It was a quiet day at work. There were no ongoing investigations on serial killers or missing person, so the people of the BAU just filled their days writing reports on their latest cases. Dave finally finished writing his when he noticed the lack of caffeine in his system. He stood and started walking towards the kitchen. A black coffee with no sugar or cream would keep him awake until noon. He stopped near Hotch's office, who was talking on his phone. Dave saw something that he believed impossible for Hotch. He was smiling. That must be an important person on the other line. Hotch didn't mention Beth for a while now, but seeing his reaction, things must be pretty good between them. Dave always thought Hotch's soul mate would have been a former agent, colleague they all knew and loved. As long as Hotch is happy, that's all that matters.
When Dave wanted to resume his coffee quest, he was stopped by a voice.
"Are you eavesdropping on me?" he heard Hotch asking. Dave turned around to see Hotch with a slightly amused look on his face. They have been friends for years and knew practically everything about each other. Dave just ignored the question. "How's Beth?" he asked. He could see Hotch's smile disappear into a thin line. "I don't know, I haven't seen her in a while. I broke up with her about a year and a half now."
"Really?" Dave asked. "Then, who were you talking to? Whoever it was, she must be special." Hotch's smile came back. "Yes, she is." Hotch answered while remembering her beautiful smile."Well, … who is it, do I know her?" Dave asked. But Hotch just kept on smiling. After a couple of seconds he just turned around and said "I'll tell you all about her, but not now." Dave heard him laugh and right then and there Dave had an idea of who this mystery woman would be. "Good for him" Dave said while walking towards the kitchen.
It was past noon and the team gathered in the conference room to eat lunch together. Garcia was talking with JJ about men and Derek sat across them giving his personal input. Reid just pretended to read a book, but he was picking up some information about men and women and the whole dating and feeling thing. He was still looking for misses right. Dave, on the other hand, stayed out of the conversation. He had found someone he could possibly fall in love with. Strauss was a great woman once you got to know her.
They stopped talking once they saw Hotch entering the room with a serious look on his face. They all thought they were about to fly to another state to look for yet another serial killer.
"I have an announcement to make." Hotch said while avoiding their curious looks. "At the end of this month I am going to retire."
Everyone was baffled at his statement. While every member of his team, his family stood there in shock, he continued. "I made some arrangements with Strauss and the head chief of the FBI and Morgan will be in charge after I leave." All eyes were now on Morgan who just sat there, looking at Hotch with disbelieve. "Wait, what…" Morgan started to protest but Hotch wouldn't let him. He cut him off "Morgan you are the best there is to lead this team. I feel I am no longer capable of being in charge, I need to priorities and my family comes first. I'm sorry for the short notice, but I was struggling with the idea for months now. And I finally made up my mind." Morgan stood and wanted to argue with him, but he understood where he was coming from. He just kept on watching Hotch. It appeared as though he became lighter, that some sort of heavy weight has been lifted from his shoulders. The silence was broken off by JJ who asked Hotch what he was going to do once he retired. Hotch opened his mouth to answer but his attention and everyone else's was directed towards the aisle that leads to the conference room. They heard high heels coming toward them. They all looked surprised when they saw Emily Prentiss walking in. It has been over a year and a half that she has left the BAU. She had a serious look on her face and now that she was head of a team of Interpol she looked different, powerful.
Without saying a word, she walked to the front of the room next to Hotch, took a usb drive out of her pocket and inserted it in the computer. "Hey everyone, I'm sorry to barge in like this but I need your help." "I heard you weren't on any other case, so I asked Strauss for her permission." Then she turned her attention to Hotch. "Is it alright with you?" Hotch nodded and she started her presentation. On the screen behind her there were many pictures of women who had been tortured, mutilated and murdered. When Emily wanted to present the case she heard "oh dear". When she looked up she saw Garcia hiding behind a magazine she had been reading. "Oh, I'm so sorry Garcia" Emily said while closing the file with the pictures. "Are you alright?"
