AN: This is the first Hotch/Haley section. The other part that will be about them is part 7 though they will not be interacting there. I hope you enjoy it.
Dialogue from the episode is in italics.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.
Hotch walked into the house after returning home from the BAU. After he entered, he climbed the stairs. When he reached the second floor, he put his briefcase in his home office before going into his bedroom and changing out of his suit.
With Haley out with Jack, he went back to his office. Sitting at his desk he thought about everything that happened at the office that morning. Things certainly didn't go how he wanted or expected.
When he left to head home, Gideon still wasn't there and no one had heard from him.
Strauss was continuing her investigation of him which precluded him transferring until it was complete. So he still essentially without a position.
Aside from that, her intention of what department she planned on him going to was a nonstarter for him. If needed he would appeal it when he was cleared to transfer though he wasn't telling Strauss that now. As much as White Collar Crime would give him the hours Haley wanted him to be working, he couldn't see himself there.
The disappointment from Morgan and then later Reid when they discovered he wasn't traveling with them to Milwaukee as well as he plans to transfer.
Garcia thanking him for her updated office space. Her role on the team had grown tremendously since he took over as Unit Chief and he felt a larger and updated space was warranted given the expectations of the team. It sadden him he wouldn't be there as the team benefited as she utilized the upgrades to her workspace.
JJ tearfully hugging him at the news of his transfer before needing to rush off when she got a phone call.
Then, he sighed, was Emily's unexpected resignation. He had been planning, counting on her to stay with the team as he moved on. He had never shared those thoughts with her but now he didn't know what was going to happen with the team.
While Emily was in his office he knew there was so much more going on than what she was expressing through her words. He wished that he had been alone when she arrived. That she would have explained her decision. And that he would have had the opportunity to change her mind.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Strauss had a significant role in Emily's decision. It hadn't just been what Emily said in his office or even how she reacted as they spoke. No it was Strauss' demeanor as well as tells of hers that he had picked up on over the years.
As he went over his conversations with both women today, he noted that Emily's resignation had been a surprise to Strauss too. From the tone when they spoke before Emily arrived, it appeared that Strauss was expecting Emily to travel with the team to Milwaukee.
After Emily left, that changed. Then Strauss not only stated resignedly her intention of traveling with the team but mentions of her investigation of him had unexpectedly softened.
As he thought over the sequence of events during the last few weeks, he could only come up with one explanation that made sense. Strauss was pressuring Emily for dirt on the team and him specifically.
It made sense starting with the unexpected review of members of the team that he mentioned to Gideon the evening that Frank and Jane crashed back into their lives.
Emily had been off since that case but each of them had been affected by what happened in some way so he hadn't thought too much of it.
Then there was Strauss' decision to appoint her acting Unit Chief. As he thought back to that day he recalled the mixed emotions on her face when he walked out of his office before he headed home. Along with Strauss' preening, he had taken Emily's reaction as guilt. But now he wasn't so sure. At least not guilt for what he had thought that day.
Then there was his phone call with JJ while he was suspended. During the call, JJ had mentioned in passing that Emily had genuinely seemed surprised at the news that she was acting Unit Chief which had confused her. Additionally, she had commented about Strauss' tight control of the unit while he had been out as well as check ins multiple times a day with Emily.
From that information combined with his interaction today with Strauss he was fairly certain that Strauss had been pressuring Emily for information. Information, that before Emily had walked into his office, Strauss thought she would have for her investigation. Information that Emily seemingly chose to resign instead of giving Strauss.
Before he could go any further down this train of thought, he wanted to confirm his theory with Emily. However as he tried to contact her again, the call once again went to voicemail.
His frustration rose as he thought that the meeting in his office was going to be how things ended between them. He hadn't wanted her on his team when she walked into his office months earlier but now he regretted that they had never made peace over their past.
####
After working in his office for a couple of hours, Hotch continued to focus on work.
He thought about the statements Haley had made over the last couple of weeks. She kept pushing that they deserved to have a happy life as well as wanting their home life to be normal.
As he considered it, his thoughts kept coming back to what he remembered what John Blackwolf telling him when the team worked on a case in New Mexico a year and a half earlier.
There are many paths to the same place.
At the time he had dismissively commented that the other man sounded like a fortune cookie.
However, since he had returned home after they finished that case, he had come to accept the wisdom of those words as they had rung true in many different areas.
Initially this mindset had helped him to make peace with his brother Sean. To accept that Sean was on a different path than the one that had been envisioned for him. Envisioned not by him though.
