CHAPTER 24
Emily Prentiss isn't the biggest fan of domestic duties. She doesn't hate cooking or cleaning, she has done these chores now and then, though less frequently than most.
Her job is a great excuse for doing so. Constantly traveling across the country doesn't exactly allow her to live the full house domestic experience.
One of the perks of working in the BAU.
She thinks another reason why she isn't used to doing house chores is the way she was raised.
The Prentiss household was (and still is) a wealthy one. Emily was raised with a nanny, maids, and even a cook.
She never had to learn how to cook or do chores until she went to college. A privilege she knows this is.
But now she is at home and doesn't plan to go out, making sure Daniela is well.
She has been keeping busy by cleaning the kitchen and dining room. She has even re-organized her office space.
It's not like there is a lot of cleaning to do, to begin with. Only two people live in the house, cleaning up isn't that much of a hassle.
The woman's main focus is the teenager who is now sitting in the living room, watching tv.
She hasn't been able to do much since she does need to rest and the medication hasn't helped her in getting the energy she needs to do any activities she usually likes to do when at home.
Playing some tunes with her guitar, playing video games, or hanging out with her friends are things that she would usually do but now she is quietly resting on the couch.
The woman has been trying to be subtle when observing the girl from afar.
She wants to make sure that Daniela is okay, not only physically but emotionally too.
She has noticed that the girl is careful when moving, making sure she takes things slow in order to prevent any sharp pains she can have when not being careful.
She has seen the girl hold her left side of her abdomen when getting up or sitting down. When she makes a wrong move, Daniela winces in discomfort.
The agent makes sure that Dani takes all her medication as prescribed by the doctor.
Emily still has to convince the girl to take her meds. She can see how Daniela gets anxious when taking her medication so the woman has to reassure her that it is safe for her to take them.
The woman knows that Daniela isn't doing this to make it hard on anyone. The girl is genuinely worried about any negative side effects the medication can have on her.
Emily knows that her main problem when taking her medication is relying too much on it, making her fall into a void of addiction.
Daniela has never really talked about her mother's addiction to a great extent.
She has only mentioned it a handful of times and details were always vague but Emily can conclude that Daniela's mother had a rough time fighting her addiction.
A battle that was ultimately lost.
That is why the woman is patient with her, knowing that Daniela needs her support and reassurance.
Emily has also tried to figure out whether or not Daniela was okay emotionally. Figuring this out has been quite a challenge for the profiler.
Daniela hasn't shown much emotion rather than being tired most of the time. When the teenager isn't drowsy because of her medication, Daniela seemed fine.
Too fine for Emily's liking.
What Daniela went through during the night she was taken was a traumatic experience. She was taken against her will, she was beaten, and had a gun pointed to her head.
Everything she went through can negatively impact anyone, no matter how strong this person may seem.
That night sure as hell scarred Emily for the rest of her life. She can vividly recall the cold metal barrel of the gun touching her skin.
She has flashbacks of Daniela receiving every single punch Declan directed towards her.
Emily still cringes internally remembering each blow the girl received.
But what the agent remembers the most is the utter fear that she saw in Daniela's eyes.
How the fear, horror even, reflected on her pale face. Her eyes were glossy from the tears of fear she refused to shed.
None of that is reflected now. Daniela's face shows neutral emotions most of the time.
She doesn't look particularly sad or anxious. It's almost like nothing bad happened to her.
Though some people would be relieved in seeing that this bad experience didn't have a negative impact on the girl, Emily has lingering suspicions.
She wishes the girl would come forward and talk about how she felt and how she is feeling right now.
It's good for Daniela to express her thoughts and emotions to someone instead of keeping it to herself.
She doesn't want Dani to carry the weight of what happened that night. It's something that will just drag her down if she doesn't do so.
Emily knows that everyone has a different set of coping skills that helps them get by and maybe the girl just happens to process her emotions differently than most.
It makes sense. After all, she isn't like most teenagers her age. She is a foster kid with a history of hardships she had to face on her own.
Without proper support and guidance, she has had to learn the hard hard way how to cope.
