The next morning at 6 a.m Emily was out in the front of the lobby stretching as she was waiting for Derek to join her. They pair of them always ran together while on cases, they shared their fears and found solace in each other's company during this time. Once the day got cracking it became difficult for any of them to find personal time or even time to spend with each other.

Derek stepped out of the lobby with Reid in tow. Emily raised her eyebrows

"Reid muffin you are running with us this morning….really? " Emily asked him

"I wanna catch up on all the news, you both always share the juicy bits on this run and it really is not fair to the rest of us!"

"Kid we don't always gossip you know….today yes we will but not always." Derek said as he stretched.

In a few minutes they hit the road and without ceremony Derek asked her, "So what's the story Prentiss?"

"Mary had a little lamb and apparently it followed her everywhere she went. Can you believe that?" Emily replied, she was not comfortable with the question. Derek could be asking her about JJ but what if he had noticed that Hotch had always paired himself with her in the recent past.

"Stop messing with me! So do you know the juice on JJ or not?" Derek shot back.

"Was that why you were kicking me under the table? because yeah I noticed the incessant texting." Reid chipped in.

"Great! NOW the boy genius gets why I was kicking him. Yea about the texting do any of us know anything?" Emily responded beyond relieved that her secret was safe….for now.

"I think it is someone who is not in DC" Reid said and continuing "because she seems to text him at the same time everyday and it is not like she is spending less time with us" he concluded

"Well caught my Reid muffin ,will see if Garcia has anything we do not" Emily said.

"Whatever she has got going I hope she is happy." Derek said and then he looked to Emily "So how was the visit to the abduction site" he asked her "did you guys find out anything useful"

Emily fighting hard to keep her expression neutral responded," Yeah I mean it is fairly well lit and a busy street so abduction would really not be possible so we think that the victims may have know the Unsub." She continued jogging with her head straight.

Derek looked at her, there was something amiss, and he could feel it "and?" he prodded.

"And nothing except that Reid here is gasping for dear life. Tell you what let's turn back and Reid can split at the hotel while we continue." Emily shot back praying that her response convinced Derek.

"Yep let's do that, Kid turn back, we decided we will keep you alive till the end of the case." So saying the trio jogged back.

Once back at the hotel Emily showered and hopped into the diner to meet the rest of the team. They had agreed to meet at 7:30 for breakfast before heading to their respective tasks. Emily saw that JJ was there and the others were yet to join

"Good morning pretty face. You're looking nice." She greeted JJ as she sat across her and signaled for coffee.

JJ smiled back warmly and then her expression changed to a menacing one as she said," So Garcia and I have been talking."

"Really JJ sorry to break your heart, but she kinda happens to do that with all of us" Emily retorted with pleasant sarcasm but not liking JJ's expression.

"Well Ms. Prentiss let's hope that she has not told everyone about what she told me!" Carried on determined to torture Emily "Well she told me that a certain brunette team member had a certain mushy eyed look on her face while she was looking towards what seemed like our Unit Chief's cabin."

Emily could not hide her blush quick enough and she noticed that Derek and Hotch were heading from across the road to the diner so she quickly responded, "Damn it! I was hoping Garcia would kinda forget that one after getting shot. No such luck there. Can we please talk about it later?"

JJ with a satisfied expression said," Fine as long as you will state only the truth I am fine with it"

Emily sank back gratefully as she saw Hotch and Derek followed by Reid and Rossi enter the diner. Hotch looked at her and raised his eyebrow in acknowledgement as he sat slid in next to JJ and Emily in response smiled back warmly. He did not look like he regretted last night Emily noted relieved to a large extent. The team spent 30 mins going over breakfast and details about the case before going their separate ways.

As Hotch got in to the driver's seat he was trying to make sense of the little flip his heart did when he saw Emily this morning. She did not seem awkward over last night and the smile she gave him reached right upto her eyes and warmed his entire being.

Given the nature of their job profilers were used to surprises but this twist was something even they could not see coming. The victim's father was under witness protection and the team may have got the entire profile wrong. The man pretending to be a family friend of the missing girl was actually an US Marshall. Hotch was not a happy man. He hated it when people had their own hidden agenda which affected their investigation.

He was aggressive in his interrogation, the father of the victim needed to divulge information which could be vital to the investigation. Before they could get anywhere the local team gave them a tip off about a possible location. They rushed to the scene only to find that they could be facing multiple Unsubs and that this definitely was a local team. What made it worse is that one of the Unsubs was found dead in the abandoned site and he was a teenage boy. Everyone was shaken with the enormity of the situation; they were now looking at high school boys who were egged on by a dominant boy.

The family of the dead boy needed to be informed. Garcia pulled out the boy's record and Hotch chose to deliver the news to the boy's father. He asked Emily to go along with him, he needed somebody who would be sensitive yet focused enough to deliver the news yet probe the grieved man for information that could be vital.

Even as they delivered the news to this father, Emily consoled him appropriately while Hotch gently sought further information. It was painful to see the pain and anguish that the father was going through. This made Hotch so angry and helpless; they all realized that the boy whose body they discovered was a shy boy who probably was forced to commit the acts he did. But right now they needed to focus. Emily worked with Garcia and Derek,JJ and Hotch co-ordinated with Reid who figured out a possible site where the girl could be held. It looked like Reid would get there before the rest of the team could. Hotch asked him to go ahead but to be careful.

Reid reached the site first to find the girl alive but the girl's father pointing his gun at the Unsub. Reid tried to level with him but at the end the rage of the father took over and he shot the Unsub point blank.

As the team rushed in they heard a shot, all of them accelerated their approach knowing that Reid was in there. Thankfully he was fine, a bit shaken with what he saw but otherwise fine. Emily, Derek and JJ surrounded him to ensure he was fine. Hotch and Rossi were defeated by the laws that they worked so hard to uphold, the girl's father was a strong witness and he was going to walk away without consequences.

On their plane ride back home the team was in a very somber mood. Emily kept glancing at Hotch who was sitting across the aisle, she knew that he was battling with conflicting emotions. She wanted to go over to him and speak to him but Reid at this point needed her more, he was fast sleep on her shoulder. She took out her cell phone and texted Hotch hoping he would see it.

"Hotch I know you are angry. I know you are angry at the system where people are protected without reason and angry at how even sometimes Unsubs are the victims. That young boy who was the submissive one was not an Unsub he was forced to become one. Someone recently told me that we are making a difference on creep at a time. Besides even for you this frown is way too much!"

Hotch heard his phone beep. These days only Emily texted him. He broke out of his thought and looked at her. She looked at him and gestured with a nod indicating that it was her who sent the text. Curious and pleasantly thrilled he read the text. Once he read it, he just shook his head and looked back at her indulgently and nodded his head in understanding.

"Can I call you later tonight? Need to speak with you." . Rossi slid into the seat across him blocking his line of vision to Emily so he was not able to see her reaction. He did get her response saying she would wait for his call.

Emily did not know what to make of the latest text from Hotch. Did he want to speak to her asking her to not be so familiar with him? Did he regret whatever was happening between them? Pensive she thought there was no point fretting over it she decided to wait till later, not like she had a choice in the matter anyway!