A/N: Thank you all for your reviews for the last chapter! Whoo hoo! I broke the 400 review mark! It was a tough chapter and one of those that puts the reader and writer through the ringer so I'm glad so many folks found it worth it. Here's the next chapter and as I promised, it offers some resolution. Hope you enjoy and if you can, please leave a review. Also, I was told that the 2nd Annual Profilers Choice Award for Criminal Minds fiction is now open for nominations. The ballots are found in the discussion forum, Chit Chat on Authors Corner, 2011 Profilers Choice CM Awards - Nomination Ballot.

Hotch wanted to hurl his phone across the room, but settled instead for throwing it down on the coffee table before him where it bounced harmlessly off the scattered papers lying on top of the surface. He ran his hands through his disheveled hair, evidence that he had been doing that frequently over the last few hours.

He replayed his conversation with Emily from yesterday over and over again in his mind. Her words had devastated him, he would admit that and when he had gotten home from the hospital, all he wanted to do was grab the bottle of aged Scotch Rossi had given him last Christmas and drink himself into oblivion.

However, Jack was home so he had to pretend everything was okay until his son fell asleep. Even then, he had only indulged in two glasses as their conversation played on a loop in his mind. Even when he finally fell asleep around 4 am, he had dreamed about her and her words. He woke up with a headache and was grateful Jack had school and he was still on leave. He had the apartment to himself and made a call he was loathed to make.

Hotch informed Ambassador Prentiss of Emily's decision. The Ambassador was less than pleased. She was so angry that she had reminded Hotch that her protection from Strauss hinged on his ability to get Emily back on his team.

"I don't care how you accomplish it, Agent Hotchner," Elizabeth Prentiss' cool, cultured tone was as biting as an Artic wind, "Just remember, persuading her to re-join you is the only reason I have for protecting you from within the Bureau. So I suggest you get right on it."

But what was he supposed to do? If Emily didn't want to come back, it's not like he could order her and she made it clear, she had some issues with her relationship with the team. How exactly was he going to convince her to come back? Not to mention the threat Saville made to him that she was holding over Emily's head. Even if that was the only issue, he had no idea how to make that go away.

Trust. He remembered that was one of the first things he lectured Emily on when she joined the BAU; that trust was the most important thing among the team because of what they had to do, what they faced day in and day out. Each of them needed to be able to trust the other because the only safety-nets they had were themselves. It was ironic that he always viewed it as Emily needing to earn his and the team's trust, forgetting that trust was always a two-way street.

Hotch thought back to their years of working together and wondered why she felt as though she couldn't trust him or the others to the extent they had trusted her. Yes, the Matthew Benton case was one not his finest hour, but to be fair, Emily was also on an emotional rollercoaster throughout it.

But weren't you also?

Hotch sometimes hated that little voice inside of him that wouldn't let him escape the truth. Yes, he had felt ill-equipped to handle the Benton case because it was Emily who was so invested in it. He had wanted to charge in and make everything better for her and because he had to fight those instincts, he may have over-compensated in the opposite direction, sending mixed signals to everyone. The only one who seemed to see things clearly enough was Rossi and while Hotch will be forever grateful that he was able to help Emily through that time, he will also feel a bit of resentment towards the older man that he had taken on the protective and caring role that he, Hotch, so desperately wanted to, but couldn't because of his position.

The doorbell rang, interrupting his musings. Hotch pushed himself off the couch and went to the front door, stooping over slightly to look out the peephole. His visitor was unexpected and not entirely welcomed. With a sigh, he opened the door and looked into Clyde Easter's smiling face.

"What do you want, Easter?" Hotch said in a flat, cool tone.

"Well, at the moment, I hope you would invite me in," the Englishman returned with a confident, somewhat smug smile.

Hotch smothered a growl and stepped aside. Easter walked into the house and into the living room as Hotch locked the front door. When the FBI agent stepped back into his living room, he saw Easter had made himself comfortable in one of the armchairs.

"Nice little house you have here, Agent Hotchner. Very…suburban."

"Is there a point to your visit, Easter?" Hotch snapped as he stood with his arms crossed.

"I've come to talk about our favorite topic, Emily."

It still bothered him to hear this man say her name. Given the way he said it and some of the little things Easter had let slip over their few conversations, Hotch suspected that the Englishman harbored more than just friendly feelings for the beautiful brunette. That awoke Hotch's possessive streak and jealousy because he suspected Easter knew more about Emily than he himself did.

"She's going back to the CIA if you haven't heard. So Emily Prentiss no longer has any impact on my life," Hotch said dismissively.

Easter let out a snort of derisive laughter. Hotch glared at him. "Oh, Agent Hotchner! I highly doubt that. No matter what, Emily Prentiss will always have an impact on your life, whether you want her to or not. That's just the type of person she is and the type of person she is for you." He tilted his head as he regarded Hotch's stony expression. What he saw caused him to smirk. "Don't think you were able to hide your feelings for Emily from me, Agent Hotchner." His smirk morphed into a sad, wistful smile. "As a man who's been in your shoes, I can see the signs."

