Denver, Portland, Dallas, and then to Duluth; all within three weeks. Due to the back-to-back cases, we hadn't had a moment with the team off the clock to share our engagement.
Hotch had spoken over the phone with the therapist about telling Jack, and she advised we wait until he has warmed back up to me completely. She agreed that he was young enough that he wouldn't notice what the ring meant and that he could wait to know.

Finally, we got home yesterday. We all returned to our own homes. Hotch and I switched our phones off to spend the evening with Jack, and then once he was asleep, we spent the night together in bed for the first time since the day he proposed.

I called the team one by one this morning and asked them to come to our place for a family dinner tonight. They all agreed, although it took a little more convincing for JJ who just wanted some time with her boys. I asked her to just come for dinner, and then they could go. Of course, Will and Henry were invited too.

Now, Hotch was just about finished cooking and I had set the long table nicely. Jack ran to the door excitedly when he heard the doorbell ring. I went into the entryway and smiled and nodded at Jack when he looked at me over his shoulder and asked permission to open the door.
I had almost forgotten, and slipped the engagement ring off and into my pocket just in time before he opened the door. Henry ran in quickly and after I reminded Jack to greet everyone, they ran off to play in the living room. The team hung their coats and followed me into the dining room as Hotch placed the last large serving bowl into the centre of the table.

I went and got the boys, and we all sat around the table. Dinner was quicker than I would have liked. I was nervous about how our engagement may cause another shift in the team dynamics, and I wanted to prolong telling them to avoid the difficult conversations and decisions. I knew Morgan would be mad. The others, I wasn't entirely sure.

"So…any particular reason we're here tonight, or did you just miss everyone after having one night apart?" Garcia looked at us. When we glanced at each other and then back to her, her smile had dropped. "What happened? Who is leaving? Why are you leaving?"

There had been a quick talk about that between Hotch and I today. While the inter-team dating rules could be worked around, the inter-team marriage rules were pretty solid. We couldn't be in the same team after we were married.

"Neither of us is leaving…just yet." Hotch answered.

"Yeah, smooth." I mumbled sarcastically.

"What do you mean "yet". Are you pregnant?" JJ looked at me now.

"No, thank god. What a disaster that would be." I snickered. I slipped the ring back onto my finger under the table and looked at Hotch. What we hadn't discussed – stupidly – was how we were going to announce it. I motioned for him to, and then grabbed my wine glass to take a sip. With my left hand.

Garcia squealed, causing the rest of us to cringe. Then JJ gasped and grabbed Will's arm excitedly, and the others didn't show much of a reaction. Rossi and Will smiled, Reid seemed to study the ring, and Morgan just raised his eyebrows.

"Well that solved that problem…" Hotch said.

I smiled at him apologetically, "Sorry, I didn't think."

Garcia jumped up and ran over to me to look at the ring up close, "My god, it's gorgeous. JJ." She motioned for JJ to come and look too.
While the two of them gushed over the ring, Hotch had asked everyone to avoid saying anything to Jack about it. Rossi, Will, and Reid congratulated him, and Morgan left the room. I watched him leave, but before I could follow him, Hotch did.

We all sat back down after the three guys hugged me and they asked to hear the story. I recounted it and the girls found it so sweet. The conversation was cut short when I heard the front door slam shut. I got up and went to the entryway in time to see Hotch storming up the staircase, and then our bedroom door slammed too.

I turned and opened the front door to find Morgan sitting on the steps of the front porch. I closed the door behind me and sat beside him. He glanced at me with a small, weak smile. "What?" I asked.

"Congratulations. I know you're happy with him."

"But?"

"Don't worry about it."

"No, Morgan. Tell me. I want to know why Hotch is slamming doors like a teenager."

He chuckled to himself lightly, "I don't want you to hate me. I have tried to be supportive of your relationship since the initial shock wore off. I haven't done a fantastic job, but I tried. I want you to be happy, Emily, I really do. It was just hard for me to see a ring on your finger."

"Why?"

He sighed, "I had feelings for you, those years ago when we were messing around. I thought they were long gone, but then Doyle happened and I realised they weren't, and then again I thought I had successfully moved on. But then the ring," He shook his head, "It just made me realise that those feelings may not ever be entirely gone."

Tears pricked my eyes. What was I supposed to say? "…Derek…"

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to cause issues. Even if you and Hotch were never together, we wouldn't have been either. I'm just not used to having feelings for people like this, so I just acted out a little when Hotch came out here…and I may have caused an argument between the two of you as well. I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"Well…I asked him why he thought you came running back to me when he went to Haley…"

I shook my head, "Morgan—"

"I know," He cut me off, "I know I was a rebound for you. I know you never felt like that for me, and I don't want you to. I am going to be happy for you and for Hotch.
"Congratulations again, Emily. You deserve to be happy." He smiled weakly again and stood. He went to his car.

"Morgan, why did that feel like you were trying to say goodbye?" I asked with an anxious edge to my voice. It's not like he was in love with me. He turned and looked at me. "I…I can't lose our friendship." As badly as I tried to stop it, tears dripped down my cheeks.

He smiled, "I'm not going anywhere, Princess. I'll see you Monday." He turned and got into his car.

I watched him drive away before I wiped my tears and went back inside.

