Hi guys! I'm so sorry about the wait, but I honestly haven't had very much free time lately. I'm on break for a bit now so I'm hoping to get another update in before class starts back! Thanks for your continued patience and interest!

XxxxxX

At 4am, Emily was still awake. It had been a long night. Jack had been stalling going to bed, and had ended up in Emily's room just a few short hours ago. Emily didn't have the heart to tell him he couldn't stay with her. She knew Jack was worried about Hotch, but that he was also picking up on Emily's mood. She looked down at him sleeping fitfully next to her. She couldn't help but smile and run her hand over his sandy hair.

Just as she was about to drift off herself, her phone started to vibrate on the nightstand. She sighed softly and answered it without looking, knowing exactly who it was.

"Hi," she whispered so as to not disturb Jack.

"Emily, I'm sorry." She heard Hotch say.

"I want to say that I understand, but I don't. You worried Jack and you worried me." Emily said firmly, but still keeping her voice low. She glanced to Jack again and slowly moved out of the bed and out of the room so that Jack wouldn't wake up.

"I know I did. I didn't mean to. I just...it sounds really stupid now, but I won't know if I can...if I can stand or walk for a couple of days. Where the bullet hit, they're not sure if there's any permanent damage. I guess...I guess I just didn't want you to see me like that. I thought it'd worry you more." Hotch explained. He knew he should have been honest with Emily from the start. He knew he'd screwed up. But he had been scared. Scared that he may not be able to come home for weeks, scared that he may never be the same, scared that he wouldn't be able to take care of Jack or of Emily anymore; and instead of embracing Emily's love for him he tried to push her away. He'd regretted it all night and just couldn't wait any longer to hear his voice.

"God, Aaron." Emily said softly. She wanted to keep being mad at him, but once she heard his voice she knew she couldn't be. She also knew if it had been her in his place she would have those exact same worries.

"You don't have to forgive me yet, I get it. I just…I'm so sorry." He said quietly.

Emily bit her lip and didn't say anything for a long moment. "We're coming up there." She said simply. "I'm not leaving Jack here to worry about you."

Hotch sighed softly at her stubbornness. "Okay." He said simply, though Emily could tell he was smiling even though she couldn't see him.

"We'll be there soon." Emily promised as they ended the call. Emily immediately went into the living room where her laptop sat on the coffee table and booked flights for her and Jack. She luckily found a flight for early that morning that would get them there two hours after the plane took off.

Emily felt a little better already just knowing she would be seeing Hotch in a few hours. She shut her laptop down and started packing Jack's things, leaving hers for last since the boy was still sleeping in her and Hotch's bed.

By 6am, Emily was ready to throw herself a bag together and leave for the airport. Jack was still sleeping, but she knew she needed to wake him up before they left. She slowly went back into the bedroom and sat down next to the sleeping boy. She ran her hand over his hair gently.

"Jack, wake up buddy." She said softly.

Jack's eyes opened lazily. "What is it?" He asked, his voice soft and tired. It made Emily smile.

"Wanna go see your dad?" Emily asked excitedly, her eyes widening.

Much more awake at this, Jack sat up. "Really?" He asked.

Emily nodded, unable to keep herself from smiling. "Really. We have a flight in a couple of hours. We'll be there before lunch time."

"I'll go pack!" Jack said.

"I already packed for you, but if you want to go make sure I got everything while I get my stuff together you can." Jack nodded eagerly and raced out of the room. Emily laughed to herself, happy to see Jack's spirits had lifted significantly.

Emily rushed around, packing whatever she thought she might need as fast as she could. Jack bounded in the room ten minutes later already dressed and dragging his little suitcase behind him.

"I'm ready Emily!" He said.

"Okay, give me a couple more minutes and I'll be ready too. Go make yourself some cereal or something okay?" Emily instructed, tucking a couple of shirts into her bag.

"But I'm not hungry." Jack said seriously.

"Work with me, kiddo." Emily said through a smile.

Jack sighed dramatically. "Okay." He agreed, grabbing his suitcase again and hurrying to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, Emily followed with her bag slung over her shoulder. She'd tossed on an old pair of jeans and a plain shirt and loosely tied her hair back out of her face.

