As always thank you so much for your reviews! They're such lovely motivators! Hope you guys enjoy this next part : )

XxxxX

Emily briefly considered turning around slowly and running out of the store, but she knew that wouldn't do her any good. She sighed, she should've known she would run into someone eventually. She knew she couldn't keep her return a secret- especially since she was in town for an indefinite amount of time. She just didn't know what she was going to say. She didn't want to lie to Hotch, or to anyone for that matter; but she also wanted to keep her promise to her mother.

She tensed when she noticed Hotch was coming over to talk to her, probably because she hadn't stopped staring at him. Good going, Emily. She chastised herself.

"Emily?" He said tentatively when he finally approached her.

"Hi." She said softly, pretending to be interested in some flowers in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" He wondered, his tone not accusing. He seemed generally concerned and confused.

"Um- I'm just here to- to see my mother." She settled on saying, glancing up from the yellow arrangement she was so fixated on. That wasn't a complete lie, at least.

"Oh, she's back in DC?" He asked her. Emily just nodded.

"I thought I would be nice and get some flowers for her or something, you know." She tried to wave it off, but she knew that Hotch probably wouldn't buy it. After all, it wasn't as if Emily hid her rocky relationship with her mother from anyone.

Hotch gave her a look, one that said he didn't quite buy her story, but that he wasn't going to press the issue now.

"Why are you here?" Emily asked, though she figured she already knew.

"I'm just looking for some flowers for Beth. She's in town, and we're supposed to go to dinner tonight. Jack had a doctor's appointment this morning, so I came here to check these out before I went into work." He told her.

"Is Jack okay?" She grew concerned.

"He's fine, just routine." Hotch explained. Emily nodded.

"So you guys are doing well?" Emily asked him, referring to Beth. He seemed to understand what that meant. As he spoke of Beth, Emily could see a certain dimness in his eyes. He told her that she was still in New York, but they were really trying to make long distance work. Jack really liked Beth, and that in itself was enough to motivate Hotch to make it work. It wasn't like he hated Beth or anything, she could tell he did genuinely like her; but Emily just couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

She didn't press it, though, because she knew the last thing she wanted was for someone to start trying to read into her personal life right now.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Hotch cleared his throat and spoke again.

"How long are you here?" He asked her.

She bit her lip, unsure of what to say to him.

"Not long," she lied. "That's why I didn't tell anyone I was here." She continued the lie, feeling terrible about it.

"Oh, okay." He replied. Did he actually sound disappointed? Emily couldn't tell if he truly was, or if she was just wishing he would see right through her lie. The two of them had always had a special relationship. Sure, when Emily first joined the team, they hadn't been on great terms. But they had known each other since Emily was at Yale, they hadn't been very close, but she remembered always liking when he was around.

After Foyet, Emily always checked in on Hotch and Jack. She tried not to smother them with her presence, but as time went on she found herself over at his apartment more than she was at her own. Most of the time, when they weren't entertaining Jack, they just sat together on Hotch's couch. Sometimes, she would use his chest as a pillow; other times, Hotch would toss his legs over hers as they sat and watched some dumb TV movie. That was the extent of their physical relationship. It wasn't about that, it was about being there for each other. It was about knowing when to make the other talk about what was on their mind, and when to just simply be there and offer a hand.

Emily began distancing herself as soon as she was told Doyle was after her. There was no way she was going to somehow get Hotch and Jack involved in that mess. Especially not after what the two of them had dealt with after Foyet and Haley's death. She hadn't told him anything, not until it was too late. The seven months she spent in Paris all alone were the longest months of her life. Each day she felt so guilty about keeping such a secret. Hotch had told her so many things, he trusted her with his deepest fears and emotions; and she couldn't bring herself to do the same.

She thought she was doing it to keep him safe. But she knew that had she told him, she wouldn't have had to go after Doyle by herself. She would never have been alone with him in that warehouse. The team wouldn't have had to go in and save her. She wouldn't have gotten staked. She wouldn't have had to fake her death. She wouldn't have gotten the team in trouble once they finally took Doyle down. Everything would've been okay. She realized she kept it from him to keep her walls up, not for his safety. That reality crushed her. She hadn't meant to be so selfish.

After another awkward silence, Emily cleared her throat. "Well, I'd better go." She said.

As she walked away, she heard him speak again. "It was good seeing you, Emily." He called out to her.

She pretended not to hear him; she just made her way out of the flower shop and to her car, fighting back tears the whole time.

XxxxxX

Once Emily got to the nursing home, she signed in and went directly to her mother's room, carrying the items she had brought from back home.

"Hello, Emily." Her mother greeted with a smile, sitting in the big, dark green, cushioned chair in the corner of the room by the window, reading. Emily was thankful her mother seemed to be doing alright today.

