***

PROLOGUE

“I’m sorry, what?� Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner repeated for the eight millionth time. He had no idea what was going on. SSA David Rossi stood in front of him, flanked on either side by SSA Derek Morgan and SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, though Aaron admitted the latter seemed intensely nervous.

“We nominated you to be on The Bachelor, Hotch. You know, the television show?� Derek replied, his strong hands landing on his hips.

“No,� Aaron admitted, shaking his head. “I don’t.�

“We’re sick of you moping around here, okay? You need to get out there, find a good woman and get your head out of this death and gore,� David explained. “It’s a good opportunity. A few weeks with a bunch of gorgeous woman and if you find one you fall in love with, then all the better.�

“I’m not going to find a woman by being thrown into a television show,� Aaron replied with a glare. “You guys are insane.�

“Arguably true,� Reid agreed.

Derek shot him a glare. “You’re not helping.�

Reid only shrugged.

“What’s it going to hurt?� Dave asked. “We can do with a few Hotch-less weeks.�

“You do understand what you’re asking, right? Take a few weeks off to go on television to find the woman of my dreams?�

“So you do understand the premise of the show,� Derek said triumphantly.

Aaron glared. “You’re not helping your cause.�

“We’ve already replied for your leave time,� Dave said. “You’re cleared to go. Why not, Aaron?�

“We’re already short-handed and you want me to take time off to do a TV show? How did you get it approved?�

“I’m David Rossi,� Dave replied. “Do you want to know?�

Aaron shook his head. He really didn’t want to know. “I’m not getting a choice am I?�

Dave grinned, knowing his long-time friend and when he was about to give in. “Go home and pack your bags. You’re going to LA.�

~*~*~

“You submitted my name to a television show? Are you two insane?� Emily Prentiss looked at her two best friends in the entire world as if they’d each grown six extra heads.

“Of course not. We’re trying to get you laid is what we’re trying to do,� Penelope Garcia responded promptly. “Since you won’t come out with us, we took drastic measures.�

“And how did you get the time off?� Emily asked suspiciously. “Pen, what did you do?�

“Nothing we didn’t think would benefit you at the end of the day,� Jennifer Jareau stepped in for her friend. “We can’t get you out, Em. You need a life outside of this place and since you won’t try and come for fun with us, we’re sending you to LA instead.�

“And so what if I had to pull a few technical strings to get it done? Come on Em!� Penelope whined. “You have to!�

Emily glared. “I don’t have to do anything. You guys are insane!�

“No, we’re concerned,� JJ replied. “Look, you’re bored here, Em, yet you do so much work. You need to get out, experience the world, see what else there is out there. And the first way you’re going to do that is by doing this, if not for yourself, do it for us. The guy looks like a good guy, okay?�

“You’re asking me to compete with a handful of other girls for some guy’s heart?� Emily asked incredulously.

“Not just any guy,� Penelope replied, stepping forward and dropping an FBI personnel file on the brunette’s desk. “Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner of the BAU.�

Emily’s eyebrow went up. “Behavioural Analysis?�

“Which means he’s super smart,� JJ interjected watching Emily flip open the files. “Right up your alley.�

“Intelligence isn’t the only thing I look for in a guy,� Emily said, rolling her eyes. She came across his picture and stopped. He wasn’t smiling – FBI agents weren’t allowed to smile for ID and file photos – but she was immediately struck by dark eyes and dark hair.

Penelope smirked at JJ over the brunette’s head. “Hot, isn’t he?�

“So what?� Emily shot back, trying for unaffected. With her best friends, she doubted she succeeded.

“Go, Em,� JJ encouraged. “It’s not like we’re going to get anything done around here that’s going to be any good. Go, enjoy yourself, enjoy LA. Hey, if things go well, from what I’ve seen from past seasons you’re going to enjoy one heck of a handful of beautiful sights. Some of which, I’m sure you’ve seen, but still!�

“Well, actually, you’re not getting a choice,� Penelope revealed, pulling Emily to stand. “Come on, we’re going back to your condo and we’re going to raid your closet so you have appropriate things to wear for this. You’re going to be on television for goodness sakes!�

~*~*~

***

CHAPTER ONE

Aaron was anxious as he stood in the front hall of the large house the women would be inhabiting. He was going to meet fifteen women tonight. Fifteen. And they were all in LA to meet him. He wasn’t sure when, if ever, he’d had fifteen women vying for his attention. He’d always buried his head in work, whether it was in school or his actual job. He smiled tightly as he looked at the brown-haired man coming towards him with the camera crew.

“Good evening, Aaron.�

“Hey, Chris,� Aaron greeted, hoping the host couldn’t feel the shaking of his hands.

“Are you ready?�

Aaron chuckled awkwardly. “As ready as I can ever be?�

Chris chuckled. “Each of these girls is going to come down those stairs there, introduce themselves, then go into the living room. You’ll have a chance to talk to them as the night goes on. And, as you know, you’re going to have to send three of them home tonight.�

“Right.�

“Excellent. I’ll be upstairs with the women, sending them down one by one. I’ll see you in a bit.�

Aaron drew in a deep breath as he watched Chris climb the stairs. A few minutes later, a blond came down the stairs with blue eyes and a bright smile. For the first time in a long time, Aaron felt his heart jump. “Hello.�

“Hello Aaron,� she greeted in a soft, melodic voice. “I’m Haley.�

He smiled as he took her outstretched hands. Okay, he could do this. “How are you?�

“I’m good,� she replied. “Nervous, but good.�

“Where are you from?�

“Illinois,� she replied.

He smiled. This was going to be okay. “I’ll see you later.�

“That you will, Agent Hotchner.�

~*~*~

Emily drew a deep breath as she smoothed down her black dress for the millionth time. Her heart was beating at a million miles a minute surrounded by all of the beautiful women milling about the upstairs hallway. They’d had a chance to meet with each other and talk to each other, but Emily felt out of her league. So out of her league.

“Hey.�

Emily looked up with a smile at the redhead that took a seat on the small bench with her. “Hey.�

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself to you earlier. I’m Shaena.�

“Emily.� She shook the proffered hand.

“You look nervous.�

“Is it that obvious?�

Shaena smiled. “Come on, we all are. Think of it as just another date.�

“It’s easier to think of it as just another function,� Emily replied absently, watching the women wander about, anxiously awaiting their turn.

“Function?�

Emily chuckled, shaking her head slightly, her curls brushing her cheeks. “I grew up in politics. I’ve been to a few formal functions in my time.�

“Well there you go,� Shaena said, leaning close to whisper conspiratorially. “And think about it, you’re in a room with fourteen other catty women, how much closer to a political function could you get?�

Emily managed to laugh. “How did you get to do this?�

Shaena shrugged. “Got picked off of a pool list? Some of us are just desperate and sick of searching. You?�

“Two best friends. They think I work too much.�

“Then you probably do,� Shaena said. “What made you agree?�

Emily sighed. “I have no idea.�

“It wasn’t the draw of finding your true love?� Shaena asked with a grin.

“Shaena?� Chris called.

The woman in question sighed. “I’ll see you down there.�

Emily smiled shakily.

~*~*~

“You’ve got one more woman up there. How are you feeling?�

“Overwhelmed,� Aaron answered Chris’ question. “Completely overwhelmed.�

“One more woman and then you can go in there, have some fun.�

Aaron nodded, taking another deep breath. It was the same thing he’d done before every woman that had come down the stairs. He watched black heels first, an almost standard uniform for most of the women who had taken the same path. Gorgeous legs were next, until the hem of her obviously black dress came into view. It contrasted with her very pale skin but what struck Aaron the most were the dark eyes that met his.

“Hi,� he said, hoping his voice came out stronger than he thought it did.

She blushed and managed a nervous smile as she walked towards him. “Hi.�

He had to force himself not to watch how her leg muscles tensed and released as she walked. “Aaron.�

“Emily.� She took his hand and he was surprised at her grip.

As much as he hadn’t wanted to watch her legs, he now couldn’t take his eyes away from hers. They were dark and he could see her nerves. Yet she managed to hold the rest of her body relaxed. He was impressed at how, regardless of her eyes, the rest of her body language spoke of someone who was confident.�Where are you from?�

“That’s a loaded question.�

“Oh?�

“I’ve lived in so many different places,� she said with a little bit of a laugh.

“I wish I could say the same. I’ll find you later, I want to talk to you about all of the places you’ve lived.�

Emily blushed and he found absolutely endearing. “Come find me.�

Oh, he definitely would. He couldn’t take her eyes off of her as she walked away. When he turned back, Chris was standing there with a smile on his face.

“So?�

“Doesn’t make it any less overwhelming,� Aaron admitted.

Chris chuckled. “Okay, well, head in there and see which women you have the greatest connection with. There is a First Impression Rose.�

Aaron sighed. A rose already. He had to choose one already. How was he supposed to choose one women out of all of these.

“Don’t look so nervous,� Chris said with a reassuring smile. “Focus on the connection. Who makes the best impression tonight.�

Chris turned back to the camera and though Aaron knew the camera was focused solely on the host, he still had to stand there while Chris addressed the viewers.

“And by the end of the night, three of these women will be going home. Who will stay and who will go.�

Aaron shivered.

~*~*~

CHAPTER THREE

Emily knew they were talking about her before she and Aaron even turned back towards the house. She had a gift for reading behaviour, something she'd picked up over too many years with her mother's politics. She'd been able to pick out the jealous and catty girls in the house upon meeting them for the first time so she was very much aware that there were people in that house who were going to hate her simply on principle. It was why it was so easy for her to ally herself with Shaena and Kathleen. They were non-threatening. She didn't trust most of the other women in the house. She wasn't going to kid herself into letting her guard down around just anyone.

So she almost willingly allowed Haley to pull him away from the hold he had on her hand. She willingly faded into the background as Aaron's attention shifted to the rest of the women. Emily stepped away, watching as they all seemed to spring for his freed attention. She found herself once again sitting between Shaena and Kathleen, watching as each girl tried to get their five minutes of private time with Aaron.

"They're like dogs with a bone," Shaena whispered to her. "What do you think it feels like? To be a piece of meat."

"You've obviously never been a single woman at a political function," Emily replied with an inelegant snort of laughter.

"Is it that bad?" Shaena asked. "Seriously?"

Emily chuckled. "Worse some days. It depends on how vindictive my parents are feeling for that particular function."

"What does that mean?" Kathleen inquired, watching as a couple of women led Aaron from the room.

"If my parents were feeling mean, I was surrounded all night by eligible single men. Sometimes only my mother was upset with me and my father would rescue me from time to time..."

"How many of those have you been to?" Shaena asked with a little bit of a laugh.

Emily grinned. "Way too many."

"Way too many what?"

Emily knew the woman standing over her shoulder was Kate, the blond Brit that seemed to have found a new best friend in Haley. "Functions," Emily replied evasively.

"We were talking about meat markets," Kathleen piped up. "How Aaron's on the auction block."

Kate glared. "He's more than a piece of meat."

Emily felt better knowing she'd been right about Kate's superiority complex.

The blond leaned in close to Kathleen. "Good thing you won't be staying around. It would be a shame for Aaron to find out you only look at him like a piece of meat on an auction block." Kate didn't give Kathleen a chance to reply before turning her gaze on Emily. "And don't think because you got a rose tonight that you stand a chance. This is a competition. And I play to win."

Emily's eyes turned hard and determined. It was a good trait and one of her faults that challenges weren't things she'd ever been able to turn down or back down from. So she leaned forward, right into Kate's space while still making sure that the blond could see that all-important First Impression Rose. "If you think words are going to make me roll over and play dead, you've got another thing coming."

It gave her a hidden thrill to see the surprise and offense in Kate's eyes. It made her even more sure she'd made the right decision in staying.

~*~*~

Emily stood at a corner of the line of women, spinning the stem of her rose between her fingers. Kate and Haley had been glaring at her since Aaron had led her back into the house laughing. Emily had managed to avoid them both and found Shaena. Thank goodness there were some women in the house that weren't shallow man-hunters.

"Emily, you have a rose, you are safe tonight," Chris said, bringing her attention back to the present.

She couldn't stop the wide smile that blossomed across her face at the idea. Everything about this situation seemed stupidly surreal and she wasn't exactly sure what to do with herself. So instead, she now watched and observed the women get more and more anxious as the rose ceremony continued. Emily admittedly breathed out a sigh of relief when Aaron called out Shaena's name – she was going to need an ally in the house now that both Kate and Haley's names had been called – and found herself really relaxing for the first time since she set foot in the house.

She sighed as Chris came out just before the last rose. "Ladies, Aaron…. This is the last rose of the evening."

Emily found herself trying not to roll her eyes at the uselessness of that statement.

"Taylor," Aaron called.

Emily grinned as the woman in question all but collapsed in relief.

"Oh my gosh."

"Taylor, will you accept this rose?"

"Of course."

Aaron smiled as he watched Taylor walk back to the line of all of the other women. He hoped to everything he'd picked a good group of twelve.

"Alright ladies. To those of you who received a rose, congratulations. For those of you that didn't, I'm afraid it's time to say goodbye," Chris spoke up.

Aaron watched the girls congregate around Kathleen, Chastity and Wendy, putting n his stoic FBI face as Chastity burst into tears. He hated making women cry. And his gut told him Chastity wasn't going to be the first woman to cry in the upcoming weeks. A few moments and some awkward hugs later, he was standing between Kate and Haley, both of whom pressed against his sides.

Nevertheless, he smiled as he met Emily's eyes and raised his glass of champagne. "To?"

"To you," Kate proposed immediately, her British accent unmistakable. Everyone spoke up then, throwing out suggestions and ideas almost faster than Aaron could track.

"To adventure," he heard Emily say and grinned.

"To adventure," Aaron agreed, raising his glass.

Twelve glasses followed.

CHAPTER FOUR

Chris hand-delivered the first date box of the next six weeks around lunch time the next day. Emily sat with a smile on her face as he set the box down on the coffee table between the couches.

"Alright ladies, good morning," Chris said with a wide smile.

They chorused back their greeting.

"So, as I'm sure some of you know, date boxes will show up every week. There will be group dates and there will be one-on-one dates. If you get a rose on a date, you're safe for the next rose ceremony. If you go on a one-on-one date, you need to have your bags back. If you do not get a rose on your one-on-one date, you will be going home immediately."

Gasps and murmurs went about the room at the thought. Emily felt her own heart rate speed up at the idea of not coming back. No pressure, she thought to herself.

"So, ladies, here is your first date box. I will see you later."

A handful of the women all but jumped on the box the second Chris had left the room. Sherri, a perky redhead, managed to dig the card out first. "Deborah, Victoria, Whitney, Taylor, Diana, Shaena, Tia, Joanne, Sherri and Emily."

Emily perked up at her name. Her first date with Aaron was going to be a group date. She could handle this. She was arguably more comfortable with this than with the pressure of a one-on-one date. At least this way, rose or not, she'd be coming back to the house.

"Prepare to show me your competitive sides," Sherri continued, her face lit up with the prospect of seeing Aaron again. She squealed. "I wonder what this means!"

Emily stood, Shaena not far behind her. "What are the chances Tweedledee and Tweedledum go on a date together and only one of them is allowed to come home?" Shaena murmured as they took their time going up the large spiral staircase.

"Probably only in our dreams," Taylor replied having overheard Shaena's comment. "You noticed it too?"

"That Kate and Haley are like dogs with a bone, oh yeah. Part of me would like to see what would happen if they were the last two, just to be able to watch the fireworks," Shaena replied.

"On the other side, that would mean you would have been eliminated."

"And as much as I'd love to ensure that a hottie and sweetie like Aaron got a girl that was best for him, I'm in this competition as much as the rest of you are."

