A/N: Thanks soooo much to those who reviewed. Truly means a lot and keeps me writing! (I know it doesn't seem like it, but it does)

I'm sooo sorry. I've been really busy with finals and everything. And I had a massive writer's block while writting this, so yeah. Idk if I like how this turned out, but w/e, maybe (hopefully) you guys will. Again. Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully (don't count on it) i'll update soon. haha.

Chapter 4

This was what it felt like to be scared for someone else, someone you knew and loved: The pit of your stomach froze while your legs went to jelly. There was one single thud of your heart as you counted down the seconds until you became someone else entirely. And then, finally, your throat sealed shut, as you swallowed the fact that you could have stopped it from happening.

Hotch hadn't felt this way in a long time. Fear. The word was almost foreign to him, and yet he was afraid now– for her, because she clearly refused to let her weakness show. It was stupid for him to be scared. Sure, she had reasons to be. Him? Nothing happened to him, so why should he be scared? After all, what could possibly happen inside the BAU that was any worse than what already had? But you could reason with yourself all day and still have butterflies in your stomach.

Hotch felt his hand automatically clench into a fist. If looks could kill, Agent Harris would have dropped dead right then and there. It had gotten so quiet in the room that even the computer tech guy had stopped to watch. He felt, more than saw, Emily take the slightest of steps away from Agent Harris and towards Morgan.

Morgan – taking this small gesture as a sign – stepped in front of her. And him? Well, his attention was solely focused on Agent Harris, who had yet to notice them. And then, at that moment, he wanted to pull Emily into his arms and make her disappear. Like the game he played with jack, where you'd cover your face with your hands and you'd say, "Where's Jack?" Hotch wished it was that simple: close your eyes and you'd disappear.

Apparently, Morgan felt the same thing he was feeling, because the younger man whispered something in Emily's ear. Whatever it was, it had gotten her to leave the room, and he was thankful for that. Not to mention, he was impressed that Morgan had gotten her to leave. She was too stubborn and always unwilling to just give up.

Thinking it over, he realized that this was so unlike her. It unnerved him.

And it still didn't stop the feeling of emptiness overcome him as she left his side and navigated her way up the small staircase to his office. Emily walked with her head down, bracing herself against the stares of others. She didn't even turn back to look at him. It took all of his will power to stay where he was and not run after her.

Ever since the incident in Colorado with that religious freak, Hotch had began to watch Emily more carefully. There was too much that could go wrong: she might trip and fall; she could get shot; she could die. He'd like to imagine that just by keeping an eye on her, he could imbue her with the power of safety.

But nothing was ever that simple.

The truth was, though, that Hotch needed Emily far more than Emily needed him. Without realizing it, she'd put on a show for him everyday. He'd watch her and he'd see how easy it was to get lost in a world different from the one presented around them. Then something like this would happen, making him realize that there were sick fuckers in the world – like Harris – who made you realize that people weren't so kind after all. And this thought alone had him crossing the room and backing Agent Harris up into the corner.

"Hotchner? Is it?" Harris asked without missing a beat.

There was no time for modesty, so Hotch cut straight to the point.

"What are you doing here?"

Harris didn't even blink. "Same as you. Just doing my job." He paused, and then added, "How'd you get the black eye?"

It took all of his power and strength to not beat the crap out of Harris. Hotch took a deep breath in through his nose. He tried not to think of all the ways he could kill Agent Harris. But trying not to think about it, only made him think about it, which made him actually want to do it.

It was an unending cycle – a cycle that brainwashed him into somebody he wasn't.

Was this what their unsubs felt like?

"If you're not out of this building –"

The man actually had the nerve to cut him off. "You know, Hotch, I wasn't too thrilled about the police knocking on my door at four o'clock in the morning." Harris raised his eyebrows accusingly. "You didn't have anything to do with it. Did you?"

"What?" Morgan practically growled. "Hotch, he did this to Em?"

Hotch didn't even look at Morgan. He wasn't sure how Morgan knew what happened, but from the way he himself was acting around Harris, he figured it didn't take a genius to solve it.

Apparently his silence was enough to confirm Morgan's fears, because Morgan snapped then. "You fucking son of a bitch."

And Hotch had to hold out his arm to prevent Morgan from lashing out at the guy right then and there. He wanted nothing more than for his agent to kill Harris, but he also wasn't going to let Morgan sacrifice his job for it.

By now, everyone in the room was watching the fight unfold. Hotch took a glance towards Erin Strauss's office door and wondered how long it would take her to realize what was going on. Not too long he figured. She had so many moles snooping around; you didn't know who to trust.

"You'll pay for what you did." Hotch wasn't sure how he managed to keep his voice so calm, but he did. It frightened him.

"Is that a threat?"

Hotch didn't back down. If anything, he took a step forward. "If you ever – ever – touch her again… I swear…"

"You'll what?" Harris gloated. "Kill me? What the hell are you –"

And within seconds the man had crumpled to the floor. For a moment, Hotch was paralyzed by shock. It wasn't his hand who had made contact with the bastard's face, but Morgan's. And it took him a second longer to realize that Morgan hadn't stopped pummeling the man to the ground. Hotch reached out to break up the fight, but he retreated when he realized he didn't want Morgan to stop. If anything, he wanted to join Morgan.

