Hey beautiful people, here's a new chapter of this fanfic :) Well, I must admit that I'm gonna reduce the number of chapters, so it's closer to the end, what is good at some points and bad at others. Still, there's some crazy stuff about to happen and I hope I scare the hell out of you lol Thank you again for the reviews, fave and follows, I'm more than surprised that you all are enjoying this.
Also, I know Emily probably wouldn't explain the whole situation. But all things are intentional so, you might get some answers to why they are acting so strange anytime soon. I hope you enjoy and any mistake, it's all on me!
The mother of one didn't know for sure whether she was grateful or not when she crossed the glass door to find the whole team occupying the briefing room. Alvez had followed her command strictly – she was thankful for that -, but her stomach twitched in anticipation as wonders of their responses to such delicate matter filled her mind.
Dave already had plain view of their relationship. She was reluctant to answer at first. Yet, he patiently reassured her, a hand comforting her back and those eyes brewed with some few years of experience ahead. And so Emily told him their small tale in all the colors she recollected, from the cold grey of London' skyline to shining bulbs in Paris when he asked her.
She sucked in a deep breath until her lungs burned or, at least, until Anderson popped up in front of her with a terrified look. The brunette recognized this fear of being late from her early days at the bullpen. Still, she shot him an unamused glare – resembling her husband's - that had the younger man complimenting her with a single nod and promptly sprinting to his desk. It elicited a bubble of laughter which she had to choke on as she finally – but oh so finally – traced the line between their kitchenette and the back door.
She swung it open in a smooth movement, fidgeting ever so slightly and unnoticed. When her eyes caught a glimpse of a too calm Garcia, Emily putted two and two together without a second guessing. The tech analyst had peeked the file she was not supposed to, and if one questioned such action, she'd stammer to announce that she had been afraid, missing sleep for she thought something even worse than all that tragedy was going on.
Reading Luke or Tara was more difficult, mostly because she lacked experience. But she could see the latter folding her arms across her chest as a protective move. On the other hand, Rossi probably assumed she was due to break the news and fished his phone, playing some scrabble game.
Eying JJ, Emily could see a great, overwhelming, concern above a tint flash of "a mother knows". And that was something she discovered throughout the last three years. There's a special connection for those who share motherhood, a way to speak so primal and enveloped in pure empirical realization.
Albeit Spencer seemed as vulnerable as always, she had that feeling he'd be the one to accept her – their – decisions faster than the others. He had told her she should be happy, chase it to her life and she had followed his advice. From the moment she called Hotch in order to go out for a drink to the very minute she now stood in front of the team.
"Morning" her trembling smile was such a giveaway while she earned their simple greetings "I-I never thought we'd…"
The Unit Chief blew some air, trying to focus on her unique mission there. Save her family, save herself. Emily pledged herself that she wouldn't withdraw this time.
"Alright, I'll try to be the less wordy I can" the sentence tripped her tongue, remembrances eating her out "Shortly after Derek and Pene came back from London, I took a short trip to sort some things out here in America, the last ones before I could completely settle down. It was a very short visit, three days or something, and that's why I didn't warn you about my stay. Hotch was aware because he was due to deliver me some papers, reports about the whole Doyle case and about the period I spent in France."
She gasped, nodding the slightest whilst images formed behind her eyes. Emily couldn't bring herself to stare at the worried team, she barely could believe that she was about to tell them that. Something so intimate and personal. Something the Emily Prentiss would never do, put aside the Emily Hotchner.
"He had just broken up with Beth, I was lonely, and we…" she bit her lower lip, polling the right words "We had a moment, that became a lot of other moments, and then, when we least expected, the both of us were boarding the first planes to see each other, spending an unbelievable amount of money with phone calls, tickets, anything in our power…" a tiny smile slipped, the baritone voice of her husband telling her that maybe it was time for Jack to have a bedroom at her place echoed her depths "I know, I know we spent years working together and… it was… it just wasn't the right time"
JJ had hurt in her blue oceans, but an unyielding joy flared from the cellars. Despite the odds, somewhere deep down she knew they always had something lying quietly within. The glances, the smiles, everything. They wouldn't be able to hide it forever.
