CHAPTER 16

Hotch and Emily had needed to postpone their planned discussion twice because of travel for cases. Today the team was headed to Canada after a former soldier crashed into a border checkpoint on the Canadian side and confessed to killing several people.

On the surface, it seemed like a straightforward case for the team. However, after reading through the file, Hotch was certain that what they knew was only the tip of a much bigger iceberg.

On the jet, he assigned Morgan and Emily to go to Detroit while the rest of the team headed for Canada. Initially he was going to send Rossi with Morgan. However on the jet Rossi stated a preexisting relationship with the Canadian agent in charge of the case. Therefore the prudent decision was for Dave to join the team in Canada.

Hotch had wanted to keep Emily close because she had been off since they had their conversation about which one of them was going to leave the team. Since that night, she had seemed stressed out which was making her cranky, tired and physically sick.

But at least today on the jet, she seemed to be in a good mood. This reassured him about making the decision to send her with Morgan. The two of them generally worked well together and Morgan would do anything in his power to keep her safe. It made the most sense and with their actions surely coming under scrutiny in the coming weeks, he needed to make the best decision for the team.

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It was just after dawn and the BAU team along with a small group of Canadian agents had spent the night cataloguing what they could at the farm they had zeroed in on in Canada. The promised reinforcements had started to trickle in an hour earlier. The group that had arrived 10 minutes earlier had brought food and beverages.

However food was the last thing Emily wanted right now. She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She thought it was the stress she had felt since her and Aaron had talked about how the changes in Bureau anti fraternization rules would affect their relationship.

She had been so scared when she first heard about the policy change that he would ask for a divorce. She had spent that whole day before they talked preparing herself for leaving the team knowing she wouldn't have been able to work with him everyday if they had taken that route. Even with a divorce off the table, she still felt that she should be the one to leave the team.

While even she didn't know all of the details of what happened with his marriage to Haley, what she did know was that his job had been a significant factor. Emily had been relieved when he said he wanted to be with her. He had even been open to looking for a position outside of the team however she wasn't sure how practical that option was going to be.

When the agents first started arriving, she thought coffee would help with the overwhelming fatigue she was feeling. However as soon as the smell hit her, her stomach turned and she had to take some deep breaths to avoid vomiting.

An hour later and feeling somewhat better, Emily walked away from the farm to canvas the woods with an RCMP group with an attached K9 team. It was clear when she requested to go, Aaron hadn't wanted her to leave. But when she told him she couldn't stomach the death and devastation any more, he gave her a curt nod and made her promise to be careful.

Hiking through the woods was not going to help with how tired she was but at least now she felt better after being able to tolerate some weak tea and a plain bagel.

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Hotch was driving them home... finally. The case in Canada was horrific even on BAU standards. The team was exhausted after days of little sleep. The team had come into the office with little complaint to complete their paperwork for the case. Strauss had messaged him that she wanted all of it on her desk before she arrived in the morning. She wanted the reports available for the meeting she had with the Director and a RCMP counterpart in the morning to review the collaboration.

After everything was handed in and Hotch had signed it off, he dropped the files off in Strauss' in box. Usually an office assistant would run the paperwork to her office for him but given the hour, only he and Emily had been left in the building.

Later as they walked into their apartment building, Emily realized she left her cell phone in the car. When she stopped in the hallway, Hotch turned and looked at her confused.

"Are you OK? Do you want me to take your bag?" he asked.

Emily nodded as she took her bag off her shoulder, "yes, could you? I need to go back to the car. I forgot my phone."

"Just leave it Em. We'll get it in the morning." Hotch replied tiredly as he just wanted to shower and then lay down in his own bed.

Emily shook her head before whisper yelling, "and hope that no one breaks in and steals it. That would be hours of paperwork plus having to explain why I was at your apartment overnight. We need to stick with the plan and that is no one can know about us yet."

