Hope everyone had a happy holiday. I did. Well here we are, the final chapter. I want to thank kp4377 and RJ Russell for being excellent sounding boards when I got stuck. And I want to give a big shout out to all my loyal readers who were with me from start to finish. You all are awesome! Now go read.

Dave waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive. He was thrilled that Eileen was able to confirm Emily's story. The odds had to be astronomical that it was just a coincidence that Jericho or Mutt had ended up on her porch while Emily was inside. If Reid was about he could have asked the young genius what they were but he was glad that he wasn't. He preferred to keep it to himself until he physically verified the dog's existence. There was no reason to raise Emily's hopes and then dash them if he was proven wrong.

But his gut was telling him that he wasn't wrong. How many white German Shepherds could be roaming the Virginia countryside? Not many he surmised. Jericho was probably the only one. The elevator finally came. Stepping in Dave punched the button for the first floor.

On the way down Dave formulated his plan of attack. He would head out to Bear Lake and try to locate the owner's cabin. The locals should be able to direct him. Hopefully Mutt had returned to his old stomping ground after he had lost contact with Emily. The only thing he hadn't figured out yet was how to catch him if he was there. Oh well, Dave thought with a shrug. He'll jump that particular hurdle when he got there.

The doors dinged open and Dave exited. He hurried through the main entrance and out into the parking lot. For being a country hospital it was meticulously landscaped. Trees and shrubs decorated the border of the lot, keeping it separated from the surrounding forest.

Dave lowered his head as he pushed through the slightly chilly gust that had spun through the parking lot. He still moved with purpose to the FBI issued Denali. When the wind settled down he looked to the bordering trees as they swayed in the aftermath. A different movement, however, caught his eye. It was not just the shrubbery moving with nature there was something else hiding within their confines. He squinted his eyes unsure if what he was making out was real. He thought maybe his quest for Mutt had his mind playing tricks, but the white fur contrasting with the deep green foliage was impossible to miss.

He slowed and cautiously approached the shrubbery. About ten feet away he stopped. He bent down to peer through the greenery. It was definitely a dog that watched him with wary hazel eyes.

"Jericho?" he called tentatively.

The pointed ears snapped to attention. Dave smiled. It seems Jericho had just saved him a trip. Moving slowly to keep from spooking the dog, he inched over to the curb and sat down. He kept his back to the dog, pretending to ignore him by gazing out over the parked cars. Secretly he watched him out of the corner of his eye.

Keeping his voice low and nonchalant he spoke to him. "I was about to come looking for you. Looks like you saved me the trouble."

Jericho raised his head watching Dave intently.

"Waiting for Emily are we?" he asked the dog who responded with a small wag of his tail.

Dave grinned. "Well you're out of luck, fella. She's going to be stuck inside for a couple more days."

Jericho, acting like he understood every word, let out a sigh and let his head dropped on to his paws. His sad eyes stared at the entrance to the hospital.

Dave also looked but let his eyes drift up to the fourth floor. "So you think you found a kindred spirit in Emily? I think you have. You're alone. Emily thinks she is alone. You two need each other."

"Agent Rossi, who are you talking to?"

He gave a little start and turned to see who had just spoken to him. Eileen Jessup was standing before him wearing a curious look.

"Hello again, Eileen," he said in greeting.

"Hello. Are you all right?"

He smiled at her. "I'm fine though I am wondering if you can do me a small favor."

"Sure," she answered.

"Take a look over my left shoulder and tell me what you see."

She eyed him somewhat dubiously. This man is full of silly questions and odd requests today, she mused. She shrugged it off and looked where he had suggested. She leaned forward, squinted then abruptly straightened blinking in surprise.

"What is Jericho doing here?" she asked in amazement.

"He must have had followed us from the campground," Dave surmised.

"Why?"

"I think he came upon Emily not long after the accident and took a shine to her. From what little she remembers, Emily believes he never left her side if he could help it."

Eileen gazed back at the dog whose eyes flickered back and forth between them as he watched them talk. "That sounds like him. He stuck to Steve like glue. If there were places he wasn't allowed in he would wait patiently outside."

"And now he is waiting for Emily to come back out," Dave said, also taking a quick peek at him.

She looked down at the man resting casually on the curb. "What are you going to do?"

He scratched his beard thoughtfully. "See if I can catch him. Emily might want to keep him. If not, we'll find him a good home."

Their conversation was interrupted by the loud bang of a car backfiring in the parking lot. Jericho shot to his feet, ears pinned to his head. He let out a yelp, spun around and bolted for the woods. Dave stood up and watched until the tip of his white tail disappeared among the trees.

