AN: I want to apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter posted. When I posted Chapter 42 I mentioned about RL becoming busy. I didn't realize at that time just how busy life was going to become. While I like writing, my professional field is in the healthcare sector. I'm no longer a clinician however life was very chaotic for a while. I will do my best to get regular updates posted as I have every intention of completing this story. Thanks to all who reached up by comments or DMs as well as those who follow/favorite this story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Hotch attempted to look more confident than he felt as he climbed the stairs of the courthouse later that morning. He glanced at his watch noting it was almost the time in which he agreed to meet his attorney this morning. He was both anxious and terrified about the news they would receive shortly. Whether his relationship with Jack had a future rested on the DNA test results that would be revealed this morning.
Once inside the building, he quickly found his attorney before they walked into the courtroom together. His attorney tried to keep the conversation light, picking up on how anxious Hotch was about the news he would be receiving. Luckily it was only a few minutes until the judge's arrival was announced.
After the judge entered the courtroom and everyone settled back in their seats, the judge confirmed that the results of the paternity test were in as well as the other data he had been expecting after the last hearing such as the account information from the bank.
The judge, reading the room correctly, did not keep them in suspense by starting with the results of the paternity test. Or at least read Hotch correctly as he and his lawyer had both noticed Thomas Hannon, Haley and her lawyer had all been nervous since they had entered the courtroom.
It felt like hours but was only a couple of minutes before the judge presented the results. In that time, Hotch found himself experiencing feelings that were unusual for him - apprehension, fear, frustration … And in this moment his anger with Haley grew.
The judge first announced that Thomas Hannon was not Jack's father. At that Hotch sighed in relief as he looked down at the table in front of him. However the tension in his body remained as just because Hannon was not Jack's father did not mean that he was.
He looked back up as the judge attempted to get the other side of the courtroom under control. Once Haley's lawyer was able to quiet them, the judge continued with the news that he had been both wanting and dreading. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding when it was announced that he was Jack's father with over 99% accuracy. The commotion at that announcement on the other side of the courtroom led to the judge calling for a recess.
As soon as the judge left the courtroom, Hotch's attorney pulled him into a conference room stating that he wanted to keep Hotch away from Haley and Hannon as given their reaction to the news approaching him would most likely have them lashing out.
Once settled, Hotch's relief was short-lived as his attorney reminded him that the hearing was far from over. They needed to stay focused now that it was their turn to present their case to the court. This was necessary to secure the best outcome for the divorce as well as the best custody decision.
As they began to discuss their next steps, there was a knock at the door. Hotch's attorney greeted the woman on the other side of the door before inviting her into the room. He then introduced her to Hotch as the DNA expert they had hired.
With introductions out of the way, they sat down at the table and discussed the specifics of what type of DNA analysis they wanted her to examine. Namely they wanted her to look at the DNA evidence that had been collected at the house the night that Hotch came home from Milwaukee and compare the DNA profiles with the reports from the paternity tests done the previous week. After a few clarifying questions, she nodded and excused herself to go to a small work area in a separate part of the office to review and analyze the results.
Once the door closed as she went to the separate office, Hotch and his lawyer discussed the other topics the judge had requested more information concerning as well as the rest of Haley's testimony. Before they could circle back around to custody, a court officer knocked on the door and informed them that the hearing was ready to resume.
Back in the courtroom, Hotch ignored Haley's furious looks towards him until she was called back to the stand. The judge reminded her she was still under oath before firmly stating that perjury was a criminal offense, clearly not pleased with her false statements from the previous week.
While his attorney questioned Haley, Hotch's thoughts went back to what he wanted to request about custody of Jack now that paternity had been settled. Although he was successfully keeping it under wraps, he was furious with Haley. However he didn't feel it was a sufficient reason to demand sole custody.
What was most important to him was that he was able to build a relationship as well as cause as little upheaval as possible for Jack. There were various factors he needed to consider such as his job but Jack's wellbeing was where his focus was at the moment.
As with most things, there were going to be positives and negatives to whatever direction he chose to go. Would Jack resent him if he was granted sole custody and Jack only had visitation with Haley? Did he feel he could handle full custody?
Or would Jack resent Hotch at some point if Hotch didn't fight for custody eventually also pushing Hotch out of his life? Hotch wouldn't know the effect on Jack of what was decided until much later.
