Re-calling that day wasn't something she liked to do. But, since Strauss requested that they all give statements, it was in her contract to obey.
"Agent Prentiss," the ringing voice of the older woman made her narrow her eyes. She had never liked that woman. She was constantly trying to give herself a reason to suspend or fire Hotch, and she hadn't been too pleasant towards the rest of the team, either.
"Ma'am," Emily responded in a bluntly obviously, sarcastic tone.
The woman obviously noticed the icy tone of her voice, and took a seat across the table, opening her files. "We understand that Agent Hotchner managed to separate himelf from the team," through her glasses, Erin glanced up, expectantly looking for an answer.
"He didn't "manage" to do that. When Marshall Kassmeyer was in the ambulance.." before Emily had the chance to complete her sentence, she was cut off.
"... Agent Hotchner volunteered to ride along," Erin raised her eyebrow, eyes widening when it was Emily cutting her off.
"To get answers before he lost consciousness," she hissed.
Erin set her files down on the table, staring at Emily with daggers. "Why didn't you go with him?" she asked in a curt, calm tone.
"It didn't seem necessary," though anger was boiling inside of her, Emily tried to stay calm, licking her lips as she returned the woman's hard gaze.
"Did he tell you that?" That simple question set her off, and Emily couldn't see through the red in her eyes.
"Is that what you're looking for? A way to blame this on him? What good could that possibly do?" The man had just lost his ex-wife and nearly lost his son, and this... snake of a woman was trying to blame it on him? Over Emily's dead body.
Erin remained calm, pressing her wrinkled lips together. "Agent Hotchner was looking for an opportunity to separate himself from the team, and he found one." Now, she was lying. Emily had been there the entire time. It was only normal that Hotch was going frantic looking for Haley and Jack.
"That isn't the truth!" she nearly screeched, her voice shaking. She would defend Hotch - she would always defend Hotch, when it came to this subject. The way he reacted was only natural, and the fact that he separated himself didn't prove anything. If your wife and child were being held against their will by some maniac, wouldn't you want to find them as soon as possible?
"He was desperate, and he didn't want someone with a clear head to stop him," it was Erin's turn to be angry, but she really had no reason. She was dragging all of them in there, questioning them, it was completely ridiculous. After the trauma that Aaron suffered, he deserved some time to clear his head.
"Is there a question in there somewhere?" That's how the conversation ends. Strauss gets up, and storms out, clutching the files tightly. Once the door has been slammed shut, Emily leans back in the chair and begins to properly recall the events of the day prior.
Seeing him like this killed her. Frantic, vulnerable, empty. Nobody could get two words in without him answering before the question was even asked. He seemed to know nearly everything about Foyet's case and yet, he was struggling to figure out where he had taken Jack and Haley. When the ambulance drove off, the rest of them went back to the bullpen to try and figure things out.
After some talking between them, and listening to the phone conversation between Hotch and Foyet, they - well, Rossi - managed to find out that he was taking them to their house. The place that Hotch called home. He was going to slaughter his family in the house they shared. After grabbing their keys, vests and guns, they were on their way out.
She couldn't drive. She had the keys in her hand, and she was walking towards the car, but everything was blurry. It felt like there was a neverending ringing in her ears, and a frequent pounding in her head. Not only did she not know where Hotch went, she didn't know if they were going to be able to get there on time. What if they were too late? When she leaned up against the side of the car, JJ grabbed the keys from her hand and instructed her to go to the passenger seat.
It took her a few moments to compose herself, but once she did, she buckled her seatbelt, and they were driving at a ridiculous speed down the street. Only moments later, Garcia called, and informed them that Foyet was calling Hotch. Once they could all hear, Emily leaned in, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. There was some talking, and she could hear the cracks in Hotch's voice. Were they going to make it? He was trying to get Jack out of the room. Emily immediately noticed that "working the case" meant that Jack needed to hide. And by the sounds of it, he did.
"I'll be up in a minute, Jacky boy!" Foyet's playfully dark voice made Emily scrunch her eyes shut, fear washing over her. He was going for Jack next. First, he was going to kill his mother, then he was going to kill him as well.
