A/N: Wow, wow, wow! 1k reads already?! You guys are seriously amazing. I hadn't expected this series to do well, but y'all exceeded my expectations. Please enjoy this unexpected part 2 to this short story. Courtesy of User202203
Emily paced back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital, constantly biting her nails. She only did this when she was extremely stressed, and with Hotch in surgery, she was the most stressed she'd ever been. But more than anything, she was still in shock from his reply before he fell unconscious. The words kept ringing through her head: "I love you too." She wasn't sure if it was real, or if it was just from the blood loss. It must've been the blood loss. He loved Haley; there was no way he felt the same. And even if he did, he was married with a child, and she didn't expect him to leave them for her.
After about an hour or two of waiting, the doctor finally came out to the waiting room where the team sat anxiously. The doctor was a short woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes. She immediately noticed that Emily was the most nervous out of all of them and walked up to her. "Are you agent Hotchner's next of kin?" She asked looking at Emily.
Emily was taken aback by the doctor's comment. She wondered why the doctor had thought that Emily was his wife. "Uh no. He's our unit chief." Emily said gesturing to the rest of the team. "How is he doing?"
The rest of the team had gotten up from their seats to join Emily. "He's stable. The bullet was only a couple inches away from his thoracoacromial artery. He's very lucky. Come with me." The doctor said turning on her heels.
Emily and the team followed the doctor down the hallway for a bit before she stopped at a door. She opened the door and once the team was inside, she closed the door behind them. They all let out sighs of relief when they saw their unit chief laying awake in his hospital bed. He turned his head towards them and a small grin formed on his lips. Morgan was the first to step forward. He placed his hand gently on Hotch's good shoulder. "You really scared us out there, man." Morgan chuckled.
Hotch chuckled weakly. "Sorry about that. I was tied up though." Hotch replied weakly.
"The doctor said the bullet was only a couple inches away from your thoracoacromial artery. Statistics show that the average human man bleeds out in approximately five minutes. If the bullet had severed your artery, you would've bled out in less than three." Reid said in a monotone yet nonchalant voice.
Penelope gave Reid a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Not the time, Reid." JJ said with a flat smile.
"How are you feeling?" Emily finally spoke up. She had been hiding behind her friends, not wanting to face Hotch. But she knew that if she didn't say anything, it would be even more suspicious.
Hotch looked Emily in her dark brown eyes. Her eyes were filled with concern, sadness, and love. He swallowed slightly before speaking, his throat dry from the intubation tube. "I'm fine. How are you? Did you get your arm taken care of?"
Emily looked down at her left arm the was wrapped in gauze. She moved forward so Hotch could see her bandaged arm. He simply nodded in acknowledgment. "I called Haley. She and Jack will be here soon." Rossi said.
"Thanks, Dave." Hotch said with a weak smile.
Hotch subtly turned her attention back towards Emily. She was looking down at her feet, as if she were afraid to look at him. "Can I talk to you, Prentiss?" Hotch asked.
Emily's head shot up when she heard Hotch say her name. She looked at him with a frantic and scared expression. "Yeah." She said quietly.
"Get some sleep." Morgan said patting Hotch's leg before leaving.
His team all gave him small smiles before leaving. Rossi was the last to leave, and he gave Hotch a "don't fuck this up" kind of look. Once the door closed behind Rossi, Emily slowly made her way over to the chair beside Hotch's bed. She let out a sigh as they sat in silence for a moment before Emily finally spoke up. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, Hotch." Emily said looking down at her hands. "I wasn't thinking straight. We were in a hostage situation, and after you got shot, I just..."
Hotch reached for Emily's hand. The brunette woman's gaze shot up at the sudden contact. He gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. Her hands are slightly cold but smooth to the touch. "Did you mean what you said?" He asked in a low yet soft voice.
Emily bit her bottom lip. She looked up at Hotch through he dark lashes. "Yes, I did." She replied quietly.
"So did I."
