Here we go, another part for you guys! I'm still working on the final chapters, but I'm thinking there will be 8 parts, plus maybe an epilogue. Anyways, hope you enjoy Emily's reaction, plus a little story development :-)

Part 5

Kahlil Gibran once wrote: "Reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction."

When Emily opened her eyes, she found herself mere inches away from Hotch's face, close enough that she could feel his breath against her hair when he exhaled. Seeing with relief that he was still asleep, she carefully put some distance between them, but stayed where she was, sitting sideways on the couch, and took this rare opportunity to observe him undetected.

They had played cards for an hour or so, acting as if nothing had happened between them, even though Emily could feel him staring at her every once in a while. But she had been determined to keep the mood light and forget what had happened. It was nothing; a mere moment of weakness between a man and a woman. It happened all the time within law enforcement teams and partnerships. No big deal. It was just easier to ignore it, and although Hotch had given a half-assed attempt at convincing her to talk about it, she was pretty sure he wanted to forget about the incident just as much as she did.

At one point during their game, she had gone to the kitchen for a tea refill only to return and find him fast asleep, his hand still loosely holding his cards. And he had been winning too. So Emily had sat back down with a sigh, tired as hell, but somewhat reluctant to go to her room. So she had leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. The last thing she remembered was wondering how Hotch could sleep with his tie still neatly secured around his neck, and really wanting to unfasten the knot.

From the weak light shining through the windows now, Emily could tell it was just after dawn, so they could only have slept for a couple of hours. Returning her eyes to the man sleeping at her side, she sighed softly to herself. As much as she wanted to forget about what had happened, she couldn't help feeling curious about what had been going on in Hotch's head last night. She'd had enough romance in her life to recognize desire when she saw it, and she had definitely seen it in his eyes. What astounded her was that it was the first time she had ever seen him look at her this way, except… Except she now recalled that he had bore that same look in his office, just the day before, prior to their argument. And that dark, intense look on the plane back from Colorado that had left her breathless? Yes, she could now remember it as clearly as if it was yesterday. There had been longing in these looks, but she hadn't recognized what kind of longing at the time, because frankly she had been annoyed as hell by his constant aloofness. His coldness towards her over the last few weeks suddenly made a whole lot of sense.

But as much as she wanted to believe that last night's incident was nothing more than a moment of weakness, deep down she had trouble believing that Hotch would let go of his legendary self-control just for a passing fling. He was always so careful not to cross the line, to never show affection beyond the concern of a team leader, that Emily felt like it would take more than her touching his arm to make him loosen the tight grasp he had on his self-control. And because he had never really shown any signs of feeling anything for her more than professional friendship, his sudden attentions were totally unexpected. Not that they had been totally unwelcome – in fact Emily was trying with all her might to avoid thinking about how thrilled and curious she had been, and how much she had actually wanted him to kiss her.

God! What a mess! In truth she had never really seen him in this way before last night, never seriously considered the possibility, so her body's coming alive at his touch had been totally unexpected. And he had barely touched her! She felt her cheeks flush at the memory and shook herself.

The question now was: what the hell was she going to do?

Pretending that it didn't mean anything was probably a good short-term solution, but she knew she couldn't ignore it forever. Stuff like that had a tendency to come back to bite her in the ass, and she wasn't ready to let something like that risk her future at the BAU. Besides, she knew him well enough to know that he probably wouldn't leave it alone.

If she was honest with herself, she was flattered by his attentions, and knowing that he found her attractive made her start to ponder about her own feelings. Hotch was… well, not really her type – then again she didn't have a very good track record – but she had always thought of him as quite a catch, despite his seriousness, emotional detachment and damn need to save everyone. He was a brilliant, driven, attractive man and despite their mutual distrust when she had first joined the team, she had always been attracted to his intensity, integrity and passion for his work. But he was still her boss, and not only did it go against Bureau policy, it could also have serious repercussions on the team. And Hotch was more than aware of that, she had seen it on his face as he'd all but jumped away from her. When had he started seeing her in that way, she wondered?

