Disclaimer: I own nothing; everything belongs to their rightful owners.
AN: Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and/or review my stories, that really means the world to me! And a special thank you goes to my beta reader, the wonderful greeneyedconstellations!
Where The Darkness Meets The Day
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-"You take it from me, my boy: there is no room in this business for love." - Terrence, Legends
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PART 1
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He falls for her the moment she walks into his office.
"Agent Hotchner?" she asks, a dazzling smile on her face and a cardboard box in her hands. "I'm Agent Emily Prentiss."
It's how it all starts.
And it might be how it ends: in that moment when he finds himself reflected in the dark depths of her eyes.
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III
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He's the first one to arrive at the scene.
The cars in front of the warehouse are ablaze, the fire quickly spreading toward the building. The air is thick and heavy with smoke. It makes his eyes tear and his lungs burn, tasting like ashes and blood on his tongue.
Emily.
He scans the ground, his eyes searching the darkness for a sign of life. But there's nothing.
I'm too late.
He stumbles forward, calling her name. But there's no answer, only sirens wailing in the distance and the raging fire in front of him.
No, he thinks. Not again.
And then he spots her.
Just a couple of yards away, sitting on the concrete with her back against the site fence.
"Emily," he calls out, relief flooding his veins. He's next to her in two strides. "Emily," he starts. "Can you hear me?" He bends down in front of her. "Are you alright? Emily?"
But she doesn't answer, doesn't even blink. She just stares. Her clothes stained with blood, her fingers tightly closed around the gun in her hands.
"It's over," Aaron whispers, his voice hoarse and his hand slowly reaching for her weapon. "It's over, Emily."
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II
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"I want you to come over for dinner on Saturday."
"Excuse me?" Emily looks up, startled. She casts a side-glance towards the door to make sure they're still alone.
"What about Jack?" she asks. "Another sleepover?"
"No." Aaron shakes his head and his dark eyes find hers from across the conference table. "I want us to have dinner together."
For a moment Emily says nothing. Then, very slowly, she lowers her pen. "You want to tell him," she states and tries to keep her voice even.
"That's what I planned, yes."
"Why?"
Aaron frowns. "Why not?"
"Because-", Emily starts and stops and looks back down at the file on the table in front of her. "I just-" She bites her tongue, unsure how to answer.
"Emily, I…"
She blinks, surprised when she finds Aaron standing next to her all of a sudden, his hand reaching for hers without hesitation.
"What are you doing?" She glares. "Someone will see us!"
"I know."
"You want-" Emily stares, the look in his eyes unmistakable. "But we agreed-"
"Emily, there was - oh!" It's Garcia, coming to a sudden stop in the doorframe to the conference room. Her eyes widen in surprise. " I'm sorry," she stammers and Emily realizes Aaron is still holding her hand. "Did I interrupt-"
"No," Emily hurries herself to answer and immediately draws back her hand. "What is it?" she asks and gets up, moving past Aaron and towards Garcia.
"A man called," Garcia starts. "He didn't tell me his name, but he said you should call him back and that you would know…"
Garcia keeps talking, but Emily isn't listening any longer. Her eyes are fixed on the note in Garcia's hands, the familiar number Garcia had written down for her.
It just isn't a phone number.
It's a message.
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"How is this even possible," she whispers, her eyes closed.
"I don't know."
"It shouldn't have happened."
"No, darling," Clyde sighs. "It shouldn't."
Her eyes snap open and she looks out of the car window and into the dark.
"Where are the others," she wants to know. "Did you tell them?"
Clyde shakes his head and Emily frowns.
"What is wrong with you? Why didn't you-"
"There's no one left, Emily."
She blinks. Not sure if she heard him right. "What are you saying?"
"He already got them, Emily."
"No," she shakes her head. A nervous laugh stuck in her throat. "No, that's-"
"Tsia, Jeremy, Sean, their families. Everyone who worked with us on that case."
"No." Emily shakes her head. Gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turn white. "No." She's feeling sick. That can't be-
"They're all dead, Emily," Clyde adds. His voice calm and composed, but his bright blue eyes filled with grief.
"And you and me, darling, we're next."
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I
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His marriage is over, even though Aaron Hotchner would rather be shot than admit that out loud.
He failed, not only Haley, but his son too, and he hates himself for hurting them.
They're rarely talking anymore, Haley and him, and when they do they're fighting. He's waiting for her to take Jack and leave without looking back. Knows that one day she will. And she should, Aaron thinks, because she deserves someone better than him. Someone who puts her and Jack first. Someone who doesn't run off every time his phone rings.
He can't give her what she wants, can't be the man and father she wants him to become. He tried.
Maybe they were never meant to be in the first place. Maybe he'd been too young to make a decision like that, when they got married all those years ago.
When he forgets their anniversary and Haley doesn't even blink, Aaron knows it's over. She's finally given up and he can't blame her. He's given up on himself a long time ago.
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Aaron is sitting behind his desk in his office, staring down at the divorce papers in front of him. He knew they would come, has known it for weeks, months even and yet-
He puts his pen down and pinches the bridge of his nose. He still wishes he'd tried something, anything, to keep this from happening. Not necessarily for him or Haley, no, but for Jack. But he hadn't and now it was too late.
A knock on his door makes him lift his head.
"Hey." It's Emily, standing in the doorframe to his office with a stack of manila folders in her arms. "I finished those reports you wanted."
Aaron frowns. "Morgan was supposed to do that, not you."
"Well." Emily shrugs. "He had plans for tonight. I got stood up."
He watches her put down the folders on the cabinet next to his door and it's just then that Aaron notices. Instead of boots, she's wearing high heels and instead of a pantsuit there's a little black dress that's hugging her curves in such a perfect way, he can't help but stare.
Fuck.
Whoever she'd planned to go out with must be a lunatic for not showing up.
He clears his throat, his mouth suddenly dry.
"Are you alright, Hotch?"
He forces himself to tear his gaze away from her endless legs and looks up at her face. Her dark eyes glisten in the faint light and Aaron's sure she's done something with her hair, even though he can't tell what it is.
"Hotch?"
He hasn't even realized he has moved until he finds himself pushing back his chair. His mind blank. "I think you should go," he tells her. His voice strained.
"Maybe I should," she says, watching him carefully. But instead of leaving, she pushes the door to his office shut.
A heartbeat later she's in his arms, her lips meeting his with so much need that it hurts. With his hands on her hips he hoists her up on his desk without thinking, just like he wanted to since the first time she walked into his office.
"Tell me to stop," he murmurs and he knows it sounds like a fucking plea. "Tell me to stop and I will."
There's a smile on her face and a spark in her eyes and he knows she won't. She grabs him by the collar of his button down and pulls him down with her, her legs slung around his waist.
"Don't you dare," she breathes against his lips, before silencing him with a kiss.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing; everything belongs to their rightful owners.