In This Life- This is a short story series that will include many different pairings. Basically any pairing I get the inclination to write about, except Morgan/Garcia or Reid based pairings because I have other short stories and longer stories about those characters. In this series you very well could find stories, depending on what my muse does, about:

Rossi/Garcia

Hotch/Garcia

Morgan/Reid

Hotch/JJ

Hotch/Prentiss

Rossi/Strauss

Others to be determined.

Review if you enjoy the short story because that will help to guide me toward what pairings to explore more and which ones aren't as popular. Each story in this is unrelated in anyway to the next story posted in this series, unless otherwise noted.

The Unavoidable Confrontation

Hotch and Prentiss

June 2010

He was a too smart of a man to deny to himself what he was feeling at that particular moment.

No matter that he had spent years downplaying his attraction for her, shoving it back into a dark corner of his mind where it wouldn't rear its ugly head and affect his well ordered life too terribly severely, it was undeniable that seeing her across the restaurant on a date with another federal agent had flared to life a raw, deep seated, bitter and painful jealous streak he had over this woman.

No matter how good he was at controlling his emotions for that moment in time he could not stop the flood of feelings that washed through him. Even though he knew perfectly well that it wasn't right to feel this way about her.

As his employee, a valuable member of his team of profilers, Emily Prentiss should be off limits to Hotch. His head knew that. They could not have a romantic relationship. He certainly didn't fantasize about them running off to live some happily ever after life in a cottage in the woods far away from unsubs. He was much too realistic for that.

Usually so evenhanded and cool headed he didn't let himself express too many emotions in most circumstances. He tried to not let himself lose himself in emotions internally either. It was his natural inclination at most times to try to stay above the fray. Sometimes he hated that about himself. He knew it was the way his father had behaved all of Hotch's childhood. Closed down, shuttered, emotions kept so tightly guarded it would seem at first look he had no emotions at all.

It was all a self protection measure.

Tonight there was no way for Hotch to keep himself distanced from his messy and inconvenient feelings for Emily. The moment he noticed the maitre d bringing her and her date to their table, Hotch's eyes had locked on her and jealousy flared through his whole being. He took in the sexy black dress she wore, the subtle and elegant jewelry, how her hair was slightly curled.

He took it all in and hated the fact she was looking so damn good all with the desire to seduce another man. Unable to bear looking at her- as Emily smiled and chuckled at something SSA Mick Rawson had said- Hotch's eyes fell back to the linen covered table.

His lips thinned in a grimace.

His brother, Sean, who was in town for the weekend and wanted to try this five star restaurant because Sean was a chef and food connoisseur, noticed how Hotch's attention had briefly been diverted across the room. Sean looked over his shoulder and looked around.

"Did you see someone you know or something?"

"An employee."

"You should go say hi."

"I will when we leave."

"Why do you look like someone just ran over your dog?"

"Sean, leave it alone. Anyway, you were telling me about the James Beard nominee you received. Is that prestigious?"

Sean teased Hotch "My big brother has a crush on his employee."

Hotch's eyes narrowed and he gave his brother a stern look.

Why was it that his family always could get to him worse than anyone else? He couldn't keep unemotional around family. He couldn't stay detached. They knew him in ways no one else ever could and they saw underneath his cool exterior.

Sean went on "You should go for her. You could use a little life in your life."

"Weren't we discussing your career and not my life?"

"If you call it a life. You work a million hours a week and barely crack a smile once a year."

"There isn't a lot to smile about when you see what I do each day. But, be that as it may, I do, in fact, smile regulary. Jack makes me smile almost everyday with the things he says or does. What would not make me smile is being fired for having an inappropriate sexual relationship in the workplace. Prentiss is my subordinate and that means-"

"Prentiss, huh? Which one is that? You know I'm not good with remembering names." Sean looked around again. "Is she the sexy schoolteacher looking blonde? Or the redhead with the great tit-"

Hotch cleared his throat. "Don't worry about it."

