Morgan and Reid came stumbling and coughing out of the building. Emily hobbled her way up the debris-ridden stairs as best she could and wrapped her arms around Spencer Reid. He squeezed her back and tears flooded both their eyes. Emily then reached out to Derek, one hand still on Reid. Unwilling to let him go. As Morgan leaned in to her he whispered, "It was Jessie. Jessie triggered the bomb."
Emily's heart sank. She released both men from her arms and turned with them to head down the stairs. She still supported Reid as they made their way down. Hotch and Rossi approached them and asked, "Where's Jessie?" All it took was a look, and the men knew what had happened. They turned and headed straight back to business, passing Jessie's mother without a word. Emily watched all of this and knew… it was down to her to break the news.
Emily approached Cathy, leaving Reid and Morgan a few steps behind her. Cathy's eyes searched Emily's face for answers. Emily opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. All she managed was a slight shake of her head before the woman in front of her crumpled in despair. Emily didn't know what to do. She pulled the woman into herself, one hand on the back of Cathy's head, the other wrapped around her mid back. "It's over, honey. You did the right thing." Emily rocked the shaking body in her arms back and forth. "She was brave. She did this because she was brave. You saved so many young girls, honey. They are safe now. Jessie is free from him now."
Emily wasn't sure how long she held the distraught woman in her arms. But at a point, Derek eventually helped Emily and the other woman stand, and, lacing a hand under her tricep, he pulled Emily away from the grieving woman. Cathy was led by other officials toward a triage tent. And that was the last time Emily would see the woman in person. The feeling was bittersweet. At least it was over.
—-
Hotch spoke with professionalism to his gathered team, his wavering thoughts of self-doubt masked behind words of action: "Prentiss, Morgan, Reid: you three need to head to the hospital. A member of the SWAT team has gone off in the ambulance but I have an SUV waiting for you. JJ has a hefty load of press-work to do before the night is over, but she's planning to bring you your go-bags to the ER in a few hours. If you're lucky enough to be freed before then, call JJ and she will arrange a car to get each of you back to the hotel.
"Wheels up in 36 hours, so we all have time to recuperate before we get back on the plane. Rossi and I have to remain here for at least several more hours as the bomb squad and rescue team clear the area. We'll transition the scene to local law enforcement to finish up as soon as we cross all our tees."
Understanding procedure, though audibly grumbling, Prentiss, Morgan, and Reid headed to the government SUV awaiting them. Morgan opened the back door, and he and Reid both offered Emily support as she hoisted herself into the back seat. Her heart was warmed by this gesture, though her body had conflicting reactions to their touch. Emily suppressed the urge to flinch or reveal any discomfort regarding the contact. Morgan hopped in the passenger seat and Reid joined Emily in the back.
They all sat in silence as the vehicle took off. All eyes were glued to their respective windows and no one spoke. Five or so minutes in, Reid felt Emily's hand slide in and tighten around his upper elbow. He turned to look at her and she squeezed slightly tighter as they made eye contact. She wasn't quite smiling, but her expression was clear: she loved him and was so glad he was okay. Reid moved his right arm from the door side armrest and placed his hand over hers. He squeezed back to return the message. One final exchange of eye contact was shared before Emily allowed her head to fall sideways onto the headrest and she closed her eyes for the rest of the journey. Reid conceded a happy-sad smile and returned his gaze to the window. Their hands stayed in place for the rest of the journey, and silence remained their only soundtrack.
—-
Around 3:45AM, the agents checked themselves into the ER. Much to their humble dissatisfaction, there was no special extradition for special agents. They were all triaged with the rest of the evening's visitors. Reid lingered near the check-in counter as Emily collected her clipboard of intake papers. She politely thanked the young man at the counter and turned to meet her younger coworker. Spencer stood protectively nearby Emily. He waited for her so that he may help support her to her chair. Emily obliged, but not without a playful quip to keep him out of his head. "I'll allow this, but only so I can prove to myself that you're still alive," she jested as she accepted Reid's assistive arm.
"Ah, mutually beneficial." Reid nodded in faux-seriousness, then smiled. They walked together and saw Derek had found a group of chairs near the back corner of the waiting room, and they headed his way.
Derek lay sprawled in his chosen seat, his head resting on the backrest, as he heaved obvious breaths of exhaustion and annoyance. "I'm taking bets on how long it takes us to get called in. I say… two hours… minimum?"
"For you maybe." Emily quipped, then pointed haughtily at her bruised face. "I've got a Fast Pass." She then smiled devilishly at Derek.
Derek rolled his eyes and chuckled.
