Author's Note: Sending out a general thanks for the feedback! You all have been super nice on this one :)

This takes place the morning after. Mostly a transitional chapter so we can move into the day to day.

Mid February

First Day on a Brand New Planet

Emily woke up the next morning feeling Hotch's warm body wrapped around her from behind.

Her eyes immediately started to sting as she gently squeezed the hand resting on her hip.

She was just SO happy!

Last night, after they'd worked out all of their major plans, they'd continued to talk for hours, just learning new things about each another. Some big, some small . . . but all of them important in their own way. And Hotch had told her about the mistakes he'd made in his marriage, and the areas where he was worried he might trip up again. Working too much, cutting himself off . . . keeping secrets. And he made her promise that if she was ever unhappy, that if there was ever anything wrong, or if he did something to upset her, that she would tell him right away.

That she wouldn't wait until it was too late to fix it.

That's when she really understood . . . he was truly in this for the duration. Hotch wanted them to build a life together. And that's what she wanted too. Of course she knew it was fast, and absolutely crazy, and that if she wasn't pregnant that she (they) very likely would be TERRIFIED at the speed with which things were progressing! But she also knew . . . he was the one.

Hotch was the one she'd been looking for all this time, and he'd been right there under her nose.

But over this last month, she'd started to see him in ways that she never had before. How gentle he could be. And how sweet. And she loved his voice, and his dimples . . . the way he said her name. And then last night, when he'd called her his beautiful girl as they lay together on the couch.

No other man had ever made her feel the things that Hotch did.

And when the little voice in her head, the insecure geeky Emily who didn't think she'd ever get her happily ever after, tried to tell her that she was just a rebound, and that he hadn't been divorced long enough for this to be real, she would remind herself that he had been separated for six months before he'd CHOSEN to sign those papers. More to the point though, he'd had the option of going home last night.

And he didn't.

He could have just taken responsibility for their baby, and then walked out her front door with a squeeze of her fingers, and the promises of nothing more than maintaining their friendship, and helping her raise their child. That was actually all she had allowed herself to hope for yesterday.

But he'd promised her so much more.

He'd promised her everything.

And this wasn't the nineteen fifties. She wouldn't have been stoned in the street for being unmarried and pregnant. So he didn't have to be chivalrous to save her honor . . . she smiled as she felt him start to nuzzle her neck . . . he just wanted to be with her. He had told her that he wouldn't leave her.

And she believed him.

And although there was once again a clock ticking on their time together, this time it was a good clock.

A baby clock.

Something else Hotch had told her suddenly came back again. Last night, when they were making love, he had whispered in her ear that if they just stayed focused on each other, and the baby, then at the end of the day, the rewards would be greater than any of the sacrifices. And he was right.

So that was going to be her mantra when things got bad.

That's when she felt Hotch's hand sliding over her bare hip and along her stomach. He made a careful circle all the way around her abdomen, pressing down lightly as he went along. When his hand finally stilled and he gave her belly a gentle pat, her eyes crinkled. Then she whispered, "I don't think you can feel anything yet. I couldn't."

He kissed her neck then, pulling her back more firmly, so that she could feel him pressing into her . . . her breath caught.

"Actually," he murmured with another kiss, this one to her shoulder, "I can. There's a little swell there now that definitely wasn't there last month."

Hotch had spent most of that night consciously memorizing every curve of Emily's body, understanding how special their time was, and not wanting to forget any of it. And he was positive that what he had just felt was a new curve.

Her stomach had been completely flat before.

Her awakening arousal momentarily forgotten, Emily's eyes widened as she brought her hand up to cover over his.

"Really?!" she asked excitedly, "you can feel it?! Where?!"

After they'd made love last night, Hotch had fallen asleep so she'd gone into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, trying to see if there were any visible changes in her body yet. It was the first opportunity that she'd had to check for them, since the previous morning when she'd realized that she'd missed her period. And even though she wanted keep this baby a secret for now, she had still been a little disappointed when there was nothing obvious in the reflection.

No visible proof of what was happening.

But Hotch had a different perspective. His knowledge of her body was more from touch. And he also had the benefit of a time gap for comparison.

That's when she felt him take her hand and guide it along the same circular path his had just run.

"Feel," he pressed down slightly as he moved it back and forth, "here, right there, it's tiny, but it's a curve."

"Oh, yeah," Emily's face softened as she said in wonderment, "I DO feel it."

Wow.

That was her baby . . . her eyes stung as she felt his hand on top of hers . . . their baby. Probably the size of a poppy seed right now, but her body was already starting to make room. And that was just one of a thousand changes that were about to happen. Really, she needed to get some books. And it would probably be best to get them online. Or maybe on Sunday, after Hotch had dropped off Jack, they could take a drive. Somewhere well out of the area.

Maybe Annapolis.

They should be completely anonymous up there.

Because they were hoping to keep this pregnancy totally under wraps for at least the first trimester, and they both knew a LOT of people in NoVA and the general Metro area. So if any of those people saw them buying baby books together, that was going to be a little hard to explain. And thinking about that point, she started to feel a tinge of sadness damper her enthusiasm.

