A/N: Holy cow! Can you believe we're at chapter 4 already? WHAAAA? So... to my amazing 8 reviewers: Charmony, HGRHfan35, greengirl82, HPforever-after, Rolfy, miaa29, and Cinnamon- Thank you for the reviews. I love you guys and will continue to write as long as I have people to read my stuff.

This chapter was inspired by multiple conversations with x-MJ-x, greengirl82, HGRHfan35, and JJ. As usual, I feel the need to credit them. If you'd like to be included in that credit, please leave me some feedback and what you'd like to see, and I'll try to use it! :D

To x-MJ-x: This is dedicated to you. You are simply amazing and I adore you. Thank you for beta-ing this chapter, and the next couple ones, and thank you for always being such a faithful reviewer and friend. You are incredible and I'm so lucky to "know" you. :) xx.

This segment is based around 3x05 "Seven Seconds".

In other news- this chapter is my second longest one EVER! YAY!

READ AND REVIEW, PLEASE! :)

Disclaimer in Chapter 1. ;)

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." - Bryant H. McGill

Awkward.

It was the only possible word that could describe the air between them.

No one dared ask why the two of them would stand at opposite ends of the room, or blatantly avoid having to share an elevator or vehicle, for fear of losing a limb or their life, but the extreme tension was palpable between them. No one dared tempt fate and pick at that heaviness in the room, no one except for Jennifer Jareau. For what felt like months, but was merely just a few weeks, she'd been watching them, catching little moments of disdain or rapture between them; she'd been the first to sense that there might be something going on behind their normally perfectly veneered facades. Today hadn't been different. They'd been avoiding each other at all costs, until they couldn't any longer. She knew that the case was hitting a personal note for both of them; one as a parent, one as a woman who wanted to be one. She'd shared more than one moment with Emily as they'd searched for the little girl, and she'd seen those moments where haunted thoughts lurked behind Emily's deep eyes. The only light she'd seen from the brunette during the day had been when she'd stood next to Hotch, little sparks of electricity that had JJ further questioning the relationship between the two adults.

Deep down, she knew the only way to confront this was like a train, take it head on, and she was almost positive it was going to be as bloody as that too. She twirled her pen between her fingers, feet kicked up on her desk, as she tried to decide whether or not she wanted to confront the unit chief or her friend. Going straight to Hotch would mean short answers and her job being on the line, but he knew better than to lie to her. Going to Emily meant that there would be camaraderie there, their friendship would soften the questions that would be asked, and if nothing came of it, it would just have been 'girl talk'; but Agent Emily Prentiss wasn't stupid and JJ knew that too. She tossed her pen down on the unfinished file about Katie Jacobs and stood, brushing herself off and deciding to let the chips fall where they may - whoever she saw first would be the one she confronted. Her heeled feet carried her down the hallway and to the glass doors of the BAU, slowly shutting behind SSA Aaron Hotchner. She grit her jaw tight, deciding to follow through and ask him, but stopped as she entered the room and saw a scene unfamiliar to her play out. She sighed as she watched him walk past Emily, barely acknowledging her existence and watched Emily follow him to his office with her large brown eyes, hurt evident. She rolled her eyes and headed over to her friend, grabbing her by the elbow and guiding her to a quiet corner of the BAU, "Spill."

As soon as the hand had clamped onto her arm, Emily knew she needed to put all the little boxes in her mind, emblazoned with his name, away and play as dumb as she could. Emily's eyebrow lifted as she studied her blonde co-worker. "Spill what, Jayje?" JJ nodded towards Hotch's office and crossed her arms over her chest, "What's going on with you and Hotch?" Emily snorted softly and shook her head, "Nothing is going on with me and Hotch, JJ." JJ raised her eyebrow skeptically and tilted her head. She leaned in closer and squeezed her friend's elbow gently, "Just be careful, Emily. He's a married man." Emily sighed and licked her lips, dropping her head, nervously scratching at the back of her neck and muttering softly, "Not for long…" JJ's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she grabbed her friend's hand, "Oh my God, Emily. Tell me you didn't…"

