I am SO sorry once again for the super long delay! School has been absolutely crazy and taking up all my free time, but I only have one more week left and then you should all be getting regular updates again. This one picks up where the last one left off, but next chapter there will be a little bit of a time jump. Thanks so much for sticking with me and for continuing to review and support this story! Hope you enjoy!

XxxX

Emily stirred awake sometime after 7 o'clock the next morning. It took her a moment to remember why a pair of arms were wrapped around her, but once she remembered she smiled to herself. She carefully figured out how to roll over and face Hotch without waking him, she knew he rarely let himself sleep in. He hardly stirred as she buried her face in his shoulder and just listened to him breathing for a while.

She wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually Hotch roused and woke up.

"Hi," he greeted with a smile.

"Hi," Emily replied, moving her position to meet his eyes.

"Have you been awake long?" Hotch asked, his arms still around her.

"No, just a few minutes." She guessed. "What time is Jack coming back?"

"That eager to get rid of me, huh?" Hotch joked with a raise of his eyebrow.

"No, you dummy. I was asking because I wanted to know how much longer we can just lay here." Emily replied.

"He's not coming back til this afternoon." Hotch answered. "So we've got time." He pulled her just a little closer to him.

Emily sighed happily. She couldn't remember ever having gone on a date where she not only wanted to stay the whole night, but didn't even have the desire to get up the next morning. She closed her eyes contentedly, resting her head against Hotch's chest.

They stayed like that for a long time, not needing to speak or do anything at all. Eventually, though, their stomachs won out and they finally got out of bed to find something to eat. They stayed in their pajamas (Emily in a pair of Hotch's sweatpants and an old t-shirt) and made breakfast together in Hotch's kitchen. It all felt so normal to Emily, like they'd done this a million times before. Maybe that was true, but this was new territory for her and Hotch. They had danced around the topic of getting together for years, and Emily had just assumed they weren't meant to be. It certainly seemed as if the universe thought so, something was always getting thrown at one of them at some point over the past few years.

They spent the morning leisurely lounging on the couch after they ate the breakfast they made together. They'd turned the TV on but neither one of them were really paying attention. Hotch was sitting up on the couch, Emily lying down with her head in his lap. Their hands had intertwined, Hotch's thumb lazily rubbing circles on the back of Emily's hand. They'd spent the past hour talking about anything and everything they could think of, but now the conversation had come to a comfortable lull.

"Do you want to come with me to pick Jack up?" Hotch asked. He didn't really want her to leave. This was probably the longest date he'd ever been on, and he had no desire to end it any time soon. He hadn't felt this way since he'd started dating Haley. He didn't want to rush anything with Emily, but he really hoped she felt the same way he did.

"Sure, if you're not sick of me yet." Emily looked up at him with her signature grin.

I could never get sick of you. He thought. "Nah, not quite." He returned the smile.

"Would you mind if we went to my apartment first so I can get some different clothes?" She asked.

"Of course, it's on the way to Jack's friend's house anyway." He told her.

Emily sat up and made a move to get off the couch, but Hotch gently pulled her back. "Where are you going?" He asked her softly.

She laughed breathily. "I thought we were going to pick up your son."

"We still have a few minutes." He shrugged and his lips met hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and he cupped her face and they didn't break apart until they absolutely had to. They pulled apart just enough that their foreheads were touching.

"I could get used to that." Emily breathed, almost too softly for Hotch to hear.

"I was thinking the same thing." He said back.

Finally, they got up off the couch and Emily grabbed her clothes from last night. They headed to Hotch's car and then Emily's apartment in a comfortable silence. On the drive, Hotch reached over with one hand and found Emily's. Emily smiled to herself, she couldn't seem to get enough of him, and she was glad he seemed to be feeling the same way.

They made it to Emily's apartment complex easily with plenty of time before they needed to get Jack.

"Wanna come in? I won't be long but I'd feel mean making you sit out here." Emily sent him a small smile.

Hotch nodded and the two walked, hand-in-hand of course, up to Emily's apartment.

"I'll just be a minute, there's water and stuff in the fridge if you want anything." Emily smiled as she leaned up to kiss Hotch on the check before disappearing to her bedroom.