There was also his job to consider as depending on what was decided in terms of custody it could result in him needing to make changes in his professional role. If he committed to full custody, Hotch knew he couldn't keep his position as Unit Chief or even stay in the BAU.
He had been prepared to leave when he came back from suspension for his family. When Haley left with no path to reconciliation he had withdrawn his transfer request and stayed in the BAU. But he wouldn't hesitate to follow through with a transfer this time for Jack.
Unlike when Haley had demanded he leave the BAU, he had had time to plan some potential next moves with which he could maybe be content as part of the workload could be done at home after Jack went to bed.
The BAU was also more settled now that in those weeks when he was suspended, Emily quit and Gideon disappeared. Dave had started to settle into his role on the team. And Strauss would be less likely to screw over the team with a replacement with Dave there.
And then there was...
He was brought out of his thoughts as he attorney came to sit back down next to him as he was now done questioning Haley.
Now it was Hotch's turn to testify. This is what he had been waiting for - the opportunity to tell his side.
Hotch was already aware of the questions he was going to be asked by his attorney. They had discussed them as they decided strategy for this hearing. Hotch already knew how he was going to answer each question which allowed him to profile the reactions of Hannon, Haley and her attorney while he was testifying in order to anticipate what questions Haley's attorney would be asking him later.
The questions covered from how he and Haley met and how they both knew Thomas Hannon before questions about the on again off again relationship that he had with Haley for years.
Then the questions shifted to Haley's reaction to his decision years before they were seriously involved to shift from his work as a lawyer in the prosecutor's office to joining the FBI including her refusal to move away from the DC area. A couple of questions then focused on his assignments before he was offered the position in the BAU and moved back to Virginia.
He then described how their relationship was on and off again after his move back to Virginia before stating his explanation to Haley about his job before he proposed to her.
Then he explained from his perspective what had occurred between them after they married including her pregnancy, her excitement and support when he was offered to lead the BAU team, then her continuing complaints about expected increased workload for the position, her focus on him obtaining a promotion and then her reaction when his suspension delayed the possibility of promotion.
As they went through all of these questions various pieces of documentation were presented as evidence including the transfer request Hotch had submitted at the end of his suspension.
Then he described the reasons he had gone to Milwaukee including what he had explained to Haley that morning before he left.
Continuing, he described what he found when he arrived home to an empty house not 36 hours later including the condition he had found the master bedroom and bathroom when he arrived. At that point his lawyer referred to the document with the lab analysis that was done on the objects the tech had collected that night along with the photos.
Hotch could see the blood drain from Haley's face as he answered questions on this topic while she and her lawyer reviewed their copy of the document. In that moment he could see that Haley had truly believed that she had gotten away with her affair. That he had no actual proof of her adultery even after he had listed it as his reason for petitioning for divorce. As the testimony went on Haley became agitated and began to furiously whisper to her attorney.
Finally Hotch gave his side of the meeting he had with Haley a couple of days after he had arrived home. He stated she had wanted to meet in a private location however something struck him as being off about the conversation so he had requested the location they had met as he knew it had video surveillance.
At this admission he saw Haley look up at him, anger clearly visible on her face.
He then stated what the ultimatum was that Haley gave him that day. Explaining that he had told Haley multiple times over the years that he had no interest in being a criminal defense attorney. That as he saw it her goal was solely for him to be out of the FBI and away from all of his contacts. That the 9-5 schedule that she had initially been pushing had been forgotten as she stated she knew the hours at the criminal defense practice were similar to those in the BAU.
For someone in his position, he continued on, that it wasn't possible to completely walk away as she asked. There were dozens of cases that the team had flagged that he could be called to testify on at any time. He concluded that he had spent years building his professional contacts and it was unrealistic to expect him to walk away from them for no discernable reason other than her whim.
With that his attorney rested and the judge called for a recess for lunch. Once the judge had left the courtroom, Hotch's attorney quickly escorted them out of the courtroom to avoid a run in with Haley. Once back in the room they were meeting in earlier, they were greeted by their DNA expert.
The quick meeting confirmed what had been suspected - the DNA found that the house that night matched both Haley and Thomas Hannon. With the promise of her report being ready before the afternoon court session started, she excused herself from the room.
