A/N: Here is my contribution to the HotLy Smut Challenge #2 that was issued in the HotchPrentiss Discussion Forum. Check out that forum for HotLy talk and fic challenges. The prompts were Hearts, Balls and Leather (Hotch or Emily must wear some article made of leather). This is a follow-up to the story I wrote for the HotLy Smut Challenge #1, "Burning Boxes". I hope folks enjoy and check out the discussion forum. And word of warning to the HotLy fans, that Triathlon Hussy Beth will be on the Feb. 15 episode. Watch at your own risk!
"So what are you going to wear tonight?"
"Huh? What?" Emily looked at JJ in confusion. "Wear tonight?"
"Hello, Em," JJ laughed. "Your date with Detective Bishop? You know, the hot guy who's been after you since we got here. You said you would have dinner with him tonight and I don't think you would want to just wear your work clothes."
Emily blinked at her friend. Oh, that's right. Bishop and dinner. She had accepted his invitation. But that was before Hotch had just screwed her brains out on their way down from the mountain. Even now, she could feel the damp, sticky streaks of their combined fluids on her thighs.
JJ tilted her head to the side and looked at the other woman. "Are you okay? You seem really…distracted or something."
Or something, Emily agreed silently. They were a good distance ahead of Hotch and Rossi, but she could feel the Unit Leader's eyes burning into her back. "Just a little tired from this case. Maybe I should call Bishop and cancel."
"Oh no, Em," JJ protested as they reached the car. There was only one SUV left and JJ and Emily automatically went to the backseat. Hotch always insisted on driving and Rossi had the longer legs. "You need to go and have some fun and Bishop seems like a really nice guy." JJ gave her friend a sly look. "Besides, a little no strings fun might be what the doctor ordered."
Hotch and Rossi came up to them in time to hear JJ's advice. The younger man scowled darkly at his blonde agent who took a nervous step back, surprised by the anger in Hotch's face.
"If Prentiss prefers to not go out with Bishop, she shouldn't be pressured into doing so," Hotch interjected coolly.
If he had left it at that, all would have been well, but he couldn't help the next words coming out of his mouth as his possessive, territorial feelings began to rear its head.
"Besides, it's not the most appropriate thing for an agent to be doing."
Hotch heard Rossi's soft sigh of exasperation while JJ threw him a startled look. Emily's eyes narrowed at him and her lips thinned into an annoyed line.
"Well, sir, I hope you expressed those same concerns to Morgan since I recall him having drinks with the detective in San Antonio and dinner and dancing with the one in Miami. I don't recall having dinner with a LEO as being against Bureau policy."
Hotch frowned at her, his brow furrowing deeply. Dammit! After what just happened between them she was actually considering going out with that-, that man? Over his dead body. He took a step towards her.
"We need to debrief tonight," he said in that "Hotch" tone.
"We never had to debrief so soon after a case," Prentiss shot back.
"There were extenuating circumstances in this one."
"Like what?"
Hotch opened his mouth, but his mind suddenly went blank. What was there to debrief about? It was as clean as any of their cases would get. Unsub caught, no more additional victims and no injuries to said unsub or any law enforcement agent. Emily continued to level her angry gaze at him and when he remained silent, she nodded her head sharply.
"Just as I thought, it can wait. Whatever you wanted to talk about couldn't be all that important, sir." She spun around and climbed into the back of the SUV.
Hotch balled his hands into fists, resisting the urge to pull Emily out of the car and drag her off into the woods and make her admit that what had transpired between them was important, incredible and would be their future. He wasn't fooled by her dismissive attitude. She was simply running scared at this moment. Scared and confused. Hotch intended to make his position very clear to her.
But not now because she was obviously not in the mood to hear anything more from him and from the incredulous and disapproving look JJ was giving him, he suspected the tiny blonde would body slam into him if he so much as approached Emily now. JJ gave him one more warning look and climbed into the SUV after Prentiss.
"Well, that went well," Rossi's dry voice commented from Hotch's left shoulder. "Why are you so against Emily going to dinner with Bishop?"
"I don't trust him," Hotch's voice came out in a possessive growl, startling the older man. Rossi's gaze narrowed at him. "There's no way I'm letting her go traipsing off with a man we know next to nothing about."
