HEYYYYYYY EVERYONE!

Wow okay, it's been a hot YEAR. I'm so sorry, I know I'm terrible, y'all are like "EXCUSE ME ITS BEEN TOO DAMN LONG CAN YOU POST THE STORY ALREADY! WE'RE WAITING WE'VE BEEN WAITING LET'S GO LADY!" and I'm here to say "I'M HERE AND THE CHAPTER'S HERE AND STOP YELLING AT ME"

Also Hi! I've missed you all (as you can tell by my expressive message) and I just have to say there are a WHOLE lot of you now! I can't believe how big this story is gotten, I'm always so grateful for each of you to STILL be having this story as a favourite or as a follow!

AND TO MY REVIEWERS! HOW COULD I FORGET YOU? fishtrek, Anarchist's Lullaby, asiastana, .2019, River, Momochan77 (WOW MOMO YOU STILL REVIEW? OMG! 3), gossamermouse101, AuthorA97, cl9763, AlwayzWriting, Guest, SakiHanajima1, WickedlyMinx, Guest, guest, Truth and Chaos, and I-am-sarah123, thank you so truly for taking a moment to leave your thoughts. Reviews always help shape me to get where I need to be, so thank you, so much.

OKAY NO MORE TIME TO WASTE: LET'S GO!

Disclaimer: I own nothing BUT THIS STORY

***TRIGGER WARNING FOR DISTRESSING THEMES***

"Why do you call her 'Lou'?"

Caroline wasn't expecting JJ to speak.

Hell, Caroline wasn't expecting anyone to speak.

Not in the state they were in.

Everyone was eerily quiet on the plan. After going through the plan to bring Lou back, the entire team dispersed into their own area, going over case files and maps and other things that made Caroline's head spin. She didn't know why she came along. Although Caroline wasn't afraid of a lot of things, she was never one to be the adventurer. That was all Lou, as she was the one who wanted to walk into abandoned warehouses and locked-up parks, but Heaven forbid that she walk into a room full of people and hold a conversation. Miss Adventure herself was hyper-focused when it came to 'uncovering the truth' or 'going where no one ever dares to'. The redhead had heard it all when it came to the wild child that was Lou. To Caroline, being on that plane with all those FBI agents with big scary guns, made her realize she was the last person to ever want to go on a top-secret mission to rescue her best friend.

But it was her best friend, and she would do anything for her Rocky.

"Sorry, JJ?" Caroline sat up, adjusting herself enough to see where everyone else was. Morgan and Reid where at the front of the plane on the right, with Rossi and Hotch on the left. Garcia was in the corner in the back, taking a quick nap (Dexter managed to find a comfortable spot by her feet). JJ and Caroline were sitting in front of each other, the only ones attempting to speak.

"I've been meaning to ask this ever since I've met Lou, and I thought, well now's better than ever."

"Like," Caroline tried understanding. "You want to know why we call her Lou instead of Elena?"

"Exactly. I could be wrong, but it seems to have a deeper meaning, considering she doesn't really like her first name."

Linnie realized very quickly that these FBI agents were a lot smarter than they let on.

"Well, Toni told me, years ago, how growing up Lou was obsessed with her grandmother, and I mean, I saw it with my own eyes. It was to the point where Lou wanted the big pearl earrings and floppy hat to match. When Lucille, Lou's grandmother, was alive, they always said she had a youthful heart, no matter what age she was at. Obviously, that reminds you of someone we know," JJ managed to give a small smile, "after Lou was born, Lucille could almost worship Lou. And then, of course, Lou started to show personality, and well, her grandma was completely overjoyed that her granddaughter was exactly like her. They were inseparable for years. To this day, Lucille's her favourite person, no contest.I think ever since Lou could walk, she wanted to be like her grandmother."

"They were two peas in a pod, huh?"

"More like two goons in the back of a police car, but yeah."

Jennifer did laugh that time.

"I'm assuming her grandmother's name was Lou as well?" She waited for Caroline's nod. "How did you and her parents manage to distinguish between the two of them?"

"Everyone referred to them as 'Big Lou' and 'Little Lou' until her grandma passed."