Sean had no desire to be a lawyer. No drive to do that type of work. And once Hotch sat down and really thought about it having worked as a lawyer, he accepted it.
No, Sean had determined that his path to happiness was to go a different route. Since their talk at the diner Sean had worked in, he had moved to New York City and by all accounts had found his calling in the culinary world.
And Hotch couldn't be prouder of him. Not only for what he was accomplishing but also for pushing against the flow to forge his own path. He couldn't have been happier that he had been wrong.
As he was considering it Hotch saw that he had made a similar choice though not nearly as dramatic. It had been anticipated that he would follow in his father's footsteps as a defense attorney. He had an associate spot at his father's old firm waiting for him when he finished law school. However, after interning there, when he graduated, he couldn't accept the position.
Instead he took a position in the prosecutor's office. Working instead to keep criminals off the street by trying them in a court of law. While that was better suited for him, it wasn't enough. That is what led him to the FBI Academy and working towards becoming a Special Agent.
Being on the front lines. Working to solve crimes. Creating procedures to educate other agents on what to do in challenging situation is where he found his niche.
Then in the BAU is where he found his fulfillment. Where he was respected. He had found his calling in profiling.
He preferred working with his team and finding the pieces of what most times was a complicated puzzles which allowed them to get UNSUBs off the street. He took pride in the ability to read people and use that ask probing questions, gather information and ultimately get a confession once they made an arrest. He didn't have a list the same way that Gideon did but for each person they saved, it was worth it.
He was being told that he needed to give up his professional happiness by his personal happiness. His wife. Who stated it was best for their family.
He may be able to find another assignment where he would be content though he still didn't think it would be enough for Haley. She didn't like anything about his job.
Despite Haley's declarations that leaving the BAU and starting a position with a 9 to 5 schedule would allow them to have a 'happy life' he didn't think so, at least not for him because of the type of positions that offered that kind of schedule.
He cynically wondered how long it would take for her to find fault with his new assignment since it would bring with it a whole set of new challenges.
While Haley's statement of it being a no brainer was her opinion. While he respected that this White Collar task force was necessary and vital to the work of the FBI but it wasn't the right option for him.
Spending eight to nine hours a day going through paperwork trying to make a paper trail would not make him happy. He could go in and do his best and maybe even be successful in providing evidence needed for case but at the end of the day it would not make him happy. And he did not want to take those feelings home.
Strauss knew too that it wasn't the right fit for him. That it was an underutilization of his skills. But she didn't care. She had made no secret that she wanted him out of the BAU. That she wanted to compromise his career. And that assignment would do that. He would no longer be seen as a contender for promotion despite his years on the job after that transfer.
Then at some point the task force would be disbanded and he would end up in another position with no potential for advancement or he would grow frustrated and leave.
But that is what Strauss was counting on. So far she hadn't been able to get evidence of his perceived wrongdoing which would allow her to fire him. Making him miserable in a position with little advancement so he would quit would be the next best step.
As he reflected on the subject and their different perspectives, would they actually end up with a happy life? Did their paths lead them to the same place in their search for happiness? Or were both of them unhappy because there were deeper issues that transferring away from the BAU wouldn't fix?
Then he thought about her other criteria - normal. As he did, he considered that normal was also a byproduct of perception. As time went on he was picking up on what Haley considered normal however that perception wasn't the universal definition of normal.
As he did, he thought about Tony, one of his roommates in law school who was from a large Italian family in Chicago. He had been the first one in his family to not only go to college but also to law school.
Most of Tony's family were either police officers and firefighters. Hotch recalled him wondering at times how his schedule as a lawyer would match up with the various schedules of 8,12 and 24 hours shifts of his family members.
When he continued to question whether becoming a lawyer was really the right path for him, several members of Tony's family had driven to see him. They convinced him that becoming a lawyer was the right path for him. That he was where he needed to be. They also assured him that they would make sure he stayed close with the family.
While Haley would not consider all of the rotating shifts as normal, it was for Tony's family and they made it work. At one point, Hotch joined him in Chicago and witnessed a family happy to see one another. Boisterous in their interactions and love for one another. Proud of their role in keeping their community safe.
Additionally, he thought about the thousands of law enforcement officers who the team had met while on cases as well as the thousands of officers throughout the country that they hadn't met yet because they had been fortunate enough to not have a monster comes after the citizens that they were there to protect.
Police officer who some weeks had a consistent schedule however any number of circumstances could result in them having to work doubles or around the clock to keep their communities safe.
