After returning from Indianapolis with Morgan, JJ, and Rossi following a somewhat happy ending to the tragic case, we decided to get some paperwork out of the way before going home. It wasn't five yet.

A half-hour after we returned, I saw Hotch and Reid enter the bullpen, obviously just returned from their interview in Connecticut.
Reid looked uncomfortable beside Hotch and I wasn't the only one to notice. Once Hotch was closed in his office, Morgan asked Reid what was wrong.

I was mad at Hotch for challenging a murderer on death row – even after six weeks of being strictly professional and nothing more. I was tempted to go up to his office just to question what the hell was going through his mind to put himself and Reid at risk like that. I stayed seated, though, and returned to my paperwork when the others did.
When they all left, I went up to Rossi's office. I helped him clean up the rest of his office for a while before saying goodbye.
Hotch caught me outside of his office before I could descend from the catwalk, "Emily, can I please talk to you?" He asked me quietly, although the only other person here was Rossi and a few agents across the bullpen from the B team.

I turned and looked at him for a second before speaking, "Is it work-related?" He didn't respond at all, which meant it was personal. I spoke again, "Then no. Good night, Hotch."
I turned and went back down to the bullpen. I felt him watching me as I grabbed my things and made my way out.

I wasn't all that surprised to find Hotch at my door an hour later. I was tempted not to answer it, but I knew he would have heard my footsteps come to the door. I sighed to myself and opened it. "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Hotch, I don't—hey!" He pushed past me and into my apartment. I locked the door and followed him through. He grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and poured two glasses, sliding one across to me. I almost refused it and told him to leave, but then he looked at me. He looked sad, almost. I finally took the wine glass and sipped the white. "What do you—"

"I'm sorry," He cut me off. I looked at him questioningly and waited for him to continue, "I never should have done that to you.
"When Haley said she wanted me to come back, she spouted out all this crap about what was best for Jack, and how Jack needed two parents, and that I was the only thing standing in the way of his happiness. She manipulated me and I didn't see it…until two nights ago."

"…Are you okay?" I asked quietly. He was definitely upset.

"Haley and I got into an argument when I told her that Reid and I were going to Connecticut. She called me a terrible father, a terrible husband, and then she said – and I quote – "I don't know what Agent Prentiss wanted with you"."

I raised my eyebrows, "You told her that you were sleeping with me?" I guess it made sense, but I didn't think he would have.

He shook his head, "No, I didn't. Turns out a friend of hers saw us that night I asked you not to sleep with anyone else. She saw us leave together and told her. Haley had decided that while she didn't want me, she also didn't want anyone else to have me. That is why she asked me to come back…so I would stop seeing you."

I didn't know how to respond to him. I looked down at my wine and sighed outwardly, "So you're not okay, then."

"I broke it off with her for good when she told me all of this. She already had divorce papers drawn up, so I told her to send them to me and I would sign them.
I told Jack I loved him but that things would be going back to how they were before – weekends and the occasional evening together.
"And now I'm here, asking you to please give me a second chance that I do not deserve at all."

I looked at him for a few seconds before speaking, "There was nothing wrong with what you did, Hotch. You tried to fix your family, and I was merely a way to pass the time," I smiled, "I'll be that for you again, sure, but you really need to be sure that you're done with Haley." I did not want to be his sex buddy again, but it seemed the most I would ever get out of him. Something was better than nothing.

"I am done with Haley, and I want you to be more than a way to pass the time. I want you to let me take you out to dinner, and see a movie, and be around when I have Jack, and just…be with me."

"…What?"

"Leaving you here that night and going home to Haley felt wrong. As the time passed, I realised that I didn't want to be with her anymore. I realised that I had feelings for you."

"I slept with Morgan." I blurted out. I was shocked and confused and I wasn't sure why it happened, but it came out. I closed my eyes and shook my head as soon as I said it.
I opened my eyes again and looked at him. He placed his wine glass down and walked around the counter and towards the front door without another word. "Aaron!" I called after him, but the front door closed behind him a second later.

I let myself cry this time.

I woke late the next morning; we all had today off and I took delight in leaving the alarm off last night when I went to bed.
After showering, dressing, and drinking a mug of coffee, I heard a knock on my door. I guessed it would be JJ or Garcia, but I was wrong. I opened the door to Hotch and looked at him for a second. "…Aaron?" He walked in again without invitation. I wasn't as annoyed this time.

"You weren't seeing me at the time that you slept with Morgan, right?" He asked.

"No, you had gone back to Haley." I answered quietly.

"Right," He continued, "Will it happen again?" I just shook my head in reply. "Did the both of you agree that it was a one-time thing that wouldn't happen again?" I nodded this time. "Well, then that's okay."

"You're okay with the fact that I slept with Morgan?" I asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I'm not mad at you and I can move on. I slept with Haley during the last six weeks – I'm sure you're not okay with that, but you're not mad at me for it. We weren't together."

