A/N: So here we are at the final chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited this story, and to everyone else who has been reading. You really motivated me to keep writing the parts where I got stuck. Anyway, after 26 chapters of Emily and the others suffering, I thought this should have a lighter ending! I hope you enjoy it! :)

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"Who would want to have a barbecue outside in December?" JJ complained, rubbing her hands together and blowing on them in the vain hope that she might get warm. She and Emily were sitting together in Rossi's garden, watching as Morgan, Will and Hotch argued over the best way to cook a steak.

"Me. It's safer than letting you lot inside my house," Rossi quipped with a weary grin, as the flame grew on the grill and Morgan, who had insisted on turning it up, jumped backwards to avoid singed eyebrows.

Emily chuckled as Hotch pushed Morgan aside and took charge of the barbecue and Morgan sheepishly stepped away and allowed his boss to cook the meat over a much lower flame.

"Do you need help with anything?" she asked Rossi. It seemed as though the rest of the team had all the food and drink under control but she felt she should offer.

"Not from you, cara. You are my guest of honour," he smiled, placing his hand on her arm and a fatherly kiss on her cheek.

Emily blushed a little. She knew the get together had been organised to celebrate her return to work, but she still aimed to avoid being the centre of attention for as much of the day as possible. They had returned from her first case back with the team a couple of days earlier and she had to admit that it had been difficult. She'd been out of the field for almost three months and was still finding her feet. Of course, the team were doing everything they could to help her settle back in, but all the same it was overwhelming.

"There you are!" JJ exclaimed, as Penelope crossed the patio towards them. "I was beginning to think you fell into the wine cellar!"

"I was sorting out a certain special surprise for a certain special person," she responded cryptically, setting the bottle and glasses she had retrieved on the table.

JJ smiled knowingly in response to Garcia's statement and the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Rossi chuckled lightly before he slipped away.

"What surprise?" Emily asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"Oh honey, you really don't understand the concept of a surprise, do you?" Garcia replied teasingly. "Just drink your wine and don't worry your pretty little head."

Emily accepted the glass which was offered to her, but maintained a slight scowl.

"Smile," JJ instructed with a laugh, elbowing her in the ribs. "Today is a happy day."

"Yes it is," Garcia agreed, linking her arm through Emily's and giving it a squeeze. Since Emily's rescue, she had been especially grateful for every minute they had spent with their friend and for every time she had seen a smile replace the profiler's troubled expression. And that was exactly why she was celebrating today.

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After several drinks had been consumed and Jack and Henry had become suitably wound up by the atmosphere which surrounded the slightly intoxicated adults, someone had agreed to the boys' request for a game of soccer. Rossi had very quickly pointed out that as he was the host he should referee, leaving the others to pick their teams.

"We pick JJ," Will announced, after a whispered consultation with his teammate and son.

"That's not fair!" came a chorus of shouts from the others, as she took her place beside her husband and high fived Henry.

"Well if we're all gonna play soccer someone gets her on their team," Will pointed out with a shrug, though he didn't attempt to hide his grin.

"We want Derek!" Jack shouted, claiming the next favourite player for his and Hotch's team.

"Emily!" Henry and JJ called in unison.

"Beth!" Jack selected, grinning as his dad's girlfriend ran over to them and gave Hotch a quick kiss.

"Penelope!" Will shouted, following a nudge from his wife and from Emily.

Penelope squealed as she dashed across the lawn towards her two best friends. After a couple of glasses of wine the three were acting more like sorority sisters than members of the FBI.

"Why am I last picked?" Spencer complained, as he made his way over to Jack and Hotch's team. "It's just like high school."

"If we were playing chess you'd be my first pick," Emily offered, with a slight smirk.

"Pretty boy's gonna kill it," Morgan retaliated, slapping Reid on the back. "Right?"

"Ehh, right," Spencer mumbled, knowing there was a good reason he had never in his life been anything but the last choice for team sports.

"You think you have a chance at winning this?" JJ taunted, raising her eyebrows at Morgan.

"Bring it, Pennsylvania," he responded, as the two teams took their places on the makeshift pitch, with himself and JJ in the centre.

Rossi shook his head, placing the ball between them and producing a coin to decide who was to kick-off. He just knew this game was going to end badly.

"Heads!" JJ called, beating Morgan to making the choice.

Rossi tossed the coin and revealed that it had landed in Morgan's favour. His team cheered, while the others booed. Rossi rolled his eyes as he took a step backwards, away from Morgan and JJ, who were now jostling each other playfully but antagonistically.

"Play by the rules and remember there are children present," he instructed, knowing his words were falling on deaf ears.

And with that he backed even further away from his colleagues and blew the whistle.

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Rossi's prediction was accurate and the game came to an abrupt end when Morgan's face had got in the way of one of JJ's powerful shots. It had been an accident and she has dropped all the taunting and apologised profusely. But that didn't mean there was any less blood.

"How's your nose?" Emily asked as Mogan approached the spot where she was sitting. It was now dark and while the others chattered noisily on the brightly lit patio, she had slipped further into the garden to take a moment to herself.

"Reid says it isn't broken," Morgan answered, removing the ice-pack to allow Emily to see the damage.

"You do know he isn't a medical doctor?" she responded dryly, though the corners of her mouth curled into a smile

"He knows more than me," Morgan shrugged, and Emily nodded and smiled. "You good?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just needed a minute," she replied.

Morgan sat down beside her, and noticed she was shivering slightly. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"It's cold away from the patio heaters," he commented.

"Thanks," she smiled, pulling the jacket tightly around herself.

