Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, guys. I was really overwhelmed by the intense positive response towards the first chapter, and I already had the next two typed up…and they were saved on my PC's external hard drive…but said hard drive is now corrupted for whatever reason, and all my data is now lost somewhere in cyberspace until GeekSquad can (hopefully!) retrieve it. So, believe me when I say that I'm really sorry you had to wait this long, and I just want you all to know that I honestly appreciate every single review I receive; they really mean the world to me, and I hope you can understand that I am the writer that I am because of you. :) So, without further ado, here's the second installment in In Love and War. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer in Chapter One!

"I can't do this anymore."

A disapproving noise came from the other person in the room. "You have to."

Hotch glanced up at the chief sitting directly in front of him. "I have to at least tell my wife." Oh, Emily…

He drummed his fingers against the tabletop impatiently. "You know the rules, Agent Hotchner. No one can know."

Hotch's eyes flashed with anger. "Damn it, don't you see? I'm changing around my family. This…this mission," he spat, "is ruining my marriage. I'm yelling at my wife without meaning to. I'm beginning to act like I don't care. Like…" he took in a shaky breath, remembering Emily's shock and concern at his behavior, "like I don't love her more than anything in the world. I'm being a complete bastard. She deserves so much better than that." He gripped the edge of the roundtable to steady himself, his knuckles a painful white. "She deserves to know."

"I'm sorry," the other man said in a tone that clearly said otherwise, "but that's not my problem. If you abort this mission, you will immediately lose your gun and badge."

"So, that's it?" Hotch retorted, filled with contempt. Never before had he wanted to punch someone in the face as much as he did now. "My job or my family?"

"If I'm correct, you've had this same ultimatum before."

Son of a bitch. "Yeah, and look at how well that went."

A shade of a mocking smile hinted at his lips. "Once again; not my problem."

Repressing the urge to inflict any harm on the man, Hotch dropped his gaze to his hands. "I can't even look at my wife," he said, shaking his head. "Not after what Nikki said to me…not after I killed her."

"You had no other choice but to shoot Nikki," the chief said simply, shrugging. "Everyone understands that. She was going to kill you."

"But…"

"No buts. You finish the mission, then explain everything to your wife." A dirty smirk adorned his disturbing features. "After a couple glasses of wine and a nice long fuck, everything should be fine."

Hotch grimaced at the abrasiveness and insensitivity of the statement, and immediately felt bile rise in the back of his throat. "You've obviously never been married, have you?" he asked disgustedly.

"You're correct. And I never plan on doing anything of the sort."

He shook his head. "I'm losing her trust," he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"Well, Agent Hotchner, I don't know what to say. You're obligated to finish this mission. Whether you - or your wife, for that matter - like it or not."

~.~.~

They were hardly speaking now.

Tension loomed around the house at every corner, and Emily just couldn't take it anymore.

Walking up to his office, she leaned against the doorframe. "Aaron?" she asked, trying in vain to keep her voice steady.

"Emily?" he responded, his attention still set on the notes in front of him. He was thoroughly worn out and all he felt like doing was sleeping. But, of course, he couldn't.

"Can you look at me?" she whispered.

At her near-silent request, he turned in his chair, a curiously blank expression on his face. "What is it?"

"Are…are you seeing someone else?" she choked out, the notion simply too much to handle.

He blinked in shock. Not knowing how to answer her impromptu question, he settled with a, "What?"

She looked at him straight in the eye, her expression one of reluctance and heartbreak as she answered, "Are you having an affair?"

"No!" he immediately responded. "No, of course not."

"Then, please…please give me a better explanation for the blonde hairs on your jacket, the fact that you haven't been wearing your wedding ring for weeks, and…and this." She reached forward and, with a feather-light touch, ghosted a finger along a scar below his ear, obviously caused by a fierce love bite.

He closed his eyes at the gentle skin-to-skin contact. "It's not what you think it is, Emily," he murmured.

"Then what is it?" Her voice was thick with unshed tears. She tried to regain her composure, but ultimately failed. "You're not the same, Aaron. We haven't talked - really, actually talked - in weeks, you keep coming home later and later…or sometimes not at all -"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me," she challenged, her gaze sharp. "What am I supposed to tell Jack and Avery when they look for you to tell you goodnight, then realize that you're not even home? What am I supposed to think when we haven't made love in over a month? When you can't even look at me?"

Hotch ran a hand through his already messy hair, the same hand coming to pinch to bridge of his nose in frustration. He really didn't want to be having this conversation, especially not when he was drained of all physical and emotional energy. "For the last time, Emily," he said carefully, "I'm not cheating on you; you know me better than that. I never would."

"Then why did you call me Nikki the last time we had sex?" she yelled, her grasp on control fading away.

At once, his mouth fell open. "I…I did?"

She nodded violently. "I tried so hard to ignore it, to pretend like it never happened…but it did. And I don't know what to think."

"Nikki is…" He shook his head, knowing how awful things probably seemed to her right now. "I don't know how to explain this. I can't tell you."