In addition to law enforcement, other first responders such as fire and paramedics do the same.
But it wasn't just with first responders.
Hospital staff, nurses and doctors also worked varying hours in shifts.
So did law. When he started in the prosecutor's office, he was consistently working 16 hours days. Time in court was only a small percentage of their time. They also needed to do interviews, research, meet with other attorneys, etc…
There were countless other professions with various schedules that didn't fit into a 9 to 5 schedule.
And that wasn't even considering the military.
When he thought of his own family, for all outward appearances, Hotch had grown up in a normal family at the time. His father was a lawyer at a prestigious firm while his mother was a housewife who was part of the area's social circles and volunteered on all the right committees. And he was an honor student who played soccer while Sean went out of his way to be the perfect child.
But behind closed doors, life was very different. His father was also a heavy drinker who had a number of affairs. It wasn't unusual for him to come home drunk and hit Hotch and/or his mother. Perception and appearance were so important that his mother never made the effort to find a way out from the beatings of her and her sons.
The perception of normal had been so important that his father never got help for his drinking which led first to cirrhosis and later to liver cancer which killed him when Hotch was in high school. It also resulted in Hotch and Sean to be sent to boarding school after what he found out later was his father's cancer diagnosis because his father didn't want them to see him struggling.
That only lasted for so long. After a few treatments, Hotch could see during a visit the changes in his father though no one would admit until later that something was seriously wrong.
Given this, the idea of forcing a narrow definition of normal wasn't as compelling as it may have been for someone else. Living what was considered a normal life in his community hadn't been a pleasant experience for him.
He agreed that his work at the BAU had a large time commitment and unusual hours. But as he mulled over the hours and schedule that Haley was pushing for, he concluded that a strict 40 hours week wasn't typical or normal, particularly in the DC area.
He knew very few people whose schedule was even close to those parameters. From other agents to people on other government agencies to nonprofits to attorneys. The list went on…
####
Hotch sat in his living room with the file for the case the team is working in Milwaukee. He closed the file and slammed it down on the table in front of him. Her had been staying in touch with team through Morgan and offering suggestions about the case since the team had arrived the day before. Just a few minutes earlier Haley had walked in the room after putting Jack down for his nap and flipped when she saw him with the case file.
As they were arguing about it, the house phone began to ring. He had it sitting next to him since he hadn't hung the cordless unit up since talking to Morgan earlier. Already annoyed because of their argument, he answered the call only to be greeted by another hangup.
His frustration rose at the ongoing issue of these calls. Before he could say anything else to Haley, her cell phone rang on top of her bag. They both stared at it as it rang out and went to voicemail.
When Hotch glanced at his wife, he could see the fear, apprehension and guilt across her face. It had been telling that she hadn't walked over to answer it, even to let whoever it was know she would call them back. The significance of her letting the call go to voicemail was not lost on him as she rarely let that happen unless she was busy in another room with Jack.
While he was processing what he had just witnessed, Haley, instead on addressing the elephant in the room, had immediately switched back to her issues with his job and what the status of his transfer was. Having heard what she wanted to hear from him, she gave a last barb before she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the house.
With how she left, he knew not to expect her back for a while. After waiting a couple of minutes to listen for if the slamming door had woken Jack, Hotch walked over and picked up his laptop. Switching to his email, he pulled up the message from Garcia that he had noticed earlier though had not had an opportunity to review it yet.
He read the summary that Garcia had written about the number that correspond to the days and times that he had given JJ. She had found all of the calls had come from the same number. She also noted that calls from that number had been calling the house for almost a year as she included the initial date which was just weeks after his aborted vacation when the Randall Gardner had targeted the team.
He clicked on the attachment that contained the call history for his home phone over the same time frame. Initially the calls had been infrequent and short however a few months ago that changed to some longer calls and in more frequent intervals. And this was just their home phone.
He sighed as he closed that attachment to open the next one which Garcia had mentioned in her note was the face page of the guy who was listed with that number. When the attachment popped up and he saw who it was, he was irate. Thomas Hannon.
Thomas Hannon had gone to high school with Hotch and Haley though he had been a year ahead of them. He had been a jock who had targeted Hotch, who felt more comfortable with the nerdy crowd. The bullying had intensified when Thomas had noticed Hotch's interest in Haley.
After Hotch was sent to boarding school, he had discovered while on break that Haley was dating Thomas though they were no longer together by the time Haley graduated. As far as Hotch knew, they had also seriously dated another time after Hotch had moved back to VA but before he and Haley became engaged.