Clinking noises from the kitchen startled her, and she straightened her back to have a look. Reid was making coffee, and Emily blushed at the realization that he must have seen them sleeping close together on his way to the kitchen. Shaking the embarrassment away, after all there had been nothing too compromising in their positions, she rose to her feet and walked to join him, stretching the sore muscles of her neck in the process.

"Good morning."

He smiled at her quickly as he filled up the coffee pot with water. "Hey! Sorry I fell asleep so early last night, I really wanted to stay up and keep you company but…"

Emily smiled. "Reid, it wasn't early, even by BAU standards. And I'm glad at least one of us got a good night's sleep." She patted his shoulder and he gave her a quick smile in reply. "Alright, I'm going to shower. Save some of that caffeine for me!" she said as she walked away.

When she returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, feeling somewhat refreshed and ready to face a new day, Hotch was up and talking on the phone in the living room, while Reid sat quietly at the kitchen table, reading as he ate breakfast.

Emily helped herself to some coffee and tried not to react when Hotch walked up to her side and stretched his arm in front of her to get himself a mug. She poured him some coffee before he had a chance to ask.

"Did you get some sleep?" he asked for her ears only, and Emily fought a shiver at the gravelly sound of his morning voice. She threw him a quick glance, but immediately regretted it. She had never seen him with stubble before, and she found it disturbingly alluring and… intimate. God, she had to stop this! If she wanted to ignore the incident, she had to stop coming up with fantasy material.

"Some. You?"

He let out a short chuckle that came out more as a snort. "Apparently." He turned his head in her direction as he leaned his hands against the counter. "I'm sorry, I meant to stay awake and keep watch, but I-"

Emily chuckled briefly at his echoing Reid's apology. "It's okay. You needed the sleep, and I went to bed right after I found you snoring on the couch," she said cheekily. It was a tiny lie, but he didn't need to know how closely together they had spent the night.

"Liar." He snorted as he added some half and half to his coffee. Emily almost chocked on her own beverage before he added: "I don't snore."

"Yes you do," Reid supplied from where he was sitting and Emily smiled at Hotch's dumbfounded expression, as if surprised that Reid had been listening in on the conversation.

"Well anyway," he turned completely serious again, "I just talked to JJ, we have a case in Arizona. Kidnapping. It just came up this morning." He gave her a grave look as he pursed his lips. "And I thought you'd want to know… Agent Mansfield's funeral will be held the day after tomorrow."

Emily's face fell. "Hotch, I need to be there."

He looked at her somberly for a second. "I know. We'll discuss this later."

She held his gaze, then nodded reluctantly. He took a sip from his coffee before walking to get his bag next to the couch. "I'll be ready to leave in ten minutes. Start packing whenever you're ready." He walked to the bathroom and closed the door.

While Hotch was getting ready, the two security agents reported back. Apparently everything had gone smoothly during the night and there had been no sign of anyone coming near the house. It was reassuring, but Emily was still eager to leave town for a few days and be away from it all. How lucky she was to have the chance to get away almost on a weekly basis, even when it was to chase after psychopaths.

True to his word, Hotch exited the bathroom ten minutes later, showered, clean-shaven and wearing a different suit. He helped them pack what little they had and minutes later the car was loaded and ready to go. This time Hotch sat at the front with one of the security agents, and Emily was a little relieved that he didn't take this opportunity to try and have a talk. Oh she knew that he would never mention what had almost happened between them in public, even less in front of three agents, but he might still try to convince her not to attend Mansfield's funeral. And that was out of the question.

Emily tried to use the drive back to Quantico to catch up on some sleep, but she could only manage a few minutes here and there. Once at the BAU, they didn't lose anytime and met with the others for the briefing. Judging by the grave looks on everyone's faces, Emily and Hotch weren't the only ones who had little sleep last night. While JJ briefed them on their kidnapping case, Emily tried to shift her focus and give the case her undivided attention. Kidnappings were always rough, so she knew she had to prepare herself mentally for the chaos and worry that would greet them in Arizona.

