Unforgettable Nights, Unforgivable Mistakes

Chapter 24: The Green-Eyed Monster

It was official…Emily and Aaron were in a cold-blooded war, and it was more than obvious; of course, after the little cat fight, the screaming match, they had in the middle of the bullpen, everyone knew everything by now. Luckily, the rumors had remained among the team members and hadn't spread to Strauss's ears; otherwise, they would have been fired on the spot. Apparently, Garcia had overheard the whole conversation between Emily and Hotch, and of course, she couldn't stop herself from informing the entire team that their former boss, and the now current boss, had more than just a dirty past together, they also had a child together, a child she had hidden from him. Everyone was dumbfounded…until just a few days ago, they had believed the brunette duo hated each other and couldn't stand being in the same room with each other, but it turned out they felt something else for each other, and it wasn't hatred. They also had a child, Bay was none other than Aaron Hotchner's daughter. How that happened, they had no idea.

The entire situation was shocking and cryptic, and they didn't dare ask either of them for an explanation. Aaron was in the worst mood they had ever seen him in, and they knew better than to get anywhere near him. As for Emily, she was snapping at everyone in sight for almost anything, and they could see and feel the tension growing between their friends, and they really wanted to help, but they just didn't know what to do.

JJ and Garcia were somewhat hurt; they couldn't understand why Emily never told them anything about her being pregnant; they were very good friends, she could have confided in them and counted on them. They understood why she hadn't told Aaron and everyone else on the team, but them…they thought they were her best friends, but apparently, she didn't trust them enough. Garcia was mad at first but then, when she saw Emily so stressed and her and Aaron constantly snapping at each other, she realized Emily needed them more than ever, and she decided to support her by being with Bay as much as she could, when Emily was ready to explain, she probably would. JJ, on her side, was more hurt…she got why Emily couldn't tell Garcia. As amazing and wonderful as Garcia was, she wasn't really the best secret keeper in the world, but what about her, Emily and JJ had shared everything, even their most intimate secrets, so why didn't Emily feel free enough to tell her…why all the secrecy and lies, JJ was deeply hurt and had no intention of hiding it.

They had been acting very snappy with each other; Emily knew why she was acting like this. She truly wanted to give all her friends an explanation, but she didn't have the energy then, all she wanted to do was to focus on Bay's surgery…after that, she would worry about explaining the situation to the entire team. Emily knew they were hurt, especially JJ, but now she simply didn't have the head for anything. However, the tension between her and JJ kept growing. They had been in Emily's office for over three hours going over the cases they had to select to consult, having hardly said a word to each other that wasn't work related. Emily felt sad about the entire situation, and she could perceive JJ was starting to have an attitude with her; she had decided to ignore it for the past few days, but she had to set those thoughts aside when Anderson walked into her office to tell her she had a very important call on line one from London.

"Did the person said who it was?" She asked, moving her eyes away from the files.

"Clyde Easter...he said it was urgent." Anderson explained.

"All right, I'll take the call here, thank you, Anderson." Emily smiled politely.

"You're welcome, Ma'am." He closed the door and left the women alone again. Emily reached for the phone receiver and picked up, answering Clyde's call.

"Prentiss." She answered.

"Good Lord, Emily, I've been calling you since last night. I've been really worried about you. Why the hell aren't you answering my calls!?"

"What! No, I haven't gotten any calls from you!" Emily said, while reaching for her cellphone.

"Oh, shit, my calls are being forwarded to my voicemail!" Emily said, typing around on her cellphone.

"Dammit, Emily, I thought something bad had happened!" Clyde reprimanded her.

"I'm sorry, honey...I didn't realize...what's up, though?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I'm on my way to Washington." Clyde said, as he stepped into the London Airport.

"You are? Oh my God, are you serious?" The excitement in her voice was evident.

"Of course I am, Em. I wouldn't miss Bay's surgery for anything. I'm staying a few weeks."

"Oh God, Clyde, you have no idea what this means to me, I'll pick you up at the airport! What time does your flight get here?" Emily smiled.

