AN: Apologies for the delay posting this chapter. I had a major block that took some time to work through. This chapter will be based on episode 4.10 and some parts of 5.1. Hope you enjoy it.
It had been an uneventful week since the team had returned to the BAU after their time off. Well the team except for JJ had returned to Quantico. Their time off had overlapped with her previously scheduled annual leave. As far as any of them knew she had taken advantage of the extra time by traveling to New Orleans to see a certain detective.
Since they had been back their time in the office was mostly being taken up by growing piles of paperwork and consults while attempting to stay clear of Morgan and Reid's latest prank war. The workload was only leaving them with memories of those precious days that each of them had shared with the others.
From the few details he had shared with the rest of them Dave had spent the time at his cabin and cooking while he avoided calls from his editor about the status of the next chapter of his upcoming book.
Morgan had been coy about his time off however his activities hadn't stayed secret for too long as Garcia found it impossible to keep a secret. On their second day back she had let it slip that they had travelled to Chicago to see Morgan's family.
Reid had spent time in Georgetown's library and seen a foreign film with Emily. Morgan hadn't recognised the title of the film and teased them about seeing that instead of the large number of options of movies in the theater now until Dave had told him to knock it off.
Emily had found herself only sharing with them that she had spent time cooking, working out and then went to see a foreign film with Reid though these activities had only consumed a small amount of her total time off. The cooking topic had at least been successful in refocusing everyone's attention long enough to temporarily distract Morgan from teasing her and Reid about their choice in movies. When it had been her turn to share what she had done, Emily had been relieved that Garcia had been focused on sharing what she and Derek had done together instead of questioning her and that JJ wasn't there to notice that there was more to the story.
Emily hadn't included that Hotch had come over to cook with her as that would have raised questions they weren't ready to answer yet. She also hadn't revealed that though they hadn't made concrete plans during the date cooking in her apartment they had ended up seeing each other each day whether it had been to work out or sharing a meal separate from his time with Jack.
The day after they had cooked together Hotch had sent a message asking if she wanted to go running later that day explaining it would be after he took Jack back to Haley. She quickly agreed and from there they had just gotten together each day either having a meal together or worked out together or just walked while deep in conversation.
It was during their time together that they developed an approach that was a cross of 20 Questions and Never Have I Ever. When they started Emily had quickly questioned the logic of insisting that they learn about each other again with there being a significant part of her life during the time they were apart that she couldn't discuss.
However she had also picked up on that Hotch was steering conversation away from certain topics as well including anything about relationships each of them had had during those 12 years. She had respected it not really wanting to hear details of who he had seen as well as not ready to talk about her own pathetic love life that had included mostly only first dates.
As much as she had found herself relieved at what she considered a temporary reprieve, Emily knew she should share some details with him about her experience undercover if their relationship was going to progress. But not yet. For now she was going to enjoy being in Aaron's company and feeling more complete than she had in a long time.
But she was going to have to shelf thoughts about her personal life for now. A string of murders of police officers was having the team gathering their stuff and preparing to fly to Phoenix.
####
With JJ being away, the call from Phoenix had come directly to Hotch. The severity of the case had him calling for an immediate wheels up. As he looked over the files as they awaited takeoff, Hotch considered that the targets in the case were law enforcement.
This was the type of case that worried him the most about the safety of his team. When they arrived, Hotch was going to need to make sure none of them were working alone. That they would need to protect each other as they searched for the UNSUB. He was also planning on them doubling up at the hotel as he preferred to do in these types of cases. Finding out during the flight that the chief was waffling in his request for assistance added a new layer of complexity to the case that Hotch knew he would need to address as soon as they arrived.
####
Several days later, the rising temperature in the police station had nothing to do with the weather. Their UNSUB was still out on the streets and more local police officers had been targeted while answering routine calls which was putting everyone on edge. Finding an earlier similar murder of a bouncer during their investigation led them to an underground fight club whose members had relunctantly given the team valuable clues in formulating the profile.
However their UNSUB's escalation overshadowed their progress. It was then that during a team meeting an unorthodox approach was suggested to the team. For Hotch to publicly announce that he was taking over the case.
