I Would Do It Again

"Here we are, staring straight into tomorrow's eyes. What do you see? Can you see the same as me? We hold hands. We take walks and talk. And laugh about things. I'll tell you what. This could be the way, that every day was meant to be."

The BAU has just solved another case. The case was about Morgan's long lost cousin Cindy. Morgan had told his Aunt, Cindy's mother that the unsub they had caught last year confessed to killing Cindy so that he could give his Aunt closure. He lied. The truth was, he knew all along that Cindy had left home because she had a stalker who would not leave her alone. The stalker had threatened her family and anybody close to her. To protect her family and friends, she decided to disappear but told Morgan her plan. Through the years, Cindy had sent him email informing him what state he was in.

All the lies Morgan told his Aunt and his family finally caught up to him and he was forced to admit to his Aunt and his family that he lied to them about Cindy. And that Cindy is alive. This broke his Aunt's heart. His mom, who never once laid a hand on him, slapped him. She said to him "I raised you to be a good and honest man, Derek. You can lie and hide things from your team but never lie to me ever again." He cried like a little boy and asked his mom for her forgiveness. She said that she understood what he did and she will always love him. He will always be her baby.

Hotch told the team to go home and to enjoy their three days off. Hotch was packing up his stuff and putting some files in his brief case. He looked up from his desk when he heard a knock.

"Derek, what are you still doing here? I told you guys to go home and enjoy your three days off."

"Do you have a few minutes to talk?

"Yeah. Is everything okay?"

"I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier when you called me out for lying and keeping a secret. And I yelled back at you in front of the team, that you did the same thing before with Emily. I was out of line."

"Yes, you were Derek. And I think it's time we talk about this. I know this has been eating you up. And more times than I want to recall, you have been insubordinate towards me and thrown back what JJ and I did. To me, I took it as a grain of salt and that you were still upset but I don't think you know what that did to Emily and to JJ. You never directed your anger towards them but you might as well have."

"Is that why Emily transferred to the State Department? Did I push her to leave?"

"No. But let me say something. Let me tell you why JJ and I did what we did. Doyle would have stopped at nothing to kill Emily and get Declan back. Did you know that Doyle had been watching us and threatened to kill each of us and our family because he wanted revenge for what he thought Emily had done? Emily was ready to die for us all. Could you honestly tell me what you could live with yourself if Doyle had taken Henry or Jack and killed them" Could you have lived with yourself if he had killed me, or JJ or Dave Or Penelope? I am a father Derek, and I've already lost someone I loved because of this job and I would do anything and put my job on the line to protect Jack. And I will not lose another woman I love for this job again."

"You and Emily?"

"Emily and I were getting close before the Doyle thing happened. Do you know how hard it was to tell Jack that Emily had to go away for awhile? And why she won't be able to read to him or tell him a story before he went to bed?"

"I didn't know Hotch."

"Nobody knew, not even JJ. I didn't know where she was. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking about whether she was alive or maybe, somehow, Doyle knew that she was not dead. If it was hell for you Derek, I was in purgatory and hell. There was nothing I could do to help the woman I love. Why do you think I went to Afghanistan? I was going crazy not knowing whether Jack and I would ever see her again."

"So, why did Emily transfer to the State Department?"

"Because dealing with death and serial killers every day, her nightmares would not leave her. Just because Doyle was dead, it didn't mean that he was done haunting her in her dreams. When she came back, she wanted to break up. She said she felt ashamed for what she did with Doyle when she went undercover. It took me months to convince her and prove to her that none of what she did matters to me. And that what she did, saved hundreds and possibly thousands of lives. If Emily didn't do what she did, there could have been a second or third 9/11. Now tell me Derek, would you have been able to live with yourself knowing that you could have prevented these possible catastrophes? Because I know that Emily would not have been able to have that many blood in her hands. Doyle killed four people she deeply cared for because of her. He killed Sean, Sia, Jeremy and Louise. Even after I convinced her, her nightmares wouldn't stop. Do you know what it was like to hear her scream or cry at night? I would hold her until she was exhausted and falls asleep. Her nightmares were different every time. One of us always dies and she couldn't shake the images. She held on through the nightmares for as long as she could but she needed to move on and in order to do that, she had to leave the BAU."

"She does seem happier and more rested than I have ever seen her."

"The nightmares have stopped a couple of weeks after she left the BAU. She loves that she gets to pick up Jack at the day care after she's done at the office. They eat dinner together and she gets to tuck him in every night."

"Thank you for telling me, Hotch. Emily knows that I love her right?"

"She knows and she loves you too. You are her best friend and so is JJ. It's just easier for her to be vulnerable to JJ than to you. You know Emily."

"Is she like that to you too?"

"Sometimes. But I love everything about her. She wouldn't be the Emily Prentiss I fell in love with if she didn't try to act like a bad ass."

"Yeah, you're right Hotch. She is something else."

"Come over to the house tomorrow. I'll invite the rest of the team for a barbeque."

His phone rang and Hotch smile when he saw the caller ID.

Speaking of…"

"Hi, sweetheart."

"Hi baby. Are you on your way home? I'm preparing dinner"

"Yeah, I'm leaving now. Derek was just in my office. Yes, I did invite him to come over tomorrow. Okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

I'm happy for you, both. You're a very lucky man."

"That I am. Goodnight, Derek. I'll see you around 3 o'clock tomorrow."

"Okay. I'll some beer."

"That would be great."

After an hour, Hotch finally reached home.

He was greeted by Jack and Emily. He picked up Jack and kissed Emily on the lips.

"Are you hungry? I made you your favorite. And I made Jack pizza."

"What's the occasion?"

"What makes you think there's an occasion?"

"Because I know you, Emily Prentiss."

"Jack, tell Daddy."

"Daddy, I'm going to be a big brother!"

"Em, you mean? When did you find out?"

"Today. I took the pregnancy test and I went to Urgent Care after to take the pregnancy test and the doctor confirmed it."

"Oh my God! I am so happy. I love you so much."

"Daddy, I'm hungry. And Mommy Emily needs to eat because my baby brother or baby sister in her tummy is hungry too."

Emily and Aaron both laughed.

Aaron pulled Emily to a tight hug and kissed her on the lips again. As he sat down, he looked at Jack and then Emily. Yes, he would do it again. He would make the same decision as he did that night to keep her and Jack safe. To keep those he cared about.

"If the world was offered to me, I just couldn't make the trade. Cause you're beautiful."