Derek spotted Lexi coming back toward them. The tension was just levelling off when Emily left; without her coat. Lexi did not look happy.

"Can I speak to you outside?" She spared him from fighting in front of his co-workers. It still wasn't fun.

"Why did you tell Emily to take it back?"

"She was interfering in our business."

"My business Derek, not yours." He shifted his weight to his other foot and looked at her. He could tell from her stance she was ready to fight.

"You should have came to me first." He said in a low voice.

"Why would I need to? I can make my own decisions."

"Everything was fine when you were staying with me. Why can't you move in with me?"

"So what are you jealous because I was thinking about moving in with Emily and not with you?"

"No I'm not." That had nothing to do with this. She belonged with him and him only. She was carrying his baby after all. He really could not put to and to together; the last few weeks had been great. They were finally moving in the right direction and he was getting comfortable with everything. Then Emily had to pull her shit.

"That really doesn't matter. I'm not moving in with you."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to!"

"You were fine last week. What'd different now?" They're voices kept getting louder.

"Last week was like a mini vacation. You haven't even considered what moving in would be."

But he had. Damn it he had an engagement ring in his drawers' drawer! Course he wasn't going to purpose right now; but she could cut him a little slack. "Where are you going?" He asked when she started walking to her car.

"I'm your drive home, remember?" They sat in icy silence the whole way to his apartment.

"You're still coming with me on Thursday to my prenatal appointment?" She asked before he got out. "It's at 2."

"2 on Thursday. Got it." He slammed her car door shut. He no longer felt guilty towards her, which lead to a whole barrage of emotions. None of which helped. His bed was incredibly lonely that night. Lex had removed all of her stuff that afternoon, except for a lone T-Shirt he found in the wash. It might have been pathetic, but he was in his own house and he could be pathetic if he wanted to be. So he slept with her T-Shirt covering the pillow beside him. At least it gave the illusion she was there.

*~*

Sunday morning Hotch waited outside Emily's apartment. She had forgotten her coat after the fight and seemed very upset. He offered to be the one to give it to her. Dave gave him some-what of a knowing look, but Hotch ignored that. Dave gave him knowing looks all the time now.

Maybe they could have a conversation of some sort. She had done really well yesterday and he would never deny she wasn't a good agent.

So here he was waiting...and waiting. He had knocked harshly on her door but there was no answer. He listened but heard nothing. She was either completely ignoring him or wasn't home. That was a half hour ago.

He couldn't just leave her coat hanging on the doorknob. It looked fairly expensive and when he checked the pockets he found keys. Not something he would expect from private Emily Prentiss. Whenever she left anywhere she always straightened up and made sure she had everything.

He heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. Was it strange he knew her footsteps? She stopped on the stairs when she spotted him in front of her apartment. Gave him a completely tired but bewildered look. He offered her the coat.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

They stood in silence. Was she going to invite him in? It was early enough for a coffee. She took a second pair of keys out of...the jacket...she was wearing. It was a mans. The familiar stomach churning resentment was boiling up again. The rational part of him told him she was free to sleep with whomever she chose. He didn't own her. He was her boss. Any kind of fraternization was strictly off limits. And he was pretty damn sure she didn't want a relationship with at him at all.

She did invite him in. Sort of. She left the door open and continued down her hallway stripping off the jacket. She let it fall to the floor, so the owner must not be that important. Her apartment was just as perfect as the last time he had been there. The last time he convinced her to stay in the BAU.

It occurred to him that he hadn't said anything. How creepy was that? Emily didn't say anything about it; just kept moving around her small kitchen.

"Can you shut the door when you leave?" She said, stripping off her shirt and walking up the stairs. His mouth dropped at seeing her alabaster back. Was she even awake? Did she know she was in front of her boss? Did she care? Did she want him to follow...

The shower started and he couldn't help picturing her. He needed to leave right now. And go for a very long walk. Take a very cold shower. He got into his car thinking of what she would look like beneath....

Don't finish that thought! He berated himself. These feelings were completely out of place. The only reason he was even having them was because she was the closest woman around. Even if they made him act like an ass, it was just transference. They would go away and everything would be fine between them.

They had to go away.

*~*

The hot water felt great against her skin. Stupidly she wished it could wash away all her mistakes and sins. Make herself feel clean again. If only.

She had made a big, big mistake last night. Damn the team for mixing her up. Alcohol and self-pity never mixed well inside her.

She called the one person she swore she would never lay eyes on again. She had only called him because she knew he would be alone and in despair. They meet up at a sleazy bar and drank some questionable liquor. Keaton bitched about his ex-wife and his mother. Emily really wasn't part of the conversation. She sat back, listened to the bad music and waited for him to bring her home.

You could guess what happened after that. Sure she was satisfied and all of her energy was drained, which was the point of her excursion, but now she had to deal with her feelings for him. Of course she could do what she did last time. Sweep them under the rug and never think about him again. That sounded like a plan.

She didn't even leave a note after she snuck out of his apartment.

She needed a day to sleep. Maybe she could pass it off as a dream, she thought as she climbed into her soft comfy bed. It did not occur to her at all that she had left Hotch downstairs in her living room.

*~*

Derek was back to square one. Okay, maybe two. Lexi was pissed. Somehow she got more pissed every day. So, square negative one. Every subject was testy. Every phone call was icy or sarcastic. He still forced himself to call her at least once a day. There was no way he was giving up now.

"Hey Lex. I'm outside your building." He left a message on her phone. Getting out of work wasn't hard. It was a relief to escape the gnawing tension. Emily had effectively ended their friendship, being polite and courteous to no end. A line had been drawn and he wasn't going to be the first to cross it.

"So I finished one of those books. Come on, ask me anything."

"I'd rather not." She sighed.

"What's the matter?" Lexi looked really tired today.

"Nothing." She sighed again. Derek left it alone.

"So how are we today?" Doctor Bryne asked when they stepped into her office.

"Alright." Lexi answered and Derek rolled his eyes, which the doctor caught and gave him a blazing look.

Dr. Bryne took her blood pressure, measured her stomach and listened to the baby's heartbeat. She questioned Lexi on everything from what she ate to how tired she was. Derek studied the walls of pregnant woman, babies in birth canals and other disturbing images.

"...is the father?" He was being asked.

"Huh?"

"I said how is the father?" The doctor swirled in her chair.

He shrugged. "I've been better."

"Well sounds like trouble in paradise." The doctor remarked. "We really must be going. Thanks doctor Bryne." Lexi literally pushed him out.

"Did you really have to be like that Derek?"

"You're the one being snarky." He told her.

"That's not even a word. God, sometimes I can't even work with you."

"You can't work with me? I'm not the one making things difficult."

"Difficult! Like you haven't made anything difficult for me." She fumed.

"Sure. Blame it all on me. It's all my fault. Everything"

"You can be so passive aggressive. You know that? I've can't go on that trip to Oregon, you messed up my relationship with Emily. She never once answered any of my calls on Sunday. Did you even apologize to her?"

"No. I'm not apologizing. I did nothing wrong."

"Right, you and your selfish-"

"Yeah cause I'm so selfish. I do nothing but take and take and take." He was just mocking her now.

Lexi almost swore, but cut herself just short. "I'm not going to say anything else."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Again there was that tense icy silence. Now with a mix of fury. And neither one was going to back down.

*~*

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