The Fugitive
- Chapter One -
"True love doesn't happen by accident. It's deliberate, it's intentional, it's purposeful and in the end its worth it." – Darlene Schacht
It was about nine o'clock at night when Aaron Hotchner pulled into the driveway of his house, he was exhausted and late, really late. It was the middle of the summer, so the sun didn't set until after nine, but he was late anyway. The current Deputy Director of the FBI didn't work those long hours anymore, he had an eight-to-five life and he had for about five years. For the most part, he was home by six o'clock everyday. That gave him plenty of time to have dinner with his family and spend some time with his children; he thought he had the perfect life, except today of course, but the meeting had gone on forever and made him late. The problem was that he had been getting home later than usual during the past few months. With all the movement going on around the FBI, he found himself working a lot more hours than he was supposed to, but he didn't mind the long hours, he never had. But now, things were different from his rocky years with the FBI, he couldn't give himself the privilege of working until eleven every night. He was married and he had a family that needed his full attention, work didn't come first anymore, it hadn't for a while. Tonight, he had been pulled into a late night meeting with the Director and had missed Jack's soccer game; he had broken a promise not only to his wife but to his children as well. The truth was he had been doing that a lot lately, not intentionally, but he had.
That had started a whole new set of arguments with his wife, there was no perfect marriage, he knew that, but for the past few months, he and Emily had been arguing more than ever, and he wasn't happy about that. Of course, he still loved his wife dearly, after all, she was the love of his life, but all marriages had that one rough patch. He just didn't think that was possible with their marriage. Was their marriage going through one of those rough patches? Would they be able to move past this? They had always been able to work out their issues and keep their marriage strong, it still was strong, he loved Emily more than anything in the world, of that he was sure. Still, there had been more arguments lately, and he knew his late arrival would probably start yet another one tonight. He sighed, getting out of the car and heading toward the house. No matter what happened, he would never give up on their marriage, he was determined to keep them together.
The smell of fresh baked dinner, cookies and Emily hit his nose as soon as he opened the door, and he could also hear soft jazz music coming from the kitchen. The first thing he noticed was the big caramel-colored golden retriever rushing toward him and wagging his tail contently barking at him.
"Hey, Gunner," He said leaning down to scratch the dog's head, and the pet happily began licking his face and hands.
"At least, someone is happy to see me." He murmured to himself.
"Hey, Dad." He heard the voice of his fourteen-year-old son and looked up to see Jack coming down the stairs. The big dog was still happily greeting his owner and leaving fur all over his perfectly-pressed suit. The Unit Chief couldn't care less, as annoying as the dog could be, their children adored him and he could not see their life without their pet.
"Hi, buddy." He responded pulling his son into a warm hug.
"I'm sorry I missed your game this afternoon," Knowing that was the reason he was in trouble. He was supposed to leave work early to head to Jack's soccer game, but he ended up being dragged into a meeting.
"It's okay, work comes first, I get it."
"Work doesn't come first, Jack, you know that; this was an odd last minute meeting, and I'm sorry I wasn't there." Aaron said gently.
"I know, dad, it's okay, you're the Deputy Director, stuff happens, you can't control that." Jack responded sounding like a mature adult and not the fourteen-year-old kid he was.
"Where's mom?"
"Upstairs with Ellie, she just finished bathing her." Jack replied and shrugged walking away with the dog happily following on his tail. Aaron glanced up the stairs wanting to go and find his wife, but he also knew eventually they would have time to talk, so he headed toward the kitchen instead.
When he walked in, he spotted his ten-year-old daughter sitting at the kitchen island, scribbling something in a notebook. Her head phones were on, and she was lip-syncing to the song and shaking her head softly as she chewed on a pencil eraser, deeply concentrating.
"Hi, baby." He greeted her smiling, however, the girl paid no mind to him, or perhaps, she couldn't hear him with the headphones on.
