Author's Note: Hey all, reposts continue. Again, this one was not completed the first time around, BUT (objectively) I think it's a pretty full read as far as it does go. Sixteen chapters…that's a lot!

Let's begin :)

*What You Need To Know*

Stand alone story. At some point after Hotch is divorced, Emily has become pregnant by one of her loser exes. She and Hotch are not involved to start here, but they do have a warm relationship. So come at this one basically from canon season 3/4, but you know with my spin on them.

March 2008

Single Mama, Drama

Emily suddenly froze at the top of the small staircase.

And although she needed to keep moving, her eyes instead stayed locked on Hotch's closed office door for almost a minute. A wave of tension and anxiety was washing over her.

Drowning her.

But then she realized that people were starting to look . . . Derek and Spencer included . . . and that she was basically making a spectacle of herself. She shook her head in disgust.

Just DO it you big coward!

This was the THIRD time that day that she'd made this walk from her desk to his door, and this time when she'd stood up, she had sworn to herself that she absolutely WOULD be going all the way through the door! Okay . . . her jaw twitched . . . granted, last time she'd told herself that too, but THIS time she'd really meant it, damn it! So she just could not walk back down those stairs again. She'd look like an idiot.

Well, more so than she already did.

So after another thirty seconds of mustering her courage, she took a deep breath and gave the closed door two quick raps before she lost her nerve again.

Finally . . . she slowly exhaled . . . she'd done it!

And hearing a muffled, "come in," she took another deep breath (more courage mustering) as she turned the knob and pushed open the door.

She hesitantly poked her head around the corner.

"Hey, um," she cleared her throat, "are you free for like a two minute conversation?"

The question was asked while she inched a few cautious steps through the doorway.

From there she could see that Hotch was standing up behind his desk, looking down as he pulled together different stacks of files and reports that were at different spots on his desk.

Her question caused him to pause in his movements, and then he looked over at her with what was clearly a pained expression.

"Actually, could it wait about an hour? Because I'm just running out to a meeting with the Section Chief."

And Emily's face fell.

Shit. It hadn't occurred to her that she'd get up here and he might actually be BUSY!

"Oh, uh, yeah," she quickly stammered back with a wave of her hand, "sure. Of course. An hour's fine."

It was fine, technically. Certainly nothing about her situation was going to change over the next hour. But God . . . she bit her lip . . . now she was going to have to psych herself up AGAIN! And it had taken her two full days just to get THIS far into his office!

Seeing the obvious disappointment on Emily's face, Hotch's brow pinched.

Huh, it must be pretty important. And the meeting didn't really start for another fifteen minutes.

He bit the inside of his cheek.

"Well, I suppose I have a couple minutes," he checked his watch, "but I really do have to run in five, because I have to get to the other side of the campus." Then his eyebrow inched up as he looked back over at her, "is five minutes enough time?"

"Yes!" Emily nodded enthusiastically as she hurriedly slipped the rest of the way into his office, "absolutely," she shut the door behind her, "I'll be quick."

Oh thank God! She didn't have to come back!

Of course now that she was standing there, all excited . . . and he was looking at her, all expectant . . . she had no idea how to actually start this very brief conversation. All of her prep work to date had involved psyching herself up to knock on the door. And given how poorly that initial step had been going, she hadn't planned what to do when she got to Step 2.

Actually saying words out loud to him.

But now she could see that Hotch was beginning to get confused . . . the eyebrow was sliding further up to his hairline. And why wouldn't he be confused? Generally when people ask if they can talk to you and you say, "yes," then conversation subsequently follows.

Yet STILL, she was staring at him like a deer in headlights.

GAH . . . she screamed in her head . . . JUST SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!

Hotch was starting to become very confused by what was happening, or more specifically what wasn't happening. Emily clearly hadn't wanted to put off speaking with him, but now she wasn't saying anything. And she seemed nervous. His brow furrowed.

Emily was never nervous.

