This chapter is dedicated to "hxchick" "Sierra Clearwater" "boerwina" "McMackenzie" "Purplehonor" "Martine" and "nataliebianca"

A/N: I'm going to do a little bit of back story in this chapter instead of getting right into the illness. I never said how the relationship was established, so here it is.

Much to his surprise, Hotch had a good time at the ball. It seemed as though being with Emily made things better, and having his kids with him was icing on the cake. They got hone earlier than they expected, but they were all pretty tired. Hotch and Emily chatted quietly while they got ready for bed. They lay in bed and Hotch pulled her into his arms. He fell asleep within minutes, dreaming of the day that their relationship began.

**

The team had just finished an unbelievably hard case, and they all agreed that they needed to blow off some steam. Morgan suggested getting a few drinks and it didn't take much to convince the team to go. Once they arrived and had a few to drink, everyone was more relaxed. JJ was beating a bunch of guys at darts; guys who clearly had no idea that she was going to destroy them. Morgan was talking to a group of women, clearly in his element. Garcia watched enviously. Hotch and Rossi were talking about the case with Reid while Emily got all of them drinks. She returned and joined in on the conversation. Everyone was having a great time. Suddenly, a man tapped on Emily's shoulder.

"Excuse me; can I buy you a drink?" He asked. Rossi and Reid continued chatting, but Hotch instantly stopped contributing to the conversation.

"I don't know." She thought out loud.

"Come on." He insisted. "It's one drink, what harm could it do?"

"I guess." She shrugged, and she followed him to the bar.

"Did you see that?" Hotch asked.

"What?" Reid asked. Clearly, he was wrapped up in the conversation.

"That guy. He just came over and offered Prentiss a drink!" Hotch said, sounding annoyed.

"And?" Rossi asked.

"You all know why guys buy girls drinks." Hotch said.

"So what?" Rossi asked.

"That guy was already hitting on other girls, now he's moved on to Prentiss. That doesn't bother anyone?"

"It doesn't bother Prentiss." Reid said, pointing out Emily to Hotch. She had left the bar with the man, and was now on the dance floor. Clearly, she was intoxicated, as she never danced. But there she was, dancing (very closely) with the random guy who got her a drink. Hotch couldn't believe his eyes.

"She's been drinking; of course it doesn't bother her." Hotch reasoned.

"Hotch, she's a big girl. I'm sure she can decide if the guy is a jerk." Rossi said.

"Think about the case we just worked. Those girls were big girls, and they couldn't tell that the guy was a jerk!" Hotch snapped. Why didn't anyone else care? He wondered, but then again, why did he care so damn much?

"Yes, but he was drugging them." Reid pointed out.

"What is the matter with you? JJ got offered a drink and she's over there with a bunch of guys. You didn't worry about her." Rossi said.

"JJ's married." Hotch said, as if that explained everything.

"Yes, because nothing happens to women once they're married." Rossi said, rolling his eyes.

"It's just because-" Hotch began, but he stopped once he saw the guy pull Emily against his body, and whisper something in her ear. She laughed and nodded.

"Because?" Rossi asked, but Hotch never finished his statement. He got up and walked over to Emily and the man.

"Why is he so protective of her?" Reid asked, Rossi shrugged, but Rossi figured out exactly why Hotch was so protective of her. Leave it to Reid not to notice, Rossi thought to himself.

"Excuse me." Hotch said, interrupting Emily's dance.

"What?" She hissed.

"Are you Emily?" Hotch asked.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Well, your add on the internet said you were pretty, but wow! So, do I pay you upfront or later?" He asked. He had no idea why he was embarrassing her like that, but it was the first thing he thought of. He couldn't just tell her not to dance with him, he wasn't her father. The only way he could protect Emily was to make the guy leave.

"WHAT?!" Emily yelled. The guy beside her looked just as shocked as Emily.

"Oh, is this the wrong time? I was sure the appointment was for nine. I'm so sorry for cutting into your time. You shouldn't charge him for this time." Hotch advised.

"Look, it was nice meeting you Emily. I've got to...go." He said, walking away very quickly.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She yelled at Hotch.

"What? I was protecting you." He said innocently.

"From what? The nice guy I was dancing with?"

"How can the case we worked not get to you?" He asked.

"Don't turn this around on me. I was just dancing with him. And for the record, I'm not yours to protect!" She turned on her heels and went to the door.