"Not to mention I can't see either Kate or Haley being able to tolerate having an FBI husband for very long. But you're not just treating it as a competition," Emily replied, looking at Kate and Haley over the railing of the stairs. Both women sat on the couch with a sort of satisfied smile on their faces. "You want what's best for him as much as you want to be what's best for him."

Shaena narrowed her eyes playfully. "Is this your psychology crap?"

"Psychology's not crap," Taylor piped up. "You'd be surprised what psychology can tell you. What kind of psychology, Emily?"

"Behavioural?" Emily replied biting her lip. "I'm hoping to get transferred to the FBI, but the State Department likes my international experience. There would have to be a good reason for me to transfer out. Like being hand-picked for a team."

"Can they do that?" Taylor asked curiously.

"In the FBI? Happens all the time," Emily replied with a smile. "Ask Aaron about it. He's FBI."

"I forgot," Taylor agreed with a nod. "What unit was it?"

"Behavioural Analysis. Profilers," Emily answered, remembering his service file. "One of the original agents, if I remember right."

"Original agents and he can't find a girl?" Taylor inquired shaking her head. They'd reached the bedroom that Taylor, Shaena and Emily shared with Tia and separated to their beds. It seemed Tia had all but raced upstairs. The bathroom door was closed. So instead, all three women started digging through their suitcases. "Track pants or jeans?"

"Jeans," Emily replied. "My gut tells me we're not going to be playing sports, per se."

"How often is your gut wrong?" Shaena teased.

Emily grinned. "It's a well-honed organ. It's been a long time since it's been wrong."

"You know, I don't know if I agree placing so much faith in my digestive tract," Tia teased, opening the bathroom door.

Emily laughed along with the other two. She had made a few friends in the last twenty-four hours, and she wasn't stupid enough to deny that she'd been a little careful about who she allied herself with. Emily often chose her friends with self-preservation in mind. It was one of those other little ways that politics had affected the rest of her life. She didn't like it, but she dealt with it.

But now was not the time to think about how politics had affected any point of her life. It was time to get ready for a date, even if it was a group one.

~*~*~

Aaron found himself both excited and anxious to see all ten women that were set to come on this date. It made him eleven, but the producers and Derek had agreed that it wouldn't be that big of a deal to add one more. Plus, with the day they had planned, Aaron was sure Derek would be a massive help. More so than Dave would have been. Because scavenger hunts didn't really seem like Dave's style. The limo pulled up to the beach and Aaron shot his colleague a look. "Try not to flirt with all of them, okay?"

"I make no promises," Derek replied with a mischievous grin.

Nevertheless, Aaron knew Derek understood his presence. Derek was there to try and judge which women were genuine and which were harbouring deep dark secrets. Or something like that, and there was no one he trusted more with women than Derek. Though he was a ladies' man, Derek had an uncanny ability of avoiding women that were crazy, obsessive, or those who didn't know the score of his little game. Aaron hoped to put that skill to work that day.

The door opened and he was immediately attacked by a petite body. He found himself both shocked and stumbling back from the force of it. His brain took a moment to place who was wrapped around him. "Hello Diana."

"I'm so excited!" she said immediately.

He almost had to pry her off of him. "Ladies." He smiled at the rest of them. "I'd like you to meet Derek Morgan."

"I'm jealous, Hotch," Derek quipped. "You are all beautiful ladies."

They all laughed.

"So," Aaron began, reminding himself that the formal language and orders he was used to in the BAU weren't going to work here. "We are going to go on a scavenger hunt."

Murmurs arose in reaction, some of them looking excited, some of them looking disappointed. He catalogued those looks carefully.

"You will be divided into two teams for this morning, one with me, one with Derek. After lunch, Derek and I will switch and the afternoon competition will begin. Derek, pick first."

And no more than five minutes later, he had a team of five women and Derek had a team of five women. Each man held an envelope and at Aaron's count of three, they were off.

CHAPTER FIVE

Derek Morgan hadn't expected the call that had come through to the BAU offices earlier in the week. And it was his surprise and his curiosity that had him standing in a circle with five women as they leaned over the envelope in his hand. He knew that he was there for one reason and one reason only: to determine if there was any women in that group of ten that were not suited for his unit chief. He didn't mind the job one bit. He'd had years and years within bars and clubs under his belt and his profiling ability was legendary within the FBI world.

Even now, as he sat between two of the women, Emily and Taylor, he had to admit, he wasn't only having the time of his life, but he knew he'd met two fantastic women in the process. Taylor was bubbly, a sales rep from Miami, Florida. Emily was more subdued, but quick on her feet and whip smart. He swore the only reason they'd won the scavenger hunt was because she seemed to know the answers before he even asked the question. And more importantly, he'd watched her eyes light up in a way he'd come to recognize as her brain finding the answer but she'd hint her way around until someone else actually blurted the answer out. It was a sign of a true leader and someone who didn't have to be the center of attention all the time.

Actually, he liked to believe he and Emily had bonded. She'd sat shot gun as he'd driven them around LA and they'd had a chance to talk even as he sped through the streets to their destinations. They other women had chimed in, but there was just something in Emily he was drawn to. He liked her, and it came as no surprise that his boss' eyes lit on her first when their SUV pulled up to the curb. Now, Hotch was off with one of the other women, one that had seemed seriously upset by the time they'd sat down to lunch. Derek had watched her earlier in the day as a member of his team and had a good idea what the reason was behind her mood.

This was not an easy situation to be in. He'd never experienced it himself, but he could only imagine the pressure these women were under and they'd only been through one rose ceremony. He'd done his research on the show before agreeing with Reid and Rossi to submit Hotch's name, so he knew the general point of the show.

"What do you do?"

He turned to his let, to Taylor, with a smile. "I work with Hotch."

"Why do you call him Hotch?"

Derek hadn't realized that he'd become the center of attention. Though, he realized, it shouldn't have surprised him. He was now the only men in a room with nine women who were here to find a husband. "I've never thought about it," he replied finally.

"What's it like working with him?"

He looked around the table. Only Emily seemed to have leaned back in her chair, separating himself from the conversation. He knew that body language. It confused him a little bit. She was listening, he couldn't mistake that, but she had deliberately sat back and withdrawn herself from a conversation about a guy who she was potentially here to get engaged to. "What's he like or what's the job like?"

"Both!" One of the women exclaimed enthusiastically. "Do you have to draw your gun?"

"Sometimes. We don't like to."

"You catch criminals! That has to be exciting!"

He watched Emily bite her lip out of his periphery vision. Something about this conversation wasn't settling with her and Derek had no idea what it could be. "It has it's good days and it's bad days." He was saved from answering any further questions when Hotch returned and all attention shifted to him yet again. For the first time in a long time, Derek didn't mind all of the attention shifting to another man. It gave him a better chance to turn to the woman on his right. All he got was an arched eyebrow and a tilt of the lips in response. He had no idea what to make of that.

~*~*~

Emily sighed as she stretched out on a beach towel. LA was famous for it's beaches and she was so endlessly glad that Aaron had seen fit to take them all out for the afternoon. She preferred the laid back atmosphere, but she loved the craziness that had been that morning's scavenger hunt. Lunch hadn't been that bad either except when they started talking about work. She hadn't wanted to think about that. She'd seen his service records, she worked in government. Emily knew that Aaron's job wasn't as easy or as glamorous as so many of the women seemed to think it is. Emily hated the way popular culture so often romanticized what government employees did. There were very few fun and games within the units of the FBI.

"Can I get your back?"

Emily looked up at Aaron's friend Derek. She smirked. "I doubt that would be a good idea. Don't want to send the wrong message after all."

She actually didn't mind it when he took a seat. He'd been the most intelligent conversation she'd been treated to other than Aaron himself and since the latter hadn't been on her team that morning, Emily had made due with Derek. She'd made a mental note to ensure Penelope looked him up for her when she got home too.

"And what kind of message is that?" he asked, leaning back on his hands. It showed his body to perfection, but Emily wasn't looking.

"That I'm interested in someone else. I'm assuming that's why you were the one chosen to come on this little excursion."

He narrowed his eyes. "Where do you work again?"

She let out a bark of laughter. "State Department."

"Are you sure?"

"In all of it's mundane glory," she replied.

"You don't like it?"

"It's not challenging," Emily answered honestly. "I'd prefer my job to be challenging." She could see the approval in his eyes, even if he tried to hide it. She'd spent way too much time dancing in the political sphere not to see things like that.

"Challenges are always good."

She sighed. "You're fishing. What do you want to know?"

He didn't bother to hide his surprise and she was grateful. "Not one to pull punches are you?"

"Honesty is a valuable quality."

He looked out over the ocean where the other women were goofing around in the water with Aaron. A few of them were still stretched out not far from her, but they all seemed to be scrambling for time with The Bachelor.

"Why did you clam up when they asked about the FBI?"

Oh, she was hoping he wouldn't ask that. She blew out a breath. 'It's not an easy job," she said finally, quietly. "What you guys do isn't glamorous, it isn't cool. It's brutal work with long hours and crappy pay. The best part of your day is the part where you arrest someone knowing that you could have very well saved who knows how many lives because you found him. You lose victims time and time again not because you want to but because it's an unfortunate side effect to getting more information."

"You know the job well," Derek muttered after a moment had passed.

Emily shrugged. "I want it," she told him. "Or, I had wanted it, anyway. To work in the FBI, the BAU specifically. I asked some questions, got some answers I didn't really want to hear but understood. I don't like how so many of the women here don't see that kind of thing. They see the glamorous side of the FBI, the one with the shooting and the saving lives, not the one where you lose them. Not the one where you case psychopaths all across the country because someone has to do it."

Derek found himself looking at the woman beside him in a whole different light. She had a grasp of their job that no one else he'd ever encountered had. It really felt to him that, for all intents and purposes, she knew what they saw, what they went through. He'd wondered about that when he'd looked at all ten women emerging from the limo. He'd wondered how many of these women actually knew what they were getting into with Hotch. Because their job did everything Emily had just said and more. There were the nightmares, the long trips away... Hotch needed someone who was willing to love him, but love the job too. Because Hotch spent too much time at the BAU. It was important to him and while Derek understood that mentality, he wanted to make sure his boss had someone to come home to at night that loved him for everything, not just the bits and pieces.

Profiling was something you just couldn't turn off. More importantly, the things they saw didn't just go away when they left the office. They stuck with you, resulted in nightmares and, in the worst cases, like that of Jason Gideon only a few years ago, resulted in severe PTSD that no one could get over. Their unit had the highest burn out rate and it wasn't a secret. For as well-renowned as they were, they were also probably the most screwed up agents in the FBI. They were the ones that bordered on criminals themselves for the sole reason that they spent so much time in their heads.

He smiled. "I was wrong about you."

"I'm sorry?" she asked, raising her sunglasses.

"I was wrong about you," he repeated. "And I'm not often wrong."

Emily chuckled. "I believe it. How were you wrong?"

"I thought you didn't care," he replied. "I thought his job just simply wasn't important to you and if there's one thing you need to know about Hotch, it's that his job is his life."

"Right now?"

Derek admitted in his head to being impressed that she'd framed it as a genuine question. "Always. Hotch is the BAU. He's one of the pioneering members of the unit. I don't think he would leave it even if you held a gun to his head."

"Probably wouldn't work. You guys spend a lot of time around guns."

He chuckled. "Something like that. I hope he keeps you around, Emily. I think you'd be good for him."

He noticed her blush as he stood up to join his boss in the water.

CHAPTER SIX

Derek had given her a whole lot to think about that night, so she sat quietly while everyone chatted around her. It wasn't the first time it happened, nor, she was sure, would it be the last time.

"Emily?"

She looked up, snapping herself out of her thoughts and into Aaron's dark eyes. "Hey."

"Can I whisk you away?"

She chuckled slightly accepting his outstretched hand. "Of course."

He waited until they were far out of earshot. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," she said, squeezing his hand for extra reassurance. "I just had a really odd talk with Derek today. He got me thinking."

"About?"

"Your job," she said honestly. She smiled at the slightly stunned look on his face. "One thing you need to know about me Aaron, is I value honesty above all else. So I'm going to be blunt most of the time."

"But at the same time you have a hard time being vulnerable."

She smiled slightly. "Are you profiling me Agent Hotchner?"

"Force of habit," he said, true apology in his eyes.

"I get it. I don't understand it, but I get it," she replied reassuringly. "You can't turn it off."

"You understand it more than anyone else I've met that isn't a profiler."

She shrugged, stopping and tugging on his hand so he faced her. "Some things just don't leave you. There are pieces that are always with you, no matter how much you want it to go away."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

'Something like that," she agreed. "I work in government."

Aaron shook his head. "It's more than that," he said softly.

She squeezed his hand, forcing herself to smile. There was no way she was ready to share how deeply politics had affected her life. There were skeletons in her closet she wasn't willing to share with so many other women rolling around. Now was still the time to protect her heart. "Maybe someday," she said instead.

He shook his head. "You're an enigma, Emily."

She smiled. "Mystery's part of the fun."

He chuckled and Emily hoped the jump in her heart rate at his dimples was still hidden. "Some girls would disagree."

"Probably. But as you said before, I'm an enigma."

His grin widened even more. "I'm looking forward to figuring you out."

She was looking forward to letting him.

~*~*~

Emily sighed as she woke the next morning to a squeal. She knew what that meant and honestly, really didn't care. Whether it was Kate or Haley leaving the house, maybe the other one would mope about and she wouldn't have to deal with her. Because, at the end of the day, Emily hated everything those two women stood for.

While Haley seemed like the wholesome type, Emily, in her very neutral kind of way, had been privy to some of Haley and Kate's rather strong views on the other women. And Shaena had been one of them. Emily didn't appreciate it, but she knew better than to make enemies in a house full of women. Really, it was only the tip of the iceberg anyway. Heaven forbid if she ever ended up on a two-on-one date with either of them. She was sure she'd have her eyes clawed out.

"It's Haley," Shaena said as she came into the room. "Some fairytale dream date or something."

"They're all supposed to be fairytale dream dates," Emily mumbled into her pillow, still half asleep.

"You sounded a little bitter there, girl."

"I'm not," Emily promised, locking sleepy eyes on the woman she was closest to in the house. "I just really don't need to deal with Haley right now. I'm exhausted."

"Why?"

"I have no idea," Emily admitted. "I'm going to spend a few hours in bed, then go down and lounge by the pool to be out of the way of Hurricane Haley."

"You want company at the pool?"

"I could go with some," Emily agreed with a smile. "Everything okay with you?"

Shaena shrugged. "It's just weird, you know? I mean... we're twelve girls, vying for one guy... Four of us are going home in two days... I don't know."

Emily sat up slowly. "Are you going to be able to handle this?"

"Yeah," she said. "I just... There's so much pressure."

"There's always pressure, Shaena," Emily said quietly.

Shaena sighed. "How can you be so calm?"

"I'm wicked at compartmentalizing," Emily replied. "I have to be."

"Right," Shaena said. "Politics."

"It's a dog-eat-dog world out there," she joked. "Come and get me when Haley's gone?"

"Oh, I will."

~*~*~

Something was wrong with her. She sighed as she lowered herself carefully to the couch with a heavy sigh, deciding on juice rather than alcohol. Her body wasn't happy with her at that particular moment. And it was the night of the rose ceremony to boot. Both Haley and Kate had returned from their one-on-ones with roses and Whitney had received one on their group date. That meant there were five roses left to give. Though Aaron had singled her out earlier because of Derek and her reaction to Derek's questions, she felt like his comments about her being an enigma didn't bode well for her tonight. And she wanted to stay.

"There you are."

Speak of the devil. She smiled at Aaron. "Hey."

