This was so hard to construct. Forgive any mistakes here spelling... I have been going over some things, and your questions will be answered.

I know how I want to finish this fic and I'm pleased to say, I know how I would like to start the next one, which I am starting notes on.

We will be coming full circle very soon.

Present day is followed from the previous chapter as is the flashback

-Present Day-

The plane ride to Houston was tense to say the very least. Reid had snapped at Prentiss once and Hotch was on high alert. He knew she could handle herself, but he wouldn't put up with anyone disrespecting her, 'unless it's you, you hypocrite!' he berated himself.

Emily on the other hand was beyond uncomfortable. Her conversation with Hotch that morning and now being used as an emotional punch bag. 'Fine' she grit her teeth as she accepted whatever punches the young agent wanted to take. He's entire demeanour had changed, and she sympathised with him and this clear struggle with PTSD and something else she couldn't put her finger on.

She heard Reid speak up and mention working geographically for the case when they landed.

"Good. Maybe we can find a connection between them. I'll help you with that" she suggested gently with a smile.

"I can handle it" Reid shot back quickly.

"I wasn't suggesting you couldn't" Emily defended herself. This was beyond humiliating.

"You know what 'I'll help you with it' means?" he snapped sarcastically earning frowns from his fellow team members who had now focused their attention on the altercation.

Hotch's head whipped to the agents in the corner of the plane.

"Reid." He spoke. "Prentiss will help you with the geographical profiling and victimology" he said firmly.

Reid raised an eyebrow and opened the file in front of him. "Fine." He answered petulantly.

Emily was grateful for the defence from Hotch but what the fuck was going on with the kid? Between Hotch and Reid, she couldn't wait to land, get off this damn thing and away from them both.

-Flashback-

Emily laid on the sun lounger in a bikini and set her book down. She'd had a hard time concentrating this morning and now early afternoon. She had been swimming and had cleaned around her room, and Hotch's office, and now had been outside sunbathing for the past hour. She was yet to face Hotch conscious, and she was unsure about how she would be welcomed. Would this be the end of them? Did he always act this way? Get hammered and distant?

What she did know was that she couldn't look at him right now, she was too confused and furious with him. But she had covered his ass with her parents and sold the sick story well and her father had mentioned that Hotch was working so regardless of his actionshe was pleased to hear he was ok.

She picked up her book and attempted to focus once more.

/

Hotch had left the kitchen after finishing his lunch. Sustenance had certainly made him feel much better. His hangover headache had subsided into a light fog and whilst he was still tired, he had much more energy than this morning. His senses where on high alert with knowledge that Barnes would be here anytime and the fact that he hadn't seen Emily all morning.

He heard the doorbell and decided he would be there when that scumbag entered the premises. As he left the kitchen, he saw his fellow agents along with the house staff move in the foyer to open the front door. The smug asshole tipped his sunglasses to the staff and said that he was here for a meeting with the Prentiss'.

"I'll escort Barnes to the study where the meeting will be held" Hotch's low baritone voice echoed and caught everyone's attention. Job number one, find Barnes, 'check'.

He strode up to the former agent and held his stare.

"Respectfully, Hotchner, I don't need a babysitter" Barnes said with a hint of cockiness.

"You will be escorted whilst on the premises. Protocol." Hotch replied coolly.

Barnes clicked his tongue and followed his former leader towards the study where Hotch knew Mr Prentiss was waiting for him. Before he could open the door, he leaned forward and whispered into the former agent's ear.

"If you so much as think about breathing in Miss Prentiss' direction, I'll make you beg me to kill you". Hotch said in a deathly tone. He heard Barnes swallow and before he could answer back Hotch open the oak door.

"Good talk." he said dismissively and nudged Barnes into the study.

Hotch hurriedly walked back to the foyer.

"You" he snapped his fingers at the direction of an agent speaking with Luke.

"Barnes doesn't leave your sight. Understand?" The agent nodded.

Job two, put the fear of God in Barnes, 'check'. Now his third job, finding Emily.

/

The house felt awfully quiet when Hotch jogged downstairs and checked his watch. He didn't think the meeting with Emily's father would last a hell of a long time so why hadn't one of his fellow agents notified him of Barnes' arrest? Why hadn't Emily's father informed him?

He looked down the hallway where he saw an agent pacing outside one of the many powder rooms downstairs.

"What's going on?" Hotch thundered in the young agent's direction.

"Nothing, sir, Barnes is in there." he gestured towards the door with his thumb.

"Really? How long?" Hotch questioned, anxiety rising.

"Oh, I mean not long, but I guess-" before the agent could finish his sentence, Hotch had barged past time and jiggled the handle of the door. It was locked from the inside. With no second thought, Hotch took a step back and kicked the door in to find the powder room empty but the window open.

"Shit!" Hotch muttered.

"Notify Mr Prentiss, the Ambassador and Luke. Now". he snapped at the agent.

Hotch ran through the house, sliding on the marble floor near the patio doors. He burst through the door and trampled on the newly planted garden that had been put in when he started his post.

In the near distance, he saw an occupied sun lounger under a large umbrella, and guessed it was Emily. He let out a relieved breath and bent over to rest his hands on his knees as he calmed. She was safe, that was all that mattered.

Hotch stood up straight and loosened the knot on his tie when he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye across the lawn.

Barnes.

The man who disappeared after assaulting Emily and then disappeared again after being fired. The arrogance and narcissism seeped through every pour on the scumbag. Aaron's iron clad control had gone out of the window, in his mind, Barnes challenged his threat and that was enough reason to go after the former agent. Officially, it would be because he threatened Emily.

