A/N: Thanks for reading and for anyone who reviewed the last chapter. This chapter is Prentiss / Hotch centric. I'll be interested to see thoughts on the way I brought him into this and their interaction. I tried to keep them both in character.

To the reviewer who asked about Mendoza, I'm thinking about bringing him into this, but he wouldn't be end game for Emily. I enjoyed their date on the show though and think it could be fun to include.

Please feel free to ask questions or tell me if there is anything you'd like to see. I have a lot of this planned out, but can always add in things if there's a relationship or story line you'd like to see and it makes sense with the story.

Chapter 3

It had been years since she'd last seen him, but it felt like yesterday. Emily had a certain level of comfort with Aaron Hotchner that had withstood her time 'dead,' her time in London, and now his time in the Witness Protection Program.

He'd been back in D.C. for a little over a year now, but had decided not to return to the BAU. Emily wasn't sure if he would agree to meet her, but he had, no questions asked.

She offered to meet somewhere by him, but he chose a coffee shop in the heart of Washington instead. He probably thought she needed a consult on a case, and he didn't want his new life with Jack to collide with his old life. She didn't want to tell him what she really wanted over the phone. It was a conversation she needed to have in person.

Emily saw him the second he walked through the door. He looked the same…a little more relaxed maybe, but otherwise the same old Hotch. He had foregone his usual suit and tie, but still wasn't exactly dressed casually. He was wearing a crisp white button-down shirt and perfectly pressed slacks.

Emily rose from her chair at the table she'd grabbed in the back corner and waved. She caught his eye and he offered her a small smile before making his way back to her.

"Hi," Emily said warmly, giving him a quick hug. "It's good to see you."

"It's been a long time," Hotch said in a neutral tone. He didn't know why they were there – Emily had never said. She'd been deliberately vague on the phone. He didn't want to get dragged into a BAU case, but he didn't know if he could say no if they needed his help.

Emily stopped herself from telling him it had been too long. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel guilty. Hotch had never once made her feel guilty when she came back from the dead. Some of the others had, but not him. "It has," she agreed instead. "How have you been?"

"It's strange being back here after everything," Hotch answered honestly. "In D.C., I mean." He met her gaze and saw the understanding he expected to see in her eyes. No one could understand how hard it was to come back from Witness Protection the way Emily could. "But I don't need to tell you that. You know better than anyone."

Emily nodded, remembering how hard it had been to try to reclaim her old life after being legally dead. Hotch may not have been declared dead, but he had to leave everyone and everything behind just like she did. The people she'd left behind had been happy to have her back, but they couldn't just pick right back up where they left off. There was hurt and anger about how she left, even blame for leaving. It wouldn't surprise her if Haley's family harbored some resentment over how Hotch left. She offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'll bet Jack's glad to be back at least."

Hotch nodded. "He is. He missed Jessica and his grandparents."

"How's he doing?" Emily asked as she sat back down, wanting to continue the conversation over coffee, or in her case tea. She'd ordered for them both since she beat him there.

Hotch followed her lead, sitting down across from her. "He's doing well. He was one of three freshmen to make Varsity Soccer."

"Oh, Hotch, that's great. I'm happy for him," Emily said with a beaming smile. "I took the liberty of ordering for you. I hope you still take your coffee black?"

Hotch lifted his coffee cup. "Thank you. But I didn't come just so you would buy me coffee. I hope you know that." He thought it went without saying that he would be there for her, whatever she needed. But then again maybe it didn't. He had consistently declined invitations to team dinners, feeling like it was inappropriate for him to be there when he was no longer a member of the team. At some point they stopped asking him. He hadn't really seen anyone from the team except Dave since he'd been back in Washington.

When he first went into the Witness Protection Program, Hotch planned to return to the BAU once Mr. Scratch was caught. But seeing how leaving his aunt, his grandparents, and his friends affected Jack, Hotch knew he couldn't go back to the job that had already cost his son so much – too much. He'd tried to maintain a safe distance from all things BAU. Unfortunately that had included the team itself.

"Oh, please, it's the least I can do to thank you for meeting me here. I'll even spring for a muffin if you're hungry," Emily told him.

"I can buy my own muffin, Prentiss – Emily," Hotch corrected himself, remembering that she wasn't his subordinate anymore. There was no need for formalities.

"Oh, are we on a first name basis now?" Emily teased. "It's about time. We've only known each other for, what, twelve years?"

Hotch's lips twitched in amusement. "Something like that. And this isn't work. Is it? Emily? Not that it isn't good to catch up, but why are we here?"

Emily chewed her bottom lip, hesitating slightly. "I really wish you'd let me buy you that muffin." She saw a quick flash of frustration in his eyes and sighed, knowing she couldn't stall any more. "You can consider it your retainer. I'm going to need attorney client privilege for this."

Hotch raised his eyebrows. Whatever he was expecting, it wasn't that. "You do know I'm not a practicing attorney, right?" Even though he had no business giving legal advice, he knew he couldn't leave it at that if Emily was in some kind of trouble. He also knew how hard it would have been for her to come to him with this. He would have to be careful not to scare here off. He placed his hand over hers on the table and waited for her to meet his gaze. "Should I be concerned?"

