Hi guys! So sorry about the super long wait! But I got sick (to the point where I actually needed antibiotics which I haven't needed since I was like 5!) and then school got CRAZY and I had like 3 big projects due in the same week, but it's slowed down now so I finally had a few free hours! In this one I use Emily's whole name, and her middle name isn't ever said on the show, but I've always used Elizabeth for it. I think Elizabeth would pass her name down to Emily, and it also seems quite fitting for this story. I am so glad you all enjoyed the last chapter, it's one of my favorites! I hope I can get another chapter up this weekend or early next week, but my laptop is acting dumb so I might have to take it in and get it looked at, but I'll do my very best to not keep you guys waiting so long for the next update. Thank you for your sweet words and also your patience! You're awesome! : )

XxxxX

Emily sighed and sat up, unable to fall asleep despite the late hour. It was Thursday night, nearly five days after she and Hotch had taken a step in a new direction, to put it simply. Hotch had taken Jack home not long after he'd kissed her, and that next morning the team had caught a case, so she and Hotch hadn't talked much since Sunday night. She'd checked in a few times, making sure that he and the team were alright, thankfully they were. She hoped they solved the case soon, because she'd hardly slept since Hotch had left. Her new apartment didn't feel quite like home; partly because she wasn't completely unpacked and moved in yet, and partly because she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss with Hotch. It wasn't like her to delay unpacking for so long even though she hated it so much, but she just felt so distracted all the time.

She didn't regret the kiss, and she didn't think that he did either. But she found herself ridden with anxiety over it regardless. She'd always had a little bit of a crush on him, as juvenile as it sounded. But she knew he loved Haley, and she would never have come between that. After her death, Emily knew he needed to heal. She knew that Jack needed his father around. When Hotch started dating Beth, she couldn't even be upset about it. He deserved to be happy. She'd convinced herself that being his friend was enough, so much so, that when he kissed her she almost didn't believe it. He couldn't possibly feel the same way about her as she'd felt about him for years, could he?

After the kiss, he'd invited her on a date. A real date. They hadn't planned it yet. In fact, after Emily had told him to kiss her like that again, he did. They made out like two teenagers at a party, unable to keep their hands off each other and only breaking apart for air. She loved how he pulled her close to him, his arms around her protectively, like he was afraid to let her go. She loved how he tucked her hair behind her ears and ran his thumb along her jawline after they broke apart.

After their teenage-like antics ensued, they didn't say a word for a long while. The silence wasn't awkward, but there was an essence of unanswered questions looming over them.

"Well," Hotch said softly. "I'd...I'd better get Jack to bed. I'll call you tomorrow." He had said, leaning in to kiss her goodnight before heading into the living room to carefully pick Jack up. Emily walked them to the door and bid him an awkward goodnight.

Emily couldn't gauge his feelings, she couldn't tell what he was feeling and it worried her. They'd always been able to read each other, that's why they'd grown so close. She'd been mulling this over for days, wishing she could stop questioning herself and Hotch and actually be able to fall asleep. She glanced at the clock, it was almost 4am.

She decided to get up, knowing she would never get any sleep now, and tossed a sweatshirt over her t-shirt and pulling her hair back. There were still plenty of boxes she could unpack, and if she ran out of things to do, she could always vacuum—again. Although Hotch had been busy on the case, he still called her on Monday morning, and things seemed pretty normal between them. She hoped doing something constructive would help her wandering mind and she could finally stop overthinking everything,

Emily had shoved most of the boxes in her spare room, so she headed across the hall to it. She sat on her knees and started to go through them, most of them were full of clothes or little knick knacks she could find a place for in any room.

It was kind of lonely, and she found herself missing Sergio, her cat. Garcia had taken him when she had to hide out in Paris, and when she returned she hadn't wanted to uproot the poor thing's life yet again. She thought maybe she could get a new cat for the new place.

She unpacked and organized her closet for hours, not realizing how quickly time was passing. She almost had a heart attack when her phone started to ring, pulling her out of her scattered thoughts. She answered it quickly, not even looking to see who it was.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, I'm not bothering you, am I?" Hotch's deep, familiar voice asked. Emily glanced at the clock and noted that it was just past one in the afternoon.

