CHAPTER 72
UNTIL THE DAY I DIE...AGAIN
In typical Emily fashion, she was the last one to close her eyes at night and the first one to open them in the morning. Reid followed, a few minutes later, immediately asking her if she wanted to play chess. The answer was 'no', because any question would get the same answer before Emily Prentiss would get her double black coffee in the morning. He should have known better.
"Oh, this is Garcia." Emily whispered, not wanting to wake everyone up just yet.
She walked out to the hallway which was significantly less warm than the lounge where they had crashed at. Reid studied her behavior, watching her through the glass door. At some point she walked off to somewhere, but he had already grasped enough of the conversation.
When Emily came back to the lounge ten minutes later, she found everyone wide awake, with their go bags in their hands and a huge smile on their faces.
"Off we go." Matt said cheerfully.
"Guys, how did you-…" Emily stopped herself from asking a foolish question.
Of course Reid would have read her lips. He was really good at that.
"He screamed in my ear…" Luke cringed, giving his ear a light massage.
Reid smirked. He had woken everyone up gently, but when Luke resisted it, he had to proceed differently. Plus, he still had it out for Luke from the day before.
"I need a shower." JJ said, sounding almost in pain.
She had some minor bruising from the rope that secured her to the chair when she was kidnapped, and one of her feet had a scratch with some dried blood on it. She had tried to wash it off at the hotel bathroom, but she had scratched it against a rusty metal thing and it needed to be cleaned properly before it could heal. Of course, she never told anyone about that. She let her trousers cover it up and she put on a brave smile for the team.
"I need coffee." Rossi groaned, holding his head with both hands, trying to tame down the headache that had been bothering him since last night.
"I just came back from the restaurant. They were kind enough to offer to bring us breakfast up here, so we can relax before the flight." Emily smiled innocently.
"Offer?" Luke whispered to Matt, his partner in crime.
"Yeah, I bet she flashed the badge again." Matt replied with a smirk.
The door opened and three waiters pushed food carts in the lounge, setting up by the big table in the middle of it.
The team thanked them politely and quickly initiated the long and cheerful process of destroying liters of hot coffee and dozens of freshly baked goods.
"Wheels up in thirty." Emily kept looking at her watch and was more than glad to finally be able to do the countdown to when their flight would depart.
Garcia had moved mountains, to get them the permission to leave from that airport. The weather was still bad and there was a fog, a little less thick than the one from last night, but still significant enough to screw up tons of flights that morning. Yet, she had found a loophole and was able to give them an 'ok' to depart.
The team grabbed their bags and walked out of the hotel, across the street and into the airport.
"You didn't have to…" Rossi made sure he was walking close enough to Emily, so that she would be the only one to hear that.
She nodded and that simple gesture was answer enough to him.
He knew that she had gone to the restaurant and arranged the room service. Reid's favorite donuts did not just end up on the menu of a low-cost airport hotel, in the middle of nowhere. JJ's favorite hot chocolate did not just blend itself perfectly, into the exact density that she enjoyed it at. And all of it was most definitely not complementary.
The hotel manager had promised coffee and basic small cookies for breakfast and Emily had been warned that everything else would come at a cost. She had been more than happy to place an order and to swipe her personal credit card that morning. By the looks of it, her team was happy, fed, well rested and ready to go home with a smile. This was the kind of joy that Emily wanted money to buy her. This was more than money well spent.
Her mouth remained shut as she walked next to a man she respected more than anything in life. But her eyes screamed at him, letting him know that there was literally not a single thing in the world she would not do or sacrifice, so that her team would be okay.
He nodded back and his head rose up, his eyes looking at the sky for a split second. She was sure he was being Italian and conversing with Jesus at that moment.
"Grazie, Jesu, per aver arricchito la mia vita con questa donna incredibile." Rossi said with his heart, while his lips just formed a smile and did not utter a word out loud.
It was not the first time he had thanked Jesus for enriching his life with this incredible woman, named Emily Prentiss. It would most definitely not be the last time, either.
