I'm sorry for the wait with this! I usually write a few chapters at a time but life... Also, I've been looking at other ways to write and honestly, this chapter feels super lazy - I've cut it in half and I don't know... there are kinks that need to be worked out. There will continue to be lots of references to music and sports (which are my loves).

Present Day is set as Season 2, Episode 17 - 'Distress'.

Flashback is followed from the previous chapter...


-Flashback-

Hotch stood outside the bedroom door contemplating whether or not go in. If he entered the one on the right, he'd risk sleeping by himself for the first time in weeks and then waking by himself. If he entered the one on the left, he'd wake up in the arms of Emily. His Emily… He glanced down at his watch and stared hard at the blurred numbers. He'd gotten home at a reasonable hour, Emily came to see him about an hour later, spent little time with him and he'd managed to have a shower. He also had finished the bottle of tequila on his desk, so he'd guess it was late but not very late.

He couldn't make out any light through the cracks in her door so she must be asleep. He knew he didn't want to sleep alone so he raised his hand and turned the doorknob on to the left of him.

Her door creaked slightly as he crossed the threshold. He took two shaky steps and closed the door a little more firmly than intended. He sipped the liquid in his glass and squinted towards the bed where Emily was asleep. His foot scuffed against the rug, and he stumbled further into the room.

"Shit!" He whispered towards the carpet.

"Sssssshhhhhh".

Emily awoke at the disturbence in her room and quickly turned on the light on her nightstand where she saw a very loose Aaron Hotchner at the end of her bed.

"Aaron?" She whispered hoarsely.

He whipped his head towards the bed and reached out to balance himself.

"Miss Prentiss" he smirked and sipped his glass again.

"What are you doing in here? It's late". She asked. She noted his scruffy look; he had changed into black slacks and a plain white button-down shirt that was half tucked with a handful of buttons done up. He had rolled his sleeves, and his hair was tousled, as if he had raked his finger through it a hundred times.

"Dunno, I wanted to see you. Talk." He replied with a slur to his words. As Emily sat up to face him, Hotch bent over and tugged his trousers as if to loosen them to sit. She opened her mouth in a warning, but it was too late, Hotch leant his weight backwards and sat down onto nothing.

The tumble-like sound made her wince, not only would he hurt himself, but noise carried in her house. She clicked her tongue and tip toed out of bed over to the the agent on her floor.

"I didn't spill it" she heard him croak out holding his glass.

"Are you drunk?" She hissed at him.

Emily frowned as he groaned and rolled over to raise up on to his knees and then staggered onto his feet where his body lolled from side-to-side. She was next to him in a flash with an arm around his waist to steady him.

"There you are… hello… and I spose so?" He shrugged his shoulders and grinned at her.

"And where have you come from? The tequila factory?" She huffed and flapped her hand in front of her nose.

Hotch chuckled lowly and slipped his arm around her shoulder.

Emily put her free hand on his stomach and pressed into him to guide him backwards towards her bed. After a few shaky steps, he sat on the edge and let out a big sigh. He tipped back the remaining liquid of his glass and handed the empty tumbler to his girlfriend.

A light rasp on the door had Emily frozen. 'Shit shit shit!'

"Is everything ok in there, princess?" She heard her fathers hushed voice against the door.

"Aaron!" She whispered and shook his knee.

"Mmm?"

"I need you to stay here and be quiet, please. For me..." she said worriedly.

She padded the few steps over to her door and opened it enough that her father could see her but shielded her room with her body.

"I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to wake you". She bit her lip.

"It's alright. What happened? It's gone 2, darling" he croaked.

"I know. I got up to go to the bathroom and tipped on the rug. I've had enough of that damn thing!" She said exasperatedly and ran at hand through her hair.

"Alright, well, as long as you're not hurt… Sweet dreams, princess" he smiled at his daughter and walked off down the dimly lit hallway.

Emily blew a relieved breath and locked her bedroom door. 'That was too close' she cautioned herself internally. She turned to look at the man who was now propped up on his elbows smiling at her. 'That damn smile!'. Why did he have to be so goddamn handsome and cute and utterly irresistible. He was kinda adorable when he was drunk, but she had gone to bed pissed and hurt and no amount of cute, hammered boyfriend was going to change that.

"What?" She asked him.

"Miss Prentiss… you are gorgeous!" He shook his head to exaggerate the word.

Emily rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Enough with this 'Miss Prentiss' bullshit!"

He sniggered and waved one hand "Mrs Hotchner then..."

Emily's eyes bugged out of her head. "You're serious?"

"Eh, one day." he shrugged "Come here" he held out his arms wide like a child asking for a toy.

