A/N: I wrote this story before I checked out the prompts/challenges on Angel N Darkness's forum, but this story totally fit one of the prompts, and she graciously let me post it anyway. Thanks!

"Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable."

Henry Ward Beecher

* * * * *

It was one of those rare, beautiful days when the air was warm, but a cool breeze kept things comfortable. The team, fresh from a case involving the brutal killings of women who visited abortion clinics, began to relax as the beauty and tranquility of Little Creek soothed their frayed nerves. Emily allowed the innocent laughter of Jack and Henry to serve as a balm for the wounds that had re-opened during the course of the investigation. Emily felt herself begin to finally relax, though she could still detect the worry on Hotch's face as he took a seat next to her as the team settled on Rossi's back porch after dinner. Jack and Henry made a beeline for the play area that Rossi and the rest of the team had built once it was established that Little Creek would be the primary site for team gatherings.

As Emily observed the co-workers that had become her family (closer to her than her own family, in fact), she couldn't help but feel a small twinge of sadness mixed with jealousy. Everyone, except her and Hotch, had found somebody to ease the darkness that pervaded their lives. JJ was nestled against Rossi on a loveseat, his hands resting protectively on the small bump representing their first, and JJ's second, child together. Rossi had fallen in love with the fiery blond shortly after he re-joined the BAU. The pair had existed in a quirky sort of friendship, until the news of JJ's pregnancy surfaced. When Will high-tailed it back to New Orleans upon hearing the news, Rossi stepped in, serving as the support system that JJ had so desperately needed. It wasn't long until Rossi had confessed his feelings and JJ realized her own. Though it had come as a surprise to the team that Rossi had settled easily into the role of father and husband (the pair had married shortly after the birth of Henry) and Rossi's track record left something to be desired, the entire team knew that this time it would be forever.

Emily next moved her gaze to Garcia, who was perched in her customary position atop Morgan's lap. Between the outrageous flirting and innuendos, everyone knew it would only be a matter of time before the duo would realize they were meant to be. Though Garcia had always harbored feelings for her chocolate god, she had assumed that they'd never be anything more than friends. It had taken Derek a little longer, till Battle and Kevin came into the picture, to realize that he wanted his baby girl to be his Baby Girl. Fortunately for Derek, he got his second chance when Kevin had jumped ship and taken off for parts unknown with the NSA. In less than a week after Kevin's departure, Morgan had professed his feelings for the technical analyst, and they had been happy together ever since.

The most surprising relationship on the team was between Spencer Reid and Cate Hennessy. SSA Catherine Hennessy, Cate to all those who wished to remain on her good side, had joined the team during Hotch's month-long leave after Haley's death. Cate and Reid were instantly drawn together; Cate was one of the few people who actually enjoyed the random facts that Reid was always spouting. The biggest surprise was that Reid, the most socially awkward of the bunch, asked Cate out after a week. Fortunately for their fledgling relationship, Cate had integrated so well with the team that she became a permanent part even after Hotch's return.

Emily sighed. She had been single for a long time, and she didn't see that changing anytime soon. For years, since shortly after joining the BAU, Emily had been attracted to Aaron Hotchner. After she had gained his trust and proved that despite Strauss's agenda for her, she was fiercely loyal to her team, Emily's feelings had slowly turned to love. Believing that Hotch was happily married with a beautiful baby boy, Emily did what she did best- she compartmentalized, burying her feelings deep so they would never re-surface. Even after Hotch's marriage started going downhill, Emily kept her feelings tucked away, acting only as one friend concerned for another.

It wasn't until her encounter with Benjamin Cyrus that Emily began to feel her first glimmer of hope. For months after, Hotch barely left her side. Even after her injuries had long since healed, Hotch still paired them together as often as he could in the field. Though Emily was annoyed in the beginning by Hotch's hovering, after a while she didn't mind it so much. The tentative bond between them began to strengthen, and it solidified after Foyet's attack. Needing help cleaning his multiple injuries and with his apartment still labeled a crime scene, Hotch had temporarily moved into Emily's apartment. After Haley's death, Hotch didn't leave, and Jack joined him soon after. Though Hotch promised to start looking for a place for him and Jack and move out soon, it had yet to happen, and Emily was in no hurry for the Hotchner men to leave.

It hadn't taken long for Emily to fall for the charms of the youngest Hotchner, and it was clear to everyone that saw them together that Jack returned Emily's affections. Though she never would be, nor did she want to be, a replacement for Haley, Emily had grown to love Jack as if he were her own. Emily could picture Jack and Hotch and herself becoming a family, and it kept Emily on edge knowing that if Hotch gave into the feelings she believed were there, it could become a reality. For months Emily and Hotch had been treading the fine line between friendship and something more, and Emily was hoping against hope that they would fall onto the other side. She had spent so long mulling over her thoughts that it took several moments to realize that the entire team was staring at her oddly.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Emily asked, looking at the others in confusion.

