Again, I apologize for the wait! I really need to get better at updating this, because you guys are always so kind and patient with me. I really hope this chapter is everything you guys wanted, because we finally get to see the team! I've had this planned for so long, and from here on out you can definitely bet on seeing the rest of our beloved team in various chapters! Thank you so so so very much for all your patience and sweet words! XO!

After Jack and Emily had finished their ice cream, they headed back to Hotch's apartment. Before she had picked Jack up at soccer practice, she had gone to her mother's house and packed a bag—Jessica was coming to stay with Jack the following afternoon, so she wouldn't need much—and got a key to the apartment from Hotch.

While Jack headed to his room to put his soccer stuff away and change his clothes, Emily sat down on the couch and shot Hotch a text and told him they were at the apartment and that everything was going fine. He replied that he would call tonight before Jack went to bed. The communication between them was brief, but somehow it made Emily feel a little bit better. She was still feeling a bit wary about Jack having told Henry about her being home, because she wasn't sure how any of the team would feel after hearing that information from someone else, but especially a five year old.

Emily wasn't mad of course. It wasn't Jack's fault; neither she nor Hotch had thought to tell Jack that Emily being back was a secret, so of course he wouldn't know not to say anything. Emily had decided that if Hotch didn't seem too eager to get back to the case when he called, she would ask him if JJ or anyone else had been acted weird around him.

She realized she was probably being paranoid, but after what happened with the Doyle situation, Emily's biggest fear had been losing her friends. Her family.

Jack reentered the room dressed in navy shorts and a Captain America t-shirt. Emily smiled, remembering that Jack had loved Captain America for as long as she could remember.

"What should we do for dinner, Jack?" Emily asked as he flopped down next to her, tired from all the running around he'd done.

"I don't know." He shrugged, resting his head against her shoulder.

"Well, I'm not sure how to make that, buddy." Emily said jokingly as she poked at his side playfully.

Jack laughed and squirmed away from her. "Okay, okay! Um, how about macaroni and cheese?" He suggested.

Emily widened her eyes dramatically. "How'd you know that mac and cheese is my favorite food ever?" She asked.

"Is it?" Jack asked, furrowing his brow in a very Hotch-like fashion. "But that's for kids!"

Emily had to laugh at that. "Well, that may be, but I happen to think it's great. You can eat macaroni and cheese no matter how old you get, don't ever let anyone tell you differently." Emily winked.

"What if when I'm like, really old, like…25," Emily bit back a laugh, she remembered when 25 felt old, too. "And I wanna eat dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and chocolate cake for dinner?" Jack asked.

"Then you can eat them. There's no age limit on food, my friend." Emily smiled.

"Cool!" Jack exclaimed.

"Do you want to help me make dinner, Jack?" Emily asked as she rose from the couch and held out her hand for Jack to take.

"Yeah!" Jack replied as he took her hand and let Emily pull him up, happily following the brunette into the kitchen.

Together, they made a pretty wonderful pot of macaroni and cheese. Of course, more seemed to have somehow found its way onto the counter and floor than Emily would have liked, but she figured the fun they had definitely outweighed the mess. She sent Jack to shower and get ready for bed while she cleaned cheese off practically every surface in the kitchen. Just as she was finishing up, she heard her phone ringing on the coffee table in the living room. Hurriedly, she grabbed it and answered it, knowing it was Hotch.

"Hey," she answered happily.

"Hey, how's it going?" He replied, she could tell by his tone that he was smiling.

"It's good. Jack and I went to get some ice cream after his practice, and then we had macaroni and cheese for dinner. I figured we would watch a movie or something before he went to bed." Emily said, unable to stop herself from smiling as she recalled her afternoon.

"He hasn't given you any trouble has he?" Hotch asked.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. I find it very hard to believe Jack's ever been anything but perfectly behaved." She laughed.

"There's been a few debatable moments, especially when he was a toddler." Hotch chuckled.

"I doubt it." She replied. "Ah, speaking of, he's right here. I'll let you talk to him." She said as she handed the phone to Jack. "Can you let me talk to him again before you hang up?" Emily asked the boy. At his nod she smiled at him and ruffled his hair before heading back into the kitchen to give them some time.

The two of them talked for several minutes, before Jack brought the phone back to Emily.

"Thank you, honey." Emily smiled. "Why don't you go pick out a movie for us watch and I'll be in there in a minute?" Emily suggested. Jack nodded excitedly and happily raced back into the living room, sorting through all the "kid-friendly" DVDs.

"Is everything okay?" Hotch asked once she spoke, concern lacing his tone.

"Everything's fine." Emily assured him calmly. "I just wanted to talk to you about something if you had the time."

"Of course I do. What is it?" He asked her, still sounding a bit worried.

