"Just dance, it's gonna be okay. (Da da do do) Just dance, gonna be okay." –Lady Gaga, (Just Dance)

Aaron ran as fast as his feet would carry him towards the hospital, hoping against hope that this would just be something innocuous. His mind knew that was improbable, as his friends would have called him and told him not to rush.

Instead he'd gotten four urgent messages from his team that he should get there as fast as he could. Their words were cryptic and told him nothing as he broke several laws on the way to getting to Emily. He wanted to know why this kept happening to him. Rushing to the hospital, someone he cares about in peril, breaking laws and his heart in the process.

Going straight to the admissions desk, he breathlessly asked "Emily Prentiss?" He didn't say please, and he didn't care. He needed to find her now, his heart couldn't take this kind of pressure much longer. It had been in a vice for as long as he could remember these past six months, and he needed it to be released, for he feared the shrivelled mass would forever stay that way.

"Room 613." The nurse looked up at him, and he saw slight compassion in her eyes, and that fact alone worried him. "Wait. Are you the father?" The eyebrow raising worried him, that and the fact that the nurse knew he was, was bothersome.

"Yeah."

"Oh." Her entire face fell now, and his heart squeezed a little tighter. "Um, her doctor would like to see you first."

Aaron simply nodded, and took the written information she handed him, pity written all over her face. His heart was tight, and the energy that had been previously coursing through his body was gone, leaving him feeling terribly heavy and lagged.

Once at the office that he'd been indicated, Aaron knocked on the open door, and was met by a man wearing scrubs and looking haggard. "Come in, come in."

"I'm Aaron Hotchner, the admitting nurse said that you wanted to see me." The doctor stood and offered him his hand, which Aaron shook quickly, nervousness causing his palms to be moist.

"Emily Prentiss?" The man questioned, moving back around his desk and sitting down offering Aaron a seat as well, who took it and nodded at the same time.

"Thank you for coming to see me, there are some things I think I need to discuss with you."

"Okay."

"Ms Prentiss has suffered a placental abruption."

"What does that mean?" Aaron asked, wondering how soon he could go see Emily.

"It means that the placenta has prematurely detached from the uterine wall, which leads to some bleeding, both internally and externally. Not to sound vulgar or crude, but it's possibly one of the worst things to happen during pregnancy."

Panic struck him. He was no doctor, and that sounded horrible to him. "So what does this mean?"

"Well there are two options right now, both leading to the same destination. No matter what you and she decide, we are going to have to do an emergency C-Section."

"So what are the paths?" This sounded dangerous to him, and he wasn't sure he wanted to have this conversation without Emily. Or about Emily. He hadn't heard of this before, but it didn't sound very good.

"Well path one, we do the C-Section now. The second is that we wait a few days, maybe a week, allow the baby to grow, which we'll help along. Either option has its drawbacks."

"Which is safer? Which do you recommend?" Aaron's hands wrung together in his lap, his heart getting smaller and smaller by the moment.

"The first. I am confident that the baby will be fine. Even though it's four weeks premature, we have the finest neonatal unit, and we can get it healthy. As for Emily, the detachment so far has been small. Her previous abortion scars are small, and I think waiting is hazardous for both of them."

Aaron's mind heard all the words, but it stuck on the word abortion. When had Emily had an abortion? He didn't know if it were appropriate to ask her doctor, but as the man looked at his watch and continued talking, Aaron focused on his words and filed that piece of information for later.

"She should be waking up soon, I suggest you go talk to her about this."

Aaron stood and they shook hands again and he left, heading towards her room. His mind was racing. The doctor had implied that either route was dangerous, and that both Emily's and the baby's life hung in the balance. He passed by his team in the waiting room, and waved at them, walking by towards Emily's room.

Stopping just outside the room, he took a deep breath and stilled his nerves. He was facing the fact that his life was about to change for the rest of his life no matter what option he took. He loved Emily, he loved the baby she was carrying, but now he stood on the cusp of losing them both.

