Unforgettable Nights, Unforgivable Mistakes

Chapter 11: Bay, Horses and the Stranger Friend.

For Emily, the next couple of weeks had been much more stressful than she thought they would be; she had to find a new place for her and Bay to live, settle her daughter at the new hospital and try to find a new job. She had enough money saved to live comfortably for a few years, and she also knew her mother was there and would help her in every possible way, but she didn't want to be that kind of woman...she had always been strong and independent. She was hoping things would settle down over the next few weeks.

Bay was fine, thankfully, and that was Emily's main priority; Bay had already received her first chemotherapy treatment, and she had been assigned an excellent doctor. Dr. Steven Bergman was a young man that seemed to be very kind with children, and he had been put in charge of Bay's care; Emily was very pleased to learn that he was the Director of Pediatric Oncologists for the Washington hospital. Emily was very happy with him, as was Bay...he was very sweet with Bay, and he managed to make her laugh a lot, which was what her daughter needed the most. She had found a nice condo near the hospital, and now Emily was just waiting to hear back from a few job applications she had sent out to various Federal agencies.

All of Emily's friends had been amazing to her...they had all visited her and Bay at the hospital almost every night. Emily never felt so loved before because she was basically never alone at the hospital, either JJ or Penelope, Derek or Spencer were with her at all times, and even Dave had spent a couple nights at the hospital with her. Her mother was also being amazing to her; they had never really had a good relationship, but ever since Bay was born, her mother had changed so much and had become more understanding with her. Elizabeth Prentiss had made the best resources available for her granddaughter, and she was being an emotional sounding board for Emily. Emily had never been more thankful to have her mother in her life than now, yes, they had a very rough relationship for most of her life, but they were family, and family was always there for each other. Besides, Bay adored her grandmother, and it was doing her so much good to be around her, so Emily just wanted to do whatever made her daughter the happiest.

She was exhausted and many nights Emily spent them crying; she was a very strong woman, yes, and she had lived through worse, plus, she compartmentalized so well, but having your daughter severely ill was something she wasn't sure she could live through. Emily knew she had the support of her mother and all her close friends, but she knew that if something happened to her baby girl, she would not survive it intact...she would not be able to survive it with a sane mind. She needed to maintain a positive attitude and be strong for Bay's sake, but Emily just wasn't sure she could do this alone, She knew she wasn't literally alone because she had so many wonderful friends that were willing to drop their lives in a heartbeat to be with her and help her, and her mother had taken a temporary leave of absence from work to support Emily and Bay; Clyde had also flown to D.C. for a few nights to be with her and Bay, yet, she still felt alone. Max had called a couple of times to check on Bay, and Emily knew he would always be concerned about Bay even if they weren't together, but it wasn't the same. He wasn't Bay's father, and he would never understand what Emily was going through.

The truth was Emily felt Bay's real father would never care for her, he would never give a damn about his little girl, and she felt he still hated Emily so much, and he always would. She had been at the BAU several times, but he hadn't even bothered to speak to her, nor had he bothered to call her. She knew they weren't friends, and it wasn't as if he was obligated to come see her or care for her, but everyone on the team had stopped by to visit her and her baby girl at the hospital, so she was certain he knew she was back, and that he also knew her daughter was sick. Emily would have thought that out of courtesy he would have stopped by to at least give her his condolences. But no, he couldn't really care less, apparently, he was already living a nice life...she had even heard from the girls he was dating, so obviously Emily had never meant anything to him. Emily wanted to tell him so badly that Bay was his real daughter, and she had spent days, no...she had spent weeks trying to figure out a way to tell him he had a daughter, but she knew deep inside her that he didn't care, and he would want nothing to do with their beautiful baby girl, and to be honest, she felt he didn't really deserve her. He now had a girlfriend and a life, and Emily and Bay meant nothing to him; besides, Emily had way too many problems and stress to even deal anymore with him. Maybe it was wrong, but she had realized Bay didn't need him, she had her, and Emily was willing to do anything within her power for her daughter, even if it meant her own life.

One morning, after Emily was finished helping Bay take a shower and change into new clothes, she received a very odd call. The very same Section Chief Erin Strauss called her. Apparently, she had heard Emily was back in town, and she would be delighted to meet with her. Strauss had always treated Emily very professionally and kindly while Emily was at the BAU, and although everyone hated the section chief, at least Strauss treated her better than her direct boss, so Emily had no complaints about her whatsoever. Emily simply thought Strauss had heard about her being back in D.C. and about her daughter being ill and wanted to offer her condolences; however, she was stunned when the section chief told Emily there was an opening at the BAU, and she wanted to see if Emily would be interested in the position. Emily was speechless...she didn't know what to say, and honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted her old job back. She still loved the BAU and her friends were there, and she had loved her job and the up and downs that came with it, but there was a reason why she had left the BAU, the very same reason why she didn't want to respond to Strauss right away, and that reason was Aaron Hotchner...she wasn't sure if she could work with him again...she wasn't sure if she was even ready to face him again...hell, she didn't even think she wanted to even see him again in her life. So, she told Strauss she needed time to think about it, and she would give her an answer by the end of the week.

