safe with me - Hotchniss

the second month

"Maybe you should stay home today."

Morning sickness was heavy on Emily. A week after she had told Aaron about her pregnancy, it had started and ever since, there had not been a single morning without her throwing up. But he was there for her all the time, holding back her hair and stroking her back.

It had taken Emily by surprise how he had reacted when she had told him. He had just remained silent for some seconds, just like his brain had to progress what he had just heard, but then, there had been this smile on his lips. This honest, unbreakable smile. A smile that had made all her doubts disappear. Happiness had flashed them, as well as some kind of excitement. It was Hotch's second child, yet he had been just excited as Emily. They had talked a lot afterwards, about how they should continue with keeping their relationship as a secret and how it would influence their jobs.

They had agreed on leaving everything how it was at that moment and that they would see where this was going to lead them. It was obvious that their relationship had to be revealed to the team at some point, but they'd wait until the right moment.

Ever since, there was a certain need of protecting her, pounding in Hotch's chest in every situation they'd get due to their work. He was able to hold it back, but he just couldn't deny that it was driving him crazy sometimes.

"No", she groaned as she sat back down on the ground in front of the toilet, leaning against the wall. He sat down in front of her, their legs interlacing. "It's okay."

"It doesn't look okay", he replied and raised one eyebrow.

Emily smiled at the way he cared, the way he only wanted the best for her and their unborn child. "It's just some morning sickness, Aaron", she chuckled. "I'm going to take a shower now and afterwards I'm going to look like a goddess, trust me."

"You always look like a goddess."

"Smooth", she grinned and leaned over to kiss him before they both got up.

_

"Hey", Emily greeted the others as she walked to her desk. Her look shot up to Hotch's office, but the blinds where down and there wasn't any light.

"Morning, Princess", Morgan nodded, his eyes fixed on the file in his hands.

"Where's Hotch?", she asked, wondering why he wasn't at work yet.

"He and Rossi are checking on the Unsubs mother again", JJ replied. "Maybe she's willing to give more information."

Emily just nodded and sat down at her desk. Their current case was tough and left the whole team mostly sleepless at night. The Unsub was going after blondes in their mid-twenties, but the worst about it was the way he killed them. None of them had ever seen such a way of torturing; it was like was doing a surgery on their body while they were awake, ending with peeling off all of their skin as 'finale' before cutting their throat. They knew who he was, Clint Thompson, yet he couldn't be found anywhere. For days and days they had been visiting his mother, who obviously knew more than she admitted. Still, it seemed hopeless.

"I still don't get it", Reid sighed. "Why would he first do a neat and nearly perfect surgery, just to ruin all this by peeling off their skin? Where's the sense?"

"Maybe he thinks that the skin's dirty? Like the woman have to be 'freed' from this dirty shell surrounding them?", Morgan implied.

"That's what I thought, too", Emily nodded. "Look at the surgery's he's done. They were all in order to bring their body to perfection, not to ruin them."

"Sorry to interrupt you wonderful people, but it's really urgent", Garcia babbled as she quickly walked towards her friends. "I just got a call from Hotch, Thompson's mother mentioned a place where he could hide, he wants two of you there, he and Rossi are on their way."