"All right, darling, see you soon." Emily hung up and her face was solemn. As soon as she was aware of the way JJ was looking at her…with questioning eyes…she picked up the file they had been working on and ignored JJ's firm stare.

"Who was that? Another secret of yours?" JJ asked boldly, without being able to stop herself.

"JJ, please..." Emily said softly.

"Oh, that's right, you don't trust your own friends...let me ask you a question, did you ever really consider me a friend, or was that a lie, too?" JJ was hurt, and she was tired of waiting around for any kind of explanation from Emily.

"You know what, you're being really unfair, JJ. You have no idea what's going on and why I chose not to tell you." Emily said sadly.

"Because you didn't trust me."

"No, Jennifer, that isn't why." Emily said firmly, and JJ stopped; she knew she was pushing it.

"Then why? Jesus, Em, we used to tell each other everything, even the most intimate things." JJ said sadly.

"This was different, I wanted to tell you, but I..." She stopped…she really didn't want to have that conversation there.

"You don't have to tell me it's none of my business, I just thought we were friends." Again the hurt tone.

Emily exhaled and stood up from the desk, shaking her head and walking toward the window. She took a deep breath; maybe it was time to tell her, the secret was out already, what else was left to say.

"JJ, I love you and you're the closest thing I ever had to a sister. You know more things about me than anyone else, but this was different." She turned back and looked at her friend.

"How so?" JJ finally asked in a soft tone.

"I didn't know Aaron was the father until recently." Emily said simply.

"What? How could you not know?" JJ asked incredulously.

"Look, this is a long story, and I can't just tell you all of it here, but Aaron and I were drunk the night we slept together, and then I moved to London. And I wanted to put everything behind me, everything including that night. I got back with my ex almost immediately after I moved, so when I found out about Bay, it just made more sense in my head that Bay was Max's daughter." Emily explained, with her eyes full of tears.

"But, you never even considered it? I mean, did you ever think about the possibility of Bay being his child?" JJ said, sitting up, too.

"Of course I did, JJ. I've considered it every day of my life since the moment she was born."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" JJ questioned.

"I was scared, JJ."

"Scared of what?" Her friend asked, getting closer to her.

"Of Aaron rejecting her, of him treating her the same way he treated me back then." Emily said, as a single tear rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh, Emily." JJ said, pulling Emily to her for a hug; after they pulled away, Emily wiped her eyes.

"Max was amazing to me as he always had been, he always treated me like a queen, and he would have done anything for me or Bay. I just wanted my daughter to have a father who really loved her and accepted her." Emily said again.

"Where is Max now?"

"London still, he is coming for Bay's surgery though."

"I can only imagine how hard this has been for you." JJ said, touching Emily's arm gently.

"I fell in love with Aaron, Jayje, and that was my mistake. Now, I just want to save my daughter's life." Emily cried again, and JJ understood it all; she was a mother, too, after all, and she could only imagine what Emily was going through.

"Is Hotch...did he reciprocate those feelings?" JJ asked curiously.

"No, this has all been a game for him, but he has accepted Bay, and that's all that matters." Emily said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Em, for everything...for judging you...for not being there when you needed me." JJ said sadly.

"I'm sorry for not telling you, I just really couldn't." Both friends hugged each other then they got back to working on the case.

It wasn't until around 7 pm that night that Emily finally made it to pick up Clyde at the airport; she couldn't be happier that her best friend was there. She had been through hell for the last couple of weeks…well, actually, she had been through hell the entire year. She was surprised she was still alive, but whatever, she was so happy Clyde was here, by her side. Clyde was her one and only true friend, and no matter what was going on in her life, he would always be there for her and for Bay. Especially now that things were as bad as they could be. Emily picked him up, and they headed straight to the hospital, talking some on the way, but Clyde knew that they needed to sit down and really have a talk.