Emily sighed. "Well, while we were out getting ice cream, Jack told me that he'd told Henry about me coming over to your house. And I was just wondering if JJ had said anything to you." She bit her lip. He probably thought she was crazy.

She heard Hotch sigh on the other end. "I'm sorry, Emily. I never thought to mention to Jack that this was supposed to be a secret for a little while." He said sadly.

"No, no, I'm not upset about it!" Emily reassured him. "I didn't think of it either, I just wonder if maybe Henry mentioned it to JJ or something. I know I sound like a crazy person. I just…after what I put the team through, I don't want to compromise the trust I've regained back, you know?" Emily said softly.

"I don't think he has, JJ's seemed pretty normal. Besides, Henry's five; he probably forgot to mention it, anyway." Hotch said encouragingly.

Emily bit back a sigh of relief. "I know, I know. I'm sorry I'm insane." She half-joked.

"I'll learn to live with it, I suppose." He said back. She smiled, their banter always seemed to cheer her up.

"Okay, well thank you for listening to me. I'm sure you're exhausted so I'll let you get some sleep."

"Oh, before you go, I almost forgot to mention something." Hotch said quickly. "I had a minute to talk to Rossi alone today; we drove to a crime scene together. He pretty much already knew there was something going on with you, but anyway, when I told him you were back and why, he almost called you right there. I told him to wait until the case was over, and not to mention it to anyone else. Once we're home, he said he would gladly let everyone come over so you could talk to the team together."

"God bless that man." Emily said.

"I'm sure everyone else will feel the same once you talk to them. No one's going to have any room for anger, they'll just be happy to see you again. They'll be happy that you're letting them in." He said softly.

Emily had to smile, she knew he was right. "Thank you," she said again.

"Of course. Goodnight, Em." He said.

"Goodnight." Emily smiled as she hung up the phone. Sometimes, she had no idea what she would do without Aaron Hotchner.

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Emily and Jack watched the first movie in the Narnia series, and by the end of it, Jack was practically asleep on Emily's shoulder. When Emily suggested he go to bed, Jack protested sleepily.

"But there's still two more movies," Jack said through a yawn.

Emily bit back a laugh. "Tomorrow morning we can watch the next one, and if we don't get to the last one, I'll come back and watch it with you very soon." She compromised.

Jack seemed to think about that for a moment, before he finally nodded against Emily's shoulder, but made no attempts to move.

"Come on, honey." Emily said softly, slowly standing up. She took Jack's hands in hers and carefully pulled him up, and guided him to his bedroom. She pulled back the blankets and made sure Jack got into bed.

"Goodnight, Emily." Jack said softly.

"Goodnight, Jack." Emily replied as she pulled the jackets up over Jack and moved to turn the light out. She glanced back at him as she went to shut the door, smiling as she noticed he was already asleep.

XxxxxX

The next day, Jack and Emily managed to watch the second Narnia movie before Jessica showed up to take over until Hotch and the team came back. Emily left not long after Jessica got there with a promise to Jack that she would come back very soon. She called Hotch from her car, letting him know that everything was fine. She'd had to leave him a voicemail, apparently he and the team and gotten an early start.

From Hotch's apartment, she went straight to the hospital. The last time she had spoken to George the night before, there had been no change. Elizabeth hadn't woken up yet. One Emily pulled into the familiar parking garage of the hospital; she took a minute to lean back in her seat and close her eyes. Two months ago, her life was normal. Well, as normal as it could be, at least. Her life had order; there was a structure to it. She knew what she was supposed to do, when she was supposed to do it, and how she was supposed to do it. Of course, her days were often long, tiring, and very stressful. But looking back, she would gladly take those days back. Now her life was a constant waiting game. She was glad that she was getting this time with her mother, and time with Hotch and Jack—and soon time with the team—but she also knew that all of this was only happening because her mother was dying. As much as she tried not to think about it, and definitely didn't talk about it, the fact was inevitable.

Emily sighed as she got out of the car and made her way up to her mother's hospital room. When she entered the room, she found George there sitting by her side.

"Hi," Emily said softly.

"Oh, hi Emily. I didn't hear you come in." He replied.

Emily moved to pull up a chair beside him. "Have you even gone home since I left?" She asked, concerned. She should have checked up on him more often.

Judging by his lack of answer, Emily assumed he hadn't left that room since early the day before. Had it really just been one night? Emily wondered.

"You should go home and get some rest, George." Emily said quietly. "I'll stay with her and tell you if anything changes." She promised.

"You trying to get rid of me?" He glanced at her, sending her a light hearted smile.

"Always." She retorted with a smile of her own. "But seriously, I know sleeping in a chair really had to suck. You should go home for a bit." She was worried about him.

