AN: This piece is a little more M, a T at least, than the others in this collection.

"What are we going to do about JJ?" Emily asked lifting her head slightly to look at him.

"I'm not replacing her," he replied as he continued to run his hand up and down her arm. She was curled against his side on the couch at his apartment. It was the night after their first case without JJ. After the long case and the loss of JJ they needed some time to just hold one another.

After realizing four nights sneaking around the team and one Jack free night at home a month was not enough, they found a way to sneak in a few extra hours a week. If they had a tough day, Emily would come over after Jack went to bed so they could talk and cuddle. Except for this time she interrupted superhero play time. After no less than three bed time stories, two of which Jack demanded 'Miss Em'ly' read to him, the adults got some time to alone.

"But how are we going to handle her work load?" Emily felt him stiffen beneath her had on his chest. His silence told her exactly what he was thinking. "No, you do enough."

"Dave and Morgan are already doing some of my paperwork so I can get home to Jack. I'll just give them more so I can handle intake," he gave a little shrug trying not to disturb her head on his shoulder. "We are not replacing her," he said again with determination.

"I guess this means I'm not going anywhere," Emily said in a huff.

"You were leaving?" He asked incredulously.

"We talked about this. We were going to evaluate if we were ready to go public and find me a new job so you could stay with the BAU. But now I have to stay, you can't lose us both."

"No, I can't lose my best girls," he sighed.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you referred to us as your 'girls,' and I won't let Garcia know she wasn't included in them, because you're distraught." Emily let out a little small laugh. "But seriously I was looking forward to an actual date." She could tell Hotch was lost in thought. Normally he would tease her about being so sure she was staying around. "You miss her already don't you?" she said softly.

"Of course I do, she's a vital part of our team. And they just took her away from us."

"You sound like Reid," she teased. Reid had taken it the hardest. He was like a little kid learning Santa wasn't real when he found out. JJ was his best friend after all.

"JJ and I worked very closely together, I trained her. I want her to succeed not only on the job, but as a parent too. It'll be nice for her to be home with Henry. I'm proud of her and sad at the same time."

Emily curled in closer to his side. She would miss JJ too. Not only was JJ fantastic at her job managing the press but all the work she did coordinating interviews and tracking leads was crucial to their success. She helped to take some of the pressure off the team by letting them focus on the victimology and profile.

Then there was the fact that JJ provided a much need mental break from the dead bodies and traumatized victims. They may be the profilers but she knew when someone needed a joke, a hug or a cup of tea. She was one of the few who could always get Hotch to relax. And Hotch did seem to have a soft spot for her. She could convince him that any case was worth taking, worth the resources of five profilers, a liaison, a tech analyst and a jet crew.

Emily's mind started to wonder just how JJ managed her get Hotch wrapped around her perfectly manicured finger. She lifted her head so she could study his face while she pondered the possibilities.

"What's with that look? That's your 'I'm up to something look.'"

"Did you and JJ…" she asked hesitantly, "ever?" Her eyebrows wiggled suggestively to hint at her meaning.

"What? No! She's way too young for me!" Hotch pulled away, checking over his shoulder for Jack, then turned to look at Emily properly.

"So you never thought about it?"

"No," he said a little more calmly. "She's a wonderful person and attractive, but no. She's like a younger sister."

"Not even one little fantasy?" Emily asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"I was married and then there was you. Why would I think about her when I have you?" He asked pulling her back in and placing a kiss on her head.

"I have," Emily said lightly, burying her head back against his chest. "No shame in telling you."

"What?" He pushed her off again looking at her with wide eyes.

"A little too doe-eyed country girl for my taste but like you said," Emily shrugged, "she's damn attractive." Emily gave him a wink, "Great ass."

"Emily I honestly can't tell if you are trying to shock me into revealing something or if you really are attracted to her." He let out a defeated sigh, "You know how much it hurts my pride when I can't read you."

"Little column A, little column B," she said waving her hand. "You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"I thought it would be in a file somewhere when you were doing security checks for the Ambassador," Emily huffed.

"I was checking the staff, not your family. Know what Emily?" he asked with a little more force.

"That I go both ways," she said quickly. "As if the low life boys I dated weren't enough to piss my mother off. She could never tell if they were a girl friend or a girlfriend until we were making out in the middle of some state dinner," she let out a mischievous laugh that earned her a glare and a shush from Hotch.

"Ah so you've always had a penchant for trying to piss people off," he chuckled. "That's why you drive me crazy, a lifetime of practice." He finally pulled her back to him, bringing her legs over his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"This is usually the part where the guy asks about a three way."

"You are all mine Emily Prentiss. You are all I need." He placed a few kisses on her neck. "Often more than I can handle. Add someone else and you might finally kill me."

"That's the best anyone has ever taken it. Not that I share that with a lot of people."

"I don't care about your past." He stopped nuzzling her neck to look her in the eye to clarify. "I do, I care about what makes you, you, but whoever you were with doesn't matter. They were idiots for giving you up." He placed a gentle kiss on her lips then buried his head in her neck again.