"He's a man we've been working alongside for the last few days. From what I can see he seems like a pretty nice guy. Emily isn't marrying him, she's just having dinner with him." He tilted his head to the side. "Unless there's another reason." His gaze was penetrating. "Is there, Aaron?"
Hotch turned his tight-lipped gaze towards Rossi. His only response was to slip his sunglasses on and move forward so he could climb behind the wheel of the SUV.
The older profiler sighed and rolled his eyes again before getting into the front passenger seat.
The ride back to the hotel was made in silence. Emily was fuming in the backseat at Hotch's high handed behavior. She had every intention of calling Bishop and canceling their date, but Hotch's attitude only spurred her on to do the opposite.
They did need to talk about what happened between them in the tram. The kiss could be forgotten, but the sex? The mind-blowing sex where he had penetrated her deeper than any man ever had before, not just physically, but emotionally as well? Not something to be ignored.
Aaron Hotchner had found a way to pierce those fortified walls she had built around her heart and she had no idea what to do about it.
She looked up and she saw the man in question staring at her in the rear view mirror. Her doe-eyes locked with his sunglass-covered eyes. For several seconds they simply stared at each other before she turned her head and looked out the window and his gaze returned to the road.
"Why was Hotch so against your date with Bishop?" JJ asked Emily as the brunette absently pushed dresses along a rack.
Emily shrugged. "Who knows what goes on in that man's mind?"
"Boss Man had issues with you going out with Yummy Chess Piece?" Garcia asked as she looked up from the shoe display.
"Yeah, even came up with some complete BS excuse like needing to debrief tonight," JJ replied. She held up a blouse, shook her head and replaced it on the rack. "I've never seen him act like that before. Like a dog guarding his bone."
"Thanks a lot, JJ," Emily said in a sarcastic voice. "Just how I want to be described."
Her friend chuckled. "You know what I mean. He was so territorial. Almost like…" Her voice trailed off and she narrowed her eyes at Emily. "Almost like he was jealous," she murmured thoughtfully. Her head tilted to the side. "Why would Hotch be acting that way, Em?"
Though her heart was pounding, Emily gave a nonchalant shrug. "Like I said, who knows what goes on in that man's mind?"
JJ regarded her friend with contemplative eyes, but before she could ask any more questions, they were interrupted by a squeal from Garcia.
"Em! Oh Em! The perfect dress!"
Garcia came bustling up to them holding out a brown leather dress. It was a simple sheath cut dress with a V-neckline and a small slit on the left side. The leather was as soft as butter and would mould itself to every curve of the wearer. The brown was a warm milk chocolate color that seemed to almost glow in the soft lighting of the boutique.
"I'm not wearing a leather dress!" Emily sputtered.
"Oh, just try it on, Em," JJ encouraged her as she examined the dress. "I think it'll probably look great on you."
"It's a Versace," Emily pointed out. "I'm not spending money on a designer dress that I'm only going to wear once."
"It's on sale," the owner of the boutique said as she came sailing up to them. She sighed when she saw the dress. "I got a little wild and got that dress on a buying trip and it hasn't found an owner."
"Why not?" Garcia asked. "It's beautiful."
"It is, but you can't really do alterations and not many women have the body that this dress is made for." She looked Emily up and down with expert eyes. "Actually, I think your friends are right. You should be able to fit it. I have it marked down at 60% off. If it fits and you like it, I'll mark it down to 75% off. Otherwise it'll probably sit here in my store forever, mocking me."
"Just try it on, Emily," JJ nudged.
"Fine!" the brunette sighed, taking the dress from Garcia.
"Try these on too," the tech analyst said as she held out a pair of high heeled, gold sandals.
Prentiss rolled her eyes and took the shoes as well. She went to the dressing room and quickly slipped into the dress and shoes. With a sigh, she started to leave the small cubby to model the dress and shoes for her friends when she caught her reflection in the mirror.
The dress fit perfectly and it lovingly hugged ever curve of her body. The dress was fairly simple and aside from her watch and the gold sandals, she wore no other adornment, but Emily hadn't felt this feminine in a long time. Her hands moved down the skirt of the dress, feeling the soft leather under her palms and fingertips. She touched the neckline of the dress feeling the edge of the material already warming up from her body heat. There was only a little bit of cleavage showing, but even she could see how alluring she looked in the dress.
"Jane Bourne! Get out here!" Garcia yelled out.
Emily started and after a moment's hesitation, opened the dressing room door and stepped out.
