Chapter Text
“Addison…… Addison……. Addison, wake up.” Addison blinked as her eyes adjusted to the bright room she was standing in. Addison looked around, recognizing she was in a hospital room and hearing beeping, she looked behind her and saw herself in a hospital bed asleep with a breathing tube in her mouth and plastic tubes coming out of her arms into the many machines around her.
Next to her body, lying in bed, was Emily, healthy and fine, sleeping in a chair, her hand held. Addison looked down at the hand she was holding, and she could feel her hand on her own. “What the hell?” Addison asked, scared and confused about what was happening as the thought of her being dead crossed her mind.
“Finally! I have been trying to wake you up for weeks,” the voice said. Addison turned around and saw a young George leaning against the wall on the opposite end of the room. George smiled, “Hey Domino, how are you feeling?”
Addison let out a gasp, backing up, shaking her head. “What…. how……. Am I dead?” she asked.
“No, you are not dead. You have been in a coma for weeks.” George said as Addison tried to make sense of what she was being told.
Addison rubbed her head; this sounded like a bad dream. She felt her hand being squeezed, and she could feel a heat around her neck. Then, Emily whispered, as if they were standing next to each other. “Baby, please wake up. Come back to me, please, you're starting to scare me,” Emily whispered in Addison’s ear.
Addison turned and watched as Emily kissed her head and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. “She looks amazing. All healed and beautiful as usual,” Addison said with a smile.
“Like I said, you have been out for weeks,” George said, looking at Addison, who took a breath and nodded softly as she slowly came to realize that this was real, or as real as it could be.
Addison nodded softly, looking at George. “So why? Are you here to guide me, or are you here to be my angel?” she asked, shaking her head gently, trying to come up with every question to explain what was happening.
George looked down at his tight t-shirt and cargo pants boots, “Do I look like one of those robe-wearing angels? I am here to talk and maybe a semi-guide, but Domino, I am sorry. I never thought Ian would betray his country and you, I knew he was getting tired of things, but when you talked about a mole, I thought about him for a second, but I guess I didn’t want to see what was happening.” George said, taking a heavy breath because of what was happening.
“Why are you here in my head? Why are you calling me Domino?” Addison asked, looking at him.
George took a long, deep breath as he gathered the courage to say what he was thinking. “ I am here to talk to you, and we have always called you Domino. I know what you're thinking, and even though, it feels better to give up. Ian is still out there, and so are those identities. You are not done fighting Addison; you need to stop Ian and protect your country and innocent lives at the FBI,” he said with a smile, looking at Addison knowing what she is thinking.
Addison shook her head and let out a loud, breathless sigh, “Haven't I done enough? I saved this country more than I would have liked to. At the FBI, I think I have done a fairly good job... Shira almost killed me and almost killed Emily…… I never had anything to lose like that before, and it was scary. There was a minute when I didn’t think she was going to wake up, and that was terrifying. I don’t want to go through that again, and not to mention, she is in danger if I am alive, and look at her right now, she’s healthy, healed, and…… and” Addison explained.
“And a wreck with you in here. She is planning on scorching the earth for Ian like you did when she died at the hands of Ian Doyle. But unlike you, I do not see her going off the rails,” George said with a chuckle. “This is your mission, Ian, unfortunately, is your cross to bear, and I know it’s not fair. I created this mess by ignoring the signs, ignoring you, and protecting a man who turned out to be another Aldrich Ames. We took an oath, and it's time for you to fulfill that oath,” George explained.
Addison glared at him, “Why is it my responsibility! I told you what I thought he was, and now I look at what happened! He exploited the fuck out of the white house, you're dead, and so are many other innocent people! I was tortured and left for dead!........ Why me? Why not Jack or Toney? They are just as capable and smart. Why me! Why is this falling onto me!” Addison snapped and screamed at the ghost in front of her.