As it was imagined, Bay was overjoyed as soon as she saw Clyde. Both Prentiss girls loved Clyde and his presence was always more than welcome and greatly appreciated. The truth was that Clyde had been by their side at every pivotal moment of their lives, when Bay was born, and the first time she was sick, even the first time she fell, and the first time she crawled, and when she took her first steps, and even when she said her first words, that funnily happened to be "no" and "mommy". But, the important thing was that he had been there, and he had been a big part of their lives and always would be. Clyde spent some time with Bay and even helped Emily bathe her, then it was a little family and movie time before Bay's bedtime. Clyde realized he had made the right decision in coming, because Bay was weaker and paler than usual, and she had lost a lot of her hair and was way more skinny, and seemed even smaller.

Clyde also noticed that Emily looked even skinnier and more tired than she had the last time he had seen her; she looked like she was severely ill, and Clyde realized maybe he needed to stick around for a couple of weeks. As they were getting ready to watch the movie, Clyde pulled Emily into his arms and hugged her really tightly; he knew she really needed him, so they would talk and he would be there for her after Bay fell sleep, when they could actually sit and talk but for now, a hug would make her feel better, would let her know he was there for her.

"Everything is going to be alright, darling, I'm here to help you with anything you need. I can take some of this heavy load off your shoulders." Clyde said sweetly, as he pulled her close to him, hugging her really tightly.

"I know, I'm so glad you came, I couldn't do this without you." Emily let her best friend comfort her with a sweet hug…it felt so good to have him there.

Just as the two friends were having a sweet demonstration of love and friendship, Aaron Hotchner happened to be walking into Bay's hospital room, since he had decided to spend some time with Bay after work. Although, since the fight in the office, Emily had hardly let him see Bay unless someone was present, he was trying to be there as much as he could. While they had not yet come to an agreement on the court papers, Emily was allowing him to see Bay if she was there, and Aaron knew she would be there tonight, so he walked into the hospital hoping he could have a few hours with his daughter. Unfortunately, he was caught with a big surprise as he walked into the room.

Emily and Clyde were still in a hugging embrace when he walked in, his eyes darkened as he watched the strange blonde man hugging the beautiful brunet, and he couldn't help but notice the knot in his stomach and a strange feeling running in his blood. He cleared his throat angrily as the friends pulled away from one another.

"Sorry to interrupt..." Aaron said coldly, his eyes on fire looking at Clyde with hatred.

"Hello, Aaron." Emily said, in the same tone.

Aaron walked in, his eyes still on Clyde.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to see Bay." He said, glaring at Emily.

"You aren't interrupting anything, but I would appreciate it if you called next time." Emily said dismissively.

"Hello, I'm Clyde Easter." Clyde stepped up, looking at Hotch with the same evil look Aaron was giving him. If it was up to Clyde, he would kick his ass right then and there, but he knew better than to cause a scene especially when Emily was going through a lot of stress.

"Aaron Hotchner." Both man stared at each other as if they were ready to attack each other as they shook hands.

"Aaron, you came, too." Bay said, taking both men out of their attacking pose.

"Hey, sweetie, how are you feeling?" Aaron asked, forgetting about Clyde for a moment and focusing on his daughter; however, he couldn't avoid the feeling of blood boiling inside him. Who the hell was this clown?

"I did come, sweetie, I wanted to see how you were feeling." Aaron replied and tried to ignore the feeling in his stomach.

"I'm okay, are you staying for our movie?" Bay asked, with a sparkle in her eyes.

"I'm...not sure..." He said, looking at Emily waiting for her approval.

"Can he stay, mommy, please...?" Bay begged Emily.

"Sure, if he wants to stay, he can stay." She really didn't want him there, but Bay did, so that was all that mattered to her.

"Please stay, Aaron, we're going to watch a cool movie?" Bay begged Aaron sweetly.

"Okay, I'll stay for a short while." His attention back to Bay.

It was a lot more uncomfortable than they had expected, but Bay was happy and they decided to focus on that. Clyde and Aaron kept sending each other evil looks, and the tension was growing in the room. Aaron sat close to Bay in the recliner chair, and Emily and Clyde sat together on the couch, something that made Aaron angrier and more uneasy. He didn't even know the man, but he hated him already; he hated the way Clyde interacted with Bay and even more so, the way he interacted with Emily. He hated the way Clyde made her smile and the way she easily snuggled with him. Clyde had noticed Aaron sending glares his way, and he knew exactly what was going on there…he wasn't stupid, so intentionally, Clyde pulled Emily into his arms and draped a blanket around them. Emily didn't see anything wrong with the gesture because she had snuggled with Clyde endless times to watch movies and on cold winter nights; he was her best friend, they had slept in the same bed hundreds of times and she didn't see anything wrong with it other than friendship. Of course, Aaron was oblivious to that, and Emily failed to notice how truly uncomfortable he was by Clyde's gesture.