Zoe was ten years old, and she was his and Emily's first child; she was growing into a young lady and he wished he could go back to when she was just a little baby he could hold in his arms forever. She was the replica of her mother, raven black hair, ivory skin, the finely delicate pointed nose, the dark eyes and long eyelashes, she was a mini Emily. However, she was sweet natured and calm much more like Jack, she could spend days in her room drawing or studying without anyone noticing she wasn't there. Aaron always heard girls were a headache, even more so than boys, but his daughter wasn't. He couldn't even picture his daughter acting out or even saying no to anything her parents told her.
"I can't believe you're not deaf already with the iPad's volume turned all the way up." He stated stepping closer to her and reaching for her arm. The girl jumped slightly and then a big smile covered her face.
"Daddy, you scared me!" The girl squealed taking off her headphones and returning the hug her dad was giving her.
"Well, if you weren't trying to ruin your eardrums, you could have heard me when I said hello." He said pointing toward the iPad, kissing her forehead and smiling gently.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm doing my math homework." She pointed out, chewing on her pencil again.
"Are you? It sounds like you're at a rock concert," Even from his place he could hear the music coming though the headphones.
"It's pop music, daddy, and it helps me study." Zoe commented nonchalantly.
"By the time you're fifteen, you'll need a tympanic membrane transplant…turn it down a little, please."
"You sound like mom" The girl said, lowering the volume and placing the headphones back on her ears, shooting her father a grin, one she knew her father couldn't resist.
"Only I'm way cooler than her." He said matter of factly making Zoe laugh. "Don't tell her I said that," He added with a wink.
"Daddy, you're home." He heard from behind him. He turned in time to watch his four-year-old daughter rush into his arms with a smile bigger than her face.
He caught her just in time smiling and holding her close. Ellie was their youngest miracle child. After Emily had Zoe, she had a couple of miscarriages, so they stopped trying, thinking they couldn't have any more children. But then Emily became pregnant again and soon they were holding their child in their arms, and the world couldn't be any more perfect for them. Ellie, unlike her sister was outspoken, stubborn and high tempered, and he was sure she was going to give him a run for his money as soon as she became a teenager, something he wasn't looking forward to at all.
"Hi, sweetheart," Aaron said to Ellie and smiling at his wife, hoping he could soften things a little, but the look on his wife's face told him everything he needed to know…yes, he was in deep shit and yes, she was mad at him.
"Hey honey, I'm sorry I'm late," He said anyway coming closer to his wife with their four-year-old in his arms. He leaned in to place a kiss on her lips, but Emily moved away from him, so he ended up kissing her cheek.
"The kids had dinner earlier," She pointed out with emphasis moving around the kitchen, "But I'll warm your dinner while you spend time with them. Ellie needs to be in bed in an hour, so..."
"Thanks sweetheart," Aaron said, ignoring his wife's cold tone and focusing on spending the few hours he had left with his children.
Regardless of them having already eaten before their father got home, Jack, Ellie and Zoe gathered around the kitchen island filling the room with laughter and telling their father how their day had gone. The golden retriever was sleeping peacefully right next to him on the floor. Ellie remained on his lap playing with his cufflinks while he attempted to eat with his free hand.
"Okay, monkey-bear, come here." Emily said, taking the child in her arms and placing her on her lap instead giving her husband enough room to enjoy his dinner.
"Let's let daddy finish dinner, okay?"
"But I want to be with daddy." The girl pouted.
"He's going to tuck you in tonight, alright, but right now, he needs to have dinner, honey." Emily said, gently placing one of her daughter's hair strands behind her ear.
"Did you guys decide on the lake yet?" Aaron asked, taking a bite of his food and focusing fully on his family…whatever issues he and Emily had, they would work them out later.
"Well, Uncle Dave said the Potomac River is the best for fishing." Jack said excitedly, "And he said we can take the bigger boat instead, that way everyone has more room. Uncle Dave said it would be the biggest boat on the lake because we are way cooler." Rossi had given Jack a fishing set for his birthday a few months ago, and they had been trying to spend some quality time and going fishing with the entire family. The family, of course, included David Rossi, JJ, Will and her kids, Garcia, Morgan and Reid.
