Emily climbs in her SUV and aims for Will's house. She prays Henry has started to come to terms with his new reality. When she arrives she sees the Jareau's RV parked in the driveway.

"Good. Maybe between them and Dad Henry will start to see that things will be okay since he doesn't quite trust me or Jen yet."

She gets out and makes her way inside. She hears laughter coming from the living room and is glad to hear it is Helen. She sets her briefcase down and walks in. Sandy and JJ sit on either side of Helen on the couch while Gerald and Alan sit in armchairs.

"Hi."

The group turns and stares at Emily…before bursting into laughter again. Emily blushes.

"Why do I feel like I don't want to know what has you all laughing so hard?"

JJ gets up and walks over to her wife. She pulls her into a hug. "I love you."

"Jennifer Prentiss, what story did you tell?"

JJ grins. "What makes you think I told it?" Emily just lifts an eyebrow. JJ giggles. "Sand crab on our honeymoon."

Emily blushes again. "Oh, geez, Jen…really? How cruel can you be?"

Helen chuckles. "I have to say, Emily, picturing you spinning around with that thing hanging off the butt of your bikini really gave my heart a lift."

Emily rolls her eyes. "Then I guess I can be okay with Jen telling it. Though I do reserve the right to get my revenge later."

JJ grins and kisses her quickly. "Deal, sweetheart."

They walk farther into the living room and Emily greets Sandy and Alan. "So are you two sleeping outside?"

Alan nods. "It will just be easier. On Saturday we can move the RV to the Walmart parking lot to give added room in the driveway for after the funeral."

Emily glances at Helen. "So, uh, all is…set?"

Helen nods, appreciating when Sandy reaches over and takes her hand. "Yes. Marie took some pictures of Will to blow up for the memorial service. She also knows a great band for the after party."

Emily frowns in confusion. "After party?"

JJ squeezes her waist. "In New Orleans you party to celebrate a life well lived. The funeral will be sad, that's unavoidable. But even the eulogies will be filled with fun anecdotes. The graveside will be the saddest part considering the police bagpiper and the flag ceremony. Will's death is being considered in the line of duty since it appears he was trying to keep the situation from escalating the way it did." JJ notices the flash in Emily's eyes, though no one else does. She will have to press for info later. "But once we leave the cemetery, no more tears." She glances at Helen. "Or very few." She looks back at Emily. "We'll have all the New Orleans favorite foods at the local VFW Hall as well as a band playing jazz and other city standards. We will smile and drink toasts to Will and we will thank him for gracing our lives."

Emily smiles and nods. "Sounds…perfect."

"We've already spoken with the local police incident commander who will handle all the escorts and other force aspects," Gerald explains. "Will was a very respected officer and several jurisdictions have already committed to sending motorcycles and cruisers to honor him. He'll have a fine send off."

Sandy pulls Helen into a hug. "Even though in our hearts we'll all wish it wasn't needed. Then family will come back here for one final toast to his life."

Helen nods. "I…I don't know what I'd do without you all here and without Marie. This morning I felt like I was losing my mind. Now…now even though my heart is torn in half I feel like I might actually find my footing soon. I know I have to for Annabelle but I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. Thank you all so much for being here for me."

Alan smiles at her. "You're family, Helen. There's no place else for us to be."

JJ looks at her wife. "So, did you eat?"

Emily nods. "Hotch got us po'boys. But I could use a water."

"Right this way."

JJ leads Emily into the kitchen so Emily can get a bottle of water. The blonde stares at the brunette.

"It really is line of duty, isn't it?"

Emily nods and tells JJ about the other kills by the same gun. "Garcia has all the names running tonight in databases we probably shouldn't even know exist. There has to be a connection somewhere. We find it, we find the killer."

"And if she doesn't?"

Emily slowly shakes her head. "I won't even contemplate that. Failure isn't an option." She takes a deep breath. "Can I assume Francesca is up with Henry?"

JJ nods. "He pretty much doesn't want anything to do with me or Helen. I think he even got frustrated with Gerald since his father still hasn't appeared. He barely said a word to Mom and Dad. How do we reach him, Em? How do we…help him?" JJ's eyes are full of unshed tears.