She hurriedly dug through her closet and found a pair of old jeans and a red shirt to throw on. She kind of wanted to shower but just went with excessive dry shampoo and hoped for the best. She was just about to go back down and meet Hotch when her phone rang; she answered it, figuring it might be JJ or Garcia.

But it wasn't either of them. It was someone from the funeral home Emily had gone through for Elizabeth's funeral, telling her that Elizabeth's headstone had been placed the previous day. Emily didn't even hear anything else the woman on the other end of the line was saying. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach.

She had meant to call and ask what day it would be placed so that she could be there. She knew she didn't have to be there, she knew that her mother wouldn't have expected her to. But she still had really wanted to, and she suddenly felt terrible that she missed it. She ended the call and just sat at the foot of the bed, needing a moment to collect herself. She didn't want to go back to Hotch looking like she'd just seen a ghost.

Apparently, she sat for much longer than she meant to because she soon heard a light knock at her partially closed door. She quietly let Hotch know he could come in, and she knew now there was no hiding from him. Not that she wanted to, but she'd hoped to wait a bit before telling him so she wouldn't mess up their date. She glanced at the clock as Hotch made his way over, realizing she'd left Hotch alone for over half an hour.

"I'm sorry…" Emily started as she felt the bed dip down as Hotch sat next to her; she was avoiding his eyes and looking at her hands.

"Don't be sorry, Emily. Just talk to me." Hotch said with a soft smile, reaching over and taking her nervous hands in his. His touch immediately calmed her down.

Emily took a breath and forced herself to turn toward him.

"It's just…this woman called me from the funeral home and told me that Mom's headstone was put in yesterday and I meant to be there when that happened. But I…I forgot to ask and I missed it." Emily said quickly, as if she might not say it if she didn't get it all out as fast as she could. She felt tears burning at her eyes and her voice threatening to crack, but she wouldn't let herself break right now.

"Oh, Emily. I'm sorry." Hotch said sincerely, pulling her close to him so she was nestled into his side. He knew she had wanted to be there, she'd mentioned it once before.

"No I'm sorry. I know I didn't need to be there and that if she somehow knows what's happening, she'd much rather I have been with you…but…" She trailed off, closing her eyes and forcing herself not to cry.

"I get it," Hotch said softly. "Haley's was in for almost a week before I knew. We'd caught a case and I just forgot to check my messages. It had flowers and a card from Jack when I finally got to see it. I knew Jessica had a hand in it, but I still felt terrible that I hadn't even thought about it. To this day I always make sure it has something nice on it from me, even if I can't personally deliver it. Jessica's such a big help." Hotch confided.

Emily looked up at him, feeling tears again but for a much different reason. She loved Aaron Hotchner, but she felt like it was too soon to tell him, so she didn't. She just sent him a smile and leaned back into him, enjoying the sense of safety and calmness she felt around him.

"You always know what to say." Emily said quietly.

"So do you." Hotch replied. He knew that's what made them so great together. They just knew each other. They knew when to talk and when to offer a shoulder or a stiff drink. Hotch knew he'd never find anyone like her if he went on a date with every woman in the world. He didn't want to mess this up. That's why he didn't say those three words he had been thinking since last night. He loved Emily Prentiss, and he would always no matter what.

"Thank you, sorry if I ruined our date." Emily said finally.

Hotch just shook his head. "Never. Are you alright to come get Jack or do you want me to leave you alone?" He asked her.

"I'll come with you. I think seeing Jack will make me all better." Emily said with a smile.

They rose from the end of the bed together and Hotch kissed her forehead before letting her walk away. He couldn't seem to get enough of her, she was intoxicating. She just shot him one of her incredible smiles before leading him out of the apartment and down to his car.

XxxxX

An hour later, they found themselves in a little diner for a late lunch with Jack in tow. Jack had been talking non-stop since they picked him up, making sure to tell the two adults every single thing that happened at his sleepover. Emily couldn't stop smiling at him, he was so animated and excited. She glanced over at Hotch sitting across from her at their little booth. His look of pride and amusement was almost too much for Emily to take. She loved watching him with Jack, he was such a good father and Jack was the most special little boy Emily had ever known.

