Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.

Who We Are
Part 2

By N. J. Borba

Saturday morning dawned with the promise of being a sunny October day. Emily was the first one awake, mainly because she hadn't slept more than about two hours the whole night. Michelle was the second one up. She descended the stairs, still dressed in Emily's oversized Yale t-shirt; light blue with bulldog logo. The girl ambled into the kitchen with her dark hair matted down on the left side and sticking out at odd angles on the right. Her green eyes shimmered in a refreshed manner as she stared up at Emily and smiled shyly, doll tucked under one arm. Emily had coffee brewing and was leaning heavily against the kitchen counter. She wasn't nearly as well rested as the child appeared to be, but she couldn't help feeling at ease in the girl's presence.

"I'm guessing you're not much of a coffee drinker," Emily joked. Michelle's smile brightened a little as she shook her head in response. "Well…" Emily pushed away from the counter. "I have orange juice, would you like some of that?" She noticed that the girl seemed a little hesitant to respond. "You can wait for your mom to wake up if you want. She'll tell you if it's okay or not."

"It's okay," Michelle finally spoke, her youthful voice sweet like honey. "Mommy told me last night that she trusts you. And I would like some orange juice, please."

One of the biggest smiles Emily had worn in a long time bloomed upon her lips. "One glass of orange juice coming right up then," she quickly obliged the polite request. After coaxing the girl onto a bar stool, she presented the juice to Michelle. "And how about your doll, would she like some juice, too?" Emily asked.

Michelle chuckled. "No, Baleine can't drink anything. She's just got stuffing on the inside," she explained.

"Baleine?" Emily questioned the French term as she carefully examined the doll. The toy had long pieces of yellow yarn for hair, blue button-eyes and a red and white checkered dress. "She doesn't look like a baleine to me."

The girl laughed again. "Mommy teaches me French words and I really liked baleine because whales are my favorite animal. I want to see a real one someday. We didn't have whales where we lived on the farm. Just cows, chickens, a goat and two horses. I miss them now."

"I'm sorry," Emily sympathized, sad that the girl's life had been completely uprooted. After pouring herself a mug full of coffee and dumping a copious amount of sweetener into it, Emily took several long sips. As the caffeine slowly worked its magic she searched the contents of her refrigerator and freezer. There wasn't much to be had, but she did find something that might do the trick. "Do you like frozen pancakes?"

Michelle looked a little confused. "Mommy makes the best pancakes," she finally replied.

"I'm sure she does," Emily acknowledged, feeling a little ashamed of her cellophane wrapped pancakes from a box. "These are the kind you toss in a toaster. Not the greatest, but about the best I get at pancake making," she admitted. "And I think it might be nice to let your mom sleep a little longer." Emily decided to warm a few and presented them to the child. "I figure we can choke them down with enough maple syrup."

The girl nodded and dug into the meal, seeming perfectly happy with the food. She promptly ate two and asked for another. While it was toasting, the girl looked to Emily with serious eyes. "Emily, can I ask you something important?"

"What is it, chaton?" Emily replied, curious if the child knew other French animal words. The amused grin she received from Michelle was answer enough, but the girl's smile lost a little of its spark as she asked her question.

"Is my mom going to leave me like daddy?"

The question gave Emily pause for a moment, but she answered the best she could. "I'm going to make sure that you and your mom stay together. I promise."

Michelle was content with that assurance and started in on her third pancake. The child also eagerly accepted some apple slices and a second glass of juice, all of which Emily happily provided. The two of them were still munching on fruit and chatting animatedly about life underwater when the girl's mother joined them in the kitchen an hour later. Anna kissed the top of her daughter's head and looked to Emily. "I apologize for not realizing she had left the room. I do not normally sleep in this late, but I slept very well here. I hope she has not been a bother."

"No bother at all," Emily assured her. "In fact, she was telling me that you make really good pancakes. I fed her some frozen ones just now, but maybe you could make some for us tomorrow morning," she suggested, hoping it might help them both feel more at home. "I have flour, sugar, water... I don't actually know what else you might need, but we could pick it up at the store later. There's probably a ton of stuff you guys would like. I don't really eat here that often, being away for work a lot."