He was breaking. Haley was scared to death, and Jack had no idea what was going on. There was no way Hotch could console them. He didn't know if everything was going to be okay, so why would he lie to them?
"Promise that you will tell him how we met," Emily could feel tears stinging her eyes. This woman knew she was going to die. She had just hugged her son for the very last time. And now, she had to say goodbye to the one man that had loved her unconditionally for years. "And how you used to make me laugh."
"Haley.." he didn't want her to go. He didn't want her to accept her death. He wanted to get there on time, so he could save her. But, could he?
"He needs to know that you weren't always to serious, Aaron" there was sniffling, and some background noise, then her voice rang through the car again. "I want him to believe in love, because it... it's the most important thing, but you need to show him. Promise me!" She was pleading, begging him to show Jack what it meant to be in love, to be loved and to love somebody. But, underneath that pleading voice was a calm woman, who knew that her son was going to be safe.
"I promise," and only a moment after he said that, multiple gunshots were heard. The line went dead, and Emily allowed the tears that had been sitting on the surface to flow down her cheeks. But, that didn't stop them. They could still save Jack.
JJ clamped her foot down on the gas, and the faint sound of sirens guided them to Hotch's house, crime scene tape and flashing lights surrounding the suburban area. Her seatbelt was off before they stopped the car, and she hopped out, running towards the house. Their guns were drawn, and the team burst through the door, making their way through the various rooms. Finally, they heard grunting and the sound of flesh on flesh. Swinging the door open, they were faced with Hotch ramming his fist into Foyet's face repeatedly. His face was unrecognizable ; tears, anger, fear. She had never seen Hotch in a state like this - none of them had.
"Hotch.. Hotch!" Derek immediately jumped in, grabbing Hotch around the waist and pulling him off Foyet. "He's dead. Hotch, stop! Come on, stop! It's over!" once Hotch had been peeled away from Foyet, he broke down sobbing, face resting against Derek's shoulder. "It's over, man," he whispered.
Emily stood there, stunned. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Generally, she was pretty good in these types of situations, but half of her wanted to run and the other half wanted to stay and comfort Hotch. But, with one look from Derek, she knew he needed to be alone. Half heartedly, she turned around and left, weaving her way through the countless number of officers and agents.
A few moments later, JJ merged from the house, carrying Jack in her arms. The little boy was curiously looking around, offering a few smiles to the people that passed. He had no idea what was going on. Where was his mother? Why was his father covered in blood? For a four year old, these thoughts will were filled with hope. Mommy would be back soon, and everything would be sorted out, right?
With tears in her eyes, JJ walked towards Emily, trying to keep Jack calm by talking about the play date he had been on a few weeks before. He was bubbly, and willing to talk about nearly anything, so when JJ handed him over, Emily knew she could probably keep him distracted for a while.
"Can I turn on the sirens?" he asked as Emily sat him in the front seat of the SUV, leaning in the door frame of the car to block his view of the house.
"Yeah, of course," Emily replied, offering him a soft smile, before showing him how to turn the sirens on. Allowing the sirens to ring a couple of times, Emily was delighted to see that it had elicted giggles from the little boy. She watched as he continued to play with different parts of the car, looking down at him when he glanced up at her.
"Is Mommy okay?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The question made her heart stop. How was she supposed to answer that? His mother was gone - she was never coming back. As an adult, death was common but for a little boy, the death of his mother was going to be noticed. Especially since Haley had been the one taking care of him for so many years. But, Emily couldn't break his hopes. If she did, where did that leave her? She wanted to believe that Hotch was going to be okay. She wanted to believe that he was going to be able to raise his son. And she sure as hell wasn't going to tell the little boy the truth.
"Everything's going to be fine," she whispered back, absentmindedly reaching out to stroke his blonde strands of hair. The little boy leaned into her hand, and the sight made tears well in Emily's eyes again. "You're going to be just fine," she whispered again.
Perhaps Jack was going to be okay, but what about their family? What about Hotch? He had just lost the only woman he had ever really loved, and now he was expected to carry on and raise his son as if nothing happened? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder could involuntarily ruin his life, but Emily would be damned if she let that happen.
Now, sitting there, Emily silently wondered how she would help Hotch. How?