I want to thank you all for your support on this story and all your wonderful ideas, reviews and reads. Thank you for the guest review that was a great idea! I think I will incorporate it into the story but not in this chapter, thanks!

Happy reading!

Hotch saw the look in Emily's eyes as he stepped through the doorway, with that and a combination of her body language she looked as if she would shatter into a million pieces. But instead of breaking down, her words spilled out of her mouth like turpentine, Hotch was heartbroken that she sounded so disappointed to see him, but he didn't falter and said, "Who were you expecting, JJ?"

"You're a profiler and you don't know the answer to that question?" Emily said turning her back to Hotch, facing out into the darkness of the hotel window, feeling the cool blast of the air condition against her face. Emily couldn't explain why her words exited her mouth so harshly towards Hotch. He wasn't pressing, but she did find his constant presence and care unusual and un-interpretable so it was an aggravation to try to read him or understand his motives. Can't I catch a break? "Why are you here?" She asked quietly tilting her head down at the floor, looking slightly sideways, waiting for an answer.

"I thought that if you needed someone to talk to…" Hotch scratched his head thinking maybe he had made a bad decision, but when he didn't hear a rebuttal he was relieved.

Emily looked all the way at him this time and said, "Isn't this against Rossi's rule book or something."

Hotch smiled, setting his go bag down, realizing that he wasn't going to get kicked out and he said, "Yeah, but I am the Unit Chief and I told the team that I needed to have a private conversation with you about your behavior and how it's affecting your job. I think that will keep them at bay for awhile."

Emily smiled back at him, "Thank you, for everything."

"You're welcome. Well I think I'll change and check the weather." He said turning on the light to the bathroom. He watched as Emily nodded her head and turned back around.

Emily heard the bathroom door shut behind her and she couldn't help but smile, she almost giggled audibly at the image she just pictured in her mind. She reprimanded herself for even thinking of her supervisor changing his clothes, and then she wondered what he would look like when he exited the bathroom. Emily walked over to the dresser, grabbed remote and sat down on the edge of her bed where she could catch Hotch as he walked out of the bathroom.

She turned the T.V. on and felt butterflies start flittering in her stomach, as she waited anxiously. She heard the bathroom door open, and a smile filtered across her face, and she felt her cheeks blush. Emily looked back down at the floor trying to hide her smile by biting her lip, Emily pull yourself together.

Hotch noticed the change in Emily's behavior as he walked out of the bathroom, and was glad to see that she seemed almost happy, but he wasn't quite sure why.

"Here." Emily said tossing the remote to his bed, trying to avoid all thoughts of checking him out. Then she turned on her knees and crawled to the top of her bed, nestling under hte covers.

Hotch caught himself staring at her back side and forced his eyes towards the television as he walked to his bed. When he was done checking the weather he turned off the T.V. and turned on the lamp by his bed. "I was thinking of driving I-95 tomorrow and checking out some of the different rest areas of the most recent crime scenes. Would you like to go with me instead of staying at the police station?"

No, I want to go home and never think about this again. I wish I had never looked into the case. Emily turned her back to Hotch and let a tear roll down her cheek. One minute she was happy and secure, the next she was an emotional mess. It was becoming something she couldn't control.

"Emily?"

"Yeah, that's fine." She said.

Hotch could tell that she was thinking about it again, the change in her voice and body language was obvious, especially to a profiler.

"That's the third time you've called me that today." She said, almost trying to change the subject.

"What?" Hotch said, trying to think of what he called her.

"Emily. You've called me Emily three times today."

"I'm sorry." Hotch felt bad that he had broke that professional barrier, making her feel uncomfortable in his presence, or so he thought unitl...

"Don't apologize, I like it." Emily said. Something about him saying her name, made him feel closer to her and more comfortable. It also showed that he cared and it had been a long time since she had felt someone care for her the way Hotch had in just a matter of two days.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hotch said, he was expecting a harsh reply from her but he didn't get one. Instead he heard a mumble but couldn't make it out. He waited a moment and said, "Did you say something?"

