Poor Dave- making Garcia cry! Guess with all he's been thru perhaps life doesn't seem so precious because he almost signed his death warrant. Now Hotch is on the scene and about to discover that just because he rules the roost at the BAU, his agents have lives off the company clock and it's not something Hotch wants to hear. Will he be able to get thru to Dave or will he let the man wallow in misery? Hmmm... Dave is going to have to do some serious soul-searching if he wants to get back in anyone's good graces.

I don't own Criminal Minds...yada yada yada!

What Have We Become

Aaron Hotchner had just settled in for a long night of going over paperwork and tossing and turning for a couple of hours of sleep when his phone rang. It wasn't unusual to get a call in the evening from the bureau, but his eyebrow- and his concerns were raised- when the caller ID showed Penelope Garcia.

He hesitated to take the call until he remembered that Garcia was updating his personal PC. Clicking "Talk", Hotch took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "Hotchner."

"Hi Boss! Garcia here."

"Yes Penelope, how can I help you tonight?"

"I'm out on the town with some girlfriends and the craziest thing happened: I ran into Agent Rossi."

Hotch thought over her information. "Wasn't he supposed to be on a vacation/book tour?"

"I checked that out. See, I linked my I-Pad to the work computer data base- don't ask- anyway, you're right; he's supposed to be on vacation. But he isn't."

"Where is he?"

"Sitting at the bar downing Chivas Regal like it's going out of style."

"I meant: Where is his current location?"

Garcia was chastised. "Sorry Boss. He's at St. Paddy's Bar on Jefferson…"

"I know where it is," Hotch interrupted. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well…" Garcia thought it over. Really, honestly, what did she expect Hotch to do? If Rossi wanted to get drunk off his ass and drive home, really, was that any of her concern? Especially when he had done what he did to JJ and Emily? C'mon Pen, can you really hold that against the man? He did go against Strauss and save Emily's job.

"Garcia?" Hotch prompted.

"He's not himself. I don't know what's wrong exactly, but I think it might be a woman."

"That's not unusual."

'Not like this. I think there is something wrong."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I'm afraid he's going to drive home. I offered to take him home with me, but…let's say he's not a really nice drunk. I gave him another option: call you."

"Garcia…I can't leave Jack."

"Boss," Garcia pleaded.

"I can call him a cab."

Garcia sniffled. "He did make me cry. And if I can't get him home, and you won't come and help, that leaves Morgan."

Hotch closed his eyes and groaned. "How do you feel about baby-sitting?"

Garcia nearly squealed with delight. "I can be there in twenty minutes." She hung up quickly. Hotch stood and stared at his phone and flipped it shut.

"I'll bet you can."

Briefed in minute detail on Dave and the situation, Hotch had no idea what to expect when he walked into the bar. But Dave was hard to miss- shoulders slumped, a pyramid of shot glasses on the counter, he sat nursing on a drink. By the looks of it, Dave was drowning the memories of a woman. He had seen that look before.

Poor bastard. The last time he had seen his friend in such bad shape, was after his second divorce. Who ever she was, she must have really done a number on him. Now he was dying to know the what, who, when, and how.

Walking over to Dave, Hotch tapped him on the shoulder. Slowly Dave turned his head to see who was there.

"Aaron. I see Garcia kept her promise."

"Hi Dave." Hotch took the stool beside Dave and glanced at the glasses. "I thought you were on vacation."

"I am. The dates got shifted and I go to Seattle for the book signing on Monday. I'll still be back in time to catch the bad guys."

Hotch watched his friend's expression and listened to his tone. "I have no doubt about that." The silence stretched for a long time. Hotch reached for an empty glass and twirled it on the counter top. "You want to talk about it?"

Dave threw his shot back. "Can we leave now?"

"No. I might as well have a drink too." Motioning to the bartender, Hotch requested a bourbon. Sipping the fiery liquid, Hotch waited Dave to say something, anything. "That last case sure was a good one. How's your head?"

"The bump is gone."

"You never did explain how the UNSUB got the upper hand. But it's all well and good that Prentiss was there to take him down."

"Another kiddie porn scumbag is off the streets for good," Dave remarked and raised his glass. Hotch did the same.

"Amen." More silence. Another sip. "I got a call from JJ yesterday."

"Oh?"

"She was checking on the new guy. Plus she wanted to let me know that she and Will set the date. I guess our invitations are in the mail."

"Good for them," Dave remarked dryly.

"Prentiss stopped by and wanted to know if she could partner with Morgan from now on," Hotch continued and watched his friend's reaction. Dave shrugged his shoulders. "I told her I would think about it."

Silence.

"You and I have known each other for a long time. And I would like to think that we are friends. Maybe that is too presumptive of me since I don't really have friends." Long sip. "I am also the Unit Chief so I have to be cognizant of my teams' moods. I noticed that when JJ was here, you were no where to be found."

"Busy."

"And lately Emily has been acting weird. I thought it was the last case, but I sense that it goes deeper than that. I don't know…." Hotch's eyebrows rose as Dave shifted uncomfortably on the stool. "Dave, is there something you want to talk about? Maybe something I need to know?"

Before he could stop them, the words started tumbling out of Dave's mouth. "She came over…then I went over. It wasn't supposed to be like that…then she was gone…and I think she wanted to bury me in the backyard. And when I tried to apologize, she hit me in the eye with a rubber band."

If Hotch thought his evening was a ball of confusion before he entered the bar, he definitely felt as though he had stepped into an episode of "The Twilight Zone" after Dave's ramble. "I don't understand."