The IRS team landed in Cuba after a long flight, during half of which both Angie and Kevin had been knocked out on a sofa, re-gaining some energy. Jack had noticed how they were borderline exhausted, coming straight from the Academy. They had no idea the long hours they were signing up for, if they managed to get that FBI badge at the end of their training process.
Local police officers escorted them to the station where they were given a room, an old-school style blackboard with two pieces of chalk and a handwritten note with the Wi-Fi password. That was all. No computer, no fancy stuff.
Mae shared a dozen of plain white papers with her colleagues and Garrett provided the pens, letting everyone know that if anything happened to his expensive pen collection, they would be suffering the consequences. Clara knew better than to travel to a foreign destination without her own laptop and pre-paid internet connection plan. Question was – would that plan cover the grounds of good old Cuba?
Kevin had nothing, but a spare pair of jeans. Angie had a scarf. That was pretty much all the preparation they had for Cuba. That, and beachwear, of course.
"Okay, it's not much, but we have to work with what we've got." SSA Jack Garrett took the initiative and started filling the blackboard with information.
An hour later, they were already briefed by the local police and Jack decided to waste no more time.
"Mae, I need you in the morgue, Clara – interviews, please. We need to know everything we can, about the victims, so we can figure out why the Hell they got themselves into this situation." Jack said, completely disregarding Angie and Kevin. They were now Clara's puppets and he wasn't going to play with them.
Clara started walking to the exit and she stopped by the door, shooting a questioning glance at the Trainees.
"What are you waiting for? A written invite?" She smirked, knowing that none of them expected what she was about to hit them with.
"Uh, three coffees on the way, Miss Seger!" Kevin said, sounding like a servant, his words making Clara laugh out loud.
"What, you think you're here as interns at a law firm or something?" She said in between giggles. "Straighten your shirt, put your sunglasses on and get your ass ready to do some talking." She added. "And it's Agent Seger!" She could not help but correct him.
"But Angie said we'd be…" Kevin's glance jumped from Clara, to Angie. "Coffee runs and something about fluffing pillows?"
"You clearly missed out the memo that I'm bad news." Angie walked past him, patting his shoulder, on her way to get to where Clara was standing.
"Ugh, you're the Devil!" Kevin rolled his eyes and searched for his pair of sunglasses. It was boiling hot outside, he kind of wished he could take his smart jacket off, but that would make him look less FBI and more like a tourist.
"Yup, people keep saying that." Angie replied cheerfully.
"Hah!" Clara scoffed. "I wonder why."
Angie killed her with her eyes before they both walked out, leaving Kevin behind. He'd catch up. Eventually.
"Puppies!" Garcia welcomed the team with a loud cry of happiness and a banner, saying 'Welcome back, Team!'. And a half-empty pack of jumbo marshmallows.
"Awwh, Garcia! You didn't have to come all the way to the airport." JJ nearly pushed everyone out of her way, wanting the first hug from Garcia, all to herself.
"Yes, I did! I've been here for two hours now. My feet are numb, I guess I should have toned down the heels situation, but I wanted to look pretty, for my pretties." Her enthusiasm was JJ's favorite thing.
"Plus, I wanted to make sure you were as okay as you've been telling them you are. And you're not. You're slimmer and you need to rest!" She added, taking in JJ's slim shape.
"Garcia, relax. I was kidnapped for not more than two hours, during which time I was peacefully sitting on a chair and nothing happened to me. It's no big deal, really. I didn't lose weight in the process." JJ laughed and something about the way she said that to Garcia made Emily, finally, doubt how okay JJ really was.
JJ could fool the team whenever she wanted, but she had never been able to tell a lie with a straight face on, to Emily.
"I will still spoil you rotten. My beautiful blonde diva!" Garcia said while making sure not a single spot of JJ was left uncovered. She wrapped her hands around JJ's slim body and held her tight before she did the same for everyone else.
"Mommy!" Henry's voice filled the air and JJ could hear his tiny footsteps before she could even turn around to see him.
