The Message

Disclaimer: CBS + Criminal Minds = Not Me

Summary: What happens when you overhear an important message for someone you care about?

Timeline: Alternate Universe, Present Day

A/N: Another quick oneshot that came to me. Enjoy.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a review.

Richard Grant said, "The value of identity, of course, is that so often with it comes purpose."

"Ha" Garcia said, setting her cards down, "Aces over six."

"Cheater" JJ huffed, throwing her playing cards down, looking over at the brunette, "You taught her own to count cards didn't you?"

"Nope" Emily said, tossing her own on the table, "Reid did."

"That, my pretties, is why it always pays to be nice to Boy Genius." Garcia giggled, "So what's next, more cards or watch some movies or what?"

Emily looked at her watch, "Well there is always margaritas, or..."

"Oh, yes please" Garcia said, while JJ nodded emphatically, "We can have some popcorn and some drinks... Heck we can even dance too."

Emily raised an eyebrow at the overly excited blonde, "Did you go drinking before you stopped by my apartment?"

"You mean yours and bossman's apartment" Garcia giggled, "Ok, so maybe I had a drink or two, but this is the first time I've been over to Hotch's and I got..."

"A little nervous?" Emily asked, "There's nothing to be nervous about, it's just Aaron... Hotch."

Both blondes smirked, "Well I can get where Garcia's coming from. If Hotch and I weren't close, I'd be nervous too."

"Ha" Garcia snorted, "Ok, now how about those margaritas?"

Emily leaned into JJ, "Maybe one will be her limit."

JJ nodded, "Definitely."

Emily placed her cards down on the table, "Ok, I'm going to get the mix, and the glasses. JJ can you get the blender and the ice?"

"Sure" JJ replied setting her own cards down and following the brunette into the kitchen, "Now, where do you keep that blender?"

"Above the sink, right there" Emily pointed out, turning around, "Huh, where'd the tequila go?"

Garcia's head peered over, "No tequila? We can't have margaritas without tequila."

"Calm down, I'm sure there's more in Hotch's home office" Emily told her, "I'll be right back. Garcia, why don't you make yourself useful and get the lime and salt?"

Garcia nodded wandering into the pantry, while Emily made her way down the hall to Hotch's office.

Opening the liquor cabinet, she kneeled down scanning the various bottles of alcohol, grinning when she found the perfect bottle.

"A-ha" she cheered silently, pulling the bottle out, and nearly jumping when she heard the beeping on Hotch's answering machine.

"Aaron? Its me" a feminine voice said from the machine, making the brunette turn to it, "Beth."

Emily stumbled slightly as she took a seat in Hotch's office chair, her mouth opened in shock.

"I don't know if you're there" Beth's voice said, "But I just needed to tell you, I'm getting married."

Emily exhaled at that, then frowned looking back at the answering machine.

"I miss you" Beth said, while Emily's eyes narrow at that, "And I just wondered if you missed me too. Probably not. God, I don't even know why I'm calling... Take care, Aaron."

Emily unscrewed the tequila bottle taking a big swig, and said, "Huh."

"Emily?" JJ's voice called, "Did you find the tequila?"

The brunette's eyes were still trained on the blinking answering machine when she heard two distinctive footfalls coming down the hallway.

"Em?" JJ said, standing in the doorway noticing her brunette friend drinking from the bottle, "What's wrong?"

Garcia peeked her head in, "Gumdrop? You ok?"

"There was an interesting message on that answering machine" Emily said, nodding to the left at the red flashing light.

"Strauss?" JJ asked with touch of disdain in her tone.

"I wish" Emily muttered, "All right, you two need to go back and get some glasses, because hearing this will make you want a drink too."

"Be right back" Garcia said, scampering off towards the kitchen while JJ took a seat on the small couch in the office.

"Take care Aaron" Beth's voice said, before the machine beeped twice and ended.

"Huh" Garcia said, sitting back on the couch, taking a large sip of the alcohol.

"What a bitch" JJ muttered, shaking her head, looking over at her best friend with concerned.

"What are you going to do?" Garcia asked, "I mean are you actually going to let him know about this?"

Emily tilted her head to her, "Well it's going to be kind of hard to miss, I mean there is the actual message."

"You have to erase it" JJ told her, "That woman put him through hell with her back forth personality and only ended up breaking his heart."

Emily rolled her eyes, "What? You really expect me to erase his message?"

"Yes" both JJ and Garcia told her.

Emily nipped her lower lip, shaking her head, "That not something I can do, you guys. I mean I'm not that girl."

JJ scoffed, "Well considering I'm practically a sister to him, I'll do it."

"No, Jayje" Emily told her, "It's not even worth it."

"Not worth it?" JJ said, her blonde head whipping around, "You're relationship with Hotch isn't worth it?"

"I love him and I trust him" Emily told her.

"Well I don't trust her" JJ said, "And as someone who cares about him, I'll take control of this situation and get her the hell out his life once and for all."

Garcia's jaw dropped at that, while Emily just sat there stunned.

"Besides who wouldn't want someone to take control of a situation that someone needed help with?" JJ asked.

"Control?" Emily whispered, etching her brow in confusion.