Caroline watched Derek's head shoot up at the sound of her voice. She didn't understand why this look of shock came across Derek's face, or why he looked like he got an answer to a question he hadn't known he needed to ask. JJ turned to follow Caroline's line of sight. When she found Derek, however, she put the pieces together. Jennifer not only understood why Lou preferred to be called Lou, but she now understood why Lou was so hesitant for Derek to give her that nickname. While it was an attempt to mock her height, the team realized why it took Lou a long time to come to terms with Morgan using her grandmother's nickname for her.

JJ followed up with another question. "Does she hate the name Elena?"

The woman across from Jennifer shrugged. "She's just never loved it the same way. It doesn't have a meaning behind it."

Caroline stopped herself, thinking for a moment before speaking.

"Well, it used to not have a meaning. Not until Doc started using it." Caroline smirked at Spencer's head shooting up as well, a ghost of a smile on his face. "To be honest, now that Doc's been calling her Elena, she might get us to change her nickname."

"On top of the million she already has?"

They knew that this conversation had been light-hearted, but they were attempting to distract themselves, and everyone, even if it was just for a moment. While it was odd that they were talking about Lou, it seemed to have a bubble around the conversation, not allowing to go any deeper than surface level.

Caroline squinted. "Don't tell me you guys gave her more nicknames."

"I haven't so far," JJ was faking being indignant. "But I do know you have one for her."

"Hey, we're Rocky and Bullwinkle. You can't take that away from us."

Caroline nodded towards the blonde. "Truly no nicknames, JJ?"

She shook her head. "No. But my son affectionately calls her 'Lulu'."

The redhead gave a small pout before holding her hands over her heart, the new nickname finding a place beneath her palms. "That's so cute. I'm sure he's obsessed with her."

"He is," JJ nodded.

A soft silence came over the group, and before any one of them could speak, they were interrupted by a voice from the back.

"Lucy Lou," Garcia's tone had been soft, most likely tired from crying. "I call her Lucy Lou. She reminds me of Cindy Lou from the Grinch. I thought it fit perfectly."

Derek had followed her right after. "I call her Little Lou."

Caroline finally understood Derek's look previously.

"I know it's not technically a nickname," Rossi chided in, "but she does know she has the title of 'Personal Editor' on every one of my future novels."

"It counts," Caroline confirmed for Dave, to which the author nodded politely back.

Hotch, who was still lost in his repose, spoke without professionalism for the first time that whole trip.

"Jack calls her Batman."

The smile that came across the entire team's face was priceless.

"Really?" JJ asked, to which Derek shook his head in disbelief.

"No way, Hotch." Morgan threw out there. Aaron put his hands up in defence.

"I don't know if it's an official nickname, but after Jack and Lou were playing 'Who Would You Be As A Superhero', it just stuck."

Taking a moment to laugh, everyone enjoyed having the mood lightened by Lou, who hadn't even been there. While everyone took a moment to laugh, there was one individual among the group who hadn't spoken a word, not until that moment.

"Ellie," Spencer whispered, noticing how everyone's eyes fell to him.

"Hey, Doc?" Caroline asked, calling over to Spencer.

She waited for him to look her way.

"Why do you call her Ellie?"

The Doctor looked at Linnie, who was thrown off by the question.

"Pardon?"

"Everyone I know calls her Lou, and everyone Lou knows are insisted upon that they call her Lou, something to do with her Grandmama, I'm sure. But you, somehow, not only get to call her Elena, but have created a nickname from a name she dislikes and use it on a constant basis. I'm genuinely curious as to how and why this came to be."

This was a question that every single person on that plane had been dying to ask, yet not daring to. It seemed normal for Caroline to ask such a question, since she had no filter, and no desire to begin to use one in the future. The redhead had done everyone a favour and asked the good Doctor why it was he chose a nickname originating from a name she hated. The whole team knew how hesitant Lou was when she was called one of her treasured nicknames, but they hadn't understood why Lou almost radiated warmth when she heard her Tinman say his favourite nickname for her.

Well, everyone knew why she loved the nickname. They wondered what drove Spencer's mentality in calling Lou 'Ellie'.

Spencer, however, just shrugged. He didn't seem to see the gravity of his choice of nickname.

"I wasn't introduced to Elena as 'Lou'."

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean? Did she not introduce herself?"

"No."

