A/N: Well, my friends, we've come to the end of another journey. Once again, I must thank you all for all the amazing reviews and encouragement! This has been a rewarding experience. And as Hotch is my favorite, I felt I should save the best for last! Personal feelings aside, however, I also felt he should go last because he is the Unit Chief. And only he can wrap things up for me! Therefore, here you go!

FEAR

I never wanted to get close to them. There is so much at stake with what we do. So much can go so fatally wrong so fast. I tried so hard to distance myself, to not get too attached to my team. But when you've been through as much as we've been through together, it's hard to remain detached.

I don't know what I would do if I lost them. Any one of them. I'll never know how Gideon survived it, losing his entire team in a single instant. Sure, he had a nervous breakdown, but he managed to find his way back, even if only for a short time. I honestly don't think I could. I don't know that I'm strong enough to survive that. The only thing that truly frightens me about being Unit Chief is the thought of having to face one of their families: Morgan's mom and sisters, Reid's mom, Will holding JJ's son, or Ambassador Prentiss, and say those dreadful words; "I'm sorry, he/she is dead." The fear that any one of them should die on my watch paralyzes me sometimes. It haunts my nightmares. Not being able to protect them, or save them if they're in trouble… It's why I fight for them as much as I do. It's why I have to be the best at what I do. It's why I always want, no, need to go into a dangerous situation first (despite Morgan sometimes beating me to the punch). If something should happen, if anything were to go wrong, better that it happens to me instead of them.

I always had higher aspirations than the BAU. FBI Director was my ultimate goal. But something happened that I never expected. Something I didn't want to happen. Those six incredibly talented individuals became more than just my responsibility. They became my family. And aside from Jack and Shawn, they are the only family I have left. There is nothing in the world I wouldn't do for these people. I lost my marriage for these people. I would lay down my life for them without a second thought.

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Supervisory Special Agent

Unit Chief

Aaron Hotchner