Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, but I'll keep you posted!

This chapter is dedicated to: hxchick, miks, McNinja, NCIS-fan-cecy, CrimStudent47, Rolfy, nataliebianca and Megz-and-Tori.

She'd been getting sick since three o'clock that morning. Emily's morning sickness had been getting really bad lately. She'd talked to her doctor about it, but she simply said that every woman was different. Some woman got their morning sickness later in the pregnancy than others, and some got sick more often. Regardless, it was now quarter to six, and she was being sick again.

"I hope you don't plan on coming in today." Hotch said as he knelt down beside her on the cold bathroom floor.

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm-" Emily attempted to protest, but more vomit came instead of a witty retaliation.

"Emily, don't be stubborn. You've been being sick for almost three hours. What if it gets worse?" He said warmly.

"Aaron, I'm coming in today. You can't stop me." She said angrily.

"Fine, I'm not speaking as your boyfriend anymore, because as your boyfriend, I apparently have no authority." Hotch laughed, but got serious in a few seconds. "I am now speaking as your boss SSA Aaron Hotchner. You are not coming into work. If you come in, there will be issues Agent Prentiss. Understood?" Emily scrunched her face in anger. She hated it when he played the 'boss' card. He had all the authority when he was the boss.

"Whatever." She mumbled in defeat.

"Thank you." Hotch nodded. "Do you need anything?"

"No. I told you I'm-" She tried to let him know how fine she was, but the morning sickness took her words.

"Are you sure the doctor said this was normal?" Hotch asked.

"Yep." Emily said, wiping her mouth on a Kleenex. "She said it was different for everyone."

"I don't care what she said. It's been hours. If you're not better by the time I'm back, I'm taking you to the hospital." He said, rubbing her back. She smiled and looked at him strangely. "What?"

"It's cute when you're protective of me." He blushed and mumbled incoherently at her words. Suddenly, the phone rang and interrupted their moment.

"Hello?" Hotch said tiredly into the phone.

"Aaron, I need your help." A distressed sounding Haley was on the other end.

"What's wrong?" He said as panic took over. "Did something happen to one of the kids?"

"Yes, our stupid daughter." She huffed.

"Our stupid daughter? What are you talking about?"

"Riley got suspended yesterday. Only for today, but still. I was supposed to take the day off and monitor her so she didn't have any fun-" Haley began but Hotch interrupted her.

"Wait. What? Riley got suspended?" Hotch asked, totally shocked.

"Yep." Haley sighed angrily.

"What did she do?"

"Skipping class."

"Riley? That's so unlike her." He said, still in shock. This was out of character. It was true that Riley got in trouble in Catholic school, but she got in trouble for being too confrontational. She had issues, and confronted them in the wrong ways. However, it wasn't like her to just not show up.

"I know. That's what I said. Since she has a clean record, they're just suspended her for one day. Anyways, I was supposed to have the day off, because I wanted to be home to make sure she wasn't just goofing around. Is there any way you can watch her?" Haley asked.

"I've got to work too." Hotch said. He was still in the bathroom while he was having the conversation with Haley. Emily tapped on his leg, and he asked Haley to hold on.

"Riley got suspended?" She asked.

"Yes, for cutting class. Haley wants me to watch her so she doesn't have any fun, but she loves coming into work with me." He said.

"Tell Haley to bring her here." Emily suggested.

"You've been sick all night!"

"Exactly! How much fun would it be to hang around with a sick pregnant woman all day? If you want to punish her, this is perfect." Emily said, nodding.

"No." Hotch said, but Emily snatched the phone from his hands.

"Haley? It's Emily."

"Oh. Hello Emily." Haley said.

"Listen, Aaron does have to work today, but perhaps I could be of assistance?" Emily said.

"Really?" Haley said, sounding relieved.

"Yeah, sure. I'm off sick today."

"Oh, if you're sick there is now way I'm dumping the delinquent on you." Emily tried to suppress a giggle when Haley called Riley a delinquent, but she didn't do a good job.

"Haley, its morning sickness. I don't have anything bad. Plus, what could be more boring than sitting with a fat lady who barfs all the time?" Emily joked. Haley laughed.

"Are you sure?"

"It would be my pleasure." Emily said.

"Okay, but don't be nice to her. She is in huge trouble. I've got to be at work for about ten, so can I drop her off a little after eight?" Haley asked.

"Yeah, that's perfect."

"But seriously, no fun for her at all." Haley demanded.

"She will have the worst day of her fifteen years." Emily assured her.

"Thank you so much Emily." Haley said.

"Don't mention it." Emily said, and they both said brief farewells before hanging up. Emily recapped the conversation between her and Haley for Hotch.

"I can't believe it." Hotch said quietly when the phone conversation had ended.

"I know. Riley isn't a skipper."

"Should I be pissed, or should I be ashamed that I know my daughter so little?" He asked.

"Probably pissed." Emily said.

"Okay. I just wish she wasn't coming so late. I've got to leave by seven thirty. I want to see her and talk about this." Hotch said.

"I can talk to her." Emily suggested.

"No, I don't want to arrest her for killing you." Hotch joked.

"Alright." She said. "Now go get ready for work while I puke again."

As promised, Riley showed up at Hotch and Emily's house just after eight. She came in with a scowl and plopped herself down on the couch while Haley and Emily made small talk. They both avoided talking about Riley, because it was clear that Haley was beyond pissed at her. She left with a small goodbye to Riley, but nothing spectacular.

"So," Emily said as she sat down beside Riley.