-------------------
Emily walked out of the bathroom, wiping her eyes as the machines beeped steadily. She sat down, checking her phone. “No updates,” Emily mumbled softly, putting her phone down on the table and holding Addison’s hand, kissing her knuckles gently. “I will find him, and I will make him pay for what he did to you. But I need you to do something first, I need you to wake up, baby…. please, Addi, for me,” Emily said as tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall.
Emily sighed softly, holding her hand, staring at Addison’s face, looking for any movement or sign that Addison was alive and fighting. The door opened, and the hospital staff walked into the room to change out bags and monitor her vitals. “E… how is everything?” a soft, sweet, friendly voice asked. Penelope walked into the room and stood next to Emily, watching as the medical staff went about their work. “How is she?” Penelope asked again, this time directed at the medical staff, as Emily gave her no answer.
“No change. But we should expect something soon. Would you two know of any emergency contact for Addison? She didn’t have anyone listed besides George Battle, who is deceased.” A nurse said, looking at the two women holding a clipboard and grabbing her pen from her lanyard.
Emily looked up at the nurse and shook her head, keeping a tight but gentle grip on her hand. “I…. I don’t know her family’s contact information,” Emily said, blinking, but in shock that she didn’t know a simple phone number for a single family member.
“I can look at her FBI files, and I will let you know, thank you,” Penelope said, guiding the nurse out of the room and closing the door. Penelope turned around to Emily, taking a deep breath, and walking around to the other side of the bed. “Em…. I brought you a change of clothes and some food. “If you want a minute to change,” Penelope said, holding the two bags in her hand and placing the food bag on Addison’s food tray.
Emily looked up from Addison’s sleeping face to Penelope as tears fell down her face.” I don’t even know a simple phone number for them. That's the type of thing a girlfriend should know,” she said, not even bothering to wipe those tears from her face.
“It's ok, you two just got back together, and then all hell broke loose, you two didn’t have the time to talk about families,” Penelope said, looking at Emily with a helpless expression.
Emily nodded, standing up, and Penelope handed her a duffle bag as Emily passed her into the bathroom. Penelope sat down in a vacant seat and started to type, looking at her tablet every once in a while. She looked up to make sure Addison was still breathing. “So?” Emily asked, walking out of the bathroom refreshed and in a change of clothes.
“No mention of her family anywhere. George is always listed as her contact not even Jack or Tony I wonder why” Penelope said looking up from her tablet to Emily who had no answer, Addison was one of the hardest people to read at times. “Probably because of her childhood,” Penelope answered.
Emily took a breath, nodding, sitting back in her seat, taking Addison’s hand back in hers. “Did you guys find Ian or anything new?” she asked, looking over to Penelope, hoping for some good news.
Penelope tapped on her screen with a disappointed sigh, “Well, I found his plane, and it took off before anyone could get there. Me, Chole, and Hannah were trying to figure out where he was going, but they left before we got a hit. So, I will be doing it on my own. According to Rossi, Jack, Tony, and Gideon all left on their own as soon as they found you two,” Penelope explained, looking up from her laptop to Emily, who was left confused.
“They left?! Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me!” Emily snapped and whipped her head over to Penelope, who nodded softly, not sure if she should speak or nod. “ Is there any way to track them?” she asked after letting out a large sigh, keeping her grip on Addison’s hand.
Penelope stared at Emily for a minute before clearing her throat. She looked down at her laptop and typed silently under Emily’s burning eyes. “I’m sorry we didn’t want to tell you since you were recovering and with Addison. I can tell you that they are in the area. I think that they may have tried to stop Ian from leaving the country, which was too late,” Penelope stated.
--------------------------------------
Addison stared at Emily, standing across from her hospital bed. Addison shook her head, tearing her eyes away from Emily, and let out an angry breath. “She looks……. She looks like hell,” Addison commented.
George nodded in agreement but didn’t say one word on that matter, “It is not far that I passed on my mistakes to you. But it has to be you, Addison, you knew from the beginning that it was Ian. You noticed his actions in Israel; you saw his name in the book by the scientist. Deep down, you knew something wasn’t right; most importantly, you were the first one to figure he was the head of this terrorist cell and had some twisted revenge plot planned out. Ian sees you as something that needs to be stopped and in his way from making money,” he explained.