Behind Henry there was Will, holding Michael, or Mickey, as everyone called him. The three of them were returning from a trip to the small airport shop, to get some candy while they were waiting.
"My babies!" JJ looked a bit more alive now. A bit happier to be alive, really.
While she was on her knees, hugging her children, Rossi's eyes were glued to Emily, who, unknowingly, let herself enjoy the scene.
Mickey was now covering JJ's face with soggy kisses and she wouldn't have it any other way, while Henry held onto her hand so tight that she could swear it would swell more than what it would from the bounds the Unsub had used on her. It would be a bruise she'd wear with pride, though.
Emily smiled, her face tilted a bit down, her eyes never leaving Henry and Mickey's tiny frames. Every now and then she'd focus on JJ, reading happiness in her eyes, but for the most part – Emily was focused on the kids.
Rossi frowned, imagining all the possible things that must be going through Emily's mind at that very moment. It only lasted about a minute, but it felt like a lifetime. A lifetime she never had.
He couldn't help his instincts, so he walked to Emily and put his hand on her shoulder. She did not even notice that, but she felt a wave of comfort surrounding her at that moment. There were times in life when he was the only person she needed by her side. Times when not even JJ or Morgan could reach her.
"Thank you for bringing mommy back home and alive, once again." Henry broke Emily out of her zone.
She looked down, seeing him tug on her blazer so that she would finally snap out of it and see that he was there.
"Yeah, we tried the whole 'let's not burden the kids with what mommy actually does for a living' thing. It didn't work. He's old enough and smart enough to know what's going on is actually dangerous." JJ said apologetically when she felt Emily shoot her a questioning look.
"It's what I do best." Emily got on her knees, leveling up with the child and giving JJ a small wink with her right eye.
"Will you always do that?" He knew she would. He was just in the phase where he needed constant reassurance, for everything.
"Until the day I die…" Emily said to him. "…Again. Like, for real this time…" She added, looking sideways to where the grownups were standing, making everyone laugh at the connotation of her words.
"Thank you, Emmey." He grabbed on her collar, abruptly making her tilt forward so he could suffocate her with hugs and kisses.
Emily usually disliked this kind of forceful mannerism, in men especially. But coming from Henry, she could not help but find it to be brisk. Refreshing. Really, really cute. Plus, the way he pronounced her name was the sweetest thing in the world.
"When can I stay with you again?" He whispered to her when he was sure nobody was listening.
"Hmm, let's see what I can do about it." Emily smirked, fully aware that JJ's hearing was amazing on the field, but even better when it came to her children. JJ was standing right behind Henry now, shaking her head in disbelief, at his request.
"Okay, but not this Friday night, please. I have a friend over for dinner." Henry stated shyly.
"Oh?" JJ raised an eyebrow. She was most definitely not aware of that.
"Katie." Will whispered to her and JJ's heart dropped. She wasn't sure if it was pride…or concern, but Henry had invited a girl over for dinner. That was the cutest thing.
"If she's vegan, I'm going to flip!" JJ replied to Will, making him choke on that last sip of his coffee.
JJ loved meat. Having grown up in a small town, meat was religion to her. She lived for a good barbeque. Flash-forward, she refused to see herself as the mother-in-law of a monster who did not appreciate meat, milk and cheese.
"You can let go now." Henry tried to get away from Emily's arms, which were still wrapped around him.
"People are staring." He winced.
Henry hated showing affection. To anyone. Ever. The only people he hugged were Reid, whom he was borderline obsessed with, Garcia, who was the picture perfect colorful dream friend for every child, and Emily, whom he was sure he'd grow up and marry one day.
His affection to Emily had started when he was old enough to put names to the faces who were hovering above him, in the kiddy crib. He knew the one with dark hair was Emily and he knew she was his favorite. He had tried to bite her nose off numerous times, which, when he was one and a half, had been his way of showing affection.