Emily decided to just think about it for the rest of the week, but for now, she wanted to take care of a few errands, she was trying to find a school for Bay where she could go with her condition only causing a small impact. It wasn't as if Bay had to be permanently in the hospital...she only had to stay there a few nights for the treatments, but she could still go home a few nights, and Emily asked Dr. Bergman if she could take Bay to school, since she didn't want to have her daughter miss anymore days of school. Dr. Bergman recommended a few schools to her where other kids with similar diseases attended, where she could enroll Bay, and she could have the attention she needed. So, that night she left Bay at the hospital, when normally she wouldn't leave her alone; the team had just gotten back from a case, and her mother had to take care of a few errands so neither of them could stay with her. As a diplomat, she had to take care of many things even when she was on a leave of absence. Dr. Bergman told Emily not to worry about Bay, she was in the hospital and there were many nurses and doctors who were in charge of her; he would make sure she was with someone at all times, and after all, Emily just needed to be away for a few hours. Bay had just closed her eyes for a nap as Emily left, and she was hoping she would be back before Bay woke up. Emily rushed to finish her errands hoping to be back soon to take care of her baby girl.

Aaron Hotchner walked into the hospital around seven that evening not knowing what room the little girl was in, and he wasn't sure if her mother was there. He knew he shouldn't be there, and he could get in serious trouble is he was caught, but he really needed to do this, but he just didn't know why. Aaron had several dreams about this little girl, plus, he was having trouble sleeping at night because all he did was think about her. It was so weird and disturbing to him, but after several weeks, he finally had the guts to visit her. He had wanted to visit her ever since he had found out she was in Washington, he was just not sure why. Everyone on the team was always talking about this beautiful and precious girl, he simply had been very curious to meet her, it was weird, yes, and he would probably look like a child molester going to visit a child he didn't know, but he couldn't help himself. He reasoned it out that the little girl was the daughter of the woman he had been in love with for the past seven years, the woman he still was in love with. Even if that woman hated him and wanted nothing to do with him, he cared about her, he always had, and when he heard her little girl was severely ill, he wanted to do something to help Emily but he knew she would never take anything that came from him. Still, he wanted to do something for her, even if he had to do it behind her back. So, he did what he never thought he would do, he sneaked into the hospital to visit Emily's daughter.

He had seen the little girl in pictures in JJ's office and on Morgan's desk, but it wasn't the same, he just wanted to meet the little girl from the woman who had stolen his heart, and the woman of whom he could not stop thinking. Ever since he had found out Emily was coming home, he had not stopped thinking about her, he simply couldn't get her out of his head...he had even been dreaming about her, about that night they had shared, he simply couldn't get Emily Prentiss out of his head.

So, he walked inside the children's hospital, after having overheard Penelope talking to Emily where Emily had informed the technical analyst she had a few errands to run and she would have to leave Bay alone in the hospital. It was just the opportunity Hotch had been waiting for. Aaron asked at the nurse's station for Bay's room, hating to have to show his FBI credentials to get himself in; he knew it was a secure hospital; and they would just not let any stranger walk in and visit the children. So, he flashed his badge and a nice nurse took him directly to the little girl's room.

When they walked in the room, the little girl was lying in the bed watching a movie, looking completely immersed in the film.

"Hi, Bay, you have a visitor." Nurse Adams said, smiling at the little girl. Bay stopped paying attention to the film to face Aaron, and for some reason, he felt a flutter of butterflies in his stomach when she looked him directly in his eyes. Bay was everything he had dreamed her to be. She was absolutely and utterly beautiful with black curly hair and dark chocolate brown eyes. She reminded him of someone, but he wasn't sure who it was...it was funny, though, she kind of reminded him of his mother.

"Hi, Bay, I'm Michael." Aaron said...he didn't want to introduce himself by his first name because he was sure Emily would find out he was there, and he didn't want to make her hate him more, so he gave Bay his middle name, because he was positive Emily didn't know what his middle name was.

"Hi, I'm Bay." The little girl stated shyly looking at him with curious eyes. The nurse smiled and left them alone, something Aaron was thankful for.

"Who are you?" Bay asked again, knowing her mother had asked her not to ever talk to strangers.

"My name is Michael, and I'm your friend. I have a son who's little like you." Hotch said, smiling at her.

"Is your son sick, too?" Bay asked.

"No, but I think you would like him." Aaron said, pulling a chair closer to the bed.

"I brought you something if that is okay with you." Aaron said, placing the stuffed animal he had been holding in his hands onto the table in front of Bay.

"A horse!" Bay cried happily. "I love horses." Bay smiled widely, revealing those beautiful dimples. Aaron sat there open-mouthed, astonished.

"You do? Well, this is a special horse, do you know what kind of horse it is?" Aaron asked, smiling even wider.

"Yes, it's a bay horse, I know all the horse types!" Bay said, sitting up in the bed hugging the horse.

"Yes, a bay horse just like your name, you have a pretty name."

