Chapter 17

December 17, 2008

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For all of the days Hotch had never taken off, a little cold, in his mind, should not hold him down. It was the reason he'd pulled himself out of bed that morning, going about his usual morning routine without thinking twice. Much like Emily, he simply continued to tell himself he wasn't sick. He'd been sniffling yesterday, but not enough to concern anyone, least of all himself. After all, Emily had been doing the same and she'd seemed perfectly find when she waltzed into the bullpen the previous day.

Now, however, four hours later, his head was throbbing and he could not breathe through his nose. While the latter was not new, for he hadn't been able to breathe through his nose that morning, he did not appreciate the headache that seemed to want to accompany his annoying nose. He dropped his pen for the millionth time, his hands coming up to massage his temples and above his eyes. It hurt. A lot.

"Hotch?"

Her voice sounded so far away that he just assumed he hadn't heard it. However, that same melodic voice called his name again. The third time, accompanied by a touch to his shoulder, told him that she was, indeed, real. "What can I do for you?"

"That seems more like a question I should ask you," she replied. "We wondered if you were okay yesterday."

"I'm fine."

"Good, then sign these."

She had to have known the light was bothering him with his headache. Still, he picked up his pen and flipped open the first file. He could feel her watching him as he did it and hoped that the winkle between his eyebrows he knew formed when he was in pain. When he closed the last file and looked up at her, he knew he hadn't succeeded.

"Thanks," she said, meeting his eyes. "I'm going to drop these off, then you're going to come with me."

"I'm sorry?"

"I know the perfect way to stop the cold in its tracks," she said. 'Trust me, and get your coat."

Part of him wanted to reprimand her for the way she'd ordered him around, but the bigger part of him was starting to realize that this was Emily Prentiss hovering. She'd hovered over Reid, JJ, even Garcia. Morgan was often on the receiving end of Emily's maternal instinct and he'd seen her bring Dave breakfast a few times when Hotch realized the older profile had spent the night in the office. But never had her mother hen habits been focused on him. Not to mention that the chances were that whatever she had planned wouldn't involve anyone else. So he stood slowly.

Emily made quick work of getting herself ready, dropping the files on her desk in a surprising disorganized fashion for a woman Hotch swore had OCD tendencies. She snatched her coat from the back of her chair, ignoring Morgan's curious glance and led the way out of the bullpen.

"Emily, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

It was half an hour later that they pulled into a back parking lot. He was antsy. He didn't do well with surprises. His job ensured that he tried to account for all things that could quite possibly pop up to surprise him, so he didn't like them that much. More often than not, it meant he'd made a mistake. Hotch didn't like making mistakes.

"Emily—"

"Stop. You sound like your son about to whine," she said, climbing out of the car. "Not only do I have cold medication for you that will help with the congestion and the headache, but I am about to let you into one of my best kept secrets."

That caught hold of him. He wanted to know her best kept secrets, especially since he was planning on turning their friendship to a romantic relationship. So he followed her willingly as she went around the building into the bustling street on the other side. He only got a glimpse of the sign above the front door before she was pulling it open and holding it for him.

"Welcome, Agent Hotchner, to Warm Hearts."

He arched an eyebrow, his blood warming at her little giggle.

"They make the best soup I have ever had. You want something that will cure a cold in a snap? This place is it."

"Emily!"

Hotch watched as the old man behind the counter greeted her happily, coming out from behind the counter to wrap her up in a big hug. She hugged him back, that smile still wide.

"I didn't expect you back this soon."

"I know, Ted, neither did I."

"And who is this? You never bring anyone to visit."

Emily turned to him with that wide smile he was starting to grow extremely fond of. "Aaron Hotchner, Meet Ted Queen, the owner of Warm Hearts."

"This is Agent Hotchner?" the man asked Emily. "Well it's about time you brought him here, Missy!"

Goodness he loved that pink colour that blossomed across her face when she blushed.

"She talks about you," Ted said. "And the rest of your team. She certainly likes her work."

"We like having her," Hotch said, still a little overwhelmed. The place was more like a little cafe than anything else, a place that screamed simple hang out spot as opposed to the upscale woman who had brought him here.

"We're going to need a bowl of chicken noodle soup," Emily said. "And I'll have a turkey sandwich."

"No soup for you?" Ted asked, his eyes watching the two.

Hotch noticed and raised an eyebrow, both at him and the quick simple way Emily placed their supposed order. "Soup?"

