A/N: This chapter is in two parts: The Friday after the others leave, then the Saturday. I'm still in the process of writing it but I'm hoping it'll be a time when Hotch and Emily can work out what they both want.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds. Or M*A*S*H. Or Casablanca.


Hotch quickly walked out of the station, chastising himself for staying so long. He'd promised himself he'd only stay there to catch up on the detective's findings and sign off on the case. Instead he'd agreed to look over another case and give them a preliminary profile of the serial rapist terrorizing numerous neighbourhoods in south-west Seattle.

He looked at the clock on the dash and rolled his eyes. It was almost lunch and by Hotch's calculations that meant he'd missed two wound cleanings this morning. Not that Emily was going to be upset, but Hotch had promised himself that he would take care of her, make sure she didn't go through any of this without him by her side. He turned left onto Delridge Way and shook his head. He'd find a way to make it up to her.


Emily changed the channel when she heard the handle turning. No way she was getting caught watching "The Young and the Restless." She looked over and smiled when she saw Hotch. "Hey, I was wondering when you were gonna come in," she said brightly. Hotch forced a smile and nodded, looking at his feet. "I'm sorry I'm late. I meant to be here first thing this morning but I got tied up," he said quietly. Emily furrowed her brow in confusion. While it was true she'd been hoping he'd come in, she didn't expect him to stay in this small room with her all day. She had the TV and the books Reid had left, not to mention her iPod with pretty much every song she owned.

Hotch still wasn't making eye contact and Emily chuckled. "Hey, stop looking all guilty. You're here now, that's what matters," she said as he made his way over to the bed. He sat down on the edge and Emily reached up and brushed her fingers through his hair. "What is it?" she asked, concerned with the worried look on his face. Hotch shook his head. "I just… I promised myself I'd take care of you… I promised your dad that I'd take care of you," he said. Emily smiled and sat up a little. "Hotch," she started, but he wouldn't look at her. She touched his shoulder. "Aaron," she said. This time he looked up and saw that her face held no contempt, no anger, no frustration. "I know that you will take care of me… and you have been," she started, "But I don't expect you to be around 24/7… in fact I think it's safe to say that if you did stick around that much I'd probably have to drive myself back to Washington cause you'd be too broken to move," she joked. Hotch huffed and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Ok?" she asked. Hotch nodded and replied, "Ok," under his breath.

Emily nodded and sat back. "So what were you doing this morning?" she asked, hoping he'd slept in and gotten some rest. But she knew that was wishful thinking. Hotch looked up at her and smiled as he pulled a seat over next to the bed. "I dropped into the SW station to drop off the paperwork and sign off. Then they asked for a consult on another case and I lost track of time," he explained. Emily smiled and nodded. "What was the other case about?" she asked, innocently. Hotch looked up, surprised. He'd thought he'd be in trouble for working when he should've been at the hospital. But then he thought back over the past 2 ½ years of working with Emily and remembered that she was just as much a workaholic than him. He smiled and held her hand tight. "Serial rapist, the women were older, white, middle-upper class and married," he explained. Emily nodded and smiled. "So I'm guessing you gave them younger, probably early twenties to early thirties, white, male, working class?" she asked. Hotch nodded and squeezed her hand.

Emily held up the remote. "Wanna watch a movie?" she asked. Hotch looked at his watch. The nurse had told him that the wound cleaning had finished shortly before he arrived so it would be at least another two hours before they'd be interrupted. Hotch nodded and Emily smiled. She shuffled over in the bed and pat the empty space next to her. Hotch got up from his seat, walked to the other side and slid onto the bed, wrapping his arm around Emily's shoulders. She found the movie channel and "Casablanca" had just started. Emily sighed and leant against Hotch's side. "That's the ticket," she said quietly, as Hotch ran his fingers across her arm.

Hotch sat up as Rick walked across the tarmac and smiled when he saw Emily sleeping. He was planning on getting up, but shrugged and lay back on the bed, his arm still wrapped firmly around her shoulders. She sighed and turned her head on his shoulder, placing her left hand on his chest. Hotch kissed the top of Emily's head, closed his eyes, and drifted off.


He only got about twenty minutes of sleep in before he was rudely woken up by the nurse. She gave him a sheepish grin when he opened his eyes and, though he was annoyed that they couldn't just keep sleeping, he knew that Emily's wounds needed to be cleaned out once more. So he stood up from the bed and turn to wake Emily up. He preferred to do it himself, knowing that she would probably want to slap the nurse for waking her up again.

