A/N: Here it is: Emily's first visit back to the BAU. I've never had a white Christmas but it always seemed such a romantic idea. Snuggling up by a warm fire, sitting by the window looking out at nothing but white. Here in Aus it's sitting by the pool drinking beer, or unwrapping your presents in air conditioning. Anyway. Please read and review. Oh and tee hee. Appearance by Jack.
DISCLAIMER: I don't not own Criminal Minds.
Emily looked out of the window and smiled. Snow! She loved the snow. And Christmas. And DC. And Christmas in DC with snow. She felt like a little kid. "So how long do you think you'll be?" Peter asked, breaking her from her reverie. Emily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I promised the girls that we'd go out for dinner AND dessert so don't wait up. I'll catch a cab back to the hotel," she answered, rubbing Peter's shoulder. He nodded as he pulled the car up outside of the tall building and smiled as he leant over. "Have fun," he said as he kissed her. Emily smiled and nodded as she touched his cheek. "You too. And don't let Dad hassle you about February. He'll push you until you cave. So you've gotta stand firm," she said. Peter kissed her hand and nodded. "Ok. Operation hardass it is," he joked. Emily rolled her eyes and climbed out of the car. "I'll message you when I leave the restaurant," she said. Peter nodded. "I love you," she said as she leant on the window. "Love you too." She stood back and watched him drive off, then she turned and looked up. This was her first trip back to DC and therefore, her first visit back to Quantico. Since she and Peter would be spending every Christmas/New Year holiday with her parents in Virginia, she agreed to drop in and visit her friends as well. She took a deep breath and walked up the steps.
It was only 5:30 when she arrived on the BAU floor so the office was still full. The elevator doors opened and she stepped out into the hall. She smiled when she saw Morgan sitting on what was once her desk. He was talking with Rossi and Reid. Reid was the first to look up and his surprised expression caused the others to turn. "Emily! Look at you! You're…" Morgan's voice trailed off and she smiled. "I'm here. In a coat… and jeans… it's freezing," she said. Morgan pulled her close and hugged her. She turned to Reid and smiled. "How you doing lil bro?" she asked, hugging him. Reid shrugged his shoulders. "I'm dealing with the lack of protection from Morgan's constant bullying but… other than that I'm good. How are you?" he asked, looking her up and down. Emily smiled. "I'm cold," she said. Rossi stepped up to hug her and looked over her shoulder. She felt him tense up. "Uh… Emily," he said as he stood back. Emily turned to see Hotch and JJ walking through the glass doors. Hotch stopped where he stood and his jaw dropped when Emily turned to face him.
"Just make sure you get me the preliminaries as soon as possible. I want to finish everything before Christmas Eve," Hotch said as he and JJ walked through the halls. JJ nodded and smiled. "Sure," she replied. She sighed. "You and Jack have anything planned?" she asked. Hotch nodded. "Uh, Jack's spending Christmas Eve with Hayley's family so we're doing our thing on Christmas morning before we drive to my brother's for Christmas dinner," he explained. "What about you guys? You and Will doing anything with the boys?" he asked. JJ nodded as he pulled open the door of the BAU. This was Adam's first Christmas so they'd wanted to make it special. She stopped suddenly and, when he looked up from the ground, Hotch saw her. She had her back turned and Rossi was hugging her. Emily. When Rossi saw them he pulled back and said something. Hotch looked at her as she turned and then he saw it. Emily. Pregnant.
How could she be pregnant? And so far along. She looked at least six months along… if not more. But she looked beautiful… radiant. Hotch's heart sank. At least with just Peter in the picture he could selfishly hope. But now she was pregnant. Hotch was broken out of his reverie as he heard JJ call her name.
