Chapter 27: Outfoxed

Hotch wandered down the winding footpath, passing picnickers and a group of kids kicking a soccer ball around the vast green lawn by the water. He made his way down to the path that travelled alongside the river, dotted with trees and streetlamps, and while he walked, he eyed the small yachts, bobbing in the water. He wondered if he and Emily could find a boat to hire one day. That would be a fun way to spend a few hours… and maybe when Jack came back, he could join them.

Hotch had come to a decision that, although he loved Haley and always would, he didn't think he'd be able to reconcile his life with Haley again. He hoped that she wouldn't hold these months of separation against him, but he also didn't think that it could work between them in the end. She would always be his first love, the mother of his child, and one of his most treasured friends. And that would be enough. He wouldn't back down on his promise to spend the rest of his life making up for putting her and Jack in danger, and that would mean knowing where to draw the line.

Jack had been so little when they'd separated, he had never really known anything different. He lived with Mommy during the week, and Daddy during the weekends. Hotch saw no reason to change that and risk hurting his son any further.

Hotch furrowed his brow as he continued down the path, wondering how much longer he could survive without his little boy. He washed Jack's bedding and clothes every week, not wanting them to get dusty in his absence. He even started to eat mac and cheese when the longing was at its strongest, just to pretend that he was cooking for Jack and sharing his favourite meal.

He sighed, looking down the path ahead of him and smiling when he spotted her, dressed in her typical Sunday attire: a red sundress and sandals. It was a far cry from how he normally saw her, in pantsuits and sensible boots. But if he was honest, she was beautiful regardless.

As he drew closer, he noticed Emily was on the phone, so he tried to make a little noise to warn her of his presence. He cleared his throat and reached out to gently touch her shoulder, and when she looked up, she offered him a grin.

"I'll have to call you back later, Zac," Emily said into her phone, glancing down at her watch. Hotch was running early, and she needed to get out of this call before she spilled her own secret with an unplanned slip-up.

"Ok… well let me know if you think it'll work," Zac replied, "I know Pops would enjoy spending time with Hotch, and I think it's time, Mom."

"I think it's a great idea. It's just not something I had planned, but I'll think about it," Emily replied, reaching up to run her hand down Hotch's arm. Her hand stopped at his fingers and she gave them a gentle squeeze.

"He's there, isn't he?" Zac probed, noting the change in his mom's tone.

"Uh huh," Emily replied, smiling softly at Hotch as he held out a cup of fresh coffee for her, "I'll see you next weekend."

"Alright… I love you," Zac said quickly, not wanting to push his mom too hard. He had learned that pushing his agenda would just result in his mom going silent on the matter. And Zac thought his plan was perfect... he just had to get his mom on board.

"Love you too," Emily replied, "Bye."

She snapped the phone shut and looked up at Hotch as she took a sip of the coffee. As she brought it back down, she smiled, "Thanks… I was about ready for round four."

Hotch huffed and shook his head, "It's only 10 in the morning, Emily… I think we need to work on your caffeine addiction."

Emily's jaw dropped and she shook her head, "That's slightly hypocritical, isn't it?" holding up her cup, she smiled, "Coming from my dealer."

Hotch chuckled and shrugged, tipping his head towards the path, "Shall we walk?"

Emily nodded and hooked her arm through his, smiling as she took in the rare sight of casual, weekend Hotch. The short-sleeve polo shirt was a nice touch but – she glanced covertly over her shoulder – the jeans really clinched it. She nodded and bit her lip – Hotch had a nice butt.

"Can I help you, Agent Prentiss?"

Emily looked up and saw Hotch studying her face. She felt the blush moving up her cheeks and bit her lips, "What?" she replied innocently, "I was simply watching our six for a tail."

Hotch snorted and shook his head, taking a sip of his own coffee as they continued down the path. It really wasn't a big deal. They were both fairly attractive, and he knew that he too had taken in Emily's fine figure on occasion. It was his entirely platonic assessment that she was a beautiful woman, and there was nothing wrong with admiring her figure… provided they were off-the-clock. It was one of the perks of having a best friend who was a woman.

