Note From The Author-- I had originally intended this as a one shot, but my brain just kept working, so now it will probably end up being a few chapters long. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters of Criminal Minds, but I am giving myself this story as a birthday gift a day late because I so wish that I would have gotten a half naked Aaron Hotchner as a gift :)

Generally speaking, Emily Prentiss was a planner. She tried to map things out if she could, not necessarily in an attempt to control everything, but to at least have an idea of what was coming her way. But no amount of planning could have prepared her for falling for her boss. From the very beginning she had been attracted to Hotch, even when he had basically tossed her out of his office on to her butt. She also swore from the very beginning that nothing would ever come of it, mostly because she knew it was unlikely anything ever could.

For a long time Emily had managed to keep that promise to herself. Even when Hotch and Haley had broken things off she had managed to keep her hands to herself, even as she and Aaron had gotten closer as friends and colleagues. Unfortunately for her a long time wasn't forever, and one moment in one case sent her carefully constructed walls crashing to the ground and changed the very fabric of her world. Getting shot tended to do that.

It was so completely stupid that she wanted to kick herself for it. A split second decision and Reid and Morgan's entirely vulnerable position sent her left instead of right and into the path of a bullet. It only grazed her arm, but the lack of a penetrating wound didn't make it hurt any less. It also didn't stop the concussion that came along with her head cracking against the cement.

Either way, the unsub got away from them and the others surrounded her in a flash as soon as they realized there was no chance of catching up with him. Hotch knelt at her head, and when she looked up into his eyes and saw the wealth of emotions there she wasn't sure if it would be wiser to throw herself into his arms or run like hell in the opposite direction.

In the end Emily didn't have a whole hell of a lot of choice as to her course of action. Despite her protests she was loaded into the ambulance with Dave and Morgan watching over her as Hotch took a phone call trying to calm and reassure the deadly combination of a very frantic Garcia and a very frantic and very pregnant JJ back at Quantico. Then he and Reid showed up at the hospital once they had managed to talk the pair of them down, and as hard as Emily tried she was told by her doctors and every one of her colleagues that she was stuck in a bed and a gown for a while.

They were still holding her captive, to her mind, when the team caught their unsub; that part pissed her off no end. She had wanted nothing more than to cuff the stupid bastard who had gotten away with shooting her, but obviously the cosmos weren't even going to give her that little bit of karmic pleasure. So she just gritted her teeth and congratulated the team then silently stewed when Derek came to fetch her because Hotch preferred that she not drive herself.

Due to some minor issue the plane wouldn't be taking off until the next afternoon, so Emily resigned herself to stowing her frustration and went to dinner with Dave, Morgan and Reid. Then Spencer had missed the warning look from Derek and told Emily that Hotch had mentioned her possibly staying out of the field for a while and she had tumbled over the edge. She was out of her chair in the hotel's restaurant and to the elevator so fast that none of the boys were even sure when she had moved.

Emily hit Hotch's door with every intention of bitching him out so hard that his mother would feel it and wince at the language, and she knocked as hard as she could on his door. Then he jerked the door open with a frustrated 'what?' and suddenly all of her frustrations shifted. Evidently her hormones were much more powerful than her anger when faced with a very wet and very shirtless Aaron Hotchner. It seemed that her brain had completely forgotten how to process the English language; all she could register was the staccato beat of her heart and the way her skin had suddenly gone hot like a flash fire.

Aaron had watched the way her eyes went dark and blind and her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath, and there was no doubt in his mind what she was thinking about; though it surprised him that they seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing.

For a moment they just stood there in some sort of a bizarre Mexican standoff, staring each other down as their systems raged out of control. Then Emily took a small step forward, barely big enough to move her at all, and they both lost control. Suddenly they were in the hotel room and he fumbled with the lock before turning to slam her against the wall. After that all either would really remember for a while was heated skin, torn clothing and primal release.

Emily woke the next morning with the sun shining in her eyes, which was funny considering that she distinctly remembered closing her curtains when she got back from the hospital. Then it hit her that she wasn't alone and her heart started beating a mile a minute. She looked over to find that Hotch was still deeply asleep, but they were so tangled together she wasn't sure she'd be able to get free without waking him. But panic was rising to rapidly match her out of control heartbeat and she knew she had to get out of there. It took some effort, but she managed to make it out of bed without shifting him or waking him up.

Minutes later she collapsed on her own hotel bed wearing what was left of her tank top and sweater and wondering just how the hell Hotch had managed to almost tear her pants into two pieces. Then as she rose to find something workable to wear it suddenly hit her that her bra and panties were still somewhere in Hotch's room. Emily's legs gave out from under her and she landed in an undignified heap in the room's only chair.

