Live A Little, Laugh A Little

Disclaimer: CBS owns Criminal Minds, enough said...

Summary: Hotch storms into the bar angry because of a certain brunette.

A/N: So here we are again, the last chapter in this series. I hope you've all enjoyed them.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave a review.

"Find the person who will love you because of your differences and not in spite of them and you have found your lover for life." Leo Buscaglia

Hotch wandered into the bar across the street from the Federal Building marching up to the booth that sat the male members of his team.

"Do me a favor?" Dave told Reid "Be the designated driver, because I have a feeling we're going to need one."

"But Hotch is usually..." Reid started but saw the look flashing across the Unit Chief's face, "Ok."

"Buy you a beer?" Morgan offered Hotch.

"Need something stronger, after the night I've had." Hotch said ordering a bottle of whisky from the waitress.

"What happened?" Dave asked carefully, treading lightly on his words, partially knowing what may have set him off.

"Emily Prentiss." Hotch says gulping down his drink.

"Em?" JJ said seeing the brunette walk in through the back entrance of the bar "What happened?"

Garcia turned around and gasps at the sight of Emily, "Gumdrop, what happened?"

"Hotch." Emily said sliding into the booth, turning and seeing the back of his head as he sat across from Dave.

"What about him?" JJ asked offering her beer to the rattled brunette.

"I turned down his proposal." Emily told the two blondes.

"Again?" Garcia asked loudly "Oops, that came out louder than I meant."

"Why?" JJ asked "I thought after the last few times that he swore that he wouldn't propose again. Didn't you tell him you weren't ready?"

Emily sighed as she ran her hands through her hair, noticing the small trace of blood on them, grabbing the napkin she wiped it off.

"Is that blood?" Garcia asked shocked "OMG, did he hit you?"

"What?" Emily asked shocked "No, Hotch would never ever hit me, or any woman."

"Then how did you get blood on you?" JJ said checking her over to see for anymore damage.

"I proposed to her" Hotch told the men "Again. It was a romantic setting, down at the pier. Just as the sun started to set, I got down on one knee, pulled out the ring. And asked her to marry me."

"And she said... no?" Morgan asked half knowing.

"She said no." Hotch confirmed "Well first she looked at me and asked if I was talking to her. Then she said no. I got so mad at that, because she told me she was ready to get married."

"And what happened?" Dave asked "How did you get so messy?"

"After she turned me down," Hotch sighed "I chased her for about three blocks..."

"What?" the three men said in shock.

"You chased her down for three blocks?" Dave asked "Well what happened after that?"

"She fell and I tackled her to the ground." Hotch said spacing out to a flash.

"Hotch?" Dave called out, "Hotch? Hotch!"

Hotch shuddered "I just had a weird thought..."

"What?" Reid asked.

"That you got the electric chair for killing, Emily?" Morgan joked but stopped when he saw the looks on the three men's faces "Sorry."

"What if all these proposals she's making me do..." Hotch stated "Were just a test to see if I was commitment worthy?"

"Yeah, I'd buy that," Dave said slowly "If she hadn't run three blocks to get away from you."

Hotch placed his head in hands "What the hell do I do?"

"Well she is over there" Reid said seeing Emily in the back with JJ and Garcia "You could talk to her."

"So where were you going to go?" Garcia joked "Those three blocks?"

"I think I saw a really great dress in Bonnie's Dress Shop" Emily said dryly "Of course I wasn't able to stop and price it, you know with me running away from a man who proposed to me."

"Well why do you keep turning him down?" JJ asked.

"I don't know" Emily said covering her face with her hands, "I love him, I really do. But something inside keeps making me say no."

"Well what do you want to do?" JJ asked seeing Hotch come over and she made a move to leave the table while Emily laid her head on the table not looking at them "Do you want to break up with him?"

Hotch slid into the booth seeing Emily covering her face not seeing him.

"Break up with him?" Emily asked "Are you insane? I love him. I don't know why I keep saying no. I think, maybe it has to do with the fact that I'll..."

Emily looked up and gasps when she saw Hotch sitting across from her, and muttered "Crap"

"Has to do with the fact that you'll what?" Hotch asked, grabbing her hands holding her still when he saw her look for an escape route "You're not getting away this time until you answer my questions. And no kneeing me in the stomach again."

"I only kneed you to get you off of me." Emily muttered "Tackling me in the mud wasn't fun."

"Neither was seeing you turn down my proposal then run off three blocks against heavy traffic." Hotch told her as he exhaled "Just talk to me. Do you love me or not?"

"Yes." Emily said as a tear slipped down her face.

"Is that a yes you love me?" Hotch asked "Or a yes to you don't love me?"

"I love you." Emily said pulling her hand away seeing his face relax, "But I don't think we'd be good as a married couple."

"Why?" Hotch asked "We've been together for nearly two years. Jack loves you like a mother."

"But I'm not his mother" Emily said loudly "I'm not Haley. I can't be her, I can't replace her in yours and Jack's lives or hearts."

Hotch pulled his hand away, now knowing the reason for the multiple rejections.

"I never asked or wanted you to replace Haley." Hotch said "Is that why you think I kept proposing? Because I needed a replacement wife and mother for Jack? Emily, I love you for you."

Emily lightly sobbed trying to free her left hand, "Don't say that."

"Emily" Hotch said holding her hand tightly "Look at me. I love you for you. Even in spite of your weird quirks and fairly weird sense of humor. You could never replace Haley because as wonderful as she was as a mother, Haley was Haley and you are Emily Prentiss. You're one of a kind."

"Aaron" Emily said feeling herself smile "Are you sure?"

Hotch nodded.

"Look at that" JJ whispered to the men "I think Hotch is going to propose again."

"The man is a glutton for punishment," Morgan said "Ow!"

"Don't ever think of speaking disparaging about the Dynamic Duo," Garcia said pinching Morgan again.

"Fine," Morgan said.

"Get closer," JJ said grabbing Garcia's free hand leaving the table.

"Emily Prentiss," Hotch said pulling out the ring "Will you marry me?"

Emily covered her mouth with her hand, tears lightly in her eyes as she nodded.

"Oh thank God!" Garcia said "Finally!"

The team watched Hotch place the ring on her finger as he pulled in closer at the booth to hug her.

"So is this the actual first time you've seen the ring?" Dave asked "Or has he proposed with a series of different rings?"

"He's not you, Dave" Emily said kissing Hotch's neck "I think this is the same ring from Valentine's Day."

Hotch nodded kissing her forehead, not letting her go.

"So," Garcia slowly asked sliding in next to the happy pair "Just how many times has he actually proposed?"

Hotch and Emily looked at each other and then the team.

"Too inappropriate?" JJ asked seeing their faces.

"No" Emily said looking at Hotch "Trying to count it up."

"Counting the two from tonight?" Hotch asked "Five times."

"Five times?" Dave asked shocked "Wow, you're a better man than me."

Hotch turned to Emily, "Fifth times the charm."

"Ok" Morgan said "Count 'em up, who had five?"

The dark-haired couple turned to see everyone pull out a scrap of paper with their numbers.

"Woo!" Dave said "I came in close with six."

"Uh oh" Emily said "They bet on how many proposals?"

"Hey" Hotch said "Don't forget you owe me my half."

"What?" Emily asked "You bet on us?"

"Every single time." Hotch said "Every time I proposed I changed the number."

"Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be." Robert Browning

THE END

So this review box thing? How does it work? I'm curious...