A/N: Love it? Hate it? Feel free to leave a review so I know what you think. All mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
"Yes, I spoke with her. No, she agreed to it. Yes, I wasn't expecting it to take so long. Ok, I love you too, let me talk to Jack." Hotch nodded to Emily as she passed him in the hall.
She gave him a small smile and stared at his phone. It had been awhile since she had spoken to the younger Hotchner. At the start of her time in London she had sent a few small souvenirs for JJ to give to Henry and Jack and heard that they were both extremely pleased by the gifts.
"Hey buddy, how's everything going?" Hotch asked, a smile creeping onto his face when he heard his son's voice. "Are you having fun with Beth?" He chuckled as the boy shouted in excitement over the phone. "Hey buddy, do you remember my friend Emily? She used to work with me."
Emily's eyes widened and stepped back. She held up a hand while Hotch shook his head. "Yeah she's here with me Jack. She's going to help me with the mission. You want to say hi?" He handed her the phone.
"I didn't mean to interrupt," she said guiltily, taking the phone.
"It'll only take a minute, no worries. He wanted to talk to you," he assured her.
She put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Miss Emily! I miss you! Are you having fun with Daddy?"
"I miss you too Jack. Yes I'm really happy your Dad is here with me, I missed him." Oh god, too much information. "How is school going?"
"It's ok, I'm not doing very good in math but Beth said she would help me while Daddy has to be away," the boy answered. "Do you think that Daddy will really be able to ride a dinosaur? That would be so cool!"
"I don't know about that, but I will be there to make sure he doesn't fall off," Emily said, smiling at the boy's short attention span. "But I don't think we will be able to."
"Daddy told me it will be serious business," Jack said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Miss Emily, will you come visit me after?"
She looked at Hotch briefly, and then turned away. "I don't know buddy, I'll try."
"Please? I miss you and you can come play with me and Daddy and Beth. Please Miss Emily!"
"I'll tell you what Jack. If your Daddy and I finish the serious business early, I will try to come and visit you," she conceded.
"Promise?"
She looked at Hotch and smiled. "I promise."
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Emily sat in the boardroom chair staring at the door. She had handed the phone back to Hotch so that he could finish his conversation with his son in private. But she had to admit, hearing the boy's voice had made her extremely happy. It reminded her of happier times in her career.
"So how long have you known Agent Hotchner?" Tintin questioned, fidgeting in his chair to the left of her.
"For about seven years, give or take a few months. But he did work for my mother quite a few years ago. We weren't acquainted then unfortunately." She gestured to the small white dog lying down by his feet. "How long have you had Snowy?"
"We've been best pals for about six years now, haven't we boy?" The white dog barked in response. "Never regretted one second of it. He's gotten me out of some really sticky situations."
Emily nodded, changing the subject. "Did Dr. Wagner say when he might be returning? We should probably get a move on here." She shot Hotch a small smile as he entered the room.
"He mentioned something about ordering us lunch." Hotch replied, sliding into the chair next to her. "So it shouldn't be long. I would say wheels up in the morning at this rate."
She hesitated, picking her nails as she thought about her next words. "So is everything ok?"
"Yes, it should be fine. Beth has things under control," he confirmed. "He really enjoyed your conversation. I think he misses you."
"Well, to be honest I didn't think he would remember me. It's been awhile." She looked down at her hands. "Definitely my fault though." She looked down at her hands, continuing to fidget.
Hotch reached over and pried her hands away. "Emily, both you and I know it's no one's fault. Criminal's don't take days off unfortunately." He released her hand slowly. "But it would be nice to get a call now and then."
"Hmm, well tell you what. We get this show on the road and I will take a week off when we return and come back with you to Quantico."
He nodded. "Sounds like a plan. You did promise to my son after all, and he will hold you to that."
"I'm sure he will. And I don't make many promises I can't keep." She checked the clock on the wall anxiously. "I wonder what's taking so long."
"We're here my dear!" The door swung open and the smell of fish and chips wafted through the room. Wagner entered the room with his hands full of to-go bags. "I felt like being a little cliché while I'm here. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all," Emily said shaking her head. "But if you don't mind, I suggest we talk and eat. I'm sure Maggie would appreciate some haste on our part."
"Of course my dear, take a seat and I will explain the logistics."
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Emily stared at the list of items for the mission while she sat on her bed. They had been dismissed an hour earlier and Wagner had agreed that the early morning would be the best time to leave. In eight hours their lives were about to be turned upside down, so a good night's sleep was expected of them. She had just shaken her head and grabbed Hotch's suitcase when he insisted he would stay at a hotel with Tintin.
She lifted her head at a knock on the door. "Come in."
Hotch poked his head into the room. "Hey, have you finished going through everything?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm just re-reading everything. Am I the only one that thinks twenty grenade launchers is overkill?"
"You can never be over-prepared in this kind of situation I suppose." He stared at her, eyes dropping to the bed. "Do you mind?"
She blushed a little bit, hoping he wouldn't notice. It was a well-known secret between her, JJ and Penelope that their Unit Chief had been the subject of her interest for a few years. But too many things had stood in the way of her pursuing that, and he had someone else that loved him now. And she was happy for him. "Sure, if you promise you keep your hands to yourself." She covered her mouth as she blurted out the latter phrase. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"It's fine Emily," he said, smirking. "I know what a joke is. I'm not a complete Grinch yet." He sat on the edge of her bed, searching her bedroom with his eyes. "You have a nice place here."
"It's a little small, but by London standards it's impressive. I got lucky I guess. I hope you'll be ok on the couch."
"We're not sharing the bed?" He laughed as her hand swatted at him. "Relax Emily, I'm just teasing you. Yes it'll be fine. I've taken my fair share of couches over the years. Reid kicks in his sleep."
"Hmmm, well I hope it won't be too cramped." She paused, swinging her legs to sit next to him while trying to leave some space. "Are we complete idiots to do this?"
"I don't think idiot is the right word, but we're something."
"Yeah, we're something all right." She poked his toe with her own. "We should probably get to sleep. Big day tomorrow."
He nodded, rising from his seat. "Can you set your alarm for four am? We could talk maybe before we leave."
Talk? "Sure. Nothing depressing though. Otherwise we'll be screwed the minute we step foot on that plane."
"I'll take that under consideration. Goodnight Emily."
She smiled at him. "Goodnight...Aaron."
He raised an eyebrow at her, but she just smirked. "I figured since you've stopped with the 'Prentiss', I should probably try to drop the formalities. No need to keep things….tense. We're friends after all, and most friends call each other by their first names."
Nodding, he shot her a smile and walked out the door. "Of course. I'll see you in the morning."
She followed him and closed the door. Sighing, she sat down on her bed and folded up her papers. Sinking under the covers, she stared at her ceiling.
Slowly she drifted off into a restless sleep, dreaming of a little blonde boy making her promise over and over again that she wouldn't let his daddy die.