So here is the next chapter we promised! Hopefully the next one won't take so long to get posted... provided deadlines are so tight.

Disclaimer: And still we own nothing.

Wednesday

Aaron lay on the sofa, staring at the rafters. He had tossed and turned all night, unable to stop his mind from racing, and when it finally did and he managed to sleep, he woke in pain. The sofa was doing hell to his back! All he could think about was Emily, and how comfortable it felt having her around, not in a professional and working fashion. How comfortable it felt watching her with his son. How right it felt staring into her eyes. It took all his power not to kiss her the day before.

After he had finished playing the song, and they had lay Jack down in his bed for a nap, Emily had asked him to teach her how to play a few chords, and possibly a simply song. To which he obliged. Aaron closed his eyes as he remembered the smell of her hair as he sat beside her, sat close to her. He remembered how soft her hands were as he held her hand, placing them over the appropriate strings and helped her relax her wrist as she strummed and plucked the stings. He smiled to himself at how naturally talented she was, and how quickly she picked it up.

He longed to tell her just how he felt, but he knew the bureau would never allow it. Or more to the point – Strauss would never allow it.

Emily lay in the bed, staring at the rafters. She had tossed and turned all night, unable to stop her mind from racing. The same scene from the day before kept playing in her mind over and over again. How close he sat to her as his hand held hers in place as he taught her to play the guitar. How has arm wrapped round her, as his other hand drooped lightly over hers, keeping her wrist movements firm yet fluent. She loved being here, being around Aaron, seeing how he is when at home, relaxed. Seeing how he is with is son, what an amazing father and role model he is to the young boy – who was pretty much a clone of his dad. She loved spending time with Jack. He was so mature for his age and full of life.

But then she kept thinking how this was all going to end when they returned to work. She and Aaron were going to go back to work and he'll be Hotch all over again. Their relationship will be just how it's always been - professional. Work colleagues and nothing more. He was her superior and that is how it would stay. And it hurt to think this, but she knew she would be kidding herself to believed that it could turn into something more. Ok, maybe they would become closer as friends, but that would be it.

Turning over again, she looked at the clock to see it was almost seven. Giving up on the hope of sleeping, she crawled out of bed and crept through the hall to the kitchen, sneaking past Aaron lying asleep on the sofa. Turning on the coffee machine, she hoped it wouldn't be loud enough to wake Aaron or Jack. Staring out the window she watched the chipmunks in the trees, scurrying about and chuckled to herself.

"What you laughing at?"

Emily jumped, turning round to find Aaron standing right behind her.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you it wasn't nice to sneak up on people?" Emily asked, shaking her head, and trying to bring her heart rate back down to normal, however with great difficulty due to the close proximity of her and Aaron's body's.

"As a matter of fact, they didn't" Aaron smiled.

Emily frowned and mumbled "well they should have"

Chuckling, Aaron stepped away from Emily, and walked over to the cupboard to get the cups out. As he reached up he winced, his shoulders ached. Placing the cups down, he brought a hand up to his shoulder, and was rubbing it when he felt another hand on top of his, and another on his other shoulder. Letting his hand fall, he closed his eyes as Emily kneaded her thumbs and the palm of her hands into the knots in his muscles.

"Why are you so tense?" She whispered her voice full of worry and concern. "You're supposed to be relaxed this week."

"I am, it's just…" Aaron stopped, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable.

She turned him round to face him, "It's just… the sofa?" She shook her head has he dropped his, "Why suffer? Why didn't you just sleep in the bed with me? We're both adults, and I don't bite. And I don't think I snore"

"I wanted to give you privacy and space," Aaron said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Emily smiled at the irony of this; she had invaded his privacy and holiday with his son this week. The only time Hotch could be Aaron, or Daddy, and she was there.

"You're sleeping with me tonight." Emily said, then realised how that must have sounded and blushed.

Aaron smiled, "Is that a fact?"

Still blushing, Emily replied, "Yes. And if you don't, I'll leave tomorrow, that way you can get a decent night sleep, in the bed."

"Fine, ok, I'll sleep with you. Although, that sounded like blackmail to me?" Aaron smirked.

