CHAPTER 27

It had been four months since that terrifying evening when Foyet attacked Hotch and Emily in their apartment. It had not been an easy time for them as they both recovered from their respective injuries however with each other and their friends, they were doing well.

Hotch had started physical therapy a few days after all of the stitches came out of his abdomen. It took about a month for him to be able to exercise his abdominal muscles without pain. Two weeks later he was cleared by medical to return to normal duty however he wasn't sure if he was ready to return to the FBI from his sabbatical yet.

Shortly after he was cleared, he was contacted by the head of the FBI Academy requesting for him to fill a temporary vacancy for an instructor on medical leave. After talking to Emily, he agreed to take the position.

While he enjoyed working again and interacting with the trainees, he knew that it was not the type of work he wanted to be doing permanently. That realization had him already research his options again for once he completed the time he agreed on at the Academy.

Emily's recovery was still ongoing given the complexities of her injury. Shortly after starting PT, Derek had approached Emily offering his help with her recovery. Whether they ever worked together again aside, he wanted to be part of helping her regain as much mobility as possible in her shoulder and arm.

So from that day on, Derek attended PT appointments with Emily when Hotch couldn't with his goal being at least once every two weeks. He discussed her progress with the physical therapist that she was working with to set up an acceptable routine for her outside of her appointments. Additionally, he modified the exercise routine that he had written up for JJ during her pregnancy to help Emily keep the rest of her body in shape.

On days when Derek went with her to PT, they would always stop for lunch afterwards enjoying just hanging out as friends again. The friendly lunches reassured Emily that Derek's exercise routines were actually meant to help while Derek learned not to take her grumbling at him personally.

As former partners, they were still able to read cues from the other. Emily didn't miss Derek's worried look when she mentioned one day of wanting to test to go back into the field. While on another day, he tried to reassure her after a session. A new therapist had pushed her too hard and then recommended rest and a sling until her next sesson that it would work out. It was a slow process however progress was continuing to happen.

Meanwhile, as she promised in the hospital, JJ made a similar offer with Emily's OT appointments. They worked on tasks Emily would need to be able to do once the baby arrived, practicing with a doll with a similar weight of a newborn. With success in the various skills, Emily's anxiety lessened about her not being able to care for the baby when she arrived.

Additionally after trying several baby carrying options they found a couple of slings that Emily could wear comfortably. She had quickly found the carriers that rested on both shoulders were uncomfortable on her shoulder even when empty.

If that wasn't enough, her physical therapist nixed those options when it was mentioned citing that a carrier strap resting on her left shoulder could cause damage at least until she strengthened the muscles around the shoulder.

While still on extended medical leave, Emily had been called a week earlier to check if she was up for doing some translation work. After reviewing expectations, she was assigned work that she could mostly do at home part time as she had made it clear that her physical therapy and pregnancy were her primary priorities now.

Even with a significant amount of time having now passed since the news about the attack, the news of their marriage still wasn't publicly known within the Bureau. The investigation ended up being refocused away from that aspect and more towards Foyet's escape and that he was able to ambush them as well as the method of how he was able to easily gain access to the apartment.

Hotch and Emily discussed when they should talk to HR however Dave had suggested they hold off a while longer given that both were in temporary assignments at the moment.. Apparently the tide was turning again due to all of the resignations with the policy. The administration was in the midst of rewriting the anti fraternization guidelines again but they hadn't been published yet.

They had almost made that step after an irate call from Strauss demanding to meet with both of them. While technically, neither of them were currently supervised by Strauss, Hotch agreed to meet with her on a day he was at the Academy however he assured Emily that he could handle Strauss without her.

It had been at the same time that she had been stressing out about the upcoming anatomy scan on the baby. She worried that there would be some effect on the baby from the injury itself as well as from the surgery, medications etc. It further concerned her that Reid was being particularly quiet on the topic even when asked. It wasn't like him to not be spurting off statistics.

However when the day came for the ultrasound, they were thrilled to learn that even with the extended exam, as far as they could tell the baby was developing normally. They were also able to find out that they were expecting a girl. After they left the office that day, Emily was finally able to rest having received good news.