Emily pulls her wife into a firm hug. "We just keep loving him, Jen. It's all we can do. We love him until he is ready to love us, too."

JJ just nods. Emily goes upstairs to change and see if she can get Henry to speak to her. She taps on the door of his room. She sees Rocky is already asleep on an air mattress on the floor. Henry, however, is awake and lies with Francesca who is reading him a story.

"Hi, Champ." He just waves at her. She sits on the end of the bed and smiles at him. "Aunt Franny reading you a good story?" He shrugs. Emily sighs. "Henry…I…I just…I love you."

Henry turns and cuddles up to Francesca. Emily reaches over and pats his leg.

"I won't stop loving you, Henry. I will be here when you need me, okay?" He still doesn't answer, just pats the book to ask the nanny to keep reading. Emily looks at Francesca. "Thank you."

"It will be okay, cara. Just need some time."

"I know. Ti amo," Emily says as she stands.

"Ti amo, cara."

Emily goes to get changed. As she slips into flannel sleep pants and an old Redskins tee she had stolen from JJ she takes a moment to slip an envelope out of her briefcase. She sits on the edge of the bed and stares at it.

"Damn you, Will. I'd say this jinxed you but it has been so long it couldn't have." She takes a deep breath. "I already love him as if he is my own blood. That won't change. And I promise he will know you. I swear he will know you as I knew you. And he will know his sister and his step-mother and his life down here. But I also swear, if your Aunt Jolene tries to hurt him or JJ I will show her no mercy."

She tucks the paper in the back of her pants and uses the shirt to hide it. She plans to give it to her father in case Jolene shows up while Emily is working the case. There is no way that woman will take Henry from this house. No. Fucking. Way.

Emily sits up immediately when she recognizes the noise. She slips out of the bed and hurries down to the room with the children. She steps in and sees Henry sobbing, his face tucked into Alaska's scruff.

"Oh, Champ," Emily whispers.

He looks up and sees her. For a minute she thinks he's going to ignore her but instead he reaches his arms out to her. She hurries over and lifts him up into her arms. He clings to her and sobs into her shoulder.

"It's okay, Henry. Oh, sweet boy, it's okay."

"M- -M- -Mommy," he stutters out.

Emily stands. "She's just down the hall. Let's go see her, okay?"

He just nods as she walks down the hall, Alaska behind them. In the bedroom she sets him on the bed and he crawls over to JJ. Emily strokes her wife's head. She hates waking the pregnant woman but it is necessary.

"Jen, Henry needs you, baby."

JJ's eyes immediately open. She sees the tear stained face of her son. "Oh, Henry."

She pulls him close as he starts to cry once more. "No…dead?" he questions with a shaky voice.

JJ stares into his eyes. "No, Henry, I am not dead. I am right here."

She holds him close as he settles against her. Alaska jumps up on the bed and cuddles up to his back. Emily runs a hand down the dog's back.

"Hey, buddy, this is only a queen bed. You need to scoot down to the foot of the bed."

Alaska does so and Emily curls up behind Henry, her arm covering her son and her wife. As Henry still cries a little she starts to sing the lullaby that has always calmed him. He snuggles even closer to JJ. Emily kisses the back of his head as her hand caresses her wife's belly. Soon Henry is asleep and Alaska is scooting up closer to his young master. Before long he has reinserted himself behind Henry and the little boy's hand is entangled in his fur for comfort. Emily, however, is on about 3" of bed. She grins and gets up.

"Don't get used to this, fur face," she whispers as she ruffles Alaska's hair.

She grabs a blanket off the foot of the bed and moves to the glide rocker and accompanying ottoman. She should be fine in there for one night. If Henry and Alaska need JJ the next night, Emily will have to make use of the little boy's bed. She stares at the two blondes cuddled up asleep.

"I love you both so much."

The next morning Emily and JJ are finishing their coffee when Helen enters the kitchen. She smiles at them.

"Good morning."

Both agents see the circles under her eyes and know she had another restless night.