The initial reaction from the team was a strong pushback with the determination that there must be another way. They had all seen what this UNSUB was doing and the last thing they wanted was to have one of their own in his crosshairs. It wasn't until Hotch explained his rationale that focusing the UNSUB's attention from each and every member of the Phoenix police department to just him would give all of them a better opportunity of catching him.
As they processed Hotch's explanation each member of the team agreed. The next step was then planning how to attempt to arrest the UNSUB while also keeping Hotch safe. Once they had a plan, Hotch approached the police captain to explain the plan to him as well as his ranking officers. Reassurances were given that the takeover was in name only just to draw the UNSUB out. That the BAU would still be turning the UNSUB over to the Phoenix police after the arrest for them to process and prosecute. Given the pushback when they first arrived, Hotch was pleasantly surprised at their quick agreement of the plan.
####
As Hotch was meeting with the locals about the plan the team was proposing, Emily tried to otherwise occupy her thoughts yet failed miserably. As a profiler, Agent Prentiss understood the plan and agreed that it was the best approach to take the UNSUB's focus off of the Phoenix police department. No one in the area, police and civilians alike, were going to be safe until there wasn't the risk of the police being targeted each time they answered a call. The expectation of having this UNSUB's focus on one person was that he wouldn't be able to resist targeting him and that would be their best opportunity to arrest him.
However Emily was really nervous with the approach. She didn't want Aaron in danger. They were just getting to a good place in their personal lives. If their interactions during their recent time off was any indication, they were on their way to making a relationship work.
But this was the job. If they were going to stay in the team together they were occasionally going to need to watch the other take risks. She didn't want to be limited in the field and she couldn't ask him to limit his role. They just needed to trust each other and the rest of the team to keep them safe.
With that thought processed, Emily took a few deep breaths and focused on what needed to happen. The team was going to need to stay close to Hotch. They had planned on how to do that.
As much as Emily had wanted to stay by his side she understood Hotch's plan to have her entering second with Dave while he entered first with Morgan. It was for the two of them to be a sudden show of strength against the UNSUB. Emily also suspected that with Hotch making himself a target, he didn't want Emily right next to him in the field. She didn't like it but understood. But what she did know was she wasn't going to be able to relax until this guy was in custody.
####
As the jet headed back towards DC, Hotch took a break from working on paperwork for the case to look around the jet seeing Reid, Dave and Emily also completing their paperwork from the case instead of relaxing as they generally did on these trips back home. Morgan had emailed him his report as he had stayed behind to attend the funeral of one of the LEOs and was scheduled to travel back on a commercial redeye flight and arrive the next morning.
They all knew Hotch had already spoken to a very displeased Strauss who wanted to see all their reports tonight thus why they were working now. She had been partially mollified at his explanation about the public announcement of the FBI taking over the case during a televised news conference. That had been after she had reamed him out that the BAU was there to support LEOs not take over their cases. She had grudgingly agreed that the plan had worked without any further casualty among the LEOs. However her anger had also then quickly increased again at the revelation that he had done it with the knowledge that he was putting himself and by extension the team in danger.
But the sticking point that had her demanding their reports and giving the team off the next day pending a review was what happened afterwards. A gangbanger with a gun that the Phoenix PD and the team had questioned had been able to walk up into a group of LEOs and FBI agents and kill their suspect before anyone realized what was happening.
As Unit chief it was a situation that was going to haunt him for a while regardless of what happened during Strauss' investigation. A different motive and weapon and his entire team could have been killed as well as multiple members of the Phoenix PD.
He shook his head remembering it had only been a few months earlier that there had been an investigation about a case only a couple of hours north of Phoenix. That case had nearly pulled the team apart. Hotch was suspended and it had been the last straw for Gideon.
Part of the reason Hotch had been suspended was that the Flagstaff PD had refused to take responsibility for releasing the suspect over the BAU's objections. They had instead blamed the BAU for the death of that suspect as well as a student who had stabbed their suspect as well as herself. Further investigation during Hotch's suspension had cleared him of wrongdoing however the ripple effects affected the team for months.
