Episode: A Family Affair

"So, what time should I pick up Jack tomorrow?"

The soft sounds of people sleeping a moving about the cabin were broken by Rossi's voice, just above a loud whisper. Derek, in the seat across from the pair, slept on.

"I have to leave by 5 am and I think Emily, Garcia and JJ are going out for a ladies night." Hotch winced, looking up awkwardly. "So they won't be home 'til sunrise."

"Okay, well. I tell you what, you put on the coffee and I'll be there." Rossi smiled, reflecting upon the other days that the three women had gone out for drinks. It hadn't exactly ended well.

"Thanks," Hotch glanced back down at a case file, looking forward to not doing anything for the next few days.

Except run a triathlon, but that was nothing.

"So, you nervous? I mean, it's not too late to back out."

"I'm ready," Hotch glanced up at Rossi again, smiling. "... Maybe."

He looked back down, pausing in his reading to stop and raise his head once more.

"So, when are we going to stop having these conversations and pretending like we aren't talking about Emily?"

"About when you start smiling on the job," Rossi smiled good-naturedly, clasping his fingers in his lap.

"Have you seen what we do? I can't smile with things like that."

Rossi shrugged, glancing over towards where Emily and JJ were trading secretive looks about their upcoming night, Reid blissfully unaware of what was going on.

"Don't smile because of what we do, Aaron. Smile because of what you have," Rossi shook his head at his fortune cookie words. "Because what you have is pretty damn good. So don't mess it up, ok?"

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"You did it," Rossi grinned as he stepped forward, Jack running up behind them.

"I did, can you believe it?" Rossi smirked as he caught Hotch scanning the crowd quickly for Emily. Just as he was about to call out to her, Jack came running up, squealing with excitement from the cheering crowd and being around his surrogate family.

"Daddy, did you see my sign!" Jack jumped up around his dad as the man bent down, hanging his medal around his son's neck.

"I did! That's for you buddy," Hotch stepped back, admiring the medal. "Your sign was fantastic!"

"How you feeling?" Rossi added as Hotch took a swig of water, wondering to himself how he hadn't gotten enough with the swimming and (eurgh) sweat.

"I think I'm gonna live," He grinned as Emily walked over with the rest of the team.

"Pretty impressive," She attempted a smile, the hangover pulsating through her entire body. "I had money on the swim killing you."

"I had practice," Hotch shrugged, tugging her over by her coat, amused by her eyes, squinting despite the enormous frames that adorned her face.

"I bet you did," Derek snorted, trying to cover his words up with a fake cough. Hotch gave him his signature glare, made infinitely less scary by his slicked down hair and Emily trying not to laugh.

"You guys want some breakfast?" Reid suggested, trying to cut the tension.

"Oh, something greasy," JJ moaned, rubbing her forehead. Emily bobbed her head enthusiastically, grabbing Hotch's shirt and taking Jack's hand in hers, pulling the two Hotchner's after the retreating figures of their friends.

"I'm quite glad I got Dave to pick up Jack," Hotch grumbled, slipping his hand into Emily's, safely extracting it from his rather grim shirt.

"Please, I would have gotten Reid to pick him up."

"Reid's a menace behind the wheel, he drives like a 16 year old."

"Yes," Emily agreed thoughtfully. "But he'd be better than Garcia after ... 4 green fairies? 5?" Hotch snorted, trying unsuccessfully to remove the mental image of his girlfriend and co-workers drinking. And getting drunk. Very drunk.

"You're going to be the death of me, I think."

"Only if this hangover isn't the death of me. Come on, the rest of the group already left and I'm in no fit state to drive."

"I just ran a triathlon!"

"That's no excuse. Now hurry up, Jack wants some pancakes."

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"So, any cases for the next week or so?" JJ practically keened as her and Emily's greasy sandwiches were delivered to them, the rest of the team's food having already been half eaten.

"None that I can see. B Team is handling a few more because our load's been..." Hotch paused, spearing a potato wedge and feeding it to Emily over Jack's head, then continuing the conversation as if nothing had happened. "...bigger than usual."

"Uh huh," JJ nodded as if that hadn't been top ten of the strangest things she'd ever seen. Glancing out of the corner of her eye at Reid, at her other side, JJ guessed she wasn't the only one mildly creeped out.