The team had left not long after Morgan, and then I got Jack ready for and into bed. Then, I stood at the bedroom door for a few seconds to take some calming breaths before I opened the door as quietly as I could. He was laying on the bed, staring at the roof. "Aaron?" I asked quietly. I walked further into the room and sat on the bed, facing him with my legs crossed. "I spoke to Morgan after you came up here. He told me what happened."

"Do you?" He looked at me.

"Do I what?"

"Have feelings for him."

"No. I don't now, and I never did. I promise, Aaron. It was always platonic on my end." I bit my lip when I saw him nod in understanding. "You don't need to be insecure, Aaron. If I wanted him, I wouldn't have starting sleeping with or dating you. I wouldn't have accepted your offer to move in, I wouldn't have accepted your proposal."

"You settled for me."

"No." I said with a harsh tone. "Don't do that. He told you he had feelings for me. So what? That doesn't mean they were reciprocated. I am in love with you, and you know it's only you. Please don't let him ruin a good thing."

"Ruin what?"

"Our engagement. Our happiness. Our entire relationship."

"I'm not trying to ruin any of that. I love you and I love us. If you want an out—"

I rolled my eyes and cut him off with a deep kiss. I kissed him a few more times before I looked into his eyes, "I'm with you, I love you. Please don't ask me to end my friendship with him, though. I need you to trust me."

"I do." He pulled me back down to kiss him again. I kissed down his body slowly, nipping and swirling my tongue against his skin every so often as I made my way down to settle between his legs. He was already hard. He bucked up as soon as my lips closed around his head and I tried to keep my smile back as I worked him. "Okay, stop. Emily, I'm about to—" His words were cut off by a groan he tried to keep quiet as he came with one final squeeze of his balls.

I smiled as I sat up and moved off him, "I love how you taste." I whispered in his ear before kissing his neck just below it. I felt his body spasm and he groaned again, and I looked back down to where I was moments ago. "Did you just come again?"

He nodded, just trying to regulate his breathing again. I smiled wide and kissed his neck again. A few more moments and he flipped me onto my back swiftly, intent on returning the favour. "I don't know what that is going to do to my refractory period…so I'm going to give you double the number of orgasms." He winked as he moved down my body.

After a few days off that I spent mostly with Jack, and Hotch spent split between paperwork and Jack, we were back on rotation and then out to Chesterfield.
Things felt different throughout the case. Morgan seemed uncomfortable being paired with me, and he and Hotch always seemed to be holding back a temper around each other. It worried me so much, that on the flight home after three days in Missouri, I completed my transfer paperwork.

"What are you – transfer papers? What?" JJ whispered as she sat across from me instead of returning to her seat further down the plane. "You're not getting married tomorrow. What's the rush?"

I glanced at the guys at the other end of the plane to make sure no one was listening, and then I leant forwards to keep my voice as low as possible, "Family dinner when we announced our engagement. Morgan admitted to Hotch and then to me that he had feelings for me. He thought they were long gone, but apparently seeing the ring just set him off. He assured me that he wasn't trying to cause issues and that he really is happy for us.
"But this case, he was walking on eggshells around me, being awkward and distant, like he was uncomfortable being partnered with me all of a sudden. He and Hotch are ready to rip each other's throats out every time they're in the same room. If I leave now, it might prevent any more of this behaviour."

She was stunned, "I don't even know what to say. I knew he had a crush on you when you first came, and still while you were sleeping together, but I didn't know it went far enough to be called "feelings" and cause jealousy. I thought that crush would have disappeared after you and Hotch got together. Is Hotch nervous?"

"He's actually a rather insecure person when it comes to our relationship and my commitment to him. He loves and trusts me, sure, but he's always worried that I'll find someone else or cheat on him or something. Courtesy of Haley mostly, I think."

"Has is caused issues at home?"

I thought for a moment, "Things seemed a little off the next day, but I got him to have a real conversation with me about it and reassured him that he's it for me. I think we're okay." I nodded.

She nodded and we were silent for a few moments while I put the paperwork away into my bag. "I still think you should hold off on transferring as long as you can. We're going to miss you so much."

"It's not like I'm leaving the area…"

"Yeah, but we're not going to see you every day. I know it needs to happen, I just also know it's going to be so hard on our family." She smiled sadly.

"We'll have monthly girls' nights." I winked and smiled. I was a little sad about the reality of having to leave eventually too, but I knew that they'd still be my family. Marrying Hotch just outweighed being on the team. It wasn't like I would never see them. I was sure Rossi would host more family dinner or games nights to make sure I still got my family fix.
My biggest fear was my replacement. What if they all preferred the agent that will be brought in to fill my position. What if they didn't need to see me on a regular basis because this new person was better.
What if Morgan cut me off and placed this new agent into my spot in his life.

When we got back to the precinct, Garcia pulled me aside after greeting the team. She started telling me about this fertility test she found that could give you an estimate on how many childbearing years a woman had left based off a certain hormone in our blood.
She said she really wanted to know hers, and then told me she went ahead and booked us both in for the following day.

I didn't exactly want to know that, especially not right now, but then she pointed out my age, and the fact that I might change my mind for myself, or to appease Hotch.

So, I went with her.