"You disappeared."

She sighed. "Apparently I have a headache. I just need a few minutes," she promised.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "I hope you're not getting sick."

"I doubt it," she said, laughter in her voice. "I'll be fine, I promise."

"There's something else bothering you."

She smiled wryly. "You know, I think I'm going to come to hate this profiling thing."

"Talk to me," he implored. "I hear this isn't an easy process for you women to go through."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically, a smile on her face. "That makes me feel so much better."

He chuckled. "It's not that much easier for me."

Emily shrugged. "It's a lot. There are a bunch of women living together in the same house, things are bound to get difficult. Women don't live well together."

"What are you talking about?" Aaron asked, taking her hand. "Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, per se," she promised. "I just..." She blew out a breath. "Okay, you know honesty is one thing I value the most, right?"

"You mentioned that. And yet you keep a lot of yourself hidden."

"Self-preservational instinct," she replied. "I've had a lot of practice protecting myself."

Aaron wasn't sure what to say to that. He wanted to know more about this woman, but could he fault her for protecting himself when he did the same thing? He knew of his reputation around Quantico. He didn't smile at work and why should he when the things they saw would churn the strongest of stomachs? But that didn't mean that he was the most open person outside of the office just to make up for that. Derek and Dave could easily attest to his unwillingness to do anything particularly social.

"I'll make you a deal," he said finally.

Emily moved closer, her knee brushing his. "I'm listening."

"For everything to reveal about yourself, I'll give you something back."

She bit her lip and he had to resist the urge to lean over and take that lip himself. Things here moved so fast, but Emily was the type of woman who took her time. And he wanted to give her that kind of space. "On one condition."

"Okay?"

"They have to be equal."

He chuckled slightly, his hand unable to resist tucking an errant curl behind her ear. "What do you mean by 'equal'?"

"If I reveal something about my parents, you reveal something about your parents. If I tell you something I find particularly painful-"

"I reciprocate," he finished for her. It only took him a split second to make his decision. "I can do that."

She seemed to take a deep breath as she nodded her head. "Then let me tell you why I'm closed off."

CHAPTER SEVEN

"My mother is in politics," Emily began, putting a hand on her stomach to try and calm the butterflies. "Since I was a little girl, I've always been taught not to show my emotion. I don't cry in public because-"

"It would be unbecoming and embarrass your family."

She blew out a breath. It seriously sounded like he knew exactly what she was talking about. "Exactly."

Aaron nodded slowly, taking her hand and entwining their fingers. Emily shivered from the heat of his palm, but met his dark eyes resolutely. "Before I tell you about my family, I need to tell you something."

"Okay..."

"You don't have to be strong with me," he said quietly. "I won't think any less of you if you cry, if you get stressed out... From what I know you're a fantastic person. Don't think you have to prove to me you're strong to get anything."

Emily chewed her cheek. "You don't have to be strong either," she told him. "We all have nightmares, we all see things we don't want to see. Maybe not every day like you and Derek and the rest of your team do, but if I'm going to stay here, if I'm really going to make an honest try at building something with you with so many other women around, then I have to know that you're not going to close up on me because you're trying to protect me."

He took her other hand, squeezing both of them between his. "I don't want to close off. Habit is a hard thing to break," he said softly.

She chuckled slightly. "You're telling me."

He smiled and his dimples came out, making her heart stutter. "I can only promise to try."

"I'm only asking you to try," she promised.

He brought one of her hands to his mouth, kissing it gently. "Tell me more about your family."

"Nuh uh, mister," she said, feeling much more at ease now. "I told you what my mom does, you tell me something about yourself."

His eyes darkened and she absently held his hands tighter to convey her support. "My father was in Washington politics after a few years as a successful litigator."

Emily cocked her head to the side. Her brain went through her mental rolodex of politicians she knew. "I have no idea who you're talking about," she said finally, laughing slightly. "I feel like I should."

"If you're mother is in politics it's probably a good bet they've crossed paths," he agreed, amusement in his voice. "Alexander Hotchner."

"No way!" Emily exclaimed. "He's your dad?"

"Biologically," he agreed.

He didn't have to tell her what that meant. "I've met him."

"You have?"

"Mother. Well, that's not true. My father did more Washington work than my mother did."

"What does your mother do?" he asked, trying not to respond to the adrenaline rushing through his system at how candid she was. And he appreciated how she didn't have to ask questions about his father. He didn't want to explain how relieved he had felt when Alexander Hotchner had passed away from lung cancer.

"Um... She's an Ambassador," Emily replied, looking anxious."

His brain clicked in immediately, but he had years of not showing his reactions so he took a page out of her book. "Ambassador Prentiss? Elizabeth Prentiss."

"Exactly. So I grew up all over the world." Then she was shaking her head. "I can't believe we know each other's parents. Or know of them anyway."

"They do say the world is small," he said.

Emily laughed her agreement.

"I think that's enough personal revealing for one night," he said with a smile.

"Ah yes, the rest of your fan club is waiting," she agreed, looking towards the house.

He saw curtains fall closed out of the corner of his eye. "Sometimes, I wish they weren't."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Mister Hotchner."

"It's not flattery, Emily. I... You seem to just understand more than the rest of the women in there. I don't have to think that you think my job is this big glamorous thing. I don't have to pretend that I'm this heroic FBI agent when I'm sitting with you."

"You shouldn't have to do that with anyone else," she said wisely. "You're just going to set yourself up for disappointment later when they realize that your job is all-hours, whenever they call."

"How do you know so much? You work in the State Department."

Her smile was self-deprecating. "My father used to get called away all the time. Always right before he was supposed to do something with me. I know how it feels and it took me years to understand that there are some things that are just more important."

He squeezed her hand. "I do have to go," he said reluctantly. "But Emily... Nothing should be more important to me than my family."

"You don't always get to make that choice," she replied softly. "Go. I'm going to need a few minutes anyway."

"Headache?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I'll be fine."

Once again, he walked away from her dazed and taken aback. Not only was it ridiculously easy to talk to her, but she always left him thinking and reconsidering things. Did he want a family? Of course he did, but he wanted to be there for his family. His job, as it stood, didn't really allow for it. He was either going to have to make some changes or he was going to have to make some very careful choices in the coming weeks.

And he didn't know which would come first.

~*~*~

Emily swallowed a wave of dizziness as she sat beside Shaena. Chris and Derek had just stepped into the room to pull Aaron away to make his next rose ceremony decision.

"You don't look so hot, honey," Shaena said worriedly.

"I'm fine," Emily promised. "It's not too much longer, then I'm going to just go to bed. I'll be fine."

"Alcohol going to your head?" Kate asked scathingly.

"Haven't had any tonight," Emily replied with an ambassador's daughter smile. "Just juice."

Kate seemed disappointed at that news. Emily felt a small thrill in the pit of her stomach. Every woman in that room knew she'd talked to Aaron one-on-one tonight, and Emily knew one-on-one time was a coveted commodity. If Kate was jealous because he hadn't singled her out tonight, she'd let Kate get in a few low punches. And what did it matter? Kate had a rose. It wouldn't do Emily any good to make enemies with her just yet.

"Who was the other guy?" Haley asked.

"One of Aaron's co-workers," Taylor spoke up immediately. "He was on our group date."

"Excellent," Whitney said, drawing her finger along the lip of her wine glass. "He's going to help Derek make his decision."

Emily swallowed. Just a little bit longer, she told herself. Then you can go crawl into bed and die.

And that sounded like heaven at that particular moment.

Aaron stood with Derek in front of the shelves adored with pictures of each of the remaining women. The decision wasn't all-in-all a difficult one to make, but he was still sending four women home tonight. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Emily?"

"Stays," Aaron said without thinking twice.

"You sure, Hotch?"

"Positive," he replied.

Derek smiled. "I think she's your best match right now."

"I'm sorry?" Aaron questioned raising an eyebrow.

"Come on, man. Have you heard her talk about your job? She knows the kind of pressure that's on you. Or at least she's trying to understand. And she's strong."

"You have no idea," Aaron replied with a secretive smile.

"You like her!"

Aaron had to remind himself that here, Derek was his friend and not his subordinate. "Wouldn't you?"

"Hey, if she wasn't here, I'd definitely make a pass at her," Derek agreed. "She's gorgeous."

"She's that too," Aaron agreed, just as Chris walked back into the room.

"You ready?"

Aaron looked at the pictures. "Yeah."

He followed Chris back through the halls to the large room where the remaining twelve women were standing. Haley and Kate looked relaxed and smug as they twirled their roses. Whitney was calmly holding hers. The other women were anxiously awaiting his voice.

"Ladies," Chris greeted. "Welcome to this week's ceremony. Congratulations Haley, Kate, Whitney, you three already have your roses, you have nothing to worry about. As for the rest of you, there are five roses up for grabs. That means four of you are going home tonight. Good luck. Here's our bachelor."

Aaron stepped down the few steps to come stand beside the five red roses. He picked up the first one. "Taylor."

He grinned at the way she immediately relaxed and made her way towards him. "Taylor, will you except this rose?"

"Definitely."

He hugged her, his mind already moving on to the next woman. "Tia."

She accepted her rose with a triumphant little giggle.

"Shaena."

He saw Emily smile. He was glad she had a real friend in the house.

"Victoria."

After Victoria accepted her rose, Chris stepped up. Aaron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. All of the women could see that there was only one rose left.

"Ladies, this is the last rose of the night. Good luck."

He picked up the rose, his eyes going back to the women standing in front of him until he met Emily's dark eyes. He couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach or the tilt of his lips. "Emily."

Her smile was genuine, but that was the only reaction she had as she made her way a little unsteadily towards him. He half caught her, his hand coming to her hip as she reached out for the rose. She tried for a reassuring smile as she brushed his fingers in taking the rose.

"Emily, will you accept this rose."

"Of course."

He hugged her and kissed her cheek, hiding his worry when she rested a little more weight against him than he'd expected. Something was wrong with her, he just wasn't sure what.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Three days after the rose ceremony, Emily could not move from her bed. She thanked whatever higher being was watching over her that she had Shaena and Taylor because both women had catered to her every whim while she lay sick in her bed. Emily was not a very good patient. She groaned at the knock that sounded on the door. All she wanted to do was sleep and she couldn't do that with them virtually hovering. She was glad to have them, but they checked on her constantly. "Go away!"

Shaena poked her head in. "It's me. I don't think you want me to do that."

"Is it life or death?" Emily asked, allowing her eyes to fall closed again. She snuggled further into the blankets in an attempt to ward off the shivers.

"It's a date box."

That caught her attention and her eyes flew open again as her body reacted without the conscious permission of her brain. She shot upright. "What?" She promptly emptied her stomach into the nearby bucket. "No, no, no, no," she groaned as Shaena rubbed her back. Eventually, she settled back against the pillows, accepting the glass of water Shaena and Taylor kept filled on her bedside table.

Shaena picked the box up from the floor, setting it with the glass of water on the bedside table. She pulled the note out from the inside.. "The note says: Time to let someone else take care of you."

Emily groaned. "I look like hell."

"I don't think Aaron cares," Shaena replied, stroking her hair. "We'll find you a pair of really nice lounge pants and a pretty but comfortable shirt. You'll look beautiful and still comfortable."

"I'll still look sick."

"Unfortunately, there is no amount of makeup that will fix that. Come on Em. Let's plop you into a bathtub and leave you to soak for a few hours."

Emily sighed as Shaena made her way to the bathroom. She heard the bath start. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I'm not as cruel as the rest of them?" Shaena replied. "Look, Em, contrary to what you want to think I've been watching the two of you and if anything, he's very intrigued. I think he's very quietly falling for you, if he hasn't already. For someone who can read behaviours so well, you're being remarkably blind."

"But what about you?"

"Barring smear campaigns, I'm doing everything I can to get him to like me. If he eliminates me, it's because he fell more strongly for someone else." She came back into the room, leaning against the door frame.

"You're one of a kind, Shaena," Emily whispered.

Shaena smiled. "Yeah, tell me that when I'm not about to drag your aching butt into a bathtub. Come on. Sit up."

"Shaena," Emily whined.

"You'll thank me in an hour," Shaena said. "And this'll only be more painful and complicated if you're not going to cooperate."

Emily groaned.

~*~*~

It was odd for Aaron to actively seek someone out when he walked into a room, but as he walked into the house, into the living room, his eyes sought out Emily's dark head. He didn't even hear the chorus of his name. Sure, she was much paler than he would have liked, but she was there, waiting. And she was awake,

"How are you feeling?" he asked, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"I've been better," she replied with a smile. "You don't have to do this."

He smiled down at her. "I'm ready if you're up for it." He'd been upset to discover that she was sick, even more so since he wanted her for a one-on-one date. So what he had planned was almost overly relaxing to give her a chance to recover. Because he really didn't want her to be sick. It was yet another strong feeling she evoked in him. Along with the butterflies she brought out in his stomach, apparently she evoked an over-protectiveness too. He wanted to take care of her.

"She's really weak," Taylor spoke up, looking worriedly at Emily. "Shaena and I both had to help her down the stairs."

"I think we cna handle that," Aaron responded with a mischevious smile. He made his way towards her.

"What are you planning?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.

He kneeled down, presenting his back. "Get on," he said. "I'll carry you out to the car."

"No, Aaron, really. I can make it out there by myself, I just need a little bit of extra support is all," Emily argued. "You really don't have to carry me."

"Just do it, Emily," Shaena said with a roll of her eyes.

Emily glared, but slowly moved forward, discarding the blanket. She slid her legs around his hips and felt his hands slip under her thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and had to resist the urge to squeak as he easily lifted her off the ground.

"I hope you're this light because you're sick," he said.

Emily felt herself blush.

"Do you have a bag?" he asked.

Shaena pointed to the bag at Aaron's feet. This time, Emily did squeak when he leaned down to pick up the bag. Laughter broke out among the other women. Emily was just impressed.

"Have fun," Shaena said as Aaron headed towards the open door.

Emily waved back, trying to snuggle into his back. These chills were going to kill her.

"Everything okay?" he asked as he approached the car.

"I have a fever," she sighed. "I get cold."

He opened the passenger door and deposited her inside. "Do you have a blanket?" he asked.

"In the bag. I'll be fine so long as we're not going that far."

He seemed to stop and consider getting the blanket out of the bag for a minute, before simply tossing it in the back seat. "We're not going to that far," he promised. "We're going to the house I'm staying in."

Emily felt her heart jump. "Oh?" she asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Quiet night in," he said. "I figured you weren't up for being wined and dined."

"I prefer nights in," Emily answered, leaning back and closing her eyes. "I'm not the fancy party type of girl."

"That doesn't surprise me. The way you talk about your mother's politics makes me think fancy things really aren't your style in general."

Emily smiled widely. "Maybe I don't hate your profiling skill after all," she joked. "Not if it means I don't always have to tell you every inch of my life story on national television."

"I can't always tell what you're thinking," he admitted. "You have a very good poker face."

"It took years to build," she replied. "My mother needed the perfect family picture. It wouldn't have helped if I made a fuss when I wanted to."

"Ah yes, that picture," he said.

Emily caught the sarcastic smile that floated across his face. "Mmm, you too. It's been a long time since I've found someone who understands what it's like."

"It's a nice difference," Aaron agreed.

She leaned her head back again. "I think politics makes people distrustful. I think it makes them hate themselves. I think it tears families apart and damages people."

"That's a very strong view," he said quietly.

"I tend to have strong opinions," she answered. "I can't explain how much I hate politics."

He reached over and took her hand. "This isn't politics, Em. You don't have to hide."

"It's a hard habit to break," she replied, squeezing his hand. "Over thirty years of doing something... It's difficult to change it."

