A/N: Well, this is it. I really can't believe it. There's a longer A/N at the end, so just enjoy the chapter. =)
BAU High School
Epilogue
2033
"Emily! Are you almost ready? We have to go!" thirty-nine year old Aaron Hotchner yelled up the stairs. A quick glance at his watch told him they were running very late.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Emily Hotchner called back, hurrying down the stairs. She came to a stop at the bottom. "Oh, you can't be serious."
"What?" Aaron asked nervously.
"Aaron, sweetie, it's a little get-together. At Coach Rossi's. Why are you wearing a suit?"
"Why do you still call him coach? He's been retired for a few years."
"Oh, come on, like you don't think of him as your coach. And stop distracting me! What's with the suit?"
Aaron sighed. "Because I just came from work and didn't have enough time to change."
"How long have you been home?"
"Fifteen minutes," he said.
Emily's mouth fell open. "Why didn't you change then?"
"I was under the impression we would be leaving right away, plus I had to get Jack ready," Aaron said patiently.
"Where is he anyway?" asked Emily suddenly.
"Last I saw him he was watching a cartoon."
"Okay, well, I'm gonna go load some things into the car. Why don't you run upstairs and change? The team will love seeing you dressed casually."
"They've seen me dressed casually," Aaron said defensively as his wife began to walk to the kitchen.
"Not since college," she replied smartly. Aaron rolled his eyes before chasing after her. Grabbing her from behind, he spun her around and kissed her.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi to you too," Emily laughed. "How was work?"
"Fine," he sighed. "There haven't been any cases lately, though JJ thinks there's a big one coming from Santa Fe. It's all a matter of them asking us."
"That's good, I guess. Has there been any, uh, talk about that promotion?"
"Em, come on."
"What?" she asked innocently. "You've worked your butt off in that department for nine years, and you deserve to be Unit Chief."
Aaron kissed her again. "We'll talk later. We're running late," he reminded her.
"Right. Go change." She patted his shoulders, and he grinned and hurried off. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the bowl of salad from the fridge.
"Jack? Honey, we have to go. Turn the TV off," Emily told her six-year-old son. A moment later he came bounding into the room.
"We're going to Uncle Dave's?" he asked excitedly.
"Yep, so go get into the car," Aaron said from the doorway. Jack let out a cheer before running from the room.
Emily gave her husband a casual once over. "Much better." He looked handsome as always in a dark blue polo shirt and dark jeans.
"I figured you'd approve." He took the bowl from her hands and ushered her out the back door. "Now did I mention we're late?"
Twenty minutes later, the Hotchners' Jeep pulled into Rossi's driveway. The Morgans' car was already there, though Spencer and JJ weren't.
"Hey, look who finally showed up," Derek Morgan teased as soon as they entered the large house.
"How are you here before us?" asked Emily. "You and Aaron work at the same place."
"You know Hotch," Penelope Morgan said good-naturedly from where she stood next to her husband. "He needs to make sure all his work is done."
Emily sent her husband a mock-glare. "And you were yelling at me for being late?"
"I love you," he said sweetly, pressing a kiss to her lips.
"Ew!" Jack yelled. "Gross!"
"That's right, little man," Derek said. "Kissing is very, very gross." He winked at Penelope. "Hey, Jack, do you wanna go play outside?"
"Yeah!" Derek picked Jack up and exited the room. Just as he was leaving, Rossi was coming in.
"Hey! There's my favorite football player!" He gave Aaron and hug before giving Emily one as well.
"God, I haven't played football in years."
"It's a shame," Rossi said with a shake of his head. "You could've been great."
"Eh, I like my job now," Aaron said with a smile.
"And you're good at it!" Penelope said. "Rumor has it that you're next in line for Unit Chief!"
"And that's all it is," Aaron replied firmly. "A rumor."
"You don't know that," Emily chided, nudging his arm playfully.
Aaron opened his mouth to respond when another voice chimed in. "Yeah, Hotch, you really don't know."
Turning his head, Aaron caught a glimpse of the remaining two members of their team. Spencer and Jennifer Reid (they still called her JJ) walked into the room. In JJ's arms was their three-year-old son Henry.
"You don't even know what we're talking about," Aaron retorted. He still loved teasing JJ like an older brother. Her sister had passed away a few years ago, and he knew JJ needed some form of sibling love.
"I do, too," she fired back. "You're saying how you don't think you're going to be Unit Chief."
"Oh, is he still on that?" Derek moaned from the doorway. Henry spotted Jack behind Derek, and squirmed in JJ's arms. She set him down and watched him totter off.
"Yes," everyone chorused. Aaron frowned.
"I just don't want to get my hopes up," he said slowly.
Spencer nudged JJ. "Tell him."
"Now? But it's more fun watching him underestimate himself."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what?"
A smiled spread across JJ's face. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the BAU's new Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner."
Aaron's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open slightly. They hadn't seen him look this shocked since high school.
"You're kidding."
"That would be a mean joke," Spencer said lightly. "Congratulations, Hotch."
