A/N: Things have settled down SOMEWHAT. Not enough that I'm able to respond to you all, but I tried. To all my new reviewers, HELLO! And thank you.

To RomiRoss, Pise7en, sarahb2007, HGRHfan35, Green-Elphaba-Thropp, greengirl82, abd3, Cinnamon, Lux, miaa29, Emilyprentissfan14, Tigerlily888, charmony, Tigerlily02, Maguchi, Sammy, Hpforever-after, x-MJ-x: All of you, each and every one made me smile and laugh and brightened up a really grey week for me. So thank you. Also I've taken all your votes and messages into consideration. Thank you all so so so so much again.

To Michelle: What would I do without you love?

To greengirl82: I think you'll really be surprised.

This is set after 4x06 and 4x07 "Instincts and Memoriam".

THE VOTES ARE IN... We're skipping to key episodes for the Hotly ship. There are just too many episodes that could clutter the storyline. If I skip an episode you really wanted to see, let me know. I might do some one-shots to coordinate with this.

READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! I'd love to hear where all of you feel this should continue to go. Any ideas or themes you feel like throwing my way or anything in particular you wish to see, is always welcome. I love that some of my readers are able to look at the chapters and see their own input reflected, if you'd like to be one of them, don't be shy. :D

Disclaimer in Chapter 1!

***ALSO***

The nomination ballot, rules, and category summaries for the second annual Profiler's Choice CM Awards 2011 are up and available for you at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum. To reach that post, please either take a trip to the forum. forum (dot) fanfiction (dot) net / topic / 74868 / 48350094 / 1 /

just remove the space and replace the (dot) with a .

Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything. - Napoleon Hill

She didn't do this.

She was much, much too strong to do this.

And yet here she was.

Crying at a crime scene.

She gasped softly as arms wrapped around her while she stood, staring into the flames, watching the remnants of the bear and blanket burn. She turned her head and gave a weak smile to the dark eyes that met hers. His lips brushed the side of her neck and he nuzzled it gently, "Emily…"

She shook her head and shrugged, "I don't know why I'm crying."

She laughed softly and shrugged, "I just… I saw her throw it in and I haven't been able to leave." She ran a hand through her hair and turned her head, her lips brushing his forehead as she spoke, "I feel stupid for being so emotional."

He chuckled lightly and squeezed her in his grasp tenderly, "You're not stupid, Emily." He kissed her temple gently and laid his chin to her shoulder, "I seem to remember a conversation about the difference between needing to be objective and needing to be human."

Her lips twitched into a slight smile as she watched the flames flicker in the intense desert heat. He caressed her sides and continued to speak, "This isn't stupid, Emily. This is your human side. It's why you're good at the job."

He turned his lips to her ear and spoke softly, "It's why I love you."

She turned in his arms, her palms resting on his solid chest as she looked up at him, tear tracks glistening on her cheeks in the bright sunlight, "I really understood her. In a really sick, twisted way, it made complete sense. She just wanted to have her baby."

Her forehead dropped to his shoulder and she sighed heavily as his hands stroked her back as she leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his torso and holding onto him tightly. "You want to know the worst part?"

He hummed his interest softly and continued to rub soothing circles around her back as she continued, "I don't even know where the hell this is coming from. I don't cry at this," she gestured to the fire and stepped away from him, "Hell, Aaron, I compartmentalize better than this whole team. I don't know where the hell these emotions are coming from."

She ran her hands over her face and laughed softly, "I wish I knew what the hell was going on with me."

He sighed and opened his hands at his sides, "You're frustrated, Em. I get it." He smiled tenderly and shook his head, "Anyone who's been in our shoes would. It makes sense that you're reacting this way. I just wish I knew what to tell you to make you feel better."

She turned and looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes, "Yeah? You really think this makes sense?"

He nodded slowly, "Yes, Emily… it makes sense."

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It didn't make sense.

Her moods were in a state of flux that he'd never seen before.

Something was wrong… or right.

Something could be very right.

He grinned and fantasized for a moment about Emily, with her stomach rounded and their child growing inside her; about feeling the little flutters and kicks from their son or daughter. He leaned against the tile and sighed in contentment before a wash of reality came over him. She hadn't said anything. Surely, she would've mentioned it if she was late. He shook his head and spoke to himself while in the shower in the hotel, "She'd know."

