Penelope woke Bella up and the girl got ready for school quickly. Penelope dropped her off and went back to the BAU in a hurry.
School and work went fine for them.

During lunch Emily called Bella.

"Hello?" Bella said.

"Hi baby it's mom"

"Hi, I know"

"Is everything okay?" Emily asked noticing Bella didn't sound very excited to hear her voice.

"Yup. Everything is fine." The girl said.

"I just called to tell you to go to Chloe's house, okay? I've talked to Hilary and she'll pick you guys up today" Emily said.

"Why can't I stay with Penelope?" Bella asked trying not to sound upset.

"she'll be really really busy today. We're working nonstop to get this guy. You understand that, right?" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said trying not to sound upset.

"Alright. I'll see you soon Bells" Emily said.

"Oh mom! I forgot to tell you!" Bella said as she saw Ro walking back in the lounge, she had gone to the bathroom. "I made a new friend" Bella said.

"You did?" Emily asked surprised.

"Yeah. Her name is Rose" Bella smiled as her new friend sat next to her.

"Well, you should invite her over sometime. I want to meet her" Emily said. She had a big smile on her face. She was happy Bella was making friends. She knew the girl texted Cameron sometimes but they had lost their "connection". Bella didn't really talk about her anymore.

"I will" Bella said.

"I gotta go now but I'll see you soon" Emily said.

"Okay. Bye. I love you" Bella said.

"I love you too" Emily said. "Bye"

"Bye"

And they hung up.
Emily walked out of the police station with JJ as the team had a new lead.

At school Bella ate lunch with her friends and even though she wanted to go stay with Penelope after a while she felt kind of okay to go to Chloe's house.

"My mom said I'm going to your house" Bella told Chloe as they sat inside their classroom again.

"You are?" Chloe asked excited.

"Yes" Bella laughed.

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Later that day at Chloe's house, the girls were doing homework when the bell rang. It was almost 7 when Hilary opened the door and Emily was standing there.

"Hi" Emily said. "I came to pick her up" she added.
Isabella heard her mother's voice and ran to the door.

"Mom!" The girl said running to Emily's arms. She missed her. Emily gave her a big hug.

"Let's go home?" Emily said with a smile.

"Yes" Bella smiled. "Let me get my things" the girl said and ran to get her stuff.

.

They walked inside the apartment and Bella actually missed that place too. She put her bag on the floor behind the couch and sat on the couch. Emily sat next to her looking exhausted.

"Hard case?" Bella asked laying her head on Emily's lap.

"Yeah" Emily said taking a deep breath. It had been a long week.
They sat there silently for a while and then Emily said "I must shower" and Bella sat up and Emily went upstairs.

Bella was relieved her mom was there, she pretty much had been scared all week. She wasn't sure if she was scared of Emily getting hurt or of her being away a long time. She didn't know. She just didn't feel very good whenever Emily went away on a case. She thought she would be used to it by now but she wasn't.

Emily went to shower and Bella decided to do the same. Bella got ready for bed and laid on Emily's bed. The girl just felt safe and like she could finally relax. She knew her mom was right there.
When Emily walked out of the bathroom she found the girl asleep squeezing her blanket. It was a little over 8.
She covered Bella up and went to get something to eat in the kitchen. Then she brushed her teeth and laid next to Bella.
It was early but she was exhausted.

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(Friday)

Emily woke up with the alarm clock in the nightstand. She turned it off and woke Bella.

"Hey. Bella wake up" she sang, running her fingers through Bella's hair and the girl moved on the bed.

"Hi" Emily said as Bella opened her eyes.
The girl moved closer to Emily and threw one arm over her mother's waist.

"Come on honey, you have to go get ready or you'll be late" Emily said and Bella looked at her right in the eyes.
Emily kissed the girl's forehead. "Come on" she said and Bella sat up still a bit sleepy.

"I'll pick you up at school, alright? We'll stay here today and not in the office." Emily said.