When he was a little over two, he had come back from kindergarten one day, proudly holding a piece of paper in his hands. On it, there was a scribble of something horrendously irregular, resembling a bird, but with thicker legs and fire coming from his mouth. When his mother had asked him if that were a dragon, he had gotten up from his seat and walked in zig-zag to a framed photo of the BAU team, pointing at Emily, who was in the middle. He had seen her as a strong animal, a dragon, who would throw fire at her enemies until she would defy them all. That drawing was still, currently, on display on Emily's fridge door.
At three years old Henry had asked if he could dye his hair black, so he would look like he was Emily's child. JJ had denied him and Will was still holding that over her. JJ had also shed a few tears over the fact that her own child was fantasizing about being someone else's kid. The pediatrician had reassured her, about fifty times, that it was normal for kids his age to have weird ideas about life, their parents and how things could have been.
At four and a half years old, Henry had gone through his phase of dressing and acting like Reid. He had went to school with a messenger bag and he had even asked his daddy to teach him how to play chess, in hopes of being an equal opponent to his genius muse, one day. He had, however, not forgotten about Emily. One cold night, he had been dropped off to Emily's place when his parents had gone on a dinner date for their anniversary. That was the night Henry had learned a few valuable lessons in life.
One – if you don't wash your hands, you cannot sit at the dinner table.
Two – hopping on the bed or the couch with your shoes on was not an option.
Three – he had added Emily to his very short list of people who were allowed to cuddle him and show him affection. She was brilliant at it, plus, she had made him hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and she had allowed him to watch cartoons way past his bedtime…but that was a secret he'd never tell his parents about. Also, because she had bribed him into keeping quiet about it.
Four – Emily smelled good. Like, all the time. When JJ had dropped him off, Emily had smelled like girly perfume. It wasn't too heavy, like the one his nostrils had been able to detect on her skin whenever he had hung out with the team at work. No, this one was light and barely detectable. Maybe it was just shampoo? Or deodorant? To this day, Henry was still wondering about it. Then, she had left him munching on an apple while she had taken a quick shower and her scent changed. She had come out of the bathroom, smelling like a cake. Henry had clapped his hands in excitement, because in his four year old mind, he thought she had baked a cake for him…in the bathroom. She sure did smell like one, so it sounded like a plausible deduction! In reality, Emily had sprayed a new body mist, vanilla-scented. Henry had not left her side that night, burying his nose against her hand each chance he had, taking in that sweet smell of cake.
Five – if you are a four year old boy, staying over at Emily Prentiss' house for the night, and if you were hungry – you'd better opt for take-away right away! After an antagonizing hour of watching Emily struggle with a piece of chicken that his own mother would have handled in minutes, and after hearing her almost swear when the smoke alarm got triggered by the thick black smoke, coming from the oven, he had dared to ask for some Chinese. Anything Chinese. Just, food.
A five and a half year old Henry had once had a tummy ache. He remembered that day very well. JJ had been on a work trip, just outside the city, talking to the families of victims for some case. He was not too good at understanding her job, at the time. Will had called Emily, on his way to the ER, with Henry almost passed out in his hands. That had been the first time Henry had seen a hospital, as a patient. He had been terrified, but had put up a brave front for his daddy, as to not worry him. However, things had changed very quickly when Emily had walked in his room. Henry – the kid who did not like showing his emotions, had broken into tears, loudly expressing his wish to be home, in his own bed, and adding a very specific request: "I want vanilla cake with strawberries!" Emily had chuckled before excusing herself for a moment. She never told him, but she had to run this by his doctor first and then she had procured the sweet treat for Henry, in the matter of minutes. Thank God for the hospital cafeteria…and the 24/7 mini market next to it, where she gotten her hands on the last pack of fresh strawberries, to decorate the plain white piece of vanilla cake with. Add a few colorful sprinkles on top and Henry was a happy child once again. A few months later, he had exchanged his love for colorful sprinkles with his even deeper love, for an equally as colorful Penelope Garcia. That relationship had started at an age when, as Penelope had once said, Henry was finally old enough to be fun when opening presents. But the relationship he had with Emily had started way before that.
