Author's Note: I never would have thought of writing this story if the lovely romiross hadn't pitched the idea to me. She wanted to see a possessive/territorial Hotch competing for Emily's affection, with a bit of Tom Koehler and Declan in the mix as well. Now, exactly one week later, this little oneshot is the result, and hopefully one you will enjoy with all of your heart. As always, thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its beautiful characters.

Excluding the heavily rhythmic, somnolent breathing of the various team members, the quiet chirp of a ringing cell phone was the only sound that resonated in the interior of the BAU jet. Looking around to assure that her companions were fast asleep, Emily answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Emily. How are you?"

Unconsciously, an almost secretive smile touched her lips. "Tom. I'm fine, and you?"

"Wondering when you're getting back to DC. Declan's missed you." There was a pause. "I've missed you."

There it was again; that secretive smile that no one on the jet could see.

…That is, no one but Aaron Hotchner, who was seated across from the mysteriously beautiful brunette, feigning sleep.

"I've missed you, too," Emily answered, her words unknowingly tearing at Hotch's heart. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to wait two more hours; we land at one-thirty."

"Such an ungodly time," Tom Koehler lamented.

"Yes," she agreed, covering herself with a well-worn blanket. "Don't keep Declan up, alright? The poor boy needs his rest."

"He's out like a light."

"Good." Emily's gaze rested on Hotch's tranquil features for more than a second, swearing that she had just seen his eyelashes flutter…but she - momentarily - placed all thoughts of him out of mind. "Maybe…maybe tomorrow we can take him out for lunch, instead of staying in."

"Lunch and a movie, maybe?" Tom added in proposal.

Emily's eyes fell closed at the thought. "That sounds perfect."

She could hear the smile in his voice when he answered, and he - along with Hotch - could hear the smile in hers. "It does. I'll see you then?"

She idly drummed her fingers against the table separating her from her forbearing boss. "You will."

"Have a safe flight."

And as she ended the call and made to fall asleep, what Emily didn't know was that Hotch was very much awake, and gazing at her through the moonlit darkness with long-denied emotions written clearly across his face.

~.~.~

They were filing out of the jet when she heard it.

"Emily."

"Tom!" She breathed a laugh against his shoulder as he enveloped her into a tight hug. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Welcoming a friend back home. Why?" He grinned. "That isn't illegal, now, is it?"

"Smart ass," she murmured. "No, it isn't. Not so long as the welcomer gets said friend some food, at least," she tossed back, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Noted," he said, returning her laugh. "There's that burger place a block away from here that's open twenty-four-seven. We could grab something to eat from there," he suggested.

"I'm confused as to why we're not already there."

Standing behind the rest of his team, Hotch trembled ever so slightly as he saw Tom take Emily's go-bag as they walked away, side by side, and heard jubilant laughter slip past Emily's lips at some trivial thing Tom must have said.

Tom.

He spat out the name even in his thoughts. Dirty, blackened jealousy rose from deep within him, but as Emily climbed into Tom's car, only one thought came to Hotch's mind.

Has she really forgotten?

~.~.~

"Number seven, with large fries and a large strawberry milkshake."

Emily looked up at Tom gratefully. "In other words, heaven."

He chuckled. "Yes, heaven." Placing a hand on her shoulder, Tom gave her a small smile. "I'll be right back, okay? I just need to use the restroom."

"Take your time," Emily returned kindly.

She was watching him stride away when someone else's hand came to rest on her arm. Shocked, she spun around in her chair to face…

"Christ. Hotch, you scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry." He nodded towards Tom's vacant seat. "May I sit here?"

"Ummm…sure." A minute-long, awkward silence lapsed between them before Emily finally spoke. "So…what brings you here?"

Hotch responded with a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "I was hungry and this was the closest place to the landing strip that was still open," he said simply.

"Oh."

A minute passed.

And another.

And another. Until…

Hotch gave up and dropped his simpering facade, his smoldering gaze rising to meet hers. "Emily."

She sighed at the tone of his voice, knowing that the issue would eventually arise. "Hotch…"

"Oh, so I'm back to 'Hotch' now?"

The bitterness in his tone shocked her. "Aaron, what…?"

She can't have forgotten. She can't have. "Barcelona," he reminded, his voice breaking. "You don't remember?"

Emily shut her eyes as the painfully beautiful memories came flooding forward in rapid succession. "That was one night, Aaron," she said softly, almost inaudibly.

"One perfect night."

