Fool For Love

Disclaimer: CBS owns Criminal Minds...

Summary: Hotch wants Emily, but she's with someone else and he wasn't above doing whatever it took to have her...

Timeline: AU Present Day

Special Thanks To: Thekid985 for the prompt. Enjoy your story.

A/N: Now when I got this prompt, I couldn't resist the urge to laugh, it was genius. Hope you all enjoy it.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a review.


Frank Tyger said, "You can't be envious and happy at the same time."


Hotch stood in the break room, watching her and seething in jealousy. He never thought he'd be envious of him, because he wasn't a threat to him at all.

He could see Emily tilt her head to the side as a small smile graced her lips and ran her hand through her dark hair.

"You know if you had said something sooner, she'd be staring at you like that, and not him." Dave told Hotch.

"I know." Hotch said quietly, he knew it all too well.

Instead of embracing her as woman when he welcomed her back to his team, he went the friend route and ended up losing the one person he knew would be the perfect match for him. Not just in personality but in their souls too.

He watched as Emily separated herself from him and walked over to the break room, closer to him.

He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as she walked next to him grabbing a coffee mug.

"I thought you've given up caffeine for a better way of life?" Dave teased her.

Rolling her eyes as she shook her head, "Don't tell anyone but I'm backsliding, reformed coffee addict."

Hotch snorted as she turned her attention to him, "And what is so funny there, chuckles?"

Grinning, "Nothing."

"That's right, nothing." Emily muttered pouring the hot beverage and staring at it.

"Uh Emily" Dave said, "You know how to drink coffee don't you? Unless you developed some superpower and now can drink with your mind."

"No one likes a smart ass, Dave." Emily said, setting it down, "God I want it so much, but I know I shouldn't."

Hotch felt his stomach flutter as she got closer to him, brushing her arm against his as she set the coffee in the sink.

"I thought you wanted it." Hotch told her, as she walked over to the table and sat down.

"I do, I really, really do." Emily said, "But we can't have everything that we want."

"Way to quote the Rolling Stones Emily." Morgan teased coming in to the break room.

"Quit being a smart ass Morgan." Emily said grinning as he dropped a kiss to her forehead.

"Aw but Princess, my ass is smart." Morgan teased her.

"Agent Hotchner?" Anderson said popping his head into the break room, "Phone call, sir."

"Thanks." Hotch muttered, walking out as Anderson entered the break room and wrapped his arms around Emily.

"Hey" Emily said placing her hands on his, "Someone getting frisky at work?"

"Only with you" Anderson said hearing Garcia's chuckle while Morgan and Dave rolled their eyes.


Hotch sat in his office, going over his case files when he looked over he seen Emily hard at work on her case files and he did what he normally liked to do which was Emily watch.

It was the only time he got to freely look at her without the others around, and Anderson was nowhere near her.

He wished he had spoken up to her earlier, she had been so open and caring to him, asking about Jack, giving him advice, just being a shoulder he could count on. And what did he do?

He may have been more open with his concern for her but he never once told her his feelings and that was his greatest regret if all.

Hotch dropped his pen on his desk and swivelled his desk around to look out his window to stare at her. He loved everything about her.

The way her hair fell against her cheeks when she was busy working on a file or the way she bite her lower lip when she was concentrating hard on something.

Over the years he grew accustom to her always being there and always being single. She never had a steady boyfriend since she joined the BAU and he had found that a comforting relief after he figured out his feelings for her.

He looked up when he heard a knock on his door, "Come in."

Smiling when he seen it was her, she bit her lower lip in the concentrated manner he grew fond of as well.

"Hey" Emily said slowly closing the door behind her, "Are you busy?"

Looking down at the mountain of files he needed to sign off before passing to Strauss, he shook his head.

"No, sit down." Hotch told her, "You need something?"

"Actually I'm here to listen." Emily told him, "Look, Hotch we've grown close as friends, right?"

"Of course" Hotch said a little confused, "Why?"

"Well" Emily said slowly, "I've been kind of worried about you. The last few weeks, you seem off. And there's that whole thing with snapping at Anderson."

"Oh" Hotch said, getting up to his office window and looking out into the bullpen.

He saw Anderson standing by Emily's desk adjusting the flowers that she somehow managed to get from him.

Hotch watched as JJ and Garcia quickly made their way over to the brunette's desk, pestering the agent about the flowers. Yellow daisies, Emily's favorite.


Closing the blinds he didn't want to see that man at his Emily' desk, acting like he was her boyfriend and worming his way in to every aspect her life.

It just wasn't fair, how could someone like Anderson win the heart of Emily Prentiss, when Hotch knew she was meant for him?

"Hotch?" Emily said softly, approaching him filled with concerned by the length of his silence, "Hey, what is it? What's wrong?"

Hotch quickly turned around, startling Emily as he rushed at her pulling her to him in a hard and deep kiss.

"What the..." Emily started to say as she pulled away but Hotch pulled her into another kiss.

His mouth seeking a response from her and feeling excitement when she bit on his lower lip allowing him to take control of kiss as his tongue slid into her mouth.

Walking her backwards to the small couch, he watched as she shoved him away.

"What the hell?" Emily asked panting for breath, her lips swollen from his kisses.