"Emily!" JJ cried out. She ran over to her friend, hugging her tight. When she pulled back she placed her hands on her belly. "You look fantastic!" JJ squealed excitedly. Emily smiled and rubbed her stomach. "Yeah well… I'm only seven months along so we'll see if, by the end of it, you're still saying that," she said sarcastically. Emily tensed up when she saw Hotch walk over. "Emily. How are you?" Hotch asked, awkwardly hugging her over her pregnant belly. Emily forced a smile as she stood back. "Uh… I'm uh… good. How are you?" she asked. He shrugged his shoulders. "Oh… before I forget," she said, digging into her purse. She pulled out a small present, wrapped in silver paper. "This is a small present for Jack. Just a little something," she said. Hotch looked at the gift and smiled. Emily. She always remembered Jack. "Thanks, I'll make sure to give it to him when I see him tomorrow night," he said. Emily smiled and nodded.
JJ turned to her. "Alright, you ready to go?" she asked. Emily smiled and nodded again. "Sure. Let's go," she said, "If this kid isn't fed on a regular basis she kicks like crazy," she joked. Everyone chuckled. "Just like her mom," Morgan teased. Emily smacked his arm. "Alright. Well I guess I'll see you guys on New Years," she said. The others nodded and smiled as JJ took her arm and led her out of the BAU. Hotch watched as they stopped in front of the elevators and Emily talked excitedly while she ran her hands over her belly. "So… Emily's pregnant!" Morgan said. Reid nodded. "Apparently so." Rossi pat Hotch's shoulder. "I'm outta here boys. See you for New Years. Remember party starts at 9, bring nothing." The others nodded and watched him walk back up to his office to pack up his things.
Hotch said goodnight to the guys and walked up to his office. He sat down at his desk and sighed. Emily's pregnant. Emily… pregnant. Hotch shook his head and leant his elbows on the desk. What was he going to do?
Hotch held Jack's hand and led him down the side of Dave's house just outside of Mt Victoria. Jack was chatting away about something that had happened at his grandma's house but all Hotch could think about was Emily. Emily pregnant. Emily pregnant with Peter's baby. Emily pregnant with Peter's baby and the father-in-question's arms wrapped around her stomach.
When they reached the back porch and looked through the windows, Hotch's thoughts came true. Emily and Peter were talking with Reid and Morgan. Peter had his arm wrapped around Emily's waist and she was patting her stomach. Jack looked up and saw Emily. He squealed. "Miss Emly!" he cried out, letting go of his dad's hand and running in to his favourite person in the world. Emily and the others turned and her face lit up when she saw the little boy. He was bouncing on the ground and Emily stooped down and picked him up. She kissed his cheek as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Daddy said you'd be here and you are!" he cried out. Emily nodded and smiled. "I am here Jack in a box," she said.
Emily loved this little boy and she could tell from his greeting that he missed her as much as she missed him. Emily knelt back to the floor and put him down as he explained to her about his Christmas. "Oh and thank you for the present Miss Emly," he said, hugging her again. Emily smiled and stood when she heard Hotch. "Yes. Thank you for the present. Every bath time it's "Forget the boat dad. I wanna surf just like Miss Emly," Hotch said. Emily stood and smiled. "Well, I mean, boats are fun. But if you wanna live in California, you've gotta learn how to surf," she said, looking down at Jack.
He had been quiet and she laughed when she saw his face. He looked up at her and pointed to her stomach. "Miss Emly, why are you fat?" he asked. Everyone chuckled and Hotch rolled his eyes. "Jack that's not very ni…" he started. Emily cut him off with her laugh. "It's fine Hotch," she said, kneeling down again. She dropped to the floor next to Jack and smiled as she ran her fingers through his light brown hair. "I'm pregnant," she said. She reached over and took his hand, placing it on her belly. "I'm gonna have a baby," she explained. Jack's jaw dropped. "You gonna be a mommy," he said quietly, amazed. Emily smiled and nodded as she looked up at Peter. "Yep. I'm gonna be a mommy," she said.
Hotch was smiling, then he looked over and saw Emily smiling at Peter, and he frowned. He almost jumped when Emily laughed. Jack looked at her, completely enthralled. "Did you feel that?" she asked him, running her hand down his back. Jack looked back at her belly and nodded. "What was it?" he asked innocently. "That was the baby kicking. She just wanted to say hello," Emily explained. The six-year old smiled. "Can you make her do it again?" he asked. Emily chuckled and shook her head. "Unfortunately not. She just does it when she wants," Emily replied.