"It was just sex." She said almost inaudibly.

Hotch felt a knife rip through his heart. It was so much more than sex; it is a violation of her security, self esteem, and confidence while it simultaneously destroys your perception on life, stealing from you everything that is good and pure. "Emily, what that man did to you wasn't just sex. He threatened your life while stealing a piece of you and taking it for himself. He made you feel dirty, exposed, vulnerable, and embarrassed. And for you, whether you admit it or not it has destroyed a part of your life, because for all these years you never told anyone and because you never told anyone you tried to convince yourself that it was no big deal and hid it in your subconscious…"

"Stop, please. I can't Hotch, not now." Emily said with a shaky voice.

Hotch immediately felt bad for profiling her. Can't I just be a normal person? Why do I have to be such a profiler when I want to just be her friend? I have no chance of getting close now, not after I broke down her emotions and laid them on the table for her, that was the last thing she needed. Without saying another word he turned out the light and got underneath the covers.

He laid there, in the darkness, unable to sleep. He longed to be close to Emily to be her comfort, but he didn't know how and that frustrated him. He tried to make sense of his emotions, and feelings for her but that frustrated him even more.

Frequently he looked at her bed and thought of crawling in next her, telling her everything will be okay. They were so close yet so far away.

Two hours had passed and for the first time since they had stopped speaking she began to stir. He paid close attention and it wasn't long before the whimpers began. He sat up in bed and pulled the covers off of him, swinging his feet onto the floor. He paused considering whether he should get up or not and for the moment he sat observing, not wanting to wake her up.

Emily began to roll from side to side. Hotch flipped on the light so he could see her better. It wasn't long before she started fighting the comforter and he noticed her face was glistening with trace amounts of sweat and her stray, strands of hair were matted to the sides of her face. She was alone and helpless. He wanted to help her but still he restrained himself thinking that the dream would pass but he was wrong.

Emily's legs started kicking. Faintly at first she said, "Help, please." Then there were whimpers followed by a louder, "No, stop." Her breathing became intense as if she was trying to catch her breath and her hands clinched the comforter and then she started screaming, "I like it! Okay I like it! Just stop please!" Now she was crying.

When she started yelling Hotch bolted from his bed and started calling her name, "Emily! Wake up! Emily it's a dream!" Her hands started hitting him and he grabbed her wrists gently, trying to keep them from swarping his face. The physical contact between her and Hotch caused Emily's eyes to burst open.

Hotch caught her gaze and said, "It's okay, it's me. You're safe." He pushed back a few strands of her matted hair.

Emily was embarrassed, but in that moment of fear she needed someone. She clinched the front of his white shirt and pulled herself into him and cried, "I'm sorry. You were right. Everything you said was right. He did make me feel that way."

Hotch rubbed his hand down the back of her ponytail, while the other arm, held her into him. "I'm sorry it happened to you, I wish I could have been there for you."

"You are now." Emily said through her tears.

Hotch leaned against the headboard holding on to Emily as she rested in his chest. It was there she cried herself back to sleep, in the comfort of Hotch's embrace. That was how they stayed til morning.

When dawn began to creep through the window Emily started waking up. She woke before Hotch and sneaked out of bed. When she was safely on the floor, without waking him up, she pulled the covers up on his body and went to take a shower.

When she exited the shower her hair was soaking wet and she was wearing black cotton shorts and a white cotton shirt, for it was still early and she didn't have to be ready just quite yet. She walked out into the room and Hotch was gone. Un-alarmed she figured he went to get breakfast and few minutes later she found her assumption was correct.

It sounded like he was kicking the door, so Emily looked through the peep hole and saw a Hotch fumbling for his keycard with his hands full of just about everything they had to offer at the continental breakfast. Quickly she opened the door and helped him into the room, "Wow, are you hungry or couldn't you decide what you wanted to eat?"