"It doesn't mean you can't try," he said. "You're not used to someone else taking care of you, are you?"

She bit her lip but shook her head. "You're used to taking care of everyone else, aren't you?"

"True," he conceded. "Over thirty years of doing something... It's difficult to change."

"It's annoying when people throw my own words back at me," Emily said, opening her eyes enough to glare at him.

Aaron chuckled. "It isn't fun."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because you made it sound like my protective instincts were terrible things to have," he replied. "Right now, you really need someone else taking care of you."

"I'm not usually sick," she pointed out. "In fact, I'm rarely sick."

"But can you stop being strong and stubborn, even after your illness, to let someone else shoulder some of the bad things?" he asked wisely.

They were pulling up to the house so she smiled over at him, using it as a reprieve. "We're about to find out, aren't we?"

His gaze was intense as he opened the door. "We're about to find out."

CHAPTER NINE

She'd popped two Aspirin and he'd settled her into his bed with the large TV on. As a result, she felt slightly stronger, and since emptying her stomach earlier, it hadn't been half as unhappy with her. But the chills hadn't dissipated as much as she wanted. Not only that, but in many ways, metaphorically and physically, she still pushed him away. They sat close together, but Emily resisted allowing him to pull her any closer because she didn't want to get him sick.

"Emily, you're still shaking. Body heat is the best way to warm up."

"It's the fever," she snapped. She knew part of her was pulling away to protect herself, but she couldn't seem to make that part of her shut up for a few minutes while she was with him. It was her habit to protect herself.

"Stop it," he said, fighting against her resistance. "Let someone else take care of you."

She took a deep breath. 'Aaron..." Her eyes flew open when he cupped her face in his palms.

"You do not have to protect yourself with me. I like you, Emily. I like spending time with you. And you promised you would try."

Emily bit her lip. "You barely know me."

"I know more than you think," he said quietly. "I know you're beautiful, I can see that. I know you're smart, terrifyingly so. I know that you're passionate and you feel strongly about a lot of things. I know you're afraid of opening your heart to anyone. I know honesty is of the utmost importance to you and that people have to fight for and earn your trust.

"I know that something in politics has made you extremely distrustful of people, and I'd bet that it was your family or someone you loved who has made you so incredibly trustful of me. I hate that it's made you so protective of yourself," he whispered. "Because I think there is a fantastic woman you're hiding, Emily and I wish you'd let me get to know her."

Emily knew her eyes were tearing. "That's a lot," she whispered. "You've been profiling me."

"I don't know how else to tell you that you can trust me," he told her frankly.

And Emily knew this was a turning point. She could tell him about herself, something about her childhood that made her so protective – because there was a list of things that had all ultimately contributed to the complex – or she could close off. She knew if she closed off, she was risking whatever relationship she could have with Aaron. She closed her eyes, trying to find the strength to tell him one of the worst things she could remember.

"I was raised by nannies," she whispered. "I moved around so much that relying on friends... It just wasn't possible. By the time I made friends, I was moving again. So I learned that it just wasn't worth it. At least until I went to high school. My father fought with my mother until she gave in and sent me back to the States to do my high school years. I was excited. No more nannies, just my dad. Daddy always thought I could take care of myself. I just didn't realize how far that meant.

"It started with him. He'd miss dinners, leave me alone in the house for weeks on end... I went to a private high school where I was very much an outsider. They Washington private school arena grew up together. I made a few friends here and there, but four years was less time than I spent in a lot of foreign countries so I figured that it just wasn't worth it, making friends. But Steph just kept pushing and pushing and pushing. Her parents were both big political players, both travelling constantly. So I became her only family. And she was the only person I opened up to."

Aaron squeezed her hands. His hand drifted down through her story. "What happened?" he prompted when she fell silent.

"Her boyfriend was abusing her. Not physically, but verbally, mentally, emotionally... And never when I was around. When you grow up in politics, and I mean really grow up in that world, all you really want is for someone to pay attention to you, to love you and to show you that they do. I didn't know what was going on until I read the letter she left for me before she overdosed on her pills for depression. I should have known when they prescribed them, but so many of the kids were on them those days... That was the first time."

"There was another?" he asked, voice pained.

Emily nodded and tried for the smile. "A few more," she whispered. "But we've had enough for one day."

He pulled her into his arms and she went willingly this time, looking for comfort in her exhaustion. His strong arms were tight around her and she ignored the ache in her muscles as he squeezed her to him. He held her head in the crook of his neck and though she didn't cry, she breathed him in, the air stuttering painfully in her lungs. Her hand came up to fist over her heart, surprisingly strong considering how sick she was. Eventually she turned her head, her forehead coming to rest just beneath his chin.

"I want to be here," she whispered. "I want a chance to get to know you."

"I know how much that took for you to tell me," he promised.

"I've never talked about Steph before," she admitted. "I really want to trust you. I want to tell you more, but I need you to understand how much it takes to open myself up sometimes. I'm not perfect Aaron."

"I'm sorry," he said, kissing her forehead gently. "I was expecting a lot of things, but I wasn't expecting that."

"I've got a lot of skeleton's in my closet," she told him softly.

He pushed her chin up with a finger. "I will never ask you to do it again," he swore. "You can tell me when you're ready, but I will never push you to do it again, Emily."

She could see the sincerity in his eyes, but also the curiosity and she wasn't sure she could trust that when he seemed so intensely curious to figure out how she worked. "I want to believe you."

Aaron let go of her chin and cuddled them both down into the pillows. He pulled the blankets up around her shoulders. "I think that's enough deep conversation for one day."

Emily found herself actually chuckling. "Is it nap time?"

"I think it's a good idea," he replied, pulling her closer and nestling her against his side.

Her body started to relax as his hand rubbed up and down her back. Much to her surprise, her eyelids started to droop. Her hand fisted tighter in his shirt. "Aaron?"

"Mmhmm?"

"I like you too," she murmured.

She missed his smile.

CHAPTER TEN

She woke hours later curled up against him and so incredibly happy and content. Her head was throbbing and if Aaron was awake she probably would have asked him to hunt down some drugs for her, but for now, she was content to snuggle closer, wrap the blankets around her and just absorb him. She'd been honest when she'd said she'd never spoken about Steph before and it had taken so much to be able to open herself up like that. Because Emily was used to getting hurt, getting left behind by those she loved. And though she probably would never admit it this early, if on the show at all, she was starting to wonder if falling for him was actually something she could easily do. Of course, that was if she wasn't already.

Emily knew she was surprisingly awake for how ill she'd been feeling and it took her brain a few minutes to wonder what time it was. She tried to move as little as possible, not wanting to wake him. Midnight! She'd been here for almost twelve hours. "Aaron?"

He woke up quickly, pulling her tighter before releasing his grip. "Are you okay?"

"It's midnight," she said, almost panicked.

He looked at the clock and sighed. "I meant to have you back to the house so you could relax and sleep."

She bit her lip. She didn't want to move. She was still groggy and she was comfortable. He was warm and he was right when he'd said body head was a big help in warding off the chills. "We were sleeping a minute ago."

For a minute, he just looked at her. Then he tightened his arms around her carefully. "Do you need anything?"

"I've been considering whether taking another Aspirin is a good idea," she replied. "But... I'm too comfortable to move."

"I'll get it."

But she held on. "I'm okay without it," she said.

Aaron chuckled as he wrapped her tighter. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," she said, pillowing her head back on his chest, curling into him. "Human warmth works better than any of the pills."

His hand was rubbing her back again, trailing up and down her spine until it threaded up into her hair. He scratched at her skull and Emily had to bite her lip to keep from moaning in pleasure. It was making her headache dull significantly. Instead, she sighed in contentment. "Is this what it's going to be like?" she asked after a minute.

"What what's going to be like?" he asked, pressing a kiss to her hairline.

"Actually being with you," she answered. "Is this what it's going to be like actually being with you?"

His hand moved, starting to twist through her hair. "Well, I'm not one for big parties," he said. "But some women deserve to be spoiled."

"I don't think that answers my question," she replied with a chuckle.

"You're one of those people who deserves to be spoiled, Em," he said. "So would this be every day? No. But my job keeps me on the go almost all the time. When I get home, I don't want to go out at all."

"Understandably," Emily agreed quietly. Her finger started tracing over his t-shirt-clad chest.

"I'll take you back in the morning," he said softly. "Let's try and get back to sleep."

~*~*~

The next morning, Emily woke to an empty but still warm bed. She felt herself smile involuntarily as she rolled into his pillow. It was terrifying how content she felt, wrapped up in blankets that weren't even technically his. She tried to take a deep breath and calm herself down, but she couldn't seem to make the butterflies disappear. The bed dipped beside her and she pulled her head up from the pillows. Aaron was smiling at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She tried stretching her limbs, wondering if pain would be following. But there was no ache this morning, and she knew she had been able to keep light things down. She sat up slowly and was thankful to find the dizziness was gone. She wasn't as strong as she wanted to be, but she felt much better. "Better."

"I'm glad. Breakfast?"

She blinked. "You're offering me breakfast?"

"I can't send you home hungry," he replied.

"You're a sweet man," she said.

He pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. "And you're an amazing woman."

Emily knew she was blushing as he stood.

"One breakfast, coming right up."

And sure enough, ten minutes later he was returning to the bedroom with a tray and dry toast. She eyed his cup of coffee longingly as he pushed tea towards her.

"No way," he said with a laugh. "Not until you can keep solid food down."

She pouted, feeling much more comfortable and playful. He hadn't said anything about their conversation the night before and he really hadn't changed the way he'd been acting towards her. Nothing had changed except for that hum of tension that now existed between them. "It's just coffee."

"Not until you can keep solid food down," he repeated, gently climbing back onto the bed so as not to disrupt their breakfast.

It was then she noticed the rose sitting near her plate. He seemed to know exactly what she was looking at and picked the flower up off of the tray. He twirled it in his fingers for a moment, and Emily watched the blood red of the petals, unsure what to think.

"Emily, will you accept this rose?"

She bit her lip. "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "You're a terrible patient, stubborn as hell, but I want you to accept the rose. I'm sure."

The smile that erupted over her face was wider than she could remember giving him. "Yes," she said. "And someday, I will get over this insecurity complex."

"Not too fast," he replied. "Your insecurities are what make you who you are."

She'd never had anyone tell her that and she had to look away as her face heated. "I've never had someone tell me that before. It's always been about-"

"Being better, being happier, being whatever your parents need you to be," he finished with a nod. "Not here. Not with me."

"It's going to take a lot of getting used to," she answered. "I know I've told you that, but it's not easy to just turn yourself into this open person, Aaron. Not when I've protected myself for most of my life."

He still held the rose, but he cupped her chin in his other hand. "I'm not asking for the world, Emily. I'm asking for a real chance to get to know you. All of you."

Her hand came up, brushing his as her fingers closed around the stem. "Of course I'll accept the rose," she whispered.

Then he did something she had not been expecting in the slightest. Though the tension between them was thick, but she was in competition with seven women, and of all of them, she hadn't expected to be the first. Because the determined look in his eyes as he pulled her chin forward told her exactly what he was going to do and she was powerless to stop it. Not that she actually wanted Aaron to stop before he kissed her.

And that's exactly what he did, sealing his mouth to hers gently. Emily's eyelids fluttered closed, just as he pulled away. When she blinked them open again, she was glad to see he hadn't gone that far. She initiated the next kiss, though it was his tongue that made the next move. She whimpered slightly in the back of her throat as she parted her lips, her free hand coming up to grip his t-shirt. Eventually he pulled back.

"That will be worth getting sick."

Emily laughed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Emily was thankful she had the strength to walk into the house of her own free will. If she'd had Aaron's help, as they'd argued about on the ride back to the house, she was sure she'd be in for the Spanish Inquisition. Even so, her heart beat sped up as she opened the front door, turning to glance back over her shoulder and return Aaron's wave. When she closed the door, she couldn't stop the wistful smile from flitting over her face as she twirled the rose between her fingers. She'd never been so excited or giddy about a flower in her life.

"Emily!"

Her head shot up as Taylor raced down the stairs, Tia not far behind. She took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. "Good morning."

"Did you just get in?" Tia asked, her eyes glowing.

Emily fought her blush. "Yeah."

Taylor outright squealed, a high-pitched sound that made Emily wince. "You stayed all night?"

"I fell asleep," Emily tried to defend herself. "It was midnight when I woke up and he decided it was just easier, since I was sick, for us to wait until morning."

"How are you feeling?" Taylor asked.

"Better," Emily admitted, pushing away from the door. She looked down as she murmured, "It was nice to have someone else take care of me."

Taylor grinned. "You have to tell us all about it!"

Emily sighed, glad she'd done a heck of a lot of sleeping the night before. She had a feeling it was going to be a long morning.

CHAPTER TWELVE

David Rossi was not the tag-along type and he'd made that very clear when he agreed to come and help Hotch pick a girl. He wouldn't go on any of the dates, group or otherwise, and he wouldn't be subjected to by the book clichéd moments. Which was the reason he'd fought tooth and nail to simply show up with Hotch at the cocktail party after their week of dates and he had one goal in mind and one goal only: he was going to judge them on first impressions.

He'd dealt with too many superficial people in his life, thanks to the success of his books and he could spot it half way across a country. He could tell a liar from across the room and had way too much practice in the behavioural sciences to miss any of the subtle nuances in the six women in the room He didn't need dates or long conversations to gauge which were genuine and which weren't.

But there was another reason he only wanted one night. He really didn't want to give the women any time to clarify or explain statements. He didn't want to give them a chance to realize they'd said something that could hurt their chances. He wanted them as open as he could and thus, laid on the charm in the process in an attempt to ensure that the women simply opened up to him. Most of them did without question, without reservation, aware that, like Derek, he could have a huge influence on the next woman that left this cozy little group.

Actually, the first thing Dave had noticed when he'd walked into the room with Hotch was that there were definitely two camps going on here. Well, it was the second thing. The first thing was the way Hotch had tensed up when they walked into the room. Dave wondered if it was because he was preparing himself for the Rose Ceremony ahead of him or if it was because something had happened over the course of the week to make him doubt one of these women.

"Hotch?" he murmured out of the corner of his mouth, even though he smiled his way through Chris' introduction.

"Later," the younger man murmured back as he was immediately accosted by two blonds. He seemed to relax marginally so Dave left it at that and made his way over to the other four. It was about an hour, and the exchange the blonds for a woman he learned was Taylor, that he noticed the silence of one particular woman in the room. As he looked around, he made a startling observation. Emily had gone missing.

"Excuse me, ladies," he said politely, and they didn't seem to mind letting him wander away. So he did, trying to look like he was busy while simultaneously trying to find the brunette that was missing.

Emily had caught his attention almost immediately and if she hadn't been on the show, he was sure he would have at the very least made a pass at her. On the outside, she was stunning, statuesque and Dave knew of money, politics and privilege. Yet here she was, on television, vying for a man's heart. And, as he'd learned from Hotch, worked at the State Department. While it didn't really surprise him upon finding out she was well versed in the ways of politics, it did surprise him at the same time. Women of money and privilege rarely went for anything less than a high-paying job that could maintain their standard of living. Dave would bet the State Department didn't pay half as much as whatever her parents did to get the money.

He found her outside, and made sure to make noise as he approached. Her heels lay on the ground less than a foot from the leg of the porch swing she pushed with bare toes. Her other leg was curled beneath her, her hands hugging her stomach. Something was not right in Emily's world.

"Penny for your thoughts."

She smiled slightly. "You know, those were Aaron's first words to me. Well, the first thing he wanted to ask me, anyway."

That told Dave more about her and her state of mind than he would bet she wanted him to know. "Was it?"

