Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the TV series, Criminal Minds.
Who We Are
Part 10
By N. J. Borba
Emily felt like her life was a rollercoaster ride, always up and down with very little lag time in between. The last two days since Christmas had been a pretty low spot as she'd reluctantly revealed to her parents and sister that she believed Margaret Wilson was definitely alive. Now, as her co-workers filed into the conference room, she felt unworthy of their support. But Hotch had insisted on calling the meeting despite the fact they were meant to be on holiday leave until after the New Year.
As Rossi entered he seemed to be amazingly upbeat, considering he was usually the most likely to lament about spending too much time with the group. He stood in front of the round table for a moment, his eyes moving slowly from the blonde woman to the brunette and lastly to the red-head. "Was there a three for one special on that haircut? Or did you all start your own private club?" he asked.
Everyone chuckled lightly at the man's joke, except for Emily who thought it might take an act of congress to ever get a smile on her face again. She waited as they finally settled down before relaying the latest information on Margaret. JJ jumped in a few times, recalling their search of the mall on Christmas Eve. And Garcia went third, relaying her account of the investigation she'd done on the photo and card Emily had received Christmas Day.
"I wasn't able to send it to the lab, since apparently some people actually do take days off for the holidays," Garcia began. "But my layperson's examination is that this photo was printed on photo paper, the kind you buy at any retail store. Probably a cheapo ink jet printer was used, because there are lines toward one end of the photo where the colors sort of fade out, definitely a DIY project."
"DIY?" it was Reid who didn't understand the acronym.
"Do it yourself," Penelope supplied.
Dave silently tapped one side of his ceramic coffee mug, not nearly as cheerful as he'd been a few minutes ago. "Which means she probably has some sort of residence in the area, probably more than a hotel if she's going to this much trouble," Rossi voiced his opinion.
"What about the security cameras in Emily's building?" Hotch asked. "Did they pick up anything?"
"Front door camera only got the back of her head as she was talking to someone else," Penelope replied.
"My neighbor, Mrs. Reiner, asked me yesterday if I'd gotten the card she slipped under my door," Emily finally spoke up. "She said some nice lady approached her outside, claimed to be the mother of an old college friend of mine and that she'd forgotten my unit number and wanted to be sure I got her Christmas card."
Derek was upset by that information. "Doesn't your building have pretty strict rules governing privacy? Your neighbor had no right to pass that card along to you."
"It's not a prison, Morgan," Emily actually relaxed a little on the defensive. "I've done a bit of socializing to cultivate a relationship with the people in the units around me. Mrs. Reiner simply believed she was doing me a favor; neighbors helping neighbors. Most of the world still believes in doing good deeds."
"And she was able to give Emily a pretty good description of the woman," Garcia piped up again. "Which I added to Emily's recollection of the woman at the mall, and matched it all up with an age rendering of Margaret Wilson. We believe she looks something like this," the tech passed around copies of the digital image she'd created.
"We need to get this on the street," Derek insisted.
"I'll contact area police," JJ agreed.
Hotch nodded his agreement to their plan, even though they technically didn't have reason to bring the woman in. He sat back, regarding the team. "Do we think she'll make any kind of move to hurt Anna?" he finally posed the hard questions. "Or Michelle?"
Reid sat forward a little as he spoke. "We're pretty sure Margaret is the one responsible for shooting her ex-husband all those years ago, but maybe she was coerced by her partner. From everything Anna has told us about the woman, Margaret seems more like the subservient partner to Eli's dominant personality. Anna said she always watched them, but never mentions specific tortures perpetrated by the woman."
"She doesn't ever come out and say what Eli did to her either," Derek noted. He turned his attention to Emily. "Unless she's told you anything more?"
Her head shook. "No, nothing. She's only really mentioned that Margaret kept her hair cut short, and that she said a lot of hateful things to her. The pictures are rather voyeuristic. It's been a couple months since the last ones, and no other sort of contact has been made. And this latest one," Emily reached for the photograph and stared at Anna's obscured face. "Tick tock… it's almost as if she's waiting."
"For what?" Rossi asked.
A worried sigh escaped Emily's lips. "For Anna to die."
