Emily sat on the couch and suddenly her phone started ringing. It's was Clyde, her old friend from Interpol.

"Hello" She said.

"Hi. I have some news for you" he said serious.

"What is it?" Emily asked serious fearing the worse.

"He's dead" Clyde said.

"What?" Emily asked surprised.

"He's dead. Ian Doyle is dead" he said.

"What do you mean he's dead?" Emily said in disbelief. Derek and Garcia just stared at her.

"I did it. I couldn't let him get away again. We were transporting him and he fought with an officer so I took my chance. It's over Emily. Forever" Clyde said and Emily breathed deep. She was relieved, she couldn't deny that.

"Well, I gotta go. I just had to let you know" he said.

"What's going to happen to you now?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it" he said. "I gotta go"

"Okay" Emily said. "Thank you Clyde. Really for everything" Emily said.

"Goodbye" he said and hung up.

Emily put the phone down and her face showed she was in shock.

"What happened?" Garcia asked worried. "Who died?"

"Doyle" Emily said.

"What?" Morgan and Penelope asked in unison.

"They were taking him to the prison and Clyde just..." Emily said.

"He's dead. He's really dead?" Derek asked.

"Yes" Emily said.

Derek rested his head on his hand and breathed out relieved. All he wanted was for that man to be dead and gone forever.

"Are you gonna tell Bella right now?" Garcia asked.

"Yes. I have to" Emily said.

Derek nodded.

Bella finished showering and went to the living room.

"Baby come here." Emily said and Bella sat on her lap. Emily looked at Derek not sure how to bring it up so Derek went into action.

"Bella, did you know that Interpol was taking Doyle to prison?" Derek asked and tears immediately filled the child eyes and she looked clearly scared.

"I don't wanna talk about him" she said and burst into tears. Emily hugged her tight.

"He died" Emily said.

"He's gone forever, baby girl." Derek said.

Bella looked up.

"He's dead" Emily said.

"How?" Bella asked.

"Clyde" was all Emily said and hugged the girl tight again. Emily could feel Isabella's body releasing all the tension.

"It's all over now." Emily said and Isabella started to calm down.

No one said anything anymore. Emily held the girl in her arms and they started watching the movie. Thirty minutes into it, Isabella fell asleep. Derek carried her to bed and went back to finish watching the movie.

"She's out" he said walking back in.

They watched the movie, then some senseless tv show and then went to bed around 11.

Emily was glad she didn't have to worry about Doyle ever ever again. He was gone forever. She felt such relieve when she laid down next to her daughter that night. It was like she could finally breathe again.

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(Wednesday)

Talking about Doyle didn't really help Bella. Even though he was dead she still remembered everything he did to them and it was hard to take those images out of her mind.
She woke up crying a few times throughout the night and Emily was right by her side making sure she was okay.
It was a hard night.

Around 8, Emily woke up and left Bella sleeping on the bed. She headed to the kitchen and found Derek and Penelope having breakfast.

"Good morning" Emily said walking in.

"I heard some crying last night. Is she alright?" Penelope said.

"Yeah. She woke up a few times but she's okay"

"What's the time of her test today?" Derek asked.

"1:30" Emily said.

"Do you need me to take her or..?" Derek said.

"No it's fine. I got it" Emily said with a smile and Derek gave her a nod.

"Well, WE gotta go" Penelope said looking at Derek. "And you enjoy your baby and anything just call" she said and Emily smiled.

"Yeah. Just call" Derek said standing up.

"Sure" Emily said and they headed to work.
She finished drinking her coffee, fed Lulu and Sergio and then went back to bed. She laid next to Bella and the girl moved closer to her. Emily smiled just happy to be there. She tucked a lock of hair behind the child's ear and kept smiling. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

About 20 minutes later Bella woke up. Emily woke up with the girl moving on the bed.

"Good morning" Emily told Bella. The girl looked at her and smiled.

"Hi" Bella said.

"Hi" Emily laughed and threw her arm over the girl.

"Let's eat breakfast?" Emily asked and Bella nodded yes.
They went to the kitchen and Bella asked where Penelope was.

"They went to work" Emily said.

"Already?" Bella asked not looking very happy.

"Yeah" Emily said and wrapped the girl in a hug. "It's gonna be alright" she said.

"When are you going to work?" Bella asked.

