When All Is Said

Duet

I've seen you carry family
And all my insecurities
One by one, they'll come undone
When we get home
Because I've seen you
And I know you
And I'm not going anywhere
- Penny and Sparrow, Stephanie Briggs

-

Emily was hospitalized for two days. The other, just for precaution, was pressured by her team. A psychiatrist from the hospital had visited her a few hours after she woke, a nice old woman gently asking her if she needed some support. Emily responded to all her questions with the right answers. With some hesitation, Dr. Delver signed the forms confirming that the patient was well in their mind. Emily couldn't help but snicker to herself as soon as the doctor left.

She didn't ask for Aaron, even though he was the only person whom she'd wanted to see. Even Elle came by for a visit, expressing the disappointment she felt towards herself for not acting quickly enough to save both Julie and Emily. Then JJ and Alex came around, telling her what Hotch had done. That the evidence he and Elle had piled up was more than enough to track and catch a ring of young officers using troubled individuals to do their bidding for them. Still, she refused to ask about Aaron's whereabouts.

"Well, aren't you going to ask?" Alex speaks up, leaning up against the wall as Emily packs up her belongings. "Ask what?" She attempts to play dumb, only focusing on gathering her clothes.
JJ and Alex share a look "I'm just gonna answer the question you desperately want to ask but aren't asking" The redhead takes a step forward, taking the go-bag off the hospital bed "Yes, he was here. He stayed with you for a few hours.."

JJ nods "He almost fought us all trying to get us to leave. Aaron wanted time with you, and you only" she adds, gaining a hum of approval from Alex. Emily stands by her bed, her gaze doing a back and forth between the blonde and the redhead. Her eyebrows are furrowed, trying to piece puzzles together in her head.

"Anything we can help you with up there?" Alex asks, pointing at Emily's head to which she shakes in response "No, no I'm good. Just trying..." She slows down as the puzzles are put together "He was here," she whispers to herself.

"....Are you okay?" JJ asks, stepping forward to support Emily's back.

"I'm sorry, I can't make the flight today," Emily says, looking at her colleagues. The two women standing in front of her look at each other in confusion "What uh- what do you mean?" Alex asks, trying to understand what is happening.

"I'm not going back to Virginia today. I have to stay here," she stares at them as JJ ahh's in response "Emily's got unfinished business" She taps Alex on the arm.

So this is where she finds herself, driving to Queen Anne Hill to knock on Aaron's door. It was 5 pm on a Saturday, she was confident he would be home. Emily looks out the window as she drives, spitting the space needle and pulling up to his apartment building soon after. "Four-four-eight, four-four-eight" she whispers to herself as she waits for the elevator to bring her to his floor.

Truthfully, Emily heard everything he had said to her while she was resting. Only, she thought it was merely a dream. Now knowing it was true, she couldn't fly back to Virginia. She had a few or more words she needed to say.

He opens the door at the third knock, a soft look on his face as she stares at him in disbelief. Emily welcomes herself in, putting a hand on his chest to gently push him out of the doorway.

"I thought you were heading back tonight," he tells her, following her into his home. Emily scans his apartment, taking note of the colour of the walls and the pictures he chose to display. She turns around to face him "I couldn't leave," the words come out of her mouth so easily.

"Why are you here?" Aaron asks, keeping his hands right by his side.

Emily steps forward "Because I couldn't leave" she repeats herself, earning a sigh from Aaron "Because I heard every single thing you said to me at the hospital and I didn't have it in me to leave unless I told you that you are someone who stays," she says, her finger pointing at the ground "You have stayed in situations where you should have left" her voice breaks.

"You stayed with the unit when Strauss was doing everything to discourage you" she begins her list "You stayed even when your life was falling apart and Gideon left you to the trenches. You stayed when every part of DC was a reminder of what you lost" Emily continues, taking a step forward closer to him "You stayed when I died," she tells him, tears streaming down her face that her voice almost sounds like a whisper. "Every single time, you had a hundred reasons to leave yet you stayed for one," She's looking up at him with tears in her eyes as she takes her hands to cup his face "Because you are someone that stays,"

Aaron looks away from her and clenches his jaw to stop his own tears from forming. "Emily, you deserve someone who won't put your life at risk." He tells her as she shakes her head "But pushing me away isn't the answer" she counters. He sighs and steps away from her touch "I'll only let you down. Just like I have, time and time again" his head is shaking. He just wants her to leave. To spare him the pain of letting her go.

Emily stares at him, literally in disbelief at the words that are coming out of his mouth "Aaron," she calls his name "It's not letting me down, it's letting me in" She puts a hand on her chest "Let me in. Please" there's a heavy breath that comes out of her. Aaron is so conflicted, that he wishes he could believe her. But he is so desperate to protect her from himself that he can't "I love you, Emily. But I can't bear the thought of losing you. I need to protect you."

This is the first time he's said those three magic words out loud, except the emotions she's feeling aren't butterflies in her stomach, she's not blushing in the face. If anything, she feels like she's just been stabbed in the heart because she has finally, finally! gotten to hear those words from him. He loves her. It's not just a thought in the back of her mind, nor is it a fantasy that JJ made up but a real thing.

"Aaron," she says his name to bring him back, but a pleading behind it all "Protecting me doesn't mean leaving. It means facing challenges together. Don't shut me out" she gasps out a breath. Aaron, after a moment of silence, sighs "I just can't shake the fear of losing you once I let you in." He expresses "I am the only person that can protect you from me, and I can do that if we're far apart."

Emily holds in a sob, "Don't pull away" she tells him when she moves her body closer to his. She's tiptoed when their lips brush "Wrap your arms around me" she instructs him, feeling him hesitate before doing so "How do you feel when you're close to me?" Emily asks him, wrapping her own arms around his neck. She feels him breathe her in "I feel safe" he answers honestly as she hums against him "Do you know how I feel when I'm close to you? I feel like I'm home." Emily pulls her head out his neck to get a good look at him "At least give us a chance" she requests, her now red eyes looking up at him.

Aaron's hands travel up her body, resting it on the side of her arms "I want to," he concedes "But-" he gets cut off when Emily puts her lips against his "No buts" she tells him "Just keep holding onto me, you're safe. I'm safe"

So they stand there, for what feels like an eternity, taking each other in through close contact. Like their hug was the missing antidote to heal all their hurt. Through their touch, they made a promise to try; to start.