"Hmm? Oh, no. Just unpacking some stuff." Emily replied, feeling her pulse quicken and her face radiate warmth. Why was she doing this? It was Hotch. Literally her best friend. There's no reason to be feeling so anxious, she told herself.

"Well... I- I know the other night I kind of...left quickly. And we didn't really uh- you know, talk..." Hotch started. Emily's brow furrowed, she couldn't think of a time Hotch had ever sounded the least bit flustered, yet here he was actually stumbling over his words.

"It's okay, you needed to get Jack home." Emily rationalized.

"Well…we should be getting back today sometime. Jack will want to come tonight, but he has a sleepover with a friend tomorrow, so if you'd like to, I was thinking we could um…have dinner then. I didn't really want to ask you over the phone, but I wasn't sure when I'd see you." He said quickly, like he couldn't get the words out fast enough. If Emily wasn't experiencing her own anxieties, she would have thought it was adorable.

"I'd like that." Emily said honestly. "At least you didn't send an owl with a note, I'm not so sure it would have gotten here by tomorrow." She joked.

Hotch laughed softly. She could picture him shaking his head and rolling his eyes playfully. "Maybe next time. Should I pick you up at 7?" He asked.

"Sounds perfect. I'll see you then." She smiled, and the call ended shortly.

Immediately, Emily sent a text to JJ. She hated to bother her, knowing that they'd be exhausted upon arriving home; but she also really hoped that JJ would at least be up for a phone call later. She was usually a very private person, even on girls' nights she never divulged much about her personal life. But right now, she really needed some advice from her friend.

JJ replied a little while later, explaining that Will had actually taken Henry to New Orleans for the week, and they wouldn't be home until the next day anyway. So, JJ made plans to come to Emily's apartment later that evening after the team arrived back home and everything was all settled. That eased Emily's mind significantly, knowing that she would be able to talk this out with someone before her date with Hotch. She wasn't really nervous about it, she just wanted to talk this out with someone, and she obviously couldn't do that with him yet. She wants to be absolutely sure of how she felt before she started talking to him, she didn't want to say the wrong thing.

With plans finalized, Emily finally felt like she could unpack and clean with a clear head. By mid-afternoon, Emily's new place finally felt like home. She'd never been so happy to get rid of those cardboard boxes.

XxxxX

At exactly 6:45pm, Emily heard a knock at her door. She let JJ in, happier than ever to see her friend. They hadn't had time to catch up in forever.

"I brought food!" JJ announced happily as she entered the apartment.

Emily didn't even realize how hungry she was until she smelled the food JJ brought. "Ooh, is that from that Thai place we always order from?" Emily asked.

JJ nodded as she sat the bags of food on the counter in the kitchen, just off the living room. "Yeah, I figured you hadn't had dinner yet." JJ shrugged.

Emily laughed softly. "I think you're all trying to make sure that I gain as much weight as possible now that I'm back." She joked.

JJ laughed. "God, I've missed you." She said honestly.

Emily smiled softly as she got some plates out of the top left cabinet over the sink. "I've missed you too." She returned the sentiment.

They made small talk as JJ put food on the plates and Emily picked out the perfect wine. The two friends settled in Emily's living room on the couch, deciding to eat and drink and laugh before bringing up the real issue. JJ had no idea why Emily asked her over, and she didn't want to just bombard her as soon as she came in. The blonde's presence was already making her feel better. Although, that could have something to do with the half a bottle of wine she'd had by the time they'd finished dinner.

"So," JJ started as they sat back down on the couch after cleaning up from dinner. "What's the real reason I'm here?" She asked, giving Emily a knowing look.

"What? I can't just ask you to come over without an ulterior motive?" Emily teased with a grin.

"You usually invite me and Garcia. And I'm sure you'd have invited Alex too. But you just invited me, so I know there's something on your mind." JJ pointed out, pulling her hair back out of her face and securing it with a hair tie, allowing Emily to collect her thoughts. She knew Emily well enough to know that it was hard to get information out of her and most of the time you had to pull it out of her slowly.

