A/N: *appears magically* Hello again. So, I apologize for the delay. It took me some time to figure out how to start this one. This is my first multi-chapter story. *wipes away tear* I've come so far. Or not. Whatever. This is the sequel to A Promise, and you don't really have to read that one first, but I recommend it. Or don't. I am clearly not the boss of fanfiction. More Hotch/Emily goodness, set in the future. To all my JJ/Reid fans, I will try to start working on a story soon. I'm a little low on inspiration these days, what with school about to start and all. This will be done before then, I swear. First review gets a shout out :D Happy reading!

She shifted nervously. Emily Prentiss had been in hostage situations, lived with a terrorist, and had almost been blown up multiple times, but she had never been as nervous as she was standing in the elevator waiting for it to take her to the 9th floor of the F.B.I building. It had been two years since she had left her team and the BAU to take a job with Clyde Easter in England and she didn't know how she would be received. She lifted her hand to her mouth and chewed on her nails, something she only did in the most stressful times of her life. A muscle in her stomach clenched when she heard the elevator ding and the doors squeak open. She took a deep breath, summoning her courage and stepped out. That's as far as she got. All of her training, confidence, and short-lived courage fled. The glass doors hadn't changed at all. But, as her eyes zeroed in on three desks, she saw that the people working there had.

Spencer's hair was long again. All the angles of boyhood were gone and his jaw was more defined, as were his muscles. He was good looking, Emily realized with surprise. She had never noted his looks before. Her gaze moved to Derek. He looked almost the same. He was a little leaner than she remembered, but his bright smile was still there. She was relieved to see that the job hadn't changed him. JJ looked beautiful, as per usual. Her hair was short again and her wedding ring was gone. That was…sad but not overall surprising. Will had always been JJ's polar opposite. Penelope was almost unrecognizable. Her hair was dark, what Emily assumed was her natural color after inspecting her eyebrows. She had never been fat, per se, but now she looked like she could share clothes with JJ. Her glasses had given her away, Em thought with a smile. That and the crazy bright orange heels. They were laughing, and a little pang hit her heart. They seemed to be doing fine without her. She was debating getting back into the elevator and pretending this never happened when Spencer looked up. Of course she should've expected this. He had probably noted her unmoving figure when she stepped off and her stare had to give her away. His eyes grew wide and his laughter stopped. JJ stepped up to him first. Emily would store that information away for later. As each pair of eyes moved to her, she realized how exposed she felt.

'I'm being ridiculous. They're my team. They love me,' she thought to herself. She squared her shoulders and began walking forward, ignoring her pessimistic thoughts about what had probably changed in the past two years. She had the glass doors open for about 3.5 seconds before Penelope ambushed her.

"Emily!" the now-brunette squealed, launching herself at her old friend. "What are you doing here? How was London? Are you back to stay? How've you been?" she fired off questions faster than Emily could answer, but that was somewhat relieving. At least some things never changed. Em returned the hug with vigor.

"Pen!" she squeaked, slowly untangling herself from her friend. She lifted her finger to Penelope's lips, shushing her. "I will answer all of your questions, I swear, but let me go say hi."

"Of course, of course! You guys! It's Emily!"

"Yes Pen, we can see that," JJ smiled, hopping off her desk. She held out her arms and that was all the permission Emily needed. She walked forward quickly, stepping into an old friend's hug. She leaned her face down, hoping to hide the tears that were pooling from the tidal waves of emotion. "Shhh, Em, it's okay," the blonde whispered, patting her back and squeezing tightly. The tears spilled over. Emily stepped back, wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to ruin your shirt," she apologized, hiccupping. She was caught somewhere between laughter and more tears. She smoothed out her pencil skirt and decided on the first. A small giggle escaped her at JJ's dismissive wave. It was so familiar, it made her stomach tickle. She sucked in a deep breath and turned towards the remaining two desks. The boys would be the hardest. Girls loved more quickly and more often, but boys loved harder. She looked at Spencer first. He was surprisingly calm, slowly moving his rolling chair away from the desk and unfolding his lean figure. All the words she thought she was going to say dissolved. She remembered how hurt he had been after she returned the first time, and she hoped with every fiber of her being that she hadn't wounded him again. It was quiet for a few seconds as they inspected each other. He stepped forward abruptly, enveloping her in a hug.

"It's good to see you Emily," he said into her hair. She squeezed him back, until she felt him shift uncomfortably.

"It's so good to see you too," she exhaled, releasing her death grip and stepping away. He grinned, reminding her of the boy he was when she left, and she smiled. A smile that quickly died when she looked at Derek. He hadn't spoken the entire time and uncertainty was twisting her stomach into knots. His reaction had been the strongest, and most negative, the first time around. Had that changed? She walked to him, knowing that he wouldn't come to her.

"Derek," she said softly, resting her hand on his upper arm. She felt the stares on her back as the others waited for his reaction.

"I missed you Emily," he whispered. She had to strain to hear the words. "I missed you a lot." He wrapped his arms around her, tightening his grip until she regretted her leaner-than-he-was thought from earlier.

"Can't…breathe," she choked out. He released his hold, a smile lighting up his face. She heard the laughter from behind her, and she felt at home again. "I missed you too," she added quietly. She was just about to ask for the remaining two members of the team when JJ's voice rang out.

"Rossi! Don't you dare pretend you didn't hear me. Get down here! You've got a visitor," she smiled as she called the oldest member of the BAU down. His figure reluctantly pulled out of his office and he began walking towards them, not seeing Em. That might be because Derek was standing in front of her, but none the less.

"JJ, I have work. You know that thing that you guys are supposed to be doing?" he griped, not stopping his walk. Derek moved, revealing Emily, and the older man paused. He was caught by surprise, something that obviously didn't happen often. "Emily," he said. There was a final tone to his voice. He wasn't squealing her name, just stating that it was her. His voice was warm though, as he welcomed a woman he considered to be his daughter back home. She walked to him this time.

"Dave," she replied, mimicking his business-like tone of voice. His arms reached out and gave her a brief squeeze. She didn't expect anymore.

"Nice to see you around here," he drawled, a teasing note in his voice. "Gonna stay this time?"

"I plead the fifth," she responded, making him laugh.

"This is a place to work, not to…"

The sentence that had begun in the clear, deep voice that Emily had missed the most trailed off into shocked silence. Em raised her gaze slowly to the office on the catwalk where the voice came from. Papers scattered the floor, clearly showing where they had been dropped in surprise. JJ moved subtly until she was standing next to Emily's frozen position at the end of the ramp.

"He's been a mess," she murmured into her ear. Her tone was a knowing one. Whether she had strong intuition, or because she was a profiler, JJ spoke with a certainty that even Emily didn't feel. Her tone said that the man in question was a mess because of her departure. And men like that were only a mess when somebody that they loved more than family left.

"Emily," the voice said, surprise, hurt, and disbelief all laced into one word. He sounded uncertain, as if she was a dream. In all the years Emily had known him, she had never seen him uncertain. She straightened her spine and ignored the waterfall of emotions crashing over her. She ignored the leaping in her stomach and the fire in her chest. She worked quickly to calm the joy dancing in her dark eyes and struggled to keep from running up and jumping him. She sucked in a deep breath, shoving all the emotions that she was too afraid to name into the little boxes in her mind.

"Aaron."