When the lunch break was over they headed back to the courtroom for the afternoon session that started with Haley's attorney questioning Hotch. Hotch's attention to Hannon, Haley and her attorney when his attorney was questioning him allowed Hotch to immediately challenge the arrogance exuded by the attorney as he started. Hotch's responses quickly had the attorney becoming frustrated and going off script which in turn allowed Hotch's attorney to successfully object to questions and remarks made instead of questions.
By the end the angles that unfairly attempted to cast Hotch in a negative light were mostly shut down. He hadn't been perfect in their marriage however he also wasn't the monster they were trying to make it appear that he was.
After Hotch's testimony was done, his attorney called their last witness, the DNA expert. Haley's attorney immediately objected to this witness on multiple grounds, each becoming more desperate. After the judge dismissed all the objections, Hotch noticed when they fully realized the impact of Haley's assertion about Jack not being his. Because of that statement, they had been compelled to provide the DNA samples and thus those same samples were able to contradict Haley's contention that she and Hannon had only slept together once around the time of Jack's conception. However all of the evidence from phone records to the DNA evidence indicated an extended affair that spanned most of their marriage.
And with that testimony done, both sides rested and now they needed to wait for the judge's decision.
####
Hotch sat in his car leaning forward against the steering wheel. It was done. Just a few minutes earlier the judge had granted the divorce.
During the recess after the testimony concluded Hotch and his attorney went back to the workroom and seriously discussed what Hotch wanted to request for in terms of custody.
Before he could give an answer explaining his conflict, his attorney pointed out that this particular judge tended to avoid taking young children away from their mothers when assigning custody unless there were issues with abuse or neglect.
Continuing on, his lawyer explained that given the particulars of this case such as the lies Haley had made just in the courtroom, he would have a better chance than most of getting sole custody but there was no guarantee. However to even have that request taken seriously, he would need to have paperwork showing a finalized change in his job situation.
In that moment, all of the turmoil Hotch had felt about what was best for Jack came back to him. Now was the time that he needed to make a decision. A decision that would affect all of them in the years to come.
What it came down to for Hotch was he couldn't justify taking Jack away from Haley. As angry as he was with her for everything he had learned over the last few months, he couldn't deny that she was a good mother.
But he wasn't willing to let her dictate his relationship with Jack any longer. And if she continued to try and undermine his relationship with Jack then he would have no qualms about making the needed changes in his professional life and returning to court to petition for sole custody.
After sharing his thoughts with his lawyer, they worked to put together their requests to submit to the judge.
Later in court, most of his requests were part of the final custody decision. They had joint custody with Hotch having Jack three weekends a month as well as time during the week so when he was in town he could take Jack to dinner with the option of overnights.
When the decision was read any argument Haley was going to muster was quickly shut down. The judge called her out on her lies in court even after being warned about perjury being a crime.
As Haley nervously looked on, the judge continued that at this time charges were not going to be filed but held over. If she had any further issues, that all of those instances would be filed at that time. But given the nature of the lies, the judge had ordered supervised custody transfers and restrictions about where Jack needed to live.
The judge had also stated that in order to keep custody of Jack Haley needed to live within 10 miles in response to Haley's assertion that she wanted to move out of the area which Hotch's attorney pointed out would make joint custody difficult if not impossible.
This was a point Hotch strongly fought for as it didn't matter how much time he was given with Jack if Haley moved them out of the area, there was only going to be limited time he could actually see Jack unless he unrooted his life and moved as well.
The judge even went a step further and stated that Jack could not leave an area of 25 miles with permission of the court as well as Hotch's agreement.
Because of Haley's lies in court about what happened at the meeting that was recorded, the judge ordered that custody turnovers be supervised.
Then the judge decided that there would be no spousal support. By her own admission, she started having an affair less than a year into her marriage. The phone records and DNA evidence showed an ongoing relationship.
As for child support, the judge quoted an amount that took into consideration that they had joint custody. However when taking into account the documentation that had arrived from the bank detailing the activity on the account, the judge stated that Haley withdrew the balance of the account after the separation papers were served and therefore Hotch was going to be credited for the amount against what he owed for child support.
Looking out the windshield although the decisions were overwhelmingly in his favor, he couldn't help feeling unsettled at the finality of it.
However he couldn't focus on that right now. Now he needed to make arrangements for someone else from the team to attend certain meetings instead of him so he could make his midweek visits with Jack.
