Chapter 14
They showered and packed in their rooms, leaving the hotel a little after 9, Emily left her room at the same time as her neighbour did. Smiling politely at the nondescript businessman he quickly averted his eyes from hers and hurried down the hall. Laughing to herself she shrugged and left to meet Hotch at the SUV. Settling herself in the passenger seat of the SUV she put her feet up on the dash.
Emily's phone rang about an hour into the drive.
"Hey JJ" She said, automatically putting the phone on speaker "we're still about three hours out, we got a late start"
"Well, I've sent through some case files for you to go over, we're probably going to go to Miami in the morning" She answered, forgoing a usual greeting.
"Ok, thanks Jayje, I'll download them now" She said, clicking through her phone to open the email app.
"So, late start huh?" JJ said, and Emily could hear the smirk in her voice
"Good morning Jennifer" Hotch said.
"Oh! Uh, good morning sir" Came the voice, flustered through the phone.
"We will look over the files when we get back" Hotch said and with a goodbye, Emily hung up.
"She really should take the profilers exams" He mused, and at that she laughed, nodding in agreement.
The rest of the drive back to Quantico was uneventful, Emily felt her muscles slowly stiffening in the car, resulting from the previous day's activities.
Arriving back at the office at 2 pm Hotch parked the car in the underground garage. He turned his head in the car and looked behind them, before leaning over the driver's seat and kissing her gently.
"Until next time?" He asked softly, rubbing his thumb across her lower lip.
"Don't make me wait so long" She answered, smiling, returning the kiss.
The Miami case was fast and violent, an unsub devolving into a spree meant the team didn't get much sleep.
They avoided each other as much as possible with the next few cases, Hotch volunteering to go speak at a seminar with Rossi just to get distance from her. He stopped himself from automatically making her coffee when he got himself one, from reaching out to brush the hair off her face when she was asleep on the plane.
Then it all went to hell in New York.
In the weeks following, Hotch couldn't remember much of the week they were there. He could only thread together JJ telling them she was pregnant, the intense ringing in his ears, with the slip of Kate's blood through his fingers, the scratch of the hospital gown, and seeing her body, broken and empty on the operating table. He stared for a long time at Kate's body, tears forming in the backs of his eyes, and reminded himself that this is what happens to the people he cared about.
The ringing in his ears didn't go away – staying at home for close to a month he had a constant headache, was edgy and tense and bored. He persuaded the doctor to allow him back in the field and almost immediately regretted his decision the minute the plane took off.
He knew the team all saw it – the grimace on his face as his ears popped. It got only worse when he lost it on scene at the noise of the machine used to dig up Ryan's grave.
He felt soft hands on his shoulders as he writhed in pain, trying to compose himself
"Can I do anything?" Emily was asking as her face slid into focus
"I'm ok" He said, pulling away and steadying himself. Forcing himself to avoid her gaze, feeling weak.
She watched him for the next few days – he was obviously in pain, but she couldn't figure out how to approach him. When she finally realised that the wounds on the victims were relating to constellations, she could have kicked herself – she felt guilty for not knowing sooner. Things moved quickly from there, and they ended up outside a victim's home. Emily was trying to distract her with the megaphone, and she noted Hotch twitch away from the sound.
The locals opened fire on the unsub, and he was immediately incapacitated – Rossi grabbing him as he almost collapsed. Emily looked over her shoulder after checking the unsub and saw him hunched over, in obvious pain. She forced her focus back into her job and managed to ignore the desire to help him, pouring herself into the wrap up of the case. She planned to sit next to him on the plane, keep a surreptitious eye on him on the flight back. So, when he handed her a box of homemade cookies and told them he would be driving back she acted surprised but was secretly relieved.
She nodded and hoped he took Rossi's advice and took the extra few days to drive back to Quantico.
When she got home that night, she dumped her stuff in the hallway and stretched. Her phone pinged with a text message. Opening it, expecting a photo of kittens from Penelope, as was her custom after a case, she was surprised to see a picture message from Hotch.