Now he was facing another investigation about his action in the field. He stood by his decision to announce his takeover of the case to draw the UNSUB to him.
Yes it had been a risk but it had been a calculated risk that he had discussed with the team as well as the leadership of the Phoenix PD beforehand. Given the mandate of the cases the BAU handled most of his decisions in the field were calculated risks.
The death of the suspect on camera while surrounded by law enforcement was just horrible optics no matter how it was viewed. Ultimately the responsibility for the security of that area had been that of the Phoenix PD. At that point the suspect was in their custody and they had also processed him through their department. The incident occurred as they were preparing to transport him to jail until his next court appearance. ThePhoenix PD had insisted on parading him in front of the cameras to reassure the public that he had been caught when it happened.
But would the Phoenix PD accept that responsibility or like the police department in Flagstaff try to blame the BAU since the agents were at the scene as well. While morale was finally better on the team, he didn't know if they could take another upheaval. As he looked back down at the report in front of him, his phone beeped. He smiled as he saw the message on the screen as if she had read his mind.
He nodded before typing, 'I know but thanks.'
'You could thank me by having dinner with me.' Emily had replied.
Hotch sighed and shook his head. While he would love to leave the office with the rest of the team and have dinner with Emily he knew he couldn't. Strauss had already made it clear that they were meeting tonight. Turning back to his phone he typed out, 'I'd love to but am heading into that meeting with Strauss shortly after we get back'
It was only a few seconds until he phone beeped again, 'what if I pick up takeout and you come by after your meeting. I don't care what time.'
Hotch sighed as he considered the offer. After several days of not being able to spend time with her after they had been meeting up daily while they had been off, he considered the offer. However he was also certain that he wasn't going to be in the mood to socialize after this meeting with Strauss.
With his relationship with Emily so new he didn't want to do or say anything that would jeopardize what they were trying to build. 'Not tonight sweetheart. Since the team has the day off tomorrow, why don't we plan on having breakfast? I'll come by your apartment around 9. We can stay in or go out. Your choice.'
'If you are sure. It's a date. But feel free to come by if you change your mind tonight.'
Hotch smiled internally at her response. Yes it would be another date for them. He did want to see her.
When the jet landed, the team headed into the BAU. One by one they printed off their reports and brought them to Hotch before he sent each of them home for the night.
As he was getting ready to head to Strauss' office, JJ, who had just gotten back from her leave, stuck her head into his office with files for him. He thanked her and sent her home as well after explaining that the team was off the next day as the Bureau reviewed the last case.
It wasn't until he finished that he realized that since JJ hadn't been with them in Phoenix, the time off didn't extend to her. She promised to keep an eye on things and let him know if anything worrisome came across her desk as well as tell Strauss. He watched JJ head back to her office as he headed out of the bullpen on his way to Strauss' office.
####
Hotch walked into his apartment building after an extended meeting with Strauss. He was somewhat encouraged about the investigation as she had less negative feedback than expected after reading their reports. She had commented that she was sending the file to her superiors and they would determine the next steps. She had said it in such a way to try and intimidate him; however reading between the lines, it appeared that she was already aware that it was just a formality.
He sighed as there was nothing else he could do right now about it. For a moment, he considered Emily's offer of coming over however it was late and they still weren't at the 'spending the night together' phase of their relationship yet. No he would unwind, get some sleep and see Emily for breakfast in the morning then hopefully spend at least part of the day together.
He pulled out his phone to send her a message that he was home. He halted his typing as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. When he looked up, the last person he expected was standing outside his door.
####
Emily groaned as the ringing of her phone woke her. As her eyes focused she noticed the dark sky outside before seeing the early hour on her alarm clock. It had only been three hours since she went to bed having stayed up hoping that Aaron would change his mind and come over. While it was almost the time that she would get up for a day in the office, the team was supposed to be off today and she had planned to sleep in before Aaron arrived for breakfast.
With the worry of a BAU agent, she reached for her cell phone. There was a very short list of people that would call her at this hour. Sure enough, the call was from JJ. Answering the call, she listened as JJ explained about the case and Strauss' instruction to call them in. After JJ promised to text her the address, Emily hung up and stared at the ceiling willing herself to get up.