It drove him wild, seeing her so disheveld because of him.

"Hotch?" Emily said pulling herself away from him as he tried to grasp her arm, "What is wrong with you?"

"I love you" Hotch told her stunning the brunette, she stood frozen in shock by that declaration, "I've always been in love with you."

"What?" Emily asked coming out of her stupor, "Excuse me?"


"And the way you kissed me back tells me you feel the same way." Hotch said approaching her, his hand wrapping around her waist, "I know you do. I can feel it. We belong together."

"But..." Emily said taking his arm around her waist, "Even if that was true, I'm seeing someone else."

"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel something?" Hotch said, "The heat, the desire, the passion. It's always been there, we have that connection."

"You can't say things like that to me, Hotch" Emily said backing away from him and heading for the door, "I'm with someone else..."

"I know, Anderson" Hotch said bitterly, "He doesn't know you like I do. Can you honestly tell me that you love him, like you love me?"

Emily bit her lip as she looked at the ground, Hotch approached her again, "Emily, look at me."

Hotch placed a finger under her chin, seeing a tear fall from her, "We can do this, we can be happy. All you have to do is say yes."

Emily looked back down, and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and said, "No."

Hotch felt his heart drop, he wanted her to agree and tell him that she loved him too. He knew she felt the same way.

Backing away from him, "I can't, I'm sorry but I can't. No matter how... I'm sorry Hotch."

Emily rushed out of his office he followed her to the door and seen her flee the bullpen, ignoring the questioning eyes of Anderson, JJ and Garcia.

But he didn't care, he only closed his office door and wondered how everything got screwed up.


Tossing his keys on the coffee table, Hotch walked into his apartment and felt more alone then he had ever felt before.

Including the time he came home to discover Haley left him and took Jack.

He was mildly grateful that Jessica agreed to keep Jack for another night. He didn't want Jack to see him depressed.

Walking up to his bedroom, he threw off his work clothes and grabbed his sweat pants and his gray FBI shirt.

He still couldn't understand why, why she'd choose Anderson over him. He wasn't blind to the looks that women gave him, he knew he was in great shape and that he was an attractive man.

But then he faltered and wondered if it was because Anderson wasn't damaged like he was, he didn't have a chestful of scars and he didn't have sociopaths chase after him like Hotch did.

But didn't she go through the same thing he did? She survived a insane man abducting her just like he did.

She had wounds, scars that were on her body, just like he did. She had a brilliant mind that could profile like no tomorrow and she had the compassion to be there for someone no matter what.

So what could he bring to the relationship if they ever had one?

He was a bitter and moody agent with a permanent scowl on his face.

A divorced man, who couldn't make a marriage work, while raising a small boy. But she was there when he needed a shoulder when he got the divorce papers.

She worked harder then others to help rescue him when he was missing and stabbed.

She worked twice as hard to find Foyet and rescue his family when they were in the line of fire. And was a comfort to him when they had to bury Haley.

She was always there and he never realized it until it was too late. God even he wanted to kick his own ass.

Even after all that, she never once asked him for anything in return.

And he knew he had always let her down, with her suggestion of taking in the orphan teenager. When her friend was murdered and when she was fighting for her life against Doyle.

"Why would she want me?" Hotch said out loud, "All I've ever done is let her down. She'd be safer with Anderson."

He knew that if she ever had a shot at a life, it would be with Anderson not him. So he needed to let her go.

Standing in the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator grabbing a beer when he heard his cell phone ring.


Sighing as he closed the refrigerator, he walked over to the ringing phone.

"Hotchner?" Hotch replied without looking at the phone, assuming it was JJ or Garcia regarding a case, "Hello?"

"Did you mean it?" Emily's voice said, "When you said you loved me?"

"Emily?" Hotch said, his heart beating fast at the sound of her soft voice.

"Did you?" Emily asked again.

"I love you." Hotch said, "I love you so much that it hurts to be near you and not be with you."

"What do we do about it?" Emily asked him, "What about the fraternization rules?"

Walking out of his kitchen, Hotch grabbed his shoes on. He wanted to have this conversation with her face to face.

"Fuck the rules" Hotch said, "The rules are just that, rules. They're not set in stone."

"What about Strauss?" Emily asked, "Won't she have a problem with her agents being in a relationship?"

"Don't worry about her" Hotch said, wanting to assure her that they can be together, "Dave has dirt on her and I'm sure she'd gladly over look us to keep herself clean."

Emily chuckled at that, "Remind me to never get on his bad side."

"What about Anderson?" Hotch asked grabbing his keys.

"I ended it with him" Emily said quietly, "I told him that as much as I liked him, I was in love with someone else. He took it rather well, considering..."

"considering what?" Hotch asked.

"Considering we were in the middle of making out when I started crying." Emily told him, "Do you still want to be with me?"

Hotch laid his head on the door closing his eyes, "More than anything in the world."

"Then open your front door." Emily said hanging up her cell phone as the door opened.

Emily threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him as he pulled her into a kiss closing his door.


Johann Pestalozzi said, "Man must search for what is right, and let happiness come on its own."


The End

Well I hope you all enjoyed this, leave a review and let me know.