When The World Ends

Chapter 22: Where She's Going

I couldn't sleep; I just kept crying. I wanted Spencer – my husband – there to comfort me, but it was his fault I was in this state.

"I was following orders." Really? That was his excuse?

I only looked up when my phone buzzed. I looked over to see a picture of Garcia on the screen.

I picked up. "Hey, Penelope."

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know either," she sounded almost as upset as I was. "I tore Spencer a new one to match the one you gave him."

I laughed a little at that. "It won't be the sorest he's been."

"I'm sure," I could tell she'd been crying too. "Hey, do you remember that game of never have I ever we played at the bar?"

"Yeah," that felt like a lifetime ago. "When I kissed you."

She hummed. "Yeah, that time. There was one thing I didn't explain... You said never have I ever faked someone's death and I put a finger down."

"You refused to tell me why," I remembered.

"It was an ex-girlfriend-turned-best-friend of mine. She dated this... utter shithead of a guy. Totally obsessive stalker. She changed her name and number a million times, and he kept finding her. No idea how." Penelope sighed. "He always said that he'd be with her until she died, so..."

"She did." I finished.

"Yep. Full Emily Prentiss situation: I sent her abroad with new papers and a new identity. We check in once or twice a year, no more. She has a husband and kids now, a whole life."

I stayed silent.

"A few months later, this dirtbag shows up at my place with a gun. Says he knows she's alive, demands I tell him where she is. I looked him in the eyes with a gun to my head and told him that she was really, truly dead. He believed me." Her voice trembled at the memory. "I guess he suspected, was trying to get proof, but I stood my ground. Still do. Other than on a random day in August, she's dead."

I could tell she still had more to say.

"A year or so after I joined the team, we were working this case. A bunch of deaths in Wisconsin, the city where she used to live before we faked her death. Unknown to us, her 'death' had a similar MO to the case. We were desperate, trying to find anything, and Hotch asked me to look into her death. I had to pretend I didn't know anything. I lied to my boss for the sake of my friend, I have to believe it was right."

"That's a pretty convincing way to tell me that I shouldn't be mad at the team," I chuckled.

I could hear the smile in her voice. "Sometimes you don't know the entire story is all. They're trying to protect you, like I was trying to protect my friend, and sometimes that goes sideways or means making difficult choices. Sometimes that means lying."

I sighed. "I should talk to Spencer, shouldn't I?"

"Probably. You did promise to stay with him through thick and thin and all that."

"Okay. Good night, Penelope," I smiled a little.

"Sleep well, and don't forget to breathe." She teased. "Garcia, over and out."

I put my phone to the side and stood, taking a few deep breaths before walking to the door, unlocking it to see the team sitting in a circle, talking quietly. They fell silent when my door opened.

"Spence," I said, voice scratchy.

He stood and walked towards me. I could see that he had been crying; his eyes were red and puffy. I stood back to allow him to enter the room, then closed it.