Unforgettable Nights, Unforgivable Mistakes

Chapter 9: Spoken Truths

That afternoon, Max made an unusual call to his mom, a hesitated call, and one he didn't even know how to start, but he needed someone to stay with Bay at the hospital while he took care of something he needed to do, so he asked her if she could stay with Bay until he finished. Max had been pacing the living room of his house since he arrived home. The last couple of days had been a nightmare for him; he never thought this would happen to him. He was happy living a perfect life with a beautiful wife and a gorgeous little girl. But it was all taken away from him in the blink of an eye. His heart was aching, and he wasn't sure what do, everything he had believed in turned out to be a lie, and now, now, here he was in his house lonely, and waiting for Emily to return...he needed to confront her and find out the truth. Why had she done this to him, he had done nothing but love her and give her the best...how could she have done this to him.

A few nights ago, they had found out their daughter, Bay, had leukemia, and that was one of the worst experiences he had ever imagined he would live through. His little girl, the light of his life, had been diagnosed with leukemia, and that had been such devastating news for the couple; he had never imagined anything like this would happen to him and his family. His little girl was healthy and beautiful; this wasn't supposed to happen to her, this wasn't supposed to happen to them, they had the perfect marriage, he thought he was happy, he thought Emily was happy, but apparently, it had all been a lie. He held the piece of paper in his hand as he felt fresh tears slide down his cheeks. He wanted to break everything in that house, tear it apart, it was all a lie, it had always been a lie! He walked toward the living room grabbing one of the portraits from the coffee table of Emily and Bay, when Bay turned two and they looked so happy. He smashed the picture against the wall angrily. How could Emily have done this to him!

The night they had found out about Bay's illness, both Max and Emily had taken a blood test, because the doctors needed to see who could be a better match to donate blood to Bay if she needed it. The doctors had implied Max did not have a genetic connection to Bay at all, and he had watched Emily's facial expressions change...she had gotten uncomfortable and had avoided his gaze. When the doctor left them alone in the room to discuss what they wanted to do next for their daughter, he had asked Emily what the doctor had meant when he said there wasn't a genetic connection between him and Bay, Emily just got more nervous and changed the subject, saying it was a mistake. Then she returned to the room with their daughter...but he knew something was wrong, something had changed in her behavior, and he knew he needed to investigate further. So he did, the next day he talked to one of the lab technicians, the only time in his life he had ever bribed someone for something and he had ever done anything behind Emily's back. But the young guy took the cash ,because he said he needed it for school or something and behind the doctor's back, they performed a paternity test on Bay, and now here he was holding the piece of paper in his hand, tears rolling down his face with his heart broken into a million pieces.

He called his mother as soon as he got the test results asking her to stay with Bay at the hospital; he needed to resolve this...he needed to talk to Emily, and he knew he couldn't do it at the hospital, not in front of their little girl. So, he had decided to go home and confront her there...she was supposed to stop by to shower and change clothes after work then meet him at the hospital to stay with Bay for the rest of the night. So here he was waiting for the woman he had loved for the past four years...no scratch that...the woman he had loved for the past eight years. He simply needed an answer, a few minutes later, he heard the door unlock, his heart froze, and he simply couldn't think anymore.

Emily walked into their house; she needed to take a quick shower then head to the hospital to see her daughter. The last couple of days had been a nightmare...she had not slept at all, her mind was a complete fog, and she was having trouble concentrating on anything. Now though, the only thing that mattered to her was to go back to the hospital and see Bay.

"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay with Bay." Emily stated, worried when she walked into the living room and saw Max sitting in their house.

"Bay is with my mom." He answered shortly, but Emily could see in his eyes that something was up, he had been crying and he was upset.

"What's going on?'' She asked, walking further into the living room. This night smelled like trouble, and she wasn't sure if she was up for this now.

"You tell me, Emily?" Max asked, unable to control himself.

"What are you talking about?"

"How could you do this to me, Emily, how could you?" He asked, raising his voice.

"Max..." But he approached her angrily and handed her a piece of paper, she took the paper in her hands and her heart dropped. She felt her knees almost give out on her, and everything around her started spinning. It was a paternity test that confirmed that Bay Arian wasn't his biological daughter.

"Max..." Emily started weakly.

"You cheated on me, Emily, how could you have done something so low, I gave you everything, I gave you my best." Max finally lost it and started screaming at her.

"No, Max, this isn't what you think." Emily tried to explain.

"It's not, then what the hell is this! She isn't my daughter, Emily?"

"You cheated on me, you betrayed me and our vows, and now, I just found out that the child I have raised for the last three years isn't mine, how could you do this?" He asked, raising his voice even louder.

"Please stop screaming, I know you're mad, but I can explain this. I just need you to calm down." Emily begged.

"Calm down!? How the hell am I supposed to calm down, when I just find out my fucking wife has been cheating on me and got pregnant by another man!"

