A very hearty thank you to HGRHfan35 for her patience with me as she beta'ed this story! And so, with much delight, this story is dedicated to you!

And to all who had read and reviewed this story, thank you, thank you!

…

I Hate Him

Part 3

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Unfortunately for her, this time Hotch saw where she was heading and followed her. He didn't really cared if anyone else was in the ladies' restroom, he banged his way in.

He had seen Emily's tormented look as he was talking to the other woman and cursed at himself because from her point of view, it looked as if he was in a compromising position; hugging another female after he had just declared his feelings for her.

He knew that no matter what she had said in the jet, this matter had became serious, that it needed to be addressed immediately before it festered into some ugly sore.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Emily clutching the edge of a sink tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Emily," he said quietly.

Startled by his voice she turned to him suddenly, "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"I told you, not while we're on a case." She said angrily.

"What you just saw…"

"Hotch, don't. You do not need to explain. Not to me. I see it now; since I gave you the brush off, you are ready to move on. Only, I didn't expect you to do so that fast. My god, Hotch, I never thought you could be such a bastard. You know I'm here and you had the gall to display your affection for that brunette openly. Please spare me and the others by keeping your hugs for her at a more private place."

Wiping a tear, she brushed past him so fast that he didn't realized what she was doing until he heard the door banged shut.

He was still reeling by her angry words. He didn't have a chance to tell her that what she saw was not what it seemed.

Damn!

When Hotch returned from the restroom moments later, he saw that the rest of the team was in the room.

"Hey Hotch, wasn't that Gabby Ramirez?" Dave asked.

Hotch nodded, "Yeah, only she's now Gabby Sanchez." He took a seat opposite from Emily who had her head down.

"Sanchez…Sanchez…as in Martin Sanchez?" Dave wondered.

"The very one; they have been married for about five years now."

Dave frowned slightly, "But I thought she and you had a thing while the two of you were in the same SWAT team?"

Hotch shook his head, "Dave, I was still married."

"I know. She had a huge crush on you, didn't she?"

Derek, Reid and JJ looked up from their files and stared at Hotch; the conversation had become more interesting than the case.

Emily was the only one whose head was still buried in her work.

"That's not true, Dave. It was Martin she was more interested in."

Dave pursued, "Wasn't he supervisor to the SWAT team?"

"Yes he was. And she was not happy about it, frat rules and all."

"Yet they figured how to be together?"

"After I transferred from that unit to the BAU, so did they. Somehow, they finally got together and when they got married, Martin retired from the Bureau. He is now currently Flagstaff's District Attorney. Gaby transferred to this field office."

"Well, all's well that ends well here." Dave said sagely.

"Almost; he's about to be a father for the first time, Gaby just told me." He said as he watched Emily.

Emily suddenly looked up and stared at Hotch who tried not to laugh at her reaction.

Dave grinned, "Really? I should give him a call and offered my condolences."

Hotch turned and nodded at Dave, "I should too, Gaby's expecting twins. She's always wanted a big family."

"That's a quick way to start one!" Dave chuckled.

Before Hotch could add more, a field agent came in and informed the team that there was another attack and this time, the victim survived.

…

I am such a complete idiot! Emily admonished herself.

I should have known not to jump to conclusion and trust him. He was not the type to move on so quickly.

Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!

She hurriedly left the room as soon as Hotch handed out assignments.

Leaning against the SUV, she waited for Morgan; their assignment was to get to the hospital to interview the survivor.

A minute later, it was not Morgan that joined her but Hotch.

Her heart gave a little hitch as she watched him approached her.

Feeling nervous, she nodded to him as he stopped in front of her, "Morgan and Reid are going to interview Mitch Colston. We are going to his apartment."

Emily nodded as he turned away from her and headed to the other side of the SUV while she opened the passenger door and hopped in.

The drive to the Colston apartment was made in silence.