Ten minutes or so later, after the three had finished their intake paperwork, Derek collected the clipboards and returned them to the front desk. When he returned, he plopped down harder than necessary and slid down to rest his head again on the backrest of the chair. "Well, then. I might as well try to get a little sleep at this rate. Should have brought my tent."
Amused by Morgan's tantrum, Emily turned to her other coworker and put on a mockingly empathetic voice, "Aw, you hear that, Reid? Poor Derek doesn't like waiting around in a room full of strangers. He might have to be stuck here a whole hour!"
The verbal irony wasn't even lost on Reid, and the three of them burst into cathartic laughter. The moment quickly faded into silence, and Derek finally closed his eyes to attempt to sleep. However, not six minutes later, just as Derek began to doze, he jolted as the triage nurse called out, "Emily Prentiss!"
Reid quickly rose to offer Emily a hand in standing up. She took it, but before attempting to stand she patted Derek on the knee condescendingly, "Next time, I highly recommend mentioning "risk of internal bleeding'. It'll get you places." She then accepted Reid's leverage as she stood, but before walking on, she turned back to Derek, "See you on the other side." She said with mock-enthusiasm and flashed him a toothy smile.
Derek simply gave her the middle finger and smiled as he rocked his head back and forth. Emily's mocking smile faded to a heartfelt one, and Derek, looking more serious now, silently nodded her off. This silent exchange was mutual Partner-Speak for, "I love you and I'm glad you're still alive."
—-
Hours passed. Emily was given an IV, through which several doses of painkillers and steroids were administered. She also held several gel packs to her swelling wounds. At some point, Emily was taken to radiology. CT and MRI. Scans were taken and reviewed, but Emily hadn't had an update in what felt like ages. Finally, her ER physician returned to summarize all that was discovered.
"….so, ultimately, you have two broken ribs and, otherwise, just bruising throughout your body. I am going to prescribe some oral painkillers. You've already received a steroid shot, and you have a prescription to receive another in a week's time if you feel it necessary. Before we move to discharge you, I need to ask, is there anything else I should know," the doctor's gaze seemed to linger on the bruising around Emily's wrists, "about what happened to you tonight?"
Contemplating her options, Emily decided to bite the bullet. Better to sort herself out now than to try and squeeze it all in after returning to Quantaco. "Yes, actually." She conceded, looking momentarily down at her own bruises. Resolving to sell her own confidence, she looked back up at the doctor and continued, "I need all preventive and prophylactic medications for post-sexual-assault treatment. STDs, contraceptives, all of it." Emily noticed the woman's expression waiver as she spoke, eyes darting as she processed Emily's report, but Emily pushed on as if she hadn't noticed. "But," she paused slightly to gain the doc's full attention, "before you waste energy on trying to convince me—I have no reason to worry about further injury related to the incident, and I don't consent to a pelvic. The culprit died in an explosion about two hours ago, so there's no legal motivation to pursue an exam, either. So… please…" Emily took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. On her exhale she spoke, "Just help me out here."
"Okay, I can do that for y—," the doctor could barely get her last word out before Emily continued on with her speech.
"Great. But I require discretion regarding the medications—so if the coding for Workers' Comp will be… revealing… I can and will pay for them privately. Just let me know what I need to do or sign and I will." Emily finally stopped speaking and waited for the doctor to respond, staring at her unwaveringly.
The doctor looked back at Emily, not revealing much on her face. Then she looked down at her notepad and began to scribble. "You seem to know what you want. And I trust you. I'll prescribe what you need. The insurance coding is usually general enough to cover, but I'll double check the Plan B. If I can't find a workaround, I'll give you a script to bring into a pharmacy of your choosing, so it doesn't have to go through Comp."
The doctor finished her sentence and became quiet as she scribbled her signature in several places. Emily sighed subtly and spoke sincerely to the woman in a low tone, "Thank you." The words came out just above a whisper, accompanied by a resolute nod and glassy eyes.
The woman in the white coat finished the last of her scribbling, then looked directly into the agent's eyes. "Do you have someone to talk to, Emily?" The doctor asked with genuine concern.
Emily hesitated, looked away, and then back at the doctor. In all honesty, she wasn't really sure. But she wasn't about to get herself a psych consult, either. "Yes." Emily assured the woman. "And I will. But I don't need it publicized. I hope you can understand my choice to be discreet." Emily bowed her head slightly while keeping the doctor's eye contact. "I'm here on the job." This seemed to click well with the woman standing across from her. They both worked in male-dominated fields, and they quickly established an unsaid understanding. The doctor nodded back at Emily, defeated and knowing.
The physician left the room and Emily sighed with relief. Almost done. Almost done. She spoke soothingly to herself as she anticipated the final steps of her release.