A/N: I wanted to write a series of prompts exploring Hotch and Emily's emotions, decisions, personal life and everything in between. So for every episode from the time Prentiss joins the team (2x09), I have written snippets of what they think, how their relationship builds overtime etc. Some chapters may be incredibly short as I have nothing to write for that episode; others will be lengthy.

It will mainly focus on Hotch and Prentiss' relationship, however, I will also focus on building relationships with other characters too. So, for example, there may be some chapters focusing on JJ and Prentiss or Hotch and Gideon, etc.

Please, please review, let me know what you think. Criticize me all you want for my writing, no matter how good or bad. The only way I can get better is through feedback! And thank you for taking the time to read this!

Ps: I do not own any characters for CM.


Mid-November 2006

Work that day had been particularly busy for Aaron Hotchner. There seemed to be a million things he needed to catch up on, one of them was a field report an agent handed into him requiring signatures. And a new monthly report needed to be drafted and given into Strauss. Not to mention, a new case had to be reviewed and examined.

To add to the numerous tasks, people drifted into his office like the way tourists float in and out of famous landmarks. Dropping off odd pieces of paper, voicing concerns.

He sighed as he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, looking at the caller ID he saw that it was his wife, Haley.

"Yes, Honey… Of course, … I'll make sure that I can fit it into my schedule… Okay. I love you too."

Upcoming parties of friends and family reunions were among other things that kept him on his toes. How hard was it to crave peace for a few moments?

Another sharp knock sounded at the door for the umpteenth time that morning. Aaron muttered, "Come in," without looking up from his paper. At least whoever this was had the decency to knock.

"Hi." The breathy voice seemed unfamiliar, but as he glanced up, the face seemed to be of someone he recognized. He just couldn't pinpoint where from. The man stood up, observing her up and down. She wore a long-sleeved navy dress that complimented the curves of her lean body. It was her eyes that struck him; one of the darkest brown's he'd seen, they contrasted well with her creamy skin.

"Hi." He watched the woman place a large box down on the chair.

"Agent Hotchner?" She asked with the tiniest hint of uncertainty.

"Yes."

"I'm… Agent Emily Prentiss."

"How do you do?" His eyebrows raised, and he felt his voice get lighter. This was 'Emily.' The Emily that had been mentioned so many times by her mother. As he shook her hand, his mind flashed back to what felt like a lifetime ago.

Aaron remembered supervising one of her mother's famous state dinners, and dozens of people from all over the globe had attended. His priority had been clearing everyone entering the mansion. However, he vividly recalled the Ambassadors daughter sitting next to her at the main table, wearing a silky turquoise dress, with a low V neck cut. What had struck him the most had been how young she looked compared to the rest of the guests. And how stunning she presented herself.

It felt wrong to have such inappropriate thoughts, so he'd pushed the memory away as far as he could.

"I did security clearances for your mothers' staff. It was one of my first commands. I believe you were off to brown at the time?" Aaron asked, trying to jog his memory. He certainly remembered Elizabeth mentioning it to him on many occasions.

"Actually, it was yale." Emily corrected, fiddling with her hands.

"Ah."

"I've been in the bureau for almost 10 years now." Hotch raised his eyebrows. She looked way too young to have been in the bureau for 10 years.

"Don't tell me that." He said in disbelief. "Has it been that long?"

Emily glanced off to the side momentarily. "Apparently sir. But I work mostly in the Midwest. St Louis Chicago." He nodded, and there was a moment of silence.

From what he remembered of her; she hadn't changed. He noted the loss of the heavy eyeliner that he so prominently remembered her wearing in photographs around the mansion. And the crazy hairdos of the early nineties she had, which she now had straightened down to her shoulders.

"Your parents well?"

"Yeah, yeah. They're great." Emily replied.

There was a long pause between the two of them. Emily stood there, awkwardly blinking. "What can I do for you?" He finally asked.

"Well… I was hoping you could tell me where to put my stuff?" The pleasant smile on his face suddenly transformed into a mist of confusion.

"I'm sorry?"

"I was supposed to start here today… at the BAU." She clarified as she took out a piece of paper from the box. Hotch took the paper, furrowing his brow.