Ted was already walking away as Emily headed off towards a table. He had no choice but to follow her. She slid into one side of the booth she'd chosen and he slipped into the other side. "What is this place?"

"This is probably my best kept secret," she said, paraphrasing herself from only a few minutes earlier. "I love this place, but it's so far out that I don't usually get a chance to come here."

He raised an eyebrow. "That wasn't what Mr. Queen said."

That pink showed up on her cheeks again. "Okay, I come here more often than I'd like to admit, mostly on my way home. Ted makes the greatest chicken soup. It's my secret to how to avoid sickness, even something as simple as a cold. I don't know what's in it, but when I had the sniffles on Monday, this was the first place I went."

"And it helped?"

"I'm not sick, am I?" she said with a little laugh. "Come on, Hotch, it can't hurt. Trust Ted."

"I trust you," he told her, pulling off his coat. She was right. Not only could it not hurt to just eat the soup, but some time alone with Emily wouldn't hurt him in the slightest. It had been a long time since they'd been able to just be the two of them. Even then, the team had been around them. The plane, the precinct... they weren't really alone then.

"I'm glad," she said primly. "Because you are about to eat the greatest chicken noodle soup ever and trust me, I've had my fair share of chicken noodle soup through my life."

It was the best chicken noodle soup he'd ever had. Combined with the two Tylenol she slid his way when their drinks came and Aaron Hotchner felt very much like a new man. And the only person he could thank for that was still sitting across from him. He'd known that they were compatible outside of the BAU, but most of the time, there had been children around. It was very easy to forget they had a terrible job to get back to.

"We stay here any longer Derek's going to send out a search party," she said with a sigh. "Ted!"

"It's already on your tab," the owner responded.

"Add two teas please," she said. "One lemon with honey and... apple cinnamon, please. To go."

"You got it kiddo."

"Emily-"

"Nuh uh, I brought you here, my treat. Drink the tea, it'll help."

So this is what it felt to have her taking care of him. She was a bossy woman when she was being a mother hen. Hotch thanked Ted when he set the two paper cups on the table and Emily passed him a handful of bills. He'd have to take her out for dinner now, to pay her back. At least it made for a good excuse.

They walked back to her car, side-by-side.

"I can see why you kept that a secret," he said, climbing into the passenger's seat of her car.

Emily grinned at him as she started the car. "Don't tell."

Part of him perked up at the idea that there would be a little secret like that between them. When had he turned from a forty-something FBI agent to a fifteen-year-old with a crush on a girl? "Secret's safe with me."

"I know," she promised. She sighed as she pulled out of the parking lot. He sipped on his tea as she navigated through the streets.

"Why Warm Hearts?" Hotch asked, uncomfortable with the quiet after they'd chatted over lunch.

Emily's smile was affectionate. "Ted lost his wife nine years ago, right before he retired from his job as a chef at some restaurant. The way he tells it, Warm Hearts comes from something his wife used to say. 'Cold hands, warm heart'."

He recognized the look on her face, the same one she had when she was looking at Emmeline and Carissa. Affection. He'd seen it targeted at Jack and at Reid.

Emily swung the car into the parking garage where she usually left it and Hotch felt his heart jolt. He'd had a good time over lunch, talking about everything and nothing, about the interesting paperwork that had come across her desk and his, about Jack and her nieces. It was easy and felt so normal.

They walked in silence to the elevators that would take them into Quantico and then the BAU. Suddenly, and for a reasons he would analyze later, instinct and courage took hold. Hotch reached for her, grabbing her hand before she could press the button for the elevator. He watched her turn back in surprise seconds before he placed a kiss on her cheek. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

And just like that, they both knew things had changed.

And I actually thought for a minute there I'd have this up by midnight. According to my computer, it is 12:01. Bother. Let's just say my day didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I expected to have more time to get this out, but hey, life gets in the way.

Now, here is sad news, kind of, but not really. Because my goal is to have this and Seducing David Rossi done by December 25th, I will be putting Dark of Night and Growing Up BAU lower on the update list. Don't get me wrong, I haven't forgotten them by any stretch of the imagination, its just a matter of time. With less than a week to finish both of them (and I'm hoping for about 12 chapters in Seducing David Rossi), something has to be put aside. We'll see what happens though. There was that day I updated 5 different stories, so there's hope for them to be updated before Christmas!