"Handled with Care"
Aaron Hotchner considered himself to be a very unflappable man, his compartmentalization skills where spot on, and he was as confident as they come. That was probably why it took the team so long to find out he was dating Emily Prentiss. In fact, the team only found out because they wanted them to find out, and well…because Emily was three months pregnant. Truth be told, Hotch never thought he would find himself here again, immensely happy and ready to bring another child into the world. After his divorce with Haley, he was resigned to live the rest of his life chasing down monsters and spending his weekends with Jack, and maybe go out with the team a few times a month. Then, Emily happened to him, beautiful and sexy Emily, so different from what he was usually attracted to, and yet he lost his mind over her. It started slow, at first, her coming to check on him right before she left for the night. Then she began offering to stay with him to help with paperwork, until they started running together. Hotch had always avoided friendships with coworkers because it always ended up messy and with more drama that he didn't need. Not with Emily, though, things were easy with her, he enjoyed her company, most of the time they didn't really talk they just sat in his office nursing scotch and reviewing cases. She never questioned his actions, nor did she try to infringe in his personal life. She just sat by his side a supportive hand he didn't know he really needed. When they began having lunch every other weekend they were in town, he knew he was in deep shit, he found her company irresistible. She made him feel light and easy, and she made his son happy. Little by little, both Hotchner boys became infatuated with her, and one evening after they had taken Jack to the zoo, he found himself kissing her against the door of his apartment. He knew he was breaking at least twenty different fraternization rules and then some, but he found that he didn't care, he wanted to be with her, he yearned for her when she wasn't around.
They began dating, and he was surprised how easily they worked together after that. He had been worried they would jeopardize their positions by letting something personal get between them. However, their relationship didn't change a thing, if anything, it made them work together more smoothly. They actually paired so well together to come up with profiles for possible suspects for their cases. The team was clueless, they were so good at staying professional in the field, him calling her Prentiss and her calling him Sir, but as soon as the doors were closed, they ripped each other's clothes off. A year-and-a-half went by before anyone on the team began putting together that they were in a relationship, and that was only because he became more protective of her in the field, so much so that Emily found it overbearing, and they started having their first arguments as a couple. While surprised, the team was delighted for them because they wanted both of them to be happy, so they supported their relationship with open arms.
Emily's pregnancy was very stressful since morning sickness really took a toll on her, even after the three-month period. Her hormones were like a ticking time bomb, ready to snap at any second he came near her. She went from laughing hysterically, to sobbing, to throwing herself at him and ripping off his shirt and pants. She often needed reassurance, and she broke down in tears at the most inopportune times, even in places that were totally inappropriate, like while grocery shopping, or as they drove to the crime scene. During this entire transition, Hotch remained as calm and collected as he could, his stone resolve taking over making her feel cherished and loved.
Yeah, he was absolutely great at keeping his cold exterior and remaining calm in any given situation, so when his soon-to-be wife woke him up in the middle of the night to tell him her water had broken, he had not expected himself to react the way he did.
"Okay, all right." He said, jumping out of bed. "Um…let me see…the car…I need to start warming up the car." He stated since it was winter, dashing through the door almost sliding across the hardwood floors.
Emily, who was surprisingly calm, laughed calling after him.
"Pants would be good, honey."
"Right, right." Dashing back inside going over to the dresser and struggling to put on a pair of pants.
"Oh, baby, just stay calm." He told her running out the door again. Emily heard him running down the stairs and the garage door opening.
As much pain as she was in, she slowly made her way to the dresser, fighting again the sharp pain of the contractions.
"Holly fuck!" She gritted, taking a deep breath as she pushed a pair of leggings over her swollen ankles.
A second later, Hotch ran back inside the room, still shirtless, "Okay…what else do we need… your bag…where is your bag?" He asked, not even bothering to wait for an answer and running back down the stairs again searching for her hospital bag. Emily managed to finish getting dressed, fishing for a sweatshirt and shirt for him, throwing it at him the minute he appeared at the door.
"Okay, I called the hospital and they are expecting us. I also called Dave telling him to take us off the case list for the time being. I'll call Strauss and the rest of the team in the morning, I should probably call your mom, but I have no idea what time it is in London right now." He was speaking so fast he was making Emily dizzy.
"Honey, slow down, you're making me sick, everything is okay."
"Right, sorry, okay, I guess that's it…we should go then." He finished dressing while he searched around for his wallet, and then he took of running.
He barely let the garage door open before he pulled the car out only to realize he had forgotten something…Emily.
He frantically put the car back in the garage and ran back inside. Emily had already made her way down the stairs and was struggling to put on her hoodie. He wrapped her jacket around her and helped her out the door, being careful not to hurt her as she crawled inside the car. He started the car again and pulled out of his driveway.
"Aaron, lights!" Emily reminded him…he barely mumbled an apology flipping on the lights and driving as fast as he could.
"You are freaking out!" Emily said entertained.
"I am not…I just…are you in any pain?"
"Only when I think about it which is pretty much every second."
They made it to the hospital in ten minutes. There were already two nurses waiting for them with a wheel chair and took Emily inside immediately, while Aaron went to park the car, not even paying attention that he had parked in the employee parking lot.
The word 'breech' was something Hotch wished he had never learned, as the doctor explained Emily would not be going into regular labor and instead, she would be having an emergency c- section. His head was a fog as they dressed him in blue scrubs and pushed him toward the surgery room. Hotch thought he had seen everything throughout his years on the BAU, gory crime scenes, bloody homicides, but it was nothing compared to watching his fiancée being split open while doctors attempted to deliver their child. He lost his ability to think, everything started spinning around and all he could see was the blurry images in front of him.
"Are you okay, Mr. Hotchner?" He heard from far away, and then, "I think I need…" then dropped on the floor unconscious.
"She's perfect," Emily whispered, her eyes watering at the sign of the pink bundle of joy that rested against her chest.
"Charlotte," Hotch said contently, running his knuckles over the hours old velvety cheek. "I like Charlotte."
Emily smiled, they had been struggling to pick the perfect name for their daughter, she never realized being a mother would change her life forever.
"I guess you're Charlotte." She said with a sniffle, kissing her newborn's head.
"Have I told you how immensely happy I am?" Hotch asked with a glow in his eyes making Emily's stomach flutter.
"Yes." she laughed. "Quite a lot actually."
"I love you."
"I love you, too." She said as he settled down next to her in the small hospital bed, and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I still can't believe you fainted." She giggled thrilled.
"I didn't…and if that ever leaves this room.…" He warned playfully.
"You're kidding." She said, "I can't wait until she is old enough so I can tell her that her dad was freaking out so badly, he almost left me at home."
"I wasn't freaking out" he defended
"Oh really? Honey you almost left the house in your underwear." She laughed remembering his face, that would be something she could never forget, how the stoic Unit Chief was a nervous wreck the night their child was born.
"Emily, if you ever tell anyone on the team…I swear to God…" But Emily continued giggling and admiring their newborn baby.