And as much as he had fleeting thoughts of what a future with Emily might look like – Jack visiting on weekends, Emily and the kids playing at the park while Hotch kept a watchful eye, holidays to visit his mother in South Carolina, or summers spent visiting Emily's parents overseas – he knew it was a pipe-dream. Aside from the fact that he would spend the rest of his life paying Haley back for the sacrifices she'd made because of his career, Emily deserved so much more than what little Hotch could give. She deserved someone without the immense baggage Hotch brought with him, someone who could give her their full attention.

Hotch unhooked his arm from Emily's and took her hand in his, squeezing it as he looked over at her. He could be satisfied with living on the margins of her life... it was better than nothing. He could keep her company, give her a shoulder to cry on after a tough case, hear her laugh, until she found her forever.

"So," Emily started, rousing Hotch from his daydreams and prompting him to look over at her, "I was talking to my dad, and… did I ever tell you he was a pilot in the Air Force during the Korean War?"

Hotch shook his head, "I knew he was a veteran, but you never told me what he did."

Emily nodded, "He stayed with the Air Force after the war was over, and did a couple of tours in Vietnam too… anyway, his old squad from Korea is being featured in the air show at Langley next weekend and I was wondering…" Emily offered a smile and shrugged, "… Did you want to come along?"

Hotch smiled at Emily's nerves and nodded, "I'd love to join your family," he replied, "I haven't seen your mother in a while, and it would be nice to speak to your dad for longer than a couple of minutes."

"That sounds foreboding," Emily joked, "I may have to skip all fluids so you don't have a chance to be left alone with him."

Hotch chuckled and shook his head, "What about if I promise not to ask for any incriminating stories from your childhood?"

Emily bit her lip and nodded, "I think we could work something out that would keep us both happy," she replied, "Actually… there is someone else that's planning to come along, that I'd like you to meet," she added.

"Oh yeah?" Hotch asked, glancing at Emily before he turned back to look at the water, "And who's that?"

Emily shook her head, "Next weekend…" she paused and followed Hotch's gaze, looking out over the boats bobbing on the water, "… If you're lucky, Dad might even be able to get you in the cockpit."

Hotch chuckled and looked over to Emily again, "Is that supposed to be some kind of veiled threat?"

Emily laughed loudly and punched Hotch's arm gently, shaking her head at the dramatic wince on his face, "Not yet… but keep it up, and I might be able to convince him to take you up in the air and have you test the new parachutes they're rolling out."

Emily pushed the door of her apartment open, groaning as she dropped her bags on the floor by the entry table. She continued down the hall to the kitchen, keeping her phone on her just-in-case. She didn't think there would be any news that night… they'd already been searching for Foyet for months… but she knew that Hotch would be struggling with the aftermath of their conversation with Karl Arnold, and she wanted to be able to run over to his place at a moment's notice.

As Emily rounded the corner into the kitchen, she sighed, thinking about Hotch's mood when they were leaving the prison. He'd been ropable, his focus solely on Foyet… finding Foyet, stopping Foyet… killing Foyet.

Only one of them would walk away from this next battle.

Emily took the kettle from the stove and filled it up with water from the sink, then turned back to place it on the burner. She grabbed her favourite mug from the cabinet, then went to the pantry to pick a tea bag out from the collection she kept on the top shelf… she settled on a night-time tea, hoping the lavender mix would calm her nerves.

She'd never seen Hotch like this… and it terrified her.

Emily had no doubt that Hotch would avail… that he would be the one to walk away from this next big fight… she just didn't know what state he, or his family, would be in when the end came.

All she could do was support him.

The drive from the prison, back to the airfield where the jet was waiting, was deathly quiet. Hotch's knuckles were white where they gripped the steering wheel. His face was steely, his eyes resolute as he navigated the SUV down the winding Virginia roads. Emily had hoped that, once they were on board the jet and he was no longer distracted by the driving, he would open up to her. But he had stayed silent, studying Arnold's journal and its content until the pages started to tear.

