8 weeks later:

Things between Aaron and Emily to them, seemed awkward. They limited the amount of time they had spent together. No more stake outs, or no more car rides without the team. They had hoped that it was subtle enough that the team didn't notice it and to their surprise no one did and if they did, no one said anything.

After this last case, Emily took a few days off. It was her daughter's birthday and she wanted to throw her a small but very last minute party with a few of her friends. After sending JJ and a few other's and the team an invitation, she thought about sending Hotch one. She hesitated at first but she realized that she needed to put her feelings aside, and do it for the kids. She also knew that if the team had come, it would raise eye brows if the team was invited and he wasn't. Natalia and Jack had play dates together sometimes, and they seemed to get a long very well. She took a deep breath and sent the invitation.

After getting Natalia off to school, Emily took the time to decorate the house. It was the day before her party and it was the only time Emily has without Natalia being there.

While decorating, she had heard her phone going off. She put the last pin in the banner and headed down the ladder and to her phone. She had a few confirmations but nothing from Hotch.

She had put her phone down and looked down at the photo on the counter. It was a photo of her and Natalia. She was about 2 or 3. Emily smiled and put the photo back down on the counter. She was reminded that her baby girl was turning 5 tomorrow. She couldn't believe how fast time flies. Her baby wasn't so much of a baby anymore. She was growing up and that made Emily sad. She put up the last few of the decorations and looked at the clock. Noticing that her daughter would be home in just a few hours, she went up the stairs and went into Natalia's bedroom. She was laying on her Pajamas and her outfit for the birthday party when she was hit with a wave of nausea. She stood still for a second and then ran to the nearest bathroom.

After vomiting what she had left in her stomach, she sat back and sat on the floor. She thought for a second. She stood up and felt fine. As weird as it was, she rinsed her mouth out and left the room and continued with what she was doing.

After a few hours, Emily heard the front door open and then a loud gasp.

"Mommy! Woah."

"Hi baby." Emily said as she ran down the stairs.

"is this all for me?"

"It's for your party tomorrow."

"I'm going to be 5 tomorrow Mommy!"

"I know! Are you excited?"

"Very!"

"Me too. " Emily said as she kissed the top of her daughter's head.

She nodded over to Marissa and smiled. 'Thank You' she mouthed.

Marissa nodded and headed out the door.

"Okay Talia honey, why don't we start on any homework you have and then we can bake some cupcakes for tomorrow."

"Okay!" she said excitedly.

With finished homework, Emily went into the kitchen and grabbed the ingredients for the cupcakes. She pulled the stool near her and called out for her daughter. Natalia came and washed her hands while Emily tied the small apron on her daughter's waist.

While stirring the cupcakes, Natalia wanted to add the eggs. After she cracked the first one, Emily felt a stir in her stomach. She managed to get through the first one but once the second one was cracked, the stir in her stomach came at full force. She covered her mouth and made it to the sink.

Natalia hoped off the stool and attended to her mother. "Mommy? Are you okay?"

"Yes baby." she managed to get some words come out of her mouth. "I'm okay Natalia. I think I just have a stomach bug. I'm okay I promise."

"Okay. Are we okay to finish the cupcakes?"

Emily nodded and turned on the faucet. She cupped some water with her hand and rinsed her mouth out again.

"Yes. Just give mommy a second okay? Just keep stirring."

"Okay." she said as she walked away from her and hopped back onto the stool that she was on.

Emily again lost in her thoughts, was confused. She tried piecing together when or where she could have caught something. She wasn't sick, she momentarily felt nauseous and then it was over. She knew that she had been stressed lately and figured that it was just the stress.

After putting the cupcakes in the oven, she got started on making dinner. The thought never left her mind. She felt fine now but now she didn't know how she would feel in 10 minutes.

After dinner and pulling the cupcakes out of the oven, it was bedtime for Natalia. It was bittersweet because this was the last night she was going to bed as a 4 year old and as cliche as it sounds, She hated the fact that her daughter was getting older.

With teeth brushed, and hair braided. Emily was laying down in bed with her daughter finishing up a story.

"Okay baby. tomorrow is your birthday."

"YUP! and i'm so EXCITED Mommy!"

"I can tell.' she laughed'Now what do you want for your birthday Talia?"

"Hmmm. Mommy?" She asked lowly.

"I want to ask you something but I don't want to make you sad."

"What's wrong honey?"

"Why did Daddy have to go? I see other kids with their dads at school and I want to know why they have one but I don't?"

