"Damn it, Emily." Hotch sighs.
He walks slowly towards her his head bowed not allowing her to see the annoyance in his eyes. He stands over her looking down on her bent head. He reaches down and pushes up her chin so she is looking at him. The tears streaming down her face crushes his heart and he softens his tone.
"Why are you looking at this?" he points toward the photo she has in her hand.
"How can you just forget?" she whispers tears dropping onto her lap.
"Baby, I have not forgotten them, I just don't want to wallow in grief everyday". Hotch says slowly and carefully not to hurt her.
He takes the photo from her hands and glances at the seven smiling faces sitting around the round table in their old office. It has been two years since they moved from Virginia and away from the FBI. He remembers the day this picture was taken, Hotch and Emily had announced their engagement to the team and, believe it or not, Strauss had taken that picture. It was a good day at the BAU, no cases to solve just a short day of paperwork and festivities. The team had gone out to an early dinner and dancing. That was the last day he can say with confidence was good. The next day was when the BAU had finally broken Hotch.
"Aaron". Emily softly says
Hotch turns to look into his wife's red rimmed dark eyes and slowly sits down next to her on their bed. He envelopes her in his arms and breathes in the apple scent of her hair. He is suddenly transported to the first time he met her. If he was honest he was spellbound by her beauty and her drive. He remembers the electricity that shot through his body when they shook hands. He also remembers chastising himself for having such thoughts, and then glancing at the framed photo of his then wife and Jack, their son. He knows a little piece of him fell in love with her that day. Emily gingerly touches his chest bringing him back to his bedroom.
"What, sweetheart"? Hotch asks linking his fingers with hers resting them on his chest.
"I miss them so much". Emily hiccups. "Don't you miss them even a little bit", she says looking into his eyes. She snuggles closer to him breathing in the familiar sent of his aftershave.
"I do". He hugs her tighter feeling her tears soak his shirt. "Are you hungry?" Hotch feels Emily nod into his chest. He detaches himself from her and pulls her to her feet and plants a soft kiss on her lips.
"Do you want to go out, order in or have leftovers, love? We have the cream of broccoli soup you made last week in the freezer." He asks searching her face.
Emily smiles while Hotch wipes the last tears off her cheeks. "You really do like my cooking, don't you"?
"It's the main reason I married you". Hotch chuckles faintly. In all truthfulness Emily can barely boil a pan of water, but her broccoli soup and sourdough bread is worth writing home about. He grabs her hand and they head downstairs to the kitchen.
Emily heads for the cabinets and begins pulling out flour, sugar, yeast and other ingredients for sourdough bread. Hotch pads in after her grabbing the corkscrew from the drawer and opening the door to the wine cellar.
"What color wine would you like, dear, white or red?" Hotch calls from the bottom of the steps. He smiles when he sees her appear at the top of the stairs, she looks so enduring backlit by the kitchen light.
"Ummm red would be nice. Something vintage". She smiles sweetly at him. "It's going to take about forty-five minutes till the bread is ready so that should give the wine plenty of time to breathe".
Hotch nods and turns towards the red wines, he picks a 1961 Chateau Palmer Margaux and heads upstairs. He shows the wine to Emily she smiles, nods and quickly goes back to kneading the dough. Hotch opens the wine and pours it into two long stem glasses. He sits on a stool by the island and watches her knead, reveling in the way her hands gently press and stretch the dough forming into a ball. Emily turns the oven to 375 degrees, places the ball of dough in a large ceramic bowl and covers it with a damp towel. When she turns to head to the freezer she is stopped in her tracks by the silly grin on her husband lips.
"What are you smiling at"? She asks walking towards him. She stands in front of him, hands on her hips and is pulled to him by his strong arms.
"You", he says "I cannot stop smiling because of you".
He wraps his arms around her waist and pinches her rear playfully. She shrieks and jumps back. Emily smacks his shoulder and winks flirtatious at him. Hotch grabs for her but she moves just out of his reach and laughs enticingly. She reaches for the freezer door; Hotch hops off his stool and presses himself against her. She giggles and turns around into his arms and he captures her lips in a deep kiss. Emily snakes her arms around his neck and caress her fingers into his black hair, she can feel his hands resting on the small of her back. Hotch pulls Emily closer stroking her lips with his tongue, she grants his request and their tongues dance with each other. He moves his mouth to soft spot on her neck, the spot he knows is her special spot, and nibbles there; he is rewarded when she lets loose a small moan. She tilts her head slightly giving him more access to her neck, he responds by moving higher on her neck to her ear and tugging on her earlobe. Emily pushes him back until his hips are against the island, he swings her around and up on the top of the island. Hotch rests his hands on her inner thighs and looks into her eyes.
"Have I ever told you how exquisite you are and how much I cherish you"? Hotch breathes into her breasts.
Emily shivers with pleasure as she feels his breath, "All the time baby, all the time. I love you too. I need you". She pulls slightly away from him and grins. "Let's finish this up..."
