Chapter 4:

After more than four hours of travel, the two profilers finally arrived in Little Rock.

"Morgan, Prentiss. Just in time, we started now to talk about how to close the case." Hotchner put them aware when they entered in the police station

"Hotch, may I..." Morgan asked permission to speak

"Sure"

"Good..." the dark Federal resumed the conversation where he had stopped "...because Prentiss and I we have a plan...well, actually it is she who has done everything but the point is that it is a good idea!"

"Uhmm, to tell the truth it isn't exactly a plan...I know I have no right to ask that, but I need a little favor. I promise that it will be the last privilege which I'll ask you for ages and -" Prentiss tried to say while anxiety prevented her to explain herself in the best way

"Em!" Emily heard Derek's voice. It was impressive how he could always bring her back to the calm.

"Anyway, this plan has great possibilities to work...and it will!" Morgan explained for his colleague

"What do you mean? Explain yourself better..."

"Alright..." Prentiss took a deep breath "...the most important things for Andrew are freedom and his reputation so I thought to get him to lose them both at the same time. I want to arrest him in a public place, I could invite him like it was a date and then arrest him..."

"Are you sure that it will work?"

"100% sure"

"Okay then, if you are so sure, let's do it" the unit chief accepted "I must warn Captain Harville about our decisions because was the one who called us. Meanwhile, could you call Andrew Baltazar? I'd like to close this case as soon as possible"

"Don't talk me about that..." Prentiss let out "...I call him immediately".

Straightaway, the every team member went to deal with each of their tasks. Prentiss, after leaving the room, retracing her steps and she walked over to Morgan to tell him:

"Uhmm, Derek...may I ask you another favor?"

"Sure, just ask!"

"You think I'm too pathetic if you ask you some moral support while I'm calling Andrew?"

"Are you kidding? Absolutely not. How many times I've to repeat you that I'm here for you, huh?"

In a small room in the Little Rock police station, Prentiss pressed the button 'call' after finding Andrew's number in the phonebook of her mobile. Waiting for him to answer, him, what she now considered him like her ex-boyfriend, Emily moved her hands nervously to release a bit of the tension within her. Derek so he decided to calm her taking her hand in his, trying to transmitted her, through that small gesture, all his support.

"Hello?" Andrew answered

"Hey Andrew. It's me, i-it's Emily!" she spoke, agitated like she was doing it for the first time

"Finally ready to apologize?"

As soon as she heard those words, suddenly increased the grip on Morgan's hand, who motioned her to calm down.

"Sure..." she replied back "...I called you for this reason! I'm so sorry for what I said the other night and I want to prove you that...when come you back? We could dining out..."

"Listen, if my plans go in the way I planned them, I should be able to return tonight"

"Perfect. So, what about having a dinner tonight, me and you?"

"Tonight? Okay. But what do you have? I feel you a bit strange..."

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just been a hard case"

"The one in Arkansas, right? Have you arrested the culprit?"

"Yep. The case is practically solved, an agent is talking to the killer right now and we should leave in about a hour"

"Good, I'm happy..." Andrew expressed, all traces of tension was definitely gone "...so, tell me: what we are gonna do tonight?"

"I'm pretty tired and I guess so are you, so I thought about a simple dinner in a restaurant. To 'Ben's House' at 7pm?"

"Confirmed. I'll see you tonight then. Bye dear"

"Bye" Prentiss ended the phone call.

"Hey, you okay?" Morgan enquired. Were now 5 minutes that she was staring helplessly at her mobile phone screen"

"Wh- oh, yeh, yeah, everything's alright!" she lied

"Emily..." he perfectly knew that it was a lie, so decided to give her a second chance

"It's only that I still can explain how I couldn't noticing that he was rubbing me..." she admitted.

Despite were passed several minutes from the call, Emily still was very tense, especially at the thought of what awaited her in a few hours. She relaxed only when she felt Derek's arms around her shoulders. Momentarily forgetting where they were, she leaned her head against his shoulder to fully enjoy the moment. When they both realized that this wasn't the right place neither for these simple behaviour, they broke apart, but not before that Emily gave him a chaste kiss on his lips. Soon after, the two agents came back to the team to brief them on developments.

"Good..." Hotch spoke, concluding the last meeting in Arkansas "...on the plan we will review everything for the last time. Wheels up in 20"

M&P

"Come, come in" Emily said letting Derek in her house after he had insisted on accompanying her at home.

She deposited her bag and ran upstairs to change her clothes.

"Derek, do you see the flowers on my table?" she yelled from her room

"The roses? Yes, why?"

"Could you throw them away, please?"

"Em, they still are beautiful, you can keep them"

"Andrew gave me them, as a gift" Prentiss explained appearing at the bedroom door, just in time to see her colleague who, without make her repeat what she said twice, took the bunch of roses and threw it in the trash

"Anyway, he doesn't know that when you give flowers to a woman, the roses must be an odd number? My mother always said that..." Morgan justified himself looking the curious look on Emily's face.

The silence that had settled at the end of the conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Morgan's cell phone.

"It's Garcia" he yelled to inform his colleague before answer "Tell me everything mama!"