By the end of the movie, Aaron wanted to rip Clyde's head off; of course, Aaron was trying to maintain a cool face, but inside him, he was burning up alive. Was Emily dating this idiot? And why in the hell was he so close to his daughter…Bay seemed to adore the idiot and that bothered him, she was his daughter, and Emily was, well, technically she wasn't his, but still, he didn't want him with this guy...in fact, he didn't want him with any guy whatsoever. Clyde left the room for a short while to make some calls and to get Emily coffee just as the movie had ended, and Aaron was saying goodbye to Bay.

"Is that your boyfriend, or let me guess, another possible father?" Aaron asked, when they were outside of the room, and Bay couldn't hear them. Emily just smirked, shaking her head.

"You know, Aaron, I'm really tired, and the last thing I want to do is argue with you, so have a good night, okay?" She said, turning away.

"Are you dating him?" He asked angrily.

"That isn't any of your business! Goodbye, Aaron!" Emily said, going back inside the room, Emily knew he was just trying to pick another fight, and she definitely wasn't going to let that happen.

As days moved forward and Bay's surgery got closer, stress grew even stronger. The surgery could happen at any minute now, and that made everything much more complicated. Aaron didn't want to leave the hospital at all, even if Emily wasn't agreeable to him being there; he had decided he didn't need permission to see his daughter, especially not with the surgery so close, so he was spending basically every single minute he wasn't at work or with Jack at the hospital. He had already donated the bone marrow, and they were just waiting for a bed to be ready to perform the transplant surgery on her; it was just a mater of days or perhaps hours, and every passing minute was filled with stress and anxiety. Bay was getting worse, and she could hardly sit up or stand, and that was devastating for both Emily and Aaron, especially when they were in the middle of a war. On top of that, the fact that Clyde was there was making everything more difficult, at least on Aaron's part, for Emily, it was a blessing, but for Aaron it was hell. Emily refused to tell him if she and Clyde were in a relationship, and that truly bothered him.

One afternoon, they were all in the room, and Bay asked to be taken to the restroom and Emily helped her out of the bed, took her to the bathroom, and when they returned, Bay insisted on walking back to the bed by herself. Emily wanted to let Bay do as much as she could on her own to make her feel better, so she unclasped her hand. Aaron, on the other hand, didn't think it was a good idea, and he tried to discuss it with Emily, but she ignored him and let Bay do as she wished…unfortunately, Bay was so weak by now she hardly took a few steps before she felt dizzy and fainted, collapsing on the floor. Emily immediately ran toward her, trying to pick her up.

"Bay, baby, wake up, baby." Emily screamed, crying, but Bay was unconscious.

"I can't get her to wake up!" She said, shaking her and crying. Aaron and Clyde both knelt down.

"I told you not to let her go on her own. I told you not to do it!" Aaron said, furious.

"Call the doctor, Clyde, please." Emily said, crying.

Within seconds, the room filled with nurses and doctors, ordering all three of them to step out of the room. Emily was crying frantically, and they didn't know what was going on, she just needed to see her daughter, to see that she was okay. But, they were not allowed back in the room, at least until the doctors were finished examining her. By then, their friends had arrived…they had been on a case, but Dave decided it was time to support the two friends, so he and Morgan headed to the hospital, as the chaos was beginning. They all gathered outside the room, waiting on a response to see what was happening with the little girl as they tried to comfort one hysterical Emily.

"This is all your fault!" Aaron hissed angrily.

"Aaron, stop please!" Dave warned.

"Why, this is all her fault...she should not have let her walk back to her bed alone, without support, she knew she was weak, but she didn't care, she was too busy whoring around with her boyfriend to care about her daughter!" He said furiously, but that was it! Clyde couldn't take it any longer.

