Deception - Hotchniss

Chapter 2

It's been one week since Emily backed herself up into a position in which she wasn't sure she could handle. She had already been on one date. One date and it was already failing miserably.

It started off well. He told her about what it was like being a trauma surgeon, and mentioned of his daughter living in Colorado.

It only went downhill from there. After prying and prodding for her to open up about her job for nearly the entire date, she finally admitted that she worked with the FBI. Naturally, he asked her to profile him.

That's exactly what she did, forgetting the consequences because he seemed like such a nice man. Once she told him what she thought, he was silent.

Emily guessed she was accurate. Too accurate. Internally, she cursed herself for letting her guard down, but deep down she knew that her plan for finding a man willing to pretend to be someone else would never have worked out, anyway.

XXX

Back at the BAU on Monday, an idea came to her.

Sitting at the round table and barely focusing on the case at hand, she glanced at each male agent.

Reid. He was too young and naive. Everyone would think she was desperate. And plus, he was Reid. Enough said.

Rossi, on the other hand, was much too old. She doubted that he would agree to go with her anyways. She would end up being taught a life lesson, or he would just flat out refuse.

That made her a little disappointed, she would admit. Emily thought the idea of seeing her family members react to her being involved with an older man seemed utterly amusing.

Derek Morgan was another possibility. Despite his teasing nature, he was a nice, charming man. Handsome, too. She wouldn't mind a week alone with his abs or strong biceps.

However, she restrained herself from asking. As much as she needed a date, and soon, she couldn't be teased and made fun of for the rest of her life. Plus, Derek wasn't her type. Her family knew that.

The only men her mother had ever seen her with were strong shouldered white men with dark hair.

She met a man, a while back, while working with the NYPD on a case. His name was Duncan, which she particularly hated, but she was willing to get over it because he really was a nice man. Honest and caring, and fit her description to a T.

Upon asking Garcia for his last name and contact information like a stalker, Garcia found that he has a wife and two children, aged five and seven.

She could have sworn she had not seen a ring.

Oh well. That left her with one final option. Her boss and unit chief, Aaron Hotchner.

From across the table, her eyes lingered over him as he ran through the manilla colored file in his large hands.

He fit her type, although she's never found him as someone she has been romantically interested in. Only once, when he'd taken down an unsub solo, had she ever found him attractive. Not by looks, however, but by will.

She supposed she'd always thought of him as a broken man more than a romantic interest. Still, it's not like he wasn't attractive.

He was. Those strong arms and hands of his, matched with his dark eyes and strong facial features.

Surely he had a girlfriend. How couldn't he?

"Princess," Derek waved a hand in front of her face, drawing her attention away from Hotch.

"Uh," Emily cleared her throat. "Yeah?"

"You look like you're imagining a good time." The man laughed and was immediately jabbed in the stomach with her elbow. "Ow, hey, come on now. Who's got you spacing out like that?"

"You can only wish it was you," she shot back.

Derek laughed and blew it off. Emily liked to tease him, especially if it was to cover her feelings.

XXX

Hotch looked between the two agents with a scowl. Their flirty banter has gotten on his nerves over the past few months, and he couldn't explain why.

Morgan and Garcia's comments never seemed to bother him, unless they were trying to solve a case quickly.

Emily's face lit up with a smile. He had to stop himself from cracking a smile as well. Her smile was as contagious as it was beautiful.