AN/Thanks for all of the great reviews. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

JJ gently pushed open the front door to her home, not wanting to disturb her husband if he were sleeping.

Hotch, however, stood in the middle of the front room, studying the pictures in front of him.

Noticing the pictures he was looking at she sighed, "It's been almost three years since we lost them."

Startled, Hotch glanced over at the door quickly, "On a case...?"

"You don't remember?" JJ asked, failing to mask the worry in her eyes.

"We just haven't talked about them in a long time." Hotch hedged, not wanting to admit his confusion.

"Aaron--" JJ sighed, debating whether or not to call a doctor. She knew how much he hated hospitals, and that was one of the reasons she hadn't insisted on taking him after he fell, but she was starting to worry.

Hotch could see the gears turning in her mind and quickly interrupted, "Some things are just a little foggy." He conceded, certain that if JJ felt that he were opening up to her, that she would be more likely to accept his explanations. "What happened to them?"

"You remember how Emily was after Morgan's heart attack" JJ continued, choosing not to think about her husband forgetting how his friends died. "Garcia told me once that Emily was going to finally tell him how she felt that night. She was on her way over when Dave called her to tell her that he and Reid had rushed Morgan to the hospital."

"How she felt?" Hotch queried.

JJ nodded and continued, "We were all pretty torn up afterwards, you especially. I remember you telling me that Derek Morgan was the closest friend you had after Hailey died other than me. We didn't work a case for three weeks after that, Strauss put us all on mandatory leave. The first case we took after we came back was a bomber who ended up holding his two kids captive in their day care with a bomb attached to him. Emily saved the kids by sacrificing herself."

Hotch's stomach dropped as he picked up one of the photos. The guilt swept over him quickly as he felt oddly responsible for Emily and Morgan's demise.

"Listen, I think I'm going to go for a drive. Clear my head. Do you remember where I put my keys?" Hotch asked, immediately feeling the need to talk to Sean, the only person who he had ever really shared everything with.

"They're in the bowl by the door. I think you're cell phone is in there too." JJ answered, a worried look on her face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine" Hotch smiled, kissing her forehead on his way out the door.

-----

Hours later found him waiting for Sean in front of two graves he'd hoped he'd never see-- Emily Anne Prentiss and Derek Christopher Morgan. They were buried side by side, almost as if they had been a married couple, and it was obvious that someone had been by here often to take care of the area surrounding the headstones.

"What are you doing here? You scared JJ half to death." Sean scolded as he approached the two graves.

"What's going on here, Sean. One minute, I'm hanging lights with Jack, and the next, I'm married to JJ with three kids and one on the way. I have no idea what's happening here." He admitted, allowing his vulnerability to be seen.

"Penelope mentioned that you hit your head, but I didn't think it was this serious." Sean furrowed his brow in contemplation. "You don't remember them?"

"No, not a thing." Hotch sighed, grateful that his younger brother believed him.

"I knew I should have told Pen to make JJ take you to the hospital." Sean muttered.

"If I wanted a doctor, I'd go myself. I don't. It's just--none of this makes any sense." Hotch narrowed his eyes seriously.

"Well what do you want from me?" Sean asked.

"I don't know." Hotch groaned exasperatedly, "Answers?"

"About what?"

"What year is it? I have a daughter? Am I insane?" He listed off the questions that had been plaguing him since he had awoken.

"Fine. It's 2015. Yes, you have a daughter, and I have never seen someone as wrapped around a little girl's finger as you are. You dote on that girl like she was the Queen of England. And to be honest, I always thought you were a little crazy." Sean deadpanned.

"Very funny." Hotch replied sarcastically, "And...wait. How do you know Penelope Garcia?"

Sean just sighed as he held up his left hand to reveal a simple golden band around his ring finger. "I married her."