Disclaimer and whatnot: Yeah I don't own any character other than Lia, but Hotch is beginning to be a little more OOC, so that's a thing. So I know It's been a second since I published, but I couldn't really figure out where I wanted to take the story. Now, I think I have a tentative plan. Hopefully I'll update on both of my stories tomorrow. We'll see. I hope you all enjoy, and these reviews are the major thing keeping this story going. I'm pretty happy with this chapter, but I think I'm going to love what I have planned for the next one. I hope you will too. Reviews make dopamine! I love you, chickens!

Emily was finally allowed to come home from the hospital two weeks after the unfortunate series of events in her hospital room. She and Lia were on speaking terms purely out of necessity, but she hadn't seen Aaron since their conversation. Neither knew what to say. She was still so angry with him for not returning after Foyet. So many times over the past seventeen years, Emily had one annoyingly frequent thought: We had a plan. Things would've been okay. Great, even. We had a plan.

Hotch had been thinking of nothing other than the years he missed out on. He talked to Jack about everything that had transpired, which led to an awkward conversation about how Jack had never expected his parents to be together, and that Hotch shouldn't have stayed with Haley just to appease him. Hotch hadn't talked to many of the team members, mainly because they were all understandably taking Emily's side in the whole ordeal. Especially with Lia in the middle, the team members decided it would probably be best to remain neutral for the time being. Secretly, however, Rossi was planning a reconciliation backup plan. He knew Emily and Hotch were destined to be together, and if they were too stubborn to talk about the issues on their own time, he'd force them to communicate. But, he'd give them more time first.

Lia was confused, to say the least. She loved her mom more than anything else on the planet. She was there for her even when it hurt her. But, her newfound relationship with her dad made Lia think about the family they could've had if her parents hadn't been so stubborn and uncommunicative. She couldn't help but harbor some brief resentment toward them both. She understood why everything happened the way it did when she thought rationally, but she occasionally let herself think irrationally. She stayed with her dad for most of the time that Emily was in the hospital, going home every few days to get more supplies and have some alone time. In the weeks she spent with Hotch, they ultimately grew closer. She was beginning to trust him more, and he was more impressed by the young woman with each passing day.

"So, your mom's being discharged today?" Hotch and Lia were sitting in the kitchen eating pancakes and drinking coffee, as they had started to do every morning recently.

"Yep!" Lia put on a forced smile and continued to sip the warm beverage.

Noticing Lia's fake smile, Hotch dropped the line of conversation. "Well, I must say, this house will be much quieter once you're gone." He smirked to convey that he was joking, but underneath the humor, Lia could tell he was upset to see her go. She could understand. She was sad to be leaving. The past few weeks with her father had been really fun for them both. They got to do the whole domestic single parent household thing.

"If anything, you're the loud one. No, but seriously. We should get lunch Saturday or something. If you're free, that is. I'm not just assuming you don't have anything else to do. We can do it whenever. Or not at all. Actually, it's probably a dumb ide—" With a smile, Hotch responded.

"Saturday sounds perfect." He noticed her nervousness that he'd say no, and it saddened him a bit. But, he thought her fluster was funny. He wanted to see how long she'd keep rambling, but he eventually took mercy on her and put her out of her misery. He was touched that she'd want to meet up with him.

With the first genuine smile she'd had all day, Lia replied. "Good. That's really good."

—-

Emily had been lying in the hospital bed for two whole weeks. She was ridiculously tired of being there by the time she could go home. The same four white walls were exhausting to look at. Lia and the team had been to visit several times, rotating in shifts to bring her necessities and keep her company, but she longed to be in her own house. She wanted to get back to her life, and she especially wanted to get back to work. The one thing she wasn't looking forward to was seeing Hotch.

"Hey, Em. How are you feeling?" J.J. had been by to visit every day, sometimes several times per day. Sometimes with Henry and Michael, sometimes without. Emily had only been in the hospital for about a week. J.J. didn't know specifically what had happened, but she could tell that Emily didn't want to talk about Hotch or Lia, so they had avoided those subjects for the week. She was always hesitant to leave her best friend's side, especially after everything that had happened. She could never imagine a world without Emily in it, and she didn't want to.

"I'm okay, Jayje. I've definitely been better. How're the boys?" J.J. could tell that Emily was trying to gloss over the pain evident in her winces when she moved too quickly, but she understood the need to talk about anything else.

"They're great! Their Aunt Pen wanted to take them out for some ice cream, so I thought I'd stop by while I have the time." In reality, J.J. had asked Penelope to take the boys for a bit so she could drop by the hospital, but Emily didn't need to know that part.

"I'm glad they're having fun." For the entire week Emily had been in the hospital, she had a faraway look in her eyes. It always seemed like she was thinking about something else, even when she was talking directly to someone. It didn't take a profiler to guess what, or who, she was thinking about.

