Aaron Hotchner was known to be a man of silent strength. He was a leader to deal with the most horrific and chaotic situations and help his agents be the best they can be. However, what he never expected was that his team would become his family. They all helped him after the loss of Haley, the battles with Strauss, his counseling after his ordeal with Foyet. His team became his reason to exist and to be strong other than his son. Now his family was facing heartbreak and despair through the loss of Emily Prentiss. As he washed the dishes from his and Jack's dinner, he reflected back on the moment he realized that he had lost Emily.

"She never made it off the table," JJ said as a tear fell from her eyes.

Derek leaned his body back against his chair as Penelope broke down into sobs. Dave began to suffer quiet anguish while Ashley attempted to absorb the fact that her mentor was gone. Spencer tried to run. Hotch knew Spencer wanted to find her, see her dead body for himself. He was thankful that JJ stopped him and held him as he broke down. He felt as if his heart dropped to his stomach, each beat tearing him apart. He needed to step out of the room before his team saw him break.

When he stepped out of the visitor's lounge, Aaron took a deep breath and held his head down in anguish. Emily was gone. The one who insisted he take care of himself after the suburban explosion that cost Kate's life. The woman who would offer to come over and watch Jack on nights he needed extra rest after a case. The woman who cared more than the rest after he was attacked and beaten by Foyet. She was taken from him and he never had the chance to tell her how important she was to him.

When he lifted his head to look out the corridor, he saw two federal agents exit the surgical arena. Holding a breath of hope, one man met his eyes. Giving a silent nod, the man looked down at the floor as they made their way toward the stairway in hiding.

Hotch kept his stare toward the surgical room. Could she be alive? he asked himself silently.

Without skipping a heart beat, JJ joined him in the hall way. Her blue eyes were haunted and sad. Shaking her head, she whispered to him, "She is in the custody of the secret service. Witness Protection, Aaron."

"I know," he said shaking his head.

Closing his eyes, he pivoted from her to go to join their team. However, her hand grabbed his wrist. He looked into her sad eyes as she informed him, "She wants to see you, to say goodbye."

Taking a deep breath, Aaron agreed and he whispered, "Tell the team I needed to sign off on her release to the morgue." Saying the words left a vile taste in her mouth.

When he entered her room, she was staring toward the closed window hoping to catch a glimpse of the Boston moon, large tears falling silently from her tortured brown eyes. She turned her attention toward the doorway when she heard the door close. As she laid in the hospital bed, her midsection wrapped in gauze, he never thought she looked more beautiful.

"Hotch," she whispered sadly.

Almost out of character, Aaron rushed to her side and took her into his arms. He could feel her body tense as their unorthodox contact was made. However, she quickly relaxed against him and tears fell from her eyes.

"Im glad you're alive," he whispered.

"They didn't want you to know," she said. "I told them you had to. I couldn't live knowing... knowing that you thought..."

"You don't need to explain," he said wiping away one of her tears from her cheek.

She nodded. She looked so lost, so broken. He wanted nothing more than to tear Doyle limb by limb for doing this to her, for taking her from him, their family in the BAU.

She grabbed his hand and touched his face timidly. "Will you do something for me, Aaron?" she asked softly. Nodding, she continued, "I want you to make sure that the team stays together, that they don't break apart with my loss. Reid is going to feel betrayed and may read more into his headaches, causing a slip into illness. Please watch over him. Make sure that Dave continues to mentor Seaver now that I am gone. Keep Garcia and Morgan's banter alive, you and I both know they will need to lean on one another. And..." Emily wiped away her tears before she met his black eyes again, "please take care of yourself. Remind Jack that I will always love him, but please, don't run from love Aaron."

"Em..."

"Aaron, I don't know if I will ever see you again. I need to know that somehow, someway you are moving passed this."

He couldn't look at her for a moment. His heart was breaking at her request. "I don't want this," he whispered.

"Me either," she said sadly. "This is to protect you, protect our family, protect me."

"I will never stop hunting him down," he said looking into her eyes. "And when he is dead, you can return to us."

"He has a lot of allies," she said sadly.

"I will hunt them all," he said with conviction.

There was a knock at the door that removed them from their intimate moment. His heart raced in panic as he realized he was going to be torn from her. He leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss upon her lips, shocking her in the motion. A final goodbye he desperately needed. Separating himself from her, he stood and felt his legs turn to lead. Looking into her haunted eyes, he shuddered internally as his frame stood controlled. "Goodbye, Emily." he whispered.

With a tear falling, she released his hand and replied, "So long Aaron."

As her witness protection detail informed him of the importance to keep his silence, he kept a running mantra in his mind to convince himself that Emily Prentiss was dead. She wasn't alive. She wasn't ever coming home. Nodding to himself, he began compartmentalizing his suffering to be the leader he needed to be in this time of devastation.

"Daddy!" Jack yelled, shaking Aaron from his memories.

He looked down at his son who was looking at him with sad but loving eyes. In his hand was a collection of flowers with dirt and roots on the end. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Jack? What are those?"

"Flowers," he responded quickly.

"Where did you find those flowers?" he asked.

"Our backyard. I think we have a lot Daddy," Jack informed him.

"Why do you have flowers?" Aaron asked.

"They are for Miss Emily," Jack replied. "I know she isn't going to come over until tomorrow, but I wanted to put them in water and she can see them tomorrow."

