A/N: I'd like to start this as I always do and thank my reviewers for the amazing reviews you all sent my way. Charmony, Tigerlily888, tigerlily02, GibbsIsMyGod, HPForever-after, greengirl82, x-mj-x, and HGRHfan35; you guys have made me so happy. Thank you for your reviews and encouragement.

Michelle, as always, thank you for the amazing job beta-ing this little piece of work. You always know exactly what to say and how to say it. I love having someone to bounce it off of. :) To greengirl82, you know I always love getting those messages from you with what you want to see. It's so refreshing to get someone else's take on the episodes. :)

This chapter is situated after 3x10 True Night.

THIS CHAPTER IS M RATED. SO YOUNG EYES BEWARE.

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! I'd love to hear where all of you feel this should continue to go. Any ideas or themes you feel like throwing my way or anything in particular you wish to see, is always welcome. I love that some of my readers are able to look at the chapters and see their own input reflected, if you'd like to be one of them, don't be shy. :D

Disclaimer in Chapter 1!


"I understand now that the vulnerability I've always felt is the greatest strength a person can have. You can't experience life without feeling life. What I've learned is that being vulnerable to somebody you love is not a weakness, it's a strength." - Elisabeth Shue

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong. He had never seen her like this. He couldn't stop himself from staring out the window in his office, and watching her sitting at her desk, staring into space, a contemplative stare occupying her large brown eyes. He sighed and pursed his lips in thought before returning to his files. This case had been hard for all them. A man devolving because he'd been forced to watch the woman he loved being raped and murdered. He almost couldn't blame the guy. He signed off on yet another random file and dropped it in his outbox, before grabbing a fresh file and opening it.

"You know you're not like him right?"

His dark eyes lifted from the file in front of him and rested on the man standing at his office door. He shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest, as he knitted his brows together and his lips became a thin line. Aaron glared at the older man and shrugged, "Yeah, Dave. I know."

Dave snorted lightly and shook his head, "You know, you're as bad as that one." He nodded towards Emily sitting at her desk working and sighed, "You've been moping around ever since we solved the last case. I don't know what your problem is, but I can't help but think that it has something to do with feeling like you can relate to the unsub."

Aaron's eyes darkened as he stared at his colleague and tightened his jaw, "Dave, I am going say this once. Drop it."

He sighed and tilted his head, their eyes holding eachother'sas they stood at impasse. Aaron cleared his throat, finally conceding to him and dropped his head, returning to the file in front of him, "Thank you."

He watched him for a few short minutes before stepping away from the door and moving over to his desk, tugging the pen out of his hand and closing the file in front of him. He lifted his head, anger coloring his features as he set his palms flat on his desk, "Damn it Rossi, you better have a good reason for doing this."

He smirked and dropped the pen on Aaron's desk before sitting down across from him and folding his hands in his lap, "Don't push me, Hotchner." He leaned back in the chair and took a long, deep breath, "Have you noticed how bothered by this she is?"

Aaron sighed and nodded, his hand running over his face as he folded his hands on his desk, "Yeah. I know. I want to help her, I do. I just, I don't know how." He focused his intense gaze on his hands and swallowed hard, "I'm not good with this emotional stuff, Dave. I don't handle this well. I want to be there for her, but I never seem to say the right thing. I can't seem to get a handle on how to make a woman feel better when she's…" he closed his eyes and shook his head, "I don't know."

Dave rolled his eyes, "She doesn't need you to talk, Aaron." He chuckled and leaned forward in his chair, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "How long were you married to Haley? You didn't learn this in marriage 101?"

Aaron's eyes lifted to Dave slowly, a hint of a smirk painting his lips as he shrugged, "Maybe that's part of the reason, it didn't work." He huffed lightly and continued, "How bad is she?"

Dave cocked his head, eying her with concern and pursed his lips, "Look at her, Aaron. You don't need me to tell you." He turned back to Aaron with a cautious look gleaming in his eye, "Aaron, I'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but I think she could use a long talk with someone who's good at listening," He slowly lifted himself from his chair and leaned towards Aaron conspiratorially, "And I think it would mean a helluva lot more if it were you."

He looked back down at her, taking in her broken features and heaved a sigh as the older man left him alone to his thoughts. He watched the steady riseand fall of her chest as she stared into nothingness and shook his head. This had to stop. She was the last one he wanted to see feeling like this, and quite frankly, the last person he'd ever imagine would feel like this. Mustering up all the courage he could find, he pushed away from his desk and headed to his office door.

"Prentiss."

Nothing.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and called her name a second time, his jaw tightening at her still silence and unfocused eyes. He trotted down the stairs leading from his office to the bullpen and moved over to her desk, ignoring the curious eyes that followed him. Dave had made several valid points and Aaron felt like a legitimate jackass for letting this go on as long as it had. He stopped his brisk walk at her desk and turned her chair around. He reached out and shook her shoulders gently, his voice low and calm, "Emily. Emily, it's Hotch."

