A/N: Another special thanks to those of you who have reviewed/alerted this story. I know this is an extremely sad, emotional story, so I thank you for sticking with it. It is greatly appreciated! Also, I made a small edit near the end of Chapter 3 if you want to check it out. Nothing major. Anyway...more tissues are here if you need them!

Dave buried his face in his hands as Emily finished telling him how Aaron died. He didn't bother trying to hold back the tears now flowing like Niagara Falls down his face. They were all crying, especially JJ and Penelope, who were just getting the details of their friend's death. They knew he'd been shot and killed, but none of the others would give them the details, saying they only wanted to tell this story once. Now they understood why.

Derek stood and removed something from his pocket.

"I thought you would want this back," he said quietly. "I didn't want it to get lost."

He handed Dave Aaron's locket and ring. Dave closed his eyes and let out a shuddery breath as he clutched the chain. The locket still had Aaron's blood on it.

"God," he shook his head. "How am I going to explain this to Jack?"

"Explain what?"

They all looked up to see Jack Hotchner standing just inside the front door with his backpack over one shoulder. He looked around the room noticing the pained expressions and the tears. He looked at Dave and saw the chain in his hand. His breathing quickened.

"Pop? Where's Dad?"

Dave stood and took a step toward him, but Jack put a hand up to stop him.

"No." His voice broke as he fought to hold onto every ounce of that famous Hotchner control he'd inherited from his father.

"Jack…"

"Don't," he shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. "Don't say it. Please don't say it."

He looked pleadingly at Dave, silently begging for this to be a bad dream. Dave's tears fell again as he held Jack's determined gaze. Jack shook his head. His breathing went ragged. Before he allowed his control to falter and let his tears fall, he ran up the stairs to his room and slammed the door.

Dave hung his head and tried to regain his composure. He felt JJ's gentle, comforting hand on his back.

"Do you want me to try to talk to him?"

He gave her a watery smile and shook his head. "No. He needs some time alone to process this. He's just like his father that way; unwilling to let anyone see him break." He ran his shaking hand through his hair. "I can't believe this is really happening. I can't believe he's really gone."

"Is there anything we can help you do?" Emily asked. "Anything at all?"

"Not right now." He took a steadying breath. "I need to call Jessica and Shawn and let them know what's happened."

The team stood to leave, each of them giving him a tight, supportive hug.

"If there's anything you need, anything at all, you know where to find us," Morgan said.

"We're all here," JJ added. "You don't have to go through this alone."

Spencer and Penelope both hugged him but neither spoke. Both were still at a loss for words, especially Spencer, who had lost yet another mentor and father figure.

Emily was the last one to leave.

"I'm sorry," she said, hanging her head. "I was supposed to have his back."

"Hey," Dave cut her off, mustering up what little strength he had left and infusing it into his voice. He lifted her chin and met her eyes. "Stop right there. I know you did everything you could to protect him. You didn't do anything wrong. The only person to blame is the man who pulled the trigger, understand?"

She nodded and hugged him tightly.

"He said to tell you he loves you," she whispered. He tightened his arms around her as he tried to speak around the softball-sized lump now residing in his throat.

"Thank you, Emily."

He watched the SUV pull away before closing the door and leaning back against it, sliding to the floor. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes tightly as he clutched Aaron's locket to his chest and silently sobbed.

Several minutes later Dave forced himself to get off the floor and make two of the hardest phone calls he'd ever made. After an hour of explanations, condolences, and still more tears, he finally felt it was time to check on Jack.

He knew Jack as well as he knew Aaron. He knew the boy would try to bottle his emotions, be strong in front of everyone, while inside his heart was slowly being torn to shreds. He knew he had to give him a little time alone to process what happened, but he refused to let him go through such tragedy alone, no matter how many times he knew Jack would object.

He paused in front of Jack's bedroom door. He could hear the faint sounds of music playing, but nothing else. He knocked quietly before letting himself in. Jack was curled up into a ball on his bed clutching a picture of his father to his chest. With Aaron's copy of The Beatles "White Album" playing softly in his CD player, Jack had managed to cry himself to sleep. The tracks of dried tears were still evident on his cheeks. Dave sat next to him for a few minutes, gently brushing his fingers through his hair and resting his hand on his back.

"I'm so sorry, son," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

He kissed Jack's forehead and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him. He went to his room. It literally hurt to walk through the door knowing that he would never again share this space with the man he loved. He'd experienced losses before, but nothing could compare to this pain, which was so much more than merely physical. He pulled Aaron's locket and ring from his pocket and held it close to his heart. He leaned against the doorframe and closed his eyes as he clutched his own locket and ring with the other hand.

"God, I miss you already."