It was his real family, they had been for years, not only had they all worked together over a decade, but they were friends and family, they had been there for each other during the most difficult and best times of their lives, marriages, parent's deaths, the birth of their children, Christmases, birthdays, everything. They were one big family, and they were always spending time together, along with their children.
"Did Dave actually say that? Or, is that just you being overly-excited?" He asked, knowing his son.
"No, Uncle Dave said so, he also said we could go water skiing, too, even Uncle Spencer said he wants to try." It was clear that his son was more than looking forward to spending the weekend at the lake with his family.
"Spencer wants to water ski?" He asked amused, glancing at his wife with disbelief.
"Yeah, if anyone breaks a bone, remember it was all your and Dave's idea." She replied, rolling her eyes and looking at Jack knowing she wouldn't have the heart to sabotage his plans.
"He won't break a bone; Spencer is a genius." Jack said as a matter of fact.
"Let me call Uncle Dave, and we can talk about the water skis, I'm not sure I'm ready to watch Spencer being pulled on skis at the lake, genius or not he can be a klutz." Aaron said, making his children laugh, and he was even able to coax a smile from his wife.
The truth was he was really looking forward to spending time with his children at the lake because it had been a while since the entire family spent time together, and he was just as eager as Jack; he truly needed to dedicate time to his family.
"Can I fish, too, daddy?" Ellie asked from her mother's lap.
"I'm sure we can find you a play fishing set at the store. Uncle Dave and I will get you the biggest fish." Hearing his daughter cheer happily was all he needed, and even Emily gave him a small smile…albeit a very small one. Perhaps that was just what they needed…to spend time together, he knew even over the weekend the team would find a way to give them privacy and some time for just him and Emily, he could deal with that.
"Ellie, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed." Emily ordered gently placing their child back on the floor after Aaron was finished with dinner.
"It's almost time for bed for you two as well." She said, looking at her other two children. Even if Jack wasn't biologically her son, she had raised him since he was five, and she loved him the same way she loved Ellie and Zoe.
"Okay mom, I'm just going to call Uncle Spencer and talk about tomorrow." Jack said, rushing up the stairs followed by Gunner.
"Jack, you need to take that dog out!" Aaron reminded him.
"I know dad; I always do" Jack said annoyed
"Zoe, half hour only." Emily warned as she heard the ten-year-old run upstairs as well.
"K, mom." She said as all of their older children disappeared upstairs giving them some alone time.
"Baby, I'm sorry, I know you're mad, but I didn't mean to be home so late." Aaron said, putting his arms around his wife.
"You said you would be there for Jack's game, Aaron, you promised Jack that." She said, pulling away from his embrace.
"You were also supposed to play with Ellie on the monkey bars...you made plans with your kids and you ditched them to be doing God knows what with God knows who." Emily had kept quiet during dinner, but she was still upset with her husband and her tone of voice really indicated that.
"Are we really back to that again?" Aaron asked frustrated, running a hand over his head, this wasn't really his idea of alone time with his wife.
"Back to what?" Emily asked, feigning confusion.
"We've talked about this a hundred times...she is just my assistant, Emily." He said firmly.
That was the entire reason why she was mad to begin with; it wasn't so much that he was late, it was mostly the fact that for the last few months they had a few arguments over his new assistant. He was the Deputy Director of the FBI, the bureau changed personnel very often, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, it was just all political. In this world, people got moved around often, his old assistant had finally retired. Margie had worked for the FBI as long as he could remember, she was an older lady who adored his wife and children. She was the perfect assistant, but she was sixty-five and she had decided it was time to say goodbye to her career and spend the rest of her days at home.