"Why do all hotels have this wallpaper?" With his finger pointing at the ugly beige textured walls
She smiled and typed her reply
"It's ugly in all 50 states – where are you?"
"Still in Ohio – I'll be back on Monday"
"I think that's a good idea"
"Glad you approve Prentiss – get some rest"
For the rest of the week, her phone would occasionally ping with a picture from him, a weird thing he found at a gas station, the sunset at the budget motel he was in. She always smiled when she saw them, it seemed like he was picking random things in his life and thinking to himself "Emily would like this" and sharing it with her. It made her feel seen, as he was correct in every instance.
He got back to the office on Monday and was Hotch again – greeting them all with a nod when they gathered.
"Reid – you and Prentiss are going to Colorado; we've had a call for our assistance in establishing an abuse case at a compound"
"Cult?" Prentiss asked, looking at the file he handed her
"Not officially – but the leader is Benjamin Cyrus, charismatic and religious"
"We shouldn't go as law enforcement" Reid said, turning to Emily, having already read the file in the minutes since Hotch had handed it to him.
"Agreed, we can figure out a strategy on the way there" Emily said and left to get her bags.
They were taking it easy in the compound – they thought they had time. And then the shooting started.
Hotch felt fear when he pulled up to the scene. He knew Reid and Prentiss would be working as hard as they could to temper the leader of the cult, but he didn't know if they were already dead.
He listened on headphones as Emily offered herself as a sacrifice for Reid. The sounds of her being beaten brought tears to his eyes and for the first time in his career, he felt his composure crumble. He wanted to run in there, save her, help her, step in front of the fists and make it stop. He took his headphones off and shook his head, refusing to face the reality of her being hurt under his care.
It was Dave who pulled him back in, staring him directly in the eye as if to say, "You have to trust her, listen to her, you can do this." And he managed to hear the rest of it – the sick sounds of fists connecting to skin interspersed with Emily saying she could take it. The sound of shattering glass and her grunts as she was kicked in the ribs went through him like knives. But he trusted her, and they came out of it as good as they could
When it was over, he watched her pull Reid into a hug, the flames in the background of the destroyed compound threw her injuries in stark relief. She held Reid and stroked the back of his hair as tears cascaded down her face, Hotch stood off to the side and stared at her, trying to figure out how hurt she was.
She met his eye and offered him a small smile, reassuring. He ushered her into the ambulance they had waiting. She did not protest.
He sat silently with her in the back with the paramedics, watching them check her pupils for response, blood pressure and draw blood, resisting the urge to reach out and take her hand. She was taken for X-Rays and a precautionary MRI, but the doctors told him they most they expected was bad bruising, and maybe a broken orbital socket. At the very least she was going to be sore for quite a few days, and the bruises would likely take weeks to disappear.
He was able to get her discharged under his care and they got on the plane back to Quantico. As soon as they were in the air she went to Reid. He overheard her tell him that it wasn't his fault, and he was amazed at the tenderness in her voice as she gently coaxed a smile out of him.
Hotch was sitting on the end of the couch, paperwork spread out next to him as he filled out the forms for an agent injured in the line of duty. Emily curled up on the other end and quickly fell asleep, the rest of the team following suit soon after.
He put down the paperwork and looked at her – dark bruises on her eye and cheek, a bloody split in her lip and felt a twinge deep in his abdomen. She had been given painkillers at the hospital and was fast asleep. He stared at her, the dried blood on her lip making the backs of his eyes sting.
"I can feel you staring" She said quietly, opening one swollen eye and looking at him with a soft smile.
"You're taking two weeks off"
"Hotch you heard the Drs, no broken bones or internal bleeding, I'm totally fine"
"Wasn't a question Emily. Take time off." He said shortly, returning his eyes to the paperwork as she gave a huff of indignation
"And if I say no?" She snapped, anger curling in her belly like a snake.
"Then I will suspend you" He snapped back, his temper rising
"So it's ok for you to work with a damaged eardrum, but because delicate little flower me has a few bruises I get punished?" Her voice was rising, resentment threaded through each word.