"I could tell by the look on his face," she said with a shrug.

He gestured to the empty spot beside her and she nodded. He sat, letting her control the pace of the swing. "You read behaviour?"

"A little. Nothing like you. Nothing like Aaron."

"We've had a little bit more practice," Dave joked.

"Years worth of practice," she agreed with a little bit of a smile. "My expertise lies mainly in watching politicians."

"Which would by why you can keep such a good poker face. Your body language needs work."

"Not something I generally bother to try and work on," she replied. "Especially if there's no need for it." She paused for a moment. "How many pennies do you have?"

"How many are you going to need?" he replied with a smile.

"I'm a naturally curious person," she began, tucking her leg beneath her other one. The swing continued its rocking motion without her help. "I guess I started asking too many questions when I was out with Aaron, Taylor and Kate. I just... if I'm going to make any kind of relationship work with Aaron, I want to know what his job is. More than that, I want him to be able to talk about it with me."

"Our job isn't easy to talk about, Emily," he told her. "We see a lot of things no one else wants to."

"But it's important to him," she replied, trying to hide her emotionality in a matter-of-fact tone. "He closed down. Now I feel guilty."

"For asking?"

"For prying," she answered.

"How do you know if you were prying? Did you ask?" Dave asked.

"I know. I saw."

Dave connected the dots. Hotch's tense posture when he walked into the house. Emily's quiet demeanour... They were connected. "Hotch's job is very important to him," he agreed.

"All I want to know is how to handle it. I want to be able to be there for him and I can't if I don't know what he goes through, what he's going through,"

"Emily, you have to trust him."

"With all due respect, Agent Rossi, I don't know if I can do that. Not if he won't talk to me."

She didn't trust easily. He wasn't sure that was a help of a hindrance in the long run. And he had to give her credit. Not many people would voluntarily ask questions about a job like theirs. There was too much danger involved, too many ways they saw a human take the life of another human. It wasn't easy to explain it to any one and even more people didn't want to hear about it. "I'm sure he wants to," Dave said finally. "It's just hard for people who are used to closing themselves off to open up again?"

"You think I don't know that?" she asked softly, not looking at him but out across the grassy backyard of the women's mansion. "As a woman, to stay in this so-called game, you have to be willing to open up much faster than you would in a regular relationship. Aaron knows things about me that my best friends don't even know. He has the real potential to hurt me if he sends me home."

"You shouldn't be telling me this," he told her frankly. "You should be telling him."

Emily sighed. "I'm not sure how," she admitted. "I can't decide whether I want to go home and save myself the possibility of getting hurt more or if I want to solve this and stay and..."

"Hotch is a complicated man, Emily," Dave interrupted softly, having seen Hotch heading across the grass toward him. "An extremely complicated man. You are a complicated woman and I can tell that from the very little we've talked. If you want my opinion, stay. But it's not my choice to make."

. . . . .

Aaron had been accosted by each woman in turn, but the one woman he knew he had to talk to, Emily had taken him by surprise when she'd started really asking him about his job. No woman he'd ever met, ever gone out with, had asked him about his job in the detail Emily seemed to want. They had been in a private space, talking softly, but he'd been surprised. He closed down. He couldn't do anything else. But he wanted to talk to her. He hadn't been surprised to find her outside. He had been surprised to find her with Dave. He wasn't sure what to say as he approached. Dave made the decision for him. After murmuring something to Emily, too low for him to hear, he stood from the swing and made his way toward Hotch. The older man clapped him on the shoulder as he walked passed.

Aaron stopped in front of Emily, unsurprised when she wouldn't meet his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you."

Her eyes met his then, and he could read so much in them. "Do I want to hear it?"

"Do you mind if I sit?"

"I hate it when you answer a question with a question," she said, even as she nodded.

He took a seat, trying not to notice the way she'd tucked her legs beneath her. He had noticed she had a tendency to do that. More so, it certainly seemed like she hated shoes. "It's a habit."

Silence fell for a few moments before she cocked her head to the side. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"I owe you an apology," he told her, looking up at the way the clouds were sliding over to cover the stars.

"A what?"

"An apology?" she asked in surprise. "You don't owe me an apology at all. If anything, I owe you an apology."

Aaron blew out a breath. "You only wanted to know something that's a core part of me and I shot you down."

"I shouldn't have pried."

"Isn't that what I did?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Different situations."

"Same situation. Painful memory, painful job."

"We live through it. I understand."

"I want you to," he said, reaching out to her, dropping his hand on one of the arms still wrapped around her stomach. "I want to explain it to you."

Emily finally turned her eyes to him. "Then do it."

"It's not that easy, Emily. I can't just explain to you what my job is, the things I see. I see too much and it's not your burden to bear."

"Because you don't want me to," she replied, taking his hand nonetheless and entwining their fingers. "You could let me in, Aaron. You could tell me about the things you see, but you think I can't handle it."

He opened his mouth to respond, but she pressed a finger against his mouth.

"Whether you want to or not, that's what you think. You think that the kind of things you see are too painful for anyone else to see."

He could tell she was on a roll now. She was getting the glaze in her eye that he recognized as the same one that had when they'd been curled up together in his bed in the house he was staying in. Or so he thought. The eyes he turned on her were clear, full of emotion, of pain, of the need to understand.

"There is nothing a human can do to another human that is worse than psychological damage, Aaron. There is nothing you can tell me that is going to be new and different to either what I've seen or what I've experienced."

His hand came up to her cheek, knowing that was the only way he was going to get her actual attention. "I want to tell you. I've never had someone ask me the questions you asked me."

Emily searched his eyes. "What kind of cases do you work?"

He knew this was his turn to open up like she had about her friends' suicide. If she'd trusted him, this fantastic, gorgeous, brilliant woman, then he could definitely trust her in return. More than that, he should trust her.

"We take on cases that no one else can see. Mutilation, torture... you name it, if it's terrible, I've probably seen it. I've seen people eat the flesh of someone else. I've seen a man who kept the hearts of his victims. I've seen a man lock up three co-eds because he thought he was showing them the people they truly were and make two of them beat another one to death with a hammer. He'd convinced them it was the only way he'd ever let them out. I've played poker with a serial killer for information, and that's just scratching the surface."

She nodded, rubbing her cheek on his palm in the process. Her hand came up to cover his and she moved closer. "What else?"

He blew out a breath, even as he pulled her closer, arranged her across his lap and started the swing. He found the movement oddly soothing. "Emily, you really can't ask me that." She had to know she was pushing her luck to ask him anything else.

"Tell me one more thing," she requested, making sure she was still holding his eyes.

He couldn't say no to her vulnerable gaze. "I'll try."

"Which ones are the worst?"

Aaron held her tighter, resting his forehead against hers. "The children. It will always be the children."

Her hand combed through his hair. "Do you have nightmares?" she whispered.

This was a level of vulnerability he wasn't sure he was comfortable with, but the openness in her face, he knew she'd be able to tell if he told her anything other than the truth. "Often."

"You didn't have any the night I stayed over," Emily pointed out softly. It wasn't meant to be anything other than a statement and Aaron was thankful for that.

But it did give him the perfect opportunity to lighten the mood. "How could I have nightmares with such a strong woman beside me?"

She laughed, as he'd intended. He kissed her through her laughter, his arms linking together behind her back. Once again, their foreheads came together as they broke to catch their breath a few minutes later.

"You can hurt me, you know," she said quietly. "I've never given anyone that power so quickly."

Her words humbled him in a way he was sure she would never be able to understand. Because, as he'd learned, Emily didn't see herself the way he did. She didn't see the endless compassion she hid behind compartmentalizing boxes. She didn't see the way her beautiful exterior didn't do justice to her interior. He knew the six weeks of this experience would never be enough in trying to get to know Emily.

He was about to lean in to kiss her when he heard his name across the expanse of the yard. He sighed, recognizing Dave's voice calling him in. It was time for him to choose who was going to stay and who was going to go. He felt his heart contract slightly as Emily stood, moving to slip her shoes back on. He waited for her, holding out a hand. He grinned at her as she took it, pulling her closer as they made the trek across the sprawling grass.

He kissed her temple as they hit the stone of the patio, "You can hurt me too."

~*~*~

Aaron stood in front of all five women apprehensively. He hated this part of what he was doing. He wasn't sure if this was as bad as having to choose between Kate and Whitney. Two-on-one dates were the worst creation in this whole process. The guilt began to gnaw at his inside again as he twisted the first rose between his fingers. Kate was the only one with the rose tonight and another one of the five women was going home.

He took a deep breath. "Shaena." He waited until she came forward. "Will you accept this rose?"

He kissed her cheek and allowed her to walk back to her place in line. Then he picked up the next rose. "Emily."

He grinned as her entire body relaxed visibly and she blew out a breath in relief. He felt a shot of adrenaline race through his system as her fingers brushed his. "Will you accept this rose?"

"Absolutely."

He was down to one rose and two women. Haley and Taylor stood in front of him, both of them looking ridiculously tense. "Haley." Pause. "Will you accept this rose?"

"Of course."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Aaron breathed out a sigh of relief. The producers had decided he would only be sent on three home-town dates for the season, which meant he'd had one more week in LA before he had to worry about parents. At the same time, it was parents that happened to be on his brain. He had to seriously think about which women he'd like to go home with. Some of them were easy ones. He'd love to experience Emily's family, to be able to see the background she actually came from. He wanted to meet Haley's family, to see if they were as down home and simple as the blond was. Shaena and Kate, on the other hand, were his unknowns.

Which was why he was tearing himself apart as he stood in front of the four picture frames. He liked so much about both women, he enjoyed the idea of meeting the families of both women and, quite honestly, he'd had a fantastic time on each of his dates that week. He sighed. Usually he was so good with decisions. It was a requirement of his job that he be able to make quick decisions under pressure. More often than not, someone's life depended on it. But this wasn't the same thing. Part of him wanted to send Shaena home because she was still closed off from him. She'd admitted to having strong feelings, but Kate had said she was quite seriously falling in love with him.

"Aaron?"

He bit the inside of his cheek as he turned to Chris. He'd fly by the seat of his pants again. It wasn't the first time he'd done it and he did trust his gut. "I'm ready."

He followed Chris into the Pedestal Room, as he'd taken to calling it, where three roses sat innocently on the platform. He took his place beside it, looking at the four women in turn. Chris said his official lines and Aaron saw Emily roll her eyes. He caught those dark orbs and quirked up his mouth. Finally Chris stepped away and Aaron picked up the first rose. "Emily."

Her mouth quirked up as she made her way towards him and he decorously kept his eyes on her face. She'd made a crack earlier in the evening when he'd definitely taken a look down the neck of her dress. "Will you accept this rose?"

"Yes."

He kissed her quickly, unable to resist before she turned back to the others. He picked up the next rose. "Haley."

The little blond beamed as she made her way towards him. "You're going to love Seattle," she said quietly.

"Will you accept this rose?"

Her grin widened. "Of course I will."

She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth before he watched her walk back to the others. With a deep breath, he picked up the last rose. His eyes darted back and forth between Shaena and Kate, his gut not being of any assistance to him. Then an image flashed in his head, tossing one of the women into the pool, racing her down a park path... "Shaena."

The stunned redhead came forward. "Are you sure?" she whispered.

"Very sure," he responded with a smile. "Will you accept this rose?"

"Yes."

"You little harpy!"

Every head turned to Kate as she stood, hands fisted at her sides, face screwed up in shock and anger. Her eyes were on Emily and the brunette stood there, eyes wide.

"How dare you!"

"How dare I what?" Emily replied, her voice neutral.

Aaron found himself swelling with pride at how natural she sounded. It only made him want to meet her family more. He wanted to know who had raised her to be that calm.

"You have been spreading rumours about me this entire time!" Kate accused.

Emily's eyes widened further and Aaron could see the hurt in them. "Kate, I haven't-"

But Kate interrupted her, her eyes on Aaron. "I've never broken anyone up. I've never been a homewrecker or a slut. My ex broke up with his girlfriend before we started everything. And I've never led anyone on in my life. You have no right to be spreading rumours like that."

He didn't know what to say or do. He'd never heard those rumours from anyone else. "Kate-"

"Unlike you! You let me come this far without a single indication you were going to let me go."

Tears were in her eyes now and Aaron found himself preparing for her to slap him across the face. When she did, he was surprised to see Emily cross the room in five short steps, and take hold of Kate's wrist as she wound up to do it again.

"You're making a scene on national television, Kate," she said quietly. "You don't want to do this here."

"You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do."

"You're right," Emily said, her voice still calm. "But I know if I had your pride I wouldn't be stomping around this place with television cameras watching my every move."

"You selfish bitch," Kate hissed even as Emily let go of the other woman's hand.

Right when Aaron thought Kate was going to hit Emily for sure and preparing himself to haul her bodily out of the room. The blond stuck up her nose, turned on her heel and stalked out. Aaron squeezed Emily's shoulder briefly before following Kate. He caught up to her at the door, for the first time thankful that heels often slowed a woman down. "Kate."

"What the hell do you want? You've already humiliated me, what else do you need to do? Kick me while I'm down?"

Relief washed over him as he realized that this was the real Kate. This was the woman he'd eliminated. "You had no right to bite into Emily like that," he said softly. "You had no right to make a scene like you did." He knew no other words were necessary. She'd humiliated herself enough for one night, and in front of millions of viewers.

"You had no right to lead me on," she responded scathingly. "Don't you think you've done enough damage?"

He let her have the last word, knowing it was important to her. He watched her climb into the limo and watched the limo drive off, his hands in his pockets.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Aaron couldn't sleep. He felt absolutely terrible, and more importantly, responsible for the tongue lashing Emily had endured at that evening's Rose Ceremony. Most of him understood that logically, he couldn't be at fault, but that didn't stop the guilt from flooding his stomach. Even now, he stood out on the little balcony of his house, wanting nothing more that to be beside Emily, comforting her. Well, assuming she needed the comfort. He bit his lower lip. He wasn't supposed to go over there, he was supposed to stay at his place and they were supposed to stay at theirs, at least until all of the flights left tomorrow. But he couldn't just sit around remembering the pain in Emily's eyes.

Rules or no rules, he was going over to that house. So he exchanged his pyjama pants for seldom-used track pants and a t-shirt before climbing into the SUV in the driveway. He didn't care much what it was for, or even if he was able to use it, just about getting to the house. He went around the back, knowing that the back door was rarely locked. He didn't have to look far in the house. Emily sat on the couch in the main living room, her head tilted back as soft music floated around the room.

"Emily?"

She looked up, startled. "My God."

"Sorry," he said immediately, keeping his voice down. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine," she replied. Then she paused. "What are you doing here?"

He moved until he sat on the coffee table in front of her. "Kate had no right to say what she did."

Emily shrugged a shoulder. "It's not a problem."

"It is Emily. You wouldn't be down here, at this hour, if it wasn't a problem. And I thought we had a deal."

She tried for a smile. "She's not the first person who has called me names, Aaron," she said quietly. "Contrary to the childhood rhymes, names do hurt."

He knew that. Half of their UNSUBs started from bullies in high school. "Tell me about it."

Emily looked away from him. "For once, it's not even something in my childhood," she began softly, and he had the feeling she knew better than to keep fighting him at this point. And that everything was on the line for the next three weeks. "I told you I came back to the States for my high school years, right?"

"Then went to Yale," he agreed.

Emily nodded her head once. "With my background and my language ability, I was a shoo-in for the State Department. That doesn't mean I don't work hard, that doesn't mean I didn't work hard."

He took her hand. I'm here, I'm listening. Keep talking.

