Author's Note-

So, here's Chapter 3 of my story! This one focuses a little more on Hotch/Emily, but it's Jack/Emily/hamster in the beginning. Enjoy! R&R!

Disclaimer- I DON'T OWN CRIMINAL MINDS. ONCE AGAIN, IF I DID, EMILY PRENTISS WOULD ADOPT ME.

Emily pulled into a parking space at Hotch's apartment complex.

"Is the hamster alright, Jack?" she asked. He nodded as he held the box up and peeked through the holes. "Good job holding him the entire car ride home", she complimented. He grinned at her.

"Let's go upstairs so we can set his house up!" Jack said excitedly, albeit impatient. Emily unbuckled him and opened the trunk of her car to grab the hamster's necessities. "Let's go buddy."

There was an older woman waiting in the elevator. She granted the two a smile as they came in. Emily hit "3" and pressed "DOOR CLOSE". "Is that your new pet?" the older woman asked. Her

voice was deep and rough, but it was kind.

Jack nodded at her. "I got a ham-stah!" he announced happily. "Congratulations", the woman smiled. The elevator dinged, indicating their floor. "Good luck with your hamster", the woman called as the door closed. Emily pulled out the key that Hotch had given her and twisted it in the lock. "Ready to set this little guy's place up?" she asked Jack. He nodded so hard, Emily was afraid his head would fall off. "Okay. Set him on the counter over there and I'll get the stuff out", she told him, pointing to the kitchen counter. Jack stood on his tip-toes and placed the hamster on the counter. He ran over to Emily excitedly and kneeled on the ground.

"Em'ly, remember in the car I told you daddy wasn't gonna mawy a stwanger?" he said. Emily was relieved. The entire car ride home, she was itching to find out information.

"Um, yeah. I remember. What about it?" she asked.

"He won't mawy a complete stwanger. He wants to mawy you", he said.

Emily was beyond stunned. She was trying hard to process what her boss's son just said to her.

"What do you mean, sweetie? How do you know that?" she asked, her stomach tingling.

"Well, Daddy said he wants to mawy someone that can take care of me. I asked him, 'Like Miss Em'ly?' and he said yes", Jack explained.

"Oh my… Wow. A-are you… Wow", Emily stuttered. She sat and stared, trying to comprehend. All of a sudden, the phone's loud ringing snapped her out of her daze. It was four thirty, so it was most likely Hotch calling. He was late. She checked the caller ID. It was Hotch. "Hey, Hotch. Jack and I are setting up the stuff for the hamster", Emily informed him. She could hear him chuckling on the other end. "That's great. I know I'm late, but there's a lot of traffic. I'll be home in about fifteen minutes. Look, Emily, I'm taking Jack to dinner and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to join us?" he asked.

"Um, I'd love to! What time were you planning on going?" she asked.

"Well, it's a black-tie dress code, and we have reservations for six o'clock. I'll call them to make the reservations for three. If you need to go home and change, I could pick you up at five thirty", he said.

"Yeah! Yeah, that'd be great. Listen, you might have to help Jack with this. I'm not very good with directions", she laughed into the phone.

"Of course Emily. I'm almost home. Would you let Jack know?" he asked.

"Sure. I'll see you soon, sir", she replied.

"Oh, and Emily?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"At dinner, you don't have to call me sir", he said, shutting his phone.

Emily smiled.

"Jack, Daddy will be home soon and he's going to help you finish that", she told him. He clapped his hands. "Yay! Daddy will be here!" he cried happily. "Yep. Listen buddy. I'm going to pack my stuff, but I'll see you later. Your daddy is taking us to dinner", she said. "Yay! I hope we get yummy food", he said with a smile on his face. With that, Emily got up and went to pack her things.

As she was folding her clothes, she heard the door unlock. "Daddy!" Jack cried from the living room. Emily zipped up her bag and headed out.

