Family is Everything

Date Night

The next morning, Juliet woke up feeling ten times better than she did the day before. However, she still didn't feel like herself completely. She woke up a little dizzy, but when she closed her eyes it went away. Emily walked into the living and saw that Juliet seemed to be sleeping. Then, she went and started breakfast. Juliet opened her eyes when she heard Emily in the kitchen.
"Mom?" she called. Prentiss stopped what she was doing and walked over to her kid with a glass of half juice and half water. She brought a thermometer too.
"Good morning, Juliet. How are you feeling?" Emily wondered.
"A lot better, actually. I think it was Hotch's soup that did the trick," Juliet said with a smile. Emily smiled back and kissed her on the forehead.
"Okay. Lets see what your temperature is," Prentiss said as Juliet opened her mouth. When she took it out, it read 99.5.
"That's still a little above average, but it's better than yesterday," Emily said.
Juliet sighed and smiled.
"Do I have to go to school today?" she wanted to know.
"No, you're still sick," Prentiss said.
"What about the next day?"
"We'll see," Emily told her. Juliet nodded, then Prentiss said.
"Let's eat."
The girl got up and followed her mother into the kitchen. They sat down together and had a bowl of cereal. The rest of the day went by smoothly, and Emily and Juliet just laid on the couch all day watching movies.
At around two, Emily got a text from Hotch. He asked her if she would want to go out that night and do something special. Prentiss very hesitant because she didn't want to leave her kid.
"What is it?" Juliet asked.
"Oh nothing."
"Mom," Juliet pushed.
"Hotch wanted me to do something with him tonight."
"What?"
"He wanted to take me out for dinner. Don't worry, I'm going to tell him that you're still not feeling good," Emily reassured her.
"No, you should go. I'll be fine for one night. Reid can come over and catch me up on my school work," Juliet offered.
"Are you sure?" Prentiss asked.
"Yes, I want you to have a night out."
Emily smiled and kissed her kid on the head.
"I love you Juliet," Prentiss told her as she texted Hotch back.
"I love you too," Juliet replied.
Aaron was happy Emily agreed to go out with him that night, so he made plans for Jack to go stay with Jessica.
That night, Emily talked to Reid and he agreed to watch Juliet that night.
At around five, Juliet sat up straight and said,
"You need to get ready for your date."
Emily chuckled and said,
"It's not a date."
"Then what would you call it?"
"Two grown ups enjoying each other's company."
"Sure," Juliet said with a look.
"Don't look at me like that, Jules."
Emily started to blush.
"Seriously though, you should shower and get ready, mom." Emily sighed and got up.
"Okay, but can you tidy up the living room a little for me?"
Juliet nodded as Emily walked away.
Prentiss showered and put on a cute dress.
"Looking good, mom," Juliet said as Prentiss walked back in the room. She had her hair and make up done already too.
"Thank you, sweetie," Emily said as she was putting in her earnings.
Juliet coughed a little and Emily walked over to see how she was.
"Are you okay? Should I reschedule tonight?" Emily asked quickly.
"What? No! Wait, do you not want to go?" Juliet wondered.
"I didn't say that," Emily said.
"But-"
"Jules, I'm just a little nervous that's all," Emily cut her off.
"Don't be, have fun," Juliet said to her.
"I'll try," Emily laughed. There was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Juliet said and got off the couch. "Spencer!" Emily heard Juliet yelled. She looked over to see Juliet letting Reid in.
"Hey, Emily," Reid said as he walked in. Prentiss smiled and waved. It was now six and Hotch said he would be picking her up at six fifteen.
"So how late should I expect to stay?" Reid asked.
"Not too late, we should be back by nine," Emily said. Reid nodded and said,
"Works for me."
Then, there was another knock on the door.
"It's him," Juliet said.
Emily got up and straighten her hair quickly before walking over to the door.
Hotch was standing there all dressed up for their date.
"You look great," he told her. She blushed and gave him a shy smile.
"Hey Hotch," Juliet called from the living room. Emily backed up from the door, and Aaron looked over at the kid.
"Hi, Juliet," he said back with a smile.
Juliet got up and walked over to the door. Emily bent down so she was on Juliet's level, and said,
"I want you in bed by the time I get home, got it?"
Juliet nodded and Prentiss kissed her on the forehead.
"I love you."
"Love you too, Mom," Juliet replied. Aaron nodded and took Emily by the hand out to the car. Juliet turned back around to Spencer and they started on Juliet's school work.