"You try and get rid of them first. Find the person who started the rumour, and find a way to stop it in its tracks. But some rumours just don't stop. Some just keep going, following you everywhere you go. And some people think that they can use that to their advantage. Some decide that since you used your parents' name to get to where you are, that you'll do anything else to climb the ladder."

Aaron knew where this was going and he knew that Emily was much too proud of where she was and who she was to allow anyone to sacrifice her morals or her pride.

"There wasn't anything anyone ever had over me," she kept going. "I've never used my mother's name to get ahead in any game. I've never used who I am to get a better job or get something I could get with hard work and dedication. I swore to myself when I was a child I would be my own person, that my parents could only have a hold on me until I was 21 and then all of the choices I made were going to be for me and only me. I worked and trained to get into the State Department."

"I believe you," he said quietly.

Her eyes darted to his, as if realizing he was still sitting in front of her. "One of my supervisors didn't. He figured he could manipulate the queen of the politics game into getting an extra little something on the side. He figured I was ambitious enough and wanted to climb the ladder of the State Department so badly that I'd do anything he asked. Anything."

"I understand," he promised, his spine shivering with the implication that someone had even gone that far with her. Protective instincts reared up in him and he gripped her hand tighter.

"I didn't know what to do. I mean, when I turned him down the first few times, he cornered me after work one day in his office. Told me if I didn't, he'd fire me. That's the only time I've ever used my name to get anything, and it was to get away from him. I found out later he'd pulled the same stunt with women before me. I was the last woman he ever screwed with, literally and metaphorically."

"Did you...?"

"No," she answered immediately. "But I had people within the department afraid of me pulling my name on them for a while. I'm pretty sure there's still some people who refuse to work with me."

If anything, Aaron was struck once again by her strength. Not only had this woman experienced her best friend taking her own life, but she'd been through probably years of sexual harassment and people whispering behind her back that she was nothing better than a glorified little rich girl, floating on her parents' coattails. He moved slowly, so as not to startle her until he was sitting beside her. His hands still gripped hers though pulled it into his lap. He started tracing her long, elegant fingers.

"The BAU has the highest burn out rate in the entirety of the Bureau," he began quietly. "The things we see people do to other people, to women, to children, to defenceless human beings... Well, let's just say it's not exactly a surprise that so many people leave the unit."

"I know that," she said softly.

Of course she did. She'd have done her research. He smiled grimly. "What they don't tell you is that you make your own family where you can. The unit isn't exactly conducive to anything outside of the job. We're called out at all hours, fly across the country at the drop of a hat, and there's never anything as a set schedule. It wears on you. There are always cases that effect agents, ones that either just stick or ones where you remember the victims or resemble the victims... Or worse."

"Worse?" she asked quietly.

He blew out a breath, not surprised with how easily she slipped into the mode of compassionate woman and strong pillar. He'd meant to come here to reassure her and he wondered if that was really what he was doing by sharing this with her.

"My past as a unit chief isn't clean in the slightest. I got the job because my predecessor miscalculated and was blamed for blowing up three agents. Severe PTSD. He came back, eventually, but left without a word to any of us. Another one of my agents shot a man in cold blood because the case had affected her so bad. That was after she'd been shot by an UNSUB in her own home because we didn't play by his rules."

He felt her shiver, but she didn't move away. Her shoulder leaned against his and he felt her head drop to settle right between his neck and shoulder. "Keep going."

Aaron let go of her hand with one of his, bringing it up to play with the ends of her hair. "I had an agent put onto my team to spy on me, to find a legitimate reason to let me go. She asked me what on earth she could have on me. At that point, not only had Elle potentially murdered a suspect, but one of my other agents was dealing with a drug addiction. He'd been kidnapped, drugged repeatedly... But to some people, family is more important and I was in no position to call him out."

Silence fell for a few moments before she spoke. "It takes guts to admit that you have problems," she said quietly. "And I doubt your team would come to help you make this decision if you didn't mean something to them, if they didn't care about who you picked through all of this."

He laughed slightly, kissing the top of her head. "How is it that I came over here to tell you Kate was out of line and you end up reassuring me?"

"Relationships are all about give and take," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

He needed something light-hearted to talk about, something that wasn't about his work. "Tell me something."

She pulled her head away, meeting his eyes with trepidation. "Maybe..."

"Who am I going to meet in...?"

"Washington," Emily replied. "And I'm not sure..."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Emily found herself bouncing in excitement four days later as she waited at Dulles for Aaron to deplane. She had the whole day planned out and felt very much like she'd gotten off lucky. Her father was the only one in town, her mother preoccupied with something in Eastern Europe, but that was perfectly okay with Emily. They had a few hours to themselves first before meeting up with JJ and Penelope for lunch. As the two women who might as well be her blood sisters and the people who knew the most about her in her life, Emily felt like it was extremely important for him to meet them.

Then they'd head to her father's penthouse where they were going to have drinks and dinner with her real blood family. Her sisters would be there, as would her father, who had sworn to his first born that this was something there was no way he was going to miss. So Emily was bouncing as she waited impatiently. His plane had gotten in 20 minutes prior, but Emily knew very well that between deplaning and threading yourself through crowds of people, it could take a while to get through baggage claim and then out to the exits.

She found herself squealing as she caught sight of his dark head. She'd promised herself she wasn't going to be like a woman greeting her man back from war, especially after only four days, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from racing towards him and wrapping her arms around him in a solid and secure hug. His bag dropped with a splat onto the floor as his arms came around her waist and he held on just as tight before pulling back and dipping her into a passionate kiss. She came up bright red, her eyes bright.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself," he said with a little laugh, retrieving his duffle and letting her lead the way.

She wrapped her arm around his back, giddy as a school girl. She mentally scolded herself. Who on earth was she? She was the strong stoic ambassador's daughter, not some twelve-year-old. "How are you?"

"Good," he answered. "Starting to get a little restless."

"Too long away from the office?" she teased.

Aaron chuckled. "Something like that. You don't think we could make a stop by the BAU today?"

"No way," she replied. "Doesn't fit into my plans and I refuse to be an enabler."

"You're no fun," he said, kissing her temple as they walked. "What is the plan for the day?"

"Well, we have a few hours," she answered. "Then we're going to lunch with my best friends, and dinner with my dad and sisters."

"No mother?"

"She's in Eastern Europe until next month and couldn't get a plane back."

"Too bad."

She quirked her lips. "Something like that."

"I would have liked to meet your mother," he said, linking his fingers through hers as he picked up his duffle.

"No," Emily replied with a little giggle. "Trust me. My dad is safer to meet."

"Did you spend more time with your mother or your father growing up?"

"Define time," she answered. "Whose house did I live in or who did I see more often?" When he didn't answer right away she looked up at him,

His eyes were filled with sympathy, concern and genuine curiosity. "Was it really that bad?"

"It had it's perks," she answered honestly. "The travel was great. I saw more places by the time I was sixteen than most people get to see in their lifetimes."

"That was the only good part?" Aaron asked as they started walking again.

"My sisters and I are close," she replied. "We grew up together."

"Moved together?"

"We weren't separated until I went to Yale. They came to my graduation," she answered.

"How old are they?"

She laughed, waving to a nearby vehicle and releasing his hand to fish keys from her pocket. "Get in and I'll tell you all about my sisters."

~*~*~

But her sisters weren't the first people he was set to meet. As they strolled down the Mall, killing time before lunch and getting reacquainted with each other, Emily had told him as much as she could about her two best friends. Jennifer Jareau – JJ, he'd been told – and Penelope Garcia were the two most important people in Emily's life. He knew the three of them worked together and knew they were extremely close. And, according to Emily, it was completely possible for Penelope to ruin his life should something go horribly wrong.

So, Aaron had been more than nervous as he'd climbed the stairs to JJ's apartment behind Emily. He knew this was the test he had to pass. Her family's opinion was important, yes, but nothing was more important to her than the thoughts of the two blond women he was sitting at the table with. So far, he'd gotten off safe. JJ had cooked – a surprise for the special occasion – and while Penelope didn't seem like she was exactly warming to him, he found JJ a lot like Emily, both warm and compassionate, but tight-lipped about personal things.

They'd given him the thorough third degree about his intentions towards Emily, the type of thing Aaron more expected from her family. Though, JJ and Penelope would know the type of man that was most likely to make their friend happy. He'd endured an interrogation worse than the one Emily had given him about his job, one that dredged up his most painful memories. Things he hadn't even told Emily came pouring out and an odd part of himself had been strangely satisfied that all three women were in tears by the time he finished telling them about Jason Gideon's case from hell.

He'd made it through dinner without a hitch and he was almost breathing a sigh of relief as Emily and her sisters, Ashley and Sarah, began to clear off the dishes. Both younger sisters, Ashley and Sarah had given him a toned-down version of the same interrogation questions JJ and Penelope had.

"Aaron, you a scotch drinker?"

Aaron smiled politely. "I still have half of my glass to finish," he said, indicating the wine from dinner.

Franklin "Frank" Prentiss, grinned. "So you do."

He saw Emily raise an eyebrow as she came back in to fill her arms with dishes once again. "You going to the den, Dad?"

"Aaron and I are going to have a conversation, man to man," he agreed, smiling at his daughter.

Emily shook her head and Aaron's stomach pulled tight. "Don't scare him, okay? I like this one."

Still, Aaron knew he had no choice and followed Frank through the halls to this 'den'.

"I hear your job is extremely important to you," Frank said, settling in one of the den chairs.

"It is," Aaron agreed, following the older man's lead.

"How important?" Frank asked.

"It comes first in my life," Aaron answered honestly. He had a feeling Frank Prentiss valued honesty as much as his daughter.

By the way the man shifted, Aaron had the feeling he'd said the wrong thing. "Aaron, do you care about my daughter?"

"I do, sir."

"Then there's something you need to understand. Because of my career and because of Elizabeth's career, my daughters have played second fiddle to everything else throughout their lives," Frank began. "If there's one thing, the only thing I want for Emily is for her to be the first thing in her husband's life. If you can't put her first, then break her heart now and let her find someone who will."

Aaron sat stunned. This was something he hadn't expected. When Haley's family had asked about his job, they'd made it out to be the glamourous thing he hated. They seemed so glad to have someone in his life that was so dedicated to saving the lives of others. They'd only reinforced his image of Haley as the sweet girl she'd been from the day he'd met her.

"And, Aaron, I'm going to give you a piece of unsolicited advice. Don't let your job take over your life. There's a lot of things I regret, a lot of things I missed because I let my job control my life. And there's nothing I regret more than missing Emily, Ashley and Sarah grow up."

Aaron's chest constricted with the pain and regret in Frank Prentiss' voice.

"I missed Emily's graduation," he said quietly. "And I mean from Yale. My oldest daughter, graduated with top honours and Yale University and I couldn't be there because I was working. Ashley and Sarah were her only family there to watch her walk across that stage."

Frank deliberately held Aaron's eyes, his face a mask of almost tortured remembrance. "There's nothing I wish for more than the ability to go back and be there for my daughters. Don't make my mistake."

There was a knock on the door and Emily poked her head in. Aaron took in her smile like sunlight after a long dreary winter. "Are you done scaring him?" she asked her father warmly. Apparently, regardless of the regret Frank lived with, there was no love lost between father and daughter.

"Just giving him food for thought, Princess," Frank replied.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Ash made cake and she's not taking 'no' for an answer."

Aaron saw the question in her eyes as Frank exited first, calling out to his youngest daughter as he went. He reached for Emily's hand.

"Everything okay?" she asked, brown eyes shining.

He pasted a smile on his face as he kissed her forehead. "Fine."

He could tell she didn't believe him.

~*~*~

He felt dread creeping up in his stomach as it grew closer and closer to his time to leave. He really, really didn't want to go. He was enjoying himself, not only with Emily but with her sisters too. He enjoyed this. Frank Prentiss was a good man who really did have only the best for his daughters at heart. Emily grew quieter and quieter as the time for him to go grew closer. When the laughter died down after another one of Sarah's crazy stories from the Prentiss Girls' childhoods, he sighed.

"It's time for me to get going," he said quietly.

Emily nodded, biting her bottom lip. "I'll walk you out."

He followed her, his hand in hers, as they made their way back to the entrance hall. She stopped them on the front porch. "What did you talk to my dad about?"

Aaron took a deep breath, this was something he very much didn't want to address with Emily, especially when there was all of ten minutes before he was going to have to leave for Miami and his date with Shaena. But he didn't have a choice. "My job is very important to me," he began quietly.

"I know that," she told him.

He had no doubt of that. "So important that I'm not sure you won't be taking second place to my job on a regular basis."

Emily nodded slowly. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to make sure you know what you're getting into with me. You deserve to be with someone who is going to spoil you silly, so much that you'll spend the rest of your life doing whatever you want to do, without having to worry about... well, anything. You won't get that with me."

She looked at him for a minute when he finished speaking and he found himself getting anxious and nervous. As much as he wanted what was best for her – something he was sure he couldn't give her – he would be sad to see her go.

"I don't think you will," she said finally. "I think the best thing for you to find is someone who you want to come home to, someone who makes your job second only because you love her and enjoy spending time with her so much that you don't want to stay at the office and work."

He found himself smiling slightly. "And you think you can be that woman?"

"I'd like the chance to try," she replied earnestly. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "I promised you I'd never lie to you. I'm falling for you, Aaron, something I definitely never anticipated. I'm falling hard and I'm falling fast and I don't want to stop now and feel like we never got the chance to see where this could go." There was a pause for a moment. "And I wouldn't have stayed if I didn't want to be here."

Aaron's hand came up to stroke her cheek. "You're... beautiful, fantastic, gorgeous... I can't see why a man hasn't swept you up already," he said as he leaned into her.

She chuckled into their kiss, fitting her body easily to his. He splayed a hand over her lower back, pulling her impossibly closer, losing himself in the taste of chocolate and coffee on her tongue. Eventually, he pulled away. She smiled, stroking her hands down his front.

"You have to go."

"I do," he agreed, kissing her forehead. "I'll see you in a few days."

"I can't wait," she said, kissing him once more before letting go and watching him get into the car that had been sent for him. He waved as they pulled away, watching until her figure disappeared, then he turned forward, settling back and losing himself in his thoughts. What on earth was he supposed to do now?

~*~*~

A few days later, after flying back to LA, Aaron was more than anxious as he looked at the two roses beside him. Three fantastic women were in front of him, each of them almost obviously nervous. He'd had a fantastic time on all three of his home town dates and while he'd hoped that meeting the parents of each of the three women in front of him would make up his mind, it hadn't helped in the slightest. He was still agonizing over who he was going to give these two roses to.

Haley was the sweetest girl he'd ever met. She was warm and she wanted a family. She was beautiful and though he'd given Emily the First Impression Rose because she was the one who had made the biggest impression on him, he and Haley had had a connection right from the beginning. She was bright and happy and he could most definitely see himself spending the rest of his life with her. At the same time, Haley was the one that he had the most reservations about when it came to his job. He didn't know how he felt about how much she looked at him as a hero and how much about his job she didn't understand.

Shaena was a gorgeous woman, something that wasn't surprising in the slightest. She was fun and she was absolutely hilarious. He enjoyed spending time around her and she brightened his day every time he saw her. She was smart too and she seemed like she was seriously trying to understand that his job wasn't about heroics. There were always victims they couldn't save. And yet, she was the most closed off. She was the one that had yet to open up to him. Yet, so had Emily and she had just opened to him when he gave her the chance to.

Emily was the one woman he definitely didn't want to hurt. She was the type of woman who deserved nothing more than to be swept off of her feet, to spend her days and nights being fed strawberries and whipped cream. At the same time, he felt something different with her than he did with Haley and Shaena. She inspired more in him than the other two women did and she had an uncanny understanding of his job. She'd opened up to him, told him that she could see herself falling for him, that she was falling for him, but he didn't know if that was going to be enough with his job. Understanding didn't equal knowing.

