Finale Fix

BONUS PROMPT: Surprise (Buffy)

CHAPTER TWELVE

The Return of Agent Prentiss

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Hours later, Hotch sat at his desk in his office, the team's form of "protective custody" while they worked on tracking down Foyet. Emily and Matthew still hadn't returned from wherever they'd wandered off to and Hotch's jaw was starting to ache from how hard he'd been clenching it. It was difficult for him to see her going to someone else in a time of need and didn't help with his feelings of guilt. A soft knock drew his attention to the door and he knew, on any other less stressful day, he'd already have sensed that she was standing in his doorway.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

He assessed her quickly. Quiet, sure, but that was to be expected. He vaguely wondered if the numbness had set in yet. She looked calm and in control, the consummate agent and not a mother whose child had been kidnapped by a psychopath.

"Hey," he replied, just as quiet.

She took that as her cue to step through the door, taking a seat on the couch after closing the door. He blinked. She was so far away and with the way things were, he could feel the distance acutely. But after a moment, she patted the cushion beside her.

"Come sit with me, Aaron."

He couldn't decide whether or not he was reluctant to cross the distance. He felt alienated, both because he felt it was his fault and because she'd easily turned to Matthew in her time of need. Part of him knew it was stupid to worry. Matthew was someone Emily was used to, someone she often turned to for help, and that much he knew. Added on top of that was the idea that things between them were fresh and new, not as deeply seated as Emily and Matthew's friendship. Still, he lowered himself gingerly to the couch. It was still too early for him to be back in the office.

Her eyes darted over him quickly. "Everything okay? Anything hurt?" They were superficial questions voiced out of genuine caring. She sighed. "I'm sorry I had to bring you in here."

"I'm not," he replied, understanding what she meant. "I'd rather be here than worrying at home."

She took his hand then, bringing it up to her lips briefly. "This isn't your fault."

The tightening in his chest eased since the words were coming from her and he knew all of her tells.

"I could never blame you for this. We made some grave errors in judgement, let our guards down too soon, but at the end of the day... Foyet's behind this. Not you, not me, not any fault of ours."

He sighed. In some ways, it did help. It was nice to know Emily didn't blame him, relieving to know she didn't hold him accountable for the fact that Cami was in the hands of a serial killer, but at the same time, it didn't relieve the part of him that said he shouldn't have even approached her. He should have kept her, kept Cami, safe. If he hadn't been so selfish, so focused on what had happened in the hospital, there was the chance that Cami would be hanging out with her mother right now.

"Hey."

Her hand on his cheek brought his attention back to her dark eyes. There was nothing but calm determination and unwavering calm in her gaze, in her face, in her body language.

"Cami may not be an FBI agent, but she can hold her own. She's a smart kid. She's my kid. It doesn't matter what Foyet throws at her, Cami..." She laughed slightly, bitterly. "Cami can play the spoiled brat like the best of 'em. And we know he won't hurt her. He's not after her."

Hotch swallowed. No. Foyet wasn't after Cami at all. He was after Hotch and he was using Cami to get what he wanted. Hotch wasn't about to admit it, but much to his chagrin, it was working. His heart, his chest, hurt, and not because of the bullet wound in his shoulder that still wasn't completely healed. It had everything to do with the empathy he felt. Jack wasn't anywhere close to Cami's age, but that didn't mean his heart was breaking for the woman in front of him and the daughter that was missing.

"Em..."

She shook her head. "Don't go down that road, Aaron," she told him softly, her thumb stroking his cheek. "I need you to have hope for Cami too. I need you to believe that she can get out of this in one piece."

His hand came up to her wrist, gripping it in his strong hand. They both knew George Foyet's profile. Cami was an asset until he had what he really wanted. And what he really wanted was Hotch. He sighed as her forehead pressed against his. "He won't touch her until he knows. He can't watch us here, he can't see us suffering. He has no idea if this is hurting anyone but you and Matthew."

He felt her nod against his forehead. "As much as it kills me to know he's got Cami, the best thing for us to do is keep our heads on straight. To find her, we have to be at our best. We have to be us. There is no one else I would trust with this than the team. Together, we're going to find my baby girl, Aaron. And when we do, we're going to take Foyet out."

"Hotch! Em!" The excitement was palpable in Reid's voice seconds before he was knocking on the door.

Emily was the one that tore open the door, but not before taking a deep breath.

"Garcia's got her."

This is short, I know this is short, but it was the most logical place to break.

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