TITLE: Far From You

SUMMARY: Emily does end up leaving the BAU after the case in "In Birth and Death", she doesn't transfer to the State Department like she planned. She manages to leave Washington D.C. Before the team were even aware that she had officially quite. How far will Hotch go to find Emily and bring her back to the team? Will she be convinced that she was truly wanted and forgiven for her hand in Strauss's plan on ridding the BAU of Hotch.

She feels guilty for allowing Strauss to manipulate her. She feels that the team blames her for what she did to Hotch. She had actually stopped all communications with her mother, because she didn't want anyone to find her.

EPISODE BASED ON: "In Birth and Death"

SONG LYRICS: "Far Away" Nickle back

CATEGORY: Friendship/ Family/ Hurt/Comfort/ Crime/ Angst/ Tragedy/ Spiritual/ Drama

RATING: T

PROLOGUE

Aaron just stared Erin in the eyes waiting for the woman to speak, Erin opened her mouth when there was a knock on the door and he turned his head to face Emily Prentiss who had walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt." She said looking at Erin and than turned to look at him. "Sir, I've decided to resign from the FBI, effective immediately."

Aaron's heart dropped but he didn't show it. "I don't understand."

"I'm taking a Foreign Service exam."

Strauss who was sitting behind her desk remind silent but kept her eyes firmly on Emily's face, but she kept Aaron's face in her line of vision also.

"With my connections, I stand a good chance of landing in the State Department." Emily was still speaking in a mono toneless voice.

"Prentiss, I think that's a mistake." Aaron said in an equal mono toneless voice. He hated that he had to sound like this to one of his team mates, to one of his family. But he was at the office and too Emily Prentiss – he was her boss. Not friend, not truly family but boss. He had to remain professional.

"Well, don't try to talk me out of it." She said looking into his eyes. "Garcia saw my name on the list and already tried." She chuckles wryly. "If she can't talk someone out of doing something, no one can."

Aaron's eyes slide over to Strauss. He watched as Emily glanced at Strauss and than back at him. He had turned his eyes off of Erin and back on Emily by this time.

"Sorry for the interruption." Emily said and turned and headed for the door. She stopped and turned around. "But, Sir, it's good to see you back. The team needs you." She looked back over at Strauss. "Ma'am." She turns and leaves the office.

A/N: I have to break in that I taken every spoken line word from word from the transcript of the episode "In Birth and Death".

Aaron turned his full gaze back at Erin with a knowing look on his face.

"Looks like I have two places to fill instead of one," Erin's right eye brow lifted. "Or is it three now."

Aaron didn't brother to answer.

Suddenly the scene faded and another scene took it's place.

Aaron stands out side a apartment door and raised his hand and knocked firmly. His hand dropped as he waited for the person on the other side to unlock the bolts and open the door to him. "Can I come in?" He didn't even brother to say hello. The person stepped aside and he walked in. He heard the door close as he turned around to face the person. The team needs us. They're working on a case in Milwaukee." He liked the song that was playing on the CD player. He recozined it as Far Away by Nickle back.

Emily walked to the CD player and turned the music off. She kept her back to Aaron. She was nerves because this was the first time that he had been in her apartment. He was actually the first person from the team to visit her.

"Gideon hasn't shown up, and don't tell me you quit or I put in for a transfer." Aaron said to her back.

Emily turned around quickly and stared at him. "You put in for a transfer?"

"They're both still hung up in the system, so technically we're in dereliction of duty by not being there." Aaron said still in his professional voice.

"I'm sorry, I can't go." Emily said staring at Aaron with no feelings in her eyes or emotion in her voice.

"Right. Sorry I barged in." Aaron turned and headed to the door.

"Wait. Wait." Emily spoke before she thought. "Can I ask – why are you really here?" Some emotion enters her voice.

Aaron lingers in the kitchen. "I told you."

Emily waited for a fuller answer than that.

"I think Strauss came to you and asked for dirt on me." Aaron finally relented.

"Why would she do that?" Emily asked looking steady into Aaron's eyes.

"I think if you have your eyes on top leadership at the FBI, you want to know who might stand in your way." Aaron said mono tonelessly.

"And ... what could I have told her?" Emily asked in a steady voice.

"That one of my agents might have murdered a suspect in cold blood. Or another might have a serious drug problem which I didn't report, and if Strauss had any evidence, my career would be over. I think she put you on our team and expected something in return. And to your credit, you quite rather than whisper in her ear." Aaron said looking into Emily's eyes.

"I told you. I hate politics." Emily said looking steady into Aaron's eyes not breaking eye contact.

"Come to Milwaukee. I'll make you a deal. If your ready bag isn't here, packed, I won't bug you anymore. If it is, I want you on that plane with me. One more case." Aaron said folding his arms across his chest.

Emily sighed. "I already turned in my badge and gun." She tried to come up with a reason for not going, even through she was desperate to get back with the team, and she knew Hotch knew it.

"That's just hardware." Aaron said.

A/N: Once more breaking in: The spoken lines are taken word for word from the transcript of "Birth and Death".

Emily continued to look steady in Aaron's eyes and she nodded firmly and walked past him and went to where she kept her bag. Aaron followed her and watched as she opened her closet door and lifted a bag out. She turned around as she shouldered her bag. "Let's go."

