A/n:*****THIS IS VERY LONG, but you should please read the authors note. thanks****

Hello dear readers. Guess what? I love you. I love you all very much. Thank you for reviewing like you do. It makes me sooooo happy. Like I'm literally bawling, I'm so happy. :) So thanks so much. Uhm I'm really glad you're all liking this. I seriously am loving it, too, and I usually don't feel this way about my stories so that's awesome.

ALSO AWKWARD. I realized that half the time, I was writing as if Rossi hadn't joined the team yet, and the other half he has…so for the sake of my (and yours for that matter) sanity, we're gonna pretend he is a part of the team. Wow. Awksauce.

Uhmmm…also this chapter you'll get a little insight on JJ/Hotch's camaraderie/ best friend-ness…even though hotch and emily are truly best friends (in this story especially), I always see JJ and Hotch as sort of like partner's in crime…they have a relationship that's really different than others on the team.

i've sort of started to smash what happens in the show into here…but sort of not. and stuff happens faster in this story…example, what happens in today chapter, happens in season three, but this is sort of season two because emily has just come into the picture…and cases don't really follow how they do in the show:) ok just to make u aware. also i was not in the mood to write up a case so i sorta had a time lapse haha and also…the next time i update will probably be monday. i will be on vaca! woo! so expect one around then. :)

Enjoy R&R

Chapter 9: I've Been Served

A divorce is like an amputation; you survive, but there's less of you.

- Margaret Atwood

Quantico, VA Present Day

The team had just gotten home from a case and were all hoping for a little time off over the weekend. Unfortunately, serial killers don't take days off.

Ring. Ring. Hotch cleared his throat.

"Hotchner," Hotch answered, putting down his coffee on the kitchen table.

"Hey Hotch," JJ greeted.

"Hi JJ. We have a case?" He guessed.

"Unfortunately psychopaths don't respect our weekends…" JJ joked.

"Where are we headed?" He asked.

She swallowed, "The woods of Vermont…" she said nervously.

"You gonna be ok?" Hotch asked, knowing all about JJ's fear of the woods. He had yet to find out what had caused this fear, but he knew it was bad, and not a stupid fear.

"I'll be good. I'm putting the files together now," JJ said.

He chuckled, " Alright JJ. When you need to talk, we will. Thank you. Now all that's left is to tell Haley," He murmured.

JJ bit her lip, and stifled a laugh, "Erm," She coughed, "Well good luck with that. I have to make some more calls," She grinned.

"Sounds good. I'll meet you there in an hour," Hotch said.

"Bye," JJ said with a softly laugh.

"Case?" An irritated voice said from behind Hotch as he put away his phone. Haley had fallen asleep in the guest room last night, and was apparently not over the fight.

"Yes," Hotch said, turning to see an angry Haley, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Don't go," Haley said, almost a command.

"Haley. I have to. It's my job," Hotch said standing up.

"Aaron. You care about this job more than your family. It's ruining us. You're ruining us," Haley said angrily.

"That's not true, so don't even go there. You know you're just pissed because of last night. Because you-" He began, but stopped, knowing that saying what he was thinking was definitely crossing the line.

"Because what, Aaron? Because I think you're still cheating on me? Because I knew when you worked for Emily's family that you fucked her?" Haley shouted.

"Haley!" Hotch said, his voice getting slightly louder.

"You loved her! More than you ever loved me, you loved that whore!" She screamed, tears threatening to flow.

"Do NOT ever talk about her like that!" Hotch yelled, for the first time, actually shouting at Haley.

Haley immediately took it down ten notches, "You still love her," she realized, her voice cracking. And before Hotch could respond, Jack walked in.

"Momma? Daddy? Why you yelling?" Jack asked in his sweet baby voice. His bottom lip stuck out, and he had the sad puppy eyes.

"It's ok, Jack. Nothing's happening. Everything's alright," Hotch told him gently.

"We still gon' go to park together?" Jack asked. Hotch closed his eyes and sighed.

"Daddy has to go to work, sweet heart," Haley said bitterly, wiping away some tears. Hotch's heart broke a little bit, not for Haley, but for Jack.

"Gon' go catch bad guys?" Jack asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, buddy," Hotch said kneeling down in front of Jack.