"No, Emily. I want you to rest. You're hurt and you need to recover, and some time away from the bullpen will not kill you" He sighed deeply and flicked his eyes from the paper to see her still looking at him, her gaze defiant
"I've already filled out the paperwork – you don't have a choice" he said, signing his name at the bottom of the file and picking up another.
"Fine." She huffed. Putting her head back down on the couch she looked around the plane and saw the rest of the team asleep. She looked at Hotch, signing the papers in front of him and noticed he looked exhausted, deep circles under his eyes, his skin sallow. The anger relaxed and immediately gave way to worry. She sat up, hugging her knees and looked at him.
"Aaron are you ok?" She whispered, keeping her voice low in case anyone was feigning sleep
"I didn't like that" He responded, matching her low register.
"Well it was no picnic to go through" She said and let out a short laugh before grabbing her ribs, wincing. "I felt the same when you were hurt"
"I know, but listening to you get hurt like that and not being able to do anything, and hear you tell us to not do anything was rough" He said, deliberately focusing on the papers in front of him, trying to control his facial muscles.
"I know, I'm sorry" She offered, and he looked at her, puzzled.
"Emily it wasn't your fault – you took it because otherwise, they were going to kill you both. You protected Reid. You did what you had to do." He said, struggling to praise her for taking a beating.
"We have that in common then – this whole team protects him when we can" Emily said, letting her gaze drift to the sleeping doctor, his face looking impossibly young in sleep.
"Will you please take the time off" He said again, a pleading tone to his voice.
"Fine, but only a week." She slumped back onto the lounge and shut her eyes, Hotch going back to his paperwork.
She reluctantly took the next week off – and entertained herself by sending pictures to Hotch of how she was keeping busy.
'made cold brew coffee – never tell Garcia'
'can you ask Rossi to come and teach me to cook please'
Hotch always grinned at these, laughing at the photo of a badly burnt grilled cheese accompanying the request for Dave's help.
She came back to work when the bruises were yellowed and fading, her ribs completely healed. She caught up on her paperwork and joked with Derek, but noticed that Hotch was often staring at her from his office. He said nothing, but she could feel his eyes on her as she worked.
It was quiet in the BAU for the next few weeks, Emily's bruises healed and disappeared, Hotch was locked in a budgetary dispute with Strauss. They took the time in the office seriously at first, seizing the rare opportunity to complete all their annual tasks, medical, physical, firearms certification. After 4 weeks they had were back to offsite consultations and stuck in the office on call. They all got edgy as a team without an active case, feeling stifled in the bullpen together. Morgan and Reid inevitably started a prank war, causing Emily to alternate between JJ and Garcia's office lest she be caught by another paper aeroplane or physics missile.
She was pacing in circles around JJ's office on a Friday afternoon when JJ finally snapped.
"Emily. Sit. Down" She snapped, not looking up from her file
"Sorry – I'm just tense, I don't like having nothing to do" She sprawled in a chair, picking up a file from JJ's desk.
"I know you don't. But take it as a positive. We have weekends off – go to a bar, get laid, do something" JJ replied, glaring at Emily over the top of her file.
"You're right. I should do something productive, go salsa dancing or something"
JJ nodded and turned back to her paperwork. Emily took her file back to the bullpen and finished her work, dodging another poorly made paper aeroplane.
Despite her promise to JJ she still found herself bored on the weekend. She spent Saturday cleaning and rearranging her apartment before deciding to go to the FBI shooting range for target practice. She spent a few hours unloading clip after clip into paper targets, working on her precision aiming, quick draw and multiple target aim. She shot until she felt an ache in her shoulders and went home, grabbing a sandwich from a gas station as a late lunch.
She got back to her apartment and slumped onto her couch. Still bored, she considered texting JJ and offering to help paint the nursery when her phone buzzed, lighting up with a text message. "Thank god" She thought, grabbing her phone and hoping for a case.
"Do you have plans tonight?" From Hotch.
"No plans, what's the case?" She responded, eager for something to do.
"No case"
"Then what?"
"8.00?"
Emily raised her eyebrows, the short message telling her everything she needed to know. She smiled to herself, now she had something to do.
"I'll be there"