"I don't want you to go to any trouble on our behalf," Anna sat beside Michelle at the counter and attempted to tame the child's hair using her fingers as a comb. "Your offer to help me search for my family and taking us in like this..." she was growing short of suitable ways to say thank you. "Some day when I can repay you, I will."

Emily shook her head. "Please don't worry about that right now, we can..." her words were interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. She looked to Michelle. "Are you expecting anyone?" Emily asked.

The girl giggled. "No," she answered.

"Well..." Emily slowly edged away from the counter. "I guess it must be for me then." She reached the door, looked through the peep hole and suddenly remembered it was Saturday morning. Emily sucked in her bottom lip as she opened the door and faced Derek with an apologetic expression. "I completely forgot about our run. I'm sorry, but with everything that's going on it just slipped my mind, and I should have called you."

"No, I should have realized," Morgan stopped her apology. "It's okay. Maybe we can do it next weekend?"

"That would probably be best."

Anna couldn't help overhear and came to join them at the door. She saw that Derek was dressed in a t-shirt and sweat pants, quite a difference from his professional attire at the office the day before. His kind smile flashed her way and she returned the gesture. "You two should go," Anna insisted. "I don't want to interrupt your plans. Michelle and I can go for a walk while you are gone. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable about us being in your home when you are not here."

"I wouldn't feel that way at all," Emily replied, noticing that the woman had twice used a contraction while speaking. For some reason it made her feel proud to know she was having some influence on Anna. She eyed Derek for a moment, noticing that he seemed rather quiet about the whole situation. Emily motioned him inside and shut the door. "You two can stay here," she addressed Anna again, plucking her key ring off a hook by the door. Emily removed the house key. "Take this, and if you do want to go out for a walk, just be sure to lock it up."

"Really, you don't have to..."

Emily stopped Anna in mid protest. She took the woman's hand and placed the key in it. "I trust you." There was finality to her tone and Anna nodded, not saying another word. Emily returned her attention to Derek. "Just give me about five minutes to change."

Morgan gave a nod as she headed upstairs. He moved into the kitchen, trailing after Anna. When he spotted Michelle, Derek was surprised to see the girl grinning happily in his direction. "Hi, Derek," she easily remembered his name from yesterday. "Emily made me frozen pancakes and juice and fruit this morning. Mommy's pancakes are still better, but Emily is really nice."

"And she seems to have made a friend," Derek noted as the girl went on about Emily. It was quite a different picture from the shy, silent child he'd met the day before. A smile sat upon his face, despite his misgivings about the people Emily had taken in.

Good as her word, Emily materialized five minutes later clothed in her running pants, sneakers, lightweight hoodie, and hair done up in a ponytail. They set off straight away. Derek drove them to a nearby park where they'd gone running together before. It had actually turned into a pretty regular Saturday morning routine for them since returning from Los Angeles, at least as routine as they could get with their working schedule. It was sort of like therapy for both of them, though neither of them would ever admit as much. And some Sunday mornings they even went for a bike ride to change up their workout-therapy routine.

They were a little over three laps into their run around the small lake when Derek looked over and realized that Emily was several yards behind him. "That's more of a jog than a run, Prentiss," he couldn't help tease her about it. Derek slowed down and ran backwards, watching as she glared at him for the comment.

"It took me a while to get to sleep last night," she replied, knowing that her feet were dragging.

He slowed some more to let her catch up. "Oh yeah, worried that someone might slit your throat in the middle of the night?"

"Morgan, please don't," she warned, not at all amused by his insinuation about her house guests. When she caught up they jogged side-by-side as he continued to match her pace. "I know you think it's weird that I asked them to stay with me, but…" Emily stopped short of defending herself again when she realized something. "You knew I probably wouldn't remember our run this morning, didn't you?" she asked. "With all that happened yesterday, you must have suspected I'd forget. But you showed up anyway, because you thought Anna might try to hurt me?"

He shrugged. "I'm not going to apologize for worrying."

She wanted to be mad at his distrustful nature, but Emily knew it was a byproduct of the job. Instead, she was touched that he cared. "Thank you."

