A/N: I'm pretty certain this story won't be finished until Tigerlily's NEXT birthday. My fellow Tiger, Emily is just not cooperating. She's making Big Boy chase after her. So here is the next and unfortunately NOT the final part. Oy!

Emily Prentiss did not like being confused. Not the confusion that surrounded her when trying to solve a case, that was to be expected, and solved. Nor the confusion that comes everyday life like, why is my coffee drink suddenly fifty-cents more expensive?

No, this confusion was in a different class. It was an all encompassing, absolutely inexplicable type of confusion that blinded-sided Emily and the only thing she hated more than being confused was being blind-sided. All this served to work Emily up which is not the best thing after nearly dying in the desert. While the doctor cleared her to travel, she was still aching from the car wreck and her sunburn was starting to peel and itch. Her physical discomfort only served to agitate her confusion and heightened it. She felt fidgety and anxious and…confused.

And this was all Aaron Hotchner's fault.

To say that his declaration that he was in love with her, had been for a while, was a shock would be an understatement. It was tantamount to a cataclysmic event. A crashing of tectonic plates. She had no idea how to respond, what to say. If she were to be honest, she would admit she was attracted to the man, drawn to him, but she wasn't sure if she was in love with him. She had only thought herself to have been in love twice before and in retrospect, she knew what she felt for John Cooley and Ian Doyle was not love. One was a lonely girl looking for a place in the world, the other was nothing more than an agent completing a mission being seduced by a charismatic man and the love of his child.

Emily admired, respect and liked Hotch. She enjoyed the rare flashes of humor and compassion that he showed. She was grateful for his strength and determination. But did she love him? She simply wasn't certain. However, according to Aaron Hotchner if she wasn't in love with him now, he would make sure she would be soon.

Her mouth twisted into a wry smile that had a touch of a sneer. It was on the tip of her contrary tongue to tell Hotch "good luck with that", but she knew better than to bet against him. That determination she admired so much, she knew he would put that to use in doing what he said he would, woo her until she fell in love with him.

Damn him.

Just when she thought she was getting some semblance of her life back in order, making the decision to leave the BAU, looking into a new career, just when she was starting to feel more like herself again, Aaron Hotchner throws this bomb right smack in the middle and she has no clue as to how to handle it.

Emily found herself thrilled, curious and terrified. Curious as to what it would be like to be courted by the man, thrilled that she would be the center of such attention and terrified where all this could lead. So Emily did what she always did in these confusion situations.

She punted.

The doctor released her from the hospital and Emily made sure the entire time from the trip to the airport to actually sitting on the plane that she had JJ and Morgan on either side of her. Both of her friends were happy to accommodate her with JJ hovering over Emily with a motherly air and Morgan anxious to make sure his partner's every need was seen to. This left Hotch several steps away from Emily, looking at her with his usual stoic expression, but Emily could see the slight tilt of the corner of his mouth and the gleam in his eye that told her he knew what she was doing and was amused by it.

Damn that man.

Stubbornly, Emily looked forward straight into Morgan's anxious face as the plane lifted gracefully into the air and the fastened seatbelt sign was turned off.

"Do you need anything, Emily?" Derek asked in a solicitous tone.

She smiled at Morgan and with her peripheral vision saw Hotch's eyes narrow ever slightly. Okay, maybe this wasn't going to be all that bad. She widened her smile a touch and the amused tilt in the corner of Hotch's mouth started to move downward.

"I'd love some tea and one of those packets of chocolate chip cookies," Emily replied.

"Tea is fine, but no cookies," JJ said in that "mom" voice. She dug through her bag and produced a package of whole wheat, low sodium crackers. "This is better for you."

Emily blanched at the sight of what she knew were tasteless snacks. "JJ!"

"No way are you eating those sugary cookies," JJ repeated firmly. "The doctor said plain food for another two days and to cut down on the salt. Ease your way back in. So here." She had opened the packet and handed Emily a couple of the crackers.

The brunette stared at the little brown squares and frowned. "I think I'll pass."

"I don't blame you, Bella," Rossi said from across the aisle where he was seated next to Hotch. "I've seen checker pieces that looked more appealing."

"You know by leaving early, Garcia is going to be upset that you've dodged the going away party at the office," JJ commented as she neatly repackaged the crackers and put them away. Emily had told the rest of the team about her earlier than expected departure. It came as no surprise to them and the Bureau agreed to her request. She would have been out on medical leave for most of her remaining time anyway.

"Well, that is one benefit to leaving early," Emily replied dryly knowing how overboard the perky tech analyst could get.

"Have you decided what job offer to take?" Reid asked. Besides Clyde Easter's Interpol offer, Counterterrorism, the State Department and NSA had been actively pursuing Emily once it got around she was leaving the BAU. And those where only the government agencies. She had also appeared on the radar of the private sector as well.

"I'm going to take a little time off before I make a decision," Emily replied. "I was thinking of doing a little traveling."

She could see Hotch still at her words and felt a prick of anxiety. It was the first time any of them had heard of her plans to leave the area for even a brief period of time. This would make Hotch's attempts at wooing much more difficult.

Well, he should have known she wouldn't be that easy. Hell, she wasn't Beth.

The conversation turned to places Emily could travel to and how long she would be. Hotch's heart began to sink when he heard of all the far off locations she was considering and the ones the others were suggestion. Hadn't the woman heard of a staycation?

Hotch was nothing if not adaptable. This just meant he would need to alter his plans slightly and step up his timetable. Emily wasn't going to make it easy for him. But he already knew that. The wary, disbelieving look in her eyes made that clear. However, Hotch felt a thrill of anticipation, an eagerness in the hunt as he pursued this beautiful woman. It touched a primal part of him that he had suppressed for far too long. He could feel that excitement of new love that filled every fiber of his being whenever he looked at or thought of Emily. This is the feeling that had been missing for so long, even before he and Haley divorced.

Dave was wrong. Dating Beth didn't bring him back to life. Emily did.

As Hotch mused and planned, Emily fell asleep. While no longer in danger from her injuries, she was still easily tired and slept most of the plane ride home. JJ nudged her awake a few minutes before they landed and with the small blonde fussing over Emily, made sure her injured friend was safely put into a car in which Morgan would take the brunette home.

Following strict instructions, Derek made sure Emily was comfortably situated at home on the couch with Sergio purring next to her. After assuring her friend she would be fine, Emily shooed him out of her apartment and was about to order take out that would have JJ throwing a fit if she knew Prentiss was eating it when there was a knock at her front door. A stab of guilt went through Emily and she wondered if it was her blonde friend checking up on her, making sure she wasn't eating something she should not have been.

However, one glance through the peephole had her silently cursing herself for not realizing immediately who it would be.

Aaron Hotchner.