The room was quiet for a moment, but their resident genius broke through it. "If she knew Eric died from a tumor and she knows Anna is sick as well, maybe Emily's right and she is hoping for Anna to die," Reid spoke the words, though he felt horrible for saying them in his friend's presence. "Maybe it's some sort of unfinished business she has, needing to see Anna's death through."
"Why?" Hotch inquired.
"If it was something she and Eli planned, to eventually kill Eric and Anna, then she feels the need to make sure that plan is successful," Reid offered up.
Derek frowned, thinking it didn't make much sense. "But they let them live into adulthood. Why would they wait so long to want them dead?"
"I think we've all come to the conclusion that Eric and Anna both having these serious illnesses isn't exactly coincidence," Rossi voiced. "They probably just didn't want their deaths to be considered unnatural."
"I'm inclined to agree with Dave, but it's really hard to be sure. There are still too many unknowns," Hotch admitted, due to the fact that they knew so little about the two UnSubs. "Garcia, try to find out if there's any way Margaret could have gained access to Anna's medicals records, or any information on Michelle such as the school she'll be attending. I know you've been keeping close tabs on this stuff already, just be hyper vigilant," he implored. His gaze then settled on Emily. "I wish we had more to go on at this point. But other than Garcia's searches and getting that picture out, I don't know that there's anything else we can do."
Emily nodded, understanding that her boss was already doing more than was probably called for under the circumstances. She stayed in her seat as the others trickled out, aside from Derek who remained as well. "I don't think we should go on this…"
"No," he stopped her from finishing, pretty sure he knew what she was about to say. "We are going on this trip," Morgan countered.
"You want me to fly clear across the country and leave Anna here alone?"
"Anna agreed to stay with your parents while we're gone," he reminded her.
She knew he'd have an answer for everything she shot at him. "Why did you and Anna plot this trip for Sea World in San Diego anyhow? Isn't there one of those in Florida? That's at least in the same time zone. And why are we flying to Los Angeles and driving down?"
Derek sat back in his chair. "That was supposed to be a surprise, but since you need some incentive… I thought we could drive down to San Diego, because I invited someone else to go to Sea World with us," he revealed.
"Someone else?" she held her hands out, palms up in a questioning gesture. "You wanna be a little bit more vague?"
"I asked Ellie to join us," Morgan revealed. "And I know you might think that I've been too close to her with the texting and all that, but she's seemed a little down lately. It's her first holiday without her dad and her aunt, and trying to adjust to the new foster home. And I thought maybe Michelle could use a friend on the trip, since I already have a friend coming along." He grinned, arching his brows in a playful manner.
Their relationship had definitely shifted on Christmas day after the visit with his mother, and their kiss. But Emily still didn't exactly know what kind of shift it had been. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"
"You need a vacation, Emily. That's why Anna wanted to do this for you," he stood his ground.
"Hmm, that and getting me trapped in a metaphorical cabin with you," Emily mumbled under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing," she quickly covered.
Morgan got to his feet and grabbed his things. "Come on, Emily. Let's put all our worries aside for a few days and have some fun," he insisted.
"I'm not sure how much fun I can have while chaperoning eight and nine year old girls at a kid's theme park," she was still trying to avoid the whole thing, using a slightly different tactic than before.
Derek still wasn't going to let her weasel her way out. "It's not just for kids, Em. It will be fun, and you could use the opportunity to act childish for a change. Because you've been far too serious and worried the last few months," he stated as she stood and they moved toward the room's exit. "So, have I convinced you yet?"
She shrugged, still somewhat noncommittal. "I suppose it would be cruel to disappoint Ellie and Michelle. And it will be warmer there than it is here."
His face lit with a smile. "Now you're getting into the spirit," he said, gently nudging her arm as they descended the stairs into the bullpen.
xxx
Her slightly brighter spirit about the whole trip began to wan a little bit after two hours into their packed cross-country flight. Emily was squeezed into the middle seat with Michelle to her right near the window and Derek to her left on the aisle. "Remind me again why my parents, who always fly first class, decided to get us coach tickets for this trip," she looked to Derek for an answer.
He felt bad, seeing that she was a bit uncomfortable. "That was actually your sister's doing. Anna wanted Michelle to experience life as most people do, kind of the way she's so opposed to having servants around while at your parents place."