"That's a shame," Eileen said sadly.

Dave shook his head. "He'll be back. He's been here for almost four days waiting for Emily. He won't leave until he sees her."

Eileen gave him a look full of doubt. "You sure?"

"Positive."

Dave sounded more confident than he actually felt. At first he thought all he had to do was to catch him but then he realized he had no clue what to do with Jericho if he actually succeeded. He highly doubted it would be a good idea to bring a people shy dog to a hotel. Besides he had a nagging suspicion that Jericho was not going to let him get too close. The only option left was to keep the dog here, to stop him from giving up and heading for home.

For the next three days Dave split his time between Emily's room and the parking lot. Every time he visited her she was genuinely pleased to see him though he sensed some distance had grown between them. She still felt that he and Reid had not believed her. It was the only way Emily knew how to protect herself from further hurt, pushing away loved ones. He could have told her that he had found Mutt and healed the rift but Emily would have insisted on being taken outside to see him. Something the doctor would have strenuously objected to and the team would have spent the remainder of her stay fighting to keep her in bed. Instead he would wait and surprise Emily with Mutt on the day of her release.

The rest of the time he spent outside sitting on the curb attempting to coax Jericho closer or, at least, convince him that he was not a threat. On the first day Dave retrieved from the back of the Denali the flannel shirt Emily had been wearing when they had found her and JJ in the woods. He had folded it neatly and set it on the ground next to him hoping the dog would recognize Emily's scent and know that he was a friend of hers. Jericho's nose had immediately started to quiver as he took in her scent. It seemed to Dave that he had lost a bit of his wariness. Later, when he had been distracted by a phone call, Jericho had belly crawled over to steal the shirt. When Dave turned back the dog was back in his hidey-hole with the shirt draped over his paws. He had let out a sigh and with sad eyes rested his head on top of it.

From then on Dave brought food and water with him. The first time he set them down half way between him and the dog. Eventually Jericho crept out to scarf down the food and drink his fill. Belly satisfied he returned to his bush and Emily's shirt. With each visit Dave would move the food and water closer until he had Jericho within reach. He tried to pet him a few times but the dog eyeballed him and leaned away from the touch.

Eventually man and dog settled into an easy routine. They sat side by side. Dave talking quietly, Jericho's ears flicking as he listened. He held Emily's shirt softly in his mouth. Both were quietly counting the down the days.

The day finally came, though in Emily's opinion, it hadn't arrived soon enough. Emily was itching to go. She was dressed except for her shoe and socks and JJ was currently helping her with that. Her go bag was packed and on the bed with the plaid blanket folded neatly on top. The previous day Emily had attempted to return the blanket and borrowed clothing, minus a flannel shirt that had mysteriously gone AWOL, to Eileen. The older woman politely turned her down.

Now Emily sat in the chair by the window, chin resting in the palm of her left hand, looking intently outside.

"What do you think he is doing?" she mused.

"Who?" JJ asked as she finished tying Emily's right boot.

"Rossi. He is out there poking around in the bushes."

JJ shrugged. "I have no idea." She temporarily removed the ankle brace so that she could slip the sock over the foot. "Though I have noticed he has been acting more secretive than normal the last couple of days."

Emily glanced at her friend. "I noticed that too. He's been like that since Eileen Jessup came to visit me the first time."

JJ paused in tightening the straps on the brace. Her eyes grew wide while her brows shot up to her hairline. "Maybe he likes her," she deduced with a sly smile.

"And they are romping in the bushes in the parking lot of the hospital in broad daylight?" Emily scoffed. "I highly doubt that, JJ. Dave is classier than that. He would at least choose a nice hotel."

"Yeah, Emily, you're right." The two women looked at each other, grinned and burst into laughter at the image of Rossi and Eileen 'romping'.

A hospital volunteer interrupted them a few minutes later. "Did someone order a wheelchair?"

JJ stood up, wiping away the tears running down her cheeks from laughing so hard. "That would be us," she said as she walked over to her. "I can take it from here."

The volunteer paused then turned the wheelchair over. JJ took hold of the handles and wheeled it to a stop in front of Emily.

Emily gave the chair a dirty look. "I can walk," she tried.

JJ crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. Emily looked down at the bad ankle and then over at the set of crutches leaning against the bed. She squinted at JJ.

"Hop?" she asked hopefully.

The blonde shook her head and Emily sighed. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and said with an air of defeat, " Fine. I guess I'll ride."

"Good choice," JJ said with a smile and moved around the chair to offer Emily a hand.

She helped her negotiate the short distance between the two chairs. Once she had Emily situated, JJ wheeled her over to the bed. She placed the blanket on her lap and handed over the crutches. Emily set the ends of the crutches on the footrest and held on to them with her good hand.

