A/N: Hey all. Thanks for the reviews. Liking the +ive responses to the story. I'll try and incorporate suggestions so if you think of an event from an episode or a chapter from "What if I waited" and you want me to write a "Memory Lane" chapter, just add it to your reviews. Thanks for reading!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds.
Lexi and Matty gripped the sides of the photo, in absolute awe. Neither of them could believe that they were once so small. "Was this the day we were borned?" Lexi asked. Emily chuckled and nodded. "Yep. This was just after you came out. They let Daddy cut the cord, then they took you away to weigh you and measure you," she explained.
Matty looked at his sister and laughed. "What is it sweetie?" Emily asked her giggling son. He took a deep breath and pointed at the photo. "We're covered in goop," he chuckled. Lexi looked at the photo, then at her brother and started laughing along.
Emily shook her head and chuckled. It was hard not to when she had two 3 year-olds sitting in her lap in fits of laughter. It was a truly beautiful sound. Emily sighed and just sat back to listen.
When the twins sat down, Lexi threw her hand into the box and pulled out another photo. "My turn Mommy," she cried out, holding up the next photo. Emily nodded and smiled. "Alright," she said, sitting up, "Let's see what we have here."
Emily's eyes almost popped out of her head when she realized what she was seeing. She couldn't believe it. Who had taken this photo? And why had she not seen it before? She recognized the other person in the shot, so she knew when it had taken place, but she honestly couldn't remember the photo being taken.
"What is it Mommy?" Lexi asked, breaking Emily from her thoughts. Emily looked down at the twins, then back at the photo. She held it out for them to see as she told the story. "This was when Mommy and Daddy were in LA. We caught the bad guy and closed the case, but we couldn't go home until the next morning so…"
Emily and Detective Kim made their way up to the huddle of agents and turned to watch Davies being led out by a uniform. Emily shook her head and sighed, causing Kim to look at her. "You alright?" he asked. Emily smiled and nodded. "I'm fine," she replied, not really wanting her thoughts to become a public forum.
"Ok, so JJ just called and told me we've got a 10am take-off scheduled," Morgan started, "So what are we doing?" "If you guys are up for it, I know a nice bar with pool, dancing, some pretty great looking bartenders," Kim suggested. The team exchanged glances and nods before Emily nodded to Kim. He smiled and tipped his head towards the door. "Why don't you guys head back to your hotel, get changed and I'll meet you there in an hour?" he suggested. The group agreed and started out the door.
The ride to the hotel was brief and the team quickly made their way upstairs. Emily tapped Hotch's shoulder to get his attention and he turned. "You ok?" he asked. Emily nodded and smiled. "I'm fine," she replied, "Just thinking I should probably skip out on tonight. Take care of JJ." Hotch wrinkled his brow. "Well, if you're not going then I'm not," he replied. At Emily's frown, he sighed. "You know that when we get to this bar, Morgan will start dancing with multiple women and we may not see him again tonight; Reid will start talking incessantly and I will want to kill him; and Rossi will sit at the bar, drinking his expensive whiskey and trying to make small talk with any woman that sits near him. If you don't go, then I won't."
Emily bit her lip and nodded. "Fine, I'll go," she resigned. Hotch grinned like an idiot and nodded. Emily chuckled and shook her head. "Since when did our roles reverse?" she asked. Hotch shrugged his shoulders. "Probably somewhere between New Mexico and Oklahoma," he joked. Emily chuckled and pushed the card into her hotel room door. "See you soon," she said, before slipping inside.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay in with you tonight? You know I'll do it," Emily asked JJ. She shook her head and forced a smile, "I'll be fine. Those legs need to do some dancing. And I'm not going to stop them," she joked. Emily smiled and nodded. "Alright. But I have my cell and if you start to feel sick or you just want some company, call me ok?" Emily bartered. JJ nodded and lifted up her glass of water. "I'm about to call my boys, then it's two Tylenol and sleepy-time for me," she explained. Emily smiled and leant down, kissing her friend's forehead. "Ok, well… get some sleep." JJ nodded and waved her friend away as she yawned.
Emily made her way out of the door and quietly closed it behind her. She checked herself in the mirror in the elevator as she headed downstairs, fixing her hair. When the doors opened she walked down the hall and towards the lobby.
"Damn Emily!" Morgan exclaimed. Emily blushed as she made her way over to the guys, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Morgan put out his hand and she took it, twirling around. "I know I say this every time I see you dressed up… but you are beautiful," he said, causing her to blush even further. "You really do look beautiful Emily," Reid said. Emily smiled and pat the younger man's cheek. Rossi simply nodded in agreement with Morgan and Reid's compliments.
Hotch stood in awe. He had seen Emily dressed up before, but he still managed to be surprised when she wasn't in fatigues or pant-suits. She was a truly beautiful woman and getting dressed up only enhanced her beauty. She winked at him and grinned, and he had no words. He shot her a shy smile and nodded.
