Prentiss

"Wait, so you're the mystery man?" JJ asked Hotch. She was sitting beside Reid across from Hotch and I, Rossi was sitting on the couch to my right and Morgan stood beside him.

"No, he's the booty call." Morgan said.

"He's a liar, is what he is." I said quietly.

"What?" He looked at me.

"You promised me and then you broke that promise." I kept my eyes on the book I was holding in front of me.

"Nothing happened."

"You got shot." My voice was agitated.

"And it would have been worse if I brought you all in with me."

I shook my head and snapped the book shut. I put it down and walked to the other end of the plane. I walked into the small bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. I shouldn't have been as angry as I was. I took a few deep breaths and washed my face. I splashed water up my arms to cool my down and then I dabbed the water off with paper towel.

"Calm down." I said quietly to myself.

I heard a small knock on the door, "Em?" JJ asked. I unlocked and opened the door. She looked at me, "I've been instructed to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, I'm just angry that he lied. When we argue, all he talks about is trust. But I don't know how he expects me to trust him if he keeps lying to me. He's does it more than I'd like to think about."

"Do you want to talk?" She asked quietly.

"No, I just want to go home and see Sergio and Jack and go to sleep."

She smiled and looked down, "You see him as your own, don't you? Jack."

"I would never in a million years even think about replacing Haley, but I'll always be there for him, I will always do just about anything for him and I will never let him forget about his mother or how great his father is."

She smiled again as she looked into my eyes for a few seconds, "I've always told you; I can see you with children."

I smiled and looked down, "Well he's not mine, so does it really count?"

"You're playing the maternal role in his life now. You're all he has."

"He has Jessica."

"She'll always be the aunt."

I shrugged my shoulders and walked out of the bathroom. We both walked back down the plane and I sat back down where I was previously. They all looked at me so I just rolled my eyes and picked my book back up.

"I just can't believe you told Rossi and Garcia but you didn't tell the three of us." Morgan said.

"You trusted Garcia, but not me?" JJ asked me, raising her eyebrows.

"Garcia knew on accident. Someone talked and she heard him over the phone," I looked at Hotch at my side, "And she also looked into my life. Apparently the curiosity overcame her."

"And Rossi?" Reid asked. I looked at him before glancing at Hotch and then to Rossi.

"She came to me the morning after they slept together for the first time in a huge panic," Rossi explained, "I wasn't shocked, though. I already knew what Aaron thought of her and I had seen the way she looked at him. It was only a matter of time."

"And how long has this been going on?" JJ asked.

"Well, after Doyle, he offered me all the support he could give and he kept me close, you know, making sure I didn't close myself off from everyone or leave or something, and then…I don't know…we kind of just ended up spending more and more time together and here we are. However, he only took me on the first date after that lunch we had where you all questioned me on him."

"That long ago?" JJ asked, "Well, I guess it's not extremely long, but the way the two of you have been interacting and talking to each other all day since this morning, it just seems like longer."

"But they did have a thing before that," Morgan reminded, "Otherwise we wouldn't have had anything to question her on at the lunch."

I laughed to myself, "He's scared of Sergio."

"No I'm not." He shook his head.

"Really? Because I was lying on my bed in lingerie that you told me to put on, and you stood in the corner of my room, begging me to move him, until I got up and took him from the dresser out of the room and closed the door on him."

"Maybe I just didn't want him to watch us." He challenged.

"Every single time you come over and he comes near you, you move to a different room and make me follow you if we're in the middle of a conversation."

"Alright, let's just drop the subject." He said, trying to hide his smirk.


"Welcome home my angels!" Garcia greeted us with a smile as we walked through the elevator doors.

I winked and clicked my tongue at her as I walked past. Hotch followed close behind me and the others stopped to talk to her. I heard our names as I walked through the glass doors.

"They're going to be discussing us for days." Hotch said as he stopped beside me at my desk.

"Well, if you hadn't lied, the majority of them still wouldn't know."

He sighed, "You can't be angry at me for doing what was best for the team."

"I'm not angry at you for doing what was best for the team; I'm angry at you for lying to me, Aaron."

"You made me make a promise that you knew I couldn't keep."

"No, you were fully capable of making a different decision."

"I did what I could that would both solve the case and keep the team safe."

"We're not here for you to keep us safe; we're here to catch the criminals, to work and have each other's backs."

"I was keeping you safe." He said quietly.

"I can take care of myself, Hotch. And you didn't need to ask Morgan and Rossi to hold me back."

"If you knew that I asked them to hold you back, then you tried to follow me. You can take care of yourself, and I can take care of myself."

"If you couldn't keep the promise, then you should have told me that you couldn't."

"I tried." He defended.

I thought back to our conversation. He had tried, but I had cut him off and begged him to promise me. That made me feel guilty; I was angry at him over something I practically forced him to do. I let out my signature sigh and looked down to my right, "You're right; I didn't really give you a choice. I'm sorry, I was just scared."