Barnes stalked over to Emily who was curled on her side reading and none the wiser to what was about to happen between the agent who had attacked her and the agent who she was sleeping with.

Hotch marched across the grass towards the man. He shrugged off his suit jacket and let it fall to the ground as he continued walking.

Just had Barnes reached the lounger, Hotch pushed his shoulder so he could stand up and punched him in the face as hard as he could. The unmistakable crack of bone radiated through his ears when his fist landed square on his nose.

"Ow" Hotch mumbled and shook his hand.

Emily turned over her shoulder to find Hotch next to her and the man who plagued her thoughts on the floor. It looked like someone had turned a tap on inside his nose as blood poured from his face.

"Aaron? What are you– Dan!" fear raced through Emily when she saw her attacker on the grass. She raised up from the lounger and tugged on her robe. She noticed the way her boyfriend towered over the lump on the floor, reminding her of the iconic photo of Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest and the terror that ran through her at the sight of Barnes was now directed at what could happen to Aaron.

Hotch yanked his tie off and tossed it away from them. He unbuttoned the cuffs on his dress shirt and rolled up his sleeves not caring about the potentially career ending repercussions of engaging in physical fighting.

"Aaron, don't!" Emily shrieked from behind him.

"Go inside and get your dad." Hotch said icily over his shoulder. "What did I say about looking in Emily's direction, Danny?".

"'Emily'… huh?" Barnes choked out. Blood trickled down his chin and onto the perfectly mowed lawn.

"You fucking her, boss?" he sneered up at Hotch, prompting him to hit him again. Barnes managed to stagger to his feet and wiped the back of his wrist over his chin. Blood smeared on his face as he smiled grimly.

Hotch lunged for the man who dodged the hit, only to pummel into Hotch's torso and twisted his arm. Aaron doubled over gasping for breath. The ex-agent landed his own hit to Hotch's face. The sting made Aaron's eyes water, 'what the fuck?' he thought when he noticed a shiny glow in his eyes.

"You used your watch, you fucking coward" Hotch rasped and got up fast enough to catch Barnes off guard and tackle him to the ground. The adrenaline coursing through Hotch's veins outweighed anything Barnes could throw his way. He felt something sharp against his arm and huffed as Barnes struggled underneath him.

"Give me your best shot, Hotchner. Your career will be over after this… I hope that bitch was worth it. Who would have thought, losing your job for a lay." Dan bit out and raised up enough to hit Hotch again in the jaw, earning a grunt from him.

After another strike of his own in the same place but on the latter's face, Hotch felt a pair of hands pull him away from the rumpled and broken looking human that had been under him.

Hotch sat on the cool grass, the hands still gripping his shoulders before they pat him reassuringly.

"It's ok, son." He heard the Brit speak from above him.

Anthony Prentiss had hurried through the house when the fuss outside his study pulled him from his paperwork.

Agents dashed through the corridors and Emily appeared out of breath, calling out about a fight between Agent's Hotchner and Barnes. He had seen Hotch tackle the man who'd hurt his daughter and then watched as he continued to beat the man. He rushed over to him and managed to pull him away before he could inflict anymore damage.

Hotch felt a tug on his elbow and realised Mr Prentiss was helping him to his feet. He brushed his pants and felt the throbbing in his knuckles. He looked down at his hands that were bloodied and bright red. He caught the dribble of blood dripping from his forearm and twisted the limb to see where it was coming from. The asshole had cut him, it wasn't deep, but he'd need a bandage for sure. Man, his shoulder was sore too!

He hissed through his teeth as he curled his free hand around the wound to stop the bleeding and followed his elder back into the house. Hotch rolled his shoulder and stab shot through him making his tummy roll.

/

Emily paced outside Hotch's office and waiting for the medics to leave. She closed her eyes when she heard Aaron's voice through the door.

"Ahh! Just put a bandage on it" he spoke with a hint of impatience to his voice. The medics had been in there for 30 minutes doing whatever Hotch needed. The clattering and muffled chat was enough of a distraction from the gory 'what ifs' surging through young brunette's mind. She stopped in her tracks when Aaron's blood curtailing scream thundered from the office mixed with a distinct crack of bone. She couldn't listen anymore and padded her way through the house up to the silence of her room.

She closed her bedroom and let her head roll back against the door. Exhaustion was ready to take over her body and soul. When Emily stepped away from the door stripped her clothing, or what little she'd had on; a bikini, sweatshirt and denim shorts she had thrown on after making her way back into the house earlier that afternoon. She threw on a tank top and plaid shorts she liked to wear to bed.

Emily didn't see Hotch for the rest of the day. It bugged her to no end that their paths hadn't crossed. Space was perfect for her to work through intrusive thoughts but that was before her boyfriend got into a nasty fight. Now it was pure worry consuming her.

This whatever-ship was turning out to be one heck of a rollercoaster. Any other time or any other person, she would have gotten off a long time ago, but Aaron was… different. He was different and she felt different around him. There was no point getting off now, she was in love with him sure, but this was more… scary, more.

It was super early in the evening, but the events of the last 24 hours had wrecked her. She glanced over at her clock and saw that it was just past 6pm. A yawn escaped from her lips. The pillow smelt like Hotch's cologne. Emily immediately relaxed into the mattress and closed her eyes.

Tomorrow she'll speak with Hotch. Screw going through another day where the only trace of him is on a pillow when she could have the real thing in her arms.

Thank you all very much. We'll be back soon to see our favs kiss and make up... well kiss and make up only to fight in the future :D