A/N – Here we have the next installment! Only took a week to get up this time! My time is getting quicker! Please leave a review if you've read (No account needed!). All comments, good and bad, are motivation for me to write and improve. Enjoy!

December

"So, are the rumors true?"

"What?" Emily replied looking up from the file she had been concentrating on. "Sorry, I missed that." She apologized to Hotch who was looking at her in amusement.

"Are the rumors true?" Hotch repeated as he dragged Reid's empty chair from it's desk over beside Emily's. The rest of the team is long gone. He planned to leave within the next few minutes, hopefully getting home in time to have a late dinner with Jack. It didn't surprise him that Emily is the only one left in the darkened bullpen, her lamp the only thing illuminating the room. He took a very brief and discrete moment to appreciate how the light gave her skin a gentle glow. An almost divine glow. "Whispers around the office tell me that you've bought an apartment."

"Whispers as in Dave?" Emily chuckled softly, closing the file in front of her. Hotch usually left the office a few minutes before she did, always coming down to say a few words to her before he left for the night. She enjoyed these few private moments with him. It felt like she got to see a side of him he reserved for outside of the office. It almost made her feel special.

"He was almost gleeful when he mentioned a possible house-warming party!" Hotch joked dryly. Admittedly he had actually felt a little hurt when he heard the news from Dave. He had expected Emily to come to him first to tell him about buying a new place seeing as he had spent a whole day looking for a new home with her.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned I was thinking of having a small get together," Emily rolled her eyes. "Of course, as soon as Pen got word the small get together suddenly turned into a full blown party. I haven't even moved into the place yet and she's getting her feathers in a fuss!" She chuckled softly. Despite Garcia's almost over-bearing tendencies, Emily loves her to pieces. Penelope is definitely a little bit of brightness in her day.

"Uh, which place did you decide on?" Hotch asked, clearing his throat a little awkwardly. "One we saw together or…?" He trailed off in question.

"Yeah, it's the place with the hot tub," Emily grinned at him. "It was a tough choice between the second place we saw, and the fifth. Obviously the hot-tub was a winning point. God, I feel like a bit of an ass right now." Emily exclaimed suddenly. "I should have told you first. You did, after all, waste a whole Sunday looking with me. Sorry about that, Hotch. I wasn't thinking." She apologized sincerely.

"Don't worry about it," Hotch shook his head. "I'm just glad you found a place you like and want to move into. When's the big move in date?"

"Officially own the place now," Emily replied as she pulled a key chain from her handbag. "Got the keys yesterday afternoon. A couple of the rooms need some fixing up before I move in though. I need to repaint the whole place, and the bathroom needs to be retiled. Nothing too major. Everything going to plan, and us not having any out of state cases, I hope to move in the weekend after next."

"That's great," Hotch beamed, a large and two dimpled smile. He honestly is happy that Emily is finally settling down again. Getting an apartment is the first large step to getting her old life back together. He is delighted for her. "Of course, if you need any help I'd be more than happy to help with any fixing up. I'm a decent enough painter." He said calmly but his tone didn't match his feelings. The idea of spending a little more time alone with Emily really excited him. The past few weeks since he first knocked on her door during that case in Wyoming, he really felt like something has been shifting between them.

The feeling is similar to how he felt about their relationship two years ago. He had felt that they'd really grown close. They had been spending more time together during work, and even had the odd meeting for dinner at the weekend. He had held back from a relationship with her, though. Back then he cared too much about his reputation, he cared too much about their working relationship, and he cared too much about Haley. The ink was barely dry on their divorce; emotionally he just wasn't ready to be with Emily. As much as he wanted to be, he knew that a relationship with Emily would be something life changing. He just hadn't been ready for that. His life had changed enough in such a short space of time, anymore would throw him completely off balance. And then when he finally felt that maybe they could give things a shot, Foyet took one of the most important things in his life from him. He took Haley. Despite them being divorced, she would always be his first love. She would always be the woman who stood by his side through almost everything. She would always be the mother of his son. Losing her felt like losing a limb. Any relationship with Emily after that was too hard. He couldn't be with her romantically. He couldn't be friends with her because all he wanted was more. She was too much temptation. He could hardly work with her, because he now realized that he couldn't always stop the bad guys. He wouldn't always be able to save the people he loves. So working as her partner became almost impossible. Too many close calls happened, and he couldn't seem to keep his head clear enough to do his job while he worried about Emily's safety.