Oh God . . . his eyes widened slightly . . . he hoped that guy down in media relations hadn't touched her! That asshole had a sexual harassment file as long as his arm, but for some reason Personnel still hadn't gotten rid of him. But if he HAD put an inappropriate hand on Emily, and she then had to tell him about it, that would definitely make her nervous.

It would also guarantee that Hotch was taking a fresh pair of testes as a trophy, God damn it!

And now that he'd gotten himself completely worked up over his utterly groundless speculation, he ended up blurting out.

"This isn't about John Walsh, is it?!"

Startled at the unexpected outburst, Emily blinked as she looked over at Hotch in bewilderment.

"What? No," she shook her head, "not at all. What would make you think that?"

Only one time had she met the guy. And based on that single experience, once was enough.

And now trying to blow off his previous statement before he came off looking like a total idiot, Hotch quickly shook his head.

"Uh, it's nothing, forget it." Then he took a breath to refocus and began again. "So then, Prentiss," his brow inched up slightly, "what is on your mind?"

Apparently the direct approach was the only one that was going to work here.

As Emily stared, wide eyed, over at Hotch, a stream of random thoughts went flying through her head.

. . . That you're going to think less of me

. . . That you're going to cut me from the team

. . . That people are going to be talking about me behind my back

. . . That they don't make maternity clothes in black

When the last thought popped into her mind, she finally just spit it out.

"I'm pregnant."

Hotch's jaw opened . . . and snapped shut.

Whoa!

He dropped back down in his chair.

Okay, he hadn't known what it was that he'd THOUGHT she'd wanted to talk about, but he definitely had not been expecting her to say that! God, was she even dating anyone?!

His brow furrowed as he tried to remember back over the last few months.

Oh right . . . he huffed out a breath . . . that pretty boy from the DEA.

Personally, Hotch thought that he was kind of a douchebag, but as a rule, Prentiss and JJ didn't ask him for his opinion on the men that they dated. Which was probably just as well, because he'd met a few of those men over the years, and he hadn't thought that any of them were good enough for his agents.

They'd all ranked on the sub-par scale.

And that was the point where he realized that at the moment, he was ranking pretty 'sub-par' on the scale himself. Because Emily had just told him that she was pregnant . . . she was clearly nervous as HELL about his reaction to this news . . . and he had now left her hanging for a good fifteen seconds with absolutely no response from him beyond dropping back into his chair.

Jack.

Ass.

So he quickly plastered on a genuine smile and inserted some upwards inflection to his tone.

"Well, congratulations!"

Emily nodded a polite, "thank you." But as she thought about the rest of the conversation that was to come, her faint smile fell away.

Even though she was relieved that part had gone well . . . she'd been expecting a slight bit of shock from him . . . simply sharing the news of her pregnancy wasn't the reason that it had taken her two days to get up here.

It was a much bigger mess than simply an unplanned baby.

Seeing the look on Emily's face, Hotch immediately sobered as he tipped his head.

"I'm sorry," he asked with concern, "is this not good news?"

He supposed that it was possible she wasn't happy about the pregnancy, though it did seem unlikely that she'd come in here and tell him that she was pregnant, if she wasn't planning on keeping the baby. They were work friends, not personal friends.

And work friends . . . as a rule . . . did not share information like that.

That was definitely true. But then another thought occurred to him . . . he was her boss. And if she needed time off to have the procedure, then she might actually share that kind of information.

But then why wouldn't she just take personal leave?

Realizing then that he was going off on another ridiculous line of speculation, Hotch internally rolled his eyes.

Jesus Christ Aaron, just focus in and give the woman time to answer you!

So opting to ignore the little voice in his head that was telling him it was time to leave for his meeting, Hotch instead gestured towards his visitor's chair.

"Why don't you take a seat?"

Yes, Strauss was going to be pissed, but whatever was happening here, was important.

And he wasn't going to just blow Emily off for a budget meeting.

