Wonderwall

AN: So this is dedicated to my girl, the always amazing, KouenTaisa! She is an awesome writer, vidder, graphics-maker, and person in general. She had told me long ago that she ships Emily and Hotch, but has always tolerated my love for Emily and Reid (though I am pretty sure she loves them to ;) ) and has made several videos/graphics for me involving them. This is a little something for her and her Hotch/Emily ship. Yes I know it's late... I can't apologize enough for that.

So, to my girl, Cheddie, my beautiful and amazing Mistress: You are such a special person. Thank you so much for being there to listen to me constantly complain and cry about school, essays, exams, and everything in general. I wish you an AMAZING Christmas and I hope you get your smexy butt up here to Canada soon so that we can have a ballin' time! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Criminal Minds related (characters, settings, all that jazz). I am just writing for a gift for a dear friend. I also do not own the lyrics to this song. This song is property of the awesome band, Oasis. I am not affiliated with any of these people, like I said I am just writing for fun. No suing por favor... I am but a lowly Post-UnderGrad, who is stressing about finding a job... Law suits make everything that more complicated. KThx! ;)

~~ "I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now..." ~~

He was so thankful for her. She had made everything so much easier for him. If it hadn't been for her love and her patience, he did not know how he would have been able to deal with the past year. But she hung around, through everything and anything. He had expected her to walk away months ago, especially during the many times he had snapped her and told her to leave him alone. She always came back. She was such a strong and amazing woman and he did not know what he would have done had she not been there to pick up the fragmented pieces of his heart. He never asked her to be there, and yet she never hesitated to help him through everything.

Aaron Hotchner lifted himself off of his bed to look at the peaceful sleeping form next to him. Her beautiful raven hair was a little messy from the brief time they had spent holding each other. Hotch was still getting used to her shorter hair, but he still thought she looked beautiful. She had hated it at first, saying that she was sure her hair stylist was an UnSub in training, but she had gotten over it. Hotch leaned over and lightly kissed the side of her face, as she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Hey, you..." Emily Prentiss looked up at him and gave him a sleepy smile. Hotch loved the way she would smile up at him after spending the night with him. He loved a lot of things about her. He leaned over her and lightly kissed her lips. He could feel her hand reach up to lightly touch his face. He could not help but smile though his kiss and she knew exactly where to trace her fingers in order to make that rare smile appear.

~~ "And all the roads we have to walk are winding" ~~

It had started out innocently enough. She had been there to look out for him after Haley had left him. He looked so... Destroyed... Broken. It wasn't the Hotch that everyone was used to. He was not himself anymore, and Emily did not know how to handle that. After that case in Michigan, the one where Hotch had to drag her to, Emily had noticed that Hotch had been upset, angry, not himself. She had thought it had something to do with Strauss and how she may have been on his back again. The past few weeks had been tough on the both of them. Strauss did not only pick on the leader of their small unit, but she had picked on her as well... The new girl on the block.

Strauss hadn't been important to her when she saw Hotch that way. No, what had been important was figuring out what had happened to make him that way and to help him out. Emily was a compassionate, yet analytical person. When she saw that someone was in trouble or in pain, she would try to get to the root of the problem and then try to find a solution to said problem, all the while doing everything she could to ensure the person that things would be alright. She would try to fix everything, even if at times, they were not meant to be fixed just yet. That was the reason why Reid had snapped at her a few months ago, but also why they had begun to mend ties again.

Emily did not want the same thing to happen with her and Hotch. She had spent far too long doing everything she could in order to gain his trust. Inquiring about his personal life was walking on a thin line. But she sucked up a deep breath and eventually asked him. That was what began it all. That small question and the numerous times it took her to ask the same question before he would finally begin to talk to her about things. Maybe it was because of the last few tough months on the both of them, that he decided to open up to her, but either way, that was how it began.

~~ "And all the lights that lead us there are blinding" ~~

He did not want her help in the first place. He did not need her to come along and help him figure out how to get his wife back. She was his subordinate, he was her boss. He had resisted her countless times, getting more annoyed each and every time time she did it. One day, he had come to his wit's end and had nearly yelled at her in front of the entire team. He had felt horrible about that. She was only trying to help. He didn't think he needed anyone's help to be honest. He could handle things on his own. He could not get emotional, especially not for someone in his position, doing the job they were doing as a team. No, he could not let his emotions get in the way.

Still, he was looking out onto the bullpen area as he watched his coworkers talk amongst each other, he stared at Emily while she spoke to Morgan. He had just nearly yelled at her only seconds ago and she had brushed it off as if it were nothing. Emily was probably more like him than he had originally thought. Hotch thought back to a couple of years ago when JJ had mentioned that Emily never once blinked when she saw the horrors they had to see everyday. She compartmentalized... Just like he did... Just like he had trouble doing so right now. Just like she knew exactly what was going on in his mind, because she understood, probably better than the others. That was the day he decided to let her in and begin to trust her more.