"You're staying home today?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, I can work on the paperwork I have from home" Emily said.

"You will?... I wanna stay with you" Bella said.

"Oh baby, you can't miss school" Emily said and Bella just looked sad. "We've talked about this, haven't we?" Emily said and suddenly Bella just let her tears fall. She wanted to stay home with her mother.
"Bella, honey" Emily said. She felt bad but she knew that if she allowed the girl to stay home they could go down a few steps.

"I don't wanna go" Bella said laying back down close to Emily.

"No. We talked about this and you are going to school." Emily said.

"I'll go next week, mommy. It's just one day" Bella cried.

"No. School is not negotiable. Come on" Emily said trying to make Bella sit up on the bed but the girl pushed her away.

"Honey, we'll be together the entire weekend." Emily said.

"I miss you" Bella said sitting up and hugging her mom.

"I know you do" Emily said feeling bad. She pulled the girl to her lap. "Look, go get ready and go to school and I'll find something very fun for us to do afterwards" Emily said with a sad smile.
"Okay?" She asked the girl.

"Okay" Bella said still crying.

Emily wiped the girl's face and said "now go" and Bella went to her bedroom. She decided to shower since she cried and her face was super red. She walked downstairs afterwards with a very wet hair.

"Do you want help?" Emily asked as Bella brushed her hair. The girl shook her head no and sat at the island.

"You're getting your uniform all wet" Emily said noticing Isabella's back was wet. She got a towel and put on the girl's back.

"Let me do it while you eat" she said and Bella handed her the brush. She combed the girl's hair and did a half up.

"Oh you know what I was thinking?" Emily said.

"What?" Bella said not very excited.

"You said we should go to the pool more often so I thought maybe you could invite your new friend over tomorrow. Maybe Chloe and Gavin too?" Emily said with a smile.

"I'll tell them to come around 3" Bella said.

"Why so late?" Emily asked a little confused.

"I wanna stay with you" Bella said shyly.

Emily hugged her. "Good idea" she smiled and kissed the girl's cheek.

They finished eating and headed to the school.
Emily dropped Bella off and headed back home. She was still exhausted so she headed back to bed. She slept for a while and then worked on some paperwork.

At school Bella told her friends about them going to her house and they said they would ask their parents. After lunch everyone had confirmed they would go.

.

When the last bell rang and they walked out of school Bella smiled big when she spotted Emily's car.

"Bye guys" she told her friends and ran to the car.

"How was your day?" Emily asked as Bella sat.

"Fine" Bella said and gave her mom a hug.

"Buckle up" Emily said.

"So what are we doing now?" Bella asked.

"How about park and then mall?" Emily smiled.

"Sure" Bella said with a small smile.
And they headed off.

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At the park they walked around for a while, holding hands as always. Bella was happy to have Emily back.
After some walking they spotted the bench close to the lake.

"Can we sit there?" Bella asked.

"Sure" Emily smiled and they walked to the bench.

"Feels weird coming back here" Bella said staring at the lake.

Emily smiled. "It does" she said.

They sat in silence for a while till Bella said "I'm sorry I ran away mom. That was really dumb"

Emily let out a laugh and threw her arm over Isabella's shoulders.
They just sat there till suddenly Emily's phone started ringing. She smiled staring at Penelope's picture.

Isabella kept repeating on her head "please not a case, please not a case"

"Hello?" Emily said.

"Hi! It's me! Well, I'm at JJ's house and we're heading to the mall. Wanna come too? Bring your mini" Penelope said.

"Sure. We were actually going there later" Emily smiled.

"Alright then. We'll meet in front of Macy's, okay?"

"Okay" Emily agreed and hung up.

"What did she want?" Bella asked.

"We're meeting her and JJ at the mall" Emily smiled and put a lock of hair behind Bella's ear. "Let's go?" She said and Bella looked relieved. Emily smiled as she noticed it. They got up and Emily grabbed Bella's hand.

