Chapter 8: True Night

Emily sighed, opening the door to the storage room in the basement of her parent's house. She had one job tonight: to clear things out so that Zac could bring his belongings back from college and store them until he got back from some travels abroad.

How had this happened so quickly? She was about to be the mother of a college graduate! Emily groaned – good lord she felt old. Although, she really wasn't… she huffed… she just had her baby when she was still a foetus herself. Emily rolled her eyes and reached up to open a box of Zac's old clothes. T-shirts of his from their travels, sentimental keepsakes that were really just taking up space. Emily's own home was relatively free of any collections of this kind, but she always felt like she should keep Zac's childhood belongings in case he wanted to hold onto them.

Where else would he get a t-shirt for a four year old that had the words "Krav Maga" in Hebrew?

Emily paused when she pulled out the onesie that he'd worn home from the hospital – it was light green with a giraffe on it.

Emily was never sentimental, that was her mother's doing. But she was happy to reminisce, and holding this little bodysuit took her all the way back to 1986. Holding Zac for the first time, watching his eyes when he started to recognise everything around him, holding his hands while he took his first steps, walking him into the classroom on his first day of school, teaching him how to cannonball… so many memories.

And now the tiny baby who fit into this onesie was graduating from college.

Even though she'd been standing in the room, holding that onesie for at least five minutes, Emily suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotions. She stepped back and sat on the edge of a large plastic crate, holding the onesie in one hand and running her fingers over the giraffe image. She couldn't believe how tiny Zac had been once, and she wondered if maybe she should do it again… Emily huffed and shook her head… not that she had anyone offering to help her with a second attempt at motherhood. But maybe one day, she'd want to try again.

Emily stood up and folded the onesie again, slipping it into her purse. She wasn't sure why she was keeping it, but the thought of giving it away made her heart hurt.

"Find anything to get rid of?"

Emily smiled at the sound of his voice and turned to find her father standing in the doorway.

"Dad!" she exclaimed, leaning over the crate to give her father a hug, "How the heck are ya?"

"I'm great, sweetheart," Simon replied, squeezing Emily tight, "How are you?"

Emily shrugged and held up the quilt that used to occupy Zac's crib, pouting dramatically.

"Memories, hey?" Simon asked, and Emily nodded, "Time has just disappeared," he continued, "One day he's falling asleep on my chest and the next he's graduating from college and taking an internship at the WHO."

Emily chuckled and nodded, turning back to the boxes. Any more along this line of conversation and her carefully constructed walls would come crumbling down. If anyone could break her resolve and the tenuous hold she had on her emotions, it was her dad. Her mother - their relationship was improving, but her father was her go-to guy for any secrets. He'd been the first person she'd told when, at a mere 14 years old, she had stolen a bottle of vodka from the storage room in the embassy in Turkey. He'd been the person she'd called when the police in Positano had picked up her, Mathew, and John, when they'd snuck into a nightclub. He was the one who had sat with her while she cried, after telling her mother that she was pregnant. He'd held her, dried her tears, and then asked what she wanted to do. For her father, these slip-ups were moments that he checked in with her as a parent, not as a diplomat. And while Emily now understood her mother's reactions to those incidents, at the time, Emily had needed a parent. And that's what her father had always been for her.

"How's work going?" Simon asked, moving over to one of the shelves and finding a box of Zac's old comic books, "Any interesting cases lately?"

"I don't know about interesting," Emily replied, "But we've been kept busy. We just got back from LA this afternoon... it was a tough one. One of those cases where you actually feel sorry for the killer."

"That's your empathy sweetheart," Simon replied, "It's a good thing that you haven't lost that."

"I know... the moment I start to lose my empathy is the moment I need to look for another career path," Emily added, resulting in a chuckle from Simon.

"Losing your humanity puts you on the fast-track to making questionable decisions, sweetheart... you know that."

Emily nodded, "And how about you? How's your humanity going?"

Simon shrugged, "It's there... if not in ever-depleting quantities."

"What are you doing to fill up the tank?" Emily asked, folding some t-shirts and pushing them into a large plastic bag.

"Your mother helps... golf helps... catching up with my Marine buddies helps," Simon replied, "And knowing that I have an incredible daughter and grandson... although seeing said-daughter and grandson more frequently would probably help."

Emily chuckled and nodded, "I think we could arrange that... once he's back in town. And provided I don't have to leave town for a case."

Simon smiled sadly, "Keeping busy?"

