AN: Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I also want to thank everyone who has commented, favorited, or followed this story. I'm going to answer a few questions that I' ve been asked.

Manticore-gurl071134- he was just being informative

Jas- I'm not planning on Emily telling anyone about Doyle outright however I will have her drop more clues(like she did with Reid in Secrets, Half-Truths and Statistics) as the story progresses. Gideon will of course know from her file and unlike canon he will reappear and play a part when the story gets to Doyle.

-like with Garcia, things will work out with JJ and they will have their girls night.

-the pieces of what happened between Hotch and Emily will start to come together in the next chapter

-Hotchniss will happen in this story but it's going to be a while. They have slowly been working towards a good working relationship, next they will each be working through the reasons they lose touch along with the emotions and misconceptions they have been carrying for 12 years when each of them finds out the truth.

Chapter 12

As soon as the jet landed in San Francisco, Hotch and Emily took off for the hospital with the intention of interviewing Charlotte Cutler.

While usually he or Gideon would start at the station to make introductions and set up, on this case neither of them were going to start there. With the timing between the two fires and what they knew from the profile of an arsonist, they knew they needed to hit the ground running in order to get ahead of this UNSUB. And in this scenario, the two most important places to start were the hospital and the Cutler house. That is why those were the places that he and Gideon were starting.

Before they had left the conference room at the BAU, Hotch had committed to going to interview the surviving burn victim when they arrived… if she was still alive. It had been Gideon's turn… a rarity in the BAU as most of what they saw was horrible that something they needed to do was above the normal level of awful that they needed to take turns.

But burn victims had been a trigger for Gideon since Boston. A couple of the agents in the explosion had lived for a short time in the burn unit. He had visited them and the experience had exacerbated his PTSD. Since then Hotch had taken the few burn cases the team encountered and Gideon had only given a token argument each time.

With Hotch already committed to the burn unit, that left Gideon to go to the Cutler house. Now he needed to decide who each was going to take with him. It shouldn't have been a difficult decision but it was one he didn't want to make. Ultimately he made the strategic yet practical decision.

JJ and Reid had been assigned to the station to make introductions and get started. That left either Morgan or Prentiss. He decided to bring Prentiss with him to the hospital for two reasons. One, he had not missed the tense meeting that Prentiss and Gideon had had a few days earlier nor that they had been avoiding each other since then. And two, today he anticipated needing someone with her compartmentalization skills in order to get through this interview.

####

When they reached San Francisco, Reid climbed into the SUV with JJ so they could head to the station to set up. Reid had been assigned to continue working on victimology that the team started on the jet while JJ was going to find out where the locals were with the media and then work on a media strategy that they would discuss when the others returned.

On the car ride over to the station, Reid grew frustrated at a veiled comment JJ made about spending time away from Emily. Emily had done so much to help him that he wanted to defend her but didn't know what to say.

And he knew it wasn't just JJ. Although Emily had said very little about the heated meeting in Gideon's office a few days earlier, he could tell by the look on her face when he ask, that he was somehow involved. All she had told him was not to worry about it.

Then there was Hotch who had spoken up in support of them against the report from HR. But ever since then he had been watching them carefully. Then a few times Spencer was stunned at the unspoken annoyance rolling off their boss.

He wanted to tell them all that Emily wasn't hurting him but had been helping him. He knew Emily would tell him it was unnecessary. That she expected the reactions but he wasn't comfortable with it.

####

Emily stepped outside of the hospital and took a deep and cleansing breath. The pictures had not done justice for the devastating burns on Charlotte Cutler's body. Shaking her head, she takes her phone out of her pocket and looks at it. Hotch had said to call Morgan and Gideon. Protocol was as the senior agent at that scene, the call should go to Gideon. However after that meeting a few days earlier, she had no desire to speak to him. Looking down at her phone, she pushes the button for Morgan.

####

After leaving the burn unit, Hotch looking in the waiting room for Emily. Not seeing her there, he walked towards the front entrance as he pulled out his phone to send her a message. He skipped over several messages from Haley and pulled up Emily on his text list. Just before he sends the message, he walked out the door and saw her sitting on a bench picking at her fingernails. Putting his phone back into his pocket, he walked over to her.

"You OK." he asks as he sits down next to her.

Emily nods as she answers, "yeah, I just hate hospitals. I called Morgan and Gideon and let them know what we found out."

"Good." Hotch said as he nodded before asking "did they find anything?"

Emily shook her head before saying, "they were just starting at the scene. It doesn't appear to be a first responder. There was only one first responder, a firefighter that responded to both fires. They are certain it's not him."