Aaron felt like he had been punched in the gut. He had been so grateful that Jessica had kept Jack from news stations and papers for the past few days. Otherwise he would have known about the loss of his dear friend. Taking a deep breath, he took the flowers from Jack's hand and placed them on the counter. "Come here, buddy," he said sadly, moving him toward the couch. "You and I need to talk."

"Am I in trouble for the flowers?" Jack asked nervously.

Smiling inwardly, Aaron replied, "No, no you aren't." He didn't know how he was going to do this. First Haley, now Emily. Jack was going to be devastated once he learned the truth. "Jack, I need to tell you something."

Jack's brown eyes that were just like his met his gaze. His hair was like Haley's, however his mannerisms and facial structure were all him. Taking his time, Aaron spoke delicately, "Miss Emily isn't going to be coming over anymore."

"Is she mad at me?" Jack asked sadly.

"No, no she isn't mad at you," Aaron responded quickly. "You see, do you remember where Mommy is?"

"In heaven," Jack replied.

"Yes. Well, Miss Emily is in heaven now."

Aaron watched as horror, sadness, devastation and anger marred his young son's face. "No!" he yelled standing to his feet. "Miss Emily is not in heaven! She can't be! I am never going to see her again!" he screamed.

"Jack, calm down," Aaron ordered sadly, his own heart breaking as his son's tears fell.

"Why didn't you save her, Daddy?" Jack cried. "It's your job to save people! Why couldn't you save MIss Emily? She loved me, daddy!"

Shocked by his question, Aaron felt as if Jack stabbed him. "Jack..."

"I loved Miss Emily and now she's gone!" Knocking over the magazines as he ran to his room, Jack slammed the door and Aaron could hear the broken sobs of his little boy.

Aaron couldn't help but stand and pace in his living room. Chaos and anguish tortured him as he remembered Jack's pain, Emily's goodbye and her funeral all in a flash. Clenching a fist, Aaron spun and punched the wall, leaving a hole in his wake. Taking the time to regroup and focus, Aaron allowed the anger to wash off of him in waves as he body shuddered in frustration.

Suddenly, the sound of his cell phone ringing shook him from his sadness. Moving to his phone, he noticed it was from a blocked number. Answering it, he spoke firmly, "Hotchner."

"Am I speaking to Aaron Hotchner?" the voice asked.

"You are. Who is this?" he asked.

"My name is Nurse Michelle Mason from Mercy General. I have been instructed by Ms. Penelope Garcia to contact you."

His blood rushed cold at the name of his analyst. "Is Penelope alright?" he asked.

"Sir, she came in severely beaten. Before she passed out, she gave me her phone and ordered me to contact you instead of her next of kin, a Mr. Derek Morgan. We believe that this is a domestic violence issue. Is Mr. Morgan Ms. Garcia's partner?"

Beating. Domestic Violence. Penelope. Shuddering, Aaron replied, "No, no Mr. Morgan is not her partner. He is her best friend, however. Did her boyfriend, Analyst Kevin Lynch come in with her?"

"No, she came in individually after being dropped off in a red sedan," Nurse Mason informed.

Shit, he thought to himself, That's Lynch's car. When Derek realized what Kevin did, he was going to land in jail for homicide. "Nurse, are you sure that Garcia asked for you to call me?" he asked.

"Yes, she was quite adamant, Sir. She is conscious now and is trying to fight hospital protocol."

With a frustrated sigh, Aaron said, "I will be right there. Keep her sedated if you need to."

With a heavy sigh, fear began welling inside the leader once again. He didn't know what the team would do if they lost Penelope. She was the heart of the team, the woman reminded each member of their worth and purpose. With the loss of Emily, Penelope's beating would do great damage to everyone on the team. Maybe that was why she ordered the staff to contact him instead of Derek. Penelope knew Morgan better than she knew herself. He knew he would need to ask those questions once he got to his injured analyst.

He looked through his contacts and dialed JJ's number. Jessica was out of town with her fiancee and he needed a sitter fast. "JJ, it's Hotch. I need a favor."

"Sure, what's up?" JJ asked. Will had just left on a case and Henry was lost in Toy Story.

"Can I drop off Jack with you? I just got an urgent phone call and I need to leave Jack, however Jessica is away for the weekend."

"It's not a problem, Hotch. Is everything okay?"

Aaron felt nervous as he realized that JJ was Penelope's best friend. News of her beating would be devastating toward his friend. Deciding to keep her off the topic, he said, "I had to tell Jack that Emily died today."

"Oh Aaron," JJ said, bracing a hand to her chest. "How is he?"

"Angry, betrayed, heartbroken. He blames me," he answered sadly.

"What?" she questioned in surprise.

"He told me I didn't save her," he said.

"That isn't true," she whispered. "You and I both know that you got to her in time. Jack needed to know she was gone. You couldn't have predicted this reaction."

"This was so much angrier than when he realized Haley was gone," Aaron recalled. "I have never seen him so devastated."

"Well, bring him over and he and Henry can watch Cars. I know how much he loves that."

"Thank you JJ," he said full of gratitude.

"As I said, not a problem. And Aaron?"

"Yes?"

"Don't think you are getting away from telling me the real issue when you get here."

Chuckling sadly, Aaron responded, "Okay, we will be there shortly. Thank you JJ."

Closing his phone, Aaron began gathering his and Jack's things praying that Garcia would be healing without too much fuss until he got there.