It smelled heavily of booze and sweat. Emily had occupied a stool at the bar while Derek did his thing on the dance floor with several women. The bar was modern with cool color patterns and tiled floors. The dance floor was large and the smoke machine gave that section a foggy, sensual glow. Emily tipped back her tequila shot with a wince. It burned her throat yet gave her the buzz she was looking for. So, she gestured to the bartender and paid for two more. Good thing they didn't work tomorrow.

Derek swaggered over to her, "My goodness, my girls are on fire tonight!"

Emily grinned over her shot glass and passed the second one she had purchased over to him. He took it without reservation. After clanking their glasses, each consumed their shot.

"How's it going over here?" Derek winked. Before Emily could answer, she was greeted with shrill screams coming from behind her. As she twisted her head to check the source, she was hit by what felt like a colorful train.

"Hey Baby Girl," Derek laughed, clapping his hands, "What're you doing here?"

"Hello my chocolate Adonis! I overheard you telling my brunette beauty here about plans to come so I thought little ole' me could tag along. Of course, I brought everyone else with me." Garcia shifted her weight to the side, allowing Morgan and Emily to see Rossi, JJ, and a very reluctant looking Reid. Emily snickered and threw a small wave towards her other friends.

Once everyone exchanged greetings, they gathered on the dance floor. After three songs, Emily slid her way through the throngs of people swarming the bar. When she reached the counter top, she placed her order and took a seat in the booth where the group left their jackets and other belongings. As she sat going through her phone, she felt someone tap her shoulder. When she gazed up towards the offender, she froze.

"Hey." He had black hair that was messy in an extremely sexy way. His eyes were a shade of light blue. They were so striking; Emily had no idea how she couldn't have spotted him from across the bar. He had a strong, manly, and smooth face with a creamy complexion. She noticed that he was wearing a steely button up dress shirt, which had the sleeves rolled to the elbows, with black khakis. He was so attractive that she was sure he wasn't acknowledging her.

"Hi," Emily yelped out then cleared her throat, "Can I help you?"

"Yes…" He paused, never tearing his eyes away from her, "Can I buy you a drink?"

Emily slyly looked around making sure that he wasn't speaking to anyone else but he was looking right at her with those expressive eyes. She could tell that he found her funny because the baby blues held mirth in their depths. She nodded after what seemed to be an eternity. He extended his hand to help her slide out from the booth and she took it hurriedly. He never once let go while walking towards the bar.

"What do you like?" He questioned. You. She smiled wide, not believing that a man like him could like a woman like her.

"A Coke would be nice." She definitely wanted to sober up. He order two cokes, which she thought was cute. The profiler inside knew it was to make her feel at ease with her choice in beverage and at that point, she didn't think it was possible to be any more adorable.

"I'm Axel Anjelic, by the way. I promise I'm not some creeper. I usually don't go up to women in bars but I knew if I didn't get my ass in gear, I would probably never see you again and I really didn't want to take that risk and … now I'm rambling…" He trailed off and they both chuckled, "I… I kind of think you're gorgeous."

"I kind of think you're adorable, cute, and handsome." Emily smiled, as his grin got wider.

"I kind of think I really want to get to know you better…" He slowed, waiting for a name.

"Oh! Emily… Prentiss." Emily stretched her hand to him, which he took and slowly caressed the top of her hand with his thumb before releasing the hold.

"Then I would really love to get to know you better, Emily."

"I would love that too."


Hotch heard his team shuffle into the bullpen, followed by groans. When he peeked through the window blinds, he saw JJ and Garcia wearing humongous sunglasses and Morgan resting his head against the desk. He had called them in in order for the Chief to speak about the new rules that he planned to instill. By their demeanor, he could tell they drank excessively the night before, not expecting to come in the day after. Hotch smirked as he saw them rubbing their temples. He began to make his way to them.

"Did you see the hunk that Emily was with last night?" Hotch stood frozen in his office doorway, hidden from them. For some reason, that sentence had caused his heart to stop momentarily. He was puzzled.

"Oh lord, he was so hot. Did you see how into each other they were?" Garcia's voice echoed through the rooms, "Speak of the devil."

Emily walked into the bullpen chuckling, knowing what was coming. Hotch peeked out the doorway when he heard her. She was wearing a red blouse that showcased her cleavage very nicely. He shook his head as if to remove those sexual thoughts. Where did they come from anyway? Once his gaze shifted to the brunette profiler, he couldn't shake the feeling that flooded him. She looked beautiful, as always, but he felt different. It was probably because he just broke up with Beth and was feeling lonely.

"Okay, okay. Kneel!" Everyone laughed at Garcia's desperate expression.

"Emily! What did you guys do when you left the bar? Did you do the nasty? Was it good? Was he-"

"Garcia, a girl doesn't kiss and tell." Morgan let out a wolf whistle. Hotch felt his blood boil. Why would she be with someone else? Maybe because she isn't yours. Hotch tensed.

Suddenly, JJ appeared before him. She was asking why they were called in but he couldn't feel his tongue.

"Hotch?" JJ broke his reverie, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, yes. Conference room in 5 minutes." JJ nodded while giving him a curious look. Walking into the bullpen, he caught Emily's eye and gave her a lopsided smile. She blushed then looked away when Morgan threw a paper ball at her. He continued to the conference room.

"Hey, no," Morgan wiggled a finger in her direction, "The guy you met yesterday was your type and you seemed to really like him so do not let Hotch get in the way."

"He was pretty great, huh? It's just hard. I loved, still love, him. It won't just disappear."

"So what really happened last night?" Derek moved his chair closer.

"We talked for hours about everything. He didn't freak when I told him about my job. He's actually a DEA agent so he gets it. Then, even though it was late, he took me to a casual restaurant, he paid, and I had such an amazing time," Emily smiled wide just thinking about the thirty nine year old man that graced her dreams the night before. She glanced at the conference room, "It's almost perfect."


When thinking about Axel, imagine Ian Somerhalder. His last name is pronounced 'angelic'. Thanks for the support!