Author's Note: This story is a pinch hit for bouncing off the walls again in response to the Christmas Fic Exchange from CCOAC.

This is a gift written especially for destinyisms and the following prompts were requested: Carol of the Bells, Decorating the Christmas tree, Christmas lights, and snow. All of them will be used.

Thank you for all of the reviews for last chapter; I hope you enjoy this one!

Things are about to get a bit heavy...

Emily had shown up for work that Monday morning and headed straight to her desk. The last thing she wanted was to run into Hotch and relive the humiliation all over again, so she'd thrown herself into her paperwork in order to avoid him.

Since Christmas was so near, they'd been put on a case freeze until next Monday. They were closed on Thursday and Friday, and because a lot of the 'higher ups' had taken the week after Christmas off, they wanted to get as much paperwork as possible pushed through now. It seemed everyone had loose ends to tie up. She was thankful for that, for she was sure that as soon as either of her friends had a spare moment, the questions and ribbing were sure to ensue again.

"Did you take Prentiss home after the Christmas soiree?" Rossi asked as he walked into Hotch's office and closed the door behind himself.

Hotch looked up from the pile of papers on his desk. "Excuse me?" he asked. Some entrance!

"My little kitten is in her office chasing her tail because she's worried," Rossi explained. "And when I questioned her, she said she was nervous because you'd taken Prentiss home after the Christmas party. Is it true?"

"Garcia is a fountain of knowledge," Hotch said dryly, sidestepping the question.

Rossi shrugged. "If it's any consolation, it took me a while to get it out of her. But you know me…there aren't many who survive my interrogation techniques."

There was a short pause before either of them spoke again.

"Emily came home with me after the Christmas party," Hotch confirmed.

"Emily," Dave said knowingly…Hotch rarely referred to his agents by their first names. Rossi shook his head. "Hotch—"

The man lifted a hand to stop him from speaking. "I've already read myself the riot act a thousand times."

Dave sighed. "That's what I was afraid of," he said dryly.

Hotch gave him a questioning look.

"Why did you bring her home, Hotch?" he asked.

"She wanted to talk."

"You couldn't talk in the car?" Rossi pressed.

"Dave—"

"I'm just trying to get to the root of what's going on here," Rossi said.

Hotch sighed as he sat back in his chair. "She didn't want to go home alone," he said. Dave studied his friends face, and Hotch had to admit, even as someone trained not to crack under pressure, Dave's stare was enough to make him squirm. "And neither did I," he finally admitted. "But that's all it was…talking. I wouldn't take advantage of any woman who was as intoxicated as she was."

"You know…it's been over a year since Haley died," Rossi said quietly. "I think it would be OK if you wanted to move on." Though they'd been divorced, it was no secret that Hotch had loved his ex-wife and even remained faithful until she'd taken her last breath; longer, as it was evident he still loved the woman today.

"I'm not looking to move on with Emily," Hotch claimed.

Rossi nodded. "OK," he said, clearly unconvinced.

"And even if I wanted to move on, I certainly couldn't move on with her," he said.

He'd started to stand, but Hotch's words caused Rossi to sit back down. "Because she works for you?"

Hotch cleared his throat. "Haley really liked Emily."

Rossi nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"How could I move on with someone Haley was friends with? I mean…wouldn't that be disloyal?"

Rossi sat there for a moment before speaking; he wanted to be sure that Hotch was asking for advice and not simply thinking aloud. "Is there something going on with you and Prentiss?" he asked.

Hotch slowly shook his head.

"Is there any potential…for you and Prentiss?" Rossi asked.

"She's intelligent," Hotch said simply.

Rossi knew it was the closest thing to an admission he was going to get; he grinned. "And a knockout."

Hotch's lips lifted in a smirk as his eyes met Dave's.

"You know," Dave said. "What I remember about Haley was how desperately she wanted you to make sure that Jack knew how to love. I think it would disloyal if you didn't do that."

Just like that, Hotch's mask fell back into place and the smirk was gone, but it didn't matter. Rossi knew he was listening, so he continued.

"How can you teach Jack about love, if you're not with someone you love? I'm not insinuating that you're in love with Prentiss, but if there's potential…" Rossi let his sentence trail off as he stood and gave Hotch's shoulder a single pat. "Just something to think about."

Rossi's insights had gotten the wheels turning in Hotch's head. It was nothing he'd never considered before, but his friend had managed to bring it to the forefront of his mind. He'd spent the last few days contemplating, and there was one thing he'd definitely decided upon: he wasn't in the market for casual dating. He'd never be in the market for casual dating. It was nothing that, at this point in time, he'd be able to manage with his job. And even if he could, it wasn't anything that he was good at. He knew himself; he'd sit down at the dinner table and have her profiled within ten minutes, he'd have a list of flaws a mile long, then he'd find a way to duck out.

When he'd spent the night with Emily, he'd learned more about her in the few short hours before she'd fallen asleep than he had in the years since she'd come to work at the Behavioral Analysis Unit; it had surprised him to know that there were more insecurities there than he'd originally thought, but the real kicker had been when she'd told him that what she really wanted was someone to take care of her. She presented herself to be so independent, and he knew she was to a degree, but like everyone else, she was seeking companionship.

There had always been an attraction bubbling just beneath the surface—at least on his end, and he was going to have to spend some more time exploring his feelings to know for sure whether or not this was something he was going to pursue.

He sighed as he stood to leave. It was six o'clock, and everyone else had already taken off for an early start to their four day weekend.

"It's fine, Mother," Emily insisted, her work cell tucked between her shoulder and chin as she straightened the files on her desk. She still didn't' know how her mother had gotten the number, but the ambassador had her ways. "If someone had surprised me with a cruise for Christmas, I'd have no problem taking advantage of it." There was a short pause on her end as her mother said goodbye; it was nothing if not all about business. "Goodbye," Emily said as she hung up the phone. The office had closed an hour ago, and she was the last one on the floor. With a sigh, she put her phone down. The sound of a throat clearing from behind startled her. She jumped up out of her chair and turned around. "Hotch," she said breathlessly, her hand flying to her throat. "You jumped me. I thought everyone was gone."

"So did I," he told her. "What are you still doing here?"

"I just finished the last of my paperwork," she explained, turning back to her desk to straighten up the already tidy pile of papers. "I'm heading out now."

"I'll walk you out," he said.

"No you…you really don't have to do that," she said tensely. She hated that she'd put herself in this predicament.

"You can't look me in the face?' Hotch asked softly.

"No," she admitted.

"Emily—"

She finally lifted her eyes to his. "It's Prentiss," she reminded him. "We're at work, and…I'm Prentiss."

"OK," Hotch agreed.

Emily immediately felt like a jerk; she wished she could take the words back. "Look, this is really uncomfortable for me. I've never been in this situation before, and I'm not quite sure how to handle it, so…until I figure it out…"

"Prentiss, nothing happened," Hotch reminded her.

Emily shook her head. "That's not true," she said quietly. "I went home with you. Whether we did anything or not, Hotch, I went home with you. And trust me…that was something."