Good news that Hotch wasn't going to let Strauss ruin for them. So when Hotch saw her, Strauss was outraged that Emily wasn't there for the meeting and demanded that they reschedule for her to be there. At that point, Hotch made it clear that she would not be talking to Emily. That she was no longer Emily's supervisor and was currently on leave and therefore wasn't required to honor the request.

While for years he had gotten professional fulfillment from his work in the BAU now his head was no longer there. The constant struggles with Strauss were a large part of what had worn him down.

He had also been discouraged that once he had announced that he was stepping down from his position in the BAU how quickly Strauss worked to replace him. How she was determined to change the BAU, diminishing what he and his team had accomplished to have it function in the way she wanted.

His request for Derek to remain as Unit Chief was immediately squashed. Conflicts with Strauss' pick for Unit Chief had Morgan transferred out of the BAU to become a full time instructor at the Academy at the same time Garcia was transferred to the Cybercrimes Unit. Reid left as Strauss was in the process of transferring him, accepting an offer to teach at Georgetown followed shortly afterwards. JJ and Dave were still in the BAU however Hotch wasn't sure for how much longer.

As much as they appreciated Dave's hospitality in the open ended invitation for them to stay with him, they knew they needed to plan for the future. Once Hotch had fully recovered and Emily had improved, they sat down and discussed what they wanted in terms of living arrangements. After discussing the pros and cons of apartment v condo v house, they decided to buy a house.

With that decision made, they spent a great deal of time choosing a location. They wanted to be near their friends and near Jack. They also discussed how the commute would be from several different areas for various work options they were considering since that topic was still up in the air for both of them.

With their narrowed down list, they met with a recommended realtor and after looking at several houses, they found the house that had checked all of their boxes. The house they chose had the space that they wanted including office space for both of them. The fenced yard had ample space as well as a large entertaining area.

Given what they had been through in their apartment, they consulted a security company that Dave recommended to work with them to develop a security plan for the house that would be completed before they would move into the house. Along with that a crew Morgan had recommended would be arriving to complete the interior painting they wanted done after they took possession of the house.

But not trusting anyone else with the job, Morgan had offered to come over himself on a weekend and helped Hotch painted what would be the nursery as well as Jack's room. Even with not knowing the gender of the baby at that point, Hotch and Emily had chosen a theme that they liked. While Garcia, Dave and JJ had all helped Hotch with the legwork of shopping for nursery furniture, Emily had picked out the decor based on their theme.

When they moved to the house they gave Jack the option of picking his room as well as deciding how he wanted it decorated. He could have the same theme as he had had at the apartment or he could pick something new.

After some thought he told them he wanted to change the theme of his room to an animal theme. Along with that he had requested blue walls because it was his favorite color. After a couple of attempts, they found animal decor that Jack loved with the bonus that it looked great with blue walls. His bathroom was decorated with ocean animals and painted light green.

With the news of the changes in Hotch's life, Haley had become unreasonable again. Once Hotch and Emily bought their house, Haley had taken him to court claiming that he must have been hiding money during the divorce for him to afford that house on his government salary. That she wanted an increase in child support.

However Haley had quickly regretted that decision when during the court proceeding, documents were presented that clearly showed that the money for the house had come from Emily's trust fund.

While they were in court, Hotch's lawyer petitioned for a change in the custody agreement. With the changes he had made with his job, he now wanted to fully share custody. Haley had been fighting him for weeks on his request for more time.

With them now back in court anyway, Hotch showed documents about his new role along with the hours he was now working. The judge granted his request for 50/50 custody as long as his work responsibilities did not significantly change.

Given that his position at the Academy was temporary, he was also required to submit to the court a breakdown in his job responsibilities once he found a permanent position. The judge concluded by saying he wanted to see all of them back in six months for an update before making the change permanent.

So while things weren't perfect, they were slowly moving in the direction they wanted with the help of their friends. And each other.

AN: Next chapter- what a difference a year makes.