Emily wasn't sure if she should take this opportunity but she remembered that she had told him that personal issues were taboo during this case.

"Prentiss," Hotch began, startling her slightly as she had not expected him to speak.

"Yes Hotch?" She replied softly.

"I know what you had said previously on the jet that we should not talk about…us at this moment but I would prefer if we could try to get along, for the sake of this case. The team can pick up vibes and it would not be conducive if they feel uncomfortable working with us."

Emily nodded; he made sense and realized she was being petulant by hardly contributing to the case.

"I'm sorry Hotch. You're right, it's not fair to anyone especially you."

Hotch shook his head, "It's not me I'm talking about. Just…"

He stopped talking and pulled into a parking lot. Parking the SUV, he turned off the engine and faced her.

"No. This needs to be addressed now. I'm not concentrating much at all on this case and it's not fair to the victims and at this moment, the survivor who's hanging by a thread."

Emily watched him; she felt like a heel. He was right; they needed to hash out their feelings with each other before moving on.

"Hotch," Emily began. "I want to apologize to you. What I said to you earlier, it was dumb of me. I should have checked facts first before accusing you of being a…"

"An ass-hole? A bastard?" He grinned slightly.

Emily blushed as she nodded her head. "I didn't know Agent Sanchez was married and that she…you were not hitting on her after you had said you were interested in me. I was being petty and stupid."

On impulse, he put his hand on hers which was on her lap.

Emily gasped slightly at his touch; it felt good.

"So this means you're changing your mind about me?" He asked.

Emily moved her eyes from where his hand was to his face.

"I lied to you. I have been attracted to you for a very long time…more than two years ago." She revealed.

Hotch was startled by her revelation, "That long? I had no idea. I didn't even know and I should because it's about that time that I began to feel something for you."

"What bunch of idiots for profilers we are, huh?" Emily laughed as she shook her head.

Hotch joined her, "Yeah. To think, we have wasted all those time hiding our feelings for each other."

Suddenly, Emily sobered as she looked worried, "We can't do this…I mean having a personal relationship. Frat rules?"

Hotch chuckled, "What frat rules? There are many couples in the Bureau and so far nothing is wrong with us dating as long as we know what we are doing. So did the others who had figured it out too. We are mature adults and if things don't work out in the long run, we'll be able to handle it like mature adults."

Emily thought about what he said and finally nodded.

Hotch saw her nodded and smiled, "Emily, let's not waste any more time brooding over everything and take things one day at a time. Now that I know you like me very much, I really want to take this to the next level."

"And what is that?" She asked even though she knew what the answer was.

However, she was not prepared for it; he leaned over and kissed her on her lips, her surprised unmoving lips.

But that didn't mean they stayed unmoving for long as she, and her heart, responded to him quickly and passionately.

Half an hour later, they finally arrived at the apartment to begin their investigation.

Smiles were planted on their faces the entire time they worked together.

…

One day later, they were on their way back at Virginia that evening. The case in Arizona was finally wrapped up after they apprehended the UnSub. Clues that were left in the Colston apartment which Hotch and Emily found broke the case.

On the jet, on their way home, the two sat together where they talked softly throughout the flight while the oblivious team sans Dave, slept. Dave wore a grin all the way as he was pleased that his two favorite people finally admitted to their feelings for each other; feelings he had seen and was frustrated about most of the time because those two had been obstinate, refusing to address them.

Yes, there were many times, after the forlorn looks they each had given to the other, he had wanted to knock their heads together but he restrained himself; it was not his problem but still it had been frustrating.

Back to the two.

Hotch, after making sure they were not observed, he reached over and held her hand the entire way as they talked about having dinner after they had landed.

And whatever happened after that first dinner date, they realized that there was nothing that was going to stop them from being together, hopefully forever.

…The End…

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There we go! A happy H/P ending!

Loved to hear a word or two, or more from you wonderful readers!

Huggerz

Lizzie