Hey everyone!!

This is just a little plot that came to mind, the song doesn't relate that much too it, but it kind of does because you know how Hotch always gets so absorbed in cases that he does seem to go far from the team 'mentally' and Emily is hiding her feelings for him...so yeah I guess it can relate. *laugh*

Sadly I do not own Criminal Minds or "Just Like Heaven" by The Cure.

Please enjoy and review.
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"Why are you so far away?" she said

"Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you,

that I'm in love with you?"

"Just Like Heaven" –The Cure

It had been a pretty straightforward case. A typical serial killer with a grudge against a specific type of people: who happened to be mothers this time. Needless to say, it was still a tough case. It left its mark on everyone. There were children without mothers who wanted to know 'why.' It wasn't an answer SSA Hotchner, could give the victims families' easily or with complete confidence. Neither could the rest of his team.

The flight back was quiet. Every member of the BAU was lost deep in thought. Reid was burying himself in a new novel as the faces of the dead mothers flashed in his photographic memory. Rossi was trying sleep in attempt to ward off the resounding cries of the children begging for their mothers to come home. JJ was talking quietly to her husband Will, trying to distract her from the gaping hole in her heart from missing her baby Henry. Morgan was blasting his tunes, getting lost in their melodies and lyrics while thinking about his own mother.

Prentiss was looking out the plane window trying to compartmentalize to the best of her ability. They had been too late, she and Hotch, to save the serial killers last kill. A woman in her mid forties with blonde hair and three children, was dead because they had been too late. Even though there had been nothing she could've done, Emily blamed herself for the woman's death. She was well aware she wasn't the only one, and she quietly turned to look at her boss Hotch. If anyone felt guiltier than her, it was him.

Hotch was sitting across from her leafing though another case file. 'Typical Hotch' she thought frowning slightly at him. Her heart went out to her stoic and emotional cold boss. She was sure that behind that professional mask was a man in pain. This job really did a number on him, as it did everyone one. Emily would never voice it, but she was always more concerned about Hotch that anyone else on the team.

The truth is, Emily had developed more than professional feelings for her boss. She didn't try to deny them anymore. Not to herself that is. If anyone of her teammates asked her, she'd deny it vehemently without hesitation. There were times though, that she felt they knew. Well, at least maybe Rossi was suspicious, but he hadn't said anything to her about it. Yet. She was always glancing at him, she stood closer to him that she use to, and she felt herself relax ever so slightly when he was close to her. She was in trouble and she knew it.

Hotch could feel Emily's eyes on him, but he didn't look up. He wanted to compose himself first. When it came to her, he felt that she could look into his eyes and read him like a book. When it came to Emily, Hotch didn't always think straight and he knew this. There was just something about her…something so soothing in times of crisis. On a particularly hard case Hotch would entertain the idea of simply going to her…leaving with her. It was just a fantasy that he would never act on of course. She was his subordinate.

Finally Hotch looked up and met Emily's dark brown eyes that he could easily get lost in. He almost did. "Yes Prentiss." Hotch said just loud enough for her to hear. Emily's frown deepened a little, he noticed. "Don't you ever stop?" she asked bluntly. Hotch paused for a moment, it wasn't hard to understand what she was asking. Still, he decided to play dumb, not something he did for anyone. "Stop what Prentiss?" he asked causally. She rolled her eyes, which almost made him smile. He felt his lips quirk upward for a second. Emily missed it. "Working." she answered exasperated.

Hotch picked up on her tone and had to fight the still growing smile on his lips. This time Emily noticed his lips begin to curve upward and failed at suppressing her own smile. They sat there quietly smiling at each other and it seemed as if their stress lessened as the seconds wore on. "No, it's my job after all." Hotch said. "I know that, but don't you ever take a breather or something?" Emily asked curious. She continued, "Sir, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, but if you look around at your team, you'll see everyone else is trying to relax. We just had a tough case that affected everyone and you're the only one I see crazy enough to throw yourself into another potentially upsetting case."

Emily mentally smacked herself. 'Good one Prentiss, call your boss crazy!' she scolded. Still, she couldn't take seeing him work himself ragged anymore. If stepping out of boundaries got him to lighten up and take a breather for a few seconds, then Emily would step out of more if she had to. She saw Hotch was still looking at her, trying to form a response. She felt his eyes bore into hers. His silence was killing her. "I'm sorry Sir. It's not my place to correct your working habits." she said quietly looking down at the table.

Then, surprisingly enough, Hotch closed the file he had been previously reading and smiled. "Perhaps you're right." he said looking at Emily. She was shocked. Not only had he not called her out about her insubordinate remarks, but he actually put away a file and agreed with her. 'Maybe he really is about to crack.' she thought. Emily decided to see how far she could push this newfound ability to speak so openly to her boss.

"Sir, you can't blame yourself…for what happened." She said quietly looking him in the eyes once more. Hotch quickly replied, "Neither can you Prentiss." and watched as her eyes widened in shock. It wasn't often that he caught he off guard, but today he was doing a pretty good job of it. Emily paused a moment thinking of how to respond. Hotch, watched amused as he saw her mind working. He loved to watch her think. 'Stop it Hotchner.' he thought to himself. He couldn't help it though. He had fallen for Emily Prentiss, despite his logical disputes and solid work ethic.

"Fine, I'll agree not to blame myself if you agree not to blame yourself" Emily finally said after seeing some sort of emotion flash in Hotch's eyes. It made her belly flip-flop. His eyes seemed to warm and soften as he gazed at her. 'Oh boy, this can't be good…or can it?' she wondered. In an alternate reality it would make sense for Hotch to have feelings for her. Not here, and now Emily had agreed, reaching the conclusion that her feeling for her boss would always remain one sided. After seeing how he looked at her though, she couldn't quite quench that bubble of hope that rose suddenly in her heart.

"Agreed." Hotch said, once again surprising Emily to the point of no words. Still, her inability to keep some thoughts to herself reared its head and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Why can't you be more reasonable like this all the time? You're always so damn stubborn." Emily quickly snapped her mouth shut and waited his certainly curt and angry response. Hotch felt the urge to chuckle at Emily's horrified expression. So he did. 'That's it, he's lost it.' Emily concluded and almost missed his response. "I could say the same thing about you Prentiss. I guess I'm just in a better mood even though I've been reprimanded by you enough for the day." he said jokingly. He loved throwing her for a loop.

Emily heard his light joking tone and swore her heart leapt. He wasn't angry at her, he was teasing her. Emily couldn't stop the laughter that escaped her mouth. Hotch joined in and the others watched in silent awe as their normally cold and detached boss laughed and smiled at Emily. As their laughter died to a quieter chuckle they heard Hotch say something to Emily and heard her inhalation of breath. "Thank you Emily. I needed that." Everyone felt their jaws drop as Hotch quickly got back to reading the case file, fighting his growing smile.

He didn't miss her reply, and felt his heart skip a beat as she said, loud enough for only him to hear, "Anytime Aaron, anytime." Emily saw him pause and his eyes flickered to hers.

Emily clearly saw it. That emotion that softened his eyes previously was back and she saw it reflected in her own. Love.

'Oh, boy'

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There is it! w00t! Sorry it was so long, but I wasn't going to make it a multi-chapter.

I absolutely adore Emily/Hotch and Garcia/Morgan!!

I guess I can agree that Hotch and Emily were a little OOC, but hey...come on. Cut them some slack. *laugh*

Please tell me what you think.