Daniela was never given a chance to properly deal with her emotions. Suppressing them can be the only way she knows how to deal with herself.
But the thing about suppressing her emotions is that it will just build up inside her until she can't deal with it any longer.
Emily steps out of the kitchen and heads towards the living room where Dani is watching tv.
She walks to the back of the couch where the teen is sitting and wraps her arms gently around her shoulders.
"What are you watching?" Emily asks while placing her chin on top of Dani's head.
Daniela glances up at the woman and the corner of her mouth curves up to a small but genuine smile.
"Just a soap opera in Spanish. It's called La Rosa de Guadalupe" the girl responds.
"It's a super popular show that every Latino has seen at least once. It's supposed to teach you life lessons or something but overall it's cheesy and overdramatic. Like every telenovela."
"And yet you still watch it?" Emily says in confusion.
"Yep. It's funny how overdramatic the acting can be," the girl responds.
"Like seriously, there was this one episode where this girl fell out of the third step of the stairs and she ended up almost dying. The most that would have happened in real life is a twisted ankle or something."
"Sounds like they over-exaggerate some things."
"They do but that is what makes this show unintentionally funny."
"Well I guess it works out for them at the end," Emily replies.
She then stands up walks around and sits next to the teenager on the couch.
"How do you feel, hun? Does something hurt?" Emily asks as she places her hand on Daniela's shoulder.
"I'm fine. I mean, sometimes I feel this small but sharp pain on my rib but it's bearable," the girl responds.
"The rest are just minor injuries. They don't even hurt anymore."
The girl isn't lying to the profiler. There is no point in her trying to do so.
She knows that Emily can easily tell if she is feeling any pain but the girl tries her best to play it cool. She does it out of good faith though.
She doesn't want to worry the woman more than she already is.
Ever since they left the hospital yesterday, Daniela has noticed that Emily is keeping a close eye on her, hardly ever leaving her side.
She can practically feel how the agent's eyes are watching her every move.
Even during the night when the girl went to sleep, Emily made sure to check in every hour to see if Dani needed anything.
The only reason why the teenager even noticed this is because she hardly slept during the night. She could hear the agent's cautious footsteps heading towards her room.
She even heard how her door made a small and fainted creaking noise as the door only opened a bit. Just enough for a small ray of light to peek in her room.
In other circumstances, the girl would consider this weird or even annoying but this is a rather special case.
She can see that Emily is genuinely worried for her, anxious even.
Its weird for the girl to have someone worry about her the way Emily does, though she isn't quite sure why she isn't used to it by now.
Ever since she has known the agent, Emily has shown her how much she cares for her. That is why Daniela doesn't complain about Emily's protective nature.
She understands why she does so.
"But you sure you feel okay?" Emily asks, hoping Dani would go a little deeper into expressing herself.
"Yep," the girl answers with a nod.
"I will admit that it sucks to feel all drowsy and tired but I know that it's only temporary."
"Don't worry. Soon enough you'll regain your superhuman strength," Emily tells her with a smile.
"I can't wait for that," Dani tells the agent.
"I need to get back to jumping from roof to roof of the tallest buildings D.C. has to offer. You know, a regular workout routine."
"Yeah. It's a regular workout for someone like Spiderman," the woman points out.
"And who says I ain't Spiderman?" Dani responds.
"Though I feel like I want to be more like Batman. He has no superpowers but does have a lot of money. That I can use cuz a lot of these superheroes are broke."
Emily smiles as she hears the doorbell ring.
"I'll go get it," the brunette said while dropping a kiss on top of the teen's head.
Daniela's gaze follows Emily as she heads to the door. The girl wonders who the visitor may be.
Emily walks towards the door and checks on her security tablet in order to see who is ringing the door.
From the tablet she sees two of Daniela's childhood friends, Antonio and Camila, standing in front of the door.
Emily unlocks the door and opens it.
"Hey. I'm glad you guys made it," she greets them with a warm smile.
"Come in," she gestures inside.
Both teens smile and enter, greeting Emily with a handshake.
