Right now we're in 2006 when Emily joins the team, I think you can all guess why Hotch is so cold towards her now... well my version of why!

Disclaimer: Ok 90% of the dialogue in this is from "Lesson's Learned", but it's my spin on things so it shouldn't be to repetitive.

Its 2006 Emily is 35 and Hotch is 40.

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends." - Richard Bach.

Emily took a deep breath... what she was about to do was... well to say the least risky.

She honestly didn't know why she was putting herself through this, sure she wanted the job more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life... well except one thing, but that thing had made it clear he didn't want her... but now she was about to face Hotch for the first time in three years and she really wasn't sure how he'd react... though badly came to mind right away.

She knocked cautiously on the office door and once she heard him welcome her in she took a deep breath and opened the door, barley resisting the urge to run back to the safety of her car.

"Agent Hotchner." She greeted in the warmest voice she could manage... she wanted to show him that what happened three years ago hadn't effected her in the slightest... even though it'd almost killed her inside.

Hotch looked up from his work once he heard the familiar voice greet him. Holy crap it was her!

"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss." Emily added, trying to show Hotch that she knew they weren't friends and that she wanted to keep things professional.

"Yes, how do you do?" Hotch asked, quickly getting over the shock of seeing her after all this time, and deciding to act as professionally as possible. "Oh you're Ambassador Prentiss's daughter, I did security detail for her, I believe you were off to... Brown at the time." He added, trying to think of a university that wasn't Yale.

"Actually it was Yale." Emily corrected him, knowing he knew that but deciding to play his game. "I've been in the Bureau almost ten years now."

"Wow." Hotch whispered... he couldn't believe it had been ten years since he'd hugged Emily for getting into the FBI... and now they never spoke! "Has it been that long?" He said slightly louder, starting t feel petty for pretending he didn't know her, now trying to mend bridges.

"Apparently sir... but I've worked mostly in the Midwest, St Luis, Chicago." Emily replied, she knew he was trying to get into a more personal conversation but she couldn't let him... she couldn't let herself be drawn in by him, especially if there was a chance of him hurting her again.

"Your parents well?" Hotch asked, trying again to steer things back to a place where he could ask for her forgiveness.

Despite how narrow minded it seemed he desperatly wanted her forgivness... he'd hated hurting her like that and he wanted to make sure she was ok.

"Yea... yea they're great." Emily said, tempted to take his bait, but resisting, instead hoping just to leave with a job and her dignity intact.

"Great..." Hotch said, not able to think of another way to get her to open up so deciding to stop trying. "What can I do for you?" He asked suddenly, realising that after what had happened three years ago she wasn't likely just to drop by and say hello, so she must want something.

"Uh... well I guess I was hoping you could tell me where I could put my stuff." Emily replied, really wanting just to leave the room and go to her desk.

"Sorry?" Hotch said... this was a joke right? He couldn't work with Emily Prentiss... he was still trying to get over his feelings for her... this certainly wouldn't help!

"I'm supposed to start here today... at the BAU." Emily said reaching in and taking her papers out of her box... ok pretending not to know her was one thing... letting the fact that she was in love with him stop him from giving her the job of her dreams just wasn't on.

"There's been a mistake." Hotch said, fully aware that something had been mentioned by Strauss about a new team member, which he'd agreed to... if he'd known who it was going to be... well that would have been a different matter.

"I don't think so sir." Emily replied, starting to get annoyed at how childish he was being.

"No there's defiantly been a mistake!" Hotch said again, this time with a little more force... his marriage wasn't going well as things were, with Jack being more of a temporary fix than a permanent one, he couldn't have Emily adding to the mix as well!

"Excuse me, we're getting started." JJ interrupted from the door way, causing both agents to turn quickly to face her.

"Thank you, I'll be right there." Hotch said, signalling to JJ that he wasn't finished talking to Emily. "I didn't approve this transfer Agent Prentiss." He told Emily... that wasn't technically a lie; he didn't officially need to approve it, as long as he gave Strauss the ok to get a new agent he didn't actually need to approve which one was picked. "I'm sorry for the confusion, you've been miss informed." He added, feeling slightly sorry for her as he knew this was her dream job.