A few months after their wedding, Hotch remembered hearing Thomas' name mentioned when he had taken over the family business which was import/export of luxury goods including foods when he father retired.
As he considered everything, Hotch was now wondering how much this new piece of information factored into the discussion at the Brooks' home about Hotch taking over their store and Haley's argument against it. Even now, Hotch still felt that taking over their store wasn't the right fit for him.
Hotch now also wondered how much Haley's family knew. In his experience, Haley held back very little from her family. However, Hotch did not see her parents reacting well to finding out she was having an affair or as they would phrase it, 'an improper relationship' if that is what it turned out to be.
Whatever was going on had no doubt that Jessica knew all the details. He didn't see Haley being able to work out the logistics for this long without input from her sister. In this context, he also wondered how much her mother knew as the looks at dinner when the subject of the store arose were unusual for her and at the time had intrigued him.
Was Haley trying to arrange for Hannon to get control of the store? It would complement Hannon's business well. In fact, that was how the families initially met.
Could it be that this issue was the main reason they had revived their friendship? That it was strictly a business association. But if that was the case why wouldn't she say anything about him for months when she had mentioned updates of several other people with whom they had gone to high school. And why would Hannon repeatedly hang up when he answered instead of just asking to speak to Haley?
As angry as he was it wasn't just pointed at Haley and Hannon. He was angry at himself too. He had sensed for months that there was a change in their relationship. That Haley had been more distant, more secretive. She had never really liked his job, asking why he didn't stay in practice as a lawyer. Her discontent had risen after Jack was born and then again after the Fisher King case. But this had been different.
In recent months he had been getting mixed messages from her, not sure at any given time what attitude she was going to be in. As much as she didn't like that he was in the BAU, Haley had been pushing for him to advance his career in the FBI and was pushing for him to apply for a promotion. This was in contrast to other times that she wanted him to be out of the BAU immediately. To go back to practicing law. To find a job with a 40 hour work week.
This dichotomy expanded to how she treated the members of his team. She insisted that they attend an annual Christmas party and overall the party went well each year. However she was hostile to them to the point that he needed to speak to her about it several times. Gideon and JJ seemed to be her primary targets however no one on the team had completely escaped her wrath. Whenever he brought up the topic her go-to reason was that she didn't like the BAU ignoring that he chose to be there. That she was taken out her anger at him on his teammates.
He also was no longer sure when he was home how their interactions were going to be. There were days that she was cold and distant. Only speaking to him when necessary or to project the illusion of that there were no issues between them if someone happened to stop by. Whenever they did talk discussion quickly devolved into fights and more times that not would have her storming out of the house.
That contrasted with other times where she was almost clingy and insincerely affectionate. She would constantly try to engage him in discussion and household activities.
He found this aspect of their interactions a lot the previous week as his suspension drew to a close. She had commented multiple times a day how nice it was that they were all home. That they deserved a normal life and lectured him continuously about his need to transfer.
The mixed messages were only part of what he noticed though all he had were assumptions and conjecture. There had been no hard evidence. Until today.
But even today the evidence he had was that she had been receiving frequent calls from a former classmate and boyfriend. One that worked in the same area as her parent's store. The store that they were planning to retire soon and were planning on who would take it over.
Given her demeanor in the same timeframe, he was more certain than he was before that she was indeed having an affair with Hannon. It would explain not only their interactions but Haley's strange behavior in other areas including what he had noticed over the last couple of weeks such as storming off and disappearing for houses, frequent visits to unnamed friends, the repairs completed with no record, the excess water usage he still couldn't explain as well as the jacket in the hall closet.
He had never inquired too hard with Haley because without real evidence the question wouldn't go anywhere. While his gut was telling him that he was right, without proof, an accusation would cause more problems for him even if ultimately he turned out to be right. He knew Haley. She would deny it and throw accusations back at him about his job and the hours.
And when it came down to it, he didn't want it to be true. He had known her since high school. Yes they had been on and off again for years. They had both dated other people during the times they weren't together. But when they got married three years ago, he thought others were behind them and they were going to go forward together.
Additionally marital affairs were a sore spot for him after the actions of his father. Before they were engaged, he had an honest discussion with her on the subject and thought that she understood, It was a hard pill to swallow about how wrong that could be.
But for now all he had was phone records that she had been having multiple phone calls with an old boyfriend and never mentioned it to him. But even that wasn't evidence of an affair, at least not a physical one.
