Chapter 4! It feels weird writing this now that Emily is gone from the show, but i guess that is the beauty of fanfiction, that they NEVER have to leave =)

Morgan padded up the stairs, making his way to Emily's room, Reid struggling to keep up behind him.

"Are you okay?" Reid managed to say between strained breaths.

"Not quite, Strauss just gets me mad."

"I know."

They flew through the white swinging doors and ambled down the hallway only to see Hotch gripping the handles of a wheelchair pushing agent Prentiss toward the elevator. Morgan picked up his pace and caught up with Hotch and Emily.

"Hey, Princess, were do you think you're going?"

"Home."

"You have been cleared to fly?"

"They made an exception. They know we, well you, need to get back to Quantico."

They all piled in the elevator. Prentiss looked up at the three agents above her. They were taller than her anyway, but now that she was sitting, they seemed so much more impending. She noticed the square outlining of Morgan's jaw, Hotch's growing stubble from being distracted for so many days, and Reid's rounded chin. This was her family, not forgetting Rossi, and she could not have asked for a better one. The elevator dinged and soon she was being rolled out into a busy reception room littered with nurses and patients. They made their way through the reception area and met up with agent Rossi.

"Would you like to go to the car yourself, or do you want me to bring it around?" Agent Morgan asked.

"Go to the car? Or be reluctantly pushed?"

Morgan chuckled," I'll bring it around."

After a few minutes of loading Prentiss into the car, minutes filled with hushed curses and disinclined struggling, the team was driving back to the airport in two SUV's. Once at the airport, and a few more minutes of struggling getting Prentiss into the plane, the team was on their way back home. Things were starting to look brighter.

Prentiss, although, did not acknowledge this brightness because she was frustrated with herself. She hated being fussed over so much. She hated everyone asking her if she needed something every five minutes, whether it is water, a blanket, or medication. She needed to leave this stifling plane. She understood that they only wanted to help her; the frustrating part was realizing that she really needed help. Emily glared out the window at the passing sky and slowly closed her eyes, settling into sleep and mentally escaping the tin can-like jet.

Hotch looked over at Emily as the pilot announced that the plane would be landing soon. She was still asleep. Her scratches and bruises were still prominent, but Hotch was too distracted by her magnificent eyelashes and her dark hair that draped around her face. He slowly moved his arm over and nudged her shoulder as gently as he could. Those eyelashes danced as she fluttered her weary eyes open and looked at Aaron.

"We are almost landing; I thought I would wake you up."

"We're here already?"

"Yeah, you're going to be home really soon."

"Thank God."

Prentiss lifted her good arm and pressed her hand against her forehead. She felt the bandages there and soon remembered that even though she was home, this wouldn't be over for a long time. The plane landed, each jostle making Prentiss wince in pain, as did getting her out of the plane, into the wheelchair, then out of the wheelchair, and into the car. Prentiss had never been handled this much, and as much as she protested, her body protested more, each stab of pain amplifying with every movement. She did not blame the team, who were only trying to help, but in her mind she wished she could just do things herself.

Reid, Morgan, and Rossi boarded one SUV to go back to Quantico immediately and report to Strauss, while Hotch insisted on driving Emily home himself, for more purposes than just her safety. With the wheelchair loaded in the back and Prentiss loaded in the front they began their drive to D.C.

"Are you alright" Prentiss gently prompted to Hotch as she moved her good hand onto his letting them clasp together.

"I'm fine. Actually I'm perfect. You are safe, and you are going to be home and we can all move on."

"Hotch I know you aren't thinking that. You are thinking that you want to stay home with me."

"Well…"

"I'm going to be fine Hotch."

"I know. I'm just worried. I don't want you getting hurt."

This obviously not well thought out statement made Emily giggle, sending shivers down Aaron's spine. Her laugh was so melodic, and it was good to hear it after so long.

"You know what I mean. I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Even though you were kind of a…"

"A...?"

"A douchebag."

"What? When?"

"Before all of this happened."

"Because I could not stand the feelings I had for you! I heart would race every time I saw you! I would lose my breath. That is the only reason that I wouldn't look at you, or talk to you. I couldn't. I just had to tell you that I loved you."

"Oh, well that's good."

"Why you actually thought that I hated you?"

"I don't know, I mean a lot of things were going through my head- you, the case… you."

"I get it."

"Plus I was really confused when I though I heard you say that you loved me. Then while I was waiting, the idea arose that you only liked me because we were trapped together, and that sort of messed with your head and so you just barged into my hospital room and proclaimed you monstrous love toward me… I didn't think it could be real."

"The only reason I waited this long to tell you was because I had just gotten the nerve up to do it. Before Francis, I thought 'oh she is just going to laugh at me… she will never like me.' So I kept inside. Then it grew and soon I found myself, yes, being a total, as you say, douchebag, to you. Then we got thrown into that horrid basement- and we had the profile, we knew what he was going to make us do, and we knew that we had a slim chance of living, that is when I realized that in this profession, I could lose you in an instant, and if I didn't tell you then, I might not ever be able to tell you. That is when I… proclaimed my monstrous love toward you.

This made her giggle again, along with her eyes beginning to well up.

"I'm sorry I doubted you."

They rolled up to Prentiss' apartment building.

"Ready to go home?"

"I'm ready to go back to work."

"Yeah if you can get out of this van by yourself, then we'll see."

They smiled at each other, and locked eyes reaching a level neither one of them ever thought of reaching.

Hey guys thanks for reading! See Prentiss will never leave and her and Hotch will be together forever! Now it's time to review! Gooo!