She looked up and realized that Peter had gone to the drinks table. Emily looked up at Hotch and he held out his hands to her. She reached up and put her hands in his, pulling herself up. "Sorry. I'm a bit of a heffer," she said, self-deprecatingly. Hotch huffed and shook his head. "Not at all. You look beautiful Emily," he said quietly. Emily blushed and bit her lip. Hotch cleared his throat and looked down at Jack to compose himself. When he looked back up Peter had returned and handed a cup of water to his wife. Hotch cleared his throat and excused himself to go and say hi to the others.
Hotch walked into the lounge room to lie Jack down on the couch. It was 10 pm and way past Jack's usual bedtime. He'd been hoping he'd make it to midnight but, alas, he was only six. Hotch smiled when he walked into the room and found Emily asleep. He lay Jack on the other couch and pulled a blanket up over his small body. Jack immediately curled into a ball and put his thumb in his mouth. Hotch ran his hand over his son's back and kissed his cheek. "Night buddy," he whispered.
Hotch turned and looked over at Emily. The fire was setting off a dim glow across the room and Hotch looked at her face. She looked so peaceful. Apparently California had been good for her. He looked down at her belly, her hand wrapped protectively over it. He smiled when he thought over earlier, where Jack had felt the baby kick. He'd been so excited and had spent half the night sitting and talking with Emily. Hotch was sure she'd get irritated with his constant questions about the baby but, if she was, she didn't show it.
He bent down and pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, running his hand up her back in the process. He frowned. This was torture. He was in love with this woman, this beautiful, outstanding woman, and she could never be his. He sighed and ran his hand over her shoulder. She stirred and Hotch stood up quickly. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Hotch looked at his watch. "Uh. 10:25," he replied. Wow, had he really been standing there for 25 minutes? He shook his head and looked down.
"I should get up. I don't wanna miss the fireworks," she mumbled as she sat up. Hotch nodded. "Alright. Well, let's get you outside then," he said quickly. Emily held her hands up for him to help her up. He pulled her up from the couch and looked down at her. "Emily, I just…" he started. Emily looked up at him. "What is it?" she asked. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said. He couldn't make any declarations or explain why he'd acted the way he had. But he could at least apologize.
Emily was stunned. She was sure that "sorry" wasn't a word in Hotch's vocabulary. She'd felt so much anger and resentment towards him in the past, the way he'd acted when she first introduced him to Peter, then after they were engaged, after she transferred, and finally, at their wedding. He had continually tried to distance himself from her, and she knew he didn't do that with the rest of the team. She had loved him at one point, maybe she still did a little. But now she had Peter… she ran her hands over her belly… and the baby. So she didn't need to worry. She had someone in her life who loved her and had given her the greatest gift imaginable, a family.
Emily smiled and looked up at Hotch. "Me too," she replied as she put her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. Hotch didn't know what to do, but smelling her shampoo, his arms automatically wrapped around her back and leant his chin on her head. "We should probably get outside," he whispered into her hair. Emily nodded and pat his back. "Alright. Let's go welcome in 2011," she said. Hotch frowned when she pulled away. The loss of contact made him shiver. But he was determined not to lose her friendship again. Granted, they couldn't be as close as they once were, or as close as they each were with the others. Even though he was sure Emily felt nothing towards him, he still loved her. He still adored her. He sighed. He would never have her. But at least, when she visited each year, he wouldn't feel the need to smile awkwardly before he excused himself. Maybe they could even have a conversation.
A/N: And there we have it. Emily's pregnant. And I just finished reading your reviews so here's a few answers.
romiross: Emily does love Peter, but her feelings for him will never be like they were/are/will be for Hotch. He's not her soulmate but she loved him so she figured if he loved her too then it would work.
everyone: I wrote another story initially (it's call "reunited" and i'll post it once this story wraps), but decided to write the prequel and post it first. hopefully this story will only make "reunited" even better.
thanks for your reviews.