Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

Aaron Hotchner paced the worn carpet of the nondescript hotel in the Windy City with his phone to his ear. Reaching the end of the short hall, he turned around and made his way back past the rooms his teammates were asleep in.

He'd told Jack that he could call him whenever he wanted, whenever he needed – no matter what the hour or the time of day. Having said, he hadn't expected that he'd be receiving a phone call when it was near midnight at home.

'Does Aunty Jessica know you're calling me?' he asked evenly.

'No!' his son retorted. 'I don't need her help to make a call. I'm a big boy!'

'I know you're a big boy, but it's very late,' he rebuked gently. 'You should be in bed.'

'I can't sleep and I wanted to talk to you Daddy,' begged the little boy. 'Please.'

He acquiesced.

It wasn't surprising that Jack had called him. His displeasure at his out of state departure this afternoon had been overwhelmingly apparent. Leaving his son was never easy – even though he knew that he went to the next best place at Hailey's sister's – but this was the first time that Jack had begged him not to go.

Slipping down to the daycare before departure, Jack had wrapped his arms around his legs and begged him to stay. 'Don't go Daddy!' he pleaded.

'I need to go catch some bad guys,' he'd reasoned.

His son's grip on his legs had tightened. When he knelt down to his level, his son's arms shifted up to his chest, still gripping tightly. As he gazed into his little boy's eyes, he wondered, not for the first time, if he'd made the right decision to return to the BAU.

Jack had been very possessive of him since he'd discovered Emily in his bed two months ago, but he'd been even more so lately. He suspected that he knew something was up.

Jack had seen Emily once in the seven weeks between when they slept together and he found out he was going to be a father again. She'd stepped into the bullpen and once his son had spotted her, he'd tugged on his hand and declared it was time to go, pulling him away.

It hadn't been much better at Henry Jareau's birthday party last weekend.

Standing before the table laden with food, he was filling two plastic plates when Emily joined him. It was their first opportunity to be alone that afternoon, and he stopped serving long enough to look at her. 'How are you?' he asked, a loaded question.

Emily never had an opportunity to respond as Jack had suddenly appeared, pushing between them. His son reached for his plate, surveyed it and then picked up the two lettuce leaves in disgust. 'I don't like lettuce,' he declared. 'Yuck!'

'You don't?' he'd asked, wondering when he'd missed such a vital declaration. 'Since when?'

'Since now,' the boy replied stubbornly.

'One leaf,' negotiated Hotch.

Jack looked ready to object, then saw his father's warning look and sighed dramatically. 'One leaf.'

Placing the other on his own plate, Hotch was ordered to speed up by the three year old son. 'Hurry up Daddy!' he'd cried. His plate full, he was guided by a fistful of shirt that Jack held in his grip to a spot on the grass.

The best he could do was flash Emily an apologetic glance on his less than dignified way over.

Attempt two had come when he saw Emily break away from a conversation with Morgan and one of JJ's relatives and take a seat on one of the outdoor chairs on the small patio.

Seeing Jack happily chasing the toddling birthday boy, he made his own way over. Mostly shielded from prying eyes, he sat down next to her and ran a heavy hand up her back as she turned her face to him and smiled. 'You okay?'

It was another loaded question.

He'd managed to attend a doctor's appointment with her not long after they had found out she was expecting. Two weeks on, he had no new information apart from what he'd been told then: baby was the right size, mother was healthy and they could expect the arrival of baby Prentiss-Hotchner on December 3rd.

The universe seemed to be conspiring against them.: with work, life and other random events preventing any time together, there was still no one else who knew.

He left his reminiscing when Emily responded to his original question. 'Good,' she responded. 'We're all good.' He felt a flush of warmth in his chest.

When she followed her answer with a question about he was, he'd actually laughed. She grinned too before she offered him her fork. 'Cheese?'

Pulling the cube free, he popped it into his mouth as he spotted his son making his way over to him, intent and determination written all over his face. He loved his boy to bits, but he would really appreciate it if he could have just five minutes uninterrupted time with Emily.

'Daddy!' called Jack. Hotch sighed. Looks like his son was being possessive again. 'I need to go to the toilet!'

'Okay,' said Hotch. 'You know where it is.'

'I need you to come with me,' protested the little boy.

'You can do it yourself,' said Hotch. 'You're a big boy.'

Jack's eyes flicked to Emily before he faced his father once again. 'Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?'

He exchanged a sorry smile with Emily and stood up to take care of his son.

At another point, he wasn't entirely sure what the reason was, but he'd been pulled away from Emily by Jack and he got no other opportunities that afternoon.

With this animosity prevalent, and time flying right by him – with a sinking sensation that he was barely hanging on – Jack still didn't know. He knew he couldn't put it off for much longer, but he was searching for the right moment.

Listening absentmindedly to his son rambling on as he was deep in his thoughts, his head shot up when he heard a cry. 'Hang on a second Jack,' he told his son as he moved to the noise. A second cry sounded from the door on his left, the noise easily making its way through the thin walls.