She was met with dead silence and then there was a collective "ooohhhhh" from JJ, Garcia and the store owner, Marina.
"That dress was made for you," Marina exclaimed. "I've had it in the store for eight months and not one woman, not one, has fit it as perfectly as you do."
"Oh, Em, you're going to wear that dress over and over again. Its leather, but it's so classy and elegant. It'll replace your LBD," Garcia noted. "And the shoes are absolutely perfect."
There was a full length mirror to Emily's right. She turned and looked at herself. "JJ?"
The blonde smiled widely. "You look gorgeous, Em. I vote for the dress and the shoes."
Emily turned and twisted as she looked at herself in the mirror. Since Doyle she had felt the need to hide her femininity, to not put herself out in any way or draw attention to herself. She didn't completely close herself off form it, her receptiveness to Bishop's obvious attraction was an example of that. But she hadn't felt the desire to feel pretty. Until now.
Until Hotch touched her. Fucked her.
She could still feel the dampness of their encounter between her thighs. Somehow her encounter with Hotch earlier that day seemed to restore some of her confidence. Some of her "mojo" as Garcia would put it. She hadn't realized it had been missing.
Prentiss looked at her reflection again, contemplating it. A slow smile appeared on her face and she turned to Marina.
"Seventy-five percent off on the dress?"
The shop owner smiled and nodded. "And will you be taking the shoes as well?"
"I'm taking them both."
Hotch stepped outside of Captain Barnes' office and ran into Bishop. The detective paused and nodded his head sharply.
"Hotchner."
"Bishop."
The detective started to move away when his captain's door opened up and he called out to his subordinate.
"Bishop! I need you in here."
The detective looked a little surprise but he went into his superior's office. Hotch smirked at the closed door and walked off with a satisfied air.
"How was the dress shopping?" Morgan asked as Garcia and JJ slipped into the booth with the rest of the team.
"Went well. Emily found something for her date tonight and I found a really cute purse," Garcia informed him.
"She's meeting Bishop here?" Rossi asked, shooting Hotch a look out of the corner of his eye.
"Yes, they're meeting here for a drink first and then out to dinner somewhere else. She didn't want to be under a microscope." JJ gave Hotch a particularly hard stare.
"And there's our princess now," Garcia beamed as she caught sight of Emily standing in the doorway of the hotel bar.
The jaw of every male in the bar dropped as soon as they caught sight of the beautiful brunette in the leather dress. The gold, strappy sandals emphasized how long and slim her legs were and gave her an additional four inches to her height. She looked long, lean and elegant, exuding sexiness and confidence as she strode into the bar. Her dark hair was piled up on her head, but a few trendils fell on either side of her face, framing her elegant features. Her makeup was light save for the red lipstick she wore. Emily saw her team and gave them a slight nod before she seated herself at the bar to wait for Bishop.
"Wow," Morgan breathed out. "Damn, Prentiss looks hot! I mean, I knew she already was, but boy, that dress just means she is taking no prisoners tonight!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hotch asked sharply, not liking the tone Morgan was taking nor the insinuation behind it.
"Easy, Hotch," Morgan said, surprised at the Unit Leader's tone. "Prentiss knows how to handle herself."
"You know, I think it's great that Emily is getting back out there on the dating scene," JJ put in with a hard look at her boss. "Since Doyle, she's been far too isolated. It's nice that a decent guy is taking an interest in her."
"Yeah," Penelope chimed in. "You look like that and you get a lot of deadbeats hitting on you all the time."
"Is that what she goes through when you ladies go out?" Hotch asked softly, feeling a soft pang of regret that Emily did have to suffer through so many toads. It was easy to only see the beautiful surface of that incredible face and body, but Emily Prentiss was so much more than that. But too often, Hotch knew members of his own sex were only concerned with looks and didn't give much consideration for what a person was really like. Had they, they would have seen how much more Emily had to offer.
"Speaking of deadbeats," JJ said with a frown as she glanced at her watch. "Pen, didn't Em say Bishop was supposed to be here at 7 pm?"
"Yeah, she did." Garcia craned her neck to glance at the clock behind the bar. "And it's 7:25 right now."
"And Emily's been fending off a lot of men since she came in," Reid chimed in with a worried look. "You don't think she's been stood up?"
