A/N: Some more opportunity for bonding time after the episode 3x13.

Late January 2008

Winter could go bury itself in the mud.

It wasn't that Emily didn't enjoy the annual snowfalls and sipping on hot chocolate in bed, it was more the lack of sunlight, iciness and shorter days that had her in a sour mood. The cold repeatedly brought with it a gloomy cloud that loomed over her everywhere she went. And no matter how many coffees she drunk, gym sessions she attended or even date nights with Devon; Emily just couldn't shake away the misery of her winter blues.

To make matters worse, Emily felt like she hadn't been home for weeks. Literally, she had been bouncing from city to town to suburbia, investigating unsubs young and old. Work had strained her relationship with Devon, to the point where every date night ended up cut short because of some urgent case across the country. Add 'that time of the month' to the mix, and the brunette had turned into an overly emotional wreck, with unexpected tears threatening to burst out of nowhere every five minutes for no apparent reason.

Emily felt terrible because she'd unintentionally snapped at Morgan and Reid multiple times over the last few days over the pettiest things. They passionately debated while she wrote reports, waged stupid bets she didn't care about, and not to mention Reid's endless rambling of useless statistics.

All she wanted to do was be alone, curl up into a ball and sob in peace.

Deciding that she wanted to retire home early, Emily packed up for the day and raced out into the elevator lobby, yelling, "hold it open!"

Hotch heard the command and immediately stuck his hand between the closing doors, wincing as the door crushed his hand momentarily. He smiled though as Prentiss slipped in, apologising profusely for his hand.

"Don't worry about it," he reassured as the brunette caught her breath.

Everybody on the team knew something had gotten under Prentiss' skin over the last few days. Her snappy behaviour towards Morgan and Reid was uncharacteristically like her. And he could have sworn the coffee sachets in the kitchen were empty every couple of hours due to her high consumption of coffee.

Then, on their breaks walking through downtown D.C, Hotch had noticed Prentiss' subdued and quiet nature around him. Usually, they found a topic to discuss not concerning work and share a few laughs. But each time Hotch tried to bring up a conversation, the woman would only reply with short answers, killing an opportunity for discussion instantly. Hotch assumed she must have wanted some peace and quiet, and he could hardly blame her for it. An open concept bullpen like the one at the BAU didn't provide much silence or privacy for that sake.

Hotch believed with time that Prentiss would regain her energy and bounce back to her usual self. But as he observed the woman beside him in the elevator with a slightly tired expression, he knew there was more to her mood than just craving peace and quiet. It was also abnormal of her to be leaving work early.

"Everything okay?" he asked concerned, noting her almost drifting off whilst standing. Hotch knew the look all too well as he flashed back to his days right after Haley had left with Jack.

His words startled Emily- who had adjusted to the elevator's slow humming- and Hotch immediately apologised, not intending to scare the woman to death. She struggled for words, not knowing exactly how she would explain her situation to Hotch. So, she stayed silent, just shaking her head. And that was all Hotch needed to know that things weren't right.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Emily readjusted the go-bag on her shoulder that felt as heavy as concrete and cleared her throat. "I don't wanna be a burden, Hotch. I know you've got things you need to do-"

"They can wait," Hotch interrupted, wanting more than anything to know what was bothering the woman. Yes, the paperwork was climbing by the minute, but it always was. And the least he could do was be there for Prentiss and help her through whatever hardship she happened to be experiencing.

The brunette scoffed, "I don't think you'll wanna know. It's all so stupid."

He noted the squeak in her voice at the end of the sentence, and Hotch just wanted to hold her in his arms. But he couldn't do that. "If it's causing you grief, it's not stupid…" Hotch whispered quietly.

Emily glanced up for a moment, trying her darndest to keep the emotion at bay. He had no idea how much validation that sentence gave her, and in that moment, she remembered Hotch telling her after she joined the team that she could talk to him about anything. So, Emily stood there for a moment, wondering if she should just run off home and cry all night in the bathtub, or actually stay and open up to Hotch.

She made eye contact, and Hotch could see the lustre in her dark eyes. "It doesn't have to be here," Hotch added, "We could go out for a drink if you wanted." Perhaps being away from the office would help cheer her up, and Hotch knew that alcohol would undoubtedly help her case.