For a moment Emily just looked at Hotch while she nervously chewed on her lower lip. Finally she took a breath and crossed over to sit down in the chair he had just gestured to.

Time to rip off the rest of the band-aid.

So she leaned forward slightly, and rubbed her hands together.

"Um," she started slow, "it's not actually bad news. It's kind of mixed news. I am happy about the baby," she patted her stomach protectively, "I'm keeping it, but the situation is, well . . ." she sighed, "let me preface the rest of this by saying that I'm very sorry to have to burden you with my personal problems, Hotch, but I wanted you to hear this from me directly and not from the rumor mill."

Then she added pointedly.

"Your opinion is very important to me."

"Prentiss," Hotch blinked in surprise, "I hope you would know by now that I hold you in the highest esteem. You've more than earned my respect over the last eighteen months, and I have witnessed your strength of character time and again, so I can assure you that no," he scowled disdainfully, "rumor, would ever do anything to change my opinion of you."

Feeling her eyes start to sting at his praise, Emily whispered back.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate that."

Still not quite understanding what the problem was, nor why would she be worried about rumors or any kind, Hotch's brow wrinkled as he leaned forward slightly.

"Is this because you're single? Because you're certainly not the first unmarried woman at the Bureau who became pregnant, and there's certainly no," he huffed, "shame in it. And I really would be surprised if anyone here was so narrow-minded as to make a derogatory comment about your marital status."

Then his expression darkened.

"But if anyone does make a comment, then you tell me and I'll take care of it."

A shadow of a smile passed over Emily's lips at Hotch's words of support . . . he had always been very protective of them.

"Thank you," she came back quietly, "but that's not the kind of rumor I was referring to."

They just stared at each other for another moment before Emily finally had to close her eyes.

"God," she muttered, "this is so embarrassing."

And then with a sigh she looked back up at him again.

"Okay," she took a breath, "for the past two months I've been dating this guy, Chris. I think you met him once or twice."

Seeing Hotch nod, Emily took a breath, making sure to keep her eyes locked directly onto his as she said the next part.

"Well, last week, I found out that Chris is actually . . . married."

The second the word left her mouth, Emily's gaze dropped to the carpet.

Though she'd thought that she wanted to see Hotch's reaction, in that moment she realized that she still wasn't ready for it. Because she couldn't bear to see the disappointment that she was sure was going to shadow his features. She was so ashamed of herself.

So how could he not be disappointed in her?

After all, she'd gotten knocked up by another woman's husband. That was SO Jerry Springer! And SO not the way that she'd ever planned to start a family! Her eyes began to sting.

Really, she had made quite the mess of things.

Hotch blinked in surprise at Emily's announcement, and then a second later a flash of white hot anger hit him.

THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE! How could he DO that to her?!

Hotch's jaw clenched . . . he was a dead man.

As she started picking at an imaginary string on her shirt, Emily continued softly, "of course I broke up with him immediately, but then I missed my . . ."

And she stopped, realizing that she'd already shared enough personal information with Hotch for one lifetime. No reason to discuss her cycle with him as well.

So she shook her head as her voice faded off.

"Uh, anyway, I found out I was pregnant four days later."

Trying to calm his raging temper, Hotch instead focused in on the body language going on in front of him. Because he had of course noticed that Emily had broken eye contact as soon as she'd told him the news about the marriage.

And she hadn't looked up since.

Oh . . . his expression softened . . . she thought that he would think badly of her. That he would think that she'd done something wrong. He shook his head.

Oh, Emily.

And now that he'd realized what the TRUE problem was, as in why she had been so nervous to speak with him, he quickly pushed his chair back and stood up. Then he circled around his desk to come around and crouch down in front of her.

She still wouldn't look at him.

He sighed.

"Prent . . . Emily, this isn't your fault. And I certainly am not upset, disappointed, or anything else that I'm guessing you think I am right now." He paused, "okay, I am angry, but certainly not at you. I'm angry with him. He's the one that deserves condemnation. You trusted someone, and he took advantage of that trust, but you didn't do anything wrong."

