Note: First off, I own nothing. Second, I'M SO SORRY! This chapter was a tough one to get out. It's not a huge one, but I was suffering from an extensive period of writer's block. If you've forgotten about the story, I can't blame you, but I hope to start updating regularly again! I love you, have a nice read!

Running downstairs only to slow to a "casual" walk around the corner from her mother, Lia took a deep breath. She had extended an invitation to Hotch on a whim. She was just now beginning to consider the logistics of the situation. She was going to have to talk to her mother about her father. That was going to be a very awkward conversation. But, she had less than 24 hours to convince her mother that Hotch would be a good and not awkward addition to the dinner party… yeah she was in over her head.

"Hey, Mom. Uh, can we talk for a second? I had an idea that I wanted to run past you.." Emily noticed how nervous Lia was, and she was immediately curious. She could take a wild guess and say that it had something to do with Aaron, but she was hopeful it was something, anything, else.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" She sat up on the couch and put down the book she had been reading. Her hesitance was evident in her voice, but she was honestly too tired to put off whatever this conversation would contain.

"So you know how our family's coming over later? For dinner?" Waiting for acknowledgement, she continued. "Well, is it okay if I invite Dad? I mean, I know things aren't great between you two right now, but I just think that—"

"Yeah, that's fine. Just tell him what time to be here. I'll warn Pen so she can prepare the others." She didn't want to agree so quickly, but the way Lia was speaking caught her attention. "Wait… 'Dad?' Um, when did that happen?" She made sure her tone wasn't accusatory, but she was feeling a lot of complicated feelings.

"Oh! Um, I guess I started thinking of him that way when we were in the hospital waiting room. I was terrified, and he was there for me… And I saw the way he cared about you. He may be stoic, but he couldn't hide the things he was feeling the entire time we looked for you. But, I called him that for the first time on the phone last night. It's new, but he's my father, so I don't really think it's a huge deal." She tried to shrug it off, but Lia was still feeling awkward. She shouldn't have let the new title slip. Seeing that her mother probably wasn't going to respond based on the pensive look on her face, Lia stood. "Anyway, I'll go tell D— Hotch that he can come tonight. Thanks! You won't regret it." She left the room before she said anything stupid.

Sitting alone in the living room, Emily tried to fully process everything that had just happened. Aaron Hotchner was back. He was in her daughter's life, and, by extension, her life. The thing she had been wishing for since the pregnancy test came back positive was finally happening, but part of her wondered if it was too late. Lia was already almost seventeen years old. Emily couldn't decide if she had moved on. This man abandoned her. She knew she didn't trust him, but was it too late? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she wasn't ready for dinner tonight. And then she remembered how happy Lia had looked when she had told her to invite Hotch. It had been a while since she had looked that happy. She knew she couldn't say no and disappoint Lia. She deserved to know her father, no matter how much it hurt Emily.

"Hello?" Hotch sounded tired, but Lia didn't notice through her excitement.

"Hey, Mom said you should definitely come tonight! No hesitation or real resistance when I suggested it, so I'd say she really meant it. I'm not giving you time to argue because you both need this. Be here at six. Being late is an insult. I'm super excited, but I have to go clean the house and keep Mom from psyching herself out, so bye!" And with that, Lia hung up the phone, leaving a stunned Hotch at the other end.

Lia bounced down the stairs, glancing at the clock. Dang, 4:00 already? "Hey, when's Gramps coming over to cook? He's usually here by now." She used the nickname with affection, but she also knew how much he'd pretend to hate it if he'd overheard.

"He should be here any minute. He said he had to pick up some things from the store because we 'never have anything edible in the abandoned room we call a kitchen.'" Emily recalled the conversation with a slight smile. Rossi had been looking out for them both since the moment he figured out she was pregnant. He covered for her at work until she was ready to tell the others about the pregnancy, he made sure she had everything she needed for both herself and for the baby, and he'd been coming over to cook for them once or twice a week since Lia was one.

"Okay, good. I'm going to go clean up a little bit if you're okay here. Do you need anything?" Lia had been asking that question since Emily had come out of the doors of the hospital.

"I'm doing just fine. I think I'll get changed, though. Help me up?" She couldn't help but chuckle at how quickly Lia rushed to her side. As the two walked through the house arm in arm, they both marveled at how quickly they fell into their old dynamic. Maybe everything wasn't so different after all.

