I do not own Criminal Minds or its characters. This is an AU story.
.A/N – I just can't seem to put this 'short' story to rest! It just keep coming back to me! This one piece, I just want to write, I hope I can convey this, it's partially about Hotch and Emily's relationship.
. This is a sequel of a ReStart Again which is a sequel to When The Storm Receded.
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Somewhere In Time
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He was standing by the window, he was looking down below and saw a park by the hospital. It was a big park, there were quite a few people, patients walking slowly or in wheelchairs being pushed by orderlies.
And then he saw her!
His heart skipped a tiny bit as he watched her walked on a pathway near a small garden. She had bend down and plucked a yellow flower from a bush and smelled the pretty flower and she smiled.
He smiled as he watched her.
Then he saw a man following her and he felt anxious for her, he wanted to call out, his hand was raised up to wave at her, to get her attention; behind you, Haley! Watch it!
Suddenly the strange man began to pick up speed and ran up to her and grabbed her from behind!
"NO!" He shouted from his room, but no one heard him from up four floors above.
He looked down at the nearby park, and felt angry that no one heard or saw what was going on near them. "How could they be so blind!"
As he continued to watch, fearing the worse for her, he was stunned at the next moment when he realized that she was not in danger but she was laughing when the strange man spun her around to face him.
He pressed his hand on the glass and frowned hard when he saw Haley and the man kissed. It was an intimate moment.
A feeling of jealousy overwhelmed him as he clenched his fist.
Unable to watch it any more, he turned from the window and sat on the chair.
He stared at the folder and picked it up and began to read.
…...
"Good morning, Aaron! How are you this morning?" Haley greeted him cheerfully as she brought him his breakfast.
He kept on reading.
She frowned as she studied him, "Aaron, is something the matter?"
"I'm fine." He replied curtly.
Shrugging, "Okay, do you want to talk about it? Some questions?" She pursed her lips. "Hmm...this is new, the silent treatment." She tilted her head with intrigue as she folded her arms across her chest. "Have I done something wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"
He shook his head, "It's fine. Thank you."
She took a deep breath and let it out before she finally nodded, "Okay, have it your way. I'll be back in an hour with your medicines." She turned to leave.
"Who's he?" He asked suddenly.
She spun on her feet, "Who?"
"That man you kissed earlier, who is he?" He didn't turn to face her as he continued to read.
She arched her brow, "Well, that's hardly any of your business, Aaron."
"Okay, fair enough. Thank you."
She stared at him in disbelief before she shook her head and left, muttering in confusion and anger.
When he realized she was gone, he turned around and saw that he was alone in his room and sighed; why did he do it? Why did he provoke her?
He shook his head and returned to his reading, ignoring his food, his appetite lost.
…...
"Sorry to interrupt, Hotch, we have a case." JJ peered into his office. "Two teens dead in Ohio, PD has asked for our help."
He nodded, "Gather the team, I'll be there." He nodded to her before he picked up his phone, "I'm sorry, Haley, I have to go, it's a case."
He heard a sigh from the other end of the line, and he frowned.
"Are you coming home tonight?" She asked him.
"I'm not sure, I'll call you."
Silence.
"Haley?"
"Have a safe trip, Aaron." She said before she ended the call, not giving him the opportunity to say good bye or words of endearments.
He pressed the end button and stared at the phone for a moment; had it come to this point now? This cold treatment from his wife?
He shook his head and tucked his phone into his jacket pocket before he left his office.
As he stepped out of the office, he met Dave Rossi and instantly the older agent spotted his expression.
"Uh oh," the Italian raised a concern brow. "Trouble in marital paradise?"
Hotch shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it." He replied sullenly before he walked away.
Rossi shook his head, "Yep, marriage can be a bitch."
"Who's a bitch?" Emily nudged at him as she chuckled, "That's not the way to talk about your girlfriend, Rossi."
Rossi stared at her, "What? No! I don't have a girlfriend, Missy!"
Emily laughed, "My, my, someone sounds a little grumpy."
Dave followed her to the conference room, "I'm not grumpy, if anything, I'm happy."
She laughed as they sat down, "Sure you are, Dave."