"I didn't cheat on you, Max." Emily replied evenly.

"Then, how in the hell do you explain the fact that I'm not Bay's father, because unless you got pregnant by the Holy Spirit, I have been married to a tramp for the past four years!" Emily finally approached him and slapped him open palmed across his face.

"You do not talk to me like that, do you hear me? I can explain this to you, and I'm trying, but I won't tolerate you being disrespectful to me like this." She finally screamed.

"I didn't cheat on you, Max...I...this happened before you and I got together." Emily said, closing her eyes as tears rolled down her face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Max asked, still shaking from how angry he was.

Emily took a deep breath...she had been avoiding this moment for the past three days, no, she had avoided thinking about this for the past four years. Finally, reality had hit her in the face and she was facing the weight of her own mistakes, now there was no turning back...the truth was out.

"The night before I moved back to London, my friends from the BAU threw me a going away party..." Emily started...she remember the night so clearly, as if it had been yesterday.

"I was drinking and things...something happened that night, I slept with someone I shouldn't have." Emily said, as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"It meant nothing, it was a mistake...something I'll always regret." She said, facing the man that had been so amazing to her for the past four years. It really pained her to hurt him, it pained her to see him so heartbroken and so miserable, she hated herself so much.

"The next morning, I left D.C. and came here, and I haven't spoken to him since."

"And you never thought about telling me this." Max asked, raising his voice again.

"There was no point, Max." Emily tried to explain.

"There was no point! Are you fucking serious! You sleep with a man and literally weeks later, you sleep with me, and you thought there was no point in telling me this!?" He screamed, slamming all the pictures on the counter to the floor, causing a loud noise and breaking all the glass and frames. Emily jumped slightly from his reaction, having never seen Max so angry on her life.

"Please calm down, Max..."-Emily said, raising her voice slightly.

"Calm down? Calm down? How in the hell am I supposed to calm down? He yelled, glaring at her.

"I know I should have told you about this, Max, but I really didn't know he was the father." She said, feeling tears sliding down her cheeks.

"You didn't know? How stupid do you have to be to know that if you sleep with a man you can get pregnant...don't give me that bullshit!" He hissed angrily.

"It was one fucking night, Max, it took me years to get pregnant. You know how hard we tried when we were together before, you and I." Emily was trying to keep her façade intact.

"I really didn't think it could be his...I...wanted this for you and I. I wanted us to work. I wanted to have this baby and this family with you." Emily approached him crying, trying to hold him.

"But, you knew he could be the father, Emily, and yet you didn't tell me anything, you hide something so important from me...you lied to me, and you betrayed me!" Max said, angrily walking away from her.

"Who is Bay's father? Who is the fucking father?" He loudly questioned, glaring at her.

"It doesn't matter." Emily said, closing her eyes.

"It doesn't matter? Are you fucking serious?" Max asked, incredulously.

"No, Max, it doesn't fucking matter!" Emily finally said, finally raising her voice and losing all sense of decorum.

"He wouldn't care even if he knew Bay was his. He would want nothing to do with her or me. He hated me and probably still does. He would never care for her." Emily said, unable to stop the tears that were now running freely from her eyes.

"He was a mistake, Max, I was drunk, and I...should never have been with him. He treated me like shit, and for three years, he made my life a living hell, he's the reason why I moved here in the first place." Emily confessed as Max was listening to her, aghast.

"If I could take that time back and change that night, I would...but I can't...when you and I got back together...I wanted that, Max, I really did, I loved you so much in the past, and I just wanted to be happy again and feel safe again like I always did with you." She took a deep breath and looked at him again.

"When I found out about Bay, it was the happiest day of my life...I was finally going to have my fairy tale...with you, with the most amazing man I had ever met." She said, looking at him sincerely.

"But, you knew there was a possibility he was the father...and you chose not to tell me." He again reproached her.

"I knew the possibilities of him being the father were much lower than you being the father, and I chose to believe she was your's." She said, walking toward him again, trying to hold him; Max, however, again shoved her away from him.

"Well, apparently you chose wrong." He said, walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere that is not here with you, I can't be around you, I just can't..." Max said sadly.

"I'll be there for Bay for whatever she needs, even though she isn't mine, I love her like she is, and I'll always do anything for her." He told Emily with tears in his eyes.

"As far as you are concerned, I never want to see you in my life again?" Max said harshly.

"Max, please..." Emily begged, going after him, but he walked through the door, slamming it shut and leaving Emily alone in the room crying.

She stood there without knowing what to do. She felt terrible, like a horrible person, she couldn't get the look in Max's eyes out of her mind, the pain she had caused him. He had been amazing to her, and this was how she paid him back. She never meant to hurt him, she truly never did, all she had wanted was the best for her daughter Bay, and she and Max could give her that. Now, she didn't know what do, her mistakes had finally caught up with her, she knew at some point this day would come. Her worst nightmare had come true...Aaron Hotchner was indeed Bay's father.

