Christmas Gift Fic Exchange!
Assigned pairing is: Hotch/Prentiss
Prompts: Santa baby; mistletoe; stockings; carrots for the reindeer
A Gift for: LoveHGSS
Santa Baby, slip a sable under the tree, For me.
been an awful good girl, Santa baby,
so hurry down the chimney tonight.
Santa baby, a 54 convertible too,
Light blue.
I'll wait up for you dear,
Santa baby, so hurry...
Emily stomped over to the radio switching the song off with such force that it almost fell off the table.
"Whoa, there! What's the problem, Rambo?" Derek asked as he grabbed for the device to prevent it for falling off the counter.
"Ugh! This time of year just bothers me!" Emily complained, falling back onto her office chair. Pointing to the stockings that hung on the railing with all the agents' names and the many decorations and gift bags on the corner of each desk she said, "I cannot wait until all of this is over."
Sitting on the edge of the desk, Derek sipped his coffee. "Well Ms. Scrooge, who is responsible for your ba-humbug attitude during this festive time."
Sitting up straight in her chair, Emily flipped her hair back and gave Derek a dirty look. "You know it really isn't fair of you to say that. Just because you and Penelope treat this place like it's your own personal North Pole doesn't mean the rest of us appreciate it or even want it. What is so good about Christmas anyway? It used to be just a time of togetherness and family. Now it's become this over commercialized excuse for big box companies to squeeze every last dime out of poor saps who just have to have the latest gadget that none of us need. And gift giving? I mean come on. None of us really want any of the crap that people give us anyway. Some of us would just like to forget this time of the year and move right into January."
Placing a hand on Emily's elbow, Derek softened his voice. "Wow. I've never known you to be so Grinch like. What's going on this year?"
Emily had a smart-alec retort ready on the tip of her tongue but looking into Derek's eyes she changed her mind. "I don't know. I've never been a lover of the holiday season, but this year everything is bugging me. From the crazy drivers at the mall, to not finding what you need, to..."
"...being disappointed on Christmas morning?" Derek asked gently.
Emily stared at Derek for a moment and wondered how he was reading her mind. "No...no." she responded shaking her head. Letting her eyes wander around the room, she watched as Hotch left his office and walked over to speak to Rossi at the coffee machine. "Just getting what you need rather than what you really want. I learned that quite early in life and each year hasn't been any different. Especially this year."
"Princess, I'm really sorry. This year has been tough on all of us but especially on you. But I need to tell you that you have to believe. I do and this year I prayed really hard that I would get what I really wanted. And I did get that when you came back to us."
Smiling sadly, Emily placed her hand on top of Derek's. "Aw, shucks partner, you always know what to say to a girl to make her feel special."
"Em, you are special. You have no idea what your 'death' did to this team. I lost one of my best friends. Poor Reid he was devastated to lose his big sister. Rossi was still Rossi but he lost his edge. Let's not talk about Pen & JJ. They were a mess. And Hotch, well let's just say that he sank further into his darkness."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"When you came back, I was angry...we all were...but underneath that we were over the moon happy to have you back. You are right that the gifts and the merriment don't make us happy but people do."
Standing up, Emily grabbed her purse and threw it over her shoulder. "You're right but unfortunately for me, the people in my life have always disappointed me. So, my friend, give me a hug and then I'm going to go home, lock my door, pull down the covers and go to bed. When I wake up hopefully Christmas will be over and I'll get back to reality. I hope you enjoy your holiday with whatever honey happens to be in your bed. Goodnight Derek."
Derek watched as Emily walked away from him towards the elevator. "Well this Santa Baby isn't going to accept that reality. Hotch," Derek called out to his supervisor, "I need your help with something." Internally Derek promised himself that Emily was going to have a good Christmas for once and he was going to make sure that it happened.