The flight was spent going over victimology, and Emily was relieved to see that Hotch seemed to be entirely focused on the case. No trace of awkwardness or tension on his part, no stolen looks or avoidance whatsoever. Good. Maybe she had misjudged him and read too much into his behavior after all. Maybe it hadn't meant anything.

Because of the nature of the case, Garcia stayed with her super computers in Quantico, but Hotch still insisted that Emily work the case as covertly as possible, so when they arrived, she settled at a desk at the police station with Reid.

As expected, finding the two missing girls and their kidnapper was emotionally distressing, stressful and daunting, and more than once Emily felt like she should be out there with the others, helping with the interviews. But she knew that working on the geographical profile and victimology with Reid was as important as anything else, so she pushed those feelings aside and kept working. Time was always of the essence in kidnapping cases, so they all worked well into the night, until they finally made some progress at finding a viable suspect. This is when her day at the station finally paid off and her and Reid's profile provided vital information for Garcia to find the girls' possible location. Emily waited anxiously while the others raided the location, and when she received the call around 4am that they had found the girls alive and had arrested the perp, it was all it took for her not to burst into tears of relief.

When the rest of the team got back to the station, exhausted but elated, Hotch ordered them all to check into their hotel and get some sleep, as their plane wasn't scheduled to leave until noon.

Emily mentally rolled her eyes when Hotch and Dave insisted that they enter her hotel room first to make sure it was clear, but deep down she was grateful for the gesture. It was probably her exhaustion talking, but these days she saw danger everywhere, so it was good to have clear-headed professionals making up for her growing paranoia.

"Room's clear," Hotch said as he walked back into the corridor, holstering his gun. "Dave will take first watch, call him if anything happens." The man in question met with them just as Hotch was finishing his sentence.

"You guys don't have to keep watch," Emily protested, "you need rest just as much as I do, I-"

"Just humor me, Prentiss," Hotch said sternly.

"We all know you'll be fine," Dave started with a smile playing at the corner of his mouth, "but do us all a favor and allow Hotch to get some sleep, you know he'll only rest if he knows there's someone making sure you're safe."

He winked as he walked away, patting Hotch's shoulder on the way.

Emily smiled as she redirected her gaze to Hotch and saw him purse his lips at the older man's teasing, the gesture revealing his dimples. "Well, if it would make you feel better…" Emily added playfully.

He merely narrowed his eyes. "As a matter of fact, it would." He gave her a curt nod, and for a moment seemed to consider saying more, but then closed his mouth again. "Sleep well."

"Hotch!" she called just as he was about to turn on his heels. He half-turned to look at her, but the apprehensive and guarded expression on his face took her aback – what was he so afraid of? She sighed. "About Mansfield's funeral?"

"Later, Prentiss. Get some sleep."

The several hours of sleep and the successful outcome of their case helped improve everybody's mood, so that the rest of the team were much more chipper on the flight back to DC than they had been on their flight West. Emily herself had slept a restless sleep that did nothing to alleviate her weariness. Instead the adrenaline drop and fitful rest just left her completely drained. Though she felt like she had been jittery for months now, today she felt like the only thing keeping her awake was caffeine and her unshakable sense of hyper-vigilance. So she tried to relax as well as she could on the plane, playing cards with Dave, Reid and JJ. But despite the relaxed atmosphere, she just wasn't into it.

She really wanted to go to Mansfield's funeral the next day, and she kept trying to come up with the best way to convince Hotch that it was a good idea. The only thing she could think of was if they decided to set up their bait situation at the funeral, but she hated the idea. It was disrespectful to Mansfield, his family and those who were going to pay their respects to the fallen agent. But how else was she to go, short of using a disguise? And that was so not an option. She wanted to go as herself, and show Mansfield's family how very sorry she was for his loss, and do it in person.

"Em, it's your turn," JJ said, bringing her back to the present.