"Oh, Helen," JJ says sympathetically.

Helen shrugs. "What can I say? It hurts more at night when I don't have the baby or you all to distract me. I just lay there thinking about him and…and trying to convince myself he'll be home soon so I need to get some sleep. Nothing works so I sleep in fits and starts. Add in getting up with Annabelle and, well, I probably have a good number of sleepless nights in my future."

"I wish we could do something to help you. You need your sleep," JJ points out.

"I think…I think I'll be able to sleep after Saturday. I think…until then it's not…not final…or real or something." Helen shrugs. "Or maybe I am losing my mind."

Emily pats her shoulder. "You're not losing your mind. You're grieving. And there is no timeline for grief. Take as long as you need."

Helen squeezes her hand. "Thank you." She takes a deep breath. "Promise me if…if you have a break you will call me? Please?"

Emily nods. "Of course. It may take a few days but once we have a viable suspect you will know. I promise."

Helen nods her thanks and goes to brew herself a cup of decaf tea. Emily and JJ head out to the SUV. JJ studies her wife.

"What about Jolene?"

"Dad is on her," Emily replies. "I gave him Will's directive and told him if she turns up here feel free to call the police and get her arrested."

JJ smiles. "Sounds like fun. Would love to be the one to slap the cuffs on."

Emily grins. "Me, too."

The women chuckle and drive on. Along the way, Emily gives JJ a full run down of what had happened the day before.

Garcia had checked email while she dressed. She gets excited when she sees the email back from Cryptology. They had been able to clean up the video even better than she could and had supplied a full transcript of what was said from the time the killer had entered the convenience store. She quickly emails it out to the whole team, knowing they are all eager to read the words, refine the profile, and take another step closer to the unsub.

"We'll find you, mother fucker," Garcia mutters with uncharacteristic venom. As she walks out of her hotel room she runs into Morgan. "Did you check your email?"

"Not yet," he replies.

"We have the transcript. That bastard knew Will's name, Morgan. He knew it and was waiting for him and just killed him!"

Morgan stares into furious eyes. He places his hands on Garcia's shoulders. "Calm down, Baby Girl. We are all angry and we all knew in our hearts that is what we were going to find out. This bastard made a mistake. His other kills were in isolated situations. Here he had cameras and even left a living witness. His mistake and our work will lead us to him. Believe that. Clear that pretty little head of yours and be the clear-headed goddess we need you to be, okay?"

Garcia takes a deep breath. "Right. Thanks, Derek."

He puts his arm around her shoulder and walks her towards the elevator. "No thanks needed, Baby Girl. Something tells me we'll all have a moment of crazy on this case."

"Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "I really hate funerals."

"We all do." He kisses her on the temple. "We all do," he reiterates.

When the team comes together at the police station they have all take time to peruse the transcript. JJ shakes her head as she reads it once more. Though it has no exclamation points, JJ can hear it and see it in her mind as if it were a movie.

Clerk: Can I help you?

Killer: Money in the bag. Now!

Clerk: Yes, sir!

Killer: (waving the gun frantically) HURRY UP!

Will: (stepping out from around a gondola, hands in a non-threatening position) Easy now, friend, no one has to get hurt. Sid will get you your money.

Killer: (demeanor immediately calms) Do you call everyone friend, Will?

Will: (frowns in confusion) Do I know you?

Killer: (smiling behind his mask) No. And you never will.

Will's hand goes to his gun but the killer is too fast. He turns and shoots Will 3 times in the chest. Before Will hits the ground the killer turns and fires twice at the clerk. He starts out the door, pauses, turns back and grabs the money.

Killer: Palsy take but will be a good distraction.

He continues out the door.

End Transcript

"The money was of no consequence. It and the shooting of the clerk are just distractions," JJ states aloud.

Rossi nods. "Looks like it."

Hotch walks in, pocketing his phone. "Clerk is awake. Morgan, Prentiss, go talk to him."

The two agents nod and hurry out the door. Hotch looks at JJ.

"Someone leaked that this was potentially a hit on Will. Are you willing to take the media lead on this or would you like me to do it?"