Of course, then that bastard Ian Doyle came out of the woodwork. Doyle coming back to haunt Emily isn't his fault, he knew and accepted that. But not recognizing that something was bothering Emily is his fault. Had he not been concentrating so hard on keeping her from his thoughts, he would have noticed something was up. He would have seen the personality changes. He would have caught on to the tension that had been radiating off of her. In hindsight, Emily was an open book back then. Had he stopped for just a moment to really look at her, he could have figured out something was wrong. He could have stopped Doyle in his tracks before things got too out of hand. Maybe he could have saved her before he had to kill her. Because, essentially, isn't that what he had done? He killed Emily. He may not have been the one to inflict the pain and injuries on her, but he had been the one who decided she would 'die'. He had sent her to the grave, not Doyle.

"You still there, Hotch?" Emily asked playfully as Hotch seemed to get pulled into his own mind. She'd seen this happen many times before. He would get a distant and intense look on his face while his mind reeled with information on the subject he was thinking over. She loves this face. She loved the intensity behind it.

"Yes, sorry," He shook his head slowly, as if trying to shake the thoughts from his head. "What did you say?"

"I was just thanking you for your offer of help," Emily explained. "I really appreciate all the help you've given me with finding a new home. But Derek's already said he would give me a hand. He's pretty experienced in the department of fixing up places, so I figure he's my best bet."

"Oh…" Hotch trailed off slowly, his hopes and expectations of spending this weekend with her dashed. "Yes, he will probably be a lot more help than me." He said as he stood up abruptly. He couldn't stop the feeling, and he couldn't help feeling it. Jealousy started pumping through his body. The idea of another man helping her when it should be him, made him jealous. He'd put it down to his alpha-male tendencies. He knew that, logically, Derek and Emily's relationship is plutonic and always would be. But it didn't stop the inner caveman coming out. "Listen, I've got to get going." He said picking up his briefcase. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Prentiss." The sound of using her second name leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Goodnight, Hotch." Emily smiled at him, completely unaware that he was feeling jealous, or anything other than his normal mood. "I'll see you tomorrow." She called to his back, before returning to the file on her desk.

That Weekend.

"Going to be hosting anymore hot-tub parties?" Derek asked with a cheeky grin as he accepted the beer Emily was holding out to him.

"Might have a few," Emily shrugged her shoulders. "You know my hot-tub party rule though, right?"

"And what would that be?" Derek smirked at her.

"No bathing suits," Emily grinned. "My hot tub parties are naked hot tub parties. I honestly don't think you would be able to handle it."

"Oh yeah?" Derek asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "I have a feeling I'd be able to handle it if there's you and a couple other pretty ladies in here." He said with a wink.

"Pity you're still so not invited!" Emily teased as she sat down on the closed toilet seat. "Thank you again for helping me out." She said as she watched him get back to work on the floor tiles. "I really couldn't have done this without you. The painting Hotch and I could have done. But the tiling? I don't think he's any better at it than me!"

"You and Hotch?" Derek asked, putting the tile in his hand down. Now his attention was spiking. His baby girl had pointed out at JJ's Halloween get together that Hotch and Emily seemed to be spending a lot of time together in quiet corners. Honestly, he hadn't noticed. The single mother who lives next door to JJ had admittedly, distracted him. At first he thought Penelope was simply going a little mad. Hotch and Emily? In Derek's mind there's no chance of that. Hotch is Emily's boss. And he's dating that chick he met a few weeks ago. Well, that's at least what Derek had thought until he began to notice things about them. Like for instance, he had noticed Hotch and Emily grabbing lunch together down in the canteen a few times. Now, had it been any other member of any team with Emily, he wouldn't have looked twice. But this is Hotch. The man barely took time to eat lunch on a slow day, so to see him actively participating in a mealtime was out of character. But the smile on his face had been even more out of character. Derek isn't too sure what's going on between them, but there's definitely something they aren't clueing everyone else in on.

"Yeah, he offered to help out," Emily told Derek. "He got me in contact with his friend who's a real estate agent – the real estate agent who helped me buy this place."

"Oh right," Derek trailed off, not quite sure what else to say. "You and Hotch have been spending a lot of time together lately?" He asked her as casually as possible.

