An 'actual' conversation between the duo.

Thank you, saturdayslump for betaing this for me. Your comments were very much appreciated and I took them all on board. You are a fantastic beta!

"Tea?"

"Please. Just milk, thanks." Emily waited as Hotch put a teabag into a mug and poured some hot water in, and added some milk. He handed the mug to her. "Thanks." She leaned back against counter and blew on the hot liquid, watching him fix up his coffee.

"You're looking less stressed than usual. And you're actually leaving work at a half decent hour. You haven't met someone, have you?" she asked in a half-teasing tone of voice, not really expecting him to answer. Hotch did not share his personal life with anyone.

He turned to face her, taking a sip of his coffee. As usual, his face was inscrutable. So she was surprised at his reply. "Not technically."

"Oh?" She must have looked intrigued, because he continued.

"I've been emailing someone I met online."

Emily gaped at him. "No way. You've met someone online? Wow." She shook her head, gobsmacked. "I never would have guessed you'd do anything like that in a thousand years."

Hotch gave her a chagrined look. "I didn't think I would, either."

She smiled, shaking her head. "So, who is she and what does she do?"

"I don't actually know the answers to either of those questions. She plays her cards close to her chest."

"Ah, a woman who likes to retain her mysterious allure. Sensible move. You can't be too careful nowadays."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "You sound like you know more than you're saying. Have you met anyone online?"

Emily debated whether she should say something. What the hell, it wasn't like she was ashamed of anything. "Actually, I met someone recently. Online," she added as clarification.

"But you haven't actually met him yet."

"No, I haven't. I'm sure we will at some stage, but we're having a lot of fun writing to each other for now. Well, at least I hope he's having fun." She smiled at the memory of her most recent email to Mr Y. "What about you? Are you having fun with your mystery lady?"

"Fun." Hotch uttered the word slowly, as if he was testing to see how the word would sound like coming from his mouth. A smile appeared slowly, while Emily watched fascinated at the change in her supervisor. "I'm definitely having fun. I think a huge part of it is that I can just be myself. It's not something you can do when you're trying to impress someone you meet in person for the first time."

"I know what you mean. It's freeing, isn't it? And there's no judgment."

"Yeah." They smiled, in complete agreement with each other.

"So is it serious, this relationship?" Emily watched Hotch closely.

He contemplated the question for a while. "In the past, I wouldn't have defined this as a relationship. But I think I'd venture so far as to say that this is the start of one. There's certainly a connection there. And I think she feels it too. We haven't had many deep discussions about the future or anything like that, but we seem to have the same core values and beliefs, which is comforting. What about you?"

"I really, really like him." She smiled. "It's been a long time since I've genuinely liked someone. He's polite and gentlemanly, and so sweetly formal. Poor thing, I've been trying to get him to loosen up and I think I might be starting to scare him." She laughed.

Hotch lifted his eyebrows. "Yeah, I'm starting to get that same panicked feeling."

"Oh, your lady too, huh? She sounds like a legend." Emily tilted her head, wondering if she should utter her next question. What the heck. He could just choose not to answer. "So...have you two, you know?"

Hotch frowned. "You know...what?"

"Um... how should I put it? You know... had cyber sex?"

A flush appeared on his cheeks and his gaze shifted away from hers. She bit her lip to stifle a laugh at his discomfort. She decided to take pity on him. "Never mind, you don't have to answer." Obviously the answer was a big, honking no. Why had she even asked? It was Hotch, after all. "Someone who's had personal experience told me it can be fun. And there's the added bonus that there's no pressure to perform." Good God, did she just say that to her Unit Chief?

He looked back at her, face composed in its usual lines again. "Thanks for your advice, Prentiss," he said drily.

"You're welcome, sir." She managed to keep her facial expression equally neutral.

Hotch started to head back to his office, then paused, turning back. His eyes met hers. "Just for the record, Emily, I have never suffered performance anxiety. And I doubt I ever will." The next moment he was gone.

Emily stared after him, speechless for a moment. Then she shook her head. "I never doubted that for a second, sir."

Okay, the M rated chapter is up next. Please review if you have a moment :)

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