"How is she?" Asks Camila while closing the door.
"She's okay. Her energy is a little low but I'm sure you guys could cheer her up," Emily replies.
The friends were worried after Camila was informed about Daniela's abduction from JJ after being questioned about the girl's whereabouts.
The teenager immediately told the rest of the friend group about what happened, having them on high alert since then.
They were afraid of the worst-case scenario. They were well aware they could have lost their friend that night. Both of them feel guilty about what happened to Dani.
Daniela recognized Camila's voice from the living room.
The last time she saw her was the morning she left her house, both girls were hungover from the party the night before.
Hours after she left her friend's house, Daniela was taken away.
Now that she thinks about it, the party could have been the last time she would have seen her friends.
The last time they would be together, laughing and having fun.
All because she could have easily been killed during that awful night.
The grim realization sinks in, Daniela thinking about the millions of ways that night could have ended. None of it is good.
The teenager stops herself from overthinking all that could have happened. She knows that once she starts there would be no way she would stop herself.
That wouldn't do any good to her. It will only drag her down. The last thing she needs right now is a storm of negative emotions clouding her mind.
That storm already prevented her from sleeping the night before.
She stands up slowly as she hears her friends approaching. The two teenagers enter the living room with Emily right behind them.
"Hey," Daniela says, giving her friends a weary smile.
Both teens freeze instantly, having their eyes wide open in shock. Emily told them what happened, though only briefly.
She took a few hits, they recall the agent telling them.
Now that they see the girl up close, a few hits is a rather large understatement.
They see Dani's face with a large purple bruise on the lower part of her jaw. Stitches going through her brow, the wound slowly healing.
The teenager looks like she got out of a pretty bad boxing match.
"Dani! What the hell happened to you?" Asks Camila, visibly concerned.
"It's just minor injuries. Nothing to worry about," Daniela tries to explain.
Hoping to calm down her anxious friend.
"C'mon, guys. Sit down with me," she tells them, gesturing to the couch.
Camila nods, slowly making her way to the couch, her eyes focused on Dani as she comes closer to her. Dani simply offers a small smile as her friend sits on the couch.
She then notices that Antonio hasn't moved. He is still standing, his head down as he stares at the floor with both hands inside his sweater pockets.
He's hasn't said anything ever since he arrived. Just a small hello and nothing else.
His quiet demeanor is not typical of him. The boy can practically talk to himself all day without getting tired so seeing this from him is not a normal thing to see.
Oddly enough, it makes Dani feel uneasy and she isn't sure why.
She walks up to the boy and stands in front of him.
"Hey Tony, you good?" she simply asks her friend.
The boy looks up and surprises Daniela once she sees his glossy brown eyes. His usual charming smile was nowhere in sight.
Instead, there was a face of worry and even fear. Something that the girl has rarely seen coming from him.
"Tony? Why are you-"
Before the girl can finish her question, the taller boy lunges himself towards her and wraps his arms around Daniela's smaller frame.
Daniela is stunned by his sudden action but she is quick to hug him back, one arm around his waist as she holds the back of his head with her other hand.
She feels the boy let out a shaky breath before saying,
"Lo Siento. I was just worried sick," he tells her quietly.
When Antonio was told about Daniela's abduction, he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. Two even.
It was hard for him to understand that just a few hours prior to her abduction, Daniela was with him and the rest of their friends having fun.
She was fine and safe. The fact that she was taken and her life was in the hands of a potential lunatic drove him crazy.
And she was in that position all because he was the one to convince her to go out with them. It's all his fault. At least in his eyes, it was.
His friend, his best friend, was in danger.
He placed in danger to the person he once promised to protect like if she was his own sister.
Flashback (8 years ago)
Riverdale Elementary School
A small boy is anxiously waiting for the dismissal bell to ring inside a small 2nd-grade classroom.
His teacher is wrapping up the reading lesson but Antonio pays no mind to it.
All he is thinking about is meeting up with his friend in the school park after class is over.
He is tapping his pencil on his desk as he watches the clock that is in front of the class. He stares at it, hoping that it will somehow go faster.