"Oh, sorry…" she looked down at her cards and frowned. "Ah, you know what, I'm not really into it – hey Derek, come and take my place?"

She rose to her feet and gave her cards to Morgan as he dropped himself into her seat. "Prentiss, what's this? And you call yourself a good card player?" he said indignantly.

Emily gave an apologetic shrug as she walked to the back to make herself some tea.

"Everything alright?"

His low voice just inches from her ear made her jump out of her skin, so much so that she missed her aim and poured hot water on the counter instead of into her cup. "Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine."

"You're determined to go?" he stated more than asked as he got two tea bags from the box and handed her her favorite brand.

She sighed at how well he knew her – or probably how accurate his profile of her was. "I owe it to him Hotch, and to his family."

He nodded briefly. "You do realize that it was probably Norland's plan all along?"

Emily turned to look at him with wide eyes. "You think he killed Mansfield to lure me in?"

"Yes, I do. He's setting up his own bait situation. He's created an event for which he's sure you'll show up – he's set up the perfect time and place."

"God, you're right!" she cried. "How could I have missed this!" she said angrily as she walked back to sit on the wide seat. Hotch sat across from her, and she could tell that they now had everybody else's attention as well. "Damn it! Why didn't I see it?"

"What's up, guys?" Morgan asked curiously.

Emily felt Hotch's eyes on her for a second, but when she didn't look up or reply, he answered in her stead. "I- we believe that Norland planned Mansfield's murder and funeral to lure Prentiss in. Sending me the restaurant photos and Mansfield's murder make no sense otherwise."

The others exchanged concerned looks. "So how can we make sure it's safe enough for Prentiss to go?" Morgan asked and Emily felt her heart swell at his support. He knew her well enough to know she'd want to go at all cost.

"We have to be careful," Rossi said slowly, warningly. "This guy's smart – he's meticulous and apparently has been planning this for months. What makes us think we can outsmart him at his own game?"

"But if we know what he's planning, we can be ready for it," Morgan protested.

"But we don't," Hotch retorted, "not really. We only know he's planning something. We're not even sure what he wants from Prentiss."

Emily blew out a sigh. "I saw the bodies, read the details in the report Hotch, I have a pretty good idea what he wants from me." She shivered at the thought.

"I'm not so sure our profile is quite complete yet," he replied. "For one, he's almost completely changed his MO by killing Mansfield, by sending the photos. He's been stalking you, yes, but he's also included the rest of us into his fantasy. And we all agreed that this is not regular stalking behavior. There has to be something more he wants from us."

"Is that supposed to make us feel better?" JJ asked with a grimace.

"I'm just saying that as much as we think we can predict his next moves, there's another side of him that we didn't see the first time around. And that could bite us in the ass when we least expect it."

"Okay, so what have we learned since he started stalking Prentiss that we didn't know before?" Dave asked as he set down his cards.

"Mansfield was killed from a gunshot wound," Morgan started, "that means the killer didn't feel comfortable attacking him in a close combat fashion as he does with women."

"He wasn't afraid to get physical with you though, Morgan," Reid reminded him.

"So maybe killing men just doesn't give him the same amount of pleasure as torturing women," Dave said. "Killing Mansfield was a means to an end, not a pleasure kill."

"Okay, so he's ready to do anything to get Prentiss's attention," Morgan summarized.

"Not just Prentiss. All of our attention," Hotch corrected. "We need to figure out why he made us a part of his fantasy as well, and why he thinks that by getting to Prentiss he gets to us all."

"She's a part of the team, of course it gets to us all," Dave said as he gave Emily a nod.

"And I did have kind of a personal connection with him," she added as she recalled that day in front of the shed. "I challenged him. And because we almost caught him, he's been forced to hide from everybody and probably hasn't been able to indulge in his urges to kill women. We took his hunting ground away from him that day."

"So he's angry and probably resents us, with particular hatred for Prentiss," Dave surmised.

