TONIGHT IS THE BEAUTIFUL NIGHT! AN HOUR AND A HALF LEFT AND I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW FUCKING EXCITED I AM! IF THERE ARE NO HOTCH/PRENTISS MOMENTS I WILL KILL SOMEONE! LITERALLY CUT A BITCH THEN TORCH A BUILDING FULL OF PUPPIES!

This prompt came from Greengirl82 but I changed it a bit…thanks girl!

"I can't believe you're making me do this."

"He sounds perfect for you Emily, I don't see why you wouldn't want to go."

"Because it's a blind date," she whined. "Nothing good comes out of them."

The words blind date caused Hotch to pay close attention to what the females around him were nonchalantly talking about.

"What am I supposed to do if he's horrible?"

"Go to the bathroom," Penelope suggested. "Then call me or JJ and we'll call your phone to give you an out."

Emily ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "This is gonna suck."

The ladies walked away leaving Hotch alone contemplating what he was going to do. What if she has a great time on the date? What if they hit it off then they get married and have children? Hotch shook his head rapidly when his thoughts traveled to Emily and the mystery man on a date and in the throes of passion. There was no way he could let any of this happen. He'd have to find a way to stop it.

6 o'clock rolled around and Hotch hadn't thought of a single thing to stop Emily from going on the date. And he regretted that action when he watched as she came out of the bathroom sporting a flattering black dress that hugged her perfectly and sent his mind reeling. Never before has he wanted a case to come down. But as he watched Emily fix her hair then wave goodbye he knew nothing was going to stop her. Finally an idea popped into his mind and he quickly grabbed his things before heading quickly towards the stairs.

He swung the door to the parking garage open quickly then spotted Emily in her car and he sprinted to his before reversing and following the beauty. Hotch kept a safe distance between them, knowing Emily would most likely realize someone was following her. He watched as she pulled into the parking lot of a nice little Italian restaurant and he drove by before pulling a u-turn right as she walked into the building. Hotch parked then slowly made his way over to the door. What exactly did he plan on doing? Barge in there and confess everything to her? That's not who he was. But as he saw Emily greet her date with a hug, he knew he'd gladly be someone who he wasn't if it meant he could be with her. Hotch took a deep breath before he opened the door and stepped inside.

"How may I help you?" he was greeted.

"Um, hi," he whispered slightly, "I'm meeting someone, is there any way I can wait over here?" Hotch asked as he pointed to a dark corner.

"Of course," the hostess beamed.

Hotch moved into the shadows and locked his gaze on Emily and her very attractive date. Every part of him hated the fact that the restaurant was intimate and quiet. It's a perfect date area and Emily loves Italian. Great, Hotch thought, perfect date area with perfect food with a man who has perfect hair. No way did Hotch even stand a chance. And as he watched her laugh at something Mr. Perfect said, he felt horrible for even thinking he should ruin her chance at being happy. If there was one thing he knew it was that if he ruined her date she would never forgive him. Just as he was about to leave, his heart jumped when Emily excused herself and headed towards the bathroom. His mind replayed the conversation Emily had earlier with the girls. Bathroom equaled escape route. Emily was having a bad time.

Hotch told the hostess he was going to use the bathroom then he stood at the ladies room door waiting for Emily to come out. A minute later when she still hadn't come out, he slowly opened the door and peered inside. A small hand came from behind the door and Emily roughly pulled Hotch inside.

"What are you doing?" Emily demanded as she crossed her arms and waited for a response.

Hotch felt like a deer caught in the headlights. He had no idea what to say and the hope that he had felt when she came to the bathroom disappeared because what if she came only because she knew he'd follow her, and she wanted to comfort him.

"Stalk much?" Emily asked when she realized he wasn't going to answer her.

Finally his mind came back to him. "I'm not stalking you," Hotch protested.

"Oh really? You followed me from work to this restaurant. You went inside and stood in the corner like a creeper and you followed me into the bathroom, if that's not stalking, I'm not sure I understand the definition."

"I was worried about you," he informed her. "I heard you had a blind date and they can be very dangerous. You don't know him."

