A/N: Here's chapter 10 -- the beginning of some new Hotch/Prentiss action (Lilly knows!) and Jack makes his first (but certainly not his last) appearance. As always, it would be much appreciated and good karma of you to review, so please do!
And nothing belongs to me, of course.
Emily sat impatiently in the waiting room of Dr. Wyatt's office. Lilly had been inside with the psychiatrist for close to an hour at this point, and Emily's carefully controlled anxiety was begin to show itself. She flipped idly through a People magazine, her foot tapping a rhythm on the floor. Her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding her that she had been too nervous to eat breakfast, even though she had woken up to make pancakes for Lilly, as a peace offering for forcing her to go to the appointment.
Lilly had accepted the gesture without a word, eating the pancakes but avoiding Emily's attempts at lighthearted conversation. The ride to the doctor's office had been quiet, but Lilly had seemed to perk up slightly when Emily had reminded her that they had an ice cream date with the Hotchner men after the appointment; she was good with children, having had many foster siblings over the years, and was looking forward to meeting Jack.
Emily's anxiety eased slightly when she thought of their later plans – she was of course excited to see Jack again, but even more excited to see Hotch after the cheek-kiss in the parking lot. The BAU had been kept busy the rest of the week with consults, and Emily was looking forward to some alone time with Hotch, where they could abandon their professional personas.
Suddenly, the door next to her opened and Emily jumped up. Dr. Wyatt came out first, followed by a hard-to-read Lilly.
"Agent Prentiss," the doctor said warmly. "Thank you for waiting. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to speak with you for a quick second before you two go enjoy the rest of your day."
"Sure, of course," Emily replied, and she and Lilly switched spots, the teenager slumping down into the chair.
As soon as they were enclosed in her office, Dr. Wyatt smiled and began to speak.
"Agent Prentiss, you absolutely did the right thing in bringing Lilly here. She is a very bright young lady, no doubt, but she does seem to have some serious underlying issues that need to be dealt with. Of course, I can't discuss specifics, but I am able to make additional recommendations as to how best to help Lilly."
"Of course, doctor," Emily replied, anxious. "Anything that can help Lilly."
"She needs to have a support system built around her. She won't ask for one, but it is the thing that will help heal her most. She's been neglected in one way or another for most of her life, and she now needs to know that she is loved and cared for."
"Yes, of course," Emily nodded again.
"Surrounding her with people who care about her, and show that they care, will go long ways in helping her deal with her past and be happy in the future. There are many things in her past that will make her hesitant to believe and trust in these signs of support, but their continued availability to her will help overcome that distrust." Emily digested the doctor's words slowly, wanting to make sure she understood exactly what the doctor's slightly pedantic speech was saying.
"I understand," Emily said after a pause. "I promise you, I will be doing everything in my power to create a good solid, if slightly unconventional family for Lilly."
"Good." The doctor smiled. "Now, as I understand, you two have a date waiting, so I won't keep you any longer." She led Emily out of her office to where Lilly was waiting.
"Ready?" Emily asked, and the teen nodded suspiciously, and Emily could practically see the wheel's turning in the girl's head as she tried to figure out what exactly the doctor had told her new foster mother.
"Excited for ice cream?" Emily asked as they exited out onto the street.
"What did she say to you?" Lilly asked bluntly, but Emily wasn't surprised in the least.
"Nothing that you told her, I promise," Emily said. "She only suggested ways in which I could help you – help make sure you're happy."
"That's all?" Lilly's voice was disbelieving.
"Yes, Lilly. That's all. What goes on in there, what you say – that's your business. And if someday you want to share that with me, then I want to hear it from you, because you want to tell me. Not from a doctor. Can you believe me on this one?" It was silent for a bit as they walked along the street toward the ice cream shop.
"I guess," Lilly said quietly, offering Emily a small smile. "And, yeah, I'm definitely ready for ice cream."
"He's totally smitten," Hotch observed as he and Emily strolled next to each other through the park. She followed his line of vision to Lilly and Jack, watching the ducks swim in the pond. Jack was looking up at the young girl with total admiration as she pointed out the mama duck and baby ducklings to him.
"I think she is too," Emily supplied. "I haven't ever seen her so – just, well, happy."
"It's definitely easier to only remember the good when you're hanging out with a five year old," Hotch said, and Emily knew he was speaking from experience.
"Especially such a cute five year old," Emily said, and then, before she could really help it. "He definitely takes after his father." Once she had heard the words spoken aloud, she couldn't help the slow blush that rose over her features, but she was happy to note that her words seemed to have the same effect on the man next to her, who couldn't think of a single reply. Luckily, Jack ran up to the pair at just the right moment.
"Daddy! Em!! Did you see all the ducks?! Lilly even found some baby ones and they were reeeally little. Can you even believe that?" Jack chattered away happily, grabbing Hotch's hand and dragging him toward the pond and Lilly.
"Lilly where did the baby duckies go?" Jack asked, and Lilly smiled and crouched down to his level. "Look, Jack. They're right there, on the shore."
"Are they havin' a picnic?" Jack asked, and the other three laughed.
"Maybe," Emily answered. "I'm not sure what duck picnics look like though."
"Well I think that's what they're doing," Jack replied with the air of finality only a five year old could muster. Then he whispered something in his father's ear. Hotch smiled at Emily and Lilly.
"Ladies, if you'll excuse us for a second, we are going to visit that very lovely looking public restroom over there," he said, scooping Jack up into his arms, causing the little boy to giggle.
"We'll meet you on this bench," Emily said, pointing, and Hotch nodded.
"Jack's adorable," Lilly commented. "I love little kids."
"Yeah, he's pretty great. And he seems to love you," Emily complimented the girl, who blushed.
"Thanks." A comfortable silence stretched over them until Lilly spoke again. "So like, what's the deal with you and Hotch?"
"What do you mean?" Emily asked quickly, and Lilly smirked.
"Well there is clearly some major unresolved sexual tension going on there," the young girl observed shrewdly as Emily looked at her in disbelief. "You would have to be blind to miss it."
"What? No, no – what? What makes you say that?" Emily sputtered.
"Okay well if I didn't believe it before I sure as hell do now," Lilly laughed. "You're so blushing."
"We're just good friends, that's all," Emily said, aware of how hot her face was.
"Suuuure," Lilly said. "I mean, it's obvious you guys like each other. Aren't you supposed to be adults? You're acting like you're fifteen – and I am fifteen, so I can say that."
"I am not," Emily stated, then paused. "Yeah, I am. I'm fifteen again. That's what Aaron Hotchner does to me. It's embarrassing," she muttered, causing Lilly to laugh.
"I mean it would be embarrassing if he didn't act the same way," Lilly countered. "But he's totally into you. You should do something about it." She looked expectantly behind Emily's head as the Hotchner duo approached again. Emily took a deep breath, and turned around with a cheery smile on her face.
"Em!" Jack cried. "Daddy said we can all have dinner together! And that we can get spaghetti!"
"Only if you guys want to," Hotch added quickly, not wanting to infringe any more on their day.
"Well, I love spaghetti," Lilly said, giving Emily a quick look with one eyebrow raised. "So we'd love to have dinner together, right Emily?" Emily could detect the merriment in the girl's voice, and resigned herself to a long night of gentle prodding from the teen.
"Dinner sounds great."