Emily slowly lifted her gaze to Hotch's.

"Really," she asked him warily, "you honestly don't think that I'm a terrible person?" Then her eyes became moist and she dropped them back to her lap as she whispered, "because I feel like a terrible person."

Feeling his teeth sink into his lip, Hotch stared up at her for a moment.

It would figure, she did absolutely NOTHING wrong, and feels guilty. Meanwhile, this jackass cheats on his wife, screws Emily over, leaves her with a baby to raise by herself, and HE'S probably already jumped into some other woman's bed!

Hotch's jaw twitched.

But he'd deal with him later. Emily was what was important right now.

So he reached over and picked up her hand.

"Emily," he squeezed her fingers, "you're NOT a terrible person, and you need to stop thinking like that. This is on him, not you."

Then he softened his tone as he tried to appeal to her protective instincts.

"Also, remember that stress is bad for the baby, so you need to make your peace with this, and let it go."

Really, she didn't need to concern herself with the circumstances of conception any longer, because Hotch had already decided that he was taking this guy's testicles. He'd already proven that he couldn't be trusted with them, so clearly he'd forfeited the right to have them.

And then, trying to think of something else that might alleviate her concerns, he quickly added.

"And although I do understand how this situation might be slightly," he rolled his eyes, "newsworthy, I still don't think it's going to be that bad. Really, it's nobody's business who the father is."

Emily raised her head to give Hotch a grim smile.

"His wife works here."

Seeing the splash of horror cross her boss' face, she nodded.

"Yeah, THAT'S how I found out he was married. I was down in Forensics and I saw a picture of them on her desk! Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. So I asked around, discreetly, and that's how I found out. And as much as it killed me, I did tell him about the baby because I thought that he had a right to know. But I should have just saved my breath, because he doesn't want anything to do with it, and that's totally fine with me because I don't want to be stuck with him in my life."

Then she let out a heavy sigh.

"And I wouldn't be so worried, if I just knew for sure that this was all going to stay private. But when we were going out I certainly wasn't keeping our relationship a secret. So I'm assuming that other people in the Bureau, outside of the team, might know that we dated. I just don't know if any of those people, know his wife." Then she cringed, "I don't think he'd actually tell her DIRECTLY that he got another woman pregnant, but who knows," she rolled her eyes, "this is a man who decided to have an affair with a woman who not only works in the same agency as his spouse, but also in the same BUILDING! Clearly, he's a moron."

If she had randomly picked a name out of the phonebook, she probably couldn't have picked a WORSE father for her kid! But this might be her last chance for a baby, so despite the God awful circumstances, it had only taken her about thirty seconds to decide that she was keeping it.

And she was just going to hope that The Jackass stayed completely out of the picture.

Ordinarily she'd say that a child should know his/her father, even if he was a lousy one. But in this instance she was hoping that never happened. Chris not only didn't want the baby, but he'd been furious when she'd told him she was keeping it. Apparently . . . before he started cheating on his wife . . . it had never occurred to him that there was a possibility that one day a condom could break.

Again, moron.

But anyway, he had screamed at her, and told her that he wanted her to terminate. She had responded that she wanted him to have his testicles gnawed off by wild dogs, but that they were both going to have to learn to deal with life's little disappointments.

Unbelievably, the conversation had gone further downhill from there!

It had been a horrible scene. A semi-violent one, actually. And barring one additional meeting somewhere down the road where she asked him to officially waive his parental rights, she hoped to never to speak to that asshole again.

Hotch's jaw opened and snapped shut again.

Okay, yeah she was right. If this got out, it was going to be pretty bad.

He cleared his throat.

"Well, that's . . . something I was not expecting."

"Yeah," Emily snorted humorlessly, "you and me both, Hotch." Then she paused for a second, "but I am keeping the baby, and as you said, I need to stop feeling guilty about the rest of it if I want a healthy fetus. So at this point I'm just hoping nobody else here figures out who the father is."

