Kate Callahan knew that she was in trouble, and when Cantor and Gardiner finally entered, she was ready for the worst.

But they surprised her. "You've done undercover work before, yes?" Cantor asked, without preamble.

Taken off guard, she nodded. "Yeah, for years. We all know this."

"I have an assignment for you, and I need you to do a deep fake," he said. "That's the reason we detained you."

"I am...so confused," she admitted, and Gardiner slid a folder across the table. "You realize I'm still handcuffed, right?" The sarcasm was deep in her voice, and Gardiner had the decency to flush.

"I'm not going to pretend that I like the BAU, or Agent Hotchner's methods," Cantor said. "But we need your assistance on this matter. As soon as it is taken care of you can return to normal life. But until then, we can't reveal anything to your team. It will only jeopardize things."

She'd been in Andi's unit so long that this was almost par for the course. "So you're saying this was all made up," she stated. "As long as I do this for you I can return to my team."

"Yes," he said. "It's fairly simple. I just need you to talk to someone, and finish a deal that's been years in the making."

"Can I at least tell Hotch what's going on?" She asked, knowing what the answer would be.

"We can't let that happen," Gardiner said. "We've been setting this up for a long time, and we need a disgraced FBI agent."

"Why me?" She wondered.

"We've been infiltrating a mafia family for the past few years," Cantor said. "But they want connections, and they want a dirty FBI agent who will help them out. With your years of undercover work in Swann's unit, I thought you'd be perfect for the job."

"There are so many other agents you could have gone to, this doesn't make sense," she said.

"Let's just say this family will appreciate ties to the BAU," Cantor said.

"That still doesn't make sense, the BAU investigates serial killers and bombers, we study behavior" Kate said, shaking her head. "We have nothing to do with organized crime."

"Correct," Gardiner said. "But one of the sons is fascinated by the BAU, I guess he saw them on the news. We need an in, SSA Callahan."

Kate inhaled deeply. Would she regret teaming up with them? "I'm in."

Kate stood alone in an empty room in the Interpol offices at Quantico, one leg nervously shaking up and down. She didn't usually have a nervous tic, but the past few days had amped up her anxiety considerably.

She'd been stopped by Interpol agents just as she'd been about to leave for her undercover mission, and she didn't feel good about this. It was then that the door opened, and Clyde Easter walked in. "SSA Callahan," he said. "Care to explain where you've been the past few days?"

Kate moved in her chair, unsure how to answer this.

"The BAU has been led to believe that you committed suicide in the interrogation room your first night there," he continued. "Agent Hotchner is quite frantic."

"That was just my cover," she said. "He didn't really give me a choice, I was left in that room alone for hours, and then he said I had to take this undercover assignment. I said yes, because he said that after I was finished, I'd be able to return to normal life."

"Well, he was lying," Easter said simply. "We think, we're still investigating. So far as we can tell, Cantor was trying to use your death to trick Hotchner into tipping his hand. He's been trying to take over the BAU for years, and he got quite close this time."

Kate shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Think about it like this," Easter said. "Hotchner would have done the same for any member of his team, but there's a reason Cantor chose you."

"I was the weak link," Kate said, feeling it like a punch in the gut. "I was the newest member, the most vulnerable."

"You weren't a weak link," Easter said. "But Cantor was using the fact that you two, well, have feelings for each other. So you were Hotchner's Achilles heel, so to speak, but never a weak link." He stood up, buttoning his jacket.

Kate wasn't sure what to say, wasn't sure where to go from here. "So...now what?"

"There likely will be a full investigation into your actions during the kidnapping case," Easter said. "But for right now, I have a car outside waiting to take you anywhere you need to go for tonight. We can worry about the next step tomorrow."

Kate's stood up as well. "One more thing. How did you find me?"

"I talked to Andi Swann," he said, folding his arms. "And it sounds like even when you're forced into hiding, you have distinct patterns." He almost smiled at her. "She and Ashley helped us put together a list of places you'd go before contacting the mob."

"But how did you know about that? If Cantor hasn't confessed to anything?"

"We've been pursuing that same target for years," he said. "And we planted the man who asked for a BAU agent. We've been waiting for Cantor to slip up for years."

Kate left the building with her hands shoved in her pockets, looking at the black SUV parked outside. She was about to approach it when the driver got out, and walked around to the front of the car, wearing his signature long black coat.

"SSA Callahan," Hotch said, his face serious. "I'd begun to think this moment wouldn't come." He took his cell phone out of his pocket. "Hang on, I promised Garcia I'd send a picture."

A smile lit her face, as he snapped the picture, and as he lowered his phone, she could see the smile on his own face.

"Oh my god, Kate," he breathed, and stepped forward. She met him halfway, and he wrapped her in his arms, bending over her. She leaned up to meet his lips, and kissing Hotch was better than she'd ever imagined it could be.

His lips were hungry, seeking, and his arms were tight around her. He lifted her up, straightening, and she squeaked, wrapping her legs around his waist to hold on. He spun her around, pinning her against the SUV, and then finally pulled back, one hand coming up to caress her face.

"I thought you were dead," he said. "And when Easter told me to come pick up a ride, I wanted it to be you, but it's been three days, Kate. I was terrified it was all over."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I should have been more stubborn, I should have tried to get to you, but they took my phone, and I really couldn't tell how far Cantor would go."

"We can talk about it all later," he whispered, voice soft, and leaned to kiss her again, lingering and slow this time. "I couldn't stop thinking about kissing you, the whole way here. I was not going to let you get away again."

She kissed him back, escalating it until they were both gasping. "It's time to take me home, Aaron," she whispered.

He grinned back, holding tight. "I like the sound of that."

"I thought you would," she said.