Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. All the rights go to CBS and the writers. This is meant for entertainment use only and I give full credit to the cast and crew.


Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

His head was pounding, and the god damn machine beeping next to him wasn't helping him. The medication was making him nauseous and he felt extremely light headed. To top that all off, the medication wasn't helping him through the pain at all.

He could feel his heart beating, and it seemed like it increased five times the speed it was going before. It hurt when he lifted his chest to breathe, but he was just going to have to live with it until the pain killers started to kick in.

He pressed the buzzer for the nurse and not a few seconds later, a lady came in. She was short, about average height. Her blonde layered hair shaped her face quite well and her blue eyes brought out her features. He couldn't deny that she was an attractive girl.

"How are you feeling Mr. Hotchner?" She asked him, flashing him a sympathetic smile, showing off her white teeth.

He gave her a tired, yet painful smile. "I'm pulling through. Umm…is there any more pain medication you could possibly give me? It's not really helping."

She didn't reply right away, as she was checking his tubes to make sure they were still intact. "Uh, yes. I will get you some more. Anything else?" She asked him, folding her arms behind her back.

"Just a glass of water would be nice, please."

"I'll be right back with that!" she exclaimed to him.

He smiled to himself and closed his eyes. Like he said before, she was an attractive young girl.

But she was no Emily Prentiss.

"Ma'am? Wake up, ma'am!"

Emily's eyes shot open immediately when she felt someone yelling at her to wake up. She ran a hand over her face and then through her dark hair which felt knotted. "Sorry, did I fall asleep?" she asked her, confused at first when she looked around the room.

Right… she thought to herself.

The UnSub…Hotch…heart surgery.

The receptionist rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ma'am, you've been here all night. I didn't want to disturb you, but the man you have been asking to see is awake."

Emily stared at her for a long time. She couldn't believe it. Hotch was alive? She couldn't get any sound to come out of her mouth. "H-He's a-alive?" Emily asked her. She didn't give the woman time to reply. Emily jumped out of her seat and rushed to Aaron's room. When she got there, the door was open and there was nurse attending to him. The blonde haired woman turned around and headed out the door, flashing Emily a small smile. Emily only looked at the nurse for about half a second until her eyes turned to Hotch. He had a smile on his face and there was light stubble forming.

Emily couldn't move. She couldn't talk. She couldn't even smile back at him. She stood there for what felt like hours, but in reality, it was only thirty seconds. Hotch broke her from her train of thought.

"Emily…" he whispered to her. It was the sweetest, most sincere thing she had ever heard.

The weird part was that she didn't rush over to hug him or say anything to him. She just walked over to the chair next to him and sat there. Neither of them said anything or reached for each other. They just sat there in each other's silence.

For about fifteen minutes, no one said a word. Hotch could sense that Emily was starting to get restless. He decided it was time to break the agonizing silence.

"You know, you can give me a hug, Emily. I'm fine."

Emily looked at him and stared into his eyes. She always got lost in them; it was her biggest weakness with Hotch. He could be saying anything and when she looked into his eyes; she was gone to the world. Tears began to prick in her eyes. She couldn't help it; they almost lost him.

"No Hotch…you're not fine. You almost died because of a stupid mistake you made. You do realize how stupid you were, right?" she asked him. Her anger was starting to build, but she didn't care. Hotch nodded. "God, Aaron. How could you think like that? Why would you go in a house, with an UnSub who was on spree, and no put a vest on!? What would have happened if you died? Huh? What would've happened to Jack? He would have to live his life without and mother or a father." She yelled at him furiously.

Hotch just sat there, taking it all in. He knew he disserved it, and he accepted that. He also knew Emily was right.

"You're right."

Emily looked at him again. The tears were now streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto her shirt. She ran a hand through her rough hair and folder her arms on the bed, hiding her face into her arms. "How could you be so stupid." She mumbled into her arms. She then felt a warm hand enclose around her forearm.

"Emily, come here." He whispered to her quietly.

She didn't want to touch him. "No, don't touch me." she whispered breathlessly to him, pulling her arms away from his touch.

Hotch ignored her command. He wanted to feel her against him, he wanted to hold her. He pulled her up on the bed and brought her close to him. She tensed against him and Hotch immediately reassured her. "Emily, you won't hurt me. I promise." After he said that, Emily brought her arm gently around his chest and buried her face into his neck. She cried into his shoulder for what felt like hours, but it was only about ten minutes. As soon as she started to calm down, she pulled her head back to look at him.

"Don't you ever do that again, do you hear me? You don't even know what it did to me. I thought you died Aaron, and it almost tore me apart. What if you did-"

"But I didn't, Emily. I'm here, and I'm very much alive." He told her softly. Emily shook her head. "You don't get it. I didn't even go home last night, Aaron. I stayed here, and slept in a waiting chair. I've only gotten about two hours of sleep. The rest of the time I was awake, I kept asking the nurse if I could see you." She explained to him. Hotch looked at her with surprise.