"Not really," Emily shrugged in response. "He helped with the apartment thing, but that's about it. He has been a little more engaging lately though." She admitted. "I think it's because of what happened to me with Doyle. You know what Hotch is like. He takes on responsibility that he shouldn't. I think he's just checking in now and again to make sure I'm doing okay. He doesn't want another rogue agent on his team."

"Mmmm. I get that," Derek nodded, turning his attention back to the tiling. The lunch meets between Hotch and Emily suddenly made complete sense. Derek knew that Hotch still felt guilty about what happened with Elle. He's obviously redoubling his efforts in keeping tabs on his agents to make sure nothing like that happens again on his watch. "How are you doing?" Derek asked her after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"I'm doing good," Emily replied lying, although it not being too far from the truth. She was starting to feel better. Her place in life starting to become clearer. "It's just taking time to readjust. I'm doing well though. How… How are you doing?"

"You'll always be my girl, Em." Derek turned and grinned at her. "Even if you won't invite me to your hot-tub parties. I know I was tough on you when you first came back. I was just shocked. I thought I lost you, and then to have you back? I honestly didn't know how to feel. Happy, obviously, but still a little hurt, a little betrayed. The latter more so with Hotch than you."

"You and Hotch are okay though, right?" Emily asked worriedly. She hated to think that Hotch was getting any of the blame in this whole messed up situation. He was forced into making the decision to 'kill' her by her own past. He had been involuntarily thrown into the messy situation. The man had enough weight to carry on his shoulders without adding her crap to it.

"As you said, it takes time to readjust," Derek said after a few moments of deep thought. "I get why he did what he did. I'm glad he did it, too. It took you out of danger. I was just hurt that he didn't trust me with the information. I would have kept it secret. I wouldn't have done anything to put your life at risk. It irritates me that Hotch didn't understand that. You and I were partners for a long time, I deserved to know. I mean, why JJ? She's the most likely on the team to break under pressure." Derek said almost spitefully. He had never been able to see eye to eye with JJ since Reid had been abducted. He knew, logically speaking, that what happened wasn't JJ's fault. Even Reid had told him that it wasn't her fault. But since then things had never been quite the same between them. They didn't generally partner together, and their social lives never really crossed paths all that much. He loves JJ, of course. He'd die protecting her. But of all the team, he didn't trust her abilities like he trusted the rest of them.

"Hey, that's not fair," Emily replied instantly, not willing to let JJ get put down either. "She did an amazing job. She was the one with the connections to fake my death successfully. She's also a great Agent. I trusted, and still do trust her with my life."

"I know, I know," Derek sighed. He drained his beer, hoping by the time he had the slight tension in the room would be gone. They were walking into dangerous territory here. "So why blue?" He asked her finally. "I think black floor tiles would have looked much better in here…"

"The kitchen is black tile," Emily replied logically. "I didn't want the whole apartment to be black. Too morbid. That, and my therapist is really into color-therapy."

"You're seeing a therapist?" Derek asked, his eyebrows arching in surprise. Emily Prentiss seeing a therapist is not something he thought would happen. As much as he loves the woman, he always thought her to be too damn stubborn to see a professional.

"You're not?" Emily replied playfully.

A few days later

"Really, Derek, it's okay," Emily said softly, squeezing the man's rock hard upper arm. "Don't even worry about it."

"I'm really sorry, Em," Derek replied, completely sincere. He poured them both a cup of coffee, fixing Emily's just how she likes it. "I wish I could help out. I already promised Mamma Morgan I'd be home for the weekend, though."

"Seriously, don't worry about it," Emily said giving him a bright smile. "You've been more than enough help as it is. I owe you so many drinks at this stage." She joked.

"That I'll agree with!" Derek grinned at her. "An invite to a hot-tub party would suffice. In all seriousness though, maybe you could ask one of the other guys to help out?" Derek suggested. "I'm sure Rossi has nothing planned for this weekend."

"Can you really see Dave helping me out?" Emily asked, her eyebrows arching in question.

"Okay, so maybe not Rossi!" Derek laughed. "What about Hotch?"

"What about Hotch, what?" Hotch asked as he stepped into the break-room area, having caught the tail-end of Emily and Derek's conversation. "No sugar, please." He said to Emily who had instantly began making him a cup of coffee.