He had refused to show her the contents, but she had her suspicions for what was contained in the journal. She had thought it strange that, even though she hadn't been on the team when Arnold case came to the BAU, he had known who she was. She figured that Foyet had been keeping an eye on Hotch, and that would mean that he had seen her spending time with him. At his apartment, at her apartment... everywhere.

For whatever reason though, Emily didn't feel there was any risk to her. It would make sense for someone from the team to spend time with Hotch, and she was the best fit for the role. Morgan was the team leader now, so he was preoccupied with running the team. As his second-in-command, Rossi would be responsible for taking on some of the work of running the unit. Reid could barely lift his weapon, so he wouldn't be the first choice in protecting Hotch. Garcia wasn't an agent in that respect, and she was busy searching for Foyet's online trail of breadcrumbs. And while JJ was an agent, she had other responsibilities that kept her busy.

So, if anyone was wondering, Emily's role as Hotch's caretaker made sense.

The kettle began to whistle, so Emily picked it up and turned off the burner, filling her mug with the boiling water. As the tea steeped, she thought back over her conversation with Morgan when they got back to the Unit. Emily and Hotch had landed at about the same time as the rest of the team, who had driven back from Hampton. Hotch had gone straight to his office and slammed the door behind him, leaving no option for anyone to check on him. No one, except maybe Emily or Rossi, would dare to enter.

Seeing that Hotch was shutting himself away, Emily corralled the rest of the team to the BAU room and explained what they had found out at the prison. After the initial shock had worn off, the team had felt reignited in their commitment to find Foyet and make him pay.

Morgan assigned Garcia to look into the medication list again, and then asked JJ to work with Anderson to take a look at the letters sent to Arnold. Reid was assigned to review all of the Foyet files, with the hope that his eidetic memory and rapid reading would allow him to pick something up that they might have missed. After he asked Rossi to follow-up with his contacts in the State Department, to see if they had any leads, Morgan had asked to speak with Emily alone.

Emily had followed Morgan down the hall to his office, and he had closed the door. Once she had settled into the seat across the desk from him, Morgan had given Emily a task that only she could do. Morgan knew that Hotch trusted Emily the most, out of anyone on the team, so he asked Emily to stick to Hotch. She would be responsible for keeping him company and keeping him in line.

Easier said than done.

"You know more than anyone, Emily," Morgan explained, "If Hotch gets away from us, he will kill Foyet."

At the time of their conversation, Emily knew what Morgan was saying was the truth. And she knew that she had to do whatever she could to stop that from happening. As much as Hotch hated him, killing Foyet was an outcome Hotch might never come back from. It would force him to become his worst nightmare: someone who justified murder... someone like the monsters they hunted.

Emily sat down on the couch and held the steaming cup between her hands, inhaling the sweet aroma and feeling a sense of calm wash over her. Sure, it was a manufactured calm, but it was a calm nonetheless.

As she lifted the warm mug to her lips, Emily's phone began to buzz in her hand.

"Prentiss."

"Hi kiddo," Simon said brightly, "How's life?"

Hearing her dad's voice, she felt her heart drop, and the sadness and worry and fear that she'd been stamping down since they left the prison came bubbling up to the surface. The tears started to fall down her face and she sniffed.

"Emily… sweetheart… is everything ok?"

"I'm sorry Dad," Emily said weakly, "I'm sorry… ignore me… how are you?"

"Forget about me, sweetheart," Simon insisted, "Is this about George Foyet?"

"How do you know about that?" Emily asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Emily, everyone in our work knows about George Foyet."

Emily bit her lip, "We have some new information… it came to us today… and Hotch…"

As Emily's voice trailed off, Simon frowned, "I know, kiddo… but you know what new information means."

"I know… it means we're one step closer to finding him, and to getting Hotch's family back," Emily replied, "But I'm worried that what's left of Hotch won't be enough to save him in the end."

"Sweetheart, you know how cases like this end… best case scenario is that Hotch and his family are alive… that's all you can hope for."

Emily nodded, "I know… but I honestly don't think this is going to end well."

