A/N: Hello! This is my first series of fics for CM! Hotchniss will be the focus and each chapter will revolve around a different episode. Of course, I will always let you know which one for context. I am not sure how long it will be but I already have a handful of chapters ready to go. Hope you enjoy it!

I do not own Criminal Minds and credit to all dialogue in this chapter goes to the writers of the show.

Set: Season 3 Episode 2

New Office New Rules

Emily Prentiss was not sure what to expect from her first day in the BAU, but she was not disappointed. She opened the glass doors leading to the bullpen, and took in the scene before her. Agents moved in all directions, phones rang and the sound of clicking keyboards filled the air. Everyone seemed to exist with purpose and focus. In her ten years with the Bureau, Emily had never felt like she belonged anywhere but here. It was time for her fresh start.

Box of her belongings in hand, she made her way up the stairs and to Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner's office. She stopped in front of the door for a moment to take a breath. She had heard of Agent Hotchner's reputation for being very serious and a bit intense; it made her nervous. However, knowing the best opportunity of her career started on the other side of that door, she gathered her confidence and knocked.

She heard him tell her to enter so she shifted her box to her hip and made her way inside. She found him deep in concentration on the report in front of him, pen in hand. He looked up and stopped writing at the sight of her.

"Hi." He greeted her skeptically.

"Hi, agent Hotchner? I'm agent Emily Prentiss." She placed her box on the chair in front of his desk and leaned forward, reaching her hand out.

"Yes." He said as he stood to shake her hand, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

She seemed familiar to him. Her black hair and dark brown eyes were telling him she was, but he could not place her.

Hotch tilted his head slightly at her and Prentiss could tell he was trying to figure her out.

She couldn't look away from his gaze, feeling an instant connection. Maybe she just imagined it, or maybe it was her own curiosity about the famous Aaron Hotchner, but something about the his dark hair and intense eyes had her fascinated by him.

Agent Prentiss intrigued Hotchner to say the least. She possessed a confidence that he found not many people did when it came to meeting him for the first time. She was beautiful he had to admit. The smile on her lips seemed inviting and harmless enough, but there was certainly more to her than meets the eye.

Realizing he was lost in his thoughts, he quickly let go of Emily's hand.

Then it hit him. Why her features seemed so familiar.

"You're Ambassador Prentiss' daughter." His eyes brightened with recognition as he spoke. It was all coming back to him now. "I used to do security clearances for your mother's staff, it was one of my first commands. You were off to Brown at the time right?"

Emily was taken aback by his connection to her family. She had never paid particular attention to her mother's staff, but now she wished she had.

"It was actually Yale." She corrected him and smiled. He nodded. "I've been with the Bureau for ten years now, mostly in the midwest."

"Don't tell me that, has it been that long?" Hotch replied as a small smile prayed on his lips.

"Apparently sir." Emily remarked with a chuckle.

They both went quiet as an awkwardness settled between them.

"So how can I help you?" Hotch questioned.

"I was hoping you could tell me where to put my stuff?" Emily opened her box, took out her transfer papers and handed them to him.

"I've been transferred to the BAU. Today is supposed to be my first day." She told him.

Emily watched as he flipped through the papers, his face growing more and more serious.

"There's been a mistake. " He replied curtly. If her papers were correct, he was pissed that Strauss never told him she approved the transfer of a new agent to his team.

Another attempt to make me look incompetent. Great. Just what I needed right now. Hotch thought to himself.

"I don't think so sir." Emily challenged, as his stare tore through the papers in front of him. She was about to defend herself further when a knock at the door interrupted them.

"Excuse me, we are getting ready to start." Said JJ.

"Thank you, I'll be right there." Hotch replied.

As the blonde haired agent closed the door, he turned his attention back to Emily. "I'm sorry Agent Prentiss, but I never approved of this transfer."

Emily was speechless.

Are you serious? Strauss never told him?

There was clearly bad blood there, she could see the way he tensed up at the sight of Strauss' signature on her papers. God she hated office politics.

She stood there, dumbfounded as Hotch handed the papers back to her and headed towards the door.

"I'm sorry for the confusion, but you've been miss informed, it was nice to see you again." He left her in silence, mouth hanging open.

Emily shook her head. She was never shy about letting people know the BAU was where she wanted to be and now, when it all seemed so close, it was being ripped away from her due to some shitty office fued.

She threw the papers in her box and followed him out on the walkway. She watched as he headed towards the conference room, with another agent at his side, clearly questioning her presence in the BAU. Hotch threw one last look over his shoulder and she met him with a confused stare.

He was not getting rid of her that easily.

