Chapter 1- Unhappiness

The flight back to Quantico was smooth, it was very late at night and most of the team was sleeping. It had been a very long week and a very dreadful case, but again, most of their cases were. Hotch's head was leaning against the window of the plane, and he was exhausted…his entire body was in so much pain, but he couldn't get comfortable. Of course, he had just been shot and that would justify the pain, but it still felt like he had been run over by a train. He knew he was going to get his ass chewed by Section Chief Erin Strauss for the way he had handled the case, as well as the outcome. It had not been a bad outcome since they had saved the victim, and the unsub was now behind bars, but to get there, Hotch had to break a couple of rules and even violate certain protocols…nothing that could get him fired, but he would definitely be hearing from Strauss, he knew that for a fact. Hotch had gone after the unsub with no Kevlar on, and he had been shot; he could have died, but he was lucky and the bullet hit his arm, and now his arm was in a sling.

But, the case was done and he got to spend some time with Jack. That was the part that made it worthwhile for him…his son and his son's happiness. Jack was only three years old, and he was the best thing that had ever happened to him, despite the status of his marriage. Jack was his entire happiness, and Hotch was definitely looking forward to spending some time with Jack. He tried to relax on the plane, but he hadn't been able to with so many different things whirling through his mind at once. Hotch reflected back to his life ten years ago…he though he had it all, a perfect job, a life he really wanted, and he had just gotten married to his high school sweetheart, the woman his family thought was the perfect woman for him. He had basically done everything by the book, the way he was supposed to, then why was it that ten years later, here he was, wondering if he had made the right decisions in his life, wondering if maybe he had made a mistake. He was so lost in thought he almost didn't hear when someone brought him back from his thoughts.

"I would have thought that whatever that was the EMT's gave you would have you knocked you out by now." The brunette said, as she placed the hot cup of tea in front of him. Hotch smiled lightly.

"Drugs aren't the same as they used to be when the Beatles were around, fun old times." He laughed at his own joke and watched as the brunette laughed gently, too.

"Aaron Hotchner does have a sense of humor, or maybe it's the drugs?" Emily smiled, joking.

Hotch laughed as he picked up the cup of tea she placed in front of him, sipping at it gently.

"Did you put anything in it?" He teased, as the soothing liquid warmed the inside of his body.

"No, I can't drug you and have my wicked way you in a plane full of people, maybe some other time." She winked at him.

"Thanks." He said laughing, as he drank more of the hot tea.

"What are you doing up, everyone else is out like a light?" Hotch asked, as his eyes scanned around the plane. His entire team was sleeping peacefully. Reid was curled up next to JJ, his head against her elbow, and they kind of looked cute. Morgan was in another seat with his headphones still on, but he, too, was sound sleep. Rossi was in the longer seat, a book in his lap and his head against the window, too; he seemed peaceful while he slept. Everyone was sleeping, everyone but her…Emily, too, turned around to glance at everyone.

"I couldn't sleep; I was worried about you." She said, smiling gently.

"You need to stop worrying about me and everyone else, Em…you worry too much, that's not good for you, sometimes you overcompensate too much."

"Excuse me, that's called being a good friend." Emily said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Okay, so who takes care of you?" He asked, smiling at her gently.

"I do, I don't need anyone to take care of me, and I have Sergio, I'm all good to go." She said, drinking her own tea.

"Yeah, like that fur ball is going to protect you anyway." Hotch joked.

"Hey, what's your problem with my cat, he's nicer than you, and he smells better than you." She laughed, throwing a small pillow at him playfully.

"I can't believe you're comparing me to a feline." Hotch said, as if he was offended, joking with her.

"That's what you get for being mean to my cat, I don't even know why you hate him, he has done nothing to you." Emily reproached him.

"I don't hate him, I'm just not too fond of him." Hotch smiled, it was good to laugh and forget about life for a moment, and that was something he could do with Emily.

They were good friends; they had been for a while, but when she first started the relationship was icy between them then she proved her self with everyone, and she ended up being one of the most efficient agents he had. She was so good to everyone, it was almost like she was the glue that held everyone together, they all loved her in their own way. Emily was an excellent friend for JJ and Garcia, and she was always there when they needed her the most. To Morgan and Reid, she was like a sister, she always knew exactly what to say and when to say it. They all looked after her, it was like she was that one person they could all talk to and be themselves; Hotch sometimes believed she was some sort of angel that was sent to keep them together as a family, she was not afraid to even put them in their place, even him and Rossi. She was just great with everyone. She had become a really good friend for him, someone he could talk to and not be this emotionless robot he sometimes was. Someone that saw him as a human being and who he really was, and for that he was grateful. Dave was his best friend, but sometimes there were some things he couldn't even tell Rossi, but he could tell Emily.

"Are you ok." She asked, suddenly looking at the sling on his arm.

"I'm okay, it doesn't hurt much." But she shook her head angrily.

Sometimes I just want to hit you, Hotch, I swear you can be so stupid and reckless I just want to shoot you." She said angrily.

"Well, someone beat you to it." He teased.

"You are not funny, and I'm angry at you, you could have gotten seriously hurt." She said sadly.

"I'm fine, Prentiss, stop acting like my mom and chill, I'm good, I promise you." He said, squeezing her hand and smiling at her.

"Go to sleep and try to rest. I'll let you know when we land." She said, covering him up with a blanket.

"All right, mom, good night." He smiled and watched the brunette walked away.

By the time Aaron got to his house it was almost ten; he was exhausted and everything hurt…he knew Jack was asleep, so he carefully walked inside the house and left his briefcase in the chair by the door. He went upstairs and kissed his son goodnight, then went into his room…Haley was still up and by the look on her face, she was pissed again.

"I thought you were going to be home earlier." She scolded him the second he walked into the room.

"I know, I'm sorry, there was a little incident." He said, showing her the sling on his arm.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Nothing bad, don't worry, it's nothing." Aaron said, tiredly going into the closet for his pajamas.

"God, Aaron, you are injured now, are you doing to be able to take care of Jack tomorrow?" She asked angrily. Aaron just stood there looking at her, not that he really expected her to worry about him, but not even an "are you okay" came out of her mouth.

"Goddammit, Aaron, you promised, I have plans with the girls tomorrow, I need some time for myself, too, you know." She spat angrily.

"I'll take care of Jack, don't worry." Aaron said, as he struggled to change into his pajamas, while Haley stood there complaining about how she never got time for herself.

"Haley, I'm tired, I'll take care of Jack tomorrow so you can go with your friends." He said sadly, walking out of the closet.

"Well, I'm leaving by 8 o'clock, so make sure you make breakfast for him, too, you really need to spend some time with him, he is getting on my nerves." Haley said, climbing back into bed.

"Okay, that's fine." Aaron said, walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"I'm going to make some calls and to grab a bite to eat." Aaron said dismissively.

"Okay, whatever, don't stay up to late, I didn't have time to finish the dishes today, maybe you can help me with that before I leave in the morning." She reproached.

"Sure." He walked out of the room and went downstairs.

After he made himself a sandwich, he made a few calls and then sat there on the kitchen stool by himself, looking at a few pictures in his wallet. One was a picture of Jack and him where they looked happy, the other picture was of Haley and him when they were younger and started dating. He thought he was happy, he thought she was it for him, or at least that was what his family had told him, but ten years later, he found himself wondering if he had done the right thing. He knew Haley wasn't happy, she had already cheated on him once…Aaron forgave her because of Jack, but things between them had not been the same. He had really tried, he was doing everything he could for Jack, he forgave her after her betrayal because of Jack, but the truth was he didn't know how much longer he could live like this.