He'd been a fool, he knew, for not telling her sooner, now it would just feel cliché and cheap, but he knew that no matter what they decided, he knew that he would be a cheap romantic man and tell her the truth.

"Hey." He called into the room softly, hoping that she was awake.

"Aaron." Her sigh sounded a mixture of relief and excitement. She was lying on her side, her porcelain skin much paler than normal, accentuated by her dark hair and the gaudy hospital gown she was wearing.

Pulling a chair close to her bed he sat down and took her hand in his. She was shaking slightly, and he pressed his lips to the back of her hand, hoping to warm it.

"How are you?" He asked in a whisper, keeping her hand clasped in his.

"Scared." She whispered back.

He nodded and sighed wondering how to go on. "Yeah, sweetie, do you know what's going on?" He decided to skip over the part about her abortion. He had no intentions of angering her or delving into her past. Though he understood now why she sometimes got sat when they spoke of the baby, it was her choice to not tell him, and he would respect her wishes.

"Kind of. Did you talk to my doctor?"

He nodded again, and kissed her hand once more, reaching to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. Slowly he trailed his thumb across her lips, and caressed her cheek.

"How bad is it?"

"Bad sweetie."

He went on to explain it to her, and their options. She seemed to understand quite well, and as he went on he could see her steel her own nerves and work it through.

"What's going on in that beautiful mind of yours?"

"What do you think Aaron? This is both of us." She asked.

"I think we should do it right now. Waiting sounds too dangerous, and straight up cliché and honest, I don't want to lose you."

She laughed with him, and he laughed too, a weak sound escaping him. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes, and tried to reign them back in. When he saw he tears, he let his fall, joining in with her.

"I don't wanna lose you either."

"I'm right here Emily. I'm not going anywhere." He paused, and gathered his thoughts, his emotions and himself. "I know I should have said this a long time ago, but I'm falling in love with you. So you need to fight when you go in there. Fight hard. Fight for Jack, for our baby, for our team, fight for you, fight for me. Sweetie, fight for us, and I promise you, I'll be here waiting for you when you wake up."

"Aaron, I love you too, I have for a long time." He smiled, and leaned forward and kissed her. What he hoped was a comforting meeting of their lips lasted to short, and a part of his mind shouted that he should kiss her again as it might be the last time. He shook his head, loosening the thought. If he though like that he was dooming himself for heartache.

"I need you to do something for me." She seemed determined now, and he knew that she would fight her hardest to survive.

"Anything." He would lasso the moon for her. Just like George Bailey. Hopefully his own love story with Emily would have just as happy an ending.

"No matter what happens," he wanted to scold her, to stop the defeated tone in her voice. Her face was set and determined, but her voice gave away what she was truly feeling. "Make sure Derek knows that this isn't his fault."

Hotch nodded, prepared to walk to the end of the world for her.

They lapsed into silence, both refusing to acknowledge that this might be the last time they are together. Elbows resting on the bed, Hotch bent towards her, resting his forehead against hers, holding tightly to her hand.

"So have we made a decision?" The soft voice of her OBGYN entered the room, along with the man, and Hotch turned to face him, Emily's soft hand wiping his face, removing his tears.

He placed a small kiss on her forehead, and stood, keeping her hand in his, entwining their fingers. "Yes we have. Do the surgery now."

The doctor nodded, and left the room, leaving them alone once again.

"Should I get our friends?" He asked, turning back to her.

She shook her head and replied, "No. Saying goodbye is a bad omen. Let them know that I love them, and I will see them later."

The doctor returned quickly, several nurses in tow, all looking ready and determined for saving Emily and her baby. Hotch was shuffled out of the room, and he moved to the waiting room at Emily's request. There, the other five members of his team, stood and moved towards him.

"What's going on?" JJ asked, the tears in her eyes speaking volumes more than Hotch knew she would ever share. The rest nodded quickly and he sighed, running his hand over his face, and through his hair.

