This is the first story I've ever written for Criminal Minds, even though it's one of my favorite shows. But I've had all these little Hotchniss plots running around in my head, and they won't leave me alone. They basically revolve around three different possible starting points of their romantic relationship. This story takes place early season 7. It's not much, just a little insight into how I could imagine Emily and Hotch getting together. I have a whole bunch of half-written ideas that could follow this story, but I'm not sure I'll ever get around to finishing those. For now, it's just this story, which will have two chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own the show or its characters. Obviously.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Emily startles awake, sitting upright immediately while Ian Doyle's voice still echoes. It takes her a second to realize she's not in some warehouse in Boston, but a hotel near Scranton. Right. Their third case back-to-back since the local case with the former Navy SEAL. Four women stabbed to death, their bodies dumped in abandoned warehouses. It's a tough case, but not the reason why Emily is awake at – she glances at the alarm clock beside her – 2:00 a.m., shaking like a leaf and tears welling up in her eyes. Not entirely, anyway. Her hand moves to her midsection before she realizes it. She has barely touched the scar when the images from her nightmare come flooding back. Except it's hard to tell whether it was really just that, a nightmare. Over the past 8 months, her nights have been spent alternating between reliving what actually happened to her and imagining what Doyle could have done to her team, her friends. A table leg through JJ's gut, Hotch's apartment burnt to the ground with him and Jack inside, the whole team mowed down by bullets in that damn warehouse, and so on. Those images have become so familiar that they might as well be real. Emily can feel the panic rising again now, even though deep down she knows that her friends are all right there, safe and sound. But that rationale does nothing to ease her mind.

JJ. I need to see JJ. Her best friend has a way of calming her down without any words. Like no one else, JJ can ground her, make her feel safe again. Pushing the blankets off her, Emily stands on wobbly legs. She has to take a few deep breaths to calm down before she trusts herself to walk without falling right back down. When she opens the door, she hesitates. Was JJ in 205 or 215? Giving herself a moment to recall, she turns to the right and knocks on door 215. Not hearing anything, Emily moves to knock again, jumping slightly when the door suddenly opens.

"Prentiss?" Hotch asks sleepily.

"Hotch? I'm sorry, I thought this was JJ's room."

"Uh, no, I think she's somewhere on the floor above us."

"Oh, okay." Emily really doesn't feel like going up there, having to guess what room JJ is in. She feels guilty enough about waking up one of her team members. She doesn't want to risk waking up another, or god forbid a total stranger. "I'll just go back to my room then. Sorry for waking you." She starts to turn around and leave, when Hotch gently touches her arm.

"Prentiss, are you okay?" When she doesn't move or answer, Hotch opens the door further and motions her inside. Hesitantly, Emily makes her way past him.

Hotch closes the door behind his agent and turns to face her. A pang of sympathy shoots across his chest when he sees her standing in the middle of the room, looking lost and somehow very small. It's a stark contrast to the agent he normally sees out in the field. Moving closer to her, he tries to look into her eyes but finds her looking down at her hands, where she's picking at her fingernails.

"What's wrong?"

Emily opens her mouth to answer, but Hotch cuts her off before she can get out a single word. "And don't tell me you're fine, because I know you're not. It doesn't take a profiler to see that."

"I just had a bad dream, okay? That's all. I was a little freaked out, but I'm fine now, I promise."

"Pren- Emily… I've been where you are. I mean, not exactly, but I can imagine what your nightmares are like. You can't be fine right after those. I know I wasn't. And with everything that happened between you and Doyle, it's okay not to be fine all the time. Just… let yourself be human. You don't have to be Superwoman all the time, not with me."

Emily just nods, not daring to speak. Her nightmare flashes before her eyes again, and she's afraid if she utters just a single word about it she'll break down and cry. Emily Prentiss is a lot of things, but she's not a woman who cries in front of her boss in the middle of the night.

Of course, Hotch sees her struggle to keep the tears at bay. It hurts to see her like that, and he wants nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and keep her there forever. Not that he can tell her that, of course. Considering he's her superior, the things he's been feeling lately could only be labeled as inappropriate. Still, he can't just stand by while she's hurting. "Listen, I know I'm not JJ, but is there anything I can do for you?"

