A/N: The disclaimer is in chapter one. Moving back towards Hotchner and his exploration of what really happened on the night in question between Elle and Lee. I'm still 'keeping with the prescribed CM'. Please read and review.

Pull Me Through: Part X

There was no way that Hotchner could help feeling torn as he watched Elle walk out of his office for the last time. He actually felt hurt that she had lied to him, lied to the team— yet that thought just as quickly dissipated and the replaced with the fact that he had just lost a bright, very promising member of his team. In essence, he had lost Elle. Lifting his gaze towards the open blinds, he sighed as he watched Elle, who confidently lifted her overnight bag, slung it over her shoulder and walked to the elevators. The whole scene was reminiscent of the countless times they would leave Quantico in a rush against time to catch an un-sub, or assist in solving a case. It was then he recalled how cohesive he and she had worked together, how well and amazingly quickly she had managed to fit herself within the team's existing framework— he then stared at her now empty desk; and Gideon's words finally sunk in, washed themselves over his already dark mood. She's innocent until proven guilty.

Hadn't Elle's actions been enough evidence? Hotchner thought back to the day Gideon had first uttered the phrase and how he couldn't help but wonder if Gideon had been naïve in his seemingly blind belief that she had been innocent. His eyes swept back to his desk, rested upon her left behind firearm, identification, and pass card— and he began to question himself. With a soft snort, he quickly gathered the discarded items and carefully placed them into a labelled storage box. She will be back for these, he thought, stood, picked up the box and made his way down what now felt a hollow hallway to the locker where the box would be catalogued and its contents done with as needed. It felt incredibly odd that he let his feet guide him back to his office via a different, yet familiar route— one that led him directly through the bullpen and past the group of desks which belonged to his team; Morgan's, Reid's, and Elle's; now void of anything that had made it hers— the only thing that remained was intangible. The only thing she had left behind in her wake had been the memories.

Hotchner paused when he noticed the envelopes that sat on Morgan and Reid's desks— their names neatly written in Elle's elegant penmanship and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. And one for Gideon, he thought— above all, he at the very least was most deserving of an explanation. However, Hotchner had felt that a farewell in person would have been a far more honourable method. He took a breath and took the short stair case two steps at a time and re-entered his office to pack the needed files into his briefcase to look over later that evening at home. It was only for a moment, yet when his fingers brushed against Lee's case file, he stared at the cardboard file and decided that it required further investigation; then placed it on top of the other files. As he left his office he turned out the lights and closed the door, then headed home.

Tendering her resignation wasn't on the top of her list, but somehow Elle had managed the feat of staying strong while leaving the BAU for the last time. Yet at the same time emotions stirred within her that she hadn't thought possible; anger towards her team for not being there for her, fear of what once had made her whole, and emptiness for losing a part of herself that she had thought made her who she was. Have I made the right decision? She pondered at an intersection, watching as a mother and child crossed the wide street. Is it too late? She then turned a corner. I've endeared the first of however many evaluations they wish to put me through, she changed the radio station and let her pride suddenly take over.

"How could Hotchner not believe me!" she huffed as she guided the car into the underground. She entered her flat, removed her shoes, let the bag fall from her shoulder to the marble tiled floor. With a loud sigh, she turned on the lights as she walked into the living room and turned on the radio; the music soothingly fluttered about the otherwise empty space caressing her tattered nerves. On her way back to the kitchen, she paused to check the water for the flowers that proudly stood in the vase given to her by her cousin Sharon— a wonderful reminder of happier times; times when her world actually made sense. It was then that the red flashing light on the answering machine caught her eye and she pressed the play button on her way to the refrigerator in search of something edible for dinner—even though, in truth, she wasn't particularly hungry.

"Hey Elle, it's me again. Call me on my cell." Gideon's voice caught her attention and she seriously considered picking up the telephone to call; yet her independent streak won the fight and instead she popped the leftovers from the previous night into the microwave. Perhaps things could have been different, she mused and turned to set the table as memories of dining with Gideon played in her mind like a film and reminded her how close they had become. Tomorrow morning I will figure out what the rest of my life holds— until then, she raised her glass to the air sealing her internal deal.

It was then that the telephone rang and she immediately felt that it was Gideon on the other end— the team must be back at Quantico by now. I know, I know, she rolled her eyes, I can't hide from him forever; she sighed and quickly picked up the phone before the machine picked up the call.

"Hello?" she inquired nonchalantly, as if she hadn't been expecting his call.

"Elle, I've been trying to get in touch with you." He didn't sound like himself; she picked up on something different in his tone. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"Hotch told me that you quit."

"Yes." She lowered her voice and he nearly missed her reply. "Gideon, if my own team doesn't trust me, doesn't believe me when I tell them the truth how do you think that makes me feel?" she had to know, had to question him.

"Well Morgan, Reid, and I trust you." He said simply.

"Hotch thinks that I murdered Lee in cold blood." There was a sharpness that unsettled him.

"Did he accuse you of being untruthful?" he put the ball squarely into her court.

"Come on Gideon! He didn't have to." He heard her sniffle. "It was written all over him; it was on his face, in his eyes and his body language. Jason, we've worked together for a little over a year. Both you and Hotch know my track record— how could you ever think that I would pull the trigger if I didn't feel that my life was in danger?" she took deep settling breath in an attempt to regain her composure. It hit him in that moment that this was the most she had probably ever said about the incident.

"Elle, I need to see you. I know that you're upset and I'm offering you my ear. Honey, I'm here for you." She heard something beyond his usual warmth in his tone, and knew that there was no way that she could ever deny him; yet she couldn't say anymore. "Elle, are you still there?"

