A/N: And here is the last part. This story went on much longer than I intended and it's probably a little more romance-y than I typically write. Hope folks enjoyed it and if you have a moment let me know what you think. Thanks!

She felt warm and safe and for the first time in months, she got more than four hours of consecutive sleep. Emily was in that state between sleep and wakefulness and she was more than happy to choose sleep as the place to reside in for a little while longer. She burrowed closer to the warmth next to her. Her nose twitched as she registered a smell. The smell was of sandalwood, musk and something else that was unique, but niggled with persistent familiarity at the back of Emily's still slumbering mind. She took a deeper breath. It was a masculine smell, a scent that made her think very clearly "man" and it made her blood hum with heat. It was also achingly familiar. Recognition hit her and her eyes shot open. She found herself staring into an expanse of white and realized she was nestled against soft white cotton. Slowly, Emily tilted her head upward and her eyes met Aaron Hotchner's.

"Good morning," he said in a voice roughened by sleep.

Emily swallowed, just the sound of his voice eliciting goosebumps along her skin. "Good morning," she replied, her own voice huskier than usual.

She saw a flare of heat in his eyes and knew she had not been the only one affected by the morning greetings. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"You slept the entire night," he murmured, his lips in her hair, his hand stroking her bare shoulder.

"Mmmhmmm," she breathed out. She stretched a little, her lithe body rubbing against his and she heard him suck his breath in sharply. Emily hid a satisfied little smile as she snuggled along his side once more. "I'm still tired though."

"It's because you haven't been getting enough sleep for months. You can take a nap on the plane, but we've got to get moving now," Hotch told her in a low voice. One hand patted her hip gently and with great reluctance, he began to disentangle himself from her and the sheets. He got up from the bed and stared down at her with an amused smile on his face. She was still lying down among the rumpled sheets, her hair disheveled, her face clean of makeup, and eyes heavy lidded.

Before they had fallen asleep the night before, Emily had changed into her pajamas, washed her face and brushed her teeth. Hotch had gone back to his room across the hall to also get ready for bed, but was back in Emily's room in a less than ten minutes. They had climbed into Emily's bed and safely tucked into Hotch's embrace, she had fallen asleep almost immediately and slept through the night. He got less sleep, being content to simply watch her as she slept in his arms, her own private guard against nightmares.

He had missed holding a woman in his arms all night, falling asleep with her, waking up with her. He missed a warm, soft body pressed against his, the sweet smell of her hair, the feel of silken skin. He wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed with her and pull her back into his embrace, but they needed to meet the others for breakfast and then get out to the airport.

Hotch did stoop down to kiss her gently on the mouth. It was supposed to be a gentle, see you in a few minutes kiss, but Emily had other ideas. Her hand came up to cup the back of his head and draw him towards her and he went willingly when he was suddenly pulled back into the bed, his body covering hers. The little minx wriggled underneath him, sending bolts of lust throughout his body, hardening parts that urged him to forget breakfast and the plane and stay with the beautiful woman underneath him. Hotch groaned and tore his lips away from hers. He looked down into her flushed face, her lips swollen and pouting.

"You're dangerous," he gasped as he tried to suck in much needed air.

Emily let out a low, wicked laugh that made every molecule in his body scream at his brain to just shut up and just take her. She leaned up to whisper in his ear, "You ain't seen nothing yet." She bit his ear lobe lightly.

Hotch groaned and with every ounce of self-control, pushed himself off of her. He stood and stepped a safe distance away from the enticing siren on the bed who now propped herself up on her elbows to look naughtily at him.

"Go get ready," he said in mock severity. "We need to meet the others for breakfast in an hour."

Emily sighed and hugged a pillow towards her. Hotch smiled at the picture she made. She looked better with a few hours of sleep, but she still looked tired and far thinner than his liking. He silently vowed to make it his mission to make sure Emily slept and ate well. He smiled internally, knowing how enjoyable of a task that was going to be.

"I'll be back in 45 minutes," he warned her.

Emily grumbled something in reply but started to get out of bed. Hotch paused by the door, enjoying the sight of a sleep rumpled Emily dressed only in a loose fitting tank top and shorts. She caught him watching her and playfully threw a pillow at him.