"Everyone ready to g…" Kim's voice trailed off when he saw Emily standing with the others. "Agent Prentiss…" Emily pat his shoulder and shook her head. "It's after 5 detective. You can call me Emily," she assured him. He simply nodded and swallowed hard. "Uh… I was just about to say I've got a couple of cabs waiting outside. Are you guys ready?" he asked. Emily nodded and Kim took her arm, leading her out, with the others following.
It was a short ride to the bar. Hotch climbed out of the cab first then held his hand out for Emily. She took it and stood on the path next to him. "Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?" he asked, realizing that Emily's dress probably wasn't exactly manufactured for its ability to shield women from the cold. Emily shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine," she replied, "Once we get inside and I get dancing I'll warm up." Hotch nodded and put his arm on her back, their skin touching. They both shivered and Emily wrinkled her brow.
Kim joined them on the path and nodded towards the bar. "Let's go," he said, smiling. Emily grinned and followed him, thanking him when he held the door open for her.
Once they were inside, Morgan made a beeline for a table of women, ready for some dancing. Rossi headed towards the bar and found a stool that would most likely be his friend for the evening. That left the final four: Emily, Hotch, Kim, and Reid. They found a table and Kim offered to buy the first round.
Emily sat back and sighed as she let the last few days sink in. They'd caught their unsub, Gina, and managed to help her find a lawyer. Emily just hoped that Campion would see justice. "So what was it like interviewing a celebrity?" Hotch asked as he leaned over. Emily chuckled. "Oh you know… no big deal," she joked. Hotch huffed. He opened his mouth to say something when Kim returned with their tray of drinks.
After he'd passed them around, he turned to Emily and smiled. "Would you like to dance?" he asked. Emily smiled and nodded as she placed her drink back on the table. "I'd love to," she replied, standing and taking his hand. Hotch watched as the young detective moved towards the dancefloor, leading away the woman he loved.
Hotch wrinkled his brow. Loved? he wondered. He shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't that hard to believe that after a couple of years of friendship, and her unwavering support through his ordeal with Foyet, that Hotch's feelings had grown into love. But he wondered what would happen when Hayley and Jack were back. Would those feelings change? Or would he still want to see what could happen with Emily? In any case, a strange tugging in his stomach flared up as he watched Emily and Kim dancing.
From his seat at the bar, Rossi watched his team-mates. Emily looked happy as she spun around the dancefloor with Detective Kim. She needed this. They all did. A night where they didn't need to think about unsubs or autopsy reports or personality disorders. And Rossi was glad that they'd decided to come out tonight, rather than sit in their hotel rooms and drink from the mini-bar.
His eyes turned to Hotch, sitting at the table with Reid. The younger agent was obviously chatting away, no doubt informing Hotch about the political relevance of Star Trek. But it was clear that Hotch's mind was far away from the Enterprise and Vulcans. From the look on his face, it was obvious that his mind was on one thing. One person, rather. Emily Prentiss.
Rossi was the observer of the family, and over the past couple of years since he'd returned to the team, he'd watched as the two agents had grown closer. Emily's support during Hotch's divorce; Hotch's care and concern after the hostage situation in Colorado; basically their mutual support over time, had given Rossi reason to believe that they both truly cared about each other. As more than just team-mates or friends.
And this belief was only supported further by the look that Hotch was now giving Detective Kim. A look that said "This woman is mine. You touch her and I will have you drawn and quartered." Rossi chuckled to himself as he lifted his cell phone to capture the scene. Garcia would most definitely get a kick out of this. And maybe a little photographic evidence was all Hotch needed to give him that push.
"Hey," Hotch called from the doorway, "Aren't you two supposed to be in bed?" Emily and the twins looked up from the photo and smiled sweetly. Hotch chuckled and made his way over to the 3/5 of his family sitting in front of the bookcase. He sat behind Emily and reached around to ruffle the twins' hair.
"What you doing?" he whispered in his wife's ear. Emily smiled and nodded towards the box. "Just showing the kids some photos and telling stories," she explained. Hotch smiled and kissed her cheek. "What do we have here?" he asked, taking the photo from Emily's hand. He wrinkled his brow. "Wow. Look how young we look," he joked. Emily chuckled and leant back against his chest. "Honey that was only five years ago," she replied. He nodded and flipped the photo over, laughing at the note on the back.
Emily burst out laughing when she read what was written on the back. "Aaron, thought this might be the kick in the ass you needed. Just tell her already." Emily picked up the photo and waved it in front of her husband's face. "Dave is a wise, wise man," she exclaimed, putting the photo in the small pile they were collecting. Hotch nodded and ran his finger down the side of Emily's neck. "In general, I'd disagree. But on this particular issue… I'd say I wholeheartedly concur."