"We still aren't together…"

He stared at me for a second, "I profiled the hell out of you during our time together. Then I profiled you after I left. I know that you have feelings for me." He didn't sound cocky, just confused.

"That doesn't mean that I'm willing to risk my entire career – or yours – on something that may not even work." I bit my lip when I saw the way his posture seemed to drop, and then I saw his face change almost instantly. His lips attached to mine before I could comprehend what was happening. Then I realised – I had bitten my lip.

I smirked to myself as I kissed him back. He led me to the staircase and only parted to walk upstairs, pulling my hand to make me follow him to my bedroom. Once I was seated on my bed, his lips were on mine again. He wasn't as soft as usual, but I could still feel his emotion conveyed in it. I moaned quietly when he moved to my neck. He sucked at my neck in response, eliciting a louder moan to leave my throat.
I pushed him back when I realised that he was intending on marking me. "Not on my neck, people will see it." I breathed quietly.

"I want people to see it."

"The team?" I raised my eyebrows as I looked at him pointedly.

"Why not?" He tried to return the spot he was working on my neck. I pushed him back again. "Emily—"

"Stop," I cut him off. He pulled away and sat beside me, questioning why I wasn't letting him continue. "What is wrong with you?" He didn't respond, just waited for me to explain what I meant. "Aaron, you would never risk your career or mine like that. What is wrong? Is it Morgan?"
He just looked down at my hand on his, still silent. "Look at me."

"You don't want the team to know?" He tried to change the subject.

"I want them to know once we have established a stable relationship. Telling them now would be premature and irresponsible. Once we know what is going on, and we have proven that we can still be professional – then I want them to know.
"But honey, there is nothing romantic nor sexual between Morgan and I. I was upset over you, and he was there for company. We both agreed it would never happen or even be spoken of again, and that everything is strictly platonic between us."

I had never seen him look so unsure or insecure about himself. He really didn't have any right to be upset over it; we weren't seeing each other, but I knew he was just letting his guard down around me. That was a good thing and I wanted it to stay that way; Our entire relationship couldn't be maintained in a professional demeanour.
I put my hand against his jaw and turned his head slightly to press my lips gently to his. He responded immediately, intensifying the kiss quickly. I only parted from him to pull my shirt over my head, and then I removed my bra as he started to kiss along my jaw. "Now you can mark me yours." I whispered against his ear.
His mouth immediately dropped to my right breast and attached to my skin. I closed my eyes and let out an unsteady sigh, running a hand through his hair.

We still had a lot of talking to do before we started a romantic relationship, but that could wait a little while.

He laid me down and pulled back to admire his work. His lips pressed to mine again and I moaned into him. His hand slipped past my now unbuttoned pants and my panties. He groaned when he dipped a finger and felt his effect on me. I heard him curse under his breath as two fingers slid in easily. He groaned again when he put his fingers to my mouth and I licked myself off them.
He made quick work of removing my clothes and then his. He didn't waste any more time, desperate to just be with me again. His urgency turned me on more; I hadn't felt this wanted in years.

I woke to my alarm and was confused at being alone in bed. When I turned back to my nightstand to grab my phone, I saw a piece of paper on it:

I didn't want to wake you, but I needed to go home to get a fresh suit. I'll see you at work x

I smiled and lay back down. I thought about how I would approach the things we needed to discuss before we started this. A half hour past before I finally got up and went to shower.
I was a few minutes behind when I arrived at work, and the others were already seated at their desks with coffee.

I decided I could chat for a few minutes before we needed to start the abundance of paperwork. It only lasted five minutes before Hotch called me to come to his office. I followed him in and he motioned for me to close the door. "Good morning." I smiled.

"I could hear Morgan flirting with you, and I'm not sure that I'm okay with it."

"Aaron, platonic. One thing is for sure; this –" I motioned between us, "– isn't going to work if you feel like you need to step in every time a friend makes a playful comment. You need to trust me."

"I do trust you."

I cut in before he could continue, "Good, matter settled." I stood back up and winked at him as I turned and left his office. We were at work, and I didn't want to discuss these things here until at least the team knew, if at all.
I returned to my desk and Morgan made another remark. I just laughed and glanced up through Hotch's blinds. His door was open like it was before I went in there, so I know he heard that comment too, and my laugh. I tried to be reassuring when he met my eyes, but that was hard to convey without anyone else seeing something.

Hotch texted me after a couple of hours asking me to get lunch with him. I accepted his invitation. At 1pm he came to my desk to collect me. I wasn't sure how this would seem to the team at first but they didn't seem too concerned.
Once we were out of the precinct and in the car, he linked his hand with mine and rested them on my knee as he drove to a café nearby. It wasn't far, but it was a bit of a walk.
During lunch, he asked me a few simple questions. He was obviously trying to get to know me better on a personal level. I answered his questions and matched him with equally simple ones. I was grateful he didn't jump straight into my traumas and past relationships; I wasn't quite sure I was all that comfortable opening up that much yet.