Chapter 7 –

Alex nodded her head as she closed the door behind her, Reid had pushed in front of her and she immediately noticed Hotch's raised eyebrows, her voice a whisper as she walked beside him.

"I think Reid and I have got something."

Alex noticed Reid had already made a beeline for the photos. Alex cleared her throat as she moved around and stood beside Reid the folder still in her hand, clenched tightly shut.

"Do you remember a case from nine years ago, involving a Sam Davis?"

Alex glanced around the room and saw everyone racking their brains, unfortunately too many cases passed through their hands for them to recollect them straight away.

"The warden from McCleary rang the BAU four nights ago with concerns about some correspondence Sam Davis had been sending. I arranged for the letters to be faxed over unfortunately to the naked eye they made no sense whatsoever."

"That was until I managed to break the code."

The smile of satisfaction on Reid's face lasted for no more than three seconds as he saw the look of confusion and worry on everyone's faces but then he felt Alex's hand on his shoulder and he nodded his head, allowing her to take over.

"There are three letters that the warden sent over, all sent to the same address in Baltimore. The code is complex but there are mentions of surveillance and the initials EP. A down payment has been arranged and further rewards will be available depending on the results given to him."

Alex took a breath as she placed the file on the desk beside the photos, unsurprised to see Dave instantly reach down and pick the file up, quickly he was joined by everyone else anxious to see what could be their best lead. Emily felt the lump in her throat rise suddenly, her eyes glazed over as she watched her friends busy themselves and in that moment she knew that she had to leave. Alex frowned as she watched Emily slip out of the room, she could see the anguish on her friend's face and knew that in part she was responsible, the guilt that Alex felt in the car on the way over only grew as she quietly followed Emily out of the room.

"Emily?"

Alex spoke quietly as she stopped and watched as Emily walked out of the toilet.

"I'm so sorry Emily, we shouldn't have barged in like that I should have phoned you last night as soon as we decephiered the letters."

Emily shook her head as she carried on walking through the house, waving her hand slightly as she gestured for Alex to follow her before the two of them sat down on the small sofa in the kitchen.

"It's ok Alex, nobody could have foreseen these events."

Emily sighed as she lifted her head and swallowed hard, clearing her throat as she looked at Alex and noticed that her friend had closed her eyes while she tried to stifle a yawn and hide her grimace at the same time. Gently Emily reached across and placed a hand on Alex's arm, taking care as to not make her obvious pain any worse.

"So Alex how long is it since you last took any painkillers or had a decent night's sleep?"

"Ha."

The laugh was soft and quiet as it escaped Alex's mouth, neither of them noticed Dave as he walked into the kitchen a frown clearly visible on his face as he cleared his throat causing Emily to look up a forced smile on her face as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Are you ok Emily?"

The words had disappeared once again as Emily just nodded her head while she forced the bile back down her throat.

"Kate?"

The word was raspy as Emily spluttered it out, watching Dave carefully as he nodded his head and moved closer towards her until he was close enough to gently rest his hands on his wife's shoulders while Emily watched the rest of the BAU team walk into her kitchen.

"Morgan and I are going up to New York now Em, we'll bring Kate back here."

Emily smiled, this time grateful that it wasn't forced as she listened to her best friend, knowing that between Morgan and JJ they would do everything in their power to ensure Kate's safety.

"Thank you but please don't say anything about this to her, I want to be the one to do that, just say..."

"Don't worry Prentiss we've got it covered."

Morgan spoke firmly as he looked at Emily and finally let a smile cross his face as he saw the look of appreciation on his old partner's face.

"Reid, Hotch and I are taking the jet to McCleary to talk to Davis."

Dave's voice was tense as he spoke and his fingers felt Emily's body stiffen as he spoke, he knew that leaving his wife wouldn't go down well but he had to do something, he had to get out and work the case, find out who was trying to scare his family and stop them before they carried out their threats.

"I want to help."

There was an edge to Emily's voice, one of almost desperation as she watched everyone start to pick up their coats.

"It's not safe at the moment Emily, not until we clarify this threat, Garcia and Alex will work from here."

Emily pushed Dave's hands away from her shoulders as she stood up and stared hard at Hotch, she could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes once again but she stood firm and refused to let them fall as Garcia wandered over and took a hold of her hands.

"Ok I'll stay here but I'll be working through the old case file and letters."

"We didn't expect any less sweetie."

Garcia smiled as Emily dropped her head and rested it on her friend's shoulder, she could feel Dave next to her.

"It's ok Rossi you go Alex and I are fine here."

Dave sighed heavily as he watched Garcia comfort his wife but he knew that he had to let his anger out and that it couldn't be directed at Emily.