A Delicate Light

Part 1

4x03 - "Minimal Loss"
October 8, 2008
      The lamp on his desk is the only source of light that fills his office. They landed back in Quantico about two hours ago. He sent them all home once they got back, made Morgan take Emily home to make sure she got up to her apartment safe. He was trying to finish a report, but he couldn't. The only thing he could think about were the gasps and whimpers that escaped Prentiss as Cyrus beat her. The doctors ruled that she had a mild concussion and three cracked ribs, but no major damage.
     He watched her on the flight home. She tensed during take off and landing. Thankfully, it was a smooth flight, no turbulence. JJ helped her off the plane and into a car with Morgan. He drops his pen and sighs as he leans back in his chair. He's had feelings for her for awhile now. He thinks he has since they first met, but his marriage and loyalty to Haley halted him from ever admitting his feelings to himself. When Haley left, he thought about the dark-haired beauty more. He knew his feelings were more than just lust during their case in New York.
      While the team had suspected he had feelings for Kate, he really was projecting how he felt about Emily onto the blonde so that his fellow profilers wouldn't suspect anything. But, when he collapsed in the hospital after transporting Kate, all he saw was Emily. Part of the reason he told the rest of the team to meet him at the hospital was just so he could see Emily. So he could make sure she was okay. That no other bombs had been placed under any of the other SUVs they were issued by the bureau.
      "I don't think she'd mind if you paid her a visit." He sits up straight as he spots Rossi standing in his doorway. "Dave? I thought you left with the rest of the team." Hotch says. The Italian shrugs, "I'm leaving now. You should too. And, do what I said, go check on Emily." He says. Aaron raises his eyebrow at his friend. "The others may not have paid close attention to you two, but especially after today, it doesn't take a profiler to see how tortured you were to hear her in pain and how relieved she was when she saw you."
     The unit chief sighs, "Nothing would ever happen." He says in his monotone voice. Dave disagrees, "Why? Because the brass says so? Aaron, part of our job is keeping secrets. I think your underestimating this team if you don't think they can keep an inside relationship to themselves." Hotch sighs again. "Just think about it. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, David Rossi is gone from his sight. He looks at his watch and sees that it's a quarter til 2:00. He closes the file, packs his bag, and turns the light off.
     He exits the building and doesn't think twice when he drives to her apartment building. He climbs the stairs to the second floor and it doesn't hit him where he's at or what he's doing until he's knocking on her door. It opens quickly, too quickly for someone who should be sleeping. "Hotch?" She questions. Her hair is wet, starting to coil into their natural curls which she straightens. He wished she didn't, but still finds her beautiful either way. He realizes he hasn't spoken until she says his name again. "Hotch?" "Uh, sorry, I-uh-I'm sorry." He apologizes before turning to leave.
     "Woah, hey, do you want to come inside? I was just making myself some tea." She invites. He looks at her with a furrowed brow, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asks. She shrugs, "It's hard for me to sleep. Can't get comfortable with cracked ribs." She huffs out a laugh which she immediately regrets when it causes a shooting pain to her sides. He accepts her invitation and steps into the apartment. He's been here before. He loves how Emily it is. It's modern, but not too flashy. It's comfortable, clearly lived in, but still organized and neat.
       She gestures for him to sit on the couch as she prepares their mugs of tea. She hands him a cup before sitting next to him. "Did you come straight from the BAU?" She asks, noticing he's still in his suit and tie. "No, I sleep in this actually." He jokes. She laughs. He loves her laugh. But then she playfully smacks his arm, "My ribs are cracked, you're not supposed to be making me laugh." She says. He apologizes with a smile. "How're you doing?" He finally asks. He watches her face as she contemplates lying, but doesn't.