Emily bit her lip. "You can't, or you won't?" Her voice trembled slightly, the first sign of her impending weakness.

"I can't, sweetheart."

Her eyes fell shut at the endearment. "Says who?"

"I…I can't tell you that either," he sighed.

"Oh, stop it with the bullshit!" she pleaded. "Do you really think I'm that stupid?"

"I'm not lying!" he said desperately. "I want to tell you, believe me, but I can't! I'm not allowed to."

"I'm your wife, Aaron. Remember me?" she asked bitterly. "I'm the woman you got married to all those years ago. I'm the woman who gave birth to your daughter. No one can tell you that you're not allowed to explain this to me. No one."

"If I tell you, I'll lose my job!" he yelled, exasperation and anger building up and threatening to boil over. Why wouldn't she just let it go?

At his response, Emily immediately recoiled as if she'd been slapped in the face. "That's what this is?" she asked in disbelief. "You're choosing the job over me, over…over your own family?" He didn't answer, so she continued. "You know, I think I know why Haley left you. It wasn't because of the job. It was because of all your damn secrets."

"Don't you dare bring Haley into this!" They were out right screaming now, Hotch's eyes wild and Emily's contempt building. "You have absolutely no right to -"

But the rest of his argument was interrupted by thirteen year old Jack Hotchner barging into the room, his sister close behind. "Mom? Dad?" His eyes flitted between his two livid parents. "What's going on?"

Hotch turned to his son. "Jack, go to your room."

"No! Not until you tell me why you're screaming," the boy countered bravely.

"Jack, please," Emily said softly. "Go to your room and take Avery with you."

"Mommy?" Avery peered out from behind her brother. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying, sweetie," she said, trying unsuccessfully to stop her voice from wavering.

Avery boldly walked over to her and gave her a tight hug. "I love you," she murmured into her mother's chest.

"I love you, too, sweet girl," she whispered, tears obstructing her vision. "Now go. And don't come back until your daddy and I are finished, okay?"

Wordlessly, the two children obeyed, the door shutting firmly behind them.

"Are you trying to protect my own children from me, Emily?" Hotch asked lowly. "Are you trying to turn them against me? Is that it?"

"Listen to yourself, Aaron. Listen to what you're saying. What you're accusing me of."

"Oh, I hear myself loud and clear. It's you I don't understand," he practically growled. "Why the hell do you have to make a big deal out of nothing?"

"Nothing? That's a real good one, Aaron. I would say that trust issues are a very big something," she said, barking out a mirthless laugh.

For a split second, he faltered. "Trust issues? What -"

"You don't trust me enough," she said simply, her gaze sad. "And relationships don't work without trust. So…maybe this is it," she said, surprised at how clear her voice sounded. "Maybe this is the end of the line for us."

Finally, Hotch's hold on his temper shattered like glass. "I am under so much stress right now, Emily!" he roared, his voice hoarse. "So much stress! You can't even begin to fathom how close to losing it I am right now, and you…you are not helping at all! You and your endless whining, complaining, criticism -"

"Aaron Hotchner, don't you dare pin this on me!"

"Damn it, Emily!" His fist lashed out and struck the wall, a mere inch from the side of her face.

Her unflinching eyes slowly rose to meet his. "I don't suggest violence, Aaron. Because honestly…that's a side of me you really don't want to see."

"Maybe I don't want to see any side of you," he said resolutely.

A sad smile touched her lips. "Well. I'm glad you finally admitted it." With that, she turned her back on him and made her way to their bedroom, grabbing her go-bag in the process and haphazardly filling it with clothes and other necessities.

Slightly dazed as he watched Emily's actions, the gravity of what she was doing made a heavy feeling sink in the pit of his stomach. "Wh-what are you doing?" Hotch finally asked, after a long bruising silence. Oh, God. What have I done?

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she countered, an eerie sense of calm radiating from her. He stared unabashedly as she stripped out of her teeshirt and sweats, changing into a tank top and jeans. Grabbing her cell phone and shoving it into her pocket, she turned to him and said, "When you regain your senses and decide to tell me the truth, feel free to give me a call." And then, surprising even herself, Emily approached him and kissed his cheek lightly, so lightly that had his eyes been closed, Hotch would have thought he was surely just imagining it. "You need to relax," she advised, and there it was again: that infallible concern, even in times of animosity. That infallible love.

No. No, no, no, no, no… "Where are you going?" he whispered.

They looked at each other for a long moment. "Away from here," she answered equivocally. She slowly made her way to the front door. "Tell Avery and Jack that I love them, and that I'm just…" she searched for the right words, "taking a couple days to clear my mind."

No. Please…please don't. "Emily -"

"Goodbye, Aaron."

And then, with a turn of the doorknob, she was gone.

Author's Note: So…what do you think? Please drop me a line if you have the time! I'd love to hear what you think so far. Chapter Three (the last chapter!) should be up no later than this weekend, so please stay tuned! And, no worries - all of these nasty conflicts will be resolved soon.