PROLOGUE

Here's something my depressed and angry brain came up with.

Spoilers for ehhhh... CSI Miami: Manhunt, and Criminal minds: 100

Aaron Hotchner sat at a bar in Miami, looking at the light coming through the amber liquid in the glass. He shook the ice before taking another sip. Light danced across the wall as lightning rang out in the sky, and rain poured down on the roof. The rattle seemed deafening in the quiet bar, and to his fragile state of mind.

He turned his head slightly as the door swung open. Horatio Caine shook the water from his bright red hair, now a dark amber, and threw his jacket on a barstool before sitting with Aaron.

"Jack on the rocks please." His deep voice rumbled. The cuban bartender nodded and took a bottle from the shelf behind the bar.

"Why are you here?" Aaron asked.

"I haven't known you for more than 36 hours, but I can tell something is eating you alive."

"I would rather not talk about it." Aaron said quietly.

"I lost my wife too." Horatio said and thanked the bartender as he sat a glass on the marble.

"How do you know anything about me?"

"It was about five years ago. She was murdered by a gang I have been dealing with."

"What is the point lieutenant?"

"When we signed up for our jobs, the danger comes standard. Do not blame yourself for her death."

"I think that is none of your concern."

"We all regret choices we make. But, look at what we do for a living. You and you team saved an innocent child today, isn't that worth the risk?"

"What are you saying?"

"I am saying, take a month off. Spend time with your son, he needs you now more than ever." Horatio drained his glass and stood up. "If you don't take time off, you'll regret it, trust me. There is a light at the end of the tunnel Aaron, you might not see it, but it's there. You can never fill that hole again, but you can move along. She's in a better place now." Horatio smiled before picking up his jacket. "I'll see you back at the station." With that, he turned and walked out into the rain.