AN: This is dedicated to LacytheDemonicDuck because without her… I probably wouldn't have this idea! So enjoy….
Disclaimer: Here we go… I've got nothing. No cute disclaimer, not the rights to Criminal Minds, not even Criminal Minds on DVD!
Sitting in a Detroit hotel was not the best place to find out you were pregnant. It was even worse when the father of your baby was your boss and you were both nine hours from home during the most gruesome case of your careers.
Emily groaned as she banged her head against the small bathroom wall behind her.
"Em?" JJ called. She had heard the sudden noise and became very worried.
"Can you get Hotch?" was Emily's only response. JJ sucked in a deep breath and left, unannounced, to get their unit chief. Emily and Hotch had been going out for about six months now and JJ had an indication of what was going on in that bathroom.
"You going to come out of the bathroom Em, or are we going to have this conversation through the door?" Aaron joked, trying to lighten the mood. Ten minutes ago JJ knocked on his hotel room door and demanded that he needed to go see Emily.
"Is there anyone else out there?" her timid voice called back. Hotch sighed and checked to make sure that no one had entered unannounced.
"There is no one here babe." He waited a few minutes before he heard the bathroom door unlock and Emily's tired and worn face appeared.
"I think you need to sit down" she whispered.
"I'm… you're… we're…" he muttered. Emily couldn't tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. One thing was for sure, she was not going to give up another baby.
"Yes Aaron, you're going to be a dad again, I'm pregnant, and we're going to have a baby" she answered. Aaron Hotchner almost always kept his emotions in-check, especially on a case, but this was not one of those times. Emily was surprised when he jumped off of the bed where he had been sitting. He swept her up in a huge hug and placed kisses all over her face.
"We're" kiss "going" kiss "to be" kiss, kiss "parents!" kiss. Emily giggled and wrapped her arms around her lover tightly.
"I'm glad you're so happy. I was worried there for a minute" she responded. Aaron laughed.
"Sorry, I was just trying to process everything" he replied. Emily sat down on her bed and motioned for him to join her. "Actually, I want to ask you something."
"Shoot" Emily replied. Aaron dug around in his suit coat pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. Emily gave him her full attention now.
"I don't want to pressure you into anything, but sometime in the future, I want you to marry me, so consider this an engagement ring. Will you marry me?" Aaron asked opening the box. Emily could only stare at him agape. There was a ring inside. It was silver with a large heart on it. Inside the heart were a blue zircon stone and an alexandrite stone. They were the birthstones for December and June; their birthdays. On one side 'Aaron' was scrolled and on the other 'Emily'. "I know it's not the ideal time. I was going to wait until we got back, but…"
"Yes" she whispered, cutting off his awkward apology. "Yes Aaron, I want to marry you" she almost screamed. Aaron pulled her into a tight, protective hug and gave her a soft, gentle kiss before sliding the ring on her finger.
"Come back to my place tonight" Aaron said to Emily's temple. The case was long, hard, and gruesome. It had to be the worst case they had ever had; excluding Foyet. Emily nodded, too tired and emotionally drained to argue with him. In reality, relaxing with him for the night, or week, sounded absolutely blissful.
"Mmk" she mumbled. Aaron chuckled and kissed the top of her head while simultaneously pulling her to his SUV. After getting herself situated, she leaned her head against the window for a moment, falling asleep instantly.
"Em, we're home" Aaron said gently shaking her awake. Emily groaned and shuffled out of the car in a trance. Aaron shook his head and followed her. "I'll make us some hot chocolate, how does that sound?" Emily grunted.
"I need something stronger to take away those images." Hotch nodded in agreement, but he had promised himself that he would suffer no coffee and alcohol until she could have it again. "Can you imagine all of those bodies? How many people died for his personal gain? It makes me sick" she said, following him into the kitchen after kicking off their shoes and dropping off their guns and badges. He nodded again, knowing his input wouldn't add a new perspective. He suddenly saw a shadow round the corner. "Aaron what…?"
"Oh Aaron, have you found someone new?" Foyet asked cocking his gun. Emily froze and turned around. "You should have made a deal, Agent Hotchner" he said as one single gun shot rang out. The bullet lodged in the wall just past Aaron's head. Aaron grabbed Emily's arm and pulled her behind him protectively.