"I didn't know what you liked, so I just grabbed everything and thought we could share." Hotch said, setting down cups of juice and plates of food. When he looked up to Emily he was captured by her casual sexiness. Her face beamed with delight at the unusual behavior of her Unit Chief. "So what would you like?"

Emily walked up and said, "That double chocolate chip muffin is calling my name." She picked up the muffin and started peeling the paper from its edges when she randomly apologized for last night. "Hotch, I'm sorry about last night." The truth was she was embarrassed and admitting that took a great deal of humbling, so she mustered what she could and said, "The truth is, I'm embarrassed for how I acted, and I should have been able to control my emotions better, I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'm not a weak person."

"You are anything but weak and Emily it was nothing you could control. I'm just glad I was there for you. Now eat up and I'm going to go get my shower."

"Gladly."

For a moment they became entranced by one another, as if time stopped. Their bodies wanted to move towards one another but they refrained. There almost seemed to be a forward tilt in their bodies and about the time Hotch opened his mouth to say something a car horn honked outside, disrupting the moment. The two of them let out a breath, and almost laughed, Emily gave him a curious glance and then Hotch walked off towards the restroom.

Emily walked towards the window and looked out. She saw a white Toyota Corolla parked outside with a man in a flannel shirt and jeans walking towards the front of the building. She didn't think anything of it and walked back over to the table of food.

It was getting late in the day. Hotch and Emily were going to one more rest area before heading back.

During the day Hotch noticed Emily's behavior became more cautious and tense. Now she was looking out the passenger side window, staring into the deepest parts of the side mirror. "Is everything okay, you've been looking into that mirror for the last 50 miles?"

Emily sat back into her seat. "No, it's just that this morning I saw a white Toyota Corolla at the hotel and today I keep thinking that I see glimpses of it, but I think I'm just off my rocker and everything has me on edge, because of this case."

"This might sound like a random thought but were you standing next to JJ at the press conference?"

"Uh…yeah." Emily heard Hotch's breathing get deeper and she knew that he was getting mad. "I'm sorry…I…"

Hotch didn't want to hear her apologies but said, "Is it possible that the rapist would recognize you if he saw you on T.V. ?"

Emily thought back to what she looked like when she was 19. There wasn't much difference from now and then, "I guess the possibility is there." She said sort of shrugging her shoulders.

The next thing she knew Hotch slammed his fist down on the steering wheel, "Damn it! Do you think it could be him?" Hotch said angrily.

Emily jumped and was taken back by his response. At first she felt she was in trouble but then she saw the look of fear in his eyes, that they actually might be in some kind of danger. "I don't know, maybe."

"Did any of the victims remember seeing cars at the rest areas?"

"No, they were the only cars in the parking lot."

That made Hotch feel a little better, but now he was on edge, constantly looking through every mirror. It could be nothing but yet it could be something.

They arrived at the last rest area. It was just before dusk set in. The agents exited their vehicle and carefully observed the area. "I have an idea." Emily blurted looking at the set of woods behind the restrooms and dog walking area. Hotch followed her eagerly as she explained. "If the un-sub isn't parking in the parking lots he has to be parking somewhere and watching from a distance, waiting for the right victim. My guess is that he is parking beyond the woods."

"Emily that's a good idea but maybe we better get a chopper and look tomorrow."

"Hotch I'm not going to gallivanting through the woods, but there is just enough light that if we stand at the edge of the tree line maybe we can see the light on the other side, that is if he's not walking a long distance or the woods aren't too thick."

"I think you're on to something, the woods as a background is something in common with each rest area." Hotch said catching up to the fast paced Emily. "Emily slow down, were not in a hurry." She glanced back at him and smiled. "What was that for?" He asked for the funny, girlish look she gave him.

"I love it when you say my name." She said and turned around and kept walking. They arrived at the edge of the woods. Emily took a few steps in.

"Emily." Hotch said in his demanding voice, his tone tellig her not to go any further.

"Don't Emily me." Another scan into the woods and she saw something move, "Hey! Whose there! FBI!" Emily yelled drawing her gun.

Sort of a long one but I hope you all enjoyed it!