     "It's hurts like hell, but I'll live. What about you? It couldn't have been good for you to be wearing headphones with your acoustic trauma." She says. She's the only one that's truly noticed his pain following the explosion. He nods, "Probably not, but the worst part was what I had to hear." He admits. She sighs. Her tell that she wants to say something without overstepping her boundaries. She licks her lips before staring into his eyes. Her chocolate pools melting his. "I'm going to tell you what I told Reid, this was not your fault." She insists.
     He looks down at his feet and shakes his head, "You're right, it wasn't Reid's fault, but I sent you two in there." He says. "Hotch, Aaron, you couldn't have known how the day was going to unfold. None of us could. Reid and I were supposed to gather information, leave, and report back to you guys to open an investigation." She relays the instructions he gave them this morning back to him. He nods, "I know, but we should've done more research into Cyrus and the ranch beforehand. We should've tried to figure out who was part of the church."
     "There wasn't enough time." She cuts him off. "Little girls were being groomed and sexually abused. We both know when it comes to these situations, time is of the essence." He knows she's right. He looks up at her and she's stunned to see the slight glimmer of tears in his eyes, "I thought he was going to kill you." He's usually not this vulnerable. He wasn't even like this with Haley. He didn't feel like explaining what he had witnessed or who he encountered on a case with his ex-wife when they were married. With Emily, he doesn't have to relive it.
      She grabs his hand, "I don't want you carrying this weight." She says. "Maybe I deserve to carry it." He whispers. "No, you don't. You don't deserve a lot of the things that have happened to you." He looks up at her and that's when they both realize how close they're sitting. He can feel her breath on his lips. She makes the first move. She leans in and presses a quick peck to his lips. When she pulls back, he can see her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I'm so-," "Don't. Don't apologize." He cuts her off.
      He sets both of their mugs down on the coffee table and cups her chin in his hand before pulling her in for another kiss. She smiles into the kiss this time. Something they've both been denying for weeks, months, hell probably years. When they pull back, they both smile. Her fingers trace his lips before their gazes meet. He clears her throat, "We still have to stay in separate rooms during cases." He says. She laughs. She smacks his arm again. "What did I say about making me laugh?" She playfully scolds. He chuckles himself.
     "Sorry, but it's a new goal of mine: to make you laugh everyday for the rest of our lives." He says. It shocks her how much it doesn't scare her. "That's a pretty long time." She says. "I'm up for the challenge, if you are." He offers. She nods, "Yeah, I am." She leans in and kisses him again. "In all seriousness, we probably shouldn't tell the team for awhile. Give us time to navigate this for ourselves before sharing it." She says. He nods, "I agree. I don't really need Garcia digging through our phone records." He jokes. She smiles and nods.
     "Yeah, that would be the first thing she did. The second would be sharing them with the team." She states. "I'll go so you can get some sleep." He says. "You can stay, if you want." She offers. He looks timid, "I don't think we should—," "We are grown adults, Aaron. We can behave. Our clothes will stay on. Plus, I'm too sore to be doing any of that." She says. He contemplates it, would he really be able to keep his hands off her? Yes. He would be. To make her happy and comfortable, he'll just hold her.
     He nods, "Okay, let's get some rest." He says. He helps her stand and presses a kiss to her forehead. Once they're laying in her bed, she's tucked into his side with a pillow below her ribs, he smiles as he runs a hand up and down her spine. "What're you thinking?" She hums. He kisses the tops of her head and moves his hand up to run his fingers through her hair, "Nothing, I just can't believe I'm finally in Emily Prentiss' bed." He says. She scoffs, "Like you really dreamed of this." She says, "Oh I did. I imagined what it would be like to hold you. I've wondered if your snore."
     She pokes his side, "I don't." She says. "I bet you do. And I bet it's adorable." She rolls her eyes at him, "Maybe I should've sent you home." She says. "Who would scratch your back?" He teases her. "Well, you aren't doing a great job of it since your twirling my hair." She calls him out. He returns his hand to her spine and presses one more kiss to her forehead. "Go to sleep." He whispers. "Goodnight." "Goodnight."
Part 1! This is my first Criminal Minds story, so let me know what you think please!