I'm on a writing kick these past few days :) Here's a little Hotch and Emily fic for you guys. I hope you enjoy! I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters. Who doesn't love a little HOTLY 3. I based this fic on what Erica Messer said about these two; how maybe at another point in time, they could have been something :(

Clink clink clink! The sound of a glass being tapped sounded through the dining room catching the attention of everyone, bringing attention to the older Italian man standing at the end of the dinner table.

"Ahem!" Rossi cleared his throat as he raised his glass of wine while looking out at his friends and dinner guests for the evening. "Now I know we were hoping that this day wouldn't come this fast, but I'm glad we could all get together for this occasion."

Turning to face the brunette woman sitting in between the two blondes, he smiled with a hint of sadness.

"We're really going to miss you Emily, but we all know the London office is in wonderful hands with you leading them. We wish you the best. We love you. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" everyone else chimed as they raised their glasses and clinked with their neighbours. Emily blinked back tears as she took her time savouring the moment before getting up and walking over to embrace Rossi. He had been like a father to her all these years and she was grateful that he kept his words short and sweet.

"Thank you, Dave," she whispered for only him to hear as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Anytime, kiddo. Anytime." Pulling out of the hug, the pair turned back to face the others. Brushing her hair back, it was time for Emily to say something the people she had grown to think of as her family.

"Um, I can't even begin to tell you all how much I love each and every one of you. I've loved every minute that I've gotten to share with you all, and I need to thank you guys for not only being there for me, but for saving my life. Even though I'm not going to be at the BAU anymore, this isn't an end...it's just a beginning."

"Gumdrop, I swear if you don't visit I am revoking your work visa SO fast that they will deport you back here and into my arms without a hesitation!" Garcia squeaked as she dabbed her eyes.

Everyone broke into a light laughter at the technical analyst's threat.

"Princess, I wouldn't laugh too hard. I've seen my baby girl work; she could do it without even breaking a sweat." Derek replied with a smile.

Taking a deep breath, Emily continued, "Don't worry Garcia, I promise to visit frequently. Dave, thank you for throwing such a beautiful dinner, you didn't have to."

"I think he just wanted an excuse to show off what writing a few best selling novels could buy." Hotch interjected jokingly as Beth giggled with him.

"Um excuse me? I'll have you know it was FOUR best selling novels, Aaron. Thank you very much" Rossi retorted with a smug grin.

"Boys, let's all calm down" JJ chided much like a mother hen. She then turned to her husband and grasped his free hand that wasn't holding onto their little boy. It was getting late and Henry was going to fall asleep any moment.

"Ugh, guys I think we have to get going. Henry's going to fall asleep pretty soon."

"Yeah, and he's definitely not getting any lighter these days," Will added as he scooted his chair back.

As everyone got up to leave, another round of hugs and tears were exchanged. Saying goodbye was always hard, but saying goodbye to JJ was like saying goodbye to a sister for Emily. Wrapping Garcia into the hug, she promised once again that they would see each other soon and then went to give Henry a quick kiss. Next, she found herself standing in front of Reid and Morgan. Both of them had taken her leaving the hardest, but they had reached a sense of peace with her decision.

"Goodbye Emily." Reid said, happy that at least this time he was getting a chance to say goodbye.

Rubbing his back, Emily pulled back and looked at the younger man. He had changed so much since she had first met him those years ago. He had overcome so much, and yet deep down, he was still that rambling genius she loved.

Turning to see Morgan, the tears in her eyes started up automatically. When she had come back from Paris, she knew he had hid his resentment of her well, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Even after the whole Doyle situation, he still cared about her with everything he had and had even made sure she was ready to go back into the field.

"Morgan..." she sighed as they clung to each other, not needing to say much else.

"I miss you already, Princess," he said softly as he kissed the top of her head and gave her hand one last squeeze, somewhat reminding him of that night in the warehouse when he begged her to just squeeze his hand; this time it was bittersweet. Shutting the door behind her now former partner, Emily walked into the den as silent sobs racked through her.

She hadn't heard him enter the study, but she wasn't all that surprised that he had come to look for her. Even though she wasn't technically on the team anymore, he was still playing the role of her unit chief by making sure she was alright.

"Prentiss?" he asked as he walked up behind her, not exactly sure what he was going to say.

"Hotch, do you think we've known each other long enough for you to call me Emily?" she half sniffled and laughed as she turned away from the window that over looked the lit up back yard.