They had been looking for someone to replace Margie for a while, but the position needed to be filled so ultimately, it was the Director who made the final call. The woman who had taken Margie's place was Beth Clemmons, an ex-narcotics agent who had been at the FBI for ten years. She was in her early forties and she was too attentive for Hotch's taste. To be honest with himself, he never even thought about her other than the fact that she was his assistant and coordinated his daily agenda. But, according to Emily, David and even Derek, the woman had a special interest in him and it wasn't work-related.
Of course, he didn't pay any attention to that, he was happily married and he loved his wife, his eyes were only for his wife. But Emily didn't feel like that, apparently Emily was under the impression that Beth was after her husband. It really didn't help much that Beth acted overly sweet and friendly with him the few times Emily had stopped by the office. His wife also told him that Beth had been rude and short with her over the phone, although Aaron had no proof of that. It wasn't like Hotch didn't believe his wife, it was just that maybe she was particularly sensitive about the topic, so he wasn't sure if Beth was actually being rude to her or if it was plain paranoia.
Aaron would never cheat on his wife, he knew that, neither would he ever dare to look at another woman, let alone his assistant. The simple fact that Emily would even think that hurt his feelings deeply. He didn't even know why this was happening now, his wife had never been the jealous type. Never in their twelve years of marriage had they had any issues like this, nor did he remember Emily being jealous or insecure. So why was it happening now with Beth? It didn't really help his case that he and Beth ended up being stuck in particularly-long tasks or meetings lately. But the final point was, Emily wasn't happy with him and she had managed to convince herself that either he was cheating, or that he had a particular interest in this woman.
"Emily, I was at a meeting with the Director, it was me and Chauvin only." He said sternly, trying not to sound aggravated. He adored his wife more than anything, but this particular topic was beginning to get under his skin, especially the fact that Emily had started to distrust him.
"Is that why she told me you had left for the day when I called in this afternoon?" His wife asked, placing a hand on her hip.
"Wait! What!?"
"Your phone kept going straight to voicemail." His wife responded. "I called the office, and she said you had left for the day and then hung up on me."
"Beth said that to you?" He asked in disbelief.
"You think I'm making shit up?" Emily asked angrily.
"I didn't say that! Please keep your voice down?" He pleaded, glancing up the stairs to make sure none of his children were witnessing their argument.
"Are you going to answer my question?" She asked, glaring at him but lowering her voice.
"I don't know why she said that Emily, I had been at a meeting for the past two hours, do you want me to call Chauvin?"
"No! I want to know why she told me you weren't there." Her voice escalated again. He shook his head glancing up the stairs again. The last thing he needed was for one of his children to watch them fight.
"Can we not do this right now, please?" He begged tiredly.
"Fine, whatever," Emily said, trying to push past him, but he stepped in front of her to block her way pulling her into his arms again.
"Honey," He said tiredly, "I don't want to fight with you, I don't know why she said that, and I will have a conversation with her, I promise you. Chauvin might retire, that was what the meeting was about." He explained, looking into his wife's eyes. She was tired and hurt, and he simply couldn't understand what was going on, why after all these years out of the blue, she suddenly believed he would cheat on her.
Some times he wished he could make the world perfect for her, he wished he could fix all of her insecurities and have a perfect marriage, but that was unrealistic…he knew that…they weren't always going to agree on everything no matter how much they loved each other. How could he prove to her that she was the most important thing for him in the world, and that he would never love anyone the way he loved her.
"Emily, I love you...only you...my eyes are for you only, and I will say that until you believe me." He said, kissing her lips.
"I'm going to finish folding laundry, go say goodnight to your children." She said, moving away from his embrace.
He watched her walk away sighing and hoping he could fix this; he knew for sure he would have a conversation with his assistant on Monday. If she was being rude to his wife and giving her wrong information that didn't help his case or his wife's insecurities, she was going to hear from him. Right now, he needed to focus on putting his children to bed, later on tonight he would talk to his wife and show her she was really the only woman for him.
He headed upstairs deciding on making sure all his children were in bed before he would attempt to talk to his wife again. So, he headed into his youngest child's room first. Ellie was dancing mimicking a cartoon on the TV. Blue Clues maybe? He had no idea, it was hard to keep track of all the shows her daughter liked.
