Title: Au Natural (Part 15)
Author: dustytiger aka Trista Groulx
Rating: T (like the show to be safe)
Disclaimer: I do not on CM. I am still poor. CM still belongs to its creator, network, writers, actors and actresses who bring it to life weekly.
Summary: Prentiss and Reid are getting married, but what brought them to this point?
Notes: Sorry for the strange updates the last few days... I was having another bout of headaches, then my nappy sister showed up with some drama. Anyway the good news is that the very handsome ER doc helped the headaches. As always thank you for the support on this it means a lot!

Prentiss woke up the next morning and sighed happily when she realised that Reid was still next to her. She found it comforting to wake up to find him still there. She had had her share of one night stands in her younger wilder days and a part of her still worried that she might wake up alone any time she fell asleep in a man's arms; even though she hadn't yet had sex with Reid. She was about to doze back to sleep when she heard a rapping at her door.

She realised she was going to have to explain to someone why Reid was in her room, in her bed, wearing only his boxers. She wanted to ignore it but there was another knock at the door and she knew whoever was there wasn't going away; which meant there was likely something going on with the cas. Reid was stretching out on the bed as she pulled her robe on. She opened the door and was surprised to see Hotch standing there already dressed for another day of work.

"Have you seen Reid this morning?" he asked her she could hear the worry in his voice.

"I –uh," Prentiss stammered uncertainly, playing with her hands.

She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She knew she shouldn't lie to her boss, but she also wasn't sure that she was ready to tell him the truth. She also didn't want to betray Reid's trust by telling Hotch the reason why the genius had been in her room that night. She could try to tell him that it was she who didn't like to be alone in hotel beds since her time in hiding, but Hotch wasn't the unit chief for no reason. She knew if she lied he would see right through it.

"I'm in here," Reid replied, much to Prentiss and Hotch's surprise, clad only in his pants, pulling on his shirt.

Hotch looked over at the genius obviously surprised to have not only found him in Prentiss' room but also not hiding the fact he had clearly spent the night there. Despite a supposed moratorium on inter office profiling, the team still partook in it, and there were some whispers about those two, but never thought that it would come to light like this. He was relieved that he would not have to reprimand them for lying for any length of time, but he also knew there would be many questions when this case was over.

"What are you doing in Emily's room?" Hotch asked.

"I slept here last night," Reid replied not wanting to lie to his boss.

"Is there something you two aren't telling me?"

"Hotch, it's not what you think," Prentiss assured him, not wanting to have to answer questions about her relationship with Reid. "I can explain why Reid was in my room." Prentiss was about to try to explain why she wanted him there when Reid interrupted her.

"I've been getting headaches lately," Reid explained surprising both Prentiss and Hotch. "I hadn't told anyone but Emily until now. I was diagnosed with cluster headaches a few weeks ago and my doctor and I have been working to find ways to alleviate the pain. So far the only thing that has helped has been getting a good night's sleep. Emily has been there for me when I need that, and this case was so difficult. I knew it was a bad idea but we need to help those kids. I didn't want to worry anyone and it hasn't been affecting my work that's why I didn't tell you sooner."

"That doesn't explain why you are in Emily's room, nor why you didn't answer your phone when I called it."

"I turn my phone on silent when I have headaches. Normally I don't sleep well enough for it to be an issue I must have forgotten to put the sound back on. I am in Emily's room because we discovered that I sleep better that way. I know that we are on a case but it was becoming hard to focus because of the pain. I was willing to try anything, including breaking a few rules in order to sleep better."

"That's all?" Hotch asked.

"Mostly," Prentiss told him.

"What do you mean by mostly?"

"We're dating," they both told him.

Hotch pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He had thought he had dodged the bullet on the change in their relationship. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain to their superiors but he knew he would find a way to keep the team together. He needed to know all of the facts before he could decide what he needed to do. He tried to focus on the part of him that was happy for the two members of his family finding something good; especially for Reid.

"All right, how long have you both been hiding this?" he asked them.

"For the duration of this case," Reid told him.

Hotch was surprised to hear that. He had been sure the answer would have been longer. He had noticed a difference between them before Prentiss' faked death and had been expecting this news for a long time. He was relieved that they had finally been honest but was shocked that their relationship had changed only a few days before. He was curious about how things had changed but knew he didn't need to invade their privacy.

"I won't report this unless it starts to affect your work," he told them. "But you know I don't like secrets on the team."

"We want to tell everyone," Prentiss assured him.

"I'm just not ready to tell anyone else about the headaches," Reid admitted.

"That's your choice Reid but you might find having more support would help."

"Emily says the same thing but right now I have the pain under control and there is no reason to worry anyone else with the diagnosis. I think we all would rather focus on some good news."

"You might be right about that. Although I think it might be best if you waited until we finished this case."

"You're right, we do need to focus," Prentiss agreed.

"Thank you both for your honesty. We need to get going, however another child has been reported missing. Reid I was hoping you could work on a geographical profile before I wake the rest of the team."

"Of course let me get changed and we'll head to the station. Emily when you arrive would you mind bringing me some coffee and maybe a muffin?"

"I don't mind at all Reid," she assured him trying to act like she always did around him. "How's your head this morning?"

"A lot better thank you." He leaned toward her and softly kissed her cheek.

For a moment Hotch wondered just how much their relationship had changed until he saw the sweet but subtle exchange between the two of them. Prentiss was glad that Reid showed her how he felt in front of their boss. It was exactly the kind of thing she wanted him to do, just to reassure her that there was something going on between them.

The two men left her hotel room, and Prentiss got changed. Only a few minutes later her phone began to ring it was JJ telling her about the latest body. About half an hour later the rest of the team were all in the hotel lobby discussing various aspects of the case as well as where Reid and Hotch might be already. After assuming they were already at the station Prentiss got both Reid and Hotch a coffee and a muffin to not arise suspicion and the team began another day with only one more person knowing the truth about the change in their family.

End Part 15

Notes: So they were caught... kinda but they're not gonna lie to the team... the next part the rest of the team finds out. Also for the record I am in such a good mood today for the first time in a long time my pain level is below a level five... if it rains here I shall be frolicking. HUGZ all