Hotch ducked and slipped out of the room, the smile on his face mirrored on Emily's.

As soon as he was gone, Emily took a quick shower. She wiped the steam-fogged mirror in the bathroom and stared at her reflection. The shadows were still under her eyes, but even she could see she looked better than she had in a months. She marveled at how easy and right it felt to sleep in Hotch's arms and how restorative one night with him had been. She smiled a crooked grin and a glint that had been missing for so long appeared in her eye. She only wondered how she would look and feel after things had progressed beyond simply sleeping in his arms.

Emily shook her head and knew she needed to get moving. One thing about Hotch was his obsessive punctuality and when he said he would be back in 45 minutes, he will be back in 45 minutes. Quickly she blew dry her hair, being slightly more lazy in her ministrations so her hair fell about in soft waves instead of the usual ruler straight strands she had been sporting lately. She did her make-up and dressed.

Packing became a bit of a conundrum for Emily. While the DVDs, music box, book and certificate from Jack could be easily packed in her go-bag, the picture, flowers and basket could not. She would need help from Hotch to carry everything down to the car. While she knew he would be happy to help, she also knew he probably would like to see the flowers remain here.

Touching the petals of one rose with her finger tips, Emily smiled slightly. She couldn't leave Gibbs' thoughtful gift behind. Whether Hotch liked it or not, there was a special place for the cranky Marine in her heart. He was a good friend to her and Emily kept her friends close. Hotch may not like it, but she knew he understood. He was like that as well, and for her sake, he would tolerate Gibbs.

The man in question was knocking on her door, exactly 45 minutes later. She opened the door to let him in, a twinge of exasperation marring her pretty features.

"You'll have to help me carry everything down," she said as she let him into her room. She gestured to her assembled luggage which consisted of her go-bag, her laptop bag, the framed picture, the basket, and the vase of yellow roses.

It was on the tip of Hotch's tongue to suggest she leave the roses, but knew she never would. They were a gift and a very thoughtful one. He just didn't like who they came from. However, Hotch had resigned himself to the fact that there would likely be other men in Emily's life who came under the friend category. He had no concerns about Emily's fidelity and loyalty, he simply didn't like anyone trying to make a move on his girl. While he was certain he need no worry about that with Gibbs, there was also the unfortunate fact that the two men did not like each other. However, Hotch kept quiet and simply nodded his head. For her sake, he would tolerate the bad-tempered NCIS agent. It was a small price to pay to be with her. He grabbed her go-bag, the basket and the framed picture. Regardless of the fact that he had decided he would tolerate Gibbs in their lives, he still was not going to carry those roses. Emily smiled her thanks and picked up her laptop bag and the vase with the flowers before they left her room.

After a quick breakfast, the entire team made their way to the airport. They were just about to board when Emily heard her name called out.

"Emily!"

Everyone turned their heads to see who could be hailing Prentiss and they saw Detective John Stanford rushing up to them. He smiled at the pretty agent he had been admiring all week and rushed to her.

"Detective," Hotch greeted him coolly as he casually stepped between the man and Prentiss, a move Emily immediately recognized as one an alpha male would make to keep a potential threat from his mate. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "What can we do for you?"

"I'm glad I caught you before you left," Stanford replied, ignoring Hotch and staring at Emily. He handed her a gift wrapped in gold paper and tied with a dark purple ribbon. "I wanted to say thank you for your help. All of you," he belatedly included the others though his eyes immediately returned to Emily. "And wish you a belated happy birthday. It's just a small gift I wanted to make sure you had."

Emily was surprised and she gave the man a soft smile. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Hotch's clenched jaw and narrowed-eyed glare directed at the detective. Exasperation warred with amusement. Really, was he going to act this way with every man that spoke to her?

"John, that was so sweet of you! You definitely didn't have to."

"I wanted to, Emily," he said gently. "It's a box of chocolates. Remember you tried one the other day and said you liked them."

"I did," she smiled. "It was so thoughtful of you to remember. I love the gift."

