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Chapter 4: Will You Tell Me?

If we knew each other's secrets, what comforts we should find.

-John Churton Collins

Quantico, VA Present Day

The team gathered in the conference room of the police department to give their profile. JJ introduced and re-briefed the detectives and officers on the case. She explained what the other agents would be telling them, and then she gave the floor to Hotch.

"We're looking for a white male, in his mid to late 40s," Hotch began, as he typically did, explaining what type of person they were looking for. He went on to explain the beginning of this unsub's psycopathy, and then he let Derek continue.

"We believe he has suffered a rejection recently, by a brunette woman. This woman was probably in his life for a while, but she may have rejected him or hurt him recently, a little while before the killings started," Derek explained.

"Like what?" An officer asked.

"It was probably a divorce or custody battle that was the stressor," Emily explained.

"Stressor?" Another officer asked.

"A stressor is the event that triggered this man to start killing," Reid explained.

"I've set up a press conference to take place now, so we need to do that. We'll be telling the public about this man, adding negative adjectives into his description. Our unsub should be watching, or he might even be there, and he'll flare up and make a scene when he hears what we say. The one that makes a big deal, he's most likely our guy," JJ explained, "We'll be asking for the public's help, for them to call a hotline that we've set up, if they know of anyone matching this description. We'll need some of you to help us man the phones in case he isn't at the conference or watching," JJ said.

"Alright guys, you know what you're looking for, " The lead detective said, and the officers got up and left.

"Alright, JJ," Hotch nodded, "Let's do this. Follow you script," He said.

"And make sure you say exactly-" Derek added quickly, but JJ cut him off.

"Relax, boys, this isn't my first party," She teased with a wink, "Seriously. I've got this," She reminded them.

"I know, JJ," Derek said, putting his arm around her shoulder. They walked off together followed by Reid, Rossi and Derek. Emily stayed back so she was alone with Hotch.

"Emily?" He asked. She looked upset.

"I need to know, Hotch," She said.

"Know what?" He asked.

"I know you said after the case we'd talk, but I don't know if I'll last that long. You're sending me mixed signals, and I just…I have to know. Why? Why'd you leave me… instead of her?" Emily said softly, biting down on her lip.

"Emily…" He murmured quietly, "I'm…" He didn't know what to say. One of the top profilers in the country was at a loss of words over a woman.

"Is it me?" She whispered. She was never sensitive. She was always strong, never letting her emotions show through, but there was something about him, where compartmentalizing never worked.

"Emily, I-" He began, but was cut off by Reid running in with a terrified look on his face.

"Hotch, it's JJ. The unsub…he's here. He's got a gun," Reid exclaimed pointing to outside, where JJ was being held at gunpoint, all the while this was being filmed by media stations everywhere. He saw Derek and Rossi had there guns up.

"Let's go," He said, motioning for Emily and Reid to follow. They ran in with their guns up.

Hotch went in first.

"I'm Agent Aaron Hotchner, with the BAU. That's my agent," Hotch said calmly.

"I know who you are," The unsub spat back, tightening his grip on JJ. He pushed the gun harder against her temple. She bit her lip, drawing blood, so she wouldn't cry out. She remained quiet, and calm.

"Can you tell me who you are?" Hotch asked, hoping Garcia, who was connected to their headsets, had found something. He noticed that Emily was slipping away, out into the back, but the unsub didn't notice.

"Tell me something first. Did you tell this bitch to tell everybody about me? Answer me!" The unsub said angrily, squeezing JJ tighter. His arm was latched around her neck and he had the gun now pressed to the nape of her neck. She swallowed, taking a deep breath.

"We can talk. You don't need to hurt her," Hotch said slowly.

"First put down the weapons," The unsub said, "Or I'll blow her brains out."

"You know that we can't do that," Hotch began.

"His name is Arthur James," Garcia said into Emily's head set, "His wife recently filed for divorce after having an affair. She took their eight year old daughter, Molly, with her, claiming that Arthur was mentally unstable," Garcia rattled of quickly.

"Arthur James," Emily appearing from behind Hotch.

"Emily," Hotch hissed, but she ignored him.

"Arthur, my name is Emily Prentiss," She began, "I'm going to put down my weapon," She told him. She slowly lowered her self, placing her gun on the ground, and kicking it away, all without breaking eye contact with him. She took a deep breath.

"You're a whore just like the rest of em, aren't you?" He spat angrily at Emily.

"We can talk. That's all I want," Emily said slowly, "But you have to let her go," She said, making eye contact with JJ.

"You're a liar. 'That's all you want'. That's bull shit. I bet you tell people things that they want to hear, and then leave them," Arthur said angrily.

"Maybe I am. But she's not. She's a good person. She's never done anything wrong to anyone before. You need to let her go, Arthur," Emily tried again. Arthur cocked his gun. JJ gasped.

"Arthur, I know why you did all this," Emily began.

"You don't know anything, you whore," He yelled.

"I know that your wife left you. I know that she took your daughter, Molly, with her," Emily said.

As the unsub listened, he slowly lessened his grip on JJ, as he realized that Emily did know.

"I know that your wife said that it was your fault. That she had to leave you, but really, there was someone else. It was her fault. She was being unfaithful, wasn't she, Arthur?" Emily asked.

"It was all her fault. That bitch. And she took my baby girl away from me," Arthur said sadly.

"I know Arthur. And I know that you think that by taking these women and then killing them, you're helping everybody. You're saving other men the trouble of being hurt by the women they trust. And I know all you were doing was showing these women what they deserved," Emily said. It was awful what she was saying, but it was what the unsub wanted to hear.

"They were gonna leave anyways. They were gonna lie and leave and so they didn't deserve to live. That bitch took my daughter and left me," Arthur sprat.