"That's the purpose of a blind date Hotch, so I can get to know him! So what are you really doing here?" she wondered out loud.

"I was worried," he repeated.

Emily rolled her eyes then backed toward the door. "Whatever, you can leave now. I have to get back to my date." What that Emily was gone and Hotch leaned against the wall. Did that mean she was having a great time? Why didn't he tell her the real reason he was here? Why was it always so hard for him to say what he was feeling? So hard to express himself? An idea popped into his mind and he knew he had to stop her date so with determined strides he walked out of the bathroom and headed to the table.

"Emily?" Hotch asked in surprise.

She looked over at him and before she could question what he wanted he went all in.

"Who is this?" Hotch demanded. "Is this the movies with the girls? Do you do this often? Lie to me and go out on dates when I'm at home watching our children? So who is this?" he looked over at the man and glared. "Do you plan on fucking him? Am I not good enough for you anymore?"

Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing and she had to quickly snap her mouth shut when she realized it was hanging open.

"Who is this guy?" her date asked.

"I'm her husband," Hotch answered with anger lacing his tone.

"You're married?" he asked as his eyes clouded with sadness.

Emily began to shake her head no and Hotch used it to his advantage.

"You'd rather say we aren't married then tell this guy the truth? I thought you loved me. That's what you told me today when I fucked you against the door." Emily's eyes widened and she almost choked on air. "I guess you only love me when you want something. And now here you are with a strange guy while I'm stuck at home watching Jack and Abby. Do you not love them either?"

"Hotch—"

"You don't even say my first name anymore!" Hotch chastised. "When did your feelings for me change? I thought we had a great thing going. How could you throw six years down the drain like nothing we shared was special?"

Emily watched as her date stood up. "I'm going to get going," he told them in an uncomfortable manner. "I'm sorry man, I didn't know," he apologized to Hotch. "She's great, I see why you'd fight so hard to keep her." And with one more look at the pair he walked away which caused Emily to turn her gaze on Hotch.

"What…the fuck was that?" she practically yelled.

Shame came over Hotch. He ruined her date and from what he could tell, her date actually liked her. "I'm sorry," he mumbled as he looked down at his feet.

"Sorry for what?" Emily snarled. "Ruining my date? Lying to him? Saying you're my husband and making me sound like a major whore who couldn't give two shits about my children? Am I getting warm?"

Hotch finally returned his gaze to her face then immediately wished he hadn't. Emily's face was beat red and she had fire in her eyes. "I…well…" Hotch lowered his head again and realized he had no idea what to say. What could he say? Nothing because what he needed now was a time machine. "I'm sorry," he repeated and all Emily could do was scoff and push him out of her way as she headed for the door. It took Hotch a second to realize she had walked away but once his senses returned he hurried after her, knowing that he couldn't let her leave that way.

Emily was at her car before he finally spoke up. "Emily wait!" he yelled as he ran towards her and shut her car door before she could get inside.

"What?" she yelled.

"You deserve better," he whispered as he moved closer.

"Better than a doctor? Better than someone who is looking for love and seemed to understand what my job entailed? Better than the one guy I've gone on a date with in eight months?" Emily crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an answer. When she saw that he did honestly look sorry and just didn't know what to say, her arms dropped to her side and sighed. "What are you really doing here Hotch?"

At her gentler tone Hotch looked at her. "I didn't want you going out with him," he confessed. "Blind dates never go well and you might have needed an out."

"Why didn't you ask me in the bathroom then? Instead you took it upon yourself to barge in and ruin a perfectly good date?" When Hotch stayed silent she gave him a hard look then opened her car door. "I'll see you on Monday," Emily whispered as she started the car and left Hotch standing here feeling ridiculous.

He had no idea why he didn't just tell her why he ruined her date. Or even why he followed her in the first place. How was he supposed to lay it all out on the line when she hated him? In the back of his mind, he wondered whether or not he ruined any chance he may have had with her. Who knew maybe he ruined their friendship all together. The only way he was ever going to know was to see how she acted on Monday. Maybe if she didn't look at him with pure hatred in her eyes he stood a chance, but if she did he had no idea what he was going to do.