"You ready?" Emily asked.

"Finally!" Jack exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and rushing to the door. Emily saw that Jack had listened to her and eaten a bowl of cereal. He'd put the bowl in the sink and rinsed it out. Part of her wanted to put it away before they left, but she couldn't bear to make Jack wait even one more second, so she let it be and followed Jack out to her car.

It wasn't a long drive to the airport, and traffic wasn't too bad so the two made pretty good time getting there and getting checked in. Jack seemed so happy, keeping conversation almost constant with Emily until they boarded their plane. She let him sit next to the window, but before they even took off she felt him lean his head on her shoulder. He was asleep before the plane even moved. Emily smiled, knowing the sleep he had gotten the night before hadn't been restful.

A few minutes later, Emily found herself drifting off to sleep as well. The two of them stayed like that until they felt the plane land.

Jack looked over at Emily, his eyes tired but still shining with excitement. "Are we there?" He asked her, a smile plastered on his face.

Emily nodded, stretching a little after having been still for so long. "It's just a little drive from the airport to the hospital. You'll see your Dad really soon." Emily promised with a kiss to the top of Jack's head.

Half an hour later, they'd made it to the hospital. JJ had texted Emily all the information before their flight. The team had gone home that morning upon Hotch's insistence that they all get back to their routines. They'd all wanted to stay, but somehow Hotch had convinced them.

Once they reached Hotch's room, Jack ran in front of Emily, abandoning his shyness and hurrying into the room. Emily was right behind him, just as eager to see Hotch as Jack was.

"Dad!" Jack exclaimed upon entering the room, jumping up on Hotch's bed and hugging him tightly.

"Be careful," Emily warned. Jack nodded and she pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed.

"Hi," Hotch greeted her with a smile. Emily loved his smile. So few people had the pleasure of seeing it, and she always felt so grateful when he smiled around her.

"Hey, yourself." Emily replied, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "How are you feeling?" She asked, absent mindedly taking his hand in hers.

"I'm good, actually. Better now that you're here." He admitted.

Emily just smiled. She ran her thumb across the back of his hand. Jack settled back next to Hotch and leaned into his side while Hotch put his free arm around Jack's shoulders. None of them said anything; there was nothing to say in that moment. All was forgiven, and everything was going to be fine now that they were all together.

As Emily sat there taking it all in, she felt her eyes start to water. She blinked the tears back quickly, hoping neither Hotch nor Jack noticed. She just felt so happy. She knew that was strange, Hotch had just been shot and she'd spent the previous night worried sick about him. There was also that lingering possibility Hotch had told her over the phone…the possibility that it could be weeks or months even before he could walk again. But none of that seemed to matter right now. She was with her family, and for now that seemed to trump everything else.

Emily tried not to think about what might have happened had things gone differently. What if the bullet hit somewhere else? What if Hotch hadn't been wearing Kevlar? What if it had hit somewhere much more fatal? What would she and Jack do without him? She didn't want to think about any of these, but she felt herself unable to stop.

"What is it?" Hotch asked, knowing that familiar crinkle of her brow and the stern look on her face.

She sighed. "Just overthinking. You know me." Emily laughed it off.

But she was right, Hotch thought. He knew her better than anyone could ever know her, except for maybe JJ. She knew him better than anyone—that much he knew for a fact. So much of their conversations were unspoken, it was like they could read each other's minds. A simple look between them or a simple grasping of the hand could say more than an hour's worth of talking could ever say.

He didn't quite know how they'd gotten to that point. He couldn't say for sure when they'd become so close. The turning point in their relationship didn't occur until after Elizabeth's death; but he liked to think that no matter what they'd still have ended up at this point. Like maybe they had been destined to be together all alone despite the universe's ill-fated attempts at driving them apart.

"I love you, you know. I'm sorry I scared you." Hotch whispered, lifting her hand up gently and pressing a soft kiss to her palm. "And I'm sorry if I worried you, Jack. I didn't mean to." Hotch turned his attention to the boy. Jack nodded, a big grin on his face. All had been forgiven for Jack as soon as Emily had told him they'd be coming to see Hotch.