"I have two news for you teddy bear: the first one is that I finally found Andrew Baltazar's real name: Gabriel Wilburn; and the second one is that has just been made a complaint of theft to Dalton police"

"What was stolen?"

"Primarily, it has been ransacked the whole house. The only thing of value was stolen from Elsie Montoya is a necklace with the letter 'E' that had been donated by her parents for graduation"

"Thanks baby-girl. I'll inform Prentiss immediately"

"You're welcome hot-stuff and, I recommend you, watch out at our beautiful brunette, I'd like to see again my friend in one piece!"

"Sure, I will".

After Morgan hung up, his attention was captured by the sound of heels on the stairs. As soon as he looked up, he was petrified by the beauty of his partner. He realized he was holding his breath when he tried to speak and found himself out of breath.

"Wow! Em, you look...wow, you take my breath away! But it hurts knowing that you dress like this for Andrew..." Derek confessed jealous

"No, I'm dressed like this to arrest Andrew, it's different. And then I can go in a nightgown or a police uniform, or I am wrong?" she asked rhetorically "By the way, what did Garcia say?"

"Oh, yeah, right..." the man came back in the real life "...she found Andrew's real name, it's Gabriel Wilburn, and then they reported a burglary in Dalton, where was stolen a necklace with a pendant in the shape of 'E'"

"Do you wanna bet that tonight Andrew...I mean Gabriel, will give me an identical necklace?"

"I don't have big possibilities to win but ok, I'm in. A dinner?"

"Deal!" Prentiss agreed, closing the front door.

In the condo's garage, the couple met Emily's neighbours, Messrs. Grooms.

"Good evening, miss Prentiss. Ready for a gallant night? This must be your boyfriend. Bryan Grooms, nice to meet you"

"Derek Morgan, my pleasure" the Federal said, clutching elder's hand before Mrs. Grooms interrupted them:

"Bryan, darling, let them be. Let them go out in peace" than, facing Prentiss, the old woman mouthed "Compliments!" which caused Emily's laugh.

When the profilers get into the car, they still could hear the aged couple tenderly bickering in the distance.

"They are so cute!" Morgan said amused

"Yeah. Bryan and Heather Grooms, they are together by a lifetime. Sometimes you hear them arguing but they still love each other" she told him grudgingly

"Listen to me. Before leaving I'd like to tell you a couple of things: if tonight you had to feel uncomfortable or anything, just a word and I come to get you out. Okay?"

"Are you turned in 'Superhero' modality?"

"Okay?" he repeated

"Yeah, okay! And the second thing?"

"Promise me you'll be careful, you'll do anything not to put yourself in danger!" Derek expressed already worried "When all this crap will be done, I want to bring you in a date and I don't wanna wait that you will feel better if he will hurt you...also because I could no longer be responsible for my actions if he were to even think of touching you!"

Emily was deeply touched by his words. If only one of them had had more courage before, them would not have found in that situation. But that wasn't the moment of regrets, it was the moment of actions, so Prentiss stretched out her hand, put it on his cheek and pulled him in an intense and loving kiss. When the kiss ended she whispered against his lips:

"I promise you"

Arrived at the restaurant 'Ben's House', Prentiss entered in the building to solve her issues, personal and professional, while Morgan joined Rossi in a back room.

It had been several minutes delay when finally Andrew arrived and, at the same time, criticism and complaints began from Derek who was watching and listening everything:

"No one has told him that ladies don't have to wait for a man?" causing a slight laugh from Rossi.

Meanwhile, in the dining room, Emily and Andrew were talking quietly, like any other pair around them. Andrew just didn't know that some of the other couples were composed of police officers.

"So, tell me everything, how was the case? You said that you have arrested the murderer, right?" Andrew sought assurances.

Morgan, from his position, just mumbled a "This son of a bitch did not even complimented for how she is dressed...on what planet live this asshole?"

"The case went good..." the brunette profiler answered "...it was quite hard but nothing more than the ordinary"

"Great! I felt that everything would be alright, so..." he said looking for something inside his jacket, meantime Prentiss instinctively reached for her purse wher her gun was in "...so I bought you that!"

Not surprisingly, when Emily opened the box that Andrew handed to her, she found the same necklace described in the complaint filed by Elsie Montoya, another confirms that the one sitting in front of her was the UnSub that the BAU was looking for.

"Thank you, it's very beautiful. But, explain me something, to buy me all these things, what is your job?"

"I already told you, I am a manager"

"Yeah, I understood that. What I would like to know is what do you do exactly?"

"Well, you now, this is a secret. If I tell you then I should kill you..." he joked trying to make Prentiss laugh who, it, was very serious

"Exactly, like you did with those poor girls in Arkansas, Mississippi and Georgia? Am I wrong Andrew...or maybe I should say Gabriel, Gabriel Wilburn?"

"W-w-what?"

"What? Do you really believe that we wouldn't have ever discovered that? Huh?"

"Ok, look, it's not like you think...cannot we pretend that nothing ever happened? Think about it, in these months we have been great, we could not going on in this way?"

"Do you realize what you're asking me?"

"You can't arrest me...I didn't do that...and then you do not have any proof!"