"So, where are we going?" Emily asked as she got into the car.
"Not telling you," he replied with a smirk.
"That's not fair. You know I hate surprises, Aaron," Emily argued.
"Exactly," Hotch said.
She just rolled her eyes and looked out the window. As they drove, Hotch reached over and grabbed her hand. Emily looked over and smiled at him.
"Where do you see this going?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Us.," she said and picked up their hands for show.
He was silent for a second then said,
"All I know is that I care about you, and like spending time with you. Why?"
"I just don't want something bad to happen between us and we change, you know?"
"Well, then I guess we can't let that happen," Hotch said. Emily smiled at him and looked back out the window.
"I'm just taking precautions. I mean, what are the risks of us being together? We do work with each other."
"Em, where is this coming from?"
"I don't know. Just forget I said anything," she said.
The rest of the car ride was silent and then Hotch pulled up to the restaurant. It was a nice little Italian place and neither had been there before.
"Rossi told me about it. And if he said it had good food, then this place must be special."

Emily chucked and got out of the car. They walked in and already had a table set for them. The couple was seated next to a window with a good view of the city. Hotch ordered them a bottle of wine and they talked. After a while they got some food, and continued to talk. Once they were done eating, Hotch paid for the bill and they finished off their drink. As they walked out, Emily turned to him and said,
"Thank you for tonight. I really needed a night out. Don't get me wrong, I love Juliet, but sometimes, I feel like I need a little grown up time."
Aaron laughed and said,
"I completely understand."
Emily started to walked toward the car, but Hotch grabbed her hand.
"Let's take a little walk."
Emily looked over at him and smiled. Hand in hand, the couple took a little stroll for a bout a half hour, then headed back to the car. They talked a little, but most of the walk was silent. Emily enjoyed being with Aaron and he felt the same way. However, deep down, she was a bit scared to trust him. After all, they did work together, and she just didn't want things to end badly. Her last serious relationship was with a serial killer that tried to kill her in the end. She shook the thought of Ian Doyle and kept her mind on Aaron. As they walked back to the car, all good thoughts about Hotch raced through her mind.
Once they reached the car, they had to let go of each other. However, when Hotch started driving back, Emily reached for his hand. Aaron shot her a look and smiled. The drive back was quiet. Once they got back, Hotch offered to walk Emily up. She agreed to it and got out.
Inside the apartment, Juliet heard the car door shut. She rushed over to the window and saw Hotch and her mom getting out of the car and buzzing into the building. Reid was in the kitchen reading and Juliet was at the window.
"You should be in bed," Spencer said to Juliet. Juliet shushed Reid and walked over to the door. She placed her ear up against it and could hear her mother and Hotch talking.
"I had fun tonight. Thank you," Emily said sincerely.
"Well, I had an amazing night, with an amazing woman," Hotch said putting a lock of hair behind Emily's ear. She blushed and looked up into his eyes. The space between them got smaller, and soon his lips were on hers. After they pulled away, Emily leaned back in again and kissed him. Juliet knew what they were doing and waited for them to finish.
"I hate to cut this short, but I have my eleven year old daughter waiting for me inside," Emily whispered. Aaron nodded then pulled her in for one last hug. Juliet could hear Emily starting to unlock the door, so she ran to her room after whispering,
"Don't tell Emily," to Reid. He gave her a thumbs up and continued to read.
After Emily unlocked the door, she turned and gave Hotch a sweet smile before closing it on him. He smiled to himself and walked away.
"How was your night?" Reid asked, taking Emily by surprise. She forgot he was there.
"It was great."
"Well, Juliet's in bed, and I caught her up on everything. I should get going though, it's getting late," Reid said. Emily nodded and thanked him. He left and headed home, as Emily walked into her daughters room. Juliet was "sleeping" when Emily walked in. Prentiss took a seat on her bed and began stroking her hair. Juliet rolled over and looked up at her mom.
"How was your night?" the girl asked.
"It was wonderful. Thanks for talking me into going."
"I'm happy you're happy," Juliet told her. Emily kissed her on the head and said goodnight.
"I love you, Jules."
"Love you too, mom."