Hotchniss

17 (The Rain)

"You're down two agents," Strauss says accepting Hotch's paperwork. "You need time off. You all need to heal and just rest." She peers at Hotch from under her glasses," and frankly, Agent Hotchner, you look like hell."

It had been one of those days where rain fell all day and then deep in the night. A spooky day. A day where the rain fell just hard enough to silence all the birds but not hard enough to be heard on the roof. Fog sweeps through the streets like men and women during rush hour and yet the air stays crisp. A strange day, a day one's hair would stand on end.

"You have soccer practice tomorrow." Hotch says sweeping his son down the hall. "We can't stay up tell the crack of dawn tonight."

By crack of dawn he really meant later than nine o'clock.

"But daaaadddddddy," Jack whines using his balled fist to wipe his eyes.

"Come on," Hotch picks his son up with only a small pain in his side and carries him the rest of the way to his bed room.

"Daddy," Jack asks gripping tightly to Hotch's green t-shirt. "Can I sleep in your bed?"

Hotch stops. Jack hadn't wanted much to do with him all week, now Jack wants him.

"Yeah, buddy. Only tonight though, okay?" Jack nods into his neck and his little fist wrap around his neck.

"Alright," Hotch lays Jack down as careful as he can and tucks the blankets around the small boy. "I'll be right back." He pushes Jack's blond bangs back and kisses his forehead.

The same sort of day that gave Aaron Hotchner time to hang out with his son forced Emily to stay around Morgan.

"It's later than I thought," Emily says a little to excited to realize how late it is.

"You leaving?" Morgan asks seating up in his chair.

"I really think I should." Morgan is no idiot. If he was then he would have never made it on Gideon's so carefully constructed team of elite profilers. Profiler. It doesn't take any skill to see how much Emily does not want to be touched by Morgan.

"Okay," Morgan says standing with a smile. "I had a good time today."

"I did to," Emily forces out and she backs up as Morgan gets closer.

Before she can go anywhere he's leaned so close she can feel his body heat. "Let me get the door for you." He winks and opens his apartment door," you really did make my day great." There he is again, far to close for Emily's liking.

He leans in and Emily back," I'm sorry, Derek. I can't."

He nods and leans away," that's okay."

She gives him a small smile and slides out the door. What she misses in her quick retreat is Morgan satisfied smirk.

It doesn't take an profiler to see where chemistry is and isn't.

Emily hurries away from Morgan's apartment. She runs straight to her car and slams the door.

Why does this have to happen? Morgan should be her guy friend. The one that protects her, the one thing he's been constant with over the last five years. Why is he doing this?

Then he tried to kiss her.

She hadn't kissed anyone since Hotch in the...

She doesn't like Morgan like this.

She runs her fingers through her hair and chokes back a sob.

So much had happened in only month. All revolving around her.

Tears fall down her cheeks as steadily as the rain drops that hit her windshield.

When she was younger, her father used to tell her that it rained because it's just the clouds way of crying. He told her that if it's raining that means that somewhere something so terrible had happened to a good person that even the Earth mourns them.

It had rained at her father's funeral.

What if getting with Hotch destroys Morgan?

What if Hotch pushes her away?

What if Hotch doesn't feel the same way as her?

Why does it always seem like once one bad thing happens everything that can go bad happens?

Murphy's law. The poor bastard.

Her tears stop falling and she finds herself scratching at the steering wheel.

Hotch.

He keeps running through her head.

She pulls out of Morgan's drive way a little fast and keeps getting it. Hotch's apartment is fairly close to Morgan's and even closer to hers.

What if he's alseep?

What if he doesn't want to see her?

No. He had kissed her.

Hadn't he?

Her body works on auto pilot and before she knows it she's parked out side of Hotch's apartment.

She knows what she has to do.

The bell man at Hotch's apartment greets her with a smile," how are you doing? Haven't seen you around here in a while."

"Yeah," she says with a nervous smile. "Haven't really had much of an excuse to come around."

He smiles again waves her on," well I suppose you know where he is."

"Yeah," she bounds up the stairs two at a time, the elevators here suck.

She finds herself frozen, arm raised to knock, and heart in her throat.

She moves and it's just like every other time she's stood here before.

"Emily?" Hotch stands before her in pajamas and a tooth brush in hand.

"Hey Hotch," seeing him so humanized she calms. "Can I come in?"