He had never been the touchy-feely kind of person, and neither had Emily. Their physical contact had always been limited to an occasional handshake, but nevertheless, following her request seemed to be the right thing to do.
Hotch couldn't even imagine how hard this had to be for her. Emily had always been a proud woman, not wanting anyone to know how she felt inside. No matter what, she had always managed to keep up appearances, had always managed to make the others think nothing in the world could touch her, hurt her.
How often had she dialed his phone number before, but then not brought up the courage to press the "call"-button? For how long had she been hesitating before she had finally brought up the courage to call him this night?
Despite of the exhausted look on her tear-stained face, Hotch had never admired her for her strength more than he did right now.
When she was finally able to breathe again, Emily let go of Hotch, but he didn't go back to "his" spot on the couch. Instead, he knelt down right next to the armchair, reached out for her hand and - when she didn't fight his touch - slightly squeezed it.
Hotch's hands were softer than she had expected. He held hers in a comforting, gentle way which was so different from Cyrus' touch. His hands had been rough, forceful. He had not cared at all about how much he'd been hurting her with what he did...
Aaron immediately noticed Emily had started shivering again. He let go of her hand, insecurely looking at her: "If anything I do makes you feel uncomfortable, just tell me, okay?"
"I-i-it's okay. C..can you...?"
She shyly looked down to his hands and Hotch got the message.
"I'm here for you, Emily."
He promised, reaching out for her hand again.
"Th-thank you!"