"Any excuse to get you into bed." Emily winked, before pouring herself a cup of coffee and walking over to the sofa.

Aaron laughed before following Emily with his own cup.

"What do you want to do today?" Aaron said, placing his cup down on the table and sitting on the sofa facing Emily at the opposite end.

"It's your holiday," Emily took a sip of the coffee.

"Yes but you're our guest."

Emily rolled her eyes, "How about a walk? As we were meant to yesterday until the heavens opened up."

Nodding Aaron agreed, "Ok, before or after lunch?"

"Before, gives us time to do something else in the afternoon."

"Ok then." Aaron smiled, taking a sip of his coffee.

The two spent the next couple of hours talking away about everything that was anything, until a well rested Jack came wandering through looking for some breakfast.

"You want pancakes for breakfast?" Emily asked, sitting the young Hotchner on the stool in the kitchen.

Jack nodded enthusiastically, "Yes please Miss Em'ly!"

Emily chucked as she went about the kitchen making pancakes for breakfast, while Jack talked about his dream the night before involving him and Captain America saving the world!

Once breakfast was eaten, and the kitchen tidied, everyone washed up, taking turns in the shower before getting dressed ready for a walk through the surrounding woods.

Leaving the cabin, the three made their way down a path that lead past the lake they were at a few days before. Trees surrounded them, the only sounds they could hear were that of birds in the tree tops and animals rooting through the undergrowth – also the occasionally "Jack not too far in front!" from Aaron.

The two agents found a comfort in walking beside each other, chatting away as they were that morning. Every so often their hands would brush against each other, and they would both blush and apologise, however neither knowing that the other was deliberately trying to touch the others hand.

"You would think, with the job we do, that taking a holiday in a cabin, or walking through the woods would be the last thing we would want to do." Emily sighed.

Nodding Aaron asked "why do you think I go nowhere without a weapon?" lifting up his trouser leg to show his back-up around his ankle.

"You're not the only one." Emily smiled, lifting her own trouser leg revealing her weapon.

"If we were to avoid every place that our job has taken us, then we would have nowhere to go."

Emily sighed, stopping and looking out at the lake which now lay below then as they stood on a hill. She watched the sun reflect of the water, shimmering in the light, an occasional leaf falling from a tree and gliding into the water below, causing ripples to spiral out. "I guess you're right. How can there be so much evil in the world, when there is so much beauty?"

"I have no idea," Aaron sighed, never taking his eyes off of Emily, "All we can do is prevent that evil tainting the beauty, and help it heal when it does."

"Why we stop daddy?" an impatient Hotchner boy shouted from further up the path.

"Coming Jack, just stay where you are!" Aaron shouted after his son. He turned back to Emily, placing a hand on her arm. She turned her head and smiled at Aaron, nodding she turned herself round. Aaron couldn't believe what happened next.

As Emily turned, the ground beneath her feet gave way to mini mud slide; she loses her balance, falling backwards. Aaron tries to grab hold of her arm, but she turns while falling, putting her hands out break her fall and consequently breaks out of Aarons grip. She falls to the ground, tumbling down the hill before coming to a halt by smashing sideward's into a tree halfway down the hill.

"EM'LY" Jack shouts as he comes running over to where his dad was standing, staring down at Emily's motionless body. Aaron reaches out and grabs his son before he went any closer to the edge pulling him in. "Dad we have to help Em'ly!"

"EMILY!" Aaron shouts. He sees her attempt to move, trying to push herself up, but wince in pain.

"Aaron?" She calls out, dazed, pain shooting through her right wrist every time she moved it to push herself up.

"Hang on Emily, I'm coming!" Aaron yells down to her, his heart beating so fast he could hardly hear himself think. Turning to Jack he sits him on the floor, "Stay here! Don't get up and don't go any closer to the edge, ok?"

Jack nods, tears forming in his little brown eyes.

Sitting on the ground, Aaron slowly slides his way down the steep hill, using is feet to stop him sliding too much, until he reached Emily. He helped her sit up, using the tree to sit against.

"Are you ok?" Aaron asked, his eyes roaming her body for any obvious injuries.

