Here we are: the final chapter. I apologize for all the long waits you've had to endure. I hope this makes up for it!

"Hello, Aaron. Oh, I'm sorry, should I call you agent?"

Hotch clenched his teeth together. Finch was watching him closely, the hand holding the gun against Emily's head never wavering. Emily's gaze was tense, but encouraging. She had faith in him.

"Does it really matter? Why waste time with names when we have other business to take care of."

Finch raised his eyebrows. "I like how you think, Aaron." He tilted his head to the side. "I suppose you came here to save your agent."

"Well, I didn't come here to talk about the weather," Hotch drawled. Finch's eyes narrowed.

"You want to save her? Turn yourself over to me, and I'll let her go."

"Hotch, don't-" Emily started to say, but Finch pressed the gun harder to her head.

"Don't speak," Hotch ordered. He stared at Finch. "If I do that, you won't hurt her?"

Finch offered a smile that made Hotch's skin crawl. "Scout's honor."

"Hotch-"

"Be quiet, Emily!" Hotch pleaded, giving her a look. She returned it with a defiant one that clearly said, don't be stupid.

"Yeah, Emily, listen to your boss," Finch chided, looking far too pleased with everything. He sent Hotch a sly look. "Though I suspect you're more than her boss."

Hotch's heart nearly stopped, but he kept his face blank.

"What do you want with me anyway? Why should my relationship with her matter?"

Finch shrugged. "It doesn't really; it'll just be more fun if you're dating. As for what I want with you, I want you to pay.

Hotch rolled his eyes, knowing it would infuriate Finch. "Yeah, I got that, thanks. But why?"

Finch's giddy smile slid off his face. Now he looked positively lethal. "You ruined my business deal."

"Come again?"

"That money was supposed to be mine. With it I was going to buy a shitload of drugs to sell to high-paying customers. You won it all when you shouldn't have. I lost out on the drugs, and they went to my rival in another city. Plus," his gaze grew more dangerous. "You lied."

"About what?"

"You're a fed."

"I never said I wasn't."

"Regardless of what you did or didn't say, you're a fed! You really think I can let you go on with your life knowing about what I do?"

"I suppose not," Hotch replied flatly.

"No," Finch hissed. "I can't, which brings me back to my deal. You for her."

Hotch could tell Emily was about to protest again, so he quickly said, "Fine. I accept. Now let her go."

"Keep your hands up," Finch warned. When he saw Hotch was not going to move, he lowered the gun from her head and released his grip. He leveled his gun at Hotch's chest.

"Get out of here, Emily," Hotch said evenly. Emily shook her head.

"No."

"Listen to your boyfriend."

"No. I'm not leaving, and you're not hurting him." Within seconds, she was standing between the two men.

"Stupid FBI agent," Finch growled. He took a step forward. "Move."

"No," she repeated, her voice firm. "You shoot him, you shoot me."

"I can do that."

"Prentiss, MOVE," Hotch roared, his heart racing. He wasn't going to allow another woman he loved get killed because of him.

Finch's finger was inching toward the trigger, so, thinking fast, Hotch reached out and yanked Emily behind him. A second later, a shot rang out, and a body fell to the floor.

Immediately after that the door burst open as the BAU swarmed into the room, guns drawn.

"FBI!" Morgan yelled, scanning the room with everyone else.

"Check the back," Emily said, her eyes not moving from the body in front of her. "There are more guys."

Morgan and JJ followed her instructions. Reid knelt by the body and looked for a pulse.

"He's gone."

Emily touched Hotch's shoulder. "Hotch- Aaron- it's done."

Hotch tore his gaze from Finch's lifeless body and turned to face her.

"Really?" he whispered, his eyes searching hers.

"Yeah. We can clear you now. Finch's men will crumble without him, and they can provide real evidence. It's only a matter of time."

Hotch didn't say anything, just remained standing still. Smiling a little, Emily stepped forward and slid her arms around his body. A moment passed, then Hotch relaxed in her arms.

When Hotch had pulled her out of Finch's path, she had grabbed the gun from the back of his pants and shot Finch right in the forehead. He was dead within seconds.

"It's over," Hotch murmured, wrapping his arms around Emily. "It's all over."