Her eyes refocused on him as he loomed over her and she blinked in confusion for a moment before shrugging his hands off of her and looking around, finally noticing that the stares of people in the bull pen were all focused on her. He stepped away from her and nodded to his office, "We need to talk." She dropped her head with a sigh and nodded, glaring at Morgan's soft snicker and comment about 'someone being in trouble' as she followed him.

The door clicked shut behind her and she stayed stationery in the room, her back facing the door as he shut the blinds to his office and locked the door, giving them the utmost privacy for the time being. He stepped up behind her and guided her over to the sofa in his office, before sitting down next to her and taking her hands in his.

"Emily, we need to talk." Her eyes stayed focused on their joined hands and he gave them a warm squeeze before pushing her a little, "What's going on in that head of yours?"

She shrugged and lifted her eyes to his, "Was he so wrong?"

Aaron swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, but words wouldn't come. He huffed out a breath and dropped his eyes, "Sweetheart, he killed a lot of people."

She nodded emphatically and scooted closer to him, "No, I know that. I know. I just… He was doing exactly what I would do. If someone hurt the person… people… I love… I'd do it too. Whatever it took to make sure they knew that I wasn't going to let them get away with it."

He sighed and reached up, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and tracing her cheekbone with the pad of this thumb, "Should I be worried?"

He studied her face and let his thumb drag over her lips as he continued, "Should I be worried about this affectingyour view on future cases?"

She shook her head slowly, tears rimming her dark eyes as she licked her lips and shrugged, "It just sucks. The guy couldn't catch a break."

She took a slow, deep, deliberate breath and smiled weakly at him, "Would you do it?"

His dark eyes met hers and he barely let her finish the question before he answered, "Absolutely."

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She'd never felt this comfortable with anyone before him.

Not that she often let anyone into her inner circle, but men in particular, were a sore spot for her. Her track record was a step beyond disaster and she was still sort of blown away at the fact that things with Aaron hadn't imploded yet. She hated to be pessimistic about the whole thing, because he was probably the best thing that had happened to her in countless years; But she still couldn't shake that feeling that something was going to explode in her face. She shook her head, trying to get her mind off that track and focus on the decision at hand: red or white.

She chewed her lip lightly as she debated back and forth on the choices, before finally deciding to say 'fuck it' and grabbing both. She headed back into her living room, grinning at him leaning against her couch with a box of half-eaten pizza on the floor next to him. She held up the two bottles of wine and shrugged, "I couldn't remember which one you liked better so I brought both." She set them down next to him and handed him the opener, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't allow her to do anything.

After their moment in his office, he'd allowed her to return to her desk but insisted that at 6 PM, they were both leaving work and spending the rest of the night together. She'd laughed and agreed, never fully expecting him to follow through, but at 6 PM sharp, there he was leaving his office, briefcase in hand. She'd watched him leave, calling out a goodnight to the team and sending her a ghost of a smile; she'd waited for all of 10 minutes before she'd packed up and left as well, pinning it all on her foul mood over the last case. By the time she'd arrived home, he was already inside, having used the key she'd given him for emergency purposes, and setting up the pizza on her living room floor.

Little things like that, were the ones that she was starting to grow comfortable with. She loved that who he was in office was a complete other human being from who he was outside of it. It was so much easier to appreciate him as a man; but damned it all, it also made her fall in love with him even more. Their whole relationship had put her in a place that confused the hell out of her. She'd always wanted to be the fall in love, settle down, have kids kind of woman, but a part of her, the independent woman side, had always clung to the love of being single and not having a man around to define her. Somehow, in the time they'd been together, all of that had been turned on its ear. She was suddenly looking at a man in her life, who was already a father and had already been a husband; granted that relationship had crashed and burned and he wasn't all that close with his son, but he was tried and true. Suddenly, all the things she'd dreamt of happening 'once upon a time' were fluttering around in her head again. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, but it certainly had her questioning herself and if she was changing.

She accepted her wine glass with a shy smile and took a long sip, needing to distract herself from thinking and just remind herself that this was going to go one day at a time. She turned and looked at him, finding that he was watching her with darkened eyes. A faint blush rose across her chest and neck as she watched him watching her and she shifted slightly, tucking her legs under her body as she looked away from him, an awkward silence taking over. She wasn't exactly sure what to say right now. Her dark eyes stared out ofher large wall of windows and she smiled, "There's a full moon tonight."

He smirked and kept his eyes on her, leaving the remnants of the pizza forgotten he scooted closer to her and settled behind her, his arms wrapping around her shoulders as he looked out the window with her.

"Like it?" She nodded slowly and relaxed back into his chest, her head tilting against his, as he nuzzled her cheek lightly, "I ordered it in advance."

She chuckled softly and hummed her contentment, "I guess you get everything you want then, huh?"

He shrugged and brushed his lips over her temple, "For the most part."