There was absolutely no way that he requested for another agent to join the team. He and Gideon were handling things well considering they were down an agent. In his mind, there was only one person that could have administered the paperwork- Strauss.

"There's been a mistake." He said swiftly.

A fierce frown appeared, "I don't think so, sir…"

"There's definitely been a mistake."

Another knock on the door. JJ. "Excuse me. We are getting started."

"Thank you. I will be right there." He handed back the paperwork she had given to him and started to walk out of his office. "I didn't approve of this transfer, Agent Prentiss. I'm sorry for the confusion, but you have been misinformed. Excuse me; it was very nice to see you again."


Emily felt speechless.

How the hell had there been a mistake with the paperwork? She was sure she'd clarified to Section Chief Strauss that it was the Behavioural Analysis Unit she wished to join. Unless somehow in all her clumsiness she'd managed to arrive this morning at the wrong unit, her mind couldn't fathom how something like this could happen.

She followed him out of his office, quickly grabbing her box and watched as he talked to a man a few metres away down the catwalk. Both glanced back at her with confusion, before walking away.

Great way to start your new job, Prentiss.

Aaron Hotchner had been a familiar name in her family in her later teenage years. And although she had never really interacted with the guy, she had seen him around here and there. It was mostly at dinner events and formal occasions where the memory of his hard frown and stone-cold eyes had been etched into her.

She had to admit it to herself, he was a good-looking guy, and she probably would have tried to hit on him back then had he not frowned as much. But that was a thought that she had to vaporize if she ever wanted a chance at this job.

Because this job she would fight for with sweat, blood and tears.

Profiling had been a concept that had fascinated Emily ever since she left school. She couldn't think of one book she hadn't read that dealt with analyzing behaviour. So, when she'd put her name down on the long list of candidates wanting a job in the unit, she had not expected to be called in for an interview with Section Chief Strauss.

In all her perplexity and rage, Emily made her way up to the Section Chief's office- still with her box of belongings strapped securely underneath her arm. "Come in." She heard the woman announce. Emily sucked in a breath, wanting this resolved.

"Agent Prentiss. I was waiting for you to visit again. I trust you have met the team?" Emily placed the box down on the chair and sat down in the seat next to it.

Emily's brow furrowed, "Ma'am, are you sure you gave me the correct paperwork to join the BAU?"

The tension in Strauss' shoulders was visible as she intertwined her hands together. "What do you mean?" She practically spat towards the brunette.

"I just spoke with Agent Hotchner downstairs. He said there has been a mistake with my transfer."

Emily couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as Strauss rolled her eyes. There was some sort of history between Agent Hotchner and the Chief that mystified Emily. Then the realization hit her. Getting assigned to the FBI was basically politics, and where there was politics, there was backstabbing. That obviously had been what happened here with the transfer. Strauss had gone behind Agent Hotchner's back.

"There has been no mistake." She said seriously. "I'm sure that Agent Hotchner just hasn't had the chance to look over your paperwork." Emily looked on at her in a curious glance, nodding.

"What do I do then?"

Strauss leant back in her chair, with the slightest smirk on her face. "Prove to him what you are made of…"

Emily's mouth formed an oval shape, and she quickly shut her mouth. This wasn't supposed to be how transfers worked, right? Usually, if there were an issue with something, it would be the Section Chief's job to sort it out, but clearly, that wasn't the case here.

She watched as Strauss stood up and pulled out a file from a drawer behind her and handed it to Emily. "Have a read over that file on the I-80 killer… Let Agent Hotchner know what you think about the unsub who committed those crimes."

Emily nodded curtly and placed the file with the rest of her belongings. "Yes, Ma'am."

As she began to leave the office, the woman called her name. "Agent Prentiss… Give Agent Hotchner time. He doesn't trust people easily."

Emily wanted to turn around and say, 'Screw you', but she bit her lip, knowing that making a remark as hasty as that to the Section Chief would undoubtedly ruin her chances of getting into the BAU. As much as Emily had her suspicions about the middle-aged woman, Strauss did give her the opportunity to work in this unit. And who would she be to turn around and throw it all back in her face?


Four days later, Emily had received word from Strauss that the team had wrapped up a case and were on their way back. Figuring that she didn't want to miss out on another one, she rushed over to Quantico.

