CHAPTER SIX

A/N: Ok this story is taking place in episode two of season three. But I'm working it where Hayley had left Aaron several months previous and that they had all ready divorced. It will make the story run more smoothly this way.

THE NEW BAU TEAM

Rossi walked into Hotch's office and shut the door. The meeting had ended the moment that Emily had silently walked from the conference room. He walked over and sat down in the chair opposite Hotch's desk. "So you went to Erin." He said with a knowing look at his boss; whom truly was his equal.

Hotch just looked into the older man's eyes and drew his lips into a tight line.

"I don't blame you, Aaron. I figured if Erin had made the suggestion her self that you may have an up roar." David said calmly. "But I still don't get why Erin didn't have your ass to the wall for allowing Emily into the house. Especially without her vest on."

"Joe would have raped her still, even if Emily had worn her vest." Aaron sighed deeply. "I shouldn't have allowed her to go in, not without back up. I shouldn't have gone to her apartment and asked her to accompany me on the case. She would have remained in D.C. until we got back. I could have talked her out of the transfer. She would have been safe and whole." He lowered his eyes on to the desk.

"You can't beat yourself up over this, Aaron. What's done is done." David said in a steady voice. "Now you just have to be strong for Emily. You have to be her support system." He could remain calm because what happened to Agent Emily Prentiss had happen two weeks before he decided to take Jason Gideon's place on the team. He was the outsider so he could be in control. He looked at Aaron's lowered eyes. "How long have you been in love with Emily Prentiss." He didn't have to state it as a question. It was a fact.

Aaron sighed as he looked up, "Ever since she first walked into my office with the box of her things for her desk." He shook his head. "It was just a crush was all, I was loyal to Hayley. Always had been throughout our entire marriage. I wouldn't have cheated on Hayley."

"But you had, Aaron, in your heart you had all ready cheated and left Hayley." David said with a shrug.

"She knew. Hayley knew. She knew the first moment she saw Emily and I together. But she also knew that I would remain loyal to her and Jack. That I would always stay true to her and our high school dreams." Aaron softy said as he thought of his ex wife Hayley. His high school girl friend. The only woman whom had shared his bed. "That's why she began to get madder than ever about my job. That is why she ultimately turned to someone else. She knew she was the one who had to leave."

Aaron knocked on the door to Hayley's new small house. He stood back and waited for his ex wife to open the door. He just prayed to God that HE wasn't there. He wasn't in the mood for the jackass of a man that Hayley had chosen to be in her bed.

The door opened and Hayley looked out. Her face had worked into a harden expression when she first saw him but than she broke as she fully took him in. "Oh my God, Aaron, what happened." She pulled him into a tight hug and just simply held him as he broke down. She held him out there on the darken door step with just the porch light glowing on them.

He finally managed to pull himself together long enough for her to pull away and pull him into her home. He looked around and was relieved that Jack was no where in sight.

"He's sound of asleep in his bed." Hayley softly said taking his hand in hers and led him into the cozy living room. She sat him down on the couch and she walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured half of a glass of brandy for him and a white wine for herself. She turned and walked over and sat down next to Hotch and handed him the brandy. His hands shook slightly as he lifted it up to his lips and he took a deep drink. He lowered the glass and she noticed that he had drunk half of the glass. "What has happened, Aaron?"

"Emily, she's been raped." Aaron breathed out and tears fell down his checks.

Hayley's heart went out to the woman whom had stolen Aaron's heart away from her. She had been angry at first when she first discovered the truth ... that Aaron didn't love her any more. That he loved Emily Prentiss ... the woman whom had taken Elle Greenaway's place in the team. She had hated Emily when she saw that Emily returned Aaron's feelings. But never in a million years would she wish this on the woman.

In time Hayley had come to realize that her and Aaron's love had run it's course. So she turned into an evil nasty bitch to drive Aaron out of her arms and out of their marriage. She finally had a affair and knew that Aaron knew when her lover had called the house and than her cell phone after Aaron had picked up the house phone. After Aaron left for a case she had packed up Jack and herself and filed for divorce. Aaron didn't even fight the divorce.

"I'm so sorry ... " Hayley didn't know what else to say. She just watched as Aaron lifted the glass back up and finished the brandy in the glass. He stood up and walked over to the liquor cabinet and grabbed the brandy bottle and walked back to the couch and sat down and poured a full glass of brandy.

"I didn't get in there in time to protect her, I got in there just as that monster was slamming into her." He whispered as he lifted the glass and gulped down his third full brandy. He didn't lower the glass until he had drunk every single drop. His hands were still steady as he poured another full glass. "I pretty much forced her to come with me to join the team. I told her that she didn't belong anywhere else but at the BAU. That too prove her true loyalty to us to grab her ready bag and get on that damn plane with me." He swallowed his third glass of brandy and slammed it down on the coffee table. He poured out his fourth glass.

Hayley noticed that his hand began to shake.

"I should have just kept away from her apartment when I was on my way to the air port. She would have still been in D.C. By the time I returned home. I could have just gone to her and convinced her to stay. Gracia made sure that her transfer was lost in the system." He said as he took another long drink and lowered the now half empty glass. "But I just had to be the top dog and win over Strauss and show her that I was the team leader and I could still convince at least ONE of my fallen team members back in the field."