"Then it's ok, mommy. Daddy go make the world safe. He's like….a superhero," Jack told his mother. Hotch chuckled inwardly. That was a good boy, sticking up for his old man.

"I love you, Jack. C'mere and give me a hug," Hotch told Jack, with a small smile.

Jack hugged Hotch tightly.

"Love you daddy. Go get em," Jack commanded with a grin.

"I will," Hotch promised. Jack let go of his dad.

"I gon' go play. Come get me when it time to go!" Jack exclaimed and ran out of the room.

When Haley was sure Jack was out of ear shot, she leaned in close to Hotch.

"If you leave now," She hissed in a whisper, "Don't bother coming back." With that, she turned on her heel and left the room.

Then his phone rang.

"Your bitch calls," Haley bellowed from the other room. She slammed a door.

"Dammit," Hotch muttered before answering, "Hello?"

"Hotch, it's JJ. I'm sorry to rush you, but you gotta get in as soon as possible," JJ said quickly.

"What's going on JJ?" He asked in his business mode.

"The lead detective just called me. There were two more bodies found, one's been dead for about 24 hours, and the other is new, probably from early early this morning. Hotch, his killing time has gone from a month, to two weeks, to five days, and now two bodies in 24 hours," JJ said hurriedly.

"Dammit," Hotch muttered, "Leaving now," He told her. He grabbed his go bag and headed out the door.

"Everything alright, Hotch?" JJ asked worriedly.

"Yeah," He said pulling out of his drive way, "Everything is…" He paused, "fine."

JJ didn't believe him, but didn't press it, "When you need to talk…we will," she teased.

He smiled, knowing she had just quoted him, "Very nice…thank you. Listen, are you there yet?" Hotch asked her.

"Yeah, for about ten minutes now," JJ said, "Morgan and Emily are here…Reid should be here soon, and Garcia and Rossi will be here in another…15 or so," JJ explained.

"I'll be there in about 15, too. Brief Emily and Morgan and get started with what you can. When the rest of us get there, we need to be ready to go. You can brief the rest of us on the plane," Hotch said.

"Sounds good. Here comes Reid. Alright. Bye Hotch," JJ said.

"Thanks, Jayje. Bye," He said and hung up. He sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand, the other firmly gripping the steering wheel in frustration.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCM

After three long days, they had finally caught the unsub. It had been a long and grueling case, as usually. JJ had been able to keep her composure about the woods, and Hotch was able to keep his, however he was avoiding Emily, and though it wasn't noticeable to everyone, it was to her, and to JJ.

On the plane, once Emily had sat at the table with Rossi and Reid, Hotch took for the other table on the opposite end of the plane. Emily was reading, and Rossi and Reid were playing chess. Derek was on the couch with his head phones, so JJ took this opportunity to talk to Hotch. She sat down with two mugs of coffee.

"Thanks," He said. She shrugged and smiled. After a moment, Hotch asked, "So why are you afraid of the woods?" He asked. She sipped her coffee.

Wow…I was going to have your talk with you now, and instead you turn the tables on me…very profiler-ish… not ok," JJ said laughing.

"I try to be profiler-ish when I can…"He shrugged, "You really held your own out there these couple days, with the asshole media and your fear of the woods. Good work, chief," He said with a grin and added, "I'm seriously proud of you, Jayje."

"Thanks Hotch," She said with a smile.

"You know, the first day I met you, I knew I wanted you to be on our team," He said with a smile, "You were 24…fresh out of the academy, and the only person that wasn't afraid of me, and was honest," He said with a smile.

"I was terrified of you," She admitted with a shrug.

"Probably of my good looks," Hotch said chuckling. He very rarely joked, but it was usually around JJ, who was like a sister to him, and around Emily, who was his true love.

"So basically," JJ said sighing," My sister killed herself when I was 11," JJ said began, "and she was sixteen. She was my hero. We were so close, and I looked up to her so much. She used to take me camping in the woods near our house all the time. One night, she was out in those woods…it was a usual hang out for the teenagers. There was a party…a senior took her away from the rest of the crowd. They were both drunk…and he raped her. She felt so violated and dirty and she just couldn't live like that I guess. She killed herself a few days later. After that, just thinking about the woods makes me feel sick. So it's not really a fear, but more of a bad memory. A really hollow, sickening feeling," She explained.