"Arthur, I'm so sorry for everything. But it wasn't her fault," Emily said motioning towards JJ.

It looked like Arthur was having a battle of wills with himself, but reluctantly he said, "Fine." And quickly, before anyone had time to react, he pushed JJ off the stage where she had been giving the press release, and raised his gun and pointed at Emily. Before anyone could do anything else, he shot her. With that, Derek, Hotch, and Rossi all shot him simultaneously. He fell to the ground, dead.

Hotch ran to Emily, and Derek ran to JJ. Rossi went and kicked the unsub's gun away and took his pulse.

"Jesus, Emily," Hotch hissed as he knelt down to her. Emily coughed for a minute, and with a groan muttered, "Calm down, I'm fine." She unzipped her jacket to reveal a blue kevlar FBI vest. The bullet was stuck in the vest, inches away from her heart. Hotch stood and extended a hand for Emily. He pulled her up.

"JJ?" He called to her.

"I'm alright," She said quietly. Derek had her wrapped in a hug. A tremble racked her body.

"Thanks," JJ whispered to Derek and broke out of the hug. There were emergency vehicles, police surrounding the area and media crews all over.

"Everyone out of the way," Derek yelled, leading JJ and Emily out. Hotch, Rossi and Reid stayed with the body.

"Listen, I'm going to get a number from Garcia and call Arthur James' wife," Derek told Emily and JJ, "You guys good?" He asked.

"Yeah," They both responded. He nodded and walked away. JJ took a seat in a chair. She had a bruise forming on her temple from where the gun was pressed. She also had a cut on her face from where she hit the stage, and a cut on her knee from where she hit the ground. Emily slowly took off her kevlar vest.

"C'mon," Emily told JJ, "Let's go clean you up."

JJ smiled at Emily and slowly stood. They walked together to bathroom where Emily helped JJ wipe up her blood.

"You know, the look on Hotch's face when you went up to talk to Arthur wasn't just genuine concern. It was more. And when you got shot…I thought it was Hotch that did…the way he looked," JJ murmured.

"I…uhm…" Emily didn't know what to say.

"I don't know what it is," JJ began, "But you got something special with him there," She said with a shrug and a smile, "Don't lose it."

Emily looked at JJ, slightly confused, but responded with a smile. They left the bathroom and walked to the bullpen of the station, where Hotch, Rossi, Reid and Derek were gathered.

"Let's get out of here," Derek said. Everyone agreed. They gathered up there things and within an hour, were all on the jet. JJ wrapped herself up in a blanket and took the couch. Reid pulled out a book and sat at the table, across from Derek who was listening to music, and Rossi who was also reading. Emily was sitting on the table on the opposite end of the jet, away from everyone. Hotch took the opportunity and sat next to her.

"Hey," He said quietly.

"Hey," Emily replied coldly.

"Look, I know you're-" He began.

"Save it. It's fine," Emily said with a shrug.

"But I can't save it. I need to tell you the truth," He said quietly.

"If I didn't have the vest on…you know I'd probably be dead, right?" Emily asked.

"I do…" He murmured.

"And I would have never known why you left. And you would have never said it out loud," She said shaking her head.

"Can I tell you now?" He asked her.

"I don't know if I want to know…" She said quietly.

Washington DC 1992

The week Emily spent with her parents away was the best week of her life. She spent every waking moment with Hotch…and some of the sleeping parts, too.

"You're parents get back tonight," He murmured, one morning as they sat on the couch together.

"Yeah…" Emily said with a sigh.

"Emily…you know that we…" He began .

Emily put her finger to his lips, "Yeah. I know. But I don't want to talk about that now," She told him. He smiled and kissed her lips.

"Emily…I love you," He said quietly.

"You do?" Emily asked surprised.

"I do," He nodded genuinely.

"I love you, too, Hotch," She said with a grin. She then managed to pull him down onto the couch and she kissed him. Their kiss quickly deepened and grew heated, until he finally pulled away.

"What?" She asked smiling.

"I need coffee," He admitted with a grin.

"Mhmm. Me too," She agreed. They got up off the couch to make coffee. Hotch's cell phone rang.

"Agent Hotchner," Hotch said into his phone. Emily poured coffee for both of them and mouthed 'who is it'.

"Hey Aaron, it's me," the other voice said.

"Hey Haley. Hold on one sec honey," Hotch said softly, "I'll be right back," He said to Emily. It was the fiance. When Hotch was outside in the garden, they spoke again. Emily watched from the window.

"Hey, Haley, how are you?" Hotch asked.

"I'm good. I miss you baby," she said.

"I miss you too," Hotch said, his voice faltering.

"I have something really important we need to talk about," Haley said quietly.

"Of course. What's going on?" Hotch asked concerned.

"Aaron…I'm pregnant," She said.

"P…pregnant? Are you sure?" He stuttered. He turned his back to the window, so Emily couldn't see his face.

"100 % positive…" Haley said, "You sound…disappointed."

"No, no…that's great, sweetie. This is really…good. Listen, I have to run, but I'll call you later this afternoon, ok?" Hotch said gently.

"Of course. I love you baby," Haley said.

"Love you, too," Hotch said his voice cracking. He hung up, took a deep breath and turned around inside.

"Everything ok?" Emily asked when he had returned.

"Yeah…yeah, Haley's sick. Not feeling very well," He lied, "I have to uh, run out and go check on her…bring her some things from the drug store," Hotch said, "I'll be back in an hour." He kissed Emily on the lips.

"Ok. Bye," She said with a smile.

"Bye," He said. He kissed her on the cheek again. Hotch got in the car and drove away. Thoughts raced through his head 'she couldn't be pregnant', 'this can't be happening', 'I don't love her'. The last one through him off. 'I don't love her…' 'Then who did he love?' 'Emily….' He loved Emily.