JJ takes a deep breath, rubbing her stomach. "I can't be in the field helping. May as well stand behind a podium and do some good from there."

"Good." He turns to Reid. "Have you finished a geographic profile of the linked kills?"

Reid nods. "Yes. It is strange that all the previous kills were done in privacy. No one saw anything, nothing caught on video. Then this one he does in a convenience store? Makes no sense."

"The others were definite hits," Rossi points out. "I've seen plenty in my day. This one was set up to look like a random act. Why? And if it wasn't for the transcript from Cryptology we could still be looking at it that way. Without that we'd have nothing to show that this was planned out."

Hotch turns to Garcia. "The key to all this is in Will's past. Keep Kevin looking into the links between the other hits. I want you to stay on Will's life." Garcia nods. "Reid, Rossi, let's profile the old hits. Even if they don't tell us who the killer is they can tell us more about him. JJ, get with the spokeswoman and get the assassination crap out of the news. We don't want to tip our hand too much."

JJ nods. "Random act of violence. Just looking into all angles to be thorough since an officer died," she states.

"Exactly," Hotch agrees. "By noon I want us all together for a status update." He glances at his watch. "Mink should be here by then with anything else he thinks can help us track this bastard down."

The team immediately gets to work. There is a sense of frustration that they can only go over reports, old case files, and other intangible leads. They can only pray that somewhere in the reams of information is that one little scrap that can point them in the right direction.

Sidney Cobblepott slowly shakes his head. "Just a regular night, you know? I been knowing Will for 'bout 4 years; ever since I started working nights. He didn't come in every night but most nights. Usually just needed bread or milk or a drink. He even intervened a couple times when people were being assholes or somethin'. All he did was tell the guy to calm down. He ain't go for his gun or anything."

Morgan nods. "We saw that. And were you upset he didn't try to stop the robbery?"

"Hell no. He knows I don't keep more than 100 bucks in the register. I get anything bigger than a $10 at night I drop it. Don't even keep $20's. My life is worth more than a C-note. People know it, too. I don't set myself up for shit, you know?"

Emily smiles. "Smart man. Tell us, based on his height, mannerisms, or any scar or anything, do you think you saw the man that shot you before?"

Sid thinks for a second. He slowly shakes his head. "I really don't think so."

Morgan holds up a video still of the getaway car. "What about this car?"

Sid shrugs as much as he can. "Hey, it's pay at the pump. Who the heck sees the cars anymore?"

Morgan gives him a smile. "Good point. Is there anything you can remember, anything that stands out in your head as strange or something? Something that may not have been specifically asked by the police?"

Sid slowly shakes his head. "Nothing, man. Sorry. Just…the only thing is I keep thinking about Will's kids. He thought his daughter hung the moon and he is…was crazy about his son. They gonna be okay?"

Morgan glances at Emily and sees she can't answer. He looks back at the hospital bed. "They'll be fine. They are with family now and are coping as best they can. Thanks for asking." He hands Sid his business card. "If you think of anything else, no matter how insignificant it may seem, give me a call."

"Will do, man." Sid shakes his head again. "Just a damn shame. Shouldn't have happened to him. Just fucked."

Emily pats the man's leg. "Yeah that about sums it up."

The two agents walk out into the hallway. Morgan just pats Emily on the shoulder, knowing she wishes there was a better answer to give regarding Henry and Annabelle. By the time they reach the car Emily has compartmentalized it all again. Her best friend studies her a moment.

"Have you…cried yet?"

Emily rolls her eyes. "Why the hell does everyone assume you have to cry to get closure or something?"

Morgan shakes his head. "Don't go there, Emily. You know you need to cry to get rid of all the emotions, cleanse your heart of the hurt and sadness." He raises his hand to stop her next statement. "And before you say you can't cry in front of Henry or JJ, I get that. I do. Say the word and I distract them or send Garcia to distract them and you can have a cry for your friend and for the changed world your son is facing. Deal?"

Emily smiles and takes his hand, squeezing it. "Deal. Thanks, Derek."