"Let's not talk about work, hm?" Rossi prompted as he took a sip of his coffee and blanched at the taste. "Ugh, anyone want this?"

"I do! I DO!" Jack waved his arm around in the air, Emily expertly dodging it as it swung wildly.

"Watch it, Jack Attack, you're going to blind Uncle Dave." Emily swallowed thoughtfully and looked at Rossi, her head tilted. "That is, unless old age hasn't already done that?"

"Oh, ha ha Emily, you should leave and become a freaking comedienne."

"For you, Dave," Emily batted her long eyelashes coyly and pretended to swoon. "Anything."

Hotch coughed. Jack flicked a bite of his eggs across the table in protest.

"Did you know that with so many television-related sitcoms, becoming a comedian is actually slowly becoming a more and more popular job?" Reid's voice was drowned in a series of complaints about his fact-spewing. Emily just leaned down to Jack's eye level, grabbing the ketchup bottle and squirting out the Spiderman symbol right smack in the centre of his eggs. The team's voices quieted down as Emily gave Jack a secretive smile, explaining how Spiderman was off on a mission and needed Jack to eat his eggs.

"It's really important, too because if you leave even one little bit on your plate, do you know what could happen, Jack?"

"What?" The boy's eyes were round as saucers, as were the teams. All except Hotch, who continued eating his French toast like it was just another day.

Emily leaned down, eyes darting around like she was afraid someone would hear. In a conspiratorial whisper, she hissed into Jack's tiny ear, "The Green Goblin."

Jack gasped, immediately shoveling the eggs into his mouth as Emily leaned back, finishing up her sandwich. The booth was silent as everyone stared at the trio, none of them actually aware of it until Emily brushed the crumbs off her lap and froze, eyes locking with the other 5.

"What?"

"Nothing," they chorused, nervous glances darting between them.

"Emily, come to the bathroom with me." JJ's hand latched onto Emily's with a deathgrip as Garcia's eyes widened and she cried out, "Oh, me too!" The two blondes practically dragged Emily away as the men at the table exchanged looks that said, 'Why must women always do that?'

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"What the hell was that?" JJ hissed as they dragged Emily into the bathroom.

"What was what?" Emily cried, looking back and forth between the blonde pair.

"Emily I didn't know you and Hotch were getting married!" Garcia wailed, arms flapping at her sides.

"Wh- what?! We aren't!" Emily stuttered out her reply, confusion written all over her face.

"But with Jack... Emily, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if he started calling you 'Mommy'." JJ bit her lip, trying to gauge her friend's reaction. Emily paled suddenly, falling back against the counter, mind reeling.

"But I'm not his mom. Hayley is- was," Emily pressed her lips together and looked up at her friends. "We're just dating right now."

"And living together, and he has a kid, and that kid basically is in love with you." Garcia ticked the points off on her fingers, giving Emily a look.

"But we haven't been dating that long, I'm not sure if I'm ready to get married." Emily suddenly paled at the thought of her dressed in white, walking down an aisle with Hotch at the end. Jack would be ring bearer. The team would be there, smiling. It was so perfect.

So why was she so scared?

"Honey, it's okay. You don't have to marry him yet," JJ reached out, rubbing Emily's arm soothingly. "But... you do realise that eventually you probably will get married, right?"

Emily closed her eyes, heart suddenly pounding at the very thought. Marriage. A kid. Forever. Doyle.

She had almost done the same with Doyle.

"I'm gonna be fine, guys. Don't worry. Just... give me a second, okay?" Emily looked at her friends pleadingly and they just nodded, silently promising to feed Hotch and the guys some stupid lie. They left quickly and Emily turned, splashing water onto her face and looking up at her reflection.

She loved him. God, she loved him so much. Jack too, of course.

But... did she love them enough?

Down the Burning Ropes – James Vincent McMorrow

So, we're getting a bit closer to the end (NOOOOOOOO). I know, I made a really mean plot twist, but bear with me. I love Hotly too much to keep them apart for too long. Anyway, I just want to say thanks so much to the people who've stuck with me this whole time as well as those who joined up somewhere along the road. I'll be continuing my other stories and probably trying to wrap up a lot of them because I have so many more ideas! Watch out for more, they're gonna be great.

Thanks