"Leave her alone Foyet, she has nothing to do with this" Aaron said trying not to panic.
"Oh, but she does Agent Hotchner, or do you prefer Aaron?"
Rossi and JJ practically ran through the busy hospital corridors, trying to get to Emily. JJ had received the phone call from Em about a half an hour before and she quickly roused her boyfriend, dropped Henry off with Morgan and Garcia with a promise to explain later, and waited as Rossi drove franticly through the streets.
"Emily" JJ breathed when she saw the woman. Emily had a bandage covering from her left temple to her forehead. Her wrists and ankles were red and raw from restraints. Her left cheek was completely swollen and she had a black eye. She looked so scared and fragile, especially since she had pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
"JJ, Dave" Emily said skittishly. JJ walked forward and tenderly wrapped her arms around her friend. Emily held JJ close and sobbed on her shoulder while JJ comforted her. "I want Aaron. Dave, would you mind…?" Dave raised his hand to silence her and was already out the door trying to track down a doctor.
"What happened?" JJ asked. Emily sighed and scooted over so JJ could fit on the bed too. They looked like a couple of young girls gossiping.
"Foyet" was all that Emily was able to tell for the moment. JJ sighed, but nodded her head in understanding anyway.
"The baby?" she asked tentatively. Emily let a ghost of smile pass her lips.
"It's fine. Foyet didn't touch it" she responded. JJ smiled and took Emily's mind off of the attack.
Aaron woke up dazed, confused and wrapped in fragile arms. He looked over to see Emily's head buried next to his. Her arms were wrapped gently around his chest, so she didn't end up hurting him. He looked her over and saw only minor cuts and bruises. He hoped to god those were the only things she sustained during the attack.
"Your up" Emily said as she moved to get off the bed. "I'm sorry; it's just that I couldn't sleep…" Aaron grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back. Emily laid back down and sighed in contentment when Aaron wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"The baby?" he croaked. Emily smiled.
"It's fine, our baby is fine" she whispered. Aaron let a breath go. They were both safe. His family was safe. Now it was time to face his demon.
"What happened to you?" Aaron prodded. Emily stiffened, but realized that they needed to know and he knew most of it anyway.
"After you passed out, not much, to tell you the truth. I was furious, tried to fight the ropes. Foyet was getting mad when they loosened up some. He Hit me a couple of times, including several with his gun. It was only after he pointed the gun at my stomach did I really start to panic. I knew I couldn't let him hurt the baby, but I was lost as to what to do. He seemed to be too. Eventually he tied me back up, only tighter and to the table legs. He wanted me to suffer because you were in pain and I couldn't get to you, which worked" Emily said. Aaron sighed and kissed the top of her head. His fiancée was put through so much because of him. He was going to kill Foyet when he got his hands on him.
"He's going after Hailey and Jack. Hailey's maiden name is Brooks. I listed her under 'B' in case it ever got into the wrong hands. He knows where they live" Aaron explained in terror. Not only had Foyet hurt Emily, but now he was going after his ex-wife and Jack. Foyet would truly suffer when he was caught.
"I will catch Foyet" Aaron stubbornly told Hailey as his eyes trailed out to where Emily was sitting next to Jack. Hailey followed his line of sight. "Can you bring him here for a minute? I want to say goodbye." Hailey hesitated for a minute before she whispered her goodbye and retrieved the young boy.
"I'm proud of you and I love you buddy" Aaron whispers as he leaned forward and kissed his son on his forehead. "Take care of your mom for me ok? And when you get back" Aaron's eyes met both Emily and Hailey, "you might have a baby brother or sister."
"Aaron," Emily called from her position outside the door. The US Marshall, Sam Kessmeyer, stepped forward while Hailey collected Jack after one last kiss.
"I'll look after them as if they were my own" he promised. Aaron nodded. He had worked with Sam before and knew that the man was good at his job. He watched with teary eyes as Emily kissed Jack as a goodbye and Hailey reached over and gave her a hug, whispering something in her ear. Emily stood back and watched as the three left to go to god only knows where. She turned around and made her way back into Aaron's room.