"Fuck off, asshole!" Clyde screamed, stepping in front of Emily, and before anyone could do anything to stop it, Clyde's fist landed on Aaron's face.

Aaron was caught off guard, but he immediately returned the blow, and in a matter of seconds, both men were wrestling, and Emily was terrified, trying to stop both man from killing each other.

"Clyde, no, please...stop...Aaron, stop, please." She cried, as she tried to step between both of them.

Morgan and Dave quickly reacted and separated both man.

"What the hell, man, are you out of your mind!?" Morgan said, holding Aaron and pushing him away from Clyde.

Dave, on his other side, took Clyde away.

"You both need to stop now!" Derek said, trying to stop Clyde from going after Aaron again.

"Let go of me, Derek, let me kill this son of a bitch!" Aaron seething.

"Stop Hotch, calm down, man." Morgan said, holding Aaron tighter as he tried to forcibly move him away from Clyde's proximity.

"I'd like to see you try, you fucking coward!" Clyde said, angrier than he had ever been in his life.

"Clyde, please stop!" Emily finally said, holding Clyde, too, with tears in her eyes.

"No Em, let me kick his ass, let me tell this asshole what he deserves to hear." Clyde had fire in his eyes, and Dave and Derek could both see that.

"This isn't even your business, she's my daughter, what the hell are you even doing here?" Aaron said, fuming.

"She's your daughter? Then, where in the hell were you when she was born? And when she first learned how to walk, and the first time she was sick? Because I surely was there, and I don't remember seeing your pathetic face." Clyde asked again, trying to move away from Emily's and Dave's hold.

"I didn't know she was my daughter then, thanks to her, thanks to all her bullshit and lies. Emily is nothing but a lying whore!" With that, Clyde was able to free himself from Dave and Emily and jumped on Aaron, punching him again and bursting his lip open, making blood appear.

Again, Dave and Morgan had to step between Clyde and Aaron to stop them from beating each other senseless in front of poor Bay, as Aaron once again tried to punch Clyde back and kick his ass.

"Listen to me, you piece of shit, do you want to know why she didn't tell you?" Clyde was sure Emily was going to hate him, but he didn't care.

"She didn't tell you because you were a bastard that treated her like crap and used and humiliated her when she was working with you, and the last night she was in DC, so, don't come here acting like a victim and blame all this on her. If you would have had the balls to treat her like a lady, none of this would ever have happened! This is ALL your fault…you're nothing but a narcissistic bastard that doesn't deserve her, or even Bay. You're a fucking asshole that used her and treated her like crap!" Clyde was shaking mad, and he truly wanted to kill Aaron.

"I don't know what the hell she ever saw in you...to be honest...because a woman as beautiful and amazing as she is deserves the best in this world, and from what I can see, you aren't any better at being a real man than you are at fighting!" Clyde screamed at him.

"Man up and grow some balls, motherfucker, and admit the way you treated her and what you did to drive her away from you and hide that child away from you." All the while, Aaron was still battling to move away from Morgan and fight Clyde back.

"Now, if you're going to be here, at least be a support to her; if you can't be that, then get the hell out before I kill you!" Before Aaron could respond, the security guards stepped in and stopped the fight in a matter of seconds. Emily took Clyde outside the hospital as Dave and Morgan took Aaron somewhere else.

Emily stepped out of the hospital with Clyde, she was angry, but not at Clyde, she was angry at Aaron. She knew Clyde had reacted the way he had because of all the crap Aaron was saying about her, and the way he was disrespecting her, in fact, she had been very close to kicking his ass herself. Clyde now had a very purple bruise on his temple and had broken the skin on his knuckles while punching Aaron.

"Jesus, Clyde, what the hell is the matter with you!?" She hissed, as soon as she was able to collect herself.

"With me? Emily, that idiot was attacking you. I swear, Emily, I WILL kill him!" Clyde was so mad he was shaking.

"Clyde…stop, just stop, please. I can't deal with this right now, my daughter is in there, and I can't do this." Emily finally said, sobbing heavily. Clyde just pulled her close, hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry, darling, I can't stand him, I simply can't...not after everything he's done to you." Clyde said, while comforting her.

