Emily spent a lot of time over the next twenty-four hours thinking over what JJ had said. The truth was that she was becoming increasingly attached to Ethan and knew that the feeling was mutual. The boy may have been too young to remember his father leaving, but there was no way Emily could suddenly depart from the boy's life without leaving him with some kind of psychological scars...
That meant she either had two choices: to slowly pull away from him or to explain to him that she wasn't going to be around much longer.
(Technically, there was a third choice – staying – but she still couldn't quite accept the possibility because it would make things really fucking complicated. And Emily Prentiss didn't do complicated.)
All of that meant that she had a bit of a dilemma on her hands. And it wasn't made any easier by the fact that that day, Ethan's best friend – a young boy named Jack – came to visit the ranch...
Emily had just brought a tray of cookies and cocoa from the kitchen to serve the guests seated around the little firepit outside when she was blindsided by Ethan and Jack, Jack's father trailing along after them.
Ethan waited until Emily had set down the last cup of cocoa, then flung himself at Emily in a gesture that was more tackle than hug. She laughed a little at forceful embrace, then reached down to adjust his toque. "Hey, kiddo," she said, "Having fun?"
He nodded eagerly. "Miss Emily, this is my best friend, Jack and his dad." He then turned to the newly introduced Jack and his father to declare, "This is Miss Emily – she's Mom's girlfriend!"
Emily nearly choked on her sip of cocoa, coughing and sputtering as she inhaled her drink. "Oh, Ethan, no...that's not really..." She trailed off, realizing she had no idea how she was supposed to explain to Ethan (and the complete stranger who was staring at her with an expression that was somewhere between amusement and consternation) that she and his mom weren't dating and they certainly weren't girlfriends.
Ethan wasn't listening to her stammered denial, though. He had already continued the conversation by announcing in a stage whisper, "I want her to by my mom too..."
The boy's father offered Emily his hand to shake then, introducing himself as Aaron Hotchner with a face so stony that Emily had to wonder if he'd ever smiled a day in his life. "You really seem to have enchanted Ethan," he commented as the boys both grabbed a cookie and approached the fire to warm their hands. "He's normally much more shy and reserved..."
"Really?" Emily said, surprised. He'd been nothing but outgoing and bubbly with her.
He nodded. "I know how hard it can be to introduce a step-parent into the mix, but clearly you're not having any issues."
"Oh, I'm really not his..." she started to refuse once again. "I'm not..." She trailed off, sighing and internally kicking herself for letting herself get so entangled.
Just when Emily thought her evening couldn't get any worse, she emerged into the foyer to find Alex answering the door...to find Clara standing on the other side. And, much as Emily might've liked to turn tail and run from the scene, she suddenly found herself rooted to the spot.
"Hey, stranger..." Clara murmured, a playful little grin on her lips. "I haven't seen you around town lately."
Alex shrugged. "With Emily around, I guess she's been running a lot of the errands, so I don't need to make the trip as frequently."
"Pity," Clara said. She cocked her head, licked her lip. "I've kind of been hoping to catch you alone..."
"Catch me alone?" Alex repeated...and Emily hated the fact that her tone was playful rather than disdainful. "And why might that be, Miss Seger?"
Clara laughed, soft and raspy. "Who wouldn't want to have the lovely Alex Miller all to themselves?" she asked, reaching across the space between them to tip Alex's chin up just a fraction.
Emily had to physically bite the inside of her cheek to keep from speaking and revealing her presence, but it took every last ounce of self-control she possessed to do so.
"I do believe you're trying to sweet talk me..." Alex said in a breathy whisper.
Clara shrugged then, as if the matter simply couldn't be helped.
Alex shook her head, clicked her tongue in a playful scold, but said nothing.
"Seriously, Alex..." Clara said then, "I want to see you again. I know last time things were...a little rocky, but I want to try again."
Alex hesitated a moment and Emily hoped it was because she'd crossed her mind. She scraped her teeth across her bottom lip as she internally debated.
Clara's face fell slightly at the moment of hesitation and Emily hoped she'd take the hint and leave...
Then, Alex said the last thing Emily wanted to hear, "Let's get coffee tomorrow...we can talk." She reached across the space between them to clasp Clara's hand and the gesture nearly rent Emily clean in two.
"It's a date," Clara declared, smiling brightly. She leaned towards Alex, stopping just short of making contact with her lips, then whispered, "I can't wait."
When the door had shut behind her, Alex turned and instantly her gaze fell on Emily, her face going white. "Emily..." she choked out. "I..."
Emily stopped her, "No – it's fine. It's great. I'm really happy for you." She knew she was laying it on too thick, that it was too effusive to be genuine, but she couldn't stop herself. "It's really really...great."
"Well, I assumed since you and I are just...fooling around," she said, apparently choosing her words very carefully, "That you wouldn't mind if I saw Clara. Afterall, there's no feelings involved, right?"
"Right," Emily said, swallowing down the No, no, no! that wanted to climb up her throat and past her lips.
Alex nodded once. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the kitchen," she said, already brushing past Emily in her rush to escape the uncomfortable situation.