This was going to be hard.

Not just the stress of what was going to happen at work, but most pregnant women had the support of their friends and family. Not only were she and Hotch going to have to keep a low profile when they were on their personal time, but this was the biggest thing happening in both of their lives, and they were going to have to hide it from everyone including their . . . and her thought trailed off as her eyes suddenly popped

Oh God! Their families!

She immediately rolled over in Hotch's arms.

"What are we going to do about our parents?!"

Of all the things they'd talked about last night, their families had never come up!

Hotch's eyes widened . . . crap! He hadn't even thought about that!

His fingers curled on her back as his teeth sunk into his lip.

"Okay, well," he took a breath, "you're going to go see your doctor this week and then we'll have a due date. I think most people wait through the first trimester before they tell anyone anyway, even family. But I guess if you really want to tell your parents now we," he winced, "can. Ugh," he closed his eyes for a second before he looked back at her with one eye squinted shut, "that's going to be so ugly though, Emily."

The ambassador was going to have his BALLS! And Emily's father! Dear God . . . Hotch winced again . . . he was in the CIA. He could easily have Hotch stripped, blindfolded, and dropped naked in the middle of the Khyber Pass before Emily had even finished getting the news out.

Seeing the visible distress on Hotch's face, a face which was generally pretty unflappable under even the worst of circumstances, Emily frowned.

Shit.

He was right, if they told her parents now, it would not go well. Not at all. So they should definitely wait at least until their relationship was a little more established. That way it would be clear to them that she and Hotch were just a regular couple having a baby, and not two work colleagues who were trying to make the best of what others would likely see as a one night stand gone wrong.

Of course she'd never seen it as a one night stand.

Even at the time it had meant more to her, and she knew it had for Hotch as well. And they'd both been right, because that had turned out to just be the prequel to their story.

Now the rest of it was being written.

And it was time to fix Hotch's face . . . it still looked like he was chewing on lemons. So she brought her hands up to cup his jaw before she leaned up to give him a kiss.

When she pulled away, seeing that his worry lines had smoothed out a little, she gave him a soft smile.

"We'll wait a couple months. Because you're absolutely right, if we say anything to them now, that's just going to make it all much more awkward. And God knows we don't need to invent obstacles, when we have enough real ones."

Then she let her hands fall down to his chest as she sighed.

"My mom and I still aren't very close, but of course I'd tell her about a grandchild. But I'll just work it all in gradually. I don't see her very often, once a month for dinner usually. So I'll just arrange to have dinner with her maybe Thursday or Friday this week, and when she asks, as she always does, if I'm seeing anyone, this time I'll say yes I am," her eyes crinkled, "I met him at work. A recently divorced father of one young boy. And then next month, I still shouldn't be showing yet, and that's when I'll tell her that it's you. Of course she won't be thrilled that I'm dating my boss, so I might get a little commentary there, but I don't think she'll completely freak out."

Seeing Hotch's nose wrinkle again, she gave him a reassuring smile.

"I can live with a little commentary. The complete freak out would be if I just called her right now and said we had sex one time, and now we're having a baby. For thing, as far as she knows, you're still married, so that would be an immediate disaster. I think this way will be good. Give her a little time to get used to the idea of us being together, and hearing that it's going well, and then just before it's time for our next dinner, which is when I absolutely WILL be showing, I'll call and tell her that I'm pregnant. The chips will fall however they're going to fall at that point. But she does like you, so that'll help. And my dad, he travels a lot so I probably won't be seeing him for a couple months anyway. I'll just email him when he's off in the middle of Izmir or somewhere, so he'll be completely adjusted to the idea, and all excited about being a grandpa, before he even comes back to the States."

Then she brushed her fingers through Hotch's hair, hoping that she'd alleviated some of his fears.

"So does that sound good?"

It seemed like a good plan to her. Her dad would be okay. Granted, if Hotch had abandoned her, then her father probably would have done something horrible to him. But, fortunately for everyone . . . Hotch most especially . . . that was not a concern. Her dad had never been judgmental about her life choices. Not like her mother was. So basically he would be happy if she was happy.

After he let Emily's plan digest for a second, Hotch's eyes crinkled, "yeah, that sounds good."

It sounded WAY better than being castrated and dropped into the middle of a Taliban stronghold, that was for sure!

Then he frowned.

"I don't know what to do about my family though," he rolled his eyes, "I did technically, just get divorced. My brother will be fine either way, but my mother is going to think things about you that we really don't want her to be thinking about you."

Emily winced.

Great, Hotch's mom was going to think she was a home wrecking whore. That's a nice introduction to the family! Then her brow furrowed as she again remembered a key point.

"Wait, though, Aaron, you and Haley haven't actually been together since last SPRING. And she left you. It's not like we were having this illicit affair that broke up your marriage. Neither of us did anything inappropriate," she tipped her head, "granted, this is all happening a bit quickly, but you were totally single when we got together. No legal or moral codes were broken."

Well, a couple of things they'd done were still illegal in a few southern states, but that wasn't really relevant right now.

