They had been staying like this - Emily sitting on the armchair, Hotch kneeling on the floor next to it, holding her hand - for quite some time now. Neither of them had sad anything, afraid that words would cut the connection. Yet, when Hotch looked up to Emily, he realized she was barely awake.

"Emily?"

"Huh?"

"I know you don't want to hear that, but... I really think you need to get some rest now!"

"I can't." There was so much more left unspoken. She couldn't go to bed, yes. But she couldn't stay awake any longer, either. She couldn't be alone, and at the same time, she couldn't let Hotch stay with her. Hotch sighed. "You know I would never hurt you, right?" Emily shyly nodded.
"If you trust me enough to let me stay, I will. I will stay with you until you tell me to leave." He soothed, giving her a look of expectancy. "...but Emily: you have to get some rest!"

"I can't go to bed, Hotch!" Emily whispered, and Hotch nodded sympathetically. "Then come here." He suggested, patting on the couch next to him. "We'll get you a blanket and some cushions and..." Hotch stopped when he realized Emily had started shaking again. Gently squeezing her hand, he promised: "I'll stay right here and take care of you. You are safe now, Emily. I know that it doesn't feel that way, but no one is going to hurt you!"

"I... I dream about it. I... feel his touch again as soon as I close my eyes!" She whispered, her voice shaky and scarcely audible. Emily avoided his gaze, unable to look at him. Nevertheless, the grip around his hand tightened - she was literately clinging to him. Hotch sighed. He knew that saying Cyrus was dead would not help, because as long as she still felt his touch when she closed her eyes, he was not dead to her. So instead, he just looked her in the eye and said: "I'm so sorry, Emily."

"It's not your fault."

"Neither is it yours, Emily."

She didn't respond to that. Instead, Emily returned his look. "Can you promise to wake me up when I start... dreaming?" Hotch nodded. "Yes, I promise." Emily nodded, somewhat pleased with his answer and - more importantly - the sincerity in his eyes. Then she let go of his hand and stood up, throwing the blanket she had covered herself with on the couch.

"... and you will stay here with me?" She double-checked before she lay down. Hotch nodded again and sat down in the armchair next to her. "I'm right here, Emily."

And there he stayed.

*EPILOGUE*

If life were a cheesy soap opera, Emily wouldn't have had nightmares this night - wouldn't have woken up screaming, crying for help - all thanks to Hotch staying with her. Instead, she would have woken up after fourteen hours of sleep, fully recovered and full of confidence.

Hotch would stay with her for a little longer, and their friendship would finally turn into something more. Emily would be shy at first, not knowing how to bear, how to enjoy physical contact ever again, but Hotch would never do anything she was not comfortable with. Eventually, he would propose and Emily would say yes, knowing that "for worse" was already over and what remained was their "for better". And they would live happily ever after.

Reality, though, was no soap opera, so when Emily slept that night, she did have nightmares again, did wake up screaming, crying for help. But this night, she didn't have to get through this alone -
and for now, this was all that mattered.

„Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
Arnold Schwarzenegger