"We'll get him" she whispered before she climbed back onto the bed again and buried her head into his neck. "We have to."
Aaron pulled up franticly after he heard the gun shots from the phone connection. He knew what had happened to Hailey and he would grieve later, but right now his little boy was in trouble. He raced upstairs following the bloody trail. He found Hailey's body, but swallowed back the bile that threatened to rise and shot at the window. Foyet's body fell to the floor, taking the curtains with him. Hotch stood over him and grabbed the gun that had fallen.
"You shouldn't have messed with my family" Aaron said as Foyet groaned from the force of the bullets in his bullet proof vest. Aaron stood with Foyet's .44 trained right between Foyet's eyes. "Karma's a bitch" he muttered before pulling the trigger. Aaron set the gun down and picked up the phone, needing desperately to talk to Emily.
Emily stared down at the man who had once brutally beaten her and stabbed Aaron nine times. Aaron was cradling Hailey's body to his chest, apologizing over and over again. The team watched in silence as Aaron broke down. Emily remembered what Hailey told her before she and Jack left for protective custody.
"He needs you Emily. You are good for him. Please take care of him" Hailey whispered in Emily's ear. Emily smiled and whispered back.
"Thank you Hailey. I know it means a lot to Aaron and Jack that you approve."
"Jack" Emily whispered, moving down the hall to the office. Both Aaron and Jack had once told her the story of 'working the case' so she knew what Aaron was doing when he told his son that. Two uniformed officers followed Emily as she found the chest and opened the lid, peering down at the little boy.
"I worked the case with daddy" he said. Emily's eyes filled with tears as she picked her new son up.
"I know baby and you did great. How about we head outside for a bit, huh?" Emily asked as Jack buried his face into her neck. She knew he had heard the gun shots.
"Is daddy ok?" he asked as she walked down the hall. She nodded.
"He will be, ok bud? He needs the two of us to be strong for him. Do you think we can do that?" she asked as she set the little boy on the hood of the SUV Derek had parked recklessly. Jack nodded and looked at a point behind Emily. With one hand still keeping him secure, Emily turned to see what Jack was looking at.
Aaron walked out of the house his shirt and face slightly covered in blood. Emily couldn't tell whether it was Hailey's or Foyet's, but she guessed it was probably a combination of both. His tie had been removed and his top two buttons of his shirt had been undone. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows and Aaron had tears rolling down his cheeks, but put on a small sad smile to convey how glad he was that they were safe. His family could move on, no more Foyet to be watching for over their shoulders.
"Is that what you're looking for? A way to blame this on him? What good could that possibly do? He has a son at home who just lost his mother and you want to worry about who killed Foyet? Who killed the man who took 36 lives without blinking, almost killed 3 others? Who would do such a cruel and senseless act by killing a serial killer who hurt his family?" Emily shook her head at Straus. "If that's what you're looking for then I'm done because this is not Aaron Hotchner's fault. If anything, Foyet brought this on himself" Emily finished before getting up and walking out.
"I've been cleared" Aaron stated as he walked into the room. Jack hopped off his chair and ran around to hug his father. Emily smiled before standing up and making her way over to her family's side. Aaron held Jack with one hand and wrapped his other around her shoulders. The whole thing was behind them and no one would have to go back to that nightmare. He had a feeling Emily had something to do with that.
Emily smiled down at the baby girl in her arms. Aaron had left to go get Jack to meet his new baby sister. He had left her in charge of coming up with a name. She already had the first name; she just had to come up with a middle one. She finally figured it out as soon as Jack and Aaron entered.
"Hey buddy, why don't you come meet your sister?" Emily said, motioning for him to join her on the bed. Jack climbed up and Aaron stood next to his wife, son, and daughter. "Jack we'd like for you to meet Hailey Elle Hotchner, your sister" Emily introduced. Aaron smiled. Of course his wife would name their baby after people from the past.
"Hi Hailey, I'm Jack your big brother!" Jack exclaimed. Aaron picked Jack up and stretched out next to Emily with Jack on top of his stomach. Their family was complete, for now.
Ok so that wasn't where I was going with that, but who cares? I think it was ok, but I want to know what you guys think! Review please! The good, the bad, and the ugly are welcome!