Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 14: Surprise Date

February 15th 2013 (Present Time)

"Penelope, are you sure this guy isn't going to be a creep?" Emily asked "I just don't know if I can deal with that today."

"I promise Gumdrop. He is a good guy and you are going to thank me after this date. Just trust me." The blonde said over the phone.

"Fine, but I can't find anything to wear! Can I go in sweats?" she was only half joking. They say pregnant women just pop well she popped and more. These days she felt more and more like a floating blimp than a pregnant woman. Emily leaned against the closet door sighing heavily at all the dresses she once could fit into but now she couldn't. Reaching in and fingering a deep purple knee length dress she wore on her first date with Hotch, she remembered opening the door that night and seeing his dark orbs taking her in. It still made her stomach twinge.

February 2012 (Flashback)

Emily nervously ran her hands through her dark locks and eyed herself closely in the bathroom mirror. "Not too bad" she whispered to herself then straightened out her purple dress. Getting ready to go on a date with her boss is not something she ever planned to do but after spending time with Hotch after her return she was more excited than anything. It was easy to talk with him. For one he understood what she went through with Doyle and two he never laid into her about her choices. He just listened and gave her the support she needed to put it behind her.

Putting on her black heels she exited the bathroom and round the corner to her bedroom. "Sergio, what do you think?" she asked the black cat laying on her bed. Getting nothing out of him she huffed. "Lot of help you are!"

At the knock on the door she took a few soothing breathes then opened the heavy door. Her chocolate eyes met those of his dark browns and her breath caught.

"Hey" he smiled looking her up and down. Emily's knees almost gave out right there. She could see his eyes growing darker and his face trying to hold back the desire they were both feeling. His eyes gave her tingles every time he looked at her.

"Hey, let me get my coat." She smiled finally finding her voice. As she turned away from him Emily's smiled grew even wider. If dating her boss was going to feel like this every time she was near him bring it on, she thought as she pulled her coat on and grabbed her purse.

February 15th 2013 (Present Time)

"Emily you are going to look great in anything. Just please don't go in sweats. Try pink and pretty!" the blonde on the other end of the phone said bringing Emily out of her thoughts.

"I don't really do pink, Garcia. Not my best color." She laughed. If Garcia had her way everyone in the world would be in bright colors. Settling on a loose black dress that slimmed down her protruding belly Emily took her sensible heels and headed out of her room.

"Fine just no sweats. And be nice! Now I have to go, I am busy ya know." Garcia told her and they ended the call.

Walking down the hall the boxes filling the nursery caught her eye so she opened the door wider and flipped on the light.

"Ugh." She whined looking at all the work she was in for when her maternity leave came. It probably wouldn't get all done but what could she do. She was hoping to work as long as possible but she figured she would take her leave before her due date to prepare the apartment and the baby's room. Looking at her watch she had some time before her date would be there so she set out to get some of the smaller things out of boxes and layout the room as best as possible.

At the knock at the door Emily was so immersed in her work that she barely heard it but as the persistent man on the other side kept knocking she finally ran to the door and opened it.

"Hotch, what are you doing here? I have a date in like… now." She said retreating back into her apartment looking for her heels and checking herself in the entryway mirror.

"That's why I'm here." Hotch said with a smile taking her appearance in. She was slightly flushed from the run to the door and her hair had been tossed around making the curls loosen.

"I really don't have time for this. My date will be here any minute and I really don't want to fight with you. Please just leave." She said locking eyes with him.

Hotch cocked an eye brow. Clearly she wasn't getting it and he was in no hurry to have his balls chopped off so he said silent. He expected the door to slam in his face anyways so her not realizing he was her date wasn't half as bad.

Emily huffed. "Fine what in the heck is wrong now? The fact that I'm going on a date…" she paused looking at his nice sports coat and a single rose in his hand. "Wait… what are you doing here?"

Taking a deep breath Hotch held up the rose to her and whispered "I'm here for our date. Happy late Valentine's day."

Emily quickly shook her head. "No, you are not my date." It couldn't be. Garcia wouldn't do that to her, she thought. "I can't believe this." She spat when he nodded. Turning on her heel she stomped her way to the couch and sat down. Her blood was boiling and not in a good way. "How could she do this? I don't know how many times I have to tell her we are NOT getting back together… ever." Her tone was harsh but she didn't care one bit. This was not going to happen.

"Emily, Garcia didn't do this. I mean she kind of did but I went to her for help and basically begged her which I know is not professional but I want another chance. I need another chance with you." He said walking over to her and bending down in front of her. "Please Em, just go on this date with me and if you don't want any more I promise I will leave you alone." He softly raised a hand to her cheek and brushed the dark hair from her eyes. "Please just dinner and then I will bring you home."

Emily stared at him. It pissed her off that Garcia would do this to her but she got it. The blonde just wanted to help the pleading man. She couldn't fault the woman for that. She was about to crack too. Just the one touch of his fingers almost made her melt. Not many women could tell the handsome man in front of her no. Sighing softly and hanging her head in defeat she nodded slowly. "Okay" she whispered. "Just dinner"

Hotch felt all the weight on his shoulders lift at that very moment. She said yes and he couldn't be happier. His smile reached his eyes and his dimples peeked out. "Thank you." He kissed her cheek then stood taking her hand in his to help her up.