Was that coming from Prentiss' room?

Finishing his call with an I love you, go to sleep and a promise to call in the morning, Hotch hung up the phone and moved, banging on the door. 'Prentiss?' he shouted. 'Emily!'

Hearing no response, and the door remaining closed, Hotch reached for the master key card. Call him paranoid, but he'd had far too many close calls lately – as had his team – that he'd taken to speaking with management and acquiring an all access card at every hotel they stayed at.

He was glad for this when he opened the door. Automatically reaching for a gun that wasn't there, he scanned the room. Seeing no immediate danger, he shut the door and approached the bed where Emily was flailing about.

Calling her name made no difference as he got closer. Reaching forward, he grasped her shoulders firmly. 'Emily,' he said urgently, slipping to the bed as her movements became more erratic.

He wasn't prepared for the flying fists. One fist would have hit him squarely in the eye if he hadn't ducked and weaved at the right time. Instead, she glanced his cheek.

Taking possession of both flailing limbs, he cautiously shook her shoulders. 'Emily, wake up,' he ordered.

She was suddenly still before her eyes opened and she stared at him. There was no recognition before she gasped. 'You're alive?'

Flabbergasted, he nodded his head. 'Of course I'm alive. I'm right here.'

The next unexpected movement was when she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears. 'Em?' he asked in concern, even as he wrapped his arms firmly around her and pulled in tight. 'What's wrong sweetheart?' The endearment slipped out without him realising as he tucked her head under his chin.

He saw her struggle to compose herself as she pulled back soon after. He brushed her long hair from her face as she ceased her tears. 'You weren't supposed to see me when I'm like this.'

'Like this?' he asked incredulously. 'Just how many times has this happened?'

She refused to meet his eyes. 'A few.' She moved back away from him, gathering her sheets up as she leaned back against the backboard and looked off into the far corner of her small room. 'It's actually been about a week since my last one.' She laughed harshly. 'But of course, it had to happen tonight.'

'Why didn't you tell me?' he demanded to know.

'You have other more important things to worry about,' she said dismissively, her tired eyes turning to focus on him. 'I didn't want to burden you.'

His head was reeling as she moved and slipped from the bed on the other side. 'Where are you going?'

'I'm not sure yet,' she answered truthfully. 'Wherever nightmares aren't.' She reached for her jacket as Hotch pinned her eyes on her. 'Come back to bed.'

'Hotch,' she sighed. 'I won't sleep.'

'I'll stay.'

She looked at him incredulously. 'With me? But what about the others and...'

'I don't care,' he said shortly.

Faced with an option of facing the long hours til daylight alone in an unknown city or in Hotch's arms, her decision was glaringly obvious. Throwing her jacket away, she came back to bed. There were no words spoken as Hotch removed his dress pants and slipped in to bed with her.

As he pulled her unresisting body back against him, his hands came to naturally rest upon her still flat stomach and he placed his head next to hers. 'Do you realise that this is the first time that I've touched you since this all began?'

'Mm. And do you realise that this is the first time that I have ever cried so much?' Her voice was a little teary as she spoke. 'I've cried more in these last two and a half months than I have in my entire life.'

Both laughed softly at the revelations. Hotch pulled Emily closer as he spoke softly. 'I'm so sorry Em.'

'What for?' she asked in confusion, her mind already thinking furiously about what it could possibly be that he had to say to her.

'I know this hasn't been easy on you,' he said heavily. 'I always saw you as this strong woman who could get through everything – I have no doubt you can,' he corrected hastily when the woman in his arms tensed, 'but I've been putting this off for far too long.' Pressing a kiss to her neck, he held her close. 'Sleep. I'll protect you.'

It was Hotch who had the sleepless night.

He must have fallen asleep at one point though as the ringing tone of his mobile cut through the haze. Blearily noting the time as just after 5am, he identified the ring tone as Jack.

Pressing a kiss to his bedmate's temple in a move that felt perfectly natural, he extricated his limbs, slipped from the bed and reached for his phone. Answering softly, he scribbled a note on the complimentary notepad before slipping from the room.

Shutting the door, he came face to face with their resident genius. 'Hotch!' said Reid in surprise, his hair which way and that. 'What are you doing up?'

He was stumped momentarily before the voice in his ear reminded him. 'Jack,' he explained, pointing to his phone.

'Oh.'

The genius didn't miss much and as he trundled back to his own room, Hotch fervently hoped that the room he had just come from wouldn't register on Spencer's mind at all – or at least for a long, long time. Brushing aside the risk of being outed, he focused all his attention on his son.

'Hey Jack,' he said in a bright tone. 'I have something really important to tell you when I get home.'

'A secret?' asked the little boy excitedly.

He thought about it for a moment. 'It's a little bit like a secret.'

Next chapter: Jack bolts.