You readers and reviewers are all darlings. That is all.
Another new perspective for this one, tagged to the heart-wrenching season 7 finale, "Run".
Happy reading! =)
"Heroism is endurance for one moment more." – George F. Kennan
My mind turns to Henry, stuck in the house with that god-awful woman doing who knows what to him. My only hope is that JJ and her team find them before it's too late.
"I found Will."
A mixture of elation and fear course through me as I realize someone's found me.
"Negative. He's got… six transmitters on him . This whole place is gonna blow. … No, you gotta get everyone out. Is the bomb squad here yet? ... Ugh. Copy," Emily says, clearly relaying information to her team as she steps in front of me.
"Emily, you gotta get Henry – they're at the house," I say, panic clearly evident in my tone.
Her eyes quickly scan the chains that surround my body, ignoring my previous plea.
"Just get everybody outta here," I say in an effort to save her. She's already cheated death once, and I can't help but think she won't be so lucky a second time.
"I'm not gonna leave you, just give me a minute," she says, exasperation in her tone.
"That's about all you got," I reply, my feeble attempt at humour in a dire situation. She ignores my comment and I can see her mind frantically working out how to disarm it.
"Okay, everything they did and said was about them," she says. I'm not sure if she's speaking to me or herself, but I respond anyway, hoping it will help.
"Narcissists."
"Romantics. They met in 2008,"she says as she punches in the corresponding numbers on the keypad.
The noise from the keypad that follows indicates an incorrect code and I can't help feeling a sliver of relief that there are two more opportunities for entry, rather than an explosion.
"Woah, what are you doing?" I ask as the gravity of the situation once again becomes apparent. There's no need for both of us to die. "Seriously Emily, go."
She makes a noise in response as her eyes flit back and forth, her mind still churning to work out the psychology behind the choice in code.
"Go," I say again, hoping she will listen.
"Okay, hold on!" she says with more force. I get the feeling she is talking more to herself than to me by this point. "Chad. 2 4 2 3. Ugh, damnit!"
Despite having only one chance left, and the odds of an explosion taking both our lives increasing, she continues her thought process, "Okay, these are valentines for her, so a four-letter word. Uh, love, life, uh, soul."
A thought occurs to me, "Izzy. Her name is Izzy."
She looks at me with eyes slightly wide, and seems to agree with my idea as she types in the corresponding code, saying the letters out loud as she does so.
As the screen turns green, indicating a successful entry, I hear a sound of relief escape her lips. Unfortunately not even a second later I hear her exclaim, "Oh god!" as she sees the second timer expose with just 30 seconds on it.
I watch as she pulls her ear piece from her ear in frustration, eyes never leaving the exposed wires.
"The story-telling's in the details; these wires mean something."
"Like what?!" I ask, panic creeping into my tone once more.
"The colours of the flag of Chad: red, yellow, and blue. Only one is different from the U.S. flag: yellow," she says quickly.
"What d'you think?" I ask quickly.
She doesn't respond verbally, but instead shakes her head minutely and clips the yellow wire. I feel my muscles tense for the impending reaction, and see her do the same.
But no explosion erupts, and the timer is stopped at just 1 second remaining. I let go of the breath I hadn't realized I was holding and relax my muscles, letting out sounds of relief. She exhales heavily and falls back until she's sitting.
"How'd you do that?" I wonder.
"I didn't overthink it," I hear her say, and I realize I voiced my question aloud.
I can't help but laugh lightly at her response, and she joins in my still somewhat nervous laughter.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping I could steal this beauty for a dance," I say as I tap Dave on the shoulder.
He smiles, "Find me again later, bella. There's a bottle of someone's favourite wine that's begging to be opened."
She chuckles lightly, "David Rossi, you know me too well."
I grab her hand gently and wind my other arm around her lower back as we begin to dance to the soft blues music still playing.
"I bet you're happy to finally have convinced her to marry you," she quips as her gaze is drawn to JJ, who is being held by Spencer as they sway to the music.
"'Bout damn time. I thought she'd never say yes."
She chuckles, "She is a stubborn woman."
"Look who's talking," I drawl in response, a smirk forming as the words escape.
She drops her head onto my shoulder in realization, embarrassment, or perhaps avoidance.
"Hey, I'm not complaining. If you weren't so damn stubborn, I wouldn't be here talkin' to ya, let alone married to one of the most amazing women I've ever met."
"I wasn't going to just leave you there. You're family, Will."
I smile at her words. Coming from Emily Prentiss, they mean a whole lot.
"You gave me a lifetime to spend with the woman I love and my son. Thank you doesn't cover it, but it's all I got," I say sincerely. If not for her brave actions, I wouldn't be standing here, a newly married man. The gravity of that realization is far from lost upon me.
"Will, don't worry about it. Just keep her and that little boy happy and it will have been more than worth it."
"Now that's something I can agree to."
We continue dancing as the song shifts to one of an even slower tempo, and our movements slow in response.
"Hey, Will?" she asks, leaning back slightly to allow our eyes to meet.
"Yeah, Emily?"
"Thank you," she says quietly.
I frown slightly in confusion, "For what?"
"For not holding it against JJ after I came back and the truth was revealed."
I pull her close again and shake my head – it would be just like her to weave an apology into a thank you.
"Don't worry about it. Just keep yourself happy and it will have been more than worth it," I reply with a small smile, echoing her previous words.
She smiles and opens her mouth to respond, but is interrupted by Henry.
"Aunt Emmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" he says as he runs toward us.
She lets go of my hand and opens her arms up to catch his speeding form.
"Bonjour, mon ami! Tu es trѐs beau ce soir, comme un petit prince!" she says in rapid French.
Henry's eyes widen as he no doubt tries to recall the answer to the question he'd asked me earlier. He turns to face Emily and scrunches his face in concentration, "Vous….Vous êtes belle."
Her smile is wide and her eyes seem to twinkle at his efforts to speak French, "Merci, monsieur!"
He pushes his face into her neck and wraps his arms around her neck tightly. I chuckle at his antics – he's always had a soft spot for Emily, even when he was a baby. Whenever she was in the room his gaze was drawn to her, and he'd stare into her eyes intently. All it took to calm him down from a fit was one look from her, and just one minute in her arms would put him right to sleep when he was fussy.
"Sorry Will, I appear to have a new dance partner," she says as her eyes twinkle with happiness.
"S'alright. I should find JJ," I say as I press a kiss to her cheek and ruffle Henry's already unruly hair.
"Don't worry, I've got him," she says.
I nod in response – there is no one other than JJ I'd trust more to care for Henry – and I turn to find my new bride. As I reach the tables, I turn back briefly to watch as Emily twirls Henry around, prompting his laughter to fill the dance floor. I feel an arm slip around my waist and a familiar scent permeates the air as I realize my bride has found me.
"Don't ever let her run off again," I say seriously. That woman is far too important to us, and to Henry, to disappear on us.
"Never," JJ agrees.
For those of you who aren't familiar with French:
"Bonjour, mon ami! Tu es trѐs beau ce soir, comme un petit prince!" = "Hello, my friend! You're very handsome tonight, like a little prince!"
"Vous êtes belle." = "You are beautiful."
Thoughts? Opinions? Requests? Let me know if you have the time!