"So where are we going?" she asked locking up and following him into the elevator.

"A small Italian place just a few streets over. But if there is anywhere you want to go instead we can change it." He said. The woman had been known throughout her pregnancy to be very picky.

"Oh, no Italian sounds great. Baby hasn't had any opposition to that." She smiled running a hand over her stomach.

The restaurant was small and quiet which was what he wanted. He didn't want to take her to some big place where they could barely hear over the music and crowd, no calm and quiet was where he needed. This wasn't like a first date where they're both nervous and trying to impress the other. They dated, fell in love and lived together. He didn't want to begin again with her. But knowing Emily she wasn't going to jump right on in either so a slow burn is what Garcia told him to do.

After being seated and ordering their dinner Hotch felt her uneasiness. She shifted every few minutes and was distracted. "Emily, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah" she said finding his gaze and biting her bottom lip. "…Okay no… I'm not okay. This is weird and I-I don't know what to say."

Hotch chuckled. "It is weird but Em, we've dated before so it can't be that hard. Hell we lived together."

"I know but…" sighing again Emily straightened up. "I'm just trying to get a handle on this and I don't want to think about everything that went on before but I can't stop it. I don't know if I can do this."

Hotch reached over and took her hand in his mainly so she wouldn't bolt from her seat and leave him. "I get it. But if we are going to try again I think we should try to move on from the past. Let's ease into this and give it and honest try. I'm not trying to erase the past but I was kind of hoping for a clean slate plus there are more things to think about." He said referring to the unborn baby.

"She is a major factor in this and that's more of the past I'm trying to move past. Hotch you don't want more kids and I really do understand that. You have a wonderful son and that's great for you but…"

"You have a daughter. Emily I wouldn't have asked Garcia for help or even thought about us again if I wasn't in this for the long haul." He said linking their fingers together. "I want to be with you and I want your daughter to be mine. I want both of you and I know Jack does too."

Emily's heart fluttered. It was a wonderful thing for a man to say but in the back of her mind she knew at any moment he could break her heart in two just like before but now it would be breaking her baby too. Even if they got back together and all was great she still feared it would happen again. The trust he once hand with her heart was cracked and she wasn't going to give him that back anytime soon. "I think we need to take it slow like you said. I will not jump into anything."

Hotch smiled, he did just get her to agree to give them a chance so he could take that and be happy. "Okay"

After their meals were brought over they found comfortable conversation trying to avoid anymore hard topics. Emily was still weary of the situation but she let her guard down somewhat and enjoyed the time they spent together. She forgot how much they use to laugh and enjoy the others company. It was nice to have that back. When he offered her some of his dish it felt like old times. She would always eat half of whatever he got and he did the same with her.

By the time the check came Hotch had a permanent smile on his face. He hadn't fallen out of love with her over the time they were apart but now he knew he never would. He hung on every word she spoke and his eyes never left her's. He missed the way she would tuck her hair behind her ear and the way she rolled her eyes when he tried to tell a joke. It was all part of the reason why he loved her.

"You ready?" He asked after paying the bill. He was sad the night was over but he wasn't going to push for any more. She had agreed to dinner and that was all.

"Yes" she put on her coat with some assistance and they were out the door. Coming up to her apartment door she paused for a moment. She was having a great time and it was easy to fall back into their easy conversations but she really didn't want to end the night. Dinner and home she agreed to but she didn't want him to go. Getting up her nerves Emily turned to him "Is Jack at home?" she asked making sure he didn't need to get home.

"No, he's with Jessica tonight." Hotch replied letting go of her hand so she could open the door. He was surprised she hadn't taken her hand away from him yet but after he held her's in the restaurant she was holding his just as tight.

"Oh, would you like to come in?" she bit her lip nervously.

Smiling he nodded. "I would love to."

Opening her door she confessed "I was putting together some of the baby's things before you came so ignore the mess. The crib was too complicated so the pieces are all over. Morgan will have to fix it tomorrow."

"It's not a problem." He laughed walking in a taking stock of the mess coming from the guest room, he was assuming was now the nursery and ending in the living room where the box for the crib was. "Do you need any help with setting everything up?" he asked. The thought of Morgan setting up the crib where Emily's daughter would soon be sleeping made him a bit green.

"You don't have too. Morgan has been really good about getting things put together. Would you like a drink?" Emily asked steering him to the kitchen and missing the eye roll her boss just gave her at the mention of Morgan again.

"Sure but Emily I don't mind putting together her crib." He insisted.

Emily eyed him then it dawned on her. "Hotch…"

"No its fine if you want Morgan to do it. I was just offering." He said quickly then walked back into the living room and took up residence on the couch.

Emily huffed. "Way to go Em!" she berated. Walking to him she smiled. "Hotch you are more than welcome to put her crib together I wasn't even thinking when I said that about Morgan. I was just saying we are on a date and I didn't want you to be doing manual labor on our date." She said sitting down next to him.

"I didn't mean to be all cave man about it. Sorry." He apologized taking her hand again.

"It's okay. It was kind of cute." She admitted staring into his dark eyes. The twinge in her stomach caught her attention and a wide smile lit up her face. His eyes could still give her tingles.

A/N: This chapter was hard for some reason but I hope you like it. No Emily is not going to forgive him and making up but she is going to give him a chance. Let me know what you think!