Chapter XLII

Seeing as everything Ana had during her time with Hail was officially in his name, arrangements were made rather quickly- both apartments and everything in them now property of the city of New York. Emily and JJ had convinced the girl to return to where they had caught her and pack anything she needed. Ana was in and out in seven minutes, saying that she didn't want to be reminded of the three years she had wasted. They spent one night in the hotel the team had occupied- Emily insisting that Ana take her bed and sleeping next to JJ regardless of the girl's protests- and the next day, they headed to the airstrip. Emily and JJ shared a look in the SUV. They had both heard the teenager tossing and turning throughout the night and neither one of them had the tenacity to ask her about it. Ana remained placid and quiet as they arrived and spotted the BAU jet. One by one they filed in and took a seat-Ana purposely sitting as far as possible from the others- and waited for the short plane ride to begin.

"Have you talked to her?" Aaron startled Emily out of her thoughts- both staring blatantly at the girl huddled in the corner. Emily shook her head.

"I have no idea what to say." She turned her big, brown eyes onto him. "Aaron, I'll just make it worse."

"Honestly Em," Hotch sighed. "I don't think it can get much worse."

"She hates me." Emily shook her head and looked out the window.

"You know that's not true." He turned his body and took her hands in his. "Emily, you saved her."

"That's bullshit." Hotch flinched at the curse. Emily didn't seem to notice- her eyes glued on the darkening sky that enveloped them. Instead of trying to convince her otherwise, he simply brought her hands to his lips and placed a kiss on each before leaving her to her thoughts. Emily fought with herself- ignoring the mindless chatter that seemed to come out of nowhere. Before long she shifted her gaze back to Ana who was also staring blanking into space. She sighed and stood, smiling tightly at Aaron as she stepped over his legs. Suddenly, the plane jolted, sending her forward and forcefully onto his lap. Her legs on either side of his hips, the couple blushed at the cat call from Morgan and the snickers from JJ and Reid.

"Is this really the time?" Rossi asked without looking up from his newspaper.

"Oh come on Rossi," Morgan nudged the older man. "It's never too early to become members of the Mile High club." JJ could be heard choking on her water as Emily shot the three a look and unwound herself from Hotch's lap.

"I don't know what you're laughing at Barbie." Emily crossed her arms and tried to hide a grin. "From what I recall, you've become a platinum member." JJ's laughter immediately ceased which only served to authenticate Emily's words.

"You-"

"Shut up Morgan." JJ mumbled as she tried to hide her beet, red face behind a file. Emily sidestepped the conversation and swiftly moved to sit next to Ana who seemed completely detached from the light hearted humor.

"Can I sit with you?" she asked, startling the girl slightly.

"Sure." Ana shrugged half-heartedly and tucked her knees to her chest to make room for Emily. For a moment, the two simply sat and shared the view from the window. Then Emily spoke.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way." She said softly, watching Ana closely for a reaction. She received none.

"It's not your fault." She said without looking away from the window.

"It's not yours either." Emily moved slightly closer and Ana flinched away.

"You know that's not true." Ana shook her head as if she were speaking with a small child.

"No, I don't." Emily stated adamantly. "There's no way you could have-"

"I'm really not in the mood for this." Ana rolled up into a smaller ball and rested her forehead on her knees.

"How are you feeling?" Emily changed topics but clearly not to Ana's satisfaction.

"My head is pounding, my ankle's throbbing, my stomach is burning but other than that I'm remarkable." Emily stared at what was left of the once proud and strong teenager and couldn't stop the tug at her heart.

"I have some Advil in my bag if you'd-"

"Can't take it with my prescriptions." Ana dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand.

"Oh." Emily lowered her head. She was the girl's legal guardian and didn't even know the details of her condition. She sighed. "Listen, I don't want you to worry about what happens when we get to D.C. We're going to find you the greatest lawyer out there and-"

"How exactly am I supposed to pay for said lawyer?" Emily opened her mouth to respond but was stopped instantly. "I'm not a charity."