She takes a few deeps breaths as Morgan's phone begins to ring.

"Yeah, Hotch?" he answers. He listens a second. "We're just leaving the hospital now. We'll head to the impound next." He listens again. "Clerk didn't know much just that he didn't seem to recognize the guy and that Will didn't do anything to escalate the confrontation." He nods. "Will do." He hangs up and looks at Emily. "Police found the car."

"Where?"

"Known drug zone where most cars end up stripped. By a stroke of luck, vice initiated a raid on a house the night Will was killed. The car was in front of the house and taken to the impound as they thought it belonged to one of the guys they busted."

"Son of a bitch," she mutters.

"Exactly. Hasn't been processed yet but a team is on the way to it now. Hotch wants us there with Baylor to profile anything they find."

"What do you want to bet there's not a damn sign of our killer?"

"Sucker bet, Prentiss. Big ass sucker bet."

Emily just nods as they drive in silence to the impound, each praying for one mistake, one slip up that can help them.

JJ stares out at the gathering of reporters. It had been a long time since butterflies filled her stomach when she addressed such a group. This time it wasn't because of what she was going to say it was because of who was going to see it. Helen, her own parents, Emily's parents, Marie, people that loved and respected Will.

Will.

JJ takes a deep breath and tries to flip the switch that turns on the media liaison within her. When she speaks, Hotch watches from nearby, impressed to see the professionalism shine through.

"Thank you for coming today. I am SSA Jennifer Jareau with the FBI. We are here at the request of the N.O.P.D. to assist in tracking down the man who murdered Detective William LaMontagne, Jr. and critically injured Sidney Cobblepott two nights ago. I know earlier there was speculation in the media that this was an attack against Detective LaMontagne. At this time, we are investigating all potential reasons for the attack from a simple robbery gone wrong to a targeted attack. Nothing has been determined as yet but as soon as we have a definitive direction we will be asking the public for help." She holds up a photo of the car. "We do have a car that has been linked to the robbery-homicide. We are currently processing it for evidence but would like anyone who saw it that night or recognizes it to please contact us. We need to know if it was stolen and used in the crime or if it was sold to the suspect. If you have any information that can help us track down this cop killer, please call the hotline at 800-555-4488. Are there any questions at this time?"

Several people start to yell questions at JJ. Just like she used to do, she waits until she hears one she wants to answer before responding.

"At this time there is nothing linking the murder of Detective LaMontagne to a drug bust done that same night."

More questions are yelled out.

"His wake will be open to the public this evening as will his church service tomorrow. However, the family is asking for privacy at the graveyard for the interment. Information on the ceremonies and road closures for the funeral procession are available at the office of public information and has been posted on the N.O.P.D. website."

A few more questions are hollered at her.

"Again the investigation is ongoing. At this time I have nothing more to impart and the questions all appear to be things I have already addressed. As soon as we have more information I will be in touch with the media outlets. Thank you."

JJ turns and walks back into the building. She makes her way right to the bathroom. She splashes some cool water on her face then stares at her reflection in the mirror. Her stomach has not been this upside down since she was a rookie. She splashes water on her face again. Letting her head hang and the water drip off into the sink.

"You did a wonderful job out there, Jennifer."

JJ's head whips up. She hadn't even heard the door to the bathroom open.

"Elizabeth."

"Just got into town and decided to stop in for a rundown on what's going on so far. I caught your press conference. You are quite the speaker. I am impressed with your ability to compartmentalize your turmoil and address the vultures."

JJ manages a smile and turns around. "They teach us that in media liaison classes. Glad to see I haven't gotten rusty." She grabs a paper towel and wipes off her face. She sighs. "I thought I was going to throw up. Haven't been that way since my first address what seems like a lifetime ago."

Elizabeth pulls her into a hug. "You looked and sounded completely put together, Jennifer. No one outside your family would know how torn up you are over the loss of Will."

"Thank you for saying that." JJ loops her arm through her mother-in-law's and they walk out of the bathroom. "Come on and we'll let you see what little we know."

