Title: Out of the Mouths of Babes
By: Paige
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Hotch/Prentiss
Rating: PG
Summary: Hotch's weekend with his son leads to a suprising secret being revealed.

***

It was a reasonably quiet Friday in the BAU, no outstanding cases, nothing to really worry about and everyone was happy for that fact; any break from walking through a killer's mind was welcome, even if it was only a weekend. JJ, Morgan and Garcia were discussing what they were planning to do with their two days off; JJ was planning on spending the weekend with Will getting the nursery ready, Morgan and Garcia were planning on staying home with Clooney and catching up on the tv shows they missed during the week.

"What about you, Em," JJ asked at the so far silent brunette. "What're you planning on doing this weekend?"

Emily was about to answer when a very happy, childish voice called out from the doorway, "Emmy!"

The whole group spun around in time to see Jack Hotchner running up to Emily as fast as his little legs could carry him. Hailey was following slowly behind, Jack's little suitcase in her hand.

Emily grinned and held open her arms which the little boy gladly climbed into, "Hey Jack! You ready for a weekend of serious fun?"

Jack nodded, "Yup. Are we going to see the Redkins again?"

Emily laughed and hugged him, "No, not this time. They're playing out of state this weekend so we can't go. But your dad scored us some tickets to see some dinosaurs."

Jack immediately perked up at the mention of his current favorite thing; dinosaurs. "Really? Big ones?"

She laughed, "Yeah, big ones." Jack grinned happily and snuggled into her arms. Then she spied Aaron coming out of the office, "Hey, look who's here!"

Hotch's normally unreadable expression split into a rarely seen grin at the sight of his son, "Jack!"

Jack let out a happy squeal and scrambled off Emily's lap to run to his dad, "Daddy!"

Aaron scooped up his precious son and gave him a squeeze, "You all ready for the weekend?"

Jack nodded happily, "Yup. Emmy said that we get to see dinosaurs!"

Hotch laughed, "Yeah, we're going to see dinosaurs tomorrow." He turned to Hailey, the smile now becoming more forced, "Anything I need to know?"

Hailey tore herself away from glaring daggers at Emily to look at her ex-husband, "No, I don't think so. Charles and I won't be home until after six on Sunday." She kissed Jack quickly before stalking out of the office.

Aaron shared a look with Emily before turning his attention back to his son, "I've got a few more things to do before we go, wanna help me out?"

Jack's little face brightened, he always loved helping his daddy do anything, "Yeah!" Aaron laughed and carried Jack back upstairs to his office, leaving Emily with their gaping colleagues.

JJ, Morgan and Garcia were stunned by what they'd just seen; they'd wondered if Hotch was seeing someone since he seemed to be lightening up a little but they'd never suspected that it would be Emily. But then, it made sense, Emily was bright, funny and she loved kids, perfect for a man who wanted to be a good father even with his job's chaotic schedule.

"So, you and Hotch," JJ said, a mischievous smile on her face as she looked at her friend who was turning an interesting shade of red.

Emily silently cursed her pale complexion before answering, "Yeah. We didn't start until after the divorce was final but, yeah." She smiled as she watched Hotch carry Jack into his office. "Aaron wasn't sure how Jack would react to me but we hit it off right away. He's such a sweet little boy."

"I take it Hailey wasn't thrilled," Morgan said, thinking of the murderous looks Hailey had been sending Emily's way.

She rolled her eyes, "No. Hailey has somehow convinced herself that I'm the reason Aaron was away so much. You know, never mind that she'd been cheating on him for heaven-only-knows how long with that Charles; no, it's MY fault that their marriage fell apart."

JJ and Garcia winced in sympathy, it was never easy to date a man who'd recently gone through a nasty divorce because you inevitably ended up being blamed for the divorce, whether you were even in the picture at the time or not.

They talked a little while longer before Hotch and Jack came back. They bid their friends goodbye and walked out, Jack holding both their hands, babbling happily about the dinosaurs he was going to see.

"Anyone but me think that's the sweetest thing ever," Garcia commented, watching the little family walk away.

JJ and Morgan nodded their agreement, they were happy for their friends; Hotch deserved to be happy and if Emily could do it, even better. And judging from what they'd seen, she was doing a hell of a job.

The End.

***