Deception - Hotchniss

Chapter 17

"Everything okay?" Aaron asked, attempting to dry his wet hair with the towel. She had barely had the chance to say goodbye before he came out of the bathroom in a sweater and jeans.

Emily put down her phone on the dresser and smiled, although her heart was beating quickly. She didn't exactly want to tell him that Garcia knew about their trip. Or any of this, for that matter.

"Yeah, everything's good."

Aaron nodded, looking to her eyes for an access to her thoughts. Something an experienced profiler did without thinking. She turned her head, seeing as he read her eyes.

"Okay," he said, finally.

"Well, I'm sure there's breakfast downstairs-" Emily said shortly, still sensing that he was profiling her. She hated that feeling. She also hated not knowing if he had heard any of what she said to Garcia.

"Okay," he repeated, opening the door for them to go. He then followed her out into the hall and down the stairs.

Before they walked into the dining room, where the sound of clanking forks and chatter could be heard, she took a deep breath and looked at the man beside her, who appeared perfectly calm.

He watched her take a breath, observing that she had curled her hair slightly, letting her raven curls fall gently down her shoulders. She wore slightly more makeup than usual, and was wearing a mauve colored sweater. She looked nice.

Emily furrowed her brows. "What?" she asked. He had been staring at her since the phone call ended.

He snapped out of his thoughts and kept the same, expressionless looks on his face. "Nothing," he said, then gestures towards the corner they had to turn to get to where the others were.

As soon as they entered the room, Anna's brother, Lucas, looked up to her. "Hey, Em!" he said excitedly, causing the others at the table to look up.

"Hi, Lucas!" Emily returned the enthusiasm. It had been ages since she'd seen either one of Anna's brothers, although they had spent much of their childhood as close as close could be.

She looked around the table at her other relatives, including her great uncle, Tom, who lived in the Swiss Alps, who she hadn't spoken to since she was twelve years old. As she looked around, she realized that she hadn't mentioned half of these people to Aaron. She'd brought up names of the guests during their Friday dinners, but had failed to mention the people of her immediate family.

As her eyes scanned the table, they landed on her mother. Elizabeth Prentiss, in the flesh. She hadn't talked to her mother since the funeral. On a serious level, that is. Every once in a while, Emily would get a call from her, asking her about the BAU, or where she was living. Emily was never too open with her replies.

She met her mothers eyes, and watched them shoot quickly to the man next to her. Before she had a chance to speak, Ila spoke up.

"Emily, Aaron, come grab a plate! We'll never eat all of this," she gestured towards the counter.

As Emily walked away, she could feel her mother's eyes watching her the whole time. Behind her, Aaron felt the same thing. In addition to this, he knew exactly how Emily was feeling right now. He reached his hand out slowly and held her back softly as he moved around her to the counter.

Emily looked up to him and watched as he offered her a small smile.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of another guy behind him. "Hey, 'cuz!" a voice said happily. Before Emily knew it, she was wrapped in the arms of her cousin, and Lucas's brother, Peter.