He returned her smile and nodded, and they fell into silence. From up on the patio the sound of laughter carried around the garden, and the fairy lights and candles only added to the festive atmosphere. The drinks were flowing and everyone was enjoying themselves, but he could still understand why she needed some time alone. Emily had been through so much in the past few months and he'd seen her doubt everything about herself. It couldn't have been easy to come back from that. And it couldn't be easy to be at the centre of everyone's happiness when she was still figuring herself out.

"I never thanked you," she said, unexpectedly, interrupting his thoughts.

"You just did," he replied.

"Not about the jacket; about that night. When you found me and you stayed with me."

He turned towards her and, even in the dark of the garden, saw the serious expression which coated her pale face.

"It was nothing," he assured her, placing his hand on her arm. Emily was his partner in the field and like another sister to him. He wouldn't have been anywhere else that night.

"I thought you were some kind of knight in shining armour, or superhero," she informed him, with the hint of a smile. "I didn't know what was going on, but I knew you'd protect me."

"You should know by now that I am a superhero," he joked, flexing his muscles, and she laughed.

"But really, thank you," she responded, her tone becoming serious.

He nodded, and they fell quiet once again as they both thought of Daniel Adams and of the long night in the hospital.

"We should probably get back to the others," Emily suggested after a few minutes had passed. "I know they have some kind of surprise planned." She rolled her eyes in reaction to the thought.

"It's a nice surprise," he assured her, agreeing that they should return, but as she stood up to head back to the patio he stopped her.

"What is it?" she asked, frowning slightly at his serious expression.

"You know I've always got your back, right?" he said. "Whatever happens; whatever's going on with you, I'm there."

She nodded and gently ran her hand over his, knowing that he meant every word.

"You too, Derek," she replied, hoping she'd never have to return the favour, but fully confident in the knowledge that she would. Not just for him but for any of the team.

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Not long after Emily and Morgan had rejoined the group, Garcia disappeared to fetch the surprise. Emily sat sipping her glass of wine and hoping that the spotlight wouldn't be on her for long. With her return to work she'd had a week that had been physically and emotionally draining, and while she was enjoying the evening with her friends, she'd rather have faded into the background.

After several minutes, Garcia returned with a book in her hands, and the group fell silent.

"We weren't sure if tonight was the right time to give you this," Rossi began. "But today is about celebrating having you back with us, so we decided it was appropriate."

Garcia passed the book towards Emily and she opened it, curiosity overtaking her hatred of the attention. She gasped as she saw the photo and read the words on the first page.

"It wasn't our idea," JJ explained, a little anxiously. "I hope it was OK for us to pass it on to you."

"It's from the girls themselves; from all the survivors," Garcia added. "They wanted to thank you for giving them their lives back."

The whole team watched Emily, trying to gauge her reaction as she flicked through the pages and saw messages from all of the surviving women who had been stalked by Adams, and from the family of those who hadn't been so lucky. Her eyes came to rest on one particular note.

Nothing will ever bring my daughter back but I find comfort in knowing that other daughters are now safe. Your will to survive has prevented more pain than you will ever know. Remember this above all else.

Anne Saunders.

Emily continued to gaze at the page as her eyes filled with tears of sorrow for the grieving mother and of gratefulness for her words.

"Emily, are you OK?" Spencer asked. He had been the most unsure about giving the book to Emily. He'd seen her at some of her most vulnerable points and he didn't want to do anything which could set back her recovery. "Emily?" he repeated, when she didn't respond.

"I'm fine," she assured him, with a tearful smile, and she placed the book down on the table. She'd read it properly at some other time. For now, it was enough to be surrounded by those that she loved, and to be reassured by the words of a stranger that what JJ continuously told her could be true. She was not a monster; she was a survivor.

"Good!" Garcia exclaimed excitedly. "Now it's time for my surprise." She grabbed hold of Morgan and dragged him off towards an area of the large garden into which she had disappeared earlier in the day when she was supposed to be fetching the wine.

"What does she have planned?" Emily asked, the look of suspicion returning to her face.

JJ simply gave her friend an apologetic look, while Rossi and Hotch tried to hide their smirks.

"Is it time for fireworks?" Henry asked sleepily, from where he had been dozing in Will's arms.

"Fireworks?" Emily exclaimed, her eyes widening with disbelief.

"Rossi told Garcia she could be his chief party planner," JJ explained with a shrug. "None of us could stop her once she got started."

At that moment they saw the spark from where Morgan had lit the charge on the first firework. Penelope rushed excitedly back towards the patio.

"To Agent Emily Prentiss," Rossi raised a toast, as bright light exploded across the sky. "Welcome back."

The others raised their glasses and Emily felt her face flush red once again, but she was surprised to find that the feeling of wanting the ground to swallow her didn't come. Instead, she found herself looking around at the faces of her closest friends. They all watched the fireworks with a lightness in their expressions that she realised she hadn't seen until today. And at that moment she realised that she too was free from the suffocating sense of unease that had, until recently, followed her everywhere that she went.

"Look at that one!" Jack exclaimed, pointing upwards as a gold Catherine Wheel spiralled into the sky.

Emily smiled as both Jack and Henry gasped and the bright lights reflected in their fascinated eyes. Her gaze then moved to Will and JJ, and Hotch and Beth. Both couples had drifted closer as they watched display and were holding hands or wrapped in one another's arms. Before the thought that she was standing alone even entered her mind, Garcia linked arms with her and she felt Spencer's long fingers wrap gently around her own.

And as she stood, with a friend on each side, and her family all around her she understood the purpose of the day. They were back together. They were happy. They were safe.

And that was as good a reason as any to celebrate. Fireworks and all.