Sean's eyes landed on Emily. "Oh, there she is. The brunette. Those are my favorite too. Looks like we go for the same type of woman, big bro. Who would have thunk it? Considering I'm so much cooler than you could ever hope to be. So are you seriously never gonna make a move on this woman? You sure didn't look too happy when you spotted her with that other guy. Are they engaged or something?"

"I'm going to order the creme brulee for dessert."

Sean chuckled. "Fine. I'm backing off but if you don't make a move on someone at some point you'll never get on with your life. And, bro, in case you didn't know, life is not all about catching perps and raising your kid. There is a little thing called sex still and some people think its kinda a necessary component to being happy."

"Unsubs."

"What? Un-what?"

"Unsubs. We call them unsubs not preps. And I'm as happy as I can be, considering the circumstances. So about that James Beard nominee?"

"I wasn't just nominated. I won. I sent you a message on Facebook about it weeks ago."

"Facebook? Oh, I think our tech analyst set that up for me as a demonstration during a case one time."

Sean rolled his eyes. "I should have figured you weren't actually on a social media site. Wouldn't want to risk bringing any fun into your life. And I've been sending you stuff for your farm for months now."

"Excuse me? My farm?"

Sean laughed at Hotch's confused expression. As his brother explained the games on Facebook Hotch's mind was temporarily drawn away from thoughts of Emily across the restaurant with her date but later when Sean and him went to leave they had to pass the table where Emily and Mick sat.

Hotch stopped to say a quick hello because it would be rude otherwise. Emily startled a little at seeing him there. He left the restaurant with a bad taste in his mouth.

Mick had been holding Emily's hand.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was no one's fault but her own that her sex life sucked. She did this to herself over and over. Developed inappropriate feelings for men she shouldn't want and never was satisfied with the men who wanted her.

Every date she went on seemed like a hellish encounter to just get through. Yet, like a school girl, she got a secret thrill from checking out the butt of some guy who should be off limits. It had always been that way for Emily Prentiss and, even at her age, she was fearing it would always be this way.

For a while she almost gave up on dating but then she would remember how badly she wanted to be a mother and she'd say yes to some guy who she didn't really like very much just on the off chance maybe it would all work out. Really she should just make some major changes in her life. Leave the BAU. Adopt a baby or use a sperm bank to get artificially inseminated. Work an office job with normal hours. Get a cat and forget about men all together.

But leaving the BAU meant leaving these people she had come to love with all her heart in the years she had worked with them. They were closer to her than her own biological family. So, though she knew what she should do, she kept putting it off because she kept thinking maybe somehow, someway things would work out.

If she left then she'd feel even emptier inside, she feared. So she stayed and tried to be happy but sometimes she was so frustrated. And sometimes she found herself doing the same hopeless things again and again.

Like tonight.

Sitting in Hotch's office drinking Scotch, that she had brought in, and talking about her worries that Morgan was not coping well after all that went down in San Francisco.

Hotch said "I'll have Rossi speak to him. Maybe he'll open up some to him but its hard for Morgan to share his burdens unless he's ready to do so."

"I know. I just see how this is weighing on him and I wish he'd let us in."

"It's a catch 22, this job."

"How so?"

"The closest people to us are each other and yet sometimes we need an outsider's perspective on the whole thing. But who among us really has anyone in their life that isn't somehow involved in law enforcement too? Those are the only people who could ever understand us."

"Yeah, I see your point. Only someone in law enforcement would understand and yet that means we never really escape this job, even at home."

He took a sip of his scotch. "Yet someone not in law enforcement can't truly know the burdens we bear."

"It is a catch 22."

Just then his cell buzzed. He read the text message. "Its my brother's last night in town and he wants me to meet him at the bar around the corner from here. He's already there."

Emily stood up. "You shouldn't keep him waiting then. Good night, Hotch."

She had almost made it to the door when he called out "You wouldn't...like to join us, would you?"

Knowing she should say no, she turned around and gave him a small smile. "Sure."