"You said so yourself, Emily," Hotch chimed in. "You challenged him; a woman that fits his victimology had the upper hand. That must have destabilized the basis of his delusions."

"But I didn't have the upper hand," Emily countered.

"Maybe not physically, but he knew he couldn't seduce you like the others because you knew who he was, that was probably enough," Reid said.

"Are you saying he doesn't see her as one of his potential victims anymore?" Dave asked.

Hotch shrugged lightly and met Emily's gaze briefly before his eyes darted away. "He certainly sees her as someone he needs to punish or prove to himself that he can have, but I don't think he sees her as one of his previous victims, no. The game isn't about the seduction anymore, it's about the challenge, and punishing those who have doubted him."

"And that's exactly what we did…" Reid finished for him.

"Okay, so where does that leave us for the funeral tomorrow?" Morgan asked. "He wants to prove to himself that he's better than we are. So what's he planning to accomplish that?"

"Maybe it doesn't matter," Dave started, with that look that said he suddenly had an idea. "Whatever he's planning, maybe we can beat him to it."

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked.

"We know that he's been planning this for a long time, and we know that he's very patient… Odds are that he'll show up at the location of his choice long before the actual event in order to make sure everything is going as planned. What if we show up even earlier, and wait for him for a change?"

"How can we figure out where he's more likely to be?" JJ asked, sounding dubious.

"He'll want to be part of the event," Reid said, "so it's likely that he'll physically be at the cemetery, but also just far enough not to be noticed. He'll expect us to be careful and on our guard, so he won't risk getting too close too fast."

"When we get to Quantico, Reid, Dave and I will go to the cemetery and map out probable locations," Hotch said. Emily opened her mouth to speak, but Hotch beat her to it, probably thinking she was about to protest. "Prentiss, JJ and Morgan, stay at the BAU until we get back and we can plan this out. Garcia, you'll set up your own surveillance room in your office and coordinate with ours."

So it was that once at the BAU Emily watched the three profilers get a team of carefully assorted agents ready to accompany them to the cemetery, arranging some basic disguises in case the UnSub was around. They also had backup agents in a surveillance van, along with every surveillance technology the FBI could get its hands on. Emily knew it was childish, but she felt a little left out and almost insisted on joining the backup crew. But she realized that 1) Hotch wouldn't let her, and 2) that she was probably too tired to make life-or-death decisions or think fast on her feet. So she kept her mouth shut as she watched Hotch dispatch orders, outline a reconnaissance strategy and lay down worse case scenarios.

As they were getting ready to leave, Emily approached Hotch, Dave and Reid.

"You guys be careful, alright?" she said as she helped Reid with the Velcro ties of his vest.

"Of course," Hotch replied as he put on a sweatshirt over his vest, then covered his dark head with a baseball cap. Emily was momentarily taken aback at how unassuming that made him look.

"Seriously," she insisted as she met his eyes. "Be careful. And update us as often as possible," she all but pleaded as she picked his holstered gun from the table and handed it to him. She felt a little foolish for giving him orders, but decided it was his price to pay for leaving her out of the operation.

He took the gun from her hands and Emily couldn't help but notice the way his eyes darted down as their fingers brushed. And that, right there, the fact that he had felt something at the brief contact, made her heart skip a beat and brought warmth to her cheeks. He cleared his throat and nodded as he placed the gun at his waist, hidden underneath the sweater. "Will do."

"Don't worry about us," Dave added in a warmer tone. "We'll be back before you know it. And then we'll get the son of a bitch."

"Good luck," she said.

They nodded, and Hotch gave the okay for the team to leave. Emily let out a sigh after watching them leave, and returned to her desk, throwing a look at Morgan on her way. He looked just as edgy as she felt, and she was pretty sure Hotch had ordered him to stay at the BAU to keep an eye on her. She wasn't sure if she should feel insulted that he didn't trust her not to do something risky again, or flattered that he was still so worried about her safety.

She settled at her desk and tried to focus on overdue paperwork for a while, though it was hard to focus under the circumstances.