George sighed. "You're right. I'll come back and bring dinner. Hospital food kinda sucks." He chuckled as he rose from the chair. Emily stood to give him a hug and tell him goodbye.

Once he had left the room, Emily moved to the chair George had been sitting in.

Gently, she took Elizabeth's hand in hers. She felt her eyes filling with tears as she looked at her mother. Elizabeth looked so pale, so frail. Emily had never seen her mother like this before. She couldn't even recall a time in her whole life that Elizabeth had even had a head cold.

She cleared her throat. "I…I don't know if you can hear me. I'd like to think you can, because if not I probably look kind of dumb." She laughed a little, biting back the tears for now. "You can't die on me yet, Mom." She said softly. "I know it's coming, I know that no matter how much longer you're lucid, it's not going to make up for the time we lost. But…I'm not ready. Okay? I need you." She admitted. She couldn't remember ever actually feeling like she needed her mother. There'd always been nannies around when she was younger, and after Elizabeth decided she was too old to need a nanny, Emily learned to keep to herself and depend on herself.

Emily could swear she felt her mother's hand tighten just a little bit around her own. She held her breath. It didn't happen again, and Emily wondered if maybe she had imagined it.

Maybe she had, maybe she hadn't. Either way, it was something, she decided.

XxxxxX

By the following Saturday, Emily was exhausted. She and George took turns staying the night at the hospital, and both of them spending their days with Elizabeth. Elizabeth hadn't woken up yet, but she would sometimes move her fingers or try and squeeze Emily or George's hands when they were holding hers. Emily hadn't been imagining it the first time she felt it a few nights ago. Elizabeth was slowly getting better. She may not actually wake up for a few more days, but Emily was hopeful. She never thought she would find such hope and joy in Elizabeth Prentiss simply twitching her fingers, yet here she was.

Emily and George were currently in their usual chairs by Elizabeth's bed. Emily bit her lip and glanced at her watch.

"What if she wakes up while I'm gone?" Emily asked. She was nervous. More nervous than she should be, she realized.

The team had gotten back late Thursday night, and they'd been given Friday off after their success in catching their unsub.

Hotch had set up a get together happening tonight at Rossi's. It was finally time for Emily to admit to everyone what was going on with her.

She was worried about how all her friends would take the news. She was worried that if she wasn't at the hospital with her mother, that something bad would happen. She knew that was irrational, but she couldn't seem to help it.

"I'll call you and you can come back, Em." George explained calmly, just as he had done every time Emily had asked that question.

"You're right." Emily said with a sigh. "Sorry," She smiled sheepishly.

"It's okay to be nervous, I know you haven't seen any of them in a really long time." George said thoughtfully.

"I should have told them all sooner. It's just…telling people makes this whole thing seem…so real. Like, if I don't tell anyone it's not really happening, you know?" Emily said, picking at her nails.

George nodded. "I know. They're your friends, it'll be good to have them around."

Emily smiled at him. "It will," she agreed. "Thank you." She said sincerely.

"Any time, Emily." He replied with a smile. "You'd better go, you don't want to be late!"

Emily bid him goodbye and headed out of the room, her anxiety increasing slightly. She forced herself to breathe deeply to try and calm herself down. It was all going to be fine, she told herself.

The team should all already be at Rossi's. Emily was going to show up just as Hotch was explaining he had something to tell everyone. She reached her car and drove carefully to Rossi's, parking just outside. Once she was there, she texted Hotch and told her she was outside. Two minutes later, he had replied and told her to come in.

Emily took a breath, briefly considering starting her car and driving away. She couldn't do that. She had to do this for them, she owed her family that.

She got out of the car and walked to the front door, pausing for half a second before she knocked on the door.

Rossi greeted her with a smile, ushering her inside quickly and enveloping her in a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you, Emily." He said as he let her go.

"It's good to see you," She replied, smiling. She already felt a little better.

"Everyone else is out back. I just wanted to let you in and talk to you for a minute." Rossi said. "Aaron told me what's been going on, and I've wanted to come see you or call you ever since. I'm so sorry, Emily." He said sincerely.

"Thanks, Dave. That means a lot." She smiled honestly.

"Are you ready to see everyone?" Rossi asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She took a breath and let it out slowly, and for once she didn't feel like she was trying to breathe underwater. "Yeah," she said confidently. "I am."

Together, Emily and Rossi went through the house and out to the back yard. A table was set up, food covering almost every surface. Rossi had cooked it all, no doubt. Sitting around the table, were so many familiar faces. JJ, Garcia, Morgan, Reid, even Alex Bake was there, the newest member of the team. They'd met once before, and had communicated over Skype calls with Garcia on many occasions. Emily was glad she was there, she seemed like a really great asset to the team, and an equally great friend to all of them. Next to her sat Hotch, Jack, and Henry. They were all smiling, their eyes all expressing genuine happiness.