"Aww Natalia. I wish you would have met him. He was the best person and he loved you so much. When you were inside of my belly, he would talk to you almost every night. He loved you so much and couldn't wait to meet you. I wish I could explain to you the why part but truth is, I don't even know myself. But what I can tell you is that he loved you so much baby. He wanted to be your father so bad. I have so many memories of your father, whenever you want to hear a story about him, I'll be more than happy to tell you about him"

"It doens't make you sad?"

"No Talia, not at all. You remind me of him all the time. "

"I do?"

"Mhhm. You do. "

She smiled. Emily kissed her head and leaned forward and got up off the bed.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah baby?"

"I want a little brother or sister for my birthday or a new American Girl doll."

"Natalia I love you but no baby siblings any time soon."

"So an American Girl Doll?"

"Maybe." Emily smiled and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Emily stood outside of the door and slightly laughed at the thought of another baby. She definately wanted more if she could but she wasn't in a relationship, she wasn't even close. Her job needed her sometimes more than 24 hours in a day, she wouldn't have time for a relationship.

She snapped out of her thoughts and headed for her bedroom. She was changing into her pajamas when she heard her phone go off. She went and picked up her phone and saw that there was a a message from Hotch. She opened the text and saw that there was a confirmation text that he and Jack would be attending the party tomorrow.

Emily then went back into the bathroom and finished brushing her teeth and taking off the day's makeup. As she got settled into bed, the question from Natalia clouded her mind. A baby? Although it wasn't impossible with her recent tango with Hotch, she knew that she was on the pill, so it would be a low chance if she were to get pregnant. She remembered what it felt like before she had found out that she was pregnant with Natalia and she had not felt the same way, so she figured that she just got something and not that she was pregnant.

Emily got up and out of bed. As she went into the bathroom. She opened the bottom cabinet to grab another roll of toilet paper. As she grabbed the roll, she saw the unopened box of tampons. As she gasped, she slammed the cabinet door shut. She stood straight up and looked at herself in the mirror. Throwing her hand over her mouth, the realization hit her. She was late... like really late. She was now putting the pieces together. With the random vomiting, and now being late, there was a very real possibility that she was pregnant.

As shocking news at that was, she knew that she couldn't deal with that right now. She had a birthday party to host. Her daughter was in the other room and she was her main focus right now. After coming out of the bathroom, she laid back in bed and tried getting some sleep but she couldn't fall asleep and if she did, she couldn't stay asleep. Her mind was filled of the very real possibility of a baby that was growing inside of her. She loved Natalia and she would love to someday give a sibling but not like this. Not without a partner and certainly not her boss' baby.

She jumped when Natalia came into her room and jumped onto her bed.

"Mommy wake up! It's my birthday!"

"Happy Birthday Baby." she said with a sleepy voice. She sat up and placed a kiss on her daughter's lips.

"When is Henry and Jack coming mommy?"

"In a few hours Talia. In the meantime, let's go make some breakfast."

"Can we have pancakes with chocolate chips?"

"Anything for the birthday girl."

"Yay!" Natalia yelled as she jumped off the bed and headed down the hall and down stairs.

Emily smiled and got out of bed. She grabbed her robe off the back of the door and followed in Natalia's direction.

After a few hours later, after getting her and Natalia ready, She heard the door bell ring. walking down the stairs with Natalia running past her, she looked through the peephole. She smiled when she opened the door and saw that JJ and Henry were the first to show up.

"Hey JJ, hey Henry, Natalia ran into the living room if you want to go and find her."

"Cool!" Henry stated as he ran off and found Natalia.

"Hey Em." Emily closed the door behind JJ.

"Hey, How are things.?" she set her purse down and followed Emily into the kitchen

"Good. I can't believe I have a 5 year old now."

"They grow up so fast don't they. It feels like yesterday that Henry was born."

"Tell me about it."

An Hour into the party, Emily looked around and smiled. She caught a glimpse of her daughter and smiled. She looked happy. She was surrounded by the people that loved her the most and some of her good friends from school. Although she noticed that there was someone that was missing or two people that were missing. Her thoughts began to diminish when she heard the doorbell ring. She walked over to the door and saw Aaron and Jack through the peephole. She opened the door and made eye contact with him.

"Hey Hotch, Hey Jack. The kids are in the living room."

"Cool thanks!" Jack ran off and Emily and Aaron just gave each other a look.

"I can go if you wanted me to.."

"No, please come in. The rest of the team is here and I think that Jack would love you to be here."

"Thanks Em."

