The Choices We Make
Chapter 11
It was almost ten o'clock and Hotch was still in his office. He was going through the last files his team had submitted although his mind was somewhere else. He couldn't stop thinking about what Emily had told him; first of all, he was mad at her for sending him the wedding invitation; second, he was mad at her because she had chosen to marry another man, even though she loved him; third, he was mad at her for not choosing him...but, as mad as he was, he also knew Emily would never lie to him, especially not about something like that. But, right now, his anger with her was so strong, he couldn't keep it off his mind. Dave walked into his office and stood there watching his friend staring at the file in front of him without seeing it for a little while before he spoke. Dave knew something was bothering his best friend because ever since Emily had come into his office, Hotch had been acting strange.
"How much longer are you going to keep staring at that file?" Dave asked, walking forward into Hotch's office and sitting down in front of him. Hotch looked up at his friend, and he couldn't find the words to tell him anything...he just didn't know what to say, so his eyes went back to the file.
"What's the matter?" Dave asked, with concern in his voice.
"Nothing." Hotch said, dismissively. Dave stood up and walked around his desk, leaning to sit at the edge of Hotch's desk to get a better view of his friend. When he looked down, his eyes landed on the trash can and the invitation that had been torn into a million pieces and thrown away in the trash; he recognized it immediately because he had gotten one himself that afternoon...it was Emily's wedding invitation.
"I see, you know I don't think Emily sent that…from what I know it was JJ and Andrew who were in charge of the invitations." Dave said, trying to comfort his friend.
"I don't care." Hotch said, his eyes still fixed firmly on the files.
"Come on, Aaron, I'm your best friend….what's going on…I'm not going to leave until you tell me what is bugging you." Dave said, crossing his arms over his chest. Hotch exhaled, looking at his best friend...he knew if he didn't tell him, Dave wasn't going to leave him alone.
"She said…she told me Beth was cheating on me…she said she saw her." Hotch said, angrily.
"I mean why would she do something like that, Dave…why would she lie about something like that?" Dave just looked at him in shock. Suddenly, Dave felt anger running through his veins, and he wasn't sure if he was mad at the fact that Beth was cheating on Aaron, or the fact that his friend was so stupid to believe Emily would actually lie about something like that.
"What makes you think she is lying? What if Beth is cheating on you? Have you considered that?" Dave asked, looking at him with questioning eyes.
"She is not." Hotch said firmly.
"How do you know that...you know nothing about her past….hell, you don't even know her family...she hasn't even taken you to her place…for all you know, she could be having an affair." Dave reasoned.
"I don't think so." Hotch said, trying to sound convinced.
"You know what this means right?" Dave asked, concerned. Hotch just looked at him confused.
"If she is actually cheating on you, there is a possibility the baby may not be yours." He said in a serious tone.
Suddenly, it was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on Hotch's head. His mind started moving a hundred miles per minute, so fast he felt kind of dizzy, and he found himself unable to breathe. He decided he had to at least investigate what Emily had told him...he had to make sure.
"What do I do." He asked, all of the sudden his face full of fear.
"I'll take care of it. I'll do some research. and get Garcia to help, but I'll rather keep this private. Let me see what I can find, and I'll check back in with you tomorrow." Dave said, walking away and leaving his friend alone thinking.
Meanwhile, Emily had just arrived at her apartment, Andrew was already there waiting for her because they were supposed to go through the last details of the wedding as well as some other last minute things they needed to discuss. As soon as Emily arrived, Andrew immediately noticed she had been crying again; in fact, he knew she had been doing that a lot lately, but every time he asked her about it because he was afraid the stress of the wedding planning and getting ready for the wedding and honeymoon plus her job was putting too much pressure on her, she would lie about it so, once again, he decided to leave it alone. Emily said hi to Andrew and went upstairs to take a shower in an attempt to make herself feel better. She was so angry at Hotch...she couldn't believe he was such a jerk...there she was trying to do what she thought was the right thing to do, and he had accused her of making it up and lying about it. Well, he could go to hell...she didn't care anymore, she was going to forget about him completely!
When she came downstairs, Andrew was waiting for her in the living room so they could go through all the details of the wedding. She wanted to get this over with and help Andrew, maybe she could try and give Andrew a real chance and learn to love him. Andrew started going through all the details of the wedding, and of course, he wanted the best for her and he could afford it, so he was making plans at the most expensive and luxurious resorts he could afford; Emily was sure this was going to cost a fortune, and she wished she could be as excited as any other woman would be. Then, Andrew handed her the list of invitations he had already sent to check if she wanted anyone else invited. Emily started going through the list, and then she saw "his" name and it hit her why Hotch was so upset.
