Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any character associated with it, no copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: As promised, the talk between Hotch & Haley; Let me warn you, it may not go smoothly.

Hotch's stomach tightened as he walked to the door of Haley's house. It would have been so much easier if he just signed the divorce papers.

You are such a pansy.

It had been a while since he heard his father's voice in his head. Aaron knew it wasn't a good sign, but he didn't know what he could do about it know. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

Haley opened the door.

"Hi Aaron."

"Hi."

"Come in."

Hotch went inside. He had been thinking about this encounter for days, and now that he was here, he wasn't sure how to start.

"Jack isn't here," Haley said.

"Where is he?"

"He's with my sister. I thought we should be alone when we talk. Did you bring the divorce papers?"

"Yes."

"Did you sign them?"

"No."

"Why not? What is it that you want Aaron."

"I don't want to get divorced. I don't want this to end. There has to be some way we can work this out."

"It's too late."

"Why?"

"Because you chose the BAU over us."

"That's not what happened, Haley."

"The hell it isn't. You were going to transfer to White Collar and you chose to stay with the BAU."

"Haley, it isn't a one or the other proposition."

"Yes it is. Aaron. You can be part of the BAU or you can be a part of our family, but you can't be both."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't depend on you if you're part of the BAU. I never know if the next call means you're gone to who knows where. You are never really off duty. You are always on call. You work insane hours. You can't control when you work and I know that Aaron. But here's what I know more than anything else, you chose to stay. You could have had an assignment with sane work hours and you chose the BAU. You had a choice, us or the BAU and you chose the BAU."

"I chose the BAU because it's where I belong. I know the hours aren't ideal, and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry that you feel it's either you or the BAU, but this is where I need to be. This is the work I need to do."

"We've talked about this Aaron."

"No we haven't. You decided I should to transfer out and when I didn't, you left. Ever since then, you don't talk about it. When we've talked on the phone you ask if I've transferred. When I say no, you say you were right to leave and hang up. Then you decided you wanted a divorce. Once I got the papers you kept hounding me to sign them. I'm not going to sign them. You're wrong. I love you. I always have and I always will, and I want you to be happy. But I will not leave the BAU. I will not just step aside so you can get on with your life."

"What's her name?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know you Aaron, and in so many ways you are just like your father. He was a good man, but he worked too hard and he had affairs. I think you liked the ways things were, but I don't. It suddenly occurred to me that you like having a wife and a home and maybe you like the BAU because of someone who's there. So, what's her name?"

For a minute Aaron couldn't talk. He almost couldn't breathe. He couldn't imagine that Haley would think he was unfaithful. The one thing he hated about Ray Hothcner was that he had affairs. He would never, ever, cheat on Haley.

"You're wrong," he said. It was a whisper. "You're wrong," he said again, a little louder.

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care if you believe me, but you are wrong about two things. First, I am not having an affair with anyone. Not now, not ever. And two, Ray Hotchner was not my father."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am not Ray Hotchner's son. He raised me, and he was Sean's father. He was the only father you knew I had, but he wasn't my father. Not my biological father, anyway"

"Why is this the first I'm hearing about this?"

"For a lot of reasons, mostly because for all his faults Ray was a better man than my biological father. You're right, he worked too hard and he had affairs, but he never hit me."

"Your father hit you?"

"He hit me. He hit Mom. He was a bully who ruled his family through fear and violence, until I was 10."

"What happened then?"

"Well, like I said, he was a bully. Bullies are cowards who are good at fighting people who are weaker than they are. When I was 10 I stood up to him,and by that I mean I hit him back. He hit Mom and grabbed me by the shoulders and ..." Hotch didn't mean to tell Haley this much. He clenched his fists and turned away from her.

He felt her hand on his shoulder, "What happened?"

"I kicked him in the groin as hard as I could. He crumpled to the floor. It was the first time in my life that anyone made him seem small." Hotch turned around and faced Haley. She was surprised to see a tear was trickling down his cheek. "I've been thinking about it ever since you left. How about why I joined the FBI. I think everything I did: being a prosecutor, joining the police force, being SWAT, the FBI and the BAU...it's because he's still in here," he tapped his forehead. "But doing what I do, it makes him go away. I love you and I love Jack, but if I can't do the work I do, I'm going to die inside."

"I'm sorry Aaron." She was quiet for a moment then she spoke again," I'm sorry but it doesn't change anything. I wish you told me this before, but you see there is a darkness you bring home with you. I can't let Jack grow up in a home like that. I can't live like this. So, I'm afraid it is a choice between us or the BAU. That's just the way it is."

A/N: I know it's an evil spot to end the chapter here, but it feels like a natural place to pause here.

I do feel I owe everyone a little explanation about what I've done with Hotch's back story. Giving Hotch two fathers seemed the logical way to explain a few inconsistancies if his back story, namely:

In "Natural Born Killer"(Season 1) he alludes to the fact he was abused;he told the unsub "Some people [who are abused] become killers...some hunt people who do"

In "Ashes & Dust" (Season 2) he tells a suspect that his father had affairs

The way he talked to Sean in "The Tribe" (Season 1) doens't sound like his father was an abuser.

So, I gave him 1 father who was an abuser and one who wasn't.

I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks about this chapter & how I'm doing.