"But… accidents happen, and I can't even call this an accident at all because it made me complete in ways I never felt before" her tongue darted to wet her lower lip as she exhaled strongly "In the beginning of 2013, I found out that I was…" her heart thumped against her chest with such force that she swore to God that she could feel it pounding in her ears "I was pregnant, that Hotch and I were having a baby"
"Did he…?" the boy genius trailed off using a tone above a whisper, sorrow exploding behind his lids.
"No, he didn't leave me" she replied in order to dissipate such preoccupations "Actually… after JJ's kidnapping, after I came back for that brief period, we took a family weekend in Paris, the four of us, and he proposed to me…" the awe in Garcia's and JJ's expression made her happier, made her more courageous, made her stronger "We got married in Vienna that same year, a week before the holidays, and Hotch granted me Jack's custody"
The new boss concluded her odyssey, stomach throbbing due the ulcer she never healed of. At the same time that she was hoping for reactions, she was craving for blankness.
Instead, she got good sentiments from their newer addition, a tad of surprise from Tara for she never imagined this when they first met in the beginning of this year, the proud face of David Rossi, pure glee framing Penelope's smile and a knowing look from the blonde mother. Reid showed something she couldn't quite describe. Pain, disappointment. Maybe.
"Emily Prentiss, you are aware that the both of you will have to totally enact the marriage again, right? I mean, Jayje and I waited a lifetime to be your bridesmaids!" the analyst squealed as she broke the excruciating silence. Emily was thankful and the arms she wrapped around her friend's body just seconds after made her feel better, confident even.
"Yes, sign me up, if I didn't love you or already knew how stupid you can be I'd be pissed at you" JJ quipped as she embraced her brunette friend.
"Who's in for the party? I am" Lewis raised her hand from her spot, stroking the Unit Chief's back right before Luke and Dave could approach their group.
"I knew it, I'll be honest" the older profiler gave her a crooked smile.
"Oh God, wait, I'll be sincere too, I totally checked out the files yesterday, the newbie tried to stop me but you know how I am and I… okay, I may or may not have changed your plates this morning, all for good I swear"
"It's fine, thank you" Emily smiled genuinely at Pen's statement; she had to be surrounded by the greatest people on earth, she just had to. "There's someone else who wants to meet you and she's probably…"
The mother sensed her little girl's presence from distance, instincts speaking louder. Her orbs captured her small navy coat, black shoes and fingers interlaced with Cate's as they crossed the glass door with confused looks. Rosie seemed more interested in her muffins, though.
"Well, guys..."
"She's Hotch's pocket version! Oh my God! Oh my God!" the gleam in her friend's eyes was priceless as she spun on her hells to reach for the younger Hotchner, just near her mother's old desk "She's got the frown!"
It was the last thing her ears were able to identify before the whole team cheerfully followed an enthusiastic Garcia. Emily moved to do the very same, until she noticed Reid's eyes bored into her, sadness pouring. He shook his head in denial before he shortened the space between himself and the back door.
"Spencer..." her voice came out softly; Rossi and Alvez - who were the remainders at the precinct – quickened their pace. "What's...?"
"Look, Emily, the first time, about Doyle and your fake death, yeah, I got that, I understood why those things had to be done. But now?" he appeared exasperated as his orbs seared her expression "This time, honestly, I can't."
"Spencer…" she repeated almost inwardly.
"What?!"
"I can't even imagine-" Emily was cut off before she could finish her sentence, guilty trickling all over, spilling the heavy drops of the choice which she thought would be capable to shield her – them – from these situations.
"What I'm feeling? Yeah…" he scoffed, piercing his eyebrows as he reached for the knob only to slam the door behind him as soon as his next sentence came to an end "You can't because you're not who spent all this time watching the person you considered to be your best friend lying over and over again like you're not even worthy to know it anyway"
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