Pairing: Hotch/Prentiss

Prompts: fireworks, champagne, chocolate cake

Sorry, but I couldn't bring myself to make this a romantic pairing though I did leave the ending open for those of you who want to imagine it leads to that. Now I'm off to start the companion piece I got inspiration for while writing this. Hope you all enjoy!

SSA Aaron Hotchner sat at a table in the corner of the police station that his team had set up in. Around him, the skeleton crew that covered the night shift in this small upstate New York town were enjoying the chocolate cake, chips, and punch that they had brought for their small New Year's Eve party. Being such a small town, there wasn't much going on. At least not for those not directly involved in the murders of two high school seniors and the disappearance of a third. It was a case that had the local sheriff feeling overwhelmed and asking for outside help in how to proceed. Now, the third missing girl may have been located but not in the way they had wanted to find her.

Rossi had gone out with Sheriff Faulkner and one of the deputy to check out a report from the New York State Police of a body found that could possibly be their missing girl. If it was, the UnSub had changed his disposal method. The first two had been found in trash dumpsters within the town limits. This body was found out in the woods just outside the town limits. There was no telling how long the body would have been there if some local teens hadn't been looking for a place to hide out while they celebrated the coming new year.

Hotch looked at the three pictures on the wall. Kristy Vale. Louisa Cameron. Brenda Zell.

~Do Mr. And Mrs. Zell become the first parents of the new year that I have to inform that their child is dead,~ Hotch thought, looking at the picture of the third girl who had gone missing yesterday. Taken thirty-six hours after they had arrived in town.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Hotch pulled his gaze from the board. The footsteps belonged to Emily Prentiss, the only other member of his team currently at the station with him. The look on her face told him that she hadn't come bearing good news.

"What have you got?" Hotch asked wearyingly.

"What do you want first - the bad news or the worse news?" Emily asked, coming to a stop at the end of the table opposite of where Hotch was sitting. As she placed her hands palm down on the table, the raven-haired agent blocked her boss' view of Brenda Zell.

Hotch sighed. Sometimes he hated being right.

"The bad news," he told her, meeting her gaze.

"Morgan called. That lead they were checking out didn't pan out. Frank Shelton, though definitely going through a rough time, isn't our guy."

Hotch nodded. If that was the bad news, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the worse news. Their suspect list had been short to start with. Eliminating Shelton meant that the last name on that short list had been crossed off. They were back to square one.

Across the table, Prentiss was still looking at him. Hotch knew what she was waiting for.

"So what's the worse news?"

"Morgan says it's going to be awhile until they get back," Emily told him.

~Reid?~ Hotch thought, and then wondered why he automatically thought that something had happened to the youngest agent on his team. A number of things could delay the two agents getting back, such as mechanical issues with the SUV.

"What happened?" Hotch asked out loud.

"Reid slipped on some ice leaving Shelton's house. Morgan said it doesn't seem like anything is broken but he's taking Reid to the hospital to have it checked out just in case. Closest hospital is a forty minute drive one way."

"Great," Hotch said, wondering if they were ever going to catch a break on this case. Hotch looked down at the notes he had in front of him and the open files spread out on the table. He looked back up at Prentiss, who hadn't moved. "Have a seat. Let's go through this again and see if we've missed anything."

"Okay," Prentiss said, with a shrug of her shoulders. They had been over the information at least a dozen times already, but as she didn't have any other suggestions, and he was he boss, she gave in without an argument. Moving from her spot in front of the bulletin board, Prentiss walked around the corner of the table and pulled out a chair closer to Hotch. The two of them spent the next hour rehashing the facts that they had. Nothing new occurred to them.

Prentiss was about to suggest they take a break when Hotch's cell phone rang. The BAU unit chief took out his cell phone, glanced at the screen and then answered it putting it immediately on speaker phone.

"Go ahead, Dave. You've got both me and Prentiss."

"The body isn't Brenda Zell nor does it seem like its connected with our case. The body has been here at least a few days, was stabbed in the stomach several times, and then dumped here in a hurry. The State Police are taking over out here, and Sheriff Faulkner and I are headed back to the station now."

"Understood," Hotch replied, feeling both relief and disappointment. Disappointment because it got them nowhere on this case. Relief in that he didn't have to start the year out by informing the Zell's about the death of their daughter. Relief because there was a chance that Brenda Zell was still alive.

"So much for us solving this case this year," Rossi commented.

Prentiss looked at her watch. "Only chance that will happen is if our UnSub walks into the station in the next twenty minutes."

"Let's call it a night," Hotch said. "Get some sleep and then start fresh in the morning."

"Sounds good," Rossi said, his voice sounding weary over the phone. "Anyone else up for grabbing something to eat at that all night diner down the street from the station?"

"I am," Prentiss said.

"How about we meet you there, Dave."

"Sounds good. See you in a bit."

Hotch ended the call and put his phone away. It didn't take long for the two agents to have the files packed up. The two put on their coats, and as their teammates had the two SUVs they were using, Prentiss and Hotch started the short walk to the diner.

About half-way to their destination, loud bangs filled the air. Prentiss looked up in the sky, and saw the colorful display of the fireworks being set off from somewhere. Grabbing the sleeve of Hotch's coat, she pulled her boss to a stop. Silently, she pointed up at the display in the sky. Something cheerful and bright in the dark world in which they worked.

"Happy New Year," Emily said, softly as they both watched the bursts of color light up the sky.

"Might be a new year, but some things never change," Hotch replied, even as he gazed into the sky.

"Maybe not, but for a few minutes, forget about the case and enjoy the fireworks," Prentiss told him, noting, not for the first time, that Hotch could get way to intense about the job. It wasn't healthy for him and as more colors filled the sky, Prentiss made the new year's resolution that she would help her boss lighten up some over the coming year. Show him how to enjoy life again, if not for his own sake then for his son's.

The two FBI agents watched the firework display. When the sky was black once again, Hotch spoke up.

"We should get to that diner," Hotch said, nodding in the direction they had been heading. "I'll even buy you a drink."

"Champagne?" Prentiss asked jokingly.

"Don't you wish. You'll have to settle for non-alcoholic this time as we are still on a case no matter what day of the year it is."

"Do I at least get a rain check?" Emily asked, as they started walking again.

"I'll think about it," Hotch replied. For a few minutes he had been able to forget about the job and the horrors that it brought. Buying Prentiss a drink for giving him that surely wasn't too much to ask for that.