Thanks for the reviews lovelies! Enjoy.
Chapter XLVI
Emily lost track of the hours that past as she and Hotch waited in his office. Eventually, the brunette couple had grown weary of talking and instead, rested their heads on one another and closed their eyes. Relishing in the feel of the other's steady heartbeat, the two fell into the most peaceful sleep they've had in weeks. Once Ana had been freed from the confines of Strauss' office, JJ knocked on the door and peeked her head in, calling Emily's name. She smiled softly and decided not to awaken them, seeing as Emily had gotten little to no sleep since the beginning of the fiasco. Instead she returned to the bullpen and all but ordered the team not to snoop.
"Did you catch them with their pants down?" Morgan cried, a mischievous smile dancing on his lips. JJ swatted his arm.
"Have you met Hotch?" she asked sarcastically. "No way would they do anything in his office."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Rossi shook his head and chuckled.
"What do you mean?" the blonde turned to face him, her arms crossed. Surely, their anal-retentive, stoic unit chief wouldn't allow something like that to occur in the middle of the BAU.
"Do you see how those two look at each other?" the older man asked. "I'm afraid to stand in between them in case they decide to pounce on each other." Morgan broke into laughter and JJ just stared.
"Pigs." She shook her head, a small grin tugging at her lips as well. She returned to her office, handing Ana the bottle of water she had retrieved for her. The teenager looked more tired than usual and JJ narrowed her eyes at the way she rubbed around the scar on her abdomen.
"They fell asleep didn't they?" Ana asked playfully. JJ nodded. "Good. Emily barely gets any sleep anymore." She picked at the hem of her shirt, a look of sadness crossing her features. JJ took a slight risk and placed her hand on top of the girl's. Ana flinched at the contact but shifted her gaze to the blonde.
"You can't blame yourself for everything." JJ said. "Emily knew what to expect when she took you in. Trust me, it's nothing she can't handle."
"She shouldn't have to handle anything. This isn't her problem." JJ shook her head at the girl.
"That's where you're wrong. Not only did this become personal when Hail attacked her but she cares about you. We all do. That makes it our problem."
"I haven't done anything to deserve your help." Ana lowered her gaze, confused at the BAU's protective nature. "In fact, it should be the exact opposite." JJ chuckled.
"Yea, it should be." They both thought back to the day where they arrested her and Ana made it her life mission to piss JJ off as much as humanly possible. "But it isn't. So deal with it." The blonde nudged the younger woman and was more than surprised to feel a pair of toned arms wrap around her neck.
"Thank you." JJ felt the girl's breath against her ear and smiled before returning the gesture. A knock brought the two apart and Emily stood at the door.
"How did it go?" she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and gave the two the impression that she hadn't seen what transpired.
Deciding to inform every member of the BAU at once, Ana, JJ and Emily moved their conversation to Hotch's office. The group of seven gathered in the now cramped space and Ana explained what Strauss had told her.
"There will be trial." She said with finality. "They're charging me with accessory to Anya Powell's murder, eight counts of grand larceny and attempted treason."
"What?!" Six voices cried at once. Ana listened in silence as each member went off into a rant about how unfair that was.
"They can't be serious!" Morgan yelled.
"How do they possible think they can even win that?" Rossi wondered aloud.
"A conviction of treason would mean more than life in prison." Reid pointed out.
"There has to be something we can do!" JJ turned to her boss, a look of horror on her face.
"They're not getting away with that. There's no way." Emily crossed her arms defiantly.
"Who's the prosecutor?" Hotch asked as soon as the ruckus died down.
"Madeline Thurman." Ana shrugged as she said the name but the group could immediately tell that Hotch had heard of the woman before.
"Of course." He scoffed. "She takes on a lot of cases like this; ones that seem outrageous."
"Does she win?" Emily asked. Hotch's silence replied.
"I'll call someone I know." He leaned over his desk and began riffling through papers. "Emma Knight. She's the best defense attorney I ever went up against."
"No, I-" Ana paused. "I can't pay her."
"You won't have to." Hotch explained without looking up from his address book. "She'll gladly take this pro bono." Aria shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how to feel at the thought of becoming a charity. She shrugged it off. You've been a charity case for the past four years.
"Don't worry." Rossi patted her shoulder. "Knight's the only one to ever beat Hotch in a courtroom." He whispered in her ear, a smile on his lips. Ana forced herself to smile back. The thought of being prosecuted for so many crimes she never wanted to commit made her sick to her stomach.