Hotch gently pressed on Emily's shoulder. "Honey, you gotta wake up," he said quietly. Emily woke up and frowned. "I'm sorry sweetheart but the nurse needs to clean your wounds," he whispered. Emily mumbled something unintelligible and Hotch looked up at the nurse. "I apologise. She's not the best company when she's just waking up," he said honestly. "Like you can talk grumpy-pants," Emily mumbled as she sat up in the bed. She waited while the nurse pulled down her sheet and unwrapped the bandage. After a couple of days, the stitches were starting to form bruises and Emily gasped when she looked down.

Hotch leant over and he felt the tears start to burn in his eyes when he remembered, he'd almost lost her three days ago. He squeezed her hand and leant over. He placed a heap of kisses on her cheek and she looked at him quizzically. "Sorry. I just remembered, Jack asked me to give you lots and lots of kisses to make you feel better," he said, using his son's well-wishes to distract her from the nurse's duties. Emily smiled and reached up to touch his face. He was so sweet. The nurse made quick work of the cleaning and redressing, then said the doctor would be in shortly to check up on her.

When the door closed, Hotch climbed back up on the bed and ran his fingers through Emily's hair. "So did I tell you what your dad did?" he asked. Emily wrinkled her brow and looked up at him, wondering what her dad could've done. The possibilities were endless. She smiled as he told her about the car and the hotels and made a mental note to buy him an extra-special Father's Day present this year. Hotch settled back on the bed and picked up the remote. He found an old re-run of M*A*S*H and watched it while Emily went back to sleep.


Hotch's cell rang. He glanced at his watch and noticed it was 3pm. "Hotchner," he said. Emily began to stir and Hotch ran his hand over her leg. "Hey Aaron. It's Jess. I thought you might like to talk to Jack before he goes to bed," she explained. Hotch thanked her and listened while she passed the phone to his son. "Hi Daddy," he said brightly. "Hey buddy. How are you? How was pre-school?" Hotch asked, a smile instantly forming on his usually pursed lips. Emily sat up when she heard Hotch's voice. Hotch sat back and put the phone on speaker, and he and Emily listened to the little boy recount his day, from dropping his bag in his cubby-hole, to playing with Jeffrey, to story-time, and through to the moment when Aunt Jessie picked him up.

When Jack had finished Hotch took the chance. "Hey buddy. I've got Emily here with me," he said brightly. "Emly! Hello Emly! I have a present for you for when you come home. We made it today in school!" the little boy cried into the phone. Emily grinned and a tear fell down her cheek. "That's great honey. I can't wait to see it," she replied. "Daddy. When are you and Emly coming home?" Jack asked innocently. Hotch looked at Emily then back at the phone. "Uh, we should be home in a few days. Can you wait until then?" Hotch asked. Jack was nodding, and didn't realize that Hotch and Emily couldn't see that, until Jess pointed it out. "Yes Daddy. I can wait," he said sadly. Emily felt another tear escape her eyes and smiled at Hotch. "Ok buddy, we have to go now. Keep being a good boy for Aunt Jessica and Uncle Michael. We'll see you very soon," Hotch said into the phone. Jack said goodbye and hung up. Emily reached over and took Hotch's hand, squeezing tight. She knew that it must have been killing him that he couldn't see his son, and she wanted him to know how grateful she was that he was there with her. She looked up, into his eyes, and craned her neck up, meeting his lips with hers. He kissed her back, squeezing her hand. "Wow," he puffed when they pulled away. Emily smiled and nodded. "The healing powers of a five-year-old boy," she whispered. Hotch chuckled and leant back on the bed. "I'll say."


Hotch had fallen asleep in the middle of an episode of Chicago Hope. Just as Danny is being wheeled through the corridors of the emergency room, Emily looked over and smiled. She brushed her hand over Hotch's arm and leant up to whisper in his ear. "Hotch." He stirred but didn't wake. She ran her fingers through his hair and frowned. The poor thing had been up almost three days straight, sleeping intermittently. But he couldn't sleep there. He needed a real bed and a shower. Emily tried again. But still nothing. She tried a different approach. "Aaron," she stage-whispered. That time it worked.

Hotch's eyes opened and he squinted as he looked around the room. "What is it? Are you ok?" he asked, sitting up quickly. Emily smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. You need to go get some sleep," she said, poking his chest. Hotch rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm fine. I can stay here," he said. Emily shook her head. "No you can't. You need to go back to the hotel, shower, and get some real sleep," she chided. Hotch took a deep breath and nodded. Given the long drive they were going to have to make on the way back to DC, he'd need all the sleep he could get. "Alright. I'll go. I'll be back tomorrow morning," he said, climbing off the bed and sitting in the chair to lace up his shoes. He stood and leaned over, kissing Emily gently. "I'll see you in the morning," he whispered, brushing her hair back. Emily smiled and nodded, watching him walk through the door.