It's been forever since I've posted anything, wow! I just haven't had many good ideas to follow up on. But since today is Emily's birthday, I figured I'd try to get a little something up! Following the timeline of my story, "Collide," this fic takes place a little more than a year after that story ended. Hope you guys like it! : )

Also, I had the year wrong for this, I put 2013 but that is wrong. I corrected it, hopefully the timeline makes more sense now!

October 13, 2018

Hotch was up early, much earlier than he would ever want to be; but today was a special day. Emily's birthday was today, and he intended to make it extra special. Emily had to work today, so he was going to make her breakfast before she left. He also had a plan for the two of them later that night. Emily told him not to make a big deal about her birthday, but how could he not? She did so much every day. She was a wonderful wife and even better mother, he knew she deserved something special.

Hotch went into 16 year old Declan's and 12 year old Jack's rooms, waking them up so they could help, upon their request. They headed downstairs quietly while Hotch went to wake up a now 3 year old Layla.

Layla woke up easily, excited and ready to go.

"It's Mommy's birthday!" She said a little too loudly.

"I know," Hotch said quietly. "We have to be quiet so we don't wake her up, okay?"

"Okay," Layla whispered, jumping out of bed and racing down the stairs. Hotch laughed to himself, trying to keep a three year old quiet all morning would certainly be a struggle.

Before heading downstairs himself, he peeked into his and Emily's room. She was still sleeping, thankfully. He pulled the door closed softly behind him and went into the kitchen where their children were waiting.

"Can we make pancakes?" Layla asked hopefully. "They're my favorite! She said. "Oh, and Mommy's too." She added with a giggle.

Hotch laughed. "I think that's a good idea. Layla and I can make the pancakes, Jack and Declan, you guys can make some bacon and cut up some fruit if you want." They agreed, taking on their tasks together.

Hotch got out all the ingredients for pancakes, taking out a special ingredient he knew Emily would love.

"Are those chocolate chips?" Layla asked excitedly, her eyes wide.

"They are. Your mom loves chocolate chip pancakes." Hotch replied.

"Me too! Can I crack the eggs Daddy?" Layla asked without skipping a beat.

"I'll help you." Hotch offered, picking her up and sitting her on the counter so she could reach. He remembered the last time Layla had tried to crack open the eggs. More eggshell made it into the bowl than egg yolk.

Layla happily helped make the batter while Jack and Declan were busy cutting up strawberries, bananas, and oranges.

Things were going exactly as planned, until Layla decided pancake batter could also be used as a weapon. She stuck her hand in the bowl when Hotch turned away for a second, and when he turned back around he was met with a little handful of pancake batter to the face.

He couldn't even be mad, Layla thought it was so funny that he couldn't help but laugh with her. He knew he probably should have told her not to do it. Instead, he stuck a finger into the bowl and put some batter on the tip of Layla's nose. She laughed wildly, and before long, even Jack and Declan had joined in on the fun. They forgot all about being quiet.

Caught up in all their fun, they had no idea when Emily entered the doorway of the kitchen, smiling at her family. Normally, she would probably be a little ticked at the mess the kitchen was fast becoming, but it was just too funny.

After a few more minutes, Emily made her presence known. She cleared her throat, trying to be serious. She nearly laughed at how quickly everyone got quiet and froze in their spots.

"Daddy started it!" Layla said, pointing at Hotch.

"How dare you guys." Emily said, remaining serious.

"Em, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have encouraged them." Hotch apologized.

Emily calmly walked over to where Hotch stood.

"You didn't even let me in on the fun!" Emily said, laughing as she watched Hotch's face. He'd been so worried she was actually mad.

"Well, we were trying to surprise you." Jack said.

"Happy birthday, Mom! Sorry we woke you." Declan said.

"Thank you, Dec." Emily smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, I had to be up soon anyway."

"Why don't you three go get cleaned up? You have school. I'll worry about this mess." Hotch said.

"Not me!" Layla said.

"You still have to get cleaned up." Hotch told her.

"Aw man!" Layla said. "Happy birthday Mommy!" she added as she jumped down from the counter and hugged Emily tightly, sharing the pancake batter that adorned her clothes with Emily.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Go with Declan and Jack, okay? I'll help you in a few minutes." Emily replied.

Since Emily was already covered in batter, Jack and Declan wished her happy birthday again and hugged her before heading upstairs to wash up.

"Sorry about the kitchen, I'll have it back in order before you come home." Hotch promised.

"I can't believe you let them do that! It looked like you were having just as much fun as they were." Emily laughed, wiping off some batter on Hotch's face. "You look ridiculous."

"Oh yeah?" Hotch challenged jokingly, putting both hands into what little batter remained in the bowl, then grabbing Emily's face and kissing her hard.

"Now you look ridiculous too." He smiled.

"You're a jerk." Emily joked.

"Happy birthday, Em." Hotch said as he pulled her close to him.

"I love you." Emily said.

"I love you, too." He replied. "Since all my plans have been foiled already, should I tell you what I had planned for tonight?" Hotch asked.

"I told you not to make a big deal!" Emily said.

"Do you want a present or not?" Hotch asked.

"Well, duh, I want it." Emily replied.

"Tonight, JJ is coming over to help with dinner and to stay the night. You and I have a suite downtown with our names on it." He told her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"You're serious?" Emily asked.

"Yup. A whole night, just the two of us." He told her.

"We'll come home in the morning before Jack and Declan leave. I'll just get ready for work here." Emily said, always needing to have a plan in mind.

"No you won't. You're not going to work tomorrow." Hotch told her.

"What do you mean? Of course I am." Emily argued.

"Nope. I called your supervisor. No work for you tomorrow." Hotch smiled. "I may be retired, but I still have connections." He winked.

"God bless you." Emily said simply, kissing Hotch before pulling away. "I'd better go make sure our children haven't found another weapon of mass destruction upstairs." Emily said. "Thank you, Aaron. You're the best." She smiled before disappearing up the stairs. Hotch set to work on cleaning up the mess, the only thing on his mind was having Emily all to himself tonight.