She moved quietly and stood between his legs. His long arms immediately wrapped around her thighs, just below her ass. He nuzzled her stomach and blew a raspberry through the thin material.

Emily caved and giggled at the sensation and his playfulness. She held onto one arm that was around her and her other hand combed through his hair. Her fingers balled into a fist, and she gripped the strands in order to tip his head back so he could look at her through heavy eyelids. If he wasn't dead drunk, she would have planted one hell of a kiss on his mouth, but the smell of second-hand booze was enough to make her inside lurch, let alone the taste. She leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead instead.

Aaron's arms opened but he planted his large hands on the firm globes of her ass.

"I like this" he breathed out.

"Yeah, I got that… Okay Mister agent man let's get you to bed" she wasn't going to continue a drunk conversation.

"This is a bed, no?" his arms dropped from her and pressed his hands onto the soft duvet and bounced up and down.

"Hotch, this is crazy! Stop it!" she gripped his shoulders to steady him.

"I swear to god, if you get sick, I'll be beyond angry!" she hissed at him.

"You're already pretty mad at me" he said sadly.

"We'll talk about this later, Hotch. But for now, do you feel like you're going to get sick?" she leant down to his eye level and squeezed his shoulders.

He shook his head and suddenly fell backwards onto the sheets. He started to chuckle to himself, and Emily rubbed her temple in frustration.

"Aaron!" she whispered angrily.

"Mm? Sleep". he replied.

"You need to get undressed". She stated tiredly.

"Make me" she could see his Adams apple bob and she knew he was smiling to himself.

Emily was at the end of her tether and understood he was too far gone to function or listen. She gave up and kneeled between his legs that were resting in a wide 'v' and leant forward to unbuckle his belt.

"Ahh now you're talking, baby" he shifted his hips upwards. Emily bit her lip; had he not drunk this much they would have probably engaged in some more amazing sex. For 20 years old, Emily had engaged in some activity with guys but nothing crazy like some of the girls she met at college. From Hotch's remark earlier, she knew that she was one in a list but not knowing his body count was just fine by her. What she did know about him is that he was incredible, and together they were extraordinary.

"I don't think so, big guy, you can't sleep with your belt on" she grumbled as she tugged the leather through the loops in his pants. "How is it that you don't miss a belt loop but can't tuck in or button your shirt when you're in this state?" she questioned him as she threw the belt onto the floor.

"Whose sleepin" he muttered.

"We are."

"Oh right, kay" he yawned.

"Aaron, I need you to sit up, please" she shifted back to stand up once more between his legs. She watched his face and saw his lips curl. She rolled eyes knowing what was coming and Hotch threw a heavy arm across his face as he started to laugh again.

"Make me" was all he could muster through the boyish giggles.

Finally, she pulled his free arm and lifted him to sit up. His head lolled and he grinned. She was so annoyed at him; through her affection, she couldn't help but ask.

"Why'd you do this, Aaron? What made you think this was a good idea, huh?" She said quietly and stroked his cheek.

He exhaled and sucked through his teeth in response. Emily raised her eyebrows at him as she started to unbutton the whole four buttons he'd managed to fasten in his state.

"Miss Prentiss… I love you" he blew out.

Emily froze. She heard him, crystal clear but wasn't sure how to process his words. He had upset her and was hammered, was this even genuine? What a time to say the 'L' word! She was mad and confused by his sudden admission – she began to wonder how on earth she would broach this with him. She had succeeded in untucking the hem of his shirt and let out a heavy sigh choosing to pretend she hadn't heard him.

Hotch fell backwards onto the duvet again as his shirt was now open and had given him some semblance of freedom. She looked down at his stretched-out frame and couldn't help but admire him. He was so fit, like a machine made for sex even though he was good for so many other things, the sex was the cherry on top of the cake. His body was lean and hard, and muscles rippled under her touch. Now, with his arms raised over his head, his flat, toned tummy moved as he let out another yawn. Emily couldn't help but glide her fingers through the little trail of hair below his belly button. She leaned forward and unzipped the fly of his pants so she could then pull down the elastic on his boxers and press a kiss to the happy trail. Hotch bucked his hips at the sensation before a hefty sigh escaped his lips and rolled onto his stomach. He was now dead to the world.

Aaron had passed out awkwardly on her bed and there was no point in waking him up to move him. Emily tugged at the blanket on the foot of her bed and decided to sleep in the armchair of her room. She set down the blanket and her pillow before making her way back over to her side of the bed where Hotch was splayed like a starfish. She fiddled with her alarm clock and set it to a more reasonable hour for his benefit. Emily reached over and stroked his hair before leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek and turn out the light on her nightstand.