"Hi," Emily said softly as she stepped outside. She had barely stepped through the door when she was met with two very excited little boys, both of them hugging her tightly at the same time.

"Emily!" Henry exclaimed happily. "I knew Jack wasn't lyin' when he said you was here!"

Emily chuckled as she leaned down and lifted the little boy up. "Jeez, little man, you've gotten so tall!" She hugged him tightly and put him down, turning her attention to Jack. She leaned down and hugged him hello, she was always so happy to see him.

"Our turn!" Garcia exclaimed as she practically jumped from her chair and ran to Emily, nearly knocking Emily over with her forceful hug.

"We've missed you so much!" Garcia said as she hugged Emily again. "This is so much better than seeing your beautiful face over a computer screen!"

"God, I've missed you." Emily replied.

She took turns, hugging and greeting everyone. None of them save for Hotch and Rossi knew the true reason of why she was home, and she hated to bring the happiness level down, but they needed to know.

After the initial excitement of Emily showing up, the crowd of people settled down a bit, and Emily knew it was time to tell them.

She cleared her throat before she spoke.

"You probably all want to know why I'm back…" She started. She tried really hard not to look upset, but apparently she was failing.

"Are you okay?" Reid asked, his voice full of concern.

Emily nodded. "Um…I've actually been here for a while. A little more than a month, actually. Six weeks, maybe?" Emily said, she actually wasn't completely sure. Sometimes her days seemed to blur all together. That seemed about right, though.

She ignored everyone's choruses of "why?" and "what have you been doing for that long?" and continued with her story.

"My- my mom's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's." She said finally, looking down at her feet, unable to meet their eyes just yet. "They didn't catch it until it was already pretty bad…and now she's…she's not doing so great. She moved into a nursing home, and I've been busy spending time with her. Um… last week…she, um- had a stroke. And she's been in a coma since then." Emily finished finally, blowing out a breath and blinking back tears.

She glanced up at her friends, they all looked concerned and worried. But not upset, thank goodness.

Everyone was silent for a moment, before she was surrounded again. Another round of hugs commenced, this time every single one of her friends seemed to hug her just a little tighter and hold on to her for just a little bit longer.

"You know, Henry had mentioned something about you seeing Jack and Hotch." JJ said softly as she stood by Emily. "I wasn't sure what he meant, but I knew that if you really were here, you would tell us when you were ready to tell us. I don't think any of us would have ever guessed that this was why you're back."

Emily half-smiled. "Me, too. It's strange, sometimes I just find myself waiting to wake up."

"You know that if you ever need anything, any one of us will be there for you, right?" Morgan asked as he took her hand in his.

Emily nodded. "I know. And I really am sorry I didn't say anything before now. I probably should have. I wanted to, it's just…" She trailed off.

"Talking about it makes it real." Alex supplied.

Emily nodded, grateful that she understood. "Exactly."

"We're just glad you're here and that you're telling us now. Of course, we aren't glad that your mother is so sick, but at least we're all together." Garcia smiled.

After a few more minutes of encouraging words from her friends, the group of friends sat back down at the table, finally eating Rossi's wonderful mean he had prepared.

"Emily, what are you doing about Interpol?" Reid asked finally. JJ smacked him lightly on the shoulder. "Ow! What was that for? It's a valid question!" He defended himself.

"It's okay, Reid. It is a good question. I've asked Clyde to replace me." Emily said camly.

"Like, forever?" Garcia asked.

Emily nodded. "I've been looking at files of people he's sending me, of course I can't be there to meet these people in person, but I'm helping him narrow down the options just by reading their résumés." Emily explained. "And to answer everyone's next question, I have no idea what I'm gonna do with my life after that." She laughed.

"I think you'll always have a home at the Bureau," Morgan supplied. "But the last thing you need to worry about right now is serial killers. You just worry about your mom."

"I haven't even had all my stuff shipped out here yet." Emily said with a laugh. "I've been living in the same like, six outfits since I got here."

"Penelope and I can help with that." JJ volunteered. And with that, the team began chattering and making plans about how to help Emily and who would come visit her when.

Emily couldn't argue with them, they all seemed so eager. She smiled as she looked around the table at all of her friends. They were all talking together, joking and laughing all while making up a schedule to come and deter Emily from thinking too much about all that could go wrong. She looked behind her, Jack and Henry had long set off to play tag together, bored of so much "adult talk." Emily knew she was so lucky to have all of these people in her life. They all meant so much to her. In the past she had always had so much trouble letting people in. But now, she knew that no matter what, she would always have the people around her.