Emily had to think fast since no one on the team knew about her and Hotch. She shook her head and squeezed JJ's hand, "No! No no. Nothing like that… He…" she shrugged and moved closer to her, speaking in low whispers. "He told me that Haley left." She bit her lip and looked towards his office, "Apparently, she got sick of the job coming first." She swallowed and turned back, "I've been listening to him, when he needs to talk. Just sort of being an ear he can vent at." JJ nodded slowly and smiled, "Oh. Okay then." She chuckled softly and bopped her head from side to side, "I guess I just assumed..." Emily's eyebrows furrowed together and she smirked, "Assumed what, JJ?" The blonde shrugged and grin like the Cheshire cat, "You two just... you have these moments and I didn't know if there was something going on or if I'd missed something... I mean, I know how you feel about him and I just thought..." Emily smiled warmly and reached forward, pulling the blonde into a small hug as she chuckled, "You're worse than Pen sometimes, Jayje." She pulled back and shook her head, "Thank you for the concern, and for just speaking of the feelings that are never to be mentioned, but no. Aaron Hotchner does not know that I..." she paused and tried to find an appropriate word for the feelings before shaking her head and laughing, "He doesn't know, and frankly, it's best that way. Married or not, it'd just get dicey and you know I don't do dicey well." JJ's laughter filled the space softly and she nodded quickly, agreeing with the brunette silently before she leaned in and added her own two cents, "Well, for what it's worth Em, when the whole thing's over and done with, I think you two would make a really great couple." Emily's eyes brightened slightly and she bit back a chuckle. "Yeah?"

JJ nodded and rested her hand on Emily's forearm, "Yeah; I see it from him too. I think you..." She paused and pursed her lips for a moment, growing serious again, "Please, just be careful." Emily nodded and looked towards his office, her heart fluttering lightly as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She watched JJ leave and glanced around the room, finding it to be appropriately dark. Two lights flickering in the abyss. Much as she hated to admit it, he'd been right, they couldn't just avoid things, and it had never been more obvious how hard avoiding things would be as it had been during this case. She'd caught herself more than once today, staring at him and she cursed herself each time. It'd been easy enough to focus when he wasn't with her, but the moment he'd paired up with her to interview the Uncle, she'd felt the electric spark between them. She'd seen a side of him in that interrogation that she couldn't ever remember seeing before. She'd seen a fire, a drive, a concentration that part of her never wanted to be directed at her; and other parts desperately wanted on her.

She knew that he was going to be haunted by this one, and the fact that he'd been the one to find and save Katie Jacobs would only enhance that. He'd gone straight from the scene to see his son, to have a tangible reminder that he was still safe. That parental instinct overriding everything else. It was cases like this one that reminded her, how lucky she was to not be a mother; knowing that she'd be a mirror of him, moved and haunted by the cases that dealt with children more than the rest of the team; knowing that if she ever did become a mother, she'd be just as dedicated to that child as she was to the job, perhaps even more so.

Her brown eyes glanced once more around the now empty bull pen, hoping against hope that there would be some excuse to tuck and run but, knowing that right now was the moment she'd been waiting for. She sighed and closed the incomplete case report on her desk and headed up to his office. She knocked once, waiting for his ascent, and took a deep breath before opening the door. She stepped into his office, and shut the door behind her, leaning her weight onto her shoulder against the solid wood. Her arms crossed in front of her as she watched him continue working on the file in front of him, "Hotch..." He glanced up, pen in hand, his lips a straight line of concentration, "Prentiss." His tone was cold enough to send chills down her back. She sighed and stepped away from the door, moving over to the seat across from him and sitting down, her legs crossing on impulse. She dropped her hands to her lap and entwined her fingers, "Hotch, why are you still here?"

He shrugged and gave a nod of his head to the large stacks on his desk, "My job doesn't end when the case is over." There it was again, that tone that was so cold it could freeze the Potomac. He turned his eyes away from her and began to work on the file again. She chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment before figuring she couldn't possibly do more damage to whatever they had between them. She reached forward and covered his hand with hers, "Today, it does."

She held his eyes with hers as she gripped his hand lightly and made sure he understood that she was speaking to him from a place much deeper than agent to agent, "Look, I know things have been…" she licked her lips and shook her head, "I think you need to take a break. You need to go home, have a drink and take a shower, do something other than being here. The files will be here tomorrow. Go home." She smirked and shrugged, "If not for your own sanity then for mine. I won't be able to sleep knowing you're still here." Her fingers traced the smooth skin of his hand, "Please."

