A/N: Hey guys! I still don't own Criminal Minds! This chapter's wacked and I love it.

Chapter 21

Delmonico groaned as he, Hotch, and Sasha closed the doors of the car and sat down.

"These people don't know anything. Why do we keep bothering?" He slammed his seatbelt into the lock. "Where to next?"

I felt unsettled. I didn't have time to talk to Hotch alone and the others wouldn't leave us alone. I needed to tell him about Sasha. I needed to not feel so… uneasy. Like everything was on my shoulders. Like Emily's fate rested on me.

I was done with this shit. Before Sasha started to drive, I said, "Can you both let me talk to my boss alone for a second?"

"We only have a few more places-"

I interrupted with the first lie that popped into my head. "I'm pregnant."

I regretted saying it the second it came out of my mouth. But it worked. Nothing like a statement like that to make everyone feel awkward and go silent. Sasha and Delmonico quickly exited the vehicle giving us some room.

Hotch stared at me, and I realized he didn't know that I was lying. It must have been more believable than I had thought. Which was a good thing, I guess?

I rolled my eyes at him. "Hotch, do you really think I'm pregnant? I had to get them to leave," I whispered, leaning in closer to him. "I read Em's notebook. She didn't say much except for the fact that she did say that Sasha is Manson's daughter. I already called the others. I think something's going on with her. I just don't know what."

"You think that she's got a part in this?" His voice was full of doubt and uncertainty.

I shrugged, not knowing how to answer his question. My gut said yes, but I didn't have any proof. "I think she knows more than she's letting on. Besides, even Em said something wasn't right about her. What if she is apart of this? What if Emily found out and Sasha made the accident happen."

Hotch nodded slightly. "We have to tread lightly, JJ. Her team is loyal to her. We need hard evidence of this. But if she is apart of the Family, then she might keep Emily alive long enough for us to find her. That's the positive. She might be the one keeping her alive for all that we know."

He wanted that to comfort me, but it only made me feel more on edge. I looked away from him and out the window. I had so many bad feelings about all of this.

"I have this bad feeling, Hotch. When she left without us, I felt weird, too. But now… I feel like this is my fault. I know I couldn't have done anything different…"

"I know," Hotch replied, agreeing with me in a dark tone. "But we can't do this to ourselves. Prentiss is strong. She'll get through this."

I nodded, but I wasn't feeling any better. Emily was always the one that helped me calm down and see things from a more optimistic perspective. She helped me feel secure and safe.

And at that moment, that very small moment, I realized I needed her. In fact, I came to the conclusion that I wanted her. Not for her body, which is all that I took from her. But I wanted her love. I wanted everything.

The driver side door opened and Sasha said, "You all okay? Can we come back in?"

"Of course!" I said, trying to turn off everything I had just felt. "Let's continue this."

The two of them sat back down in the car.

Sasha said, "Nicky and I were talking. It's already ten. Businesses won't be open and we are getting tired. We won't be able to help Emily if we are all exhausted. Maybe we should get a few hours of sleep and start fresh tomorrow. So everything is clearer."

Normally I would have argued. Hotch too. But now we were starting to wonder if she really wanted us to find her. Anyone who wanted to find someone wouldn't spend time resting. It's definitely not what I would do.

And it wasn't what Hotch and I were going to do. We needed to talk to the others. In a silent agreement, Hotch and I knew that when we got to the hotel, we weren't going to sleep. Instead, we would come up with a strategy and plan. To save Emily.

Emily POV

Sadie finally gave me some time to be alone. I didn't know how long she had left me, but I was grateful for the silence. To get my mind off of the memories that had resurfaced, I tried to piece together the case that led me in this position. I tried to come up with a list of all the people I was close enough in my past to want to save me. But I couldn't come up with any names. I wasn't the type of person to let others in long enough for them to know that I needed saving.

And just my luck, the door opened again, with Sadie entering. She had a wide grin on her face. She looked like a kid who just ate ice cream for the first time. I wondered if she even realized that keeping me here was a crime.

"Mary! Charlie's coming! I just got the call. Charlie's going to see you and everything will be better."

I hid my disappointment. I tried to pretend like I wanted to see the man who got me in this position.

"When's he going to be here?" I asked her, trying to figure out how much time I had.

She replied, "Oh, soon, I would say. Charlie doesn't call unless she's close."