"She'd better not be or Mark Bishop will find himself with a negative 1000 credit rating tomorrow morning," Garcia answered darkly.
At that moment, the saw Emily pick up her cell phone and speak briefly into it. She set it down and they saw her shoulders slump slightly. She flagged down the bartender and switched from the glass of white wine she had been nursing to scotch.
"Oh, that asshole," JJ swore under her breath.
The rest of the team murmured their dark threats against Bishop but Rossi looked over at Hotch and saw the slightest smile lurking on the Unit Leader's lips.
Dave was about to ask Aaron if he had something to do with Bishop's non-appearance when he saw his old friend suddenly tense up and a dark, angry look appear on his face. Rossi's head snapped around and he saw a tall, blonde haired man leaning far too close into Emily. They could see from the expression on her face and her body language that the man's company was unwelcomed, but he didn't seem to be getting the hint.
"Looks like someone needs a lesson in manners," Morgan muttered as he started to rise from his seat.
But before he could fully stand, Hotch was already striding across the room towards the bar. Derek blinked in surprise and sat back down heavily. With the others, they watched the little scene unfold.
Emily sighed as she hung up on Bishop. For some reason, he had explained, his captain wanted his report tonight and he had to help catalogue the evidence they had gathered. This was the biggest case he had been involved in yet and his superior was demanding he stay so Mark had to regretfully cancel their date. He offered to meet Emily for breakfast, but she told him they were leaving early and it sounded like he was going to have a long night.
As soon as she disconnected the call, she had ordered something stronger. So much for getting use out of this new dress.
The man sat down heavily next to her and she could smell the liquor on his breath as he leaned in far too close to her.
"Hey baby, want some company?" he asked.
She turned cold eyes towards the large blond man. "Actually, no." She looked away.
"Come on, a hot babe sitting here by herself. In that dress. You're just begging for some guy to come along and show you a good time." He reached out to touch her thigh.
Emily jumped up from her bar stool, throwing off his hand from her lap. She was about to snarl at him when suddenly the guy was face down in a bowl of peanuts as his head was slammed into the bar and his arm was twisted up behind him at an uncomfortable angle.
"Touch her again and I'll rip your arm off," Hotch said in a soft, but deadly voice to the man who had dared touch what the FBI man considered his.
The masher whimpered and stammered out an apology to Emily before Hotch let him up and pushed him towards the exit. He turned to look at the beautiful brunette who stared coolly back at him.
"I could have handled him," she said.
"I know," Hotch replied, his intense stare never wavering. "But that was much quicker and I wanted to talk to you."
Emily sighed, not wanting to have this conversation, but knowing once Hotch got the bit between his teeth he was relentless. "Well, why not? My night can't get any worse."
He frowned at her. Is that how she thought of what happened between them? Something that was a mistake? A bad thing? Because that most certainly wasn't how he was feeling. He needed a straight answer from her because he could not have read her so wrong. He knew she felt something for him, maybe it wasn't as strong or as clear to her as what he was feeling, but Hotch was pretty certain all the emotions involved were not one-sided.
"Can we go somewhere private to talk? I rather not have an audience for this conversation," Hotch said.
Emily nodded as she paid for her drinks. "Sure. It's not like I'm expecting anyone to show up." She sighed and looked up at Hotch. Her eyes narrowed. His face remained in its usual stoic lines, but there was something in his eyes…
"You didn't!" she hissed out angrily.
"Didn't what?" was his infuriatingly calm response.
"You did something to make sure Bishop couldn't make it tonight!" Emily accused him.
"I did no such thing! How could I have known his supervisor would need him to stay-" He realized his mistake.
Emily's eyes widened and she smacked Hotch in the chest with the small clutch she carried, also purchased that afternoon. "You jerk! Who gave you permission to mess around with my personal life?"
"Emily-," he began, but she spun on her heel and yelled over her shoulders.
"You've got some balls there, Hotch! Just be glad I don't take them off!"
She jabbed the button for her floor and watched as the elevator doors slowly began to close. Suddenly, a large hand appeared between them and they fell open again to allow Aaron Hotchner to board the elevator with her. She gazed at him with angry eyes as he pressed the doors closed and the elevator began its slow ascent to her room on the 22nd floor.
"I do not want to speak to you," she snarled at him.
"Too bad, we're going to talk about what's happening between us," he shot back.