Chris hadn't been much help. Talking with him hadn't helped Aaron pick which woman he wanted to send home. Because he had the feeling that no matter who he sent home, he was about to break someone's heart. And he didn't want to do that in the slightest. Eventually though, he had to make his decision. He had to decide which two of the three women he wanted to meet his mother, his step-father, and his brother. And it was the hardest decision he'd had to make. So difficult, he found himself wondering if this rivalled his on-the-job decisions. He met their eyes, noticing the tears in Haley's eyes, the strong but tense set of Emily's shoulders and the way Shaena's hands twisted in front of her.

His hands shook as he picked up the first rose. "Haley."

She let out a little sob as she started toward him and he found a smile spreading unwittingly across his face as she reached him and breathed, "Oh my God. You almost give me a heart attack."

He found himself chuckling slightly. "Will you accept this rose?"

"Of course I will," she said softly.

He kissed her cheek and watched her walk back to the line of the other two women. Then he picked up the other rose, his breath catching in his throat. This was the part he didn't want to do. But it was the decision he had to make. "Emily."

She looked genuinely surprised and had to take a step back before starting forward towards him. "Are you serious?" she whispered to him.

"Very serious," he said with a huge smile. "Will you accept this rose?"

If he was honest with himself, when he'd made his decision, this was the part he was absolutely terrified of. She had the full right to say no, and though he'd been reassured by the way she expressed how she was feeling, she'd also had a few days to think about the things he'd said to her. He wasn't sure if she'd accept the rose knowing that there was a really, really good chance she wasn't going to be the first thing in his life.

"Yes."

~*~*~

Aaron walked Shaena to the limo, unsurprised that she wasn't crying. She turned to face him before she got into the limo, her eyes watering. "Promise me something."

"Promise you what?" he asked quietly.

"Promise that you're going to make a decision that's best for you," she said. "This isn't about Emily or Haley, this isn't about letting one of them go and keeping one of them. This is about who you can see yourself spending the rest of your life with."

He rubbed his hands up and down her arms as she took a shaky breath.

"Promise me that you're going to pick a woman who is going to try to understand your job, who is going to love you and care for you because you are you. Because that is what you deserve and nothing less."

He met her eyes head on, seeing the sincerity in them. It was a promise he wanted to make, no questions asked. "I promise."

Shaena nodded once. "Good. Then I can go home. Broken-hearted, but with the knowledge that one of those two women is going to make you so incredibly happy."

Aaron certainly hoped so.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Fantasy dates were the one thing Emily was looking forward to above all else. Aaron had made it through her best friends, and her father and sisters, all of whom seemed to adore him. Emily could swear her father was keeping something back, but he didn't seem willing to share. Emily knew better than to push. What had floored her was the way Chris had pulled Haley and her together at breakfast after the rose ceremony and announced that they both needed to be packed to head to Cancun, Mexico. Through all of her travels, Mexico was one place Emily had not been and she had been enjoying every minute in the nice, warm weather.

She'd spent her morning sunning herself by the pool and her afternoon was spent on the beach with Aaron building her very first sandcastle. She grinned as she glanced in her compact in the limo, double checking to make sure her makeup was perfect. He'd taken the chance once their castle was done to scoop her up in his arms and throw her into the ocean spray. Emily couldn't remember the last time she'd felt that carefree on the shore. But now it was formal, now she'd taken the time to curl her hair, and put on the dress she'd been deliberately saving for this far in the competition.

JJ and Penelope called it her 'man-eating dress'. It was black and fit her from shoulder to mid-knee, leaving absolutely none of her curves to the imagination. It had one strap over her right shoulder. She'd matched it with a solitary diamond and diamond earrings. Her heels were simple slip-ons, not fully sure of what they were actually doing and, upon his suggestion, she'd brought along a pair of flats. He'd kept suspiciously mum about the whole thing. She smiled at Aaron as he helped her out of the limo and bit her cheeks against laughter as his eyes almost bugged out of his head. Mission accomplished.

"You're trying to kill me," he said as he pulled her right against him, fitting her body to his as he kissed her thoroughly. His hand slid down her back, smoothing over the satin of her dress.

She couldn't stop her smile when she pulled away with a groan. "Not in the slightest. Though I'm not going to say it's not a thrill to know I'm doing it."

He laughed low in his chest and wove his fingers with her. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Emily asked, excitement welling up in her.

"Mmhmm. Do you know where we are?"

"I've never been to Mexico," she admitted.

He looked surprised. "You haven't? Wow..."

"I know. I didn't do a lot of travelling in the Americas."

He laughed and nodded. "Okay. Well, this is Chitchen Itza."

Emily's eyes widened, her mind starting to whirl. "Ashley's been here."

"Your sister?"

Emily nodded, her eyes sparkling as she tried to look as many ways as she possibly could. "Her honeymoon."

"Ah, well, Emily... meet Julio, he's going to give us a quite private tour of the place before dinner."

She squealed, gripping his arm tight and just barely managing to restrain herself from actually jumping up and down at the opportunity."Where do we start?"

~*~*~

Aaron was looking forward to this moment more than anything else. She'd absorbed every moment of their tour with relish. More so, she'd fired questions at Julio as they went. Her intelligence shone through in their tour as they went from the ball court to the Group of Thousand Columns. She'd skipped her way around the entirety of the Mayan ruins, but as they emerged from the Thousand Columns, Aaron took the lead, tugging her gently by the hand.

"What about this pyramid?" she asked, looking up at the stones build up beside her.

"This is the Pyramid of Kukulkán," he said, pulling her closer and into his side.

"You know what it is?"

Actually, he'd been studying up on this since the decision had been made as to his fantasy date for the night.

"Oh?"

"Mmhmm," he replied. "They've only been able to restore two sides of it. The building was linked to astronomy and their Mayan calendar."

"You don't say," Emily said, linking their arms.

He moved it so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Yes ma'am. It, and the rest of Chichen Itza was abandoned by 1400 AD."

"Any reason?" Emily asked easily tucking herself under his arm.

"None that anyone's been able to come up with. But, there is a mathematical point to this. Has to do with their calendar," Aaron said, beginning to lead her around the edge of the pyramid. "Each face of the pyramid has ninety-one steps and when you add that to the top platform, they all add up to 365, which-"

"Is the number of days in the year," Emily agreed.

"And the stairways divide the nine terraces of each side of the pyramid into eighteen."

"And eighteen is...?"

"The number of months in our calendar."

Emily grinned. "You looked all of this up."

"So what if I did?" he replied, kissing her temple. "What does it matter?"

"I'm impressed," she responded. "You looked up all of that information just for this."

He almost chuckled when her stomach growled loudly. It couldn't have been more perfect timing. She was blushing a bright red and then he couldn't hold in his laughter. "Lucky for you, it's dinner time."

~*~*~

Emily was swept away. Completely and utterly swept away. He'd completely swept her off her feet and more than that, she was absolutely, positively in love with him. No questions asked. And she knew this was her last chance to tell him before the engagement ceremony and the final rose ceremony. She was anxious, her stomach was in knots...

...And he was presenting her with some sort of envelope.

"I want you to have this."

She opened it carefully. "Emily and Aaron," she read. "If you choose to forgo your individual rooms this evening, please use this card to gain access to the fantasy suite."

"So?" he asked quietly, taking her hand.

She felt herself blushing, the heat rising up the back of her neck. "Yes," she whispered.

He pulled her up, pulling her across the grass and out of Chichen Itza. She felt adrenaline and anxiousness well up and start flooding her veins. He opened the limo door for her, allowing her to slip in first. When he slid in after her, she moved right against him. Her legs went over his, tucking herself against him. She couldn't stay away from him.

Emily was the one to lean over and kiss him first, her hand against his cheek. He responded in kind, his hand running up her side over her dress. She'd had a dream of a time with him and with the fantasy suite ahead of her, she had a feeling that it was only going to get better. Hours and hours of uninterrupted time with Aaron took her back to their date in his house. But this time, she wasn't sick. This time, she was a hundred percent and she planned to take advantage of the situation.

His hand cupped her neck as Emily pulled away slightly. "You, Aaron Hotchner, are utterly unexpected."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked against her mouth.

"Yeah," she replied, pissing him. "It's a really good thing."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Aaron looked out over the ocean on the Mexican shoreline in absolute turmoil. Haley was a sweet southern belle, but Emily was the mystery. With Haley, he felt like his job didn't exist, but with Emily he didn't feel like he had to hide anything. It was a tough decision to make, to have to choose between the two women here with him in Mexico.

More than that, Aaron was very much aware that he was going to have to break one woman's heart, and part of his at the same time. There was a lot of pressure in the decision he was about to make. While his teammates had been sure to fill him in on the statistics of The Bachelor couples that had stayed together, Aaron believed he was in love and he believed that proposing was the right thing to do. With a heavy sigh, he turned back to his villa to begin preparing for the Final Rose Ceremony.

~*~*~

Emily was anxious as the limo pulled up to the path that would lead her down to Aaron. This was it. This was the moment she'd waited six weeks for. This was the moment that was either going to change her life completely, or break her heart. Her feelings were strong for him, there was no doubt about it. She wasn't sure she was prepared to call it love, but she knew it was the strongest she'd ever felt for anyone. There was no way to tell whether Haley had been here already or not, and she had no idea if she was the first woman who was walking the path Chris led her on. She took a deep breath when she caught sight of Aaron standing a quick walk away.

She made her way towards him her heart pounding, hands shaking terribly as she picked up the hem of her dress. Finally, she stood before him. "Hey."

"Hey," he said, hugging her to him tightly.

"How are you?" she asked quietly.

He chuckled slightly. "I don't know."

Emily felt her heart clench as she saw the tears in his eyes.

"Emily... You're a very special woman. I've... you've opened my eyes to so many things, to a different way of looking at my world. You have taken me on a ride I never expected. You've blown me away through the entirety of this experience. You've kept me grounded, you've kept me sane and you've shown an understanding I've never experienced before."

Emily found herself breathing deep.

"My job is to make the hard decisions. My job is to make sure that no one gets hurt and yet, I'm standing here... About to break your heart."

By some sheer force of iron will, Emily managed to hold back the moisture that was pooling in her eyes. Blood rushed in her ears as he looked down at the ground.

He hadn't chosen her.

"I'll walk you out," he said quietly, taking her hand.

She let him, keeping as much of the pain in her as tight as possible. She wouldn't cry in front of him, not over this. Suddenly, she stopped. If there was one thing she deserved, it was an explanation.

"Why?"

"Pardon?"

"If you think I'm such a fantastic person and you've... and we've shared all of this... Why are you letting me go?"

"Because I need someone who loves me."

"It isn't enough that I care?" she asked, feeling almost more vulnerable now than she did lying in bed and telling him about her boarding school friend. "Isn't it enough that I have the strongest feelings for you? Stronger than anyone else I've ever felt for in my life?"

"Tell me you love me," he demanded, holding her hands tightly in his own. "Tell me you love me and everything changes right now."

She took a deep breath. Nothing had changed. Apparently telling him her feelings were stronger than she'd ever felt before simply wasn't enough. "I can't."

"I thought so," Aaron said with a slow nod.

Emily had known it would be her downfall. There was no doubt about that, but honesty was the first thing she governed her life by and she wasn't about to forgo her morals and lie about something she didn't believe could be found in six weeks. Still, her mouth seemed to work without the conscious permission of her brain. "I'm not going to tell you something I'm not sure I mean, Aaron. I'm not going to think about deluding you into believing something I'm not sure of myself." Then she smiled sadly, tightening her hands around his slightly. "I hope you're making the right decision. I hope you're happy."

Where she got the strength to walk back up the path to her waiting limo she'd never know, but she could feel the tears blurring her eyes as she slid into the seat. She should have known better. There was always something that stopped her, something that screwed her over. If it wasn't her job and the time she spent there, it was her family. If it wasn't her family, it was her fear. And Emily knew herself well enough to know that most of the reason she wasn't sure of whether or not she loved Aaron. She knew it had been a long time since she'd felt as intensely as she did for Aaron, but she wasn't ready to be that vulnerable. She wasn't deluding herself into thinking that everything was going to be okay once everyone got back into the real world. All of a sudden, there would be jobs, there would be friends, there would be other things in the way of the fairy tale relationship that the show built.

So she wiped a tear from where it was falling from her lashes and settled herself into the leather of the limo. Tomorrow, she would go back to work and she'd see JJ and Penelope. And after a while she'd be okay.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

MONTHS LATER...

Derek looked up from the file he had spread over his lap on the jet as Aaron hung up his phone. "Everything okay?"

"Haley's not happy," he responded. "I had to cancel again."

Derek shrugged. "Nature of the job, man."

"I know."

His boss was a million miles away and so, Derek, glancing a Dave, gathered all of his courage. "Hey Hotch?"

"Yeah?"

He exchanged a look with Dave again. None of them had brought up his experiences on television before and no one had ever had a plan to. But now Derek couldn't keep his mouth shut. Or, more importantly, he couldn't watch his boss continue this way. "Ever think you made the wrong choice?"

That brought Hotch's gaze back to Derek. "What?"

"Ever think you made a bad choice in Haley?" Derek asked again carefully. "Do you ever regret turning Emily down?"

Derek fully expected Hotch to rebuke him, tell him it wasn't the time or place. But he just cocked his head to the side. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're not happy," Dave spoke up, getting into the conversation now that it had come up. "Because all Haley's done for you is give you more grief and stress. Because the three of us all thought you were an idiot for turning Emily down."

Derek knew that if that statement had come from anyone other than Dave, they would probably be on the business end of Hotch's Glock. But it looked like this was something Hotch had thought about before if the look on his face was any indication.

"I made my decision."

"So? We know she works for the State Department, we know her mother is an ambassador, it can't be all that difficult to put two and two together to figure out where she is," Derek argued.

"Haley's a good woman," Hotch defended.

Dave looked at him. "But is she a good woman for you, Hotch. Whether she'd a good person or not has nothing to do with whether or not she can be supportive of you, of whether or not she can make you happy. And right now, I don't see a happy man. I see a man who is struggling to hold onto something because of an obligation."

"Only one couple has ever actually maintained their engagement through to the wedding," Derek revealed. "You don't have any obligation to stay with Haley."

Both men could tell they'd put a lot of information into Hotch's head.

"I have to think about it," Hotch said finally. "Can we focus on the case?"

Neither man argued.

~*~*~

Four months passed in agony before Aaron finally told Haley that it wasn't worth it. It took four months of nagging, four months of having her get upset when he had to cancel a date in favour of work before he finally told her that it wouldn't work. It was four months before he realized he'd made the completely wrong choice. And now, as he hung up the phone after telling Haley they were done and he was sorry, he found himself with a rather daunting task. He needed to find Emily and he needed to find some way to fix the hurt he knew he'd caused her. Because he'd known the woman didn't trust easily and he knew he'd only added to that grief.

So he did something he promised he'd never do. He called the team in for a personal favour. "I need your help."

~*~*~

"Come on, Em. Come out with us. You can't keep yourself holed up in your apartment and your office forever," JJ begged, almost bouncing in her seat.

"JJ, I just really don't feel like going out, okay?" Emily said in exasperation. "Why can't you just leave it at that?"

"Because you've been an absolute bear since coming back from Mexico, Beautiful," Penelope replied, leaning back in her chair comfortably. They were in Emily's apartment, both JJ and Penelope trying to convince her to leave her isolation, even for an hour.

"I have not," Emily argued sullenly.

"Are you kidding me? When was the last time you came out with us? When was the last time you didn't spend a night by yourself in your apartment? When was the last time you tried to get Aaron Hotchner out of your head?"

