He flinched at the feel of her hand on his arm.
"Don't," he snapped, taking a step away from her.
Emily froze, watching him carefully. "Don't what?"
He turned his back to her, moving to his desk. "Don't touch me," he said quietly.
She could have been angry, if not for the fact that she understood where this was coming from. "You can't keep doing this, Aaron. You've seen it a million times before - if you hold everything in and refuse to let yourself grieve, you'll explode. You owe yourself more than that." When he didn't say anything, Emily stood up a little straighter, taking a deep breath. "You owe Jack more than that."
Hotch's head snapped up, his eyes hard. "Don't -"
"Don't what?" she questioned, taking a step forward. "Be honest with you? We don't lie to each other. You know that."
His shoulders slumped slightly, and he shook his head. "I can't do this," he whispered.
"Not alone," she conceded, closing the distance between them. When she reached her hand out this time, he took in a shuddering breath, but didn't pull away. "Let me help you," she urged. "Let me be your friend."
He warred with himself, but in the end, he knew he couldn't keep on like this. For Jack's sake if nothing else.
"Give me today," he murmured. "Let me finish today, and then..."
"Then?" she prodded, when he fell silent again.
Hotch sighed. "Then I'll try to let you in," he whispered.