"In about 2 weeks" Emily said. She had arranged everything with Hotch.

"Just two weeks?" Bella asked looking up and not letting go of the hug.

"Come here. Let's sit down" Emily said and they walked to the table. Emily sat and pulled Bella to her lap. "I go to work at 7 and you'll go with me. You can sit at my desk and then we'll be home around 6. If the team has a case then we'll stay at the office but I already told Hotch that we're not sleeping there, okay?" Emily explained and Bella nodded still looking a bit sad.

"I promise you" Emily said and hugged Bella. "Now let's eat because I'm starving" she said making a face and Bella smiled.
Emily made waffles and they ate together. Then Bella went through her notes for the test and went to get ready. They watched some tv, then had lunch and headed to the school.
Isabella was really nervous, not about the test itself but about seeing all the people that knew everything that happened.

As they walked to the school's entrance Emily could tell the girl was nervous.

"Mom" Bella said stopping. Emily looked at her. "I don't feel good" Bella said.

"I'll stay here with you. I'll wait at the principal's office, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay" Bella said.

"Take a deep breath." Emily said putting her hand on Isabella's back and making her walk. "You've got this" she smiled and they walked inside.

They were greeted by the principal.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked Bella and she just nodded yes. He looked at Emily and knew the girl was not feeling better.

"Is it okay if I wait here?" Emily asked.

"Of course" he said.

"Thank you" Emily said.

"So let's go?" He asked Bella and she nodded yes. They walked to the girl's classroom and everyone was sitting just waiting for her to arrive to get started.

"Come on in. Take a seat" the teacher said and Bella walked in. Her face got red as she felt everyone staring at her as she walked to a seat on the back. Emily and the principal walked back to his office, leaving the girl there.
Bella looked at Chloe and her friend mouthed "just breathe" and gave her a thumbs up. Bella took a deep breath and the teacher started handing out the tests.
She got hers and did it as fast as she could. She was the second one to finish. She handed it to her teacher and walked out. She went straight to the water fountain and drank some water, and then she took deep breaths trying to calm herself down. When she looked up she found Emily right next to her.
She hugged her mother's waist.

"You were fast" Emily said letting go of the hug. "Did you actually do the test or..?" Emily said.

"I did" Bella said. "Can we just go now?"

"Sure" Emily said and they walked to the car. They got inside and Emily asked "Do you want to go get ice cream again?"

"No I just want to go home" Bella said.

"Bella, why is it so hard for you to just go in there for a little while?" Emily asked wanting to know exactly why.

"It's hard because I feel like..." Bella said and her eyes filled with tears once again. "I feel like they're judging me and like... like something is gonna happen to you and I just can't relax and not think about it" Bella said.

Emily grabbed Bella's hand.
"Honey, nothing is going to happen to me. I'm here and I'm okay. Nothing bad is going to happen." Emily told her.

"You used to tell me that and then... Just look at what happened" Bella said.

"He is gone. He can't hurt us anymore, honey. We are safe. There's nothing for you to worry about. I wouldn't have come back yet if it was still dangerous. You know Hotch wouldn't have let me." Emily said.

"Are you sure mom?" Bella asked looking outside as a couple walked by.

"Yes baby. I am sure" Emily said and wrapped Bella in a hug. "Look it's okay to be scared but it's not okay to let that rule your life. You can't stop living because you're afraid of something bad happening" Emily said serious. "Do you understand me?" Emily asked.

"Yes" Bella said. "It's just hard"

"I know it is. But you can do it. You're my tough cookie, you can do anything!" Emily said and tickled Bella who smiled.

"See, that looks so much better" she said. "Doesn't it feel better too? To be smiling instead of crying"

"Yeah" Bella said and Emily smiled.

"So how about that ice cream?" Emily said and Bella smiled.

"Buckle up" Emily said letting go of the girl.

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They headed back home after getting ice cream and Bella studied for her tests that would happen on the following day. Derek got home at 6 and she greeted him with a big hug.
"How was the test?" Derek asked.

"Alright, I guess" Bella said.

"Can I expect an A?" He asked.

"Sure. I just don't know if you'll get it though" Bella said and everyone laughed glad to see her sense of humor coming back.
The girl went back to her room to study. Once she was done she showered and then sat in the living room with everyone.

