Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. I do, however, know that even though I don't intend any copyright infringement, all fanfiction is inherently infringing, violating the copyright owner's exclusive right to create derivative works (see 17 U.S.C. ยง 101). Meh. Everybody looks the other way on that, so please do. I'm not worth suing anyway.

Author's Note: Thanks to my sister for getting me hooked on Criminal Minds and for beta reading this story. I haven't seen the whole show yet; I've only gotten through the 4th season.

Setting: This story takes place mid to late 3rd season. Spoilers for 3x02 "In Name and Blood (In Birth and Death)".

Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner awoke in his hotel room. He immediately noticed three things: 1. He was massively hungover. 2. He was unclothed. 3. He was not alone.

Hotch rolled over to see who his companion was and he quietly gasped when he saw the sleeping form of Emily Prentiss. 'Oh, God. What have I done?' he thought.

One day earlier:

Derek Morgan was stalking through an abandoned building in Juneau in search of the unsub, a serial arsonist. As he rounded a corner, someone dropped down from above, tackling him. Morgan was able to push his assailant off, and he returned to his feet. He turned to face his attacker and reached for his gun.

"Looking for this?" the unsub said as he held up Morgan's gun in a taunting fashion.

Morgan lunged forward in an attempt to retrieve his firearm. "Not so fast," ordered the unsub as he pointed the gun at Morgan.

Morgan stopped and said, "You don't want to do this. The building is surrounded by FBI agents. If you fire, they'll come storming in with guns blazing. Just give me the gun and we can walk out of here."

"You're lying," the unsub said as his hand began to shake.

Morgan's life began to flash before his eyes. He continued to speak. "No, I'm not. I'll personally make sure you get a fair trial. Right now, all you'll be charged with is arson. Don't add shooting a federal agent to the list."

The unsub put his finger on the trigger and the gun clicked. A shot rang out. After a moment of shock, he realized that he was still standing and that the unsub had fallen to the ground. Emily Prentiss stood a few feet away, her gun still smoking. "Thanks, Emily, I owe you one," Morgan said.

Then he knelt down to check for a pulse. Nothing. He got on the radio and said, "The unsub is dead."

"Are you two alright?" Rossi said over the radio.

"Yes," Morgan responded.

"Wait there for the ambulance. Once the unsub has been picked up, return to the office," Rossi said.

"Yes, sir."

Emily stood there, saying nothing. She took two deep breaths before sinking to the ground. Morgan said, "Are you okay?"

"No, Derek, I'm not okay. I just killed a man."

"You had no choice," Morgan replied.

"Doesn't it ever get to you?"

"Every time."

Prentiss stood up. They regarded one another in silence for a few minutes. The ambulance arrived and the paramedics loaded the unsub. When the ambulance left, Morgan turned to Prentiss and said, "I'm going to have to ask for your gun. I'm sorry."

Prentiss wordlessly handed it over. Morgan continued, "You'll have it back in no time. You did the right thing."

They walked toward the SUV. Morgan got in the driver's seat, and Prentiss sat in the passenger's seat. She couldn't bring herself to call it 'shotgun' today. They arrived back at the field office. Prentiss was whisked away to deal with the paperwork and interviews required when an agent fires a gun. Morgan updated the rest of the team on what happened.

Around 4 in the afternoon, Prentiss had been cleared. Hotch addressed the team and said, "Good work, everyone. It's a long flight back to DC, so we'll leave tomorrow morning. I want everyone at the airstrip at 9:00."

They all nodded their assent. They headed back to the hotel, and Morgan said, "Hey, let's celebrate my brush with death by getting drinks."

Reid, Rossi, and JJ all said yes immediately. Prentiss wasn't so sure, but she figured she needed to pretend everything was ok to avoid being profiled. Hotch almost declined, but he decided he needed to be there for his team. They met up at the hotel bar.

"First round's on me," Derek said.

They began drinking and laughing. JJ and Reid were having a contest to see who could catch more peanuts in their mouth. Morgan and Rossi were cheering them on. "23 in a row. Beat that," JJ said.

Hotch's cell phone rang. He answered it quietly. "Hotchner."

His face fell as he heard the words on the other end of the line. All he could manage to say was, "Thank you for letting me know."

There was another long pause. "Goodbye," Hotch said as he hung up the phone.

He looked back over at the team and saw how much fun they were having. Not wanting to sour the mood, he slipped away quietly. Only Prentiss saw him leave.

He entered his hotel room. He took off his jacket and loosened his tie. He sank down on the couch and buried his head in his hands. After a few moments of moping, he opened the minibar to see what kind of booze was available. He settled on a bottle of scotch and he poured a glass. He downed the first one in two quick gulps. He poured another glass and took a sip. Then he set it down and removed his wedding ring. He placed it in the palm of his hand and stared at it as if he could will the situation to be different.

His phone rang and he ignored it as he continued staring at the gold band. It was a perfect circle. No beginning, no end. Eternity. What a lie. He threw it across the room. It hit the wall and bounced off, landing on the bed. He took another sip of his scotch.