He had a flashback to the last time he'd heard something like that. Derek had said it, the night that he'd first pushed Emily away. He held her eyes, something unreadable flickering in them and he swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat. Emily Prentiss didn't show emotion like this. She wasn't JJ, she didn't mother the team. The last time he'd seen this warmth, they'd fallen into her bed. He dropped his eyes to her hand over his watching her long, lean fingers trace over the back of his hand, easing the pen from his grip and letting it drop to the file beneath their hands, her fingers gently entwining with his. She'd been just as affected by this case as he had been, but obviously for different reasons. He wasn't blind and he was able to recognize her desire to be a mother was still strong as ever; he covered her hand with his, "I'll make you a deal. I'll leave, if you will. You need a break just as much as I do."

She smiled and tilted her head, sighing lightly as he squeezed her hand and returned her gentle caresses. She nodded slowly and bit her lower lip, "Deal." He grinned slightly, a hint of his dimples slowly as he nodded, "Thank you."

She gave his hand one more squeeze before sliding her hand from his. She stood and headed to the door, turning over her shoulder she watched him gather his briefcase and jacket. He looked at her with questioning eyes as he began to stand and her smile grew, "You're welcome, Aaron."

She opened the door and headed back down to her desk, grabbing her jacket and purse and headed out of the bullpen, a slight bounce in her step, a flicker of hope in her chest that they were coming around; that a mutual forgiveness had been bestowed. She pressed the down button at the elevator and watched the numbers illuminate as the car made its way to her floor.

Aaron. She's used his first name. He smothered the need to jump up and punch the air in happiness. Instead, he shrugged his sport coat on and loosened his tie. Last time, they'd screwed up; mutually. It'd been disaster from the beginning, and he'd only let it snowball. He thought it was over a week ago, when she'd slammed the door of his car and stormed up to her apartment. He thought there'd be no fixing it, but something changed over the last week. Whether it was remorse on his or her end, was negotiable and unimportant; the fact was that they'd found a middle ground. He approached her from behind and tried to stifle his grin. This time around, he wasn't going to just jump into her bed, this time he was going to woo her. She deserved at least that.

She smiled as he stepped up next to her and leaned towards her slightly, "Have you eaten today?" Her eyebrows rose slightly as she turned to him with a smirk dancing across her lips. He caught her look and shrugged, "I'm asking as a concerned unit chief. Can't have my team dying of starvation." She chuckled low in her throat and shook her head, "Something tells me you don't patrol Morgan's eating habits." It was his turn to chuckle as the doors to the elevator opened and the couple stepped on. He smiled broadly at her and nudged her shoulder gently, "I don't think he'd let me take him to dinner, if I asked." Her eyes widened slightly as she turned her head to him, the doors closing on their private moment.

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She'd never expected it to go like this; a late dinner at some remote family owned diner, and him driving her home. She smiled warmly as they pulled into her parking lot and sat in silence. A week ago, she'd read him the riot act and had stormed away, landing several hurtful blows in the process; but tonight, something seemed different. She turned her body to face him and was met with his eyes glowing warmly and a large smile painting his features. He'd turned to watch her as soon as he'd shifted into park. She'd been glowing all night, and he felt a sort of male pride that she'd been with him. That smile that so rarely appeared while working a case or in the BAU was plastered on her lips and he liked that he'd been the one to put it there. He chuckled with her softly as she settled into the moment, "I can't remember the last time I laughed that much." She quietly laughed and leaned her head against the headrest, her eyes squinting as she smiled wider, "I think everyone on our team would be amazed at how easy it is to like you outside of work."

She sighed softly as he reached forward and took her hand in his, his fingers wrapping around hers tenderly, "The only one I really want to impress is you, Emily." She chuckled lightly and bit her lip, turning her head from him and looking around the car, out the window, anywhere but his eyes; those damned all-seeing, all-knowing eyes that could x-ray through her well placed armor and find her vulnerability. An awkward silence filled the car, each adult trying to figure out how to address the big issue between them. Minutes ticked by, their hands staying entwined and the air becoming stifling as they both tried to find the words they both wanted to say to each other but were scared to utter. Naturally, she was the one to find them first. She gave his hand a squeeze and licked her lips, "What are we doing, Aaron?" She studied their hands and then looked up at him with insecure eyes, "Bouncing back and forth over this line. I don't… I don't want this to be the office tramp; your little side dish as you decide whether or not you want to stay with Haley." She cleared her throat and took a deep breath, "This is insane. You're still married and I…"

"She's not coming back." Her mouth opened and shut twice, no words coming out as she digested his declaration. She pursed her lips and cocked her head, eyes narrowing at him, asking him to explain more. He chuckled and shook his head, staring with earnest into her dark orbs, "She's not coming back. Ever. We talked. It's not worth it anymore, for either of us. She doesn't want to accept the things that come with the job, and I think that's okay." He nodded and kept hold of her eyes with his, "I don't... think I would've wanted her back. I wanted my son back. I wanted to be able to come home to someone, but that hasn't been Haley for..." he scoffed bitterly and shrugged, "That hasn't been Haley for a long time."