"She turned you down?" Hotch asked. Though his stomach roiled at the confirmation of his suspicions where Easter's feelings for Emily stood, he couldn't help the curiosity that ran through him.

"She never knew," Easter replied easily. "My fault really, though I don't think her feelings for me ever went beyond the friendship stage, hence me never pursuing anything. Much easier to keep longing from afar rather than just being slapped with cruel reality that she just doesn't feel the same way. And the fact that I'm not her type." He shook his head. "But all that is irrelevant. You heard Emily is going back to the CIA?"

"Straight from her."

"And I take it that isn't what you want, nor does she?"

"Of course I don't want her back with those jackals!" Hotch snapped. "They used her and nearly got her killed. I want her where I can keep an eye on her, keep her safe, protect her, take care of her."

"That sounds more like a man who wants to marry her, not one who wants her back on his team of profilers." Easter's voice was amused.

Hotch glared at him again, but simply said, "She belongs at the BAU and we watch out for our own. She never had that with the CIA."

"Well, they do work clandestinely." He regarded Hotch quietly for a moment. "And what about the trust issue? Do you think your team will be able to work through that if she's back?"

Hotch nodded. "I think a lot of them are halfway there. It'll take a little bit of time, but it'll all work out." He couldn't believe he was saying this to Easter of all people, but for some reason, the words just came out. "I'm not so sure though, she's at that point where she trusts us."

"What do you mean?" Clyde asked, for once genuinely surprised, all traces of arrogance and smugness gone.

"It seems all these years, without my knowledge, Emily has had trust issues with all of us, with me." Hotch said in a bitter tone.

It was so subtle, so quick, he almost missed it. Really, it was no more than a flicker and for someone less skilled than Hotch in reading people, it would have been mistaken for a shift in the light from the window, but he did catch it, he did see it. A subtle look in Clyde Easter's eye that was there and then gone.

"What?" Hotch demanded. "What do you know?"

Easter was back in his usual mode of studied carelessness. "Not relevant to my visit. I just want to make clear that if Emily wasn't going to the CIA that she would be welcomed back to your team and there wouldn't be any trouble if she was to rejoin."

Hotch was still looking at him suspiciously. "Of course."

"That's all I needed to hear," Easter replied cheerily as he stood up. "I would suggest you have that little blonde media liaison of yours on standby and that you watch the news at 5 pm very closely."

"Wha-? Wait, what's going on?" Hotch demanded as Easter moved smoothly from the living room to the front door. "Easter! What the Hell is going on?"

"You'll find out at five o'clock," came the cheery replied. Before Hotch had even managed to make it to the hallway, Easter had the door unlocked and partway open. He paused for a moment, allowing Hotch a chance to catch up with him. He turned around and his eyes were serious as he gazed at the taller man.

"Agent Hotchner, as far as Emily's trust issues, don't think it's all based on you or your team."

Hotch's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

Easter's lips thinned and Hotch could see the man was struggling with the decision to say more or not. "Let's just say that something happened once that made Emily leery to place all her trust in a team setting."

"You mean the Doyle mission?"

Easter raised his eyebrows. "Agent Hotchner, keep in mind that while Emily was a fairly young agent when she received the Doyle assignment, don't think by any means that was her first case." His look told Hotch he would not say anything more. He simply nodded and said, "Five o'clock news. It should prove interesting."

With those final words, Clyde Easter left.

Since Clyde Easter's mysterious words that morning, Hotch made sure his TV was on well before the appointed time. Jack was up in his room when the five o'clock news came on and it was a good thing too or the little boy would have been surprised by his father's reactions.

"Sources indicate the notorious international terrorist Ian Doyle was killed in a gun battle with law enforcement agents last week. Doyle has been connected to over a dozen terrorist activities in Europe and Asia and the murder of several families in the Washington/Virginia area two years ago. He was also implicated in the death of FBI Agent Emily Prentiss, daughter of Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss, who was assigned to investigate those murders. However, in a twist so strange it seems it's out of a Hollywood movie, it has been revealed that the agent who headed up the operation to take down Doyle was none other than Emily Prentiss. Our sources revealed that Agent Prentiss' death was staged to allow her the opportunity to work clandestinely to bring to justice one of the most dangerous men in the world. The FBI has indicated that they will be issuing a statement within the hour on this extraordinary operation."

Hotch's phone began to buzz and he blindly picked it up. He glanced down at it and saw a text message, but he could almost hear the derisive, smug tone of the man who sent it.

"The CIA so doesn't like it when their agents receive publicity."