Emily and Morgan watch as CSIs dust the car all over for prints and scan if for traces of blood, gun powder residue, and anything else they can process. Morgan taps one guy on the shoulder.

"Have you done the trunk yet?"

The man frowns. "No. According to the report the suspect was only in the interior."

"When he was at the store. Before or after he could have been in the trunk. We need to check it."

The tech rolls his eyes. "That will take forever!" he whines.

Morgan grabs him by the collar. "A cop in YOUR town is dead because of the bastard that drove this car. You really want to go back to your boss and the other techs and all the cops and say you couldn't be bothered to check the trunk for evidence? Really?"

Whether it is the words he says or the fury in Morgan's eyes the tech just steps away and grabs another guy to help him start to process the trunk. Morgan moves back to Emily's side.

"Thank you," she says.

"You don't have to thank me for making them do their job."

"I'm thanking you for intervening before I punched the fucker out," Emily says with a grin.

Morgan chuckles. He takes a deep breath. "What if…if we don't catch this guy? If he's a real hitman, been doing this for years, he's well covered."

Emily nods. "I know. And…and I don't know what we will say to Henry or Helen if we can't find this bastard. I don't think I've felt so helpless since we were investigating Amy's death."

"I second that. I hate that it's mostly paperwork and nothing to really investigate. I'll be glad when we narrow in on some people to talk to and- -"

"Uh, agents?"

Morgan and Emily look over at the tech who hadn't wanted to check the truck. The apologetic look on his face says it all.

"I think we have something," he says. "It was caught between the cargo net and the back of the trunk. If it's the killers he may have dropped it and never noticed it."

They walk over and Emily takes the bag in his hand. She lifts an eyebrow.

"Hotel key envelope. Not high end, not low end."

"Perfect for someone who doesn't want to be noticed," Morgan concludes as he pulls out his phone. He checks the address. "About 20 minutes from here."

"Let's go."

Emily hands the evidence back and the two head out, a stirring of excitement within them as they may finally have solid, tangible lead.

"Uh, Agents?" Those in the conference room look up at the officer at the door. "There's a guy out here says he sold the killer his car."

Hotch looks at Reid and Rossi. "Go."

The two agents get up and hurry down to the interrogation room where a nervous, middle-aged man awaits them. Rossi gestures to a chair.

"Please, have a seat. I'm Agent Rossi, this is Dr. Reid with the FBI. We understand you sold this car to this man?" Rossi slides 2 pictures towards the man.

The guy runs a hand through his hair. To say he is nervous is an understatement. Reid sits down across from him.

"Sir, if you are worried the man might come after you we can offer you protection."

The man wrings his hands together. "It's not him I'm worried about," he mutters. He takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I sold that car to him. $800 cash. He didn't even care that I didn't have the title."

"Why didn't you have the title?" Reid presses gently.

"Oh I am so fucked," the man mutters some more. "Look, just…let me explain. See, my wife…uh, ex-wife, she took me for everything. And then she causes a stink where I work and I get canned. I just needed a little money to get back on my feet. And she was out of town so I figured I'd be out of Louisianna before she even knew it was gone and- -"

Reid holds up his hand. "Wait a second…are you saying you stole your wife's car and sold it to this man?" He taps the suspect's picture.

The man groans. "It sounds so much worse when you say it that way but, uh, yeah."

Rossi sighs and sits down. "You're doing the right thing by coming forward and that will help you but you'll have to come clean with your wife and the cops about the car. In the meantime, what can you tell us about this man?"

"Well, he was real nicely dressed. I was surprised he'd even look at that old beater but he said he wanted to use it for parts. That's why he didn't need a title. I swear: I had no idea he was going to kill a cop."

"We believe you. Now did he have an accent? Or a scar? Or anything that made him stand out at all?"

The man thinks a second. "He kinda had no accent. Like, I could tell he wasn't from here but it wasn't a New York accent or even one like yours. It was like…like…weirdly plain."

A man who purposely lost his accent, Rossi tells himself. "You said he was well dressed. What kind of clothes?"