Everyone else yelled their congratulations, and Aaron spun around to face his wife. She was smiling at him proudly.
"Wow," he whispered.
"I know," she said. "Congrats, sweetie." She gave him a hug. "I'm so proud of you."
"I always knew you were destined for greatness," Rossi said with a slight smirk. Aaron raised an eyebrow.
"Two seconds ago you were telling me I would've been great at football."
"Eh, football player, federal agent, what's the difference?" Rossi joked. "You're still taking people out."
"Only now it's legitimate bad guys," Penelope said quietly. The group fell silent at the reminder, but brightened considerably when Jack and Henry ran into the room begging to play soccer. They all trooped out into Rossi's ginormous yard, and JJ grabbed an old ball from the backseat of her car. Soccer ran in the family, for Henry enjoyed kicking the ball around. Jack even played the sport with his dad as his coach. Aaron had immediately enlisted his former coach to assist.
It seemed like the nickname Rossi gave them in high school came true. They were now an actual team in the FBI: The Behavioral Analysis Unit. It was the same one Gideon was a part of years ago, and he put in glowing recommendations for all of them. Emily had been a part of the team for a few years before resigning when Jack was born. JJ was still their media liaison, but she didn't travel with them. Penelope was their Technical Analyst, leaving Spencer, Derek, and Aaron as the profilers.
Though other teams may need another member, this team worked perfectly with what they had. It was most likely due to the way they had known each other since high school. They had been best friends then, and they were still best friends now.
After a few games, everyone retreated into Rossi's dining room to eat dinner. Emily and JJ prepared plates for their sons, and when everyone was settled Rossi stood up holding a wine glass in his hand.
"I love these little get-togethers," he started. "It gives me the opportunity to see my favorite students all grown up." He gave them all a proud smile. "It's been twenty-one years since you graduated, and it's like nothing changed. To me, you're still those teenagers that defied the school's expectations for them. You made new friends and found love." He smiled at the various couples sitting around the table. "That high school was never the same after you left."
"You're going to make me cry," Penelope sniffed. Everyone chuckled a bit, and Derek kissed her on the cheek.
"Alright, I'll get on with it." Rossi raised his glass in the air. "To old friends and new ones." He grinned at Jack and Henry. "Cheers."
Later that night, after they got home from Rossi's, Aaron sat downstairs on the couch. Emily was tucking Jack into bed at the moment, leaving Aaron to his thoughts. Going to his former coach's house always brought back memories, and this night in particular prompted him to dig out his old yearbook. He was flipping through the pages when Emily came back downstairs.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked, settling onto the couch next to him. He automatically wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.
"Just reliving some memories," he said softly. Turning the page, his eyes fell on a picture of the football team. There he was, number 7, sitting in the front row.
"You were so cute back then," Emily murmured.
"Oh, really? What about now?" he teased.
"Eh, so-so." At her husband's indignant look she kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, come on, you know I'm kidding. You've gotten even more handsome with age."
"Yeah, whatever," Aaron huffed, though the small smile on his face told Emily he wasn't hurt. He sighed as he gazed at the picture. "I was so young."
"We all were. Spencer more than others." They both laughed at that, and Aaron flicked through a few more pages before landing on one dedicated to prom. There was a picture of the two of them with the caption "Prom King and Queen." They were dancing together, completely ignoring the outside world. Aaron kissed Emily on the top of her head, and she slipped her hand into his.
"You know," she said quietly, "When I first lay eyes on you in Chemistry, I thought you were the cutest boy I had ever seen."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Then you blew me off after class," Aaron groaned at that, "and I wondered why all the jerks were so cute."
"You did not."
"Did, too," she said lightly. They were silent for a moment before Aaron spoke.
"I'm sorry about that."
"You already apologized several times."
"… Sorry."
Emily laughed and took the book from his hands. She placed it on the coffee table in front of them and kissed him. His hands went to her hair, and she fisted his shirt. After a moment she pulled away.
"I love you," she whispered. "I've loved you ever since you manned up and apologized all those years ago."
"I've loved you since you sat down next to me in Chemistry," he said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Really?"
"Yes, really," he replied with a smile. "You changed my life that day."
"So did you."
Aaron let out a content sigh. "Who knew high school could be so life-changing?"
Emily laughed and laid her head on his chest. "I know I didn't."
Aaron kissed her head and wrapped his arms securely around her. "Me neither. But I'm glad it is."
Emily thought back to that year. Who would've thought that that boy in Chemistry who was a jerk to her at first would be her husband?
"Me too," she whispered. "Me too."
THE END
A/N 2: Oh boy... I'm getting emotional over here. This has been an amazing journey for me. I never thought this story would actually be finished, and I never thought it would get the reception it has. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Thank you for your kind reviews, and for following and favoriting this story. You guys are amazing.
I know a lot of people want a sequel, and I make no promises, but if it's still wanted after my NCIS/CM crossover, I MAY do one. =) If enough people want me to, I'll write little tie-in one-shots every now and then. =)
So, once again, thank you SO MUCH for your support. Please leave one last review (and please be nice). =) =)
THANK YOU!