Though she knew, at minimum, the team would probably figure out the sperm donor, she still had no intention of disclosing the ugly details of the situation to any of them unless she absolutely had to. It was humiliating enough just having to tell Hotch. But really she'd had to tell him about the pregnancy because she was a field agent, and she was going to need to be careful not to engage in any hand to hand, for the first few, formative months of the baby's growth cycle.

So that one was a no brainer.

But then she'd decided to tell him everything because she was really most worried about what he would think of her if the whole story did get out, and he heard it third hand. Not that she didn't care what the others thought of her as well.

Of course she did.

But Hotch was her boss. Yes, they were friends too. But they were work friends, so their predominant relationship was professional, not personal. And it had taken her so long to earn his trust and respect, and to get them where they were now . . . which was a REALLY good place . . . that she hadn't wanted this colossal screw-up on her part, to mar his feelings for her.

Which was how she'd ended up sharing the whole ugly tale with him directly.

And as a side point, she also knew how much pride he took in the Unit's reputation. Everyone in the Bureau knew that he ran a solid shop. So she certainly didn't want him to get blindsided if . . . God forbid . . . this did blow up in her face.

She didn't want his reputation to take a hit as well.

"Okay, Prentiss," Hotch said with a little smile as he squeezed her hand, "whatever you need, you have my full support."

Emily felt her eyes start to burn again.

"Thank you, sir," she swallowed, "that means a lot. And um, I obviously would rather not tell anyone else about the baby for the time being. Not even the team. I'd really like to keep all of this under wraps for as long as possible."

"Of course," Hotch nodded as he let go of her hand and stood up, "whatever you want."

Then he raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"But what do you want to do about field work? If I pull you, then the team's obviously going to know that there's something going on."

There weren't any restrictions specifically saying that pregnant agents couldn't be in the field, provided they could still perform all of their regular duties. And Emily, mostly likely, would still be physically fit well into her second trimester. But on a more personal note, he would really prefer to take her out well before that time.

It would be much too distracting for him, worrying about her getting hurt.

Yeah," Emily nodded slowly, "I thought about that. Of course I don't want to risk the baby, so I'm going to discuss it with the doctor. And then provided it's okay with him, I'd like to stay in the field for the first trimester. At least as much as possible. Then I guess month four, you and I can revisit the issue." She shook her head in frustration, "I know that once I'm showing that it's going to change how the team interacts with me, and that IS going to be a distraction, and God knows I don't want that. So once I can't hide it anymore, then," she gave him a pointed nod, "whatever you think is best."

Hotch tipped his head.

"That sounds logical, but," he gave her an imploring look, "I would appreciate it if we could agree now, that even in the first trimester, if a situation arises, like a chemical spill, or a fire, something where it would be irresponsible to allow you onsite, that you would not fight me about leaving you behind." He exhaled, "I understand that it's perfectly within your rights to keep working regardless of the circumstances, but," he shook his head, "I can tell you now, that it would be a distraction for me, if you were there in a situation like that."

"I understand," Emily said as her eyes crinkled, "and you absolutely have my agreement on that point now. Because you know, I'd personally rather not have a baby that could headline its own tent at Barnum & Bailey's."

Hotch sighed.

"I know, I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page beforehand, so if a situation does arise, we won't have to discuss it."

Emily's expression softened as she stood up.

"Well, then, you can consider it discussed."

Now that she'd gotten all of this crap off of her chest, she felt a THOUSAND times better than she had when she'd walked through his door! Which was . . . she cringed as she looked down her watch . . . just over fifteen minutes ago.

Crap!

Her nose wrinkled slightly as she looked back up at Hotch.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like I have now officially made you very late for your meeting with Strauss."

"It's okay," Hotch's lip quirked up slightly, "she has a three o'clock. So the later I get there, the less time we'll have to go over my inadequacies as a leader."

Emily's raised an amused eyebrow.

