Note: Hey guys! I've missed you! So glad to see you here, checking out my latest chapter. This idea will be more developed in the next couple chapters, so don't fret if it seems a little choppy. I'm taking it somewhere, I promise? This work should have 2-3 more chapters. I love each of you! Hope you enjoy! If you don't, let me know! I'm here for praise and constructive criticism!
"Dad! You're late! It's your night to pick the movie." Over the past few weeks, the Prentisses had been having regular movie nights so that they could spend more time with Aaron. At the moment, Aaron quickly walked in carrying a couple of bags.
"I'm sorry, I got caught up at a job interview. But, I'm here now, and I come bearing gifts in the form of thai food." He'd been on the job hunt for several weeks now, but he couldn't find anything that felt right. Luckily, he had enough money saved up to take his time in finding the right position for himself.
"Ooh, good. We're starving, and I definitely don't feel like cooking." Emily beamed up at him as she took the bags from his hands and started toward the living room. As he took off his jacket, he turned to follow her with a glint in his eye.
"Good, because I certainly don't feel like eating anything you cooked." He was only teasing, but she smacked him on the arm nonetheless. They moved to sit on the couch and he picked up the remote.
"I'll have you know that I'm an exceedingly good cook. At least, I'm better than you two." The other two people in the room looked at her incredulously. They all remembered several burned meals that ended with pizza runs. "Okay fine, I give up. But only because I'm too hungry to deal with you two right now." They all chuckle a little as they sort through the food. Aaron chooses a movie and the three sit in peace.
Around an hour after the opening credits, they hear a knock at the door. Aaron looks at the half-asleep girls next to him and smiles as he rises to go answer the door. In the back of his mind, he wondered who would be coming to see them so late, but he was too content to care.
He opens the door to greet a man almost as tall as himself, with curly brown hair and blue eyes. Before Hotch can think too much about who the man could be, he focuses on the disgusted look on his face.
"Who the hell are you?" The mysterious visitor pushes past Hotch to get through the door while calling Emily's name.
"Aaron Hotchner. And you are?" The question seemed rhetorical, but he didn't really know what to do with himself. Emily quickly stands with a shocked look on her face when she sees the man enter the room. The only reason Hotch doesn't do anything to keep the man from entering is the look of recognition on both of the girls' faces.
"Uh, hey, Kyle. Wh—What are you doing here exactly?" Emily obviously knew the man, but Hotch was growing more confused by the second. The man—Kyle, apparently— moved to hug Emily, which confused Hotch even more. He started to feel the jealousy bubble inside of him as he watched the scene continue.
"Oh, thank God you're alright. When I went a few weeks without hearing from you, I didn't really think anything, but then months went by. So, I called Penelope to make sure you were still alive, and she said you were okay, but she wouldn't tell me much. I had to make sure you were actually okay. It's so good to see you, babe." He moved to kiss her, but she pushed out of his embrace just in time.
"Oh! Uh, yeah, I've just been caught up in my job. I had a cold for a while. It's all good now. But, maybe we should talk in private." She took his hand and led him out of the foyer as she became hyperaware of the people surrounding her.
After the two left the room, Hotch noticed the expression on Lia's face. He'd been so focused on Emily and the jerk she was apparently dating that he hadn't looked away. She looked stunned, but also upset. "Lia? You okay?"
"Uh… Yeah. I'm good. Just processing." They let the silence hang in the air for a beat before continuing the conversation.
"So, uh, did you know? About him?" Hotch didn't really want to know the answer, but he needed it.
"Yeah. Yeah, I knew. But, I thought she had ended things already. After the kidnapping. You came back and she stopped mentioning him, so I just thought… I don't know."
"Yeah. Me too, kid. Me too." They sat on the couch staring blankly at the movie playing in front of them, both with too many thoughts to articulate. Thoughts of what could have been faded into the distance as they faced the gross reality of that night. The only thought that comforted Aaron was that she had to be breaking up with Kyle in the next room. She had to be telling him that things had changed and it was over. Then, Aaron could take his shot. They could all be a happy family. He could only hope that it would be so easy. Neither knew how much time had passed since Emily and Kyle left the room, but Aaron could hardly sit still. What could they be doing in there? What could be taking so long? He tried to block out the jealousy and painful thoughts and refocused on the movie. Everything would be okay. It had to be.
—
Emily entered the bullpen at a brisk pace, running late from a hectic morning with less-than-generous traffic. She dropped her bags in her office and headed straight for the break room to make herself a cup of coffee. It had been a long few days. Lia was going through her version of a rebellious teenager phase. Lia and Emily didn't fight often, but they were both stubborn women. When one pushed a boundary, it turned into a snowstorm within the house. Because they were so close, it affected both of their personal lives until one of them broke and apologized.
