~~~~~CM~~~~~

Morning came, and he still had Emily clutched in his arms. She woke with her eyes bloodshot and swollen from crying herself to sleep.

"I know it's early, but I wanted to talk about last night." He instantly saw a flash of sadness in her eyes before she quickly transformed her face into a more neutral expression. She only did that with strangers and suspects. It was a skill that Aaron had admired in her but not when it was directed at him.

"I understand, Aaron. I really do." She slowly pushed away from him while to trying to scoot to the other side of the bed.

"No, you don't. Please, let me say this. I love you, and I love Liam,so I am not going anywhere."

Her body shook as silent tears fell in relief. He gently wiped them away as he continued, "This is going to be difficult for me; not knowing. But I trust you. Implicitly." He kissed her forehead, and then lifted her chin so that he could see into her eyes, "I want to marry you and be Liam's father, no matter how difficult it will be. Even if I cannot legally adopt him. You, Liam, Jack and I. We will be a family."

Throwing her arms around him, she sobbed as she peppered his face with kisses. The ringing of his phone ruined the moment, and they both laughed as it broke the tension.

It was Strauss. Aaron said "Yes, Ma'am," his whole demeanor visibly changing as she notified him of a multiple agency taskforce heading into the BAU. He dressed quickly as he filled Emily in.

"Em, it's going to be a full house today. We have the CIA, DHS, Interpol, and local police coming in. An internationally terrorist was spotted in DC."

She followed him down the stairs and handed him a plain bagel and his tie as he headed out the door with his shirt unbuttoned, "I'll drop off Liam and be there soon."

Aaron drove through the empty streets, traffic was light at 6:00 am. He knew Emily would just be waking up Liam,and getting herself dressed before dropping him off with Louise. Knowing her, she was now debating canceling her vacation to Greece. He would have to convince her to leave the office this evening, despite the international case, so she could head to the airport with Louise and the boys.

~~~~~CM~~~~~

Aaron directed the various agency leads into the conference room as they arrived. He counted three FBI section chiefs, two CIA agents, four Homeland Security agents, three Interpol agents, and two local police captains.

The Interpol Director, Clyde Easter, ran down the information on a former IRA arms dealer turned International Terrorist. Ian Doyle escaped from prison four months ago, crossing through Asia and into Europe. Now he was criss crossing the United States. New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and as of yesterday, Washington D.C.

Glancing through the doorway, Aaron watched as agents, detectives, and police officers gathered in the bullpen. Huddled together by agency, waiting for their orders.

"Do you know his intended target?" Asked the Virginia State Police Captain.

Clyde cleared his throat, "Much of the information is classified, but we believe he is targeting a small group of people located here in Quantico. He has already murdered three Interpol agents and their families in a quest for information on this group. His profile indicates that he will not stop and anyone who gets in his way is at risk."

Aaron stood up and recapped the assignments by agency. As everyone headed to the bullpen to address their staff; the Interpol director stayed behind.

"Agent Hotchner, I'd like a word with Emily. Privately." Easter's British accent was clipped, his face serious.

Aaron's eyebrows went up, "Why do you need to speak to a member of my team privately?"

Standing side by side in the doorway, they scanned the bullpen; their eyes landing on the tall pretty brunette. She was speaking to a delivery boy, accepting a large bouquet of purple flowers, leaving Aaron questioning 'who would be sending Emily flowers?'

Around her, Interpol agents and police officers were pinning up photos of the dead families, known accomplices, travel visas, hotel receipts, and maps. JJ was on the phone, alerting the media as Garcia began uploaded Doyle's photograph to the monitors around the bullpen.

Slowly turning around and taking in her surroundings, Emily dropped the bouquet, ripping open the envelope. Her hands shook as all color left her face.

Aaron rushed across the room, pushing Rossi out of his way. He arrived at her side just in time to catch her as her knees began to buckle.

Easter was on his heels, aggressively grabbing the note from her hand as Aaron set her down in a chair. The BAU team huddled in close.

"Emily," Aaron called to her. She was completely unresponsive. Her eyes frozen, wide open in fear. "Emily," he repeated louder.

She blinked, and looked right through him, chilling him to the bone. She pushed him aside as she stood up. Taking two long strides, she stopped in front of the Interpol Director. In one smooth move, Emily pulled the note from his hand and sucker punched him in the mouth, knocking his head backwards before sweeping his legs with her foot; she laid him out on the floor.

"BAU Team, Ian Doyle is at my house. Garcia, get SWAT and paramedics over there now." She stepped over Easter. "JJ, get ready to put out Amber Alert on Liam and Declan."

The team scrambled, Morgan began shouting out instructions as they ran for the door. Aaron followed close behind. She handed him the note, and said softly, "This is the moment, the reason that I need you to trust me."

Aaron looked at the note, the paper slipped revealing a photograph of Declan and Liam. Startled by what he saw, Aaron wondered how he had never realized the truth that was right in front of his face.

The boys were a photo negative of each other. They had their curly heads tilted towards each other, Declan had his arm around Liam. A mirror image, one with blonde hair and the other with black hair. Both with matching facial structures and bright blue eyes.

The same bright blue eyes of former IRA captain, arms dealer, international terrorist, and high security prison escapee, Ian Doyle.

~~~~~CM~~~~~

A/N: This chapter is un-beta'd; all mistakes are mine.

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