"Yeah, I got an ear full from my mother about that," Emily did her best to recline in the seat. "Apparently Anna demanded that the servants take a hike again as long as she was staying there," she recalled the conversation, once again being a conduit between her sister and mother. She took a deep breath, resigned to the fact that she didn't have to worry about any of that for three days. Emily glanced over at Morgan again. "And remind me again why you got the aisle seat, Michelle got a window and I'm stuck in the middle. I thought this was more my gift than yours. Aren't you just a chaperone?"
"Well, if you want your chaperone able to walk and drive you around this weekend, you'll be happy to let him have the aisle seat," Morgan grinned. "I don't think I could get my legs squeezed in there if I tried," he remarked, already having his legs hanging out in the aisle some, which had not amused the flight attendants. Derek motioned his head toward Michelle, who had barely looked away from the window the whole flight so far. "And a first flight definitely deserves a good view."
She couldn't disagree there. Emily had always loved flying as a child, and it seemed her niece was no different. Michelle had her doll in her lap and her nose pressed against the window, even though all there was to see at the moment were endless miles of cumulous clouds. The weather had been snowy and cold when they'd left, but at 35,000 feet there were no storms, just clear sailing so far.
"You okay?" Emily asked the girl. "You'll let me know if you feel sick at all, right."
Michelle briefly turned away from the cloudy landscape. "I'm fine," she assured her aunt. "I can't wait to see California and all the fish and the whales. I still can't believe I get to see whales. This will be the most fun I've ever had," Michelle proclaimed. "At least without my mom or dad," she quickly amended, though even those words were spoken without a hint of melancholy to her tone.
Emily smiled to hear the girl was so excited. She didn't complain for the rest of the flight knowing Michelle was happy.
Several hours later Derek steered their rental car through the streets of LA. Due to the time difference from east to west coast, it was still fairly early in the day. Single story Ranch style houses lined the roads as he turned left and then right at a stop light. The area was dominated by palm trees and sunshine, even at the end of December, with the temperature predicted to top out at seventy degrees for the winter day. It was a welcome change for the east coast dwellers.
"I think this is it," Emily pointed out a tan stucco rambler. "205 Trenton," she read Ellie's address off the GPS to double check. Then she looked over to see Derek take a deep breath, his face seeming calm but worried. He pulled to the curb and Emily knew he was reliving the events that had occurred that terrible night in May. She put a hand to his forearm and smiled reassuringly. "You'll be fine. Ellie agreed to the trip, so she obviously wants to see you."
"Right," he nodded, putting the vehicle in park and removing his belt. "Do you think I should go by myself or should we all?"
Emily undid her belt. "I'd like to meet the Marshal's in person, and I think proper introductions would be best considering we're taking Ellie for the next few days."
Derek saw her point and he exited the SUV, walking around to open the side door for Michelle. "You ready, sweetness?"
Michelle grasped her doll as she jumped down with a little help from Morgan. "Yes," she replied, always seeming up for a new adventure. She certainly wasn't the shy wallflower that her mother was. In fact, Derek thought he saw a lot of Emily's spirit in the girl.
The three of them traipsed up the stone path to the front door and Derek rang the bell while Emily and Michelle stood back a little, not wanting to bombard the foster family or Ellie. A dark-haired woman in her late thirties answered and smiled her hello before ever speaking. "You must be Derek Morgan," she extended a hand. "I'm Beth Marshal," they shook briefly before she motioned them all inside.
Further introductions were made inside and a man entered the living area where they'd been gathered by Beth. "Dan Marshal," he said, shaking hands with Derek and then Emily. "And this little one must be your daughter?" the man looked to Michelle.
"No, my niece," Emily explained.
"Sorry, my mistake," Dan apologized. "Why don't you all have a seat? Ellie is just grabbing her bag. She'll be out in a minute." He guided them toward the sectional in the living room, which was neutral colored and comfy.
Emily thought the whole house seemed cozy, and clean. She couldn't help herself from inspecting the place for any signs that Beth and Dan were neglectful or the type of people to harm Ellie in any manner. She couldn't tell much from the tidy house, though, so she resorted to questions. "Is Ellie your only foster child?"
"First, and only so far," Dan replied as he launched off into a history lesson. "Beth and I met in school and married right after graduation. We both had careers right out of the gate, but we also knew we wanted a family."