Hotch sighed and nodded, knowing she was right. Placing his bag on the ground, he asked,"OK, do you want me to get it?"

Emily handed him her bag before answering, "no, I'll go. Can you start the shower for us?"

"OK. But if you aren't back in five minutes, I'm coming out." Hotch said sternly before turning to walk towards their apartment.

"Deal." Emily replied after looking at her watch and jogging off the other way towards the parking lot.

Four minutes later, Emily was almost to their apartment when she heard shouts coming from inside. Moving closer to the door, she could hear one was Aaron and the other, the voice was familiar.

Who would be waiting in their apartment at 2AM? When he spoke again, her blood chilled as she realized who it was - Foyet!

Moving back down the hall to go around a corner, Emily pulled her phone out and dialed the number of the team member who lived closest to them.

Morgan answered the phone and said with sleep thick in his voice, "Prentiss, this better be good and it sure as hell better not be another case."

Emily glanced down the hall before she said in as forceful a voice as she could while whispering, "Derek, shut up and listen to me carefully. Foyet is in Hotch's apartment. He must have been waiting there for him. Call the team and call it into the locals. Get everyone here." Given what they had witnessed in Boston she didn't want to underestimate Foyet.

As she spoke Emily could hear rustling on the other end of the line before Morgan said much more awake this time, "I'm calling Garcia." He paused and then asked confusedly, "wait you are there? Why are you at Hotch's building?"

Emily groaned not wanting to get into this topic right now. She was too worried about what was going on behind the door of their apartment. "Derek, now!" she answered forcefully.

There was more shuffling on the other end of the phone before he answered, "I'm in my car. Pen was making the 911 call and conferencing in the rest of the team. What are you doing?"

Emily sighed and looked up and down the hallway as she moved slightly closer to their apartment before she said, "I'm listening from the hallway. They are arguing. It's definitely Foyet. He is saying that Hotch should have taken the deal."

Then Derek came back with, "OK Em. Hang in there. My ETA is five minutes." as Emily could hear the stress in his voice having already come up against Foyet himself.

"Ahh." Emily exclaimed into the phone.

"What was that Em?" Derek asked having heard the noise Emily had just reacted to through the phone.

Emily stressed as she was crouched down in the alcove where she was talking to Morgan, "gun shot. They are still arguing though."

Morgan could hear the tension in her voice and said as he attempted to calm himself, "OK then the shot must have missed." He paused before continuing, "must have been Foyet because we both know Hotch doesn't miss."

"Oh no, I can hear crashing and things breaking." Emily responded with the tension rising in her voice.

Derek put more pressure on the accelerator knowing he needed to get to Hotch's place quickly.

"Hold on Em. I'm two minutes out. Wait for me." Derek shouted through the phone not wanting her to go in herself when he was so close.

Emily shook her head as she heard the ongoing commotion in their apartment. She couldn't wait anymore. In two minutes, Aaron could be dead. Killed while she was standing a few feet outside the door so she said, "I can't wait anymore Derek. I can't stand out here while Foyet kills my husband. I can't do it." before she hung up, put the phone in her pocket, and pulled her gun as she took a few cleansing breaths.

"Emily. EMILY!" Derek shouted into the phone but knowing it was of no use as he heard the dial tone. He put more pressure on the accelerator with now two members of the team in danger.

Emily quickly opens the door of the apartment to see what was their immaculate apartment now ransacked. Aaron was lying on the floor by the kitchen, bleeding from his abdomen. Foyet was kneeling over him with a hunting knife in his hand.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Agent Prentiss or should I say Mrs Hotchner? Nice of you to join us. We're going to have fun tonight. Drop the gun or I'll kill him now." Foyet said chuckling as he stood up from his crouch over Aaron. He took his gun out of his pocket and pointed it towards Hotch.

Hotch lifted his head and waited until she made eye contact with him before saying, "Emily don't do it. Remember the profile. Don't drop your gun. We are both dead if you do."