"We promised we wouldn't talk about it again."

"Then I guess keeping promises isn't my strong suit!" She shook her head, which only further fueled his frustration. "Emily, how do you expect me to just push it all away? To pretend it never happened?"

"One night, Aaron! It meant nothing!"

Hotch's jaw dropped open at her statement, a million emotions threatening to break free. "Nothing?" he echoed. "You said you loved me!"

"What's going on?"

Tearing his gaze away from Emily as Tom approached them, Hotch stood and looked the man in the eye. "Nothing," he quoted rancorously. "Nothing is going on."

Emily flinched at his words. "Aaron…"

His heart skipped a beat at her use of his given name, but still, he turned his back on her and Tom. "I'll see you Monday, Prentiss."

And just like that, he was gone.

"What the hell?" Tom voiced, anger and confusion etched clearly in his features.

Emily closed her hand around his wrist as he made to follow Hotch. "Don't." She idly - sadly - swirled her straw around in her milkshake and sullenly picked at her uneaten food. "It's nothing," she repeated in a whisper.

But this time, she didn't mean it.

~.~.~

"You don't have to go back to your place, you know. I'm sure Declan would love waking up to you."

Emily gave him a sympathetic smile. "I'll drop by in the morning. I have…I have something I need to do."

She was halfway to his door when his next words stopped her.

"That's not what I meant. Move in with me, Emily."

Her eyes widened just a fraction. "Oh, Tom…I couldn't."

"For Declan's sake, then?" All she could do was shake her head. "Can I ask why not?"

His eyebrows furrowed and for a moment - albeit a short-lived one - Emily regretted her response. But still, she continued. "I just finished moving my belongings back into my old apartment. And…and besides that, Tom…you and I…"

"I understand," he cut in, smiling slightly as she struggled to explain. "But you will drop by in the morning?"

Her hand was on the doorknob now. "Of course."

"Okay." Tom leaned in to give her a kiss. "Have a good night."

Turning a shade so that his kiss landed against her cheek instead, her lips titled into a farewell smile that just barely met her eyes. "You, too."

And at that, Emily stepped out into the misty veil of an early morning, memories of a passionate Barcelonian summer still fresh on her mind.

~.~.~

Upon hearing her familiar knock, it took Hotch exactly three minutes and forty-seven seconds to open his unforgiving, broad oak door.

Emily had counted.

She peered at him, almost shyly, through heavy-lidded eyes. "Hi," she whispered.

He swallowed thickly. "Hi."

"Can…can I come in?"

He didn't answer, just stepped aside and let her through the threshold.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Emily said gently, watching as he eyed her carefully.

Hotch shook his head. "You're not." He motioned to a room down the hall. "Jack's asleep."

Her expression softened. "How is he?"

"Jack? He's fine. He…" Hotch cleared his throat, "he's as curiously astute as ever. Spent almost two weeks trying to figure out why Daddy was so happy after returning from Spain. He finally deduced that only Miss Emily could put such a smile on Daddy's face."

But this he said with a tight-lipped frown.

Emily's heart wrenched painfully. "Aaron, I am so -"

"What about Declan?" Hotch interrupted. "How is he?"

She gazed at him for a long sad minute before mustering an answer. "He's adapting. He's a wonderful, well-rounded kid, but…he saw his nanny and his biological parents killed right before his eyes. And then, of course, before all that, he thought his father had killed me. So…really, what Declan needs right now is even the smallest semblance of normalcy to hang on to. And that's what Tom and I are trying to provide."

Hotch was silent.

Then…

"Tom."

That was all it took for Emily to break down. "God, Aaron, I'm so sorry," she cried, aching for him to forgive her and pull her close. "I swear, I didn't mean a word I said. That night we shared in Barcelona…it was glorious. Absolutely perfect. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for months," she confessed. "And…it…you…you got me through my darkest days. Whenever I was scared, I would just remember how right it felt to be in your arms and…and I would feel safe. So no, Aaron, I promise you that our night did not mean nothing. It meant - it means - everything to me." Her voice quivered, her body trembled. "I'm so sorry."

Hotch watched as two fat tears made their somber descent down Emily's cheek. "It's okay that you've moved on, Emily," he said quietly. "You don't have to apologize."

"But I haven't moved on!" she exclaimed, desperate for him to understand.

"You and Tom…?" he questioned speculatively.

"…are just friends. Tom, he…he wants to be something more, but I can't do that. Not with him." She furiously wiped at her eyes. "Not while my heart belongs to someone else."

