Conflicted (Flip Zimmerman)

55. Epilogue

*A/N: the official last chapter to this fix, if y'all have been reading since the beginning I wanna thank you for your love and support I wouldn't have continued if it wasn't for you❤️ once more the aesthetic for the epilogue is pictured above.
-Ren <3*

"Whose turn is it?" Emily asked, holding her cards close to her. She nervously looked at everyone.

"I think it's Reid's." You pointed to the genius.

"No, you skipped me after I had to pick five more cards." Reid whined, clearly acting like a sore loser. "Frankly I don't understand the game of UNO."

"That's a first." Your dad spoke from the other end of the jet, his nose deep into a newspaper. Everyone at the table laughed.

"What happened to..' I grew up in Vegas, I know how to gamble'." Luke teased him.

"This isn't gamble, it's a childish game. Let's play poker or something more strategic," Reid protested.

"Quit your whining." You jabbed at him. "We would've played poker or crazy eights but we don't have a normal deck." You held up your hand. "Thank you JJ for supplying the UNO cards."

"Thank Henry, he packed them in my go bag." JJ smiled at the thought of her son. "Oh I think it's Emily's turn." She looked in her direction.

The four hour flight went by fast with the amount of rounds the team played of UNO. Reid gave up after the second. He made a mental note to add a deck to his go bag. You threw in your cards by the fifth game, your eyes beginning to feel heavy. You curled up in the corner to take a nap. You looked at your team, smiling at how lucky you were. It almost felt unreal, as if you were in a dream and you'd wake up any moment. You were back with your team, you were leading your team to be exact, something you never thought would happen.

Over the past few months the team went through some changes. Gideon left long before you were back on the field, leaving your dad and Hotchner in charge. But it wasn't long before Hotchner left. It started as a leave of absence then it turned to his resignation on your dad's desk. Hotchner made the choice to pick his family over the job. He needed to protect his son and wife and you respected that, even if it meant no more contact with him. They were under witness protection and you couldn't break protocol. Strauss assigned you to become interim unit chief while she observed from afar. You didn't think she'd pick you for the position. You had assumed that she'd hire external personnel.

Nick went back to Quantico to teach recruits. Derek stayed at Quantico too for his girlfriend and his unborn child. They made the choice for themselves and you had the utmost respect for them both, even if you were going to miss them on the team. With so many agents leaving that forced you to fill the spots. Luke officially transferred out of his unit and into yours. He was still a stubborn hot head but he was slowly getting a hang of it. Reid didn't hesitate coming back. Alex, JJ, Emily and Tara made all the changes easier to handle. You were worried about not being enough for your team but in every case they proved you wrong.

"So what's everyone's plan for this weekend?" Tara asked as you walked out of the elevators and into the corridor of the floor.

"Nothing but relaxation for me this weekend." Luke sighed happily. "So please try not to need me." He walked ahead.

"I have tickets for the butterfly exhibition, Autumn has been dying to go." Reid began to spit out facts on different insects. Normally you'd all roll your eyes as you listened but it was sweet that he showed as much interest as his daughter.

"Weekend with Sergio." Emily smiled at everyone. The guys raised their brows as JJ and I laughed, knowing that Sergio was a cat and not an actual man as they believed.