Addison rolled her eyes, sitting on her hospital bed, leaning her head on her hand. “Because I am good at my job and stepped on a man’s ego, he’s gunning for me. He betrayed America and its citizens because he sought to profit quickly. Did I ever know him? Did he ever care for me?” she asked, her tone turning soft, almost broken, that someone she trusted and betrayed her.
George gently took her hand off her head and held it in his own. He kissed her temple gently, smiling softly, “I do, you are my daughter, and even though Ian has shown you his true colors, there are people who care about you.” George explained, looking at Addison, smiling at her.
Addison took a deep breath, looking up at George, and returned that smile, nodding. “I have to stop him, don’t I?” she asked with another sigh. “Even if that means I won’t see you again,” She added.
George nodded, looking at Addison kissing her head gently once more, “Yes, but we will see each other again, that I am sure about. But your mission isn’t done. I also don’t want to see you here until you’re old. I want you to get married to Emily; I want you to get old, retire, and live your life the best way you can.” George said.
Addison smiled, chuckling softly and shaking her head. “I would love that, but I think we both know I’m not going to grow old. I guess that’s the kicker when we know the mission is over. When can I say that I’ve done everything I can, and I’ve saved enough lives, and I’ve saved this country enough times?” she said, shaking her head lightly, shrugging.
George took a breath and looked out the window, which was just a blinding light to Addison. However, George looked at the window as if he were staring at what was on the other side. “You will know. Trust me,” he said, leaving Addison with an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach.
---------------------------
Emily watched the monitors for any sign of change. When the door opened, she turned around, keeping Addison’s hand in hers and shielding her body. “Where the hell were you two?” she snapped, seeing Jack and Tony in the doorway of the hospital room.
“We went to stop Ian from leaving, or at least try to. We went to multiple places that we can think of and did some other things,” Jack said, looking at Emily walking into the hospital room, looking at Addison with a somber, worried face. “But unfortunately, he was not there. He left thirty minutes before we got to the airstrip.” Jack said, walking to the other side of the hospital bed, gently taking Addison’s hand, staring at her unconscious body.
“That doesn’t explain where you guys were,” Emily pressed, wanting more answers, and moved her body to be ready to protect Addison if she needed to.
Tony closed the door and leaned against it, his eyes on the machines beeping in the room as if he were studying Addison’s vitals. “We were looking for Ian to try to stop him from leaving, but like Jack said, we missed him,” Tony added, staying at the door.
Penelope and Emily looked at each other; they still had questions that were never answered. “So where is he?” Penelope asked, looking at the two ex-operatives.
The room fell silent as the two men failed to answer that question for over a minute. “No idea. But there is no way in hell he is done, Ian will resurface, and once he does, he will try to kill Addison again.” Jack answered.
--------------------------------
BAU
“Boss not in?” Luke asked, seeing Emily’s office empty again. The rest of the team, besides Rossi, sat in the bullpen in silence. “Any word on Addison?” Luke asked, hoping for an update.
“Unfortunately, no. The last update I got from Penelope earlier this morning was that she is the same. Emily looks like she hasn’t slept,” JJ said with a sigh, reading from her phone before tossing it down with a sigh, annoyed.
Matt slammed his office phone down onto the receiver. “I give up. I called Hannah ten times, and each time I got her voicemail. This time her damn phone is turned off; I tried to email her and no fucking response. I tried the same thing with Chole, and I got the same thing: no answers and her voicemail,” he said, annoyed and shaking his head, sitting back in his chair, looking at the rest of the team.
“Seriously? What they leave after finding Addison like that is it. Ian is still out there; don't they want to help with that search?” Tara said, tossing her pen down onto her desk, annoyed by their situation.
