A/N: Okay guys! You asked for it so here goes! I don't know how long this will be, but I promised a happy ending :) This is a sequel to my fic, When in the Cabin. I suggest you read that before reading this, but you don't have to I guess. I will try to update on a regular basis, but I'm home from college for the holidays, so I don't know if that is going to slow down or speed up my updates. Anyways…Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. I only own the plotline :)
Chapter 1
To say Agent Emily Prentiss and Agent Aaron Hotchner were giving each other the cold shoulder would be an understatement. The two did not talk unless absolutely necessary. Hotch never paired them together on assignments and they avoided being alone together at all costs. Emily hated it, but she understood that Hotch needed time. She knew he was embarrassed about their whole situation two months ago, but she also knew that what had happened was just a big accident. Hotch had been in the moment and didn't realize what he was doing, so she needed to stop him. It was only fair, wasn't it? As soon as they made it back, he would have realized that he didn't really like Emily, he just wanted someone to satisfy his sexual cravings, and she had made herself available for just that.
But Emily wanted more. She couldn't pretend like she didn't have feelings for her boss. If they began sleeping together, or, god forbid, tried being in a relationship, she would be devastated when he ended things with her. She knew it would happen if they did get involved. Hotch wouldn't want someone like her, someone with her history. And most importantly, Hotch wouldn't want to be with someone that would jeopardize his career, and sleeping with a subordinate would do just that.
The team was completely oblivious to it all. Hotch couldn't fathom the fact that not a single team member seemed to be questioning his and Emily's cold relationship. He was supposed to be working with some of the sharpest minds in the country, and no matter how strict or rude he was to Prentiss, he got absolutely no reaction out of any team members.
They had been very busy though. They rarely went a week without a case or two. Their paperwork was piling up by the minute and he could see how stressed all of his subordinates were. They had a lot of desk work to do, but none of them even came close to having Hotch's workload. He had endless reports and paperwork from the cases that he didn't get home until nearly 10 every night. And on top of that, Strauss was making him and Morgan go speak at a conference about safety in the field.
It was no secret that Section Chief Erin Strauss had it in for Hotchner. She did almost anything she could to make his job harder than it already was. She didn't trust the profilers in the field because they often put their lives at risk more than they should, and if one of them dies she just has to do more paperwork. Ergo, her two biggest concerns in the field needed to speak at this conference. She had wanted SSA Prentiss to go too, but there were only two spots available for each department.
Two days before Hotch and Morgan were scheduled to fly to Georgia for the conference, Morgan came into work with big dark circles under his chocolate brown eyes. His deep coughs filled the bullpen all morning.
"Derek, are you okay?" Prentiss finally asked after a long coughing fit. "You don't look so good…and you're sweating."
And he was. Big, macho Derek Morgan felt worse than shit, and he was sweating bullets at his desk.
"Honestly, I feel like horse shit. Hotch and I are scheduled to go to this conference in a couple days, and I can barely see straight, let alone teach about field safety. I just want to lay down and sleep for a week." With that he coughed again, but this time he lurched forward and grabbed his trashcan just in time to violently throw up in it.
"There is no way you can fly to Georgia," Emily said gently as she rubbed his back while he threw up. She knew he felt terrible, because he would normally never allow someone to comfort him like that unless he had a real reason to need comfort.
Five minutes later Derek was getting his stuff together to leave.
"Are you sure you're okay to drive? I can give you a ride," Emily offered.
"No I'm fine. I only live like ten minutes away, and throwing up really helped me feel better," he said stubbornly. "But would you mind telling Hotch that I'm going home, and that I probably won't be able to make the conference?"
She inwardly groaned at his request, but told him she would do it. He is not going to be happy. He hates speaking at conferences, and now he's going to have to do all of the talking.
She took a deep breath before knocking three times. "Hotch?"
"Come in." Hotch braced himself for the surge of anger that coursed threw him every time he heard her voice, or saw her and her beautiful hair and eyes and-
Stop it! He mentally chastised himself. He couldn't think of her as beautiful anymore. He was trying to train himself to not think of her at all, but it was difficult when she was always there at work. He hated every second he saw her, because always saw her joking around with Reid or playfully flirting with Morgan or hanging out with JJ. HE wanted to be the one she joked with, flirted with, and talked to. They all got to experience her the way he could only dream of.
"Morgan is really sick. He just threw up in the bullpen. Reid and I sent him home before he made anyone else sick. He's not going to be able to make it to that conference on Thursday," Emily said nervously. She hoped he wouldn't get mad at her for just being the messenger.
"Then pack your bags Agent Prentiss. You're going to Georgia with Agent Hotchner."
Emily turned to see Strauss standing behind her, arms crossed. She turned back to see Hotch's lips pressed into a thin line, a resentful look aimed right at both women.
Please leave a review guys! Let me know how you like it and if you want me to continue!
