This is for hotchityhotchhotch as a small thanks for all the hours of reading pleasure you've given me. Happy Birthday! And congratulations on all your nominations :) Your writing is truly amazing.

This is an homage, so to speak to your 'Stranded' series. I have been wanting to do a 'stranded' fic for like forever. It was originally going to be a smutty, lighthearted oneshot, but surprise, surprise (not) my muse had other ideas. So here's the first rather serious chapter. It's probably going to contain a few chapters at this stage. I'm not sure yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and no infringement is intended.

Emily looked out of her side window and squinted at the passing landscape. She could have sworn that they had passed that same tree over an hour ago. She clearly remembered thinking to herself at the time how much it reminded her of the whomping willow in the Harry Potter movie she had found herself watching one late night. It had turned out to be better than she expected. Much better in any case than the European movies that seemed to always be on when she was eating her dinner at 10 pm. Or maybe she was just experiencing sour grapes due to the fact that the characters in the movies were always jumping into the sack. Apparently all European films nowadays had to have the obligatory sex scene.

She tried to think back to the last time she had experienced physical intimacy. Her mind drew a blank. It had been some months before the whole Doyle thing had happened. After that she had been injured, then in exile. That was what she had labelled that period of time when she had felt like she was living in limbo. She was Emily, and yet she wasn't. How could she be, when she was so far away from everything that defined who she was. Her job, her friends, her home. She had been tempted, so many times, to pick up some random guy at a bar and have mindless sex. She had certainly had her share of propositions. Maybe it would have made her forget for a while where she was and what she was doing there. She had often wondered if having a warm body next to hers would somehow ease the loneliness that was slowly and surely eroding her soul.

But she never gave in. Something in her seemed to always hold her back. She didn't know what it was. Perhaps it was the knowledge that if she did give in to temptation, she would lose some part of herself, who she really was. All for the sake of a brief release with an anonymous stranger. She had more respect for herself than that. Except the problem was that it had now been so long since her last sexual encounter, the thought of that good night kiss at her door at the end of a date filled her with dread.

She wondered with amusement if she even remembered all the moves. A wry smile curved her lips at the thought.

"What are you thinking about?" The mellow timbre of her companion's baritone voice interrupted her thoughts.

Emily hesitated. Her first inclination was to say nothing. But maybe she could voice her thoughts. Since her return four months ago, her relationship with Hotch had changed. She liked to think that they had gotten closer. Become better friends. She stole a sideways glance at his profile. He was focussed intently on the dirt road before him, face serious with concentration. Despite the approaching dusk and the sharp curvature of the road, he drove with no hesitation, his hands guiding the steering wheel confidently. It was always a pleasure observing him driving. She blinked, wondering where that stray thought had come from.

"I was just thinking how long it's been since I've been on a date," she admitted. She could sense him looking at her.

"Is this something that's been on your mind?" He tapped on the brake, slowing down the SUV to take the next turn.

"Not really. Well, maybe a little." She ventured a look at him. "I know, it's kind of silly."

"Oh, I don't know. I was incredibly nervous before I went out on my first date with Beth." He shot her a rueful look. "You may not have had a date in over a year. I, on the other hand, haven't been on a date since high school. Imagine trying to prepare yourself for your first adult outing at the age of 43."

She laughed softly. "Okay, you win. But it went well, didn't it?" Emily knew he had seen Beth a handful of times since that first date two months ago, but she never pried. Despite their friendship, Hotch was still an intensely private person. As was she. If there was something he wanted to share with her, he would. She thought that it was likely also due to the fact that his relationship with Beth was still so new. He probably didn't even know himself where it was heading. The hours they worked and the commitment they had to their jobs were not conducive to building or even maintaining relationships. And Hotch would be more aware of that than everyone in the team except perhaps for the exception of Dave.

"Reasonably well. I wasn't quite prepared for her insisting to pay, though."

Emily smiled. She could well imagine the startled look he would have immediately concealed. Hotch had been raised a Southern gentleman. The thought of a woman paying for her share of dinner would have been unacceptable. Emily doubted she would have offered to pay if he had been her date. Beth sounded like a very independent woman. Good for her. "So what did you do?"

"We compromised. I paid for dinner that time and she paid for the next."

"Well, three cheers for equality."

Hotch chuckled. "Is it the conversation you're dreading?"

"No. I'm never worried about not being able to carry on a conversation. I have my mother to thank for that." She paused. Was this something she really wanted to discuss with her supervisor? Even if she considered him a friend, there were just some things one shouldn't discuss with one's boss. "It's nothing, really."

He gave her a shrewd look. "Then your concern must be more to do with what happens after the date."

She shook her head, chagrined. "This is what happens when you have a conversation with a friend who's a profiler. I obviously need to work on masking my thoughts."

"You masked your thoughts very well. I just happen to have the same fears you do now."

There was silence in the SUV while Emily mulled over Hotch's statement. "So you and Beth haven't ..." Her voice trailed off. This was getting into very personal territory. If it had been her love life they were discussing – okay, so they were doing that to a certain extent – she would never have told Hotch whether she was, or was not, sleeping with the man she was currently dating. She would have bet a lot of money that Hotch felt the same.

So she was surprised at his answer. "We're taking things slow. I want to be sure it felt right before we went any further."

Emily nodded slowly. She wouldn't have expected anything else of him. She had been really pleased when she found out that Hotch had finally started dating. He deserved to have someone in his life besides Jack. As a result she was now completely taken aback by the rush of relief that had flooded her when he told her that he hadn't yet slept with Beth. She tried to push that feeling away, telling herself that it was only because she was concerned that he would end up getting hurt pursuing that relationship. "That sounds like rational plan."

"Yes, it's too bad emotions aren't rational."

"Hmm?" She wondered where he was going with that statement.

"I'm more than certain that you have nothing to be concerned about when you do go out on your date, Emily. You can achieve anything you want when you put your mind to it."

She bit her lip, wondering whether she should laugh or cry. Hotch was actually trying to make her feel better about getting back on the horse, so to speak. "Thanks Hotch. That was … truly inspirational."

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head at himself. "It wasn't my intention to spout out a Hallmark line. You know what I'm trying to say. One of the things we have in common is that we don't let fears stand in the way of what we want. When you find the right person, the physical part of the relationship will work itself out."

He was right, as always. She always had confidence in her abilities, although she had to admit she did have more faith in her professional skills. Her ability to form a personal relationship was sadly lacking. "Thanks for your vote of confidence, Hotch." He was sweet. Beth was a lucky woman.

"You're welcome. Besides," he turned and flashed a grin at her, making her blink with surprise at how the smile transformed his face. "Dave tells me that it's like riding a bike. You never forget."

Emily burst out in laughter, Hotch joining in a second later. They were still laughing when Emily saw something flash across the road before them.

"Hotch!" she screamed.

Hotch hit the brake hard, jerking the steering wheel to the left to avoid the animal in their path. The SUV swerved, juddering hard as it ploughed through a few hundred yards of low-lying brush before finally crashing into huge wooden fence post.

Blinding pain exploded inside Emily's head and the last thing she saw before she faded into unconsciousness was the crumpled hood of their SUV.

Hi everyone, I hope you liked the start to this fic. My current state of prolific writing is surprising even myself! As always, send me a review if you can. I'll update my other fics as soon as I am able.