After getting up she picked her phone back up and took it with her to the kitchen as she started the coffee she was going to need this morning. As she waited for the coffee to brew, Emily was dismayed to find no calls or texts from Aaron after their exchange on the jet.
Opening up a new message she wrote, guess we need to reschedule breakfast. Raincheck? See you in a bit at the crime scene. and quickly sent it before changing her mind not wanting to seem clingy.
With her cup of coffee Emily headed back to her room to prepare for the day.
####
Derek Morgan stretched as much as he could in his seat. He was exhausted after his red eye flight back from Phoenix. The case they had just closed had been personal for him having lost his own police officer father when he was 10 to violence. It had been important to him to stay for the funeral even if it meant coming back a day later than the rest of the team.
He had completed his case report before the other flew back. He had been notified by Garcia shortly after the jet had left that due to the murder of their suspect while in custody, the team was on stand down pending investigation.
He sighed as he sat back in his seat. Due to traveling with the team on the jet he was no longer used to commercial airline seats and he hadn't been able to sleep on the flight. All he wanted to do is to go home now and get some sleep, preferably cuddled up with his Baby Girl. However, according to her last message before he boarded the flight, since they weren't in the field, her and JJ were still expected in the office today. But he could live with that. He would sleep for a few hours and then they would have some time together when she got off.
As the plane landed, they were given the signal that they could turn electronics back on. He switched his phone on planning on just sending Garcia a quick message that he had landed. However before he finished typing that out there were several message indication beeps in quick succession. When he switched over to those messages, he groaned at the multiple messages and murmured, "fuck" as he read through them.
There was an urgent local case. With the lack of evidence of any wrongdoing on their part since the suspect was in Phoenix PD's custody when he was killed, the investigation was closed and they were assigned to this case by Strauss. The last message from JJ was an address where he needed to meet the team.
He shook his head. So much for getting any sleep today.
####
As more time passed, Emily became more worried about where Aaron was. She was past the disappointment that he hadn't called or sent a message the night before. Past that he hadn't responded to her text after they were called in this morning. But as more time passed and not only her but JJ, Morgan and Dave's calls were also going to voicemail, she was becoming more worried.
Hotch was always available by phone. In the handful of times he didn't answer when called since she had joined the team each time it was because he had been in the shower. Even then he called back whoever had made the call within 10 minutes. It was now 3 hours after Emily had received the call from JJ and none of them had been able to get in touch with him within that time. What had happened in that meeting with Strauss last night?
Emily knew her anxiety was becoming noticeable but couldn't bring herself to care right now. At least not until they knew where he was. They had literally just gotten back from a case where he had made himself a target so they could arrest an UNSUB so she was still on edge about his safety. She hadn't missed Rossi' close observance of her or JJ's curious assessment after she had asked if he had called back for the third time. Morgan had still been too annoyed by having to come right onto a case as soon as he got off a plane to notice anything with her.
As she and Reid waited for Garcia to send the large amount of information they needed to the Barton residence, Emily made a phone call and the answer she received had her in a near panic. She had called the doorman in her building about if Hotch had shown up there as expected only to learn he hadn't.
Until this point she had the possibility that something had happened to his phone and that is why none of them could reach him. Hotch was never late and he would not no show on her, at least not without a good reason. Her gut was not screaming at her that something had happened and she needed to find out what.
So as soon as the opportunity arose, Emily made the excuse of going to find Hotch to help her and Reid. Reid didn't argue even though she had put him in a difficult position as even he had noticed that something was off with her. And Emily knew that until she solved this mystery she wasn't going to be able to get her head completely into this case.
Emily quickly made her way down to his apartment when she reached Hotch's building. When she reached the door, she knocked a couple of times. No answer. Pulling out her phone, she called his number and panic skyrocketed when she heard the ringing inside the apartment. Pulling her gun, Emily was surprised that while the door was closed, it was unlocked. As she entered the apartment, she did a quick sweep of the apartment and discovered it was empty.