A few minutes later, she curled up onto the chair and watched over her boyfriend passed out on her bed. This was a complete nightmare, and she knew, she'd need to come up with some kind of cover story for the morning. For now, her love slept peacefully and that was all that mattered.

-Present Day-

It had been a few weeks since Reid had been kidnapped by Tobias Henkel, and since then, Morgan had faced his own demons. The team was running on fumes and just as they were about to have some personal time, a new case came through regarding murders in Houston.

"Sir, is Reid alright?" Emily tapped on the door of his office.

Hotch rolled his eyes before he looked up from his files and packed the last of his things for their journey to Houston. Emily had continued to call him 'sir' and he was starting to lose his patience.

"Uh, he's coping, I suppose… he's quiet but I think it'll take some time for him to work through all that has happened. We saw the tape, Prentiss." he mumbled. The younger agent had been more reclusive since he had been kidnapped. Hotch knew the team were keeping their eyes on the agent, as was Gideon, but knowing when to talk with him about what was going on was a whole different ball game.

Emily nodded and made to leave when Hotch spoke. "'You don't trust women as much as men'?"

Emily curled her lips around over her teeth looked at him intently, she had been waiting for him to bring this up.

"Sir?" she asked.

"You think that?" he glared at her.

"Well, you did ask an open-ended question, in which we all answered, and I don't see anyone else in here so what do you really want to know?" Emily crossed her arms.

"I want to know if you really believe that?" his hands clenched at his sides.

"I know it. I spoke from experience."

"You don't know anything!" he said frustrated.

"I know your mother didn't protect you and apart of you resents her for it. You love your mom, but you will always blame her for not protecting you from your father. And when Agent Greenaway left, I guess it opened a wound you thought was healed."

"Enough". Hotch's eyes narrowed. He braced his hands on his desk and leaned forward.

"Prentiss, you have no right to bring that up. If you do so again, you will be suspended for insubordination. Am I clear?" He threatened.

"With all due respect, you're the one who brought this up and interfered with my workday when we're due to leave for a case. I'll see you on the jet, sir". She spat in his direction.

Emily turned and left his office shaking mad. She had barely taken the last step off the small staircase when she heard the door slam behind her. Without making eye contact with any of her colleagues, she picked up her ready bag from her desk and headed towards the door of bullpen.

Hotch's blood boiled as Emily left swiftly. He strode over to his door and whipped it closed. Hard. The noise reverberated through his office and rattled windows. Hotch walked back to his desk where he picked up his coffee mug and threw it against the far wall. The ceramics burst against the surface, and he leant his forehead against the cool window that looked out to Quantico.

Emily had hit the nail on the head. He hadn't talked with his mom about his parents' marriage and the way it had ended. He acted out when he was a young boy and ultimately his grandparents sent him to boarding school when he was 12. He came back home when he was about to go into high school and he straightened himself out, became a model young man and now was unit chief of the BAU in the FBI.

Hotch closed his eyes and counted backwards from 10. He knew that he caused a mini scene and he needed to calm down before he entered the bullpen. Since the bar before Reid had been kidnapped, he thought they'd started to get along better… well, he outwardly tolerated her but still kept her at a distance and still didn't pair himself up with her, and he still didn't trust her. But at least he addressed her more? 'Nothing's changed' he thought.

It had changed though. Whilst he hadn't said the words, he was utterly in love with his brunette agent. He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands at his internal admission. He'd been crazy about Emily since he was 26 and even though he had gotten married and started a new life as a husband and now a father, he couldn't deny it any longer.

The guilt ripped at him for being in love with someone who wasn't wife. His marriage was a sham; set up for convenience by her parents. He and Haley dated briefly in high school, but she ended things with him when she started college. It had been hard to travel and manage his schedule already let alone her moving further away. After his relationship with Haley ended, he'd dated a small list of girls but nothing serious and no one was girlfriend material.

He had been unbelievably lucky to meet someone like Emily and furthermore to fall head over heels in love with her. Their time had been limited and it broke his heart to find almost nothing of her the morning after their last night together. She had left a photo of them together, forgotten her underwear and left a book in which he had borrowed. The same book graced a place on his shelf in his study at home – he never opened it again.

The time for talking with her would need to wait but he swore to himself he would speak with her and hash everything out. Hotch turned and picked up his go bag and left his office. He caught the eyes of his agents as he jogged down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" he suggested.

Morgan and Reid scrambled to gather their things and followed their leader.

-Flashback-

Aaron Hotchner could feel the sunlight hitting his face as he rolled over on the soft sheets with a hoarse grunt. He realised that he wasn't in his own bed and shot up right. His head pounded and he immediately sunk back into the pillows and squeezed his eyes shut. What the hell had he done last night and who had run over his head?