"Can we come here tomorrow? Before my friends arrive" Bella asked with a smile.

"Of course we can" Emily said pulling Bella closer to her and throwing her arm around the girl's shoulders.

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At the mall, they met JJ and Penelope and everything was going great till they we're done eating.
They were sitting at the food court eating and talking when suddenly JJ's phone rang.
She answered but she couldn't quite hear because Penelope and Bella were talking a lot about a Doctor Who episode.

"But i just knew that would happen" Penelope said laughing.

"Yeah right" Bella mocked her.

"I'm serious. Look there was the-" Penelope said but JJ cut her off.

"Guys" she said making a face and they shut up.

"You can talk now" JJ told the person on the phone. She listened for a while and then said "in L.A?" and listened some more... "We'll meet you at the airport, Hotch" she said making a face to Emily.

In her mind all Bella could think was "no. Not again. She just got back. Please don't leave again. Not another case."

JJ hung up and explained herself. "There were five bodies found this morning."

"Five?" Penelope asked in disbelief.

"We got called in" JJ said. "It's urgent" she added.

As she explained, Isabella fought hard not to start crying. She didn't want Emily to go away again. She sat there silent looking down at the table.

"So let's go?" Penelope said grabbing her bags. She had bought some stuff.
Everyone got up but Bella just sat there.

"Let's go honey" Emily said but Bella didn't move.

"Come on, you can stay with me. We can watch the new movie we got" Penelope said smiling but Bella just got up and hugged Emily.

"Bella" Emily said as the girl bursted into tears.

"I don't want you to go" Isabella cried and Emily picked her up.

"Honey. I know you understand I have to work" Emily said.

"No" Bella cried.

People in the mall were starting to look at them.

"Bella, don't do this. You're a big girl. Come on we're in the mall" Emily said.

"I don't care" Bella yelled and cried.

"You can stay at my house with Henry if you want to" JJ said trying to help.

"Or at Chloe's" Emily said.

"No. I wanna go home" Bella cried.

"Bella" Emily said serious.

"I wanna go home" Bella yelled.

Emily was torn of what to do so she went with her gut. She couldn't allow Bella to throw a tantrum in the middle of the mall.

She put the girl down.

"Bella look at me" she said but Bella wouldn't let go of her and kept hiding her face on Emily's belly. "Look, you are not 5 years old anymore. You're a big girl. And you know I have to work. You can choose what you want to do now but I'm going to work. So you can either go with Penelope to the office or you can stay with Will or Hilary" Emily said.

"I wanna stay with you" Bella said between her teeth. She was angry.

"That's not an option Bella. What do you want to do?" Emily asked keeping her patience.

Isabella yelled "you're just like before".
She pushed Emily away and just sprinted to the exit nearby.

Emily couldn't believe it. Before John died the kid rarely ever even cried and now she was throwing a tantrum in the middle of a shopping mall.
Emily ran after her and before she could walk out of the mall Emily grabbed her arm, making her turn around.

"Stop this" Emily said firmly. She let go of Isabella's arm and said "Are you going to choose what you want to do or am I choosing for you?"

Penelope and JJ walked to them, both in shock. JJ carried Emily's bags.
Bella stood there crying and didn't say anything.

"Em" JJ said. They really had to go. The team was waiting for them.

"What is it gonna be?" Emily asked Bella firmly.

"I want to stay with Henry" Bella said still crying.

"Okay" Emily said grabbing her hand firmly and walked to the car. Bella walked a step behind with tears streaming down her face. When they got to the car Bella got in the back.

"Emily we gotta go so come with me and Penelope can take Bella to my house" JJ said. Emily looked at Bella who was sitting on the other side, far away from where she was standing.

"Okay" Emily said handing her key to Penelope, who got it and got in the car.

"Bye honey. I'll see you soon" Emily said and Isabella just looked away still crying. Emily knew the kid was mad. She felt bad but she had to work.