"And then we were gonna put random stuff in the microwave and see what happened but Ryan's mom said no so then we just played with his dog." Jack finished what had to be his thirteenth story since they'd sat down for lunch.

"Did you have fun, Jack?" Emily asked with a grin.

Jack nodded eagerly as he shoved a chicken nugget in his mouth. "I want Ryan to come over real soon. Maybe you can come too, Emily! You made real good blanket forts." Jack commented.

"What about my forts?" Hotch asked teasingly.

"Yours are good too, but not like Emily's." Jack said honestly.

Hotch just laughed. "We'll see if we can have him over soon, okay?" Hotch promised.

After a few more minutes, the three of them left the diner together.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked once she noticed they weren't headed to either her apartment or Hotch's.

"You'll see." Hotch replied.

"You're kidnapping me, aren't you?" Emily joked. "I knew you were too perfect." She laughed.

"I'm not kidnapping you…not this time." Hotch said feigning seriousness as he glanced over at Emily for a moment to raise an eyebrow at her.

She just rolled her eyes playfully. "I trust you." She settled on saying.

Ten minutes later, they ended up at the flower shop where Hotch had first run into Emily all those months ago.

"What are we doing here?" Emily asked, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Pick some flowers out and if you don't mind Jack and me coming along, I'll take you to see your mom before I take you home." Hotch offered softly as they walked inside.

Emily stopped suddenly and stared at him, wondering how on earth she'd gotten this lucky. "Aaron…" She breathed. "You don't…you don't have to do any of this." She said. She hadn't expected him to, but now that she thought about it she probably should have. He was just that great.

"I know I don't have to, silly. If you want I can drop you there and pick you up later." Hotch said, hoping he hadn't overstepped.

"No, no. I…I'd really like it if you both came with me." Emily said. Hotch smiled and subtly squeezed her hand. He hadn't told Jack about them yet, because he wanted to talk to Emily first before he said anything.

"Hey, Emily! These yellow ones are pretty!" They heard Jack call from across the stores.

"Did you guys conspire this without me?" Emily asked suspiciously as she and Hotch walked over to Jack and the yellow flowers.

"We might have had a little conversation while you were in the bathroom earlier." Hotch admitted.

"You guys are sneaky." Emily replied with a slight shake of her head. Turning her attention to Jack she said: "I think those flowers are perfect. Should we get them?"

Jack nodded eagerly and picked them up for her and carried them proudly to the register. Emily beat Hotch there and paid for them before he could, but she promised he could pay next time.

After that, they went to the cemetery. Emily hesitated a bit, but felt herself relax when Hotch grabbed her hand for support and Jack grabbed the other one. They cared about her so much, she almost couldn't believe it.

Emily had to gasp once they came upon the gravesite. The headstone was more than Emily could have imagined. Seeing Elizabeth Prentiss, beloved mother and friend followed by her birth and death dates hit Emily a little harder than she would have thought. She felt Hotch squeeze her hand a little harder, and she knew she would be okay.

"Wanna put the flowers down for me, Jack?" Emily asked. Jack nodded and set to work arranging the flowers along the stone.

"Perfect." Emily smiled at the boy, fighting back tears. She let a few fall when Jack wrapped his arms around her tightly, silently reassuring her.

"Emily?" He asked her, still holding onto her tightly.

"Hmm?" She asked, moving one hand to wipe at her eyes.

"Did I ever meet your mom?" Jack asked.

"No, honey. I don't think you did. But you know what? I know she would have loved you." Emily said honestly, running a hand over Jack's hair.

"Maybe she met my mom." Jack said innocently. Emily couldn't help but smile.

"I'm sure they're swapping stories as we speak." Emily said.

They stayed there for a few more minutes, no one speaking. They didn't need to, they just took in each other's presence.

As they walked back to the car, Jack ran a bit ahead of them and Emily took the opportunity to kiss Hotch on the cheek, a silent thank you for all he had done for her.

"You're welcome." Hotch whispered just loud enough for her to hear. They knew without saying that they had a great thing going, a great thing that would last forever if they let it.