Emily sighed. "Okay…if we're gonna talk about this, we need more alcohol." She said as she rose from the couch and went back into the kitchen and bringing back another bottle of wine. She thought about bringing something stronger, but she decided against it.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked concernedly, eying Emily as she poured them each another glass of the rich red liquid.

"I'm fine. I'm great actually; it's just…well I need your advice." Emily admitted.

"Really?" JJ asked, picking up her glass.

"What?" Emily asked, mimicking JJ's movements and taking a sip.

"It's just that normally you go to Hotch for stuff like this these days." JJ shrugged. She wasn't upset about it, she was just stating a fact. Honestly, she was glad Hotch and Emily had gotten so close, and she'd started a bet among the team about how long it'd take for them to get together. Not that she'd ever tell either of them about that, of course.

"Um…well, this is…about him, I guess." Emily said, suddenly wishing she'd opted for the tequila in her liquor cabinet so maybe her cheeks wouldn't be so flushed. She felt like a teenager all over again, talking about a boy with her best friend.

"Is he okay?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, and so's Jack." Emily clarified, knowing that would be the blonde's next question. "After you all left Sunday, he stuck around for a bit and Jack fell asleep on the couch. And well…one thing led to another and he…we kissed." Emily told her, looking down at the contents of her glass and swirling it around a bit to avoid eye contact.

"Emily Elizabeth Prentiss!" JJ practically squealed. "You kissed Aaron Hotchner, your former boss Aaron Hotchner, and you waited five days to tell me?" JJ asked, her eyes widening and her voice rising at least two octaves out of excitement.

"Um…yes." Emily answered, quickly downing the rest of her glass before she spoke again.

"Emily!" JJ exclaimed. "Rossi and Morgan owe me fifty bucks…" she muttered softly.

"What?" Emily asked, confused.

JJ blinked, unaware she'd even spoken out loud. So much for Emily and Hotch not knowing about the little bet. "Oh…um….well, there's a, y'know…a bet." JJ said quickly.

"A bet?" Emily asked, breaking her resolve and pouring the rest of the second bottle of wine into her glass. She wasn't drunk, but she was definitely feeling a little looser and more relaxed.

"Yeah…to see when you and Hotch would get together." JJ said bluntly.

Emily laughed. "Are you kidding?"

"It's not like either of you are very subtle about being attracted to each other." JJ pointed out.

"Wait…you all were in on this? I mean…I didn't even know if he felt like that about me until Sunday. Actually, I'm still not sure." Emily admitted.

"Oh, please. Aaron Hotchner would do anything for you." JJ said as she playfully threw a pillow at Emily.

"He'd do anything for any of you, he's that kind of guy." Emily reasoned.

JJ shook her head. "It's different with you, Em. When he looks at you he looks like…like you're the only person in the whole room."

Emily shook her head, but couldn't hide her smile. "You're drunk."

"I am not." JJ protested. "It takes a little more than a bottle of wine." She laughed. "Come on," the blonde persisted. "Admit it, you like Hotch." She said in a sing-song voice.

"Are you fourteen?" Emily asked, but laughed as she threw the pillow JJ had thrown earlier back at her.

"You like him, you looooove him." JJ continued to sing, wiggling her eyebrows at her friend.

Emily just shook her head, what was she supposed to say? If she denied it, she would be lying. But if she admitted to it, she'd be lying. She couldn't say for sure if she was in love with Hotch. She didn't believe in that whole love at first sight nonsense. She believed it happened gradually, over time. But this was the closest thing she'd ever felt to true love. Or whatever it was. She'd honestly never felt this way before.

"I'm just teasing you, Em." JJ said softly at Emily's silence, reaching out to touch Emily's shoulder. "Sorry." She smiled.

"No, I know you are…I just don't know if you're right or not." JJ sent her a confused look, so she continued. "I mean…I've always sucked at relationships. Romantic or otherwise. I never kept friends for long because we moved so much. I'm just used to doing things on my own and not relying on anybody else. But lately…it's like…like if I don't spend time with Aaron I feel like I'm…" She furrowed her brow, searching for the right word.

"Incomplete?" JJ supplied.

