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Lacy here. We've...we've? What, do I have a mouse in my pocket? I've got the next Officer Down for ya. Emily has explained her past with John to Hotch, now it's time for him to learn about Matthew. Just a short one, as we're getting closer to Demonology, I thought it would be best to do this now. Have...nope, not gonna work.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Hotch woke up slowly and reach for Emily, only to find she wasn't there. Sitting up, he felt her space and figured she had been up a while since it was cold. Checking the clock, he frowned. It was three in the morning. Climbing out of bed, Hotch moved through the house, checking the nursery and bathroom before heading downstairs. He found Emily on the couch, flipping through photo albums while talking to her stomach.

"Em, what are you doing up?" Hotch asked as he sat beside her.

Emily smiled. "Your daughter didn't want to settle back down after I went to the bathroom so I decided to unpack a little more and ran across my photo albums."

It had been almost a month since they found out they were having a daughter and Hotch still couldn't wrap his head around it. Emily was seventeen weeks pregnant and it seemed their daughter was as much an insomniac as her mother was.

"What are you showing her?" Hotch asked, looking at the album Emily had open.

Emily smiled softly. "My friend Matthew." Hotch heard the emotion in Emily's voice so he didn't speak. He just let her talk. "He is the one who helped me when I was pregnant. He comforted me and found someone to do the procedure. He helped me tell my dad about it since I could never keep anything from him." Emily wiped a tear away. "He was my best friend and whole world for so long."

"When was the last time you talked to him?" Hotch asked, his voice soft, his tone comforting.

Emily sniffed and shook her hair out of her face. "Ah, just before I joined the BAU. He, uh, Matthew fell into some bad habits the older we got. I did what I could to help him but the last time I saw him, the only one who could help him was himself."

Hotch wrapped his arm around Emily and looked at a picture of Emily and Matthew hugging and smiling.

"Well, if he ever does clean up," Hotch said. "he sounds like the kind of person I want to meet. Thank him for helping you and if he can stay clean, let him be a part of our daughter's life."

Emily looked at Hotch. "Really?"

Hotch nodded. "I know it was hard for you to get close to people growing up Emily and I can tell how much Matthew means to you. If he's a part of your life then he's a part of our life."

Emily kissed Hotch. "Thank you."

"Anything for you sweetheart." Hotch said, returning the kiss. He felt the baby calm down in Emily's stomach. "I think our little one is ready for bed now."

Emily smiled. "Good, cause Mommy is too."

Hotch closed the album and helped Emily off the couch. Holding tightly to each others hands, the two headed back up to bed, both thinking maybe it was time to look up Matthew and see where he was.

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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See? Just a short little one. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

Also, I found out this morning that we lost a dear friend. Keep JWynn and her family in your hearts and thoughts.

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