However, before he could, Rossi had decided to play neutral and stop it.

If it was anybody other than Emily that this had happened to, he might have helped Rossi break it up, but it was Emily and that made all the difference. So he just stood there while Rossi sent him angry looks for not helping.

"Hotch," Rossi hissed. "Help. Do something."

But he decidedly chose not to. If Morgan wanted to kill Harris, he wasn't going to stop him. If anything, he would join him. But from the looks of it, Morgan was doing an excellent job of making his dream come true without any help.

He made a mental note to thank Morgan later.

"Do you want to get fired," Rossi shouted at Morgan, who was still struggling to take another swing at Harris.

"He hurt her," Morgan shouted frantically. "I don't care what the hell happens to me as long as this guy burns in hell."

Rossi looked utterly baffled. Reid looked like a frightened child. And him? Well, he just stood there. He agreed with Morgan. But he knew Rossi would too if he had seen Emily.

And then, the clicking of heals caused them all to freeze. When he finally looked up, it didn't surprise him to see Erin Strauss standing before them, tapping her heal, and glaring at them. "You two –" she pointed at him and Morgan, but not Harris. "In my office. Now."

If they were going down, Agent Harris was going down with them. "And don't you think –"

"Now," she emphasized. "And Agent Harris go back to your own floor."

He would have protested, but before he could, she was already walking away.

***

"…I don't care what caused you two to act –"

"Agent Harris sexually assaulted one of my agents," Hotch cut in.

"What?!"

Hotch had forgotten Morgan was in the room with them. Morgan obviously didn't know or considered that it had gone that far. So much for keeping it a secret.

"He what," Morgan hissed again, before glancing at the door as if he could see through it. "I'll kill him. I swear to God, I'll... I'll make him wish he was never born."

Erin rolled her eyes. "There'll be no killing here. Not under my roof."

She sounded like his parents. Hell, she sounded like him when he was with Jack. It made him sick.

"Agent Harris hurt one of my agents," Hotch told her calmly.

He thought she would have been angry, accused him of lying, or (if she was human) look somewhat shocked. But she did none of this. Instead, she gave him a look of sympathy and said, "I know."

He could have fallen over, but somehow he remained standing, not to mention glaring.

"I got a call from the hospital earlier today," she went on. "I was wondering when you were going to confront me about it."

He had forgotten that as soon as an FBI agent was admitted into the hospital the bureau got a call.

"Then you know," he pressed.

She sighed, a reaction he figured was coming. "I can't."

"Have you seen Emily?" Morgan asked, incredulously. "And you're telling me this guy is not even getting suspended?"

"God, I wish I could," she told them with more honesty than they thought possible. "He's done nothing wrong while working under my supervision. I can't fire him without probable cause."

Morgan's eyebrows fused together. "I think sexually assaulting –"

"It's her say over his. There was no evidence. No video footage. Nothing. I can't fire him for something that I think happened."

Morgan stood up so fast, his chair flung out from under him and it crashed into the wall. "I don't care what the fu –"

"Morgan," Hotch cut off. He wasn't going to have one agent victimized and another fired because of it. "Go. Just go. I'll handle this."

The man just looked annoyed. "Hotch, I care for –"

"I know you do," he told him calmly. "And she cares for you too. She wouldn't want you to do something stupid because of what happened to her." When that didn't seem to convince the younger man, Hotch added, "She's alone in my office. Maybe Reid's there. But I'm sure she'd rather have somebody who already knows and understands."

That got him to leave, but not before Morgan punched Erin's wall and mumbled, "This is fucked up."

Hotch waited until the door slammed shut before confronting her again. "Hasn't Emily been victimized enough already? How is she suppose to come back to work, knowing that he and his friend are here."

Erin instinctively went into calming mode, softening her voice. "I know you're upset, but I'm doing everything I can."

Hotch scraped his gaze over her, who was just sitting there, yelling at him. "Yeah. You look like you're working hard." He looked up at her. "I never want to see Agent Harris in this building or within one hundred yards of Emily ever again."

"It's not that simple," she told him. "He has family connections to get him –"

"Hell, I don't care if he's king of the world. I want Agent Harris –"

"I know you're mad, but there is –"

Hotch cut her off, his voice rising, "Just please. Think. Imagine if it was your daughter. What would you do?"

"If it was my daughter," Erin snapped, "I'd be thrilled because it would mean she was still alive."

The truth exploded without warning, and like a poison, it was the last thing either of them wanted to touch. Hotch glanced at the pictures covering her walls of her kids. He knew she had kids, but never – never – had she mentioned it. Never had anybody else mentioned it either. And then a thousand question swarmed his head. When? Where? How? And he came to the conclusion that it had happened long before he even met her and long before she even joined the FBI.

You'd think that there'd be some kind of network between them, one that let a guy who was in danger of losing someone he cared about instinctively recognized someone who'd already walked that barren road. But there wasn't.

Hotch wanted to apologize. Even wanted to offer his condolences, and tell her he was sorry for mouthing out. But when he opened his mouth, the words were still sour from the fight before. He didn't even recognize the man who spoke. "Then you of all people," he said, "you should understand."