Her head ached as the helicopter ascended to the top of the mountain. Looking out to the sun rising over the river she had been afraid of for the past two days, even though warm Emily felt herself shiver. What if they had fallen into the cold water? What if she hadn't been able to save her daughter as the current took her?

She heard the pilot speak into his headset but didn't move her eyes from the window to look. Her daughter was cold and still against her, and all Emily could do was pull the beanie down over her ears to help warm her up.

They were finally going home.

Leaning back into the uncomfortable seat they sat in, Emily could feel her tears she'd done her best to keep in finally spill over.

"Agent Prentiss? We're almost there."

The brunette barely acknowledged the older man with a nod of the head, her hands moving from the back of her daughter's carrier to her cheeks to try and let the small amount of heat her body held bleed through her skin and into Phoenix's.

The medic beside them rolled up his stethoscope and set it away in his bag. "I'm so sorry," he spoke quietly, his eyes flickering from the little girl whose eyes refused to open, and her mother who couldn't be bothered.

Emily felt the bridge of her nose sting as her tears continued to flow. She couldn't talk, could barely breathe, and if they thought she'd be able to answer any of their questions they were dead wrong.

A slow breathing took the singe mother out of her trance, those dark eyes shooting down to the little girl she held.

Phoenix's eyes were closed but for the first time in twenty minutes Emily could see her lips quivering slightly and hear those tiny breaths from the little girl.

"Baby?" Emily put a gentle pressure on her daughter's cheeks, her eyes glued to every feature her little face held to try and see if she made a move. "Nikki baby, it's mommy," she whispered, running her thumb over the cold skin of her forehead.

With her tiny chest constricting, Phoenix took in the biggest breath she could, her closed eyes missing the look of relief on her mother's face.

Emily brought her arms underneath her daughter's bottom and lifted the carrier so Phoenix's face was buried in the crook of the FBI agent's neck.

"Mama."

The word was barely a whisper from the one year old, and it made Emily's heart jump.

"I'm so sorry," the medic repeated, watching as the brunette turned to look at him for the first time during their ride. "I'm so sorry we couldn't get to you quicker."

The brown eyed woman slowly shook her head. "You came back," she husked. It was as simple as that. They could have left her and her daughter by themselves, out alone in the wilderness to freeze to death. Because they didn't give up, two lives were saved.

Sunlight streaming into the small window beside her, it made Emily feel something other than fear and sorrow for the first time in two days. She was happy.

The rest of the way up to the path where they had fallen from, the agent could feel her daughter's breath hot against her neck.

"Petti."

Emily let out a watery laugh, snuggling her daughter closer as she watched them ascend above the pathway. "They better have saved us some," she agreed, pressing a long kiss to Phoenix's cheek.

Getting out of their vehicles, the worried BAU agents ran over to where the helicopter had landed, Hotch immediately reaching forward and yanking the door open before she could do it herself. "They were supposed to take you straight to the hospital."

The injured woman sent a scowl to the older man, letting him and the medic behind her help her from the chopper. Over her dead body would she be headed to the hospital.

"Her ankle bone is shattered and her shin bone needs to be reset," the medic informed her team, his voice loud so they could hear him over the noise of the chopper. "She needs to head into surgery as soon as possible."

Emily hid her grimace as she stepped out of the helicopter, her free hand underneath her daughter to make sure she and her carrier were secure.

Hotch was quick to try and lead his teammate to the ambulance he had called when the pilot had warned them his agent had refused to be flown to the hospital.

"Wait."

The leader frowned. "Emily, we have to get you to the ER."

Gesturing over to the ledge where she had fallen, Emily held tighter onto his hand. "Take me over there." She turned her head to look into those dark eyes, and she knew he could see the pain in hers. "Please."

She almost held her breath as he helped her over, her leg now held together in a boot so her bones couldn't move any further apart before they got her to the hospital. Her dark eyes hit the slide in the dirt where her foot had slipped, and slowly she took her hand away from Hotch's.

"Mama," Phoenix whispered.

Emily watched as her daughter's eyes finally fluttered open, just enough for the single mother to see those exhausted brown orbs trying their best to stare back at her. Doing her best to bend at her hips, careful of her leg and her daughter still strapped to her chest, Emily picked a violet from the ground. "A beautiful flower," she whispered, propping it up against her chest because she knew she was too tired to hold it, "for my beautiful baby."