A/N: Hello one and all! I have read many fanfics on the relationships within the BAU and decided it was time to do a few of my own. I have chosen to start at the end of the season 5 episode 100 and everything from there will be alternate universe. I doubt seriously I will touch on any of the other episodes following it as where it has been going is not where I want it to go. For instance, I could never write a fanfic without JJ in it; the show axing her is a crime I will not stand for in my universe. She might not be a main character in the story, but she is still central to the universe I will be writing about so I am just going to go with my own flow. I also cannot imagine a world without Emily Prentiss in it as she is my favourite character, so stay tuned for a lot of Emily-packed narratives.

Just so you know too, don't panic if you are a fan of my Life As We Know It fic; I will still be working on it in between writing in this world. The two stories aren't linked, but I won't be neglecting one for the other or vice versa.

I may in the future do stand alone fics, so if you end up liking this universe and wanting to stick with it, just look in the description for the initials NPH; this is short for The Natural Progression of the Heart and means it is the next fic in the sequence.

Also, if you like Hotch and Prentiss as a couple, stick with me because this is my take on the natural progression of their relationship. It may take a bit to get there, but I will; you can count on it and it will be worth the wait, I promise.

As always, I love reviews, so please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned anything to do with Criminal Minds and all works of fiction are of my own twisted imagination.

Comfort for a Hurting Heart

Quiet busyness best described the atmosphere in the bullpen as Emily tossed her useless pen in the bin with an annoyed huff. The week had been hands down one of the worst of her life; so much so that even the little things were driving her insane. First off having to listen to a woman she admired and respected being shot after an extremely intimate and very private conversation between said woman and her boss and now this fishing expedition the brass were conducting to see if they could destroy a man's career and pin the whole sorry mess on him. She checked her watch and sighed as she pulled out yet another pen. They'd only been gone for 5 minutes. It was far too early to expect them back with the good stuff.

"Prentiss."

Speak of the devil, she thought as she lifted her head. "Hotch? How are you holding up? Hey Jack-Jack."

The little boy waved at her shyly and pressed closer to his father's side. Hotch dropped a hand to gently stroke his head as he asked, "Where is everyone?"

"Derek is in with Strauss and the upper brass as we speak. JJ and Reid decided they needed stronger coffee than what we have here; they dragged Garcia with them because she was still shaking at that point and Dave just needed air. I thought about going with them, but they were talking too much and I'm not in the mood so I stayed. They promised to bring me back the hard stuff."

"Hard stuff?"

"Chocolate, preferably the darker the better, but I'd eat white chocolate at this stage as long as it was strong and pure."

He nodded his understanding. "I need to get upstairs for my own inquisition and I need someone to watch Jack for me. I was going to ask JJ but I couldn't find her."

Emily smiled. "That's not a problem Hotch. Jack can help me eat my goodies when they get here because knowing my friends, they'll bring back far too much for me to eat on my own."

Jack looked intrigued by this and moved a little towards her. "Me eat chocolate with Miss Em'ly?"

She reached out and lightly ruffled his hair. "Absolutely. I definitely won't be able to do it without you."

He nodded seriously and moved even closer to lean against her chair. "Okay."

She looked at Hotch who nodded, murmured a thank you and walked off. Emily quickly put away her paperwork as she wondered what she could do to entertain this gorgeous, solemn little boy who looked so much like Hotch her breath caught slightly to note it.

Remembering the internet hook-up to the large screen in the meeting room they used, she suggested brightly, "While we are waiting for the others to come back with the chocolate, would you like to come with me and see if we can find a cartoon to watch on the internet?"

Jack nodded and took her offered hand, following her up to the room and watching as she started the internet searching for something that was child-friendly. She found a couple of old episodes of Tiny Toon Adventures which she vaguely remembered from her own childhood were quite funny. When asked, Jack nodded that he'd watched them before, so she popped one on and settled into a seat to watch it with him.

Several minutes into the show, Jack crept from his chair to her lap and she snuggled him in close as he sighed softly. At the end of the show, she asked him if he'd liked that.

He nodded. "Miss Em'ly?"

"What is it baby," she asked softly, sensing his fragility as he turned to her.

"Do you think mummy is alone in heaven?"

"No I don't think she is alone. Do you want to know why?" Jack nodded and watched her with big brown eyes swimming with tears and sadness. She gently cupped his cheek and said softly, "I know she isn't alone because she is always with you watching over you."

"If she's always with me, why can't I see her. I miss her all the time."

Emily pulled Jack into a hug and took a deep breath as she fought her own tears in light of the sobs racking his small frame. She rocked him gently, rubbed soothing circles on his back and unknowingly sang a soft lullaby her mother had once long ago sung to her to get her back to sleep when she was very little. Slowly the sobbing eased and he sat back and wiped his face with his hands.

"My daddy died when I was young too and for a long time I hurt everyday because he wasn't with me and I missed him as much as you miss your mummy. But my nanny at the time told me something really important. She told me to talk to daddy at the end of every day and tell him what I'd been doing. That way he'd always know what I was up to and I'd feel better because I was still telling him everything like I always did. You could do that with your mummy and I bet it would help you to remember that she isn't alone anymore."

Jack thought about it seriously. "Is it like pwaying to God? Cause I say my pwayers in the evening with daddy every night."

"No baby. This isn't the same thing. You ask God to watch over everyone right?" When Jack confirmed this with a nod, Emily continued. "This is just you telling your mummy about your day so that she is still a part of your life in a way you understand. Does that make sense to you?"

Jack nodded and hugged her. "Thank you Miss Em'ly. You give good hugs, just like mummy."

"You are so welcome baby and anytime you want a hug from me when we see each other, you can pretend it is mummy holding you if you like."

Jack didn't get a chance to reply to that as the team arrived with the chocolate and the coffee. This was distributed, Jack took the seat beside Emily again and she started the next episode of the cartoon content with the knowledge that she'd somehow helped this small sad little boy find some peace for his hurting heart.

End-

Hey all, hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think.