A/N: This is the follow-on chapter from the previous day, when Emily and Hotch had told the team and Hotch and Jack stayed over.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds.
Hotch woke up to Emma's crying at about 4am. He looked over at Emily and saw she was still asleep. Rather than waking her up he let her sleep and slowly climbed out of bed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and walked across the hall to Emma's room. She was standing in her crib and Hotch gently lifted her out. "Hey sweetheart. Come here," he whispered softly. Emma buried her face in his neck and whimpered. He held her for a moment, the rays from the rising sun the only light in the room. After a few moments she'd settled down so Hotch carried her back to Emily's room. He lay Emma down on the bed next to her mom then climbed in himself, pulling the blankets back over them. He put his arm over Emma and rested his hand on Emily's hip before he drifted off to sleep.
Emily woke the next morning to find Emma and Jack asleep next to her. Emma was snuggled into Hotch's chest and he was running his fingers through her dark curls and Jack had his arm wrapped protectively over Emma's waist. Emily smiled and looked at Hotch. "Morning," she said quietly. Hotch looked over at her and grinned. "Morning," he replied. Emily raised her eyebrows and nodded towards the kids. "Oh… she started crying a couple of hours ago so I brought her in here. You were exhausted and I didn't want to wake you. I hope that's alright. And the boy… he decided to make it a family affair at about 6am."
Emily felt a surge of warmth spread through her. She reached over and stroked his face. "You're sweet," she replied. Hotch smiled and looked back at Emma. "I was thinking maybe we could get a sitter next Saturday and have a REAL, grown-up date… no kids," Hotch said, "I mean, if we're in town." Emily grinned and nodded. "Sounds good," she replied, running her fingers through Jack's hair. She paused and glanced up at him. "Would you wanna stay over…?" she couldn't finish the sentence and started to blush. Hotch chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Well… it's clear Jack's taken over the third room so… if it's alright with you?" he asked. Emily nodded and smiled. "I'd like that," she replied. She closed her eyes when Hotch reached over and brushed her hair behind her ears. She fell asleep again, Hotch watching over them.
"What's up Em? You seem… nervous," JJ asked as the three girls sat at the table in Starbucks. Emily looked up and shook her head. "It's nothing," she replied before taking a long sip of her coffee. It wasn't nothing. Emily was nervous as hell. But she wasn't going to get into it with these two. It was Friday. The Friday before the Saturday. Emily wanted to make the night special for Hotch so she'd picked up a special teddy from Victoria's Secret, she'd gotten waxed (painful after a couple of months), and she'd planned the whole night. Well, not the whole night. Hotch was responsible for dinner but Emily had planned the important part.
She realized she'd been too quiet for too long when she noticed her friends' faces.
"Emily Rose Prentiss. We are your two closest girlfriends and we would appreciate a little honesty," Garcia said, pointing her finger at her friend. Emily sighed and rolled her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked down at her coffee cup, running her finger around the rim.
"Hotch and I are having an "alone" date tomorrow night. Dinner, a sitter… and…" Emily's voice trailed off and she glanced up to see her friends grinning. Garcia was more shocked than excited. "You mean you two haven't…" Garcia coughed and waggled her eyebrows. Emily shook her head and bit her lip. "With everything that's happened to both of us, we wanted to take things slow… really slow. And he said that he'd wait until I was ready. So we haven't." JJ raised her eyebrows. "But you're ready now?" she said. Emily nodded and started to blush. "And that's what you're nervous about?" Garcia asked. Emily nodded again.
"For starters, I haven't told him I'm ready. I wanted to… show him. Plus it's been almost a year for me. Peter and I weren't… for a while before he left. So… I don't know. Maybe I'm scared, maybe I'm nervous. But I want it to be really special for him. I have never loved someone as much as I love Hotch… oh God I hope I haven't forgotten how," she said quietly, groaning as she put her head in her hands. JJ chuckled.
"Sweetie, it's alright. I'm sure you haven't forgotten. And even though I'm not a profiler, I can say with absolute certainty that I know Hotch… and if he's as Alpha Male in the bedroom as he is everywhere else, I'm pretty sure you won't have to do much." Emily blushed again and her friends chuckled. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Ok… ok," she paused, "Now that you two have helped me with that maybe you can help me figure out an outfit for dinner. All I've thought about is the teddy that'll get about thirty seconds of use. Hadn't thought about the dress for dinner," she joked. JJ and Garcia laughed and the ladies spent the rest of their coffee break discussing Emily's wardrobe.
That afternoon Hotch was getting ready to leave. He walked down to the bullpen to say goodnight to everyone. "You outta here Hotch?" JJ asked from her place on Emily's desk. Hotch nodded and smiled at Emily. "Yep. Don't stay too late and enjoy your weekend guys," he turned to Emily, "I'll see you tomorrow night. I'll be round at six," he said. Emily smiled and nodded as he kissed her forehead. "See you Monday Hotch," Morgan called out. "Have a good weekend guys," he said as he started to walk away. "We know you will," JJ called out after him. He turned briefly, a confused look on his face and JJ waved. He smiled when he saw Emily smack JJ's arm. He stepped onto the elevator and sighed.
A/N: So a little family fun with an understandably nervous Emily. I love writing Hotch with the kids. It's a side you don't get to see much on the show, but when you do he's always attentive to Jack. And I'm trying to get them both to demonstrate how strongly they feel by being affectionate towards each other's kids as much as their own.