"Emergency C-Section." He decided to spare them the rest of the details, unsure if any of them knew about the abortion he didn't know about.

Looks of shock and surprise passed through his friends, and without warning JJ was hugging him again. This time, he responded in kind and accepted her proffer of comfort wrapping his arms around her.

Rossi and Reid moved away, followed closely by Morgan and Garcia who were hugging each other.

"She'll be fine Hotch." JJ whispered against his chest, and he was once more thankful for his friend. He nodded, unable to reply. The only words that popped into his head to respond were, 'I hope so.' And those weren't the words that either of them needed to hear just now.

"Mr Hotchner?" The doctor called into the waiting room. The whole team moved towards the doctor who looked slightly overwhelmed at their presence. Hotch disentangled himself from JJ, and held up his hands to stop the team from following him. Following the doctor just outside the waiting room, they stopped around the corner and from here he could see Emily on her bed with an entourage of nurses.

"This will take a couple of hours, if it goes well." Hotch decided not to address the words which instilled fear and uncertainty in the doctor. "Because of the precariousness of the situation, the best place for you to be is here."

Nodding, he waved at Emily who waved back as the doctor left him and went back to her side. They left down the hall, leaving Hotch feeling terribly alone and scared.

Moving back into the waiting room Hotch dropped himself into one of the hard plastic chairs, bypassing any forms of comfort from his friends. JJ sat on one side of him, and Penelope on the other. Both of them strung their arms through his, and the guys all stood, Aaron sure that they were trying to look manly and strong on this trying situation.

"Guys, go home. The doctor said that there isn't anything we can do here. I promise that I'll call you as soon as she is out of surgery and the baby is safe."

"No way Hotch." Morgan started.

"Emily needs us. You need us." Reid finished.

"Please, go home." He pleaded.

"No. We want to help."

Hotch sighed. "I guess you all should know that I am the father of the baby." Sure it wasn't the most eloquent time to tell them, but it needed to be said. He really just wanted to be alone, and if that were to happen, he had to get them out.

He was sure that none of them knew for sure, but the looks on their faces indicated that they did indeed know. Leaving that mystery for another day, another time when Emily's life didn't hang in the balance, he went on, hoping that they would help him out.

"The baby is going to be early, and my apartment isn't ready, nor do we have anything we need for its arrival. If you want to be of help, go to my place, take down the office, paint it some whimsical baby color, and set up a nursery for the baby." He held up the key to his apartment.

They looked at him incredulously, but he wouldn't back down.

"Done." Morgan, who grabbed the key from his hand, was the first to speak and leave, followed by Reid who simply nodded and patted Hotch on the back. Rossi smiled and followed the other guys. JJ and Penelope got to their feet, pulling Hotch to his feet.

Pulling out his wallet he handed JJ his credit card and smiled. "You'll need to buy everything. Paint, a crib, everything JJ, everything. Buy stuff Emily would like, you know, and stuff."

The blonde nodded and both women kissed him on the cheek before turning and leaving, following the guys. Hotch followed them into the hall and watched them leave arm in arm. His team had faced a lot of stress and difficulty in the last year, mostly surrounding him. He was lucky for their support and affection.

Sitting back in the hard plastic chair, Hotch leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, not excited at all about the next few longest hours of his life. Thankfully Jessica agreed to keep Jack until this was over, and all he needed to do now was stay positive.

A feat easier said than done.


Disclaimer: Ah Criminal Minds. A ratings juggernaut. Consistantley a top ten show in Canada. Which is where I'm from. If I owned a top ten show, it'd be this one. But I don't own it, so that's sad.

AN: I don't know if I did this justice or not. Probably not. I'm not an emotional person, so I doubt that I got across the seriousness of the situation. However, I think this may be a good thing. This way no one cries, and no one hates me for making them cry.

Happy hunting y'all.