A/N: This chapter has a flashback in it from my story 'Starting Over Was Never Easy'. The stories are not really tied together but hot4booth wanted me to use a flashback so here it is. Thank you for all the reviews on the other chapters. It means more to me then you will ever know. Hot4booth I hope this is what you had in mind when mentioned a flashback.

Chapter 3

"Do you love her Aaron? Do you love Emily?" Dave knew the answer but asked anyway.

Hotch stared at his closest friend; besides Emily, and knew he couldn't hide anything from that man. Lowering his head he thought for a moment before answering. "Yes. Yes I love Emily. More than I thought possible."

"Aaron?"

Hotch raised his head to see Beth standing behind Dave. 'Ah fuck.' Was the first thought to run through his head.

Dave turned and went back to the party leaving the two of them alone. Beth stood there on the porch with a sad look in her eyes.

"Beth, I'm sorry. I never meant to mislead you. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Do you really love her Aaron?"

"Honestly? Yes I do. I didn't realize till tonight just how much she means to me."

"If you had feelings for her why did you ever start something with me?"

"Beth it was never my intentions to lead you on. I thought there might be a connection with us. I know I wanted to try to move forward and I wanted to try with you. I like you Beth, I really do but…"

"You don't love me," Beth finished for him.

"No I don't; but I thought there was a chance that I could… eventually." He said quietly, hanging his head in shame.

"Well to be honest with you Aaron, it is too early in our relationship to know what I feel for you. I know that I care for you. Do I love you? No, not yet. Was there a possibility? Yes there was."

"Beth I'm so sorry…," he began to apologize again but Beth stopped him before he could finish.

"Don't Aaron. You can't help how you feel. The only thing I am sorry about is that we didn't have a chance to see where we could go; and maybe that we never got more intimate. I see now that subconsciously you held back because you wanted it with her instead. I'm not going to say I am not disappointed, but even I know that it would never have worked with your heart somewhere else."

Beth leaned up and kissed Hotch on the cheek. "Will you tell Jack goodbye for me? I'll call a cab, you go and try and find Emily. Tell her how you feel before it is too late."

"Thank you Beth, for everything." Hotch said as he hugged her goodbye.

Hotch went back inside and found Dave standing with Strauss by the fountain in the garden.

"Excuse me ma'am, Dave can you watch Jack for me for a while?"

"Going to find our friend?" Dave asked with a smile on his face.

"Yes I am. Can you watch Jack?" Hotch said impatiently.

"Go Aaron, Jack will be fine here."

Hotch told Jack that Dave was going to watch him for a while and he would be back soon. Hotch made it to Emily's apartment in record time, having broken just about every driving law there was. The lights were out and there was no answer when he knocked on the door.

'Where did she go? Damn it I have to find her. This can't be it; it can't end like this. We haven't even had a chance to try.' He thought as he sat on the top step of the stairs to her third floor apartment. He thought going back to all the times she had been there for him when he needed someone. It had always been her he turned to. It had always been her that he wanted to turn to. It was he that had helped when Haley left him. He thought back to that first night she had comforted him.

Flashback

"Hi, thanks for coming over." He said as he led her to the living room.

"That's what friends are for Hotch." She said as she took a seat on the couch.

"Is that what we are Prentiss?" He said shocked that she had referred to them as friends.

"Aren't we? I hope we are. I know you didn't trust me and I know you didn't want me on your team but I thought we had moved past that somewhat. Have we not?"

"Yes, I think we have. I know I have not made it easy on you since you joined the team and I apologize for that. It was not you, it was the fact that you were brought in without my knowledge and I had a feeling Strauss was up to something from the beginning. I took it out on you and I am sorry for that. I admire you Emily for standing up to that woman; you were willing to give up everything you have worked for to protect this team."

"I told you Aaron, I hate politics. I do want to apologize for everything that happened. I didn't know she was going to use me as a mole in her quest to bring you down. I hope you know that I would never do anything to jeopardize the team in any way."

He could see the worry in her eyes and he knew he had to try and reassure her that he didn't blame her for anything. Not anymore. Now that he knew the truth.

"Emily I don't doubt for one minute that you would do whatever you can to protect us. I knew that when you turned in your resignation."

"Thank you for trusting me. Now tell me what happened with Haley." She said turning the focus off of her and back on to his problems.

"She wants me to leave the BAU. That is why I put in for the transfer. When I decided to go to Milwaukee to help the team she was furious. She said it would never end, that there would always be one more case. I knew she was mad when I left but I needed to help the team. It is who I am; this job is who I am. I care about making a difference. I need to make a difference, I thought she understood that but over the past year things have changed and I don't know how to make it better. I don't even know that I want to anymore." He sat there with his head in the palms of his hands.

"I'm sorry Aaron, I really am." Emily said as she reached over taking one of his hands in hers.

"I think she has been seeing someone else."

"Oh Aaron…" She began but he cut her off.

"I find myself not feeling to torn up about it. Not surprised either. We have had problems for a while. I knew this was coming I just can't believe she took Jack without a word and just left." He said as he absently squeezed Emily's hand a little tighter.

"She is upset Aaron. Give her time; she'll call when she cools down. Maybe you can work this out."

"I don't know if I want to work it out."

They talked for hours about the options for him and his son's future. Emily finally headed home around two in the morning hoping she was of some help to her boss and friend; had promised him that she would be there if he needed to talk.

End Flashback

And she had been there through everything. She had been there after Foyet had attacked him; she had been there after Haley was killed. She was there for Jack and helped him understand everything that was going on. She let him cry for Haley and comforted him when his dad couldn't. Emily had always been the centering force for the team. She kept them grounded when the cases got too hard to bear.

It had almost destroyed the team when everything happened with Ian Doyle. It had almost destroyed him when she was gone. At the time he had thought it was because he had lost his closet friend but now he realized that it was because he was in love with her. He loved Emily Prentiss.

He sat there on those stairs for three hours waiting for her to come home when he finally gave up and went and picked up Jack at Dave's. He would have to wait for her to show up in his office in the morning.