Disclaimer: I do not own anything Criminal Minds related. Characters are merely borrowed and will be put back later. ;)

Title: Kingdom Come

Prompt: One Breath

***

"Steal my heart and hold my tongue.
I feel my time, my time has come.
Let me in, unlock the door.
I've never felt this way before."

***

It was the easiest thing in the world to do.

Just a few words to utter and then it would be over.

She felt her breath catch in her chest. This was the moment she had waited for- and it felt as though she had been waiting forever. The man who stood opposite her was the man she had loved for a very long time now. The smile on his face tight this second was the way she loved him best; relaxed; free; handsome.

She smiled at him, listening to what was going on in the surrounding area. She could see people grinning, one or two people crying, and many more just watching silently, listening to the words echoing through the hall. She nervously breathed out; but she had no doubts. This was the right thing to do and the right way to go about it.

She watched patiently, her cheeks blushing red (as they always did) when he looked directly into her eyes.

"Emily. It's been three years- the best years of my life. I can't imagine what life would be like without you; I can't imagine what I would be like without you. Without you I'm... lost. I love you. I love you more with each passing day- it's indescribable. Today, I'm giving you my heart, freely and willingly- and permanently. You ripped down my defences and claimed it for your own a long time ago. I know you'll take care of it."

She looked at him for a few long seconds, seeing that his eyes were welling up ever so slightly. She blinked away the tears in her own eyes and cleared her throat.

"I can't believe it's been three years," she started, "I knew then that I loved you. That's not enough for me now; those words are so small compared to how I feel. You're strong, generous, loving, handsome, grumpy..." the crowd laughed- and so did he- "But those are the things I love about you. I love them so much that I want to see them every single day without fail. I swear Aaron, right up to the end," her voice wavered, "right up to the end, everything that's left of me- it's yours."

He smiled at her hopelessly as that single, pivotal tear slipped down her cheek. He reached up and slipped his thumb gently across her face, wiping it away. Beside him, Dave stood with the rings.

The rest went spinning by. The quiet solemn words of "I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and fidelity..." were just as vital, but Emily was practically in a dream world. She was able to glance around the church and see the beauty of it. The flowers- orchids, roses, lilies- tucked into bowls and vases, were perfect. Her dress, simple, long, devastatingly white, made her feel like a princess, and the plain white high heels underneath were oddly comfortable. JJ had curled her hair carefully and fastened most of it in an elegant knot at her neck, leaving stray pieces to fall across her face. She wore no veil, and the buttons that fastened the dress closed at the back were old fashioned and highlighted the elegant arc of her torso.

She didn't know it, but all Aaron could think about was how stunningly beautiful she was. When she had first walked in, his mouth had literally fallen open a little, and he knew that it was a story Derek Morgan would pass around the BAU for many years to come.

And even with the colour in the church, the bursts of flowers everywhere, the amazing dress and the people watching her, all Emily could see was Aaron. There was simply nobody else in the room for her. She smiled to herself the entire way throughout, unable to believe how it had all turned out- and again, though she wasn't to know it, he was thinking the exact same thing.

And then it was over. And he took her hand, now with a thin band of white gold circling her finger, and kissed it gently. "Mrs Hotchner," he said.

She gasped one breath. It sounded amazing.

"Mrs Hotchner," she whispered back as people rose and applauded. She smiled as she said it, and felt the familiar contented feeling as his arms wrapped around her and dragged her as close as possible, his warm lips pressing carefully, tenderly and lovingly against hers.

Mrs Hotchner.

***

"For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.
And say you'll come, and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me."

Coldplay

Kingdom Come

***