Ring, is the sound he was so desperate to hear.
He jumps out of his seat and quickly picks up his scattered papers from his desk, running to his cubby.
He shoves his papers in his backpack, not caring about whether they would be wrinkled or not. He then grabs a small plastic bag and rushes out the door.
He clenches his small fist in which he was holding the bag, making sure he doesn't lose it as he heads to the back doors of the school.
It's important for him not to lose this bag as it contains a small present for his friend.
He walks outside and goes through the playground, seeing the dozens of kids that are already playing.
He continues his way and sits on a wooden bench that is right under an old oak tree. The usual meeting spot where he would hang out with Daniela.
It's been about a month since her brother's funeral.
His death the same week that Spring started. It is now the end of April with the sun shining bright on the sky, making it seem almost impossible that such a grim thing happened in such beautiful weather.
Antonio's family helped Daniela's mother with funeral arrangements.
They were close since Antonio's mother knew Sofia Hernandez since high school. That is why both kids know each other practically since birth.
The boy can tell that Daniela is still sad about the death of her brother.
She didn't tell him what happened but he knows that she was there when her brother died. Ever since then, she hasn't seen the girl smile.
And he really misses that about her.
He sees a familiar figure heading towards him and he stands up, seeing that it was Daniela.
She is wearing a light baby blue polo shirt and a navy blue skirt accompanied with a pair of black knit tights, her typical school uniform.
"Hi, Dani!" Antonio waves with a smile, showing an empty space between his bottom front teeth that reveals that he recently lost a baby tooth.
"Hi, Tony," Daniela waves back shyly.
"Cmon. Sit with me. I have a surprise for you," he tells her with excitement.
Daniela nods and sits next to him on the bench. The boy takes out his book bag and simply drops it on the grass.
He then goes on and hands over the plastic bag to the girl.
"What is it?" Daniela asks him as she looks at the bag.
"Well, you have to open it to find out silly," the boy answers with a giggle.
Daniela nods and begins to undo the tie the bag has, having a spark of curiosity about what is inside the bag.
She opens the bag and takes out the mysterious item.
It is a small wolf plush, no bigger than eight inches. It has light brown fur with a patch of white on the bottom portion of the plush, including its legs. Its fur was soft with small pointed ears.
She lets out a lopsided smile as she runs her hand through the small plush, feeling the soft fur go through her fingers.
"What? You don't like it?" Antonio begins to fret.
He was hoping to see Dani's smile to be a big one, one that is big enough to show her teeth.
"No. No. I do like it. I love it," Dani responds.
"You remembered my favorite animal."
"Yeah! You told me during Christmas break," Antonio says.
"Did you know their sciency name is canis lu-lupus? Lupi? I don't remember but they are super cool. We were learning about them during science class last week so I got you this."
"Thank you, Tony. I really really like this," she says as she looks down at the small plush.
"Then why do you look so sad?" The boy asks innocently.
"It's just... I don't know," little Dani sighs as she looks up at the sky. "I just miss Lucas."
"Me too. He was so cool," Antonio replies, looking down at his sneakers.
"He always would take us to the park and showed us cool soccer tricks. He was the only one who could go back and forth on the monkey bars without falling."
Antonio had always thought that Lucas was a super cool guy.
Lucas was the only boy that Tony knew that was in middle school. In eighth grade to be exact.
Having an older sibling was something Antonio always wanted. It seemed so cool to have someone to look up to and protect you from bullies.
But now Daniela doesn't have that anymore.
"He was great. The best brother ever," Daniela said with a sniffle. "But now he is gone."
"My mamá said that even though when someone is gone it doesn't mean they leave our side forever," the boy tells his friend.
"Tony will always be with you right here," he says, pointing at the girl's heart.
"Yeah. That is what my Mami said too," the girl says.
"But I want my brother here. Here with me. I need him because, without him, there is no one out there to protect me and my mom."
The girl has always seen her older brother as a sort of guardian angel.
The 13-year-old Lucas would do almost anything to protect his small family.
He did it up to his death. He died protecting his little sister during the drive-by.