She saw Garcia lower the magazine. "Hey gumdrop, nice to see you again, but a little heads up would have been nice" she said. Emily smiled and apologized. Penelope just waved her hand at her to indicate she could continue but kept the magazine in front of her face.
"Okay then, so there is a serial killer on the loose. He has murdered over forty women all across the globe. He left a note to indicate in which country he would strike next. Apparently he's next victim is going to be here in Virginia. We were always one step behind and knowing he would be Virginia I hoped you could help." Emily just looked at her family she hasn't seen for what felt like ages. They all nodded and started asking questions about what she knew from the UNSUB. Emily put her briefcase on the desk and searched for her file. Without noticing it, her necklace fell from her shirt revealing a silver ring with a diamond the size of a rock. All eyes were on that sparkling thing around her neck. When she heard JJ and Garcia screaming simultaneously "OH MY GOD" she saw them gawking at her ring. "You're engaged?" "Who's the lucky guy?" "When will we meet him?" "Is he from England?" Emily was overwhelmed by questions. She didn't know where to begin. When Emily wanted to answer, Hotch interrupted her. "I think tracking a killer is our priority. When this is all over you can ask Prentiss to explain." They all went serious again except for Rossi who was smiling. His theory may not be far away from the truth after all.
Two weeks have passed and they finally caught the guy. Unfortunately Hotch had to shoot him; suicide by cop. They all came out of the elevator with the same thought of going home and being with their loved ones. Garcia saw Emily going to the conference room to pack up her stuff. She grabbed JJ by the arm and dragged her to see Emily. The others who saw the two blondes running up the stairs decided to follow them, to see what they were planning to do. Emily was gathering all her papers and putting it in her briefcase until she felt eyes on her. She raised her head to see six people looking at her. "What's wrong?" she asked. Then she saw JJ and Garcia having this creepy smile on their faces. "Oh crap" she thought. Emily knew what this was all about.
"So, about that diamond" JJ started "We want to know every little detail." Garcia continued. Emily rolled her eyes and sighed. How was she going to explain this to her family. "Come on, tell us, who is the lucky guy?" Garcia asked impatiently. Emily just smiled. It was the most beautiful, genuine smile that they ever saw on her. They even noticed that she was blushing. Whoever this mysterious guy was, he was making her very happy.
She didn't say anything at first. Emily removed the ring from her necklace and placed it on her finger. She looked at her former team for a few minutes. "I have been with him for almost a year and a half now." She began. "He lives in the states so I travel back and forth from London." "He proposed a few month ago." Emily's eyes were welling up with tears of joy. She couldn't talk anymore. She just looked at every single one of them and her gaze stopped at one person in particular. Without anyone noticing, Hotch made his way to Emily. He wiped her tears and took her hand in his'. Everything made sense to the rest of the team. The reason why Hotch was smiling more often, was Emily. They all stood there watching two people who were deeply in love. Hotch and Emily just looked at each other. It was just the two of them. The entire world stopped…
Hotch couldn't hold it back any longer, he put his hand on her waist and pulled her in a soft, loving kiss. Emily put one hand on his shoulder and one hand on his cheek. When they finally realized they were being watched they pulled back. Still smiling they turned to the rest. JJ and Garcia were in awe. Morgan made his way to the two love birds and congratulated them. He shook Hotch's hand and gave Emily a big hug. The rest followed to do the same. Except for the girls who wanted to see the ring first. "We wanted to tell you guys, but there just wasn't a good time." Hotch explained. "How will you manage with Emily living in London" Reid asked. "Well, I'm transferring from London to Virginia. We already bought a house and we're moving in in a couple of months."
"And how about jack?" JJ asked. "Well, he loves Emily, and now that I'm retiring I can spend much more time with him. So he is pretty happy with how things are turning out."