But an even more time sensitive task that he needed to work on today was finding an apartment as although he received the house as part of his divorce settlement, he didn't plan to continue living there. He turned and opened his briefcase and took out a list of apartments that Garcia had created for him that met his requirements. Now he just hoped that at least one was still available and he could move in quickly.
####
Hotch sighed as he looked around at all of his belongings packed up in what had been his office at the house. The house in which he and Haley had bought to raise their family. Now what they had envisioned wouldn't happen, at least not in the way they had planned.
After today, the house wouldn't be his home any longer. Regardless of what the settlement had been in court, he had already decided he was not going to keep the house. He couldn't stay with everything he had discovered had happened there.
In court, Haley had requested the house. However given the circumstances, the judge had refused to make it part of her settlement. But as he considered it, he remembered how much they both had wanted Jack to grow up there.
It was at the living distance aspect of the verdict that had Hotch agreeing to let Jack and Haley continue to live in the house after he was assigned ownership in the divorce.
The formal agreement was that Haley could live there with Jack as long as she properly maintained the house until Jack was at least 18 and had graduated from high school. At that point it would be up to Hotch about what he wanted to do with the house - sell it or keep for his own use.
He was conflicted with the decision as after the lies and deceit from Haley a large part of him didn't want Haley and Thomas Hannon to be raising Jack in the house he and Haley had bought to raise their family. But he kept reminding himself - he wasn't doing it for Haley, he was doing it for Jack.
And that was why he was now here packing up his belongings that would shortly be taken from the house and moved into the new apartment that he had rented after the hearing a couple of days earlier.
The building he had chosen had been on the list Garcia had given him of places that met his criteria. And it was furnished. It also most importantly had an immediate opening. He had just signed the papers the same afternoon as the court hearing.
After he taped up the last box in his office, Hotch stood up and looked around the office. For now he was leaving the furniture from this room until he had a more permanent home. Haley knew he was leaving those items and it was understood that nothing in that room was to be disturbed.
He walked out of his office and as he made his way through the house he thought about all of the excitement and promise that he had felt the last time the house had boxes in it. Now all he wanted to move forward separate from Haley.
As he observed the boxes he was taking, Hotch recalled that he was mostly just taking his personal effects. He was going to need to do some shopping for household supplies. The only household items he was taking were a few coffee mugs and items that were special in some way to him as well as things that he could use that he knew Haley would dispose of shortly after she moved back to the house.
Passing the master bedroom, he cringed at the memory of what he had found there months earlier. Memories that he couldn't shake and was why he wasn't taking any of the bed or bath linens with him because no matter how many times he would wash them, there would always be those memories attached to those items. However, without taking them that would require a trip to the store before he could go to bed tonight.
It would be nice to sleep in a bed when at home instead of the couch in his office. Since that night he came home from Milwaukee, he had been sleeping on the couch in his office except for when the team was traveling or the nights he had spent at Emily's apartment.
After the movers finished taking everything he was taking to the apartment, he was going over to Jessica's to pick up Jack. He had planned to take Jack to their favorite lunch spot followed by a trip to the park he had discovered near his new apartment.
After spending some time there, he was going to take Jack back to his new apartment and explain how things were going to be different. Then he was going to show Jack what would be his room when he was staying with Hotch and make plans with him about what theme he wanted to use to decorate it. Hotch had already made a list after carefully looking over Jack's room at the house of furniture, toys and books that would be needed.
Haley had tried to fight him on taking Jack out today but Hotch had been adamant. He was going to explain to Jack himself why he was not going to be at the house when he and Haley moved back in late that day. He was no longer going to give Haley control of the narrative in his relationship with Jack. He needed Jack to hear from him why he wasn't at the house and show Jack his new home. Hotch needed to make sure Jack heard from him how much he loved him and that they were still going to spend time together.
####
Hotch arrived back at his apartment after dropping Jack off at the house. Their time together had gone well. Having done it, he was glad that he had chosen the path of talking to Jack himself even with it meaning having to delay his arrival to the case the team was currently working in Pittsburgh.
It was another time that he was relieved about Dave being there and able to lead the team on this case until he arrived. He hated coming in late on any case but this talk with Jack had been too important for him to miss.
As he sat down on the only chair in his living room currently filled with boxes, he took a sip of his drink and thought back to the brief but awkward interaction he had had with Emily in the office before the team left for the airstrip.
