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Lacy here. This hit me the last time I watch Lo-Fi and Mayhem. Emily tells Cooper that it could have just as easily been her who was shot. How would things have played out differently if she had been shot? How would Hotch have reacted, even though he was basically glued to Kate's hip? Well my twisted mind likes answering these types of questions so here we go. Have...nope doesn't fit again. Last note, if anyone has an idea of what I could put as parting words when 'have fun' don't fit, let me know in your reviews.

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't have had Emily shot but Hotch would not have been so buddy-buddy with Kate.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Hotch looked over Kate's shoulder as they read a file and his phone rang. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled it out and answered.

"Hotchner."

"Aaron, it's Dave. We've had another shooting."

Hotch tapped Kate's forearm. "Where?"

Dave rattled off the address. "Hotch, there's something you need to know. Emily was shot."

Hotch froze in his tracks. "What?"

"Emily and Detective Cooper were chasing the suspect down and while trying to apprehend him, Emily was shot."

"How bad?" Hotch asked, ignoring Kate's questioning stare.

"Bad Aaron." Dave said. "Once you stop at the scene, head to the hospital. I can cover for you."

Hotch started moving again. "Thank you Dave. We'll be there in ten."

Kate rushed to catch up to Hotch. "Aaron, what happened?"

"Emily was shot." Hotch said, not even registering that he used Emily's first name.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Dave stood beside Cooper as they waited for Hotch to arrive.

"He's going to want to know everything that happened." Dave said. "And he's not going to be nice about it."

Cooper nodded. "I'll explain everything. You have to know I'd trade places with her if I could."

Dave patted Cooper on the shoulder. "I know Detective."

It didn't take long for Hotch and Kate to arrive and Hotch made his way right over to Cooper and Dave.

"What happened?" Hotch demanded. There was no questioning his tone. Hotch was upset bordering pissed off.

Cooper took a deep breath before filling Hotch in on everything. How he and Emily heard the gun fire, they took off in the direction Garcia had directed them and at one point a civilian had gotten in front of Cooper, slowing him down and Emily had run ahead of him. By the time he'd caught up, Emily was on the ground and he unloaded two bullets into the suspect before moving to Emily's side and calling for help. Hotch ran a hand through his hair. Dave nodded for Cooper to leave and turned to Hotch.

"We got things here Aaron." Dave said. "Go check on Emily."

Hotch nodded. "Call with any changes."

Dave nodded. "You know it. Now go."

Kate stepped with Hotch as he went to leave. "Aaron,"

Hotch held up his hand. "Stay here Kate. I need to check on my agent."

Kate stepped back and watched as Hotch climbed back into the truck they came in and drove off.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Hotch arrived at the hospital Emily had been sent to and showed his badge to the desk nurse.

"I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner." he said. "One of my agents, Emily Prentiss was brought in with a gun shot."

The nurse checked the computer and nodded. "She's in surgery. The surgical waiting room is on the fourth floor. Check in with the desk nurse up there and they'll let you know when she's out."

Hotch nodded. "Thank you." he paused. "Can you tell me about her condition?"

The nurse shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry no. They'll have more information for you upstairs."

Hotch said thank you again before heading for the elevator. Once on, he leaned back against the wall and tried to breathe normally. His heart just stopped when Dave said Emily had been shot and it had yet to return to a normal pace. He needed to see her, alive and whole for that to happen. The elevator arrived at the fourth floor and he again showed his badge and repeated who he was and who he was looking for.

"I can only give information to her family." the nurse said.

Hotch knew this was coming but was ready. "Six months ago, Agent Prentiss made a change to her medical information listing our team as next of kin. Trust me, I'm family."

"She's in surgery." the nurse said. "They lost her once on the way in but were able to bring her back."

Hotch scrubbed a hand over his mouth. "Where was she shot?"

The nurse scanned the computer screen. "Upper left chest."