"Bye Garcia" Emily said and got inside JJ's car and they drove away, in different directions.

Emily felt bad but she felt she did the right thing.

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After driving for a while in complete silence, the silence was broken by Isabella talking. "Aunt Penny, can you stop at my house?" She said still crying.

"Of course I can, bunny" Penelope said. She felt really horrible about the situation.
She drove to Emily's apartment and allowed Bella to pack a bag. The girl went to her bathroom and washed her face and then went around the place and packed some clothes and her school clothes just in case, her binder, a book, her ipad, Duffy and of course her blanket. She walked to the living room, where Penelope was waiting, with a full backpack.

"All done?" Penelope asked and Bella nodded. So they headed to Will's.

When they got there JJ had already called and explained everything that happened. Will was okay with watching Bella, and Henry was super excited when he saw Isabella walking inside.

"Hiiiiiii" the boy came running to the girl. They hugged. Then Henry hugged Penelope.

"Hi my cutie pie" Penelope said smiling.

"Alright. So go play guys." Will said and Bella followed Henry to the living room. "Bella, you have the guest room" he smiled but the girl stayed serious.

"Did JJ tell you what exactly happened?" Penelope asked making a face.

"Tantrum at the mall? Yeah" Will said.

"She seems okay now but if you need just call. " Penelope said.

"Okay" Will said.

"Bye Bella" Penelope said but nothing was heard.

"She'll be okay" Will said as he noticed Penelope's sad face.

"Yeah" Penelope said.

"Bye" Will said.

"Bye. Anything call. Don't forget. Just call anything. Anytime" she said walking to the car.

"Okay." Will laughed.

Penelope drove away and he went inside.
He found Bella and Henry putting a movie on.

"He wants to watch 'Toy Story'. Is that okay?" Bella said as she saw Will standing there staring.

"Of course" Will said with a smile. "I'll make popcorn" he said and went to the kitchen.

The kids started watching the movie and it wasn't long till Will sat on the couch with the popcorn. Both kids, who were sitting on the floor, sat next to him, one in each side and ate popcorn while watching the movie.

They watched movies and played with Henry's toys all day.
Everything was going way better then Will had expected.

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Emily sat on the plane and couldn't help but wonder if Isabella was alright. She really felt bad for having to work again but she thought the girl's behavior was unacceptable.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked taking the seat next to Emily.

"Yeah" Emily said with a 'sorry' smile.

"Why? What happened?" Derek asked sitting in front of Emily.

"Bella threw a fit at the mall when we had to come." Emily said.

"She what?" Morgan asked surprised. "Inside the mall? In front of people?" He asked.

"Yes. In the food court" Emily said.

"Is she alright now?" Hotch asked walking to sit next to Derek.

"She's with Will. So probably playing with Henry. She'll be fine" Emily said.

"We actually have been working too much in the last couple weeks." Rossi said.

"Yeah" Morgan said. "I have slept on my bed maybe like two days in three weeks" he said.

"Well that's just usual you" JJ joked and everyone laughed.

"I know what you mean Morgan. We are packed" Rossi said.

Suddenly Penelope was in the computer.
"Hello my beautiful people. Buckle up cause things are about to get pretty crazy..." She started.

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The team got to L.A and Emily went to the crime scene with Hotch and Derek. After they walked around they headed to the station.

"Jack is having a hard time this week too." Hotch said serious.

Emily thought it was curios he was actually sharing that.

"He's asking a lot why I travel so much. And it doesn't matter how many times or how many different ways I explain he always asks again" he said.

"Bella used to be like that" Emily said. She remembered how Bella used to always want to hear stories from her work when she was younger.
She smiled at those thoughts but soon she felt sad...

As she remembered the first time Bella cried when she had to leave.

**** 6 years ago...

Friday, New York City, USA.