Placing her box of belongings on the couch, Emily glanced around Hotch's office, observing the certificates and Honours of achievement hung up on the wall. She even profiled his desk, noting the copious amounts of paper neatly stacked upon one another. There really wasn't anything special about his office, just a few abstract paintings that looked like someone had just thrown paint and walked away.

As the light entering the room darkened with each passing moment, Emily sat on the couch, tapping her foot up and down on the tiled floor and fumbling with her hands. If sitting in his office, pestering him every moment of the day is what it took for him to accept her transfer, it would be what she would do.

So, she waited, clutching a file that had been dropped off to his office. Seeing as though the file involved a case, she decided she'd sneakily have a look inside.

Boy, could she get distracted by reading. It passed the time, and before she knew it, he was back.

He didn't notice her at first as he walked in, but as he looked to his left, there she was. Just sitting on the couch. "Please tell me you haven't been there for the last four days." He asked with the tiniest hint of sarcasm in his voice. He wasn't expecting her to be waiting here this late, and he hadn't even had the chance to think about what her transfer would mean for the rest of the team.

"I heard you were flying back tonight."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Heard? How could you have heard a thing like that?" Emily stood up and passed him the file she'd been busy reading.

"This was dropped off today." Well… Actually 30 minutes ago, but he didn't need to know that. He took the file reluctantly.

Still holding it in front of him he said, "I appreciate your interest Agent, but profiling is a specialty. We can't just let anyone who wants it to give it a whirl."

As he walked behind his desk, Emily stated, "The I-80 killer? Co-eds in Indiana?"

"Yes, I read it on the plane." She nodded.

"They aren't blitz attacks." He looked up from his desk at her. "This guy is organized. He's a white male, early thirties and a smooth talker because even after eleven victims, he can still convince educated women who know there's a predator out there to get into his car."

Aaron squinted his eyes at her and moved a little closer; part of him was impressed. She did know what she was talking about; a lot of people he had interviewed in the past often didn't have the knowledge needed to enter the unit, which was why he was always picky when selecting new members. He wanted to know more, "How would you advise the police?"

He watched as she moved around the table, coming closer to him. "I would stake out the ranch house. A night club in Gary, they have a trendy ladies' night on Thursdays. If you look closely, you'll see that 8 out of the 11 victims went missing on a Friday morning. So, something gets this creeps motor running on Thursdays."

There was a moment of silence as Aaron stared at this woman in front of him. She was good. Obviously intelligent. Had a profound knowledge of profiling. However, he still had his hesitations about the circumstances of her transfer. It wasn't a 'typical' process having a member added through the Section Chief. Her eyes blinked at him, waiting for a response. When he didn't respond, she continued.

"This isn't a whirl, Agent Hotchner… I don't know how the paperwork got screwed up, or maybe you believe that my parents pulled some strings for me, which they didn't, by the way." Her voice had that hint of desperation in it. And he could tell that she really wanted this job. "I belong in this unit. And all I'm asking you for is the chance to show you that."

Aaron weighed up the decision. It wasn't like she did not know about profiling, and for all he knew she had skills that could really benefit the team. The one thing holding him back was that element of trust.

He always took a little longer to trust women.

He continued to stare at her, and she could see the gears changing rapidly in his head. She closed her mouth shut tightly, refusing to say anything more. There had been many situations in life where Emily had spoken too much, and it had cost her. She didn't want that to happen now. After a few more moments, he finally spoke. He was so quiet that she had forgotten how his voice sounded. "I still need to look into this, I'm not promising anything."

Emily quickly replied, "understood."

"We brief new cases every morning at 10 am. You can see facilities management about a desk."

"You won't be sorry," Emily said, shaking her head. Internally she was shouting from the rooftops, ecstatic that he had at least listened to her. She quickly took the box of belongings with her and left the room, biting down the smile that threatened to show itself.

Aaron watched on as she walked down the stairs and practically sprinted through the bullpen, wondering what the hell he had just talked himself into.


A/N: In terms of uploading, this is going to be one of those stories where I upload whenever. There will be at least one chapter added a week. Thanks again for taking the time to read!