Emily went to try and stop him... try and convince him that what happened could be forgotten and that they could work together, but when she reached the door he was already talking to Gideon.

Instead she dragged her feet back to her car and sat there, watching them as they drove off to the air field, all the while trying to think of a way to make him change his mind.

The idea didn't come to her until she was lying in her hotel bed that evening... thankfully she hadn't bought an apartment yet... all she needed to do was prove to Hotch that she really, really wanted this, and then hope he'd give it to her... surely there friendship would make him do that.

Four days later:

Emily walked into the FBI building and over to June at reception... who she'd become rather friendly with in the last four days.

"Hey June, are-" She started.

"They arrive in an hour or so Emily, so go on, go get that job." June said with a reassuring smile.

~.~.~.~

"Please tell me you haven't been there for the last four days." Hotch said the second he came through the door and seen Emily sitting on the sofa, partly worried for her well being and partly freaked out by this stalker like behaviour.

"I heard you were flying back tonight." She replied, not wanting to worry him... well really she'd heard they'd be here at lunch time but she wasn't going to split airs about something like that.

"Heard, how... how could you have heard a thing like that?" Hotch asked, but answering his own question when he realised that June down at reception had their flight times.

"This was dropped off today." Emily said, handing Hotch a case file and avoiding his question, knowing he probably already had the answer.

"I appreciate your interest agent, but profiling is a specialty, we can't just let anyone who wants to give it a whirl." Hotch reasoned, hoping that Emily was one of the 'give it a whirl' people, but knowing that Emily Prentiss never done something lightly.

"The I-80 killer... co-ed's in Indiana." Emily said, referring to the case file Hotch had just received, fully intending to impress him.

"Yes I read it on the plane." Hotch said, not looking up because he knew she was about to give him a profile... and that was another reason she should be on the damn team.

"They aren't blitz attacks, this guy's organised. He's a white male, early thirties, and a smooth talker, because even after eleven victims, he can still convince educated women who know there's a predator out there to get into his car." She said quickly, hopping she would impress.

"How would you advise the police?" Hotch asked, hating to admit that he was stunned by how much her profile resembled the one he'd thought up on the plane... Damn!

"I would stake out the ranch house, a night club in Gary, they have a very popular ladies night on Thursday's. If you look closely you'll see that eight out of the eleven victims went missing on a Friday morning, so something gets this creeps motor running on Thursday's." Emily replied, trying yet again to impress.

Hotch was stunned. He had to admit she was pretty damn good... not that he'd expect anything less... but now he was stuck.

They'd been an agent down since Elle and they really did need help, and she was qualified, if not overly.

"This isn't a 'whirl' Agent Hotchner, I don't know how the paper work got screwed up, or maybe you believe my parents pulled some strings, which they didn't by the way. I belong in this unit, and all I'm asking you for is the chance to show you that." She practically begged, praying that she'd done enough to sway him.

"I still need to look into this... I'm not promising anything." Hotch said, not sure whether or not he'd be able to keep her on the team... his peace of mind may not allow it.

"Understood." Emily replied quickly, knowing she was about to hear what she wanted to.

"We brief new cases every morning at ten am; you can see facilities management about a desk." Hotch said, instead of giving her a straight answer.

"You won't be sorry." Emily breathed; wanting to do a cartwheel she was that happy.

Hotch watched as Emily Prentiss left his office. Once she was out of sight he sighed in defeat and sat at his desk... Emily Prentiss was back in his life, and if he'd had trouble forgetting her before, be certainly would now.

~.~.~.~

Emily sat in her car with a smile plastered all over her face. She'd done it, she'd gotten into the BAU... she was back in Aaron Hotchner's life and that's where she was planning on staying for as long as he'd have her.

There, my version of Emily joining the team... hope you liked it. =) tell me what you thought!