Nothing had changed between Hotch and I at work, thankfully. We were still friends; we weren't different in the field. I was worried about it, because what if I had become attached, just because he was someone I could lean on and rely on. Thank god it didn't turn out that way. It was an extremely good night we had together, but we agreed the next morning that it was only a one-time thing. I was grateful that we were on the same page in that aspect.

Now it had been four weeks. I had seen the therapist a few times, and our last session she told me that I should go on a date with someone I was interested in. I was a bit uncomfortable with the thought of going out with anyone that wasn't the team, but then one of the guys from counterintelligence had asked me out for dinner tonight. After hesitating, I accepted his invitation. He asked if he could pick me up but I told him I would meet him at the restaurant. I gave him my personal number so he could let me know where and when, and then I went back upstairs to our bullpen.

The day was extremely slow with paperwork flowing through. I worked fast so I could ask Hotch if I could go an hour early. At about half-past three, I went up to Hotch's office with the files in my hand. I knocked and awaited permission to enter, and then I smiled at him as I walked in. I handed him the files and he thanked me quietly. He saw that I didn't leave and looked back at me, "Yes?" He asked.

"So I finished early, could I please leave at four?"

His eyes narrowed, "What do you have planned?"

"Zach Casey from counterintelligence asked me out tonight."

I saw a smile hint at his lips, "You can go now. Call me if you need anything or if you don't feel safe with him."

I smiled, "Thank you." I closed his office door behind me and smiled at Rossi when I passed him on the catwalk steps. I began to gather my things quietly, trying not to draw the other's attention. JJ gave me a questioning look as I turned my computer off but I smiled and brushed off her look as I said a quick goodbye and left.

The drive home was quicker than usual as I bet the peak traffic. When I got inside, I showered and washed my hair, blow-dried and curled my hair, and then headed for my closet to search for a dress. As soon as I walked in, my eyes caught the short black dress. I felt tears prick my eyes and I grabbed it quickly, taking it off the hanger and throwing it into the trashcan in my ensuite. I went back to the closet and searched for a dress that didn't seem too enticing, but still nice. I found a high-cut red dress that went down to my knees and had three-quarter sleeves. I lay it on my bed before starting my makeup.

Entering the restaurant, I saw him already seated with two glasses of champagne. I smiled to myself lightly as I assessed his body language. He was nervous. I headed over and touched his shoulder to announce my presence. He stood with a smile, kissing my cheek lightly before walking around and pulling out the chair opposite his for me.

We decided to split an appetizer, and I picked a meal on the cheaper side after he insisted that he would be paying. The conversation was easy, although it mostly revolved around work. After we finished eating and finished the champagne, he seemed to get nervous again. He wouldn't meet my eyes and the conversation slowed.

"Zach, just say it." I saw that he wanted to ask me something.

"I will in no way be offended if you say no, but do you maybe want to get out of here?" He met my eyes now. I hesitated and felt a wave of panic wash over me. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and he spoke again before I could, "You look like that is the last thing you want to do."

"No, you just caught me off guard, is all. Your place or mine?" I forced a smile and stood when he did. He paid the bill and guided me out with a hand on my lower back. We went and got in a cab, and he gave the driver his address. I felt my phone buzz under my hand in my clutch and I got it out, checking the text from Hotch.

"All good?"

I replied quickly, telling him I was okay, and then I zipped my phone back into the clutch. When I met his eyes in the back of the cab, he glanced at my lips before he lifted a hand and brushed a few strands of hair behind my ear. He kissed me softly and I closed my eyes, taking a moment before reciprocating. Once we got into his house we became more heated and I had to fight myself not to push him off me when he lay me back on his bed.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly as he began to play with the hem of my g-string. I nodded and closed my eyes as he removed it and kissed down my body.

We got called into work early this morning for a case. I tried to leave without waking Zach, although he was a light sleeper, as it turned out. He asked why I was leaving and I explained it was work. He understood easy enough. I kissed him before slipping out of his bedroom and making my way through his house. I stopped dead in my tracks in the living room when I saw a little girl drawing at the table. "Hi." She whispered to me.

"…Hi."

"My mummy dropped me off early, so I'm drawing until daddy gets up." She smiled.

I nodded, "Okay, well I've got go. Bye!" I smiled at her and left quickly. I stopped once I closed the front door behind me, shaking my head, and then continued down the path.

"You're late." JJ joked as I walked into the conference room.

"Sorry." I knew I looked flustered.

"Had sex last night, huh?" Morgan asked with a smirk.

I looked at him, "Excuse me?"

"It's in your body language." Thank god Hotch and Rossi weren't in here yet.

They asked me question after question, all of which I tried to avoid. Eventually, I gave in. "No, I won't be seeing him again. Why, you ask? Because I asked him if he had any kids and he said no, and then when I left his place this morning, there was a little girl no older than five sitting at the coffee table drawing. She told me that her mummy dropped her off early so she was waiting for her daddy to wake up. No one else was in that house. He lied to me about having a kid."

"Maybe he thought that if you knew he had a daughter that you might not give him a chance."

"If you have to lie about having a kid in order to have a chance then why would you want that person around?"

"So if he had told you that he had a daughter, you would still have slept with him?" Garcia asked.

"Yes. Hotch has a son and I slept with him. I might have even gone on a second date, but not now." I heard Hotch and Rossi walk in at the end of my sentence.

"Wait, hold up," Morgan put his hand up, "You slept with Hotch?"

My eyes widened and I shook my head, "No." I heard him sigh as he sat down. I looked at him. He gave me a pointed look with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry."

"I feel replaced." Morgan joked. The team knew we had slept together on several occasions, mostly because those occasions were after team outings, so they all saw us leaving together, even kissing sometimes.

"Well you said no," I raised my eyebrows, "I don't like being rejected."

"You weren't ready." He said matter-of-factly.

"Hotch didn't seem to think so." I shot back. I was so lucky to be so close to the team that no one was bothered by the fact that I slept with my field partner or my boss. We all knew that nothing would change, that it meant nothing.

"I'm uncomfortable." Reid said quickly.

"Yep, case." I turned to Garcia and saw her smiling at me. She snapped out of it and got to presenting us with the case.

We spent five days in Minnesota before returning this afternoon. We got some urgent paperwork out of the way before the seven of us made our way down to the parking garage together. The case had a good ending, we had saved the mother and her two children, and now we were eager to get home and celebrate on our own.

I got to my car first, and I stopped walking when I saw Mick leaning against the bonnet. The team stood behind me before JJ made them keep moving. "Have a good night." She said to me quietly as they continued on to their cars. I felt them looking back as I took a breath and continued forwards. I walked around to the driver's side and unlocked the car. I threw my bag into the back and opened my door, but he held it closed, now standing beside me.

"What?" I looked at him.

"I thought you didn't date, and then I heard you went to dinner and then home with Casey."

"I never told you that I didn't date." I shook my head.

"No, JJ and Garcia had told me that you didn't date. You never mentioned it."

"I told you that I wasn't looking for anything serious. I told you it meant nothing."

"Are you seeing him again?" He asked. I decided to be truthful and shook my head, "I want to see you, Emily, but I don't want to just be your booty call." He shook his head.

"…That's all I can offer you. I'm sorry." I pulled the car door open before he could put pressure on it to keep it closed and I got in quickly. I started my car and drove out of the park, leaving him standing there with a sad expression.