Episode: The Uncanny Valley

Dedicated to Hannahbananajane, who has written an amazing H/P fic that you ALL need to check out!

There was a toy soldier in his cereal.

Hotch prided himself in always being able to wake up fully alert, a side effect to being on the job for so long. But as he stared down at his spoon, which had a small green soldier pointing a gun at his mouth, Hotch wondered if somehow his team had been slipping something into his coffee lately.

The doorbell rang unexpectedly and Hotch dropped the spoon back into his bowl, rubbing his eyes viciously and hoping that he answered the door looking somewhat sane. Twisting the doorknob, Hotch opened it with a huge yawn, frowning when he saw who it was.

"Emily?"

She didn't say anything, just stared at him with her eyes slightly widened, lips parted in an almost-gasp and a single eyebrow raised. Hotch looked down at what he was wearing. A simple white dress shirt, tie loose around his neck and sleeves rolled up. His jacket was sitting on his couch, which he left there until he finished his bowl of god only knew what.

"Uh, come in?" Hotch pulled the door open a bit further and Emily seemed to regain consciousness, blinking and stepping in, beginning to stutter out why she was there.

"I- uh, just wanted to see how you were doing. I didn't have a chance to check in with you after the last case and..."

"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm doing alright. Jack's over here for the first time and-"

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," Emily paled suddenly her head whipping over to the hallway where Jack's room was. "I'll go, I didn't mean to intrude."

Hotch rolled his eyes, pulling back a chair and making his way into the kitchen. "Please, we spent time together last night. I was just about to leave for work. The caretaker comes in to help clean up the place and watch Jack when I'm not home. Jessica'll probably take him in tonight. Want some coffee?"

Emily glanced up from her new seat at the table. She had been examining the stuff on the table, various case files, a half empty cup of juice and a bowl with what appeared to be small green soldiers in it.

"Sure. That's some cereal you got there, Hotch."

He came over with two mugs, setting one down in front of Emily, and then sat down in front of his bowl, sipping quickly at the burning coffee.

"Oh yeah, that. I think Jack got into my cereal. Maybe it's his way of telling me he wants Fruit Loops instead."

"How could you possibly not want Fruit Loops in your house?" Emily stared at him, aghast and Hotch smiled, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Mostly because I looked at the ingredients and I'm pretty sure I had a heart attack right there."

"Pretty sure that's a sign of old age, Hotch."

"Because you're so much younger than me," He replied, rolling his eyes.

Emily opened her mouth to retaliate but instead the sound of padding footsteps made her turn around, biting at her lip.

"Daddy?" Jack's voice broke the air and Hotch glanced up too as his son wandered over to him. Emily watched as Hotch's features softened, leaning down to scoop his son into his arms. The boy curled up against his father's form and leaned forward, picking his toys out of the cereal, ignoring Emily completely as he began to play with them.

"Jack? Can you say hi to Miss Emily?" Emily waved nervously, wondering about the protocol for meeting your boss' son. Jack glanced up, his blonde hair messy as he stared at Emily for a moment, the gun noises he had been making ceasing.

"Hi Miss Emily."

Jack looked back down, yawning as he grabbed his soldiers in a fist and dropped them one by one back into Hotch's bowl. They made plunking noises as they fell atop the soggy bits of cornflakes and with each plop, Hotch winced. Emily smiled as he scooped Jack up, walking the sleepy child into his room. Emily's heart fluttered slightly as she heard Hotch's voice speaking softly to Jack from the other room. She was surprised at how different his work self was from his home self, but at the same time, she felt so safe and cozy in here that she almost didn't want to leave.

It pained her when he re-entered the room, sliding his sleeves down and tightening his tie. Already she could see the relaxation melt off his face, replaced by the usual stern look. He grabbed his jacket quickly and held out hers, as she stood and slid her arms into it.

"I'll walk you down to your car," Hotch spoke softly, acutely aware of Jack still in the other room. He drained the last bit of his coffee and placed it back on the table, as Emily zipped up her coat, waiting for Hotch.

As they walked down the hall, Hotch already thumbing quickly through the file, Emily wished she could bring back the version of Hotch she'd just seen. It pained her to see what the job had changed about him and made her almost wish that she could do something to change him back. He nodded his head to her as she got into her car and she waved, driving away as he closed the case file, already running through theories in his head.

OoOoOoO

Emily wasn't sure at what point she realised how tired she was, but she'd been worrying about Hotch for such a long time that after she finished explaining her reasoning for the UNSUB being a woman on the jet, she unconsciously leaned her head slightly on his arm. It was barely a touch, but both of them felt it and a slight jolt went through Hotch as he felt her brush against his arm. He almost couldn't even finish his train of thought; his mind was fixated on the small of his arm. Emily pulled away as Garcia came on the line, the thought of her now redhead friend seeing her leaning on Hotch unpleasant, to say the least.

Nothing happened for the rest of the case, Hotch choosing to pair her with Morgan, as usual. It was a difficult case, made less so by Emily noting that the UNSUB was a woman. It wasn't until the plane ride home that she gathered enough courage to talk to Hotch again.

The darkness of the cabin swept over them, the only sounds being the soft breaths of the team. They had the next day off and all of them were planning on doing lots of nothing. That was why, at about 11 at night, Hotch was madly flipping through papers, signing and writing and reading so he wouldn't have to tomorrow. It was only when Emily slipped into the seat next to him that he looked up, broken from his thoughts.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" Hotch asked, looking back down, more distracted as he signed off on some paper he had barely even skimmed.

"Why aren't you sleeping? Toy soldiers and coffee aren't enough to prepare someone for an entire day with their kid." Emily returned, taking a few case files and beginning to look over them, taking note to prepare herself in future.

"No, but it helps. And I should finish all this so I don't have to do it tomorrow."

"Or you could do it the next day. Or you could just not bring case files home."

"Or pigs can fly," Hotch replied, giving Emily a look, and then turning back down to his work.

"Pretty sure I saw one just outside like, 20 minutes ago."

"And I thought I was crazy."

"Ok, what will make you come out, forget all about work, and just spend some time with Jack?" Emily wasn't exactly pleading, but she was close, making Hotch lean back and take her question seriously. He paused for a few seconds, contemplating the idea before finally blurting out the only answer that was true.

"Come with us."

"What?"

"Come with us. To the park. Not tomorrow, but some other time."

"Really?" Emily was awestruck. Was Hotch actually asking her to join him for his little time with Jack? After Foyet he'd become so protective over the boy that the team had been a bit worried, trying to get him to come out a bit more often. While Jack didn't see his dad too often, he still needed his own room to grow and not be smothered by his father.

But this. This was kind of, sort of ... huge.

"Yeah, I think he likes you."

"He said 3 words to me, Hotch."

"Fine, I think he could grow to like you."

Emily bit her lip, studying Hotch's face, which had turned back to the paperwork yet again. She was so overcome with thought that she didn't know what to say for a few seconds.

"Okay."

It was Hotch's turn to look up, slightly surprised. He smiled, a look that made Emily just want to melt then and there.

"It's a date."

Emily flashed him a small smile, and then adjusted herself so she was in a more comfortable position to sleep. Hotch continued his paperwork, stopping only when he felt Emily's head resting on his shoulders. He didn't look up, only grinned to himself, continuing to write, ignoring the small stain in the page from his pen bleeding through the page.

With a steady hand and an unsteady mind, Hotch finished signing off on his last piece of paperwork with a flurry of his wrist, leaning back and closing his eyes with a gentle sigh.

Never Thought I'd See the Day - The School