"Emily, thank you so much for doing this. I really, honestly appreciate it. I think Jack had fun too", he said, looking at Jack in his arms. Jack blushed again.

"Thank you", he said quietly, "Mommy", he added under his breath. Hotch looked at him. "What?" he asked. Jack shook his head sadly.

"I don't want Em'ly to go", Jack "whispered" in his father's ear.

"Oh, buddy, we're going to dinner. You'll see her in an hour", he said.

"I know. Can I go with you, Em'ly?" he asked.

"Oh, Jack. Sorry Emily", Hotch apologized.

"No, don't be sorry. Of course you can come with me, Jack. If it's okay with your daddy, it's okay with me", she said, looking at Hotch. Hotch nodded.

"Let me grab his clothes", Hotch said, making his way to Jack's bedroom.

Jack smiled at Emily. "Now I don't have to leave you", he said happily. Emily smiled back at him and picked him up as Hotch came into the room. He handed her a small hanger with a coat cover on it. "I'll see you later, buddy", he said. He kissed Jack on the cheek and smiled at Emily. "See you, Hotch", Emily said, walking out the door with Jack in her arms.

"Em'ly, can you help me with my tie?" Jack called from the bathroom. Emily smiled at a suit-clad Jack standing in front of her. "Of course, honey", she said. She looped his tie and knotted it tightly. Jack's cheeks burned up at the sight of Emily. Her hair was perfectly curled. Her lips were covered with red lipstick that matched her red, strapless dress. Emily's eyelashes were long and stood out from her face. Her long legs were complimented by the red heels on her feet. To Jack, Emily looked like an angel. "Em'ly, you look really pwetty", he blushed. She planted a kiss on his smooth forehead. "Aw, thanks baby. You look like a gentleman", she smiled at him. "Are you ready?" she asked. He nodded. "Let's go meet your daddy at the restaurant."

Hotch was standing at the entrance to the restaurant, on his phone. He heard his name being called. "Hotch!" Emily called. He held back a huge grin at the sound of her angelic voice. He looked up to see her holding Jack's hand. His breath hitched at the sight of her. Not only was the sound of her voice amazing, she looked amazing. "Hotch! Hi! Sorry we're late", she said. She looked perfect there with Jack. The wind was blowing her hair just the right way to make her look even more beautiful.

"E-Emily", he stuttered. "Y-you look great", he managed to say. She blushed.

"Thanks. You look great too", she said back, looking at the ground with a smiled.

"Hey Jack, buddy! You look very nice!" he said to his son. Jack smiled.

"Em'ly helped with my tie. I did the rest on my own!" he told his father proudly. Hotch took his hand.

"Ready to go in?" Hotch said nervously. Emily smiled and nodded. Hotch allowed her to walk in first. The tantalizing smell of steak hit them as they walked in.

"Hello sir. How are you this evening?" a man asked as classical music played in the background. Hotch smiled at him. "I'm fine, thank you. I have a reservation for three. It's under Aaron Hotchner", he told him. The man typed in some things on the computer and smiled.

"Good evening, Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss. This way please", the man said, taking three menus and leading them to their seats.

Hotch pulled out a chair for Emily, the way a gentleman would. She smiled up at him as he went around her to sit down. Jack dragged his chair and climbed into it. The host placed the menus in front of the three of them and left them to decide their orders.

"Em'ly, what are you ordering?" Jack asked. "I think I'll have the filet mignon", she said.

"Wass'at?" he asked, confused. She smiled at his pronunciation.

"It's a type of steak", Hotch explained for Emily.

The waiter came back with their drinks. Hotch sipped from his beer as his son stared at him. "Yes, Jack?"

"Daddy, can I have some?" he asked. Emily almost did a spit-take with her margarita. She covered her mouth and nearly doubled over laughing. Hotch's eyes widened.

"Yeah… in sixteen years", Hotch winked at his son. Jack didn't understand, but both Emily and Hotch were laughing at Hotch's little retort. The waiter returned.

