A/N: I disappeared for a while, I apologise. Follow me on tumblr for more frequent updates and potential little Hotchniss drabbles and ficlets.
Peace. xx

I've gotta get home there's a garden to tend,
Here's fruit on the ground and the birds have all moved back into my attic,
Whistling static
And the young learn to fly
I will patch all the holes up again

Well, I can't believe that my lime tree is dead
I thought it was sleeping, I guess it got fed up with not being fed

(Home, 2004)

He slipped the key into his front door, unsure of what category of storm he was about to face. Rubbing his eyes tiredly with one hand, he headed through the door and almost fell head first onto the cold tiles. Stumbling and biting his lip to refrain from letting a curse slip, he dropped his go bag reflexively in the entrance and took a few hurried steps, a hand jerking out to fall flat on the nearby wall, steadying himself.

Taking a deep breath, his brown eyes roamed down to eye the offending object in the middle of the floor.

Livvie's baby-doll pusher, tipped on its side, sitting right in the middle of the doorway.

He picked up the toy and put it under his arm, turning back to shut the door and kick his go-bag against the wall, out of anyone's way.

Strolling two steps toward their living room, he felt himself freeze at the sight before his eyes. It looked as though every toy that his two children owned between them were sprawled out across the cream carpet. From Olivia's growing collection of Barbies, books and blocks, to Jack's beloved matchbox cars, train tracks and plastic golf set (why it was inside… well Hotch wasn't sure). In the corner of the room he could see what appeared to be blue play dough squished into the carpet, a lime green marker laying on the ground nearby, the cap nowhere to be seen.

His children however, were nowhere to be seen.

Frowning in concern as he registered the eerie and usual silence coursing through his home and started making his way up the stairs, two at a time.

Four hours earlier…

Hotch was climbing the jet's air-stairs, having almost made it on board. Finally after nine days, he was able to leave Idaho and this hellish case behind. He'd only been there for a consult, but it had turned into the most bizarre and exhausting case. An elusive, quasi-terrorist group had basically taken over the entire state and brought the local PD to their knees.

He was beyond glad to be going home.

However his phone buzzing angrily against his leg stopped him in his tracks. He stepped to the side, allowing Morgan and Reid to continue their ascent as he pulled out his cell.

Emily.

He flicked it open and continued up the stairs again.

"Hey sweetheart"

"Where are you?"

She sounded panicked, tired, and a little angry.

"I'm just boarding the jet now"

"You told me you'd be home by now."

He frowned, stopping once more in his tracks, this time just outside the hatch.

"No… I said we were hoping to be home by now. I never said it concretely," he corrected, his voice soft, riddled with a tenderness he reserved only for Emily and his children.

He heard her huff and sit on a silence. He wanted to speak again, to ask her what was going on, because obviously something was going on, but his past had taught him otherwise. Emily didn't do well when pushed. He needed to be patient.

Even if his entire team were waiting for him mere metres away, aboard the jet, so they could get home.

A little ironic really.

Their pregnant pause lasted another twenty seconds before Emily finally spat out,

"Well if you knew you were going to be later you could have called me, or at least text."

"Em I'm sorr-"

"Yeah well sorry doesn't help me. God Aaron... It wasn't even my turn to stay at home with the kids. You could have given that consult to anyone, but no of course you had to do it, because you just couldn't resist going back to Idaho and rehashing your ties with-"

"Emily"

"No God just forget it. I'll see you when I see you."

"Wai-"

And with that, the line went dead.

He stared at the phone in his hand, completely in shock, blinking a few times to reassure himself that yes, that really was just his fiancée on the phone, and yes she had just busted his balls for not being home yet.

His Emily, on his ass, about not being home.

Something wasn't right.

He started keying his passcode into the IPhone, intent on calling her back. But halfway through his eyes looked down through the transparent keys to the picture of his happy smiling brunette, with their equally sparkle-eyed toddler.

Whatever was going on, he couldn't fix it from here. If it was an emergency, she would have told him.

She'd just sounded grumpy.

And frustrated.

And emotional.

So with those thoughts in his mind he slipped his phone back into his trouser pocket and waltzed into the jet, hoping for a quick flight home.

As he reached the upper floor of their home, he first noticed a basket of dirty laundry tipped on its side just at the foot of the stairs, half the clothes spread across the floor. Frowning he kept moving, his feet following the sounds of a familiar soundtrack.

…or the chocolate fondue, but with you, but with you, I found my place, I see your face, and it's nothing like I've ever known before. Love is an open door, love is an open door…

Okay, finally some normality.

Despite being too young to understand much of it, Olivia had fallen in love with the latest Disney feature, much to Aaron's chagrin (he wasn't partial to musicals). She'd watched it at least a dozen times since Emily had bought it for her on a whim about a month ago.