"Agent Prentiss?"

Emily looked up to see whoever had called her name and did a double take when she recognized Hotch's former sister-in-law standing a few feet away from her desk, with Jack standing quietly next to her, holding her hand.

Emily smiled at them both, but she wasn't sure if she should be worried, so she gave Jack a quick look over. He looked fine, albeit a little intimidated by his surroundings, the bright neon lights and busy agents. His aunt didn't look very comfortable either.

"Hi! Jessica, right?" Emily said as she approached them and extended her hand. "Nice to see you again." She bent over to look Jack in the eye. "And how are you doing, sir?"

Hotch's son chuckled at her formality, but he kept silent, another sign that he was intimidated. She ruffled his hair and stood straight again. "What can I do for you, Jessica?"

"I'm looking for Aaron? He called me a few hours ago saying I should bring Jack here. I need to be somewhere for the next couple of hours, and Aaron said he might be at the office for a while yet."

"He did? I'm afraid he's not here, he- something came up, but ah… hey, why don't you leave Jack here with me? I'll watch over him until Hotch gets back."

Jessica looked surprised at that. "Really? It would only be for a couple of hours but… are you sure? You must have tons of other things to do, I could probably just call him-"

Emily shook her head. "It's no problem, really! To be honest I could use something useful to do. Here, Jack, why don't you go sneak up on Derek and make him jump?" she whispered conspiratorially and laughed as Jack ran to Morgan's desk and yelled 'boo' once he was next to him, startling him.

When Emily returned her gaze to Jessica, the young woman was looking at her with an inquisitive expression. "How are you holding up, Agent Prentiss?"

Emily must have looked as confused as she felt, because Jessica quickly added: "Sorry, I don't mean to pry, Aaron's been keeping me updated on your situation. Sort of."

"Oh. He has?"

She shrugged. "Only because I keep bugging him about it. But he never really reveals much," she added quickly before tilting her head slightly to the side. "Don't be mad at him for telling me. I think he just needs someone to talk to, you know? He really cares about you."

Suddenly unsure what to say, Emily just shook her head as she let out a nervous chuckle. But sensing her embarrassment, Jessica saved her the trouble. "Sorry Agent Prentiss, I didn't mean to meddle, it's just… Ever since my sister… I mean Aaron's been talking about you a lot lately, and well… I'm just glad he's moving on. He's been really hard on himself since she died."

Emily frowned, perplex. Hotch talked about her to his former sister-in-law? She couldn't help but wonder what 'a lot' meant for Hotch, and why he would-

"Oh don't take me wrong," Jessica added quickly at her expression, "he's always talked about you in the most professional way, but ever since that day when he got that picture- I mean he never told me what was on it, but I wasn't born yesterday, you know? It's like something suddenly shifted in him, like he found his purpose again. So I figured it must have been something terrifying, to wake up that part of him again."

Emily's eyes widened at the mention of that damn picture, but then something clicked in her mind. Yes, Jessica was right, that was exactly the moment when his behavior had started to change towards her. Could the picture have been the catalyst for his feelings? Had it made him realize he felt something for her, even if it was just physical attraction?

"I'm sorry, I can see I've made you uncomfortable, I always talk too much-"

Emily shook her head, still slightly dazed by her realization. "No, no it's fine, Jessica. He's always been very protective of his team, and he's been a great support," she said carefully, hoping not to betray anything of her turmoil.

Jessica smiled before suddenly checking her watch. "Oh, I have to go! You sure about Jack?"

"Absolutely."

"Fantastic, thank you! I'll be back in a couple of hours to pick him up. It was good to see you again, Agent Prentiss. Take care of yourself!" She went to kiss Jack goodbye, then walked away.

With a perplex frown still firmly in place, Emily waved her goodbye, then walked to Morgan's desk, where he was distracting Jack.

"You okay?" Morgan asked as he saw her dumbfounded expression.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Guess I'm just tired. Hey Jack, I have a great idea. Do you know how to make paper planes?"

End part 5