Was she dreaming? Did Hotch actually just invite her out for a drink because he could see she felt miserable? Furrowing her brow, she asked, "aren't we both still technically at work?"

"Technically, yes. We are. But what's the harm in leaving an hour earlier than usual?" As long as nobody else on the team narked to Strauss, Hotch figured the two of them could get away with it.

Even though Emily felt like she could fall apart at any second, the idea of chatting to Hotch over a drink slowly grew on her. So, she quirked a brow and shrugged her sluggish shoulders, "alright." It wasn't like she had anything better to do anyway.

Hotch stood there surprised for a few seconds, not expecting the brunette to take up the offer. He sent a sad smile in her direction, and she followed him out into the carpark.

It wasn't until Emily reached his car that she realised he was carrying his laptop bag, "Oh my, how did I not even realise? Were you planning on going somewhere? Because I certainly don't want you to feel compelled to go for a drink with me." As she thought more and more about it, Hotch never left work this early either. Not unless it was some sort of family emergency.

"Just home," Hotch replied sharply. "I have Jack for the night, so I decided I'd leave early to get some chores done before he comes, but it can wait."

Emily couldn't help but smile sweetly with tears bulging at her eyes. Firstly, at Hotch dropping his plans to spend some time with her, and secondly at Jack spending time with his dad. The woman knew Hotch had been missing the little guy. "That's so kind of you, Hotch."

"Any place, in particular, you want to go?" Hotch asked as he closed the trunk. The brunette shrugged. There were a few good places here and there, but right now she preferred somewhere with a quiet ambience. "I think I know a place…"

After following Hotch to a quiet tavern in town, Emily made herself at home in a cosy booth. The environment was just what she craved with gentle music humming in the background and barely any background chatter. Hotch walked over two minutes later carrying a beer for himself and a cider for Emily. Immediately, she put some money on the table, and Hotch rolled his eyes.

"Really, Prentiss, there is no need. It's all on me." He pushed the money back towards her, but Emily retorted it back.

"Oh, please just take the goddamn note, Hotch. You've already paid for enough of my coffees, and you've gone out of your way to have a drink with me."

Had it been any other day where the woman wasn't so sensitive, Hotch would have simply refused to take her money. But every five minutes he could see she was on the verge of bawling her eyes out, and the last thing he wanted was to upset her, so Hotch took the money, shoving it into his back pocket.

"Thanks, by the way," Emily said as she twirled the glass in her hand.

"For what?"

Emily glanced into her drink, "for looking out for me... I appreciate it."

Hotch nodded, sipping his drink before placing it back down. "What's been going on?"

The emotion inside started to build up again, so Emily took a shaky breath and squeezed her hands between the seat and her thighs. It was a behaviour that helped combat her horrid fingernail biting habit. "You ever have days where… You just feel sad, for no reason at all?"

The man cocked his head to one side with his brow furrowed in concern. After a while, he nodded slowly. "All the time." Hotch struggled to remember a day within the last year, where he truly felt happy. With the divorce, missing out on milestones with Jack and then, of course, the loss and horrors that came with the job, it always felt difficult seeing through the dark clouds.

Emily bit the inside of her cheek before saying, "I should have everything to be grateful for. A home. A job. Friends… Everything has just been hard lately."

"How so?" Hotch egged on.

"All these people I meet every day… Unsubs, victims, grieving families… Whoever. They've all experienced this unimaginable agony. And… There's always this voice in the back of my head telling me that I have the perfect life, that I'm not allowed to feel pain or feel sad. Because the truth is… Whatever sadness I'm feeling will never amount to the pain they're feeling."

Hotch nodded slowly while Emily continued, "A mother couldn't attend her son's graduation because she was electrocuted to death. And here I am in a wreck because it's been snowing every day. Another man is grieving his wife because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I felt sad because I couldn't take a joke or listen to a stupid fact from Reid- "

"Emily."

It was rare to hear him call her by her given name. She glanced up, not realising that tears were freely flowing. Everything just seemed to have snowballed out. Quickly, Emily wiped away the rivers, "I'm sorry, I'm rambling."

