A/N: This is my first shot at Criminal Minds fanfic but I just couldn't resist the urge to write something after "100". When an episode that makes you cry like that and seems to tear your heart into pieces, I think it deserves some sort of post ep. Hope you enjoy :)

She slipped her key into the lock easily and twisted until the door fell open. The lights were off and she didn't bother turning one on. She had this house memorized from all her recent trips. She cast a glance at the numbers on the clock, 2:15am. These hours were not unusual for her and she didn't mind since the reason she was here was to relieve her worries as much to fulfill a bizarre sense of duty. She walked down the hall to the master bedroom where a small line of light shone through the crack at the bottom. She knocked and he quietly acknowledged her presence with a only word.

"Emily." He whispered softly.

She took her cue and opened the door to a painful but increasingly normal sight. Hotch lay on his bed, side lamp on and face red. He wasn't crying now, but he had been. She dropped her small bag on the floor next to what was becoming "her" side of the bed. Crawling over to him she realized he hadn't shaved. His face had something beyond a 5 o'clock shadow and she took it as a sign. He was sliding even further into his grief. She took his hand and he rested his head on her shoulder. For a few moments, she didn't speak, just let him collect himself.

"I'm here." She whispered to him. Talking any louder seemed to break the ritual.

"I'm here." She repeated and this time his whole body shook as quiet sobs escaped his lips. She turned her body and held him, watching the tears track down his face. She didn't wipe them away, knowing that it was a futile attempt. Her hand moved without thought to rub his back, tracing soft circles. She would do anything in attempt to sooth the broken man she held in her arms.

"I'm not leaving." She whispered to him when the tears seemed to slowing. His grip on her tightened and she allowed herself to be more than just a friend as she clung to him back. She breathed in his aroma.

"Strong?" She thought. Like aftershave and, something she couldn't place, something uniquely Hotch. She felt his grip loosen and she reluctantly pulled back. His eyes told her things he would never say. And it was silent.

He held her gaze for what seemed like an eternity before a yawn escaped his lips. She adjusted herself so he was lying down while she remained sitting up. She wasn't ready to sleep yet and he seemed to understand that without her saying anything. Stroking his hair lightly, she rested her head against the headboard.

Little feet pattered down the hallway and her eyelids opened slowly. She hadn't been sleeping, just thinking. Analyzing everything as she often did. The door creaked open and a familiar little boy peeked in.

"Hi." She whispered to him.

"Hi." He whispered back.

"What's wrong? Have a nightmare?" She asked. He nodded his head and answered her next question before she could ask it.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She noticed that he hadn't moved from the doorway so she patted the bed next to her. He came quickly and surprised her by burying his face into her side. She rubbed his back just like she had rubbed his father's earlier. Before she could say anything else, he was asleep again.

She sat with both Hotchner boys in her arms and dared to think that this wasn't so bad. Dared to think that maybe, just maybe, she needed them as much as they needed her.