"Well... we already have a pile of cases waiting for us when we get back to the office on Monday... who knows where we'll end up next."

"There's always another monster around the corner," Simon added softly. Emily smiled sadly and Simon moved over to pull his daughter into a hug. She leant her head on his chest and he kissed the top of her head, running a hand over her back, "You know you can call me anytime?" Simon urged, hoping his daughter believed him.

Emily nodded slightly and stood back, "I know, Dad."

"I love you, kiddo," he said softly, leaning forward and kissing Emily's forehead, just like he did when she was little.

"I love you too, Dad."

Simon pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "I have to head back to Langley… I'll see you soon."

Emily nodded and watched her dad leave the storage room, head up the stairs and out of sight. She let out a sigh and made a mental note to organise dinner with her parents and Zac sometime soon. It had already been too long since they had been together as a family and she didn't want the next time to be Zac's graduation.

Emily took a deep breath and then she turned back to the boxes. She had a lot of work to do.

Emily poured herself a glass of water and made her way back to the hallway where she stacked a few boxes of her and Zac's belongings that she'd brought back with her. She figured next time he was over, Zac could go through his boxes and decide what he wanted to keep and what he was willing to get rid of.

Emily stood there, tapping her foot against the boxes while she drank her water and thought back over the last couple of days.

Yesterday afternoon had been full of emotions. Emily had sifted through the last 21 years of her son's life – photo albums, old clothes… memories. And after the case they'd just wrapped in LA, the emotions had just piled on, creating a horrible feeling in Emily's stomach. Having no appetite, Emily had skipped breakfast but coffee… she couldn't skip coffee… so it was brewing in the kitchen while she contemplated her plans for the rest of the day.

Coffee, gym, laundry… maybe she'd indulge in an afternoon nap.

A knock at the door broke Emily from her musings, and she only had to take a couple of steps to reach the door. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't even think to check the peephole.

"Hotch!" Emily remarked, opening the door all the way and gesturing for him to come inside.

Hotch was surprised at Emily's excitable greeting. It was his first time at her apartment when she hadn't blocked the doorway, requiring him to beg entry. Hotch raised his eyebrows and walked into Emily's home, turning when he stepped inside and waiting for her to close the door.

When she turned back, he gestured to the boxes.

"You're not leaving are you?" Hotch asked, trying to sound light but his insides wouldn't settle until she answered. He couldn't let himself imagine a world where Emily, someone who had become an important part of his life, left him behind.

Emily huffed and shook her head, "Not leaving," Emily replied, gesturing for them to head down towards the kitchen, "Just clearing some things out of my parent's house."

Hotch followed Emily into the kitchen and nodded when she offered coffee. He watched as she prepared his coffee – black with one sugar – and handed it to him.

"Thanks," Hotch said softly, taking a quick sip of his coffee, "So what's in the boxes?"

"Oh, just memories," Emily replied succinctly, trying to think of a way to avoid sharing anything more with her boss/friend. And then she remembered her conversation with Rossi on the flight back from LA and wondered if she and Hotch were friends enough for her to ask.

Emily gestured to the living room and Hotch followed her. Emily sat first this time, sitting in the middle corner of the couch, while Hotch took the end. She didn't say anything at first, just stared into her mug of coffee, inhaling the scent. When she felt like she had the right words, Emily spoke up.

"I know I haven't done the best job of it," Emily started, waiting to continue until Hotch's eyes met hers, "But I want you to know that you can talk to me, Hotch…" Emily paused again, "… I know it is tough when you're the leader and you are the one that everyone comes to, to offload."

Hotch smiled sadly, "I appreciate it, Emily," he paused and studied her face, "Really… I do… I'm just not much of a talker."

Emily snorted, "You don't say?"

Hotch smiled again, this time more genuinely, "Ok… well that response is a little hypocritical isn't it?"

Emily rolled her eyes kindly, "I'm not going through what you're going through, Hotch."

Hotch furrowed his brow and wondered how much he was willing to share. Sharing required vulnerability and he couldn't imagine a world in which he could be so open. And then Hotch realised that Emily was offering time and space for him to talk, when she could have just told him she was fine and didn't need anything. So Hotch had a decision to make. How much to share. And given that he didn't really have that many people in his life that he could trust like he trusted Emily, the decision was made. Hotch took a deep breath and waited for the right words to come to him.

"There's not really much to say," he replied, "While we were in LA, Haley and Jack moved back into the house. I came home and she'd packed up some of my clothes into a couple of suitcases and asked if I could find somewhere else to stay."

