Prentiss

I woke up in a dark room. I didn't remember half of the flight, waking up or driving home. I blinked a few times and opened my eyes properly, sitting up. I realised that it wasn't my bed I was in, it was Hotch's spare one; the one I had stayed in for only a few nights to look over Jack.

"Oh no…" I said quietly to myself. How did I even get here? Why wasn't I at home? I groaned and dropped back onto the pillow. I lay motionless for a few minutes before pulling myself up. I took my hair out of the fallen ponytail and tied it back up neater. I opened the door quietly and walked downstairs. The TV was on at a low volume but the rest of the house was silent. I looked into the living room and saw Jack watching it. I walked through to the dining room where Hotch sat with a coffee, a few files and a pen.

He didn't notice me standing in the archway. "Hey." I said quietly.

He looked up quickly, "Good morning."

"How exactly did I get here?" I asked as I walked in and sat down across from him.

"I…carried you," He mumbled, "Coffee?" He asked at a normal volume as he stood up, changing the subject.

"…Sure, thanks," I watched him make it in silence and thanked him when he slid the mug to me and sat back down.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"I did," I nodded, "But I'm sorry, did you say you carried me here?"

He cleared his throat quietly and nodded, looking down as casually as he could and drinking his coffee.

"…Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "You were exhausted and you looked so peaceful on the plane when we landed so I let you sleep."

"You could have woken me." I said quietly.

"I could have, but I didn't want to." He looked at me.

I let a small smile spread on my lips, "Thanks." My phone buzzed on the table in front of me where I had put it. Half a second later, Hotch's did too. I lifted it and looked at Garcia's text.

"Drinks tonight? Haven't had a team night in a while."

"Garcia suggesting drinks?" Hotch asked me.

"Yeah." I nodded and texted her back, accepting the offer. I knew that even if no one else was down to go, she'd still come out with just the two of us. It was always fun, no matter how many others were with us.

"Are you going?" He asked.

I nodded, "I've got nothing else to do. I just have to remember not to drink too much because it's Sunday and I don't work well hungover."

"No one does." He agreed as he typed.

"How about you?" I asked as I drank the coffee.

"I'd have to see if Jessica's busy or not."

I nodded. "Hey Hotch, have you ever felt like you wanted another kid?" I asked curiously.

He thought about it for a few seconds, "I guess I wouldn't have minded another, maybe a daughter, but Jack has always been enough. Have you ever wanted a kid?"

"There have been several times where I've looked into the adoption services," I nodded, "But I don't think I really have the patience for a young child. Maybe a teenager would be easier for me to deal with. I don't think I'd ever actually do it, though; adopt a child."

"You'd be a good mother," He complimented, "I mean, Jack and Henry just love you to death. You are always the first person a child voluntarily goes to on a case, so you have a maternal energy and instinct."

"I think Sergio is enough for now." I nodded with a smirk.

He laughed, "Any plans for today?"

"No, I'll probably do what I do every Sunday. Read a book or watch a movie or stare at a wall for hours until tonight when we go out."

"Well Jack and I were going to go out for lunch. You can come with us if you want." He offered.

"I don't want to interrupt your time with him, but thank you for offering."

"You wouldn't be interrupting, Prentiss," He rolled his eyes, "You're coming with us."


Hotch had driven me to the precinct in the late morning to pick up my car. I drove home, had a shower and got changed before Hotch and Jack were knocking on my door. I grabbed my bag and followed them out. I didn't know where we were going for lunch; all I knew was Hotch wasn't going to take no for an answer. Garcia had texted me a while ago with details for tonight, which was just to dress nice and what bar we were going to.

"So are you coming tonight?" I asked Hotch, breaking the silence between us that had fallen in the car.

"Yeah," He nodded, "Jessica is home and she's got a cousin or something over tonight; Jack's friends with him so he's happy to go."

"Emily! You should come to my school play next week," Jack said, "I'm doing a big play with my class and I'm the lead role."

"That's great, Jack, but I don't know if I'd be able to make it."

"It's on Friday night," Hotch said quietly, "I do have a spare ticket if you want to come."

"Who'd you buy the ticket for?" I asked curiously.

"Originally Jessica, but now she has to go away for that weekend and she leaves on the Thursday night so she can't be there."

I nodded to show I understood.

"So you'll come?" Jack asked. His voice was hopeful and when I looked at him over my shoulder, I saw that his eyes were too.

I smiled at him, "Sure, I'll be there." I didn't know how well it'd go with Hotch and I, but Jack obviously wanted me to.

Hotch pulled into a restaurant after a while longer and I stepped out of the car with him and Jack. I walked in behind them and sat down across from Hotch. After looking at menus, Hotch insisted on paying for my food and drink.

