A/N: Hello, dear friends. Thank you for embarking with me on this journey once again. I wrote majority of this in Spanish class. Hope you enjoy this first chapter! Please remember to review. It's much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter One.

"Haley… I-" Aaron inhaled deeply, his chest aching as he was unable to find the words he needed.

"I know, Aaron. We'll be alright." She smiled sadly down at her ex-husband, her usual bright and lively eyes now dim and faded. She forced a tiny smile before glancing over in the younger woman's direction behind the window. The corners of her lips began to arch upwards slightly, "Take care of Emily." Although it hurt her to say the words, she needed to know that he would be happy. That he wouldn't always be that uptight, ice cold, unit chief that she had been seeing more of as of lately. She had seen him in his weakest states. To her, he was just Aaron. He had never been Agent Hotchner to her and never would be. She had once made him happy and now she realized that it wasn't her job anymore. It hadn't been for quite some time now. It was time for somebody else to take her place in Aaron's life. It was time for somebody else to bring him happiness. "Don't let her go, Aaron." She brushed her hand against his cheek and nodded, a single tear trickling down her cheek. She wiped it away and took a step away from the hospital bed. "You'll catch him. You always do."

Hotch nodded, feeling his own eyes beginning to water as he met Haley's soft gaze. "Tell Jack I love him."

Haley smiled a watery smile "Everyday." She nodded one last time and swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "I'll see you again soon." With that, she followed the agent out, giving Jack some time alone with his father before Mother and son were sent away in witness protection. A "vacation with mommy" was what Jack was told.

Hotch knew that Foyet would not stop until he made him suffer. He had already caught him alone in his apartment and stabbed him multiple times, putting him in the hospital.

Emily swallowed hard as she watched from the outside of the glass window. She tried to give him space with Jack but she just couldn't take her eyes off from the scene. Jack was now curled up against his daddy, hugging him tightly, unaware of the injuries his father had just suffered. She brushed a stray tear from her eye and watched on, unknowing of the presence that joined her. "He really loves him." Emily jumped slightly and turned on her heel to stand face to face with Hotch's ex-wife. "He cares about you, Emily. "

The brunette smiled a tight smile and nodded, "Well, I care about him," She shrugged, a soft blush tinting her cheeks. Haley smiled at the other woman's blush and turned back to the window as Emily had. "You're good for him." She shrugged, "Emily, I… I don't know how to say this exactly, so I'm just going to say it." She paused and inhaled a soft breath. "You're what he needs. He needs someone to keep him happy, someone he can be himself around, someone he can just be Aaron with." She exhaled the breath she had been holding, not sure how Emily would take it. "He needs you and he needs at least someone to know that he's not always a hardass."

Emily took in a quiet breath and nodded, "I'll keep him in line. Thank you, Haley." Both women smiled as Jack came running out of the hospital room, "Mommy? We go on vacation now?" Emily frowned. Jack didn't know anything of what was happening. And in a way, she wished she could have that bit of innocence back, to know nothing about the world's dangers. Jack's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Hi, Miss Emmy," The young four year old glanced up at Emily shyly and gave a small toothy grin.

Emily couldn't help but smile back. She bent to his level and saluted him playfully. "Ahoy, Captain Jack. Nice to see you again." She had only met her boss' son a handful of times in the past three years of working at the BAU, but both had already seemed to take a liking to each other. "Mommy, Miss Emmy called me cap'in!" Emily heard him exclaim excitedly as the two agents led Haley and Jack down the hospital.

She watched the two leave, her heart breaking for the man in the hospital room. She turned back to the glass window with a sigh and watched the steady rise and fall of his chest under the blankets. She could have lost him. Emily sucked in a shaky breath. Aaron's hospital room was being heavily guarded by two other agents both marking the only entrance to the room under Emily's strict orders. She had made sure there would always be two guards in place at all times, no matter how much Aaron protested. Her relationship was just blooming with her boss and she didn't want to take any other chances. It pained her to see him in so much pain.

"Excuse me, Agent Prentiss?" One of the nurses approached Emily from behind, startling her. Emily turned toward the older woman and nodded, worry beginning to show. "Is everything alright?"

The nurse smile warmly, "Yes, everything is just fine, however, Agent Hotchner is asking for you." At that Emily visibly relaxed. She released the breath that she hadn't even realized she had been holding. She thanked the older woman and swiftly made her way past the guards. Both of the large men stepped aside to let her through. She stopped right in front of the door, her breath hitching in her throat as her eyes roamed over him lying in the bed, taking in his image. His face was paler than she had ever seen before.

"Oh, Aaron…" She couldn't stifle her gasp fast enough for his benefit. She exhaled slowly and closed the distance between her and the hospital bed. It still pained her each time she saw him in the bed. She had been the first one to find him, the one to stay when he didn't wake up right away, and the one to hold his hand through it all. She was even the one to go to his apartment when he didn't answer his phone. From that moment on, she knew something was definitely wrong. Hotch always answered his phone.

As Emily moved to the bed, Hotch shifted into a sitting up position. She could tell it pained him to do so, but that didn't stop him. He didn't want to appear vulnerable and weak in front of her. "Emily…"

The brunette shook her head at his wince that he had tried to hide. "You have to lay down." She bit her lip and slowly eased him back down, careful of all of his injuries. She hadn't seen them yet, but the nurse had filled her in on the extent of them.