"I'm fine." Emily smiled, wincing when she breathed in, her hand automatically reaching for her side. "Or not"

"Move your hand," Aaron whispered. When she did, he gentle moved his hand to her side, lifting her top up slightly to see if any damage could be seem. Bruising was beginning to form down one side where she hit the tree, "I'm sorry if I hurt you," he whispered, staring Emily in the eye as he gently running his hand down her side, luckily he couldn't feel anything that was out of place. "I think it might just be bruised. Anything else hurt?"

Emily lifted her right arm up, indicating to her wrist, and gave an awkward laugh. "I think I may have done damage to my wrist."

"Do you think you can climb back up? We can get you back to the cabin and I'll take you to the hospital, have you checked out." Aaron said, trying to stay calm and collected, like the usual stoic Agent Hotchner, but inside his stomach was doing back flips.

"I should be fine. It's probably just sprained; I won't need to go to the hospital." Emily insisted, standing using the tree as support before making her way slowly back up the hill.

Shaking his head, Aaron wasn't going to argue with her on the side of a steep hill, which could give way under their feet.

Back at the cabin, once Emily was showered and all three were in clean clothes, Emily was still insistent that she didn't need to go to the hospital.

"Emily, please," Aaron begged. "You took a nasty fall, you have bruises up your side and you can't move your wrist due to the pain."

"A few pain killers and it'll be fine" Emily said, knowing full well that it most likely wasn't fine at all; nothing this painful can be fine!

"Please Em'ly," Jack looked up at her, "Please go to the hopical! You need a doctor!"

"For my peace of mind?" Aaron asked again, hoping the woman would see sense and get her butt to hospital.

Looking between the two she finally gave in; the look on the Hotchner's faces told her that they really were worried out her.

"Ok!" She said putting her left hand up, unable to move her right, "I'll go"

At that Aaron turned around, picked up the keys and Jack, and ushered Emily out the cabin before she could change her mind.

It was late by the time they made it back, and Emily's whole body was beginning to ache from being poked and prodded by doctors and nurses all afternoon. After waiting for x-rays, it was concluded that her ribs were only bruised; however she had fractured a bone in her wrist and had to be in a soft cast for the next four weeks.

Aaron carried Jack in the cabin, having fallen asleep while on the way home. Luckily Aaron had got him something to eat while waiting in the hospital so could take him straight to bed.

Sitting on the sofa, Emily chuckled to herself as her stomach grumbled; she hadn't eaten anything since pancakes at breakfast.

"Hungry much?" Aaron laughed as he walked over, sitting down beside her.

"Starving! Anything quick and easy to make in those cupboards?" Emily smiled.

"I could make more pancakes?" Aaron suggested.

"Hmmm… sounds great!" Emily smiled, pushing herself off the sofa when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"You stay, I'll make them." Aaron said.

Not willing to argue, Emily smiled and sat back on the sofa.

After dinner was finished and the dishes were cleaned (again Aaron insisted he would do them), Emily popped a few painkillers the doctor gave her before standing and making her way to bed.

"You coming?" Emily asked.

Aaron looked at her confused, "What?"

"I told you, you're sleeping with me tonight" Emily smiled.

Smiling Aaron said, "I'll be through in ten minutes."

"If you're not I will come looking for you!" Emily winked before heading to bed. However after a few minutes the painkillers kicked in, making her a bit drowsy, and the weight of the day pulled her into a sleep.

Aaron made his way into the bedroom nine minutes later, having changed into a pair of pyjama bottoms and a clean t-shirt. He smiled at the sleeping form on the bed, she looked so at peace. He made his way over to the opposite side of the bed, and slide under the covers, brushing a hand through her hair, moving it away from her face. Sliding down beside her he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. That day's scene playing over in his head, her falling from his grasp, tumbling down that hill. As he stood, he couldn't believe what had happened, the fear of losing her shot through his body as she lay next to the tree, no sign of movement.

Movement stirred beside him, as Emily moved closer to his body. Turning onto his side to face her, his eyes scanned her features lit up from what little moonlight came shining through the curtains. Not knowing what caused him to do so, he lend over, placing a light kiss on her forehead, before laying down and sleeping for the night.

So what do you think? Let us know please :) pretty pretty please! Much love sent out to those who have waited ever so patiently!