Spencer could feel the business card in his wallet burning a hole straight through his pants. He had just remembered the first time they met recently, and now he was going to be forced to recall it again.

He didn't know if he could handle it.

"I had asked where Professor Elena Richardson was, and she pointed to herself."

Morgan looked at Spencer, tilting his head.

"How did you meet Lou, Reid? I know it was on the Joyce Lombard case."

Spencer could feel himself grow more and more uncomfortable with recalling that specific day. He had felt every overwhelming feeling of that day only a few hours prior—he couldn't handle the wave of emotion once again, and in front of the entire team. As if on cue, Dexter came walking about, his head finding Spencer's knee. Rewarding him with grateful pets, Spencer tried his best to focus on the events of that day.

"Walking the hallways, I was looking at the room numbers when I turned to look ahead of me in time to see Elena put her hands out defensively, dropping the papers she held. I reached her to steady her. She made a joke as we were picking up her tests. That was when we made our introductions."

"And you just parted ways?" Derek asked.

Spencer smiled softly.

He remembered how Elena was about to protest his offer to walk her back to her classroom. He also remembered how he felt when he realized that in that moment, speaking to her for that short period of time, that it wasn't enough to have that small conversation alone and immediately part ways. Spencer didn't know if his actions were motivated subconsciously, but somehow, he knew he couldn't have just walked away, not when he could have bought another five minutes with her. Even before he got to know her as deeply and intimately as he did currently, he wanted more time with her, and would have done anything within his power to stay with her as long as he could.

But this time, whatever was pulling her away from him, wasn't in his power.

Which is what he was trying to change.

"I walked her back to her classroom. It's when I found out she was politely sarcastic."

The small smiles were found among everyone's face.

Going into his back pocket, he pulled out his wallet, bringing forth the business card that had Ellie's writing on the back. He gave it to Morgan, who inspected it.

"She took one look at the card, wrote her number on the back, and gave it to me. It was the first time anyone had given me back my business card."

He felt this weight on his chest grow heavier, and Spencer attempted to take a deep breath to relieve the pressure. Somehow it didn't work.

"Ellie's the first for a lot of things." He said, trying hard to hold his emotions.

Derek gave the card back to Reid.

"We're gonna find Lou before she gets to Bennett. You know that, right?"

Spencer had taken another deep and unrelaxing breath again. "We have no indication as to where Emily or Elena are. Garcia has been looking through every avenue possible. There's no trace of their driver, or any abandoned farms or warehouses having any activity. She's off the grid."

Morgan was determined to reassure his friend. "Then we find her with off the grid ways, Reid. Have faith."

"I'm not concerned about finding Elena. I know we will. I'm concerned—"

Spencer stopped, noticing how horrible he was at faking his composure. He cleared his throat.

"I'm concerned we won't find her in time."

The whole team flashed back to the moment where Spencer had lost Maeve. Maeve, who was someone he chose to love with his whole heart, without being able to truly embrace that love with her. Yet now… Now that it was Lou, who had not only found her way into Spencer's heart, but everyone else that known her and grown to love her as one of their own, it was harder to imagine her gone out of their lives.

Spencer looked out the window, seeing the clouds, the sun, the stars… the entire universe.

Hoping that it was small enough for his precious Ellie to be close to him.

"I just wish there was some way I could find her."

"We have a plan, Spence." JJ said, her eyes filled with concern.

"No, JJ," Spencer shook his head.

"I wish I had something I could hold in my hands that would lead me straight to her."

"Reid—"

Before anyone could respond to Spencer's fears, the plane hit sudden turbulence. The rumbling caused Spencer to look to Dexter, who was struggling to run to Spencer, scooped the dog up, putting Dexter between his legs. The plane jolted a bit further, and Morgan ran from his seat to go to Garcia, who had been frightened out of her wits. Paperwork was flying in the air, personal items rolling across the floor, bags attempting to escape from underneath the seats. Everyone had their seatbelts on, the captain telling everyone to hold as steady as they could.

Soon enough, the plane evened out, causing the already-tense bunch to be on even more high alert. Hotch and Rossi got up to speak to the pilot's asking more details about the turbulence and the flight plan. Morgan checked on Garcia before both of them got up to help JJ, Caroline, and Spencer pick up the items thrown askew by the turbulence. Everyone else had begin to pick up certain items: JJ was silently picking up loose paper, Reid had all of the pens, cellphones, notepads, Morgan was shoving bags into spots, and Garcia was reattaching tech.