She shakes her head. "I should just go. I'm sorry." She brushes past him, but he catches her arm and turns her around again. His heart breaks at the sight of tears welling up in her eyes. To hell with appropriate. Careful but determined, he wraps his arms around her in a tight hug.

"It's okay, Emily. I'm right here. You're safe." It takes a minute, but then her arms wrap around him too, holding on tight. Not long after, he can feel her start to shake with sobs, her tears staining his shirt. If possible, his heart breaks even more for her. She is always so strong and composed, and even with the hell she's been through, she never shows any hint of her pain. It's admirable, for sure, but a person can only take so much. Knowing there is nothing else he can do right now, Hotch just continues to hold her while she cries.

After a few minutes that neither of them notices passing, Emily's near hysterical sobbing slows down until eventually, she's just sniffling lightly. She releases her tight grip, already starting to feel embarrassed about her sudden outburst of emotion. "Sorry, I got your shirt all wet," she says softly.

"That's okay. Do you want to talk about it?"

Emily shakes her head. "No, I don't think I can. I guess I just needed someone real, someone who could ground me. Thank you for being that someone. It means more than you know." Before she can register what she's doing, she rises up on her toes and presses her lips against his. The kiss barely lasts a second before realization settles in and Emily is flat on her feet again, looking up at Hotch with eyes wide in horror. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that."

Way to go Emily, first you wake up your boss in the middle of the night, then you cry all over his shirt, and then you go ahead and kiss him. Nice. What must he think of you? She tries to extract herself from his embrace, but Hotch holds her firmly in place.

"Don't apologize," he says softly.

Emily doesn't know what to say to that. His gaze is locked onto hers, making her feel exposed somehow. For longer than she dares to admit, she's had feelings for him. Romantic feelings, and pretty intense ones at that. She just never meant to actually act on them. If he finds out how she really feels about him, things will just get awkward between them. Inevitably, she'll have to transfer out. Although part of her thinks that might be best for everyone, she is not ready to do that just yet. Looking into his eyes, though, she knows she's fighting a lost battle. When he looks at her like that it's like he can look straight into her soul. Neither of them speaks or moves for a while. They just stand in the middle of the room, still in each other's arms, trying to read the other's mind. The energy between them shifts slowly, and in tune as they are, they both lean in at the same time.

Their lips meet again, nothing chaste about it this time. Emily marvels at the feel of his lips on hers, which are surprisingly soft. Although they are already wrapped in each other's arms, Emily pulls Hotch even closer to her. She deepens the kiss, and is pleased when she hears him moan into her mouth. It's kind of a turn on too, and she allows herself to get lost in the moment. The next thing she knows, they're moving toward the bed. She's not sure if it's him pulling her back or herself pushing him forward, but it doesn't matter. She feels safer in this instant than she's felt in months, and she can't bring herself to put a stop to it. As Hotch's legs hit the bed, he pauses and pulls back slightly.

"Emily, are you sure?"

Emily smiles. Aaron Hotchner, ever the gentleman. Instead of answering him, she pulls her shirt over her head, carelessly tossing it behind her. Taking advantage of his surprise, she pushes Hotch back onto the bed and climbs on top, straddling him. There's a small voice in the back of her head that reminds her this isn't a good idea, but she cancels it out. Right now, she needs this, and Hotch isn't objecting. So in a rare moment of self-indulgence, Emily turns off her brain and lets her body and heart guide her. She leans in for another kiss, wasting no time on going slow and gentle this time. Before long, all their clothes are scattered around the room, passion building as the minutes go by. It's a little rushed, almost desperate even, but neither can bring themselves to care. It feels right, and that's all that matters.

After, they sink heavily into each other's arms. Now both emotionally and physically exhausted, Emily drifts off to sleep within minutes. And for what feels like the first time in ages, she doesn't have a single nightmare.

…

So, that's it for the first half of this little story. The second chapter is almost finished, I'll probably post that right after Christmas.

Happy holidays, everyone!