Chapter 5

When the jet touched down everyone broke off and said their goodbyes like normal, excited for some downtime before Monday. Emily went to pick up her dry cleaning and restock on some non-perishables. While walking through the canned soup isle she spotted some crackers and her mind thought back to the crackers and ginger ale Hotch had given her and decided to stock up on some. She grabbed a few packets of crackers and made her way to the soda isle for some of the ginger ales. The carbonation seemed to help her stomach more than the tea had been lately.

Emily made her way home and unloaded her groceries. She may not be the best cook but she knew how to make some spaghetti for lunch. After finishing her food she curled up on the couch for some light reading. Emily picked up Kurt Vonnegut's Galápagos curled up on the couch with her fluffy blanket. As soon as he heard the blanket being moved Sergio ran up and tucked himself next to her as she read. She must've made it to page 46 before sleep took over.

Pat. Pat. Emily was awaken by something hitting her face. As she squinted to see what rudely disturbed her Sergio stepped further on her chest reminding her of dinner time.

"Okay, okay already! You won't starve if I'm a few minutes late." Emily complained as she got off the couch and went to pour his food. Emily glanced around and noticed it had gotten a bit dark. She glanced at the clock and seen 5:30. She texted Hotch to let him know she was running a bit behind, but would be on her way soon.

Emily threw on her black dress for the night, she had been debating on throwing it out for a while now, maybe donate it or something. It was a simple boxy neckline that showed a bit of cleavage and hugged her hips just right and to anyone else it's a normal dress. To her it was a reminder of the slimy pickup "artist" Viper. Chills went down her spine thinking about that creep. She remembered Viper said "the things I could make you do" and inched in closer, Hotch was visibly pissed and looked like he would make him regret that comment. But Emily wore it when she was sent in to get some more information she was confident and looked amazing, she knew she would turn heads, one in particular was what she wanted, but received nothing but a "keep an eye on Jordan". Emily applied the bare minimum of mascara and started her drive to his house.

Saying she was nervous would be an understatement, her stomach felt like it would flip flop at any second. Her knock was low and fast, but it was enough for Hotch to hear as he was opening the door in less than a minute. The aroma hit her nose before anyone said anything and her stomach audibly growled. Emily chuckled, "I guess your right about that chicken Parmesan."

Hotch smiled and reached for her hand to guide her into his house.

"Is that the dress I think it is?" Hotch asked.

"You remember it?" Emily was shocked.

"Are you kidding me? I didn't want to even send you near Viper and after talking to you in the locker room…" Hotch blew out his breath in a frustrated smile. "You came out of that locker room and I wanted to take you out for dinner like the case didn't even exist. You took my breath away".

"I haven't worn this dress since that night because I thought maybe you didn't like it as much as I thought you would." Emily admitted.

Hotch smiled and took their plates to the table, Emily giggled when she saw what looked like dino nuggets under sauce and cheese. Hotch followed her line of eyesight and smiled widely.

"Sorry it's the only chicken I can get Jack to eat these days. Do you mind?" Hotch asked.

"Of course not! I love dino nuggets. Is Jack here too?" Emily loved Jack but she needed to know how open she could be right now.

"He's at Jessica's for one more night, apparently his cousins got a science experiment kit and he wanted to stay one more night. I didn't think it was a bad idea it would give us some privacy." Hotch explained.

Emily was nervous for dinner to end but wanted to get the tests over with to know once and for all. Hotch finished his food last and looked over to Emily who was starting to fidget.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"I'm sorry I have to use the bathroom and if I go now I might not be able to go later for the tests." Emily answered shyly.

"Oh of course umm here" he handed her the bag. "You can take them and I can wait with you out here if you want?"

Emily nodded her head and made her way to the bathroom with the bag. When she opened the bag she saw 3 different tests, one digital, one red dye and one blue dye test. Emily took all three and read the directions, It seemed they were in luck all three tests took 5 minutes.

4 minutes

Emily walked out of the bathroom to see Hotch pacing the living room floor. When he seen her he wrapped her in a hug and started to comb his fingers through her hair.

"If you are pregnant I think you may have worse morning sickness than Hailey ever did. I learned the ginger ale and crackers trick from her." Hotch paused for a minute. "I'm sorry is that weird?"

3 minutes

"Hotch she was your wife. She is always going to be the mother of your son and she will always hold a spot in your mind and heart. Also if that's how you learned the ginger ale trick tell me more because she must've dealt with the extreme exhaustion, how did she get anything done without caffeine?" Emily smiled up at him.

1 minute

Before she knew it her timer rang through the room and caused her to jump up. Hotch walked with her to the bathroom and held her hand as she flipped the first test. At first sight it looked like a negative except for the faintest second line. Emily flipped the digital test next PREGNANT was displayed clear as day. Just for good measure Emily flipped the blue dye test and two lines were clearly there.

Hotch looked to Emily who now had tears streaming down her face. He knew she always wanted to be a mother. These were happy tears, there was no doubt in his mind. Any case where a child was involved Emily shined, any case where a child was orphaned Emily was the first to volunteer to take them if it was unclear what would happen next. Emily took Jack too the zoo a few times and was a natural with him. He wrapped her in a tight embrace as she continued to cry.

"Congratulations, you're a mom!" He whispered into her ear.

"And you're a dad! Again!" Emily was soft spoken but excited she looked up to him still teary eyed but now smiling. He pulled her back into the hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Stay with me tonight?" Hotch asked once they gathered themselves. Hotch offered her a pair of his spare pajama pants and a plain white tee shirt when she nodded yes. Emily washed her face and went to his room.

Emily looked around and smiled as she placed one hand on her stomach she hadn't been in here since JJ's wedding. Hotch looked up from the bed, smiled and held his arms open for her to come over. Emily snuggled under his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. Hotch started to rub her stomach, there wasn't really a bump yet, but her stomach wasn't as tightly toned as she was used to.

"What are we going to do? Should we tell the team? Emily asked.

"Maybe we should work on scheduling you a doctor's appointment first. And just be there for each other? If the team figures it out then we come clean? Don't lie, but don't deny?" Hotch pondered.

"I like that, don't deny anything but also not hiding. My OB/GYN doctor is usually pretty good about fitting me in as soon as she can she knows my schedule can be crazy. It will most likely be during the week so I may have to request time off and schedule it during your lunch break. You do want to come don't you?" She rambled.

"There is nothing that would ever stop me. Not even if Strauss herself tried to pull me into a surprise meeting. I'm here for you, both of you."

Emily turned to Hotch and kissed him deeply. Hotch spooned Emily resting his hand on her stomach as they both drifted off into a deep sleep.