"Mmmhmm." She shut the door behind him. Emily was startled when she turned around Derek was standing right behind her.

"Hey Princess. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Hey Derek. It's okay I didn't see you there. Where's Garcia?"

"She's setting out her dish that she baked. You should have some."

"I shall. Got any plans tonight Derek?"

"Garcia and I are going to go out for dinner after but that's about it."

"Oh that sounds fun! Anywhere in particular?"

"Some place Pen suggested. I honestly don't remember what she told me."

"From PG, I'm sure it will be good. Hey uhh now that I have you here, theres something that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah I just... I think we need to take a break on the workouts."

"What are you quitting on me already Prentiss?"

"No quitting per-say, It's just a break for a little while. I need to take of a some things and I don't want to leave you high and dry."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have a lot on my plate right now."

"Okay, well I'm here if you need me."

"Thanks Derek, truly appreciate it." She gave him a hug and a smile.

When she walked away, she headed over to the kitchen. Looking around, there was so many people in her apartment. Mostly the team but there were other parents and kids. Over the coarse of a couple of hours, she made small talk with most of the parents, some of the team, but there was someone in particular that she has not spoken to and she was not sure if she wanted too or even if she was ready too. With the very real possibilty that she was carrying part of him, she didn't want to speak to him until she knew. Who knew that a little white stick had so much control over her life at this very moment. She was snapped at of her thoughts when she saw Garcia in the kitchen.

"Hey PG. What do you have there?"

"I made a casserole with...' As she was listening to her friend, she got a whiff of the smell of her casserole. Her stomach yet again turned and she was about to vomit if she didn't take a step back. Not waning to be rude, she tried to will the nausea away, but that didn't work. Her face turning a shade of green, Garcia finally made eye contact with her, and stopped what she was saying.' Em? Are you okay?"

As Emily nodded, her hand went over her mouth and her other hand over her stomach. She ran to the bathroom. Garcia following her to the bathroom, was concerned. Although Emily was able to shut the door and lock it right before Garcia could enter the room with her. JJ noticing the commotion, she followed them into the same direction and met with Garcia outside the door.

"Are you okay Em?" Garcia asked

"What's going on?" JJ asked.

"Emily and I were just talking and when I looked back up at her, she had turned a shade of green. Next thing i know, she threw her hand over her mouth and ran into the bathroom."

"Em are you okay?" JJ asked as she knocked.

Not speaking a word, she sat on the floor near the toilet. Waiting for her stomach to settle before she stood up, she knew that she was pregnant. There was no doubt about it. The thought about it made her want to cry, not sure if it was happy or sad tears. She knew that she couldn't though. She had people depending on her. Her daughter depended on her. This was her daughter's birthday, it needed to be about her and nothing else. Standing up, she rinsed her mouth out straightened out her clothing before heading out the door.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked when the door finally opened.

"Yeah. I don't think breakfast sat well in my stomach. But i'm fine now, I feel better really. We've got cake and presents to open. I'll be fine, besides today is not about me. " And with that, Emily walked away leaving JJ and Garcia behind. They both looked at each other and gave a look. They were both suspicious.

After another hour had passed, cake and presents open, her apartment started to clear. Looking for her daughter, Emily found her passed out on the couch. Smiling, she picked up her daughter and headed up the stairs.

Laying her daughter down into her bed, she kissed her on the forehead and softly spoke while she left the room. "Goodnight baby. Happy Birthday love bug. I love you so much."

As she shut the door behind her, she walked down the stairs and ran into JJ.

"JJ? I thought you had left with Will and Henry." she walked into the living room, picking up the remenence from the party. JJ followed her.

"No, I decided to stay. I was a little worried about you."

"What.. Why?"

"Emily..."

"JJ I promise you there is nothing to be worried about. I'm fine."

"Emily. I can tell that there is something that is bothering you.

Emily took a deep breath and stopped what she was doing and turned to look at JJ.

"Umm Okay. JJ. Please. What i am about to tell you, you cannot tell a living soul. Okay?"

"You're starting to scare me."

"I think... I think that i'm pregnant. "

"What?!"

"I think that I'm.."

"No I heard you... but how?"

"Do I really have to explain that to you?"

"Emily now is not the time to be funny. What do you mean you think that your pregnant? Are you late?"

"Like a little over a month. I didn't even realize."

"Well when did you last have sex?"

"2 Months ago."

"Oh my god. You threw up earlier."

"Yeah and I have been for the last couple of days."

"Have you tested?"

"No I haven't had time with Natalia being here."