"Yeah. Me too. Listen, Em. We have to talk about what's been going on. Did something happen with you and Lia? Or Hotch? You don't have to tell me, but if it would help to talk about it, I'll happily listen." Not only was J.J. curious about what had happened, but she also was genuinely concerned for her friend.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Emily started to break down. With tears in her eyes, she spoke softly to J.J.. "In all honesty, I don't know what to do. Things are just so… screwed up right now. Hotch is mad, and I mean I understand, but I'm mad too. I just don't want to deal with it all right now. I want to go home to my daughter. That's all." Tears were silently streaming down her face. She wiped them angrily. She felt like she had cried too much in the past few days.

Sitting down on the bed next to her friend, J.J. wrapped an arm around Emily. "Em, it'll all calm down soon. It'll all work itself out, and it'll be okay. They will both be around to talk whenever you're ready. We all understand that you just went through something traumatic, and you need to take your time to process everything that happened. Breathe, Em. Lia's fine, Hotch's fine, your relationship with every single team member is perfectly fine. You don't need to worry about anything other than healing. Physically and mentally. Okay?" J.J. felt nothing but pain for what her friend was going through. She didn't deserve this. Not that anyone did, but it was so sad to watch her unbreakable friend fall apart. J.J. and Emily sat like that until Emily fell asleep. When she woke up, J.J. was asleep in the chair next to her.

As the door opened, Emily snapped out of her reverie. "Hey, Mom. I brought you something from that little French cafe you love." Handing her mom the bag from the cafe, Lia moved to sit in the chair next to the hospital bed. "I figured you'd be beyond tired of hospital food. Plus, Hotch offered to drive me so I didn't have to go all the way out there alone." She was tentative in mentioning her father, but Emily only smiled.

"Thank you so much, that's super thoughtful, hon. Ooh, chocolate croissant! Have I told you recently that you're my favorite daughter?" Lia smiled as she realized how easy it was going to be to fall back into her rhythm with her mother. Luckily, nothing had changed in their relationship just because her dad was suddenly somewhat in the picture.

After a beat of silence, Lia sighs. "I missed you, Mom. A lot."

"I missed you too, Kid. And I'm sorry about the other night. I was overwhelmed and I didn't handle it well at all. You were just trying to bring me home, and you succeeded. It's all fine in the end." They sat there smiling at each other until Lia moved to hug Emily. She happily sank into the embrace as she teared up. Lia had grown up into a wonderfully independent young woman, and Emily couldn't be more proud.

"Sorry I brought Hotch into my life in the least ceremonious way possible." Lia had the intense look in her eyes that was entirely Aaron in Emily's mind.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. I should've been thanking you when you told me rather than criticizing your means for finding me."

"Let's just put it behind us, and eat our croissants. From what I remember, they're ridiculously good." And with that, the two were officially back to normal. Or at least the new normal.

—-

Hotch quit his job. He realized he only did it because of Haley's blackmail, and if recent events had shown him anything, it was that he had to take advantage of the time he had with the people he loved. He needed to find a way back to the BAU. He didn't know how yet, and he'd have to work things out with Emily first, but he was going to do it. It was the only place that he truly felt happy, or at least his version of happy, in his life. He had a family there, and he deserted them. He didn't need to be Unit Chief. He just wanted to be a part of the team for a few more years. Logically, he knew they'd all be retiring soon. Field work was going to be more strenuous than he remembered. But, he was determined.

Hotch had told Lia about everything that had happened in the sixteen years he was away, and she found it unbelievably interesting. She wanted to know absolutely everything about her father. She didn't share much about her mother's personal life, but she did tell him quite a bit about their life together. They had spent the entirety of the two weeks together bonding and getting to know one another. In each of their minds, they knew there was nowhere else they'd rather be.

"Hey, Lia. You two make it home okay?" He had called her around 6, knowing Emily's discharge time was around 4. He wanted to give them a little time to get settled.

"Hey! Yeah, we got back around an hour ago. Also, the team's coming over for dinner tomorrow. You should come. I'll check with Mom if that'll make you feel better, but I think they'd all really like it if you were here. I know I would, at least." As she got through the invitation, her confidence tapered off.

"Um, I don't know, Lia. I'd like it, but I don't know how everyone would feel about me being there. I'm not exactly their favorite person right now, and rightfully so."

"Oh… Okay, yeah that makes sense."

Hearing the disappointment in her voice, he sighs. "Okay. Check with your mom, and if she says it's okay and seems like she means it, I'll come."

"Okay! You won't be sorry! I'll check with her asap and get back to you. Is it okay if I call you back later?" It amazed him how childlike she sounded. She was genuinely excited that he had even partially agreed to her invitation. He hoped Emily would be okay with it so he wouldn't have to disappoint Lia. That was quickly becoming his least favorite thing to do. He hated to think that's what he did for the first 16 years of her life.

"Of course. You can call me anytime you'd like. That's a standing invitation." She could hear the smile in his voice, which brought a smile to her own face,

"Good. I'll talk to you later… Dad." And with that, Lia hung up smiling. Aaron stared at the phone in his hand with the biggest smile he remembered having on his face since before he went into protective custody. Dad. Wow.