She's Back

Wonderland

2 years ago

"No way. Dave really hit on this girl's sister right after she dumped him in the bar? And didn't realize it was her little sister?" Emily giggled as she thought about a young Rossi, undoubtedly a player in his youth (who was she kidding, he still was), flirting with his ex's little sister moments after he was dumped. She couldn't believe it, but at the same time she wasn't surprised at all. Although Dave had a heart of gold and would do anything to protect the ones he loved, he had a tendency to think he was the end-all, be-all when it came to his love life.

"Yes, it's true, I swear. I was there! His ex, Lola, came up to them, completely calm. Dave had this look of confusion until Lola slapped his face so hard the entire bar went quiet. I'll never forget what she said next - 'If you ever come near me or my sister again, you're not going to want to find out what will happen.' And then she grabbed her sister's hand and they walked out of the bar. Needless to say, Dave and I left soon after - I think that was the only time I have ever seen him embarrassed." Aaron smiled at the memory, remembering the look of pure shock on Rossi's face. Aaron looked over at Emily only to find that she was looking right back at him.

The night had been perfect. The team had gotten back earlier than expected from a brutal case in Washington. They had successfully caught a serial pedophile, but not all the missing children were able to be saved. Most of the team had gone straight home after getting off the plane, wanting to put the last few days out of their mind and relax. Aaron, as Unit Chief, stayed until he finished his paperwork, which took him a few hours. However, he was surprised to see Emily working at her desk.

"What are you still doing here?" Aaron had asked as he walked down the steps from his office. He was too far away to see what tabs were open on her laptop, but by the slightly-dejected look on Emily's face, he guessed it had something to do with their recent case. She in particular had a hard time on the case, as she was the one who cornered the criminal first before the rest of the team arrived to arrest him. They were able to arrest the criminal, but couldn't save the kid he was holding as bait.

"Just... thinking about the case," Emily had said. She shut her laptop. She needed to get out of the office, to stop thinking about what happened in Washington. About what she could have done to save that little girl.

Aaron could see how much this case was affecting her, and wanted to do something to take her mind off it, at least for the night. And so, Aaron did something rare.

"Do you want to grab some food before heading home?" he had asked. Although he was leader of the team, he was not usually the one to organize social functions, much less be the one who invited people out.

Emily was surprised, but didn't let herself show it. She was actually really grateful he had asked; otherwise, she would have just gone home and tried to sleep but think about the case instead. "Sure, let me just grab my coat."

They took a cab to the bar down the street from Emily's apartment - there was a reason why she chose to live in that apartment. The two of them sat in a booth near the back and, after ordering a couple of beers and every appetizer on the menu to share, talked about anything and everything for the next couple of hours. Emily hadn't spent a whole lot of time with Aaron outside of work, and thought he was a bit stiff while they were working, so she was surprised to find herself laughing at Aaron's stories and dry wit. For being a profiler, he was not great at reading people when it came to social situations in his personal life. She had always wondered what he was like outside of work, and was pleasantly surprised with what she found. Not that she would ever admit to anyone, but Aaron Hotchner had intrigued Emily Prentiss since the first day she walked into his office as a new transfer. There was just something about the way he acted around others - whether it was his team members, criminal suspects, families of victims - that was friendly but impersonal at the same time, that caught her eye. Maybe it was that Emily saw herself in the way Aaron acted, but she wanted to find out who he really was beneath the seemingly unbreakable exterior of his BAU Unit Chief armor.