The sound came and went.

It was funny, really, if you looked at it in a philosophical manner. The man who spent his life speaking for those who couldn't speak; hearing what they couldn't say and interpreting it could no longer hear at all. Maybe funny wasn't the right word. More like ironic. Well, it wasn't as if he hadn't been fairly warned. He had been fully aware of his actions when he had gotten on that plane, and again when he had chosen to go to the grave site. He had known there would be heavy machinery there. And for a last and final time when he had stood next to loaded guns pointed at a hostile witness. He had assumed they were going to shoot in the end. In fact, according to the profile, they would have to.

The first right choice he had made was driving home. He couldn't take another plane ride. His ears had killed him the first time. There was always a slight buzzing, and he was quickly learning to hear through it until it was gone. If he didn't think about it he couldn't hear it, but it was always there. The pain was something that was also there consistently, and it wasn't something so easily ignored. Even the little things, like when Reid popped his gum, agitated and annoyed his ear drums. They were feeling sorely abused, and he was in need of a vacation.

He wouldn't take one.

Agent Aaron Hotchner had not taken a single sick day or vacation for himself since he had first joined the BAU. Yes, there was the supposed week the whole team was given off to celebrate, but that was not his own. Even that had been tainted by ruthless criminals, which were getting harder and harder to escape. They seemed to be getting smarter, and it was getting tougher for the good guys to keep up. Everyone knew it, but no one would ever say it out loud.

The drive home had done him good. Rossi had been right in suggesting it, and Hotch planned to thank him the moment he walked in the building. As it was, Hotch sat alone in his office, the blinds pulled and door shut. The light wasn't flipped on, but a small lamp on his desk shed enough light that total darkness shied away. He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled under his chin as he winced slightly when every movement brought a creak of the overused chair, and his ears responded with a twinge of shooting pain. He had gotten it checked, and he had chosen to disregard the suggestions the doctor had given him. It was his own fault, and he couldn't blame anyone else.

Except maybe the bomber.

But he chose not to. It made it easier to just except the fact he would probably go deaf soon and deal with it early. Not that it wouldn't still hurt him when it happened, but it would cut the coping time in half or more. With an agitated sigh and a callused hand sliding over his face, he slid forward and rested his elbows on the desktop. He was about to rise and leave the room when Emily walked in, an unsure look on her normally eager face. Hotch immediately fought the urge to hide his face from her appraising gaze and looked at her head on, letting her know she couldn't intimidate him.

As if she would try.

"Yes, Prentiss?" He mentally cursed himself when she flinched away from the professional use of her name. He was trying not to pull away into himself, but these secluded times he was given weren't helping with the situation. If it kept on this way, he would soon be deaf and alone.

"I just wanted to chec--see if you were ok." Emily screamed inside, anger with herself over-riding the moment. She had rehearsed this conversation over and over as she had sat outside the door, just trying to memorize it so she could spew it and leave. It was 'see if you were ok' not 'check on you', and she had screwed it up in a matter of five seconds. Of course, her over-eager mouth would be willing to shoot off its own choice without consulting her mind first. She should have known.

She hated profiling herself.

Her mental tirade was cut short when he responded with a curt, "I'm fine." It was obvious he was lying, and she thought about calling him on it, but in the end it was better to leave it alone. If she pushed too hard he would only pull farther away from her. It was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to learn to be closer to him, and to accept him flaws and all.

As more than her supervisor.

With a resigned nod and a sad smile, she began to back out of the office. She froze for a second when he kept talking, looking up hopefully to his shadowed face. If it weren't for the lamplight, she wouldn't be able to see him at all.

"Thank you."

She nodded again, finishing her retreat and shutting the door behind her. A smile blossomed on her face, and she tried not to giggle as joy filled her. She jogged down the steps, grabbed her purse, and left the Quantico Headquarters, making it safely into her car before she began to peal with giddy laughter, crying at the same time.

She was getting closer.

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A/N- Guess what guys? I'm back.