Derek silently took her words in, knowing he'd dodged a bullet on that one. And he really was trying to keep an open mind. "So, you think Anna is okay?" he asked, curious about what Emily might have discovered about the woman.

"I honestly don't think she's the kind of person that would murder me in my sleep, if that's what you mean?" Emily wasn't quite sure in what context he'd asked, especially after his first remark. "If you mean emotionally, there's clearly something wrong. She's confused about her past, but also really determined to find some answers. I get the feeling there's more to her quest than she's letting on to any of us."

"More than finding out who her real family is?" Derek questioned. "Like what?"

"I don't know," Emily answered as they approached one of the grassy clearings where they usually stopped to add sets of sit-ups to their workout. Typically they would do five laps around the tree-lined lake, then their sit-ups, followed by five more laps. But Emily had barely made it the first three laps. She watched morosely as he made the turnoff toward the clearing. "Morgan, you and your sit-ups are going to be the death of me this morning," Emily groaned.

He chuckled. "You don't have to do any; I'll go easy on you since you didn't sleep well." Derek sat down on the grassy patch of land, which was still a little damp from the morning dew. He leaned back and bent his knees. "Will you at least hold my feet?"

"Sure," Emily agreed. She knelt down in front of him and pressed her hands against the dark running shoes he was wearing. Emily began to count off for him, noting each time his elbows brushed the top of his knees.

"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" he asked. Morgan watched her gaze shift to the ground and knew he'd hit a nerve. "It just feels like you're holding something back, which is completely within your right. But, I'm here to listen if you want." Derek was hoping that the outdoor setting and fresh air might help her open up. Anything would be better than the way she'd reacted to his friendly attempts to chat about things at work the day before.

Emily bit down softly on her lip. "It's nothing," she replied, a little annoyed by the way he could tell she was holding something back. At the same time it comforted her to know that he understood her so well. There'd been very few people in her life who she'd considered good friends, but Derek Morgan was one of the best. "Fifty, fifty-one…" she counted aloud, noticing the growing look of disapproval on his face at her avoidance. Emily was amazed he could show any emotion other than being tired, yet he was cranking out sit-ups like he could do them all day long. "It's silly," she sighed.

Derek took quick puffs of breath as he moved up and down, tensing his abdominal muscles on every up motion. "Is it nothing or is it silly?" he asked. "And more importantly, is it related to you not getting enough sleep lately?"

"Brilliant deduction, Watson," she quipped, moving her count to silent mode again. "Perhaps you should've been a detective of some sort," Emily continued to joke until she saw the half-frown perched on his face. It was clear he wasn't going to be diverted from the conversation a second time. "It's this odd dream I've been having lately," Emily finally spilled. "I don't actually remember anything about it, except that I always feel like there's something I'm meant to be doing, but I don't know what. And in the end I feel helpless to stop whatever it is that's happening," she tried to explain.

Morgan halted his sit-ups, looking her in the eye. "In my dreams I can't quite reach the person I'm trying to save," he revealed. "For years it used to be my dad I was trying to help, but ever since Los Angeles it's been Ellie's face I see as Flynn walks her out of that bedroom. And there's never a damn thing I can do about it."

Emily's heart ached as she listened to him speak so honestly, but she was relieved to hear him divulge that much information. It was more than he'd ever spoken about the ordeal. "How's Ellie doing?" she asked, knowing the girl's survival was the biggest point she wanted to drive home for him.

"Good," he resumed his sit-ups. "She loves school and her foster parents have been talking about adoption."

"Then it's a good thing you already had them checked out," Emily noted.

Derek's face revealed his surprise at her knowledge of that fact. "Garcia's got a big mouth."

"Penelope didn't tell me," Emily revealed. "Well, at least not until I went to her asking for a background check on Ellie's foster parents. That's when she decided it best to tell me you already had it covered."

He grinned, not terribly shocked that she'd been on the same wavelength as him where Ellie was concerned. Their mutual concern for the foster care system harkened back to a case in which a family had been mistreating children for years. But knowing she wouldn't take kindly to any gratitude on his part, Morgan returned to what they'd been talking about earlier. "Is there anything else you can remember about the dream?" he questioned. "Even the smallest detail?"

"Nothing," a deflated sigh escaped her lips. "Just a feeling of frustration… of failure," she added.