"So you don't want to hear about them? My past girlfriends," Emily practically sighed as Hotch nipped her ear.

"Only if you really feel the need to share. And there's no one's ass I need to kick for treating you badly is there? Guy or girl."

"No. Morgan already offered," she said nonchalantly.

"How did he find out?" Hotch stopped the sucking and brought his head up again.

"He noticed my vague wording. People, partners, they." She flicked her hand in the air to punctuate each word. "Plus that trip to Montana. He made fun of my tactical pants and boots. He called me "Butch" and next thing I know he had my Glock against his crotch."

"That's my girl," he kissed her hair. Emily quirked an eyebrow at the seconded use of 'girl' in the same night.

"I wasn't hiding it. I'm not ashamed." She turned her head to look him in the eyes. "I was just trying to keep it private and we are all in each others lives so much."

"So you and JJ?" he winked trying to turn the conversation light hearted again.

"We kissed once," Emily admitted. Hotch kept staring at her so she decided to elaborate. "We had a girl's night and I told her and Garcia about an old girlfriend. She said she always wanted to know what kissing another woman was like. So we did. It was pretty tame," she shrugged.

"But you thought about her, had fantasies of being with her?"

"Not while I'm with you. If that's what you're worried about. With you I can't think about anything." With that Emily leaned back into him with a relentless kiss, both hands in his hair. She had enough of his teasing kisses. Eventually she moved to straddle his lap, and pushed Hotch back against the cushions. They had been going almost non-stop for three weeks and the one day they had free Jack was sick. She was in desperate need of him.

"Emily," he warned.

"What if I promise to be really, really quiet," she said when she broke from his skin to focus on unbuttoning his shirt. "And fast." His hands grabbed her wrist to still her movements. In retaliation she swirled her hips against his groin. She knew he wanted this too. "Please. I need you."

"You know I want to." His hands moved to her hips to prevent any more grinding. Emily let out a low whine. "But Jack is down the hall." She knew the rules about what they could and couldn't do with Jack home. And Emily loved to push the boundaries.

They were having a silent staring contest, a battle between their two stubborn wills, to see who might break first. And Hotch was losing something awful because Emily's tantalizing chest was in his face.

"I might have a solution," he finally said. Emily gave him a malicious smile.

Hotch gently laid her back on the couch and grabbed a blanket from the other end, throwing it over their laps. His fingers deftly undid her pants and snaked underneath the fabric. They dipped, swirled and flicked, eliciting soft moans from Emily. Her chest labored under the deep breaths and her face flushed. Hotch got so lost in the pleasure on her face that he stilled his movements. Emily snapped her eyes up to him and bucked her hips.

"You are exquisite," he breathed running his thumb along her cheek. "You know I hate when we take advantage of you for cases." Hotch scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head to block out the image of that kid looking at her like a piece of meat. "It makes my skin crawl to have those men looking at you like that."

Emily turned her head and kissed his palm. "That is sweet but…" Emily nodded towards her lap. "I'm a big girl. I can take it," she added when he hadn't moved.

"Stay the night," he said suddenly.

"What?"

"Stay."

Emily sat up with a little groan as his fingers slipped out of her. "Why tonight?"

"Because you deserve more than this." He tipped his head indicating their haphazard tangle of legs and blankets on the couch.

"Five minutes ago this was a stretch of the rules. Now you want to break them?" Emily was feeling slightly confused. This was what she had wanted but the look in his eye was throwing her off.

"You don't want to?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Not just because you are feeling overprotective. You'll regret it in the morning when you make me sneak out before Jack gets up." She was looking at him intently, trying to read his thoughts. He wasn't giving her anything other than the same puppy dog eyes her was before. "I should head home." She carefully removed her legs from his and did up her pants.

"Emily," he pleaded getting up after her, "I don't want to leave this like this."

"Aaron, I'm fine. We're fine. I'll see you at work tomorrow." She leaned in to kiss his cheek. He grabbed her shoulders to hold her in place.

"You know that I want to give you more than this right? Emily I..." he trailed off. He couldn't get the words out. There was a look in his eye that she had only seen when they were making love. It was intense yet calm at the same time.

"I know you do," she said with determination in response to both of his thoughts. "I knew what I was getting into when we agreed to this." She gave him another kiss and turned for the door. He leaned on the door frame and watched her walk down the hallway.

"Text me when you get home," he called. She gave a wave of recognition. He locked up and picked up the house. His mind was to full of worry to go to bed. Finally his phone beeped.

Home safe and sound. Cuddled up with Sergio.

He felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he could be that stupid cat she loved so much. Another beep brought him back.

FYI I feel the same way

It was as close to an 'I love you' that they had gotten. He felt comforted knowing she had understood and wasn't pushing for anything more. Knowing that things with them would be alright he finally crawled into bed then sent her a text back.

Goodnight sweetheart

AN: So I changed this ending, it was bothering me.