wow, sorry for the wait. I would say that I had loads of work and stuff to do, but I didn't. I have been extremely exhausted for no apparent reason for the last four weeks that I've literally been stalking fan fiction because I had no energy to do anything else. I went to the movies yesterday and apparently that was too much and I had to go and lie down as soon as I got home. Should I be worried? And the headaches I've been getting have been stopping me from using my computer a lot. If you ever get migraines you'll understand because even the brightness of the screen is painful...

Anyway sorry for the rant, I just felt like I should explain myself... on with the show


Chapter 20

"Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot that!" She shouted, grabbing her drinking glass and sending it crashing it into the wall. The large smash that resonated around the room seemed to focus the dark-haired woman and she froze in place for a second, the tension almost visibly rolling off of her in waves. Morgan and JJ were unsure of what to do for a moment, but then both were spurred into action.

JJ steered Emily away from the once solid glass now residing on the floor and pushed her gently down onto the couch. It worried her how her friend seemed to be working on autopilot. As if this information, that JJ was not currently privy to, had forced her friend into an almost catatonic state. The blonde sat down beside Emily and began rubbing small circles into the woman's back as she looked worriedly over at Derek, who was currently attempting to sweep up the glass. It was taking him rather a long time since he kept shooting concerned glances at the two women on the couch.

"Emily?" JJ asked tentatively, hoping to break her friend out of her silent state, "We need to know what you remember, honey." Although JJ and Morgan had tried to remain as professional as possible in these circumstances, all of these efforts were shot as JJ had an inkling of the memory's content that Emily had suddenly recollected.

It's not like there are many places that require lasers unless the visitors are not permitted access. And though these places were looking more likely by the minute, to JJ they did not seem anywhere near acceptable to think about.

Really, what were the chances?

Well … considering the current situation … quite high actually.

"Em?" JJ tried again, mentally cheering as her friend's eyes began to focus on what was in front of her again, although she never answered the blonde's question. JJ put a gentle arm around her friends back, minding her injuries, as the singular tear that dropped from Emily's eye was followed by another. And another. Soon they all blended into a river cascading down her friend's face.

"I can't believe I did that." Emily rasped, her voice breaking at the end. Although JJ was glad that the brunette was finally talking she still needed to know the specifics.

"You can't believe you did what, honey?" JJ nudged gently.

"I'm a terrible person. What kind of kid does that?!" Morgan stood up from his glass-cleaning duties looking slightly alarmed at Emily's tone of voice. JJ didn't believe in a million years that the brunette was a bad person, and that it was highly likely that had Emily not been under the controlling influence of her father she wouldn't have even thought about doing whatever it was that she had done.

"Emily," Morgan said sternly, trying to snap her out of whatever she was in, "You need to tell us what it was that you did. You will not be blamed for any of it, but it is vital that we know what it is in order to catch your father." He sat on the coffee table in front of the girls and clasped Emily's hands firmly in his own, hoping that she got the message: That he wasn't going anywhere.

"I can't remember where we were, I bet he didn't even tell me," Emily spat out angrily, her frustration at being put in this position shining through, "I only remember what I did as part of whatever his grand scheme was."

"That's okay." JJ comforted, "Whatever you can tell us will help."

"Well, um…" Emily trailed off, trying to buy as much time as possible, "You remember what I did with the lasers back at the country house?" She looked Morgan and JJ in the eye and dropped the level of contact as soon as they nodded, "Well I remember doing that… in these huge buildings… My father made me go in first and… and get past all of the lasers… and… and…" She stopped for a second, trying to gather as much of her composure as possible before it was gone.

"Keep going." JJ encouraged, rubbing circles in her back again, trying to keep Emily as calm as possible.

"I remember having to keep as quiet as possible… and then find… a switch or something…" Her brows knotted in confusion.

"To turn off the lasers?" Morgan threw in helpfully. Emily nodded slowly, her eyes locked on hers and the man's hands clasped together.

"Possibly."

"What do you remember about the locations? What did they look like from the inside?" JJ prodded, trying to get as much helpful information as possible.

"Big." Emily answered simply. "Expensive. Professional."

"Somewhere like a bank, maybe?" Morgan offered. Emily shook her head.

"No, not like that." She paused for a few moments and neither Morgan nor JJ interrupted as they could see that she was deep in thought, "Like a museum." Emily finished quietly, mentally bracing herself for the onslaught of anger and disgust from her friends. Obviously they wouldn't want to hang in the same circles as a criminal.

Morgan stood, pulling his cell out of his pocket and walking through to the kitchen. Emily had no doubt in her mind that he was about to share with the team what a rotten person she was.

That was, until JJ pulled her against her and began whispering in her ear.

"You did good, Em. You did good." Emily held firmly onto whatever support she could and wrapped her arms around JJ's slight frame, her tears soaking through the blonde's shirt.

"Yeah Hotch, he made her do his dirty work for him." Morgan said angrily down the phone. He wasn't angry at what his friend had done, just the situation her sickening father had pushed her headfirst into.

"Well, by the sound of it, his operation is much bigger than any of us realized. If he robbed such high security places years and years ago and still hasn't been caught he must have millions of dollars lined up. Not to mention all of the artifacts." Morgan listened to the man on the other end of the phone for a few moments, "Okay Hotch, I'll call you if she remembers anything else significant." The man hung up the phone and sighed heavily, resting against the kitchen counter. Although he had tried to ignore it, it was obvious how scared Emily was of how everyone would react. Unfortunately, he couldn't hide it any longer. So with a heart heavy with the trauma that his friend had been subjected to he walked back into the living room.

I know this chapter didn't have a boatload of action, but it was important in moving the storyline forwards. I realise that Emily might seem a bit out of character, but if you suddenly told them that you were once a high-class criminal you'd be pretty afraid about how they were going to react. Like when the team found out that she slept with Ian Doyle to get information.

And I know that forgetting huge sections of your life sounds a bit unrealistic it does happen. There's a tv show in England called Holby City, and if you've ever watched it, which I know a lot of you likely haven't, there was a guy who completely forgot that he had a son and a wife and basically forgot everything about himself, even his name because something about becoming a father scared him. So if your own child scares you enough to forget something that substantial I definitely think that something of Emily's magnitude could easily do the same.

Sorry for the long A/N's, even if I doubt anyone actually reads them... please review and tell me what you think about Emily's portrayal in this chapter :) Thanks for reading