"Unfortunately my body had other plans and carrying a child just wasn't a possibility," Beth joined in. "We looked into adopting a baby, but it's rather expensive. We make decent money and probably could have afforded it, but after a lot of soul searching we decided that helping older children was how we wanted to contribute our parenting urges to the world."
"We'd barely put in for fostering when Ellie's story hit the news," Dan took over again. "I thought Beth was going to head out right then and snatch Ellie up and bring her home. Amazingly enough, four months after Ellie's ordeal, and two placements in other homes, we were contacted about taking her in."
Morgan wasn't sure what to make of the couple. They seemed nice enough and he'd done the background checks, which had come up squeaky clean. But his papa-bear instincts were telling him not to let up just yet. "And Ellie has been happy here?" He watched Beth and Dan exchange a look that worried him. "Something you want to share?" Derek prodded.
Beth sighed, fiddling with her hands a little as she spoke. "Honestly, Ellie has been a dream to have around. She cleans up after herself and gets herself ready for school without a fuss, she's quiet…" the woman paused. "Sometimes I fear she's too quiet. She'll respond when we ask a question about how school was or if she'd like something from the grocery store, but she doesn't really talk to us."
"I don't think Beth or I really understood just how hurt and confused a foster child might be," Dan openly admitted his ignorance. "We adore Ellie, and we've put in for adoption. But we're worried that maybe that's not what she wants. And we don't want to push her, so when this trip offer came up, Beth and I both thought it might be good for Ellie to get away, have some space from us and think things over."
"The last thing we want is for her to feel pressured into staying with us," Beth added.
Emily wanted to say something reassuring to them, sensing that they truly were good people with their hearts in the right place. But Ellie entered the room, ending that bit of their conversation. "Hi, Derek," the girl smiled softly, her lips barely upturned. She stood by the sofa, bag in hand, not making a move toward Morgan.
He made the first move, getting to his feet and walking toward her. "Hi, kiddo," Derek greeted. Then he simply extended one hand to her and she folded into his welcome embrace. Morgan closed his eyes for a second, seeing Spicer's face again and hearing the man beg him to take care of his daughter. He pulled out of the hug and took a step back to look her over. "Your hair looks cute," he commented, noticing that it had grown out a great deal, though it still hit just above her shoulders.
"Thanks," Ellie's smile grew a bit wider.
"I think you might remember Emily," Morgan said as he waved a hand to indicate his friend. Ellie nodded and smiled up at the woman. "And this is Emily's niece, and also one of my favorite people, Michelle," he said as the younger girl came to stand beside him.
"Hello," Michelle greeted, still clutching her doll tightly. "It's nice to meet you."
Ellie responded again with just a soft smile. "Well, we should really be hitting the road," Derek suddenly felt the need to get moving.
Dan and Beth were agreeable as they said goodbye to Ellie and promised to call every night to check on her.
xxx
"How old are you?" Michelle asked Ellie as the two of them sat in the back of the SUV Derek had rented. The older girl didn't respond, but that didn't seem to daunt Michelle. "You're older than me, I bet. I'm only eight years old, but I'll be nine pretty soon. And I'll be starting third grade on Monday. I only have to do a half year, but I'm looking forward to it. I've never been to a real school before. Do you like school, Ellie?"
Again Michelle's question went unanswered, but she persisted a little while longer. "Derek said your daddy died. I'm sorry about that. My daddy died too, about a year and a half ago. I still miss him a lot, and now my mom is really sick. I'm afraid she might die too."
Emily couldn't help overhear the conversation in the back seat; the very one-sided conversation. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Ellie staring out the side window. Michelle had finally given up on the conversation and was fussing with her doll a bit. Emily sighed, wondering if taking Ellie along with them had been a good idea after all. "Both of them are breaking my heart back there," she spoke softly for Derek's ears only.
Derek watched the girls in the mirror as well and sighed. "Mine too," he replied.
The drive to San Diego wasn't too bad, traffic was heavy but it moved along at a decent pace. The girls remained fairly quiet the rest of the way and when they arrived at the hotel, Emily agreed to bunk with the girls while Derek had his own room which adjoined theirs. After dinner and a good night's sleep, the two adults managed to rouse the girls early for showers and breakfast and they were at the park when it opened at 9am.