Emily nodded. "Kind of. Just being around him makes me feel better. And sometimes when we're watching a movie with Jack or something I just…I start thinking about us being a family, you know? I've never thought about that before. I think my longest relationship has been like…three months or something pathetic like that. Work gets in the way, or he turns out to be an asshole, or something like that." Emily sighed, shaking her head. "But with Aaron…it's so different than anything I've ever felt. But I didn't think it'd go anywhere. We've both been through so much and it seemed like when my life wasn't in shambles, his was and vice versa. It just never seemed like the right time." Emily said.

"Now could be right." JJ said simply.

"Do you think…do you think it's too soon?" Emily asked honestly. "I mean, it hasn't been that long since my mom died. I don't want to rush into this for the wrong reasons. What if I just think I love him, but I'm just upset about my mom and realize in six months I don't want a relationship? I don't want to hurt him. Or Jack. God, that would kill me." Emily admitted, feeling her eyes burn with tears.

"Emily, I think these feelings have been there forever. You said so yourself. And I think that if your mother was here she would tell you to stop being ridiculous and go after him." JJ smiled, causing Emily to chuckle softly as she blinked back tears.

"He asked me on a date. Tomorrow. That's a good sign, right?" Emily asked.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" JJ's tone rose again as her eyes widened again. "He wouldn't have asked you if he didn't want to spend time with you. It's just you two, right?"

Emily nodded. "Jack's usually with us. Or we just sit at his apartment and watch movies and eat take out. But he wants this to be like…a real date." She used his wording.

JJ squeaked with excitement. "Oh, Emily. I'm so happy for you! You have to call me right after to tell me how it went, okay? Well, maybe not right after. You might want the night." She wiggled her eyebrows again.

"Oh…JJ!" Emily laughed. "It's the first date, I really doubt anything will happen. I mean except maybe we'll kiss again. Not that you need to know." Emily stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Is he a good kisser?" JJ asked suddenly.

"Jennifer!" Emily laughed.

"Emily I'm not going to take him from you, it's a valid question." JJ actually giggled like a teenager at a sleepover. "It's weird picturing him doing anything that doesn't involve catching serial killers. Like kissing." JJ smirked.

"He's…not bad." Emily said.

"That's all you're gonna give me? Come on, I thought we were friends!" JJ said, feigning hurt.

Emily laughed. "We are friends, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give you the play by play on all our make out sessions."

"You made out? Emily! Why are you leaving out all the good details? You just said you kissed!" JJ turned, sitting sideways on the couch so she could look right at Emily. Emily also turned so they were facing each other.

"We're adults, I thought when I told you that you would just assume it was more than just a little peck." Emily admitted.

"I have so much to teach you." JJ shook her head. "It's okay, I won't grill you anymore tonight if you promise to tell me all about the date." JJ compromised.

"Okay, I promise. Can we talk about something besides my potential love life now?" Emily asked.

"Hey, you invited me!" JJ said as she got up from the couch. "Let's watch something." JJ suggested as she started looking through Emily's extensive DVD collection. Emily agreed and threw out the two empty wine bottles and put their glasses in the sink. She was pretty sure she heard JJ mutter something about her having so many "nerd movies," but she just laughed to herself and started to pop a bag of popcorn.

A few minutes later, she rejoined JJ in the living room and placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table before sitting down on one end of the couch. "Did you find something that's not too nerdy?" Emily joked.

"Yes! I didn't know you like musicals!" JJ said as she put Mamma Mia into the DVD player.

"I'm pretty sure everyone likes at least one." Emily shrugged. "Hey, JJ?" She said seriously. "Thank you. You're the best." Emily smiled.

"Yeah, I know." JJ pretended to shrug it off, but she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her face. "You're welcome." She said seriously, sending Emily a reassuring smile.

"Alright, put the movie in." Emily instructed with a smile.

JJ excitedly pressed play and sat next to Emily on the couch. "I'll have you know, there's no way I can watch this and not sing."

"Why do you think I have it stuck in the back behind all the other movies? I'd watch it all day on a loop if I could." Emily admitted.

For the next hour and 49 minutes, JJ and Emily quoted all the lines and sang every song from the movie. They even got up and danced around. Neither of them were completely drunk, but they were definitely buzzed enough to not feel dumb acting like that. It was quite a sight, and they both knew without voicing it that this wouldn't be the last time they did this.