For his sixth birthday Henry had asked his daddy for the family ring. As proud as Will had been at that moment, thinking that Henry was finally showing interest in girls, which at his age was cute, but at the age of sixteen would surely be a disaster; Will had not taken the news well when Henry had told him the reason for his request. "Emmey is auuuusome and I want to mewwy hew!" He had stated, in all seriousness, nearly shooting his poor daddy straight to the ER, with a minor heart attack. That, coming out of his mouth when he was still having some troubles rolling his R's before Reid gave him a crash course in speech, was both heart-warming…and heart-wrenching for Will to hear. He already saw Emily way too much around, he wouldn't even dare to think if, in some parallel universe, she would be the wife of one of his sons. No. Just. No.
Currently standing at the airport, Emily finally let go of the poor child, who was now sweating and embarrassed beyond belief. The reason being – a cute girl, about his age, had been eyeing him, acting like a child and being clingy with Emily. He instantly felt ashamed and broke away from Emily's arms, even if he had been the one to initiate the cuddling.
"Yeah, we're at the phase now where he would ice me out if I ever dared hug him when I drop him off at school in the morning. He would not look at me for days after that." JJ laughed, explaining his sudden change of behavior.
"Ah!" Emily said, knowingly.
"What?" JJ looked Emily up and down. She knew there was something that Emily was itching to say.
"Like mother, like son." Emily finally came out and said it.
"I am not fussy!" JJ folded her arms and frowned, those mere gestures suggesting the opposite of what she had just stated.
"Okay, fine. Maybe sometimes I am." She finally relaxed and started laughing at herself.
"I love you, my husky puppies, but we have to get going. There is a pile of possible new cases on your desk…" Garcia said, pointing at Emily.
"…and I may have made reservations for dinner at our favorite restaurant, so if you don't want to lose our table, then move. Your loved ones are already there, waiting." Garcia shooed everyone towards the exit where they started dividing themselves in groups, having three cabs available.
On the way to the restaurant, Garcia's last words were being micro analyzed by her Boss.
"Your loved ones are already there, waiting…" Emily heard Garcia say over and over again, in her head.
JJ had Will, Henry and Mickey.
Surely Krystal would be there, for Rossi.
Matt's wife would be there too, if she had found someone to look after their perfect four kids back home, that evening.
But…who would be there for Emily? And why did she have this overwhelming desire to have a loved one, waiting for her? She had always been okay, on her own. She had landed in many airports before, without anyone out there, as she'd walk out of the arrivals gate. And she had been fine with it.
Then why was she feeling this way? Was she feeling…jealous? Was she simply just upset? Was she ready to commit to someone, enough that she would actually be looking forward to see him, waiting for her? Enough to be happy that they would be there, waiting impatiently for her return?
Why was she even thinking about that? What had triggered that?
What would she give, to be someone worth waiting for?
Was she going insane? Why was she having this downpour of questions, in her head?
"Emily?"
"Ehm, Emily?"
"PRENTISS!?"
"What?" Emily snapped out of it, only to realize they had arrived at the restaurant and everyone was already out of the car, waiting for her to come back to reality.
"Oh. Food. Yes. Okay…" Emily said lamely, getting out of the taxi and walking towards the restaurant entrance.
JJ and Rossi gave each other a look. They had both been noticing those little moments when Emily would zone out and get consumed by her own thoughts lately. They had never spoken about it, to each other, or God forbid – directly to Emily; but they kind of knew something was going on with her.
The team would then enjoy a nice relaxing dinner that night and allow themselves to laugh from the bottom of their hearts. They needed this, as a reward for a job well done. This had been their first case back to their normal routine, after a specific case that had been a bit too rough to handle. Most of them were still in therapy, now weeks after it had all happened, discussing the outcome and how it had affected them. None of them, however, dared to speak about it to another member of the team. It was like a huge taboo, between the eight of them.
