Everything Happens for a Reason

The First Twenty Four

"What?!" Emily screamed.
"We don't know if he took her yet-"
Aaron tried to say.
"Yes we do," Emily told him hopelessly.
"My daughter is missing and some psycho serial killer that hates her guts, has her," Emily said in such a scared voice that no one recognized. Prentiss closed her eyes for a second. Before she opened them, she felt someone pull her into a hug. Aaron wrapped his arms around her and she tucked her head into his shoulder.
"We have to find her," Emily cried.
"I know, and we will," Aaron told her.
"You know how the first twenty four hours of a kidnapping are crucial. We need to work fast and diligently if we're going to get her back soon," Hotch said seriously. Emily nodded and let go of the man. She sniffled and wiped her eyes dry.

Aaron led her and the rest of their team up to the round table room, where Garcia was setting up. Once everyone was seated, Penelope pulled the footage up from the end of the school day.
It showed Juliet sitting on the bench in her usual spot waiting for Emily. Every now and then, she'd check her phone to see if her mother said anything. Then, she texted Prentiss asking where she was. Penelope fast forwarded until they saw a man enter the picture. It was William. Juliet instantly reached for her phone, but he said something to her and the child put her phone away and followed him out of the picture willingly.
"That doesn't make any sense, why would she go with him?" Emily demanded to know.
"Maybe he offered her something?" Garcia said.
"No, Juliet's smarter than that," Morgan told her.
"What could Billy possibly say to make Juliet go with him?" Rossi asked everyone.
"There's only one thing Juliet loves more than anything. One thing she'd drop anything and everything for," Hotch stated.
"Emily," Reid finished his sentence and looked to the brunette.
"What?" Prentiss asked.
"Billy could've said that he had you and was going to kill you if she didn't go with him," Aaron said to everyone.
"This is all my fault," Emily said and leaned her head on her hand.
"No it's not, you didn't know what was going to happen," JJ told her friend.
"I didn't pick my daughter up on time. I was late, and she was kidnapped because I wasn't there," Emily stated.
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is. We have twenty four hours to bring her back or who knows what'll happen," Reid said, and everyone agreed.

Aaron sent out a bunch of agents to search the areas of and around the school. Juliet left with Billy only about an hour or so ago, and Reid was trying to figure out how far they could've gotten. Once he did, Aaron sent men out all over. The problem was, no one knew what kind of vehicle they were looking for. In the mist of of all the chaos, Emily didn't have the chance to stop and think about the possible outcomes. She was too stressed to think of what her little girl could be experiencing at the moment.
"Hey," JJ said quietly as she walked into the room Prentiss was in.
Emily was looking over files and trying to learn as much about William as she could. She thought that if she could figure out where he was planning to take Juliet, then everything would be okay.
"Hi," Emily replied softly.
"How are you doing?" JJ asked.
Emily looked up and gave her friend a sad look.
"How would you feel?" Emily asked in response.
JJ nodded and sat down.
"What's on your mind?" the blonde wondered.
"You really don't want to know," Emily replied.
"I really do," JJ said and put a hand on her friends arm for support.
"This morning when I dropped Juliet off at school, I didn't tell her I loved her like I did every other day. I was rushing so I must've forgotten-" Emily was starting to tear up.
"Hey, Juliet knows you love her more than anything. Just because you forgot to say it out loud one day doesn't mean she doesn't know it," JJ said softly.
"What if we don't get to her in time?" Prentiss wanted to know.
"Don't even think of it like that. We're going to find her," JJ assured her friend.
"But what if we don't?" Emily asked persistently.
"Oh sweetie, don't think like that," Garcia said as she walked in.
"I just can't help but wonder how different everything could've been if I were on time," Emily said and lowered her head in her hands.
She felt someone's hand on her back. It wasn't Garcia's or JJ's.
It was Aaron's.
Emily lifted her head up, and once she saw Hotch's face, she nearly broke.
Prentiss stood up and went to Aaron for a hug. He willingly took her in and held her close as she cried.
"Shhhh, it's okay, Em. We're going to find her," Aaron promised.
"Aaron, she's my daughter," Emily cried as she crumbled in his arms.
"I know, I know. I feel the same way," Hotch said softly as he rubbed Emily's back. "She's the daughter I never had," Hotch said with a soft chuckle and his smile turned to a frown real quick once he realized how much danger she was in.
"We're going to find her," Aaron said again. Although he didn't know if he was saying it to convince Emily, or himself. JJ and Garcia watched as the two comforted each other and how comfortable they were being in each others arms.
JJ shot Penelope a look and they both slowly backed out of the room to give Emily and Hotch some alone time.

Prentiss was the one to pull away, and when she did, Aaron could see how sad her puffy red eyes were from crying and how broken she looked. Emily thought she saw a little redness in Aaron's as well, but decided to just let him be.
"Thank you," Emily whispered as she sniffled and went to wipe another tear. However right as she wiped it, another fell, but this time, Aaron was the one to clear it from the woman's face.
"No matter what happens, I'll be here for you," Hotch replied and gave Emily a warm smile, which she kindly returned.
"You and I both know that Juliet is a strong girl and she can endure almost anything," Hotch said.
"Yeah, only almost. She's just a kid," Prentiss reminded him.
"But she's your kid," Aaron said seriously. "She's a Prentiss."
"I just want her to be with me and not with that man. I want to go home and lay with her on the couch and just have everything be okay!" Emily stammered.
Hotch nodded and understood.
He wanted nothing more than for Juliet to be home safely as well.

By the end of that day, there was absolutely no progress in tracking Billy and Juliet down. There were no witnesses and no one knew who Billy's contact was from prison. He simply escaped and kidnapped a little girl then fled. William left absolutely no clues.

The clock read four am and the team was still all working hard on trying to find Juliet. There was still no sign of where the two could be, and Emily just kept getting even worse as the seconds ticked by.