She took a deep breath. Hotch squeezed her hand. She shrugged it off after a minute and asked, "Now…what's going on with you? You're not acting like yourself at all. You seem really tense and stressed, and you and Emily have both been really weird…" JJ said.

"Haley and I just got into a fight is all," He shrugged.

"That's it?" JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You and I were just having a really emotional moment, and now you're going all profiler- ish on me? Not ok," He teased.

"Promise you're good?" She asked.

"Promise," he nodded unconvincingly.

"And uhm," JJ lowered her voice, "I can see you're avoiding Emily…and I know there's stuff she's not telling me…which I get cause she's been here for like two weeks, but you and I, we've been friends for a while," She said quietly, "And you don't have to tell me what… but for not being a profiler, I'm a pretty damn good one, if I do say so myself," JJ said with a small grin, "And so I'm going to tell you what I told Emily…" She said slowly.

Hotch eyed her curiously.

"What ever you have going with each other…it's a good thing…don't lose it," JJ warned.

Hotch took in what she said and smiled.

"You know, you're probably one of my best friends," he said with a grin, "I kinda like you."

"I kinda like you, too," She teased. They made small talk the rest of the way home.

When they landed, a man, Agent Andersen, was waiting for them with a large manila envelope. JJ usually gathered parcels from Andersen so she went to greet him first.

"We should get some food," Derek suggested as they walked towards Andersen, "Everyone in?"

"I know I am," Hotch said laughing.

"Hey," JJ said with a small grin. They had gone out for a little while last year, but had stopped because he was too awkward. He would get nervous and uncomfortable when other guys would hit on JJ. She was very pretty woman, so she got hit on a lot, leaving Andersen uncomfortable…ALOT.

"This one," He said turning from JJ, "Is actually for you, Agent Hotchner," he said handing the letter to Hotch.

"Good to see you all," He said, "Bye JJ," He said even more softly. She chuckled.

"That lasted how long?" Rossi asked chuckling.

"Till the first date…when JJ got hit on by every guy in the bar," Derek teased.

"Shut up, Derek. The first guy to hit on me on our date was you," JJ said, playfully punching Derek's arm.

"What can I say? You're a babe," He said shrugging. She rolled her eyes.

"Do not be sexually harassing my darling," the perky tech analyst called, walking down the hall towards her team.

She hugged JJ when she got there.

"Who's ready for some food?" She asked them.

"Absolutely," Derek agreed, followed by agreements from JJ, Reid and Rossi.

"I'm gonna have to take a rain check, guys," Hotch said slowly, as he put away the papers from the envelope he had received from Andersen. JJ eyed him.

"Everything ok?" She asked. Emily shifted uncomfortably, and JJ picked up on that, too.

"I've been served," He said waving the papers, "Haley's filed for divorce," He said sighing and walked away towards his office.

"Hotch," Emily called after him, as he walked up the stairs. Derek sighed, running his hand over his hair.

"Is there anything…" Garcia began.

"C'mon baby girl. It's better if we leave. Nothing we can do…" Derek said sadly.

"Emily," JJ called, but she ignored her. JJ sighed and wrapped her arm around Penelope's shoulder. The group walked out together, leaving Hotch and Emily alone.

"Hotch," Emily said.

"Yes?" He said. For the first time, he was frustrated with Emily.

"I'm sorry," She said softly. Her heart breaking because she knew he was angry with her.

"Me too," He said irritatedly. He was packing up papers in a forced manner.

"Is there anything I can-" She tried but he cut her off.

"Emily…look, I appreciate it, but it's probably best if you-" He began, but this time she cut him off.

"Ok…I get it.." Emily nodded and quickly walked out of his office without another word. He sighed and sat down, and began looking at the papers he had been handed.

"Damn," Hotch said shaking his head. He had really screwed up this time.

Washington DC 1990

"Emily," Ambassador Prentiss bellowed.

Emily rolled her eyes. Putting a book mark in her book, she took hold of the book in one hand, and walked slowly downstairs. She was clad in a short night gown, partly unbutton, because she was ready for bed. She wasn't expecting visitors.