"So I was thinking we could maybe look at a few houses tomorrow" Emily said out of nowhere.

"Tomorrow?" Bella said.

"Yeah. I have a list picked out and I thought we could take a look" Emily said.

"Sure" Bella said and rested her head on Emily's arm.

Derek smiled and said "I'll get it. You hug this one" he said and went to get the list. He gave it to Emily and she called and scheduled a few visits.

"Is anybody hungry?" Garcia asked as Emily hung up the phone.

"I am" Bella said and they all smiled. They ordered some Mexican food, which got there very fast, and sat to eat.
After dinner, 'Doctor Who' was on so they sat to watch. Midway through the episode Derek asked if Emily had talked to Bella about work. He knew she would be back in 2 weeks but he wasn't sure if she had told the girl that.

"Yeah. We talked this morning, right?" She said tucking a lock of hair behind the girl's ear. Bella was sitting on the couch between Derek and Emily.

"And how do you feel about going back?" Garcia asked and it started.

They talked about that for a long time and as time went on Bella started to not be able to concentrate on the episode. All she was hearing was them talking about work and she hated it. She felt like her head was going to explode as all the thoughts of sleeping in the office and the team traveling, and Doyle, filled her head. She just couldn't take it anymore.

"Uncle Derek" she said as her eyes filled with tears. Once again she didn't know how to explain that she needed a hug to help it all go away so she went with "my back hurts"

Derek pulled the girl to his lap once again. Everyone in the room knew that there was nothing wrong with her back.

"Where does it hurt princess?" He asked.

"My back" Bella said crying.

"Can I take a look?" He asked already lifting her shirt but she said "no!" and pushed it back.
"Hey it's okay." Derek said knowing she didn't want Emily to see her back.

"No" Bella cried looking at Emily and then at him.

"It's okay. There's nothing to hide there, honey" Emily said and Bella let him look.

Derek lifted her shirt up and Emily fell like her heart had traveled to her throat as she saw the clover and a few other scars on her daughter's back. She took a deep breath.

"Your back looks fine, Bella" Derek said letting go of her shirt.

"But it hurts." Bella said resting her head on his chest.

"Baby, does it really hurts or are you just a little upset and needed a cuddle?" Emily asked.

"It hurts" Bella said.

"Bella look at me" Derek said and the girl looked up. "Did you just need a cuddle?" He asked.
The girl took a little while thinking and then nodded yes and just burst into tears. Derek hugged her tight as Penelope and Emily just watched, both felt really bad.

"Princess, you don't have to lie to us. You could have just asked" he said.

"Sorry" Bella cried.

"It's alright" Derek said.

"But don't lie anymore, okay?" He said and she nodded yes. "Do you promise me you won't lie?" He asked and she nodded.
"I wanna hear it" he said.

"Yes" Bella said.

"Yes what?" Emily said.

"I won't lie anymore" Bella said still crying.

"Alright" Derek said. "Good girl" he said pushing hair away from her face.

"Do you wanna tell us why you lied?" Emily asked. Bella took her hand to her face and tried hiding it.

"You don't have to. It's okay" Derek said hugging her tight.

"Can I go to bed?" Bella said. She was so embarrassed about everything, embarrassed about lying and about Emily seeing her back.

Derek looked at Emily not sure if that was a good idea. Emily shook her head no.
"Why don't you stay here us? You wanted me to hold you, didn't you?" Derek said.

"I wanna go bed" Bella said.

"You can sleep right here with us, bunny" Garcia said.

"No" Bella cried.

Emily knew Isabella wasn't sleepy. She knew it was because of the lying and because of her back. She knew the girl wasn't okay with showing it.

"Bella look at me" Emily said lifting her shirt up to show her stomach. There was big scar there.

Isabella didn't look up.

"Bella. Look at me" Emily said again and the girl looked up.
When Isabella saw the scar on her mother's stomach she immediately went silent. She just stared at it as her tears kept rolling.

"I'm not hiding this, am I?" Emily said and the girl stayed quiet. "There is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about" she said and Bella looked her in the eyes. Tears were falling rapidly from the child's eyes but she didn't make a sound.
Emily put her shirt back down and opened her arms to the girl. "Come here" she said and Bella went. Emily held her daughter as the girl once again sobbed in her arms.
"It's okay baby. It's okay." Emily kept saying.