"'Happening'? There's nothing 'happening between us'. It's happened. Over and done with and best forgotten."
Hotch hit the stop button and the elevator jerked to a stand still. He stepped close into Emily, crowding her against the back wall of the lift and he stared into her eyes.
"Do you really feel that way?" he asked softly. His head was bent slightly forward, throwing his features into a bit of a shadow as the lights over head shone down on them. Emily couldn't quite make out his expression, but she could feel the nervous energy that ran through his body, drawing it taut with tension. Her own nerves were strained and her entire body was humming with awareness for him. She licked her lips and knew that his eyes were drawn to them.
"Yes," she said, her voice hard and firm. "We fucked. We got it out of our system. End of story. You can go back to Beth now."
"I'm not with Beth," he continued in that same soft voice. She heard it now, the seductive dark undertones that laced through his deep baritone. Emily, suddenly feeling she was in a dangerously exciting position, backed up as far as she could and found herself pressed completely against the wall. Hotch took another step forward until their chests were just brushing against each other. "Why would I ever want her back?" His head dropped slightly and she felt him lightly nuzzle her cheek. His voice was hot in her ear. "You really think that's all there is between us? One good fuck?"
Emily swallowed hard, her heart racing and that familiar curl of tension and heat in her belly beginning to form as she listened to him speak. She had to maintain control. He only wanted something physical with her and she would not give in. She wanted more! She deserved more!
"It was just sex," she breathed out.
"You really believe that?"
"Yes," was her stubborn reply.
"Liar." His voice held a trace of humor that made her temper flare and she opened her mouth to tell him off when he suddenly kissed her, taking advantage of her parted lips as he thrust his tongue into that moist cavern and began to ravish her mouth, mimicking what he was about to do to a different part of her body.
She couldn't help it as she moaned low in her throat and felt her body dampen her thong with her desire. Her hands came up to thread in his short dark hair to hold him closer to her.
One of his hands came down to cup her ass and draw her tight against him, letting her feel his hardened cock against the soft swell of her belly. His other hand came up to knead one breast, causing her to whimper against his kiss.
He moved his mouth to her ear. "Tell me you don't want this! Tell me you don't want me," he whispered fiercely.
She could only answer with another whimper and she felt him smile against her check.
"That's what I thought."
He roughly hiked up one of her legs and pulled it around his waist. She moaned feeling his shaft against her femininity. Automatically, she lifted the other to join its mate. Hotch's hand reached between her legs and pushed aside her thong before he slid one long finger between her moist, hot folds. Emily arched into his hand and let out throaty moan.
"So fucking, tight and wet. All for me," Hotch snarled as he slid another finger into her.
She cried out sharply as her orgasm hit her by surprise with its quickness and ferocity. Before she had a chance to recover, she could feel Hotch fumbling between them and hear the unmistakable sound of his zipper being pulled down. He freed himself and she felt the tip of his cock at her entrance.
Hotch hesitated. His face was still in the shadows so she couldn't see his expression clearly, but she felt his hesitation. He suddenly asked her, his voice gentle, though she could hear the strain as he held himself back. "Emily? Are you sure?"
No, she wasn't. What they were about to do, it was as raw and animalistic as their earlier encounter. It was just sex because he was simply physically attracted to her. Nothing he had said or done promised anything more than just this sexual encounter. What did it say about her if she was to simply give in? That she was weak and a fool.
Maybe just this one time she could be weak and a fool.
He was still waiting for her, his body trembling slightly from the restraint he had thrown over it. Emily settled the question by moving forward and taking his earlobe between her teeth.
"Fuck me, Hotch."
The words she used should have set off alarm bells in his head, but his physical need for her was too great and with a feral snarl, he pushed himself into her. She let out a cry that was one part pleasure, one part pain, perfectly mirroring her turbulent emotions. As he began to move inside of her, deep, hard thrusts, in and out of her body, she could feel the roughness of clothing against the sensitive flesh of her bare thighs. So eager had he been to be inside of her, Hotch didn't even push his pants all the way down. The zipper scraped along the skin under her thigh lightly scratching. His fingers dug into her hips with bruising force, holding her where he wanted her.
Emily let out a low keening noise as he pounded into her body, hitching her up higher so the angle changed. She felt him move deeper and harder into her, setting every nerve in her body on fire. Her breathing became erratic, hitching pants as her body rocked to the harsh rhythm he set.