She was so focused on Lia and how late she was that she was not really paying attention to where she was going. A man she had never seen before suddenly bolted around the corner and directly into her, spilling her coffee onto the ground.
"What the hell?"
The man looked up at her, about to retort with something less than kind until he looked into her eyes. Although her rage was directed toward him, he could tell she was a force to be reckoned with. He knew of her, but they didn't work in the same department, so they had never met.
"I am so so sorry. Um, I don't really know what to do. I could go get you another cup of coffee? I assume you're headed to your office, and, looking at the time, you're most likely running behind. I'm sorry. I've had those days. I'll be right back." Before she could respond, the man ran off toward the breakroom. Emily rolled her eyes as Morgan walked up to her, curiously looking at the man sprinting in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Princess. Damn, even running late you still find time to scare off poor coworkers. What'd he do, ask you out? You seem annoyed." By the look on his face, Prentiss could tell he was teasing, but she was still a little confused.
"I don't reject that many people, Morgan." Her tone faltered a little. Even she knew that wasn't true. She knew that the clutz thought she was attractive. Men are incredibly transparent sometimes. He definitely hadn't been the first to think so recently. However, she refused to date anyone seriously. She didn't want to bring change to Lia's life.
"The hell you don't, Em. How many guys have you dated in the past year? Five years, even? I'd put money that the number is less than three. Okay, but how many have asked you out? Maybe if you started getting some, you'd be a little less pissed off all the time." Still, his tone and his smirk revealed he was teasing. He wasn't trying to make her feel bad for her decision to be single. The underlying message was that she really hadn't had a relationship since Hotch. They both knew it, but neither would say it. She had dated, had a couple of one-night stands, and even a couple situationships. Never anything serious.
"Derek, I date. Really! I do! I just don't want to bring anyone into my life that would take my attention away from Lia." The two started moving toward her office once they glanced at the clock and noticed just how late it was getting.
"Em. She's 16. She can handle it. She doesn't need your full-time attention anymore. You could afford to take some time for yourself. Get dressed up real nice and go out. It would be fun. Go with Pen and JJ to a bar or something. Just don't leave with them if you get what I'm saying."
"Morgan, technically, I'm your superior. You're supposed to respect me. Let's stop discussing my sex life, please." Emily smiled at him as they reached her office, letting him know she wasn't actually mad. Her phone buzzed as she went to open the door to her office. "We have a case." The conversation was officially over.
Moving to put her stuff down in her office, Emily thought about what Morgan had said. He wasn't wrong. Maybe she'd give this guy a chance. He seemed nice enough from the one interaction they had. As she was thinking this, he appeared with her replacement cup of coffee. "Here you go. I am genuinely so sorry. I can be kind of clumsy. I should've been paying more attention. Especially since you have the power to get me fired. I'm Kyle, by the way. I just started working as a technical analyst for a different BAU team. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Sorry I reacted the way I did. It's been a rough morning. Thank you, for the coffee." 'He seems nice enough. And that's really good coffee. Maybe I can give him a chance. '
"It's no problem! Uh, and I know you have the legendary Penelope Garcia on your team, but let me know if you ever need an extra set of hands on a case. I'm more than happy to help out. Our team isn't as active as yours. We're smaller and are focused more on local, low-profile cases." She can tell he just wants to spend more time with her. She isn't stupid enough to think he actually has time to offer up his services as a technical analyst.
"I'll have to keep that in mind. Actually, you could go ahead and leave your number with me. I can call you if Penelope ever needs a case off. We all do sometimes." They both know Penelope doesn't take cases off. She won't be using that number for professional use. For the first time in several years, Emily is asking a guy for his number.
"Yeah, of course. Uh, here I'll write it down." With a smile, he grabs a piece of paper and a pen from her desk.
"Okay, you can just leave it on my desk. Damn, I am so late. It was nice meeting you, but I really have to go." With one last smile in his direction, she quickly heads to the room with her team.
The case took a week. Centering around kids, it took a toll on the entire team. As they arrived back at Quantico, they all parted ways without more than a couple of words. They were all physically and mentally exhausted.
Arriving home around 12 am, Emily drops her things in her bedroom and goes to check on Lia. After she makes sure she's sleeping soundly in her bed, she makes herself some tea and sits in the living room. Her phone buzzes with a notification from Rossi making sure everyone got home safely. After responding, she sees Kyle's number on her contact list. She looks at the time, knowing it's probably too late to call, but texting couldn't hurt. After trying to craft the right thing to say, she settles on "Hi."
He responds less than two minutes later with a phone call. Smiling fondly, she answers. "Hello?"
"You see, if we were normal people with normal jobs, I'd almost be offended that you waited an entire week to call, but in all truth, I checked after two days and heard that you were on a case." She could hear the smirk in his voice.