“Gideon isn't answering either,” Spencer said, shaking his head, placing his phone down. “What is going on?” he added, sitting back in his seat, tapping the desk with his fingers. The team sat at their desks, everyone was frustrated with how things were going, they had one family member clinging to life, another one praying to every God not to take her, their case was getting colder every millisecond.
Silence fell once more over the bullpen; each one had the same question in their head: “What do we know?” Luke asked the same question everyone was thinking.
“We do our damn job. Everyone in the round room,” David said, heading into the round room, not even looking at them. The rest of the team followed suit like children following their father, who called them out of a store.
David stood at the front of the room with his back towards the TV. He took a breath, looking down at the table for a second. “I will be the last person to give up on finding this scum bag. However, we have not found anything in weeks, and we have been instructed to mark the Ian case as a cold case officially. We need to focus on cases that have leads and deserve attention,” David explained, though his words felt hollow as if he didn’t believe his own words.
“You don’t mean any of that,” JJ observed, crossing her arms, looking at the older man.
David nodded, looking up at the others, taking a deep breath, “Nope, I was just repeating orders. We will classify this case as a cold case and proceed to other cases that require attention. We pissed some people off for focusing on Ian, including Congress, which is losing their minds at the moment, and what they don’t want is us making a scene, and this being in the headlines.” David explained, taking a sharp breath, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Whose orders? Cruz?” Tara asked, trying to make sense of what they had just been told, but also wanted to know who had placed the order.
“No, Mine.” A new voice entered the room, and the entire BAU team froze, looking over to the door to see an older woman with short gray hair and a stern expression, her arms crossed in front of her. “This unit will be more useful out in the public with active cases. While this case is important, we do not need to plaster this case all over the media and embarrass the United States government at the moment,” The woman explained.
“Who are you?” JJ asked before anyone else said anything else in the room.
The older woman glanced over to the blonde, silently taking a breath, “My name is Linda Barnes, I am the Assistant Director of National Security. This case is no longer a BAU case; as of today, it is a cold case. So, my order stands, and Cruz agrees, the best unit in the FBI cannot be focused on a cold case while active cases are piling up. If you want to work on cold cases, then I suggest a transfer to the cold case initiative." Linda explained, sternly looking at the group of profilers who all had the same angry facial expression.
“Ian put two of our people in the hospital after sending out a cover to an enemy. He abused his office and position, and God knows what else; he deserves to be held accountable. You are going to let him go!” Matt snapped, glaring at Linda as if they didn’t have a good interaction with his old team, and this just made things worse between them.
Linda took a deep breath and pressed her lips into a tight thin line, “I am not letting anyone go! The fact that, after weeks with no new leads, this team is wasting time means this case is currently cold. You are ignoring the cases that need your attention and lives that are in danger at the moment because this team is not doing their job! I am well aware of what has been taken, and that is a matter for the CIA, not the FBI. The matter of the president abusing his position is the responsibility of the IG Your job is to capture serial killers, not traitors, which is outside the BAU wheelhouse,” Linda responded, staring down the team.
------------------
“You understand, know why you have to go back and take Ian down?” George stood behind Addison, who was standing at the foot of her bed, listening to every word that was uttered in the room.
Addison took a breath and turned around to George; she nodded, understanding what he was saying. “I am going to miss you. And I am sorry that I got you killed, you’re never going to see Julia walk down the aisle, have kids. If I didn’t call you for help, you would still be here,” Addison said, her voice breaking and quivering as tears started to roll down her cheeks.
George took a breath and cupped her face in his hands, wiping her tears away. “No. What happened to me is not your fault. That is a risk we always take going in the field, and for those moments, I am always watching those I love,” he said with a warm smile.
Addison hugged her mentor, her chosen father, close and tightly, not wanting to let go, but she felt a pull. “I’m going to miss you,” she said once more in their embrace, sniffling.
George kissed her head once more, rubbing her back gently, “I am going to miss you too Domino. But I meant what I said is “you will see me again once you lived your life” he said keeping his arms around her. Addison shut her eyes tight and didn’t let go of the embrace. She wanted to hold on as long as she could, but knew deep down, she had to go.
