Mutual Benefits

Start Date: April 11, 2011

Completed:

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner & Emily Prentiss

Spoilers: A/U Season Four, Spoiler up to and including 52 Pick-up

Rating: T

Summary: After overhearing a conversation between Prentiss and Todd, Hotch sees his own isolation in his team mate and proposes a solution to solve both their problems. What happens when things take a turn neither of them planned on?

Author's Note: This story's plotline has taken on a dozen different changes over the last couple of months since I started to work on it and will likely take on a dozen more before the revisions are finished but I loved the idea enough to want to keep it in some form and the following mess is what evolved out of an idea I had.

After watching "About Face", when Rossi mentions Hotch used to call Haley a dozen times a day, the idea got into my head that only a person with a romantic nature calls that often just to say hi. I decided that trying to play with romantic Hotch could be fun and this is what came of it. I don't think it got it quiet the way I wanted to, not being terribly romantic myself, but in the end it was a pile of fun to write… So please, read, enjoy and don't forget to let me know what you think.

For anyone who was curious I'm starting the draft of the sequel to "Things Overheard" and it should be going up by the time I get this one completely finished. So keep your eyes open for it, it's going to be titled "Things of Consequence".

This story is a work of fiction by an amateur writer and is for entertainment purposes only. The writer is in no way associated with Criminal Minds nor anyone connected to the program. No Copyright infringement is intended and no monetary compensation has been received by the creation of this story.

All publicly recognized characters and storylines are owned by The Mark Gordon Company, Paramount/Viacom, Touchstone Television, CBS Television Studios, ABC Studios, and their related entities.

All original characters, settings and/or storylines are Copyright protected ( Rev. Brandywyne L. Walker 2003 - 2011) Any duplication or distribution of this story, in whole or in part, expressly prohibited without written consent of the Author.

Chapter One – Insomnia And Idle Chatter

Hotch violently shoved the files he was looking at into his briefcase before snapping the lid shut and rubbing his tired eyes. He reached up and turned off the overhead light, allowing the shadowed darkness to surround him, praying, not for the first time, that his always racing mind would still, if just for a few minutes, just long enough to fall asleep.

They still sat on the tarmac at the Atlanta airport waiting to take off and head back home. A wind storm had broken out around Quantico just before they were scheduled for takeoff and the pilot had decided, with such a small plane, to postpone the trip until the winds died down some, leaving the team with quiet time they didn't normally have.

Realistically, he could hope for a good couple of hours before they landed and if he was lucky he might just be able to get a little sleep before then. The first few hours after a case was over seemed to be about the only time his mind was relatively quiet. He supposed that it had a lot to do with the release of endorphins after what was several days fuelled by adrenaline.

But normally, by the time they got back home he was tense, stressed and sleep would once again evade him. But at the moment it was still and quiet, both in his mind and on the plane, the only sounds filling the small aircraft were the soft murmuring sounds of Derek's iPod and the gentle shuffle of papers.

It was a welcome relief.

Mentally, there were too many things vying for his attention back home and he seemed to have completely lost the ability to just relax. Between his worries over how little time he was spending with Jack, the still strained relationship between him and his now ex-wife, and the time that he was spending at the BAU, he simply wasn't getting a lot of sleep.

Mind you, he couldn't really complain too much about the time he spent at the BAU. At least if he was at work, he wasn't sitting in that cold overly depressing apartment of his and that was more than enough reason to spend time at the office.

Besides, when he was there he had the team to distract him. If his thoughts started to get too morose he could wander down into the bullpen and listen to the team chattering on about what ever thing was going on in their lives at the moment and it would often remind him that there was life after his divorce.

That in itself was another thought… He was single again. What the hell did he know about dating anymore? When had he ever really? Not that he was ready for that or even looking for a new relationship, but he had loved being married. And honestly he couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life alone.

Often times lately he thought that he missed the intimacy and companionship that came with marriage more then he missed Haley. God knows he sure didn't miss the fighting which seemed to permeate the end of their life together.

He was just starting to drift off to the sounds of the plane's engines starting when he heard another new sound coming from the seats behind his own, the quiet whispers of his newest agents filling the void of silence around him.

