"If you sign here..." Cheryl pointed at one of the many dotted lines Emily needed to write on from the papers they drew up, after their talk yesterday. "...and then the last signature here, and then she's in your custody until the trial. She has to be willing to live with you with less than 3 strikes on her record, when the trial goes to court, but she seems eager to now so keep it that way, please."
"Trust me, I will try." Emily handed the papers back to the woman in front of her and made a bee-line for Leila's room, Cheryl not far behind.
"Knock, knock, you ready to go?"
"Yep! The police said they found my bag?"
"Yeah, JJ has it. We have to stay in the city for another day for Hotch, but then we can head home."
"Won't it be a long drive?" Leila asked.
"We have a jet." Emily was smiling at Leila's face as it lit up at these words.
"Like a real jet? I've never flown before, none of my foster families let me go on vacations with them. Is it scary? Is there turbulence? Will we crash? Oh, my God what if we crash?!"
"Hey, calm down. In the 5 years I've been with the BAU, they've never crashed. It's safe. You can sit with JJ and I."
"Okay." Leila finished packing her last items, as Emily and Cheryl stood waiting for her. "Hey, thanks for having me. No one ever volunteers to take me in, it means a lot."
Emily smiled. "You deserve better."
"If it really comes down to it, and I'm super annoying, you can always return me." The 9 year old teased.
"No can do, little miss. You're stuck with me." Leila walked over to Emily, and put her little arms around the taller brunette's waist. Emily accepted it, she felt as if she was protecting yet another life, even if it's just for a little while. The little brunette walked in between the two adults as they made their way out of the paediatric ward, towards Hotch's room. As soon as they arrived, Emily noticed the team stood in Hotch's room, and stopped. "Ok..." Emily crouched to meet the girl's eyes. "...I have a big team, and they're like my family. I talked to them about you yesterday, and they're excited to meet you, but if you get overwhelmed or anything, just get JJ or I, and we can head to the hotel early."
"I'll be okay, you told me about them all and they seem nice!"
"Okay, you sure?" Emily wanted to make sure they weren't going too fast. The younger brunette just nodded and smiled. "Okay." Emily stood back up, and started towards Hotch's door.
All eyes turned on them as they walked in, and nerves shot through Leila's body. She liked meeting new people - she did it enough with foster families - but knowing all these people work with Emily and sometimes have her life in their hands, she needed to trust them as much as Emily does, but trust is earned not given out for free.
Emily was the first to speak. "Hey, guys."
"Leila!" Hotch spoke from the hospital bed he sat in. "How are you feeling?"
"Good, but what about you? I'm not the one in the hospital bed..."
"Ouch, no need." Hotch clutched his chest jokingly, again.
"So this is Leila..." Morgan said, as he walked over and crouched in front of the small girl. "I'm Derek Morgan." He put his hand out.
Leila wanted to trust these people, they all seemed friendly, and Emily told her they were nice. "So you're chocolate thunder." She shook the hand, a smile creeping on her face.
"Ooh someone's been talking about me." He looked up at Emily.
"Yeah, she talks a lot." Leila's comment earned a chuckle from the entire team, and a fake pained look from Emily.
"Oh, sassy. I like her." Derek said, standing up once again.
"Yeah, I like me too." Leila commented. "So, you're Derek, I already know Hotch and JJ, and obviously Emily." She pointed at all the people she mentioned. "The one with a goatee is definitely Rossi." The girl walked forward reaching out for a handshake from the older man which he happily accepted. "And Reid." She pointed at the genius holding a book. "Oh, I've read that book!"
"Yeah?" Reid looked up from his book with a gleaming smile on his face. "I've read it before and normally don't re-read books but I liked it a lot! What's your favourite chapter?"
"Chapter 3, it's the one I would always get to before falling asleep at night until I stayed up the whole night to read the whole book."
"Dedication. That's the longest chapter!"
"Yeah!"
"I have more book recommendations if you want!"
"I've read most books in every library but definitely!"
"I'll make a list!"
The entire team was smiling at the interactions. Reid found someone who cares for books as much as he does, and Morgan found a new sarcastic partner in crime to tease everyone with. Maybe she would be ok in Virginia. They spent the rest of visiting hours talking and laughing with Hotch, after getting lectured by the 9 year old about the importance of vests. After a while, Cheryl lesson and people started to scatter back to the hotel, until it was just Emily, Hotch and a now asleep Leila, sat on Emily's lap, arms wrapped around her neck.
"It looks good on you." Hotch said, whispering to avoid waking the child.
"What?" she rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Less than three hours sleep and not showering? Yeah, I look really good."
"No, motherhood."
"I'm not a mother. I would be a terrible mom. You know how my mother was, she wasn't exactly the 'nurturing' type."
"Doesn't mean you aren't. I mean, look at you Em. You've not left that girl's side in the past two days, because you care. She trusts you so much, and you know how much Jack loves you. It's not like you hate kids."
She took a long pause before replying. "I've always wanted kids, and Declan was the closest I got to that. I see JJ with Henry, and you with Jack and I can't imagine how difficult it is to leave them for cases. I would hate for her to trust me, and then I one day just vanish because of something from a case."
"It's hard, but coming home and seeing them is the most rewarding thing after a hard case."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that and knowing you saved them from yet another criminal in the world."
"She deserves better, you know? Bouncing from foster homes isn't how a 9 year old should be spending her childhood, and if I can be the reason she feels some sort of stability in her life, I want to be." She looked down at the girl whose head was leaning in the crook on her neck. "I really want to be."
