A/N: Hey everyone, hope you've had an awesome Christmas. Got a short chapter coming your way, mostly entailing their thoughts for this episode (3x10). See you all in the next chapter and once again thanks for reading if you have gotten this far lol.

Late November 2007

"Life is one hell of a thing to happen to somebody." -David Rossi.

This was the first case Emily had experienced where the unsub didn't know he'd committed those horrid murders. It had been bugging her all day, realising that somebody so successful had every potential to deteriorate into a psychotic killer.

Even worse, a killer who didn't know they were killing.

This poor man had lost his fiancée right in front of him; her body, ripped apart, sliced, and disposed of like trash. Losing anybody you cared about was devastating, whether it be through a disease or tragedy. Still, to witness the pain and torture they endured in their final moments… That was bound to make anybody go insane.

No amount of compartmentalisation could prevent Emily from feeling the anguish Johnny McHale must have endured. In a split second, life took a turn for the worst and everything he'd ever worked for… Ruined. His fiancée's death began the downfall of his career, the decline of his mental health and inevitably the destruction of his life.

His series of vivid delusions and fantasies were the only ways Johnny McHale could cope with his loss, and it terrified Emily. After falling in love with Devon, Emily couldn't imagine stumbling down the same road as the unsub without this sinking feeling in her stomach. Devon completed her, gave the brunette a sense of fulfilment that no other man in her life had ever given. And the simple thought of him dying in front of her was enough to haunt Emily.

She was afraid of losing Devon.

Some days, the most challenging part of her job was coming to terms with the reality of people's situation. Murders… Deaths… Loss of freedom. And Emily just felt sorry for them. It could happen in any place at any time to anybody.

And no matter how much one prepares for the worst when it actually hits, the pain must feel excruciating.

Hotch tried to push back the tears pooling in his eyes at the back of the jet. Never in his life had he felt so much emotion bottled up. Somebody could punch him in the gut, and Aaron would fall to the ground without a fight. This separation… Divorce… Whatever you wanted to call it… It was a concept that Hotch didn't think he'd ever have to go through, and now that it was actually happening, everything felt out of his control.

Aaron had done everything he could to salvage the relationship. At first, Hotch thought giving Haley a few weeks to herself would help change her mind. Then, it was many conversations attempting to convince her to come back. And as a last resort, he had suggested to Haley maybe they should go to a family therapist- to which Haley screwed her nose up. Hotch wasn't a great fan of therapy either, but he didn't know what else to do.

After every little thing he'd tried, what Haley wanted had become Crystal clear.

She wouldn't return.

Somehow, he'd held himself together for these long months, hopeful that his marriage would come right. There were conversations Hotch had with Haley that gave him the slightest glimmer of hope, a little smile, a simple word. But he had been so wrong… And now Aaron couldn't even describe what the feeling in his gut. Whether he felt the emotional wrath of his life or felt nothing at all, Hotch could not distinguish the difference.

Jack became the centre of his attention; his poor little boy. A boy who would grow up like Aaron did in a split family. Moving between each parents' house, growing up confused, struggling for one parents' attention over the other. It's not the sort of life he envisioned for Jack when he first arrived into this awful world.

No, Aaron wanted Jack to be a normal kid and be raised in a two-parent household. He wanted his son to jump on him in the mornings as he snuggled into Haley and take the two of them on vacation to Europe where they could explore a different side to the world. Hotch had all these visions and dreams for his son, and with the separation, most if not all of them were slowly fading grey.

So much anger clung onto him like a leech sucking human blood. How dare she leave him and not think about Jack… How dare she break them apart and destroy their little boy's childhood.

He was only two for heaven's sake… Far too young for his innocent life to be thrown to shreds.

But then as Hotch thought about it, it wasn't Haley's fault they'd split apart. How dare he blame her for all the hardship he'd caused his family… Haley had done nothing but devote her life to Jack. She wanted the boy to have as much a happy childhood as Hotch wanted, however, the man had utterly ruined any opportunity of that happening.

What a terrible father that made him…

He'd eavesdropped on the conversation between Prentiss and Dave across the other side of the jet and his words, "Life is one hell of a thing to happen to someone," couldn't have resonated with Hotch more.

He let out a breathy sigh, not knowing what on earth to do with himself. He felt so lost… So ungrounded… Empty. To make matters worse, Haley had not answered his many calls, so he hadn't had a chance to talk to his little guy. He loved hearing Jack's voice. On his darkest days, merely listening to the tiniest whimper or breath soothed him and put the most extraordinary beam on his face. The boy had given him a purpose to live and had made him appreciate the value of having a child.

They were so innocent and naïve… Somebody wise once said that parents don't teach their children, children teach their parents. And one thing Jack had taught Hotch had been that family is a complicated web of secrets, disappointments and lies tying everybody together. He wasn't entirely sure whether the boy understood the changes in his life, well… He probably wouldn't have noticed Hotch being away more. Seeing as though he literally had grown up with Hotch weaving in and out of his life.

Rossi plopped himself down opposite him. The Italian intertwined his fingers together and rested his hands on his stomach, watching the dark-haired man drown in his sorrows.

Something Rossi had noticed on the past few cases was that the team's energy had slowly diminished. First, it had been Prentiss… And now he had Hotch to contend with. It didn't take an expert profiler to know what bothered him. "That bad, huh?"

Hotch shook his head, glancing over to JJ and Reid just across from him. He wasn't interested in talking about his personal life with his entire team inches away from him. Well… He wasn't interested in talking about it full stop, but Hotch knew that at some point, he would have to.

Everything was eating him up alive.

So, Hotch stood up, walking into the back room, and started brewing himself a coffee. Rossi followed him in moments later, leaning up against the counter. "Dave, I… I don't really know what to say."

The Italian simply nodded, crossing his arms together. "You don't have to know right at this moment. But I can only assume that this is about Haley…" Hotch stared blankly at the paper cup in front of him.

"I don't understand how you've gone through this 10 times…"

The man held up three fingers, "3 times…"

Hotch rolled his eyes, even stifling a tiny chuckle, "Okay… 3 times." He paused, pouring in hot water, "She's definitely not interested in fixing this, Dave…" He added a lot more sombrely.

Rossi had no words to say and instead patted the man on the back.

"Stay strong Aaron… It will get better, I promise…"