Emily spent the rest of the day trying to get past what happened at the hospital. A small part of her wondered what Hotch would have said if she had actually let him talk, but she knew that it was better this way. There was nothing he could have said that would have made anything less horrible in her eyes. There were three sharp knocks on Emily's door and she slowly walked over and opened it up. "What are you doing here?" she asked with anger lacing her tone.

"They just released me and this was the only place I wanted to be. I wanted to come and talk to you."

"You have nothing I want to hear," she began but was quickly cut off by Hotch.

"I just want a chance to explain." He said as he walked into her apartment shutting the door behind him.

"There is nothing to explain!" she cried out. "Nothing you say or do will change my opinion of what happened. Nothing happened, so why even bother. Just give—"

Emily was cut off again but this time it was by Hotch's lips crashing onto hers. Emily responded for a split second before she came to her senses. She pushed him away from her and before she could stop herself her hand collided with his face with a deafening smack.

"OH MY GOD!" Emily exclaimed. "Hotch, I'm so sorry!"

"Ow!" Hotch cried out in a delayed reaction as he brought his hand up to ease the sting.

"Are you okay?"

"What the hell was that for? Wasn't that what you wanted?" Hotch wondered out loud.

Any thought of apologizing anymore flew out of the window at his words. "What?" she asked then continued, not even giving him a chance to answer her. "No, that's not what I want. I don't want you to kiss me because you think it'll make the awkwardness between us go away. I don't want you to kiss me because you think it's what I want. I want you to kiss me because it's what you want to do!" She shook her head in disbelief as she backed away from him. "I can't believe you."

"Wait!" Hotch called out as Emily turned to walk away. She slowly turned back to face him, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What?" she asked sounding defeated.

Hotch took a step forward. "I did kiss you because I wanted to. There is a part of me that wants things to go back to how it was. Without things being strained and awkward. I want you to be able to look at me with happiness in your eyes instead of all the sadness that I put there. But," he continued with more passion in his tone, "there's a larger part of me that wants to see where we can take this. I want to take you out and let the world know you're mine, and watch all the guys realize that they missed out an amazingly beautiful woman. That I almost missed out on her. I just want you Emily, and I don't know, I guess I was too much of a chicken to let you know that."

"Then why did you—"

"I was just shot," he cut her off knowing the question already. "I wasn't thinking clearly, but your words, your confession," he clarified, "made me hang on because I knew someone loved me. I knew you loved me probably as much as I loved you."

Emily dropped her arms down to her sides in defeat. Hotch took another step forward and brushed a stray hair behind her ear.

"I was crushed when you didn't come see me," he confessed softly. "I don't blame you. I understand completely. Chances are I would have done the same. I'm sure you were just as crushed thinking I didn't feel the same way. Thinking I didn't want you. But I do Emily. I want every part of you. The good, the bad, the funny," he said with a smile which Emily returned.

"So," she started, "you do feel the way I do?"

"Yes."

Emily punched him in his shoulder. "That's for making me feel like an idiot," she exclaimed. She then quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a breathtaking kiss which he happily returned. When air became a necessity they pulled apart, resting their foreheads together. "And that is for feeling the same way I do," she beamed as she ran a hand caressingly through his short hair.

Hotch trailed his hands up and down Emily's back before sliding them up to cup her cheeks. "Thank you for being so much braver than me." He placed another gentle kiss against Emily's plump lips which she sighed into.

"No thanks necessary," Emily smiled as she kissed Hotch again with everything she had…and then some.