"Can I do anything to help?"

Emily shook her head and took a sip of her tea, "No, Dad," she replied, knowing the depths that offer could extend to, "But thank you for asking…" Emily paused and sighed, "But I think we'll be non-stop on this case until it's over so… I'm sorry but I don't think we'll be able to make it to the air show…" Emily felt another batch of tears start to form in her eyes and she reached up as one fell down her cheek, "… I'm sorry."

Simon shook his head, alarmed that Emily would ever feel like she needed to justify prioritising her work, "Sweetheart, you're chasing a serial killer who's threatening your friend… if there's a moment to pick work over everything else, it's now."

Emily huffed and nodded, sniffing as she reached out for the tissues on the coffee table, "Thanks Dad… but look, I have to be back at the office in a few hours and need to get some sleep… I'll give you a call when I have some time."

"Ok kiddo," Simon replied, "Please stay safe."

"I will Dad," Emily added, "I love you."

"I love you too."

And with the sentiments exchanged, Emily ended the call.

She stood from the couch, mug in hand, and made her way towards the stairs. She needed a shower, and she needed some sleep. As she neared the bottom of the staircase, she paused for a moment, taking a sip of her tea as she looked out the floor to ceiling windows of her apartment. The Washington Monument was glittering in the night, surrounded by the lights of DC.

Somewhere out there, Hotch's family was waiting.

Somewhere out there, Foyet was scheming.

And Hotch was somewhere out there, all alone.

Emily looked down at the phone in her hands and, trying to get the message typed before she had a chance to doubt herself, she hit send and sighed.

Shower… sleep… back to work.

Hotch had been poring over the contents of the journal for hours – ever since he and Prentiss had returned from the prison. He knew the team had been out in the bullpen, working on the case, and he could have joined them… he should have joined them… but his mind was travelling down a very dark road, and he didn't want to drag them down with him.

He knew that his team would do anything to help him get his family back, even if it meant breaking every rule the FBI had ever written. But he wouldn't let them sacrifice their lives or their careers for him.

One head on the chopping block was enough.

Hotch's gaze travelled down to the journal that they had taken from Arnold. Hotch had flicked through the pages a hundred times in the hours since returning to Quantico, and among all of the disturbing materials in its contents, one section of the journal was most concerning. It featured one person, and three photos, along with some text. A photo of Emily through the windows of Hotch's apartment. A photo of Emily and Hotch walking into her apartment building. A photo of Emily and Hotch walking down the footpath at the park... that photo was only taken a few days earlier.

Her name, her address, her cell phone number... as much detail as Foyet had been able to collect about Emily.

The pages made Hotch's stomach turn. And they made his decision for him. He needed to distance himself from the last person Hotch could imagine losing, besides his son.

Emily.

He looked at the clock on the far wall of his office and sighed, leaning his head against the back of the chair.

2am.

The rest of the team had cleared out around eleven, heading home to get some rest and come back fresh in the morning. Emily had stopped by on her way out to ask if he was leaving too, but Hotch had insisted on staying behind, feeling like he was on the cusp of something. So here he was, almost three hours later, no closer to a break in the case, and still, he felt glued to his desk.

He sighed, standing from his seat, realising that a few hours of sleep in his bed would probably help him to figure this out. His brain and body both needed the rest.

As he began to pack up his files, deciding to take them with him just in case, he heard his phone buzz. He shuffled the papers away until he found his cell and opened the message.

*Anything you need Hotch. All you have to do is ask. – EP.*

He frowned and shook his head. His first instinct was to reach out to Emily for help, but he wouldn't. He had enough to worry about with Haley and Jack in Foyet's crosshairs, he wasn't about to add Emily to that. He would let her and the team help, because he knew he'd never find Foyet without them, but the first chance he got to separate from the rest of them, he would take it. And that included Emily.

Hotch shoved his cell into his pocket, grabbed his briefcase and jacket, and headed out the door. A few hours of sleep, a hot shower and some clean clothes, and then he'd get right back to work.

A/N: Just wanted to say thanks for the reviews guys, keep them coming.