"Time for bed, Ellie." He said.
"Can we have a story?" Ellie asked jumping in the bed as her father turned off the television.
"We can read a short one, it's already past your bedtime."
"Okay, can we read The Ugly Duckling?"
"All right." Aaron said as he reached for the book while Ellie got comfortable in bed.
"Wait! I forgot Mr. Snuggles." She said, pointing to the Constable Bear sitting in front of the TV. It was his daughter's most precious treasure. It was a gift from Uncle Dave from one of his trips to London. A cop bear to keep her safe at night.
"All right, love, time for you to sleep." Aaron said after the story was over.
"Wait, daddy!" He tilted his head looking at his daughter, this happened every night they tried to put her to bed…she had a million questions and excuses.
"What is it Ellie?"
"Is mommy mad at you?" That through him off guard.
"Why are you asking that, baby?"
"Because she didn't give you a welcome home kiss, like she always does." Leave it up to his four-year-old daughter to notice things like that, she was the child of profilers after all.
"Mommy and I are fine, okay? You don't need to worry about that."
"Did you do something to make her mad?" She asked instead.
"Maybe, but like I said you don't have to worry."
"Can't you just say you're sorry?" Ellie asked with no intentions of going to bed.
"Oh, I know, you can buy her chocolates, all girls like chocolates."
"They do, don't they." He smirked.
"Yes, because Chocolate is better than sex." Aaron was stunned at that statement glancing at his daughter in utter shock.
"What did you just say?" He asked beginning to feel like he was going to throw up, there was no way his innocent child had actually used the "s" word.
"That's what Auntie Penelope said." Ellie responded shrugging Of course she did, who else could have been if not Aunt Penelope. Aaron made a mental note to rip the analyst's head off as soon as he saw her.
"When did she tell you that?"
"She didn't tell me that." Ellie explained, "She told mommy and Aunt JJ."
"Were you listening to adult conversations?" He asked, knowing full well she had overheard the adults talking.
"No." She lied.
"Do you even know what that means, Ellie?" He asked, not ready for her answer. Please God don't do this to me.
"I don't know, but she said chocolate was better, so buy mommy chocolate." She explained. It was as innocent as she was putting it, she just heard chocolate was better, so whatever that other word was didn't matter because candy did. He sighed hoping his daughter's innocence and childhood had not been ruined yet.
"Okay, I will keep that in mind." He said tucking her in. "Now bed time please."
"Goodnight, daddy." Ellie finally gave in clutching her stuffed bear and closing her eyes.
"Night, baby." Aaron said, kissing her forehead and walking out of the room, just leaving the night light on.
He was so going to kill Garcia.
His next stop was Zoe's room; the ten-year-old was already in bed, but her light was on and she was reading a book.
"It's time for bed, sweetheart." He said coming to sit next to her.
"I know; I was just finishing this chapter."
"What are you reading?"
"The Count of Monte Cristo." She said with a smile.
"That's a big book for a ten-year-old. Did mom say it was okay to read?"
"It's about a prison escape, daddy."
"I know that, I'm not entirely sure the book is appropriate for your age."
"Mom read it when she was my age and so did you."
"We did." He agreed softly. Zoe was much more mature for her age, still she should be reading children's books. "However, I still think you should stick with books for children your age"
"Have you read Moby Dick? I think you would like that."
"It's about a whale, I read it two years ago."
"Okay." He said, not fully surprised just like her mother Zoe had a passion for books.
"You don't have to worry daddy"
"Just be careful with the books you pick okay; I don't want you to grow up too fast."
"I won't, I promise you."
"Okay, you can continue reading but tomorrow…now is time for bed."
"Good night, dad."
"Good night, baby." He said feeling way older; his children were growing up so fast and that truly scared him.