"Oh, you're so wrong on this point! We do have enough proof. Plus, you just gave me another one. So...Gabriel Wilburn, you're under arrest" Prentiss said getting up to put the handcuffs.

As soon as Andrew sensed her intentions, he stood up in turn, took his gun and pointed it against Emily causing the immediate intervention of all the Agents present: all the cops, included Rossi and Morgan, surrounded the man to make him understand that he did not escape while the pale Federal continued with negotiation.

"C'mon Andrew, if you have been really good with me as you've said, prove me that handing me your gun and I'll put a good word for you"

"Do you believe that you would have really had any chance with me if I hadn't known that you work in the field of law, seriously? Please, c'mon, I thought you were an intelligent person! I used you only to know when you were close to my arrest, but do you ever said anything about your job? No, always so quiet and now we are in this situation! If only I had a few more time...you'd been so in love that you would pass on all this"

"Andrew, this is my job, I can't forget the justice for someone! And then, do you truly think to have this power on people?"

"Take the example of that loser of Lloyd, he would never even had a chance to speak with a woman, to have his first experience with a girl, if I hadn't ushered him in my project..."

"First experience with a woman?" she asked nauseated from these words "We are talking about rape and murder, it's not an innocent love! Where is he, where is Lloyd Harrison now?"

"You'll never know...but you will hear about him soon, I teached him how continue my work" Andrew answered proudly

"Just explain me one more thing: why did you do that? Why you choose that poor women?"

"Why are you so fixed with the motives? There must always be a reason for everything? Why you have chosen this dress and not another one? Because you like it, that's all! Now it's my turn to ask you a question: could you explicate me why I have not fired you yet?"

"I dunno that, but I know for sure that all the guns are on you, as soon as you will pull that trigger you will be hit by a hail of bullets and I know that you don't want that, so do the right thing, give me that gun and I promise you'll get a discount of the penalty. Deal?"

Andrew thought for a moment, after which he lowered the gun in surrender; when Emily was closer he said, looking her in the eyes:

"No way!"

It seems a typical scene from a movie, one of those where everyone seems to move in slow motion.

Meantime Andrew raised his gun again, Emily's brain suggested to protect herself but strangely no part of her body seemed to react. Just when she thought that everything would be over, felt someone tugging on her arm, and that someone was Morgan who put himself in front of her to protect her.

Derek's finger moved on the trigger and fired.

All around her moved so slowly that, for a moment, she thought that she could see the bullet.

She returned in the real time space when she heard a cry of pain coming from Andrew, wounded in the leg, who, with anger mixed with astonishment, inquired:

"Why you didn't kill me now that you finally had the opportunity? I know that you wanted to do it, I read it on your face"

"It would be too easy for you! And then, I want that you to spend the rest of your days in a cell with the knowledge that you had lost the best thing that ever happened to you"

"Freedom? What a banal phrase..."

"Actually, I was referring to Emily!" Derek corrected him like it was the most natural thing to say at that juncture.

Leaving the restaurant, Morgan took another little revenge. He approached a paramedic and whispered:

"That man is a drug addict who is detoxing so, please, make every effort to avoid the use of painkillers. Thank you"

Emily couldn't help but smiling at his little childish joke...after all, that was a revenge for her too.

M&P

When the case was definitely over, when all the profilers put their signature on the report to hand over to Strauss, the couple of Federals returned to Emily's place.

When they entered the house, the first thing that Prentiss did, when she closed the door, was to give a profoundly kiss to Morgan. She was really very grateful for everything he had done in those days, for being on her side that she would never be able to express it in words...and even if she had been able, the words seemed false to express how she really felt.

"So, finally do you will have some well-deserved rest?" Morgan inquired when the kiss terminated because of their need for air,but not letting Emily go out of his arms "No offense Em, but you really look like someone who need some sleep..."

"So do you! Do you wanna get some rest together?" the woman requested biting her lower lip, afraid of have asked too much.

When he stroked her hair, the certainty of having exaggerated with her question took root inside her mind so she quickly to speak:

"Derek, I...I...what I said last night...i-it...I really meant it..." she tried to express herself, but realized of not knowing exactly what to say "...I ruined everything, didn't I?"

"Nope, sweetheart, absolutely not! I was just thinking..."

"Thinking about what?"

"About how stupid I was, if I had the courage to let you know how I felt about you before, you would never have been hurt by Andrew and I would have you in my life long ago. Please, forgive me!"

"You don't have anything to be forgiven for. It was my fault as well...and then I'm here, we are here now..."

"...the most important thing is not waste more time! Right?" the man concluded the sentence for her

"Right" she replied trying to stifle a yawn

"Okay, what about not waste more time starting by tomorrow? Now it's bed time".

Morgan was guided by Prentiss to her bedroom where the two of them had their first night of peaceful sleep, knowing that the next day was the beginning of their history together, leaving the Andrew's "ghost" where it belongs: in the past, no one of them would allow this to ruin their relationship.

THE END_

Thanks for reading. Review if you want! ;))
Hope you liked it...it seems to me that it sucks more than usual, but maybe it's because the season finale was soooo intense! ;D

P.S: I don't own anything