"So, care to tell us how you finally ended up together?" "I'm actually surprised you didn't notice each other years ago." Dave asked while the rest of the team just laughed at his last comment and nodded in agreement. Hotch looked at Emily who looked a bit embarrassed. "Well, things got pretty clear to me the evening JJ and Will got married. When I was dancing with Emily I felt something I've never felt before. I didn't want to let her go, it felt so right for her being in my arms. I was hoping for the song to never end, but it did and I had to let her go. It felt strange seeing her dancing with other people, I think I was getting jealous. I didn't even notice Beth standing beside me, and when we resumed dancing together it all became clear to me. Beth wasn't the right person for me. I liked her a lot but the chemistry was missing in our relationship. That same evening I just explained to her that I wasn't the right person for her and I broke it off. Beth wasn't even angry or surprised, she told me that she had this strange feeling while watching me and Emily dancing together, that we made a better couple than Beth and I. The next day I had a meeting with Emily. I was doing some paperwork when she came in. When she told me about the job in London and Interpol, I almost fell apart. I finally realized how important she was to me. The thought that I had to let her go again was unbearable." Hotch paused remembering how hurt he felt that day. Emily continued. "I got into Hotch's office and told him I was leaving the BAU. I expected to hear some good luck wishes and that's it. But instead I saw shock in his eyes, something I never saw coming. I thought he might have been taken aback by this sudden decision of mine. We just sat there talking about everything that had happened. He even tried to convince me to stay, but I knew that it would be impossible, I've already made up my mind. It was a difficult choice to make, but it was the right one. When we were done talking, we both stood up. He walked up to me and hugged me. I remember my heart skipping a beat. I didn't know what to think. I just put my arms around him and we stayed like that for what felt like hours." The silence filled the room. JJ and Garcia had tears in their eyes. They remembered when Emily told them that she was leaving the BAU. Even Reid cried that day. They were all very sad to see a family member leave. "What happened next?" Morgan asked. "Well,…" this time it was Hotch who continued telling their story. " I let go of her. By the time she reached the door to leave my office something came over me. I grabbed her wrist, she turned around and when I saw a tear rolling down her cheek, I just pulled her close to me and kissed her."
"I was surprised when I suddenly felt his lips on mine. After a few seconds I pulled away, remembering he had someone else in his life. I asked about Beth, but Aaron said he broke things off with her, that he realized who he truly loved. I couldn't believe my ears. I realized a long time ago I had feelings for my boss, but didn't think he was interested in me. After hearing he loved me I kissed him back. After that day, we spent all our free time together."
"That is sò romantic!" Penelope almost shouted. "When did you propose with that enormous engagement ring?" Rossi asked wanting to hear the whole story. "About a month ago, Aaron took me out to dinner and when we got back home the entire house was covert in rose petals that was leading to the balcony. The terrace was decorated with dozens of candles and a beautiful table with champagne. Next to the table was Jack who was wearing his best suit. He took my hand and led me to a table. Once I was seated I saw Aaron taking a seat right in front of me. I was wondering what this was all about. Then Jack gave me a little box with a bowtie on top of it. When I opened it, I saw the ring. I couldn't believe my eyes, I was completely blown away. Then I heard Aaron asking me to be his wife. The two most important men in my life were looking at me, waiting for an answer which I couldn't give. The words got stuck somewhere in my throat, I just nodded and started to cry." "That is quite the proposal." Morgan said. "When did you become a romantic?" Dave asked Hotch who was blushing. "And when were you planning on telling us?" Emily looked at Hotch and then turned to the rest. "Well, we were going to invite you once I was back for good which would be in a couple of weeks and tell you everything." "When are you going back to London?" Reid asked not aware that this question was kind of taboo. "In a couple of days." Emily answered with a sad smile.
"Why not celebrate it tonight then?" Garcia asked. "If Rossi is buying, I'm in." Morgan said. The rest agreed with Morgan and started walking towards the exit leaving Dave mumbling something about why he was always the one to treat the rest. But eventually followed the rest. "Tonight is on me folks." Dave shouted while getting in the elevator. Everyone started laughing except for Emily and Aaron who were sharing a passionate kiss.