"I just need Bay to be fine. I don't care about him anymore. I just want my baby to be okay." Emily said, as heavy tears rolled down her face. Clyde held her as close as he could and whispered comforting words in her ear. He knew he shouldn't have started a fight with that imbecile, but he was just tired of it; if it hadn't been for Emily, he would have killed him then and there.

They were still outside when Aaron saw them through the hospital windows, making his blood boil even more. He hated that it was that idiot and not him comforting her; he hated that it was Clyde who got to hold and support her, he hated that asshole for the way Emily smiled at him. He couldn't stand it, it wasn't until then he realized that he still loved and cared for her. Emily still held a very strong place in his heart regardless of everything that had happened. He would not tolerate Emily in a relationship with that idiot, Clyde wasn't her type, he couldn't make her tremble the way only he knew how to...and that spark in her eyes...he didn't see it in her eyes when she looked at Clyde, not the way she looked at him while they were making love. He wasn't going to let Clyde take her away from him, he wasn't going to let him win, he would fight for Emily, no matter what!

After Emily calmed down, Clyde pulled away from her, wiping her eyes and kissing her forehead.

"I just want the best for you, and he is not that." Clyde said quietly.

"I know, Clyde, everything between us is over, I promise you. He is only here for Bay, and that's all." Emily promised.

"I swear to God, Em, if he says something else to you, I will kill him." Clyde warned.

"No, you won't, you will behave, because I need you to be here for me and Bay and for you to support me, not cause me more stress, is that clear?" Emily asked seriously.

"Fine, but he needs to fuck off." Clyde said, looking away. It was then that Emily brought a hand to his temple tenderly.

"Let me see that." She tried to see how badly he was injured, but he pulled away.

"It's nothing, Em, that idiot punches like a girl." Clyde said angrily…that got her to smile and laugh.

"Shall we go back?" Clyde asked.

"Go, I'll be there in a minute...I just need some fresh air."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, go try to find out what's going on with Bay, I'll be there in just a minute." Clyde headed inside the hospital doors, not seeing Aaron who was, of course, watching everything and waited until Clyde disappeared to approach her. He just needed to talk to her.

Emily was trying to get her head cleared as silent tears rolled down her face, and the cold night reflected on her pale skin. She was so tired of this, she simply couldn't take it anymore, she just prayed to God that her daughter was doing well after fainting. She needed to remain focused for Bay, Emily needed to keep her strength for her daughter and pray that this was almost over. It was then that she became aware of Aaron's presence, and unfortunately, he was the last person she wanted to see.

"Emily..." He started, but he couldn't find the words to continue before Emily interrupted him.

"Don't, okay, just don't, please, just go away and leave me alone." She said, with tears in her eyes.

"Emily, please, listen to me." Aaron begged.

"No, Aaron, just go, please." She said angrily.

"Emily, I want to talk, please."

"About what, Aaron, about how you just attacked Clyde for no reason, about how you called me a lying whore? What is it that you want to talk about?" She screamed.

"Are you dating him?" He asked, in a heavier tone.

"Why do you care, Aaron, why does it matter to you? Just go away and leave me alone." - She said, with tears rolling down her face.

"Just please answer me, are you dating him?"

"God, Aaron, STOP, just stop!" She said, raising her voice, "Don't you understand that I can't talk to you because it hurts too much, standing in front of you is killing me, okay? Don't you get how much you have hurt me?" She screamed sobbing.

But Aaron, unable to control himself, pulled her by the waist and wrapped his arms around her kissing her passionately…at first, she tried to move away from him, but he was holding her too tight, and soon the kiss turned heated, passionate, and he didn't let go of her mouth until she was breathless.

"I want to know because I still fucking love you." Aaron said, looking at her intensely. However, she wasn't able to respond as they were interrupted. Clyde was running toward her.

"Emily, Dr. Bergman is looking for you…it's time...they're taking Bay into surgery now." Clyde said, and before Aaron could react, Emily ran back inside the hospital.