He grinned at her. "I hope you're out here again sometime soon. Maybe I can finally buy you that dinner."

"Highly unlikely," Hotch said in a tight, clipped voice. A gift for her birthday is one thing, talking about taking her to dinner while he was standing there, that was crossing a line. "I would hope your city wouldn't be plagued by another serial killer so soon. It was very considerate of you, Detective Stanford, to give Agent Prentiss a birthday gift, but we do have a schedule to keep." With a sharp nod of his head, he put his hand under Emily's elbow and started to steer her to the waiting jet.

She looked up at him in surprised and found herself being hurried along. "Thank you, John! Thank you very much!" she called back as Hotch continued moving her along at a fast pace. He shifted his arm to lie across her back, pressing her along with even more force. She had no choice but to trot alongside him. "That wasn't nice!" she hissed at him.

Hotch looked down at her even as they continued their fast clip towards the plane. She looked annoyed, but not truly angry. In fact, she looked a little amused.

"He was just being nice," she said in a mild tone.

Hotch snorted. Gibbs he was willing to put up with since he knew Emily liked the man and they were already friends. But he would be damned if he would put up with the local law enforcement trying to move in on his girl.

"We're running late," he mumbled as he continued to rush them along.

Emily gave him a sidelong glance but wisely kept quiet until they were all on the plane and then in the air. When the pilot leveled off at the desired cruising altitude, Emily opened the box of gourmet chocolates and offered them to Hotch. "Want one?"

He glared at her and returned to the files he had been reading. They had sequestered themselves at one of the tables near the front of the plane, sitting on opposite sides. Emily selected one chocolate and bit into it, moaning her appreciation. The sound caught Hotch's attention and he stared at her, transfixed by the look of rapture on her face as she savored the sweet confection. He felt his body stir at the sight. Emily opened her eyes and she caught him watching her. Slowly, she licked the remaining chocolate from her lips and sucked on her fingers. Hotch's nostrils flared and she saw a muscle twitch in his jaw.

"You weren't very nice to Detective Stanford," she murmured to him.

Wha-? Stanford? Hotch was shaken rudely from his erotic thoughts by her comment. He harrumphed and settled back in his seat, no longer hypnotized by how Emily ate a chocolate.

"He needed to be informed of something very important," he said in a clipped voice.

Emily leaned forward across the table, pushing the box of chocolates aside. "And what's that?"

Hotch glanced behind him to make sure everyone else was preoccupied before he leaned also leaned forward across the table until his face was mere inches from her. He spoke in a soft, seductive voice, "That you're mine, Emily. And any man who thinks otherwise will find himself in a world of hurt."

It was possessive, chauvinistic and her feminist side should have been snorting out an angry retort, but his voice, the heated look of hunger in his eye, and the way his hands were stroking hers as they rested on the table between them, all combined to only send a rush of desire to her core and it was all she could do to make sure she didn't leap across the table and attack him.

"And are you going to show me what it means to be yours?" she asked in a low, husky voice.

A smile tipped the corners of his lips. "Jack is with his grandparents for the rest of the weekend. I intend to spend that entire time showing you, over and over again."

"Hey, either of you want coffee?"

Hotch and Emily snapped back from each other and sank into their seats. They looked up with flushed faces at Reid who stood by their table holding a stack of paper cups in one hand and the coffee carafe in the other. He held both up with an inquiring look on his face.

The couple exchanged looks and Hotch silently communicated the word "soon" to her. She gave him a small smile. I can hardly wait, the smile said back at him.

Hotch took a cup of coffee, but Emily declined and Reid went ambling back to the kitchenette. Hotch had suggested she take a nap, but Emily said she was feeling fine after having gotten a good night's sleep last night. She winked at him and he had smiled slightly at her. She started reading the novel she had brought with her, but a few minutes later, he noticed her eyelids starting to droop.

"Take a nap," he ordered her quietly. She glared at him but he simply stared back at her. "I'd like you to be well rested for the weekend." That got her interest and she raised an eyebrow at him. He smiled. "Feet." She looked at him in confusion and then he patted the seat next to him. With a grin, she slipped off her ankle boots and stretched her legs out until her feet were tucked in between the side of the plane and Hotch. He rubbed her feet gently, soothing and relaxing her.

