Saving Talia

Prologue Part 4

A/N: Here it is, Lauren/Doyle arc in one chapter and then some! Happy reading <3

September 16, 2009
Emily receives a desperate call. She tells her husband and children that she'll be home after dinner because she's meeting an old friend.

It's Sean McAllister, and he is shaken to the core. He wishes he didn't have to reveal this awful news. When he tells Emily, he watches her face become pale and her body drop. Ian Doyle has escaped and he is nowhere to be found which means they're all in danger but she's going to die; that's a fact. 

Emily doesn't go home that night. It's too dangerous especially if she's being followed. Instead, she goes back to her old apartment which was now vacant. She doesn't sleep a blink, only sits in a chair facing the door with a gun attached to her hips and ankles ready for what's coming.

September 17, 2009
That morning, she enters the meeting room late receiving stares from her team but she doesn't care. It's Aaron she's worried about. She didn't leave him much of an explanation as to why she couldn't come home all of a sudden.

He rushes in, worry written all over his face as he sits down. Emily comes to join him at the table, noticing his piercing gaze on her.

There isn't time for them to talk, time is ticking and they all need to be in LA. Both of them are trying to act as normal as possible like they didn't just sleep in separate houses last night. Emily keeps her eyes on him and notes the way he tries to avoid her, focusing only on the case.

There is a short moment when she finally catches him, putting a hand on his shoulder so he can turn around to face her. He's neutral. That's his tell. Her face is pained, she knows the thoughts and questions running through his mind "How are you?" She asks him. It's stupid but she asks him anyway.

"How am I?" He repeats after her "My wife didn't come home last night without even giving me a reason. How do you think?" His voice is quiet and it takes him everything not to raise his voice.

"I'm so sorry" She apologizes, running her hands down his upper arms. 

"Where were you?" Aaron asks, brows furrowed.

"I was-" She can't even begin "I was at my old apartment"

"Why?"

Emily can't answer. She lowers her body, her eyes shifting side to side, and there's a lump in her throat she needs to swallow.

"I- I-" she stutters "Aaron, I wish I could tell you" Tears are swelling in her eyes. She wishes she could tell him the truth, he's her husband and it pains her that she can't tell him the one thing she wishes she could.

His face is confused, he's trying to piece puzzles together, trying to connect dots, backtracking on recent events to see if something had happened and he missed it. He wonders if he did anything wrong.

He shakes his head in disbelief "Emily, I'm your husband" He reminds her, not that she needed any. But it was a reminder of what they had promised to one another, that they vowed to carry each other's burdens because they were supposed to be a team and whatever baggage she was carrying also now belonged to him.

Her legs shake, this is breaking her heart "I can't." she tells him and walks away.

That same night, Emily returns to her old apartment. She talks to her children on the phone and apologizes for not being there to tuck them into bed. When Talia asks her where she is, Emily tells her she's at their old house to fix it up, and when Jack asks her if she's returning home there's a long pause...

"I'll be back sweetheart," Emily thinks this is the first time she's lied to Jack.

September 20, 2009
She's first in the meeting room, on the phone with Tsia when Reid catches on a portion of their conversation. When the rest of the team walks in, Emily focuses her gaze on Hotch. They haven't talked in days, he hasn't reached out and surprisingly, she's thankful for that.