Her eyes dropped as he spoke and she turned her head from him, staring at her feet trying desperately to process everything he was saying, "I told you I wouldn't make any promises. I'm still not going to Emily. I know I pushed you away. I know I screwed up and I know you deserve better. Hell, a week ago, I think you made it very clear that we both know I'm no good at this." His hand cupped her cheek gently as he lifted her head, forcing her to have eye contact with him, "But, you also know that I'm a hard-headed, stubborn man when it comes to something that I want; that I don't go down without a fight." He shifted in his seat, moving closer to her, "Haley and I are done; have been done, for a while. I see that now. I see that what we had revolved around our son. It will always revolve around Jack; but a marriage can't exist purely based on that." He sighed and caressed her wrist with his fingertips, "I will always love her for that, for giving me him. But I don't love her anymore. Not the way you think I do." He swallowed and gave her a gentle tug, leaning his forehead to hers and letting his thumb trace her cheek as both their eyes slipped shut, "And I'd be an idiot to let you continue to think that all you were was some ridiculous rebound."

He gripped her hand tighter and slid his hand into her hair, cradling the back of her head in his strong hand and holding her to him, "I am horrible at this whole 'woo and chase' thing. I don't play the romantic lead well; I'm not good at the dating game like Morgan." He sighed and massaged the back of her skull with his fingers gently, "I want this though. I want to try this. I owe you that much. I owe you… us… a chance." He blinked his eyes open and leaned back a little, her silence deafening. He watched her eyes flicker open and tightened his jaw, seeing the wet glaze over her brown eyes.

She wasn't always quick to acknowledge her wrongs, especially not about something like this, but this wasn't just another guy, and certainly not just some other situation; this was Aaron Hotchner. She swallowed the final bit of her pride and took a deep breath, "I told you, Aaron. I didn't care about any of that. I wanted you. I wanted to try to get past all those stupid walls you have up, and then you just put up more walls and I…" She shook her head and shrugged, "I'm okay, with this being no strings. I can accept the no promises and the no commitments. I just don't want to feel like I'm being used. I don't want to feel like the office whore, sleeping with the boss behind his wife's back."

He nodded and leaned back more, putting space between them, "You never were that to me. You were never just a conquest; I need you to understand that. If that's all it had been, I would've found a way to have had you a long time ago." He slid his fingers from her hair, gliding the backs of his fingers down the side of her face, "Emily, I want you and I want this to work, but if I want this to really work, I know I have to let you take your time." His thumb traced her lips as he studied her, "I want you to weigh all your options and choose what's best for you. If you decide to do this with me, I want to be absolutely sure you're doing this because that is what you really want. I want to know you're getting as much as me from this." He cupped her jaw gently and let his fingers caress her cheek. His smile was tinged with sadness as he spoke, "I want you to know what you're stepping into." She tilted her head, leaning her cheek into his palm and fought the urge to roll her eyes as she looked at him, "Aaron, I was well aware of what I was getting into the first time." He chuckled softly and nodded, "Yeah, and look where that got us." He sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she felt her eyes begin to sting. She quickly shut them and shook her head slowly, "Aaron, I…"

Her words were silenced as he pressed his lips to hers, soft and patient; his hand moving to the side of her neck and holding her there as he swallowed her surprised gasp with his mouth. He pulled back a fraction of an inch when it became necessary to breathe and brushed her nose with his. Soft pants filled the car and she listened to them both breathe in and out. One always a breath ahead of the other. Her mind raced with thoughts of why this was a bad idea and how messed up everything was, but she melted into his touches and caresses. He pulled her close and pressed his lips to her ear, "Just think about it, Emily." Her eyes stayed shut as her mouth opened slightly, her hot breath dancing across his neck, "Okay."

A/N: So, did it make up for the big fight in the last chapter? I hope so.

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