"Ha, ha, ha. Emily." Dave stared at her. "Comedy is not your thing, don't quit your day job." Morgan and Reid laughed as she glared at them before she turned back at Rossi.
"And yet, I keep trying."
"Okay, everyone," Hotch stared at her, "Will you be serious?"
She turned to Hotch, "Or what? You'll spank me?"
He looked startled.
Emily blushed, "I'm sorry, Hotch, I was out of line." She looked down at her bitten nails.
"It's okay, Prentiss." Hotch said.
She looked up, "I was just using Garcia's line...I thought it worked with her and..."She blushed more. "I think I'll stop right now."
He nodded, there was a slight smile on his face, "I think that's a good idea."
Rossi was grinning, "Maybe you should get with Garcia for some finesse classes."
"Shut up, Dave." She muttered.
He chuckled.
Hotch shook his head, "Can we focus on the case now?"
"Sure, Aaron, as soon as you wake up..." Rossi grinned at him.
Hotch frowned, "What?"
"Rossi's right, wake up, Aaron." Emily nodded at him. "It's time to wake up..."
"Aaron, wake up!" he felt someone nudging his shoulder as he opened his eyes.
He looked around and realized he was back in the room, in the hospital. "I thought I was briefing...my team..." he trailed off in confusion.
Alex smiled as she shook her head, "Aaron, you'd dozed off, and you didn't eat." She indicated his tray of food. "You need to eat before I have to give you your medicines."
He rubbed his eyes, "I'm sorry, I fell asleep...where's Haley? Who are you?"
Alex paused, "Aaron...we've been through this, I'm Alex, Alex Blake, your nurse. I've been your nurse for two years. And Haley's left." She continued to smile.
"Two years? But I just saw her this morning! What happened to her?" He frowned.
Alex shook her head, "I'm sorry, Aaron. It's been two years since she left. She's married now."
"Married? Married to whom?"
Alex chuckled, "His name is Ian Doyle, he's a stock market trader. They've been engaged for about two years before they got married, very lovely wedding." She smiled. They've moved to New York."
"They did?"
She nodded, "Yeah, he's working in Wall Street now, pretty nice guy, tried to convince me to invest." She laughed as she was making his bed. "But what do I know about stocks except the bull?"
"She's married..." he muttered as he glanced down at the papers on his lap.
Alex walked to where he was sitting and peered on his lap, "That old article, really sad stuff...that teen killing in Ohio. Glad the FBI were able to catch the crazy old man quickly." She smiled as she continued, "Now, you really need to eat." She sat across from him and watched him. "Do you want to talk about anything today?"
He began to eat, "Tell me about Emily, do you know anything about her?"
Alex picked up the familiar folder and opened it, "You and Emily were engaged to be married before the accident."
"When?"
She looked up from the folder, "When? The engagement?"
"When did we get engaged, and how did we meet?"
"Well, um...from what Mr. Rossi told me, she was an elementary school teacher."
"A teacher?"
Alex nodded, "Oh yes, she was a wonderful teacher, from what I'd learned, very dedicated to her job and her class, and very beloved." She handed him a few photos. "These are pictures of her family and friends, as you can see, there were many."
He stared at the aged photographs of several people laying flowers and stuffed animals on a particular patch of grass.
"Is this where the crash occurred?"
She nodded sadly. "Yes, you had just picked her up from the school after work when it happened."
"Is that common?"
"What is common?"
"That I pick her up from work?"
She hesitated, "Uh...no."
He watched her, "What do you mean?"
She handed him a set of papers he had never seen. "This is the court transcript. It'll explain all."
He took it from her but didn't look at it, he kept his gaze at her, "I've read this before, haven't I?"
She nodded, "Many times."
He frowned. "I'd like to be alone."
She stood up, "I'll go and let you read but I'll be back with your medicines." With that, she left.
He waited for a while before he began to read.
Half an hour later, he was gazing out beyond the window...
His mind was whirling!
He couldn't believe what he had read. That drunk George Foyet! He was four times the drinking limit! And he had been driving, he had been arrested before, three times no less, for the same offense, and yet he had managed to get away with almost nothing but probation, no jail terms.