Involuntarily he felt himself smiling at that. Turned out that Prentiss was right about Todd after all, although he shouldn't have doubted it because the woman had an uncanny ability to read people, a trait he was coming to rely on more and more.

He focused on the soft melodic sounds of their voices and tried his best to drift off, even though he knew that in the end it wasn't likely to happen. But listening to their soft chatter was soothing and perhaps the relaxation he could get from that would be enough for tonight.

"Okay… worst date ever." Todd's voice took on a note of childish glee over the topic of their conversation.

She had spent enough time with Prentiss in the last couple of weeks to know that getting the woman to open up about anything was a feat all of its own, let alone anything as personal as this was. Emily Prentiss was extremely reserved at the best of times but the high from the night out, sticking it to 'the Viper' and finally catching the un-sub seemed to be making the other woman relax enough to share.

Emily let out a soft groan and dropped her head to the side, allowing it to rest on the back of the bench seat. "Oh God, I wouldn't even know where to start."

"There has been that many?" Jordan's eyes widened dramatically and Emily grinned. The darker woman was in for a real education tonight on the crap luck that amounted to Emily Prentiss' love life in general and the long list of losers she had encountered over the years.

Emily shifted completely sideways so that they were facing each other on the long bench seat and pulled her feet up, tucking one up underneath her as she got more comfortable, warming up to the idea of sharing with this woman who she knew was fast becoming one of her few friends. "You have no idea."

"So…" When it didn't look like the Emily wasn't going to continue Jordan flapped her hands at her and let out an impatient huff. "Tell me."

"More than I care to remember thank you very much." Emily got a pensive look on her face as she thought back over the years. "They all seemed so normal and… sane at first. But then a little time passes and the asshole comes out of his shell."

Jordan frowned at that, finding it more than a little odd that Emily's voice was so matter of fact on the subject. There was a level of resignation in her tone that surprised the other woman. She had clearly seen the way that the men at the club looked at Emily. She could even admit that she was more than a little envious of the attention she garnered without even trying. By the time they had spotted Viper, Emily had been asked to dance, no less than four times and received several offers to buy her a drink, from men that Jordan would have been more than happy to spend the evening talking to.

"Well, you can't just leave me hanging there. Examples if you please." Jordan turned on the bench so that she was facing the other woman and adopted a similar pose, attempting to balance her coffee cup on her knee while leaning her head against her raised fist.

Emily knew that even though they were both exhausted there was no way they would be getting any rest. What could it hurt in the end? She was still too wound up from the evening and Paul Thomas seemed to have dredged up the memory of every single one of her less than stellar relationship. She closed her eyes for a moment and felt a wave of self-pity flow through her. There were so many in her list of dead beat boyfriends and wanna-be lovers.

"Well, we could start out with the son of a senator that I dated for a few months when I was in my early twenties." She shrugged her shoulder diffidently and looked out the plane window at the darkness as she continued. "Found out that the only reason he was paying any attention to me was because he wanted an in with my Mother and her political connections."

Jordan raised a brow at that, but having spent as many years in Washington as she had that didn't surprise her as much as it should have. "You're kidding?"

"I'm afraid not, and they just go downhill from there." Emily's eyes got a distant look to them as she remembered one of her less than impressive dates from shortly before her transfer. "There was a guy about two years ago, just before I moved here, that actually got up and left me in a restaurant, in the middle of our date, with the bill no less."

When all she got in response was another hand roll and a raised eyebrow, Emily let out a sigh and continued with the tale. "He found out that I love and collect science fiction books. Apparently, that was more offensive than he could deal with."

Warming up to the conversation Emily straightened in her seat so she was sitting upright and took a sip of her hot coffee before she continued. "Oh and one of the best ones was a perfectly normal guy that was after my trust fund. When he found out that I didn't have day to day access to it till I was 25 he took off like a flash." She let out a self-deprecating grin, "He was a personal favorite of mine."

Jordan was a little dumbfounded and sat there for several seconds, not really too sure what to say. "They can't have all been that bad, I mean there has to be one or two that weren't total losers."

