It's been three weeks since Prentiss walked out of Hotch's office. They acted professional around each other, but he could tell she was hurting. He kept looking at her regardless of what she told him, he couldn't stop. He saw the way there was no sparkle in her eye when she smiled at something one of her friends said. No one on the team seemed to realize there was something wrong with her except JJ and Rossi. Neither of them confronted the others about it. JJ would just try to get Emily to laugh and Rossi would shoot daggers at Aaron occasionally.
The ride back on the plane from Texas was a lighthearted one. They caught the UNSUB before he killed anyone else, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Emily was looking out the window not really paying attention, while the rest of them engaged in a conversation around her.
"Do you believe in love? Do you find it worth all the pain and struggle?" Rossi asked.
"I believe in love, but I don't think it's worth all the crap that comes with it," Morgan says.
"How can you say that Morgan? You know Garcia loves you, and deep down you know you love Garcia." JJ shouts.
"What are you talking about? Of course I love her. I love her like I love all of you guys. You're my family, but I'm not in love with her."
Everyone laughs. "You guys suck. Do you know that?" Morgan asks defensively.
"What do you believe Emily?"
Emily looks up. "I believe that the best things in life are worth fighting for. I believe that in the end you need to believe in Prince Charming and happily ever after because if you don't what do you have to look forward to? I believe that if you want someone bad enough, if you just hold out, that person will look at you differently one day, and see you as the person they want to be with. I guess what I'm saying is I believe in love."
Everyone on the plane looks at her.
"That was beautiful Em!" JJ says. "I think that's completely true."
"Yeah, easy for you to say JJ, you already found your Prince. But for you, Emily, to be saying it is what is shocking to me. I mean, are you saying you're holding out for your Mr. Charming? Are you looking at someone hoping they see something in you?" Morgan asks trying to get the attention off of him and Garcia.
"I guess I am. I don't even want to be holding out for Mr. Charming, but you can't help who you fall in love with. And I do look at someone hoping they see something in me worth fighting for. Something worth all the pain and struggle that life can bring. And maybe one day when he realizes that I'm not going anywhere and I'm 100% behind him, he'll see me as that Princess and we'll live happily ever after together, but until then, I just have to wait, or find the prince from Sleeping Beauty since I never really did like Cinderella."
"But you're wasting your life waiting for this guy when you could easily find someone else."
"No one is kicking down my door Morgan."
"You're beautiful Emily, anyone would be lucky to have you."
"Not the one I want though."
"So what you're saying is you'd rather go through all the pain and suffering to have this person?"
"I believe love is worth all the pain and all the suffering because in between all of that is greatness. And you'll never know if you can be great with someone if you don't love them first. So, yes, I think it's worth it." Emily could see Hotch staring at her out of the corner of her eye, but she just turned back to look out the window as the rest of the team continued the conversation without her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Things at the Hotchner house weren't going so well. Haley was always yelling about something, and Hotch had a headache more often.
"You're going to work? We talked about this Aaron; you said you were going to be around more."
"I know, and I will be."
"When Aaron? Because it seems ever since we got back you're never here, and when you are you're zoning out and not paying attention."
Hotch didn't say anything, he just continued to get ready to go to the office.
"AARON!"
"I'm sorry Haley." He mumbled softly.
"For what?"
"I don't love you anymore. I thought I did, but I was wrong, and I thought I could keep us together for Jack because that's what he needs, but I was wrong. I look at you and see someone totally different then the person I fell in love with so long ago. I see someone who wants me to change to be someone I can't be and that's not me. I don't know why I thought this time would be different. I don't want you like I used to. My heart doesn't do somersaults when I look at you. I never realized how selfish you really are." Haley gasped. "And then I think back to when the whole Foyet situation happened and you were selfish then. I was just stabbed nine times and you were more concerned about you then you were me. I don't even remember if you asked me if I was okay! You can say I changed and broke this marriage apart the first time, and I'll understand that, but don't give me all the blame here. You changed as well, and you changed into a person I don't even like looking at anymore."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I love someone else. Someone who loves me for me and who doesn't try to change me. The one person who was there for me when no one else was, and I was stupid enough to throw her away because I thought things could work out between us. I'm saying that I believe in happily ever after and I know I can't achieve that with you. Now if you don't mind I have to go find my princess because whether she likes it or not she's getting her Prince Charming tonight."