"What about Anna?" he wondered if her dream had anything to do with her sudden need to help the woman. "Has she given you anything more to work with?"

"Maybe," Emily replied. "Anna was singing a French song to Michelle last night. She told me it's a tune she remembers from when she was little."

"Could be significant," Derek reasoned. "We should have Garcia search for missing kids with last names of a French origin," he suggested. "Connect that up with the right time frame, it's worth a shot."

She nodded along. "I was thinking she could search Canadian records as well. They predominately speak French in the Quebec province, and forty years ago it wouldn't have been so hard to get a child across the border," Emily mused aloud.

"Good thinking," Derek said through another exhale of breath as he continued to pump out his sit-ups. "But, it's been forty years, Emily. That's a long time."

"I know that," her reply was rather sharp. "Why does everyone feel the need to keep pointing out how long ago forty years was? I get it, okay."

"Alright, it's just..." he paused and sat up, leaning against his knees to face her. "You talk about Anna being determined, well, you seem really determined too. And I know you want to help her, but I just need to make sure you understand that we may never find her family. Her parents could be long dead by now."

Emily sighed. "I know." She took a deep breath. "I just really want to do my best for them," she concluded.

"You will," Morgan reached out and cupped her cheek in a gentle yet uncharacteristic manner. That level of closeness had never been common place between them before. A pat on the shoulder here and there, sure, but not anything that intimate. "I know you'll do everything within your power, because you have a big heart. And I don't think you know how to fail at anything." He dropped his hand and resumed the previous set of sit-ups.

Every time he came up, his face was so close to hers that Emily felt her stomach clench. Not in a bad way, but in a way that crossed the boundaries of friendship. And it seemed completely irrational to her. She had no reason to suddenly be feeling anything for Derek Morgan other than friendship. Over the years she'd been impressed by his knowledge of literature and charmed by the smile that he flashed all the ladies he crossed paths with. She was also immensely glad to know that he always had her back on the job. But he was a co-worker, and complicating that dynamic would be weird. Not to mention the fact that Derek Morgan wasn't the sort for a long-term relationship of any kind. She'd understood that from day one. The job kept him closed up, like it did so many of them. Like it did her.

Derek got to his feet a few minutes later. He reached a hand down to help her up. "Feel like a couple more laps?"

"Yeah," Emily agreed. "Slow ones," she amended.

"Sure," Morgan nodded his agreement as they set off again. They jogged two full laps in complete silence before he couldn't stand it any longer. "Emily, I..." his pace slowed to a stop and he moved off to the side of the trail, pulling her along with him. Other runners and walkers passed by as they stood there under a large maple tree whose leaves had already turned brilliant shades of red and gold.

"No more sit-ups," Emily groaned.

His head shook. "No. I just wanted to say that earlier, when I touched your cheek… that wasn't very professional of me. And I like to think that our friendship stems beyond profession, but I also know that can be hard to separate and I just don't want you to think I was being..."

"Unprofessional?" she guessed. He nodded and she couldn't help smile. "It's okay, Morgan. I know that you and I aren't... I mean we could never be..." Emily stopped, realizing she was rather flustered by his presence.

She closed her eyes for a moment and attempted to shake any unreasonable thoughts from her head. When she reopened her eyes Derek was standing directly in front of her, much closer than before. Emily could feel his warm breath against her cheek and it sent shivers through her body. There was no time for either of them to think before he lowered his head and captured her lips with his. His left hand gently caressed the soft hairs at the back of her neck as they deepened the union, mouths opening to the spark that they'd both been in denial about. A gentle breeze rustled the tree branches, causing a few golden leaves to spiral to the ground around them. Sunlight kissed their bodies with a touch of warmth as they finally broke apart.

Emily stood there silently for a moment, breathlessly staring at him. "Derek, what was that?"

"I don't know," he quickly replied.

She shook her head at him. "I beg to differ, because one second you're going on about being unprofessional and the next we're… that lip lock was a big something in my book," Emily let him know.

"It's just…" Derek knew he couldn't lie to her, so the truth came dripping out. "I was seeing this woman for a while, Tamara."

