AN: I really love Hotch and Emily as both a couple and best friends, both dynamics work perfect for me personally. So I figured I'd write a series of oneshots about their friendship with possible romance or AUs. If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to submit them.

Emily waked carefully through the snow, her shoes crunching on the white ground and as she looked up at the steely grey sky, she felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. The last time she'd been in the snow had been when Matthew died and there had been so much that had happened since the last snowfall and this one.

It had been a few months since Haley had been killed and they could all see how much Aaron was trying to keep it together, not to break down as he tried to balance being a single father, working with the BAU and dealing with his and Jack's grief. The entire team had rallied around, helping to look after Jack, assisting Aaron with paperwork, dealing with senior agents who had the nerve to criticise or simply go to a bar with him, sit and listen to him open up about how he really felt, once Emily sat and held him all night as he finally broke down and sobbed. It was a sign of how much of a family they had become, the way all of them pulled together to help Aaron. Even Strauss had helped by dealing with the higher authorities in the FBI and protecting and defending the entire BAU the way a lioness would protect her cubs.

Their friendship and support had helped Aaron but as Emily thought about it, there was so much that was left to do to help. Obviously Aaron would never recover from losing Haley, they had loved each other for so long and even after the divorce they had remained close. He was slightly more open with them but the only one who really cheered him up was Jack. Whilst it had been rare beforehand to see him loosen up or smile, even when they were unwinding or messing round in the office or having banter on the jet; he never joined in or cracked a smile. Obviously none of them expected him to be laughing and joking all the time, he was grieving after all.

Even so, it would be nice for him to smile, Emily thought to herself. She wished she could help him smile again.

Splat!

"What the hell?" Emily exclaimed as the cold snow exploded against the back of her head. Speak of the devil. Aaron was standing a few feet away from her, a sheepish expression on his face.

"Sorry Emily, I don't know what came over me." Aaron apologised but instead of getting angry the way she would if it had been Morgan, Emily grinned and walked over to him, stopping to scoop up a handful of snow.

"You will be sorry!" Emily said by way of warning. Quick as a flash, she shoved the snow down the back of his neck. Aaron jerked around before Emily's laughter caused him to look at her. The melting snow was dripping and freezing his back but he did his best to maintain his stoic composure. For a moment they looked at each other before Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"Oh it's on." Aaron said and quickly made another snowball and looked up to see Emily hit him in the face with a second snowball before she turned and hurried across the snow-covered ground.

"Bring it on Hotch!" Emily called and jeered as his snowball missed her by a foot and she retaliated, missing him by a few inches.

"That all you got Prentiss?" Aaron called as he dodged another snowball aimed for his head and made his own snowball and chased after a laughing Emily.

For the next while the two agents ran around throwing snowballs at one another, yelling when they got hit or their own shots went wide, slipping slightly on the ice under the snow or teaming up to throw snowballs at other agents who either loitered too long watching or targeting the team simply because they could. Both of them ought to have long gone inside and started working but neither of them was willing to end the war. For a start they were having too much fun and secondly, neither of them was willing to surrender and be the loser. Both of them were caught up in the thrill of the battle and had ranged from calling joking insults to one another to mimicking battle cries to insisting the other surrender.

"What are you two doing?" Rossi's voice sounded right behind them, both Aaron and Emily paused, arms arched back ready to fire snow at one another. The two agents looked at one another and without speaking they nodded, turned and threw both snowballs at Rossi, both of them hitting him square in the face.

"Sorry," Emily laughed as Rossi wiped his now-freezing face and looked ready to say something when an unexpected sound stopped them.

Laughter.

Both of them looked at Aaron who was holding a hand to his mouth but it wasn't enough to stifle his laughter and Emily joined in with the laughing. Now that she thought about it, the whole time they had been engaged in their snowball fight, Aaron had had a broad grin on his face.

"Sorry Dave," Aaron laughed and Rossi looked at them both. He couldn't begrudge them for this, Aaron had gone through so much and if this had made him feel better and laugh then he wasn't going to ruin it by getting mad. It was only snow after all.

"Just don't do it again, alright? I'm not overly fond of snow." Rossi said and turned to walk into the FBI building. He realised his mistake of having turned his back the second before two more snowballs hit him. One in the back and the other on the back of the head.

Rossi turned to see Aaron and Emily standing wearing expressions of innocence, Emily was whistling and Aaron had his hands behind his back as he gazed around. Rossi rolled his eyes and continued walking inside. As soon as he was out of sight, Aaron and Emily burst out laughing.

"Did you see his face?" Emily asked once she'd calmed down.

"Priceless, I think it's the only time I've ever seen him speechless." Aaron quipped and Emily smirked at him.

"So you can make jokes." Emily retorted and Aaron shrugged his shoulders.

"It happens every so often." Aaron replied as they walked across the now-slushy ground; the snow having been trodden and trampled by other agents and destroyed by their intense snowball battle. As they walked into the FBI building and headed for the lift, they realised how much melted snow clutched to their hair and coats and began brushing off the melting remnants. Neither of them spoke as the lift took them up to the BAU floor but as they walked into the bullpen, Aaron turned and smiled at Emily.

"Emily, thanks." Aaron said and Emily returned his smile as they pushed open the bullpen doors.

"Anytime Aaron, anytime." Emily replied. They were late to work, covered in snow, more than likely to come down with colds for spending almost an hour out in the snow but honestly, she didn't care. They had had fun and if it had meant that Aaron was smiling, he had laughed and had some genuine fun for possibly the first time after all this stuff with Foyet started and Haley had died.

That meant it would always have been worth it.