Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Twenty Six: Rebellion and Little Black Boxes

Late April 2013 (Present Time)

Jack's small acts of rebellion had slowly grown and now the boy was finally acting out outside of the apartment. Emily never thought of Jack as a trouble maker at school but after the phone call she received from the principal a few minutes after she got home from the grocery store, he was. Cursing to herself as she gathered her things and Lily's she raced out of her apartment and down to the school.

"Hello, may I help you?" the older woman behind the front desk asked.

"Yes, I'm Emily Prentiss. I'm here about Jack Hotchner." Emily told the woman signing in where the woman pointed.

"Let me go get Principal Thompson." She smiled sympathetically and went into another office.

Emily set Lily's car seat carrier down and smiled at the baby's blue eyes staring up at her. "You ever get called to the principal's office I will take away everything you have." The baby cocked her head slightly and cooed at her.

"They are ready for you now." The secretary came back and showed Emily to a small office holding a dark haired man and Jack. Emily looked at Jack and from his face she knew whatever he did he was just as upset as everyone else.

"Ms. Prentiss, it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry I had to call you down here. Jack would you like to tell her why we are here?" the man she presumed was the Principal said shaking her hand.

Jack nodded and finally looked up at her. "I got in a fight."

Emily sighed sitting Lily's seat down and taking the spot next to Jack. "Jack, what happened?" the boy she knew wouldn't get into a fight for nothing so she suspected a reason for it.

Chewing at his bottom lip his eyes pleaded with her but she didn't give in. "Sam said some mean things to Lucy so I pushed him. Daddy said we're not allowed to be mean to girls."

Emily bit her lip to hide the smile tugging at her lips. "Jack you're not supposed to be mean to anyone that means not pushing Sam. You should have told your teacher instead. That's what adults are for. Your teacher can help when someone is not being nice."

"I'm sorry." Jack said lowering his gaze to the floor.

"Because Jack did the pushing, no matter the reasons, he is suspended for the rest of the day." Principal Thompson said.

Emily nodded and took Jack's hand. "Has he apologized to Sam yet?"

"No he was sent directly to me but if you go to his class to get his backpack you are more than welcome to ask Ms. Grey to see Sam. Jack, let's not have any more meetings sir." The man told the boy.

"Yes sir." Jack stood with Emily and they walked in silence to his classroom.

-Cm-CM-

"He what?" Hotch said on the computer screen. It was Wednesday so he Skype in for a talk.

"He pushed a kid. Honestly it wasn't a big deal plus the brat was being mean to a girl. Jack was being a gentleman." Emily said folding the laundry.

"Emily, please tell me you didn't encourage him afterwards?" he pleaded with her.

Turning to the screen she smiled. "No I didn't. He was in trouble for the rest of the day but inside I was kind of proud. Not many boys his age would stick up for a girl. They still have coodies."

"I know but I don't want him to think he can get away with physical violence."

"Calm down Aaron your son his not going to be a serial killer. He just defended a little girl. Besides I want him to protect Lily if some snotty kid was being mean to her." she told him.

"Can we just not talk about this now?" at her slight nod he continued. "Are you ready for Monday?"

She smiled thinking about the day she goes back to work. Most of her was ready. She hated being at home constantly and needed some adult interaction but on the other hand she was terrified of leaving Lily. Maggie had happily agreed to watch Lily at Emily's apartment and Henry would come there on the days he doesn't go to preschool. Emily liked the idea of Lily safe at her own home.

"I think so. I'm sure I'll be a wreck when Maggie gets here but I'm so ready for work." She folded the last towel and placed them in the basket on the floor. Turning to the screen again she took in his face. His eyes were sunken in slightly and he looked thinner in his face but all in all he looked good. Really good, she smiled. "I miss you."

His face softened with her confession. "I miss you too." he looked around discreetly. "And I'm all alone." His eyebrows wiggled suggestively.

"I'm not" she said picking up the laptop and holding it over the sleeping baby in the bassinet. "Sorry handsome."

With a defeated shrug he smiled. "Had to give it a try. How is she doing?"

"Really good but I think we are having issues bottle feeding. I've tried but she is not having it. What do I do if she doesn't eat for Maggie?" she asked. The concern was overwhelming for her to think about.

"I don't know but I'm sure she'll get it. I wish I could be the first besides you to feed her though. Kind of sucks being here." he pouted.

Nodding in agreement Emily touched the screen. "I know babe but as soon as you get back you can have all the late night feedings until your heart is content. But now it's about time to get Jack to bed." She told him sadly. She hated hanging up with him but it was already past Jack's bed time.

"Okay, I love you sweetheart. Give the kids a kiss and don't worry too much about Lily. Everything will be fine." He kissed his fingertips and touched the screen as she did the same.

"I love you too." she said then the screen went dark. She sat for a few minutes just taking in the silence before she fought with Jack to go to bed.

-CM-CM-

Emily was surprisingly excited for the girl's night JJ and Garcia had planned. Jack on the other hand wasn't too excited to spend the night with his aunt but after bribery and a few promises he left with Jessica. Emily raced around like a goon trying to clean up for her guests but decided it was no use. As long as most of the mess was secluded to her room and the nursery all was good.