Bella was just 3 years old and Emily hadn't seen her in four months, she called Bella but she hadn't seen the girl in a long time, when she walked inside John's apartment to surprise her daughter who was watching cartoons with Jeremy, both still in their pajamas.

"Hello" Emily said.

Bella looked from the couch and smiled big as she saw Emily standing behind it. Emily smiled big at how adorable and beautiful Isabella was. The girl had white pajamas pants with pink polka dots on, a long sleeved shirt with Minnie Mouse on it and had her dark hair up in pigtails.

"Come here pumpkin" Emily said smiling and Bella ran to her. She lifted the little girl up and hugged her tight.

"Mommy" Bella said tightening her little arms around her mother's neck.

Emily put her down and the girl had a big smile on her face.

That smile lasted all weekend.
But on Sunday, around 8, Emily had to leave and Bella was not happy about it. After Emily got Bella ready for bed, she and John explained that she had to go back to work but she would come back soon.

"No. No" the girl said hugging Emily's leg tight and crying. Emily scooped her up and the little girl just sobbed.

"Oh baby. Mommy will come back soon. I promise" Emily said.

"You out for long time" little Isabella cried.

"I know but this time I'll come very very soon" Emily promised.

"No mommy" Bella cried.

"Come here" John said and went to pick her up but she started screaming.

"No! I want mommy! I wanna stay mommy" the little girl cried.

Emily's eyes filled with tears. Isabella had never cried like that before because of her having to go.

Emily sat on the couch with the girl.

"Look baby. I promise that I'll come back in just a few days. You stay with daddy and It will go by super-fast and I'll be back and we can have ice cream and we'll play all day again." She said.

"No" Bella said and just sobbed.

"You're gonna miss your flight" Jeremy said walking inside the room.

Emily looked at the clock and she really had to go. She could not miss her flight.
She looked at John's face and he just knew.

He grabbed Bella and the girl tightened her little arms around Emily's neck. She felt horrible but she took the girl's hands off of her and John just held Bella away.

"No!" Bella screamed now sounding angry.

"I love you Bells. I'll be back soon" Emily said as tears started rolling down her own face.

"No! Mommy! No! Don't leave" Bella screamed as Emily went to the door.
The little girl was kicking her little legs throwing a big fit with sobs and screams.

"Come here" Jeremy said and took Bella from John. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Let's watch a movie huh? Your mom will be back soon. Don't worry" he said and sat on the couch with the little girl crying in his arms. "Look Bellie! It's Cinderella! Let's watch" he said but the girl kept crying and hugging him.

"mommy" the little girl cried.

"Oh look! There's Ella" he said and Isabella shyly looked at the tv.

"Do you wanna watch that?" He asked.

"I want mommy" the girl said.

"She'll come back soon" he said hugging the little girl. John sat beside them to watch the movie too and Bella wanted him.

"Daddy" she said and John picked her up. The way her bottom lip was, was killing him.

"Mommy will be back soon baby" he said covering Bella up with a blanket that was on the couch. The little girl snuggled up and kept crying a little till she fell asleep.

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****Back in the "present" time...

"Bella used to be like that" Emily said. She remembered how Bella used to always want to hear stories from her work when she was younger. She smiled at those thoughts but soon she felt sad, as she remembered the first time Bella cried when she had to leave. She felt broken as she saw a lot of that scared little 3 year-old on her 9 year-old. But with that she also knew that Isabella would be alright. The girl cried a couple times when she was little and didn't want mom to leave but she would always be okay after a while. She knew it was hard for Bella but she knew that the kid would be alright.

Or at least she wanted to believe she would.

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Later at night Emily called Will to see how Bella was doing.

"She's asleep already" he said. It was 8:34.

"This early?" Emily asked surprised.

"She fell asleep watching a movie with Henry" Will said. "Both fell asleep." He laughed.

Emily let out a little laugh and said "Good"

"We're heading to the hotel right now so anything just call" Emily said.