"Okay, well then I retract my apology, and if you'd like I can stay a little longer and we can discuss baby names and what color to paint the nursery."

"Thank you for your offer, Prentiss," Hotch answered with a twitch of his lips, "but I don't think that will be necessary."

She shrugged.

"Your call, sir," then she started back towards the door, "and thanks again."

As Emily reached for the doorknob, Hotch's brow narrowed.

"Oh, Prentiss, wait one minute."

When she looked back with an expectant, "yeah," he walked back around his desk, and over to where she was standing.

He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Congratulations," he whispered in her ear, "really."

Emily was more than a little surprised at the unexpected display of affection from her boss . . . he wasn't usually much for personal displays on the clock . . . but she quickly recovered, as her eyes crinkled and she slid her hand around to his back.

"Thanks, Hotch."

Then he stepped back slightly and squeezed her shoulder while flashing her a dimple.

"I know I'm not generally much of a hugger, but I figure that seeing as you aren't telling anyone else right now, I did need to step up."

Emily chuckled, and Hotch gave her an amused stare for a moment before his expression softened again

"This is a really big deal, Prentiss. Being a parent is going to change your life in ways that you can't even imagine," then he smiled, "you're going to be a mom!"

Oh God . . . Emily's eyes started to sting . . . now he was being really sweet! And the stupid hormones could not take a sweet Hotch right now! So not trusting her voice, she just smiled and murmured, a "mmm, hmm," as she tried to blink away the bit of moisture in her eyes.

Seeing the tears attempting to pool, and remembering the hormonal fluctuations Haley went through in the first months with Jack, Hotch quickly patted Emily's arm.

"I'm sorry," he said gently, "I'm not trying to make you cry. But if you want to talk more later, just know, I'm always here."

Given how isolated she was going to be for these first couple of months, Hotch knew that he was going to have to step up beyond just giving her a proper congratulatory hug.

She was going to need a friend.

And as he thought about that . . . about extending himself further into her life in a way that he hadn't before . . . he suddenly felt a little spark of genuine happiness at her news. Because he dealt with so much death, it would be nice to have a new life growing around him.

Emily smiled softly.

"Thanks."

As much as she appreciated his offer . . . and she might just take him up on it . . . she actually wished that he wasn't always here. Hotch had been keeping long hours for as long as she'd known him, (they all did), but since the divorce, he had basically moved into the office.

She wouldn't be surprised if he had a sleeping bag under his desk.

Her gaze shifted back up then, and they stared at each other for a second, each realizing that their relationship had just shifted a notch. And then the moment was broken when Hotch's phone started to ring.

When he rolled his eyes, Emily chuckled.

"Do you want me to get it for you? I can say that you left ten minutes ago, and then you can just tell her you got stuck in the elevator or something."

For a second just Hotch looked back at Emily, then he nodded.

"Yeah, actually maybe that would be best," he rolled his eyes again, "she's already going to be pissed at me for being late to the meeting, and she's going to be MORE pissed if I still haven't left."

What Strauss didn't understand, was that nobody aimed to be early to a gathering where you were told that you sucked! That was usually agenda item one, then they'd cover a couple of general topics related to the actual running of the FBI, before they'd circle back around to the 'you suck at your job' point again. He scowled.

She really was a horrible woman.

But with that plan of action, Hotch quickly walked back over to his desk, and while Emily was reaching for his phone he grabbed the stack of paperwork he needed for the meeting. Then he hurried back across the room, giving her a quick wave as he opened the door and ran out.

Emily's lips twitched as she watched Hotch go. And once he was fully out the door, she finally lifted the receiver. She immediately winced and yanked it back from her ear.

Man, that woman could YELL!

And because Strauss was obviously under the impression that Hotch was the one who had answered the phone, she was now tearing into him for his unprofessionalism. First, for not showing up on time, and second, for not even having the courtesy to call to ask if he could reschedule.

Emily rolled her eyes.