"Did you actually wait here all night?" he asked her, astounded that she would wait for the news.

"Yes! My neck is killing me right now." She growled out. He snickered and brought his hand up to play with a piece of her hair. She obviously didn't mind because she didn't try to stop him or ask him what he was doing. "Just promise me that you won't do something that fucking stupid next time, alright?" she glared at him until he replied to her.

He put his hands up and smiled, "Alright. I promise. Now get some sleep, okay?" he asked her softly. Emily rubbed her eyes and sniffled. She nodded and dropped her head to his shoulder. In a matter of minutes, Emily was snoring lightly and Hotch was sound asleep with his head on top of Emily's.

"Well, would you get a loud of that," Rossi stated softly.

Derek chuckled next to him, "This is going to fun," he said, snapping a picture of two.


Hotch wasn't released out of the hospital until a couple of days later. He had to prove to the doctor that he could walk on his own without any assistance. Of course, Aaron wanted to prove him wrong on the first day. He could barely even stand on his own, so that plan back fired on him. The second day, he could finally stand on his own, but walking was still painful for him. Hotch finally agreed that he would try tomorrow and see if he could accomplish the task. After the third attempt, he could finally walk on his own without anyone supporting him.

The Doctor gave him the green light.

"I have written up a prescription for you. Please do not forget to take two of these in the morning, and then again at night before you go to bed. You are strictly on bed rest for the next week." The doctor turned to Emily and gave her a look. "And by bed rest, I mean no sexual activities at all. Understood?"

Emily gaped at him, and her eyes bulged out. "Umm, sorry Doctor, but we're not…uh – in a relationship …uh, we're just friends." Emily managed to get just that out. She couldn't help but blush at his statement.

If he thought they were in a romantic relationship, what do other people think? She thought to herself.

She heard Hotch clear his thought, glancing quickly at Emily and then turning his attention back to his Doctor. "Will there be anything else?"

"Yes. You are not to go into the field for six weeks. In four weeks, you are allowed to go back to work, just stay out of the field. Paperwork or anything that needs to be done around the office will be fine."

Hotch sighed and nodded slightly.

The Doctor gave him a glare. "Do you hear me, Mr. Hotchner? YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO INTO THE FIELD."

Emily tried her best to keep her laugh in, but she failed. As soon as the laugh escaped her mouth, she covered it with her hand. The Doctor shot his eyes over to hers and glared. It didn't last too long before Hotch cleared his thought.

"Yes, I understand. May I go now?"

"Yes, you may go. If you have any further questions, feel free to call anytime." He said, handing Aaron his card with his name and number on it.

Dr. Edward Murdoch

"Yes, of course. Thank you Dr. Murdoch." Hotch told him and practically ran out of the hospital room.

Emily wasn't too far behind him. "Hotch, slow down!" she yelled to him.

Hotch glanced back over his shoulder and her and smirked. "No way, I hate hospitals." He told her playfully. Emily chuckled and ran to catch up with him. She darted in front of him and slowed down, making his decrease his speed. She turned around to face him and placed her hands on his arms.

"Hotch, please slow down. We don't need you to spend another four days in here." She told him softly. He sighed and offered her a small smile.

"You're right."

Her eyes widened a bit. "Well, that's something I don't get told often." She replied sarcastically, tossing him a smirk and a wink. Hotch felt his heart race at her actions. She had no idea what she does to him; even if it's the smallest of things.

He shook his head and chuckled lightly. "Let's just get out of here, I want to see Jack."

Emily smiled at his excitement. She loved how he cared so much for his son. It was tough to have this kind of job and still be able to see your own son that often. "I bet you are excited. I'll drop you off since you don't have a car here." She told him. Hotch nodded. "Thank you, Emily."

Emily smiled. "Don't mention it. I love doing these kind of things." She told him. He looked over at her with a questionable look on her face. "I mean, I love doing things for people. I like to put a smile on someone's face, or just making their day in general." She told honestly.

Hotch nodded in understanding. They walked the rest of the way to the car in silence. Once they got to the car, Emily started it up and turned on the heater. It was the beginning of December now, and it was starting to get really chilly outside. She looked up at the sky, and noticed the grey clouds forming.

"It looks like it's going to snow tonight. I hope it does, I love the snow." She mentioned to him. Hotch smiled at her excitement. "Yeah, so does Jack. I on the other hand…I don't necessarily hate it, but I do hate driving in it." He told her with a smirk.

Emily chuckled. "So do I. I just love all the lights, and the hot chocolate and the snow falling on Christmas Eve. It just makes me smile." She gushed out to him. She looked over at him and shook her head. "Sorry I'm telling you all this. I was just caught up in the moment."

Hotch looked over to her. "Oh no, I like hearing about these kinds of things from other people." He said to her, offering her a smile. "So, what do you usually do for Christmas?"

Emily sighed and gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Nothing huge, I get a few gifts from friends and my mother usually sends me a card. I don't know, Christmas for me is usually spent on my couch, with a cup of hot chocolate and a marathon of Friends." She told him truthfully. Hotch starred at her for a few moments, surprised that she spends Christmas alone.