"Yes?" Emily asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew it made her mother angry. Typically 17 year old always was angst, rebellious and tried hard to piss her mother off. Her mother rolled her eyes when she saw what Emily was wearing. Emily's cleavage was showing, and though her mother was appalled, Emily didn't care. She knew she looked good, and the man standing in her kitchen was certainly attractive. Typically Emily had the mind set, if you got it, flaunt it, and that was definitely the case at that moment, so she didn't bother bringing a bathrobe or anything.

"This, is Agent Aaron Hotchner. He will be our new head of security," Her mother explained.

"Nice to meet you, Agent Hotchner," Emily said shaking his hand. He had strong arms, but gave Emily a gentle shake.

"You as well, Ms. Prentiss," He said. Emily knew that her mother preferred those who worked for them to be formal like this, but this was one guy Emily could not pass up.

"Emily, please," She said with a small flirtatious grin. Now that, she knew, would drive him nuts.

"Emily," He repeated with a grin.

"Well thank you for having me, Mr. Prentiss, Ambassador," Aaron said, turning to shake Emily's parents' hands.

"Thank you for coming. We look forward to seeing you soon," Mr. Prentiss said.

"Emily, why don't you walk him out?" Ambassador Prentiss suggested. 'Because I'm naked?', she thought to herself with a smile.

"Oh you don't have to. You're in pajamas. It's cold outside," Aaron said thoughtfully.

"No, no. It's fine," Emily said with a grin.

"Well, thank you," He said. So she did walk him out.

"So when do you start?" Emily asked.

"Next Monday," He said.

"What do you think of the she-devil?" Emily joked.

"Uhm…who?" Aaron began, not sure if he should answer.

"My mother?" Emily said with a laugh, "I know she's a bitch, so you can talk about stuff like that to me," Emily told him, so he knew that he could be comfortable with her.

"Ahah. Well thanks for that, too. And she's uhm, impressive," Aaron said. He still seemed stiff and professional.

"Oh boy, impressive," Emily said rolling her eyes. After a moment she added, "Aren't you a little young to be a head of security… anywhere?" Emily asked, with a teasing tone.

"Aren't you a little young to be thinking about joining the FBI?" Aaron asked pointing to her book, teasing as well.

"I'm a senior…almost eighteen," She shrugged, "I think I've run out of time. Gotta pick soon," She said with a shrug. He laughed.

"I guess so," He agreed.

"Well, anyways…If I were you, I'd take up a hobby…play a sport, learn an instrument…you'll need an outlet soon," Emily advised him, as they reached his car.

"Why's that?" He asked curiously.

"You just started working for my mom. Sooner or later you're gonna be suicidal," She joked dryly. He chuckled. "Loosen up, Agent Hotchner" She said pulling on his tie.

"Please, call me Aaron, or just about anything other Hotchner…" Aaron asked with a smile.

"Why's that?" Emily asked curiously.

"Hotchner…that's my father…I'm not my father… and I don't ever want to be him," He explained with a grimace.

"I mean, I hate my mother, but isn't that a little bit much?" Emily asked.

"Not when you're father hit you," He said shrugging.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Emily said, biting her lip. He thought it was incredibly sexy, but he wasn't going to say so. They had just met, but he loved everything abutter. He thought she was beautiful.

"It was a long time ago," Hotch with a shrug. It was quiet for a moment, before Emily picked out a new name for him.

"Hotch…" She murmured.

"What's that?" Aaron asked.

"You're new nickname," She said with a shrug.

"Hotch," He repeated.

"Like it?" Emily asked.

"I do," He nodded. She blushed. She felt the flush creep through her face, starting below her cheeks and rising.

He held out a hand.

"I'd better get going…my girlfriend is going to be wondering what took so long," He said chuckling. She took his hand a shook it.

"Nice meeting you," He said. They're hands lingered together for a moment too long, but neither complained.

"It was really nice meeting you, too. You know, Hotch, I think this is going to be the start of a really good relationship," She said with a grin.

He smiled, "You know, Emily, I think I agree," He said with a laugh. He got into his car. Emily mentally chastised herself for flirting with a taken man, but god, he was so attractive, and really sweet. Emily smiled to herself. She watched Hotch drive away.

"It's gonna be really good," She murmured to herself