*Disclaimer: I don't own anything,
This is my first Criminal Minds fic posted. This song is 'Dancin' Away With My Heart' by Lady Antebellum. Thanks and enjoy!


(Read through before reading the story is recommended.)

I finally asked you to dance
On the last slow song
And beneath the moon that was really a disco ball
I can still feel my head on your shoulder
Hoping that song would never be over

I haven't seen you in ages
Sometimes I find myself
Wondering where you are
For me you'll always be 18
And beautiful and dancing away with my heart

I brushed your curls back so I could see your eyes
And the way you moved me was like you were in my mind
I can still feel you lean into kiss me
I can't help but wonder if you ever miss me

I haven't seen you in ages
Sometimes I find myself
Wondering where you are
For me you'll always be 18
And beautiful and dancing away with my heart

Oh you headed out to college
At the end of that summer when we lost touch
I guess I didn't realize even at that moment we so much

I haven't seen you in ages
Sometimes I find myself
Wondering where you are
For me you'll always be 18
And beautiful and dancing away with my heart

Nah nah nah
Nah nah nah
Nah nah nah

Away with My Heart

Nah nah nah
Nah nah nah
Nah nah nah


SSA Aaron Hotchner and Emily Prentiss walked into Hotch's apartment after the aftermath that was George Foyet.

Emily had just arrived back from the case in Nashville and Hotch was in need of some company after burying Haley and being a full-time dad for a week.

Emily and Hotch had been growing closer and closer to the point where Hotch doesn't really go to Dave anymore when he needs to talk. He goes straight to Emily. He even makes a point to call her by her first name now instead of "Prentiss".

Emily could feel the tension in the air and decided to talk about something that's been bugging her since she joined the team three and a half years ago, "Do you remember the last party my mother hosted before I left for college? You were my security for three months before that? It was one of the best nights of my life." Emily smiled.

Hotch smiled at the memory. "It was one of the best nights of my life as well. I remember just barely getting up the nerve to ask you to dance on the very last slow song. I had been crushing on you the whole summer I was working for your mother. We were dancing on the balcony under the moon and stars."

"I remember my head was lying on your shoulder and I never wanted that song to end. You brushed my hair back. Why?" Emily wondered.

"I wanted to see your eyes. Your eyes tell people so much about you." Hotch blushed.

Emily looked down as she said the next part, "I still remember our first and last kiss that night. Every night after that I would wonder if you ever missed me or if you ever wanted more."

"But at the end of that summer you went to college and we never kept in touch… I guess I never realized how much we lost and how much we could have gained. Since I never heard from you, I figured I had to move on and so when I met Haley
I-"

"You figured you mine as well marry her because you actually did love her, just not as much." Emily finished.

"God, we really did screw up didn't we? If only I found you before I met Haley none of this would have happened. I had the guts to go after what I wanted we wouldn't have gone through most of what have gone through." Hotch said.

"Hey, I have a question. What was with the cold shoulder I got when I first joined the team?" Emily asked.

Hotch was ashamed and hung his head, "From the moment I saw you in my office, I knew my feelings for you hadn't gone away like I thought they would after I got married. Seeing you again, sitting in my office with paperwork to join the team, I lost it. I thought I would never see you again, that I could go on with my feelings for you in a long forgotten box that could stay forgotten."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the real reason you and Haley got divorced? Because I know it wasn't just the job." Emily asked guardedly.

"You're right. The job wasn't the only thing; it was just the last straw. Every night, I got more and more distant. I tried to keep my mind on other things, but they kept coming back to you and that last night together. Haley thought that I was cheating on her so she just…sent the divorce papers to my work like the final 'screw you' she could get in."

"God, that's awful. To tell you the truth, I was a little suspicious on how quickly I got accepted onto the team. I thought that maybe my mother had something to do with it. I never thought I would ever be a mole for anything. I hadn't seen you in ages and I sometimes found myself wondering where you were and if you met anyone and if you were truly happy. When I saw you and found out you were married and how happy you were, I didn't want to ruin that, so I kept my mouth shut. Look at where our stubbornness got us." Emily rambled.

"I have to tell you, all this reminiscing is bringing up all of those feelings again. I still love you, Emily. I have always loved you. You always made me feel better during that long summer. If I ever needed help, I knew where to go; straight to the library. That's were little Emily would always hang out. You always had your nose in a book. Your mother would always tell you it wasn't lady-like, but you didn't care." Hotch finished on a genuine chuckle.

"What can I tell you, I was a rebel." Laughed Emily. Her laugh quickly died on her lips when the earlier part of his sentence came back to her, "You love me? How- how could you still love me when you just buried your ex-wife?"

"Emily, you aren't normal. You are…extraordinary. I have never met anyone like you and I don't think I ever will again. Like I said, I will always love Haley, especially since she gave me Jack, but I had this nagging feeling that it was never going to last. I love you, forever and for always." Hotch admitted.

"Well, don't you know your way into a lady's heart. I love you too, Aaron. I always have and always will. I know you love Haley as well, and I would never try to replace her, but since I have been helping you for a while, I have gotten to love Jack just like he was my own. I know he never will be, but the sentiment is there." Emily admitted tearfully.

"Oh, Emily he loves you too. So, do you want to try this; us? Because if you do, I want you to be sure. Jack loves you more than anything and so do I. I never want anything to happen to either of you. If and when Strauss finds out, she'll come down hard on both of us. You need to be ready for that." Hotch explained.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. You two Hotchner men have wriggled your way into my life and I never, ever want to let you go again. Once was too many." Emily whispered as the first tear in her eye fell onto her pale cheek. Hotch's gun-calloused thumb gently swiped the tear away and tipped her head up to look at him.

"I love you Emily Prentiss and I am never letting you go again. Your right, once was too much."

"I love you too Aaron Hotchner." And with that, they sealed their old found love, but new found relationship with a kiss. And that kiss was just as sweet as the first one they shared when they were 18.