They sat quiet for a couple of minutes before Hotch stood and gestured for her to follow. Once they climbed into the SUV, he turned and said, "for a difficult interview, you did well in there. It seems compartmentalization does have it advantages."

At his statement Emily could feel her face flush as her anger rose. Looking over at him, she hissed, "so what you decided to test if something would affect me?"

Hotch sighed realized how poorly worded what he just said had been. He waited until she was looking at him before he said calmly, "I did bring you because you are able to put your personal feelings in a box and keep them there during a case. But it's not for the reason you think."

"Then what is the reason?" Emily asked, upset that he had confirmed what she suspected but also confused at the last part of what he said.

Hotch turned and looked out the front of the SUV before turning back to her and saying, "this was never going to be easy but we needed to get that interview. Of the 7 victims, she was the only one that made it to the hospital. As we heard on the jet, her doctors weren't sure if she would even make it until we got here. I anticipated that we would have one chance to learn if she knew anything that would help us build the profile. And she did." He again paused as he too had been affected by Charlotte Cutler horrific burns before continuing, "I don't know about you but I've done these type of interviews before. I needed someone in there who was going to be able to look past her physical condition and focus on the interview. And most importantly, stay calm despite her condition. If she saw us reacting, we risked that she would have become unstable and we would have lost our chance to talk with her."

Emily nodded at his explanation while metaphorically kicking herself for the overreaction. As he spoke, she could see the windows of emotion that showed her that this had been an extremely challenging interview for him as well. "That's why you lied about her son" she said quietly.

Hotch took a deep breath and nodded before he looked at her and said, "yes. I know how conflicted you were about it and as your Unit Chief, I'm glad to see that it isn't a line you are willing to cross readily. I did, however, because with the profile of an arsonist we needed to keep her calm so she could tell us what happened. Even with that I wouldn't have lied if the doctor hadn't of said what she did when we arrived." He then put the key into the ignition and turned on the car.

Emily nodded at the reason as she could understand his rationale. Confused as to why he was starting the car, she asking, "are you going to try to talk to her again before we head to the station?"

Hotch looked down and shook his head, "No, it's time to go." He pulled out of the parking space and started towards the exit before he sighed and said quietly, "she died 10 minutes ago. As I said, we were only expected to have one chance with her."

####

When they reached the station, Hotch turned off the SUV and looked over at Emily who had not moved. Before she realized that he had turned he could see the vulnerability in her face. As soon as she noticed that he was observing her, her expression became impassive however Hotch could see that she was still working through her feelings. Taking a deep breath, he placed his hand on her arm as she had her other hand on the latch to open the door. Surprised, she turned and looked at him.

Now that he had her attention, Hotch said, "If you are ready, we can go in there but if you need more time, there is an errand that I need to be done soon."

Emily really wasn't ready to face the team or this case. She did need a few more minutes to put her feelings away. She hadn't been expecting Hotch to say that Charlotte Cutler had died. Although she knew that it was going to happen and soon, the reality of it happening just minutes after she was in the room with her had unexpectedly shook her. As she looked over, she remembered that he had stayed with her and could see that it was affecting him as well. She asked quietly, "what errand?"

He nodded before saying, "I need for someone to go to the hotel and check us in and pick up the keys. JJ or I generally handles it but right now she is working on the media strategy and will probably be doing a news conference soon. I need to see what the rest of the team has found and see if we are ready to give the profile. If you don't want to, it's fine and I'll go in bit but it would help."

Emily nodded as it did sound like it would give her time and she'd be doing better emotionally given some more time. It sounded like he had a lot that needed his attention so she said, "I can do it. Where am I going?"

Hotch took out his phone and forwarded the email confirmation of the reservation before looking back at her and answering, "I just forwarded the email with all the details that you should need. All six rooms should be together but if they need to split the block, we should still have at least four rooms together. You get to assign the rooms. If they needed to split them, the rooms not with the group go to either Morgan and/or Gideon. Check through each room and make sure there aren't any obvious issues. Any problem, call me."

Emily nodded as she undid her seatbelt before saying, "OK. I'll be back as soon as I can. Thank you." Opening her door, she walked around to the driver's side that he was just stepping back from. After climbing into the car, she watched him enter the station before driving away.