Returning to the main room, Emily assessed the space. It was mostly in the condition that she remembered however there was some uncharacteristic clutter in the kitchen. Walking into the room, she immediately noticed a medication bottle on the counter. That struck her as strange as when she had been over the previous week, Hotch had explained when he had gotten Ibuprofen for her that he was now keeping all medication locked up for when Jack visited.
When she picked up the bottle, her eyes widened as she noticed what it was. Looking back over the items out in the kitchen, Emily was slowly able to put together what was going on with Hotch. The clincher was when she saw the contact information on the page his address book was open to.
Taking out her phone, Emily dialed a familiar number and when the call was answered she said, "Garcia, I need you to check something for me."
####
Emily stopped outside the room that she had been directed to at the front desk after showing her badge. She knocked before opening the door to reveal tired yet worried Hotch who stood as she stepped into the room. A wave of relief fell over her at finally seeing him with her own eyes after the hours of uncertainty of where he was.
He looked at her confused as he asked, "Emily? What are you doing here? How did you know?"
Emily took in his haggard appearance as she answered gently, "we couldn't get in touch with you. I was worried so I stopped by your place. Garcia helped me find you after that."
It was then that Hotch's eyes widened before he stated, "we were supposed to have breakfast this morning. I'm sorry. Haley was waiting for me with Jack when I got back to my place last night. She needed to go out of town. She said he just had a cold but during the night his fever shot up and then he had a seizure from the fever."
"Is he OK?" Emily asked as she looked down at the little boy asleep in the bed next to them. It was obvious that something had happened with Jack but it wasn't until now that learned the extent of why they were at the hospital.
Hotch nodded reassured at her concern for his son as he answered, "yes, febrile seizures aren't uncommon in kids his age. I remember Sean having one when he was little. The doctor checked him over and he has a double ear infection probably from the cold that caused the fever. They just wanted to monitor him a while longer before letting him go home."
Emily nodded at the explanation before responding, "that's encouraging. I wasn't sure what happened or how long you would be here so I brought your bag and your phone. It was on the kitchen counter in your apartment."
Hotch took the items, placing the bag in the chair and the phone in his pocket as he shook his head as he stated, "I must have ran out without it."
Emily stepped forward and rested her hand on his arm as she said, "that's understandable Aaron. I also put a pair of jeans and a tshirt in your bag. I thought that would be more comfortable than your suit while you are here."
Hotch nodded as he did prefer casual clothes when with Jack. It was the subject of attire that Hotch questioning, "why are you in work clothes?" as he noticed that Emily was wearing a pants suit instead of the casual wear he had become accustomed to her wearing at home when they had been off.
Emily sighed as she didn't want to upset him however his focused gaze made it clear that he wasn't going to let it go, "an urgent local case. There apparently is no longer an investigation about Phoenix so Strauss called JJ first thing this morning that she wanted the team on this case." Emily saw his eyes widen as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and started to page through the messages. She squeezed his arm and then continued when he looked at her, "don't worry we have it under control. Derek got back this morning. You just focus on Jack. I just got worried when none of us could reach you so I stopped by your apartment and could tell that something happened. I'm glad he's going to be OK."
Hotch nodded at her relieved that the team had it under control as there was no way he could leave right now. "Me too. When do you need to get back."
####
Emily took a few deep breaths as she approached the Barton house to reconnect with Reid. She had stayed in the room with a sleeping Jack while Hotch stepped out to change out of the clothes he had been wearing since they had been in Phoenix.
After assuring that he and Jack didn't need anything else she reluctantly left not wanting to leave the pair. However Hotch had brought out his inter Unit Chief and stated that the team needed her since they were already an agent down with him not there. He assured her that he would update her when he and Jack arrived back at his apartment since they were going to be discharging Jack soon.
As she stopped the SUV, her phone beeped. Checking the message she smiled as she read that Hotch and Jack were now home. He went on to thank her for the straightening she had nervously done in his apartment when she was waiting for Garcia to get back to her about where Hotch was.
As she looked up from her phone movement caught her eyes. Focusing on that she noticed that the figure was approaching their victim's house. A closer look when he turned showed that it was their suspected UNSUB based on the picture Garcia had sent the team a couple of hours earlier.