"Mhm." Riley nodded.

"You got suspended for skipping." Emily stated.

"Yep." Riley said impatiently. "Is it hard to understand?"

"No," Emily said.

"So?" Riley said.

"So why'd you want to get caught?" Emily asked.

"What planet are you on? Who wants to get caught and get suspended?"

"You're super smart Riley. If you wanted to skip and not get caught, you wouldn't get caught." Emily said.

"Whatever." Riley sighed. She knew Emily was very correct. If she didn't want to be caught, she wouldn't.

"So, want to hear what I think?"

"Not really." Emily ignored what she said.

"I think your mother and step father have been working a lot lately. Your dad has always worked a lot. You've been deprived attention lately. Work is coming first for both parents now." Emily said.

"Don't profile me!" Riley snapped.

"Am I wrong?" Emily asked. "Any attention is better than none. Look at today. Your mother is so pissed she won't talk about you. You have her full attention whether she admits it or not. And your dad? You know the second that he gets in he'll have something to say."

"Stop it!"

"You just want them to notice you. That's normal. No matter what you do, they've been pushing you away. This got them to notice you." Emily said. She was pushing Riley.

"Emily! Knock it off!"

"Why?" Emily asked. "Have I hit a soft spot?"

"What do you care? You don't care about me at all. You're just some girl my dad screws." Riley spat.

"I did hit a soft spot there." Emily smirked. Riley's face contorted in anger as she tried to think of an insult.

"Can you leave me alone?" Riley finally said quietly.

"Riley," Emily said. "I know I'm just some girl your dad screws, but I really do care about you."

"Thanks." Riley said quietly.

"Riley, this time it was just a suspension this time. It was just skipping a few classes, but it doesn't stop there." Emily sighed.

"How do you know?" Riley said, but Emily ignored her.

"Pretty soon, you'll be skipping class so often that your parents will stop paying attention to that. You'll have to find other ways to get attention. Smoking, drinking, drugs, tattoos, sex. They'll get your parents attention. Once you start going down this path, it's a hard to recover. You'll begin to love the negative attention Riley." Emily said. Riley cocked her head to the side and looked at Emily strangely.

"Did you do all those things?" Riley asked and Emily nodded.

"It started with skipping a class here and there. I tried some cigarettes here and there. I drank; I got high a few times. I even snuck out and got a tattoo. All the while, I made sure my mother caught me. I wanted her to see me like that." Emily said.

"So, what happened?"

"I pushed too hard. What started as a few fun, bad things became regular occurrences. I ended up making the biggest mistake of my life. Once you make a mistake like that, your parents will never look at you the same again Riley. Take it from me." Emily sighed sadly.

"Now, I'm not saying that this it's what I'm doing, but say I was acting out for attention." Riley sighed. "What would be so terrible that my parents would never look at me again? What did you do Emily?"

"I...I got pregnant." Riley's eyes widened and she swallowed hard.

"Did you- I mean, did you..." Riley tried.

"Yes. I got an abortion. I just wanted attention from someone, and he gave me the attention. I know your parents have let you down many times, but Riley, doing things like skipping class for attention is not the way to feel better. Trust me." Riley sat quietly for a few moments. She didn't know what to say, but she could feel her eyes filling up with tears.

"I just want them to notice me!" Riley sobbed into her hands, and Emily pulled her into her arms.

"I know. I know." Emily cooed as she rubbed Riley's hair.

"I feel like I have no right be so sad." She cried.

"Riley, you're preaching to the choir. I know exactly how you feel. It's so lonely when your parents work so much." Emily sighed. Though she was trying to cheer Riley up, her thoughts went back to her own childhood. "At least you have a lot of friends."

"I know, but it's not the same!" Riley cried. "Friends are great, and I have the best ones ever but they're my parents. They're never home."

"I know. It's okay to feel like this Riley. But honey, getting negative attention isn't going to help. It's just going to bite you in the ass." Emily said as she held Riley in her arms.

"For the record," Riley mumbled quietly after a few moments of silence. "I don't hate you. I don't just think of you as someone my dad screws. I was just mad. I'm really sorry. I do like you Emily."

"Thank you for saying that Riley." Emily said with a small smile.

"Thank you for telling me about your past." Riley said.

"Just don't let my bad decisions be in vain. Let them show you what not to do." Emily said with a small laugh.

"I promise I won't skip again." Riley said quietly.

"Riley Anna Maria Hotchner! I need a word." Hotch said when he entered the house and slammed the door.

"I thought she was Riley Ann Hotchner?" Emily said.

"Riley Anna Maria Hotchner is my full name. I usually just hear that when I'm in big trouble. They call me Riley Ann when they want to use my full name, but I'm not in trouble." Riley laughed.

"Oh no young lady. No laughter. This is serious!" Hotch yelled.

"I know dad. Before you yell, can I say something?" Riley asked. He nodded stiffly and waited for her to protest. "Look dad, I'm really sorry about skipping class. I know I shouldn't have done it. It was stupid and irresponsible. I will never do it again, ever." Hotch looked at her strangely.

"You're not going to protest?"

"What would I protest? I was 100% in the wrong. I accept whatever punishments you and mom give me. I deserve them." Riley said, and she hugged her dad. Hotch shot Emily a strange look and she merely shrugged. Emily smiled inwardly, and decided that she'd leave what happened between her and Riley, between them. After all, she wasn't just some woman that Riley's father screwed. Riley really did like her.

A/N That's all for now folks :D Please, please, please review!!