Hayley reached over and tried to take the bottle from his death gripe, but he just turned drunken shiny eyes on hers and she knew that it wasn't worth it. That he needed to drink until he could remember nothing. She would just remove Jack in the morning before he could see his father.

"I could have just kept her at the police station. Kept her safe. She would have fully understood. She knew she technically wasn't allowed in the field. But I wanted to show Strauss what we did out in the field so I brought her along. I even allowed her to go into the house with only Morgan's gun to protect her. She didn't even where a vest." He didn't brother with the glass any more. He just lifted the bottle and took a swing of the liquid inside. He lowered the bottle. He kept his eyes straight forward as he saw the scene once more.

"She never pushed the panic button, I told her ten minutes and than get the hell out or just push the panic button. Ten minutes went by and no Emily, no single. I ordered everyone inside and we heard grunting nose in the work room." Another swing. And still another. Until there was just three swallows left of the bottle. "I kicked the door in and the only thing I saw was Joe Smith slamming into Emily. I could see how afraid and closed off she was. I managed to tell David, Joe's son to lower the gun that he had pointed at Emily. I yanked Joe out of Emily and just managed to catch her as she fell forward."

Aaron lifted the bottle to his lips and swallowed the last of the liquor and lowered the bottle. He reached over and picked up the half filled glass once more. "When Emily saw me she tried to pull away in fear. But I managed to free her body from the pillar and lower her onto the floor and put a blanket over her." He lifted the glass once more and took a deep swallow. "I backed away as I could tell how frighten Emily was. She didn't see me at all; she just saw Joe." The glass lifted and he finished the brandy. He lowered the glass and finally turned and looked at Hayley.

It was amazing even after drinking a full bottle of brandy, Aaron Hotchner could still make out his ex wife clearly. It was as if the liquor hadn't hit his system. Even through he knew he was beyond the point of very drunk. His system had just simply shut down. "I hurt the woman whom I love beyond all reason, Hayley. I am solely the cause of the pain and suffering that my soul mate has to deal with for the rest of her life."

Hayley moved forward than and wrapped her arms around Aaron and pulled him into a tight hug and they both broke down.

The next morning Hayley managed to get Jack out of the house before Aaron awoke. He had slept on the couch. He had left without a word to her.

David thought about Hayley. He wasn't surprised of her taking the lead and getting out of her marriage with Aaron. He had always figured that the end of the Hotchner marriage would be her doing, not Aaron's. He saw that his friend was deep in thought so he stood to his feet and walked from the office leaving the door open.

GRACIA'S OFFICE

Derek opened the door to Penelope's office and watched his Goddess hard at work on one of her many computers. "Hey sex kitten." He said in a light voice. No flirtatiousness in it.

She turned around after a second and took one look on his face, "You heard." She said in a soft low voice.

He nodded his head. "Emily isn't too pleased with the fact that she's the cause of the team not being out in the field any longer." He walked into the office and closed the door behind him. "Don't blame her, not one single bit. But I fully agree that the team wouldn't be the team without her."

"I just wish that I could be there full time for her, but they assigned me to all the other teams." Penelope sighed deeply.

"Hey baby girl, you are the best tech out there. The world needs you to help keep the monsters at bay. At least until we get back out there." Derek said sitting on the desk and taking Penelope's right hand into his and rubbing the back of her hand. "Look on the bright side, at least we get to spend more time together, sweet cakes."

"But I wish it wasn't at the cost of Emily." Penelope whispered as she felt tears roll down her checks.

"As do I, as do I." Derek whispered as his own tears fell freely.

JJ's Office

JJ had looked Spencer in the eyes and he knew to follow her to her office. He shut the door behind them and watched as she walked over to the fall wall and turned around and leaned her back against it. "I don't want to be alone tonight, Spence, will you have dinner with me and stay the night. I don't mean we have to sleep together again. Just ..." She lowered her eyes. "I just don't want to be alone."

"You aren't alone JJ, not ever." Spencer softly said from where he had remained standing right next to the closed door. "You have m ... the team. You have your family."

"Do I have you?" She raised her eyes and looked at him fully in the face.

"For as long as you will allow me in your life." Spencer said meeting her eyes. She smiled a softly smile before she pushed off the wall and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and put her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and just held her.

IN STRAUSS'S OFFICE

Emily jerked the door open and walked into without a word, slamming the door behind her. She turned her eyes onto Erin whom had been waiting for her to come. "How dare you keep the team here, lift this stupid restraints and let them get back to doing what they do best. Saving the innocents."

"They each made their decisions." Erin said in a calm voice. "They have decided to stay here and go into a little retainment." She raised her right hand from the desk. "This won't last forever, Agent Prentiss."

"I don't buy that, Strauss. You are just using this situation to your own sick advantage. I won't have it." Emily snared looking at Erin. "You will tell my team that they don't have to be held back. That they need to get back to work."

Erin sighed. "Aaron came to me and told me that he wished the team to be off the list."

"You fucking lie." Emily snorted through her noise. She didn't raise her voice, matter of fact she just whispered.

"Aaron came to me the day you arrived back at work and requested that the top BAU team should remain close at him, and not always be in the field." Erin said. She watched as Emily turned white as a sheet, whiter than she had been since her attack and turned and fled from the office. She sighed deeply as she watched as the door closed behind the fallen agent.

END CHAPTER SIX