"Okay. Let me go to the store for you and.."

"No JJ. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Well you didn't ask. I offered. I'll be back." JJ grabbed her purse and headed out the door. Emily took another deep breath and continued picking up some of the toys that were on the floor. Going onto the kitchen, she started clearing the dishes that were in the sink.

After closing the dishwasher and pressing start, she saw JJ walk back in.

"Are you ready?" JJ asked holding up a bag

"No but I don't really have a choice."

"I'll be here with you Em. "

"Thanks JJ."

Emily walked into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Her hands were shaking. She was nervous. It was not everyday that you learned that you may or may not be pregnant with your old flames/ boss' baby. JJ stood outside the door, confused. Wondering how this could have happened. She had no idea that she was even seeing someone. JJ had so many questions to ask her. They've been on cases back to back. When did she even have time to go out.

"Emily... when. .. how.. we've been on cases like crazy. When did this happen or when did you have time too... Why didn't you tell me that you were seeing someone."

"JJ slow down. Im not seeing anyone. I just... that night that I got really drunk and I went home with someone. I really don't remember what happened that night but when I woke up hungover, naked, and alone. I figured that I had come home with someone. He was gone by the time that I woke up that morning."

"Wait I thought Hotch was supposed to take you home that night."

"He was supposed too, but he didn't. " she lied

"Oh my god. Emily."

The room was silent. You could hear a pen drop if she had one. JJ heard the toilet flush and took a step back when she hears the sink turn off and the door handle jiggle. When Emily finally came out of the bathroom, she looked at JJ.

"How long do you have to wait?"

"3 minutes. "

"Emily, what are you going to do if this is positive? "

"if this is positive, I obviously have to deal with this, I mean I partially am to blame here. I knew that I always wanted to give Natalia siblings, but now that it's here, the thought of it makes me excited but it also makes me kind of want to puke. I love Natalia with every bone in my body but I never thought that I would have another chance. I raised Natalia on my own and she turned out perfect but I just don't want to raise another one alone."

"You're not alone Em. You have me and the rest of the team. We're a family now and you and Natalia will never be alone. I know that this is going to change not only your life but Natalia's in a big way, but you will never be alone. You are an amazing mother, I mean look at Natalia, That kid is polite, smart, funny, and so many more things. Thats because of you. You did an amazing job with her and I think that if this is positive, you will be the best mother you can be. "

"Thanks JJ. You have no idea how much you talking me through this means. "

"No problem, Em. Thats what Family does. "

When the three minutes were up, Emily walked back into the bathroom and flipped the test over. She gasped and looked over at JJ.

"Is it positive?" JJ asked standing up and walking towards her.

"Positive. "

JJ gave Emily a hug. Emily started to cry into JJ's arms.

JJ was about to say something when she heard both of their phones go off.

"Please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means. " Emily said while drying her tears.

JJ picked up her phone and signed when she read the text. "They have another case in Alaska and they need us. You can tell Hotch that you want to sit this one out if you want."

"No. It's after midnight now, I have to be there. I also need to try and keep things normal for now until I can figure out what I need to do. "

"Are you sure Em?"

"Yeah. "

JJ helped Emily try and get things tidy, so that Marissa didn't have to do much while she was here. JJ watched as Emily gathered her go bag together. Knowing that they had to leave soon, and her anxiety at an all time high, Emily was moving quickly and not saying much.

"I'm going to call Marissa to come over. I should have just told her to stay here." Getting on the phone, Emily started pacing. JJ just sat on the couch and watched her go back and forth. When she got off the phone, she continued to pace. The room was quiet again, but the sound of Emily pacing back and forth was heard.

"Emily please stop pacing. "

"Sorry JJ, I can't help it. It helps me think. I just have a lot on my plate right now. "

"Well we can talk about it if you'd like. We can start with who the father is."

"I don't know who the father is." she lied again.

"I had no idea that you were that drunk. I wouldn't have let you go home if that was the case"

"I almost wish you had, I wouldn't be in this situation right now."

"Aren't you on the pill?"

"Yeah but I was on antibiotics at the time. The antibiotics cancelled out the birth control ."

"Oh my god.."

"Yeah Learned that one the hard way."

Her pacing started to pick up again. JJ somewhat annoyed with her pacing, just watched her. It would eventually stop. She just had to let Emily deal with things the way that she knows best. The pacing finally stopped when she heard a knock at the door. Both JJ and Emily picked up their bags and keys and headed for the door.

"Thanks Marissa. I'm sorry for calling you so late."