"I don't think you're going anywhere with out me." Hotch said. "I'm your DD, and you are in no conditions to drive."

"I-" Emily began, but she knew he was right. They had all chose who would be the DDs even before they got off the plane, and Hotch was to be Emily's. "Whatever. Just take me home then."

"My pleasure." He said mockingly, returning to the table he shared with Rossi and Reid.

"Classy." Rossi whispered to Hotch, who pretended not to hear him. They walked in silence to the car, but as soon as Emily shut her door, she went off.

"Who do you think you are?" She yelled.

"Excuse me for looking out for you." He snapped.

"Looking out for me? You were being POSESSIVE, and I'm not even yours to be possessive of."

"I was not being possessive." Hotch yelled.

"Are you kidding? If you were a dog, you'd have peed all over me!" She yelled, and Hotch couldn't suppress his laughter. "That wasn't meant to be funny!" Emily cried.

"Look, I didn't mean to be 'possessive' or whatever you think I was being. That guy was a dick Emily." He said, calming down. Emily noticed that he called her by her first name, and she was surprised.

"How do you know? You didn't even know him!" She snapped.

"I know guys like him. He only wanted one thing from you." He said. "And you were a bit too eager to give it to him."

"So, you ruined my night, and now you're calling me a slut?" She asked.

"I'm not calling you a slut!" He said, shocked that she thought that. Thinking back, he didn't word what he wanted to say quite right. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you accept guys like that too quickly. You deserve better than them."

"If I deserve better, why don't I have better?" Emily asked quietly.

"You...I don't know why. Emily, you don't need to go home with drunken losers in a bar. You're too good for that. You're smart, pretty, funny, and strong. Any guy would be-" He stopped. Oh god, I've fallen for Prentiss, he thought to himself.

"Really?" She asked hopefully. She looked into his eyes and he nodded. "Thanks for saying that."

"I'm not just saying it Emily." He said quietly. They pulled up in front of Emily's home and stopped.

"I'm sorry I freaked out." Emily said.

"You had every right, I crossed a line." He said.

"Well," She began. "It was pretty funny. I never thought it would be you to say something like that." She laughed.

"I have no idea why I said that." He said, laughing too. Suddenly, Emily swooped in and gave Hotch a kiss on the lips. He let it linger for a few minutes, but he broke it apart eventually.

"What was that?" He asked.

"I don't know. It seemed like a good idea." She said, blushing.

"Oh." He said quietly. "Well, I agree."

"What?"

"Emily, I...well I...it's hard to say actually...I-" He tried to confess his feelings, but he couldn't get it out. As if she read his mind, she kissed him again.

"Then don't say anything." She said, and she opened the car door.

"Bye Emily." Hotch said.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked with a wink. Hotch thought about a lot of things. The possible implications, how much of a bad idea this could be, he hadn't been with anyone since Haley... but without really taking his thoughts into account, he spoke.

"Yes I would." Emily smiled and laughed as Hotch got out. She eagerly pulled him by the hand into her house.

**

"Hey Hotch?" She asked later that night as they both lay in Emily's bed. Clothes thrown about the room, Emily wrapped in Hotch's arms.

"After that," Hotch said. "I'm sure you can call me Aaron." Emily laughed.

"Alright then. Hey Aaron?" She said. Calling him by his first name wasn't as weird as she thought it would be.

"Yes Emily?" He asked.

"I...Is it okay that..." She began, but this time, Hotch kissed her and cut her off.

"Emily, I think I'm falling for you." He said.

"Oh," She began. "Thank god that this isn't one sided." She laughed and after a few more minutes of chatting, she fell asleep.

**

Hotch awoke from the dream and smiled at Emily, who was still sleeping. He sat up and looked at the clock that said it was only 2 in the morning. He tried to go back to sleep, but he heard someone in the hall. He heard the bathroom door open, and began wondering if it was Riley or Jack. This question was quickly answered. Haley always joked that when Riley got sick, she was the loudest person ever when she threw up.

"Oh shit." He said out loud, and he ran to the bathroom to check on Riley.

A/N Sorry about the little detour of the story. Anyways, in a few chapters I'm going to talk about Hotch finally seeing his kids do activities. Riley's is a dance competition, so clearly I need a list of songs. I am asking you for some, since I am so musically narrow-minded. In your review (please review :D ) include your favourite song, and I'll put it in :) Thanks for reading, and please review.