####

When the team, except for Emily who was Hotch had sent on an errand, was presenting the profile, an opportunity presented itself to Spencer when the detective sitting next to him asked why the UNSUB used fire. This was his chance to put out there that Emily had been helping him without having to come out and say it. He took a deep breath and then said quietly while looking only at her:

He's like a drug addict.- Only fire's his drug. - Each time an addict needs a fix, they need more of the drug to get off. - So his crimes most likely get much worse. - It would be almost impossible for him to quit without help.

As he finishes he turns and sees Morgan looking at him strangely but when he sees Gideon their eyes lock on each other briefly before Reid looked down. He did not miss the concerned look on Hotch's face before he had quickly dismissed the meeting, not wanting to draw any added attention to what had just been said by the team's youngest member.

Spencer stayed in his seat after people had walked away feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of him. From the looks he had gotten he was certain that Hotch and Gideon were considering his words and starting to put the pieces together. He was less sure if Morgan understood what was behind the words he just said. He was hopeful that they would understand the veiled comment. That they would understand what he was saying. Realize what Emily's support had met to him over the last few weeks. Now he just had to hope she wasn't upset that he had essentially outed both of them without telling her first.

####

The next day, Emily found herself back in a car with Hotch doing surveillance on Evan Abby. It was strange because the day before was the first time that they had been partnered together since she joined the team. Now here they were for a second day sitting alone in a car.

Though it could have been challenging given how much friction that had been between them since she joined the team, they were both mostly successful at remaining professional for which she was grateful.

Though it was awkward with the number of texts and phone calls Haley had made. She wanted nothing more than to disappear during a tense call between Hotch and Haley but due to their current assignment, that wasn't possible. She wasn't sure if Haley blowing up his phone was a normal thing or if something specific was going on. From the conversation she overheard, Haley was asking when he was coming home.

As the day had gone on she had gotten the impression that this was not atypical for when Hotch travelled with the team. Something about that made her sad.

####

As Hotch sat in the car for a second day of surveillance on Evan Abby, he had three main issues occupying his thought - one case related, one personal, and one administrative related.

For the case, the more he watched Evan Abby and after their tense conversation at his house the night before, Hotch was certain that he was not a willing participant in the deadly arson fires. He had his own issues and if Hotch was right, limited time to solidify his legacy.

Issues that they considered were on a collision course with their UNSUB which was why they were following him for a second day. They had profiled that soon one or both would make a move especially after the UNSUB firebombed an innocent bystander shortly after leaving Abby's meeting the night before.

In his personal life, Haley was pissed that he was travelling and may not be home by Saturday evening. This was her college reunion weekend and she wanted him to accompany her while she showed him off and pictures of Jack to her sorority sisters and other friends.

He knew that this was important to her and that he had told her he would try to go but he couldn't walk away from this case. He didn't know how to tell her that calling and texting constantly wasn't going to get him home any quicker. If anything, it could slow down his progress. That and taking her phone calls while stuck in a car with Emily was awkward for both of them.

And his thoughts about Emily are what brought him to the third issue that was occupying his thoughts. After Reid's statement during the profile briefing, Hotch had needed to put his thoughts about it aside as he needed to focus on the case. While they were doing surveillance the day before, he noticed her sending and receiving text messages as well. As she also was today.

After they had gotten back to the hotel last night, he had some time to mull over what he had observed in Reid since Georgia along with the statement he made. They all found out during their investigation while Reid was kidnapped that Henkel used Dilaudid cut with a psychedelic.

Reid didn't mention in his debrief that he had been given drugs. But if he was trying to hide that fact, he wouldn't have said anything as he knew Bureau policy for agents with substance abuse issues. He would have been pulled from the BAU and most likely it would have been over a year before he could even reapply though it was unlikely that Strauss would allow him back on the team even after treatment.

But when considering addiction, the pieces of the puzzle of Reid's behavior since his kidnapping made sense. It also explains what had been going on with Reid and Emily for the last few weeks if she had indeed been helping him. But he had gone to bed with more questions than answers.

Were they doing it on their own or had Reid gotten professional help as well?

When had he done detox since he had only taken a few days off?

Was he completely off the Dilaudid or gradually reducing how much he was taking?

Now as he sat next to Emily, he wondered if he asked, if she would tell him what he needed to know. Or should he just wait and talk to Reid once the case was over? Looking over, he could see Emily sending another text message which gave him an opening.

Looking straight ahead, he said, "Spencer seems to be doing well."

Emily looked up from her phone and over at him before sighing. She anticipated that a talk like this could come up after what Spencer had told her last night what he had said but she wasn't expecting it now, during a case.

