You're Always Saying Goodbye Chapter 1
"Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need to know of hell". ~Emily Dickinson
It had been six long grueling months since she left the team to take a job leading a team in London's Interpol. Her decision came to the team as a shock. Although they understood and were happy for her, letting her go was tough. The team seems to be moving on, case after case, but there was definitely still a void that each member feels. The desk she occupied is still empty. He refuses to replace her. He's still holding out hopes that she would return to them. To him. Never a day has gone by that her name is not mentioned. And sadness fills him when he thinks of her. She never fails to call them but hearing her voice is and will never be enough. She said she will try to come for a visit when she has the time but heading Interpol's London team has kept her busy these past six months. She has only managed to come back to DC twice. The first time was a couple of months after she left. It was a very brief visit but they spent the two days she was here with her. Emily stayed at Dave's house because his place was big enough for all of them to stay. Since Emily was only in DC for the weekend, they wanted to be with her the whole time. It was on her visit that Aaron mentioned to Emily that he and Beth were no longer dating when she asked about Beth. When it was time for Emily to leave, the whole team wanted to take her to the airport. She declined and said only one of them could take her. He spoke up first and stated firmly that he will be the one to take her. Nobody argued. He took Emily to the airport and stayed with her until she boarded. They talked the whole time while they waited for her flight to be called. It was the very first time they talked alone as Emily and Aaron and really got to know each other. While they waited for her flight, Emily asked him about Beth.
"Hotch, I hope I am not prying but you never said what happened with Beth. You two seemed really happy and Jack adored her. And you don't have to answer if you think I am being nosey." She chuckled.
Aaron smiled and shook his head. "No, it's fine. And it's Aaron, remember. Beth and I, I just felt we were not going to work out. I'm away all the time and she was ready to take the next step. And I wasn't sure I was. As for Jack, he did ask a lot about Beth in the beginning after we broke up. I told him the truth and at first, he was sad. But he is okay now. As you can see, Jack adores you. I don't think he ever let you out of his sight but I am glad that he shared you with Henry."
Emily laughed. "I love kids. I grew up babysitting a lot of the kids when my parents would have parties at our house. I am good with kids, I guess. They are so innocent and so creative and imaginative. What we do and see every day are so gruesome at times that when you see or talk to a child, it erases all the ugliness that we see in this world and it reminds us that there is still beauty. I guess, that is why I call Henry when I am dealing with human smuggling or like this case that we have been working on now, internet pedophiles. I have had to call JJ or Will just to hear Henry's voice."
"Do you want to talk to Jack when you are having one of these days?"
"I would love to."
"I'm sure he would love that too."
"So, since we talked about my love life, how about you, how is your dating going in London?"
"Well, I'm not dating anybody if that's what you are asking. It's tough right now. I'm new at my job and I just don't have the time."
"But don't you go home earlier than when you were at the BAU? And aren't you home more?"
"Yeah. But I don't know. I don't have time for a fling. I have seen a lot in my younger days and I have been through a lot, and if I am to get involved, I would want it to mean something. Penelope said that it isn't because I don't have the time because I could make time if I wanted to. But it's because maybe I am waiting for someone and that I have already have in mind. I just have not realized it yet."
"Do you think she is right?"
"I don't know. She could be. Maybe. And I just really hate dating because I am not so put together. I am a nerd."
"That is what sets you apart from most women. You are intelligent, well- traveled, speaks multiple languages and yet you can sit down in your in your pajamas drinking beer or watch Star Wars. It is rare to find a woman like that."
"How did you know I like Star Wars?"
"I listen Emily. I know that you went to ComiCon in San Diego with Spencer and Derek two years ago."
"Hotch, I mean Aaron, thank you about what you said. Coming from you, it means a lot."
"Well it's true. Oh, I think that's your flight Emily."
"It is, isn't it? Thanks for lunch and waiting with me."
"I had fun Emily. Maybe, next time you are in town, we can go out just the two of us and also maybe take Jack to the park?"
"I'd like that very much. Hopefully, I can stay longer that way I can spend time with the team as well as with you and Jack. I better get to my gate. I will call you when I get to London. Bye, Aaron."
"Bye, Emily. I hope to see you soon."
Emily hugged him and kissed him on the cheek that day at the airport. He could still envision her face and her smile as she waved to him when she boarded the plane.
