A Second Chance

The Heartbreaking Truth

A few weeks passed and Sophia was out of the hospital and slowly recovering. JJ kept her home from school and the team went over frequently to visit. Emily decided to extend her stay in the states.
Since her secret was out, she avoided the team as much as possible and decided to lay low for the time being.
Exactly two weeks after the accident, Sophia started going back to school. When Sophia went back to her normal routine, Emily figured it was time for her to leave.

Prentiss knew it was a bad idea, but she didn't tell anyone she was leaving until the day before her flight. So, the night before her early morning flight, Emily went to speak with JJ and told her about going back to London.
"You're leaving?!" JJ asked.
"It's time," Emily told her.
The two were at JJ's house drinking and chatting.
"How can you not tell her?" JJ questioned.
"I will, when she's older. Right now, I think it's best if I go and let her have a normal life with you. JJ, I see the way she looks at you," Prentiss said.
"You can't just leave her again. Don't you think she's going to get angrier the longer you put off telling her?"
Emily just sighed and said,
"I just want to do what's best for her and I think staying with you is."
JJ nodded silently and took a sip of her drink. After a moment of silence JJ asked, "When you tell Sophia, how are you going to tell her about her father?"
Emily looked up from her mug and said seriously,
"She doesn't have one."
"Em," JJ said.
"A father is someone who is supposed to care for you, support you and love you, so no. Sophia doesn't have a father."
Prentiss hated talking about the Doyle situation and how she ended up getting Sophia.
"Biologically though, Sophia has a father. And that relationship-"
"JJ, there is not and never will be a relationship between my daughter and the man who got me pregnant. If she ever found out where she came from-"
Emily couldn't even finish her sentence. JJ felt bad for pushing her friend, but she believed Sophia deserved answers.
After taking a deep breath, Prentiss continued,
"I made her for nine months and she came out of me so she's mine, not Ian's!"
"Okay, Em. It's okay," JJ said putting her hand over her friend's.
Prentiss blinked a few times then closed her eyes for a few seconds.
After one last deep breath she abruptly got up and said,
"I need to go finish packing."
JJ let her go and decided to give the woman a break.

Once Prentiss was gone, JJ headed upstairs and went to check on Sophia. The child was fast asleep, unaware of the fact that her mother was abandoning her for the second time.

The next morning, Sophia got up and headed to school. JJ had a meeting with Henry's teacher that day, so she wouldn't be at the BAU when Sophia got there.
When Sophia got off the bus at the BAU she walked towards Garcia's lair and could hear Penelope and Morgan fighting. She was curious to hear what it was about, so she stood outside the door and listened carefully to what they were saying.
"Derek, you can't tell her," Penelope said to him.
"Penelope, she deserves to know the truth! Emily has been lying to her all her life and has let her down time after time! She's going back to London today and hasn't told her!" Morgan yelled back.
"She doesn't think she's ready yet. She's doing what's best for Sophia," Penelope said.
Right when the girl heard her name, she got even more interested.
"No, she's not. She's doing what she does best and she's running away from her problems. Sophia is one of the best kids I know and knowing that Emily screwed up her life more than once-"
"No, you don't get it. Emily is trying to protect Sophia-" Garcia tried to explain.
"Since when are you on her side?" Morgan asked.
"You should cut her some slack, she's been through a lot and-"
"No matter what she's been through, no excuse is good enough for abandoning your child," Derek said a little more calmly.
Sophia gasped.
Did she hear him correctly? Was he saying that Emily was somehow connected to her?
"A mother is supposed to protect and love her child unconditionally. She isn't supposed to drop her kid off at a park when it gets hard. That's not how parenting works," he added.
That silenced Penelope.
Sophia was on the verge of tears but held it in because she wasn't one hundred percent sure she was hearing it all correctly. Was Derek saying Emily was her biological mother? And if so, why has everyone been lying to her?
She stumbled backwards away from the door and needed to take a breath.She knew the one person she could get answers out of to confirm her theory.
Sophia quickly wiped her eyes dry and then ran towards Hotch's off, almost bumping into Reid on the way.
"Woah, watch out there," the genius joked. The child ignored him and continued on.