He rinsed his body of the suds from the soap and stepped out of the shower, drying himself and wrapping the towel around his lower half. He emerged from the steam filled bathroom and grinned at the sight that greeted him. There she was, still in her suit, lying in the fetal position in their bed. He sighed deeply, taking in the quiet moment, the way her hand rested over her stomach, the way her dark lashes fanned out over her high cheekbones, the way her lips were quirked in a sleepy smile. He made the decision to let her continue to rest before meeting the rest of the team for Chinese and grabbed a fresh shirt and underwear, opting to just wear the pants and jacket he'd worn the rest of the day.

Fifteen minutes later, after redressing and grooming, he stepped back into their room and leaned against the wall, watching her continue to sleep. His phone buzzed that everyone was waiting in the lobby and he moved over to the bed, his hand tenderly stroking down her face as she blinked her eyes open and smiled up at him. "Hey…"

He returned the wide smile, his dimples coming out to match hers, and ran his thumb over her lower lip, "Come on, team's waiting."

She nodded and waited until he moved from the edge of the bed to swing her legs out and stand. She yawned and stretched her long lean body and stepped into his arms, her lips seeking his out for a long, slow kiss.

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"Are you sure you should be drinking that?"

Emily's head lifted at that and she smirked at the blonde, "It's a glass of wine JJ. I'm not drinking the whole damn bottle."

JJ chuckled and shrugged, "I'm just saying… something has seemed different with you and, call me crazy, but I think I have really good intuition about things like this."

The brunette rolled her eyes and finished her glass of wine, "Meaning what?"

JJ sighed as the waiter brought a fresh goblet of wine to the table and set it down in front of Emily, "Meaning that liquor isn't good for a fetus, Emily."

Emily choked on the sip of wine she'd just taken and glared at JJ as she wiped at the sides of her mouth. Emily had never been so glad that all the men of the team had gone outside to smoke cigars and take in some of the sights, "I'm not pregnant, JJ."

JJ grinned like the Cheshire cat and tilted her head, "Are you forgetting who you're talking to?"

She nodded down towards her stomach and raised her eyebrow, "Look at me, Emily. I'm ready to pop. Don't you think I'd be able to decipher between emotional train wreck and pregnant?"

She chuckled and picked up her final piece of sushi, gesturing with it at the brunette, "I experience that roller coaster on a daily basis, and I'm telling you, get a test."

She popped the piece of sushi in her mouth and gave a firm nod, before sliding out of her chair and leaving the restaurant.

Emily sat at the table, staring at her plate and glass of wine in contemplation.

What if she's right?

Oh, God.

I'm not pregnant. Am I?

Shit.

Am I late?

I really want this.

What about Jack?

I don't feel tired.

Are we ready for this?

I'm not late.

REALLY ready?

A baby.

I'd know, right?

I can't let him get excited over nothing.

What if she's wrong?

I can't be pregnant.

Do I really need to go through that heart break all over again?

We might be having a baby.

What's Aaron going to say?

I'm not sick.

What's the team going to say?

She has to be wrong.

She downed the rest of her glass of wine and left the table, her arms crossed over her chest and a decision made in her mind.

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Fuck.

She gasped for air in the bathroom as her stomach lurched and she dry heaved for what felt like the millionth time that morning. She swallowed hard and dropped back against the wall of the hotel bathroom, her eyes shut as she panted for air.

Oh... fuck.

She jumped slightly as a wet towel traced over her forehead and blinked her eyes open, meeting the dark eyes of her lover. "Aaron…"

He hushed her softly and tucked some hair behind her ear, "Have too much to drink last night?"

She lifted her eyes to his guiltily and shrugged, "Guess so. You know how it is in Vegas…"

Her eyes diverted from his as she thought back on her conversation with JJ and fought the next wave of nausea. She looked at his fully dressed body and covered her eyes with her hand as she leaned her head back to the wall, "You leaving?"

He nodded, even though she couldn't see and bent forward, brushing his lips over her forehead, "Going to the airstrip early. Beat some morning traffic. Wheels up in an hour."

He stood to full height and ran a hand through his hair, "There's a tylenol and some water on the counter for you."

She smiled weakly and waved with her free hand as he left. She sat there for several minutes before getting up and taking the aspirin. She changed out of her pyjamas into her jeans and purple button down before grabbing her go bag and heading downstairs to face the music.

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He couldn't stop the smile that was on his face.

He couldn't help it.

His hands turned the slim pink box around over and over again as he sat in the BAU jet.

He jolted slightly as two figures began to board the plane and furrowed his eyebrows seeing only the two women. "Do I want to know where Morgan and Dave are?"

Emily groaned and collapsed into the seat next to him as JJ chuckled and shrugged, "All I heard was, 'I could do with a couple more days of Vegas'. I didn't want to ask questions. I learned my lesson a long time ago."

He laughed softly and wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulder, "Jayje, can you tell him we're ready to take off?"

JJ nodded and slipped up to the cockpit, leaving the couple alone. Aaron took a deep breath and slid the pink box onto Emily's lap, his hand resting on her thigh as she picked it up and stared at it.

"Aaron…"

He kissed her temple and squeezed her thigh, "Emily, it's just a test."

She sighed and tilted her head, "Are you sure we want to find out?"

He laughed softly and moved his hand to her stomach, "I'm pretty sure we'd know in a few months anyway."

At her continued hesitancy he rolled his eyes, "It's like ripping off a band-aid, Emily. If you aren't, we keep trying. But if you are…"

She lifted her eyes to his and felt goosebumps cover her body at the grin he sent her way. She nodded and reached over, resting her hand on his cheek, "Once we're at cruising altitude, I'll do it. I promise. I just need to get my head together to do it."

He smiled and nodded, "That's my girl."

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It was cute, really.

How attached and anxious he was.

But that didn't change the fact that she wanted to kill him.

She could practically hear him thinking out there and that only made this whole thing a little more nerve wrecking. She opened the door to the jet's bathroom and raised an eyebrow, "Careful. If you pace a hole in the floor, you'll have a long fall."

He smirked and stepped toward her crowding her space, "I wouldn't have to pace if you'd hurry up."

"If I could've peed on them faster I would've, Aaron." She tapped his cheek playfully and grinned while holding up the two tests. "We just need to wait for 5 minutes and we'll be set."

He nodded and took her hand tugging her into the lounge of the jet and sitting with her on the sofa. JJ's eyes lifted and she grinned, "Take the tests?"

Both raven haired agents turned to look at the blonde and she openly laughed at their stunned expressions, "Oh come on. Like it wasn't obvious."

She pushed herself out of her chair and walked over to them, sitting in the chair next to the sofa and rubbing her belly, "How long do you have left?"

Emily sighed and grabbed Aaron's wrist, turning it so she could look at his watch and worried her lip, "3 minutes."

JJ nodded, "Well, I guess this is a good time to mention that Agent Todd will be shadowing me this week. So, you two need to decide how you're going to handle your relationship in front of her."

Emily looked up at Aaron and tilted her head to his shoulder, "It's going to suck."

He rubbed her arm and looked at JJ, "We already discussed it. It took us long enough to come out to you and the rest of the team. I don't think we could openly display our relationship in front of another agent that we don't have that kind of trust with. Strauss doesn't need much to push her over that edge to mess with our team."

JJ nodded, "So you're going to act like nothing's going on?"

Emily closed her eyes and nuzzled Aaron's neck tenderly, "That's the plan."

JJ sighed and glanced at her watch. Her eyes lit up as she glanced back at them, "Time's up."

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Emily chuckled softly as a hand traced over her back in the conference room as she stared up at the picture of Riley Jenkins on their large plasma screen. "Aaron…"

He smiled and kissed the side of her neck, holding out a large mug filled with a steaming liquid for her, "I know… I know… but she's in JJ's office and I can't help myself."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and took the mug from him and groaned softly at the scent. "Decaf?"

He nodded, "Cream and two Splenda added."

He cleared his throat and wrapped his arms around her waist, "So… JJ got the last viable donor huh?"

She snorted softly and pressed back against him, "If I could sky write that I got the last one, I would but that wouldn't bode well with our psychotic witch of a boss."

He laughed softly and rubbed her hips with his hands, his fingers sliding under the shirt and caressing her bare skin, "Still stung a little."

She turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder, "Awh, does wittle Aaron need me to kiss his ego and make it better?" She pouted teasingly and yelped softly when he smacked her ass teasingly.

"Watch it, Prentiss."

Her lips widened into a large smile and she sipped her coffee contentedly, humming at the familiar taste before she turned to him, "We're going to have to discuss it eventually you know…"

He smiled warmly and licked his lips, "Discuss what?"

She narrowed her eyes and took another sip of her coffee, "The tests."

He held up the white stick and its twin, "Oh… these tests?"

She dropped her eyes with a wide smile and shrugged, "That would be them, yes."

He tucked them back into his pocket and sat down on the edge of the table, "What's left to talk about? They're positive. You go in, see your doctor, and we'll take it a day at time."

She scratched the back of her neck and sighed as she dropped into the chair next to her and rolled herself back and forth, her hands resting on her flat stomach, "It's just weird, Aaron. I mean, I know we've been trying for months now."

"Eight."

She raised her eyebrow, "Huh?"

He shrugged and folded his hands in front of him, "Eight months, we've been trying."

She blushed and nodded, "Yeah… I just… I never really thought it would happen. You know?"

He laughed softly and shrugged, "Yeah, I know."

He reached forward to touch her cheek but stopped when both their phones began to vibrate with a text from Garcia.

Got the info on Reid's dad.

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It was all so surreal.

She couldn't believe that sooner, rather than later, this would be her reality.

She winced as JJ's grip on her hand tightened in the hospital room. She gave her hand a delicate pat in return and nodded, as Garcia did the Lamaze breathing with her and Aaron stood outside the room, waiting anxiously for Will.

JJ panted softly and looked at Emily, "I am sorry. Did I hurt you?"

Emily chuckled and shook her head, "It's fine, Jayje."

JJ sighed and dropped her head back, "Have you told Penelope yet?"

Garcia's eyes darted between them and she frowned, "Told me what? Buttercup, are you alright?"

Emily nodded and squeezed JJ's hand, "No, I haven't told her, but now that you've painted me into a corner I suppose I have to."

JJ smirked wickedly then cried out softly at the sharp pain that ran through her body, "Oh, hell."

Emily rubbed her shoulders gently and sighed as she looked up at Garcia, "Hotch and I are…"

She barely flinched this time as JJ gripped her hand, the soft whimper that escaped her friend hurting more than any physical pain. "Jayje, do you want me to get a nurse?"

JJ nodded and Emily quickly hit the call button as Garcia kept looking between the blonde and brunette, "Hotch and you are what?"

Emily sighed, "Hotch and I are…"

"You rang for a nurse?"

Garcia's head dropped back in frustration as the nurse interrupted Emily a second time. Emily barely hid her chuckle and nodded at JJ, "I think she's in some serious pain. Is there anything…"

"JJ!"

Emily's eyes flew to the door and she felt herself immediately calm down as Will and Aaron moved into the room. Aaron moved over to stand beside Emily, his hand resting low on her back as the nurse ran JJ's vitals and checked her over, "Well Mommy, it looks like it's time to get the doctor in here and get you down to delivery."

Emily smiled widely as the nurse left and Will moved over to stand in Garcia's spot. Garcia quickly traveled around the bed to stand next to Hotch and folded her arms over her chest, "Hotch and you are…"

Emily sighed and looked at her, "We're pregnant."

Silence flooded the room at the admission. Will's jaw slackened as JJ grinned while Garcia's eyes widened in complete astonishment. Emily raised a tentative eyebrow at her friend as she stayed silent, just looking between her and Aaron in shock. Emily reached forward with her free hand and touched Garcia's shoulder, "PG? Are you alright?"

"Ms. Jareau, it's time to get you down to delivery."

All attention and chaos returned as several nurses flooded into the room, grabbing JJ's bed and leading her and Will out, leaving just Emily, Garcia and Hotch in the hospital room. Emily's eyes slowly drifted to Garcia and she licked her lips, "PG?"

She gasped softly as Garcia wrapped her arms around her and held her tight. "I'm so happy for you." Emily sighed in relief and nodded, "Yeah, me too." She rubbed her friend's back and leaned back, "We just found out yesterday."

Garcia looked between them and squealed softly, "Two BAU babies?"

Emily nodded and shrugged as Garcia moved around her and clung onto Aaron for a moment, "Two in a year?"

Emily chuckled, "Something like that, Pen. Are you okay?"

Penelope laughed and shook her head, "No. I'm better than okay. I'm infinitely better than okay. I'm so far past okay, that okay is like a dot. This is amazing. Oh my God, Emily."

She hugged her friend tight and rubbed her back, "It's about time, you two. I've been waiting on this."

Emily leaned back and nodded, "Yeah. We have too, Pen."

WHO'S EXCITED? There's a poll on my page for baby names. Vote hard people. If you want to play a part in the next chapter, and the future of Emily, Hotch and their baby, all you need to do is review! So, see that little blue button? Please click it and leave me some feedback! Love it? Hate it? Like it? It's all appreciated! Thanks! :) xx-babygurl0506