"Maybe we should go home." Emily offered, coming to stand on the teen's other side. She noticed the ghostly pale that Ana had turned into and wondered if she was going to be seeing her breakfast once more. The question was answered for her as Ana broke away from Rossi and sprinted to the bathroom down the hall. Emily broke into a run after the girl, hearing another set of footsteps right behind her. She entered the bathroom seconds after Ana and could already hear her vomiting what little was in her stomach in the first stall. She entered and pulled the girl's hair away from her face as Ana continued to dry heave. Before long, she had finished and leaned back on her heels. Emily made room for her and placed her against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall. Ana sat there, her hands covering her face as she cried hysterically. Emily looked up to see JJ standing over them, a heartbreaking look on her face. The blonde came to sit on Ana's other side and the two women waited for her tears to stop before helping her up.
"Do you need anything?" JJ asked softly, handing the girl tissues from her purse. Ana shook her head.
"I think it's time to go." Emily said and Ana nodded. She avoided the mirror before the three made their way back to the bullpen. Just as JJ was about to break off and inform the others that the brunettes were heading back to Emily's, Ana turned to Emily and asked,
"Can JJ come with us?" the question surprised the older women. It was typically something a child would ask- a child that had been through too much and wanted as many comforting faces around them as possible. It made sense that Ana had more childish tendencies than others her age. She had been deprived of a real childhood from the moment she left her home in Romania. Ever since then, the girl was forced to act beyond her years and the situation did not improve after Alexia was born. Emily turned to her friend, waiting to see if the blonde had other plans for the night. JJ smiled.
"Of course." Emily said happily. An idea struck JJ immediately.
"Would you mind if I went home first to grab something, Ana?" she asked the girl, fully aware that if anyone heard her they would think she was talking to a toddler. Ana shook her head. "I'll meet you there then."
"Come on." Emily ushered her out the door and into the elevator. Ana seemed reluctant to be more than a foot away from her at any given time, sticking as close as she could without making the older woman uncomfortable. Emily smiled and reached out to place her arm over the girl's shoulders. She felt Ana's muscles relax slightly, the color on her face finally starting to return to normal as the two entered the black sedan.
"It's in two days." Ana mumbled as Emily buckled her seatbelt. "The arraignment."
"It's going to be alright, Ana." Emily assured her. "Hotch trust this Knight woman to help you. Give them a chance to prove that they can."
"Ok." Ana nodded her agreement and let the rest of the car ride pass in silence.
Less than an hour later there was a knock on the door of Emily's flat. Ana head snapped up, knowing who was at the door. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but the teen felt comforted by the presence of the blonde. Someone about her emitted-
"Aunt Emmy!" the pitter patter of small feet echoed throughout the residence as a small boy, no older than six, ran into Emily's arms. The brunette chuckled and caught him as he jumped, hugging him fiercely.
"Hi Henry!" Emily cried as she covered the boy's face in kisses. "Look how big you've gotten!"
"Emmy, you saw me before you went to work!" the boy informed her and Emily laughed wholeheartedly.
"I still missed you!" she told him and he beamed back at her.
"I miss you too!" By the time Henry wiggled out of the woman's arms, Ana had made her way into the room. She watched the small, blond child at Emily's knees and wondered where he had come from.
"Ana." Another voice called from the doorway. JJ stood holding a child-sized backpack in one hand and a pizza in the other. "I'd like you to meet my son, Henry."
"Your son?" Ana frowned. How did she not guess that the blonde had children? JJ nodded and proceeded to hand the pie over to Emily. The two exchanged a conversation as Henry turned to take in the stranger in his aunt's home.
"What's your name?" he asked as he approached her cautiously, his arms clasped behind his back.
"Ana." The girl responded. She lowered herself to the boy's level and extended her hand.
"I'm Henry!" the boy cried and smiled at her.
"That's a very nice name, Henry." Ana watched as the blood rose in his cheeks and wondered where she had seen that look before. The boy scratched his head and took another step towards her before placing his tiny hand in hers and shaking it dramatically.
"You're pretty." He told her from behind long eyelashes. Ana chuckled and released his hand.
"Thank you." She wasn't surprised when a blush of her own started to come on. It wasn't often that she was complimented. "You're quite handsome, yourself." Henry gaped at her, hands on his cheeks as if trying to hide the redness. Ana laughed harder.
"Who's hungry?" Emily's voice called from the kitchen. Henry immediately grabbed Ana's hand and tugged her forward.
"We are! We are!"
We'll get started with the trial & whatnot in the next chapter. Hope you're enjoying!