Eventually, Emily pushed her seat back and her eye lids began to droop again. Soon, her breathing evened out and she started to sleep as Hotch continued to gently rub her feet.

Rossi tapped Hotch on the shoulder to get his attention. Hotch started. He had been watching Emily sleep, a sight which he knew he would never tire. However, he had forgotten he was on the BAU jet surrounded by his team. Rossi looked over at the sleeping Emily and back at Hotch.

"It's good that she's sleeping," the older man said. "She's been trying to hide it, but obviously she hasn't been getting much sleep." Rossi tilted his head to the side and contemplated Emily. "Though, it looks like she got some sleep last night." He sent Hotch a sly look. "I guess all that excitement wore her out. The surprise birthday party, I mean."

Hotch simply looked at him with a stony expression on his face. Rossi shook his head and bent down to say to him in a voice only Hotch could hear. "You outted yourself last night, my friend. Only someone who's head over heels would go through that much trouble for a woman." He patted Hotch's shoulder. "Don't worry. We all think it's a good thing for both of you." He turned and made his way back to his seat, leaving Hotch feeling equal parts relieved and equal parts exasperated.

The rest of the trip past uneventfully, Emily sleeping most of the way. Hotch made a mental note to get some food into her as soon as they landed and then make sure she was tucked into bed right after that. Ideally, with him beside her.

As the pilot announced that he was about to make his descent, Hotch gently squeezed Emily's foot where it rested by his thigh and softly called out her name. He watched as she snuffled and her eyelids fluttered before they slowly opened. She stared blankly at him for a moment and then yawned and nodded her head.

"Are we there?" she asked as she yawned again.

Hotch suppressed a grin as he watched her look around with a confused look on her face. "Almost," he said. "You have enough time to freshen up."

Emily nodded and with her feet, felt around under the table for her boots. She put them back on and made her way towards the lavatory. When she came back a few minutes later, Hotch had already packed up his paperwork and was staring out the window. Instead of sitting across from him, she slid down into the seat next to him. After a quick glance to determine where everyone else was and what they were doing, she laced her fingers with his. Hotch smiled at her as she grinned at him.

"Did I tell you thank you for making my birthday so special?" she asked him in a low voice as she leaned against his shoulder.

"You may have mentioned it once or twice," he murmured back, enjoying the feel of her body pressed up against his.

"Well, just in case, thank you for making it the best birthday ever." Her eyes shone brightly at him and Hotch felt his heart do a small little flip.

He gave her hand a squeeze. "I promise you, Emily, if you let me, I'll make sure every day is your birthday."

Her smile turned brilliant and she chuckled in a low tone. "Cheesy, but sweet and beautiful." She sighed as she looked out the window. "I didn't know where I would be three months ago," she said in a quiet voice.

Hotch stilled. Emily hadn't spoken about her time away when she was hiding form Doyle and separated from everyone she loved, when he was separated from her.

"I thought I would be spending my birthday alone, and maybe every birthday after that," she continued in a low voice.

The loneliness in her tone broke Hotch's heart. Not caring if the rest of the team saw them, he slipped his hand from hers so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her closer to him. He kissed her hair.

"Just know, as long as I'm around, you will never have to worry about spending a birthday alone."

Tears filled her eyes and Emily let out a watery chuckle. "I think you just gave me the best birthday present ever."

Hotch smiled down at her and he held her closer to him as the plane came in for a landing. Emily nestled her head against his shoulder, breathing in his scent and perhaps for the first time in her life, she felt completely at peace and happy. For most of the forty years she had been alive, she had come to hate her birthday. It signaled the passage of time that seemed to move more quickly with each passing year. In recent years, it brought home to her how alone she sometimes felt. But on her fortieth year on this Earth, she found a reason that the day should be celebrated and that reason was sitting beside her, his arm wrapped around her and a promise of more wonderful birthdays ahead. As the plane descended, breaking through the clouds to gently make its way back to Earth and to home, Emily was a year older, a little wiser and much happier than she had ever been before.

Fini.