Title: Don't Fear the Reaper
By: realityaskew
Pairing: Hotch/Prentiss
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I own nothing from CM.
Summary: Hotch and Prentiss have a little chat about death.

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"Daddy, why do people have to die?"

Aaron Hotchner froze and his grip tightened on his three-year-old son Jack, who was sitting in his lap. Jack had reached that age of childhood where every other thing that came out of his mouth was a question. He was curious about the World around him. Aaron however, had not been prepared for this question. He dealt with death every single day as a part of his job but how could he ever answer him? Luckily Emily came through the apartment door right at that moment and saved him.

"Hey buddy, why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed and I'll be up in a few minutes to read you a story."

"Okay." The innocent child agreed indifferently and jumped off his father's lap. He ran over to Prentiss and gave one of her long legs a quick hug before bounding up the stairs.

Emily smiled at the little boy and went into the living room taking a seat next to Hotch on the couch. She noted the dazed look in his face and waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention. "Hotch, are you alright?"

"Jack just asked me why people have to die." He said his voice low and hollow sounding.

Emily bit her bottom lip and shifted uneasily. "Ouch, that's a pretty touchy subject."

"Well Haley's father just died so no wonder he's asking."

Emily cupped his jaw in her hands and placed a light kiss on his lips. Before she could pull away Hotch tugged her back and deepened the kiss. Sometimes he felt so alone that he needed to simply touch her to know that he was connected to another actual human being.

"Daddy read me a story!" Jack yelled from upstairs.

"I'll be back in 15 minutes." He told Emily giving her one last kiss before heading up to Jack's bedroom.

Why did people have to die? Emily thought. Of course there was the circle of life, birth, life, and death but what about all of the victims of murder she had to deal with every day? They didn't have to die. They just happened to be unfortunate and be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or were they? She often wondered if it was written somewhere in some big book how everyone was meant to die, even before they were born. She had never been a religious person still, the question would haunt her always. Why did people have to die? She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear Hotch sit back down next to her.

"Why do people have to die?" She asked him.

"Because dying is a part of life." He told her honestly.

"True, it is but people are always so afraid of it. They hate talking about it or thinking about it but then there's people like us who's lives are constantly filled with it. I think I've become so jaded about everything that I'm not even afraid of death anymore. I used to be when I was little. I would imagine a scary grim reaper standing at the foot of my bed ready to take me away but now when I imagine death I see nothing. It has become something that I have learned to accept and it's inevitable. It's going to happen eventually and there is nothing that I or anyone else can do to stop it."

"The only thing that we can really do is live in the moment."

"That's nice, where did you get that from? Some cheesy 70's bumper sticker?" She teased him, suddenly changing the seriousness that had settled over them.

Hotch laughed and lunged for her playfully pinning her down against the couch. "Like the Blue Oyster Cult said, "don't fear the reaper."

Emily couldn't contain the laughter that bubbled up inside of her. "Aaron Hotchner is actually a fan of the Blue Oyster Cult?"

Hotch leaned his face down dangerously close to hers. "Just be quiet up and live in the moment." He said before breaking the small distance between them.

THE END

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