His last stop was Jack's room. Unlike his sisters, Jack had no intention of going to bed yet, as Aaron found him playing video games.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"
"It's Friday night, dad, I can stay up until ten on the weekends." He reminded him his fingers moving frantically on the controller.
"That's in twenty minutes." Aaron said, looking at his son.
"I know; this game is almost over." Jack said, his eyes glued to the television where a soccer game was taking place.
"You want to watch?" Jack invited his dad as his player made another score.
"Sure." Aaron sat down next to his son on the bed watching him play. Sometimes, when he wasn't too busy, he liked to play video games with Jack since it gave him an opportunity to spend time with his son.
"Are you and mom going to be okay?" Jack asked timidly.
"Of course we are." Aaron said frowning. "What do you mean?"
"You guys have been fighting a lot lately." He gave his son a questioning look.
"I've heard you arguing a few times."
"I'm really sorry, Jack, I never meant for you to hear any of that...your mom and I are fine, I don't want you to worry." Jack just shrugged.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know, it's just..." He chewed on his lip not sure how to word it, "I remember when I was little and you used to fight with my other mom...then you guys got divorced." He said sadly making Aaron's heart break.
"Jack, look at me, please." He did while pausing his game.
"Your mom and I aren't going to divorce, okay."
"But you have been fighting."
"We have." Aaron said, taking a deep breath and choosing his words very carefully. "Adults fight sometimes, it's like when you fight with Ellie and Zoe, sometimes people don't always agree with each other...Emily and I love each other very much, and we love you guys more than anything…we are not going to separate, okay?"
"I'm not mad you missed my game."
"I know you're not." He smiled. "I really appreciate you being so understanding, I'm still sorry I wasn't there."
"It's okay, don't worry too much, mom will get over it."
"You are a very smart young man; you know that? Stop growing up so fast, please." He said ruffling his son's hair.
"I'll try."
"Okay, I'm going to go and"
"Talk to mom?" Jack asked.
"Yes, and don't listen to adult conversations, it's time for bed."
"You got it." Jack smiled, his attention fully back to his game.
He left Jack to finish his game, heading downstairs and running a hand over his hair. He was tired, his children were too grown up for his own good, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Everything downstairs was quiet, and there were no signs of Emily anywhere, so he went ahead and made sure all the lights were off and the doors secured. He then headed upstairs in search of his wife, finding her outside on the balcony of their room looking at the night lost in thought.
He came closer to her wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her into his arms. He felt her tense up again, but she remained in his embrace, leaning against his touch and sighing.
"I'm so sorry, baby." Aaron said again, kissing her neck. Emily grasped his hands turning around to face him while his arms remained holding her.
"I don't want to be that woman." She stated, looking at him with her big brown eyes illuminated by the moonlight.
"What woman?"
"The one that becomes a nuisance and a headache, the one that pesters you with nonsense as soon as you get home."
"I don't want to become…"
"Like Haley?" Aaron asked knowing the answer.
"I didn't say that."
"I know, and you're not like that, Emily."
"I love you with all my heart and sometimes I just wonder if..." She stopped unable to continue.
"If what?" He questioned running a thumb over her cheek gently.
"Nothing, never mind."
"Emily..."
"It's really nothing, I promise you."
"It's not nothing if it bothers you sweetheart."
"I'm getting older each day...and I can't help wondering..." But she stopped again.
"You think I will get bored and tired of you?"
"No... I just..." But she gave him all the answers he needed; this was where all her insecurities were coming from, she was jealous of Beth because she believed he had grown bored with her.
"Emily, look at me baby" he commanded softly, so she did.
"There is absolutely no way in the world I would ever get tired of you." He kissed her lips. "Don't you know how much I love you? How crazy I am about you?"
She chewed her lips looking at him. No, right now she didn't know and he could see that. So he pulled her close, kissing her passionately and leaving her breathless.
"I look at you every day, baby, I really do," He continued his assault on her neck, "And I wonder what such a beautiful and fascinating creature could see in an old fart like me."
"Hmm, I can give you a few clues." She responded melting under his touch and reaching for his tie.