"Knock knock. Anyone home?" Garcia's voice rang out in the apartment.

Emily quickly threw the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and went to the entry way. "Hey" she greeted her friends with a hug. She missed see them every day. Now she was luck to talk on the phone to an adult let alone one of her best friends.

"Where's Lily?" Garcia asked moving right past her.

Emily frowned. "Nice to see you too." she muttered following the blonde into the living room. Lily was laying on her back on a play mat with her tiny arms reaching for the toys that hung from it. A little over a month old Lily was doing very well. She was a little behind other babies her age in things like lifting her head when she's on her tummy but everyday she is getting better. Emily read up on all the milestones babies pass at each month and Lily was traveling right along with them.

"Oh my goodness. You are so cute!" Garcia got down on the ground next to the baby. "She is getting big." She said slowing extracting the baby from the mat and into her arms.

"Yep, she's gaining weigh like it's nobody's business. Although she is not taking the bottle very well but hey maybe you can try with her while you're here. I keep trying but she is not happy about it." Emily said taking a seat on the couch.

"I would love to." Garcia smiled wildly.

"Henry hand the same issue but I had Will start feeding him so it got better." JJ said putting down the bags and bags of baby things Garcia insisted on getting.

"Hotch is pretty sad he isn't the first to feed her besides me but I have to get her on the bottle before I go back to work. I can't have Maggie taking her back and forth for feeding." Emily joked.

"You could always put her in Hotch's office. Turn it into their own playroom." The tech said cooing at the baby who just looked scared and looked around for her mommy. "I don't think she's happy Mommy."

"What's wrong baby? Does Aunt Penelope scare you?" Emily teased taking Lily in her arms.

"I do not scare her. She's just sad because Mommy is excited to go to work. Huh baby?" Garcia said playing with the baby's hand.

Emily smiled looking down at Lily; the baby lay contently in her arms. "I'm not excited to leave her. I mean I hate the thought of being away from her but at the same time I need to get some adult time. And I love my job and want to go back."

"I know you do Gumdrop. I was just teasing." The blonde told her. "Okay enough sad talk let's open presents." She happily clapped her hands.

Emily rolled her eyes and looked at the bags on the ground. "JJ, help! What do you do with all the crap she gets for Henry?" she whispered to the blonde.

The blonde chuckled. "I got a bigger house."

Laughing Emily took the first offered bag. "I guess I'll have to move too."

-CM-CM-

Emily crawled into bed completely exhausted. JJ and Garcia had just left after a fun filled girl's night. They did go over the top with baby gifts but Emily just let it go.

As she lay in bed her mind worked over Jack though. She was honestly getting worried about him. It had been a few days since the incident at school but he was still acting out. Mostly just whining and complaining but recently he started throwing fits. She thought she was clear of that stage with him but it didn't seem likely now.

Hotch would be ridden with guilt leaving his trouble making son with her but she couldn't do that to him. She did explain the school incident but she didn't elaborate on anything else. She would just have to bunker down and deal with the boy herself.

A vibrating noise rattled her thoughts and she reached to the night stand for her cell. Looking at the ID she quickly answered. "Hello"

"Did I wake you? I'm so sorry Em. I just wanted to leave you a message." Hotch's familiar voice rang out.

"No I was still up. We had girl's night." She told him rolling over and snuggling down in the pillows. "Why were you leaving me a message?"

"I probably won't be able to call for our time in the morning. We had some issues and I have to go meet some officers. I didn't want you to wait for me and not get a call." His voice sounded tired which it always did but this time it worried her.

"Aaron, are you okay? You sound… I don't know, off."

"I'm fine sweetheart. How was girl's night?" he dodged her concerns.

Closing her eyes to picture his face, she smiled. "Lily has so much crap its unreal. I don't know where to put it all." She laughed quietly.

"That's Garcia for you." He laughed too.

Humming softly at his voice she whispered "When are you coming home?" she knew the answer but she still wanted to hear it from him.

"Just a week and a half, Em. I'll be home soon." He promised.

"That seems too far away. Can't you just come home now?" she whined.

"You don't know how much I wish I could and I really hate to end the call but it's almost 9 am here so I have to get going. I love you." He told her.

She could hear all the noise from the others around him behind his voice and knew he had to go but she didn't want to. His voice was calming her and she didn't want to lose that. "Just a few more minutes please."

"Okay" he gave in as she sleepily rambled on about all the things the blonde tech got for Lily.

-CM-CM-

Hotch looked up at the morning sky as he finally hung up just as a light snore came from Emily. He smiled softly and reached into his pocket. Pulling out the little black box he opened it. "I'll be home soon sweetheart." he whispered.

"Agent Hotchner, the plane is ready to board." A young pilot walked up to him in the airplane hangar.

"Thanks" he smiled closing the box and boarding the aircraft that would bring him home.

A/N: We are nearing the end of this story only two more chapters. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It means a lot and I hope you enjoy the ending.