Caroline had noticed, among all the sweaters, and shirts, and blazers, and socks (quite a lot of socks) and bunch of other clothing, that a single beige pashmina scarf was hiding underneath Linnie's backpack. Carefully taking the scarf into her hand, Caroline couldn't help but notice that the scarf within the confines of that plane was indeed the same exact scarf Lou had picked out on her own, and purchased when Linnie and her were on one of their shopping excursions. Lou was rarely one to purchase an item on their many shopping trips, so Caroline could always recall every item Lou had bought.

It confused Caroline.

Was she sure that it belonged to Lou?

Where did it come from?

What circumstance would cause Linnie to have Lou's article of clothing in her hand?

Why was Lou's scarf on the plane?

"This is Lou's scarf."

Spencer, realizing what Caroline was holding, balked at her discovery. Caroline had no clue why the scarf was on the plane, turning to find the Doc staring right back at her.

"Am I wrong?"

Spencer shook his head, which made Caroline realize that it was the Doc who brought the scarf.

"You keep it with you?" She asked, to which he nodded.

"She gives it to me, for when I'm not near her and miss her. I don't go on a trip without it."

In that moment, Caroline laughed.

No one understood why the redhead had resorted into a fit of laughter as she was holding the scarf, but Linnie enjoyed her moment of happiness before voicing her thoughts.

He had no idea why she was chuckling her head off, but Spencer waited for Caroline to speak.

"Doc, I don't know if you believe in the universe and signals and Fate and shit, but only selfless people get to ask the universe for a favour and receive it in record time. Also, this is some wicked karmic shit that is completely overloading in your favour… like, it's not even happening to me right now and this has me so excited, I'm getting a contact high."

Spencer still had no idea what Caroline meant.

"Caroline, what are you talking about?"

She smirked.

For a genius, he can be clueless.

"Did you forget that Dexter is trained in bomb-disposal?"

It was then when Spencer started putting together what Caroline had already figured out.

But she confirmed his thoughts, just to be sure.

"As in, he is trained to track down certain scents? Don't you think that there is a pretty big chance this super smart dog is going to take one whiff of this scarf and not be able to find his mama?"

Linnie held out the scarf to Spencer, who took it from her grasp.

He was at a loss for words.

"You wished for something that you could hold, that would lead you to Lou. Well, if you believe in Fate, or not, she's definitely listening to your wishes."

She gave a light tap on his shoulder.

"And let me tell you, Doc; I think she likes you."

[ + ]

"Lou… how do you know so much about prescription drugs?"

"Emily, believe it or not, I had a real reckless life before being a professor. Also, to be clear, I'm well versed in oxycodone alone."

The previous agent couldn't believe the situation she was in right now. She was standing across from a highly-skilled Mossad agent, who was re-arraigning a sniper, a well-regarded US Ambassador who was strapping a bullet-proof vest to his chest, but also an emotionally motivated professor who was ready to do just about anything to save the one person they were all trying to bring home. It didn't make sense for Emily to look at Lou and still see the sweet, passionate English lover with a sharp tongue, but the agent couldn't help but also see a woman who was capable of performing deadly actions.

She had attempted to kill someone.

The same someone she was attempting to stop again.

It was unnerving Emily to no end.

"While I don't condone how much knowledge you have on pharmaceuticals," Emily also watched Charles speak as he was cleaning a few pistols, "it still does truly amaze me at the thoroughness of your abilities to make plans, Lou-bear."

"Well, you know where I got it from."

The soft intake of air coming from the Ambassador was hard to ignore. "Yes, your mother is a fan of schedules. Appropriate that we follow through on this one, yes?"

Emily's palms were practically sweating. Her fight or flight instincts were taking hold, doing almost anything to stop Lou from going through with this plan. Emily was behind the curtain with the knowledge of what Lou is capable of. While Emily knew Lou was strong the first day they had met, but the agent didn't know of the mental capacity and the ability to compartmentalize any and all emotions, ensuring dispassionate results. Lou was putting on a façade, one that Emily didn't know she could pull off. It was as if she was watching a plane crash and was incapable of stopping it from blowing up in flames.