Emily reached out to offer Hotch some comfort, but drew her hand back when she realised that innocent gesture could be misinterpreted. So she settled with a furrowed brow and a nod for Hotch to continue.

"I stayed at a hotel last night, and went back this morning to spend some time with Jack before got picked up for a playdate," Hotch paused and let out a sigh, "After Jack was gone, Haley asked if we could talk and..." Hotch furrowed his brow, "She started to talk about divorce."

"Oh Hotch," Emily said softly, her instinct to reach out for him taking over from her need to maintain distance as she squeezed his arm, "I'm sorry…" Emily paused and her voice dropped, "I know you've been hoping to work things out."

Hotch shrugged and Emily's hand dropped to the throw pillow sitting next to him, "I'm just worried about how this will effect Jack," Hotch said softly, "I don't want him growing up thinking that I didn't do everything I could to keep our family in one piece."

Emily tipped her head to the side, "Hotch, Jack knows that you love him, and all he needs from you is for you to show him that every day… whether you sleep down the hall, or across town…" Emily paused, "… You're an amazing dad and Jack knows that too… plenty of kids grow up without their dads and you're never going to let that happen."

Hotch nodded, but stayed silent for a moment before he looked up at Emily, "When did you become so wise?"

Emily chuckled, "I may be young, but I've seen my fair share."

Just as Emily was about to share more than she'd been planning to ever share with Hotch, the home phone started to ring. Emily jumped up from the couch and quickly navigated around the coffee table to answer the call before it went to voicemail.

"Prentiss," Emily said quickly, watching Hotch stand from the couch and moving over to the window. He had his back to her, but she knew that he was still able to hear her side of the conversation, so she kept her voice as low as possible.

*A throat cleared, "Is this Emily Prentiss?"*

"Yes," Emily replied, "Who's this?"

*"This is Dr. O'Connor at GWU Emergency. You're listed as the emergency contact for Zachery Prentiss."*

"Oh my god," Emily replied, "Is he ok?"

Hotch looked back from the window and furrowed his brow, watching Emily carefully, but she just held up her hand and offered a fake smile.

*"He's fine, ma'am. He was involved in a collision and has some injuries, but he will need someone to come and pick him up when he's ready for discharge."*

Emily turned away from Hotch and lowered her voice, "I'm twenty minutes away… If you speak to him, let him know I'll be right there."

*"When you get here, you can ask for me and I'll take you to him.*"

Emily hung up the phone and turned back to Hotch, "I have to go… sorry Hotch."

Hotch shook his head and walked towards Emily, "Is everything ok?"

"Uh… I just… I have to go," Emily replied.

Emily rushed past him, to head towards the door, and Hotch grabbed her by the arm.

"Emily," Hotch implored, with a look as much as his words and tone.

"I'm sorry Hotch," Emily replied harshly, "I have to get to the hospital because my... someone's been in an accident and I have to go."

Hotch nodded, taking a step back and letting go of Emily's arm, "Ok, can I do something to help? Do you want a ride to the hospital?" he asked as she moved away from him, down the front hallway.

Emily grabbed her purse and coat from the front closet, shaking her head, "No... thank you," Emily replied, trying to steady her voice, "I'll be fine."

Hotch followed Emily through the front door and waited for her to lock it. Emily's hands were shaking as she turned the key and Hotch reached out a hand to her shoulder, but she shrugged it away.

"I'm fine, Hotch," Emily implored as they made their way to the bank of elevators, "Really… thanks for stopping by. I'll give you a call later."

As the elevator descended, Hotch kept an eye on Emily. She tapped her foot nervously on the floor and stared at the closed doors.

They arrived at the lobby and the elevator doors opened. Hotch stepped out, turning back for a moment to look at Emily.

"Call me later... when you know more," Hotch said, putting his hand up to stop the doors from closing.

Emily nodded and offered the closest thing she could to a smile, "Ok."

Hotch nodded and stood back from the doors, letting them close and losing sight of Emily. He let out a sigh and took a couple of steps backwards before turning to head out the door, making a mental note to check on Emily later, whether she called him or not.

Emily ran through the sliding doors of the emergency room, past a gurney where a man lay bleeding from the head, and rushed up to the nurse's station. She took out her badge and held it out to the nurse sitting behind the desk.

"Agent Emily Prentiss," Emily explained, "I got a call from Dr. O'Connor. My son was brought in… Zachery Prentiss."

The nurse typed into the computer and nodded, handing Emily's credentials back to her, "I'll page Dr. O'Connor," the nurse explained, "You can take a seat."