Aaron turned and opened the door.

The scene faded and another scene quickly took it's place.

"Let me go in alone. The boy's in the family room. He'll answer the door." Emily said looking at the house and than over at Aaron.

"No." Erin said in a deadly voice.

"We need to get invited in that door. He's looking for female authority figures. If he lets me in, I can signal as soon as I see anything that gives us cause." Emily said still looking at Aaron.

"Technically, you're not even in the FBI." Aaron watched as Emily turned her eyes to Erin as Erin spoke.

"All the better." Aaron said. He moved to get the panic button out of the SUV. Derek reached down to get his spare gun in his ankle holster.

"She's interfering with a federal investigation." Erin said in a rant.

Emily turned and looked Erin fully in the face, "Well, if I'm no longer in the FBI, then you have no authority over me. I'm just a civilian knocking on a little boy's door."

Derek handed over his gun, "Prentiss."

Emily takes the gun and nod, "Thank you." She tucked it in her pants under her shirt.

Aaron sets the beeper. "As soon as you have probable cause, give us a signal and get out of there.

Emily takes the beeper and nods. "Okay." She goes towards the house. Aaron watched as Morgan goes as her back up, he turns to face Erin who had crossed her arms and was glaring at him.

"Nobody knows better than me that we need to make this arrest legal."

A/N Once more a break in and yes every spoken word is taken word for word from the transcript of "Birth and Death".

The scene fades and another scene quickly takes it's place.

As soon as Emily's signal came and she herself didn't leave the house Aaron knew that it had been a major mistake on allowing her into that house. He was cursing himself as he rushed towards the front door of the house with his gun raised. He quickly made his way to the basement door which was open, once he reached the bottom step he saw the trouble that Emily was truly in. She had blood running down the side of her face, the unsub had her in his arms and his son was holding Morgan's gun straight at her. His father was telling his son to pull the trigger and kill her.

As soon as he made himself known the boy turned around quickly and aimed the gun at him, Aaron breathed a little easier now that Emily wasn't in danger of being shot to death, now all he had to do was get the unsub to let his hands off of Emily. He didn't lower his gun, he kept it aimed on David, he looked up and saw the unsub let Emily go and back up.

The boy backs away from him.

"Drop the weapon, son." Aaron said in a voice that reserved for little kids who unfortunately turned into unsubs. He continued to move forward. "Give me the gun."

He knew that Morgan had entered the basement and had his own gun on the unsub.

"Don't be scared." Aaron said as he finally reaches Emily and reached down and pulled her to her feet and pulled her behind him. He knew that David would give up the gun so he kept his hand on Emily to make sure that she didn't fall.

A/N The spoken words were taken word for word from the transcript of "Birth and Death".

The scene quickly fades and another scene quickly takes it's place.

Aaron walked over to the open ambulance where Emily was getting the cut on her head tended to. "How's your head?"

"I'll live. Is it weird I'm glad to be back?" Emily looked slightly up at Aaron.

"I'll make sure it stays official." Aaron said in a steady voice. Emily nods and he turns and goes back to work.

A/N The spoken words were taken word for word from the transcript of "Birth and Death".

Aaron Hotchner sighed deeply as he stared at the wall across from his bed and simply shook his head. He couldn't believe that Emily had actually left the team. Not only the team but Washington D.C completely. It had only been a few months since Emily had looked in his eyes and said that she was actually happy being back with the team. What had changed from than to now.

Things had returned normally when the team came back to the office - better than normal actually because he and Emily finally started to relax around one another. They had started to trust one another. They had no secrets from one another. So what had happened to cause Emily to leave the team and her home. As far as he knew Strauss wasn't trying to compromise Emily any longer. But he would check into that matter the following day. Erin had taken a month off for some family issues, her first day back was the following day.

Aaron sighed as he thought of how shocked Gracia was when she had walked into his office a few weeks back and told him that Emily had quite. He had just looked at her like she was kidding until he read the truth. He asked how come she didn't stop the resigned and Gracia told him that he told her that she couldn't do that any longer. He had sighed and gone back to his paper work and he heard Gracia softly say "I'm sorry, Sir." Before she left his office. He lifted his head and stood to his feet and was about to leave his office to go to Erin's when he suddenly remembered that she was off on family issues for a month. He sat back down and he stared at his desk.

He had gone into the conference room and stiffly told the rest of the team that Emily had quit and that it was final this time. He had taken in the shock and disappointment in his teams eyes. He simply took his seat and nodded for JJ to began filling them in on the newest case that needed them to solve. Life at the BAU continued. As always. As it had too. No matter what. But still everyone in that room felt the lose of a valued team mate and confusion.

Aaron had driven to Emily's apartment to demand to know why she had after the team had landed. But her neighbor had told him that she had moved out three days previous and didn't leave a forwarding address. He had gotten on the phone with her mother and he was surprised that she hadn't heard from her daughter in two weeks. She did tell him that Emily had stopped by her empty office and left her cell phone on her desk. Aaron than knew that Emily was running away. But from what? From who?

Aaron's brown eyes came to life as he sat up in his bed. He was going to find Emily and bring her back to the BAU and back home. Even if he died trying. He wasn't going to lose another member of his family. Not this time. Not ever again. The mistakes end here and now.

END PROLOGUE