Hello everyone, here is the last chapter of Falling Slowly. I want to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, sent me messages, and read this story. I love reading everything that you had to say about this story, and it means so much that you took the time to write these reviews and read this story.

Falling Slowly was a tough story to write, but I'm glad I did. You guys supported me so much throughout this, and I know it was tough for some of you to read too.

And here is my warning that many were already expecting: Character Death

Aaron paced up and down the hospital halls, his hands balled into fists at his side. She was so pale, so white. All Hotch could think about was the last thing she'd remember. Him walking away. She was scared and sick and he had been selfish.

"Is she?" Aaron stepped forward and asked the second he saw the doctor.

"No," he said, "her body was under too much stress and didn't have enough nutrients, so she passed out. She is awake now, but very weak."

"How much time?" Hotch could barely force those words out of his mouth.

"Soon," he looked down, "probably in the next few days. The end of the disease progressed faster than we expected."

"Can I take her home?"

"When I spoke to Emily earlier that was her wish. All we can do now is keep her comfortable. You can take her home, but you'll also need to have certain equipment. Her heart is too weak now... once it fails there will be no bringing it back. You'll need to prepare yourself."

Aaron nodded although he had barely comprehended those words.

When he entered Emily's room she was awake. She looked at him, but he couldn't read her eyes.

"I'm here Emily," he said, "and I'm not going anywhere."

XXX

Aaron watched from the doorway as Emily slept in his bed. She was connected to an IV giving her fluids and pain medicine. He kept the door open and walked into his son's room. He stood amidst the sea of toys and cried.

When he could finally control the tears he took out his cell phone and dialed, "Dave?" He choked when the other end was answered.

XXX

Emily could hear voices before she opened her eyes. She was so tired. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the voices. She recognized them, and she felt like she wanted to see the people connected to the voices.

She opened her eyes and it was blurry, "Aaron?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

She could hear his footsteps as he walked up to her. He rested his strong hand on her cheek, "how are you feeling?"

"People?"

"The team's here, would you like to see them?"

She nodded and closed her eyes.

XXX

When she opened them again there were people in her room. They were whispering, so she couldn't tell what they were saying.

When Morgan saw her eyes open he walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder, "Hey Princess, you know I love you right?"

"Yeah," she smiled, "love you too..." Emily looked up and saw the pain in his eyes. All she wanted was to be able to take that away.

Other people came and went as Emily drifted in and out. She remembered JJ's soft touch. She remembered Rossi's deep voice telling her it would be alright. She remembered Reid ducking his head as he thanked her for being his friend. And she remembered Garcia wiping tears from her eyes as she told Emily she loved her.

Emily wanted to take all of that pain away from them, "I love you," she whispered to the room. Her head was too heavy to lift, but she could feel the warm lump of fur next to her leg.

"Sergio," she smiled, "thanks..."

XXX

Jack came into the room with Aaron standing in the doorway. Emily tried to sit up and look better than she really was as he stood next to the bed. His dad had tried to explain what was happening, but how was it possible to explain this to his son when Aaron didn't even understand it himself?

"Hi Emily," he said, his eyes wide.

"Hi Jack," She smiled "I love you Buddy," she put her hand on his shoulder, "you be good for your daddy, okay?"

"Mmhmm," he took a few steps away and then turned back to look at her, "I love you too."

Then he was gone.

XXX

Emily didn't know how long went by, a day, a week, for all she knew it could have been just a few hours. But she could feel herself slipping. She could feel death coming, seeping into her and slowly stealing her away.

XXX

Hotch watched her sleep. He could tell it was coming. He bit back tears and walked into the room. He climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms around her, his chest touching her back. He could feel her shallow breaths.

"Aaron," she said.

"Emily."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't need to be sorry about anything. Being with you was the best..." he pulled her body close and she could feel his warmth, "don't apologize. I love you Emily, and these past weeks were the best I've ever had. I would do it all over again."

"I love you too," she said.

They were silent for a while. Aaron continued to hold her and breath in her scent. He tried to take in everything about her.

"There's-" she said, a coughing fit taking over, "there's something out there, I know it," her voice was weak, "you make sure Jack knows I love him."

"Of course," he promised, "I love you," he repeated, he needed to know she knew this, "I will always love you."

She rolled over so she was now facing him and looked up into his eyes, "I don't regret this, I thought I did, but I don't. It makes this harder, leaving you, but it made living worth it."

Emily lifted her heavy hand and brought it to Aaron's face. He leaned in and brought his lips against hers. Aaron could taste salt, but didn't know whether the tears were his or hers.

Emily brought her head back, "be happy," she whispered, giving him a ghost of a smile.

And then Aaron could feel it. There were no machines to tell him, but he knew she was gone. He clung to her, pulling her limp body close. Tears silently streamed down his face and he held her to him.

She was gone.

Somewhere downstairs he could hear people talking. Doors opened and closed, the floor creaked.

Emily was gone.

Sergio stood up, turned around, and laid back down.

Emily was gone. She was dead. And there was nothing Aaron could do. He clutched her to him and closed his eyes. He remembered the first day they met, when she walked into his office at the BAU, their first case, the first time they really talked.

He remembered her smile, her laugh, her kiss.

As Aaron brought his arm back from around her, he noticed something in his hand. It was a piece of paper that had been folded into quarters. He opened it up and noticed the hand writing immediately.

Dear Aaron,

There isn't enough time, and there aren't enough words. I could try to tell you how I feel, but it wouldn't be enough, nothing would. I'm sorry for hurting you and Jack, that wasn't my intention.

I came back here looking for a home, but you gave me a family. I came looking for friendship, but you gave me love.

I need you to know I don't blame you for walking away. I've lived my whole life believing that the only person I could trust was myself. I believed that there would never be anyone out there for me, I believed there were no happy endings.

I know I'm in no position to ask you for anything, but I need to anyway. Will you keep Sergio for me? He's been with me through everything and I can't imagine leaving him unless he's with someone like you.

I know now that I should have told you. My ignorance led me to believe I could go back to living my normal life. But now as I look back, that's not what I wanted. I wanted a better end, and you gave that to me.

I hope you'll remember me as the woman you fell in love with, not the one who lied to you. Not the one that leaves you.

I'll always remember you. You're the man who gave me the opportunity to help others. You believed in me even when I couldn't believe in myself. You're the man who puts everyone in front of himself.

I love you Aaron. And even though it may not seem like it, this is my happy ending. You transformed it into that. I got to fall in love, be in love, not everyone gets that in their life. I watched my parent's loveless marriage, and while I was only with you for a few weeks, those weeks held more than their years.

But while this is my end, it's not yours. Keep living your life, Aaron. Be happy.

I love you Aaron, and I'll wait for you wherever it is I go after here. But your time's not now. But when it is, I'll be ready, because I'll never stop loving you.

Love,

Emily