Chapter 23

December 23, 2008

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"Mister Hotch?"

Hotch looked up from where he was helping Emmeline re-tie her skates with a wide smile. "Yes Emmeline?"

The ten-year-old bit her lip. "You've been spending a lot of time with Auntie Emily."

"I have," he agreed. "Is that okay?"

Emmeline took a deep breath. "Only if you promise not to leave her."

Emily hadn't told him anything about Emmeline and Carissa's upbringing, and he'd never had the chance to meet Anne, so everything he'd figured out had been from his own experience and the behaviour of both girls. Carissa seemed well adjusted, and Hotch assumed that was because her father must have walked out before Carissa could remember. Emmeline, on the other hand, remembered and felt the loss.

"I don't plan on it," he promised the little girl. "I'll be here as long as she wants me."

Emmeline nodded. "I hear her talking about you with Mommy," she admitted. "They think I'm asleep, but I'm not."

"What do they say?" He couldn't help but let the curiosity overwhelm him. He wanted to know. He really wanted to know.

"That Auntie Em really likes you," Emmeline replied. "Mommy's been trying to convince her to um... I forget what words they used, but I know Aunty Em wanted to say yes. She said something about the Bureau though."

Hotch nodded. That was his biggest apprehension, more because of the subordinate-supervisor labels than anything else. It was nice to know he got the best friend seal of approval anyway, even though he'd never met the woman. "Is that all?"

"Why are you asking, Mister Hotch?" Emmeline asked, her head tilting to the side.

Hotch had learned early on that Emmeline, like her aunt, valued honesty above every other virtue. So he met her eyes, head on. "I like your aunt, Emmeline. Very much. It's why I'm spending so much time with her."

The little girl looked like she was absorbing that information. "My Aunty Em is special," she said, as much warning as she could put into her ten-year-old voice.

"She is," he agreed, a smile tilting his lips as he looked over his shoulder. The woman in question was smiling as she held onto Jack's hands, Carissa standing nearby with a contraption to help her balance as she learned to skate. "Very special."

"Exactly. You have to be careful with her though. She's not as strong as she acts."

Hotch knew that too. She didn't show struggle often, but as they had become friends following New York, it had been a little bit easier to notice when she was. And it wasn't often to begin with. "I don't want to hurt her."

"Everybody says that. Then they walk away."

"Emmeline, I really do not want to hurt your aunt. I have no intention of hurting your aunt, but sometimes things happen," her told her frankly.

"And then you'll go away."

"Not necessarily," Hotch tried to reassure her, pulling away and making sure she wasn't too wobbly when she stood on the blades of her skates. Then he crouched down. "Things can get hard sometimes, but that doesn't mean people don't work things out. Some people do, some people don't."

His point had been to reassure her that he intended to work things out with Emily should a fight occur. It was bound to, both because of their line of work and because she had little quirks that drove him nuts. She could be reckless at times and it bothered him that she could put herself in the line of fire as easily as Morgan would when a life was on the line. The fierce loyalty was both a good trait and a fault too.

"Daddy! Look at me!"

He smiled at his son and yelled encouragement before stepping onto the ice and holding his hand out to Emmeline. He thrilled when she took it.

"Emmeline's starting to trust you."

Her voice was soft as they sat watching the three children run about the lobby. Hot chocolate had to come after skating, but neither of them had felt particularly obliged to keep Emmeline, Carissa and Jack at the table.

He nodded his agreement. "We came to an understanding."

"On the side of the ice rink?" she asked with a chuckle. "Odd place to bond."

"She needed her skates tightened."

"Mmhmm, then she skated four laps with you. She doesn't take to people well."

"I noticed that," he agreed. "She all but made me swore in blood not to leave you alone."

Emily blushed. "She would do something like that. She's protective of me."

"I'm glad she is," Hotch replied, sipping at Jack's unfinished hot chocolate. The boy would never miss it. He waited a beat. "I don't plan to leave, you know. Unless you'd like me to."

"Right now, I'm not sure what I want," she admitted. "Do I want you, yes. Do I want the drama that could erupt because of this, no."

Hotch's arm wrapped around her, bringing her flush with his side as his hand curved around her opposite hip. "What people don't know can't hurt them."

"You want to hide this?"

He had to back pedal fast. "No," he told her, honesty shining in his eyes as they met hers. "Not at all. If we're going to start a relationship, Emily, you are not going to be my dirty little secret. At least not to the people that matter."

"The team."

Though it was a statement he nodded anyway, pressing a reassuring kiss to her temple. "What the Bureau doesn't know, won't hurt anyone. The team is family."

She turned slightly, her knee knocking his so she could face him better. "Speaking of the team..."

"I will be at Morgan's house tomorrow night with Jack."

She tilted her head to the side. "How did you know that was what I was going to ask?"

He smiled, a true, genuine dimpled grin. "Because I know you Emily Prentiss." His eyes flashed when she shivered. "Would you like me to pick you up on the way?"

"How be I come by your place and we drive from there instead?" she proposed.

It was an odd request, but so long as she was driving with him he wasn't sure it mattered whether he was picking her up or if she was driving herself to his complex. "Okay," he agreed.

She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder. "You know, I think this is starting to become my all time favourite Christmas."

It was growing to be his too.

This is short 1) because it is hours late, 2) because I'm exhausted from traveling through the endless snow that seems to be pllaguing me and 3) because this one gave me so much trouble as a result of having tomorrow's (or today's?) pretty much planned out in my head.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I get to watch The Grinch (cartoon version, thankyouverymuch) and Scrooged!