"I'm still here." She thought for a moment. "What about desert at a restaurant of your choice?" she suggested with the hope that he would pick up on her hint.

"Sounds like a plan. Do you recall where we had desert on the way to my place after you were released from the hospital?" she heard the smile reflected in his tone, and could picture it on his face.

"Yes." She replied.

"Meet me there in say twenty minutes."

"I'll be there." She cradled the receiver and prepared to meet Gideon.

It felt so incredible to be home, so good to be spending time with his family— forget about work for a brief moment of pure bliss. After spending some quality time with little Jack, Haley took him upstairs to bathe and get ready for bed, while Hotchner returned to the kitchen and started with removing the dishes from the dishwasher— putting them away and then quickly finished tidying up the kitchen. A wide smile at the result he then moved into the living room and began to pick up the toys that he and Jack had been playing with; putting them into the plastic bin that neatly fit into the closet. With a content sigh, he then returned to the entry, where he had left his briefcase. He really hadn't wanted to ruin a near perfect evening, yet at the back of his mind the Lee case poked him— he needed to know. Settling himself on the sofa, he turned on the lamp, pulled out the file, and began to thumb through its contents. His thick eyebrows shot up here and furrowed there as an abundance of inconsistencies appeared to run rampant throughout the report. His breath caught in his throat as it finally dawned on him that Elle had indeed been truthful.

He read through her recount of the events that lead up to the shooting and while he stood on the other side of the two-way mirror felt emotionless, and yet when he thought back to the expression on her face when he and Gideon arrived on the scene— he quickly realised that it had indeed been one of sheer shock, not an easily faked mask.

"Honey, are you okay?" Haley's soft voice travelled from the bottom of the stairs, and he had been surprised that he hadn't heard her. He lifted his head and turned himself on the sofa to see her. "You seem very distracted." She added, consumed more like it, she thought and made her way to him. She settled herself beside him, sunk into the comfort of the sofa, and snuggled into his side. "If you need to talk?" she paused and tiled her head up towards him then rested her head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head, then rested his chin upon the spot.

"Something isn't right. I'm just unable to see what it is exactly." He said and slowly exhaled.

"Aaron, I know that I'm not supposed to get involved in the cases that you're working on. However, in this case, perhaps I can help?" it was then she recognised the subject. "Is this about Elle?" she inquired and watched as his features darkened. She had seen that look when he had forgotten about Jack's appointment, and knew in an instant that it was indeed a 'family' issue. "You said yourself that she ran."

"Yes, that's true." They sat in silence for a moment while he seemed to be soaking in the information. Hotchner then leaned forward, placed the open file on the coffee table, and then sat back. "I found her at her father's grave." He sighed heavily. "This doesn't make any sense. If Elle had the back-up that Callahan claims to have been there for her, there was no way that she would have shot Lee." His face suddenly light up. "She wouldn't have had the chance." He tilted his head in thought, the light caught his dark hair and Haley couldn't resist running her delicate fingers through his soft locks as she too thought. She then sat up.

"If this is Lee." She grabbed the television remote and placed it on the coffee table, "and this is Elle." She added and placed his pen in the approximate location where Elle would have theoretically stood. She stopped then reached for the coasters, which she scattered around the 'scene'. Hotchner raised an eyebrow as he followed her setup of the 'scene' and couldn't help but smile.

"Well, the only logical explanation, and this is of a purely tactical point of view, is that the back-up had been instructed to stand down." He paused. "Callahan said that she was in this unmarked car, which is over here."

"Aaron, wouldn't that also mean that she would have had the same vantage point as Elle? And therefore, she would have been able to assemble her story around Elle's?" he nodded.

"From what Elle said that night. Callahan had approached her to go undercover and shake Lee up a bit, possibly into a confession."

"All this after Elle had lost confidence?" she shook her head. "That doesn't seem right."

"Well, I believe having her in the home caused her to relive the experience she had when she was shot, which resulted in her initial over reaction to the situation." He stopped himself. "I knew better than to let her go out into the field undercover. I knew that something was upsetting her. I suppose Callahan had offered her the second chance she thought she had needed to prove herself." He pulled out another sheet from the file. "This is Elle's account. And this." He went through the pages until he located the one he needed, "is Callahan's. This page contains the transcript from the wire.

"Ah, I see." Haley plucked the sheet that contained the conversation between Elle and Lee and quickly skimmed through it. "Well from this alone, it doesn't really appear that he had or hadn't actually confessed to raping those women. To me, it just sounds like Elle trying to get him to talk, you know? See what she could get, if anything, from him. Look here— he says to her thank you, you have made a lot of women very happy. Isn't that as good as a confession?"

"In which case, that means that she didn't go there with the intent to murder him." His expression dropped. "She felt as though we. More to the point, I didn't have her back, yet Callahan's team merely used her to do their dirty work."

"Is there any way that you can prove it?"

"I was one of the best District Attorney's, was I not?" he smiled brightly and she kissed his cheek.

"That you were, and now you're not only the best profiler, but you're also the sexiest." With soft fingers she brushed his hair away from his eyes and kissed him once more. In his moment of Eureka! He nearly jumped.

"I need to see about pulling a few favours from my contacts in Ohio. Go over some of Callahan's other cases and see what's been going on. She had, after all, been a little over confident that Elle would have her badge back before the next morning. How else would she have known, if she hadn't done this before? I need to tell Gideon."

"Honey, it's late. Don't stew about this. Call him in the morning." She sighed and attempted to give him a stern glare.

"I know. You're right. You also know that Gideon will be telling me that he told me so, until the day I get Elle to come back to the BAU." Haley's smile increased in illumination and she kissed him sweetly, he in turn tenderly captured her honey lips with his own.

To Be Continued…