Sorry for the wait; life's busy during the summer. Hope you enjoy this bit of fluff and I promise the story line will progress in the next chapter; I just couldn't resist.

XVIII

The tingling in his fingers and toes ceased to bother him after the first hour. After the second, the faint sound of Morgan's snoring didn't even register. After the third and fourth, even the reoccurring sound of JJ's coughs seemed to fade to the back of his mind. Finally, after six hours of fidgeting, grumbling and conjuring up worst case scenarios, the sound all five agents had been praying for sang across the halls.

"Agents?" Dr. Kyler's voice called to them. Immediately, all five were on their feet and rushing towards the small man. Bombarding him with questions, he drew up enough courage to raise a hand and stop them. "Agent Prentiss is out of surgery. There was extensive cerebral damage that caused internal bleeding. We repaired that and gave her a mild sedative for the pain."

"Is she awake?" Hotch pressed the man. The doctor shook his head no.

"She won't be for a few hours but you're welcome to see her." Kyler offered the group a small smile.

"So she's…she's okay?" Reid's small voice asked.

"As I'm sure you all know, head traumas are highly unpredictable." The team's faces dropped. "But from what I can see she has a family willing to help in whatever she needs. I'm sure she'll be fine." Relieved sighs could be heard expelling from each agent's lips. "She's in room 414."

"Thank you." Rossi shook hands with the man and smiled back before glancing at the rest of his team. Reid looked confused, as if the information was still processing in that big brain of his. Morgan kept up the angered look he'd been sporting since they arrived. JJ seemed to be holding back tears and coughed to cover them up. Hotch on the other hand, remained placid as always. Rossi was sure the man was aching to see Emily, maybe even more than the rest of them, and the anger welling up inside him must be tremendous as he took in the faint red tint in his cheeks.

"Go." JJ spoke for the first time since her call to Garcia. Turning towards the blonde, they saw that she had directed her command to Hotch. The man's stoic expression faltered slightly.

"No, you should-"

"Go Aaron." JJ waved her hand weakly in the direction of Emily's room before taking back her seat in the waiting room. The men of the BAU saw their friend bring her knees to her chest and start to cry silently, relief flooding through her. Reid took a step forward only for Rossi to stop him and shake his head. Their hearts broke for the blonde but they knew she needed some time to herself; time to process the fact that her best friend was going to be okay.

"I'll call Garcia." Morgan hurried outside, desperate for some cold air and Reid and Rossi took off towards the cafeteria to refill their coffee mugs. That left Hotch alone in the hallway, blankly staring at the corridor that led to Emily's room. Running a hand through his hair, he slowly approached room 414 and after flashing his credentials at the two officers on duty, turned the knob and entered. Upon seeing Emily Prentiss, the world's strongest and most amazing woman, surrounded by wires and machines with bandages wrapped around her head and a sling plastering her arm to her chest, the normally collected unit chief closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath. The constant beeping of her heart monitor was the first comforting sound he had heard in hours. Slowly, he approached her bedside and took in the appearance of his agent. The bandages around her head did little to hide the deep bruising on her forehead; the bruises Hail had put there. He watched as Emily's chest rose and fell with strain and could only image what damage what been done to her ribs. Dragging a chair to her side, Hotch plopped himself into it and sighed. Reaching forward, he took her hand in his and willed whatever strength he had to pass into her. It was only until after he had finished prayer to a God he wasn't even sure existed that he noticed the hot tears streaming down his face. How could I let this happen?

"Emily," he called to her in a broken voice. "I don't know if you can hear me but I just wanted to tell you something I should've said years ago." Hotch leaned forward and brought his lips close to her ear. "I love you."

The sobs that wracked her already exhausted body had stopped merely minutes ago. She untangled herself from the ball she was in and stretched her legs out in front of her. Standing, JJ tried to stop the room from spinning momentarily so she could make it to the bathroom in one piece. She pressed a hand to her head and wasn't surprised to find that her skin was burning. She scoffed. Yea, just what I need now; a fever. Not looking where she was going, JJ accidentally rammed into someone just outside the ladies' room.

"Sorry." She mumbled before sidestepping out of the man's way.

"Agent Jareau?" the deep, familiar voice asked as he reached out for her wrist. Rolling her eyes, JJ turned and was met with the still-smug face of Detective Waters.

"What?" her short temper got the best of her as she yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"Just came to see what the holdup is." Waters' eyes narrowed as he took in her disheveled appearance.

"Do you have a problem Detective?" JJ fought to keep the nastiness out of her voice…and failed. The man simply chuckled in return.

"Didn't know you liked it dirty." He grinned wickedly at her and JJ's fists clenched so tightly she could feel the cuts forming in her palms. Emily was in the hospital and this asshole was making jokes?

"There are a lot of things you clearly don't know." JJ spat at the man. He seemed offended by her jab at his intelligence and placed his arms across his chest.

"So when do you people plan on fixing this shit?" Waters allowed his eyes to dance across the room as if gesturing.

"Excuse me?" JJ took a step closer, her anger growing by the second.