"I don't need a lawyer. I just…need some legal advice," Emily explained.

"If that was meant to be reassuring, it wasn't," Hotch told her. He glanced around the coffee shop and decided it wasn't the place for this conversation. There were too many prying eyes – and ears. "Maybe we should take our coffee to go."

Emily got up from her chair and put her black wool pea coat on. It was a nice day for late November, but it was still cool and there was a brisk breeze.

Hotch held the door open for her. She waited for him to join her on the sidewalk in front of the coffee shop and then said, "There's a park a couple blocks over."

They fell into step next to each other, walking until the shops and restaurants ended and then winding their way through the park until they found a stone bench in an isolated area. Hotch waited for her to begin, but she just sat there staring straight ahead.

"Whatever it is, just tell me," Hotch said, breaking the tense silence. "I can't help you unless I know."

Emily thought it would be easier for her to do this. She'd already told Rossi about her daughter. What was one more person?

But it wasn't just another person – it was Hotch. She'd had to earn his respect when he had zero respect for her in the beginning. Now that she had it, Emily didn't want to lose his hard-earned respect. She knew that was just a risk she was going to take if she wanted his advice, and she did want his advice.

She knew she could go to another lawyer – any other lawyer – but she hadn't just gone to Aaron Hotchner because he happened to have a law degree. She'd gone to him because he knew the inner workings of the FBI, and he would know if she would still have her badge if worse came to worse. She'd gone to him because he would know how important her career was to her, but he would also understand the need to be there for her child – or at least try to be.

"How bad would it be if it came out that I had signed legal documents under an assumed name?" Emily asked.

Hotch glanced at her reproachfully. "You know you're going to have to give me more than that. In the law, intent matters. I need context. To start with, what kind of documents are we talking about here?"

"Adoption papers," Emily told him reluctantly.

Hotch's eyes widened in shock. After all the time he'd spent profiling serial killers, there wasn't much that shocked him but this did. He thought of how good Emily was with kids – Jack, Henry, even victims. He'd lost count of how many of their younger victims had opened up to her over the years. Kids loved Emily Prentiss – and she had always seemed to love them. He just couldn't imagine her giving her own son or daughter up.

A dark thought occurred to him. She said she'd used an assumed name. He thought of the passports JJ had given Emily when they faked her death.

How long had Ian Doyle had Emily in that warehouse in Boston before the BAU found them? Doyle branded her – and not just anywhere, but on her chest, an area that was sexual in nature. He'd literally branded her, marking her as his property. With where the brand was, he would have had to take off her shirt. What if that wasn't all the bastard did to her? The thought made Hotch sick, but he had to ask.

"You said you used an assumed name. Was it after we faked your death?" Hotch questioned gently, trying to be tactful.

Emily blinked in surprise as she read between the lines of what he was really asking. Ian Doyle had tortured her, but he didn't rape her. "No," she said with a sigh. "But you're getting warm. You've got the father right, but the timeline's wrong. It was fourteen years ago."

Hotch nodded in understanding. It was when she was undercover.

He was a little surprised they didn't find out about this when she went after Doyle on her own and they were looking for her. Emily was their victim and Ian Doyle was their unsub, but somehow they'd missed the fact that there was a baby in their profile.

He marveled at her ability to keep a secret like this from not only the BAU, but Interpol as well. Every agency she had worked for would have had rigorous background checks that included polygraphs. It was really quite impressive that this had never come out. Hotch had to wonder why she would allow it to come out now after all this time.

"There's something I don't understand," Hotch said with a small frown. "If it's been fourteen years, why are you suddenly worried about this now?"

"My daughter's here in D.C. She lives with her adoptive father. Her adoptive mother died from breast cancer a year and a half ago," Emily said sadly.

Hotch saw the grief in Emily's eyes for a woman and child she didn't know. Knowing Emily, she was probably blaming herself for her daughter being without a mother now. It wasn't her fault, but she would blame herself anyway. It wouldn't have been the life she wanted for her daughter when she gave the baby up for adoption, but no amount of planning could stop life from happening. "I'm sorry," he offered sincerely.

"Can I ask you a question? It's personal," Emily warned him.

"You can ask. That doesn't necessarily mean I'll answer," Hotch replied cautiously.

"When you were with Beth, how'd Jack do with having a new mother figure in his life?" Emily asked.

She knew there was a big difference between a biological mother and a stepmother – or in Beth's case Hotch's longtime girlfriend. Hotch was never actually engaged to Beth, but they were together for three years and Emily knew the woman had been a big part of Jack's life at one time. She wanted to know if Jack ever resented Beth being there for him when Haley couldn't be.

Hotch gave her a long look as he thought about how to answer that. "That was a long time ago. He liked Beth. But you can't use Jack as a baseline for how your daughter may react," he said carefully. He looked down as guilt flooded him. He was the reason Jack lost his mother. Her death could have been prevented, but Hotch was too late to save her. "You have to remember Jack was only four when Haley died. Sometimes I wonder how much he remembers. I tell him about her, but that's different from having actual memories. He's confused memories of Jessica for memories of Haley before, incorrectly believing it was Haley in the memory."