He didn't regret it either. A compassionate chat over coffee had led to more talked over coffee, which had led to her coming over from time to time in order to help him out with Jack (Emily had been so amazing with him and Jack adored her). It was really after the explosion in the SUV where they had started to become a little closer. She would go by every single day to his place to make sure he was alright. She would do every thing she could to ensure that he was alive and taking it easy. He didn't tell her then, but he was so thankful of her companionship.

Then, Cyrus happened and he thought he had lost her forever. Hotch was not easily afraid, but the moment he found that Emily and Reid were being held hostage was one of the times in his life where he had been most afraid. He had gone to her place when they arrived back in DC and just held her close to him, never wanting to let her go. He took in her scent and could feel his heart beating a mile a minute as she grasped onto him. He then felt her tears on his shirt and he continued to hold her close. They had made love that very night...

~~ "There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how" ~~

Emily smiled under his gentle kiss. It had been difficult at first, even more so after Haley had died. The past couple of years had been tough on Hotch especially and there had been times when Emily herself had wondered if she should leave him alone in the end, but she didn't. She stayed by his side, and it had been all worth it in the end. To see him smiling again, despite everything that had happened. It had all been worth it.

Emily remembered going to see him a few days after "the incident" had happened. She remembered seeing him in his apartment, in a complete mess. his hair had been disheveled, his clothes were messed up, and he still bore the marks and the wounds from his fight with Foyet. Jack was not with him, Jessica had taken him for the day, which had been a good things, seeing as Hotch looked a little worse than Hell. He had given her a key months ago, just in case something should have happened. She found him in his room, hunched over, arms over his head... Destroyed...

She had been afraid to go up to him, afraid of what she would encounter. She had walked into the bedroom and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. He did not seem to notice that she had sat down next to him. It was only when she had placed her hand on his shoulder that his head snapped up in complete shock. He looked over at her and just stared at her. They remained that way for a few minutes until his stare turned into a hard cold glare. It did not turn pretty afterwards. Hotch wanted her to leave and while she tried to explain that she was staying no matter what, he was not hearing any of it. Emily left that day, angry, but determined. She had found out later on that day that Internal Affairs was investigating the Foyet case and that they were questioning Hotch's leadership of the team. That had really pissed Emily off. As if the man did not have enough to go through, they had to throw this crap on him as well. Frankly it was bullshit and everyone knew it.

After the investigation was over and done with, Emily tried again to get through to Hotch. She didn't give up easily either, even though he was difficult to get through to. It didn't take either of them nearly dying either for him to let her in. He just decided to let her help him and she did. She never once wanted to give up on him...

~~ "Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me" ~~

Their hands somehow ended up linked together. Hotch could feel the warmth of Emily's fingers seeping through. He held her closer to him and felt the warmth of her body spreading through him. The more he thought about it, Emily not only saved him from a deep darkness that threatened to take over, but the warmth she offered him managed to reach the deepest parts of his heart and saved it from completely freezing over... As cheesy as that sounded.

Those few months after Haley left, were the months when Hotch's heart had been most prone to completely freezing over and shutting everyone out. Aside from the love that his son provided, the patience that Emily gave him, the comfort she provided, allowed him to begin to trust someone again. She gave him hope that he could find love again. He just did not know how to let her know how much she meant to him right now. He did not know how he would be able to tell her that she was the one who pulled him out and who kept him afloat for the past few years.

Hotch lifted himself up and leaned over Emily. He gently pressed his hand to the side of her face and kissed her again. She then followed his lead and lifted herself up to meet him. When the kiss ended, he looked into her wide, soft brown eyes. Could it be that he loved her? It WAS because of her that Hotch began to believe he could love again. So, why was it that he afraid to admit that he loved her? He could not den it any longer. Looking into her beautiful eyes, he could see the man he used to be when he met Haley. He saw the happy, funny, dorky guy he used to be before all this pain and darkness began to take over him.

Without any second thought, Hotch ran his thumb over the sharp edge of Emily's cheek bone and whispered those three crucial words. "I Love you..." He didn't have to wonder how she felt because soon enough, his lips were met with a pair of smiling soft ones. Hotch wrapped his arms around Emily's body and gently brought her down upon the bed again. They had a couple of hours to kill before having to go into work that day and neither one of them would be against the idea of celebrating their declaration of love to one another.

She was his savior... His rock... His life raft. She helped him remember the things that mattered in life and to remind him to keep on fighting. He would be eternally grateful to her. Emily Prentiss... She was there by his side, and he loved her for it...

~~ "And after all, you're my Wonderwall" ~~

AN: I hope you all enjoyed it. Reviews are nice, but don't expect too many Hotch/Emily fics xD. I'm a Remily/Jotch girl for now and forever. Still... I hope I have pleased the Hotch/Emily shippers.

About the lovely KouenTaisa, if you guys love NCIS and Grey's you should check her stuff out. If you love Rizzoli and Isles, check out her collab page, WonderTwinsUnite. Also check her YT channel, KouenTaisaMustang and WonderTwinC. She is awesome!