Emily is interrupted by the timer on the kitchen stove. They both glare at the timer and look back to each other, searching their faces as to say 'what do we do now'? Emily frowns slightly and Hotch moves back and slides her off the counter. He plants a kiss on her lips and whispers in her ear making her blush. Emily walks toward the stove and Hotch strolls to the freezer for the soup. The kitchen at the Hocthner home is quiet as they heat up the soup, and bake the bread all the while taking slips of wine and kissing at every turn. Thirty minutes had passed and Mr. and Mrs. Hotchner are sitting before a candle lit table staring into each other eyes over a bowl of broccoli soup, warm sourdough bread and a bottle of red wine.
Emily wakes up to the sound of the shower running and the low baritone sounds of her husband humming in the shower. She turns over to look at the 6:34 in digital numbers and groans, "I hate Mondays". She crawls out of bed and grabs her plush purple robe off the end of the bed and meanders down the stairs to the kitchen. She pours herself a cup of coffee adding hazelnut creamer and slides open the sliding door in the kitchen to sit in her favorite chaise lounge.
The autumn weather is staring to get chilly and she pulls her legs beneath her and wraps her robe tightly around her. She stares out to the forest behind their house in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Emily loves this house it is so quiet and calm here. It is far enough from the city to live in a neighborhood but not too far to commute daily for their jobs. Aaron has gone back to being a prosecutor at the sought-after law firm of Worth, Longworth & London LLP, while she has job as a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department. She was assigned to the United Nations in New York because of her connections and her knowledge of five foreign languages. She catches a glimpse of Aaron in his navy blue suit and silk stripped tie. She watches him move gracefully through the kitchen sipping a cup of black coffee and pushing the lever down on the toaster. He turns and finds her eyes and smiles and blows her a kiss. He walks outside and kisses her head.
"Last night was amazing. Thank you. I love you." Aaron gently massages her shoulders. He grabs his phone when it begins to vibrate in his pocket. "Hello. Jack, buddy how are you?"
"Hey Dad, I am okay." Jack says breathlessly.
"What's the matter"? Aaron asks concerned.
"Nothing, just running late to class. I wanted to call and say hi to my parents".
"Well, hi". Aaron laughs. "How are classes so far?"
"Dad we just started on Friday, and this is Monday." Jack says.
"Oh, I…I just meant did you get all the classes you wanted"? Aaron stammers.
"Yeah Dad, every one of them. Hey, ummm Dad can I talk to Mom?"
Aaron hands the phone to Emily, "Hi sweetie. How are you?"
Jack takes a breath before he says, "Hi, Mom. I am okay. How are you? Ummm Mom?"
"Jack, what is it"? Emily asks anxiously. Jack is twelve years old and is starting his first year at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia. Jack had started to have behavior issues and his grades started to drop when he entered junior high. He began to hang with the wrong crowd, he was drinking and stealing. After he was brought home by the police for shoplifting and truancy for the second time, Aaron had enough. That very day he enlisted him in Fishburne. Jack went for the summer session and took a shine to it. "Jack, honey what is going on?"
"Mom, I ummm wanted to know, I need something for school. I know Dad said I had to wait till I was sixteen, but I really need it. It's hard to do my homework without one, and Mom Please." Jack quickly states.
"Jack, honey, what is it that you need?" she questions.
"I need a laptop, for school. Can you ask Dad?" he says
Hocth takes the phone from Emily. "Jack, what do you need?"
"I need a laptop for school." Jack says defiantly.
Hocth draws in a breath, "Buddy, I hate to say no but I have to. We made an agreement that you would not get one till you are sixteen. I am sorry you will just have to use the ones they have at school".
"Why?" Jack says loudly.
"First do not yell at me and secondly you need to earn my trust back. I didn't do this Jack, you did. And furthermore..." Hocth stops short when he feels Emily's hand on his wrist.
"Dad, let me talk to Mom again". Jack says curtly.
"Jack, let your Dad and I discuss this okay. Don't worry. Go to class and I will talk to you tonight. I love you and your Dad loves you too". Emily smiles into the phone.
"I love you too, Mom. Bye Mom". Jack hangs up and Emily hands Hotch his phone.
Hotch reaches for her mug and smiles down at her. "What time do you need to go in"?
"Not till eleven. Would you like some eggs with your toast"? Emily asks as she rises from her chair.
"Are you gonna make the eggs"? Hocthes raises an eyebrow and chuckles.
"Very funny, Mr. Hotchner. Do you want some or not"? Emily brushes past him and into the kitchen grabbing eggs and milk from the fridge. "You know, you have to trust him one of these days. He is in school and he made all A's during the summer session."
"Emily I am not going to talk about this. Jack and I made a deal and what kind of father would I be if I just let him have what he wants. I have said all I will say about the matter". He stands by the burning bread in the toaster.
"He is my son too, and you cannot just make decisions on your own. We should come to an agreement together. You are doing the same thing do Jack as you did to me". Emily looks at him as rage flashes in her eyes. She lowers her gaze and cracks eggs into a bowl, pours milk over the top and whisks angrily.
Hotch looks as though he was slapped, "What do you what I did to you"?
Emily pours the egg mixture in the heated cast iron skillet. Stirring the eggs as they bubble and pop. Hotch walks next to her by the stove.
"Emily"?
She gives him a sidelong glance and says, "You took me away from my family". Emily continues to stir the eggs as Hocth's mouth gapes open.