A/N: And here we go with more of the never-ending birthday story for Tigerlily. I think it should be done the next time she has a birthday. The wooing continues, but a little more emotional this time. Please let me know what you think! Thanks!

By this point, she knew what to expect when she returned home after her errands. Unlike Doyle's ominous offerings, she found herself eagerly anticipating what Hotch would give her next. She suspected a certain tech analyst was helping him deliver the items, if not buy them on his instructions. How else could they be timed so perfectly to when she would not be at home?

She was loaded down with shopping bags from a run to the grocery store when she saw it leaning against the door, dressed up with a pretty red bow. Emily chuckled as she unlocked her door and took her groceries and the new gift into the apartment.

Later that night, she was waiting for his call.

"I take it from the noise you got my gift?" his amused voice asked after she had picked up and he could hear the tinkle of a bell.

Emily chuckled softly. "Yes, and Sergio is enjoying it immensely," she replied as she swished the slender pole that was leaning against her front door back and forth. This gift was a small fishing pole that had string attached at one end and from which a feathered cat toy dangled cheekily. A small bell was attached to the mass of feathers and with a simple flick of her wrist, Emily swished the object back and forth, sending Sergio into a leaping frenzy as he tried to capture the intriguing object.

"What made you think of this?"

"Well, I had to win over my main competition."

"Competition?"

"Yes, after all, Sergio is the perfect man. He doesn't hog the covers and he poops in a box."

Emily let out a loud laugh as she recalled that conversation they had months ago on the BAU jet. "I can't believe you remember that."

"I remember most things you say, Emily, but I also remember feeling envious that Sergio obviously had your affection," his voice dropped into a low, seductive rumble, "and he shared your bed."

She felt her heart pound and her cheeks burn. On the scale of dirty talk what Hotch said wouldn't even register, but for heaven's sakes! This was Hotch! She was still trying to reconcile her severe, humorless supervisor with this flirty, persistent suitor.

"You know you're throwing me here, Hotch," she murmured in a low tone.

"How?" He sounded amusedly puzzled.

"I just didn't think I would hear you say something like that, to me especially."

"Have I offended you?" There was genuine concern in his voice and fear that he had crossed some boundary.

"No, it's just that I have a hard time believing this is coming from the man who couldn't explain to me what some sexual instrument of torture was."

"What?"

"Remember that separatist that was kidnapping and killing those women in Montana? It was right around when Rossi first came back."

Of course he remembered that time. It was another case where the victims looked far too much like Emily Prentiss for his liking. He remembered that he made certain he was paired with her as often as possible and if he wasn't around, that she was either in the sheriff's station reviewing tapes, surrounded by dozens of officers, or she at least had Morgan by her side. She may have regarded all those times he kept her close as an indictment of her abilities and his need to make sure she was supervised. Maybe at first that was what he was doing, but he quickly learned Emily Prentiss was more than capable of running her own investigation. No, he kept her with him or with Morgan because he needed to know she would be as safe as possible. He didn't realize that was what he was doing until later and then he forced himself to mix things up more, though more often than not that only meant she was paired with Rossi. If she was with Reid or JJ, he made certain they were doing the least dangerous task possible, like interviewing harmless witnesses or that they were at least accompanied by local law enforcement.

But it wasn't embarrassment that caused him to go silent and stare at her when she held up that implement and asked what it was. It was fear and fury; fury that the victims had been subjected to such a thing and fear over how easily Emily could have been one of the victims. In that second when she asked her question, just having her near that thing had made Hotch lose all perspective, all sense of where he was and all he could think about was, "Get Emily away from this ugliness." He simply wanted to protect her, hide her away and make sure nothing this violent and horrible could touch her. Even then, when he didn't realize how much he cared for her, Hotch knew some part of him was already in love with Emily Prentiss.

"Hotch?"

"That wasn't why," he said in a hoarse voice.

"Wasn't why what?" she asked, frowning at the change in his tone. All levity was gone and replaced by something she couldn't pinpoint.