'You sent and invitation to my boss…why would you do that?" She asked, pissed.
"Why wouldn't I? I thought he was one of your best friends, Em." Andrew asked, confused.
"You should have asked me first...I didn't want to send him one…..you should have told me first." She said again, a little louder than she intended.
"Why are you upset Emily? I thought he was your friend. What is wrong with sending him an invitation?" Andrew asked, still not sure why Emily was so mad about inviting Hotch to their wedding.
"We..are .we're not talking right now..so I was not going to send him one." She said, stammering
"Okay, he is your best friend, do you really think he isn't going to come to your wedding?" Andrew reasoned.
"No, that is not the point, you should have asked me. I didn't want him there." She said, yelling.
"Why the hell are you so upset, Emily? And when did you two stopped talking? I thought you were best friend. What the hell happened that you don't want him at our wedding?" Andrew asked, getting upset, too. Suddenly, Emily realized she had just fucked up with Andrew.
"Nothing happened..I…I. am going to bed. I don't feel good." She said, walking around and going upstairs to her bedroom. Andrew just stood there looking at the floor sadly without knowing what to do. Even though Emily didn't tell him, he knew what was wrong, she liked her boss, he'd had a feeling about it before, but now he was certain.
The next day, Hotch arrived at the office earlier than usual; he had not slept much all night because he couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the previous day. He couldn't believe he had never inquired about Beth's past life and that bothered him so much. He was a profiler... he should have seen it, but he didn't and now he didn't know what to do. If it was true that Beth was cheating on him maybe he still had a chance with Emily. Just in that moment, Dave walked into his office, and by the look on his face, the news wasn't good at all.
"So?" Hotch asked anxiously.
"Are you ready for this? It's not good news." Dave answered, holding the file in his hands.
Aaron just nodded at his friend and watched as he sat on the other side of his desk, his expression neutral. Dave exhaled, opening the file he had been holding all morning, ready to deliver the bad news.
"Beth Clemmons…..has been married to Maxwell Clemons since 2006. They met on a cruise, and they live in Burleith, one of the most exclusive areas of D.C. Records show they are currently together. He is a very successful government spyware software developer and travels around the world constantly. That is probably how she was able to pull this off" Dave was referring to her relationship with Hotch.
Hotch just sat there in complete shock at what he was hearing. Not only had he just found out Beth was lying to him and cheating on him, but he was the affair she was having. She was cheating on her husband with him. He couldn't believe this...he felt really dizzy, and he couldn't think anymore. How could he have been so stupid to be fooled by Beth for a whole year. This was not possible, this had to be a big mistake. She couldn't have done this...and the baby...
"What about the baby, that means she could be lying about that, too?" Hotch asked...Dave looked at his friend sadly.
"I'm sorry, Aaron…the baby isn't yours...the records show that her and her husband had been trying to conceive for the last 6 years with no luck…finally they were able to see a doctor who helped them through artificial insemination." Dave said sadly.
"I'm sorry. Aaron."
"I can't believe this. I just can't." He stood up from his desk grabbing the file from Dave's hand; he frantically started going through the pages and suddenly, his eyes landed on the address that showed Beth's residence.
Without saying a word, he walked out of his office then began running to the parking lot and to his car, turning the ignition. He needed an explanation for this fiasco, and he was going to get it even if he had to confront her in front of her husband. He drove like a maniac to the address in the files, and when he arrived at the address, he got out of the car furious. As he expected, she lived in a mansion. He walked to the front of the house and rang the doorbell. Beth came to the door, and her heart started pounding and she started sweating when she saw who was at the door.
"Oh my God, Aaron…what….?" She asked in shock, but she couldn't finish...she felt like she had seen a ghost.
"You thought I would never find out, didn't you?" Hotch asked, angrily.
"Please, I can explain...but not here." She said nervously, trying to get him to leave.
"What! Are you afraid your husband will hear us?"
"Aaron, please..." She begged. Just in that moment Maxwell Clemons came to the door.
"Who is it, baby?" Maxwell asked, concerned when he saw Hotch, thinking there was a confrontation of some kind.
"I'm Aaron Hotchner, FBI." He said, pulling out his badge and showing it to Maxwell Clemons.
"Is there a problem?" Maxwell asked, when he saw the FBI badge.
"I don't know...you should ask your wife..." He said, glaring at Beth.
"What is going on, Beth?" He asked, concerned.
Since Beth didn't respond, Hotch knew he had to tell Maxwell even if he ended up punching him in the face.
