A/N: Sorry that this final chapter has taken so long to be uploaded, I actually have been working on another Hotchniss fanfic which I will be uploading within coming weeks. So yes, this is the last and final chapter for this story. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it and I hope you all have enjoyed reading it. Again, thanks for the reviews you all have submitted... They really have kept me going and helped me finish this story. I hope to see you all soon in future fanfics! Thanks, everyone!

Flashes of beautiful light swirled around her; dazzling shades of violet, bright neon green, the mellowest of yellows. Then they all combined to form one big ball of white light. Holding her hands in front of her eyes, she tried shielding it. However, it was impossible to keep it out. After what seemed like hours, the white light started to fade, and two figures emerged; their silhouettes making their way into her vision.

They were tiny, and as they came closer, they grew larger. She started to make sense of their facial features, with their thin nose and dark eyes identical to her own. They were wearing silky white dresses, holding a bouquet of flowers in each of their hands.

Then, suddenly, they disappeared into the white light again. It began to fade, and immediately, she was shrouded in complete darkness.

It was impossible to describe what he felt as he saw her lying there motionless on the bed, with the gentle pulsing of the bedside monitor beeping repeatedly in his ear. The air conditioning in the room hummed, and although the breeze felt nice on his skin, he found himself shivering slightly.

He felt the phone vibrating in his pocket, it was Rossi calling. "Hotch! Are you okay? Is Emily okay? I only just heard about what had happened…"

Aaron nodded slowly to himself, replying, "Yeah, she is okay… Thank God." He stood up, standing outside the room as to not wake up his former partner sleeping soundly. "She's been knocked out for a couple hours Dave. Whatever they did to her…" His breath caught at the thought of what had happened, it made him feel sick to his stomach. "She's not good…"

Dave simply nodded on the other line. "I'm so sorry… She will be in great care up there, Aaron. I'll be up within the hour. Is there anything that I can do for you?"

The boss shook his head and leaned against the doorway, looking in sullenly at the sleeping brunette. "No Dave, I don't even want the kids to see her like this…" The girls would be so upset seeing their mother all broken and bruised.

"Okay." He replied simply. "Take care…"

"I will…" he shoved the phone back in his pocket and returned to Emily's bedside, grasping her injured hand gently. "I'm so sorry, Em…" It was all he could muster.

A short time later, her eyes fluttered open. At first, a white ceiling clouded her vision, and it took her a moment to realise all that had occurred. After realising she was stuck at a hospital, her eyes glanced around the room, Aaron stood above her, smoothing his hand over her forehead.

Emily could have freaked out there and then, but she remained calm, feeling soothed by the softness of his touch. Everything in her body felt sore… Even to wiggle her toes made her whimper in pain. Removing the oxygen mask from her face, she felt liberated to breathe. "Aaron…"

He shushed her, telling her to conserve energy. Emily didn't want to be quiet, though. Memories as a teenager mixed with memories from her career. She felt like she was dreaming, yet everything felt so vivid, so real. "What… What… Happened?"

Aaron sat down, pulling the chair closer to the bed, his hand cradled the crown of her head. "They're gone now… The blackmailers…" A blank expression greeted him, and she blinked. However, he saw a single tear ride down the curve of her pale cheek. He wiped it away gently. "You made them go away, Emily…"

She closed her eyes and leant as far back into her pillow as much as she could, stifling a moan. Her body ached and ached. Aaron seemed to sense this and rubbed a soothing hand over her arm. "Just rest Em… I know that it hurts."

"The kids…" She whispered, suddenly remembering them. "Please tell me they are okay?"

Hotch reassured her, "they are perfectly fine."

Emily sucked in a shallow breath, "I need… To see them."

"They will be here soon. Just drift off to sleep… Get some rest."

"I can't rest… I just want to see my babies. I want to see them now. Please… Please can you bring them in."

Hotch tried with all his might to change the subject, "Emily. Trust me, you don't want them to see you like this."

She slowly nodded and muttered, "I know but… I miss them…" The brunette's bottom lip trembled as she glanced into his hazel eyes.

Hotch leant in closer, whispering into her ear, "Em- "

"Aaron. Please don't prolong the torture any more… I've already suffered enough." Emily begged with tears freely rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't have cared less about whatever else had been happening in the world. All she craved right now were her babies safely in her arms.

Hotch looked on sadly at Emily laying powerless in the bed. He supposed it would brighten her day to bring the kids in, so he whispered, "I'll ask Jessica to bring them in." The woman nodded happily and wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Thank you…" She barely whispered.

"Dad!" Both girls shouted down the hospital corridor, running down towards Aaron.

Hotch caught both in each arm and knelt, placing a long and gentle kiss to each of their foreheads. After the anxiety, worry and drama of the last few days, it felt so reassuring to have them safely in his arms, "My girls…" He smiled up to Jessica, who caught up.

Bailey snuggled into her father's shirt, "We've been so worried about Mom, is she okay? Can we see her? What about Penelope?"

Hotch held up a hand, "Okay, okay, one question at a time. Mom and Penelope are both okay."

"But?" Madison asked with fear in her eyes.

"But she got into a fight with the bad guys and suffered some injuries."

A moment of silence passed as the girls processed what he had told them, "What sort of injuries?" Madison whispered with obvious concern plastered in her expression.