A few hours later, Erin Strauss was sitting in her office, going through budget reports when her door flew open. A thick case file dropped on her desk.

"What is this?" she asked irritably, looking up at David Rossi.

"Three different testimonies from Damien Finch's cronies clearing Aaron Hotchner of all charges against him."

Strauss's face twisted into a mixture of confusion, anger, and disbelief. "What?"

"You know Damien Finch, don't you?" Rossi continued. "Known drug dealer in DC. His second-hand man was the one who Hotch was suspected of killing. He's dead now, by the way. Finch."

Strauss's mouth opened and closed. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she gestured to the chair in front of her desk. "Explain everything."

Rossi patiently took her through everything, from Hotch running away three months ago to him coming home to Emily's abduction. The whole time, Strauss looked like she was caught between being furious and being relieved Hotch wasn't a murderer.

"So what you're telling me is," she started after Rossi was done. "Agent Hotchner got caught up in illegal card games-"

"Unwillingly," Rossi supplied.

"Yes, that, and was then framed for murder all because he screwed up Finch's business deal?"

"Yep."

"And he ran to upstate New York to remain safe?"

"And, you know, not get arrested."

"Right. And once you found him and brought him home, he stayed at Agent Prentiss's house?"

"Correct. Then she was kidnapped-"

"And Agent Hotchner saved her, yes, I understood that." She gave Rossi a suspicious look. "Why didn't you call outside authorities when she was taken?"

"We didn't have the time to explain to them why a so-called fugitive was working with us," Rossi answered dryly.

"Right." She licked her lips. "You should be fired right now."

"For what?" Rossi asked incredulously. "For saving a friend? Two, for that matter?"

"For going behind the Bureau's back to do so," she replied.

"We were investigating a case. That's exactly what it was. When we first searched the factory, we had SWAT. When we went to the bar, Hotch was the only one who went inside. We responded the way we are supposed to once we heard the gun shot. We did nothing wrong."

Strauss was silent, choosing to peruse the testimonies Rossi gave her. He tapped his leg while he waited for her to say something.

"Lucky for you, David," she said finally. "Your story matches up with these."

"Because it's the truth," he retorted, barely refraining from rolling his eyes. Strauss pursed her lips together.

"Don't push it." Her expression softened. "I'll call DCPD now and tell them to remove Agent Hotchner from the most wanted list."

A slow smile spread across Rossi's face. "So he's good?"

Strauss allowed a small smile to grace her face. "He's good."

Once they got the call from Rossi verifying Hotch's freedom, Emily drove him to Jessica's house. Hotch was restless the whole ride over. He kept jiggling his foot, which was how Emily knew he was anxious. He never made nervous movements like that.

"Hey," she called softly, getting his attention. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he insisted.

"Then why is your foot bouncing up and down?"

Hotch looked down, surprised to see she was right. He made a conscious effort to get it to stop.

"Sorry. Maybe I am nervous."

"What for? He can't wait to see you."

"I know. It's just been so long…" He looked at her. "Does he hate me?"

Emily had to stop herself from stomping on the brakes. "What?"

"Does Jack hate me for being away for so long?" His voice was quiet, frightened at the possibility.

"Jack could never hate you," she said passionately. "You're his hero. He understands you didn't want to leave, that you had to." She held out her hand, and Hotch took it. She gave a little squeeze. "Trust me, Aaron. He loves you and always will."

Hotch swallowed and nodded, leaning back against the seat.

A few minutes later they were pulling into Jessica's driveway. The front door opened and Jess stepped out. Hotch squeezed Emily's hand and slipped out of the car.

"Does he know I'm here?" he asked his ex-sister-in-law. Jess shook her head.

"Thought you'd want to surprise him." A tear slid down her cheek. "Oh, Aaron. It's so good to see you."

Hotch hugged her, and she completely broke down in his arms. After a moment they pulled apart, and Jess gestured towards the house.

"He's in his room."

Glancing back at Emily, Hotch smiled a little and disappeared into the house. Jess turned to Emily.

"Do you want to come inside?"

Emily shook her head. "They should be alone. Can you just have him call me if he's staying her for the night?"

"Of course."

