The Hunting Hour - A Criminal Minds Fiction

Chapter 41: All She Wanted

Derek, Emily and Penelope were talking in the living room still, when suddenly they heard a door opening and Isabella ran to them.
Instead of going straight to Morgan's arms like she usually did, she ran to Emily.
And she just sobbed.

Emily wrapped her arms around her and held her in her lap as Bella sobbed.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, baby" Emily said as her eyes filled up.

"Mommy I don't hate you. I love you. Please..." She said unable to finish. "Please don't leave me again" she cried.

"No baby. No. I'm not going anywhere" Emily said slightly rocking the child. Garcia and Derek just watched.
"And I know you love me. I know. It's okay" Emily said and Bella just kept crying.

Suddenly Emily asked "Bella, are you mad at me?"

Isabella just kept crying.

"It's okay, you can tell me." Emily said. "Are you mad?"

"Yeah" Bella cried.

"It's okay to be" Emily said. "It's okay to be but I need you to know that I love you. That mommy loves you so so so much. And that I never stopped loving you. All I did was to make sure we would both be safe. We would both be okay" she said. "Do you understand that?"

Bella just cried.

"Baby sit up" Emily said and Bella sat up. "Look at me" she said and Isabella did what she was told. "Do you understand?" Emily asked again.

Bella just stared. The truth was that she didn't know for sure if she understood. She was confused and she had so many questions. Derek saw she wasn't going to answer Emily's question and he also knew she was confused because even he was.
"Bella" he said walking to them and kneeing down in front of Bella. He needed to explain to her that Emily really didn't have a choice. He understood that now and he needed her to understand that. He knew that the only way Bella could have a chance of forgiving Emily was if she could understand that.

"She explained things to us and she really did not have a choice" he said and Bella looked away. "Honey she didn't" he said and Bella stared at him. She trusted him more than anyone. She knew he wouldn't lie to her. Derek looked at Emily and she started to explain.

"I was hurt really bad. The doctor saved me but I was in something called a coma. Do you know what that is?" Emily said.

"When you can't wake up?" Bella asked still crying but the sobbing had stopped.

"Yeah" Emily said tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. "I was like that for a while and when I woke up Hotch... Hotch had made sure Doyle would never find me again" she said.

"But couldn't you just come back?" Bella asked.

"I was very sick still and I couldn't leave the hospital, baby. I wanted to talk to you but I couldn't." Emily said.

"Bella, remember that medicine they gave you so you could sleep while they took care of you?" Derek asked and she nodded yes. "They were giving her that too so she would calm down"

"They sedated you?" Bella asked.

"Yes" Emily said wiping her own tears. "I talked to JJ and she explained to me everything that happened and I knew you were hurt. Your back... and I'm..." Emily said unable to finish as those memories of Bella being tortured filled her mind.
She took a deep breath and kept going "I was mad at them, I was mad at Hotch for his decision but when I stopped to think about It I knew you would be safer here. And as much as that hurt me I knew it was your best chance. And I owned you that. Everything we'd been through with your dad and your brother..." She said. "I owned you a normal life. A life you wouldn't have to run away all the time like I had to"