Hotch appraised Prentiss with his cool gaze, noting her anxiety in a perusal of her overall demeanor. He knew she wasn't well, regardless of the pregnancy, but wanted her to feel safe enough to tell him why herself. He didn't want to do it, but felt for her own sake something had to be done, even if just so she would admit things weren't right.
"Have you been to the doctor?" he asked in a concerned tone.
"Wwwhat?" she'd stuttered. Looking at him warily from under her crinkled brow.
"About the pregnancy? Have you had a chance to…make a decision?" he asks quietly. Lamely coming to a finish, finding himself a bit disconcerted about how to address the issue while at work. Let alone sitting on the floor. At work.
Shocked that he would push this discussion on her, ripping off the metaphorical Band-Aid, so to speak, surprised the hell out of Emily. She went from weepy and embarrassed to pissed-off in 0.02 seconds, which surprised the hell out of Aaron, already off kilter with the whole situation, thinking like a friend, he was blindsided by her attack.
"What the hell gives you the right to ask me, Sir?" Emily spat at him. "That's no one's business but mine!" How dare he! And at work too, where if crying wasn't embarrassing enough, people were probably standing right outside listening.
"Wait a minute, Em. I'm not pushing you for a decision; I just wanted to know how you've been."
Reeeeally?, she thought, there's other times and places asshole! "If you wanted to know why didn't you just come out and ask instead of ambushing me at work."
Hold on, she didn't just say that did she?
"Ambushing you? Prentiss, you were yelling at a coworker and locked yourself into this room. How is my reacting to your behavior ambushing you? It's everyone's business when you aren't acting rationally. You have been acting out of character for weeks. Pushing everyone away, not socializing, and looking for a reason to lash out of your friends and coworkers! If you need to be angry at someone, fine, pick me, but don't hurt others that are only trying to help you." Hotch raised his voice and faced her straight on, venting some of his frustration and worry as he spoke.
Prentiss was so angry she couldn't see straight. "Shut up Hotch! Damn it! I had no control over this, none at all, and I can't believe you are butting in, when you have no right!"
"No right?!" how dare she! "As of this minute you are off on leave until you pass a psych eval to determine your state of mind as a field agent. We will talk again after that appointment is over. You need to go home, and eat something for God's sake!" Hotch stalked over to the bathroom door, and opened it. Always the gentleman, albeit an angry one, he fumed silently while waiting for her to leave.
Emily was terrified about talking to the psych, and angry about being cast out of the office like some unstable person. As she slunk past Hotch exiting the bathroom, to upset to look at him, she snatched her purse off her desk, and absentmindedly noticed there was no one around. She hurried to her car to die in private. Like a normal person.
It didn't hit her, or Hotch, until much later that she had tacitly admitted what he had suspected all along. He was sitting at his desk, cooling off, doing mindless paperwork when suddenly the thought came to him. The pen dropped from his nerveless fingers and rolled across a few sheets of fanned out paper.
Aaron had wished he was wrong, he had hoped he was wrong, about Emily's resent behavior, her lack of interest in things outside of work, but to have it confirmed brought all the pieces clicking into place like a nearly finished puzzle. Hotch sat for a moment, rose and turned his office lights off, put his head into his hands and wept.