Emily didn't want to believe that the woman in front of her was showing a side of her that was all to familiar. It only made sense, considering how Lou adapted to the agent's crash course in spy training. Emily could see that Lou was disciplined when it came to attacks, escapes, and all-around sleuthing. While the agent could have deduced it to Charles' education on self-defence (to which Emily found out was three times a week for the majority of her childhood), or Zion recounting tales of himself and Lou and their top secret Ambassador missions they set upon themselves, it was only when Lou was telling Emily of her plan to kill Noah (the first time) is when Emily truly knew what Lou was capable of.

Lou had connections all over the world that she kept to herself. Most of them were friendships accumulated from her father's multiple positions from around the world. While Emily assumed it was a handful, the amount of contacts in her cellular device indicated she practically had the contacts of a small country. Those connections aided her greatly when it came to that fateful night, and the only reason why Lou was the closest person to ever come to killing Noah Bennett was because of the people who went out of their way to help her.

The same way Emily was going out of her way to help stop Bennett.

Emily could see the plan behind the plan. There was information that Lou was keeping for herself, and herself alone. The agent, however, was having a difficult time figuring it out. Lou's plan currently was similar to the one she created all those years ago: gain aid from qualified individuals, have them assist in best manor, execute intended action, get end result. However, the result last time is what terrified Emily.

Lou told Emily she had been technically dead for two minutes in the ambulance after the "accident". The way the professor had calmly told Emily the story signified the true nature of Lou's intentions. She was practically prepared to end Noah's life, regardless if that meant life in jail. But Lou hadn't mentioned anything about jail time, which meant Lou didn't take jail into consideration. And if she didn't believe she was going to spend her life in jail for her crime, then ultimately, Lou knew exactly what was going to happen if the professor killed Noah Bennett.

The consequence of that death would be her own, and in that moment, Emily felt Lou made peace with her own demise.

Lou clicking a magazine into the gun in her hand pulled Emily out of her thoughts. Realizing the small group was minutes away from leaving, Emily couldn't help but act on her instincts. While Zion and Charles had gone to pack the vehicle, Emily pulled Lou aside.

"Are you sure?" The older one of the two couldn't help but feel protective. "It's not too late."

The professor allowed a small amount of emotion to show.

"If I don't stop him, it will be."

Her words didn't ease Emily's nerves.

"Emily, you know if this was Doyle, you wouldn't stop at nothing. Noah has my mom." Emily was trying to not let Lou's persuasiveness get the better of her. "I can't keep justifying this to you. We're already so far deep. We need to see this through."

The other two people had walked in just then, giving Lou the opportunity to walk away from Emily, towards her father and pseudo brother. The agent could see that there was nothing she could do to stop what was set in motion. Lou was too determined, her mother's life being on the line. Charles was equally motivated in bringing his wife back home. Zion was attempting to help a family who considered him one of their own. These three were focused on their mission, but Emily couldn't contain her concern.

If they were all going through with this mission, they all needed to know the circumstances before proceeding.

Even if that costed the trust Lou bestowed on her.

Emily didn't stop herself from opening her mouth.

"Lou tried to kill Bennett."

Charles and Zion drew their attention to Emily. The agent was staring at Lou's back, watching has her whole body froze when fully understanding what Emily had just said.

"Beg your pardon?"

Charles Richardson slowly walked closer to Emily, not believing her words.

Emily looked at Charles.

"This isn't Lou's first attempt in stopping Bennett."

While Charles was staring at Emily, Zion walked up to Lou, facing her.

"Qu'est-il arrivé à ne rien dire?"

Emily translated quickly. "What happened to 'say nothing'?" Zion said to Lou quickly, with Emily deducing that Charles did not know how to speak French, and Zion spoke in that language on purpose to avoid detection. Before Emily could ask anything further, Charles snapped back into action, walking towards his daughter. He wasn't a stupid man. On the contrary, Charles was one of the most intelligent people in the world, according to the report that Emily had read not too long ago. It completely made sense, considering how intelligent his daughter was, that brilliance had to stem from somewhere.

He had put the pieces together.

"The car accident. The bloody car accident, isn't it?"

"Dad—"

"Elena Lucille, I know that tone of voice. Do not dare attempt to explain yourself in that attitude."