He blinked rapidly to adjust to the bright light flooding the room. He was in Emily's bedroom, which wasn't uncommon these days, but he had woken alone which wasn't normal. Hotch looked down and it there was no sign of her presence in bed as he was on top of the comforter, fully clothed. His dress pants were open at the fly and so was his shirt. He eyed a folded blanket and pillow on top of the armchair in the corner of the room.

Aaron groaned as he turned towards the clock on her nightstand and saw a folded piece of paper resting against a glass of juice. 'Drink me' written on the front and next to the glass was another piece of paper with 'eat me' scribbled on it. Under the note was two aspirins. He smiled to himself and took the tablets and sipped the juice. The cool liquid was certainly soothing against the fire of this hangover he was sporting.

Another large note was addressed to him by her clock, and he squinted to read the impeccably neat writing:

'Aaron,

I'm around today but I think I need some space. I can imagine you have a headache and whilst you won't be feeling well, I am not ready to have a conversation with you after last night. Please do not look for me, I will come to you once I'm ready.

There is some juice and aspirin on the nightstand, please take them. You fell over last night plus your injuries from training yesterday, so take it easy today. I've told my parents that you were unwell last night and that I heard you when I got up to use the bathroom; this should buy you some time to wash up.

There will be coffee and breakfast waiting for you, eat something.

Like I said, we'll talk a little later but have a good day.

E.'

Hotch folded the note as memories started to come back from the night before. 'Fucking fuck!' he hissed to himself and got up from her bed.

/

Just over an hour later, Hotch moved slowly through the house noting the time of morning and that technically he was over 3 hours late for work. He entered his office and found the English Prentiss sat on the chair opposite his desk.

"Mr Prentiss, good morning" Hotch said with as much authority as possible.

"Good morning, Agent, how are you feeling? Emily said you weren't well." He stood a shook the younger man's hand.

"I'm sorry about that, I must have eaten something last night that didn't agree with me. I got injured in training yesterday so forgive me if I'm slow today" he smiled at the senior deciding to leave out the injury gained from the tumble that Emily mentioned in her note.

"I understand your profession, son. I'm just glad to hear you're up and about!" said Anthony.

"So, how can I help you, sir?" Hotch moved around his desk to sit in his chair. He looked around the room briefly and noticed it was much tidier in here and no empty bottle. He closed his eyes for a second, 'Emily'… he needed to find her and talk to her. Her note, and her care, tore through him.

Anthony cleared his throat "Agent Barnes…". Hotch's eyes widened and he checked himself. He couldn't risk his emotions being on display considering he was talking to his girlfriend's father, and the elder knew nothing of the relationship with his daughter.

"What about him, sir? Apparently, no one can find him." Hotch remained stoic.

"Ohhh, I've found him, Agent… he'll be arriving at the premises in a couple of hours to officially hand in his resignation and then he'll be arrested for assault." Mr Prentiss stated.

"Why, sir? If he had been off duty all this time and you found him then why is he coming here?" Hotch frowned in confusion.

"Technically he wasn't AWOL. He taken all his holiday days and whilst I don't know where he has been, I certainly know where he will be." Prentiss smiled a smile that made the hair on Hotch's neck stand.

"I know Emily told you about my career, Agent. We have no secrets, my girl and me. We talk about it with those whom we trust, and she certainly has high regard for you…" Anthony spoke with a fond tone. Hotch just nodded along as if he was simply listening, but his insides did summersaults listening to the praise.

Prentiss senior stood from his chair and Hotch stood with him before speaking up.

"Sir, I suppose, anything further is strictly need to know?" Hotch asked.

"If you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them here… otherwise, yes, need to know" Anthony held out his hand for the younger man to shake. Hotch took his hand and walked him to the door of his office where Anthony turned and spoke lowly.

"Emily will come around, son. She's in the garden reading right now but give her some time." Mr Prentiss pat Aaron's shoulder.

"Oh, son?" Anthony spoke once more.

Hotch raised his eyebrows in acknowledgment.

"White roses…" he smiled and winked at the younger man before he ambled towards his study.

Hotch tried to process what the elder had said about Barnes let alone Emily. Did he know about them? How did he know about them? They had been so careful. He expected Mr Prentiss to threaten him but he was nice and understanding, and seemed to approve? A nasty cocktail of emotions swirled in his stomach. All he wanted to do was see his girl; hold her and tell her he was sorry. He hoped he was otherwise busy when that lowlife appeared because if there was one person he didn't trust, it was himself.


I really appreciate those who continue to read and review. Stay with me, your questions will be answered :)