Hotchniss One Shots

"Scars"

*Rewritten*

It's been six days since Aaron and Emily spent their Christmas together. Emily's mother has just returned from Italy only yesterday, and Emily travelled only a few miles to spend the day with her.

Now, still December, was New Years Eve, and Emily intended on spending it with no other than her boyfriend, Aaron Hotchner. They had decided on a quiet night out. A nice restaurant with fine wine and good food. The evening was a success, as Emily found herself laughing at Aaron's attempts at jokes, and hanging on his every word. The food was delicious, and the wine was enough to urge them back to her apartment that night.

Instead of deciding to end the night early, the couple decided to curl up to a Christmas movie marathon, against Aaron's better wishes. Eventually, after what took some persuading and convincing, Emily managed to get him on the couch next to her, a soft blanket around both of them and a bottle of wine on the table in front of the couch.

"So which are we watching first? Home Alone, The Grinch, or A Christmas Story?" she asked him, laying the movies out on the table.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. It was already near eleven-thirty at night. "The Grinch, I suppose. Em, it's Christmas is over, you know."

Emily grinned at him, prompting a small smile to form on his own lips. "I know. That doesn't mean I should stop celebrating our time off. Besides, it gives me the chance to enjoy a few great, American films," she replied, beginning to set up the movie for the both of them.

"Don't you usually do this sort of thing with JJ and Garcia? Like a girls night or something?" Aaron asked as she sat down beside him on the couch.

She picked up her wine glass and took a sip. "Bold of you to assume that we would make it pass the copyright warnings before getting sidetracked."

"I'm just saying," he said, taking a sip of his own wine.

"And I'm just saying," she moved closer to him, "that there is no one else I would rather binge watch Christmas movies with this late at night."

He paused for a moment and stared into those beautiful brown eyes of hers that he could get lost in for hours if he didn't look away. "Okay," he spoke up, "but i'm going to need a lot more wine if we're going to make it through a whole trilogy."

Emily smiled widely as he opened his arms for her to settle into. She soon relaxed against his chest, the warm glow from the Christmas tree being just enough light for him to see her on his arms.

The following morning of the new year, the couple woke up in the same position on the soft couch. Neither of them seemed to mind, as they both awoke in amusement at their situation. As Emily worked to get her legs untangled from her boyfriend's, Aaron brushed the hair away from her neck to place a few small kisses.

"Happy new year, beautiful," he said in that low morning voice of his.

She stopped moving when she felt his arms encircle her waist. She smiled faintly, "how much alcohol does it take for us to fall fast asleep on this godawful couch for a whole night?"

He tipped his head back up and glanced at the small table. "A whole bottle, apparently," he replied, an amused grin on his face. Emily sighed heavily and settled back into his arms. "How was Italy?" he asked after a moment of peaceful silence.

"It was good. Really good. My mother only introduced me to one man this time," she laughed. "But strangely enough, I actually enjoyed spending one on one time with her. I think she really wants our relationship to get better."

Aaron smiled and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "That's great. I'm glad that the two of you were able to rekindle."

She nodded in agreement. "You should come with me next year. I think you would like Italy."

"Yeah?" He smiled softly. "I don't think your mother necessarily approves of our relationship, however."

"She'll get over it," the woman scoffed. "I think that if she really got to know you, she would like you, Aaron, and maybe she'll overlook the fact that I can be with someone who isn't a successful politician or businessman."

"hey, what do I know? I'm only the unit chief of the FBI," he teased.

She hooked one arm around the man. "You know what I mean," she said and he nodded. She lifted the blanket up over them, causing the hem of Aaron's shirt to come up, exposing a portion of his stomach, and small scars along with it.

Naturally, he caught her staring at this and pushed his shirt back down. He cleared his throat and decided to sit up on the couch, causing her to do the same.

"Hey," Emily said, grabbing ahold of his hand. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. You know that, right," she asked as he nodded quickly. It didn't take a profiler to realize just how ashamed he was of the marks on his body. "It's nothing I haven't seen before," she laughed, in hopes to lighten the mood.

Instead, he stared into her dark eyes with a grim expression on his face. "I know. I just- it's hard sometimes."

Emily rubbed her thumb against his hand softly. He wasn't good at expressing his feelings. He never had been. Only, now, she understood what he meant. She felt the same way about her own scars. She cleared her throat and looked back up into his eyes. "I know you miss her, Aaron, I understand."

"It's not that," he said with a measurable amount of confidence. He titled his head to the side to lock eyes with her. "These scars are a constant reminder of what I allowed to happen to Hayley. And sometimes I think to myself- if that happened to her because of me- what is going to happen to Jack? My own son?"

"Hey, hey," Emily searched for his eyes once more. "What happened to Hayley is not your fault, Aaron. You can't blame yourself for that," she told him as he shut his eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of his nose. "And as for Jack- you are a good dad. You try your very best to be with your son every waking chance you get. I can say with certainty that you would never allow any harm to come to your son," she told him. "Rossi said something once that made me think of you. He said 'scars a story of your past, but they don't have to dictate your future," she told him quietly, squeezing his hand softly.

He looked up at her, tears at bay in his eyes. How was it that this woman always knew exactly what to say to make him feel better? He swallowed thickly and gave her hand an understanding squeeze. "Thank you," he said softly.

Emily nodded silently as he reached forward to kiss her forehead, bringing her into a warm embrace.

He was a broken man. His line of work was slowly breaking him down and wearing on his body. It was only the love for his son and Emily that put him back together, and that he was sure of.