"Hell, I'm not ashamed to save him from her" JJ told her, giving her a stare, "And neither should you, he's your boyfriend not hers."

Emily felt everything move in slow motion as JJ got off the couch and wandered over to her, and before she could think she jumped out of the chair and tackled her blonde friend to the crowd.

"Ow" JJ cried out, while Emily pinned her friend to the ground, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Making the right choice" Emily told her, while Garcia's eyes widened at the image of her friends.

"Get off me" JJ grunted, trying to maneuver her way out from under the strong brunette.

"Not until you say you won't erase the call" Emily gritted, "Say it."

"No" JJ punctuated emphatically, "I'm doing this for him."

"JJ, I'm his girlfriend, there's nothing to worry about." Emily said, keeping the blonde down on the ground.

"Em, I'm not just doing this for him or you, I'm doing it for all of us." JJ told her.

Garcia was too stunned to move, and none of the three women heard the front door open or the footfall coming down the hall.

"JJ, I'm not kidding" Emily told her, "Promise me."

"Emily" the blonde pleaded, "I'm doing this for you too."

"Keep your mouth shut about this" Emily told her, "If I want your advice, I'll ask for it. So will Hotch."

"Advice about what?" the male voice said, causing the three women to look up in shock at the sight of a puzzled Hotch and amused Morgan and Dave.

"Looks like we're missing a chick fight" Morgan grinned gleefully, until he noticed the guilty look on Garcia's face, "What's going on?"

JJ looked up at Emily who still had the blonde pinned down, "Nothing?"

"That doesn't look like nothing to me" Dave observed, with a smirk on his face, "But then I've always been more perceptive then most."

Emily snorted, looking up at Hotch, "Aaron, we need to talk."

"Well I guess we can do that as soon as you get off of JJ" Hotch told her, eyeing the brunette.

Emily stood up, and nodded, "Ok."

Morgan leaned down and helped JJ up, who looked reluctant to leave the room, "Emily, you don't have to do this."

Turning her head to the blonde, "I have to."

Dave eyed the two women and the tequila bottle, "Come on, everyone I'll buy you a cup of coffee, looks like these two need it."

"I'm not drunk" Garcia protested, "I've only had... I don't remember how much."

"Come on, baby girl," Morgan said, wrapping an arm around both blondes, "Lets go sober you up while these two talk.

"But, there's something I have to do..." JJ protested while being lightly shoved from the room, looking back at the answering machine.

Hotch picked up the nearly empty tequila bottle, and set it on the desk top with a raised eyebrow watching as the brunette gave him an unapologetic look.

"I'm not going to ask what you three did on your girls night" Hotch told her with a shrug, "I just want to know what that little fight was about?"

Emily licked her lip as she took a seat on the desk chair, "There's something you need to hear."

"All right" Hotch said, taking a seat on the couch, "Out with it."

Emily took a deep breath, watching his face stare at her with confusion but intent as her hand hit the play button on the answering machine.

"Emily?" he asked puzzled by whatever had her and her friends disturbed.

'Aaron, its me' Beth's voice said, filling the small room, 'Beth.'

Hotch's eyes widen as his gaze hit the answering machine while Emily kept her face impassive but inside her heart was racing, fear pumping through her veins.

As Hotch took a deep breath, he glanced over at Emily while Beth's message played.

'I miss you' the brunette curator said, 'And I just wondered if you missed me too. Probably not. God, I don't even know why I'm calling... Take care, Aaron.'

"End of message" the answering machine replied, beeping twice and clicking off.

"Well?" Emily asked keeping her tone calm, "Beth called."

"I can see that" he replied, his mind racing as he leaned back on the couch, "Well I see why you and JJ were fighting." he gave her a glance, "What do you think?"

She wanted to yell, but she didn't she only shrugged, "I can't tell you what to do. That's your ex girlfriend, you have to make your own choices. But it sounds like she wants to resume things with you."

That snapped him out of the haze he had been in the second he heard Beth's message and his mind was screaming at him that whatever decision he made, the one thing that was certain was he didn't want to lose her.

Hotch pulled her rolling chair forward and took her hands, kissing the palm of it, "I don't care what she wants or if she misses me because I'm finally happy."

Looking up at him, "But when you heard her message, you seemed..."

"Surprised, startled?" he asked, "Well I am. We didn't exactly end on the best of terms and to be honest I didn't care either."

Raising an eyebrow at him, "You don't care that your ex girlfriend, who just happens to be getting married, called you because she missed you?"

Pulling her from the chair, he brought her to his lap, tilting her head to look at him, "Because I love you, Emily. I've always loved you."

Her brown eyes searched his and she could see the genuine truth in his words and cupped his cheeks kissing him.

"I love you too, Aaron." she said, as he sat her down on the couch next to him.

"There's no one else in this world who understands me the way you do" he said, kissing her forehead, "And I wouldn't want to be with anyone in this world but you, Emily."

He reached over, hitting delete on the message and wrapped his arms around Emily, content with the world just the way it was, her with him.

"Man cannot remake himself without suffering, for he is both the marble and the sculptor." Dr. Alexis Carrel

THE END

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