CHAPTER 11

Hotch was finishing up some paperwork in his office before the team went out that evening. He and Emily were planning to tell the team about their marriage tonight. This was their second attempt since JJ returned from maternity leave. Unfortunately the first time, the planned evening out was cancelled when JJ and Reid couldn't attend at the last minute.

As much as she wanted the team to know, Emily had been nervous about tonight ever since they planned it three days earlier. She had spent most of the previous evening pacing in their apartment wondering out loud how everyone would react not only to their marriage but being kept in the dark for so long.

Then when she came up to drop off her paperwork, he could see the nervousness on her face as well as a bit of fear in her eyes. As much as he wanted to reassure her, they were in the office and all he could offer at the time was that he would see her in a bit. She had left as planned to go home and change before they went out.

Just as he was finishing up, his office phone rang. He groaned and sighed as he picked it up. His hopes for a quick resolution were quickly dashed when he was told the Director had recommended him.

He sat down in his chair after hanging up, resigned to the fact that he was going to Dallas tonight. He had his bag so he didn't need to go home. Didn't have time to go home. But he did need to talk to Emily and let her know why he couldn't be there tonight.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he dialed her number.

"Hello? Aaron?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Are you going to get back here before we go out or are you going to meet us there?" Emily asked nervously.

"About that…"

"We have a case."

"Not exactly. I've been asked to consult in Dallas."

"Just you?" Emily questioned.

"Yes."

"What's the case?"

Hotch sighed because he was used to having at least that much information when he traveled for a case. "I don't know yet. He was very vague on the phone."

"Then why are you going? Agreeing to take it? How do you know it's even a BAU case?"

"I don't. I'll get details once I'm there. I talked to the Attorney General in Texas. He said the Director recommended me."

Emily sighed and they were both silent for a minute. The mention of the Director had the same affect on her that there wasn't an option. He needed to go so she asked, "what do you need from the rest of us?"

"I don't know yet. I'll call you after I get there. I'm hoping once I'm there I can get them to agree for the rest of you to be brought in. Will you be OK?"

"Yeah, I'll go out with the others and wait for your call."

"OK. I'm sorry sweetheart. I know we were going to tell them tonight."

Emily sighed "there will be a different time to do that. We've waited this long. What is another few days? I love you."

"I love you too. I'll talk to you soon." Hotch said before ending the call. He shook his head before picking up his bag and walking out of the office, wondering what he was walking into in Dallas.

####

Hotch took a seat by himself as the team was heading back to Quantico. As the case progressed, the issues that had influenced the young woman who they had identified as their UNSUB came into focus. With the case over he couldn't get either the phone or hotel conversations with Megan Kane out of his head. What they had been able to determine was the reason she had followed the path that she did.

From interviews and evidence, the common themes was she hadn't been able to get past her parent's divorce and her father indifference to her afterwards.

Being divorced himself with a child from that marriage, he found himself evaluating his own divorce as well as his relationships with Haley and Jack since then.

While angry and frustrated by the way Haley left him, Hotch had done his best to work with her in good faith as they negotiated the separation and later divorce. He had reluctantly conceded to Haley's request not involve lawyers in their divorce and signed off on her terms though they overwhelmingly favored her position.

As for Jack, he had made sure that his child support was automatically paid on schedule every month. He had also made plans to make sure that Jack would be cared for if anything was ever to happen to him.

After he married Emily, she had stopped him when he started to explain why she wasn't the beneficiary on his life insurance. She said that if anything did happen to him, it was reassuring that it was going to Jack. That she wasn't with him for money and that financially she could take care of herself.

Emily. As he thought of her, he remembered her insistence about him taking Jack to buy a Christmas present for Haley and well as her rationale that day. He remembered how excited Jack had been when they went as well as when Hotch had helped him wrap the gift he had picked out.

But he sighed he still missed more visitation then he would like because of cases. He was disappointed each time that he needed to make that phone call to Haley.

With this case, he was now considering how Jack felt each time he learned that Hotch wasn't coming as planned. Would the day come that the reality of his work wouldn't be enough to explain his absence and Jack would leave him just as Haley had?

Just then he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. Looking up he saw Emily walking past him on the way to the galley. She along with the rest of the team had known that he had been with Megan Kane as she died. After they finished at the station and headed for the plane, she had given him the space that he needed to process the case.

But now, he wasn't sure he wanted to be by himself anymore. However he also didn't know how to go about changing that as he also didn't want to be social with the whole team. As if she had read his mind, as she worked her way through the cabin, Emily sat down across from him after placing coffee mugs down in front of both seats.

They sat there quietly for several minutes as he could feel her eyes on him. Assessing him before she asked, "are you OK?"

He looked up and gave her a small smile before answering, "yes, I'll be fine. Thanks for the coffee."

Emily nodded but did not reply. While she believed that he would be fine, she was interested in how he was now. Unfortunately, that was the answer her boss Hotch was going to give her on this plane. She just hoped that Aaron her husband would be more forthcoming when they got home.

Megan Kane had made it personal with him on that phone call touching on an area of his life where he was already sensitive. While Emily was glad that Megan Kane had had someone with her when she died as no one should die alone. Now she just wished she knew what had been said in those minutes as Hotch had been in his head since returning to the station.