"No." Hotch stated with his concerned eyes staring her down, "I want you to know that whatever sadness you are feeling is valid."

"But it's so stupid, Hotch- "

"You forget that you inadvertently take home the burdens of these people every day. All of us do. This is the one job where you can't escape it." She looked so lost, and it was a sight that Hotch pained to see. "You're right… People can be going through the worst times of their lives, and our miseries don't seem anywhere near as bad as theirs. It doesn't mean we're not allowed to feel sad, though."

Pursing her lips together, the brunette nodded.

"Deep down, I think you want people to see you as this strong, emotionless person. You don't have to be that person, Emily. You're allowed to have bad days. To be vulnerable. It's what makes us human."

Well, Hotch had definitely crushed the nail into the coffin. Emily took her first sip of the drink, letting its bliss spill into her. Whatever wall stood holding her emotions, Hotch had completely shredded apart. There was nowhere else to hide, no other protection. Here she was… Completely vulnerable, yet in a sense, so much stronger than she was before.

For the first time in a few days, he saw Emily give a genuine smile through her tears, and Hotch could only assume that whatever sadness she felt had somewhat lifted. "Thankyou…" The brunette barely whispered; it was all she really could say.

Hotch glanced over at the brunette standing there, making eye contact with her reflection in the drink. Out of the blue, she asked, "How are things with Haley?"

She figured things weren't going well. Hotch had removed his wedding ring, and anybody could tell from the numbed expression on his face that the divorce was slowly eating away at him. The man shrugged, "right now, we are just trying to figure out what's best for Jack…"

Emily nodded, "of course. How do you think he's finding it all?"

As he readjusted his position in the booth, Hotch answered, "considering I haven't been around him much in the past few months, I don't think he's noticed anything out of the ordinary. Neither Haley nor I have tried explaining it to him. How do you tell a 2-year-old about divorce?" The question had rattled Hotch for weeks, and there just seemed to be no possible answer.

Hotch's expression looked so sad, and all Emily could do was take another sip of her drink, "The answer will come to you at the right moment."

"Some irrational part of me still thinks I can change Haley's mind about the papers, but I know that's unlikely. She's already made up her mind."

"To life being sucky," Emily said, holding up her glass. She clinked it with Hotch's- who nearly had demolished his entire drink. "What do you have planned with Jack tonight?"

In a rare moment, Hotch let out a dimpled smile as he thought about his son. "He absolutely loves the spiderman movies, so we'll probably watch that."

Part of Emily still couldn't believe that she hadn't met Jack yet. Everything she'd heard about him made her want to meet him even more. She let out a tiny chuckle, "well… I'm delighted you get to spend some time with him."

"What about you? Everything okay with Devon?"

She cleared her throat, "If I'm honest, it's been hard. We keep making plans to go out on the weekend, but… A case always gets in the way, so we have to keep postponing."

Aaron slowly nodded, "that's the job, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately."

Hotch shot a glance down at his watch and decided that he needed to get going. He was already in Haley's bad books and picking Jack up late would definitely send him to the sandbox. After paying the bill, they walked outside into the cold and Emily started shivering.

"Thanks for everything Hotch… I was just gonna go home and cry for the rest of the night probably, but… I really needed this."

"Don't mention it." He walked Emily to her car in silence.

"I'll see you on Monday… Have a great night with Jack."

He smiled slightly, "thanks, Prentiss… Take it easy tonight okay?" A severe dead expression formed on his face, which made Emily roll her eyes. It wasn't like she planned on hitting the clubs. Well… Another cider in the fridge was calling her name. That was about as much partying as she felt like.

"Aww," She pouted. "I was planning on going to a night club and staying there till 5am." Her sarcasm made Hotch shake his head. She was definitely back to her old self.

"Goodnight Prentiss…" He muttered, walking away to his car.

As the woman drove off, and he jumped into the driver's seat, Hotch took a moment to breathe. It would take him ages to process what he and Prentiss had discussed, along with seeing the woman so incredibly vulnerable.

Hotch could have sworn he felt butterflies linger in the deep pits of his gut as he inserted the key into the ignition.

A/N: Please leave those reviews and let me know what you thought! Appreciate your support!