The full impact of what they had done hit her and once again her heart started beating wildly out of control. She had spent the night having crazy intense, earth shattering sex… with her boss; with her boss that she was completely and totally gone over and couldn't have. With her emotions running the spectrum from elation to devastation she was suddenly overcome by a flood of tears; she found that all she could do was curl into herself as tight as she could, and she wept until there was nothing left.

Hotch caught her arm as they came off the plane at home. She had known that they needed to talk, but she honestly wasn't sure if she was ready for it yet. Still there wasn't much choice, and they both agreed that although that night had been amazing, it had also been a mistake. It was unlikely anything could come of it considering the Bureau's policy on fraternization, so they agreed to take the one night and move on. The next day they tried to go back to the way things were, but to Emily everything felt hollow.

For a month after that night everything was horribly awkward. Hotch and Emily could barely exchange a word other than about cases. The rest of the team noticed, but it wasn't until their lack of interaction started to interfere with everyone else's work that they decided it was time to get to the bottom of things.

Emily fell right into an ambush. As she was walking through the bullpen one day Derek grabbed her arm, ignoring her protests, and handed her off to Garcia; the tech took a firm hold on her friend's hand and all but dragged her into her office. When they made it in Garcia sat Emily down in the chair and stood guard in front of the door with her arms crossed. "Spill Em."

For a moment she seriously considered lying, just pretending that nothing was wrong. But she knew that Penelope would see right through her if she tried. "I slept with Hotch," she blurted out.

The blonde's eyes went as wide as saucers. "You slept with Hotch?!"

"Well, you couldn't really call it sleeping with him; more like having ridiculously intense sex with him on every available surface."

For a moment Garcia's mouth just opened and closed without and accompanying sound. She really wasn't sure what to say. "Wow."

Emily rubbed at her temples. "Yeah, wow. It was absolutely mind blowing and I've wanted him for so damn long…" She trailed off for a moment before looking up with tears shining in her eyes. "Garcia, he's my boss."

"Sweetie I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to do about it."

She shook her head, sitting down across from her friend and reaching out to take her hands. "You obviously really care about him," she told her.

"I'm an idiot whose let myself fall completely in love with him Pen."

"Then why don't you say something?" she questioned. "How do you know he doesn't feel the same?"

Prentiss wasn't used to feeling so helpless and she hated it. "And if he does? Garcia we could lose our jobs. How could I do that to him? How could I do that to myself?

Garcia had never seen her friend more vulnerable, and she wished there was something she could do for her. "There are ways you could make it work Em."

"I don't know what I want, not really, other than the obvious. I need to get away from here for a while. I need to see what happens when he's not always there."

Before Garcia could say a word Morgan burst into the room. "JJ's water broke."

What seemed like years later the entire team met gorgeous little Belle. She looked an awful lot like JJ, though it would be easier to see family resemblance once she got over the phase of being bald as a cue ball. Either way she was absolutely beautiful, and it didn't take long for the tiny baby to have every member of the team wrapped around her finger along with her mother and father.

Emily stayed just as long as the rest of the team did cooing over the baby and congratulating JJ and Will, but when everyone else went home she headed back to the office. The baby had provided the perfect distraction and the perfect opportunity to do what she'd been considering all week long. So when she made it back to the office she went straight to Strauss to make her case; she could only hope that she would be heard, and that it would help.

Hotch was the first in the next morning as he always was; but this time when he stepped off of the elevator and into the bullpen he immediately noticed a difference. There was a letter on every member of his team's desk. Cautiously he picked up Reid's and was momentarily relieved to find Emily's handwriting. But confusion came quickly on the heels of relief and he headed up to his office to find a letter of his own resting in the middle of his desk. Sitting down, he tore it open to read whatever it was that she had to say.

Hotch,

I'm sorry to disappear this way, but I needed to get out of here and take some time to myself just to think. I'm also sorry for going to Strauss instead of you, but it seemed like the best idea at the time. I promise you I'm not leaving for good; I'll be back in a little over a month. I just can't be there right now. There are some things I need to sort out before I come home; hopefully I'll be able to.

Emily

The next morning Emily looked out her window as the pilot announced that they were beginning their descent. This was her favorite part of the flight, when the plane sank low into the clouds and you were trapped in that blinding white world of ethereal beauty. For a moment it almost allowed her to forget the reason she was on the plane in the first place; almost anyway. Then they dipped lower, back into the real world, and it wasn't long before the wheels hit the ground. As the aircraft came to a stop the seatbelt sign went off and the pilot's voice rang through the cabin.

"We hope you've enjoyed your flight, thank you for flying with us and we hope that you have a lovely stay here in London."