"We've been calling your name for awhile. Are you okay? You seemed far away." Hotch spoke up, a concerned look on his face.

"Sorry, got lost in thought. I'm okay, I promise."

"You sure? I know this last case was tough for you."

"I'm fine Aaron." Emily smiled, placing her hand in reassurance atop his. Hotch smiled back, giving her hand a squeeze before sitting back in his char. Butterflies began to flutter in Emily's stomach when Hotch made no attempt to remove his hand. Instead, he entwined his fingers with hers and rested their hands comfortably on her armrest. The sight wasn't lost on the rest of the team either, though no one dared to comment after Hotch sent a silencing look their way.

"So what were you guys talking about?" Emily asked, trying to keep the blush from her cheeks as Hotch began to stroke her hand softly. Rossi smirked knowingly, having suspected Hotch's feelings toward Prentiss for quite some time. He hoped Aaron would tell her soon how felt. If not, Rossi would be having a talk with his young protégé.

"Childhood romances. Morgan was just telling us about this girl who broke his heart when he was in first grade." Garcia replied. Inside she was squealing with glee at the sight of Emily and Hotch holding hands. She'd been rooting for the two to get together for years. If anyone in this world deserved some happiness, it was Hotch and Emily.

"The great Derek Morgan shot down by a girl? Must have taken years to recover from that big blow to your ego." Emily equipped, laughing at the dirty look Morgan shot her.

"Behave." Hotch scolded in Emily's ear, though he couldn't keep the amusement from his voice. Emily gulped, warmth flooding her body as Hotch's voice caressed the shell of her ear.

"Very funny Prentiss. As I was saying…" Morgan paused, shooting another dirty look at Emily, who snorted, "her name was Alexis Peterson, and I thought she was the hottest thing at Ashburg Elementary. So naturally I did what any six-year-old boy with a crush would do- I pulled her hair at recess. Needless to say, she didn't quite respond the way I had hoped"

"What did you expect? I never understand why that was supposed to show affection. It always hurt when people pulled my hair. Why would I do that to someone else?" Reid interrupted. His lips puckered into a disgruntled pout when the entire team burst out laughing.

"Kid, you were what, in middle school, when you were six? The girls would've torn you apart if you had tried that." Morgan countered with a chuckle.

"That's beside the point." Reid grumbled. Cate gave Reid an affectionate smile and kiss, trying to soothe his ruffled feathers.

"So what did this Alexis do to you anyway?" Rossi asked, bringing the conversation back to Morgan's story.

"She decked me. My heart was crushed, I had a black eye for a week, and everyone teased me until middle school for being beat up by a girl." The entire team erupted in laughter, drawing the curiosity of Jack and Henry, who had abandoned their castle building in the sandbox to find out what was so funny.

"What's so funny Emmy?" Jack asked, climbing into Emily's lap.

Emily smiled warmly at the little boy. "Uncle Derek was telling us a funny story about a girl he liked when he was just a little older than you."

"Yuck! Girls have cooties!" Jack exclaimed in disgust. The team chuckled at the little boy's statement.

"Some day buddy, you won't feel that way about girls." Hotch replied, a rare smile on his face.

"Never Daddy! Girls will always have cooties!" Jack insisted.

"What about me Jack? Do I have cooties?" Emily asked, pouting at the little boy.

"Of course not Emmy. You and mommy and Aunt Jen and Aunt Cate are the only ones who don't have cooties." Jack replied importantly. "Come on Henry, let's go finish building our castle." Jack jumped off Emily's lap and led the toddler back to the sandbox, shaking his head at the silliness of adults. Everyone smiled at the sight. Jack loved Henry as if he was his brother, and the two were inseparable when they were together. He was always asking his daddy when he'd be able to see Henry again.

"What about you Em? You must have had boys tugging your hair all the time. I've seen your baby pictures, you were a cutie." Garcia asked once the laughter had died down.

Emily's smile fell from her face, and she sighed before answering. "Actually, no, we moved around too much for that to happen. Jon was the first boy who ever showed any real interest in me." Emily replied. The group grew quiet, remembering the unhappy memories surrounding Emily and Jon and their time in Rome. Hotch, who was still holding Emily's hand, raised it to his lips and brushed a kiss against the back. Emily gave him a small smile, grateful for the quiet comfort he was offering.

"Spence, tell them about the time you asked out Susie Rawston." Cate said with a giggle, breaking the tension.

"Cate, sweetheart, you weren't supposed to say anything about that…" Reid trailed off, blushing.

"Oh come on Reid, it can't be any worse than Morgan getting beat up by a girl." Emily replied, not the least bit affected by the death looks Derek was sending her way.