-----------
The sound of the machine beeping and arguing filled Addison’s ears. She opened her eyes and immediately looked at the corner at the opposite end of her room, smiling weakly as she saw George standing there, then disappearing. Addison took a deep breath, looking down at her hand, not even paying attention to the argument. She smiled seeing Emily’s hand in hers, but rolled her eyes at the arguing between her and Jack, which just sounded like muffled noises. “Will everyone just shut up?” Addison said, groaning, moving slightly in her bed.
The entire room went silent, and Emily immediately dropped into her chair in relief, squeezing Addison’s hand with a relieved expression on her face, tears falling down her face. Addison smiled, kissing Emily’s hand, squeezing it as well. “Hi Emmie,” she said with a smile.
Emily leaned forward, kissing her head and lips gently, letting out a breathless laugh, smoothing her hair with her free hand. “Hi, baby,” she said with a bright smile as doctors and nurses filled the room and ushered the others out.
“Ma’am,” the nurse said behind Emily, clearing her throat and stopping. She was going to walk away, but Addison squeezed her hand and tightened her grip.
“She can stay,” Addison protested, looking at the medical experts who all just gave her a nod and started to work around Emily.
Emily smiled softly, sliding onto the hospital bed and cuddling with Addison, kissing her lips softly but lovingly. Addison took a deep breath, relaxing in Emily's arms. “Are you ok?” Addison asked, laying her head on her shoulder and kissing Emily’s neck.
“I’m ok, all healed, just on medical leave for a little bit. But you don’t need to worry about me, honey.” Emily said, rubbing Addison’s back gently, looking up to the doctor and nurses who were watching the hospital monitors and talking to each other quietly.
Addison rolled her eyes once more, looking up at Emily, “That is not how this works, babe. You worry about me, and I worry about you. Especially since you couldn’t walk or keep your eyes open. But you were able to make a faster recovery, I don’t understand, are you sure you're ok?” Addison said, studying Emily’s face, her worry for Emily overshadowed the fact that she was the one in a hospital bed.
Emily kissed her lips once more as they cuddled closely, "I'm ok. I promise, right now we need to focus on you. You were only able to do everything because of the adrenaline that got us out of there. But you sustained life-threatening injuries, too. Shira wanted you to suffer before she killed you, while she just wanted to kill me.” Emily said to explain to Addison, who took a breath and winced, feeling pain around her ribs.
The couple had to break their embrace as the doctor and nurses wanted to check on Addison physically. Emily stood up next to the bed and held her hand, listening to the conversation as Addison answered their questions. Once they were done, they left the two alone for a few minutes. Emily scooted back on the bed. “You know my offer still stands,” Emily said, laying her head on Addison’s chest, who was holding her close.
“Your offer? Hospital sex? Although I don't remember that conversation, it is a fantasy of mine to play naughty nurses. So, I will be very down if you want to play naughty nurses.” Addison and I started to laugh as Emily smacked her to knock it off.
Emily sat up, shaking her head, and then sat up in bed. “I meant my offer to join the BAU,” she said, holding both of Addison’s hands in hers.
“Like I said before. I am not a profiler; I’m a spy trying to learn how to be a criminal investigator," she said, reminding Emily of what her response was when they had this conversation.
“You are an amazing investigator and federal agent. You have all the makings of an excellent profiler, and our relationship will not be an obstacle or put us in any danger, I promise. However, I think that joining the team and becoming a profiler could be a new beginning for you,” Emily said, looking into Addison’s blue eyes for any indication where she was leaning.
Addison didn’t answer right away; she just nodded with a smile and kissed her softly. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
---------------
A few hours later, Addison was sitting up alone in her room, eating lunch, when the door opened, and Jack and Tony walked in. “How are you?” Jack asked, sitting next to Addison’s bed as she ate, and Tony was on the other side of the bed.