"You heard me." Waters scoffed. "You come in here all high and mighty claiming you can solve this case in a matter of hours and now that bitch loses the one lead we-" That was it. JJ's clenched fist collided with the Detective's nose, sending blood pouring down his face. The blonde couldn't help the small flicker of joy inside of her. "Fucking bitch!" Waters leapt at her, trying to land a punch of his own but the blood obscured his vision and JJ easily dodged the large fist. Grabbing his wrist with both hands, she wrenched it backwards until she felt a slight pop and heard him cry out. Placing her foot in between his separated legs, she twisted her body, taking the man's wrist with her, and yanked it behind him until he was on his knees. Several medical personnel had heard the commotion and rushed to help, mouths agape at the sight of a 100 pound blonde with her knee to the man's back.

"You might want to get some ice." She barely glanced at the nearest nurse before applying more pressure to Waters' hand. Ignoring his cries, the nurse rushed to do as she said. JJ leaned down and brought her lips close to the man's ear. "Now you listen to me; if I ever hear you say anything about Emily again, I won't hesitate to break both your legs. Do you understand?" Waters nodded vigorously. "I can't hear you."

"Yes! I'm sorry!" he cried out as she tightened her grip. Satisfied, JJ began loosening her hold on him when she heard several shouts of 'JJ!' and footsteps approaching. Releasing the detective, she turned and met Rossi, Reid and Morgan's frantic expressions.

"Are you alright?" Reid placed a hand gingerly on her shoulder and she nodded with a small smile.

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Morgan grabbed the man by the collar and hoisted him up off the floor. Waters' gaze faltered from JJ to Morgan's, afraid of saying anything to ensure the wrath of the blonde.

"Detective Waters here was just telling me how the NYPD is working on tracking Alek's car." JJ said sweetly. "Isn't that right Detective?" Waters nodded quickly and stumbled as Morgan let him go. The four watched the man snatch the ice bag from a nurse and practically sprinted out the door. One by one, they broke out into small chuckles that led to full blown laughter as they patted JJ on the back. Even some of the nurses and doctors that had heard what transpired between the two broke into grins.

"Remind me never to make fun of you again." Morgan smiled wide as he placed his arm over JJ's shoulders. She shrugged him off playfully.

"Don't you forget it."

Back in Emily's room, Hotch was recounting the time when Jack had spilled maple syrup all over Emily's new jeans at one of their Sunday breakfasts. He told her how the boy cried that night, thinking that his Aunt Emmy was mad at him and how he assured him that Emmy could never be upset at anything he did. He recalled how Emily laughed as she tried to soothe his son and how his stomach flopped at the wonderful sound. That was the moment when Aaron Hotchner knew he was in love with Emily Prentiss. Seeing Jack and Emily together gave him a feeling he could only describe as painful. Painful because he knew that no matter what he did, Emily Prentiss could never feel the same way about him; because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just get rid of the aching in his heart every time he thought about her; because the vivid dreams he would have about his subordinate were beyond embarrassing and nothing he did could make them stop. Now, seeing her lying in a hospital bed barely a day after they had shared their first kiss, Aaron Hotchner felt more pain than he ever thought imaginable. What if she woke up and didn't remember him? What if she had just kissed him because she felt sorry for him? What if she heard him and didn't want to wake up?

"Emily, please wake up." He begged her for the hundredth time. "I need you to wake up; I need you to tell me that you love me too. Please Em." He pressed a gentle kiss against her lips and failed to notice that she had begun reciprocating the geture.

"I love you too." Her labored voice echoed in his brain as Hotch pulled away from her.

"You're-you're alive." He stammered as he took in her watery eyes and small smile.

"And awake." She squeezed his hand, trying to wake him up from his daze.

"Emily." He murmured softly as he cupped her cheek. His gun calloused fingers sent shivers down her spine as they connected with her flesh and she smiled. As Hotch's lips descended on hers, both agents could hear the increased beeping of the monitor registering Emily's heartbeat. They chuckled at the sound.

"Not fair." She mumbled as he stroked her cheek. Hotch took her hand and placed it on his chest so she could feel the beat of his heart that matched her monitor perfectly. Wordlessly, she lifted herself as far as her injuries allowed and took his lips with hers. Grasping the back of her neck and raising her easily, Hotch felt fire coarse through his entire body as she licked his bottom lip and placed a cold hand on his burning arm, drawing him closer. It was only when Emily hissed in pain that Hotch drew back, concern in his eyes.

"What is it? Do you want me to get the nurse?" he squeezed her hand slightly and moved to adjust her pillow. Emily merely shook her head.

"I'm alright." She promised. "Just have a headache." A moment of silence passed between the two as Emily closed her eyes and willed the pain to go away. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and latched onto his as if remembering something. "He took Mackenzie!"

"Shh, I know. We're looking for her." Hotch assured her as he tucked a few strands of hair behind her face.

"I promised her I'd find her Aaron. I promised." Emily's voice gradually became softer as exhaustion took over.

"We will find her Emily." He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Rest now."

M'kay." The brunette mumbled as she curled towards his touch. Hotch smiled as she drifted off to sleep, partially in his arms, and couldn't help but push thoughts of the pending case out of his mind as he too fell into a blissful sleep.

I'll be in Boston/Salem MA from tomorrow until Friday night so I won't be able to write until then. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!