He sighed as he thought about how this situation remind him of what happened with Emily years earlier though he had handled it differently.
He trusted what he was told about why she wasn't home. No evidence just overheard statements. Based on that he made decisions about not only his life but his career.
But he had never given her the same benefit of the doubt that he was currently giving Haley. Hell he hadn't stayed around long enough to talk to her and hear her side. For years he was angry with her over the perceived betrayal.
When she walked into his office months earlier, his anger had swell back and he had only accepted her presence on the team because he was forced to.
But since then he had learned information that flew right in the face of what he had been told back then. Actual evidence that she stayed in New Haven and graduated from Yale. That she never married.
Then there was her musing on the jet a few weeks earlier than gave a possible alternate to why she disappeared. The information Emily had mentioned that day indicated that she had been in France with her dying grandfather and not taking off with some imaginary fiance.
Since that day on the jet he had been hoping that they could sit down and talk to at least clear the air. But then Frank return, Gideon lost his friend, the complicated case in Flagstaff followed by his suspension.
Now he was transferring and Emily quit. He had been trying to reach her since she left yesterday and all the calls kept going straight to voicemail. As frustrating as he found it there was nothing he could do. He couldn't force her to answer her phone or even talk to him. This time he wanted to hear her side and he again couldn't reach her to do it.
####
Haley was still out when Jack woke up from his nap. After lifting the toddler out of his crib, Hotch changed his diaper and clothes before taking him over to the chair in the corner of the room. Once settled in the chair, Hotch started to read to him, knowing that with what he had planned, he wasn't going to be home that evening at bedtime.
Since Jack was born Hotch had tried to make the most of his time at home with his family knowing that he could be called away at any point. There were times that his irregular schedule at home made it difficult to bond with Jack particularly when he was an infant.
Over the last couple of weeks, spending time with his son was the one aspect of being home with no possible interruptions from work that he had enjoyed. He relished in spending time with him and learning how Jack's personality was developing.
At the end of the second book Jack started to get restless in the chair so after placing the book back in the book basket, he picked him up and they went downstairs to get a sippy cup before heading to the playroom.
That is where Haley found them playing with blocks when she got home. After filling her in on when Jack had woken up and what had happened since then, Hotch kissed son and handed him what he had learned was Jack's favorite car before standing and walking out of the room.
As he was walking to his room he sent a message to Garcia asking for information on commercial flights to Milwaukee. That done he changed into the suit he had set out before Jack woke up. When he was done, he pulled his go bag out of the closet. As he was double checking the contents, Haley stormed into the room.
After critically observing him and what he was doing, she yelled at him, "What the hell are you doing?"
Hotch glanced up from his bag and responded calmly, "Keep your voice down. Gideon didn't show in Milwaukee and the team needs me."
Haley placed her hand on her forehead and shook her head before she mumbled, "I don't believe this."
Hotch sighed as he had expected a strong reaction from her before he said reassuringly, "don't worry, it won't affect my transfer. I'll be working on an existing case."
Haley stomped in front of him and said angrily, "you're not working on this case."
Hotch's head shot up at her declaration. While he understood that she was upset that he was going on one last case with the BAU, she couldn't dictate the specifics of his job. It is not something that she would have tolerated in her workplace from him. He expected the same respect from her.
Too angry to address what she had just said directly without saying something that he feared he would regret, he answered, "I can't just switch off my loyalty, Haley."
Haley shook her head and paced before stopping in front of him and saying emphatically, "they suspended you for two weeks. Who are you being loyal to?"
Hotch looked at her and answered without hesitation, "the team needs me."
If he had gotten anything from the multiple phone calls, updates and questions it was that the team was struggling and needed him on the ground in Milwaukee to working with them to solve this case, preferably before any more women were killed.
"No, they need Gideon." Haley challenged.
And if Gideon were there, then it was true that Hotch wouldn't need to go. But he wasn't. He had disappeared after the last case after saying he needed some time off. As far as Hotch knew no one had seen him since nor did they know when he would return.
At this point Hotch didn't know where Gideon was or what head space he was in. And the team and this case couldn't wait for Hotch to figure it out.
Noticing that the conversation was going nowhere, Hotch changed tactics, "Do you know what this guy's doing to women in Milwaukee?"
Haley shook her head before answering, "I don't want to know."
"He's using his son to lure them. He's holding them and then he's cutting their hearts out." Hotch explained, hoping she would understand why he felt the overwhelming need to rejoin the team in Milwaukee to stop this UNSUB.