"There have been one or two over the years but I saved the best for last. It was not long after I moved here and he seemed okay. Even humored my science fiction fetish until…" She trailed off and waited for the impatient noise she knew was coming. "I found out that he only asked me out because he figured 'tough chick with a gun has got to be an kinky lay'."

When Todd's jaw dropped Emily smirked at her. "And yes, that was a direct quote."

Jordan looked so sad for her that Emily almost felt bad for only picking out the worst ones. "It hasn't been all bad; there have been a couple of real dirt bags but not that many really. I mean in the end I just never had anything in common with any of them. It was either that they shared interests but there was no chemistry or there was chemistry but nothing that you could build on."

Todd fiddled with her cup for a moment and then glanced sideways at her newest friend. "You think it's the job that does it?"

"I don't think it helps much." Emily shrugged but thought about the question for a moment. "It's hard to find time to socialize at all when you have this job but meeting new people is even harder when you keep cancelling plans and they shy away from what you do for a living."

"I haven't had a problem with that… Men seem to be attracted to 'it's classified', the only real advantage to being in Counter Terrorism."

They clinked cups in solidarity and then got quiet for a few minutes, each one lost in their thoughts.

Emily gave Todd a strange look when she shifted on the seat, looking uncomfortable. But rather than push her she allowed her to come to the conversation on her own.

"I know you spoke to Agent Hotchner on my behalf. I just wanted to say thank you again. If it hadn't been for you I'd still be in the dog house." Jordan looked equal parts grateful for the help and embarrassment over the fact that she needed it in the first place.

"Hotch? He's not that bad when you get used to him. He's tough, I'll give you that, but he's fair and intensely loyal to his people." Emily glanced over at the darkened table where she knew Hotch was sitting and frowned a little.

She was concerned about him. He seemed so withdrawn and stressed lately. Granted she didn't know him all that well, but the rest of the team had that same look when they watched him. She didn't think he had noticed how worried his team was about him but it was there if you knew them well enough and knew where to look.

After his divorce he started to isolate himself from the rest of the team, and in a way she figured that it made sense. She had never met anyone that was more circumspect or private in her life. But after New York it only seemed to get worse and it was hard to watch, even harder to hear the team talking about the man that he used to be, back before she joined the team.

Jordan could see the tension settling in Emily and decided she needed to draw her away from where ever it was that her mind was going.

"So too many bad dates to name, you are gonna keep looking, aren't you?"

"I don't know anymore." She let out a weary sigh and did her best to refocus on the conversation. "You know, at this point I'm not even looking for a relationship anymore. I would settle for just finding a friend, someone to spend time with."

"You seem to be really close to the team. Don't you all spend time together?"

"Yes but it's not the same as having one on one time and they all have lives to live too. I don't want to impose upon them simply because I'm lonely." She laid her head on the back of the bench and closed her eyes, allowing that to be a natural end to the conversation.

Hotch blinked his eyes and shifted in his seat a bit, trying to find a more comfortable position. Looked like sleep was going to be a total loss once again but this time it wasn't thoughts about himself that was keeping him awake, it was thoughts about Prentiss.

A frown marred his features as he listened to the defeat in Prentiss' voice. He didn't get it either. Given the amount of time he spent with the woman he might have a slightly deeper insight into her than most men but it didn't take long talking to her to find out that she had many desirable traits.

Ones that were worth more than the type of attention she seemed to be getting.

She was fervent about the things she believed in, dedicated to her job, incredibly loyal, which he found out first hand, compassionate, almost to a fault, and had a heart of gold. She loved without reservation the people that she deemed worthy of that affection and she would protect any of them with her own life if it became necessary.

And she wasn't hardened by their job, as he had found with many people in law enforcement; she still had that soft eager child living in her somewhere that their job couldn't seem to touch. He could remember times when her face was alight youthful enjoyment. From something as innocent as Reid's physics magic to the pleasure she derived in something simple as her favorite bar of dark chocolate.

How could a man know her and not want her? He had seen the interest she received from many of the officers they had to deal with, he would have to be blind not to. And even he couldn't deny that she was incredibly beautiful… even desirable.

So why did it seem that she had such terrible luck with love?

And why, with everything else that was demanding his attention lately, was it all he could now think about?

TBC in Chapter Two – Beneficial Offers