She turned to face him and stared at him for a long moment, her heartbeat sounding loudly in her ears in anticipation. Anticipation could ignite her blood to unparalleled heights where Aaron Hotchner was concerned. At times, she was acutely aware, anticipation could lead to disappointment; but that was never the case with him. She knew what he was capable of, and there was nothing that he couldn't, and wouldn't, do with her.

He moved towards her with slow, predatorily precise movements, before effectively pinning her back against the couch and dropping hot kisses down her neck. Her eyes slammed shut as he breathed over her long neck and left a subtle mark under her ear. "I have the career I've always wanted, an incredible son that I really don't think I deserve…"

Her breath hitched as he paused and she panted lightly, he wasn't even touching her yet and she felt like her skin had been ignited by sparklers. She shivered and wet her lips as he kissed her temple and spoke against her skin, "And now, I have you."

Her body nearly crumpled at his admission and her arms reached out, gripping his back and shoulders hard as his mouth settled on hers and willed her to bend to his every whim. She groaned softly as he eased her down onto the rug and leaned over her. She'd never really been a classic film buff, but suddenly the classic scene in From Here to Eternity, of the two lovers lying on the beach lost in one another's embrace and kissing, flashed through her mind. She lost all coherent thought as he slowly undid each button on her shirt, before finally ridding her of the object and moving his mouth down her neck to her chest, continuing to worship and pleasure her.

Her bra soon joined her shirt, discarded somewhere in the room as he licked and nipped at her soft flesh, branding her with his mouth and tongue. She trembled slightly as she felt the imprints of his mouth, lips, and tongue. On her lips, throat, skin; trailing down and over her breasts and stomach.

Everywhere.

She felt fireworks, explosions, rocking her body; making her weaker one moment and then making her stronger the next. Every single nerve ending she possessed was one fire right now. She wasn't sure when he'd managed to strip her of all her other clothes but she was most certainly aware that she was now bared to him, his hands and mouth assaulting every inch of her body and raising her pleasure levels to unbelievable heights. She gasped as he memorized her body and claimed her as his own. Her palms smacked hard into the carpeted fibers and she fisted her hands in them tight as his name echoed around the room; bouncing off walls and furniture and reverberating back to her ears, almost sounding like someone else's voice completely.

Lifting his head he looked up the length of her body, sprawled out on the floor, her body begging for him. His eyes traced her face and he smirked, loving that she looked like that because of him and his actions. Eyes closed, cheekbones damp, chest still heaving, and hair mussed. He kissed her firm stomach, loving the intimacy they had discovered in each other, loving…

His heart damn near stopped.

He looked up at Emily again, seeing her dark eyes focusing in on him, and he felt a flutter in his chest. Her eyes watched him watching her in sated amazement and something else- something more that both put him at ease and unsettled him in equal measure. He stopped breathing for a moment as that four-letter word fluttered around in his mind. Was he… in love… with her? Eternity seemed to nestle into each moment that he looked at her, taking a rapid accounting of every moment he'd spent with her, his stomach lurched lightly in surprise.

He was.

He was stone-cold, head over heels, in love with her. Her hand reaching up and caressing his cheek brought him back to reality. Her eyes were wide and open with a slight gleam of concern at his silence. He grasped her wrist gently, pressing a kiss to her palm before leaning down and hungrily meeting his mouth to hers. This new revelation had inspired him. Being with her, it was refreshing and new. Excitement coursed through his veins as he hurriedly shucked his pants and shirt and leaned over her; her soft curves meeting the hardened planes of his body. He stared down at her and kissed her softly before guiding her to open to him.

He grasped her hands in his own and guided them above her head, lacing her fingers with his, he joined his mouth to hers again as he began to move himself into her. It was almost like making love for the first time. Not a first time with a new partner, but for the very first time. Ever.

Holding onto him, Emily made soft sounds of pleasure and surprise, then deeper sounds of excitement and ecstasy. He lifted his head to look at her and saw the flush of her face, how her teeth sank into her bottom lip, her eyes squeezed shut and body rigid as she fought to keep control as he worked her into oblivion.

"Let go, Emily."

It was almost as if Aaron's soft command freed her. She softened her body on a moan, her body hugging his to hers tightly as she arched her chest into his. Thunder roared in his ears as he held onto her, continuing to push her through her climax before he succumbed to his own high and growled her name into her neck. They struggled for breath together in the moments after, and he tipped up her face and brushed his lips against hers, "Emi-"

Her mouth covered his gently as she arched upfrom the floor and pressed a pair of their joined hands over his heart. The corners of his mouth upturned against her lips as he moved off of her and cuddled her close, letting their afterglow take over them. It had been a long time since he felt this free of burden, this content with a woman. He broke the kiss and nuzzled her neck lightly, holding her close before murmuring about heading to her bedroom. She nodded her agreement, tossing him his boxers and grabbing his work shirt for herself.

He watched her head out of the living room in his shirt and grinned as she tossed a playful glance over her shoulder. His chest swelled with emotions for a moment because, right now, for however long this lasted, she was bringing him back from that dark, numb place that he'd been in, and he loved her for it.


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