"My name is also Arian, Bay Arian." Another larger set of butterflies fluttered around in his stomach. What was it about this little girl, that smile, and then her name...for a second, his mind flew away. What could have happened if Emily had stayed with him, if that little girl was his and not the other man's daughter...what if?

"That is a very pretty name, Bay, so, do you like your new horse?" Aaron asked, coming out of his mind's wandering.

"It's beautiful, horses are my favorite thing in the whole wide world. Have you ever seen a real horse?" Bay asked, playing with the horse on her lap.

"Actually, I have, I used to ride horses when I was a kid."

"You did?" Bay asked with wide eyes, fascinated.

"Yes, they are pretty amazing animals." Hotch said, not being able to take his eyes off the little girl.

"I want to ride a real horse." She said happily.

"Well, maybe when you feel a little better, I can take you to see them, maybe we can even get you to ride a little one."

"Really, you can take me to see a real horse!?" Bay cried happily.

"Yes, but only when you are stronger and you feel better, okay?" Aaron reasoned.

"Okay." She stayed quiet for a few seconds, then her curiosity got the best of her.

"Michael, how do you know my name and everything." Bay asked curiously.

"Well, one of the doctors told me there was a beautiful girl that was here and was sick, and that she loved horses, and I just wanted to meet you." He replied to her and smiled.

"I think you're cool." She smiled.

"You do?" She nodded.

"Well, do you think we can be friends?"

"Okay." She politely shook his hand, smiling. He was simply mesmerized with this little girl. She was a clone of Emily...she was smart, beautiful, she had those gorgeous eyes, and those dimples...those dimples that made him wonder so many things.

Aaron stayed with Bay for a little while, they talked and even finished watching the movie together. He wanted to spend the night with fascinating little girl, what was it about her that made him feel differently, Aaron had fallen in love with her the minute he had seen her, and he really wanted to stay longer, but he knew he couldn't. Emily would be back soon and she would kill him if she found him there visiting her daughter. So, he left telling Bay goodbye and promising her he would come back to see her. He placed a kiss on her forehead left...the problem was, something had changed in that visit, something that made him feel weird, he just didn't know what it was.

A while later, Emily returned from running her errands...she was very worried about leaving Bay alone for those hours and all she wanted to do was hold her in her arms. When she walked into her daughter's room, Dr. Bergman was with Bay in the room doing a routine check up on the little girl.

'Hello, Dr. Bergman, I'm sorry if I took longer than I planned to be." She apologized, walking in the room.

"Mommy," Bay sat up in the bed reaching her arms for her mother. Emily immediately approached her and pulled the little girl into her arms. Dr. Bergman smiled.

"It's okay, she's been an angel, right Bay?" He asked as he placed the stethoscope on Bay's chest to check her heart, as Emily sat on the edge of the bed next to her daughter.

"Is she okay?" Emily asked with concern.

"She's doing great, the first round of chemo worked well, her heartbeat is strong, you have one strong little girl." Dr. Bergman smiled widely, and made Emily smile, too. She turned to face her daughter and placed a kiss on her head, that was all that mattered to her, no matter how hard and rough her day had been knowing that her daughter was doing great was the best thing she could hear.

Bay smiled, too, and took the television remote switching through the cartoon channels. Emily smiled and ran her hand playfully through her daughter's curly hair, it was then she became aware of the stuffed horse sitting on her bedside table.

"How did that get here, Bay?" She asked, pointing at the horse, while Dr. Bergman was still performing a checkup on her daughter.

"Oh, that's mine, my horse." Bay pointed out, hugging the stuffed animal to her chest.

"Do you want to explain to mommy how the horse got here?" Emily asked, making her daughter look at her.

"Michael gave it to me." Bay explained.

"Michael? Who is Michael?" Emily asked in shock.

"He's my friend, mommy, he came to visit me today, and he likes horses, too, he rode horses when he was a kid." Bay smiled.

"What! Someone was here?" Emily asked terrified, turning to look at Dr. Bergman.

"It was probably one of the nurses in charge...they tend to do this kind of thing for kids, especially when they are new. They just want to make them feel good and welcome." Dr. Bergman said, running a thumb over Bay's cheek.

"Was he a nurse, Bay? The guy that gave you the horse?" Emily asked, and Bay just shrugged her shoulders, her eyes back on the television.

"I wouldn't worry about it...I'm sure it was one of the nurses, we have very strict security here. I would have know if someone came by." Dr. Bergman said soothingly to Emily.

"Okay, thanks for everything." Emily smiled.

"Absolutely, I will order another blood test in the morning for her to see where her blood levels are." Emily nodded in agreement.

"Have a good night." He said, walking out of the room.

Emily took care of bathing Bay and putting her to sleep after the nurses delivered her dinner. She stood next to her until Bay fell asleep. When she finally did fall asleep, Emily tried to relax, she walked toward the window of the hospital, staring at the quiet night. Everything seemed so much smaller from where she was standing. They were on the 26th floor of the hospital, and she just stood there looking out the window at the rainfall. She knew she was doing everything in her power for her baby girl, and all her decisions were made to foster her daughter's well being. That was why she had made another decision...she would return to the BAU, she would take the position Strauss had offered her!