"Em needs someone to help her move all of her crap," Derek replied with a smirk as Emily shot him a filthy. He knew full well that she didn't like her things to be referred to as crap. "I'm going to be in Chicago this weekend so I can't help. Rossi wouldn't be any use, and I'd like to see Reid attempting to lift anything heavier than a book." Derek explained jokingly to Hotch.

"Oh right," Hotch replied slowly. "I'm more than willing to help you out, Emily. Between the two of us we should be able to transport your things." He said as he took the coffee she held out to him. "Thanks."

"I'mma leave you two to sort all of this out," Derek interrupted before leaving the duo.

"You've done so much already, Hotch," Emily shook her head. "I feel bad asking you to help even more."

"I'm offering," Hotch insisted, then took a small sup of his coffee – made exactly how he liked it, something only Emily seemed able to do.

"Problem is, most of the stuff that needs transporting is clothes," Emily told him. "So I don't really need help with that. I have so much furniture being delivered, most of which needs putting together, which is what I need the help with. It'll probably take up a whole day, possibly longer. I can't ask that of you. You've got your triathlon in a few weeks, and you've got Jack."

"Heavy lifting will be like training," Hotch shrugged his shoulders. "And Jack will be more than happy to 'help' us out. He enjoys your company."

"I mean, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth," Emily said after a few moments of thinking about it. "If you really don't mind…"

"I really don't," Hotch replied sincerely. "What day and what time?"

"Saturday?" Emily asked him and Hotch nodded. "I suppose… About noon? It'll take me that long to get my clothes and things from JJ's to the new place. We could meet at the new apartment. Do you remember where it is?"

"I've got the address," Hotch nodded. "Do you need me to bring anything?"

"Uh, just yourself, I guess," Emily shrugged. "Oh, and maybe a toolkit if you have one? I know Will has a few hammers and screwdrivers he's lending me, but I'm not sure what exactly we'll need."

"Myself and a toolkit," Hotch replied with a small smile. "I better get going." He said checking his watch. "Meeting with Strauss in ten."

Saturday

"Jack, sweetie, could you pass me that bottle of water?" Emily asked the little boy who had been all but glued to her side all afternoon.

"Sure thing, Miss Emily," Jack nodded happily, skipping over to the counter-top where the bottle of water lay waiting. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," Emily smiled brightly. Jack's friendly and helpful nature always surprises her. Most of her experience with children is work-based, so she's used to upset, depressed, and unhappy children. Spending time with such a happy little boy like Jack, really made her happy. Spending time with Henry is great too, but he's still quite young at just turned three, and not as easy to carry a conversation with. Jack's at an age where he's old enough to talk to you about slightly more complex topics, and for a longer period of time. "You've been such a great help today." She said high-fiving him.

"So has Dad," Jack reminded her, always a little in awe of his father.

"So has your Dad," Emily chuckled softly. "Hopefully he'll be back with the pizzas soon. I'm starved."

"Me too," Jack agreed dramatically, a very un-Hotch like characteristic. "This place is really nice." Jack commented as he looked around. "Dad said it's only a few minutes from our house."

"So I believe," Emily nodded her head and then took a long drink of water. She is exhausted from all the lifting, directing, and putting together they had done today. "I have yet to be invited to your new house." Emily said teasingly as she gave Jack a gentle poke and tickle.

"You can come over whenever you want," Jack said with a large grin on his face. "We have swings in the back garden and you can go on 'em with me." He said excitedly at the prospect. "And I can show you my new room. It's so cool."

"I think I'm a bit big for the swings!" Emily laughed. "I could watch you on them though?"

"Nuh-uh," Jack shook his head quickly. "Dad goes on the swings with me all the time. He's way bigger than you."

"He does, does he?" Emily smiled, happy to have a new bit of ammo against Hotch should she ever need it. The idea of him swigging is an exceptionally cute one, though. "So, tell me, what is Santa bringing you for Christmas?"

"A Wii!" Jack replied as he bounced in excitement.

"Hopefully a Wii," Emily and Jack heard Hotch call from the kitchen. "Pizza is here, guys."

"Thanks, Hotch," Emily grinned as she took the plate of food he was holding out to her. "For pizza and for helping. You too, Jack. You guys are the best."