"Really?" Emily's tone was devoid of any emotion as she took a small step backwards.

He nodded. "We're not together any more, not since just before Los Angeles. But I really liked her. I even thought maybe she could be the one I'd..."

"Morgan," Emily cut him off. "I'm not sure I want to hear any more of this, because if you're about to tell me that kiss we just shared was some sort of rebound thing, I might have to hurt you," she warned.

Derek knew that a lot of people were put off by her blunt nature and reliance on things like sarcasm to get her through the day, but he'd grown used to it. He even found it endearing; uniquely Prentiss. Morgan understood her fear as he bravely relayed the next words. "Tamara knew I cared about her, but she also sensed that I was holding back. She asked me if there was someone else in my life."

Emily arched her brows. "But there wasn't anyone else, right? You'd never do that to a woman," she spoke with certainty. Emily knew his history of being a hopeless flirt and even a bit of a player, but as she'd gotten to know him better she also understood that loyalty was something of high priority to him.

"It wasn't like that, I never cheated on her," he explained. "But, in a way, she was right. There's someone I've been thinking about for a long time now, but I know it would never work because she's not the kind of woman who'd ever end up with a guy like me. And besides, we work together and it would be all kinds of awkward."

"Wow, Derek," Emily was even more surprised by his latest words. "If you really care about Penelope that much you should just tell her."

Morgan stared at her for a long, silent moment before he started to chuckle softly. He could see how she might have jumped to that conclusion by what he'd said. "I do really care about Garcia, I even love her, but..." he looked Emily in the eye. "Who was I kissing in this park just a few minutes ago?"

"Me," Emily replied, as if that were obvious. Her stomach leapt into her throat a second later as the puzzle pieces finally started to fit together. "Crap, Morgan. Are you trying to tell me that you ruined a possible long-term relationship with a woman you really liked because of me?"

All he could do was nod, even though he hated that she made herself sound unworthy of such an act. "You are one of the smartest women I've ever known, Emily Prentiss, but you definitely have a naive side," he teased, hoping to ease the tension he felt seeping into their conversation. Derek stood there for a long time, watching her and waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Can we run some more laps," Emily's words were more a statement than a question, and she took off before he could respond.

Derek instantly followed. "Hey, Emily..." he tried to slow her down, but she seemed in the mood to run a marathon all of a sudden. Morgan easily managed to keep up with her, but he was worried. "Shouldn't we talk about this some more?"

"No, I'd rather keep running right now," she replied.

"Right," he swallowed hard. It wasn't too difficult to catch the double meaning of her words. "I just don't want this to make things awkward between us."

She sighed. "It's a little too late for that."

xxx

Emily was curled up on her sofa, fleece throw across her legs and a book lying open atop her lap. The living room was softly illuminated by two lamps, which were situated on end tables that flanked either side of the sofa. Michelle had been sent to bed nearly an hour ago, after which she and Anna had cleaned up the mess from their evening meal. Anna had insisted on making the dinner; a simple chicken and rice casserole, which Emily had barely touched. It was just another thing to add to her guilt list, alongside her regret from having clamed up on Derek after their impromptu kiss.

"Would you like some peppermint tea?" Anna offered, appearing beside the sofa. "The water is still hot. I could make you a cup."

"No, thanks," Emily responded, looking up from her book. She'd been staring down at the same page for several minutes, unable to concentrate as thoughts of her and Derek's earlier encounter plagued her mind. After he'd dropped her off, Emily had taken a quick shower and then gone shopping with Anna and Michelle. They'd spent a goodly part of the rest of the day buying clothes and groceries. It had done well to take her mind off Derek, but not completely.

Anna settled down on the overstuffed chair across from Emily. "Is everything all right?" she asked. "You have been rather quiet since your time with Agent Morgan. I know I am not the one who studies human behavior, but it's not hard to see that something is bothering you. And it's probably not my place to say anything, but if you want to talk I hear that sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger about things."

Emily looked to the woman and a small smile emerged. "I don't consider you a stranger, Anna,"

The older woman smiled warmly, but she could tell that was about all Emily planned to say. "Well, if you don't want to talk, perhaps you would be willing to listen? I had a dream last night, well, early this morning right before I woke up. And you said that every little detail might help me discover things about my past."