"I wasn't embarrassed that time when you asked me what it was. Back in Montana."

She could sense this was important to him and she encouraged him with a quiet, "Then what was it?"

"I knew what it did. What it had done to those women. I didn't want to see you holding it. Knowing what it could do and had done. I didn't want that ugliness near you. I couldn't answer you at that time because…because…all I could think about was dragging you out of there, away from that horror chamber and keeping you safe." He was breathing raggedly now, almost as though he was back there in Montana, in that torture chamber where all those women who looked like Emily had suffered. "We saw what he did to those women. Knew what he did. I didn't want to imagine that happening to you, but you looked so much like them, I couldn't…" His voice trailed off, not wanting to verbalize how he had seen her face on too many of the victims they had had to see over the years and how much agony he endured with those images in his mind.

Emily licked her lips and gripped the phone tighter, never realizing the depths of his feelings until now. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. He had told her, but a part of her had wondered if what was happening now between them was something that wasn't really very serious to Hotch. A flirtation now that she was no longer taboo because of their working relationship. However, his reaction, the intensity of his voice, she could feel the pain as he imagined her harmed.

"I didn't know," she murmured softly, soothingly. "I didn't know, Aaron."

She heard him suck in his breath and realized she had called him by his given name, the first time she had done so. It felt foreign to her tongue, yet it felt right.

"Aaron," she repeated in a softer tone, a comforting caress on the man's battered soul.

"Emily," he breathed out. "I like how my name sounds when you say it."

"I think, I think I like saying it."

"I'm glad."

"I'm sorry you had to feel such pain," she said regretfully.

"Don't be," Hotch told her in a firm tone. "If I had been smarter and really examined why I felt that way, I wouldn't have wasted so much time. I think I had fallen in love with you all those years ago, but I simply didn't recognize the signs. Didn't want to. I'm glad I have a second chance with you, Emily." She heard him swallow hard. "I almost didn't get that. Twice."

Emily winced guiltily, knowing the second time was her recent accident and not her fault, but the first was definitely on her. Doyle.

"Hotch, about Doyle-"

"It doesn't matter."

"But Hotch-"

"Emily, it doesn't matter."

"Why?" she asked. It had been bothering her since her return. "Everyone else wanted to know about my time in Interpol, about what I had to do with Doyle, about why I left the team and went after him. But you, you never asked, never questioned, not even when I returned, not even when you had to lie to everyone for me. You never demanded an explanation or asked any questions. Why?"

"Because I didn't need them," Hotch said simply. "Because you wouldn't do anything without a good, noble reason and you would only be focused on protecting the ones you love. I know you, Emily Prentiss, and that was all the answer I needed."

She felt tears prick in her eyes. Though JJ, Rossi and Garcia never questioned her, she could feel their eyes on her, looking inquiringly at her, wanting to know. Morgan and Reid made their feelings known, but Hotch, he had treated her the same, no, he had been protective of her. She knew he tried to take the burden of the rest of the team's anger on himself and kept the prying questions from the others as contained as possible. She had wondered why he hadn't demanded any explanation from her like he had early in their working relationship when she had to explain every connection, every decision. The Doyle incident was much bigger than any past skirmishes they had had, but he had simply flicked it off as nothing more than another case that was closed.

She hadn't any idea why he acted that way, but now she knew.

He trusted her. When Emily wasn't certain she could trust herself or that she had made the right decisions, Hotch was saying he had enough faith for the both of them.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you, Aaron, for believing in me."

"I always have, Emily, and I always will."

Perhaps this was the best gift she had received from him yet.

A/N 2: For those who are looking for the Profiler's Choice nominees and how to vote, you can find it at:

topic/ 74868/73609377/1/ 2012-Profiler-s-Choice-CM-Awards-FINAL-VOTING-BALLOT-HERE

Just remove the spaces. There are a lot of very good authors/stories nominated so show your support by voting