"It can't happen again, especially not now that the whole team knows. It's too unprofessional."

I nodded, "I know, I'm sorry."

He looked around briefly before he looked back at me and placed a quick kiss on my lips. The team was walking in at the time so they would have seen it, but I think he was more looking for someone like Cruz or anyone that could catch us breaking the rules and feel responsible for doing something about it.

He walked away and towards his office and I turned to my desk. I looked up when I sensed the team there, dropped my eyes back to what I was doing, and then looked at them again straight away when I realised that they were all staring at me with smirks. "…What?"

"That was adorable." Garcia said in an excited, high pitched voice.

"Adorable?" I looked at her and moved my eyes to JJ, "Or does the idea of it disgust you?"

"What?"

"Think back to Italy." I smirked, picked up files and sliding them into my bag. I turned and went to walk towards Hotch's office but JJ grabbed my arm.

"I didn't mean to offend you. It was just weird to imagine. My best friend with our boss…I never thought Hotch would break the rule."

I looked down, "Yeah…well let's hope it lasts. I'm tired, so goodnight." I smiled at the team and then turned, walking up the steps. I knocked and opened the door. He looked up from his paperwork. "Jack home tonight?" I asked.

He nodded.

I smiled, "Well I'm going to my place. Good night." I walked to him and kissed his cheek as I spoke. I walked back towards the door.

"Wait," He stopped me before I left, "You can stay at my house tonight if you want. I was about to head home anyway."

I bit my lip and looked away, thinking about it.

"Something's bothering you."

"What? No." I shook my head. If the bullet had gone a few inches to the shooters left, the bullet would have hit his chest. It was close and he was shot only in the arm by luck.

"Emily, come stay with me tonight." He nodded. He knew what I was thinking about. "I'm okay."

I smiled and nodded, "I'll wait out there for you." I walked out of his office and closed the door behind me.


"You've been reading that book for weeks." Hotch said as he sat down beside me on the bed. I was already lying underneath the blankets with the lamp on. I felt like we were an old couple.

"Reid lent it to me and I haven't been reading much lately." I said as I looked at him.

"Reid would have read it a hundred times since you've had it." He smirked. He placed a kiss on my lips as he lay down. He flinched when he accidently put pressure on his right arm.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly.

"…Why are you apologising?" He laughed.

"I don't know." I laughed with him.

I heard Jack knock on the door and he opened it, "Hey dad, I think I left my math book at Aunt Jess's."

"What are you doing up?" Hotch asked him. He looked at the alarm clock on his nightstand, "It's really late, buddy."

"It's only 11, dad..."

"That's late. I'll text Jess and we'll pick it up on the way to school, okay?"

"But I have heaps of homework I need to do in it."

"Well I can't go get it now. Go to bed, Jack."

Jack turned and walked out with a sigh, "Can't sleep." He murmured. Hotch went to get up but I put my hand on his forearm to stop him.

"Relax, you're arm hurts. I'll go." I threw the blankets off me and walked out behind him, trying my hair up loosely as I walked down the hall. I walked into his room and he sat on top of his blankets. His bed was still made, "Do you think maybe you can't sleep because you haven't actually gone to bed yet?" I asked him from the doorway. I raised my eyebrows and smiled when he looked at me.

He looked down at a small photo in front of him. I walked forwards and sat on the side of his bed. I looked at the photo of Haley. He looked up at me, "I miss her."

I smiled apologetically, "Honey, she died protecting you. She was a hero."

"Do you miss your mum?" He asked quietly.

I nodded, "I do, but I wasn't nearly as close with my mum. Now that she's gone, I wish I had talked to her more. Haley loved you, Jack. She loved you so much and she never stopped loving you."

"I know, I just wished could talk to her again."

I remembered the story Hotch told me about how he used to light a candle every night that he was with Jack after Haley's death. They lit it and talked to her. I stood up, "Hold on." I walked out quickly and went down the hall. I went into the ensuite and got the lighter out of the mirror cupboard.

"What are you doing?" Hotch asked when I walked back in.

"Where's the candle you used to light every night with him?"

"There…" Hotch pointed to the candle on top of the dresser. "Why?"

"I'll be back." I grabbed the candle and walked back down to Jack's room. I sat back down beside him, lit the candle and gave it to him.

He smiled, "I remember this. Do you think this works?"

"I think it's worth a shot." I smiled. I kissed his forehead, stood and I walked to the door. "Make sure you blow the candle out before you go to sleep, and please get some sleep."

"Thanks Emily." He smiled.

I nodded and closed the door behind me. I put the lighter back in the ensuite and walked back to the bed where Hotch waited for me. "He misses Haley." I explained to him what happened and he smiled at me.

"Thank you for that."

I nodded and kissed him a few times before lying down.

"Tease…" he said quietly.

"You have a hole in your arm."

"You're still angry with me."

"Hey, I'm trying not to be here…"

He sighed and kissed my cheek, "I love you."

I rolled onto my back and smiled at him, "I love you too."