"The problem is your wife has been lying to the both of us. I just found out she was married to you…and we've been dating for almost a year. She even stalked me one morning on a running track and started a conversation, She knew my name and where I worked, and made it obvious that she wanted to strike up a relationship with me."
"WHAT?" Maxwell asked, looking at Beth surprised.
"Listen, I'm so sorry, I didn't know." Hotch said, but Maxwell was looking at Beth who was still unable to responds.
"She told me the baby was mine, and I believed the baby was mine, and I was trying to make things work between us for the baby's sake." Aaron added.
"You told him the baby was his?" Maxwell asked, even more surprised.
"That is not possible….she can't get pregnant, she got pregnant by." Maxwell couldn't even utter the words.
"I know." Hotch said. "I know everything." He added, looking at her evilly.
"I can explain this, Aaron." Beth started...
"Don't, you're lucky I don't arrest you for fraud and making false statements." He said furiously.
"Aaron, please." Beth begged, her husband still looking at her in shock.
I want nothing to do with you ever again in my life…if you come near me, or any of my friends or my family, I will press charges." Hotch said fuming.
"I'm sorry again, I didn't know, I just thought you deserved to know what kind of woman you're married to." He said, apologizing to Maxwell again. With that, Hotch walked out of their house and got in his truck and left the Clemons house forever.
Maxwell stood there devastated looking at Beth with so much pain and hatred.
"Maxwell, baby, please I can explain." She begged, crying.
"Save the words and crying, Beth...I'll leave tonight, and when I come back, I want you out of my house. I'll file for divorce. I'll be there for the baby, but I don't want to see you ever again in my life." He said, leaving Beth alone in the house crying on the floor.
Hotch was driving back from Beth's house so angry at her and himself he couldn't believe it. He had trusted her, and he couldn't believe she had fooled him because he was one of the best Agents the FBI had, and he was fooled by s psychopathic woman. He should have believed Emily when she told him there was something odd about her. He drove to the only place he could go, the only place he needed to be. He needed to talk to her, he needed to explain to her. He knocked on her door, and he didn't care if her stupid fiancée was there, they needed to talk. Emily opened the door of her apartment, and she was shocked to see who was at the door.
"What are you doing here?" She asked rudely.
"Can we please talk?" Hotch asked, looking at her sadly.
"We have nothing to talk about, Sir, please leave." She was going to close the door on his face, but he held the door firmly.
"Please, Emily, I'm begging you...I need you to listen to me for just for five minutes." He begged again.
"Why I'm a liar right? What can you possibly talk to me about?" She asked angrily.
"I'm sorry...I should have listened to you….you were right about everything." He said, looking at her sadly. Emily just looked at him in confusion.
"She's married, and the baby isn't mine." He finally said, defeated.
"I'm sorry, Hotch." She said, finally moving away from the door and letting him in. She could see the pain in his eyes, and as mad as she was at him, she still cared.
"It doesn't matter…that is not why I am here." He said, turning around to look at her.
"Then why?'
"I came to tell you…that I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, even Haley." He said, looking at her more intensely than ever.
"Please don't marry him…..please give me a chance….there is nothing else that can stand in our way." He suddenly pulled the brunette into his arms and started to kiss her passionately, but Emily pushed him away.
"What is wrong with you?" She snapped.
"You can't just do this, Aaron….you can't just come here and expect me to jump into your arms after you treated me like shit."
"I made a huge mistake, Emily, please forgive me….please give me a chance." He begged.
"No, It doesn't work like that. Hotch, I'm getting married this weekend, you can't just do this" She said, angrily.
"You don't love him, you love me." He said, getting closer to her, but Emily moved away.
"Please leave, Aaron." She warned.
"Emily, how could you do this…get married to someone you don't love?' He asked, with pain-filled eyes.
"Do you think he would ever make you happy?" Hotch asked, glaring at her.
"I know he would never make me cry." She said, looking at him defiantly.
"Please leave, Hotch." She asked again. Finally, he walked out of her apartment with sad eyes. That was all, he had lost her . Emily closed the door of her apartment collapsing on the floor and started sobbing on her knees.
"God…I fucking love you…..I would never be able to stop loving you." She said, sobbing on her knees. She wasn't aware that Hotch was still on the other side of the door. He had listened to everything she had said, and he was listening to her crying now,
"I love you, too, Emily...I always will" He said softly, and he finally left.
When Andrew arrived that night to her place, he noticed her swollen eyes for the 100th time that month, and even though Emily had tried to hide it again, he knew she had been crying. In fact, he knew she cried herself to sleep every night. Emily thought she was hiding it from him, but he heard her every night crying for hours while he pretended to be asleep. He knew why she was hurting, and he wasn't sure he could live with it any longer.