Clyde Easter had just Valerie Plame'd Emily. And in doing so, had greatly de-valued her worth to Saville and the CIA. While Emily had many qualities Saville was looking for, her main attraction had been the fact that for all intents and purposes, Emily Prentiss was dead. Emily would have been able to move about more freely and clandestinely than other agents. But now, with her face and name plastered all over the news, she was practically worthless to the CIA, an agency whose agents needed their anonymity.

But even as Hotch's heart began to race knowing now that the CIA was no longer an option for Emily and likely no threat to him, a new worry began to invade his thoughts. By plastering Emily's face all over the news, did Easter suddenly draw a target on her back? Easter had spoken of other cases Emily had had during her time at the CIA. Did any of these old cases present a problem?

His phone began to ring and he saw JJ's name flash up on the screen.

"JJ?"

"Hotch! What the Hell is going on? Did you see the news?"

"I did. I'm as surprised as you are."

"The Bureau is going nuts. You haven't even submitted my paperwork, but they're already calling me back in to help handle this mess."

"If anyone can do it, JJ, it's you. I suspect they'll want to spin it as something the FBI had planned all along." Hotch rubbed his forehead wearily.

"Oh, you know they will. It's the only thing they can do without looking like idiots. But Hotch, who leaked this story to them?"

"I have my suspicions."

Clyde Easter sat down on the park bench next to the man who was feeding the squirrels from a bag of peanuts. A greedy pigeon, eyeing the food attempted to steal one peanut from a smaller squirrel, but the furry animal chattered and snapped viciously at his feathered competition, causing the larger, but less brave creature to take off flying. The squirrel picked up the peanut and scampered away.

"You really shouldn't be encouraging the vermin," Easter said distastefully as he watched the small creatures dart about.

"They add some character to our little meeting," the man said.

Easter snorted. "How clichéd. A meeting in the park, an old man feeding squirrels and birds. Very 1970s spy flick."

"Still effective," the man said as he finished distributing the rest of the peanuts. He dusted his hands and showed the squirrels the empty bag. "I saw the news. Good work."

"The various agencies are scrambling about now, trying to take control of this story," Easter replied. He turned to regard the man next to him. "It was rather a risk exposing her like that. I'm surprised you took it, considering she is your daughter."

Robert Jones turned to look at the Englishman. "Minimal risk, actually. Emily's previous cases with the CIA are long dead and buried with no one possibly interested in her. As for Doyle's people, if there's even anyone interested in her at all by this point, they already know about her existence."

Easter nodded. "I see your point. But why keep your involvement a secret? It is your idea. I noticed the hostility between you and Agent Hotchner. I'm sure this would go a long way to smoothing things over with him and your ex-wife."

"Oh, but that's what I don't want."

Easter blinked at him in surprise. "It's not?"

"No Clyde, you see, as long as they think I'm the unfeeling, cold-hearted bastard, those two, especially Agent Hotchner, will do everything they can to protect my little girl. They'll think I won't be there in any capacity, so they're going to try harder, to make up for me. Now, I can't dissuade Emily to not be in law enforcement, but I can sure as Hell make certain that wherever she's posted, she's got someone who'll protect her and watch her back no matter what." He gazed pointedly at Easter. "Unlike the last time."

Clyde nodded. "That was a complete fiasco. But you made him pay."

"Not enough," Jones snarled, the anger still evident even all these years later. "He had a few too many layers protecting him. I hope I haven't read Hotchner wrong."

"I don't think so," Easter said meditatively. He shook his head. "No, Hotchner would never do, what he did to her."

"He'd better not," Jones swore darkly, "Or Agent Hotchner will find himself in for a very unpleasant life."

"In this case though, you've made me into the hero of this scenario. Or goat," Easter said lightly.

"You seemed quite happy to take on that role."

"I did it for Emily," was Easter's simple response.

Jones looked closely at the man for a moment but then simply nodded. "I'm assuming you won't be sticking around?"

Easter shook his head. "I've been recalled back to England." He gave Jones a crooked smile. "I think it might be wise for me to leave before Agent Hotchner gets his hands on me."

"A very wise idea."

Easter stood up to leave but paused and looked down at Jones. "Do you think she'll go back? The BAU, I mean?"

Jones slowly nodded his head. "It's her calling, but it will take Aaron Hotchner to persuade her. My beloved daughter can be quite stubborn at times."

"And if he can't?"

"It wouldn't be good for him if he fails."

A/N 2: For those who don't know, Valerie Plame was a CIA operative whose cover was blown by the Bush Administration. Because of that, she had to resign from the Agency. But it also stood to reason that no one would be of use to the CIA as an agent if their face was plastered all over the news and if they were made out to be some national hero for taking down a terrorist. Also, yes, Emily's dad isn't all that bad either. He's just manipulative. And for all the talk about why Emily has these trust issues and what happened in the past, that's partly a set up for the sequel to this story. Just laying some groundwork here and throwing out some hints. Hope you enjoyed this part, and read and review when you have a chance. Thanks!