Finally pushing all reservations aside and letting pure emotion take over, Hotch prayed to whatever gods were listening that he knew Emily's response. A single-worded question weakly passed his lips. "Who?"

Her tear-glistened eyes met his. "You, Aaron. It's always been you."

His breathing labored, his heart pounding violently against his chest, and his mind racing, all Hotch could do was stand perfectly still, seemingly rooted to the floor, as Emily took a tentative step forward.

Before either of them could register the action, Hotch had stumbled forward into her embrace, his own warm tears falling against the crook of her neck as he buried his face into her sweet-smelling hair, letting her essence flood his senses.

"I've missed you so much," he sobbed, clinging to her like a lifeline. "So much."

"I know," she breathed against his jaw. "I missed you, too."

Bringing a shaky hand up to caress her cheek, Hotch slowly ran his thumb along the outline of her full, red lips, watching as her eyes fell closed under his sweet touch.

"Can I?"

Emily watched as his gaze flickered from her eyes to her mouth. She knew immediately what he wanted…because she wanted it, too.

"Yes."

Slowly, and with a feather-light demeanor, his lips molded against hers in an ardent kiss. As Hotch swept his tongue along her bottom lip, silently pleading for entrance, their kiss morphed into something more…into a passionate dance, one that was both intricate and sensuous, careful yet yearning. A hand tangled in her silken locks, he felt his heart swell with pride as Emily let out a keening moan of surrender.

Pulling away only when their lungs began to burn, Hotch moved his lips to her ear. "I love you," he panted, struggling to catch his breath.

Her chest heaving as well, she replied, "Mmmm…what I said that night was true," dancing two fingers along the planes of his chest in the process. "I love you, too, you know. So much."

A fresh wave of tears came to his eyes at her admission, said in a breathless whisper that held a sultry yet tenderly amorous quality. After a beat of silence in which he relished in the flawlessness of the moment, Hotch cleared his throat quietly. "There's something I need to tell you," he confessed almost ashamedly.

"Okay."

He tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "After that night, I…I followed you."

"Hmmm…what?"

"To the airport. You told me not to follow you, but I still did." For a moment, she looked shocked, but that faded when she saw the look in his eyes. "I bought a ticket for your flight to Lisbon. Sat five rows behind you; it was a miracle we managed to be in the same cabin. But…when you got off the plane…I knew you were headed for Ireland, but I couldn't find you anywhere. I lost you," he managed, his voice raw. "And it filled me with such sheer terror…" he shook his head furiously. "I didn't know what to do. You were gone." He shuffled from one foot to another, watching her intently as he reached into his pocket. "That same day, I-I bought this."

Her eyes widened as she saw what it was. "Aaron," she whispered, speechless.

He idly toyed with the sparkling ring. "I've kept it in my pocket every day since then, just waiting for the opportunity. Waiting for you to come home." He took her hand in his, and slowly slid it onto her elegantly slender finger, watching with utmost gratification as she admired the white gold band, adorned with the most beautifully cut cognac and champagne diamonds she had ever seen. "It's not what you think it is," he explained after a beat. "It's not a proposal, or even a question…but a promise." He gazed into her eyes, knowing that, if she let him, he could easily become lost in the two chocolate brown pools. "A promise that you'll never, ever be alone again," he finished huskily.

A watery, yet ultimately happy smile slowly touched her lips. "You promise?" she repeated tearfully.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lovingly. "I do."

...And Aaron Hotchner would go on to keep that promise for the rest of his life.

THE END.

Author's Note: As always, thank you so much for reading, and if you have the time, please leave me a review and tell me how I did; your feedback is the best remuneration I could ask for! Also, nominations are now open for the 2011 Annual Profiler's Choice Awards (see information below), and if you could spare me and my stories a thought or two when nominating, I would forever be indebted to you. Really, it means the world to me. Thank you in advance!

~*~ Profiler's Choice 2011 Fanfic Awards for the Criminal Minds Community ~*~

Nominations are now open! Go to the link below for more details (remove all spaces). You need an account on FFN to nominate, but it's really easy to set one up!

www. fan fiction. net/topic/74868/48350094/1

Make sure to read EVERYTHING on the page before nominating! ALL stories (complete or in-progress) updated between Sep. 1st, 2010, and Aug. 31st, 2011, are eligible. Just check the date of a story's latest update and, if it's in that range, it's eligible! :)