He heard a knock on the door. He wanted to be alone, so he ignored it. He heard another knock. Figuring that whoever was on the other side of the door wouldn't give up, he got up and answered it. When he opened the door, he saw Prentiss standing there.

Prentiss noticed right away that Hotch looked like hell. His hair was mussed, his clothes were wrinkled, and his breath smelled like way more alcohol than the half a beer he drank at the bar. She saw that his left hand was bare, and her eyes fell on the ring sitting on the middle of the bed. "It's bad luck to drink alone," Prentiss said.

"Can't possibly make my luck any worse than it is right now," Hotch said.

"Don't tempt fate."

"Would you like to come in?"

Prentiss walked in and sat on the couch. Hotch poured her a drink and then sat down. He said, "You did a great job today. You saved Morgan's life. I'm putting you in for a commendation."

"Killing isn't commendable," Prentiss said.

"You did what you had to do," Hotch responded.

"That's just it. Why is it that what we have to do comes at such a high price?"

Hotch thought back to his phone call and wondered the same thing. Doing what he had to do had cost him his marriage.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Prentiss said, "The party at the bar broke up about 10 minutes after you left."

"I didn't really feel like celebrating."

"I heard your end of the phone call. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I knew it was coming, but now it's real. Haley just called me with the news. The divorce was finalized today. I knew when I signed the divorce papers that it was over, but somehow it being official feels different," Hotch said.

"I'm sorry," Prentiss said.

Hotch poured some more scotch and said, "Aren't we just festive today?"

Prentiss raised her glass and said, "To lousy days."

Hotch clinked his glass against hers and their eyes met. He hadn't noticed before how beautiful her eyes were. He scooted a little farther away, chalked it up to the alcohol or the fact that it had been a while, and took another sip.

Prentiss noticed Hotch's discomfort. She also noticed that the room was getting a little warm. Before she had a chance to speculate on the reason for the increased warmth, the air conditioner turned on. The vent was directly behind her, so her hair blew into her face.

Without thinking, Hotch reached over and brushed Emily's hair back and tucked it behind her ear. His hand lingered for a moment on her face. Just as he realized what he was doing and was about to pull his hand back, he felt Emily's hand on top of his.

Tension hung in the air. Neither one sure who started it, their lips tentatively met. The first kiss was shy and awkward, but the second was intense and passionate. The third and the fourth felt like the most natural thing in the world. They began shedding their clothing. As they landed on the bed, Hotch's wedding ring slid to the floor and rolled away.

When Hotch woke up, his head was foggy from the hangover. He noticed his state of undress, and then he saw Emily. Guilt immediately struck him.

Emily woke up, rolled over, and said, "Good morning."

"Emily, I am so sorry."

"For what?"

Hotch shifted uncomfortably. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for his confession. "I..um...what I mean to say is...I behaved inappropriately. I was drunk, but that isn't any excuse. I took advantage of you."

"No you didn't. Hotch..." she paused and then softened her voice before continuing, "Aaron. If you remember correctly, I was a very willing participant. If anything, I took advantage of you. You were way drunker than I was."

"That doesn't make it right. I'm your supervisor. I can't have a relationship with one of my subordinates."

"Who said anything about a relationship? Hotch, all we had was sex," Emily said.

Hotch looked at the floor and said nothing. Emily put her hand under Hotch's chin and tilted his head up to be level with hers. She looked into his eyes and saw pain. She said, "You've never had a one-night stand before." It was not a question.

"Haley was my high school sweetheart. Until last night, she was the only woman I had ever been with."

"Sometimes, it's just about feeling alive. It's about undoing, even if only for a few moments, the lousy day. It's about connecting with another human being amid the storms of life," Emily said.

"Won't it be weird working together now?" Hotch asked.

"Only if you make it weird. Hotch, we were there for each other when we needed it. It's not an open invitation to each other's beds."

Prentiss looked at the clock and said, "I should go back to my room. It's 7:30 and I still need to pack. Are we cool?"

Hotch nodded. "I'll see you on the plane."

Prentiss got dressed and walked down the hall. Hotch showered and began packing. As he lifted his bag, he saw a glint of gold on the floor. He stooped down to pick up his wedding ring. He held it in his hand and stared at it for a moment before putting it in his bag.

He checked out and headed to the airport. He boarded the jet and surveyed the open seats. He chose one near Reid so that he could be assured that he could pass the flight without having to talk about what was on his mind. Reid began prattling on about some bit of Alaskan trivia, and Hotch nodded at all the appropriate pauses. Thankfully, there would not be a quiz later.

Prentiss boarded the plane and walked past Hotch. Their eyes met, and Hotch smiled slightly and said, "Good morning. Now that we're all here, wheels up."

Prentiss sat down next to JJ. Hotch stole a quick glance in their direction as he got lost in thought. Emily Prentiss - his first, and last, one-night stand.