Four days later, Prentiss got the call she had been waiting for. The team was flying back into Quantico tonight. She could finally prove to Hotch that she had a place on his team.

Emily drove to Quantico with determination in her eyes. It was late she knew, but this couldn't wait. She had looked over a case file that had been dropped off in the office and made a profile for him. She was going to get Hotch to see how skilled she was whether he liked it or not. Besides, with the way he had dismissed her, he could stand to be brought down a peg or two. She was not afraid of challenging him in a way she figured most people were.

Emily pulled into the parking lot and made her way to the elevators and up to the floor of the BAU. No one was around at this time of night so it was eerily quiet. A stark contrast to the hustle and bustle she had witnessed just days before.

She walked past the desks in the bullpen and right into Hotch's office. The lamp in the corner casted the room in a warm yellow glow. She looked around and decided to settle herself on the couch he had on the far wall. He was not going to dismiss her this time. Without the distractions of the day to contend with, Emily knew he had to listen to what she had to say.

Not long after she sat down, Emily heard the sounds of footsteps on the stairs heading for the office. For a second, she thought she might startle him, but as he walked in, files and go-bag in hand, he froze and turned to face her. Half lit in the moonlight, he seemed even more enticing to her now than in the daylight. His stern stare was still present, but it was dulled by exhaustion. Emily guessed it was a rough case.

Hotch was not surprised to see Emily Prentiss sitting on his couch. He figured the confused stare she shot him days before had meant their conversation was not over. She seemed intent on making a point and a little too comfy on his couch. One would think she had always belonged there.

"I hope you haven't been sitting there for the past four days." He remarked with a shake of his head, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Emily locked eyes with him, un phased by his tone.

"I heard you were flying back into Quantico tonight." She stated simply, shrugging her shoulders.

"You heard? How could you hear a thing like that?" He questioned.

Emily ignored his question and handed him a file.

"This was dropped off today."

Hotch was too damn tired for this.

"I appreciate your interest Agent Prentiss, but profiling is a specialty, we can't just let anyone who wants to give it a whirl."

Hotch moved to his desk, placing his things on top of it. Emily ignored his comment and instead focused on giving him the profile she made.

"The I-80 killer? Co-Eds in Indiana?"

"Yes I read it on the plane." He told her stiffly, trying to end the conversation.

"They aren't blitz attacks. This guy's organized." She said and he stopped shuffling his papers. Maybe it was the chaos of the last few days catching up with him, maybe it was the all too eager look in her eyes, but he gave up.

Giving her his full attention, Hotch took a few steps towards her, daring her to continue. Her persistence interested him. As did everything else about Emily Prentiss he realized.

"He's organized. He's a white male, early 30's, and a smooth talker because even after eleven victims, he can still convince educated women that knows there's a predator out there to get into his car."

Hotch was impressed, he had to admit. Her profile matched perfectly to the one he had written on the plane.

"How would you advise the police?" He asked her, crossing his arms.

"I would stake out the Ranch House. A night club in Gary, they have a very popular ladies night on Thursdays. If you look closely you'll see that 8 out of the 11 victims went missing on a Friday morning so something gets this creep's motor running on Thursdays." She stopped.

His stare was piercing through her the entire time she spoke and Emily realized that some point, she had followed it, letting it pull her towards him. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she felt something was hanging in the air between them. They both watched each other intently.

"This isn't a whirl Agent Hotchner." She told him, breaking the silence.

Seeing he was not convinced, she continued.

"I don't know how the paperwork got screwed up or maybe you believe that my parents pulled some strings which they didn't by the way. But I belong in this unit and all I'm asking for is a chance to prove that to you." Emily finished. She swallowed nervously as he stood there, the confidence she had earlier betraying her.

Hotch glared at Prentiss, but he had already decided that she needed to join his team.

"I'm still going to look into this. I'm not promising anything."

"Understood." Emily said and nodded her head.

"We brief new cases at 10 am each morning. You can see facilities management about a desk."

"You won't be sorry." She promised as she grabbed her box and left his office before he could change his mind.

Hotch watched as she headed for the elevators. He admired the courage it took for her to stand her ground and she had managed to deliver a perfect profile like they had been working together for years. She had an energy and presence he found himself drawn to after only two interactions. He shook these thoughts away, blaming it on his exhaustion. God he really needed to get some sleep.

Yet, as he stared out the window at the now empty bullpen below him. Aaron Hotchner couldn't help but wonder just what he had gotten himself into with hiring Emily Prentiss.

A/N: Thanks for reading! If you liked it, give this series a follow and don't forget to leave a review. I want to know what you think! Hope to see you for the next chapter :)