Emily nodded, taking a step back from the counter and moving over to the wall. She couldn't sit down, so instead she just leant back against the wall and nervously tapped her phone against her hand. She was really trying not to stress herself out by working through all of the possible scenarios… worst-case scenarios… but she had nothing to distract her. She looked down at her phone and opened up a new message.

*Thanks for dropping by this morning. Sorry I had to kick you out. Let me know if you need to talk again. – EP*

She knew it was hypocritical to keep things from Hotch, after she pushed him to share with her, but this was different. She'd met Haley and knew of her and Jack's existence. Emily had also known about Hotch's separation. Telling Hotch about Zac's accident would first involve her telling Hotch about Zac's existence. And she wasn't ready to share that yet... maybe ever.

Emily's phone buzzed with a reply message.

*Thanks for listening. I hope everything's ok. And you let me know if you need to talk. – AH*

"Agent Prentiss?"

Emily looked up and found a tall man in a set of dark blue scrubs staring at her. She pushed herself away from the wall and nodded nervously.

"Dr. O'Connor," the man said, holding out his hand, which she shook, "I'll take you to see Zac if you'd like."

Emily nodded as she followed Dr. O'Connor down the hall, "What can you tell me about his injuries?" Emily asked, worry evident in her tone.

Dr. O'Connor waited a moment before he answered, and they stopped outside one of a examination rooms. He turned back to Emily and offered a gentle smile.

"Zac is ok," the doctor replied quickly, "From what we can tell, he should be ok. Just some superficial injuries. Zac's head hit the dash, so there's a large scar on the left side of his forehead. He has significant bruising to his chest from the seatbelt," Dr. O'Connor explained, "I'm telling you this before you go into the room because it might be shocking to see."

Emily nodded and tipped her head towards the room, "Understood… now can I go and see my son?" Her tone was a little more snippy than usual, which she simply attributed to stress. But the doctor didn't seem phased and simply nodded, opening the door and holding it for Emily to walk through.

Emily walked straight to the side of the bed and reached over to run her hand over Zac's hair, trying to avoid touching the bandage.

"Is he unconscious?" she asked worriedly, looking up at the doctor.

Dr. O'Connor shook his head, "He's not unconscious, but he is sedated."

Emily nodded, reaching down to squeeze Zac's hand before she stood up and turned back to face Dr. O'Connor.

"Do you know how it happened?" Emily asked, stamping down on the emotions that were threatening to bubble up to the surface.

Dr. O'Connor nodded, "The police gave me an update when they arrived, and they'll probably need to speak with you and Zachery" he explained, "The other driver had a seizure and the car veered across the line and struck Zac's car." He reached over to the bag of Zac's belongings, picking up a piece of paper and handing it to Emily, "This is the report for your insurance."

Emily nodded, and smiled sadly at the doctor, "Thank you."

"I'll leave you to it," Dr. O'Connor said softly, "I'll be back in to check on Zac when he wakes up."

Emily turned back to Zac and pulled the chair over to the side of his bed, taking his hand and squeezing. Once she was settled, Emily took her phone out of her pocket and dialled the number. After two rings, she heard the click of the call being picked up.

"Hi Mother," Emily said softly, "I'm going to tell you something, but I need you to stay calm…"

Emily watched with a smile on her face while Elizabeth guided Zac into the armchair in the living room. The fireplace was lit and Elizabeth had arranged Zac's favourite books on the side table. As Zac found a comfortable position, Elizabeth turned and picked up a blanket from the basket at the end of the couch. As she turned to wrap the blanket across his lap, Zac put his hands up.

"Grams," he started, "I'm really ok… no need to fuss."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes good-naturedly and ran her hand over Zac's hair, "I am your grandmother, young man."

"Just let her do what she's gonna do, sweetheart," Emily said dryly, "It's not worth the fight."

Zac offered his grandmother a smile and nodded, "Right… sorry Grams… thank you," Zac paused, "… and Mom, you have to be at work early tomorrow. You should go home."

Emily shook her head at Zac and looked in her mother's direction, "Sweetheart," she said, reaching over and squeezing Zac's hand, "I've already put my ready bag upstairs and I'm staying here… we are going to sit and read and then you'll get a good night's sleep, and I'll go to work tomorrow and you'll get some more sleep."

"Mom," Zac implored, but Emily held a hand up to stop him.

"Ok… so what's first, Swann's Way or Breakfast of Champions?"