"You ready?" JJ asked as she shouldered Emily's go bag.

"Ready." Emily grinned up at her friend. "Let's go see what Dave finds so fascinating about shrubbery."

Dave stood in the parking lot staring at Jericho's hiding spot. Of course on the day that Emily would be able to reunite with the dog, he was nowhere to be found. Even Emily's shirt had vanished. He started walking back and forth along the bushes, trying to push down the uneasy feeling that was welling up. It was panic, no he did not panic, he wasn't sure what exactly it was but he still felt an overwhelming need to find him.

As he worked his way down the edge toward the hospital frisking the shrubbery, he began to grow annoyed with the dog. All that hard work he had put in to keep him here and at the most inopportune time Jericho decides to do a runner.

He had been so looking forward to seeing Emily's face light up when he surprised her with Jericho. But if he didn't find the fur ball soon he would have to live with the flashes of disappointment that he caught glimpses of whenever they talked. He had already let her down once; it would be a bitter pill to swallow if he did it again.

So focused on the task at hand Dave did not hear JJ wheeling Emily up behind him until the brunette spoke up. "What are you looking for, Dave?"

He spun around on his heels, absurdly feeling like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He quickly covered his surprise with a big crooked grin.

"Hey, Kiddo," he greeted her cheerfully. "Looks like you're ready to go home."

"I am." Emily smiled sweetly. "But you didn't answer my question, Dave. Why are you searching the bushes?"

Dave found himself at a loss for words, something that rarely ever happens to him. He glanced at the greenery for help but the shrubs remained mum. This is silly, he thought. Just tell her the truth damn the consequences. "I was going to surprise you."

Emily and JJ exchanged amused looks. "You wanted to surprise me with a sprig of evergreen?" Emily asked.

Dave scowled. "No, smartass. I wanted to surprise you with…"

"WOOF!"

Emily's head whipped to the side to see a blur of white hurtling toward her. She dropped the crutches and barely had enough time to open her arms before eighty pounds of dog slammed into her. If JJ hadn't been holding on to the wheelchair it would have tipped and Emily and Mutt would have gone head over heels.

"Mutt?" Emily breathed in disbelief.

Jericho answered her by wiggling more in her lap and lavishing her face with wet kisses. Emily laughed as she tried to avoid them.

JJ snagged the older agent by the arm and pulled him off to one side. "Dave, please tell me that you didn't go out and buy a dog just to make Emily happy?" she asked in a low voice.

Dave stood there wearing a goofy grin, watching the happy reunion. He shook his head. "Nope. He's the real deal."

Jericho finding the space on her lap confining, his rear end kept threatening to slide off every time he moved, hopped down. He sat next to the wheelchair and rested his head on her knee so that she could scratch behind his ears. When she obliged, he groaned in delight and closed his eyes.

"Dave?" Emily called out quietly.

"Yes, Emily?" he asked as he moved to stand in front of her. Jericho cracked open one eye to watch him.

She intently watched her fingers scratch Mutt's ears. She bit her lip, thinking hard and trying to choose her words carefully. When she finally looked up her eyes were full of hurt.

"Why would you go looking for an imaginary dog? You didn't believe me when I said he was real."

Dave had mentally prepared himself for Emily's line of questioning. He knew she would grown suspicious of his motives after she got over the shock of seeing Mutt and he was right. The best he could do was to answer her honestly and hope she won't be pissed off for too long.

"Because you were so insistent that Mutt was real and that I felt that I had let you down by not supporting you."

"I see," she said, sounding like she didn't fully believe him.

He continued. "So I set out to prove myself wrong. I planned on talking to everyone again asking specifically if they saw you with a dog."

Emily nodded, choosing not to look a Dave instead focusing harder on scratching Mutt. He leaned heavier into her leg.

"Luckily I ran into Eileen first. She didn't see Mutt with you but he was on her porch later when you were inside. Plus her description of him matched yours. I left her and went to look for him and accidentally stumbled across him here in the parking lot."

Emily's head shot up, eyes burning with anger. "You've known Mutt's been out here for days? And you didn't bother tell me?" she almost shouted at him. "Instead you let me tear myself up inside, let me doubt my own judgment and grieve over someone I thought was lost to me forever," she accused him.

Dave didn't defend himself, knowing he deserved her anger. If he had been in her shoes, he would have been angry too. But he also knew she had to know his reasoning.

"Emily," he said and squatted so he wouldn't tower over her. He thought it might be easier to explain eye to eye if she would look at him. She didn't. "You have every right to be pissed at me but I need you to understand this. You are the only person Mutt will let near him."