"May I take your orders?" he asked. Hotch gestured for Emily to order first.

"Thank you. Um, I'll take the filet mignon with a side of mashed potatoes", she asked. The waiter smiled and jotted down her order.

"And you, sir?"

"I'll have the same", Hotch said.

"What about the young man here?" the waiter asked, smiling at Jack. Jack smiled back shyly.

"Um, he'll have a grilled cheese sandwich with French fries", Hotch ordered for Jack. Jack bounced in his seat.

"I'll be back with your orders soon", the waiter said. He walked away.

"So, how was your day?" Hotch asked them.

"I had a lot of fun, Daddy. I really like having Em'ly watch me", Jack told him. Hotch smiled at his son.

"I like it when she watches you, too", he replied. Jack flashed a quick wink at Emily when his dad wasn't looking. Emily chuckled. Hotch looked up.

"What?" he asked. Emily shook her head.

"Nothing, Aaron", she said. His heart stopped beating and started throbbing when she said his name. He thought that if he opened his mouth to take another sip, his heart would leap right out of his throat.

"I, um, I set up the hamster cage, and he's running around in there right now", Hotch said to Jack. Emily smiled.

"Oh, good. If I'd put it together, I wouldn't be here right now", she laughed gently. Hotch had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was almost like someone had drained all the bad memories from him and replaced them with the good when she laughed.

"Here you are", the waiter said, setting down their orders in front of them.

"Enjoy your meal", he said.

"Mmm, this smells so good", Emily said. She began to saw her meat apart with her knife and fork. The sautéed meat spilled out its juice the moment her knife and fork punctured it.

Hotch tore his meat apart and Jack chewed on his grilled cheese sandwich. "You enjoying that, Jack?" Emily asked. He nodded happily. All of a sudden, Emily's phone rang. "Oh, um, sorry. It's JJ. I'll be back", she said apologetically. Hotch smiled. When Emily left, Hotch took a deep breath. "Daddy, I know you like Em'ly", Jack said. Hotch's eyes widened. "W-what?" he stuttered.

"Yeah. She likes you too!" he exclaimed. Hotch nearly threw up what he had eaten. "Oh, oh my God. Wh… r-really?"

"Yep. She told me not to tell you though… Oops!" he shrugged it off. Hotch ran his hands over his hair. He opened his mouth as Emily returned. "Daddy, I needa go to the bathwoom", he said. Hotch frowned. "Sure. Let's go", Hotch said, getting up. Jack stopped him. "No daddy. I can go by myself", he convinced his father.

"O-okay", Hotch replied. Jack got up and walked to the back of the restaurant.

"S-so, um, h-how was Paris? I mean, h-were you alright?" he asked, barely getting words out. Emily smiled.

"Uh, it was pretty good. I might've met some French guys and gone to the Eiffel Tower with them, but other than that I stayed in the apartment", she said. Hotch tensed up. "Aaron, are you okay?" she asked.

"Emily, I-I have feelings… for… for you", he managed. Emily blushed.

"I… Me too", she admitted. She picked at her fingernails. Hotch placed a hand on top of hers. "Emily, please. Don't say that if you don't mean it", Hotch said. Emily's eyes widened.

"Oh, no, Aaron. Th-I… Wh… No. No, Aaron, I meant it. I-I mean, I'm not just saying it", she stuttered. She felt slightly sad inside. Why would Hotch think I don't like him? She asked herself.

"Emily. I will give this entire thing up if you aren't comfortable with it. I don't want to put you under any pressure. If you don't want this, I won't want it. I promise", he said sincerely. Emily edged closer and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Aaron. It's okay. I've been wanting this for, believe it or not, a while. And, and I'm so glad we finally told each other", she said. Hotch smiled. There was this beautiful woman sitting in front of him, and she just said she had feelings for him too. He kept his hand on top of hers. Jack returned. "Finally, Daddy", he said with a grin.