I was riding out the analytics job for the rest of the pregnancy. Once my maternity leave was up, we would decide what I would do regarding work.

Hotch and Jack left early this morning for a parent-teacher meeting at school. I got ready at my own pace and sat down to have breakfast at home instead of on my way to work. Usually I rushed to be ready at the same time as Hotch so we only had to take one car to work. That way if he got called onto a case, we only had the one car to get home. Unfortunately, that meant I was usually at least an hour early for my own job.

I made myself some toast and eggs and treated myself to half a cup of coffee. I was in a good mood despite the fact that I was working a job I hated and this pregnancy seemed to be moving at the slowest pace known to man.

I went to work and needed to take two breaks throughout the day. I went up to see the team in the morning after their usual briefing, and then again in the afternoon a couple of hours before home time.

I went up to see Hotch at five and ask what he was doing. He said Jessica picked Jack up today and he needed to stay late for some paperwork he didn't get done. I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and left the precinct.

I stopped at the bar where Morgan, Garcia, and Reid said they were going to have dinner. I was just going to stay for a little while to catch up with them, but they insisted that I eat with them.

Hotch called me at nine to ask where I was; obviously he had gotten home and panicked when he saw my car wasn't there. I explained where I was and that I was on my way out.

I was only ten minutes into my drive home when I saw the bright lights, felt a sharp pain, and then there was nothing.

I woke up to the sound of the hospital. "Glad to see you awake. How do you feel?" A nurse asked me from the side of my bed. She was checking the monitors.

I swallowed before I looked around properly, "What happened?"

She smiled sympathetically, "You were in a car accident. Witness called the ambulance."

My eyes widened and my hands shot down to my bump, "My baby?"

She smiled again, although more strained this time, "Is okay. Your husband is here; I'll send him in to talk to you about it." She pressed a couple of buttons on the monitor attached to my stomach, readjusted one of the small devices on my bump, and then left the room.

I waited a few minutes for Hotch. I listened closely to her heartbeat on the monitor to reassure myself that she was alive and at least sounded normal to me. "Hey." I heard him say from the door. I looked up and smiled weakly at him. He approached and pressed a kiss to my lips, almost urgently. He took my hand and squeezed, "I was terrified."

"What happened?" I asked.

He took in a breath before looking into my eyes, "A drunk driver hit you. He died on scene. The witness that pulled you out kept pressure on the wound on your leg and your shoulder. You're going to be fine, the baby is fine," He nodded, "But…you're on bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy. You have to come in once a week to be monitored until she is born, too."

I let out a breath, "Bed rest. How close was I to losing her?"

He shook his head, "You didn't lose her and that all that matters."

"So, really close then?" I nodded. He nodded too. "I supposed the seatbelt would have strained on her pretty badly." I moved the blanket and the gown to look at my stomach. I gasped at the big ugly bruise across my bump, clearly from the seatbelt.

He squeezed my hand again and then put the gown back into place for me. "I already spoke to Jennings, told him you were on strict bedrest and would not be back to work. He said you were free to return after your maternity leave but he'll have to fill your place while you're out, understandably." I nodded to show I was listening. "I called and told the team. They all wanted to be here, but I asked them to wait until morning to come see you. I figured you'd be exhausted and in a lot of pain." I nodded again to agree with him. "I have to provide them all with updates as they come."

"You should probably go let them know that I'm awake then."

"I already texted," he pulled a chair over and sat next to the bed, his hand still holding mine, "Get some rest, sweetheart. I'm not leaving you."

I couldn't let myself fall asleep. I needed to hear her heartbeat on that monitor. I lost the first baby; there was no way I would survive losing the second.
About ten minutes after Hotch sat with me, a nurse returned to check on me. She did everything necessary, and the I stopped her before she left. "Excuse me? Is there at all a chance that she will take a turn, or is she positively one-hundred percent going to be fine?"

The nurse sighed, "In these situations, there is always a risk. Due to your history, I would say the risk is a little higher. At the moment she is steady and thriving. If everything stays that way, we can discharge you on Wednesday. From there, the weekly appointments here are going to be what ensures that you're going to carry a healthy baby to term. If something goes wrong, we should catch it in time.
"Now I understand from speaking with Agent Hotchner that you don't follow orders well. Mrs Hotchner, I need to stress to you that the bedrest is not optional. If you overexert yourself, it could jeopardise her."

I only nodded and Hotch thanked her before she left. I looked at him at my side, "I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault, sweetheart. You're going to take this bedrest seriously and she is going to be fine."

On Wednesday afternoon I was released from the hospital. Hotch wasn't able to stay with me the whole time as he continued to go to work, but he took the rest of the week off to help me settle into a new bedrest routine.

The team hadn't visited in hospital – I asked them not to – but they were coming around tonight for dinner. I expressed how silly that was to Hotch; were they all going to sit in the bedroom with me? It seemed like an uncomfortable situation. He pointed out that bedrest could be on the couch. He said we would order pizza unless I wanted something healthy and homecooked. I had been eating healthy for months; pizza was going to be fantastic.

I was laying on the couch when they arrived after all going home to shower and dress out of their work clothes. JJ had Henry and Will with her, and she told her son to be careful with me. He and Jack went to play in Jack's room anyway.

While the team talked amongst themselves, I stayed relatively quiet. I was grumpy and just wanted to go to bed. After a while, JJ moved beside me and smiled, "Feeling okay?"

"Bit of a headache thanks to the concussion. Otherwise fine."

"You seem on edge."

I sighed, "I've been home for two days and I hatebeing on bedrest. I hadn't got her room ready like I was supposed to, or gone shopping for clothes and necessities. I was waiting a little while longer, hoping the "nesting" would set in and I could get it all done with as much energy as possible. Now when the nesting comes, I'm not allowed to do anything with it. The house is a mess because I can't clean it, and Hotch tries but he's a man."

She laughed lightly at the last addition, "It looks pretty spotless to me. I'll tell you what: This weekend, Garcia and I will go and get a heap of catalogues from all the baby stores, bring them all here for you to imagine her nursery. We'll go get everything you circle, and then we'll set it all up the exact way you want it done."

I smiled, "Thank you. God, if Aaron did it, it would just be a cot with plain sheets and a change table."

"And you can buy all the clothes and other necessities online, and then I can either pick them up for you, or you can have them delivered. Garcia, are you busy this weekend?"

"Nope, only Saturday night – got a date. Why?"

JJ explained the plan and they agreed upon a pickup time on Saturday morning to get started. I glanced at Hotch and found him watching me with a relaxed smile.

Once they all left, Hotch walked behind me upstairs and into our room. I got undressed and showered quickly, and then returned right back to bed. "Aaron?" I called through the open ensuite door. He poked his head out and looked at me, "Does this mean we can't have sex?"

"I don't know. You can ask at your appointment next week. Even if we could, right now you are sore and tired, and it would be a bad idea." He turned the light out and joined me in bed. He pressed a kiss to my lips, "You looked upset tonight when JJ and Garcia were talking about the nursery."

I looked down, "I was so excited to do it all."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." He kissed my temple this time. I sighed and turned my lamp out before laying down. He did the same and cuddled me tightly, although careful of my bump. The bruise was painful to the touch, "I love you." He whispered.