In one way she was annoyed at Spencer for not letting her know he was going to make even the vague observation that he did before he did so she could be prepared. But she couldn't stay upset for long when he explained why he did it. She had already told him it was unnecessary but she appreciated him looking out for her. Additionally Dr Nelson had been encouraging him for weeks to build up his support system when Spencer declined to attend a group such as NA as he had gotten better. This was his first attempt at trying to expand his support system and she didn't want to discourage that..

Looking back down at her phone, Emily shrugged before she said, "yeah he seems to be doing well."

Hotch rolled his eyes realizing that she wasn't going to talk about this subject willingly without some prodding so he continued, "how long have you been helping him?"

Emily grimaced. He was asking a direct question. She couldn't lie to him. Thankfully when she spoke to Spencer last night, he had said that he was OK with her answering questions privately if they asked, "for about four and a half weeks. Since we got back from New Orleans."

Hotch turned on the car and closed the car windows before double checking the police radio wasn't transmitting their conversation. He didn't want this next part of their conversation to have any witnesses.

He took a few deep breaths before asking, "has it just been the two of you or is he getting professional help?"

Emily felt slightly on edge since he closed the windows unsure how this conversation was going to go. She looked ahead of her as she answered, "he is seeing someone professionally and has been since the beginning. I have just been supporting him."

"What have you been doing to support him?" Hotch asked.

Emily sighed and became very interested in a thread on her shirt as she said, "Mostly it was just to be there for him. He stayed in the guest room of my apartment for over three weeks. I made sure he made it to his therapy appointments. Everything we said we did to HR we did do, it just wasn't everything."

Hotch nodded as he replied, "I guessed that was the case from how you both reacted. Those sessions at the range helped because I did pass his qualifications yesterday."

Emily looked over at him and smiled for the first time as she said, "he told me. He was worried about losing his gun again." She then looked back down unsure where else this conversation was going to go.

Hotch stayed quiet before several minutes as he looked out the windshield. Suddenly aware of his surrounding and the job that all of them do, he started, "What if … what if…."

Emily could see the waves of concern coming off of him. She knew what he was trying to ask. She had had the concerns as well at the beginning. She reached over and placed her hand on his arm and waited her him to look at her before she said, "one of the conditions I had from the beginning was that if he started using again or wasn't following through with his therapy that I would need to tell you. He understood it would be a risk to everyone for him to be in the field in those circumstances."

Hotch let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding before saying, "you realize how much risk you put yourself in by doing it this way without telling me?" If found out she would have at the least been fired while if anything had happened and it was discovered she knew about his addiction, she could have potentially faced criminal charges.

Emily nodded as she had considered it several times before she answered, "yes. But to be honest at the beginning I thought you and Gideon knew."

Hotch looked over to her with a shocked look on his face as he said too loudly for the enclosed space,"What! No! Why would you think that?"

Emily explained, "when we were in New Orleans I started to say something to Gideon and he barked back at me that he knew something was up with Reid and stalked off. Now I don't know if he knew exactly what was going on with him or if it was just something. I didn't know what was going on for sure until Reid told me when we got back. I just assumed if Gideon knew then so did you."

Hotch sighed and looked back straight in front of him as he said, "I didn't know."

Emily nodded as she replied, "I know that now."

The car was silent for several minutes as they just observed their surrounding as was typical when doing surveillance. Emily relaxed slightly as she thought that maybe they were done with this conversation when Hotch asked without moving, "Will he pass a drug test?"

"Yes." Emily replied with certainty.

"That's good." Hotch replied at knowing that the random drug screens that the team frequently had done wouldn't show any evidence. The last set they had done were two months ago, ironically shortly before they went to Georgia, so they could be called for one at any time now.

Emily could see he was still concerned but she didn't know what else to tell him before she said, "look Hotch, I can see you are worried. When this case is over, talk to him. I would prefer that Spencer share any details he wants with you. I have his trust now and I don't want to lose it by sharing too much when he capable of talking to you. I promise to come to you if I notice he is having issues."

Hotch nodded as he looked at her and answered, "OK. Just one more question - is he OK enough at this point that you can work apart? With the HR report, I can't have you working together all the time…"

"...and he need to be able to rely on the rest of you." Emily replied nodding

"Yes" Hotch said as he needed to know the best way to safely go forward.

Emily was quiet for a couple of minutes while she thought before saying, "he's Spencer. He's been doing great and is past the point in his recovery that he needs me with him all the time. We have talked about working separately and he has agreed that he is ready for it. We do check in frequently with each other. You do what you need to do for the team."

Hotch nodded while making plans to talk to Spencer once they got back to Virginia.