He reached over tentatively and touched her arm when they came to a stop light. "Emily, no one should have to spend Christmas alone."

Emily smiled sadly, watching the light turn from red to green. She lightly pressed on the gas pedal and headed towards Hotch's apartment building. When they go there, Emily helped Aaron out of the car and led him to his door. She took out his key from her bag and unlocked the door for him. It was about six o'clock, so Jack would still be up. As soon as the door opened, Emily heard feet drumming across the ground, getting louder and louder the closer Jack got to the door.

"Daddy!" Jack shrieked loudly, making Emily chuckle behind Hotch.

"Hey buddy!" Hotch said enthusiastically to his son. Jack hugged his father tightly, unaware of the wound he has.

"Be careful, Jack. Daddy has an ouchy, so don't hug him too tightly." Emily told him softly.

Jack's eyes widened at the sound of Emily's voice. He completely ignored her statement and started squirming in Hotch's arms, wanting to be let down so he could hug Emily.

"Em'ly! I missed you so much!" Jack yelled, jumping into her arms and hugging her tightly.

"I missed you too, Jackster!" she told him, hugging him back. After about a minute of hugging him, he wanted to be let down, so she put him on the ground and he ran off into his room.

Hotch turned to Emily and smiled. "He loves you. He always talks about you, and he's always asking me when you're coming over for dinner again." He told her, hoping she would catch on to his offer.

Emily chuckled, "I love him too. He's a sweetheart." She told him, trying to avoid the subject of having dinner.

Hotch smiled. He decided he would drop the dinner subject and talk to her about something else. He grabbed her hand gently and guided her to the couch. "Emily, I know that you usually spend Christmas alone, and I know that it's only a few weeks away, but Jack loves having you here and it would be the best present I could give him, if you spent Christmas with us. What do you say?" he asked her, hoping she would say yes to his offer.

Emily stared at him for a long time. She couldn't say anything, she couldn't even blink. Her jaw was dropped about two centimeters and her eyes were big. She sat there, staring at him and she couldn't even get a word to come out of her mouth.

Hotch took it the wrong way and decided to start talking. "I'm sorry. I was just offering, since you spend it alone. But, it's fine. If you have other plans, then don't worry about it, we'll just make other plans for-"

Emily cut him off by pulling him into a hug. He didn't react right away because of how shocked he was, but he soon realized what was happening, and he hugged her back. He felt her bury her face into his neck and breathe in his scent. He smiled happily and brought his hands up and played with a piece of her hair. Emily pulled away from him too soon, and he instantly missed her warmth.

She sniffled and ran a finger under each of her eyes, wiping away the mascara that had smudged from the tears. "I'm sorry for crying. It's just that…I've never really gotten to have a Christmas morning experience before, and I'm flattered you decided to ask me." He smiled and nodded. "I would love to spend Christmas with you, but I don't think it would be right of me to take up the offer."

"Why?" he asked her, his voice sad.

She sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "Everything that has happened to you this past year; I don't want to come here and have everyone thinking that I'm trying to replace Haley. I mean, it's hard enough for Jack to have his first Christmas without his mom. I don't think I would feel right barging in and trying to replace something that non-replaceable." She told him honestly.

Hotch sighed. "Emily…" he started, gently taking her hands in his, "no one can ever replace Haley. But, Jack loves you a lot, and it would mean the world to him to have someone as special as you spend Christmas with us. I promise you, no one is going to think that you are trying to replace Haley." He told her, praying that she will say yes.

Emily looked down at their hands. He was holding them in his, and the warmth he was giving off made her heart jump with happiness. She looked into his deep brown eyes and stared. She sighed heavily before responding.

"Aaron Hotchner, you are the sweetest, most honest man I have ever met."

He smiled at her comment.

"And you sure know how to make a girl say yes."

Hotch's smile grew and he immediately brought her into a big hug. He didn't want to let go, but he knew that she had to go.

She left the embrace and stood up. "I should probably get going."

"Yeah, I'll give you a call tomorrow and let you know how I'm doing."

Emily nodded.

"Maybe you could even come over for dinner tomorrow night?" he asked her with a smile.

Emily chuckled and her eyes sparkled with glee. "I would love to."

Hotch grinned, showing off his dimples perfectly. "Drive safely, please."

Emily nodded and stood in the doorway. "Thanks again for inviting me to spend Christmas with you guys. It really warms my heart." She told him. Hotch smiled. "It's going to be something I won't ever forget."

Emily looked at him and nodded. She stood on her tip-toes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Emily waved goodbye, wanting to leave before he saw how red her face was.

Hotch smiled and touched his cheek.

Yeah…there is no one compared to Emily Prentiss.

Thank you for all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I didn't have time to proofread it; I have two tests tomorrow, so I apologize for any mistakes.

Leave a review, and you may just get a chapter sooner!