“I'm ok. Concussion, bruised organs, fractured ribs, lost a lot of blood, sprained ankle. How long was I out? What about Ian?” Addison asked, sipping her water, looking at the two men.
The two men looked at each other. “You have been out for three weeks. Ian’s gone, we looked everywhere and went to do the airstrips. He is gone, and so are the files; his computers were back in their factory settings. We found his phones at his office that were also reset, so we have Hannah and Chloe working on them. Julia and Carol are ok. We checked in on them at the safe house,” Tony explained from his seat.
Addison took a deep breath, eating Jello, staring at her tray, nodding, “Fantastic. Are we tracking him at all?” she asked.
“Yeah, we have alerts on past aliases, phone numbers, and his family if he tries to communicate with them. We also put Amelia and Randy on suicide watch and under strict security, only a few people can get through to see them, which includes the three of us, plus personally picked staff,” Jack explained as Addison ate, nodding, listening.
“Where are Emily and Penelope?" Tony asked, noticing their absence.
“I convinced Emily to go home and get some sleep. She was dozing off, and the doctors were going to release me soon. She's been living here, so Penelope took her home to sleep and eat something that is not from the vending machines. Penelope is going to go to the BAU after dropping Em off. Which is good because I want to go check on something and Emily wants me to be on bed rest after I get out of here in a few hours,” Addison said, wiping her hands and mouth with her napkin before sitting back in her bed.
The two men looked at each other oddly and turned over to Addison, who was sipping from a juice box sitting back in her bed. “Where do you want to go?” Jack asked.
-----------------
Fort Detrick, Maryland
Jack, Tony, and Addison, who changed from her hospital gown to high-waisted medium-wash bell-bottom jeans, a cropped white hoodie, white low-top Nikes, and her hair in a ponytail, walked down a hallway with tall walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a stone floor that echoed their footsteps. No one else was in the hallway but the two people in the reception area that the trio was heading to.
“How did you three get in here?” one of the receptionists asked, their hand hovering over a button that was most likely a panic button.
“The front door. Addison Levine, Jack Roth, and Anthony Carlin, we need to see box CV-78,” Addison said, holding up her FBI credentials, and the men followed her lead, standing behind her. The two receptionists looked at each other and began typing on their computers, leaving the group to stand in silence.
The computers beeped and lit up green. “You three have unrestricted access?” The second receptionist asked in shock.
“We put a lot of the stuff in here,” Tony answered with a slight shrug. The two receptionists looked at each other once more before the first one grabbed their keys and gun.
The group of now four walked down the rest of the empty hallway, which slowly grew darker as the windows disappeared and the light source shifted to lamps on the wall. The hallway started to slant down as they started to walk down a ramp. Addison holds onto the railing to relieve a lot of pressure off her sprained ankle. “You, ok?” Jack asked, which just earned him a nod from her.
The group walked down to the ramp to a steel vault door. The receptionist placed their badge on the computer built into the door and began typing on the touchscreen. Addison leaned against the railing for her ankle and held her side as they waited silently.
“Ok, you three need to put your hands on the screen.” The receptionist said, backing away to give them room. Addison was first; she limped over and placed her hand on the screen, which scanned her palm and fingers for a few moments before lighting up green.
Jack then followed suit, and Tony did the same. Each time the screen turned green, the door opened automatically, and the group walked in. As they walked, lights turned on, and what they saw was a vast network of small containment vaults built into the walls, but the entire vault was endless, with endless halls and curves. “I hope you guys brought breadcrumbs,” the receptionist said.
The three stepped into the vault and were greeted by someone in a complete silver containment suit. “Hello, officers, or is it agents now?” The man inside the suit said.
“It’s Agents now, Dr. Hubbard,” Addison said with a smile. Seeing the scientist again, he was their contact when they had a virus that needed to be contained.
“Why do you want to see CV-78?” Dr. Hubbard asked, looking at the three oddly, as this vault rarely receives many visitors.