Jack told me all about his play and he expressed how excited he was both to perform it and for me to see it. I playfully teased Hotch a few times to make Jack laugh, but I found myself smiling so much more than I normally would and Hotch was all smiles and laughs. He was different around Jack and outside of work.

Hotch got up to go to the bathroom once we finished eating and Jack looked at me, "Do you like my dad?"

"In which way are you asking?"

"Like like, not friend like."

I smiled at the classic way children always said "like like" to word romantic interest. "Jack, that's not anything you need to worry about, okay?" I tried to avoid answering the question the best I could without completely ignoring it and changing the subject.

"Well he like likes you and I know that he's really happy that you're coming next week." Why did this keep coming up? Did he understand that this wasn't something he should be telling people, let alone the subject of the matter? I didn't know how to reply to that last time and I didn't know how to reply this time. Do I change the topic now or do I stay on it? Fortunately, I was saved by Hotch's return.

"What are you talking about?" He asked suspiciously when he saw the way I looked at him.

"Nothing." Jack said quickly. So he did know that he wasn't supposed to be telling me this, but he had still done it. I wondered why that was. I wouldn't think about it right now or I might blow the secret for us.


Hotch had offered to drive me to the bar tonight where we were meeting the team. I had spent the day with him and Jack, I was in the car when we dropped Jack off to Jessica's and I didn't miss the curious look in her eyes or the assuming smirk on her lips. I got changed into a tight dark blue dress and curled my hair loosely. I put some cash, my phone and my keys into a black clutch and slipped my black heels on as I heard the knock on the door. I walked downstairs quickly and looked through the peep hole before opening the door. I smiled at Hotch as he greeted me.

"You look great." He complimented as I walked out of my apartment and we made our way back downstairs.

"Thanks. You do too." I nodded and then laughed at how cheesy that sounded. It sounded like it was straight out of a movie when they go on their first awkward date. But this wasn't a date; this was a team outing.

He drove through the darkening streets that were wet with recent rain. It wasn't exactly warm outside, and I was stupid enough to forget my coat.

When we reached the bar, we walked in together. "A dance floor, so you, Garcia and Morgan will be there all night." He joked.

I laughed and we walked towards the table where we spotted the team, "You could always dance with us." I rolled my eyes.

"Why? So you can grind on me like you do Morgan?" He smirked as he teased.

My lips made an 'O' as we reached the team, "I do not."

"I have seen it on multiple occasions."

"But am I drunk of those occasions? Because drunken Emily is nothing like sober Emily."

"There have been a few drunken nights, but there have also been a few just tipsy nights."

"Let's not have this conversation," I laughed, "Hey guys." I greeted the rest of the team. They all greeted us with smiles.

"You came together?" Rossi asked, giving the both of us a small smirk. Hotch rolled his eyes and shook his head at him.

"Hey Em, where were you today? I called you three times and you didn't pick up." Garcia said.

"What time?"

"I don't know, around one, one thirty."

"I was probably having lunch with Hotch and Jack, so I wouldn't have heard it ring, and sometimes my phone plays up and doesn't tell me when someone has called and I missed it."

"Drink?" Hotch asked me.

"Yes please." I smiled and he nodded as he turned and walked towards the bar. He knew to get my usual.

"You've been seeing an awful lot of Hotch lately…" JJ said quietly, "And the two of you aren't so normal around each other at work anymore, so what's going on there?"

I groaned, "Nothing! Why does everyone think that there is something going on between us? We're friends, he was my primary support for weeks and I like to spend time with Jack. Why does it always need to be romantic? Why can't it just be casual; no dating, no sex, nothing even remotely like that."

"Jesus, okay…chill." Morgan said, looking at me with a surprised expression.

Hotch came back with our drinks and we spent the night in conversation and laughter. I danced with JJ and Garcia for a while, then Morgan joined us, then I sat down while Morgan and Will danced with JJ and Garcia and then I dragged Hotch to the dance floor after he made fun of me for dancing with Morgan. He spun me around a lot and made me laugh as we danced.

When we exited the bar with the team, Hotch hung his jacket over my shoulders when he saw me put my arms around myself. It was freezing outside tonight. We drove home in silence and he stopped outside my apartment. I'll admit, even after saying I wouldn't drink too much, I did and I would be hungover tomorrow, and my decisions at current were not the best. I offered Hotch to come inside, and I don't know what was going through his mind, but he followed me up. He couldn't have drank enough for his decisions to be compromised if he could drive, but I knew he'd regret what happened as I would, because what we did was not okay according to the bureau's rules or our own.