Emily thanked her and pulled out of the driveway, a smile spreading across her face as she thought about the reunion that was about to happen.

Hotch crept up the stairs, his heart pounding. He was about to see his son again after three months apart. He almost couldn't believe it.

It wasn't hard to find Jack's room, considering how it said his name on the door. It was open, and Hotch could see Jack's back was turned. He was seated on the floor, waving action figures around, imagining an intense battle for humanity.

"Give up now!" the little boy said in a fake raspy voice. He raised a black-cloaked figure higher in the air. "You can't win!"

He lifted the other figure up. "Yes, I can! No one beats me!" Jack brought the two figures together, pretending they were fighting.

"Must be a pretty awesome superhero," Hotch finally said, alerting his son of his presence. Jack dropped the toys in surprised and spun around.

"DADDY!" he screeched, lunching himself at his father. Hotch caught him and held him close.

"Hey, buddy," he croaked, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"You're home!"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm home."

"For good?"

"I won't leave like that again, I promise."

Jack pulled away a bit so he could look Hotch in the eye. "Did you catch the bad guy?"

Hotch smiled and ruffled his son's hair. "Yeah, I did."

Jack grinned and ran back to his toys. He grabbed them off the floor.

"See?" he told the villain, holding the hero up high. "No one beats Daddy!"

Emily was flipping through television channels later that night when she heard a knock on her door. Getting up, she checked her peephole and let out a little chuckle.

"What are you doing here?" she started to say when she opened the door. She trailed off when a tiny body plastered itself to her legs.

"Hi, Aunt Emmy!" Jack chirped.

"Hi, Jack!" She looked up to see Hotch grinning at her.

"Hi, Aunt Emmy," he said. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Grow up. What are you two doing here?"

"We came to sleepover!" Jack cried. Emily looked at Hotch for confirmation.

"If that's alright," he said. "We should've called. I'm sorry. It's just, I've been staying here, and I didn't want to leave Jack, so-"

"Aaron," she interrupted. "It's fine. I'm happy to have you two." She bent down and picked Jack up. "Come on. Wanna watch a movie?"

"Yeah!" Jack cheered. "Can I pick?"

"Of course." She set him down in the living room and watched as he darted over to her kid-friendly DVD collection. Arms suddenly appeared around her torso as she was pulled back against Hotch's chest.

"You have kids' movies?" he asked, his amusement evident.

"We all do now," she replied, snuggling closer. "We got them for Jack and Henry, in case either of them were over our houses."

"That's very sweet. I can't picture Dave owning a Disney movie though."

Emily laughed. "You should see his collection. It's massive."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." She sobered and disentangled herself from his arms. "Do you want Jack to see us together? I don't want him to get the wrong idea."

"What kind of idea would he get? That his father is happy and in love with someone besides his mom?"

"I just don't want him to think you're forgetting her."

"He already knows I like you, Emily."

"He does?"

"Jack," Hotch called. The boy turned to face them. "How to I feel about Aunt Emmy?"

"You like her," he said simply.

"How much?"

"Like Mommy."

"And you know I still love Mommy, right?"

"Yep." When Hotch resumed his conversation with Emily, Jack turned back to the DVDs.

"How does he know that?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"He knows how I look at you. He's heard people talk." He cupped her cheek with his hand. "He understands. It's alright."

He bent his head down and kissed her. Warmth spread through Emily's body and she eagerly returned it.

"EWW," Jack moaned. "Gross!"

The two adults separated, laughing as they did so.

"Did you find a movie?" Hotch asked.

"Toy Story!" Jack declared, holding it up.

"Believe it or not, I've missed that movie," Hotch muttered to Emily before plopping down on the couch. Emily put the DVD in and pressed play. She hesitated for a moment, wondering where to sit. Jack was already pressed against his father's side.

"Aunt Emmy, sit next to me!" Jack patted the space next to him. She obeyed and settled down beside him. Hotch rested his arm on the back of the couch, his hand falling on Emily's shoulder. She leaned into his touch, and they shared a little smile.

He could finally stop running. He was back home, and that was all that mattered. Now they could start the lives they wanted.

Together.

THE END

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story! Please leave a little review and let me know what you thought! =)