Lou snapped her head back at Emily, a blaze of true anger sitting upon her features. While Lou could understand why Emily was doing what she was doing, the Professor couldn't help but feel the immense build of anger directed towards Agent Prentiss. However, she had to ignore her own anger in favour of her father's. Charles had now been livid with the knowledge that the night his own child had almost died was due to her own actions. She watched as her father walked to the truck, sitting in the back of it, crossing his arms.

"Explain."

Zion looked at Lou before slightly shaking his head. Lou rolled her eyes.

"Va te faire enculer."

Emily didn't need to translate that.

Zion had his arms up in defence. "No thanks, I have a fiancée for that."

"Elena." Charles voice boomed. "Now."

"It was that horrible Christmas," Lou started, "the one where you had that United Nations party, and you insisted I bring Noah after I adamantly told you I did not want him near me. Remember when you thought that you invited him behind my back? I knew that you would do that. I was separating myself from him, and Noah wanted any chance he could to see me again to convince me to come back to him. If you invited him without me overtly knowing, Noah would have been more inclined to show up not as armed as he usually would. That night, he only came with his knife, and I knew it was the only chance I could have. Noah ended up figuring it all out, but not until it was too late."

"Was it just you?" Her father asked softly.

Lou tried stopping her eyes from shooting to Zion, but her face betrayed the truth.

"Zion? He was practically just a child then! So were you!"

"It wasn't just Zion. Seri and Matteo helped out too."

Charles threw his head into his hands.

"What did they help with?" He asked, his voice muffled with his fingers.

Lou opened her mouth, but when she remembered what her friends helped her out with, she stopped herself from proceeding.

To remember what she did was nothing to Lou.

To remember Zion strategically getting her parents inebriated, to remember asking Seri to calculate the trajectory of the car acceleration, to remember asking Matteo to drive… it all hit Lou like an out-of-control freight train.

She remembered the night.

And remembered all the truths she discovered…

What it was like to find yourself crawling through glass.

What it was like to work yourself scrambling away for your life.

What it was like to find yourself being covered in blood.

What it was like to die.

Her father lifted his head, looking at his daughter, waiting.

She sighed before speaking, trying to get rid of her emotions.

"They ran Noah off the road."

Her father's eyes bulged out of his head.

"They tried to murder you both?"

Lou shook her head. "No. We were trying to make it look like an accident."

Scoffing, the old man felt much older as he stood, pacing back and forth.

"Step by step, Elena Lucille. What happened."

Lou didn't want to remember. This was the shit that she had kept on lockdown. This was the information that she didn't want to have access to, the memories that were kept in the basement of the Manor, deep, deep, down. As much as she wished she could avoid the subject once again, she knew she couldn't. Her time was up, she couldn't hide it from her dad anymore.

"We got into the car. I let him think I was open to talking to him again, but only if we were at my home. He was driving us there, and he was relaxed—one hand on the wheel, leaning back, blade no where within reaching distance. He was mentioning one of his missions recently when Matteo's car swerved in front of him. Seri and I figured out the physics of the accident, to minimize as much damage as we possibly could on my side of the car, forcing Noah to maneuver the car in a way where it would flip onto his side. Our calculations were perfect, but we didn't take into consideration how fast Noah likes to drive."

Lou instinctively rubbed her knee. Her whole right side of her body began to ache after recalling the months and years of pain and rehabilitation she had to physically and mentally go through, after the one plan Lou wanted the most to be successful ended up drastically different.

"The car flipped more than intended. I hit my head and passed out, not knowing what happened afterwards, but the forensic analysts said the car flipped three times, landing on its wheels. And then…"

This was the moment she hated. Her words were firm, but still were laced with emotion and pain.

"And then I woke up to my face being hot. Like infected, cauterized skin burning hot. My brain triggered to alert myself and that's when I turned to find Noah smiling at me, manically laughing as he had his knife in his hand, his own blood all over his head." Lou squeezed her eyes. "He kept repeating 'Finally'. He took the blade he cut me with and stared at it with such a high smile. He was getting super high off finally being able to be close enough to hurt me without me protecting myself."

