It was a quiet night at the team's party, but Emily couldn't find peace. She stood at a distance, her eyes fixed on Hotch, who was talking to Beth. The laughter and conversations around her seemed muffled, distant, as though the party was happening in a place far removed from the reality she felt.

"There's red and green everywhere, but I'm so blue… Cindy Lou Who."

She knew what it meant. She knew Hotch was with Beth, and maybe that was what was best for him.

Beth could give him the peace Emily could never offer. The peace he deserved after everything he had been through. Emily, on the other hand, couldn't find peace even for herself, let alone for him.

"Maybe he met you somewhere in the desert; while he was soul searching, he found someone better…"

The pain of seeing Hotch with another woman was almost unbearable.

She wanted to be Beth.

She wanted to give him that tranquility, to be the woman who made him smile, the woman who made him feel whole again.

But she wasn't. And more importantly, he didn't choose her.

"Guess you make him happy like I couldn't do, Cindy Lou Who…"

Emily made a silent decision. She turned and started walking toward the door. Her steps were heavy, her heart heavier still. Each movement took her further away from the scene, but closer to a growing loneliness.

She was so focused on leaving that she didn't notice Hotch's footsteps following her. He stopped a few feet away, his deep voice calling her name.

"Emily."

Emily stopped for a moment but didn't turn around, trying to keep her composure.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, her voice trembling, trying to hide the storm inside her.

Hotch watched her closely, his eyes filled with something he couldn't name. Something he felt but didn't want to admit.

Something was wrong, very wrong. Emily had avoided looking at him, avoided even responding properly. He had felt her absence even before she walked away, and it unsettled him in a way he couldn't control.

"Emily," he said again, more firmly now, taking a step closer.

Emily's body refused the impulse to turn around and look at him. She couldn't. If she did, he would see what she wanted to hide, and it would destroy everything. So, she just took a deep breath, once again denying her pain to him.

"The snow's gonna fall and the tree's gonna glisten. And I'm gonna puke at the thought of you kissin'…"

"I'm fine," she lied, her voice barely audible. "I need to go."

Emily started walking again, her steps quickening, trying to escape the weight of her feelings, his gaze. She wished with all her heart that she could erase what she felt for him. She wanted to rid herself of that love, which seemed like the only thing she could believe in but also the only poison consuming her slowly.

"The boy who I love who's now in love with you, Cindy Lou Who…"

Hotch stood there, watching Emily walk away. He wanted to run after her, ask more, insist. But he knew he couldn't. Something deep inside him told him she was hiding something—something he wasn't ready to face.

And there, in silence, he stayed, watching Emily disappear into the night, alone. He wished with all his heart that he had considered everything he had with her. He wished he could realize, before it was too late, that maybe she was the answer to his own scars.

But at that moment, he could only watch her leave.