People were crowded all around the place, which was open longer hours for the holiday season. Emily had a feeling she was more overwhelmed by the park than either of the girls or Derek. She hadn't been to many theme or amusement parks in her life. Her parents had always preferred the more docile and educational choices of theater, museums and art galleries when it came to entertainment. But she didn't have time to retreat, because Derek and Michelle drug her to every exhibit and ride they could find. Emily noticed that Ellie was mostly along for the ride as well, not seeming eager to take an active role in what they were doing.
As they sat down to eat lunch, Emily finally decided to ask the older girl what she wanted to do. "You get to choose what we do next. What will it be?"
Ellie shrugged and was quiet for a minute, but finally said something very softly. "The shark encounter."
"You want to see some sharks?" Derek was grateful to Emily for getting the girl involved. "That sounds like a good idea," he agreed.
The shark encounter turned out to be quite mesmerizing as the four of them walked through a tunnel that ran underwater. Sharks of all sizes swam along beside them and above. Their constant sinuous motions were both beautiful and somewhat haunting. Ellie seemed to the most enthralled as she stood with her face practically pressed against the thick glass, staring out into the water. Derek, Emily and Michelle left her to it for a long time before Derek grew a bit worried. When he placed a hand against her shoulder, Ellie turned to look at him with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?" he asked, squatting down to eye level with her.
"My dad always liked the sharks best," Ellie sniffed, trying not to let them all see her crying.
Morgan's heart went out to the child as he guessed something. "Did your dad bring you here?" he asked.
She nodded. "He brought me here every year on my birthday." The girl brushed away another stray tear. "I turned ten two weeks ago," Ellie told him.
"I'm so sorry, baby girl. I didn't realize," Derek gently rubbed her back.
"It's okay," the girl replied. "I like it here; I just didn't think it would make me so sad. But I don't want to leave." She looked over her shoulder to where Emily and Michelle where standing and watching the sharks, trying not overhear the private conversation. "Michelle really wants to see the Shamu show, and I think she'll love it. We shouldn't disappoint her," Ellie concluded.
Derek stood and ran his hand along the girl's silky hair. "You've got a good heart, kiddo," he said as they rejoined the others.
The killer whale show was something they all agreed to be one of the highlights of their day as they finally, and in Michelle's case, reluctantly, left the park at closing time. All told they'd spent the better part of twelve hours at the park, touching and feeding dolphins, gazing at nearly every fish known to man, laughing at the flamingos and the jump roping dog, stuffing themselves on junk food and getting splashed by a few water rides. The girls were so tired by the time they got back to the hotel that they were in pajamas, teeth brushed and asleep within fifteen minutes.
Emily was pretty well exhausted, too, as she knocked softly on Derek's door, dressed in her turquoise silk pajama top and shorts, which were usually reserved for spring and summer back east. He invited her in with a single, slightly muffled, word. "Enter." She pushed open the door and walked toward the king sized bed where he was propped up by pillows, wearing only a pair of dark blue cotton pajama pants and flipping through a magazine.
"Do you ever think about the meaning of life?" she asked, standing beside his bed.
The magazine fell to his lap as he stared up at her with inquisitive eyes. "Is this some kind of a trick question?"
"No, I'm being serious," Emily cautiously sat down on the edge of his bed. "I feel like I spend a lot of time trying to figure life out. And the job… well, that really doesn't help much, because I can't imagine what the point of living is when it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye. Kind of like Anna being kidnapped. Her loss destroyed my family. It's never been the same, and probably never will be. And I just don't understand why we…"
"Hey," Derek stopped her as he tossed the magazine across the bed and reached for her hand. He carefully weaved his fingers through her. "Did you have fun today?"
She was a little curious about the sudden change in subject, but she nodded and enjoyed the warmth of his palm against hers. "I had a really great time."
"Then there's your answer right there, your meaning of life."
"To have fun?"
His head gave a very slight nod. "Sort of. I think the meaning of life is to have fun when you get the opportunity, and to deal with all that other stuff when you have to. It's about finding balance," he relayed, squeezing her hand.