She let out a deep breath she was holding, opening her eyes to stare at the ground. "I elbowed him with my left as best as I could, and it bought be enough time to get out of the car. I was just trying to buy enough time for Zion or Seri or Matteo or anyone to come in and find us. My right arm was broken, my leg was destroyed, and I couldn't walk. The bat that I left in Noah's car had flung out into the snow, sitting only a few meters from me. I heard Noah coming up behind me, too manic to notice my actions. I kept crawling until I had the bat in my hand. I waited in the snow."

Lou could remember the snow melting around her body, as the hot blood seeping out of her open wounds had been causing the change. She could remember her heart pounding in her ears, trying so hard to calm down. She suppressed the moment when she remembered that she hoped the swing of the bat that she had intended to give was so powerful to Noah, that it truly smashed his brains in. She remembered that she hoped. She hoped, hoped that the man who had gone out of his way to magnificently torture her was finally done with his torment.

Now, she didn't have hope.

She was now in a better position than all those years ago.

She had certainty.

Certainty that Noah was not going to live.

Not if she remained alive.

"Noah crouched down beside me, and I sat up and swung with all force. He dropped instantly, more and more blood coming from his head. That was when I realized I was losing a lot of blood and all I can remember is Noah's still form before passing out. I woke up to you and Mom in the hospital, with no sign of Noah."

Emily had been watching the whole thing unfold. Watching Zion's stoic appearance falter after hearing the details of the night Lou almost lost her life. Lou was a wreck herself, letting the small number of tears seep out from the corner of her eyes, too overcome with emotion in that moment. But it was Charles to which Emily was stumped. He wasn't overtly emotional, rather contained, however the anger that radiated off him seemed to be he was a lot more overcome with rage than he was letting on.

She hoped Charles would tell Lou she was reckless, and Emily prayed that Lou's father put an end to her plan, to make sure that the sweet Professor that Emily first met was still alive and well and going to live the rest of her life never knowing what it was like to take another one's life.

Charles silently walked up to his daughter, hesitant. Lifting his hand up, he softly pushed away Lou's hair, exposing the scar that she had on the side of her face. Lou, who had now been very anxious, allowed her father to tilt her head, giving him a better angle of the scar. Charles slightly ran his index finger over her skin, a glimmer of pain in his eye.

"Dad?" Lou asked, staring up at her father.

His eyes didn't deviate from her scar.

"He's dying tonight."

A gasp erupted from Zion and Emily. Lou was emotionless.

"Dad—"

"He." Charles repeated himself, fixing his daughter's hair, "is dying. Tonight."

"Ambassador—" Emily started, but was cut off by Charles' hand being put up to halt her speaking.

"Agent Prentiss," Charles began, as he walked back to the truck. Zion started filling the truck up again. "You've brought my daughter here in hopes to stop this man from hurting anyone else. I've just now found out the reason why my daughter is so adamant on stopping him. Also considering this man is holding the love of my life hostage, it would be ill-advised to begin to have second thoughts in the matter."

He turned to Lou, who was gathering her things.

"Do you not wear your hair up because of him?"

Lou could only nod, her mind shifting to focus-mode.

Charles smirked, before turning back into the truck to lift a large box.

"I always preferred your pigtails, Lou-bear. After all, it'll annoy him to no end, no?"

Emily was at a loss for words. The one Hail Mary she had in her repertoire had backfired on her magnificently. She had hoped that the elder Richardson was the more sensible of the two, but when Emily thought about it a secondary time, she almost hit herself upside the head for not realizing how similar the Richardson father and daughter duo actually was, and should have definitely taken it into more consideration.

She caught sight of the Professor, who had silently picked up two hair ties from her duffle bag, staring at them with foreign familiarity. Emily watched as Lou parted her hair perfectly down the middle, gathering a bunch of hair very high on the right side of her head, wrapping the hair tie around and securing it before going to the left side of her face. Lou was taking deep breaths to steady herself as she secured the secondary hair tie in its place. A bit lopsided, but Lou wasn't going to perfection, she was going for point-making pigtails, where they were noticeable from miles away.

While Lou walked by, Emily could feel her strength, her anger, her anxiousness to proceed with the next part of the plan, swinging along side her pigtails, her youth, just… her.

Emily couldn't also help but feel a giant red bullseye had tagged along.

Next Time: "Elena!"