"It's not charity. It's me helping you out of a tough situation." Emily watched as Ana's face contorted. "Remember when you said that, and I quote, 'the stench of a privileged upbringing oozed from my every pore'? You weren't wrong."

"I don't want your money." Ana shook her head slowly. "I got myself into this situation and I'll get myself out of it or…or I won't."

"Ana you can't expect me to sit back and watch while-"

"You're the one who's so convinced I'm innocent. Losing faith already?" the girl raised an eyebrow, her pitch faltering slightly.

"I just want to help." Emily said defensively.

"You want to help?" Ana asked, more annoyed than before. "Then just leave me alone." The rest of the team had quieted their conversation as the Ana's voice dominated the rest. They stared at the two in silence, waiting for one of them to speak again. Emily turned to face them, her eyes sad, and slowly made her way back to the seat she had previously occupied. Hotch offered her a sympathetic look, understanding why she was upset but also appreciating Ana's predicament. Before long, the flight ended and the members of the BAU shot to their feet, anxious to get home. Ana remained seated and after further inspection, Hotch realized that she was asleep. He sent the others ahead and knelt at the girl's side.

"Ana." He placed a hand on her shoulder and shook. When she did not wake, he did the next best thing and scooped her into his arms like a child before making his way to the newly issued SUVs. No one said a word as he lowered the girl into the backseat of one, placed her head on JJ's lap and drove off. One by one, their party dwindled in size. First Reid, then Rossi and Morgan were dropped off, leaving Hotch and Emily in the front and JJ cradling Ana's head against her legs.

"I'll take her." JJ whispered so as not to wake the girl. "She can stay in my guest room until her trial."

"No JJ." Emily shook her head. "You have Henry to worry about. I'll take her."

"Are you sure?" JJ frowned. "She isn't exactly…nice to you."

"I don't think she's going to be nice to either of us." Emily chuckled humorlessly. "I have more than enough room."

"Alright." JJ resumed staring out the window and making sure Ana didn't jolt awake. Five minutes later, Hotch pulled up to Emily's flat- having memorized the location months ago- and got out. He offered JJ a smile before lifting the girl from her lap and following Emily into her home. JJ trailed behind and held the door open as Emily flicked on the lights and let them in. JJ noticed how easily her boss maneuvered the apartment- as if he had been there many times before- and placed Ana onto Emily's guest bed. JJ narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched the two fuss over the sleeping girl. They worked together, completely in sync, as Hotch lifted her slightly and Emily removed her shoes. The couple then pulled back the blankets and draped them over Ana and JJ couldn't help but feel a twinge of familiarity- her and Will worked in the same manner when they were tucking in Henry. She smiled at the thought. The three gathered in the shiny, white kitchen and Emily offered them drinks. JJ refused, saying she'd rather get home to Will and Henry and immediately regretted. Since Hotch was the one that had to driver her home that meant that he couldn't spend time with Emily. She opened her mouth to change her mind but stopped as Emily and Hotch both chuckled.

"It's fine JJ." Hotch nodded.

"I was planning on passing out on my bed." Emily agreed. She walked the two to the door and held it open. JJ smiled at her friend and quickly went down the stairs, now determined to give the couple some alone time.

"Drive safe." The brunette said and Hotch nodded, taking a step closer to her.

"As if JJ would let me do anything stupid." He joked and Emily smiled despite herself.

"Let me know when you get home." She asked and Hotch nodded before entwining his fingers into hers.

"Goodnight." He whispered softly.

"Night." She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips before watching him walk down the stairs and returning to the sanctity of her apartment. She sighed, wondering exactly how Ana would react to waking up in a strange home, and quickly stripped her clothes for a shower. She was in and out in ten minutes and glanced at the clock: 7:10. Despite the early time, Emily yawned and decided to head to bed. She wrote a quick note for when Ana awoke and placed it on the nightstand and crawled into her own bed for the first time in almost two weeks. Before Emily knew it, her eyes were closed and she soon succumbed to the dreamy wasteland she had missed so dearly.

Already working on the next chapter for you lovely humans. Review for love!