God, that woman sucked. Yeah, he was actually only late because he was being nice to her, but what if he'd had a real emergency that had held him up!? Like a call on a case or something.

Not that it was ever okay to talk to somebody with this tone, but here Strauss doesn't even know the circumstances behind his delay and she was still ripping into him!

And hearing the dragon continue to roar, Emily shook her head.

How did he put up with this crap all the time? Emily herself hadn't had to deal with Strauss directly since Milwaukee. Fortunately Hotch had provided a solid buffer between the two of them since that day.

She was pretty sure that was done as a thanks from him.

And in an effort to give him a good head start to the elevator, she opted not to attempt to speak until Strauss finally paused to take a breath.

At that point Emily estimated they were a solid minute into the one sided conversation.

"Uh, actually" she cleared her throat, "ma'am, this is Agent Prentiss. Hotch left his office about ten minutes ago for a meeting," Emily's lip quirked up, "and I'm presuming from your extended greeting, that that meeting was with you."

Though Emily knew that she was pushing her luck mocking the woman, she just didn't care. Seriously, Strauss had just behaved like a complete ass!

And she had absolutely no leg to stand on.

As evidenced, there was absolute silence coming through on the other end of the line. And then after two more beats Emily heard a clipped, "oh," followed immediately after by a dial tone.

And now annoyed at Strauss' rudeness, not to mention her shitty treatment of Hotch . . . it didn't matter if he'd been here or not, she'd still been an asshole to him . . . Emily stared down at the buzzing phone for a second before she muttered.

"Yeah, you're welcome," as she put it back into the cradle.

Okay . . . she tipped her head . . . well, on the plus side, maybe now that Strauss had already huffed and puffed, Hotch wouldn't catch quite so much flack when he ran in late.

And now that the call was done, and Hotch was gone, Emily no longer had any good reason to be in his office. But still she stood behind his desk for a moment because it was weird seeing the world from this angle . . . his angle.

Her eyes dropped down, traveling over the items on his desk.

. . . stacks and stacks of case files

. . . pens from police stations around the country

. . . paper clips, he preferred the coated ones

. . . reports waiting to be reviewed

. . . sticky pads flipped back with names and phone numbers all over them

. . . official FBI coffee mug complete with official FBI coffee ring stains

Suddenly her gaze stopped roaming and she stared.

Jack.

Her eyes crinkled as she reached out to pick up the photo of her boss' young son . . . God he was a cutie! And he looked just like his daddy, right down to the dimples.

Though Hotch's set were seen far too infrequently

Emily's finger slowly traced over the glass.

In nine months she was going to have one of these. A mini-me. And thinking about that fact, she felt a wave of panic rising up . . . how in the world was she going to do this by herself? First the pregnancy, and then the actual RAISING of the child. And for the first five or six months at least, she was going to be literally all by herself.

She wouldn't have any support system at all.

Nobody else was going to know.

Wait, actually . . . she stared at the picture in her hands . . . this little boy's daddy would know. But she really couldn't depend on Hotch to . . .

Emily's initial thoughts were cut off, when she suddenly remembered the hug, and his offer to come back and talk anytime. That's when her expression softened as she gently placed the picture frame back on the desk and looked back around the office again.

Her eyes crinkled faintly.

Maybe she'd have a little help after all.

A/N 2: So there you go. And we'll be getting some 'angry on Emily's behalf, over-protective Hotch' worked in here as well. That's always fun! And scary! :)

In terms of Emily's guilt over the baby, even though she didn't do anything wrong, remember in canon, she is Catholic. And I can tell you, even if you're lapsed, the guilt is still a LIVING ENTITY. So she has that ingrained point working against her beyond just the straight up mortification that anyone would be feeling if something like this happened to them.

And the goal with this story is to have H/P together well before the baby comes.

Also, JJ does not get pregnant here. And as you can see from Hotch's mention of their boyfriends, I'm not even sure if Will is going to make an appearance.