“Just want to check it out. Make sure everything is still there. You know us, we are always paranoid,” Jack explained with a shrug. Tony and Addison nodded, agreeing to see the doctor without adding anything else.
The doctor led them down the vault without anything else. The group walked down the long hallways and turned countless times, so it would not be very clear to anyone. Left, left, left, left, right, right, left. Addison couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to cross into a different country unknowingly, since the vault was underground. “Here we are,” Dr Hubbard eventually said after what felt like ten years walking down the endless hallways.
“Finally,” Tony mumbled, and Addison chuckled, looking down at her feet as Hubbard used his badge to unlock the containment vault. He opened the door and just stood there, not moving or saying anything. “What's wrong?” Tony asked, noticing that Hubbard was standing in front of the vault, saying nothing.
“It's not here,” Dr. Hubbard said, shocked, stepping to the side and seeing an empty slot where the containment box had been, with the viruses, cures, or other essential items for the virus.
“What!” Addison snapped, stepping forward past him to the unit. She saw the empty slot, which sent a chill down her spine. “Who wanted to see it besides us!?” Addison demanded, turning around to look at the doctor.
“No one,” he protested, but that just made Addison angrier.
“Someone fucking did find out who!” Addison snapped. She turned around to face the vault once more; she pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight, looking into the vault for anything the person could have left behind. But unfortunately, there was nothing she could see, so she turned to the doctor, who was typing on a tablet, and asked, “Anything?”
“The only person who came here was someone named George Battle, two weeks ago,” the doctor said, and turned the tablet around; they saw Ian on the video camera. The trio’s blood boils as they watch Ian using George’s identity, walk into the vault, and take the contents, smirking at the camera.
Addison shook her head, turning back to the empty unit, “Ian Holt has fucking Cordilla virus and the recipe to make more,” she said and slammed the unit closed.
---------------
The Next Day
Addison sat in front of George's grave, silently talking in her head as tears fell down her face. She turned her head slightly, feeling a group of people walk up from behind her. Addison looked behind her and saw Gideon, Nathan Turner, Jack, and Tony walking over to her. “What’s going on?” she asked, holding out an arm. Jack jogged over, helping her up. “I thought you would be in Florida by now, Gideon,” she said.
“Not yet. I was with Nathan trying to figure out how we were going to bring Ian down. We also heard that you got suspended this morning. Are you ok?” Gideon asked as the group stood at George’s grave.
Addison shrugged, shaking her head, “I knew it was coming, especially when I went rogue and broke into the White House. Wait, we? You're retired and Nathan you're the director of the CIA, what are you going to do?” she said, looking at the men, wondering what their plan was.
“Tony and I decided that with the files out there and now the Cordilla virus, we can’t do this on our own because we know what you want to do. But having the resources and backing of the agency will help us tremendously, so we accepted Nathan's offer and are going back to the CIA,” Jack explained, looking at Addison, who looked at them nervously.
Addison shook her head, looking at the group of men, “This is my fight. There is a reason he picked Desert Rose, yes, it’s the first we all worked on together, but also, he knew Shira was so fucking heartbroken, desperate, and alone that she would have gone after me and Emily. He wanted to take me out,” she said.
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t fight with you, Addison, and we will be focusing solely on Ian,” Tony added, looking at his friend with a smile.
Addison took a breath, nodding, and looked at them. “Where are you going first?” she asked.
“Hannah and Chloe also came back to be the two leading analysts on this mission. They believe they have tracked him to Pakistan, so Jack and Tony will head there first. I know you are still with the FBI and have even been offered a position at the BAU, Emily, but do you want to tag along? Maybe come back unofficially?” Nathan asked, looking at the woman. He knew she wasn’t going to come back officially since Addison had her FBI job.
Addison glanced down at the grave beside her and took a breath, thinking of both the positive and negative aspects as well as the new beginning that Emily offered. “I am still thinking about that offer and I am sure Emily will understand.......When do we leave?” she said with a smile, looking at the group in front of her.