Derek and Penelope just sat there in a bit of a shock after seeing Emily's scars.
Everyone didn't say another word until Isabella fell sleep a few minutes later.

"She's asleep" Emily said looking up at Derek who was still in a bit of a shock.

"Are you okay?" Garcia asked her.

"Yes. And ummn... I'm sorry you had to see that... But I think she needed to" Emily said.

Derek nodded knowing she was exactly right.

"Derek can you carry her to bed?" Emily asked.

"Of course" he said. He picked the girl up and headed to the bedroom. He placed Bella down and she woke up.

"Mommy" she said barely awake.

"She's coming" Derek said covering her up and then Emily walked in. "She was asking for you" he said and Emily went to the bed.

"Mommy is here" Emily said laying next to the girl. Bella moved closer to Emily, grabbed her hand and closed her eyes again.

"Anything just..." Derek said.

"Thank you" Emily whispered and Derek gave her a nod and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Penelope hugged him and started crying. It was a bit too much for her.

"It's okay" Morgan told her as he ran his hand on her back.

Inside the room Emily kept running her fingers through Isabella's hair till they were both fast asleep.

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Bella woke up that Thursday morning and found Emily asleep next to her. She went a bit further down on the bed and faced her mother's stomach. She carefully lifted Emily's shirt revealing the big scar. Isabella just stared at it.
Suddenly Emily opened her eyes and saw Bella there.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked surprised.

Isabella let go of the shirt and hid her face on the covers.

"Bella... Hey" Emily said soothing her hair and the girl looked up.
"It's okay honey. I don't mind" Emily said hugging the girl. "You can look at it, I don't care. I'm not hiding any of it from you"

Bella stayed silent.

"Honey, can I tell you something?" Emily asked and Bella nodded. "So look at me" she said and Bella looked up.
"Scars are not always pretty but they are there to remind us of how tough we are. You shouldn't be ashamed of it, neither embarrassed about it" Emily said.

"But all they remind me of... is that I got hurt" Bella said as her eyes filled with tears.

"But you're here... And I'm here. We're together and okay." Emily said wiping tears from her daughter's cheeks. "Baby I know, what that man did to us was horrible but we made it through. We made it, we are okay now. We are together and our lives are moving forwards and where are they now? They're gone. He's gone. And we're here. And we're okay. And you should never hide this. You should never let a stupid mark dictate what you will or not do... or what you will wear. You should never be ashamed of this. Okay?" Emily said as Bella just kept crying. "You are a fighter, honey. You are so so tough. You should never be ashamed of a scar you got from a fight."

"But I wasn't fighting anyone" Bella cried.

"Yes you were. You were so brave in there. You were braver than I was." Emily said unable to keep her tears in. "You've been fighting really hard since he took you. But it's time to stop now. It's okay to stop now." Emily said as Bella hugged her tighter and tighter and just kept sobbing.
"It's okay to let go... because we already won. And you have to let go. You need to let go" Emily said sitting up and taking Bella with her. They both rested on the headboard and kept hugging.
"You are the toughest little girl I've ever known. I am so proud of you. And I don't care if you have a scar or not, that doesn't matter baby, that doesn't change who you are." She said. "You are my little fighter, Bella. And I am very thankful that you are here with me to show me yours scars."

"I'm thankful you're here too" Bella said between sobs.
Emily pulled Bella to her lap.

"Don't be ashamed of that or embarrassed about it anymore, okay? You have no reason to be" Emily said pushing hair away from Bella's face.
"Do you understand what I explained to you?" Emily asked.

"Yeah" Bella said. "It's just hard" she cried.

"I know it is. It took me a long time to understand that too. But I will be here and I'll help, okay? Mommy will help you" Emily said tightening the hug.
Isabella just rested her head on her mother's chest and let herself calm down. Emily held the girl till both of them had stopped crying. She wiped one last tear that fell on Isabella's cheek.

"I love you mom" Bella said.

"I love you to, Bells" Emily said tightening the hug once again.

Outside the room Derek smiled.
He heard the whole thing.
He was going to walk in to wake them up but he heard them talking and just stood there listening.
And right there he knew that those two inside the room would be okay. He could see Emily still had a way with Bella, Emily was still the one the girl needed.
He knew everything would be okay now.