen determined before turning the key in the ignition to start the car.
"Nat can take you to Calleigh's I'm going to go and stop the rumors that we're dating, I won't volunteer where you are going, but I won't lie to Tripp," Eric said before closing the car door and walking back toward CSI.