"Okay." He said. "Can I talk to Jennifer?" He asked.

"Oh sure. She's right here" Emily said and handed her phone to JJ. They talked for a while and then hung up.

"Glad she's sleeping already?" JJ asked Emily.

Emily gave her a small smile.

"Don't worry she'll be alright" JJ said.

"I know" Emily said.

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It was almost midnight when Will went to check on the kids before heading to his bedroom. Henry was fast asleep but when he walked inside the guest room Isabella was crying and hugging her bear, Duffy.

"Sweetheart, what happened?" Will said walking inside.
Bella stayed there crying and didn't say a word.

"Do you want to sleep in Henry's bedroom again?" Will asked and Bella nodded yes rapidly. "Alright. Come with me. Let's get a bed ready" he said handing out a hand. The girl got out of bed and instead of taking his hand she hugged him.

"Your mama is okay" he told her and she cried even more.

"I want Penelope" Bella said.

"Okay. Let's go call her" Will said.

"No. I wanna go stay with her" Bella cried.

"I know but we have to call and see where she is. It's almost midnight already" he said.
He took her hand and they walked to the kitchen. Will got the home phone and called Garcia.

.

Garcia was coming out of the shower when she heard her phone ringing. She had just got home about 30 minutes earlier.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hello, it's Will" he said.

"Oh hi! Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Isabella wants to stay with you" he said. "Is there any way you can come get her? Henry is asleep so I..." He said.

"Oh sure sure. I'll be there in a few minutes." Penelope said already hurrying up to get dressed.

"Okay." Will said giving Bella a smile.

"Tell her I'll be right there" Garcia said and hung up. She got ready super-fast. She just put her pajamas on and headed to the car.

.

At Will's house he told Bella to get her things ready to go because Penelope was coming to pick her up.

"Sorry for wanting to go" Bella said embarrassed.

"Sweetheart that's okay" Will said and Bella went to get ready.
She put everything on her bag and sat on the bed waiting for Penelope.

Not very long after Bella was done, Penelope rang the bell.

"Come on in" Will said laughing as he noticed her hair was wet and tangled and she was wearing pajamas.

"Where's she?" Penelope said and he took her to the guest room. When Bella saw her she ran to her arms. She still had tears streaming down her face.

"Hi monkey. I'm here. Aunt Penny is here" Penelope said hugging her and giving her a bunch of kisses. "Let's go?" She asked letting go of the girl and Bella nodded yes. She got her backpack and said goodbye to Will and they were out.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked as Isabella buckled up.

Bella shook her head no.
Penelope didn't really know what to say so she just wrapped the girl in her arms.

She let go of the hug and drove home.
When they got there Bella went straight to Penelope's room.

"Make yourself at home, little tiny" Penelope said and Bella stayed quiet. She put her bag next to the bed, got her blanket and Duffy and laid down on the bed and hugged them. Penelope walked over to the side where Bella was and tucked her in.

"May your dreams be filled with chocolate and rainbows" Penelope said placing a kiss on Isabella's head. The girl closed her eyes and Penelope turned the light off and went to the bathroom to brush her hair.
When she walked out Bella was still awake staring at her. Penelope laid next to the girl and Bella moved closer to her hiding her face on the woman's belly.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asked again.

"No and I don't wanna talk about it" Bella said. The main reason she said she wanted to go to Will's house was because she knew he wouldn't talk about what happened.

"Okay" Penelope said tightening the hug. "We don't have to talk about it"

"Good" Bella said.

They stayed hugging, both didn't say another word. And soon they were out.

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(Saturday)

Penelope woke up at 7 and got ready for work, she had to be in the bureau at 8. She was ready to go when she woke Bella up at 7:40.

"Hey let's go bunny. I have to go to work. You're coming with me" she told Bella as the girl stretched. "Let's go. We're leaving. Go put your shoes on"

"I need to change my clothes" Bella said.