She sent a quick message to the team about the development before she got out of the SUV as quietly as possible and carefully moved in behind the distracted man. As she got closer, she immediately noticed that he was holding a gun. After quickly checking for nearby civilians, Emily revealed herself to him with her gun aimed at him, ordering him to drop his weapon.
While empathizing with what they knew about the death of his son, she did not let that override that he had killed three innocent men, had threatened the life of a teenage boy and was currently outside the home of the man he had been threatening. Even with all of that she didn't want to have to shoot him though worried what the next few minutes held as the profile indicated that his end game would be suicide by cop.
Her unexpected appearance just a few hundred feet his target seemed to deflate the grieving father. It took a couple of minutes of urging until he followed her instructions and dropped the gun and raised his hands sobbing about what happened to his son.
After kicking the gun away, she moved in and quickly got him into cuffs. Just as she secured the cuff on his 2nd wrist, the front door swung open. Dr Barton came flying out the door with Reid just behind him urging the doctor to come back into the house. As soon as he saw Dr Barton, their UNSUB began yelling at him and fighting against the cuffs and Emily.
With a forceful voice Emily instructed Dr Barton to return to the safety of his house until they had the UNSUB secured in their SUV. The shock of the scene in front of him had Dr Barton nodding before he turned and walked back into the house. Reid stepped forward and with effort they moved the struggling man towards their car. With him secured, Emily called the arrest in while Reid called Derek to update the team.
When they both hung up, Reid asked, "did you find Hotch? Is he OK?"
Emily nodded as she answered, "yes he's fine but Jack was sick." She didn't want to reveal anymore as it was Hotch's decision how much he wanted to reveal about what had happened with Jack.
When Reid sensed she wasn't going to say anything else he said, "dismissal at the school is almost done. The team will be bringing Jeffery back here shortly."
Emily nodded as she answered, "OK, why don't you go and inform Dr Barton while I wait here with him for the locals." As Reid reached the front door she let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding. She didn't want to think what could have happened if she hadn't arrived when she did.
Just then the first squad car arrived at the scene and Emily started the process of handing the UNSUB over to them. Only after that was complete did she reenter the house and explain to Dr Barton what had happened outside. Just as she finished, the team arrived with Jeffrey.
After leaving the house, Emily was questioned by the rest of the team about Hotch's whereabouts. Before she could answer Derek expressed frustration about his absence. Before Emily could say anything both JJ and Dave responded, defending Hotch. Emily, reigning in her anger at Morgan's assumptions then answered with the same thing she had told Reid.
As soon as the words about Jack being sick were out of her mouth, they all saw the change in Derek. He had just arrived back a few hours earlier after staying to attend a funeral to support the son of one of the fallen police officers. His apology was met with Emily giving him a curt nod before going back to her SUV with Reid and JJ closely following.
####
As the team worked on their reports back at the BAU, Garcia could sense the tension within the team. Morgan had reassured her that everything was OK but Garcia couldn't help but notice Emily's annoyance at him.
As they wrote their reports, Garcia joined them in the bullpen as she and Reid were discussing plans to attend the upcoming ComicCon. When Emily showed interest, Garcia and then Reid encouraged her to attend with them. It was an outing that Emily was seriously considering as they shared what each of them was looking forward to from the schedule of events.
With how she was raised, pop culture was an area where she still struggled to connect with people. From what she was learning about the event Comic con would give her the opportunity to not only connect with others on topics she was familiar with but to also learn more about all of the areas that she was interested in but didn't know a whole lot about yet. It would also be an opportunity to learn the context of some of the references that she didn't always understand.
There was also the advance that with Reid and Garcia planning to go, she wouldn't be going by herself. She was leaning toward going until the conversation shifted to a topic that had her questioning the whole idea - costumes.
Returning her focus back to her report, Emily had only been paying partial attention when they excitedly started discussing costumes. It hadn't been a huge surprise to her that some people dressed up to attend. Nor did it surprise her that Garcia and Reid planned to go in costume however it wasn't her thing.