To demonstrate he reached out to pet the dog. Mutt's head snapped up, his ears flattened and he let out a low growl. Dave snatched back his hand surprised. This was new. Mutt must have thought he was threatening Emily.

Emily laid her hand on his head. "Easy there, Mutt."

Mutt stopped growling. He let out a snort and laid his head back on her knee, eyes glued on Rossi.

"As you can see he is skittish around other people so I spent that last couple of days trying to earn enough of his trust to keep him here. I didn't want to get your hopes up, bring you out here and find him gone," he said softly. "I couldn't do that to you."

Emily slowly raised her eyes to meet Dave's for the first time since she snapped at him. An apology was in them and in a low voice she said, "Thank you."

Dave didn't say anything instead he just smiled at her. He knew the rift between them was still not fully healed but they had made progress. He was perfectly happy with that. He had plenty of time ahead to worm his way back into her good graces.

JJ who had remained quiet and out of the way throughout the whole exchange spoke up. "Are you going to keep him, Emily?"

Emily looked down at Mutt who was now gazing up at her with adoring eyes. "I don't know, JJ. I already have one at home who is quite happy being an only cat."

"He doesn't have anyone," Dave volunteered. "Eileen said his owner died a couple months ago. Oh, his name is Jericho by the way."

"Jericho," she said softly, ruffling his fur. His ears perked up when he heard his name. "But you'll always be Mutt to me."

She sighed and then gave JJ and Dave a small smile. "Since he's an orphan I guess I can take him back to DC. If I can't keep him at least I can find him a good home. You want to come home with me, Mutt?" she asked the dog.

"Woof!" Mutt said, wagging his tail in circles.

Dave and JJ exchanged glances. Both knew the moment Mutt set one paw in Emily's place he was never leaving. JJ clapped her hands together. "Well, we better get going. The rest of the team is going to meet us at the airport. We've got a long drive ahead of us."

Emily let out a moan. She had her fill of driving but if she wanted to go home she had no choice. "Let's get a move on it."

Dave chuckled. He picked up the abandoned crutches and handed them to JJ. "Let me push," he suggested. "Mutt is a little more use to me than you." JJ readily agreed.

They headed for the Denali Mutt trotting easily next to wheelchair while JJ walked a few feet back not wanting to accidentally spook him. When they got closer to car Mutt grew more hesitate. Dave took Emily's go bag from JJ and went to put it and the crutches in the back of the SUV. JJ then opened the back passenger door and helped Emily out of the wheelchair and inside.

Mutt hung back unsure what to do. Dave gestured to JJ to join him at the rear of the car to give the dog some space. Emily leaned forward and patted the car seat. "Come on, Mutt," she called out.

Again the dog hesitated. He looked at her and then looked off into the distance. He let out a sharp bark and took off. The three agents watched him go.

"I'm sorry, Emily," JJ said when the dog disappeared from sight.

Emily shrugged. "If it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't." On the outside she appeared unconcerned but on the inside she was deeply disappointed that he had chosen not to go with them. She hadn't realized until now how attached she had grown to the dog.

Just as fast as he had gone Mutt quickly reappeared. He had gone back to retrieve Emily's shirt. Without any hesitation he bounded through the door with his prize possession and hopped over the seat into rear of the SUV. He turned around and rested his head on the top of the backseat so that she could rub his head.

Emily took the shirt from him. "So that's where the shirt went. You had it all this time."

Dave decided not to mention that he was the one who had taken it. He chuckled. "Guess he changed mind after all." He closed the back door and climbed into the driver's seat while JJ returned the wheelchair.

While they waited for her to come back, Emily said, "You know what Hotch is going to say when we show up with Mutt?"

Dave looked at her in the mirror. "What?"

Emily frowned and said in a Hotch-like voice, "The BAU is not in the pet taxi service."

Dave laughed at her imitation. "You're right. He probably will but I will convince him otherwise."

"What is so funny?" JJ asked as she climbed into the passenger seat. Emily repeated what she had said and JJ also laughed.

Dave backed up the Denali and drove out of the hospital parking lot. Emily looked out the window while scratching Mutt's ears again. "I'll be glad never to see this place again."

"I'll second that," Dave called out.

Emily turned away from the window. "JJ?"

JJ shifted around to see into the back better. "What?"

Emily looked at the blonde very seriously. "The next we get picked to conduct a seminar we're flying."

Well that is all she wrote. Hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it. Keep your electronic ears open. I have a couple stories in progress and plan on posting one of them, as of right now, the first Weds. in February. Until then everyone have a Happy New Year!