"It happened when I was in high school, which doesn't really count as part of childhood, so therefore not relevant to this story." Reid argued.

"Boy genius, how old were you?" Penelope asked.

"Nine."

"See, still in the single digits. Definitely part of your childhood." Penelope grinned triumphantly.

Seeing that the team wasn't going to let up, Reid gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine. So it was my freshman year, and I had the hugest crush on this girl, Susie Rawston. She was one of the few people who didn't treat me like some kind of freak. She always defended me when others would give me a hard time, and always invited me to hang out with her and her friends. The school dance was coming up, and I decided to take a chance and ask her. I was too chicken to ask in person, so instead I left a note in her locker asking her to be my date."

"Aw, adorable!" Garcia exclaimed. "What happened after? I'm assuming she said no, otherwise the story wouldn't be so embarrassing."

"She wasn't too happy about getting the note and being asked by a nine-year old, especially when the guy, a jock, who she wanted to go to the dance with snatched the note from her hands and spread the news around the school. She never spoke to me again." All the girls aww'd, feeling bad for the boy genius and all the troubles he encountered in school.

"It's okay baby, she didn't deserve you anyway. You're all mine now." Cate replied, pulling Reid's head down for a short but very satisfying kiss. Reid beamed at his girlfriend, and leaned down for another kiss before wrapping her just a little bit tighter in his arms.

"Ugh, you two make me sick." Morgan joked as he watched the affection between Reid and Cate.

"Oh come on buttercup, we're just as bad as they are." Penelope pointed out with a smile.

"Baby girl, we're nothing like Cate and Reid." Morgan argued.

Reid snorted. "Yeah, you guys are so much worse." Everyone laughed, including Garcia. Morgan sighed, knowing he was outnumbered, and that in any case Reid was right. The group was still laughing at Morgan's defeat when Jack came running up to the group with Henry toddling behind him.

"Aunt Jen, Henry stinks." Jack stated, tugging on the hem of JJ's sundress.

"I've got him bella." Rossi said as he stood up, scooping a giggling Henry into his arms and walking toward the house to change him.

"You've got him trained well." Cate quipped.

"I do, don't I?" JJ replied, smiling at the sight of her husband and son.

"Emmy, since Henry is inside, will you play with me?" Jack asked, walking over to Emily and giving her his best set of puppy dog eyes.

"Of course I will buddy! What shall we play?" Emily asked, giving Hotch's hand a quick squeeze before getting up.

"Swings!" Jack exclaimed, taking off toward the swing set. Emily laughed as she took off after a rather enthusiastic Jack. Everyone smiled, especially Hotch, thinking how thankful they were that Jack had someone that helped him to stay young, happy, and innocent after all the tragedy he had seen and experienced in his short little life. Hotch felt a tightness in his chest as he watched the woman who meant so much to him laugh and smile as she pushed his son on the swing.

"So tell me boss man, does the hand holding mean you're going to finally do something about your feelings for my best girl?" Garcia asked, not bothering to mince words.

"Baby girl…" Morgan began, shooting a worried look at Hotch. Garcia huffed in frustration.

Hotch smiled. "It's okay Derek, it's a fair question." Hotch paused before continuing. "I'm sure it's quite obvious what my feelings are toward Emily, and what hers are for me, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea to act on them. Things are really good between us right now. What if I ruin things? It's not like I have the best track record when it comes to relationships." Hotch replied, his gaze never wavering from the sight of Emily and his son playing together.

"Hotch, you wouldn't ruin anything. Em's crazy about you, and she has been for years." Morgan argued. "Plus, you're track record isn't half as bad as Rossi's, and he managed to land JJ." Morgan added, much to the amusement of the group. Rossi, who had just walked out with a freshly changed Henry, grumbled and shot the younger agent a dirty look before sitting back down next to JJ. JJ smiled and gave Rossi a kiss on the cheek as Henry wiggled out of his arms and ran down to where Emily and Jack were playing.

"You guys don't think it's too soon after Haley? I don't want Emily to think that I'm simply looking for a replacement."

"Hotch, the only one who can answer that question is you. Yes, Haley's death was sad and tragic, but your relationship with her ended a long time ago." JJ said. "Be honest, your feelings for Emily started long before Foyet ever came back into our lives, didn't they?"

Aaron sat quietly, reflecting for a moment before replying. "Yeah, I guess they did. To be truthful, I think it started before Haley and I officially divorced, though I really didn't notice them until I listened to Cyrus beat Emily and I realized that I might lose her forever."

"See, there you go. Nothing to worry about." Morgan replied. "Besides, you two have been living together for months. If she hasn't run for the hills yet, I doubt she ever will."

"Maybe I will do something." Hotch replied with a smile, imagining just how wonderful it would be if he and Emily and Jack were a real family.