"So, it's not chocolate?" He joked dryly.
"What?" She asked, confused and pulling away.
"Nothing! Apparently, we need to have a conversation with Penelope about her choice of words around our four-year-old."
"Oh my God!" Emily's eyes grew wide. "What did she hear?"
"Just that chocolate is better than you know...sex"
"What!? Oh my God, please don't tell me that...-"
"No, she has no idea what it means, she only understood the candy part...luckily."
"Now, I'm going to have nightmares, Garcia is so dead!"
"I agree, we can plot her murder later," He said softly as he returned to kissing his wife.
"But right now, I want to actually test her theory." He said huskily pulling her earlobe into his mouth and earning a giggle from her.
"What do you think Agent Prentiss is chocolate better than sex?"
"Why don't we go inside and I can show you instead" she said, her fingers moving up to undo the buttons on his shirt. He groaned suckling at her neck.
"Aaron..." Emily whimpered.
"Shhh, baby." He whispered pulling her inside the bedroom with him.
Right now, he didn't want to think or talk anymore. All he wanted to do was show his wife how much he really did love her. And he did just that, twice as it turned out; it took a lot of work and talking, but he was able to show her just how much he really did love her.
The following morning, they had an early awakening by a too-eagerly-excited Jack and their four-year-old banging on the door saying it was time to go play with the "fishies". They hadn't slept much the night before, but he couldn't care less. He and Emily had spent a lot of time talking and doing other things, but he didn't care even if it took him every night for the rest of his life, he would try to fix all of his wife's insecurities and show her she was the only woman he would ever love.
"They are your children; you should get up first." Hotch groaned not wanting to get out of bed yet and blinking against the bright sunlight that was coming through the curtains.
"I'll keep that in mind next time you want to get laid." Emily said, throwing a pillow at him playfully.
"Okay, okay. I'm up." He said, reaching for his pants as the banging on the door got a little louder. It was barely seven in the morning, but they had a long day ahead, so it was better to get to it, so pulling his shirt over his head, he reached for the door knob.
"Daddy, I want pancakes." It was the first thing his four-year-old said as soon as the door swung open.
"Pancakes?" He repeated. "How long have you been awake?" He asked realizing she was way too hyper for having just woken up.
"A while." Jack said poking his head inside the room. "Uncle Dave is on his way."
"We better get to it, then." Emily said, reaching for her robe and getting out of bed as well.
"Okay then, let's go make breakfast while mommy gets ready." He stated, picking up his child and tickling her.
"Yay! Pancakes!" Ellie sang happily.
"Pancakes coming right up for the princess."
"And coffee!" He heard Emily say as they made their way down the stairs.
"And coffee for the queen." He winked at his child tickling her and making his little girl laugh.
"Is all your stuff ready?" Aaron asked Jack as he spotted him in the kitchen looking for something in the fridge.
"Yeah, most of it." He heard his son respond from inside the fridge.
"Most?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows and poking his head next to the fridge where his son was eagerly searching for something.
"What are you looking for? I'm making pancakes for breakfast."
"Just stuff for the fish." Jack said.
"Stuff? What kind of stuff ?"
"Anything a fish will eat?" Jack replied, picking up a jar of blue cheese stuffed olives and glancing at it for a second before his father snatched the jar from his hands.
"I'm pretty sure fish don't eat your mother's fine gourmet olives." He said, placing the jar back in its place.
"Well, then what?"
"Then nothing." Hotch said, prying his son away from the fridge. "I'm sure Dave will bring plenty of stuff for the fish, plus we'll stop at the store near the lake and we'll find something there."
"Okay, cool…I'll start packing the stuff in the van then." Jack said, rushing out the door.
"And make sure Zoe is up, we still have stuff to do, and take Gunner out, please, he has been scratching the door for a while." Aaron yelled. After retrieving all the items, he needed from the fridge, he turned his attention to his youngest child.
"K." Jack responded heading back out of the kitchen. "Gunner, lets go, boy!"