"Hotch..." Emily's brow immediately furrowed in confusion. So many thoughts were going through her mind. She had always dreamt of being with Hotch. She had loved him for years; and now she knew he felt the same way. And her heart filled an unimaginable amount of joy. But she knew it was wrong. As much as Emily wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him, Hotch was married to an amazing woman and had a son.
As much as she didn't want to let go of Hotch's hand, she had to. With the hesitation of the whole world, she pulled her hand out from under Hotch's. She heard him let out a long, disappointed sigh. "Hotch, don't say that." Emily sighed.
His brow furrowed in confusion. "You said you loved me."
Emily was now sitting on the edge of Hotch's bed, looking him in his brown eyes. She could feel tears form in her eyes. Her vision slowly began to blur, but she quickly wiped them away before Hotch could look at her again. "I love you so much it hurts, Aaron." She said looking up, trying not to cry. "But we both know that this can't happen. You're married with a kid. I can't do that to Jack and Haley."
Hotch didn't say anything. He wanted her to be wrong. He wanted to think that it was possible for them to be together. She was perfect in every way to him. She was intelligent and funny and beautiful, but just as stubborn and strong. "How long?" Hotch asked.
Emily looked up at him. "What?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
"Then say it."
Hotch let out a sigh, knowing that her stubbornness had gotten in the way of answering his question. But he also knew that he was almost afraid to say it out loud, as if someone would hear them in the quiet room. "How long have you loved me?"
Emily bit her lip hard, nervous to answer the question. "Since you came to my apartment that night to talk about why I had resigned."
Hotch thought back to that night he came to her apartment. He remembered how protective he felt of her after that night. Hotch remembered how he felt just hours before when their unsub had shot Emily. The rage and concern that burned inside of him then was overwhelming. He felt a need to protect from all the dangers of the world, whether he could or not.
The two sat in silence for a moment before she looked into Hotch's eyes again. They were filled with concern and love, and she both loved and hated that fact that her eyes had the same expression in them. Before she could wipe them away, Emily felt a tear slowly roll down her cheek. Hotch gently grabbed Emily's face with his hand and wiped away the tear. He felt the weight of her head lean into his hand as if she didn't want him to let go.
Emily could feel Hotch slowly pulling her face closer to his. When Hotch felt that she didn't resist him, he pulled her closer. Their faces were now only a few inches apart. Hotch could feel Emily's raven hair lightly tickle his face, sending chills down his spine. Their lips gently grazed one another, but just then the door opened.
They jumped apart, Hotch returning to his previous position as Emily returned to her chair. The brunette woman turned around to see a short blonde woman standing in the doorway with young boy: Jack and Haley. The young boy immediately ran towards his father, jumping onto his bed and into his arms. Hotch groaned slightly before wrapping his arms around his son. Haley stood beside Emily and lightly smiled at her. "Daddy!" Jack exclaimed happily.
"Hey, buddy." Hotch replied slightly out of breath.
"Jack, honey. Your daddy's hurt. Be gentle." Haley said gently grabbing her son's arm.
Jack leaned back and sat on his dad's lap. "Are you ok, daddy?" Jack asked.
Hotch smiled weakly at his son. "Yeah, I'm ok. A bad guy just hurt me."
Jack turned his attention towards Emily and gave her a small wave. "Hi Emily." He said shyly.
The brunette smiled back. "Hi Jack." She replied, trying her best to hide her sadness.
"Did you catch the bad guy?"
"We did. She'll never hurt anyone ever again."
Jack simply nodded before looking back at his mom and dad. Emily watched as Haley leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on Hotch's lips. She felt her heart burn in pain but kept her composure. Emily bit her lip before standing up from her seat. Haley and Hotch pulled apart as Emily stood to leave. Haley gave Emily an appreciative smile. "Thank you for staying with him." Haley said.
"Of course." Emily said smiling through the sadness she felt. Hotch looked at her with apologetic eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow."
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