The full impact of that they had slept together again hadn't hit him until after he left court the next afternoon. He was grateful to Emily for the time they spent together the night before the hearing. He had been wound up so tight that the more he thought about it he was certain he would have cracked in court without their time together.
The first time they had slept together weeks earlier had been unplanned. They had suddenly and unexpectedly discovered how much their previous relationship had meant to the other. The spontaneous coupling that night was uncharacteristic for both profilers. In retrospect, Hotch felt the lack of his usual planning had greatly contributed to the miscommunications and tension between them in the days that followed until they spoke at the house.
Then earlier this week he had been grateful for the gym workout and sharing dinner with Emily. He had been relieved when she invited him to stay, not wanting to go home to the house the night before the hearing. It was that relief that had him not balk when she then mentioned her oversight about her guest room not being set up yet.
Neither of them planned on having sex that night. It had even been awkward when they both got into the bed as they settled on opposite sides of the bed with as much distance as possible between them.
But then he had woken a couple of hours later to find them cuddled together though Emily was carefully trying to move back away from him. He had been the one to stop her, placing his hand on her knee which was draped over him while wrapping his arm around her back, halting her movements.
He remembered her looking up at him surprised. As they looked at each other, he unexpectedly found himself leaning over to kiss her. A planned quick kiss before he would loosen his arm around her so she could move back that had quickly and unexpectedly turned passionate. Clothes then rapidly descended to the floor.
For the next couple of hours he had lost himself in her, putting aside all of his anxiety about what he was going to learn in court that day as well as what decisions the judge would make about the terms of the divorce.
But given their interaction in the office, he couldn't help but worry about the fallout of their second unexpected night together. The only reason his anxiety wasn't bubbling over was that he and Emily had spoken at the house after the misunderstanding the last time they had slept together.
He had explained that he wasn't ready for another relationship. She had mentioned at the same time she wasn't either. And while like him, she had been attempting to keep her distance as they slept, once that kiss happened, everything he felt from her was that she had wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.
But the fact remained that he wasn't ready for another relationship. What happened that night couldn't happen again until he felt differently. He still cared for Emily and didn't want to lead her on or worse be using her.
No he needed to keep his distance outside of work hours. For now he thought, as he looked around, he needed to get settled into his apartment. He couldn't even consider anything more in his personal life in the near term.
The court hearing had reopened some wounds about his marriage. And now that the divorce was decided he needed to focus his free time on Jack. Helping him acclimate him to the new normal.
Then maybe when he was in a better place they could sit down and talk before deciding if a relationship was something they both wanted. Given the professional risks, a conversation with a mutual agreement if they wanted something serious was necessary instead of the situations of spontaneous couplings that they had so far let happen.
Then sitting back Hotch sighed and looked at his glass as he again remembered his shock at the marks on Emily's back. He had seen the pattern enough to know exactly what they were.
The question that was plaguing him most about it was who did and why.
He knew for sure that the marks weren't there the summer they had been together. He had seen her naked back multiple times and was certain he would have noticed the marks if they had been there. He recalled the tattoos, a birthmark and a scar on her side from a fall, not not these marks.
Having known Emily in both time frames both personally and now professionally, he couldn't see her tolerating an abusive relationship especially given her reaction when he asked after her incident in her self defense class. But as he thought about the advanced self defense class when she had no problem taking down Morgan something nagged inside of him about her tendency to overcompensate.
She had mentioned about her poor dating history however he was certain she would have left a guy long before things had gotten to the point of leaving those scars. Additionally there would be police reports as he couldn't see Emily letting something like that go unpunished.
So did that mean she had done it to herself? Although they hadn't talked about it, he had felt the scars from her cutting both in the past and more recently.
At some point had she advanced to beating herself? He shook his head.
While possible, he didn't think so given the position of some would be difficult if she had been doing it.
So what did that leave and what was he missing?
He stood up and walked towards this new bedroom. This wasn't a question he was going to get an answer to tonight.
At some point he hoped that she would feel comfortable sharing with him what had happened. However right now their relationship was not at that point. For tonight, he needed to get some sleep before he needed to get up to catch the early flight out of Dulles to meet up with the team.
AN: The next chapter will focus on Emily also around the time of the Higher Power episode. I've already started it and will post as soon as it's ready.