Not until then, when he killed his Emily, his future wife...and his unborn child!
Emily was four months pregnant when she died.
He lay in bed and wept, holding a picture of Emily.
…...
"That's your tell." He watched her closely.
They were at Rossi's house, celebrating JJ and Will LaMontagne's wedding.
"It is?"He thought the look on her beautiful face was priceless.
Smiling gently, he nodded.
"For how long?" She asked.
"Ah...ever since...I've known you." He confessed.
She couldn't help, "Well you have one too." She claimed quickly. "Only I'm not tellin' you or you gonna stop doing it."
He grinned at her, he saw her bluff but let her get away with it. Then there was something deeper, another pain, not physical though,"Do you want to talk about it?"
Trust him to spot it, she replied quickly and honestly, "Absolutely."She nodded. "But not now."
"First thing tomorrow?"
She smiled, he saw a sadness in her smile. "It's a date."
…..
"What's a date?"
He blinked his eyes and cleared his throat, "Where...?"
"You mentioned a date, Aaron, what date?"
He stared at her, "Who are you, where's...Alex? She was here just now."
She frowned and shook her head, "Alex? Alex...oh, you mean, Alex Blake! She has transferred to another hospital."
He looked surprised, "But I saw her just now!"
She shook her head, "No, Alex has been gone for a couple of years already."
"Who are you?" he asked. "I've never seen you before."
She gave him an odd look, "Really, Aaron, I've been your nurse for the past year, I've been bringing your food everyday as well as your medicines. And oh yes, we talked about your memories everyday."
"My memories?"
She nodded and smiled, "Yes, you suffered from amnesia from the accident over sixteen years ago."
"Sixteen years? I thought it was.."he frowned as he tried to recall. "I don't know what happened to me." he faltered as he looked beyond the room and out the window, the same tree was still out there. He turned to look at her, "I don't remember you."
She smiled, "I'm Kate, Kate Callahan."
He grunted in acknowledgment.
She gave him another smile before she nodded, "Eat, Aaron. I'll be back with your meds."
He ignored her bossiness, "Where's my newspapers?"
She pointed at the table before him, "Under your food tray, I always place it there." She watched him.
He grunted again when he lifted the tray and picked up the papers. "Thank you...Kate."
She grinned, "You're welcome, don't forget to eat, I'll be back."
He nodded.
She shook her head indulgently as she closed the door.
He began to read, the headlines were about a prison breakout in Virginia. Then a byline about an FBI lead agent arrested for conspiracy against the Bureau.
"What utter piss." He shook his head as he muttered while he took a bite of Mac and Cheese.
Turning the page, he dropped his spoon, "Dear God...Emily..."
An article of a car accident accompanied by a photograph of a woman; the woman had died of head injuries. Her name was Lauren Reynolds.
…...
"He's not waking up!"
"Aaron? Can you hear me? It's Kate, come on, wake up!"
A long pause with a few beeping sounds that seemed to be in a distance, the voices were beginning to trail away...
"We're losing him!"
"Aaron! Come back! Come on, don't do this, fight!"The beeps began to slow to a stop.
He could hear her calling out again but her voice was fading by the seconds as another became more clearer.
"Aaron, it's time...our date."
He smiled as he held his hand out to her, she took it and together they walked away.
He couldn't help but turned around and saw a lot of people surrounding a frail old man.
The doctor was frantically instructing his nurses but he could see that the old man was gone, the doctor finally nodded to his nurses, "Okay, we've done all we can. Time of death, 12:30pm." he walked away from them.
"I'll inform Mr. Rossi." Kate said sadly.
"Aaron," He turned to look at her smiling face. "Ready?"
He nodded, "I am now, Emily." Giving the scene behind him one last look, he turned back and squeezing her hand warmly and they began to walk on towards the light.
.
.
When they reached the stairs leading up, he suddenly heard a giggly voice calling him, "Daddy!"
He turned to her and grinned, tightening their handhold.
She laughed.
"We're home, Jack!"
…...
The End
Author's Note – in the dream sequence, where Hotch and Emily was talking, the dialogue was taken from the Criminal Minds, Season 7, episode 24 'Run', before JJ's wedding.