Aaron left the house hearing Haley call after him, but he didn't turn back. Hotch made his way over to Emily's condo. He didn't know what he was going to say but he hoped when he saw her it would all just come out. When he got there, she was already gone. He got back in his car and headed to the office. When he walked in he saw Prentiss talking to Morgan. When Garcia walked up Emily nudged Morgan in her direction. He shot her a glare. Then Morgan and Garcia went to grab a cup of coffee. Hotch walks up to Emily and clears his throat. She turns slowly to look at him.
"Can I see you in my office for a minute please Emily?"
She stared back at him not saying a word then nodded her head. She got up and followed him into his office.
"Have a seat."
"I'll stand."
"Okay." He nodded. "I went by your place this morning but you were already gone. I wanted to have this conversation in private, but this can't wait, so here will have to do."
"What do you want Hotch?"
"I love you." He blurted out. "I love you with everything I have. I was so stupid to go back to Haley after I already had you. After Jack you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You make my world better. When you smile you light up the room and I hate that your smile isn't there because of what I did."
"Hotch," Emily starts as she heads for the door, "I told you—"
"You told me that if she broke me again not to come crawling back to you. And she didn't break me this time. I left her. You're right. She's never going to change and she'll never understand or care about me the way you do."
"You quit. You walked away and now since you've had a change of heart I'm supposed to just act like its all okay?"
"No, I'm not saying that. I know I hurt you, and if you let me I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you because you were there for me at my lowest. But on the plane you said you need to believe in happily ever after and Prince Charming. Emily I need you to believe in me. I look in your eyes and I see the person who I want above all else. The person I could spend the rest of my life with."
"Hotch—"
"I know you have no reason whatsoever to forgive me but if you don't I don't know what I'll do, because I can't keep acting like you don't mean anything to me. I'm so sorry, I love you. Forgive me Emily. Please."
"I can't." She simply says then walks away again and goes back to work.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A week goes by and things are still tense between Hotch and Prentiss. Hotch is miserable. He has no Emily, he has no Jack since Haley took him with her, he has nothing, and his heart is breaking a little more each day. He's not eating, he's snapping out at the team. He can't seem to focus on anything but Emily.
Hotch and Prentiss are the only ones left in the office Friday night. They're both finishing up paperwork since they have no one to go home to. Emily looks up towards Hotch's office and gets up from her seat and walks into it. Hotch looks up surprised.
"Emily, are you okay?"
"How do you feel?"
"I'm sorry?" Hotch asked in confusion.
"How do you feel? Right now?"
He looks her in her eyes. "I feel worse than I did when my family was taken away from me. Every time you snub me or laugh with someone else I feel my heart break even more. Soon I'm going to need oxygen because breathing becomes difficult around you. I feel like I messed up something that could have been great, and I feel like the biggest piece of shit on top of all of that."
"Good."
"What? You want me to feel this way?"
"Yes, because now you know what I felt when you picked her over me. How destroyed I was, how broken you made me. But like I said on the plane, I believe love is worth all the pain and suffering because of all the greatness it brings. And we could be great together Hotch, I know it. And I think I made you suffer long enough."
Hotch sits there shell shocked. She did this on purpose? He couldn't blame her really; he knew where she was coming from.
"Are you just going to sit there or are you going to come kiss me like you mean it?"
Hotch didn't need to be asked twice. He quickly got up from his desk, grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her with all he had.
"I think I just bagged my Prince Charming."
"That you did because Emily Prentiss…you are my princess," he says as he kisses her again.