Antonio frowns slightly when hearing Daniela say this. She is right. Now it's just her and her mom. They don't have anyone else in their lives anymore.
At least not biologically.
"Well that's not like... totally true," the boy speaks up.
Daniela glances up at him, her eyes glossy from tears that are dangerously close to forming.
"What do you mean?"
"Well... there are people out there who care about you. People who can protect you," Antonio explains.
"Like me," he says with a sweet smile, showing his dimples at full form.
"Really?" The girl asked, confused about the boy's statement.
"Mommy said family protects each other forever. But we aren't from the same family."
"We don't have to have the same blood to be a family. We just have to care about each other," the boy replies.
"I can do that. Especially when I grow up and become a big kid. I can protect you from anything. I promise."
Daniela looks at the boy, seeing how his words are completely genuine.
She smiles, probably the happiest smile she has had for a while is she wraps her arms around Antonio.
"Best friends?" She asks him while still holding him close.
"No. Even better. Hermanos."
Present Timeline
Daniela lets go of the boy, placing her palm on his cheek.
"I'm good. I'm okay. I promise," she assures him.
"You better be," Antonio said, clearing his throat.
"I think I aged 10 years for all the worrying I was doing."
"Alright. Come here you old grandpa," Dani says, dragging the boy to sit next to her on the couch.
Emily smiles as she sees both teenagers interact with one another.
She knows both of them have a close bond. Seeing the way they talk to each other proves that Antonio is one of the only few people that Daniela fully trusts and understands.
Emily sits on the arm of the couch where Dani was sitting. Antonio is sitting on the other side of Daniela, while Camila stands in front of her.
She reaches for her slowly, not wanting to hurt her.
"Does it hurt?" She asked while lifting Dani's chin, turning her head slightly in order for her to see the stitches clearly.
"Nope. I'm all good," Dani said with a smile.
She noticed doubt reflecting her friend's face.
"Seriously. I'm fine. It looks worse than it is."
Camila lowers her hand and sighs.
"God, Dan. What trouble did you get yourself into now?"
Dani raises her brow, feeling slight discomfort.
"Wait. This wasn't my fault," she said. She bit her lip, realizing something.
"Well, okay. It was partially my fault. I was out when I wasn't supposed to," she admits, mumbling the last part.
"Wait. Why were you out?" asks Emily with an inquiry.
Dani glances at the agent and sighs. She knew she had blown her cover.
"I uh... might have gone out to a... social event that night," she said while avoiding the agent's gaze.
"So a party?" Emily states with a frown.
She did wonder why Dani was out but that question was pushed to the back of her mind with everything else that was happening.
She was just glad that her daughter was safe.
"But I swear I learned my lesson in never going out while grounded again. Trust me, I won't do it. Please have mercy on my poor soul," the teen said while giving Emily puppy eyes.
Emily rolls her eyes and smiles.
"Don't worry. I will have mercy on your mortal soul today," she said while patting Dani's knee.
If they were in a different position, Emily wouldn't have let Dani's bad actions slide out of her radar.
Emily loves her but she is always firm in teaching her that bad actions have bad consequences.
Scolding and punishment would have been necessary in order to guide the teen to the right path.
She knows of the four different parenting styles that exist, compliments to the thirty-minute lecture she received from Dr. Reid, and tries her best in being an authoritative one.
She tries her best in having a positive relationship with the girl but is firm when enforcing the rules.
Emily won't do that on this occasion. The teen was put through so much already, not that it was her fault.
Her rebellious actions just led her to the wrong place at the wrong time. This was never a way Emily would have wanted Dani to learn her lesson but she knows it did.
Part of her feels guilty in knowing the child learned through trauma. Never a good way to learn something.
Camila walks over and takes a seat next to Antonio.
"But, if you do go out without permission again, there will be consequences," the woman tells the teenager and Daniela nods her head.
"Just don't do it again. You will end up giving me grey hair, kid."
"It's not my fault that you are getting old," Dani shoots back with a smug face.
Emily nudges the teen's shoulder playfully.