Haley cried out before tearfully continuing, "Aaron, stop! Don't make me the monster here. I feel sick about these women but when this case is over, there will be another one and another one and another one. It is never going to stop."
"This is who I am." Hotch uttered unconsciously.
He paused and thought about what he just said. The work he did in the BAU was who he was. The work he was meant to do at this point in his life. It gave him the professional fulfillment that his work as a prosecutor just hadn't.
He had been somewhat reluctant to leave for a promotion for months. He had been struggling for the last couple of weeks as he was looking at other options to make Haley happy. He had been deeply affected when he returned to the BAU yesterday and had to tell the team he was leaving. He could see that Haley didn't understand but he needed to go.
"No this is what you do." Haley answered pleadingly.
Hotch sighed before answering, "I'm trying to do the right thing. Here and there and I would really appreciate a little support."
But he knew before the words had finished coming out of his mouth that support for his career was something that he would never get from Haley. At least not for the career he wanted.
But he caught him before he said anything else. Before he shared that he knew about Thomas Hannon. About his suspicions about her current relationship with him.
No this was not the time for that discussion.
"Oh that's right. 'Cause you always need to be the hero." Haley responded bitterly.
Hotch sighed and answered quietly, "Don't give me that."
He didn't add that what he and the BAU team did had nothing to do with wanting to be heroes. The BAU was the best at what they because they were trained to approach crimes in a different way.
When a police department had an UNSUB terrorizing their community and were unable to solve it, they sought out the BAU. Inevitably, when they arrived, they were handed a puzzle that was the case. Some had a good deal of pieces in place however there were significant hole in crucial parts. Sometimes there were very few pieces in places. And then there were times that the pieces were misplaced and thus giving the LEOs the wrong picture.
Each case was different but the goal was always the same - to get enough pieces in place to give them enough perspective to identify the correct UNSUB and then make an arrest.
"No. Obviously a happy life isn't enough for you." Haley spit out before pausing before he continued more calmly. "Aaron, I need you here."
Hotch stood up and picked up his bags and said and he walked towards the door, "and I will be here. As soon as this case Is over."
"Yeah, well, make sure you give your son a kiss before you leave." Haley spit out bitterly.
Hotch shook his head as he walked out of the room, heading towards the playroom. After lifting Jack, he gave him a kiss and told him he would see him soon. Putting Jack down and getting him resettled with his toys, he walked back over to the door, picked up his bag and headed down the stairs.
Before he walked out the front door, he turned around to see Haley standing at the top of the stairs with a look of rage on her face. He sighed and said he would see her in a couple of days before walking out, pulling the door closed behind him.
As he got into his car, his phone beeped, indicating an incoming text message. He opened it to find three options for flights going to Milwaukee. After looking at the time, he discounted the first option. He started to send Garcia a message back and stopped as a thought popped into his head.
Would it work? Would she come?
He sighed knowing he wouldn't know unless he tried. Either way it gave him an excuse to stop by to talk since she still wasn't answering her cell phone.
With that settled, he finished responding to Garcia, letting he know what flight he wanted her to book. He requested that she buys two seats and use his credit card instead of the BAU account. Before he could pull out his wallet to give her the number, another beep. He looked at the return message from Garcia 'done'.
Hotch rolled his eyes having realized that the team's tech genius would have found a way to find out his credit card information. A bit of information that he would need to have a conversation with her about later.
Just as he was starting to pull out of the driveway, another message beep from Garcia, 'go get our girl, sir.' Putting down his phone, he drove off towards the address in Emily's personnel file.
When he reached the address, he got out of the car and stared at the building. This was not what he had been expecting. He hadn't recalled the address but he certainly remembered the building. It was in the apartment in this building that part of his earlier relationship with Emily took place. The relationship that he still had no idea why it ended.
As he thought back back to that part of his life as he was also trying to process what he had just learned about his wife he became disheartened.
Maybe stopping here to talk to Emily was a mistake. Maybe he would be intruding on her with her current boyfriend. It would sting to find her together with someone else in what had been their special place. She had walked away and wasn't answering her phone.
It was evident that she was done with the BAU. But… he wasn't done with her. They needed to talk.
The team needed them in Milwaukee if they were going to solve this case. As much as it was going to be risking more pain and rejection, he needed to at least try.
With that he walked into the building on the familiar path to her door.
AN: The next part will be Hotch and Emily talking. It is started and I will post as soon as it's done though that will most likely be next week.