Emily winced at his name. She'd trusted him, and he'd only proven her right. He'd left her behind. For Haley. And that hurt more than anything. She shot a glare at JJ as her cell phone rang. The blond let out a squeal.

"What?" Penelope asked immediately.

"Remember that guy I told you about? The one I met at that conference a couple of months ago?"

"Yeah..." Penelope replied while Emily listened. She hadn't taken the time to actually fully catch up with the weeks of her best friends' lives she'd missed and so had absolutely no idea who JJ was talking about.

"It's him! I have to take this."

Emily arched an eyebrow at Penelope as JJ walked away. The other blond rolled her eyes. "She met this guy at a conference, you know, one of the ones the Department makes us do to increase our knowledge or whatever?"

Emily nodded.

"Well, she met this guy. They hit it off. They both live in Washington... they've been out on a few dates. JJ's smitten."

Emily liked the word smitten. It implied that it was puppy love and she could be happy for her friend. "What's he like?"

"Older, from what I understand. I haven't gotten a name out of her yet, but I'm still working on it. In law enforcement... you know Jayje. She keeps things incredibly under wraps," Penelope replied just as JJ came back. The younger blond looked a little stunned.

"JJ?" Emily asked in concern.

"I have to go," JJ said quietly, her eyes cloudy. "Is it okay?"

Emily was concerned, but nodded along with Penelope. "Call me."

"I will," she promised. Then she was gone.

~*~*~

The last thing JJ had expected when David Rossi's number showed up on her caller ID was the news he delivered to her. And so she'd immediately demanded to meet the man and he'd immediately agreed. As he'd explained it, he was reaching out to all of his contacts to find a woman, a woman that his boss and close friend had let go. A woman named Emily.

JJ knew right then that he was friends with Aaron. It made perfect sense. She had been too busy to catch anything other than the recaps on the internet and hadn't been able to actually watch the show. She'd been clueless, hadn't seen him on the show when he'd made his appearance. It had been plain coincidence that she'd met him at that conference. JJ knew she was going to be early as she paced back and forth in front of the Washington Monument. She'd come from Emily's apartment, but it wasn't as far away as he was.

"Jen?"

She looked up as she heard her name to find David walking towards her briskly. "Is everything okay?"

She actually slapped him.

"What was that for?"

"You're looking for my best friend!" JJ exploded.

"What?" David asked, his jaw dropping.

"You're looking for a woman named Emily. You're looking for a brunette woman named Emily with an ambassador for a mother. You work for the FBI... I should have known!"

"Jen, I'm still confused," David said, stepping closer, one hand on his jaw, the other reaching out for her hand.

"You're one of Aaron Hotchner's best friends!"

"And colleagues. Wait, Emily is your best friend?"

JJ nodded. "My best friend. The woman whose heart your colleague broke on national television. Why the hell are you looking for her?"

"Because Hotch made a mistake," David said honestly and swiftly. "Haley's done nothing but drive us all batty since she came into Hotch's life. He broke up with her two weeks ago."

JJ growled, all of her protective instincts coming to the forefront. She could still remember how broken Emily had been as she stepped off of the plane in Dulles. JJ had wanted to hunt Aaron Hotchner down immediately and make him do more than apologize to her best friend. She'd wanted to maim him at the very least. "Give me a good reason why I should tell you anything about Emily."

Now, David's other hand came up to grab hers, to hold them both in his hands. "Did you watch any of the episodes, Jen?"

"No," she replied. "I couldn't."

"You didn't see what I did. You didn't see what Derek saw. And yes, Hotch was an idiot to let Emily go, but JJ... she's special."

"You think I don't know that?" JJ spat. "Emily deserves better than him."

"He knows what he's done," David said softly. "He knows he's hurt her beyond what he thinks he can repair, but he wants the chance to try."

"She won't trust him," JJ shot back, her tone softening. Really, she just wanted Emily to be happy and she had seen them together at her own apartment. There was no denying what was between the FBI agent and her friend. Chemistry wasn't enough to cover it. Right now it really looked like the only way that was going to happen, was if JJ allowed and helped Aaron do his grovelling. And it looked like David was willing to facilitate every minute of it.

"He knows that," David told her. "He won't tell us anything, but he knows he's broken her."

JJ looked down. "Why did he do it?" she asked quietly. "Why did he let her go?"

David blew out a breath, stepping closer and wrapping his arms gently around her waist instead. Things had moved very quickly between them, but she'd made her impact and she knew it. "Because he got scared," David said. "At least, I'm pretty sure that's what happened. We don't talk about it."

"Neither do we," JJ admitted. "It's too painful for Em to talk about."

"I think Hotch got scared. I think he saw simplicity in Haley and complications in Emily. Emily isn't the easiest woman to figure out, she's very difficult to pin down. I think that with the job that we do, he just wanted someone who was simple to come home to and he didn't think that was Emily. Then Haley showed her true colours. We all knew what was coming, we all knew that Emily understood the job better than any outsider had and we all knew Emily was his better match, but Hotch chose Haley and at the time, there wasn't anything we could do," David tried to explain.

"Profiling?" JJ asked, well aware that her mind was made up. She'd help Aaron try to fix this mostly because Emily needed the closure, but also because she was putting her trust in this man's analysis of the entire situation.

"Most of it. Some of it comes from experience."

"Three ex-wives. Right," JJ said with a chuckle. She took a deep breath. "What did you have in mind?"

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Aaron looked up at the Watergate Apartments with trepidation. The fact that none other than David Rossi had been able to convince JJ, a woman that had intimidated him slightly, to give up the address of her best of best friends was nothing to scoff at. He'd told himself he could absorb the relationship between the two of them later, but for now, he had a different goal in mind. And JJ had made it very clear to him that if he screwed this up again, nothing Emily could say or do would keep her or Penelope from destroying everything in his life.

Finally, he climbed out of the car, slipping the little piece of notepaper from his pocket. JJ had assured him Emily would be home, that ambushing her was better than calling to let her know he was coming. The doorman looked at him oddly when he flashed his credentials – another thing he wouldn't tell Emily or anyone else involved in this little scheme – but allowed him up the stairs to her apartment door. He stood there for almost ten minutes before knocking.

"Coming."

Aaron found himself holding his breath as he heard her footsteps coming to the door. He was banking on manners ingrained in her through the political world to force her to open the door and let him into the apartment. Once he was there... well, he wasn't sure what was going to happen. His heart started beating faster as he heard the chain slide back and the door opened enough for him to see her head.

"What are you doing here?"

He clenched a fist at his side. "I need to talk to you."

"I think you've done enough damage," she replied, stepping back.

He knew what was coming next and it most certainly wasn't letting him in. "Please, Emily."

He wasn't sure whether it was the please, the tone of his voice, his body language or something else entirely that had her opening the door, but she did, wider this time. She searched his eyes for a moment before stepping back. "This had better be worth it."

Aaron stood awkwardly in the doorway, not willing to step any further without being invited. "I need to apologize," he said quietly.

Emily was quiet, her arms coming to cross under her breasts.

"I was in love with you, Emily. I knew it and i wanted to tell you. But there was more to it than that." He was scrambling for words and her silence wasn't helping. In fact, it was making him even more nervous.

"Haley was easy. Haley didn't take layers to figure out, and I thought easy was better. I thought easy would be better to balance with my job and my life. But then I found out that Haley just wanted a hero. When she found out what my job was really like, when she realized that it really did require me to fly across the country at the drop of a hat, things changed."

"That's great, Aaron, but what does that have to do with me? What does that have to do with why you're here?"

She wasn't giving him an inch, and when he truly thought about it, he wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Though all of this, I kept thinking 'Emily wouldn't do this. Emily would understand that I have to go away on cases'. I couldn't figure out why it mattered so much and why I cared. I'd let you go."

He took a deep breath before ploughing on. "It mattered because you actually took the time to get to know all of me. You learned early that my job was important and you tried to wring as much information out of me as you could so you'd be prepared. Hell, you stood up to my mother about me. No one's ever done that for me before. And I promised so many people I wouldn't lead you on, and then I let you down."

She wasn't about to contradict that and he knew it. He'd known he was doing the same thing so many people in her life had. He knew he was more than breaking her heart because she'd opened to him in ways she said she'd never opened to anyone. He knew things that no one else knew.

"Haley doesn't make me want to put something other than my job first," Aaron said quietly, imploring her to listen. "Being with Haley doesn't make the pain go away, it doesn't make it dim, but you... It didn't matter what I did, it didn't matter how bad it got, the thought of you, Emily... it's better than the greatest memory. The blood goes away, the pain, the anger... everything that drives our UNSUBs. I did the wrong thing picking Haley."

Emily sucked in a shaky breath. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to give me another chance," he told her, closing the distance between them in a few steps. "I made a mistake, a huge mistake."

She chewed her lip. "How can I believe that?"

"You have to trust me."

"I did," she replied, swiping at the tears in her eyes. "And then look what happened."

"I want to make it right," Aaron told her. "I want to wake up to you like we did in LA, like we did in Cancun."

"I want to trust you," she told him. "More than anything I want to believe this, but if there's one thing I'm good at and one thing I've always done it's-"

"Protect yourself," he finished for her. "Emily, you don't want to change me. You accept me for my job, for everything that comes with it." He looked away. "When I was in Washington, at your father's, he told me something important, something I hadn't thought of." He paused. "He told me he missed your college graduation."

Emily started, eyes wide. "He told you that?"

"He told me that there was nothing more important to him than his daughters, and that it was one of the things he regretted most in his life. If there was one thing he could change, it would be those things he missed in your life and in your sisters' lives."

"Where are you going with this?" she whispered.

"I don't want that to be my life. I don't want to wake up in thirty years and realize I'd missed everything in the lives of my family, in the lives of my children. I want to be watching the clock, counting down the hours until I can leave the office, but with Haley... I found myself wanting to stay at the office longer. I preferred UNSUBs to going out with her, to working on building our relationship."

Emily swallowed visibly. "And how do I know that it's going to be any different with me?"

"There is nothing I can say to make you believe the words. All I can do is ask you to trust me like you did while we were living in that fantasy world."

She took a shaky breath. Suddenly, their roles were reversed. He was waiting for what she was going to say, the decision she was going to make. And he couldn't breathe.

"I've had a lot of time to think about what happened," she began quietly. "And I have thought about it. A lot. I tried to rationalize it, then when I couldn't do that, I tried to compartmentalize it. Then I tried to bury myself in my work to get away from the memories and feelings. Even that didn't work. Which left me with one conclusion that no matter how much I didn't want to admit it to myself, had to be true."

She wrapped her arms around her middle, a gesture he recognized as one of protection and he couldn't stop his heart from soaring. She was opening up to him again, making herself vulnerable, and he'd never take a gift like these moments for granted again.

"I was in love with you. As painful it was to admit it to myself, there was no other conclusion I could come to. It explained the pain, it explained the heartache... It explained the turmoil and the tears and everything else. And it took me too long to figure it out."

"Emily-" But she held up a staying hand.

"As stupid as it is, I've dreamt of this moment, of you calling or showing up and telling me you've made a mistake and now that you're here... I'm not sure what I want to do. I can't be hurt again, Aaron. Not like that."

"I know. And I wish I could promise I won't hurt you. I'll disappoint you time and time again when I have to go away and I know that you deserve better... But I want you. I made the biggest mistake of my life and if you don't want me, if it's too much, I'll understand."

She was shaking her head. "This is surreal," she whispered. Her eyes were shining when they met his. She took a deep breath. "I'm still in love with you."

His heart sang and he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Does that mean...?"

She nodded, her own smile blossoming despite her tears. "It means I want to see if this will work, in the real world, not with cameras or fancy dates or the chance of a lifetime. Just us, in our worlds, with our jobs, our families and our friends."

Aaron was sure his grin was going to split his face. "In that case, would you like to get a cup of coffee?"

Emily looked down at herself with a blush. "If you give me ten minutes to get cleaned up and changed. I'm not going out in public looking like this."

"One more thing though," he said, stepping closer. "Emily Prentiss... I love you."

Her eyes lit up so completely that Aaron kicked himself again for the pain he'd caused this spectacular and beautiful woman.

"I love you too."

CHAPTER TWENTY/EPILOGUE

TWO YEARS LATER...

Her was nervous, terrified, and as his hands delved into his pocket for the eight millionth time to check that the little square box was there.

His relationship with Emily was nothing like his relationship with Haley. Unlike Haley, Emily made him want to come home to her, so much so that he probably ended up spending more time at her condo than at his apartment. So it had been an offhand comment about how he might as well move the rest of his stuff into her place and split her rent that had them moving in together. That had been eight months ago.

He'd found the ring on a case in Houston, Texas, and there had all of a sudden been no question. Aaron Hotchner was going to marry Emily Prentiss. Assuming she said 'yes' to his proposal that night.

Emily was much simpler than Haley had been, not caring about how fancy their dinners were or whether or not they were at the best restaurants in the DC area. Emily didn't expect to be lavished with gifts or attention and yet he called her constantly while away on cases, shooting her pictures of little things he though would amuse her. Like the one he'd sent her last week of Reid drooling against the seat of the plane. He was more in love with her than he'd ever been before.

Aaron had planned this night to perfect in all of its simple glory. The July weather was warm, balmy enough to forgo a sweater for an evening outside. And he'd actually used Dave's considerable power to pull some of this off.

"Everything okay?"

Aaron looked up to where the woman he loved was carefully and gracefully descending the stairs, the same way he could still remember on the day he'd met her. Black heels came first, then those legs, then the rest of her body and finally, the curls that made her look almost fragile and definitely feminine. "You're beautiful."

She blushed and smiled prettily. He'd discovered early that Emily actually didn't take praise and compliments well and even after two years, couldn't seem to absorb how often he lavished her with them. They were better than any tangible gift he could give her. "You look rather handsome yourself. Big plans tonight?"

"Just with you," he promised, liking her arm with his. He'd turned off his cell phone and was planning on leaving it in the condo and had snuck hers out of her purse while she was getting ready. Tonight, he was taking no chances.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She knit his fingers with hers as he led the way, allowing her the thirty seconds it took to lock up. Then he was leading her downstairs, bypassing both of their cars and crossing the street to the little park that was there. The picnic blanket and basket were exactly where he'd instructed it to be and he grinned when Emily gasped.

"We didn't have to get all dressed up for this," she said, even as her eyes sparkled.

"It's more fun this way," he replied. "Wine?"

"I cannot eat another bite," Emily exclaimed almost an hour later. "Who made this?"

"Mama Rossi, or so the rumour goes."

She smiled indulgently. "You called in your team! This really is special."

It was about to get better as she stretched out beside him on the blanket, cuddling into his side after they'd eaten. He breathed her in slowly, revelling in the feeling of her against him. Almost three years ago, he'd made a terrible mistake that almost cost him the fun, dynamic woman beside him, the one person that continued to keep him guessing from one day to the next, the one woman he wanted to marry. And it was with that conviction that he reached into his pocket for the ring box.

"Emily?"

Her eyes were closed, her ear pressed against his heart. It was her favourite way to relax, letting his heartbeat lull her to sleep. "Mmhmm?"

"I have a question for you."

Her eyes blinked open sleepily as she looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Marry me."

She was up like a shot, looking down at him with her mouth open. "Say it again."

"Emily Prentiss," he began, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. "Will you marry me?"

She let out a sound akin to a squeal before launching herself at him. It took him a few minutes to make out her squeals of 'yes' among her excitement, but when he did, he managed to get her up and pull the ring from it's case. The white-gold band fit perfectly and he actually admired his ring on her finger for a moment, before pulling her down to kiss him.