"No it's okay. You can wear pajamas it's fine. Just get your coat and your shoes on."

"What?" Bella said.

"Come on. I packed that navy dress you brought and black tights. You can change when we get there" Penelope said holding one of her bags with Isabella's things in it.
Bella got up, got her blanket and Duffy, put them on the bag Penelope had for her, put her shoes and coat on and they headed out. Penelope went thru the McDonald's drive-thru and got breakfast for them and then went to the office.

Bella spent the entire day there with Garcia. She stayed on the couch at Penelope's office, having a Doctor Who marathon in her pajamas all day while the older woman worked.

Around 7, Emily called.

"Hi Bells" she said.

"Hi" Bella said not sounding excited at all to be talking to her.

"Will told me you asked to stay with Penelope. What happened?" Emily asked a bit hurt about the way the girl was acting.

"Nothing. I just wanted to" Bella said serious.

There was a bit of silence since both weren't sure of what to say next.
But then Emily said "I'm sorry I had to go on another case so soon"

"Whatever" Bella said.

"It's not whatever, honey. I know you're upset."

"Of course I am. I barely even saw you in the last two weeks. You're working more than you're staying with me mom." Bella said sounding a bit angry and upset.

"I'll be home soon" Emily said.

"Sure you will" Bella said and hung up.

Emily sat at the LA police station speechless. The girl hung up. She couldn't believe it.

In Quantico, Bella just put the phone away and went back to watching her show.

Emily called Penelope.
"She just hung up on me, so keep an extra eye on her. Make sure she's alright" Emily said.

"Of course. Don't worry" Penelope said.

The rest of the night went fine.
They headed home around 9 and were both exhausted. Bella showered first and then Penelope did. When Penelope got out of the bathroom Bella was asleep hugging her Duffy and her blanket while 'Finding Neverland' played on the tv. Penelope smiled. She thought things were going better.
The girl was very quiet, quieter than normal but at least she wasn't crying. She laid next to the girl and watched the movie. Once it was done she was very tired so she turned it off and tried to sleep.

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(Sunday)

Around 2am Bella sat on the bed. She had had a terrible nightmare. She was at the park with Penelope and Emily and people started shooting close by and Emily told her and Penelope to lay on the floor, they did that and Emily ran to the shooters with her gun but they shot her multiple times and she just fell on the ground right in front of them.

Bella sat on the bed with tears streaming down her face as she couldn't get that image out of her head.

Penelope woke up as she heard crying. She saw the girl sitting up and crying and just sat and hugged her.

"It's okay baby. Penny is here. Aunt Penny is here." Penelope said hugging the girl.

They stayed silent for a moment and then Penelope asked letting go of the girl "do you want to call your mama?"

"No" Bella said sounding a little angry.

"Hey don't be mad at her, Bellie. She's just working and she'll be back soon"

"She's always working. Just like before" Bella said.

"Before what?" Penelope asked a bit confused.

"When my dad was alive. She would say 'it's just for a couple days Bells' and then she would take forever to go see me." Bella said changing her voice when she said 'it's just for a couple days'

"It's different now Bella. She has the team with her and she's away for just a few days and then she's back. And while she's away you can stay with me and have fun"

"It's not different" Bella said still crying.

"Yes it is, sugar" Penelope said putting a lock of hair behind the girl's ear.

"I just don't understand why SHE has to go. Why can't they just send someone else? Why does it need to be her to do it?" Bella asked crying, barely able to say all the words.

"Oh sugarplum. Come here" Penelope said wrapping the girl in her arms and laying down taking Bella with her.

"Your mama has to go because she's special" Penelope said.

"No. She's not. She's just my mom" Bella said.

