"Textbook page fifty-eight please," Professor Hotchner told his class, turning to write on the blackboard behind him. Under his name, he wrote the directions for the class, knowing that no matter how many times he told them there was always that one student who would ask for them again.
Hearing the door to his classroom open, he turned to see one of his students walk in.
"Em," a blond whispered, her eyes wide as her friend sat down, "you're late."
"You think I don't know that?"
The blue eyed girl heard her friend behind her curse, and she watched the ambassador's daughter wipe the spit from her daughter's mouth. "Daycare full?"
Emily quickly nodded her head and got to writing down what was on the board, flashing her baby a smile before taking her book from her bag and opening up to the right page.
Hearing a small cry from her little girl, Emily looked down to her and cleaned off the binky that had fallen from her mouth. "Shh baby," she tried to quiet her, "mommy has to work."
Hotchner gave a small nod to his student once he saw she was focused, and he turned on his projector. "If you could all please get together with your partners for the project," he nodded. "Every group give me your outline and we'll show them to the class."
Emily scooted her chair just slightly so she was closer to the blond beside her, keeping on eye on her daughter as she took out the paper she'd typed up.
"Is she ok?"
The brunette nodded, rocking the carrier her baby was in to try and stop her fussing. "We woke up late," she shrugged. "Everything's ok."
Hotchner made his way to the front row and smiled to one of his smartest students. "Very beautiful baby, Emily."
"Thank you," she blushed, handing her professor her and her friend's paper.
Waiting until their professor walked away, the blond girl gently nudged Emily with her elbow. "Flirt," she smirked, sharing a smile with her friend before turning back to her notes.
"Alright class, all eyes up here," their teacher called. Turning off the front lights, Hotchner called attention to the first paper he put up. "Bystander Effect," he read as the title, immediately circling one of the problems he saw in the directions.
A small wail from her daughter had Emily immediately abandon her work and take the baby out of her carrier. "It's ok," she shushed, rocking the baby as best she could in her seat. "Billie, please stay quiet for mommy."
JJ waited until their professor continued with the first project before looking to her friend. "Do you need to feed her?"
Emily's head shook, patting on Amelia's back. "I fed and changed her this morning," she whispered back. "She should be fine for another hour." Kissing her daughter's head, the twenty year old did her best to ignore the stares of her other classmates. She held Amelia the best she could on her hip, having to pick up her pen and write down what the professor was saying.
The six month old bumped her chin against her mother's shoulder, and she quickly bit down onto her finger as she cried.
Seeing his student struggling, Hotchner stopped his speech. "Emily?"
"I'm sorry," she apologized, hearing a few students in the back rows complaining about the crying. She could feel her heart racing as her professor made his way to the front row. "I'd take her outside but I can't miss the notes."
He smiled gently to the third year student and stood before her desk. "What's her name?"
Emily did her best to keep her cool under the eyes of the older man. "Amelia," she whispered, her hand rubbing down the baby's back. "I call her Billie."
"May I?"
Eyes wide, the twenty year old college student hesitated before handing her daughter off to the older man. "Quiet for mommy," she whispered, putting the binky that had fallen back into Amelia's mouth.
Hotchner smiled wide to the baby, bouncing her gently against his chest just like he had his own son. "Why don't you stay up here with me while mommy does her work?" the professor cooed, carrying the six month old back up to his desk with him. "Alright, Kasey and Meredith. Explain your outline to the class."
Emily kept a close eye on her daughter, looking up from her notes to make sure she was comfortable in the professor's arms. After a moment, Amelia snuggled into Hotchner's chest, her cries quieting.
"He looks pretty hot like that."
The brunette quickly threw an elbow into her friend's side before looking back down to her paper, hiding her smirk.
"Emily and Jennifer," he called, switching the screen to their outline. "Missing Child Experiment." Smiling to the two, he made sure to continue the rocking of the six month old against his chest to keep her calm. "If you two could explain your experiment to the class."
Emily stood along with her friend, shuffling her papers around until she found the right one. "The Missing Child Experiment has been done a few times, all with the same results. A missing poster is put on a store window of a child and what they would look like present day."
"What's special about the project is the study of being an unresponsive bystander."
"Only a small portion of people will even look at the poster," Emily supplied, "and a fraction of those will notice that the girl in the poster is standing in front of the store."
The six month old turned her head when she heard her mother's voice.
Emily grinned, waving back to the little girl who reached for her. "Hi baby," she whispered. Meeting the professor's eyes, she blushed. "Our study is to show the percentage of people who do and do not recognize that the girl in the picture to relate it to previous practices of this experiment."
Professor Hotchner smiled to the girls. "Perfect." He gave his finger to the baby, letting her hold that instead of the clip on his tie, and he moved to the next group. "Jillian and Reece. Your turn."
After an hour, Emily as the rest of the class was packing up her books once the professor had told them the homework for next week.
"Lunch today?"
The brunette denied her friend with a shake of the head, gesturing to her daughter still in her professor's arms. "I have to stay with Billie," Emily smiled. "Tomorrow though, ok?" Shouldering her bag, Emily made her way over to her professor's desk with Amelia's carrier in hand. "Hey baby."
Hotchner shook his head, keeping the six month old against him. "I think I should keep her."
Emily laughed, her eyes meeting the older man's. "Oh really?" She sat herself on the edge of his desk after setting the carrier down on the ground. "I think she'd rather come home with her mother than stay here in a classroom all day."
"But I took care of her," he said pointedly, smiling to his student.
Eyes softening on her professor, Emily nodded her head. "Thank you so much for doing that." Reaching for her little girl, the ambassador's daughter pressed a few kisses to her cheek. "You have no idea how much you helped me."
Hotchner felt himself smiling as he watched his student set her daughter in her carrier after quickly checking her diaper and wiping the spit from her chin. His eyes following Amelia's as Emily handed her her favorite stuffed animal, the professor sat up in his chair. "It was the least I could do. I don't need you failing my class," he joked.
"I'm your top student," she snorted.
"And I'd like to keep it that way," the older man agreed. Handing student the binky that Amelia had kept pulling out of her mouth, he smiled. "You have a beautiful daughter."
Emily blushed picking up her daughter's carrier and placing the clean binky back between her lips. "Thank you, Professor Hotchner."
Handing her a new homework sheet to complete for the next class, he nodded. "And she's welcome back at any time."
"She might have to be," Emily snorted. "Thank you so much."
Before the brunette girl could make her way out of the lecture center, the professor stood from his seat, chasing her up the stairs. "Emily!" Once she turned, he stopped a few steps down from her. "The daycare center here on campus is always full, but there's a great facility two blocks over on Cedar Drive that I took my son to before he went to kindergarten." Watching her eyes widen, he felt himself pause. "I can even call to give you a good word."
Emily could feel her chest tightening as she smiled down to the older man. "Thank you so much, professor." Opening the door with her free hand, the twenty year old moved her eyes back down to the smiling man a few steps down. "I'll see you Wednesday."
Straightening his tie, Hotchner nodded. "Wednesday."