what lovers do - Hotchniss

the savior

It became a steady thing, almost like a routine. The two of them, grabbing dinner or lunch whenever time, work and cases permitted it. Neither of them tried to think too much about it, to worry about growing feelings.

And now it was one week left until the wedding and Emily started to grow even more anxious, and it was not because of her role as fake-girlfriend and bridesmaid that day, it was because the closer the wedding got, the closer the ending of all this also approached. She would never admit it, probably not even to herself, that she felt comfortable and safe in this bubble of lies.

Hotch was gone until tomorrow, having to deal with some stuff in Washington. He had left immediately after they had touched ground after their previous case a few hours ago. Emily had expected this to be her chance to finally breathe a little easier, to get all this tension out of her system - but the exact opposite was the case. She missed him, and she didn't even try to tell herself otherwise.

"What's on your mind, princess?", Morgan asked as he leaned back in his chair and looked over to the brunette, who was also seated at her desk.

"Nothing", she sighed. "I'm just tired."

"You could always finish that report tomorrow", the other agent shrugged. "Hotch won't be able to read them until tomorrow night anyways."

"I know, I just like my work done before I get home", Emily smirked. "And Hotch might be absent, but JJ is still going to kick your ass if you don't finish it today."

"Nah, she won't", Morgan grinned and got up, pulling her jacket over his shoulders. "I'm headed out. You good?"

"Yup, see you tomorrow", she nodded. "When I get to watch you finish that writing."

They both chuckled and Emily watched how her friend left the bullpen, heading home. She was tired as well, she wanted to get home to take a bath and go to bed, though it was only early afternoon. They had travelled over night for the previous case, and her sleep rhythm was completely out of order.

She quickly shook her head in order to wake up a bit again, promising herself a cup of coffee as soon as she would have finished the next paragraph. However, she never got to finish that passage. The next thing she registered was how her phone rang annoyingly loud next to her head, and she bolted up. Before she could even register that she had fallen asleep on her desk, she picked up the call.

"Prentiss?", she croaked, her voice raspy and way too sleepy. Embarrassed, she cleared her throat and repeated: "Prentiss?"

"Hi Emily, it's Jessica", the voice on the other side of the line said. "I hope it's okay that I used your number, Aaron left it with me for emergencies while he's in Washington."

Immediately, Emily was awake. Jessica. Hotch. Emergency.

"Yea, sure - what - what happened?", she asked as she sat up straight.

"Jack's school called me, he got into trouble and needs to be picked up, but my hands are tied here at work", Jessica sighed. "I'm really sorry for bothering you with this -"

"Hey, it's no problem", Emily interrupted her. "You always take such good care of him, you cannot do it 24/7. I - I was actually just about to head out of work. Text me the school's address?"

"Oh, you're my savior", Jessica sighed. "Of course, I'll send it to you in a second. And I'll let his teacher know that you'll come to pick him up."

"Perfect", Emily sighed, worry coiling in her stomach. Jack was a patient and kind child, not one to get in trouble. "Um - should I take him to my place?"

"If that's fine by you", Jessica replied. "You could also stop at my workplace and get my key for Aaron's house."

"I'm... I'm going to ask Jack what he wants to do", Emily then decided and quickly ended the call with Jessica while hurrying to her car.