"Bella, do you know that every X-men has something special that they are very very good at? The team is like that, Bellie. Each one of them has something special that they can do and when they all go on a case together it's like they're combining it all so they can fight the bad guys." Penelope said and noticed Bella was calming down as she payed attention, so she kept going.
"Your mama is very very veeeeery special. She knows things that very few people in the world knows and she decided to help the team with what she has. And you know you don't have to worry about her getting hurt. I know it's scary but they don't just go and chose a random person to do this job. They are selected very carefully and they are trained and everything. I know that in your little head you don't know how to get away from a situation you think they might face. Like if there's someone with a gun close by. You don't know how to deal with that but they are trained for those situations. They know what to do. And they have each other's back, just like the x-men"

"My mom got shot that time" Bella said. She wasn't sobbing anymore but still had a couple tears falling.

"But she got better super-fast. Didn't she?" Penelope said and Bella nodded yes.

Penelope tightened the hug.
"Look, I think you've been through so much in the last few months. And it's just a lot for your little head to process. And I can see that you just want your mommy by your side but you need to know that what she does is very brave and it's to help us. Help me, and your friends and you. Help all of us." Penelope said.
"She will always be your mommy first, Bella. You know that even though sometimes she's away you can call her anytime. She'll come back soon. And while she's traveling you've got me. You like me, don't you?" Penelope said.

Bella nodded yes.

"Do you trust me?" Penelope asked.

Bella nodded yes.

"No, I wanna hear it" Penelope said.

"Yes I do" Bella said.

"So trust me when I say that she'll be okay." Penelope said.

Bella wasn't crying anymore.

"And you have this really cool aunt here that loves you more than she loves anyone else alive in this big blue planet" Penelope said hugging Bella tight.

The little girl couldn't help but smile.

"I love you too" Bella said.

Penelope smiled and they kept hugging till they fell back asleep.

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Just like the day before, Penelope let Bella sleep till the last minute. When she went to wake the girl up Bella pulled her to the bed. Penelope hugged her.

"Aunt penny, is my mom really that special? Like the x-men?" Bella asked. Her voice so sweet that made Penelope smile big.

"She's so SOOO special." Penelope said. "I think I'd be very scared if the team wasn't out there doing what they do" Penelope added.

Bella snuggled up to her and Garcia ran her fingers through the girl's hair.

"Your mom saved a lot of people Bella. That's something to be very proud of" Penelope said.

They were silent for some time and then Penelope said they should go or she would be late so they headed to the office.

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The day went okay.
Bella finished the season of "Doctor Who" she was watching and then started watching "That 70's Show" again. She spent the entire day watching that. They headed to Penelope's house around 10. Bella did her homework really fast, had dinner and then got ready for bed.

Penelope got a call from Emily because Isabella wasn't answering her phone.

"Is she asleep? She's not answering me" Emily asked worried.

"She's watching a movie in my room. Don't worry she'll be okay" Penelope said.

"She's not talking to me now?" Emily said.

"Look Em. I think she's scared of the possibility of all of this being like before. Before John died. She was upset telling me how you're away a lot and I think it's not just what's going on right now that's making her upset but what could happen in the future. She's just scared you're going to be always away. Like the last couple weeks. It's hard. For you and the team and of course for her too. She's been through a lot and it's expected for her to be upset. You just have to give her some time to adjust and make sure she knows it won't be like before. Because I think that's the real reason she's so scared." Penelope said.

"I know" was all Emily could say. "Anything just call" she said.

"Okay" Penelope said.

"Goodnight and hug her for me"

"I will. Goodnight" Garcia said and they hung up.

Penelope walked to her room and sat on the bed. She hugged Bella and said "your mom sent the hug" and laid down. Bella gave her a small smile but it was enough to make Penelope happy. They moved closer together and watched the movie till both fell asleep.
Bella woke up a few times but decided not to wake Penelope. She knew the woman was working a lot and was probably very tired. So she just stared at the wall or at something else in the room till she fell back asleep.
She wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling about Emily's work. She did think it was amazing and brave, and she was very proud but at the same time she just wanted Emily by her side.
All she knew for sure was that she didn't want it to be like before.