Dave shook his head. "Please don't make me repeat it again; it's humiliating enough."

As Hotch watched Dave rest his elbows on the counter and raise the glass to his lips, it slowly dawned on him. For the first time in his life, Aaron Hotchner had been rendered speechless by a co-worker.

"Are you saying…? With…?" Hotch tried to gather his thoughts.

"Aaron, let me explain…" Dave started.

"Stop! Right there! I'm going to need a drink before I hear this." Motioning to the bartender, Hotch told him: "I need the strongest thing you have."

"Anything in particular, sir?"

"Do you have moonshine?"

"No sir."

"What is below moonshine?"

"Sake."

"Make it a triple." As the bartender set the three shots down, Dave went to speak. Hotch held up his hand to halt any conversation until he had finished his liquid courage. Blinking away the sudden tears, Hotch turned to his friend and delivered a loud well-deserved slap to the back of Dave's head. "Now I'm ready."

"What the hell is that for?" Dave demanded.

"Are you insane? JJ and Emily? What the hell were you thinking? I mean I knew it was only a matter of time you would fall back into your old routine. But your co-workers? Have you no shame?"

"Let me explain."

"If you think you can."

"What happened with JJ was not planned. She came over the night she was let go and confronted me about how I sold her out. I tried to explain to her that I did the best I could. One thing let to another and well… She left in the middle of the night; I never had a chance to apologize."

"That would explain her attitude toward you when she came back. Do I want to know what happened with Emily?"

Dave twirled the amber liquid around in his glass. "Strauss spilled the beans and told her that I was supplementing her pay."

"Wasn't that confidential?"

"Yes it was, and if I wanted to pursue it, I could go all the way to the top and get JJ her job back."

"But…" Hotch prompted.

"But I don't think JJ will want to come back. She seems pretty settled in with her life in New Orleans."

"I see."

"And the deal was technically not by the book so that means all of us- Emily included- could be in trouble. I know that the punishment can range from a letter of reprimand to termination. Not that I wouldn't mind Strauss getting some of her own back, but I can't see doing this to my team."

"This has nothing to do with you and saving your ass?"

"I don't mind losing my job- fuck, it's happened before, but it's my fault; not yours or Emily's."

Hotch thought about Dave's words. "You love her."

"Who?"

"Who do you think?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Considering the amount of alcohol you've downed, I'm not surprised that you're not functioning on all cylinders."

Dave took a sip before replying. "That myth of alcohol destroying brain cells has been disproven."

"Sure. You have to have brain cells in order to destroy them," Hotch replied wryly.

"I'll let that go."

"Considering what you've done, you're going to let a lot of things go. But I'm going to say it again: You love her. Whoever that 'her' is, can only be decided by you."

"I hurt her," Dave commented mournfully. "I was angry when I found out that she knew. She never gave me a chance to explain. I just got so angry."

"Dave…stop right there," Hotch warned. "I need to ask, and you had better not lie to me: did you do anything inappropriate with Emily?"

"Other than breaking down in her arms and making a fool of myself?" Dave shook his head. "We talked about it. She called it a 'sympathy fuck between co-workers'. So I guess we're still good."

"So?"

"She remarked that after the way I treated her and JJ, she wondered what I had up my sleeve for Garcia."

Hotch's eyes darkened. "If you even go near Garcia, I will shoot you myself and get Morgan and Reid to help dispose of your body."

"Trust me, it won't happen. But not for that reason. The woman is debugging my computer and I want it back in one piece. No, I responded back…"

"In the way only the debonair arrogant David Rossi can," Hotch finished. "Let me guess, this has something to do with the rubber band you mentioned."

"Yes. But it had nothing to do with the UNSUB getting the upper hand. That was my own stupid fault; I tripped and fell."

"I'm glad we got that cleared up." Hotch leaned back. "Who do you want to be with?"

"Huh?"

"It's an easy enough question: between JJ and Emily, who do you want to be with? Or were they both 'sympathy fucks'? But you know what? As I sit here watching you, I don't think you even know where you stand. It's obvious where JJ stands- she's moved on and is getting married. Emily didn't kill you and partnered you even when you had used her to purge your own guilty conscience. So I know where she stands. But you…I have no idea where you stand….with them. I know where you stand with me. And it's not good."

"Aaron, I'm sorry."

Hotch watched his best friend. It was obvious Dave was suffering and in misery. He had seen his best friend go thru two divorces and countless relationships and not one ever did this much damage. But it wasn't his job to point out the obvious; Dave had made his bed with his sins and he could lie in it.

"The apology shouldn't be for me. When you've decided who is important in your life aside from Dave Rossi, I think you'll find everything falling into place." Tossing a few bills on the counter, Hotch stood up. "You have a plane to catch tomorrow afternoon, so I suggest you come home with me. I don't think you should be left alone. When you get to Seattle and start your book tour, I suggest you do some serious thinking before you come back to the BAU."

Dave stood up from the stool. "You can take me back to my place; you don't have to go out of your way for me."

"Actually, you are going to spend the time thinking of a logical and sincere apology to Garcia, or I go to Morgan and tell him you made his baby girl cry."

Dave was three sheets to the wind but he was still cognizant to the meaning of Hotch's words. "You have to be kidding me!"

Hotch slapped him on the back. "Consider it training for the apology you are going to have to deliver when you get back in three weeks."

"Is it too late to put in for another retirement?"

Hotch grimaced and guided his friend out of the bar and into the night.