He followed the melodic sound, ignoring the little voice in his head that reminded him of the effect that prolonged exposure to the song would have on him; a mere twenty seconds would result in it swimming in his mind for the next three days.

A small smile spread across his face as he found Jack and Livvie snuggled up together in the rumpus room. The two were sharing a beanbag, huddled underneath his daughter's favourite purple throw rug.

Seven-year-old Jack was fast asleep, his head lolling lazily to the side while he kept a protective arm around his baby sister, whose big dark doe-eyes were fixated on the bright moving animations. It wasn't until he came to block her view that she seemed to snap out of her trance and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Dada, Dada!" she squealed enthusiastically, reaching her arms up, having lost all interest in the film for the time being.

His son was thankfully a heavy sleeper, and apparently oblivious to the racket his sister was making beside him.

Hotch smiled deeply at his little girl, reaching down and easily untangling her from Jack's arms, gently bouncing her in his own and beginning to plant a string of raspberries along her soft, chubby cheeks, causing a flush of giggles to erupt from her.

"Naoooooo Dadaaaa!" she squealed louder, laughing hysterically as he continued his assault on her, swiftly moving out of the room and shutting the door strategically behind him. He swung Olivia upside down, eliciting a fresh bout of squeals and giggles.

It was these sounds. These sounds of pure and innocent joy that rubbed away the darkness that threatened to consume him after a case.

They centred him, reminded him each time of why he did what he did.

Finally after another minute of shrieking and laughter he relented and brought her up to his chest and hugging her close against him, kissing her cheek again and nuzzling against her.

"I missed you sweetie," he told her, kissing her again and continuing along the upstairs hallway, now on the hunt for the other main woman in his life.

Olivia babbled happily in his ear, playing with his collar.

"Where's Mommy?" he asked her softly, as he checked each room he came across; first his upstairs study and then her own.

His two-year-old's eyes suddenly opened wide and she scrunched up her face impatiently.

"Shhhhh!"

Aaron raised a confused eyebrow at her, stopping in his tracks.

"Shhhh?" he enquired, his head tipping sideways as he tried to understand his daughter's antics.

"Mama sleeping" she informed him seriously in a hushed whisper, a small stubby finger come up over her lips to emphasize her point.

He vaguely wondered how many times Jack had done that for the message to sink in.

However then his thoughts moved to ponder over the information he'd just been given as he started slowly making his way back toward his own bedroom at the end of the corridor.

It was only 4:25 in the afternoon. Emily wasn't a napper by nature, especially when she was home alone with the kids… something must really be off.

Looking at his daughter quizzically he tipped his head again.

"Has Mommy been asleep for a long time?" he asked her, brushing some of her silky brown hair out of her face.

Olivia seemed to consider this question very seriously, he knew at the age of two that her sense of time was going to be a little off, but he thought he should try and figure out as much as he could before going off to find his fiancée.

However it seemed too much for the littlest Hotchner, and he had to stifle a laugh as he watched her little face scrunch up tight as she thought.

"Was she sleeping before you started watching Frozen?"

"No, Mama cry!" she shrieked, suddenly forgetting her rule about being quiet in her excitement at being able to answer his question.

Hotch frowned, worry starting to overcome him. He kissed Olivia's head and ran a hand through her hair, walking the last few paces to their bedroom.

Nudging the door open with his forearm, he settled Livvie onto his side and copied her earlier movement, raising his index finger over his lips to indicate that they needed to be quiet.

Walking over to their king sized bed, he sat on the edge and looked at his sleeping Emily, curled up in a tight ball. Her eyes were puffy and her normally alabaster face was streaked and blotchy, clear evidence that she'd spent a fair amount of time in here crying.

His heart ached at the sight.

He leaned down and pulled their duvet over her, knowing how easily she caught cold, and carried their bubbling daughter back outside, heading back downstairs to do some damage control.

Two and a half hours later…

Emily woke up with a start, jolting up in bed her head thumped and she lay back down for a minute, the grogginess overwhelming her.

Her head was pounding and her eyes felt dry, as did her throat. This was the aftermath of a good long cry that came from pit of your stomach and exhausted you into a long but unrestful sleep.

She sat up more slowly, rubbing her temple and looking somewhat absently at the blanket that was tangled between her legs.

Huh?

She stood up, her senses slowly beginning to catch up with her.

There was hardly any light left. The curtains were still open, and the dusk was settling into the sky, bathing the room she shared with Aaron in a mix of shadows and darkness.

She could also smell the familiar scent of her favourite bolognaise sauce wafting up through the house.

That kicked her brain into gear.

Blinking rapidly she potted across the floorboards and out of her bedroom door, her heart starting to pick up with her strides as the realisation dawned.

Aaron was home.

She practically bolted through the corridor and down the stairs, turning swiftly to the right and toward the kitchen, practically throwing herself into Aaron's strong frame, taking him by surprise.