"Plus, I have a feeling that you can totally rock grey streaks look."
"Now I do wonder how you would look like," Antonio tells Emily as he tries to imagine the woman with grey hairstreaks.
"Well, I am in no rush to find out," Emily tells the teenagers.
"Do you all want water or soda?"
No. I'm good," Antonio says as he leans back on the couch.
"I'm good too. Thank you, Ms. Prentiss," Camila responds politely.
"Please, Emily is fine. I hear Ms. Prentiss and I turn around searching for my mother," Emily tells her with a small chuckle.
Daniela simply smiles, knowing well Emily does not want to be associated with her mother like that.
"I'll leave you guys alone so you all can catch up, anything you guys need just tell me," Emily said while standing up.
"Don't cause too much trouble," she tells Dani as she places a quick kiss on the top of her head and walks upstairs.
Dani watches as the agent walks upstairs and eventually is out of her sight. She turns around and faces her friends, both with worried faces.
"Dan, what happened?" asks Camila with a worried face.
Dani looks up at her friends and sighs. She knows there was a lot that happened that day.
Dani herself still can't completely process the whole ordeal, especially when adding Emily's past into this.
Her brain is flooded with too many thoughts roaming around her mind about her kidnapping.
She wasn't sure how to explain it to her friends about it.
"I uhh... was taken. The guy held me for a few hours and well... that's where this happened," she said while pointing at her stitches.
"Did you know the dickhead who held you?" asks Antonio.
"Was it Los Bravos?" He says, referring to Daniela's father's rival gang.
"No. It wasn't Los Bravos. I also thought that it had something to do with them but that wasn't the case," Daniela replies.
"Then who was it," asks Camila. "Did you even know the guy?"
"No. I never met him in my life but he knew me," Dani answers.
"What do you mean?" asked Camila while sitting up. "How did he know you?"
Dani looks down at the floor, watching her feet planted on the ground.
"He knew me through Emily," she said with a low voice.
The teen doesn't blame Emily for her abduction. It wasn't her fault that someone she tried to protect ended up wanting to hurt her.
It was just something that was bound to happen.
"He is the son of an arms dealer that Emily helped with his arrest years ago. His father died while in the custody of the BAU. He... he wanted to get even."
"He wanted to kill you?" Antonio said with distress.
"That was his plan," Dani said bluntly with a nod.
"Emily and the team found me in time. They caught him. He can't do anything now."
The teen didn't want to go into details about how Emily was also held hostage with her.
She didn't want to remember how she heard Emily desperately trying everything she could to spare the teen's life.
She didn't want to go back and remember watching the gun pointed at Emily's head.
Her body would recoil each time that image replayed in her mind.
The teens were in silence for a few moments, trying to take in what was said.
Camila and Antonio were both frightened thinking about the fact that they could have lost a friend.
How everything could have crumbled to pieces in the span of a night.
"Were you scared?" asks Antonio, breaking the silence that was in the room.
Dani glances up, chewing the side of her cheek. Growing up as a foster child, Daniela had to learn to hide away her fears. She learned that being scared was a sign of weakness.
If a child like her shows that they are weak, foster parents, and sometimes even older foster kids, with bad intentions would prey on them knowing that they have power over them.
The teenager learned the hard way.
Antonio's question was a hard question to answer. Not because she didn't know how to respond, it was because it was something hard to admit.
Yes, she was scared. Maybe she didn't show it but she was scared to death during those moments.
What happened that night was one of the few moments of her life where she felt absolutely petrified.
Most people would think that the teen was scared of dying but that wasn't the case. What she feared the most was something else.
She's gazing at the floor, avoiding eye contact with either friend.
"I uhh... I was scared," she said in a low volume, not wanting Emily to hear her.
"I mean the guy was crazy and had me tied up with no chance of escaping. I had a bunch of things going around my head that was just adding more fear."
She hears herself say this out loud, surprised she admitted this to someone but she feels safe in doing so. She truly trusts her friends.
"And that's completely understandable, Dan," Camila said while standing up.
She walks up and sits next to Dani.
"You were kidnapped by a lunatic who wanted to hurt you. It's okay to feel that way," she said while placing her hand on Dani's shoulder.
Dani looks at her and smiles.
"I guess you're right."
Camila smiles back and without warning pulls Dani in for a hug. Dani feels her body ache but ignores it, wrapping her arms around her friend.
"I'm glad you're okay, Dan. I can't imagine what I would do if something were to happen to you," Camila said with a sniffle.
"It's over now. Estoy Bien."
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The friends were hanging out for the rest of the afternoon. They spent the day watching tv and chatting about what was going on in school and so on.
After a while they decided to play UNO, one of the many card games Antonio brought as an "Emergency Bored Kit" to Dani, containing card games to board games.
Dani appreciated the nice gesture from her friend.
They are on their third game, Amelia and James winning the first two rounds. The teen's invited Emily to join in for the final round and she gladly accepted.
The game is getting pretty competitive, with all players having no mercy when placing down a card.
After all, they have decided that the winner of this round will be considered the UNO master, having full bragging rights.
Emily is the closest to winning, having only three cards left.
"I choose green," Camila said as she placed the wild card down.
Antonio smiles as he places down a green card with the number four on it.
"Ah, Crap. I don't have a four or a green card," Dani mumbles as she takes a card out of the pile.
"Good luck catching up, Hernandez," Antonio says with a grin, showing off the last few cards he has left.
"Bring it on, Sanchez. I'm coming for you next foo," Daniela replies, as she sits up.
It is Emily's turn. She smiles and places down a red four on the pile. Now she is only down to two cards until she saviors sweet victory.
Amelia places down a red reverse, changing the pattern of how they were going. Emily was next again, planning her move.
She had two cards. A blue two card and a plus-four card. She licks her lips while seeing her options.
"I'm so sorry, Dan," she said while placing down the plus four card.
"Uno!" She exclaims out loud.
A surprised gasp escaped from both Camila and Antonio while Dani's jaw dropped in shock.
"What the what?! A plus four? Really?" The teen groans while picking up her four cards.
"Never mind Tony. I'm not going after you. I have a personal Vendetta against Emily now."
"I said sorry in advance," Emily said with a shrug.
"Traitor," she mumbles while glancing down at her cards.
"I see your true colors now, agent. Just know karma is a pain in the ass."
"Oh please. What are the odds of me not winning," she said playfully while rolling her eyes.
She chooses the color blue and Tony places down a blue reverse card.
Just what the girl needed.
Emily notices the devilish smirk on Dani's face when she sees it was her turn.
"Oh no," she said worried about what the teen would do.
"Damn right for that oh no. The universe has answered my prayers," she said with a smile while placing down a swap hands card.
"By the power this card has given me, I would like to swap hands with you, Em," she said, not hiding the smug on her face.
"Ouch!" Antonio exclaimed while Camila was chucking.
Emily is caught off guard about how the game changed in a matter of seconds.
"No, wait... but-"
"Lo Siento, there are no but's. Rules are rules," the teen points out.
Emily sighs and reluctantly gives up her card while Dani hands her the stack of eight cards she had.
"Well, well, well. How the turntables?" She said while glancing at Emily with a smirk.
Emily rolls her eyes and shoves the teen playfully.
They continued the game and as expected, Dani won thanks to only having one card.
She pumped her fist in victory as she gladly accepted the title of UNO master.
"I would like to thank everyone who helped me win this honorable title," she said while holding the stack of cards.
"I would like to thank my friends. Thank that person who tried to sabotage me from getting my success," she said while looking at Emily.
"It wouldn't be possible without you."
"It's an honor," Emily said in a serious tone, playing along with the teen.
"You wouldn't have one without me."
"Jealous much?" asks Dani with a brow raised.
Emily pulls in the teen, wrapping her arms around her while ruffling her hair.
"No, wait, no," Dani said while laughing, trying to escape.
Emily's smile widens as she hears her laugh. She loves hearing her kid laughing because that means she is happy and filled with joy.
The one thing that Emily always wants the teen to be.
To be beaming with joy.