Emily nodded. She knew she couldn't just waltz back into her daughter's life and fill the big gaping hole left by Sarah Johnson. Her daughter would have twelve years of memories of her adoptive mother and Emily would be a complete stranger.

What she didn't know was if her daughter would want any kind of mother figure for her teen years, even if that mother figure was Emily, or if any attempt Emily made to be there for her now would just confuse the girl.

"For what it's worth, I think she would be lucky to have you in her life," Hotch told her.

Emily offered him a half-hearted smile, knowing the only person whose opinion she cared about here – Hannah - might not agree. "I just want to talk to her adoptive father. Right now there's no way she would ever be able to find me even if she wanted to. I want her to have my name instead of an alias. I want her to have answers if she ever wants them. I want to be there for her if she'll let me."

"What she wants may not matter," Hotch advised her. "It will be up to her adoptive father. He is her legal guardian."

"I know," Emily acknowledged. "That's why I want to reach out to him. I met him once under an assumed name. He knows me as Grace Russell. That's the name I signed the adoption paperwork with. He's a lawyer – her father. I just want to know what I'm looking at here. I don't want to go in blind."

"Worst case you committed fraud by signing under a false name. It's a felony. But that's worst case," Hotch stressed. "There's the question of intent, and you didn't intend for the adoption to be any less legal. It wouldn't be hard to prove you were operating under duress given the situation. I would still feel better if you didn't talk to him alone though. If he's a lawyer, it would behoove you to have your own representation in case he makes threats or tries to intimidate you."

"I'm not easily intimidated," Emily said, trying to make light of it. The word felony scared her a little, but Hotch's calm demeanor led her to believe he wasn't worried for her. He would be worried if he really thought she'd be facing felony charges, right?

"If you insist on going alone, at least have an attorney on standby," Hotch suggested.

"Are you volunteering?" Emily asked.

"I told you I'm not a practicing attorney, but feel free to call me if you're in need of advice," Hotch offered. He knew she had a tendency to go it alone and hated the idea of her being alone if the adoptive father didn't react well. "I'd like to be kept apprised. I…need to know you're okay."

"You've certainly earned the muffin you wouldn't let me buy you," Emily told him, nudging his shoulder gently. "Can I buy you lunch instead? It's almost lunchtime already."

"I'd like that," Hotch agreed.

They walked back toward the coffee shop, knowing they would pass some restaurants on the way.

With the hard part over, conversation flowed easily as Emily gave him updates on how everyone on the team was doing. She was careful to keep it focused on their personal lives. She got the impression Hotch didn't want to blur the line he'd drawn in the sand between his life with Jack and his old job with the BAU.

They decided on a little café that had good salads and sandwiches and settled into a booth. They were on the subject of Rossi's upcoming wedding when the waitress brought their food over.

"This time the wedding's not gonna be at drive-thru wedding chapel although I wouldn't mind a trip to Vegas," Emily mused.

"You could use your winnings to pay for your wedding gift," Hotch suggested. "Rossi has expensive taste."

"Or lose our lunch money," Emily said with a self-deprecating laugh.

"I've seen your poker face," Hotch reminded her. "My money's on you."

Emily's cheeks flushed with the praise. Even if they were just messing around, talking about her poker skills, it was exceedingly rare for Hotch to give anyone a compliment and she knew he wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it. "Yeah, well, it's too bad they're getting married in Washington this time. I'll just have to make do with beating Reid at poker," she said with a confident grin.

"How's he doing?" Hotch questioned. "I heard about what happened in Mexico."

"And they say what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico," Emily quipped. "He's good. He's visiting his mother this weekend. Her Alzheimer's is progressing. She's not doing well, but he has her in a great place."

Hotch noticed how she skipped over Reid's time in prison and frowned. "Emily, what you did, working tirelessly to clear his name – not everyone would do that."

"It wasn't just me," Emily said, deflecting. "It was a team effort."

"There's a reason I wanted you to take my place as Unit Chief when I left," Hotch told her, his gaze intense. "And not just because you're extremely capable, which you are. But you're not the only one on the team who is capable. No, I wanted you to take my place because out of everyone, you and I – I think we're the most alike. I knew you would run the team the same way I would."

They were both highly ambitious and career-driven, but they put the team first – at times even putting what was right for the team above their career ambitions within the FBI to their own detriment. It was how Aaron Hotchner got into Erin Strauss' bad books, and why Emily had attracted the unwanted attention of Linda Barnes. Both of them could hold their own under political pressure. There was no one he would have trusted more to lead the team in his stead.

Emily's lips curved into a half-smile. It wasn't a compliment exactly – he was simply comparing her to him, and he was human. Aaron Hotchner had a lot of great qualities she really admired in him, but he wasn't perfect – no one was. It was, however, the reassurance she needed that nothing she'd shared with him that day had taken away from the respect he still had for her.