But after the momentary shock his arms wrapped easily around her, holding her close against him, his face burying into her hair.

"Hey" he whispered gently, swaying her slightly, reassuring her that yes, he really was there, and no, he wasn't about to go anywhere.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled in her smallest voice, burying her head in his chest.

He stroked a strong hand along her back and only shook his head as he came to rest it on top of hers.

"Don't be," he reassured, pulling her back to kiss her tenderly, his hands snaking around her waist, pressing her against him.

She kissed him back gently and leant her forehead against his, her eyes slipping shut as she felt the burn of fresh tears behind her eyes.

How, she had no idea.

He held her firm and rested there with her, his face contorting into a frown.

"Em… sweetheart, what's wrong?"

She shook her head against him, her hands pushing against his chest and pulling away, the tenderness with which he spoke too much for her in that moment.

Wiping her eyes she let out a shaky laugh and turned her head, looking around for the kids.

She spotted them in the lounge room. Jack showing Olivia how to draw something with their crayons, leaning against the coffee table in the centre of the now tidy room. There were no Barbies or cars in sight.

She suddenly realised that she could hear the faint hum of their dryer in the distance and as she spun again to face Aaron, her eyes trailed behind him noticing the two pots on the stove, her favourite meal apparently only minutes away from being ready.

For a moment, shock just played on her face, but then she began to shake and turned away as the tears spilled over.

Aaron was around the island and had her against him within seconds.

"Hey" he soothed gently, as he caught her trembling form, supporting her weight against him.

She was trying to fight the emotions consuming her. He could feel the battle in her body as she sobbed and simultaneously shook her head, as if trying to snap herself out of it.

"Em... talk to me"

He felt her head shaking against him as she clutched desperately at his shirt.

"I… I can't d..do this anymore" she managed to get out between deep sobs and hyperventilations.

He ran strong hands against her back, trying to calm her.

"Breath Emily" he instructed calmly.

"We...we didn't plan this" she sputtered out, wiping at her eyes furiously as she looked at him.

He looked down at her stupidly, confusion etched onto his face.

"Aaron… I… I'm pregnant," she uttered.

He continued to stare at her momentarily before his dimples deepened and he gave her a soft smile with a shake of his own head as everything suddenly made sense.

"Oh Em…" he murmured with an empathetic chuckle, pulling her into his arms again.

He felt Emily begin to shake against him harder, as he heard her both laughing and crying.

"I..I'm happy," she sobbed, her head pounding with the overwhelming emotion. "I'm just sooo tired" she continued, burying her head into him as she let out another chocked sob only to laugh again.

He pulled her back and cupped her face, kissing her passionately, his tongue delving between her lips, ignoring the tears that streaked across her face.

Pulling away he just looked at her in awe, his eyes sparkling with light, looking at Emily's shy smile as the tears continued to fall.

"Emily… a baby. We're having a baby."

She laughed a little and nodded.

"A baby. Another baby," she repeated, the disbelief in her voice matching her face as she wiped her eyes.

He looked at her sympathetically, grabbing her hand to pull her close again.

"Aaron, how are we going to do this? Livvie only just turned two. She's not even toilet trained yet" she started fretting, her brain beginning to catch up with her, the worries that had been plaguing her for the past four days starting to surface.

"Things are crazy around here. You saw what the place looked like when you got home. I can barely keep from drowning now and I don't know how… how we can do this with work and I just-"

He cut her off with a deep kiss, his hand holding the small of her back firmly against him as his other fingers tangled in her hair. He poured his love and joy and reassurance into that embrace.

"We'll make it work," he vowed, pecking her again and encircling her waist, shaking his own head at her affectionately.

"Do you remember the day you found out you were expecting Olivia? You thought we'd never make it through that" he reminded her, swaying her gently again as her tears began to finally subside and her breathing evened out.

They stayed lost in their little bubble for a minute or two; moments like this so surreal and contrary to what they both faced on a daily basis, that they always got lost just savouring them.

"A baby" she finally said softly, a small smile on her face as she soaked in his strength, him managing to finally remind her once again that they could face anything as long as they did so together.

"A baby" he replied, his smile wide as he met her eyes, reassurance and love shining through them.

He heard the pitter-patter of little feet run up to them and then felt the small impact on their legs.

"Livya hug!" she squealed, trying her hardest to keep herself balanced as she tried to throw her arms around both her parents legs. He heard Emily begin to laugh as he bent down to pick up their little bundle of joy and squished her between them, repeating his earlier process of blowing raspberries against her face, eliciting fresh giggles both from her and from Emily too.

"Come on, let's eat," he said warmly, shifting Olivia to his left side and wrapping his right arm around Emily's waist, pulling her tight to his side and leading them back around the counter.

A/N: Thanks for reading, reviews are always nice (: