A/N: Thanks again for the reviews on the last chapter. Please keep them coming! Here's the rest of "the talk."

Hotch had been worrying in the back of his mind that it might come down to this. When he stopped to think about it, he supposed he knew that he'd have to tell her everything eventually. But if they were sitting down to make such an important decision, was telling her that he had been and was still in love with her really the best idea? Could they think with clear heads if they started talking about feelings? Or was that the entire point of the conversation—to get absolutely everything out in the open?

"Please," Emily said when Hotch didn't answer for a long moment and his eyes had drifted away.

"I'm just…thinking of how I want to phrase it," Hotch said distantly.

"Just say whatever it is you're thinking. Don't try to phrase it a certain way."

Hotch locked eyes with Emily again and said the hardest thing he'd had to say in quite a long time. "I felt that our friendship was becoming something more, or was about to become something more. I got scared. I wasn't ready. But I was pretty sure that you were. I did want to be with you, but at the same time I was terrified. I loved what we already had and I was scared that if we took the next step and things didn't work out, then I'd just be needlessly hurting you. And I couldn't be around you and maintain my distance at the same time. I didn't think it would be fair to keep you around and lead you on, because I knew that's what I was doing, and it wasn't helping. And it wasn't right. It wouldn't have been fair to you. But in the end you ended up hurting anyway, even though I'd hoped that my distancing myself would be less painful than a bitter break-up. Not to be pessimistic. Just…realistic. Relationships don't last for a lot of reasons. Now I'm rambling."

Emily almost regretted demanding an explanation. Everything he said was nothing really unique to what she'd already thought she had figured out. But hearing the words come out of his mouth, especially when he said he'd wanted to be with her, made their predicament far more real. Hotch was looking at her in anticipation, and then with a frown. Suddenly she realized her mouth was downturned as well. She quickly picked it back up. "Okay." She went through Hotch's explanation a couple of times in her head, and on the second run-through she realized that Hotch had said he knew she wanted him. She wasn't sure whether she was upset with him for putting words in her mouth or for still leaving her despite knowing about her feelings.

"Any other…reaction?"

"Yeah. Why did you completely cut me off? I mean, when you make a change to any sort of relationship, don't you think it's your responsibility to adjust to maintain order? Because you never outright said to me that you didn't want me in your life. You said you were retiring and you'd still be around. But you weren't."

"I thought that was what you meant by me leaving. That I didn't stick around like I'd said I would. I retired because I thought that would allow for some distance between us, and because I was ready to. I wanted to spend more time with Jack, so I wanted a nine to five. I left—cut you off—because I panicked. I had no idea what I was doing, or how much it would affect you. I underestimated how much of an impact it would have on you. I'm more sorry than I can say, Emily."

Emily's lips rolled inward and she nodded slowly. "I know you're sorry."

"Can I be honest about one more thing?" Hotch asked. Emily nodded again. "I know you've said before that you forgave me for walking out, but I don't think you really have. And I'm not mad about that. I can't blame you. If I were you I would still be angry at me. Are you?"

"I'm not angry," Emily said with a sigh. "I can understand why you did it. And while you didn't handle things in the best way, your intentions were somewhat noble, and it was a long time ago. And maybe it's just me, but…the last couple of days have felt almost like what we used to have."

"It's not just you," Hotch said.

Emily gave a half-hearted smile. "I don't think we can do this family thing effectively if you feel like your mistakes are being held over your head. I don't want you to feel that way. I know that you're sorry, and if I were in your shoes I would have been fed up with me a long time ago. I've given you too hard a time."

"Emily, you do realize it hasn't even been a full week since we started talking again, don't you?"

Emily furrowed her brow. "Wow. It seems like a lot longer."

"It does. But trust me, you haven't given me too hard a time. I've deserved every bit of it."

"Then why are you pushing for my forgiveness?" Emily joked.

"Because I'm selfish."

"I was kidding. You're right. I haven't been fair. I want to be now. I honestly do forgive you. Let's forget it happened."

Hotch smiled. "Thank you. I want you to be able to trust me. I know I made a hard thing even harder for you when I left. I know you had trust issues already. I—"

"Stop. I don't want to talk about that," Emily said. "And not in a not-being-honest-with-you kind of way. You already know all of this. There's no reason to rehash it. Let's just…move on. No more apologizing, let's just…forget where we've been and figure out where we're going."

Hotch set his beer down on the coffee table and cracked his knuckles while he thought. "Yes. Let's figure out where we're going."

Emily swallowed and twirled her beer bottle in her hands, inspecting the threading around the neck.

"Easier said than done, isn't it?" Hotch asked.

Emily laughed under her breath and glanced at Hotch, who was staring straight at her. "Yeah."

They both remained silent until a knock sounded at the door a few seconds later. "We expecting someone?" Hotch asked.

"Not that I know of." Emily got up to answer the door and Hotch felt the inexplicable need to follow her. An unfamiliar silhouette stood outside the door.

"Social worker," Emily muttered gravely.

"You think so?" Hotch asked before opening the door.

"Mr. Hotchner?" said a petite, forty-something bespectacled brunette in a business suit and carrying a briefcase.

"Yes?"

"I'm Karen Green, with Social Services."

"Right, come in, please." Hotch opened the storm door and welcomed their guest inside.

"You're Ms. Prentiss, I take it?" Karen said, holding out a hand to Emily, who smiled.

"That's me. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise…Mr. Hotchner," she said offering her hand to Hotch. "I apologize for coming by unannounced, but as you know, that's the agreement."

"Of course," Emily said. "Come on in. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you." Karen smiled and followed Hotch into the living room.

"Oh," Hotch said, spotting the beers he and Emily had left behind. "We were—"

"Having a beer," Karen said with some amusement. "It's not a crime."

"Good. Have a seat, please," Hotch said. Karen took the chair, so Hotch and Emily took the couch.

"First of all, I'm sorry my visit is so late. I usually try not to come after seven so I can see the children, but I was running behind on my last case. I assume they're already in bed? I don't hear a peep," Karen said as she took a leather portfolio from her briefcase and opened it up.

"All sound asleep," Hotch confirmed.

An impressed look crossed the social worker's face. "Three children—as I understand it—all in bed by eight? I can't even do that with my only daughter. The third child is yours, correct?" she asked Hotch.

"Yes."

"Five year old named…Jack?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How is he getting along with Henry and Charlotte?"

"Pretty well. He and Henry are sharing a room and they've been playing together. Jack hasn't shown much interest in Charlotte, but I didn't really expect him to. And it's better than him acting out in jealousy."

Karen nodded vaguely and directed her attention toward Emily. "Anything you'd like to add to that?"

"I think he covered everything," Emily said.

"All right. Both Henry and Charlotte are healthy? Sleeping well?" Hotch and Emily both nodded. "Has Henry been asking questions?"

"Not really," Emily piped in. "He's always been a pretty quiet, easy-going kid. He seems to be taking it in stride."

"Very well. As I understand it, this is your home, Mr. Hotchner?"

"Aaron, please. Yes, it is."

"So you've moved in, Ms. Prentiss?"

"Yes, ma'am. I just finished unpacking today."

"Then for now I only have a couple more questions. And in an uncommon situation like this, they're uncomfortable in nature, so forgive me. What type of relationship do you have with one another?"

Hotch and Emily reflexively turned their heads toward each other, but quickly glanced back at Karen. "We're friends," Emily said before Hotch could even formulate a thought.

"And you were friends before this?"

"Yes," Emily answered.

"Do you foresee this friendship becoming something more?"

"I'm sorry," Emily said. "With all due respect, why does that matter?"

"Because the children are recently orphaned. They're already adjusting to a new life. Dating brings a level of unpredictability to the table that could complicate things further for the children if the relationship were to end."

"Well, we don't plan on having that kind of a relationship," Emily said matter-of-factly. Hotch's heart dropped to his knees at hearing her say this. Even if she was just trying to get the social worker off their backs, it hurt to know that she could say something like that with such ease.

"Good. One more thing. Could I get a tour of the house and chat a little more with you?"

"Of course. Follow me," Hotch said, rising.

—

"Was that the scariest moment of your life, too?" Emily said after a deep sigh once they had seen the social worker out of the house.

"It's up there," Hotch said gravely.

"The whole time, I was trying to figure out what she was thinking, worried that she was going to snatch the kids up and leave," she said as she walked back into the living room and reclaimed her seat. "Oh my God," she groaned, stretching out and grabbing her beer. "I might need another one of these in a few."

"No kidding." Only one thing was on Hotch's mind, and he eyed Emily furtively as she stared off across the room; he wondered if the same question was plaguing her.

"I'm sorry for answering for both of us," she said after a minute.

"About what? The friends thing?" Hotch asked, trying to act oblivious.

Emily bought his act. "Yeah," she said, looking at him again. "But I knew that if I said we were considering a relationship, that would flag us. I couldn't risk that."

"Of course." The rock that had slowly formed in Hotch's stomach became a little lighter. Maybe she had just been trying to appease Karen. "Do we want to start where we left off, then?"

"Yeah, I guess."

After another awkward silence, Hotch realized Emily wasn't going to start, so he did. "So…where are we going with this? Are we calling it friends-only, permanently, or leaving things…subject to change?"

The fact that Hotch was even offering up the second option sent Emily's mind reeling, but once she came back to Earth and thought clearly, she knew she couldn't let her emotions decide for her. "I think we need to be more clear than we have been." She eyed Hotch apologetically before continuing. "First and foremost, this is about the kids. Karen was right. If we had already been involved when we got the kids, then it would be different. But to start a relationship would run the risk of the kids losing one of us in the end if we were to split." Emily felt hot tears stinging behind her eyes. Was she really speaking so easily about this? Had they both come to an agreement that they wanted to be together, and was she stomping down that idea? "And to be honest, I'm still a little scared of what might happen to us if we took that step. What we have right now is good. Right?" She was glad to be done speaking so she could focus her energy on refraining from betraying her emotions any further.

Hotch's lips were stretched into a thin line, and he looked at his feet while he nodded. "Yeah. What we have right now is good." He'd done what he could. Emily certainly had to know by now that he still had feelings for her. He'd just confessed to having them before he'd left, and he'd verbalized the potential for them to have a relationship in the future. He'd been honest. He hadn't thrown that ever-important word in the mix like he had a couple of months ago when talking to JJ, but that wasn't necessary, he convinced himself. He didn't need to explain himself further, to quantify how much he cared for her. She knew he was interested. And she had turned him down. But for reasons completely understandable, he had to remind himself. She was completely right—this was about the children, not them.

"Hooray for eternal singlehood," Emily hummed into the neck of her bottle.

Hotch tipped his own bottle to Emily, raised his eyebrows in feigned amusement, and drank. "I know it's early, but I think I'm going to turn in," Hotch said. "Want another beer while I'm up?"

"Eh, I'm not much into drinking alone," Emily said, following him into the kitchen. "Are we okay?"

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked as he turned on the tap to rinse their empties.

"I mean, did we cover everything? Are there any gray areas left?"

"Everything seems pretty clear to me. Goodnight." He grinned with little spirit and exited the kitchen. Emily just hugged her stomach and leaned against the counter. She'd fully expected to walk away from this conversation with peace of mind, but she had gotten anything but. Thinking back on how awfully she'd handled Hotch's absence over the last several months, about how immature and inflexible she'd been, she realized how long it had been since she'd made adult decisions. Letting the man she loved walk away, possibly thinking she didn't want him, was the right thing to do for the kids, she knew. But the selfish, childish part of her cried out in hunger. She eventually slid down to the floor and buried her face in her hands, waiting for the onslaught of tears. But it never came. Twenty minutes later, she gave up on the day and headed to bed. Hotch's door was half-open and she could see a soft lamplight casting a shadow. She knew she could go to bed now, sleep on things, and wake up knowing she'd made the right decision. But how much sleep would she actually get? She continued past her room and to Hotch's, knocking on the door.

"Yeah," he said. Emily stepped inside and saw Hotch under the covers, a book in front of him. He took off his reading glasses, holding his place in his book with his thumb. "Hey. You okay?" Emily realized that although she hadn't cried, she looked far from at ease.

"Yeah." Emily leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms, not sure if she should say anything, but really wanting to. "Aaron, I just want you to know that if things were different…" She paused and looked in on Charlotte, sleeping a couple of feet away, it being Hotch's turn that night. "If we could be selfish…I would…"

"I know," Hotch said quietly. "Me too." He got a few seconds' eye contact with the object of his affections before she smiled longingly at him and said goodnight again.

A/N: Please leave a review and let me know what you think, even if you're angry ;) Thanks for reading!