A continued thanks to those who leave reviews - they are so wonderful.

Jumping back in with Mr. Boss Man himself for this one. It's tagged to season 5's "A Rite of Passage" which, of course, includes the always amusing "You blew out my ear drum!" conversation.

Happy reading =)

"Injuries may be forgiven, but not forgotten." – Aesop

"How are you holding up?" I ask, noting her hand pressed gingerly over her ear.

She grimaces briefly before quickly dropping her hand to her side. "Fine."

I raise an eyebrow and shoot her a look. There was absolutely no way she was fine, and she's kidding herself if she thinks the team thinks differently.

"Hotch, really, I'm fine."

"Be that as it may, I'm pulling rank and taking you to get that ear checked out."

"But Hotch-"

"This isn't a discussion."

"It's my ear," she argues.

"And the injury occurred during work hours, so technically you're required to be checked out."

Her gaze narrows and I can see her clenching her jaw in frustration. "I'll get it checked after we land."

"You'll get it checked here," I counter. I have far too much experience flying with ruptured ear drums to suggest any differently.

"Hotch, come on. I'm fine."

"Just get in the damn car, Prentiss," Morgan yells out the window of the SUV where he's been waiting a few minutes.

Her expression shifts to anger and she turns to face him. "Oh shut up, Morgan. You're the one who did this to me, so you don't get to comment."

"Morgan," I say, directing my attention to him before tempers flare up even further. "Grab JJ, Dave, and Reid and head back to the hotel to check us out. I'll take Prentiss to get checked out, and then we can figure out logistics for heading home."

"Got it, Hotch," Morgan says, jumping out of the SUV to find the rest of the team. "Text me when you know what's what."

"Will do. Now, Prentiss," I say, turning back to the fuming agent in front of me. "Let's get going."

"There's no way for me to win this argument, is there?"

"No," I say with a shake of my head.

"At least let me drive," she counters hopefully.

"Not a chance. Get in the car, I'd like to get out of here," I reply, nodding toward the swarm of officers and officials digging up the buried bodies.

"Then let's meet the team at the jet-"

"Get in the car, Prentiss," I say firmly.

"Fine," she huffs before walking over to the car and opening up the door forcefully. She gets in and promptly slams the door shut, instantly wincing and holding her ear once more. I hold back a knowing smirk and fight to stop myself from shaking my head.

Knowing that she's already grumpy thanks to being forced to get checked out at the hospital, I follow her quickly and make my way to the car. I open it up and get in quickly, taking care to shut the door as gently as possible.

"He didn't miss by much," I say, noticing the hole in the windshield directly in front of me from the unsub's bullets.

"What can I say? I was channeling Neo," she quips, but her tone is far from playful.

I frown in confusion and turn to face her. "Neo?"

Her eyebrows rise in surprise. "Really, Hotch? You haven't seen The Matrix?" Her tone is less angry now.

"I don't watch a lot of movies," I say with a shrug. "Never had much time for it."

"What do you do on your days off?" she quips, this time unable to contain her amusement.

A half-smile sneaks onto my face as I reply. "I'm quite familiar with children's television, and frankly, I'm a little shocked at the quality. Sesame Street has changed. A lot."

"I know, right?!" Emily agrees quickly. "It's not the same," she moans.

My thoughts freeze at her comment as something occurs to me. "I have Jack…but why are you watching Sesame Street, Prentiss?"

"Uhh…well…sometimes I lose the remote, and it's on, and I'm just too tired to get up to get it, so I just watch whatever's on. And that happens to be Sesame Street on occasion."

"Sure," I say, holding back a smirk and trying to keep a straight face.

"Don't judge me, this job is hell on circadian rhythms."

"Okay, Reid," I can't help but tease.

"Just drive already," she grumbles.

"What did the doctor say?"

"She said I'm fine, and gave me a prescription for some painkillers."

"And as to whether you're allowed to fly?"

"She said no problem," Prentiss replies quickly.

"I'm not above going directly to your doctor," I warn, sensing she's lying through her teeth.

Her gaze narrows for a moment before she lets out a long breath, confirming her lie to me. "You flew after New York."

"And that was ill-advised, believe me. You're risking permanent damage to your ear, and hearing loss if you fly before you're cleared."

"I'm fine, the doctor's just being overly cautious."

"Prentiss," I warn. "It's not worth it. Just drive back." She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. "Trust me, the pain is not worth the convenience of being home a few hours earlier."

"More than a few," she mutters under her breath.

"Take your time, enjoy the scenery. You're on mandatory leave for at least 2 weeks anyway."

