"Leaving so soon, Ms. Prentiss?"

Emily looked up from her desk, already full of papers, and smiled to the principal standing in her doorway. "I'm afraid so," she tried to laugh, her purse falling to the crook of her elbow. "I have an appointment across town in about forty-five minutes."

The older woman smiled to her newest teacher. "You did great today."

"Thank you so much." Now she could breathe a sigh of relief. All of the children in her English classes had done extremely well for the first day, and she even had young Jack Hotchner in her first period.

He had come up to her after class and whispered to her how pretty her bracelet was, and she did her best not to reach down and kiss his apple cheeks.

Practically sprinting from the room, the brunette woman pulled her hair from the twist she had put it in hours before and sighed, massaging the back of her head where the clip had been irritating her all day.

"Have a good day, Ms. Prentiss."

Emily smiled to the other teachers and walked out of the school gates, her hand immediately raising to hail a taxi.

Frowning, the brunette turned around when she heard her name get whispered and she spotted a familiar little boy standing just outside the gate. "Jack." She quickly rushed him back behind the gates so he wouldn't get taken by a stranger. "Sweetie, what are you still doing here?"

"Daddy's late." He smiled up to his teacher. "Hi Ms. Prentiss."

Emily felt herself smiling back to the eight year old boy. "Hi Jack. Do you know when your daddy will be here?"

"I don't know."

"Hey lady!"

Emily looked up and saw a taxi that had pulled over for her. "Nevermind!" She forced herself not to yell out to the man as he gave her the finger and drove away, and she set a hand to the young boy's back. "So did you like class today, Jack?"

Jack vigorously nodded his head. "It was so fun! You're a good teacher, Ms. Prentiss."

With the slight lisp at the end of her name, Emily could feel her eyes start to sting. "Thank you so much, Jack."

"Jack, you're making your teachers cry now?"

The brunette woman looked up at the deep voice and watched as her student ran into his father's arms. "Just a tad," she laughed, standing from the bench and dusting off her skirt. "Hello Mr. Hotchner."

"Ms. Prentiss," Aaron nodded. "I apologize I'm a little late; someone at the office scheduled my meeting for three instead of two and I had to talk to my boss about it before I was able to leave." Frowning, the older brunette watched as the teacher glance at her phone. "Is there a reason you're still here?"

Emily gestured to the eight year old and returned his smile. "Saw little Jack sitting alone. But I do have to go now, so thank you for finally arriving," she joked, letting out a breath the moment he laughed.

He started leading his son back toward their car before he turned to make sure the younger woman was alright, and noticed her on the curb trying to get a taxi to pull over for her. "Ms. Prentiss?" Waiting until she turned to look his way, he grinned, watching her dark hair fly over her shoulder. She looked like a model. "Can I offer you a ride?"

Emily's jaw fell. "Oh you don't have to," she laughed, gesturing out to the street. "I have an appointment all the way across town."

"I'd be honored if you came with us."

Biting her lip, the brunette shakily nodded her head. "Ok." She let him walk back to her and set a hand to her back to lead her to the car, and she forced herself not to comment on the new Mercedes he opened for her.

Once they were in and she had given him the address, Emily grinned back to the child in the back seat. "Why don't you tell your dad what you learned today, Jack?"

"Grammar!"

She looked over to the laughing man in the front seat and nodded. "That's basically it."

Aaron flashed the younger woman a grin, and she immediately noticed his dimples. "Well thank you for teaching him that." He eyed her for a moment longer before looking back out to the congested streets. "How old are you, if I may ask? You said today was your first day."

"It was," she confirmed. "I'm twenty-six. You?"

"Thirty."

Emily let her teeth chew at the inside of her cheek before leaning into her seat. "So what do you do?"

Aaron turned a corner and came to a quick stop when a garbage truck skid to the side of the road. "I'm an engineer."

She nodded. That's how he had the car.

Twenty minutes later and they were pulling to the side of the road, Aaron immediately getting out of the car so he could open the door for his son's new teacher. "Here we are."

"Thank you so much," the brunette breathed, moving her blowing hair from her face. "You didn't have to do this."

Aaron shook his head. "It was my pleasure."

Emily paused for a moment, her eyes glued to those of the older man before she gave an embarrassed smile. "Ok, I should go," she chuckled. "Thank you again." She let him help her onto the curb before she watched him drive away, and she waved to the small boy in the backseat.

Hours later, the brunette was finishing up applying her moisturizer after her night shower when she heard a knock at her apartment door. Quickly wiping off her hands, Emily made her way through her living room and over to the door. "Hello?"

"Cookies!"

Emily's eyes widened. "Jack?" She opened up the door and set her eyes on the young boy standing there. "Jack hi."

"Ms. Prentiss."

She felt her heart stop in her chest at the sight of the older man standing in her doorway. "Mr. Hotchner," she breathed, and she knew her eyes were wide as she looked between the two. "Can I help you?"

Aaron gestured to the cookies his son was holding. "We came to welcome the new tenant," he grinned. "Apparently that's you."

"It is." Thanking the eight year old, Emily took the plate of cookies and let them step inside the apartment. "And where do you live?"

"Next door."

Emily's jaw dropped. He was the one who had made all the night before.

It was Aaron.