[𝟏] 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 - 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴

𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊

"Now?" I asked.

She nodded and pulled me into her. We just swayed with the wind in our hair.

"You have to promise me something, Lia." She spoke.

"Anything."

"Live your life. There's a world to see. And I want nothing more than to see it with you." She spoke.

I didn't want to live in this world without her.

I laid my head on her shoulder as we swayed about. "Please don't leave me." I cried.

She stopped and held my face in her hands. "Oh, don't cry, baby. I'm right here, Delia. I'm not going anywhere."

"But when I open my eyes, you'll be gone." I cried. She wiped my tears.

"I will always be here. I will be with you every step of the way. I love you, Delia. I always have and I always will." She said, a tear strolling down her cheek.

"I love you." I whispered, not trusting my voice to go any louder.

She held her pinky finger up. I clasped mine around hers. We stayed like that for a moment and cried together. When we released, she gave me one last kiss on my forehead.

~

My eyes opened and I was back in my bed.

I didn't realize how much I needed that moment. One moment of peace and happiness. Something happy to hold on to.

It was the closure I wish I had before.

—

2 MONTHS AND 2 WEEKS SINCE EMILY'S FUNERAL

Ever since that dream, I've been doing even better. I've managed to leave the house for small periods of time. I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder for Ian.

I even had lunch with JJ once. She brought Henry. I needed it.

I've even considered going back to work.

Before I could even get that thought out, there was a knock at my door. I looked through the peep hole to see Hotch and JJ. Those are the last people I expected to show up at my door. I haven't even seen Hotch since that night.

I opened the door and let out a soft smile. "Hi?" I said. I was a bit confused to see them here. Especially unannounced.

"Penelope told us you were doing a lot better." Hotch said, almost like he was testing the waters.

"Yeah, I am." I said a bit uneasily.

"Can we come in?" He asked.

"Right." I said and moved out of the way, letting them walk in. JJ immediately went to pet Sergio's head. "So, what brings you here?"

"We need to talk." Hotch said, calmly. What's going on?

"About?"

"It's about Emily."

"Hotch, I've been doing a lot better. I don't want to set myself back-"

"You're going to want to hear this." He paused. "You might want to sit down for this."

I don't like this.

"What's going on?" I asked, a bit panicked.

JJ then handed me a neatly folded paper.

"What is this?"

"Just read it." She urged. I took a deep breath and opened it. I don't think anything could have prepared me for this moment.