"Emily we have this conversation every time. Stop thanking me. I don't mind it at all and this is what you pay me for." Marissa said with a smile.

"I appreciate you so much!"

"Bye Em. Bye JJ."

"Bye Marissa." They said in Unison.

The drive was silent, the music from the radio was the only sound that broke the silence. JJ knew that this is a lot to take in. JJ would take care of her whether Emily knew it or not. She would make sure that she wouldn't over do it and that she would be safe in the field.

When both JJ and Emily got onto the jet, something about them seemed different. The team kind of picked up on something but no one said anything. Aaron on the other hand, gave a look over to Emily. She made eye contact with him and then she immediately looked down. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that she looked different or perhaps she just looked sad.

Emily remained quiet on the flight. Rossi noticed and took a seat right in front of her. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a figure in her peripheral.

"Hey Kiddo, everything okay?"

"Hey Rossi. Yeah everything is okay. I just hate that I left her, on her birthday of all days."

"She knows Em. You celebrated her birthday with her and that's all that matters."

"Yeah but.."

"But what?"

"Nothing. I just have a lot on my mind. "

"Okay well i'm here if you want to talk about it."

"Thanks Rossi."

"Anytime Kiddo. Anytime. Hey I'm sorry I couldnt make it to her party. I had somewhere to be."

"Don't worry about it Rossi. She had fun, she was passed out on the floor when everyone started to leave. I picked her up and eventually moved her to her room."

"I'm glad she had fun."

"Me too."

She smiled at him and thought about what next year would look like. How different things would be. She would have a six year old and a new born. She took a deep breath and signed. She eventually took a small nap and was jolted awake when the plane started to land. It was afternoon when they landed, although after a 11 hour flight, they wanted to hit the ground running. Sleep could wait.

"Good Afternoon, you must be Agent Hotchner."

"Yes, I am. This is my team, Agents Rossi, Reid, Morgan, Jareau , and Prentiss. We have our technical analyst on call back in Quantico."

"It's nice to meet you all. Believe me, we're all glad that you are here. We want to catch this unsub before it's too late."

"Agreed." JJ said

"Alight. These here are the latest victims. We just got the identity of the last one this morning. Their family members should be flying out here tomorrow. But for now, i have a board with all of the information on it. Please let me know if there is anything I could do for you."

"Thank you so much Sheriff. "

"No problem."

The team started to get a little antsy with no leads and a bunch of dead ends. They were running off of very few hours of sleep. The team gathered in the precinct and sheriff rejoined the team.

"I know we haven't gotten anywhere today but we are very grateful for you guys coming out all this way. It truly appreciated. "

"No problem."

"You guys should go to your hotel and get some rest, I know you guys have to be tired. We hit the ground running in the morning. "

"Agreed, come on guys. Let's get some rest and then we could start with fresh eyes tomorrow. " Hotch said as they all walked out of the small room

"I know you guys were probably expecting individual rooms but this is all we have on a short notice and there's not many rooms left, so if you don't mind, some of y'all might have to share." The sheriff said.

"We don't mind, we've had to bunk before." Morgan said with a smile on his face.

"Rossi and I will share, Reid and Morgan, and Prentiss and JJ can share as well "

"Sounds good to me." Emily said as she walked towards the SUV

When they arrived at the hotel, they checked in and headed towards their rooms. JJ and Emily were the first ones to enter there walked into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and changed into her pajamas.

When Emily came out of the bathroom, her phone had rung. Assuming it was Natalia, she didn't bother to look at the caller ID before answering. JJ heard that end of that call when she walked out of the bathroom.

"Goodnight baby. I love you too. I'll see you soon, I promise. "

It was almost like clock work, JJ's phone had ring shortly after. Emily sat on the bed in her own thoughts when she hadn't realized that JJ had gotten off the phone.

"What are you thinking about?" JJ asked noticing Emily jumped back into reality.

Emily looked over at JJ and smiled

"Natalia and this new baby." she said as she placed a hand over her belly.

"Good thoughts?"

"Yeah and how I have to make an appointment as soon as I get home. How things would be different this time around next year. How things are going to be different in general."

"I get it, baby's bring change. I was there once."

"Yeah but Henry wasn't your second kid."

"True but Em. This will work out. I promise."

"I know. "

"We should get some rest. We have a long few days ahead of us."

"I JJ. "

"Good night Emily."

And with that, Emily closed her eyes and fell asleep.

That is until she heard her alarm go off. She groaned and got out of bed.

Ready or not, she had to start her day.