"Ready to make pancakes, chef?" He asked playfully.
"Ready!" The girl said happily, cracking an egg against a plastic bowl, dropping half of the egg onto the kitchen counter. He just rolled his eyes happily. No matter what happened, he loved spending time with his family, and he was really looking forward to spending the entire weekend with them at the lake.
About an hour later breakfast was ready, and they were all gathered around the table. They didn't have much time to sit around, but they still wanted to enjoy their pancakes. Morgan, Penelope and Dave had arrived about a half hour ago. Of course, Rossi had shown up with his truck already pulling a boat and full of everything they needed for the weekend. JJ and Will were going to meet them at the lake, they were just waiting on Spencer, then they could all be on their way for one of the best trips they would ever have.
They were laughing and smiling ready to get away for a few days and just enjoy their little family, everything was perfect, the room was filled with laughter from both children and adults; that was until it was drowned out by several police cars with sirens blaring pulling up in front of their home.
"What the...?' Dave asked, watching the lights from his place on the table; even that early in the morning when the sun was up so high, he could distinguish the blue and red lights from far away.
"I have no idea." Aaron said, standing up, but before he could make any moves there was a loud bang followed by his own door being kicked down.
"Oh my God," He heard Penelope's strangled voice before his kitchen was filled with police officers and swat agents pointing their guns at them.
"What the hell is going on?" He asked scared. "I'm not on the job." He said while reaching for his own weapon.
"Drop your weapon!" Aaron heard one of the SWAT agents scream.
"Daddy, what's going on?" He heard one of his children asked.
"I'm Aaron Hotchner, the Deputy Director of the FBI."
"We know who you are, lower your weapon." Another agent ordered.
"We're all federal agents, why don't you put your weapons down." Dave said, pulling out his badge glancing around the kitchen watching the scared children and Emily's petrified face.
"Aaron please" Emily begged in shock, asking him with her eyes to put his weapon down.
"What's going on? Who sent you?"
"Put your gun down NOW!"
"This is a mistake."
"I won't ask you again to put your weapon down, agent."
"Daddy!" Ellie said crying.
"It's okay, baby," He said, lowering his weapon.
"Penelope the girls" Emily said desperately, looking at her two terrified little girls.
"Ellie, Zoe, come on, lets go upstairs for a second."
"No, daddy." Ellie cried, but Morgan quickly picked her up, rushing the girls out of the kitchen.
"He is the Deputy Director of the FBI; you will regret this." Morgan stated, hoping it was just one big misunderstanding but wanting the children out of whatever was going on.
"What is going on, you can't just come into my house..."
"On your knees, hands behind your back!" The agent ordered.
"Dad." Jack said, terrified.
"It's okay, everything is a mistake I promise you." Aaron told Jack doing what he was told.
"What the hell is going on?" Emily asked, watching in fear as her husband was being cuffed.
"Is this really necessary?" He asked looking at his terrified wife and older son.
"NOW!" The man repeated with the same cold, indifferent tone.
"Dad," Jack began crying.
"Aaron what's going on? " Emily said as she was unable to comprehend what was happening.
"I don't baby, but I promise you this is a mistake everything is going to be okay..."
She watched as they arrested her husband and took him away, she could hear her girls screaming upstairs and see Jack struggling against Dave's hold. "Dad no!"
"You can't just do this, it's against the law, he is a federal agent." Emily said, rushing after them, but the agents seemed to pay no mind to what she was saying.
An older-looking detective approached her, and she wasn't even aware Morgan was next to her again.
"He is the Deputy Director of the FBI; do you have any idea what you are doing?"
"What the hell is going on?" She demanded.
"Ma'am, your husband has been arrested for murder."
"What!?" Emily asked in shock, Morgan watched in shock unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Your husband has been charged with the death of Beth Clemmons." The detective repeated.
"Unexpected events can set you back or set you up. It's all a matter of - perspective." Mary Anne Radmacher
