A/N: I recently read a fic based on a Jack Johnson song and I loved the concept. He's one of my favourite artists, his lyrics are practically music to my soul. So I had this idea to write a series of little Hotchniss vignettes based on different songs. They aren't in any chronological order, they aren't strictly canon or following the storyline of the show. Just take them all as individual snapshots into the life they could potentially share.

Also I know I have two unfinished stories in the works. I'm sorry. I'm one of those writers. Huge procrastinator.
Peace. x

I've got an angel. She doesn't wear any wings.
She wears a heart that can melt my own;
she wears a smile that can make me want to sing.

(Angel, 2008)

"Emily" he whispered tenderly, his voice was soft as he gently made his way across her bedroom. She lay with her back to the door; the ivory linen drapes hanging at the window were open, allowing the glistening moon to shine over small frame. The light fell just onto her body, curled up underneath the thick winter duvet, pulled right up to her chin.

He walked around the bed and sat down by her feet, his hands moving instantly of their own volition to trace her ankles from above the covers. He felt her recoil; tuck her feet up further as she moved the blanket to hide the bottom of her face.

Her head was currently covered by shadows, but he knew light would reveal silent tears streaming down that beautiful alabaster skin.

"Emily" he repeated, shuffling further up the bed to reach up and stroke a hand through her silky hair.

"You didn't let me finish. You don't understand," he murmured gingerly as his thumb started to stroke her temple.

"Aaron, I'm tired. I don't want to do this now," she replied, her voice shaky as she struggled to remain impassive. But her body betrayed her, leaning ever so slightly into his touch, giving him all the information he needed.

He stayed quiet for a moment, just letting his hand soothe her. Selfishly he was glad for the lack of light, because he didn't think he could handle seeing her cry. It was such a rare occurrence that when she did break it reminded him anew each time of just how human and vulnerable she really was. And each time it caused his own chest to constrict in physical pain at the knowledge that there was very little he could do to remove the sorrow consuming her. And on the rarer occasions like today, where he knew he was the cause of her tears, it stung just that bit more.

He'd found himself marvelling each day at how amazing a person she really was, and the gratitude he felt to whomever was watching over him from above seem to grow ten-fold. How he'd gotten so lucky, how he'd been blessed with this second chance at life, with a woman so compassionate, and so giving, he would never understand it. He didn't deserve her. Of that he was certain.

She'd somehow managed to break down his every defence. After his divorce, his paramount personal failing, had left him with so much guilt and self-doubt, he'd actively decided to shut himself off into the depths of bitterness and never ending darkness, because really, he hadn't felt he deserved anything else. Bar his son, he had successfully managed to push away everyone, lashing out in anger at anyone who dared attempt to pull him from his permanent state of brooding.

Yet she'd persisted. She'd put up with his emotional outbursts. She had pushed and pushed and refused to let him fall down that blackhole of self-destruction. She had made him laugh, reminded him that there was still light in the world, light worth living for. Light like his son. She had forced him to see that the failure of his marriage didn't automatically equate to his failing as a father, but if he continued down his dark and dangerous path of self-sentenced doom, then he would be failing Jack.

She'd been unafraid to play that card.

And with that one act of bravery, she'd become his angel.

His saving grace.

And overtime the warmth of her heart came to melt his long frozen one. She taught him how to feel again. How to trust again. How to love again.

These days all it took was a small smile shot his way across the conference table to brighten his whole day.

She was his world. And she really was oblivious to the fact.

"Why are you ashamed of me?" she asked timidly, her voice muffled by the covers over her mouth. The question hung with such apprehension, she was terrified to ask, but she needed to know. After a lifetime of struggling with feeling worthless and undeserving of any real affection, the past six months had passed by like a dream. She'd really believed it was too good to be true, that she could have won the affection of a man like Aaron Hotchner. So noble and decent, he was really the first man in her entire life that had treated her as though she was important enough to be treasured and loved.

She had understood the importance of them starting their relationship the right way. She knew his concerns, and agreed that they needed to keep things under wraps, at least to begin with; because they had both sacrificed too much for the BAU to be thrown to the curb now. There was so much at stake, so they had to be certain of what they were doing, and sure that they could separate work and home before they let anyone know of their growing attachment.

And that was aside from the fact that they were both innately private people, and to some degree they both felt that their growing relationship was something intimate between them, and didn't need to be broadcasted to the rest of the world.

But it was getting hard now.

It had been six months. Six months that they'd been lying to the team, who were somewhat disturbingly oblivious to their changing bond.

"How could you even think that?" he retorted with force, gently moving his hand to pull the duvet away from her face, giving her nowhere to hide.

As his eyes continued to adjust to the minimal light he made out the outline of her face; he saw the tears streaking her perfect skin and felt an instant ache in his heart. He could read the stubborn look on her face, the look that refused to accept the tenderness with which he was meeting her.

"You stopped me," she said, choking on half a sob she'd been trying to swallow. She sat up and rested her back against the headboard, bringing her knees up to her chest, wrapping her long arms around them in an unashamedly defensive stance.

"I did"

"How did you even know?"

"Because I know you."

"But it's Dave. He's the reason half of the fraternization rules even exist"

"I know"

"He's not Garcia. He wouldn't tell anyone."

"I know"

"Then why did you stop me?" she asked, her eyes snapped up to meet his, she still had silent tears strolling down her cheeks, but she seemed calmer than she had before. Her bottom lip was pouting out, indicative of her overwhelming sadness.