She? I had always thought that Charlie was male. A copy of Charles Manson. I didn't even think about the option-

Before I had time to comprehend everything, the door opened. A voice called out, "Sadie, you must leave us now."

She entered the room. Sasha's dark eyes, Manson's eyes, were staring into my own. I was utterly speechless.

"Yes, of course, Charlie," Sadie said, bowing her head slightly before she left the room.

I felt a level of unquestionable and unfathomable betrayal. She sat down on my bed and I did my best to flinch away. But I was still in chains. Physically and emotionally. I had trusted Sasha more than anyone. She loved me, and now I was her prisoner. And everything hurt that much more inside.

"I know you have questions," She whispered as if she had sympathy for me. Her eyes looked sad as if she felt pity. "I didn't want to do it like this. I wanted you to come consensually. But you just had to call your team. And you started to doubt me. So I had to get you out."

"I don't need saving," I seethed out of my teeth. I was beyond angry. "You've lied to me. You- You have killed people, Sash. You've done what you were disgusted by. You have become your father."

Her caring nature turned off. She let out a short growl of disagreement. "I am nothing like him, Emmy! I'm saving these people! They were hurting so much, and I found a way to end their pain. Like I did when we were together."

I couldn't prevent her from putting her hand on mine. I glared at her. "You didn't end my pain. I left you!"

She shook her head. "You proposed to me. Don't you remember that?"

We watched a student being rolled out of the science building in a body bag. We thought that the rumors had to be false. But they weren't. A freshman had a seizure and died in the middle of a chemistry class. And time just went on as if nothing happened.

I always knew life was fleeting. I wasn't ignorant. People died every day. And that was fucking scary on many levels.

I felt Sasha squeeze my hand as she rested her head on my shoulder. "You okay, Emmy?"

I wondered what my life would have been like without my girlfriend. The one steady thing in my life that kept me sane. The one person who could love me unconditionally.

I moved so that I faced her. She looked confused and startled. I wondered if I had a crazy look on my face.

"Marry me," I said softly and kissed her knuckles that my hand was holding.

"What?" She asked, her dark eyes all wide.

I smiled at her. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't want to spend my life without you. I want you to be my wife."

"We can't-"

"It doesn't matter," I told her simply. "It doesn't matter." I got down on one knee and she gasped softly. "Sasha Tyburczy, I am crazy in love with you. You have made me a better person. Jesus, you have saved me from myself. You have taught me how to love. And all I want to do is to be your wife. Please, let me be your wife. Will you marry me?"

She chuckled, shook her head with disbelief and murmured, "This is insane." Tears fell down her cheeks and she answered, "Yes, Emily Elizabeth Prentiss. I'm going to marry the hell out of you."

I shook my head at the memory. "You didn't save me, Sash. I thought you did. I thought that you made me better. I didn't realize until now, that it wasn't you that saved me. It was you loving me. Having a family made me emotionally stable. I have that now."

She scoffed, "What, with the blonde? Jareau doesn't even see you."

"Not just JJ," I told her, trying to explain honestly. "The BAU. They are my family. They save me every day. There's nothing you can do. Even if JJ can't be with me. She's my family."

Full of fury, Sasha shouted, "She's pregnant, Emily! She just told your boss. She never wanted you! She just used you because that's what people do. Like your father and John and everyone else that you thought could love you. But they didn't. No one loves you. Not like I do."

I didn't know if I could believe her. She looked like she was telling the truth. But I couldn't be sure. I tried to push the possibility out of my head.

Trying to act like those words weren't rapidly repeating in my head, I changed the subject by asking her, "Charlie? That's not your name. And my name isn't Mary."

She simply smiled at me again as if nothing had happened between us. Like we were together again. "My real name is Charlotte. My mom called me Charlie when I was a kid. Just like my father. My middle name is Sasha. I changed it. So that no one could guess."

I couldn't believe the words that came out of her mouth. Even her name was a lie. "And why am I, Mary?"

She quirked her head on a side. "Because you were my first follower. The first person I saved. Just like my father first saved Mary Brunner. She was the first member of his Family. You were my first, Mary."

AHHHH so now you guys know? Did any of you guess it? She's so bad, I love it.

I know you are all probably like 'wtf, JJ? Why did you say that?' Well, let me tell you. She's awkward AF and she literally said the most embarrassing thing she could think of to get the others to leave.

BTW, I love the like sixth sense JJ has for Emily. Just sayin.

Thanks for reading, peeps! Hope you liked the chapter! Review if you can!