Hotch moved his mouth to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, suckling on the flesh and marking her as his. He wanted her wrapped completely around him. He wanted to devour her. He wanted everything she had to offer and made sure no one would ever touch her again. Hotch felt her hands claw at his shoulders, scrambling for some firm hold to reality. His mouth moved to her ear and he whispered harshly into it, "You're mine, Emily! Say it!"
She whimpered, refusing to at first and then he changed the angle again and she felt him go even deeper, almost splitting her in two. She cried out from the pleasure and pain he sent through her body as he pushed inside of it again and he ripped the response he wanted from her very soul. "Yours! I'm yours!" she sobbed, hating and loving him at the same time.
"Your! Heart! Your! Body! Your! Mind! Everything! You! Are! Mine!" he growled as he punctuated each word with a sharp thrust and on the last one, she shattered into a thousand pieces and caused her to sob out his name,
"Aaron!"
Hearing his name fall from her lips pushed him to his own release and he felt his seed spill into her deep, hot depths. His hips jerked wildly against her, pumping into her waiting body. The thought that it was the second time he had made love to her today without a condom flashed through his mind and he felt a thrill of excitement at the thought they might have created a child.
Hotch collapsed against her, pinning her to the wall and keeping her braced against it. He felt Emily sag weakly against him, her limbs limp. After a few minutes, he moved away from her and made sure she was steady before he pulled out of her. She shuddered at the loss and even he felt bereft from the lost of their physical connection. Hotch straightened his clothes and then helped her with hers.
She stared at him with large, dark eyes that appeared wounded. Hotch felt his heart clench and he reached out to touch her cheek. She recoiled from his touch and tried to move towards the panel to start the elevator again, but Hotch was not having a repeat of what happened after their last encounter.
"No," he said firmly, a gentle grasp on her arm. "I don't know what you think this meant, Emily, but I want you to know, it meant a lot to me."
She raised puzzled and slightly hopeful eyes towards him.
"We still need to talk, but this wasn't just some thing physical for me." His hands came up to gently cup her face. "You're not just a woman I want to have sex with. I think there's something more between us and that we can have something incredible together." He pulled back his head a little and this time she could see his features clearly in the light.
What she saw were the same emotions she had been feeling right before they had sex for a second time: anxiety, fear, hope. But in Hotch's face she saw something else: determination. He was determined to make himself heard and understood; to make her understand how he felt and no a matter how high she built her walls, he was going to scale them or just bring them down completely. He was a man determined not to pushed away.
Fear and hope warred within her and she bit her lip. Emily glanced down at their feet, trying to find the loop hole, the trick in his words, for that has always been her experience with men. Pretty words that their actions never lived up to.
But this was Hotch. Maybe he had failed her in the past, but he tried hard not to, he wasn't perfect after all. He tried, unlike some of her past acquaintances. That's what he was asking for now, a chance to try. She looked up into his eyes and she saw anxiety had crept into them as he waited for her answer.
Then she did the bravest thing she had ever done before.
"I'm afraid."
He smiled gently at her, knowing how hard it was for Emily to admit that. He leaned down to brush a soft kiss against her mouth. "I know, sweetheart, I'm scared too." He touched his forehead to hers and brought his hands up to cup the sides of her face again. "But I think it's less scary if we're scared together."
She smiled as she reached up to hold one of his hands. Gently she moved back and looked at him. Her fingers threaded through his and she held his hand more securely.
"I think, we can try," she agreed softly.
He smiled widely at her, revealing his dimples and leaned down to kiss her passionately. He pulled back and looked down at her flushed and smiling face and her starry eyes. He marveled at the vision she made. He had heard the poets describe stars in a woman's eyes, but he had never seen it before until now and he knew he had put them there. He vowed in that moment to always make sure that Emily would have stars in her eyes. Hotch drew her close to him as he started the elevator again.
"Let's sit down and talk," he murmured as he held her in his arms, his cheek resting against hers.
"About us?"
"About us."
The elevator stopped on her floor and Hotch stepped off. He extended his hand towards her. Emily hesitated a moment, knowing this step would be something that would alter her life forever. She looked up at Hotch who looked at her with a soft, and dared she hoped, loving gaze. She glanced at his hand again and deciding to take that leap into the unknown, placed her hand into his extended palm, trusting him to navigate with her whatever lay ahead of them.