"TWO WEEKS?!"

My eyebrows rise in surprise at her outburst.

"Hotch, come on. That's totally unnecessary. You worked while still recovering from your-"

"And I shouldn't have. Loud noises are not something easily avoided in this job, especially when you're as aversive to staying in one place as you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly that. You don't like sitting around when there's doors to kick down."

"I'm not Morgan," she protests.

"No," I agree. "You're not. You're Emily Prentiss."

"Very funny."

"You can't stand there and tell me you'd be able to stay out of the field for two weeks, maybe more."

"I could," she defends, though her voice is far from convincing. Even she knows she wouldn't be able to sit around in the local law enforcement office or station while the rest of us were hitting the pavement.

"This isn't a discussion, Prentiss. You're not cleared to fly, so you're not allowed on the jet, which means you've got to drive back. You'll be reimbursed for your car rental, gas, and a set number of nights in hotels."

"Hotch, come on. It'll take me forever to get back to DC."

"I'm sorry, Prentiss. There's no way around it."

"Let's go, Princess," Morgan drawls as he grabs Prentiss' ready-bag from beside her. "We've got a long drive back to DC from here."

"No," she says firmly, shaking her head and turning toward me. "No way. Not happening."

"Aw c'mon, Prentiss. Show me a little love. I volunteered to be your chauffeur."

"I can drive myself," she forces out, her jaw clenched as she clearly tries to contain her anger.

"Sorry, Bureau policy since you're injured," I explain.

"No it's not," she argues.

"It's a long drive, you could use the company," Rossi interjects.

"Then why don't you drive me?" she counters.

"I would, but I have an appointment with my editor I can't miss."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure," she says doubtfully.

"What? Your partner isn't good enough company?" Morgan says in mock disbelief, his smile disappearing from his face.

"Not when said partner is the reason I'm stuck driving the 3000 miles back to DC," she grumbles.

"Actually, it's more like 1869 miles, give or take, if you take the shortest route back. You could take a more southern route, which would be closer to approximately 1966 miles, which would take you through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North-"

"Regardless," she says, interrupting Reid's geographical barrage. "I don't want to be driving any of it. I'd much rather be flying back."

"Believe me when I say we'd all like that," Rossi quips, earning stifled laughter from the group.

"Let's get this show on the road, I wanna get a few miles in before it gets dark," Morgan calls out as he carries her bag toward the car.

JJ offers a sympathetic smile and gives Prentiss' shoulder a squeeze before heading onto the jet. Rossi pats her shoulder on his way past her and offers a smile of his own. Reid shrugs and smiles awkwardly before following them quickly.

Prentiss lets out a heavy sigh and turns to me. "No chance of changing your mind, is there?"

"Sorry," I apologize. "You're better for it, I promise you."

"Stuck in a car for 2000 miles with Morgan? Yeah, I'm better off," she replies, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"It won't be so bad."

"Says the man who got to drive himself back. Alone."

"He feels bad about what happened."

"He's got a funny way of showing it, since he never actually apologized."

"Give him a chance, Prentiss. Whether you like it or not, he was right to take the shot."

"Shots," she is quick to correct. "Trust me, I heard and felt every single one."

"He did what he had to do, and I think beneath that layer of stubborn pride, you know that."

"I'm not letting him off the hook that easily."

"Well you two have 2000 miles or so to work it out. And let me emphasize that when you get back to work after those two weeks are up, you two better not be holding any grudges."

"Princess! You 'bout ready to roll?"

Prentiss lets out a heavy sigh. "See you in a few days."

"A couple weeks," I counter. She glares at me for a moment before turning on her heel and striding quickly toward the car.

"Ground rules: I control the radio, you let me drive, and I pick the hotels we're staying in," she lists quickly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

…And yet Morgan retorts quickly. "I drive, we split the radio control, and we agree on any hotels."

"Fine."

"And Prentiss?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry about your ear," he says sincerely.

She regards him for a moment with a scrutinizing gaze before her posture relaxes. "Let's get going," she says gently, as close to an acceptance of his apology as he's going to get for now.

"As you wish, milady," he says with a grin and opens up her door dramatically.

She swats his hands away when he moves to help her into the car and close the door. "My so called "injury" has nothing to do with my ability to get in and out of a car," she says, shooting him a glare. He holds his hands up in innocence.

I stifle a laugh at their bickering. They'll be okay – they always are.

So...enjoy the bickering between the two partners? Feel for Hotch having to deal with a grumpy Prentiss? Amused by the chat about Sesame Street? Let me know if you have the chance.