XXXXXXXXX

They were having a good time together at the bar until Emily got a text. She read it and frowned. "Excuse me, I need to go make a call. Mick's team just got back in town and he wants to get together tonight."

"Don't let us keep you," Hotch told her, in a kind way, even though he felt an unreasonable amount of jealousy over the idea of Mick Rawson getting to run his hands over Emily's beautiful naked body later tonight.

"I'd much rather be here. Actually I'd much rather end things with him all together but I'm trying to break my old habits. I always cut and run. Someone has to stick. Or, I should say, at some point I finally gotta just stick with someone. I guess Mick is a decent someone to try that with."

Sean chose this moment to chime in with "Why don't you give my brother here I shot? You know I've never seen him so green with jealousy as that night he saw you with that dude at La Gaulios," he named the five star French restaurant where they had run into her and Mick the other night.

Emily chuckled nervously at Sean's words, sure they were a joke, till she looked at Hotch. Right then he knew his eyes gave him away. His damn little brother. Over thirty years old and Sean was still acting childish. What gave him the right to say such an embarassing thing?

Emily said "I better make my call," and then headed outside the bar.

Hotch waited till she was outside and then told his brother. "You're a jackass."

"What? Its true. I did you a favor. I've never seen someone who needs to get laid worse than you in all my life."

Hotch took his beer away. "You've had enough to drink tonight."

Sean took the beer back. "I'll just tell her I was kidding. No harm done."

"You just shut up about the whole thing from now on. Not another word and I mean it." Hotch then walked outside. He hung back, waiting for Emily to be done with her call. When she was she turned back toward the bar and saw him there. "I'm sorry for my brother's comment. He's never been very mature. I hope he did not embarrass you because that's the last thing I would want."

"I know it was just a joke. As if you'd be jealous of me dating someone."

"Actually I have never been so consumed with a sickening, bitter, envious feeling in all my life as when I saw Rawson take your hand that night."

Her mouth dropped open. "Impossible. You're trying to make me feel better because I'm such a loser at love. That's nice but don't go to extremes."

"I very rarely go to extremes. That's probably where the crux of my problems lay. I sit back and stay in a small box. Its rather boring and very lonely. Rawson is a lucky man, Emily. He better treat you well or else I'll be having a talk with him...and another with you. Because I would treat you well. And if you plan on putting in an effort to stick with someone it should be the man who is ill at the thought of another touching you."

She swallowed hard. Her breathing was shallow. "It really should be..."

He gave her a small smile. "We should go back inside. Right now you're in a relationship and I'm your unit chief. Too bad we did not have this conversation when Morgan still was running the unit."

She smiled softly. "You do know that all you've done now is given me fodder for a new fantasy about you not being my boss so we can do anything we want anywhere we want, after Garcia kills the cameras at work, of course."

His body went very hard. Hotch cleared his throat. He opened the door for Emily. "Food for thought."

That night they danced together and the next day she ended her relationship with Mick Rawson. During the next case she told Hotch that while they were driving to a victim's relative house together.

He gave her a surprised look. "That was fast."

"He wasn't the right guy to stick to."

"You are a decisive woman. When you get your mind made up that's it."

"If you were having the kind of fantasies and dreams I've been plagued with you would act fast too."

"What makes you think I haven't been?"

She smiled. Her cell rang with a call from Rossi. As she talked to him she kept shooting Hotch tender looks. Finally they were on the same page.

They had confronted their feelings and came to a place where they could act on all their longing, lust and growing love. It was unavoidable that one day push would come to shove for those two, who had skirted around each other for years.

It just took Sean Hotchner coming along with his big mouth to make it happen. Aaron realized he should have invited his brother to town a while ago. Aaron's sex life would have gotten a lot better a lot faster if he had done that. Even with Emily as his employee Aaron knew he couldn't resist her.

She was too tempting. And she wasn't about to let her fantasies and dreams go forever unfulfilled. She wanted to stick to a man finally.

Hotch couldn't stand the thought of that man being anyone but him.

THE END