Chuckling, she replies, "Okay, at least I messaged as soon as I could. It could have been much much worse, my friend."
"'Friend?' Okay, that answers a lot of questions I may have had."
"Okay friend for now? Is that better?" Both of them laugh before relaxing into a comfortable conversation. Almost an hour later, Emily yawns.
"I think we should go to bed and promise to talk more tomorrow. Over dinner?" He sounds so hopeful that she almost feels sorry for him.
"I think that would be nice. Let's do that."
"Okay, I'm glad. Goodnight, Emily."
"Goodnight. Kyle."
After that night, Emily remembers that they went on several dates, but made a habit of not texting or calling when one of them went on a case. It wasn't abnormal to either of them when she went a couple of weeks without calling him when she was kidnapped. She sent him a quick text saying she had a case after she got to the hospital, but she honestly didn't think to text him when she got out.
"I'm sorry I haven't called." With a sigh, she looks to the ground with a mild amount of shame.
"I'm just glad you're okay. Did I do something wrong? Are you just busy? Can you just talk to me? I thought we were in a good place. Did you meet someone e—" He starts pacing as he works himself into the same spiral he had been living through for weeks.
"No! No, Kyle. I didn't. I just didn't think we were that, um, serious. Look, I've been going through a lot of crap lately. I am truly sorry." She looked at him with intense surprise as she saw how much he cared about her. She was instantly filled with regret.
"So we're breaking up?" He seemed resigned to this ending, but also he was frustrated with the turn of events.
"We were barely dating, Kyle." Rolling her eyes, she loses some of her patience.
"Who was that guy?" He spits out the words as they fill him with anger.
"Um. That was, uh, is, my daughter's father." She knows how it sounds, especially with him answering her door late at night.
"The deadbeat? He's back? I'll kill him!" He feels as if he couldn't get any angrier, but then she keeps talking.
"No, no. He didn't know about her, remember? It's okay now. It's just a lot." She's more overwhelmed at this moment than she had been in weeks.
"But you aren't with him?" He seems disbelieving, but she continues her insistance.
"No."
"Okay, then why are we breaking up?" She loses even more of her patience as he continues to push about the reasoning. She lost all feelings for him. This interaction has done nothing but solidify that she's doing the right thing.
"A lot of things that you have no business prying about happened to me. I'm not in the same place I was when we started dating. I'm sorry for the way I treated you, but it's over." With a frown, she leaves the room, leaving behind a man questioning why he even showed up there in the first place.
Emily was frustrated to say the least. Lia had gone to bed to avoid the awkward interaction to follow, but Aaron waited patiently on the couch to make sure the unwelcome guest left. Emily flops down next to him with a sigh. Covering her eyes, she takes a moment to consider all of the events of the evening. She hears the front door open and slam shut, making her flinch. She lets out a sigh of relief that he's gone.
"So, you broke up with him, right?" His tone makes her even angrier.
"None of your concern." As defensive as ever, Emily turns cold at the question.
With a sigh, he reaches out to touch her hand in comfort. She pulls back immediately out of instinct, but her eyes fill with tears as she feels everything wash over her. Everything that happened between her kidnapping and now had been weighing on her, and this was her breaking point. She moves to get up and go to her bedroom, trying to get away before he sees her cry. He grabs her hand, which causes her to flinch and pull back, but she sits back on the couch. "Em. It's just me. You can talk to me. It's okay." She leans into him and starts crying. He puts his arm around her, slightly confused.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She begins to cry harder as she thinks about everything she went through. The apology wasn't just for the night they'd had, but also for everything else they'd been through.
"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Really. You have nothing to apologize for." He strokes her hair as he feels her body wrack with sobs.
"Yes, I do. I'm sorry." She couldn't stop thinking about everything she grew to regret. She had always thought of what could have been, but now that he is sitting on her couch comforting her with their daughter down the hall, the regret started her in the face. She was grateful for her life with her daughter, but she wishes she would've taken the risk and told Aaron about Lia. He looked into her eyes and could tell that she was talking about a lot more than her cold response to his concern.
"It's okay. Let's just get you to bed, okay?" More than anything, he wanted her to feel okay. Neither of them were very talkative individuals when it came to their feelings, so he knew she would prefer to not discuss anything.
"Not yet." She wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his embrace even further.
"Okay." With a smile, he relaxed into the position and decided that he wanted to be there for her every time she needed it from now on. He knows she would never admit to needing someone, but he didn't want her to have to deal with these things alone anymore. She was a single mom for a very long time, but she didn't have to be anymore. He wanted to think of something profound to say to her about his epiphany, but he noticed she was already asleep. He was happy to just be with her. With his last thoughts before he relaxed into sleep centering around Emily and everything he wanted to be able to do for her, he made a decision. He knew what he had to do next.