Complicated: More Than A Profiler

Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

kandice5

"Aaron? Can we talk for a minute?" Emily asked as they came back from the park. Jack had run upstairs to watch Pokémon.

"Of course," Aaron said, his smile fading and a frown replacing it.

"Um, I think we should uh...sit down." Emily was so serious, it worried him.

"Em' are you alright?" he asked as he put a hand on hers.

"I just...I need to tell you this, and when I'm done, you can yell at me or... whatever, but let me talk okay?" he nodded. "Okay. Here I go. Um, so at the beginning of last year, in....February, I didn't want to spend another Valentine's Day alone. So I went to a London orphanage. I met Avery Grace. Well, Avery Grace...Prentiss. She's four. That's why I need to go home." she let out a breath. "Okay, you can yell now."

Hotch's first instinct was to scream at her. To scream until his lungs burst. She needed to get over her trust issues.

His next was understanding.

"Emily, I can understand where you are coming from in the need to have a child, but why did you think that this wasn't important enough to tell me? I want to have a relationship with you, and to do that, we need to be honest with each other." Emily tried to ignore the hurt in his eyes.

"I will from now on. I promise to tell you everything." Emily said with a sad smile. Aaron leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"It's okay, I forgive you. But you aren't leaving me. Not again. You and Avery are moving home. Please." Hotch began as an order, but his final words were begging.

"I just... I miss her Aaron. But I promise I will come back. Let me go to London, at least for a day or two to get her, and I will bring some more of my stuff back."

"I know Emily. But I will be going with you. I want to meet this girl of yours."

************

"I can't believe it." Penelope said as she sat on the couch.

"Can't believe what, baby girl?" Derek asked as he followed her to the living room.

"My gumdrop never told me she adopted a mini gumdrop." Penelope didn't sound upset, just hurt. As Aaron had been.

Derek spit out his drink. "She WHAT?! Why didn't she mention this to us at brunch?" he, on the other hand, sounded angry.

Penelope pursed her lips, which were, at the moment, a bright pink. "C'mon chocolate thunder. Don't get upset, she did what she thought was best and now she's going to get her to bring her here." her tone was soothing, and immediately calmed Derek down. He pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I know." he said simply, giving Penelope a kiss to the lips. She reacted to the kiss immediately, her hand fisting his shirt, the other  pressing against his rock hard stomach.

***********

He held her hand the whole plane ride. All six hours and forty two minutes of it. Penelope and Derek were watching Jack, and Emily and Aaron were flying to see Avery.

Avery Grace Prentiss. Avery Grace...Hotchner? It had a nice ring to it. Little known to the couple, that same thought was going through both of their minds.

When they arrived at Emily's flat, Aaron went into her living room and sat on the couch while Emily went next door to pick up her daughter.

Ten or so minutes later, Emily walked in, a beautiful little girl in her arms.