An appreciative smile reddened her cheeks as Emily felt herself relax. "How'd you get so smart?"
"I have an amazing mother," he was quick to give the woman credit. "She explained all that balance stuff a long time ago."
"And you're just now sharing it with me?" she feigned being upset.
Derek gently tugged at her hand in an attempt to get her closer. "I don't think the timing was ever right before," he said. Morgan smiled softly, noticing that Emily was still rooted to the corner of his bed.
Emily wanted to give in to him, to fall into his embrace and lay wrapped up there where she imagined it to be just as warm as his hand against hers, and safer than any place she'd ever been before. But her stubborn head was still reluctant to let go. "I've been wondering the last few days what you think about us being friends, only?"
"A lot of deep questions for one night, don't you think?" he grinned. But Derek could see she really wanted a serious answer to the question and his smile faded a little as he spoke honestly. "I've been dancing around the issue mostly because I didn't want to pressure you, but I told you months ago in the park how I feel. And I thought I made my feelings on the matter pretty clear Christmas Day as well."
Realizing she was over analyzing things again, Emily took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "You did," she acknowledged. "And I think…" Emily sighed from the weight of her future words. "I think maybe I'm ready to be stupid," she declared.
"I'm sorry, I don't follow…" Derek's brows scrunched toward the middle of his forehead.
Finally Emily crawled forward. She sat beside him and her eyes closed as his arm instantly snaking around her waist and he kissed her forehead. "A suspect once alluded to the idea that I'd never been in love, and I think she was right," Emily whispered. "I've never let myself be in love, never let my guard down long enough to let someone else in. Growing up I was always trying to be someone else, someone people liked to be around, but I kind of lost myself in all of that. I shut down parts of me that I wanted to preserve, but now they're so preserved that I don't even recognize them. I don't know how to become Emily again, the whole person. And I don't know that I can really let myself love if I don't even know who I am. But I think I'm ready to at least try."
"In that case, why don't we take this one step at a time," he still didn't want to pressure her, even though she was closer than she'd ever dared to be before. "But only forward steps, not backward. Deal?"
Her head nodded as it rested against his shoulder. "Deal."
xxx
Derek, Emily and the girls sat huddled around a small fire pit on the beach. A clear sky and thousands of stars hovered above them, but they still needed sweatshirts since the temperature had dropped with the setting sun. A good chunk of their New Years Eve day had consisted of sitting on the beach and soaking up sun. But there'd also been more ambitious moments to the day, including a bicycle ride along the ocean beach bike path and a short kayaking trip on Mission Bay.
Glancing across the low flames, Morgan couldn't help smile as he watched Michelle and Ellie eating the last of their Oreo cookies. "What did you girls like best about the last two days?" he asked them.
"The bike ride!" Michelle quickly exclaimed. "And Shamu and the Belugas."
"I liked the kayak trip and the sharks," Ellie relayed in a calmer tone than her new friend.
"And how about you, Madame?" Derek turned to the woman snuggled beside him. "What are your favorite memories from the past two days?"
Emily decided it best not to mention the part where they'd cuddled on his bed for over an hour before she'd finally returned to her own room the night before. "The different aquariums were my favorite yesterday. I think jelly fish are fascinating. And today…" she looked to all their smiling faces and grinned as well. "I really enjoyed watching the sun set over the bay, but I think this is my favorite part of the day, sitting around the fire with all of you."
"Can I say something else?" Ellie asked.
"Of course," Derek replied.
The girl still hesitated a moment before speaking. "I just wanted to thank you for inviting me. I've had fun and it made me realize that it's okay to have fun even if you still feel kind of sad about stuff," she bravely stated. "And it's okay to let other people into your life after losing someone you love," Ellie sighed before continuing. "I like Dan and Beth a lot but I've been scared to let them get close, because I'm afraid I might lose them too," she revealed. "I never had anyone to tell that to before. I thought Becky Johnson was my BFF, but she only wanted to be my friend because she saw what happened to me on the news and thought it would make me popular. I told her I didn't need a friend like that."
Both adults were very glad to finally hear Ellie talk about what was going on in her life, but it was Michelle who offered up some advice. "My mom doesn't really like to talk about daddy too much, so I tell my doll all about him. Maybe you need someone like that to talk to." The girl held her doll out in offering for a long time as Ellie just stared at it. "You don't want her?"