"Uh, a suit. Even a tie. Wore leather gloves and real nice leather boots. Got out of a real nice ride. Old muscle car. Camaro or Mustang or something. Pays me, takes the keys, said he'd be back for it later. Told him it just needed to be gone by morning. When I checked the next day it was gone and I figured I had my revenge." He runs a hand through his hair. "My bad fucking luck I end up having to turn myself in a'cause of that wench of an ex."

Reid and Rossi exchange a look. The despondent man had given them some very useful information. The agents stand and walk out to the main room. Captain Mueller, who had been watching the interview, shakes his head.

"If that don't beat all."

Rossi grins. "Well said. This guy is sounding more and more like a professional. I'm going to contact our Organized Crime Unit and see if they know anyone who fits this description. That muscle car could be something someone has made note of."

Mueller nods. "Good. I'll have this guy processed for stealing his ex-wife's car."

"Keep him in custody. Let him know it's for his own safety. If this unsub really is a professional hitman and finds out this guy talked he'll do what he needs to do to shut him up," Rossi cautions the captain.

The man nods. "Will do. Good job, Agents."

Rossi and Reid go back to the conference room to let the others know what they found. They want to get Garcia investigating the muscle car angle even though they will also go through official channels to ask the OCU about it, too. Nothing will be done without an official paper trail. When they catch this fuck, and there is no doubt in their minds that they will, he will not get off on a technicality.

Emily and Morgan are nearly at the motel when her phone rings. Recognizing a generic Quantico number, Emily frowns in confusion.

"Prentiss."

"Agent Prentiss. Barney Hessel."

Emily winces, barely suppressing a groan. She had forgotten all about him and his job offer. "Uh, hi. I, um…"

"I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you but then I found out about your stepson's father. I am so sorry."

"Thank you. It's been tough for Henry; for all of us."

"I imagine it has been. So, um, have you had a chance to think about my offer? I really think you could help me build a team as good as the one you're on."

Emily is pinching her nose as Morgan pulls into a parking space. "Honestly, Hessel, I haven't had a chance to think about it. We had the Alabama case and then came home to this. I haven't had a chance to talk to my wife or…look, if you need an answer right now it has to be no."

"Let's not be hasty. I don't need an answer right now. When you get back from New Orleans at least sit down with me and talk it over, okay?"

Emily sighs. "Yeah, sure. I can do that. But I have no idea when that will be."

"I have time. See you whenever you get back, Prentiss."

"Right. Bye."

Emily hangs up and stares at the phone in her hand. Morgan studies her a second.

"You okay?"

Emily shrugs. "I guess so."

"Why was Hessel calling you? Or can I guess?"

Emily turns and stares into concerned eyes. "You probably already guessed. He wants me to be his second on the team he is building."

Morgan gives her a smile. "That's huge, Emily. Congratulations."

"Yeah. Maybe."

He stares into her eyes a moment. He turns the car off and sits back in his seat. "What's going on under that brunette rug?"

Emily chortles. "Rug? Bastard." He grins. She sighs. "I had wanted to talk to you as soon as I heard but you were on vacation. Then I was going to talk to Jen when she got home from the preliminaries of the last case and…and kept finding a reason not to. Then this happened with Will and…and…shit, the only person I did actually talk to other than Hotch was Garcia and she was happy for me. I think I wanted her to threaten things that would destroy my family for years to come if I took the job." She takes a deep breath. "It's a hell of an opportunity, Derek. What the fuck do I do?"

He reaches over and takes her hand. "Emily, let me first say I would hate to have you leave this team. But when it comes to the job, I have no doubt in my mind you could do it and Hessel and his new team would be lucky to have you. However, if you haven't bothered to talk to me, you kept thinking of reasons not to talk to JJ, and you wanted Garcia to threaten you, that all says a lot. For whatever reason, your heart isn't in to taking that job. Is it fear of the unknown or a real desire to stay on this team?"

Emily is chewing her lip as she considers his words. She rolls her head on the headrest to look into his eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think you have to figure that out on your own, Em. And I think in your heart, you know what your decision is," he adds.

Emily sighs. "Yeah, yeah I do." She opens her door. "Come on, let's get this lead checked out."