"A concussion… Bruising… I just want you to know that she is going to be a bit emotional and a bit out of it because the doctors have been giving her lots of medicine to help with her pain." Madison tried keeping her eyes wide open as tears threatened to fall and Hotch pulled her body close to his, "My girl… It's okay. She's going to be okay." Aaron tried to reassure the girl.

It broke his heart, knowing everything these girls had gone through and now they had to visit their mother with all sorts of injuries. Aaron knew that things could have gone way worse, but still, seeing a loved one in the hospital looking so weak and fragile brought a tear to anyone's eye.

"I know… It's just scary."

He rubbed a hand over her back, "Yes, my girl… It's scary, indeed. Should we go see her now?" Everyone nodded, and Hotch guided them safely to Emily's room, resting a hand on each of their shoulders.

When they first entered the room, Emily instantly felt lighter, "My babies…" She practically cried, reaching an arm out to them.

Madison lingered next to Hotch a moment longer while Bailey wasted no time in sitting up next to her mother, "Mommy…" She whispered, burying her face into the crevasse of her neck.

Emily kissed the tip of her hair before whispering, "I'm so happy to see you all… I feel so much happier now…" After getting used to seeing her mother look so battered and bruised, Madison carefully made her way up to the bed, snuggling close to Emily.

"Mom, your head…"

Emily had forgotten a side of her forehead had to be patched up, "It's not as bad as it looks Madi… What did you guys do while I was away?" She asked, wanting to change the subject away from her injuries.

Bailey piped up, "We made a fort, watched Forest Gump, ate brownies and muffins."

Emily felt a huge sense of relief that they had been distracted. "It sounds like you had so much fun."

Bailey's eyes softened, and she asked, "When are you coming out of hospital, mom?"

Hotch made eye contact with Emily's tired eyes and leant back against the wall, crossing his arms together. In his mind, Emily would be here until he knew that she was ready to go.

"I don't know honey… Whenever the doctors say that I'm better."

Madison's head fell to the pillow, and she whispered, "It's not fair that they hurt you…"

Emily nodded, "sometimes, you have to get hurt really bad to stay alive. And you know what, I'd get hurt over and over again if it meant protecting you from those bad men." Her children meant everything to her.

"Do you know what the best part about the bad guys being gone?" Hotch added from the wall.

"We can do whatever we want!" Bailey shouted excitedly. Aaron sat down on the edge of the bed, rolling his eyes.

"Within reason."

"And we won't have to be separated again… Right, mom? I don't want to go back to London… I like everything here." Madison said gravely.

Emily brushed a hand through her daughters head before pecking her on the cheek, "no honey, we don't have to go back to London… However, I will need to go over to move everything back here." The girls nodded, smiling slightly at the prospect of a family reunited. "I promise that we'll never separate you ever again…"

Aaron motioned for the girls to jump off the bed, "Come on my princesses, your mom needs to rest."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Aaron asked her soothingly 5 days later. Emily, who had been busy reading a book, glanced up and let out a breathy sigh. She had denied what had happened for as long as she could because she just couldn't bring herself to relive her injuries. "Please Emily… It will help us both move on."

She snapped the book shut and stared out the window, gazing at a dazzling sunset. The hospital had been fantastic looking after her, but it had been getting to the point where Emily wanted to leave. She yearned to be home with her girls and Jack. The concussion had virtually vanished, and the only reason she'd been staying was due to intravenous antibiotics for an infected hand.

Hotch continued, "who were these guys that hurt you?" Aaron sat beside her on the bed, reaching out for her hand, which was still healing. He clasped it gently, letting his thumb caress the crevasses and broken skin.

Emily cocked her head to the side and let her eyes fall to the bedsheets, "Marcus Finch…" She whispered. "I don't… I never…" Letting out a breathy sigh, she muttered, "I don't know what I ever did to make him angry."

She'd been going through her head repeatedly why Marcus had chosen her. What had his deal been? Why had he destroyed the family? And then there was Tomas, who had been a sidekick. Someone who didn't desire to hurt her but did anyway. Hotch nodded, "You met Marcus at high school?"

"Yes..." She closed her eyes, "obviously, I was somebody who he took a liking to… But I don't think we'll ever know what went through his mind. And I don't want to know, Aaron. I really don't…" Aaron kissed her on the forehead before cupping her cheek with one hand, "I know you used to tell us back in the early days that the best way to profile someone is to get into their mind…" She shook her head, "don't make me dig my way into his mind."

"He's a nasty psycho that ruined our family life, of course, I'm not going to force you to understand what he's thinking."

"He wanted something more from me… And I didn't give it to him. That's all I want you to know about him." Emily said with cold ire in her eyes. "I know that this is impossible to forget, I just want to move on Aaron. I want to be with you and the kids. I want to raise them and protect them from everything." A tear rolled down her cheek. "Can't we just be a family?"

Aaron moved in closer, embracing her body and pecking a slow kiss to her neck, "we are a family Emily…" He moved to her lips, gently pulling on them with his teeth while she closed her eyes and inhaled his unique cologne.

In between kisses, she whispered, "I know… We have such beautiful girls, don't we?"

"Two beautiful girls that brought us all together again."

- Finished-