"It's okay!" Jack assured him. "Emily was there, so I was okay." He shrugged.

They were quiet again until Hotch's doctor came in a few minutes later.

"Oh good," The tall, dark-haired woman said. She had a slight Spanish accent when she spoke. "I'm glad your family was able to get here so quickly." She smiled.

"Do you have good news for me?" Hotch asked hopefully.

"Well, all the scans look great. However, I don't want to risk anything just yet, so you'll need to stay here at least one more night before we try walking. Though, there's nothing indicating any permanent damage, but you'll need a lot of time to recover, maybe even some physical therapy. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's better than most alternatives." The doctor, whose nametag read Dr. Rivera, said honestly.

"No, you're right. As long as my family can visit, I think I'll be just fine." Hotch said. He couldn't believe he'd told Emily just one day earlier he didn't want her to come. What was he thinking? Her and Jack's presence would just motivate him to get better faster instead of lying there all along for a few days.

Emily felt her heart swell at the words my family. Sure, she'd just thought of them as a family a few moments ago. But she hadn't said it out loud, as if that might mess things up for them. Of course they were a family, Emily thought. She'd considered the team her family for years. But this was different. This was home to her. Not the apartment they shared, but just being with Hotch and Jack. It felt like home, and it felt amazing.

"Of course they can visit, they'll be good for you." Dr. Rivera said. "Is this the Jack and Emily I've heard so much about?" She asked, glancing over to Jack. He'd been quiet, he was always a little skeptical around strangers at first. Jack nodded at her and sent her a shy smile.

"Thanks for taking care of him." Emily told the doctor honestly. "I'm really happy he'll be coming back to us soon." She smiled.

The doctor left a few minutes later after explaining some more of the basics. Hotch was pretty much on bed rest for the next 24 hours.

The three of them spent the rest of the day together, playing board games and watching bad movies on the TV in the room. Emily left and snuck Hotch in a milkshake, though she'd made a point to ask the doctor before leaving if Hotch could have one. Hotch only thought he was getting away with something, and Emily would never tell him otherwise.

Jack managed to stay up until almost midnight before he crawled up on Hotch's bed and pretended he wasn't tired.

"You guys should go, JJ got you a hotel room before they all left. It's waiting and ready." Hotch told her.

Jack's sleepy voice cut in: "No, I wanna stay."

Emily laughed softly. "I know you do, but your Dad's right. We should go get some sleep in a real bed. I don't think we'll all fit very well on here, do you?" Emily asked, leaning over in her chair and pinching Jack's nose lightly. He giggled quietly, but still didn't make an effort to move.

"We'll come back first thing in the morning, okay? I promise." Emily said, rising from the plastic chair where she had spent most of her day and going around to the other side of the bed. She held out her hand for Jack to take and he finally sat up and took it.

"Bye, Dad. See you tomorrow." Jack said tiredly as he turned to hug his father before leaning into Emily.

Emily kissed Hotch goodnight and guided a very sleepy Jack down to their rental car. He was asleep before she'd even started the ignition. Once she got to the hotel, she decided to leave their bags in the rental and come get them in the morning. She didn't want to wake Jack and she knew she couldn't carry him and both their bags at the same time.

She picked him up easily, he was getting taller, so it was a little awkward, but he wasn't too heavy for her. She smiled when he wrapped his arms around her neck in his sleep. She could definitely get used to this, she thought.

Jack didn't stir as she checked in and got their room key, nor when she tried to swiftly balance him and open the room door at the same time. Emily carried Jack into the room and laid him on one of the beds. She pulled his shoes off and managed to tuck him under the covers without waking him. She sat down next to him and brushed the back of her hand over his cheek. She couldn't believe how much she loved this boy, and how protective she felt over him. She didn't want to ever replace Haley, but she had to admit she felt like a parent. Emily kissed Jack's forehead and finally made her way to the other bed and lay down. Despite sleeping on the flight over, she was exhausted. She fell asleep feeling happy, content, and loved.