"No, Emily… There's, I need to tell you something-" She shook her head as he tried to fight her. His breathing became labored as he struggled against her hand, trying to sit up once again. Emily's dark eyes spotted the PCA pump that would release a single dose of pain meds into his blood steam via the catheter in his arm. He saw the flicker of movement in her eyes and tried to stop her but was too slow. "No, Emily-" She reached for the button and pressed it once, warm eyes meeting his as they began to grow cloudy

"I'm sorry, but you need to rest. I'll be here when you wake up. Tell me then." She gave his hand a squeeze and nodded, watching as he began to relax, his eyes closing slowly and his breathing evening out again. She stroked her fingers through his hair as he drifted off. The older nurse returned into the room and smiled at the doorway, a chair in her grasp. With a gentle smile, she set it down right next to the bed where Emily was currently standing. "He's lucky he has you here." She nodded. "He's going to need all of the help he can get."

Emily gave a small nod of her head, thanking the nurse for the chair. She was exhausted. Not sleeping for three whole days could do that to a person. The older woman watched Emily carefully, "Would you like some coffee? Water, even?" she frowned as she noticed the bags under the brunette's eyes. Patting Emily's arm softly, she left the room for a coffee break.

Emily closed her eyes, trying to think of anything but the attack. They had been dating for a little over three weeks now. The team still had no idea of the fact that their co-worker was dating their boss. The past week or so, Emily had been arguing with Aaron on when they should open up to their team about the relationship. She had wanted to do it sooner, rather than later, knowing that JJ and Garcia wouldn't stop trying to set her up with other men unless they knew. Aaron, on the other hand wanted some time alone to just the two of them. He was so worried about the rules and regulations against fraternization that he went out of his way to create space between the two during work hours. Emily had called him out on it though, and he had stopped avoiding her for the most part.

Two weeks their secret had remained. Now it all felt stupid, such a silly thing to argue over. His life had been at stake for Christ's sake. Emily felt tears sting in her eyes but she willed them away. She wouldn't cry. She was a Prentiss. If there was one thing a Prentiss did not do, it was cry. At least that was what her mother had told her when Emily's father had died when she was just nine years old. She swallowed the lump in her throat and exhaled slowly, trying to rest her eyes for a minute while she waited for the nurse to return with her coffee.

"You should have made the deal" She followed the voices down the hall and into the kitchen, knowing that it was only a matter of time. "Good bye, Agent Hotchner." She heard a gun go off, rattling her to the bone. What she saw as she came around the corner tore her in half. She choked on a large gasp of oxygen, feeling her throat constrict. "Oh what's this? Aaron, looks like your little whore has come to watch." Foyet grinned widely as he lowered himself to the ground, next to Aaron's body. She quickly looked him over from where she was standing in the door way, realizing that he was still alive. She heard him breathe out her name and finish in a fit of coughing. She tried to run to him, to scream, anything. She couldn't move. She couldn't even speak. She tried to move her feet desperately but couldn't. George Foyet now stood over Aaron's body. He loomed closer to Emily, closing the distance between the two. She could smell the acrid stench of blood and sweat radiating off of him. He finally crossed the room and stood in front of the motionless woman. He smirked wickedly. She felt her stomach flip with nausea as her heart thudded against her rib cage. No words left her throat. She couldn't even think at all.

"Ah, Emily, nice of you to join us." His icy voice caused goose bumps to form on her arms, the hairs on her neck stood straight up as she shivered. Her eyes caught sight of something gleaming in Foyet's hand as he raised it. A knife. The point sparkled silver as he raised it to her neck, placing it there as he held her in a vice-like grip. Emily winced as he squeezed her shoulder tightly. "So nice." He hissed, guiding Emily to stand right at Aaron's feet. "Come on, Aaron. Get up and fight me." He kicked at the man's stomach and chuckled darkly at the cry that left Aaron's throat. Emily had never heard anything like it. She struggled against Foyet's grip, a scream bubbling in her throat. "Fight me, Aaron." He snickered, "You have no idea how much fun I'm going to have with this one." He put pressure on Emily's shoulder, making her go still in his hold.

Hotch slowly pushed himself off of the ground using his hands to brace himself and hold him up. A foot clamped over one of his hands. She heard a crack from one of the bones in his wrist. Whimpering and sobbing filled the silence of the apartment room. Emily didn't even realize it was her that was screaming until Foyet tightened his grip on her. Finally Hotch stood to his full height, swaying slightly from loss of blood. "Let her go. This is between you and me, Foyet. You and me." His breathing was labored and heavy, his eyes wide as he glanced into Emily's own eyes. He knew what he had to do. "Do what you want to me, but leave her out of this." Emily screamed his name and fought against Foyet as she shook her head.

"Aaron, please, no!" Foyet released her but not before throwing her against the brick wall. He left her there on the ground, crying in pain, as he and his knife went over to Hotch. He grinned widely and punched him in the stomach, making him double over in pain. He fell to the ground at Foyet's feet and Foyet took this opportunity to torture him as much as possible. He grabbed the knife and sliced a thin line over his chest. He glanced back to see the brunette still on the ground, unconscious. "Oh, Emily, do wake up for this. You don't want to miss this." He raised the knife and examined the glistening scarlet on the very tip of the blade. "Good." He brought the knife down, once, twice, thrice. "I told you, you would suffer, Aaron. I told you. You should have made the deal. Now you'll know." He heard a soft moan come from behind him. Without hesitating, the corners of his lips stretched upward in a large smile. "Welcome back, Agent Prentiss." She felt another wave of nausea as she heard a wheeze with one last stab. It had to be from Aaron. She swallowed hard, trying to stand up. Her head was foggy as was her vision. She finally managed to get off the ground but didn't move another foot. She couldn't. There was no rise and fall from Aaron's chest. He was gone. She was too late. Foyet turned to her with a laugh. She begged him to kill her.

A/N: Muhahahaha. Yeah, I'm evil. Don't worry guys, we're not finished here. Join me for chapter 2. It should be up soon! Thank you all for reading, and please remember to review with your thoughts/ideas.

-Emily.