"Do you think you'll adopt her?"
"I mean, does it seem like a good idea?"
"I can't tell you what to do, Em. It's your choice."
"You need to voice your opinion, Aaron. You aren't just my unit chief anymore."
"I know."
"Do you?"
"Yes. I just don't want to make a decision for you or anything, and then something between us happens. It would affect her. A child changes a lot of things."
"I know." She sighed, and looked back down at the sleeping beauty in her arms. She was grateful for meeting and possibly saving Leila from an unstable lifestyle, but she really wasn't looking forward to saying the words she was thinking. "Do you think we rushed into this? Everything has been really fast, and I wouldn't want to tie you down with a kid this soon. Are we better off as friends for now? Until everything's settled with her, at least?"
"It would take pressure off, Em."
"This isn't either one of us hurting each other, this is mutual, right?"
"It's mutual."
'It's mutual.' She repeated his words over and over in her head, regretting the whole conversation but it was best for her to focus on Leila then Aaron right now. Priorities. "I'm going to head to the hotel, we are leaving pretty early tomorrow and I don't want to be tired."
"Ok, sleep well."
She got up, careful to not wake up the sleeping child, and headed towards the door. "Goodnight, Aaron." With that she left, darting towards the elevator. With each ding, she heard Leila stir awake more and more, until when they reached the parking lot and Emily felt the small child yawn herself awake. "Hey, go back to sleep. We're heading to the hotel now."
"I'm kind of hungry, would we be able to get something to eat?" She asked, quietly.
"Yeah, of course." Emily put the kid in the backseat with her bag. She was shockingly light to Emily when she first held her. When they first met, the mousy brunette was curled up in a ball in a corner of a storage unit, covered in bruises and small cuts. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Emily got a full view of the child. She couldn't have been more than 4"1, and weighed less than average from what the doctor told Emily after the initial exam. That's what running away and living on the street for days without food does to a growing girl, especially one that runs often. She was given a fresh pair of clothes, the ability to shower and food, but wouldn't talk to anyone other than Emily for the first few hours. She felt like if she said the wrong words, or did the wrong thing, the agents would leave, but no - not Emily.
"I know I said it already, but thank you for caring about me, Emily." The 9 year old slurred out as she began falling back into her deep sleep. Emily just smiled and started the car, preparing to drive to the closest 24 hour fast food chain.
It wasn't until the girls were back at the hotel that Leila woke up again, this time on the cloud-like queen sized bed. She could hear the shower running, but Emily was nowhere in sight, so she put two and two together. After about 5 minutes of falling in and out of sleep, she heard the bathroom door unlock, and noticed Emily's figure coming out.
"Hey, you're awake. Did the shower wake you?"
"No, I- I don't think so."
"I got you some food, but you were asleep when we got there but it's on the table if you are still hungry."
"Thank you."
"Yeah, it's not too late so if you want a shower you can have one."
"Are you saying I smell, how rude!" Leila joked. "Did they kick us out of Aaron's room?" She asked, rubbing her eyes as they still adjusted to the light.
"Uh, it was getting close to it so I left." Emily looked down at the floor.
"I'm no profiler, but I can tell when someone is hiding something. Spill please."
"It's nothing." Emily looked up at the unimpressed face in front of her, and knew she couldn't ever lie to this girl. "Ok, we broke up. But, it was mutual!"
"What? Why?!"
"It was only new, and-"
"It was my fault, right?"
"No, no not at all. He has Jack, his son, and I didn't want to force him into a relationship right now. You're my primary focus at the moment, and his is Jack. It's not your fault at all." Emily sat down on the bed next to her.
"Yeah, but I was part of the reason." Leila started playing with the hem of her shirt, pulling threads.
"Hey, you aren't to blame. No one is. It was a mutual decision but the door isn't closed okay. We talked about it. It was all very rushed, and we both needed to figure things out."
"Are you going to send me back too?" Tears started to form in Leila's eyes.
"Absolutely not!" As soon as Emily said that, floods of tears hit the comforter beneath them, resulting in her pulling the child in for a hug. She sobbed in Emily's arms, as Emily's heart shattered within her chest. It was unbelievable how a 9 year old could be so untrusting. Her perception of life has been shattered so many times, it's uncountable. No child should be exploited for money in the foster system, and it's clear that's all the families used Leila for.
As Emily felt the child's breathing start to steady out again, she pulled away slowly, meeting the smaller brunette's sage eyes. "We are leaving quite early tomorrow so you're going to want to shower and eat so you can sleep. Go on. The earlier you sleep, the quicker we will meet Penelope, the one I told you about yesterday. I've made everyone keep quiet about you so far, so it can be a surprise. She's going to love having a little girl in the BAU, all the other kids are boys so go on!"
"Ok, ok!"
The rest of the night was spent peacefully. After Leila ate, she showered quickly, relaxing as she felt the warm water hit her skin. Her bruises and cuts still hurt, but she knew how to treat them so they would leave minimal scarring. Years of foster carers abuse taught her well. Then the two brunettes watched episodes of Gilmore Girls, until Emily felt Leila's breath even out into a deep sleep. Oh, how she wished she could do the same.
After Leila fell asleep, Emily began contemplating her choices made with Aaron. Should they have even slept together in the first place? Was she rushing into something with him? How would Leila change the dynamic between them? She spent hours wide awake, replaying her and Hotch's conversation in the car, their first day in New York - "...I don't think a lot could break us up.". Overthinking at it's finest.