"Yes," Emily sat up a little straighter and closed the book. She faced Anna with keen interest. "But a dream might not be anything concrete to go on."

Anna nodded her understanding. "But it could mean something?"

"Why don't you tell me what you remember from the dream," Emily encouraged, thankful to turn the conversation away from herself.

"They came for me," Anna started. "The people who kidnapped me… Eli and Maggie Wallace," she finally called them by name.

"You were in the car that you remember from before?" Emily tried to clarify. "You were leaving the house?"

"Not at first. I was in the house this time," Anna replied. Her eyes clouded over, almost like she was reliving the dream again. "I was inside a bedroom that was painted yellow, and there was a white wood bed and white dresser. It felt like more than just a dream, though. It felt like I was there. Like I'd been there before," she looked directed at Emily. "I am sure it was my room in my real parent's house," Anna declared with utmost certainty.

"Okay," Emily wasn't about to dispute the fact. She really just wanted Anna to continue while the memories were still mostly fresh in her mind. "What else do you remember? Were there any distinct smells or sounds?"

Anna nodded. "I could heard someone crying,"

"Was it someone in the room with you?" Emily asked. "Was it your mother?"

"They were not in the room. I never saw who it was. The sound was distant, down the hall maybe," Anna shrugged

Emily pressed on. "What else did you hear or see?"

Anna's eyes closed as she got lost further in the memory-dream. "There was a voice nearby, really close to my ear," her tone was somewhat fearful as she spoke. "And there was a hand over my mouth. The voice told me to be very quiet or it would…" she shook her head and grimaced.

"What did they say, Anna?" Emily had heard the woman's voice change from confident to childlike in an instant. She reached out and took one of Anna's hands in hers, hoping to lend some comfort. "Did they threaten you?"

"Yes," Anna replied, her tone was softer yet still frightened. "It was the man's voice, Eli. He said he would hurt my family if I tried to scream or run. I could not have run away anyhow, he was too strong. One hand was clamped over my mouth and his other arm was very tight around my waist. We went through a window, down a ladder, and then we were in the car," she paused, looking to Emily again. "No… there was something else. Before we left there was something in the room I wanted."

"What?" Emily prodded.

"I tried to reach for it, but he wouldn't let me take it. He pulled me away." Anna's breathing calmed a little as she began to describe the object she'd been reaching for. "It was a doll, an orange cat that was knitted and stuffed. She was dressed as a ballerina with a pink leotard that had blue dots and white lace. And she wore pink toe shoes with blue ribbons tied around her legs," Anna sighed in frustration. "Why can I remember those details so clearly, but nothing of real consequence?"

Emily shook her head as she tried to digest all the information Anna had relayed. "I don't know," her words were barely a whisper as she let go of Anna's hand.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked, noticing that the younger woman looked a little flustered as well.

"I'm fine," Emily tried to smile, but the gesture fell short of any real emotion. She felt guilty once again for the way Anna kept worrying about her when it should have been the other way around. "I'm just really tired after the run this morning and our shopping." She looked Anna in the eye. "I don't know if the dream actually means anything, but I think you should write it all down and I'll talk to the team about it on Monday," she suggested.

"Alright," Anna agreed. "You should get some rest."

Emily wholeheartedly welcomed the idea of sleep. Even a few undisturbed hours would be nice, but as she got to her feet and walked upstairs to her bedroom, those momentary happy thoughts of sleep drifted further and further away. Anna's dream kept gnawing at her as she stepped into her room and locked the door. Emily remembered every word Anna had used to describe the stuffed cat. It sent disturbing shivers down her spine.

She went to her closet and pulled a medium sized cardboard box off a top shelf. Emily walked the box to her bed, sat it down and slowly removed the cover. Inside lay the remains of her childhood, the few scattered items that she'd managed to drag from country to country with her. Emily removed some drawings, a few report cards and even her christening gown. Then she spotted it lying in the bottom of the box, forgotten for so many years. She pulled it out and fingered the lacey tutu.

The stuffed orange cat was fully dressed in ballerina garb; pink and blue, exactly like the one Anna had described in her dream.

To Be Continued...