"We agreed on twelve cases Emily" he replied, reaching out to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Aaron we've made it through eleven!" she retorted indignantly, her legs automatically falling flat on the bed as she stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes, but we agreed on twelve, minimum. And I still think that we should aim for nine months, it's not fair to confide in Dave and then force him to lie to the team too" he countered quietly, regret evident in his tone.

She picked at a loose thread on her covers, contemplating that response. He sounded calm, logical.

How was he finding this so easy?

"I know I'm not giving you enough credit here, but when things like today happen… it just makes me question everything. They… they're all my family. You…you…" she turned away, her blush hidden by the shadows painting the room.

"You give me so much joy. I just want to share that with the people who care about me. Dave's been worrying about me. He's the closest thing to a father I've ever had. I wanted to tell him how happy I am. How happy you've made me. To appease his concern, because really, I'm better than I've been in such a long time… And you, you stopped me" she explained, confusion riddled through her voice.

"Em-"

"It's killing me to keep lying to them. I don't think I can do it much longer. Yet it doesn't seem to be affecting you, at all. And I just… I can't understand that. I can't. So then I can't help but doubt sometimes, and wonder whether the secrecy is something you really actually want, because you're still not really sure about us, and it's easier, because it gives you an out."

"Emily stop" he requested quietly, placing a gentle finger over her lips. As she raised her concerns and gave him a snapshot into her mind, her voice had risen and grown thick with emotion, he knew if he let her continue, she'd never hear him out.

He swiftly kicked his shoes off and hoped over her to sit beside her on the other side of the bed, and then he pulled her into his lap, encircling her completely within his thick muscular arms.

He could feel the tension in her figure, the internal struggle she was going through to keep control. He placed a soft kiss on her shoulder and took a deep breath, taking in her sweet scent.

"It does affect me. I hate lying to them, just as much as you, I promise you" he began, his voice deep and even.

"But as much as it pains me to be dishonest with them, and as much as it goes against the principles of candour upon which I think the team needs to follow in order to stay truly effective, it's a price necessary to ensure that I have a future with you. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make" he defended; his words hushed murmurs in her ear.

He felt her scramble around to look at him, tears drying, slightly doe-eyed as she took in the magnitude of what he had just confessed. He kept his hold on her waist but met her eyes, leaning his forehead against hers, trying to share with her the serenity he currently held.

"Emily, I'm in love with you. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. All I know is that I can't imagine going another day without you. I don't know how I'd make it through another day anymore without you. You saved me, but I still need you to carry me through each day," he swallowed, clearing his throat.

"You know this morning, I was having the most horrible morning. I reviewed three consults with JJ, and had to conclude that they weren't pressing enough for us to deal with, despite the fact that across them eight people had lost their lives. But then you caught my eye, just as I went to lock myself away in my office. And you smiled at me, just smiled. And it seemed to just melt away all of the anguish, all of the darkness. That smile in itself is enough to remind me that there's still good in the world, because you're still in it," he tightened his grasp on her waist, breathing deeply before he continued.

"Em, I dream every night of the angels we're going to make together. I wonder how I'm going to stop making angels with you. Because I can see just how easily they'll multiply. I want to grow old with you, to watch those angels grow up to be just as beautiful as their mother" he confessed, his eyes slipping shut as he just rested there, with her in his arms, his head against hers.

She just sat there frozen, staring at him, disbelief mixed with a foreign warmth running through her veins.

Never in her life had anyone made her feel so invaluable or precious as he had made her feel in that moment.

"Aaron" she whispered against his lips, shock laced in that small chant.

He closed the tiny gap between them and brought his lips gingerly against hers, sucking carefully on her bottom lip, as a hand rose to slip into her black hair. His mouth moulded perfectly against hers, taking in the smooth texture of her plump lips and the minty taste of her toothpaste still lingering.

He pulled away and cupped her face in his large, gun calloused hands.

"You deserve so much better than I can give you right now. So much better than I probably will be able to give you in the next year. At least for the next little while, it's only going to get harder, and some of it is going to hurt. And I'm so sorry about that, I wish it could be different, but I can't bring myself to be dishonest with you" he paused, reaching up to thumb away the remaining streaks on her face.

"But, if you can wait, if you can hold out just a bit longer for me, I vow to you, I'll spend every day of the rest of our lives making it up to you" he promised, leaning in to seal it with a chaste kiss.

"But right now, I need to protect you, to protect us and our future, if you'll let me" he finished meeting her eyes once more.

"I know it's really hard, I'm sorry," he added regretfully, resting his head against hers again.

They sat in silence for a moment, as Emily tried to process everything the man before her had confessed. He, a man who struggled so much to express the emotions that so deeply ran through him, had practically laid his heart on the table, just to appease her, because he understood the depths of her insecurity.

And she unknowingly just like him wondered for a moment what she'd done to deserve him.

She slithered her arms up and around his neck and placed a sweet kiss to his throat, letting her breathing calm against his pulse point, revelling in the fact that he was here, alive in her arms, and in love with her, apparently wanting nothing more than to share the rest of eternity with her.

"Oh Aaron" she chanted softly, at a loss to say anything else.

He pulled her further up his lap and held her tighter still against him, feeling her breasts press gently against his chest as she took each heavy breath. He was holding her for dear life, as she was him.

"I love you my angel"

She smiled into his neck, closing her eyes, letting an unfamiliar peace settle upon her.

"I love you too."