When he calls her into his office, she knows the game is up. She has barely slept since finding out Doyle escaped, and she is trying so hard to keep herself together and keep this away from her team, but they're all suspicious of her. Hotch has been watching her like a hawk, and she knows he recognises the signs of her distancing herself, since the Foyet situation. Her heart hammers in her chest as she closes his door behind her, her overtired brain too close to tears at just the thought of losing what they were becoming before George Foyet killed Haley.
Neither of them sit, and for a moment they just look each other over. For just that moment, she wishes she hated him.
"Something's wrong," he says. There's no question in his tone, and no expectation. Fear stabs through her like it has a thousand times in the past few days, and she knows he can see it in her eyes – the concern in his expression doubles.
"Hotch," she says warningly, an edge of a plea creeping into her voice. "Please don't. It's nothing you need to worry about. I'll be okay."
He regards her for a moment, analysing her so openly that she finds herself defensively tilting her chin up, and he shakes his head very slightly. "I am worried. I wish you would talk to me. If there's something you need, some time, some help… Let us help you." She catches the switch from me to us and drops her gaze from his eyes. His hands are at his sides, his fingers restless, and there was a time not so long ago when she'd have reached for them, pulled them onto her hips… "Emily. I can help you," he adds, softly.
She closes her eyes, exhausted in every possible way, a lump aching in her throat and her eyes filling. All at once, she knows he will not let this go. "Please don't," she says again, wrapping her arms tight around herself. She opens her eyes, chews her lip. "I can't," she says, as soon as she can trust her voice. "This isn't…" She takes a breath, shakes her head a little. "It's personal."
"If you're in danger, I need to know," he says quietly.
She finds his eyes again, tries to hold his gaze without losing her composure entirely, but he's looking at her with fear and hurt, and god, the distance between them is more crushing than she would have ever believed it could be. "I won't let it get to you," she promises. "I'm going to make sure that you and Jack are safe -"
This is too much – Jack is too much. She feels the moment she can't hold herself together any longer, starts to turn away as tears start to fall, but he catches her shoulders and pulls her into him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. And she wishes it didn't feel right, but it does, and her hands spread out and hold onto him, her face in his neck, and when he speaks again his voice is low and determined in her ear. "We need to make sure we're all safe," he says. "You too. I need you to tell me what we're dealing with."