Hotch stared at Emily for a moment, thinking about the full timeline, and then he realized that she was right.

Thank GOD he'd signed those papers before they'd had sex in the bathroom! They might not have been filed yet, but they were still official. With a clear conscience he could say that he'd been divorced prior to any physical relations with Emily taking place. Not that he planned on ever discussing the particulars of their baby's conception with anyone, but God only knew the kinds of things that could come out of his mother's mouth when he told her about his pregnant girlfriend three months after he got divorced.

The particulars might spill out purely in defense of Emily's honor.

For now though, he gave his new girl a nod.

"You're right. We are all clear there," then his lip quirked up, "and I feel good now. I don't see my family that often either, but still," he touched her cheek, "I want them to think well of you," his eyes crinkled, "so at least as far as the families go, things should be relatively smooth." Then he leaned in to give her a kiss her before murmuring against her lips, "thank you for reminding me of the facts of my life."

She huffed and murmured back, "you're welcome."

The kiss started to deepen then, and as she felt one of Hotch's hands sliding down to her ass, Emily's eyes snapped open and over to the clock.

They'd woken up REALLY early. It was only a little after six, her alarm wasn't even scheduled to go off for another forty five minutes, so this didn't even have to be a quickie.

Yay!

So she reached down between them, feeling Hotch was still primed just from her naked body being pressed against his. But as she began to stroke her hand back and forth along his length, giving him a light pump, she felt his body responding.

That's when he suddenly he grinned against her mouth, "did you lose your keys?"

Her hand paused its slow glide as she broke the kiss with a giggle.

"Well, it's still so early we can do EXTRA fun stuff!" Then she pouted, "after all, you're the one that said we can't have sex on the road," that's when she gave him a squeeze, grinning when he bit his lip, "we should stock up now."

Hotch's mouth quivered as he caught her fingers, and moved to roll her beneath him.

For a second he just straddled her thighs as he looked down at this beautiful woman with her nipples already taught, and her eyes sparkling.

She was grinning up at him.

"Stock up, huh?" He answered with a smirk as his left hand moved down and into her warmth, "I didn't know you could do that."

"Oh yeah," she nodded seriously, even as he saw her breath catch, "you can. It's a scientific fact. I think we'll have to have sex at least twice a day to cover the spread though."

At that one, Hotch let out a snort before he leaned in to cover her mouth with his all while letting his middle finger continue its gentle caress, making sure she was ready for him.

She definitely was, but he decided to hold off for another minute. Letting his thumb continue to lightly brush her clit, the middle and index fingers on his other hand slid in and started to stroke her even further back.

It only took a minute before she let out a moan of, "oh yeah, that's it," so he knew he'd the sweet spot. So as his erection grew, pressing now almost uncomfortably into her thigh, he continued to play, watching to see how long it would take to bring her over the edge. Because they'd only had the one night before. And as much as he had learned about her body then, there was so much he still needed to know.

And feeling her rise up, pulling his fingers in deeper, he sped up his internal strokes all while making sure that her clit was now being worked in little circles. His eyes crinkled as he watched her breathing start to change.

Then she whimpered and started to pant.

Her body was starting to shake as a light pink glow spread across her chest, and still he kept up the movements, wanting to make sure that she had a quality finish.

And she absolutely did, but it was the first time he had seen her come almost silently, nothing but those whimpers and pants. But he could feel her body moving, and he could see the bliss on her face, and he knew that she was happy. And that's all he wanted.

To find all the ways that he could make her happy.

Once her body had finally settled though and she opened her eyes, he winked. And she licked her lips as she gave him a lascivious grin back.

So he let his fingers slide out, and shifted back a little so he could get them both better situated.

She opted to hook her legs over his shoulders. So he moved up to his knees and put his hands on her hips . . . then he began to slowly slide into her warmth.

His eyes fell shut as he let out a groan.

Because this was honestly his favorite part from that first night, just that first moment of making the connection with her. Physically of course it, (she), felt amazing, but emotionally it was actually when he felt closest to her.

It was always the moment when he stopped feeling alone.

Because even when he and Haley had been at their best, he'd always felt a faint disconnect in their relationship. It was just that he hid so much of his true self from her, all of that darkness and trauma at his core, their emotional bond could never be complete. But when he and Emily had joined for the first time, it had been different. Because she had her own darkness, and her own trauma.

They had found each other in their broken bits.

And now, their connection was even stronger because their relationship was stronger. The sex last month had been great, but last night he'd discovered a new plateau. And as he began to move within her depths now, he felt a spark of something grand.

It might have been joy.

And he paused for a moment to look down at Emily in wonderment, "you know, I think this might be the happiest I've ever been."

Emily stared up at him with a beatific smile as she whispered back.

"Me too."

A/N 2: I'd figured it's already an M story so might as throw in one quick little sex paragraph. The one good thing about all the sex in the beginning of the story, anything I do now is tame in comparison!

From here, we'll start just jumping in with them randomly for a few chapters (ala Girl proper) and then, for those of you reading this for the first time, we have a case fic built in here. I loved writing that bit :) Ha, ha, but we will get to it again soon enough!