Her attention was immediately refocused back on Garcia and Reid as she heard them starting to plan her costume. At that point she immediately made it clear to them that she had no intention of going in costume.
Right now dressing up in costume felt too close to being undercover. She had finally been able to put her anxiety of late aside. She didn't want to undo all of her hard work and bring back those feelings by pretending to be someone she wasn't. Some day she hoped that she could make certain decisions without thinking twice about it but for now it was too soon.
Was it an overreaction? Yes probably. However right now this was where she was at and she didn't want to do something that would sabotage her blooming relationship with Aaron.
However she also couldn't reveal either aspect behind her decision. Covering she just said that she didn't feel comfortable dressing up. That if she was going to go it would be as herself or not at all.
With that Emily signed off her report before gathering up all her things. She went up to Hotch's office and dropped the report on his desk before returning to the bullpen to get her stuff. As she did, she noticed Reid and Garcia deep in discussion that stopped as soon as she approached. She rolled her eyes wondering what they were planning as she wasn't naive enough to believe they had let the subject of costume go so easily. Shaking her head she walked out of the bullpen as she didn't have time to worry about it tonight. She still had a couple of stops to make before going home.
####
Hotch rolled his neck as he walked back into the family room after checking on Jack. The little boy had been resting since they had returned home from the hospital. The acetaminophen was keeping his fever down until the antibiotics could treat the infection in his ears. Hotch already had scheduled the appointment he needed to see his pediatrician in the morning as a follow up before Haley came to pick him up in the afternoon.
Before he could move into the kitchen, he stopped with a knock at the door. Confused, he walked over to the door and smiled as he saw who it was through the peephole. As he opened the door, he saw that it was Emily carrying several bags. He quickly moved closer to take a couple from her before they walked over to the kitchen. As they placed the bags on the counter, Hotch looked at the bags before lifting his eyes back to her and asking, "what's this?"
Emily looked around confused before asking, "where's Jack?" as her purchases were mostly about making Jack feel better which would reduce Aaron's stress.
Hotch gestured towards the hall as he answered, "he's resting in his room right now."
Emily nodded as she replied, "ah good. I picked up a few things at the store for him - some of the juice you mentioned he liked, jello, and some crackers. I also stopped at that restaurant we had dinner at last week and got him some of their chicken noodle soup as well as an order of the dish you had and really liked."
Hotch looked through the bags and replied sincerely, "Emily you didn't have to do this. But thank you. I had just been thinking that I needed to work on dinner."
Emily ran her hand up and down his arm as she answered, "I know I didn't Aaron. I wanted to. With Jack's visit so sudden and him sick, I didn't think you had a chance to go to the store. I wasn't sure what he liked in jello flavors or crackers so I got some choices. I always wanted chicken noodle soup as a kid when I was sick and remembered seeing it on the menu last week so I just called in an order and picked it up on my way after the store."
Hotch was overwhelmed by her thoughtfulness. Usually during his visits, Hotch and Jack ate out. He had some foods that Jack liked in his apartment but not too much of foods someone sick would like. Until now. Hotch moved forward and embraced Emily, grateful for her thoughtfulness and that she was back in his life.
A small cry from the other side of the apartment had them moving apart. Tonight his focus needed to be on his sick son. Later he could express how grateful he was for all she had done for them today. To make up to her missing breakfast this morning. Soon but not tonight.
Emily also felt that their moment had passed. She felt better having seen him even if it was just for a few minutes but now it was time for her to go. Picking up her purse, Emily announced, "I'm going to head home unless you need me to pick up anything else."
Hotch shook his head as he answered, "no, I think we are OK for tonight. Thank you Emily."
Emily smiled as she answered, "no problem Aaron. I hope he is feeling better soon. Please call if you find you do need anything. Don't worry about the time."
Hotch nodded, "I will. I won't be in the office until tomorrow afternoon after Haley picks Jack up. I'll see you then. Good night."
Emily nodded, "Good night Aaron" before she placed a quick kiss on his cheek and then she was gone.
Hotch stood there for a minute before closing the door and going to check on Jack. He hoped his son was feeling up to eating now that he had the food Emily had brought.