Seeing her with the tear stains on her cheeks in the dim lighting of the study, Hotch had to admit that she looked beautiful. Finding himself having to physically stop himself from caressing her cheek to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks, he placed his hands in his pockets and looked down before looking back up with a rare smile.

"I guess we have known each other a lot longer than everyone else at the BAU, haven't we?" he asked. "Gosh, way to make me feel old."

"Yeah right, Hotch," she laughed feeling herself relax, "you still look good to me." She had no idea what had made her say that, and she found herself panicked for a moment wondering if she had crossed a line.

Not missing a beat, or seeming to be phased by what she had said, Hotch carried on with the conversation, "Well, thank you Emily. And If I'm to call you that, then I think it's only fair that you get to call me Aaron."

"Aaron." she repeated, the name sounding both foreign and yet natural on her tongue.

A few moments passed when suddenly a slow tune began to play through the in house stereo filling the study with soft music.

"Care to dance?" Aaron asked softly. He was toeing dangerous lines and he knew it, but he couldn't resist the urge to hold her in his arms one last time before she left.

Shocked, Emily was about to say something along the lines of how they should go see if Dave needed any help clearing up the dishes, or how he should be checking on Jack, or Beth! He had Beth! This was absurd! Opening her mouth to politely decline, she found herself instead placing her hand in his outreached when she saw how his eyes were almost begging for her to say yes.

Not waiting for her to change her mind, Hotch placed his arm on her waist and enclosed her hand in his as they swayed to the music. They had only danced together once previously, at JJ and Will's wedding, but it was like they had been dancing partners for as long as they could remember. With her hand moving across his back, Emily boldly placed her head just to the side of his so that his lips were a mere centimeters from her ear. He could feel her slow measured breaths on his neck and then a long drawn out sigh.

Still dancing, and not letting go of his hold of her, he knew her tell was showing.

"What is it?" he waited for her response as she blinked a few times.

"What if I'm wrong?" Pulling back a bit just so that she could look at him in the eye. "What if, London isn't what I'm looking for? Maybe there isn't anything out there that can fill this empty feeling."

He could see the fear in her eyes at what she was telling him. He wondered momentarily how many others, if any she had shared this fear with. Emily Prentiss rarely let her emotions come to the surface, and yet here wrapped in his arms, her walls were coming down brick by brick, and he had to help her rebuild it.

"Do you remember the first time you walked into my office? How I practically dismissed you because there was some problem with the paper work?" When she didn't say anything, he continued.

"You didn't just leave and accept my answer. You took it upon yourself to show up in the middle of the night and demand that you get the chance to prove yourself. And when Strauss tried to use you to get information on me, you stood your ground. You impressed me Emily Prentiss, and you kept impressing me over the years."

He stopped swaying them, but still held onto her and kept her hand enclosed in his. Looking directly into her eyes, Hotch kept going.

"You are an incredible agent Emily, and I think if you give it a chance, you'll find your a natural leader in London. I have no doubt that you'll be great."

"Thank you Aaron," she breathed in complete shock at his words. She was so stunned that when he moved to brush her hair from her face, she didn't even flinch at the uncharacteristic move.

"You look beautiful." Those three words shook her out of her reverie as a puzzled look came across her face.

How could he have missed it all these years? She had always been there in front of him and they had shared moments, but it was never enough to kick his stoic ass into gear. Of course he had always found her attractive, but his first priority had always been his job. Now she was leaving and he could feel her slipping away. Yes, he had started dating, but if he was being honest, he was always comparing Beth to the woman before him. She wasn't strong like Emily, she wasn't witty like Emily; she just wasn't her.

"Hotch?" This was that moment. The moment before there's no turning back; the moment of split second reality before you take that leap and lose yourself.

He was slowly leaning in and placed one of his hands on her arm and the other on her cheek. His heart soared when she placed hers as he had.

"Do you ever think about what could have been?" he swallowed and closed his eyes before opening them once more, "With us?"

Closing her eyes and opening them to look up into his, she swiped her thumb across his cheek before responding.

"Yes." she replied barely above a whisper, before they both leaned in.

Yep, I'm leaving it there for the time being :P Feel free to throw things lol. Sorry for any spelling/grammar mistakes in this, I'm a total amateur at this.

Just for the record, I'm not a Beth hater, but I'm just a HOTLY shipper ;)

Feel free to leave suggestions in the reviews for what you would like to see happen. Perhaps someone catches them in their heated moment? I do have an idea of how I will end this, but I'm definitley open to ideas. Apologies if the characters (especially Hotch) seem OOC. Please please please review, they mean a lot to me!