—-

Rossi had his own key to the place, but he still felt the need to knock after sixteen years of coming in the house. Hearing his patented knock on the door, Lia rushed to go open it and help him carry in the multitude of bags of food he was probably trying to juggle. "Hey, Rossi. Glad you're here. You know the way, at least, I hope you know the way to our kitchen by now, but, hey, you never know." He laughed at her typical high-energy way of speech as he led the way to the kitchen.

"So I heard that Hotch is joining us tonight." Lia didn't understand the smug look Rossi had on his face as he spoke, so she curiously replied with a mumbled affirmation. "How'd you get Emily to agree to that? Or Hotch for that matter?" He seemed genuinely curious, but he also seemed to know more than he was letting on.

"I asked her, and she agreed. And Dad still has reasonable amounts of guilt about abandoning us, so he'd agree to anything I asked. Or implied. Or thought of. Even if it makes him extremely uncomfortable. It's awesome, actually." He looked at her with an incredulous look, but he didn't really expect anything less when Morgan told him Hotch was joining them for dinner.

"Okay, but I don't want you to be disappointed if something goes wrong tonight, bella. There are a lot of years of unresolved conflict."

With a sigh, Lia agrees. "I know. I just can't believe that we're all going to be under one roof. I've been dreaming of this since I was four. Even if I hated him most of the time, there were still moments when I wanted to have my whole family here with me. But, I didn't factor in the trauma or tension, so I admit it was an idealistic version of the world. I just want everyone to make up. Face the music. Deal with the problems they've all been passive aggressively ignoring for years." By the end of her contemplative speech, Rossi understood why Lia had called for the dinner in the first place.

"Okay, I understand, Lia. I just don't want you to be disappointed if it takes longer than tonight for everything to get better." He was already making plans to help her out. He didn't want her to hurt more than she already had, but he knew her parents were stubborn people. They wouldn't talk about the issues without a little push in the right direction. He just had to figure out how to nudge them without shoving them. They wouldn't respond well to blatant encouragement to speak to one another. "Want to help me out in the kitchen?" With a grateful smile, Lia started unpacking the ingredients in the bags.

—-

As 6:00 rolled around, Rossi was busy in the kitchen with Lia, and people quickly started rolling in. J.J. and Reid were the first to arrive, with Spencer making a joke about how quickly J.J. got ready to leave the house knowing she'd get to spend time with her favorite people. Garcia and Morgan weren't far behind, plus, they brought gifts for Lia and Emily. Lia walked into the living room to announce that dinner was almost ready when she realized her father hadn't arrived yet. No one else in the room seemed to notice other than Emily. She kept nervously glancing at the door, waiting for Hotch to walk through. She didn't think she was ready. The man she couldn't get off of her mind for almost 17 years was going to be standing in the house he should've come home to far too long ago.

As Hotch drove up to the house, he felt like he couldn't breathe. Images of what could have been flashed before him. He could see everything that he missed. As he continued to sit in the car with tears in his eyes, he began to imagine what actually happened. Rather than seeing them both joyfully carrying their newborn child into the house for the first time, he saw Emily juggling the diaper bag and screaming newborn as she tried to open the door. Rather than seeing the three kicking a soccer ball around the yard, he saw an exhausted Emily sitting on the porch as their quickly growing daughter entertained herself in the yard. He saw the team rallying around the growing family during a family gathering only to see the team working hard to convince Emily she wasn't a single mom, but that she had all the help she could ever need. The thoughts of the life he missed out on were becoming overwhelming, but he couldn't seem to shake them.

Seeing his car through the window, Rossi came outside around 6:15. He opened the passenger door, which startled Hotch as he hastily wiped tears from his face. "Hey. It's good to see you, Aaron. Everyone inside that building would agree if they knew you were here. I know this is difficult. I know you feel guilty and inadequate, but what happened was not entirely your fault. There were a lot of circumstances none of us could control. It'll take time for you all to heal. But, please, stop blaming yourself long enough to come inside and keep from disappointing those girls again. What happened has already happened, and staring at the rusty swing set out back or at the door you think you should've walked through is not going to change that. What you can control is what's happening right now. Come inside with me, Hotch." Rossi closed the door and reentered the house. Hotch blinked, not being able to believe what he'd just heard. After taking a moment to process what Rossi had to say, he, too, walked up to the doorway.