"Hey," She returned the greeting as she sat down the things she was carrying at the foot of the bed, before sitting down on the bed herself. Her thumbnail immediately went to her mouth, a horrible habit she just hadn't been able to break.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked.

"What? Oh, nothing. I'm fine." Emily tried to assure her mother.

"You're biting your nails. That means something's troubling you." Elizabeth stated.

Emily didn't say anything; she hadn't known Elizabeth was aware of the nail biting.

At Emily's silence, Elizabeth spoke again. "Just because we never had many talks doesn't mean I don't know when you're upset, Em."

Emily bit her lip. She could probably count on one hand the number of times she and her mother had had in depth conversations. Most of them were before her rebellious teenager phase. She sighed; she didn't want to bother her mother with her trivial relationship problems- if you could even call them that.

"You don't have to tell me," Elizabeth said. "But if you want to, I'm listening."

Finally, Emily spoke.

"I um, ran into Aaron Hotchner on my way here…" Emily admitted.

"Where?" Elizabeth asked. She wasn't mad or upset; she figured Emily would run into someone eventually, just maybe not this soon.

"I was at a flower shop. I was gonna surprise you with some for your room. And he was- he was there just staring at me. Like I was a ghost or something." Emily told her mother.

"Well, you are supposed to be in London, dear." Elizabeth said.

"I know, I guess I just didn't expect to see him there. He was getting flowers for his girlfriend." Emily continued. Elizabeth nodded.

"Why is that upsetting you, Emily?" The older woman prodded. She may not have been very good at talking to Emily in the past, and maybe she still wasn't great at these mother/daughter talks, but she was determined to try.

Emily huffed. "I don't know." She lied.

Elizabeth gave Emily a look.

"Okay, maybe I do know," Emily retracted her previous statement. "It's kind of stupid, maybe. I shouldn't really be worried about him now. It's not a big deal."

"Emily," her mother said sternly. "I know I'm dealing with my own stuff right now, but that doesn't discredit your feelings or your problems." Elizabeth said.

"He has a girlfriend, mom." Emily said again. "I don't know why I care- we never- we weren't…" Emily didn't know how to explain it. When she and Hotch were close, she never mentioned it to anyone. Why would she? It was nothing, right? Maybe not. She didn't know. They'd never really discussed it, and they hadn't even kissed or had sex or anything. Emily's mind was racing. Maybe she was going insane.

"Emily, you love him." Elizabeth said bluntly.

"What?!" Emily gasped, nearly choking on air. "No, no. No. He was my boss. I wouldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. We were just- good together. As friends." Emily added that last part quickly.

"I won't try to argue with you on that, Em. But speaking from experience, I am telling you to act on your feelings. Whatever they are, even if they're not for Aaron. Don't spend years wondering about the what ifs. Don't do what I did." Elizabeth said quietly, glancing down at the carpet.

"George?" Emily guessed.

Elizabeth just nodded.

"After your father and I split up, I was prepared to be single for the rest of my life. After all, a re-marriage might somehow be bad press," Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that, wondering why she had ever let herself get so into her work. "But especially one to someone that worked for me. How scandalous." She said dryly. "So George and I just…we stayed friends. He was my very best friend." Elizabeth said gently.

"He still is. You can still see him, you know. There's no law that says you can only have one person visit you." Emily said softly.

Elizabeth shook her head. "This isn't about me. This is about you. I want you to make me another promise." She told her daughter seriously.

Emily nodded.

"Don't put me in the center of everything, Emily. If you meet someone and fall in love, I'll understand. If you'd rather go out on a date than sit with me and watch me read or have some kind of episode, then go out on a date. I just don't want you to be alone, sweetheart." Elizabeth said, moving to sit next to her daughter on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her tightly. She was surprised when she felt Emily lean into her and start to cry.

"Emily, it's okay. I didn't mean to upset you." Elizabeth comforted Emily in a way she couldn't remember doing since Emily was no more than a toddler.

Emily knew what her mother was saying; she understood that Elizabeth was well aware that once she died, Emily would literally be alone. Her father hadn't been a part of her life since the divorce, and it wasn't like Emily had any other family. Emily was reminded once again that her mother was going to die, and she wasn't ready. Maybe crying about it now wasn't very rational; Elizabeth still had more lucid days than not, but for how long? When Elizabeth came to hug Emily, Emily couldn't keep her walls up anymore. Comfort from Elizabeth was just what she needed.

After several minutes, Emily stopped crying. Elizabeth just held Emily close the whole time. When Emily looked up to meet her mother's eyes, only then did she notice Elizabeth had been crying too.

"I promise." Emily whispered softly. "I won't be alone." She said, though she wasn't sure if she was serious about it, or if she was just saying it to appease her mother.