She arrived at the hospital later that night after she had settled down and had taken a shower. Neither Max nor his mother was there; Emily had called the only friend she felt she still had in her life to stay with her daughter until she composed herself completely. Clyde had said 'yes' without even thinking about it. He knew something was wrong with her and he was worried, so he did as she asked and went directly to the hospital and stayed with Bay until his best friend arrived. When Emily finally did arrive, Clyde knew something was very wrong; her eyes were puffy and red, and Clyde knew she had been crying heavily, and knew it wasn't because of Bay. He knew Emily, he had known her for over two decades, and he could see the pain in her eyes and soul. She walked into the room quietly, looking so fragile and vulnerable.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm so late." She said quietly, walking toward the bed and placing a kiss on her sleeping daughter's forehead.

"It's alright, they just brought her back, they did another blood transfusion." Clyde said, looking at her.

"Okay, has Dr. Nicolletti been here?" She asked tiredly, touching her daughter's sweet face.

"He's going to stop by to talk with you. What's going on, Em." He asked, walking toward her.

"Nothing, it's just been a long couple of days." Emily lied, and Clyde, however, lifted her chin bringing her eyes to look at him.

"I know you better than you know yourself, you can't lie to me, what's going on?" He asked, seriously. Emily looked away from his bright blue eyes, and her eyes filled with tears. Clyde didn't know what was going on, but he pulled her into his arms.

"What is going on, darling, whatever it is, you can tell me, it's me, Em!" Emily just stood there, crying in his arms softly. He gently led her to the couch, and they sat down; Clyde watched her as she tried to compose herself. When she finally got her tears under control, she turned to look at Bay and shook her head.

"Max and I are getting divorced." She said softly, so Bay would not hear anything, even in her sleep.

"What!?" Clyde asked in shock.

"I did something really bad, Clyde. I'm a horrible person..." Emily told him with tears rolling down her cheeks, and it pained Clyde so much to see her in such agony, she was struggling to talk, choking on her own words.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it can't be that bad, just tell me, Em, you know you can tell me anything." He said as he took her hands in his.

"The night before I moved here, I slept with someone...it was a mistake...I was drunk and so was he." She finally explained. Clyde was smart enough to put two and two together, he watched as her eyes fell back on Bay, and then it finally hit him.

"He's Bay's father." ...It wasn't a question.

"I wanted to put that night behind me. I wanted to forget about him and move on with Max. I wanted to believe she was Max's baby. I know it was wrong. I just wanted the best for her, you know? I know I'm a monster." Emily told her friend, with her eyes

full of tears.

"Emily, that doesn't make you a monster. It makes you a human, we all make mistakes and while this is something serious, I know you were trying to do the best for your daughter." Clyde said, wiping her tears and pulling her into a hug.

"Max hates me, he didn't deserve this." She said, pulling away from him.

"He's hurt and angry, but one day, he'll understand you did what you did to protect Bay and to seek her happiness." He smiled softly at her.

"God, Clyde what have I done." She exclaimed, placing her elbows on her knees and hiding her face in her hands, sobbing. Clyde just rubbed her back gently until she calmed down enough. When she did, he spoke again.

"May I ask you a question?" Emily nodded, he was her best friend, and there were no secrets between them.

"Who's the father?" He felt uncomfortable asking her this, but he just needed to know.

"Aaron, Aaron Hotchner." She said, looking at her knees.

"Your supervisor at the BAU?" Max asked, surprised.

"I thought you hated each other!" He said in shock.

"We did, we do, it was one fucking night, Clyde, a stupid night I'll regret all my life, no, wait, I don't regret Bay...she's the best thing that has ever happened to me." She paused, looking at her sleeping daughter.

"I regret him being the father, it was a mistake being with him. I was too drunk and too stupid to think straight, that night was all a game for him." She said, with fresh tears rolling down her eyes.

"I assume he doesn't know anything about her."

"No, and he never will, it's just better that way. He'll never accept her or me, he hates me, and I hate him, there's no point!?" Clyde knew Emily more than anyone in her life, He could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. She felt something for Aaron Hotchner, and it wasn't hatred.

"Emily, look at me please." She did as he asked, and he analyzed her...really analyzed her.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.

"What? NO! of course not, Clyde." She answered in a defensive tone.

"Then, why do you want to take Bay to the hospital in Washington, when you have so many other options?" He questioned her while looking at her very intensely. Emily had decided a few nights ago they would move back to Washington and have Bay have her treatment there. Emily ignored his question and looked away from him.

"Emily?" Clyde asked her softly.

"I'm going to find Dr. Nicolletti." She said, standing up and walking away from Clyde. Clyde, however, didn't need an answer from her, he could see it in her eyes. She was still in love with Aaron Hotchner.