He knew he was already falling for Emily the night they danced at JJ's wedding. What he felt as he held her, was the time he knew that whatever it was that he had with Beth would never go any further because he knew what his heart was calling for. But he kept his feelings to himself. It was the happiest and the saddest night of his life because he knew that Emily was leaving. The night he realized that the woman he had been looking for was right in front of him but she was leaving him. The following day, he broke things off with Beth. Beth never did stay over that night.
They have talked a lot on the phone since that day at the airport but neither mentioned anything about that moment.
The next time she was in town, they never got the chance to go on that "date" because she was only in town for a day and the day was filled with Girls Day at the Spa and dinner with the team. It was Derek's turn to take her to the airport but that moment at the airport never left both their minds.
He was taken out of his reverie when he heard a scream from their Tech Analyst from the bull pen. "Gumdrop!"
Aaron flew out of his seat when he heard the name called. It was a nickname that Penelope had given Emily.
"Oh my raven-haired beauty, you look exhausted." Penelope said as she ran to Emily.
JJ who also heard the scream and the nickname from Penelope ran out of her office bumping into Dave and almost knocking him to the floor.
"Whoa! JJ slow down."
"Sorry Dave."
"I think Penelope all beat us to Emily first. Look at her, she is suffocating her." JJ and Dave laughed as they watched Emily flinging her arms for someone to rescue her from Penelope.
They saw Hotch running to Penelope and Emily like he was running the marathon that day to the finish line. They have noticed the couple of times that Emily had been back how his eyes would light up when Emily was in town. He looked so happy and the contentment they saw in his eyes especially when Emily would play with Jack and Henry. There was no doubt that their Unit Chief had feelings for Emily and he was falling in love fast.
They also noticed the sadness on his face when he would look down at them in the bull pen from his office. The first two months after she left, he left his blinds open like he had always done but after Emily's first visit, he either had it closed or half open. They have all been and still are affected by Emily's departure from the team. They feel it every day. But as a friend, they are happy for her because they want nothing more for Emily than to find peace. They had not realized the toll that Ian Doyle had taken on her until she confessed to them. She had been running from this man for seven years and when he came back in her life to kill her and he almost succeeded, his death didn't make her feel safe from her nightmares. Emily was always good at compartmentalizing but she is also human. Before she breaks and put the team in danger and fall deeper into the abyss of darkness, she decided to leave. It was the second most painful decision she had to make in her life the first was when she was fifteen years old in Italy when she had the abortion.
They are happy that the hollow they saw in her eyes are no longer there. The eyes that lit up the room are back again. But it didn't make it easier for them because they miss her so much.
"Penelope you have got to let her breathe. Let her go for a second." Derek said.
"I have missed you too, Penelope. But please, don't kill me." Emily joked.
They each took their turn in hugging Emily.
Aaron inhale that familiar scent that always gave him comfort.
"So I take it Strauss didn't tell you why I'm here." Emily asked.
Just then Erin Strauss walked in the bull pen.
"I was just going to call the team but you got here too quick, Emily. Let's all go in the conference room shall we?"
"Here let me take your suitcase to my office on the way." Aaron said.
"Thanks Aaron."
Once they got inside the conference room, all sat down except for Emily.
"I am here because of this man, Richard Williams. He is wanted in the UK, France, Germany and Australia. He had been under the radar of these countries because of child pornography and we have managed to shut down some of the websites and freeze several of the accounts. We have also made arrests but these perverts don't stay in jail for long."
"Don't we have a department that deal with child pornography cases?"
"Yes, the FBI does Derek, but I suggested Interpol to work with the BAU because this case has turned fatal. A couple of months ago, we traced him in Paris with an alias and he had killed a child after raping him. Then he did the same in Germany and Australia, but he escalated by killing two in Munich and Berlin and two in Sydney and Melbourne. I have been following this man for months now flying to these countries. He has a type. His victims have blonde hair, blue eyes and ages between 10-12 years old. Something snapped that he started to kill. We need to study his behavior. And he has several aliases. He was born here in the US and we believe he is here. And most importantly, he has connections because of his child pornography sites. He is well funded."
"All right, so do you have the files for us to look over, Emily?" Aaron asked.
"I do but I am still waiting on some more files from Paris, Munich, Berlin, Sydney and Melbourne. We also believed he was in Canada before coming here. So we might here from Canada. Speaking of, let me put my team in London on speaker."
Note: Reviews are welcome and always appreciated. I will also be updating my other story "Finding Me" today. Sorry if it has taken awhile for me to update it. Paget Brewster's departure has thrown me off and yeah, the NBA playoffs too. LOL