Stargazing

by Insanity on High

Hotch looked at the watch on his left wrist and sighed before returning to mindlessly staring out the window of the plane. Twenty more minutes would have to pass before the team would be in D.C. again. Finally, he would be able to spend some quality time with his son, Jack. The past week had been one of the hardest cases he had ever worked on. It was always hard when children died. In each murder of an adolescent a spark of potential flickered out, leaving behind just a few tendrils of smoke.

"Hotch?" Agent Emily Prentiss spoke softly so she would not startle her boss. She knew he had been deep in thought about the case from the furrow of his brow and the slight downturn of the corners of his lips. She also knew that if she let him continue on his path of thought, let him wallow in his misery, he would start blaming himself. She had once made a decision that even if her feelings for her boss were unrequited, that she would watch out for him. This was one of those times.

"Prentiss?" he replied while turning to face her. He did not notice the small smile that she now sported.

"I know this is rather forward of me, but would you and Jack join me in stargazing tonight? It's a tradition my grandmother and I had when I was young. It would be nice to have company…"

"Sure. I'm sure Jack would enjoy it and I need something to keep my mind off work."

Prentiss' smile grew as the two finalized their plans for the evening. Once they landed she would have two hours to get everything prepared. The other members of the BAU might not have been awake to witness Prentiss' excitement, except Hotch, who was awake and he was confused at how his agreement could cause such a reaction.

Hotch listened to his son talk about school and the mystery stories his "Auntie Jessica" had read to him as they drove home from said aunt's house. Hotch was suddenly reminded of the Halloween in which Jack had dressed up as him. It brought a smile to his face and he became more invested in the conversation.

Right before pulling into the driveway, he turned around to ask, "Jack, would you like to watch the stars with Miss Prentiss and me tonight?" His son nodded vigorously

Jack waited at the kitchen table for his father. He could hear his dad's pacing upstairs and nearly giggled when he heard a couple words come out of his dad's mouth. Those words were "naughty" according to his Auntie Jessica. He briefly considered having his dad suffer more from indecision, but he did the right thing and went to help.

He knew that his daddy really liked Miss Prentiss, but did not do anything about it. Apparently adults didn't pull the hair of the person they liked. Jack had done that to Molly in his class. She had very pretty blonde hair. That aside, he knew his father wouldn't do that to Miss Prentiss.

Jack looked at the two shirts his dad was holding up and said, "Wear the green. I like green."

Hotch thanked his son before pulling on the green v-neck sweater that had been chosen. He was almost ready. He still could not believe that he felt like a teenager again in getting ready for the excursion. He would never tell Emily Prentiss his true thoughts about her, but that did not change that he wanted to look nice. For her.

An hour later found the three lying on blankets in a park, with only two of them looking at the sky. Hotch was watching Prentiss as she pointed out and explained the constellations to his son. "Aaron, stop it! She'll never see you in that way. You are the unit chief anyway, so it can never happen," he mentally berated himself.

Prentiss could feel his gaze on her. She opted to continue telling the story of Gemini, the Twins, to Jack. With her profiling skills, she quickly came to realize that the little boy also had his mind on other things.

"Miss Prentiss?"

"Yes?"

"You like my daddy, right? He likes you."

Prentiss blushed at the child's words before she chose her words carefully. Surely Jack did not mean it in that context. Perhaps he was mistaken. Hotch would never look at her twice. She had a striking appearance, but was not particularly pretty; not like Haley had been.

"Of course I like your father. I wouldn't work for him if I didn't like him."

"Not in that way, Miss Prentiss! He likes you in a kissy sort of way. In the way he used to feel for my mom," he was shaking his head as though she were an idiot. Surprised, she looked at his father. Hotch's face was stoic as usual, but there was a hint of panic that only a profiler would pick up on in his eyes. She had no idea what to say.

Hotch had no idea what to do after his son's words to Prentiss. He brought his attention back to the night sky as an awkward silence took over the air around them. It would remain thus until they left.

Jack slept on the drive back to the Hotchner apartment. Hotch sat uncomfortably in the passenger seat as he asked Prentiss to stay for a bit after Jack was tucked in his bed. Hotch's heart lifted when she accepted the offer and sat down. He had thought she would run from the oppressive awkwardness of her special evening.

"So," she began, "I've got to confess something."

"Yes?"

"When Jack said you 'liked' me, it brought me hope. The way he phrased it may have been juvenile, but I've wanted you for a while. I just never imagined that it could happen. Please Hotch…"

Her words were cut off by lightly chapped lips on hers. She opened up her mouth for more access.

Upon pulling away for air, Hotch whispered, "I just decided earlier that I would never tell you. But now that you know how I feel and I know how you feel I've decided something else."

"Hmm?"

"I'm never going to give you up."

She pulled his face back towards hers and pulled herself into his body until there was no space between them. Normally she would like sweet words, but she was at the point where she just wanted action.

"Prentiss?"

"Emily. My name is Emily."

"Fine. Call me Aaron. Y'know we should stop before we go too far. Still, would you like to stay the night?"

"I'd love to," she replied before kissing him fiercely once again. These kisses led to their clothes being discarded and bite marks on their bodies from stifling their screams. They also led to the first of many nights. And to think that all that happened due to a young boy being preoccupied while he was stargazing.

A/N: It's been a while since I've posted something and I just started to write this. I'd love it if people would review, but I understand that the end of the year is a busy time. It was kind of hard to deal with characters I've never written about, but I somehow managed. Anything you see that you recognize is from the show and anything else is mine. I must confess, I do not have a beta reader and therefore this is likely to have a couple grammatical mistakes (it's not my strong point, although I DID try). I apologize. If anyone would like to offer, then it would be greatly appreciated. (I've got another one-shot in the making).

With love,

Rin