A/N: This was written for the Future Fic Challenge. Part 2 will be posted by Memorial Day.

A/N 2: Because it is never really discussed in the show, I'm declaring Hotch to be 44 in 2012, which would make him 54 in 2022. Assuming that Rossi is 56 in 2012, he's 66 in 2022.

"Never look back unless you are planning to go that way." ― Henry David Thoreau

April 2, 2022

He needed help.

For the now retired SSA Aaron Hotchner, the whole lot of free time that came with retirement was turning out to be a problem.

When the Bureau told him that he needed to retire, Hotch was more upset over the actual retirement itself than anything else. On his first day , Hotch had spent the morning organizing the closets in both his bedroom and Jack's old bedroom. That had only taken him to ten in the morning. By 6:30 that evening, Hotch concluded that if he kept up the pace he was at, he would either beg for his job back or go insane. For the last twenty years, he had always been the boss that always moving and leading; waking up whenever he felt like just wasn't his style.

It wasn't just the free time that was getting to him, it was also the time that his mind spent reflecting. During his last few days at the Bureau, Hotch had begun to look back on his career. There were good times- the awards he had received and his leadership of the BAU- and there were also many bad times. His career had lost him Haley and the first few years of his son's life. There were also the cases- not the unsolved ones or the ones that was solved and everyone went home- but the cases where his team had been put in danger.

Aaron Hotchner spent the last fifteen years trying his hardest to protect his team. Dealing with Emily Prentiss' international incidents, Morgan running around as if he was invincible, Reid's inability to stay out of trouble, and protecting JJ and Garcia's innocence were some of the many things that kept him up at night as well. Especially the cases from the last six years…

By noon on his second day of retirement, Hotch decided that he needed to go and speak to someone and he knew the best man for the job.

David Rossi.

After a three hour trip towards rural Virginia, Hotch found Rossi's "retirement retreat" - a rustic cabin surrounded by thick woods and a lake. He spotted his friend near the edge of the lake, playing Frisbee with his black Labrador, Mugsy. Despite his age and a blown out knee, Rossi was still moving about as if nothing was wrong.

"Come on, Mugsy. Go get it!" Rossi threw the Frisbee towards the western side of the lake. It landed between two large white rocks that sat near a trail entrance. He watched the dog for a few seconds before turning to see Hotch standing at his SUV.

"Aaron, miss me already?" Rossi joked. He walked over to the small dock on the lake and pulled up two lawn chairs. Hotch smiled and sat down on a small plastic lawn chair that creaked every time he moved in it. The older man picked up two beers that had been placed next to the chairs and handed Hotch one.

"Is this how you spend retirement?" Hotch joked, a hint of worry in his mind. Rossi stretched out his legs and arms with a wide grin on his face.

"Yep," Rossi answered, "And since you usually come up here once every few weeks and your list trip was six days ago, I see that retirement isn't doing so well for you. I can't believe the new director went after you."

"The director doesn't think I am physically and psychologically capable to continue on as an agent of the bureau," Hotch stated with a loud sigh, "He used the last twenty years as a poor excuse to downsize the BAU. All the agents over fifty were let go. You know that there's only one team now?"

Rossi held out his beer towards Hotch to propose a toast. "To tearing up my knee in Canada," Rossi said. Hotch winced at the memory of the Toronto case from two years prior. A family of unsubs had set up a trap for Toronto police and the team that resulted in a massive explosion with no fatalities. The force of the explosion had caused minor injuries for everyone except for Rossi. The eldest agent had torn his knee, ending his career as an agent for good.

The younger man quickly wracked his brain for something to change the topic of the conversation. After a few minutes of silence, Hotch took a sip of his beer and said, "This is the most relaxed that I've ever seen you and it's honestly….a little frightening."

Rossi smirked. "Do I detect jealously in you, Aaron?"

"A little bit." Hotch caught a glance of the silver wedding band that Rossi wore. "Does your wife know that you're up here?"

"Yeah, I told her that I wanted some time at….what did Prentiss and Garcia call it….oh, my man cave." Rossi looked away, trying to hide his glee about his marriage. Hotch took a swig of his beer, deciding to poke fun at his marriage to wife #5 and the quickie marriage with the neurotic, obsessive wife #4 for another time.

"Aaron?"

Hotch slowly raised his head to see Rossi staring back at him, worried. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that the smile on his face was gone and his hands were shaking.

Rossi changed his seating position so that he could face Hotch face to face. "So did you come up here because your first day of retirement was that boring or was there something else?" he asked.

Hotch took a breath and stammered, "I've been thinking-"

"Ooh, that's not good-"

"Dave." Hotch was teary eyed, "I had spent yesterday contemplating my life. You know, with my forced retirement and Jack wining that scholarship last month, I wonder if I made the right decisions in my life. "He closed his eyes and grimaced, "I think I've made mistakes that not only screwed my life up, but so many others."

Rossi placed down the beer and turned to his distraught friend. Pointing towards the horizon, he stated, "I'm two years into my second retirement and I still have those same questions every day."

"But did I do the right things? I think I let the job take priority and I have nothing to show for it-"

"Aaron, I can hardly beat you in terms of a career! You have so many awards that you can put my books to shame." Rossi's comment got Hotch to let out a sad chuckle so Rossi continued, "Jack is going to Cornell- the best architecture school in the country. So what- you and Beth didn't make it; you and Emily have been going strong for seven years now!"

Hotch shrugged his shoulders halfheartedly. "My son had to grow up with a mother and I think Beth and I failed because of my job-"

Rossi put a hand on Hotch's shoulder. "First of all, Jack has had a great life so far. A great one. Secondly, you loved your job and Beth understood that and you guys mutually ended it. Now with Prentiss- she travels around the world for work, but Aaron, she's still your wife. "Rossi stood and added, "Alright, we're going to go for a walk and you're going to tell me everything that you think is a mistake."