Hotch leaned against the counter. "Thank you." he moved and made his way to the waiting area. Sitting down, he leaned forward and held his head in his hands. Upper left chest and they lost her once.

Finding that out did not help Hotch one bit.

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The next three hours were the longest of Hotch's life. His nerves were all on end and he couldn't sit still. He hadn't even been like this after Garcia's shooting.

'You know why that is Aaron.' Hotch's thoughts popped in.

He sighed. Yeah he knew why that was but this was no time to be thinking about it. He didn't have time anyway. He looked up and saw a man in scrubs coming towards him. He stood up as the man reached him.

"Emily Prentiss." the man said.

Hotch nodded. "I'm her commanding officer Aaron Hotchner. How is she?"

The doctor crossed his arms. "The bullet entered just above her heart, only missing it by a few centimeters. They lost her once on the way in and we almost lost her on the table but she made it through. She's resting now and should wake up within the hour. We repaired the damage and she'll recover just fine."

Hearing the doctor's words, Hotch felt his heart beat normally and his chest loosen, allowing him to breathe.

"Can I see her?" Hotch asked.

"She's being moved to a room right now." the doctor said. "I'll have one of the nurses come get you when she's settled."

For the fourth time since he arrived, Hotch said thank you and sat back down. He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for Dave.

"How is she?"

Hotch leaned his head back against the wall. "Made it out of surgery and will be just fine."

"Aaron I know you. What aren't you saying?"

"They lost her once on the way here and almost lost her again on the table."

Hotch heard Dave curse but quickly compose himself.

"Don't focus on that Aaron. Focus on the fact that she's alive and you have more time to grow a spine."

Hotch chuckled lightly. "I know Dave. Trust me, after this I know. Do you need me back?"

"Don't even think about it until you've seen Emily with your own eyes." Dave said. "We're fine here."

After a few more words, Hotch hung up and waited for the nurse to come get him.

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Emily felt herself return to consciousness and the first thing that registered was pain. Her chest was in pain. The next thing that registered was something warm covering her right hand. Wanting to know what it was, Emily slowly opened her eyes and turned her head to the right. A smile spread across her face as she took in Hotch sitting beside her bed. He met her smile with a small one of his own.

"Hey, you're awake." he said.

Emily nodded. "So it would seem." she frowned. "What happened?"

"What do you remember?" Hotch asked.

Emily closed her eyes for a second. "Chasing down the unsub with Cooper then being on the ground. Everything else is blank."

"You got shot Emily." Hotch said. "The unsub shot you and Cooper took him out."

"Is Cooper ok?" Emily asked.

Hotch couldn't believe Emily. She was the one in the hospital and she was asking about someone else. But that's who she was.

"He's fine." Hotch said. "Dave said he wishes he could trace places with you but that was also a few seconds before I showed up."

Emily smiled again. "He was scared of you."

Hotch cleared his throat but didn't comment.

"Shouldn't you be working on the case?" Emily asked.

"You got shot Emily." Hotch said. "I was needed somewhere else."

"Well you can come back after you catch these guys." Emily said before yawning. "I'm just going to be sleeping anyway."

Hotch didn't want to leave but knew Emily was right. The team needed to find these guys and Hotch could tell Emily wasn't going to last much longer before falling asleep.

"Alright you rest and I'll see you later." Hotch said.

Giving Emily's hand a squeeze, Hotch stood and left the room.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Nearly a day later Hotch walked back into Emily's hospital room. She looked to be sleeping but her eyes snapped open as Hotch walked in. She instinctively held out her hand and Hotch took it, sitting down as he did. Emily watched him, noticing the wounds on his face and the limp he was walking with. He went to speak but Emily stopped him.

"Dave called and told me." Emily said. "I'm sorry about Kate."

Hotch nodded looking down. "Me too." he looked back at Emily. "But I've still got you. You're still here."

Emily nodded also. "And I'm not going anywhere."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Ok so no big love confessions but I didn't think it would fit. I could be talked into writing a squeal for this if enough people want me to. Just say the word. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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