That question snapped Ellie out of her trance and she looked Michelle in the eye. "It's not that," she whispered. "I was just remembering a doll I had that my dad gave to me, but I gave it to charity when I was seven, because I thought dolls were childish. Now I wish I still had it."
"Take Balene," Michelle insisted. "I think you need her more than I do right now."
Ellie reached for the doll and smiled more genuinely than she had the whole trip. A bright flash of colorful light lit the sky a few seconds later. It was closely followed by another brilliant spark of light. "Fireworks," Derek said as he glanced down at his watch and realized the time. "It's officially the new year, ladies."
"Can we go watch them up on the hill?" Ellie asked, pointing toward the small sand dune behind them. "Please?"
"Okay," Emily agreed. "But take the flashlight," she handed them the torch Derek had gotten at a nearby store, knowing they'd be staying out until midnight. "And don't go anywhere near the water," she called after them. Emily watched the beam of light from their flashlight as it wobbled up the hill, and she listened to the girls giggling. Her gaze returned to Derek. "Those two are attached at the hip. It's amazing what twenty-four hours can do for a friendship," she remarked.
He grinned. "Yes, it is, isn't it?" Derek got to his feet and pulled her up with him. "According to park rules all fires have to be out by midnight," he explained while tossing handfuls of sand onto the already dwindling blaze.
When the fire was fully put out, darkness engulfed them and was only lighted by the occasional bright burst of fireworks above them; red, then green, then gold. Emily felt Derek grab a hold of her waist and she clasped her hands behind his neck. "You never mentioned what your favorite parts of the last two days were," she whispered, feeling his warm breath washing over her slightly chilled cheeks.
"This is my favorite part," Morgan replied as he dipped his head to hers and captured her lips. The kiss was not bashful in any way. It was not the kiss of two people still struggling to figure out the line between friendship and something more. It was a familiar, passionate kiss that spoke of their future together. And when he took a quick breath, Derek spoke three words he hoped would be the start of something better for both of them. "Happy New Year."
xxx
Ellie bounded into her house, dropped her bag by the door and immediately began recounting the last few days to her foster parents, much to their surprise. They all stayed and talked for a while, but soon Derek rounded up Emily and Michelle so they wouldn't miss their flight home. Ellie stood by the door with a sad look on her face, holding Michelle's doll close. "Are you sure you want me to keep her?" she asked her friend. Michelle nodded and they exchanged a hug. "I wish we lived in the same city," Ellie said. "But maybe we can email, or text? Do you have a cell phone?"
"No," Michelle replied. "But I know how to use Emily's phone when I want to call Derek. He's number one on her speed dial thingy."
"Maybe we can get you a cell phone," Emily offered, though she felt the child was a bit young for such things. "But you'll only be allowed to call certain people that I program in, and it will only to be used for texting when an adult is present. And you won't be allowed to have it at school with you, ever."
"She's strict," Ellie whispered to her friend. "But I like her. And I like her and Derek together."
Michelle nodded. "Me too," she giggled.
Derek turned his attention to Emily for a second. "Do we even want to know why they're whispering and laughing while looking at us?" Morgan asked.
"We really don't," she shook her head.
Several more rounds of goodbye were exchanged before they finally jumped in the SUV and headed toward the airport. Emily's phone rang and she grinned. "Since we just dropped off one kid, I imagine this is the east-coast mother hen calling to check up on her chick," Emily chuckled softly before noticing that the caller ID on her screen didn't match the one that came up when Anna called from the new cell phone their parents had gotten for her. "Hmm, apparently it's my mother hen." She answered but didn't get a chance to say a single word as her mother spoke in a rush.
Morgan was instantly concerned when he glanced over and watched as Emily's face visibly paled. He also noticed she wasn't speaking, only listening. She barely said anything of acknowledgement before ending the call. "What's wrong?" he finally asked.
Emily glanced into the back seat and was thankful Michelle seemed more interested in what was going on outside the vehicle than inside. She turned her attention back to Derek, feeling shaky and perplexed as she finally told him what her mother had said. "Anna is missing."
"What do you mean, missing?"
"I mean… disappeared. They have no idea where she is."
To Be Continued…