A/N: Hey, guys. So, this story is for one of my good friends, Audrey, (ankCM). She suggested the prompt, 'summer, strawberries, Iowa, Audrey Hepburn, and a baby.' Thank you, love-bug, and I hope you enjoy this, I know I did!

Thank you to my BETA, Kelsey! You are amazing and I love you dearly.

Now, I present to you,

Chapter 1.

"Lorelai, come back!"

Aaron glanced off into the distance of the strawberry patch, the summer's sun beating down hard on his neck. A thin layer of perspiration had appeared on his neck as he kneeled down to pick another strawberry, watching a young child run down the line of bushes, an older woman chasing after her. He froze once he made out who that woman was. That voice calling the child's name, the way her hair fell against her shoulders as she ran, the gait of her run. It was all so familiar to the man.

"Daddy, can I ea' 'dit?" Half distracted, he turned around to see his son holding a berry to his mouth. He could barely understand his mumbles, but he could definitely use his imagination to know that Jack was asking his permission to eat the berry.

Nodding, he turned back to glance at the woman, now three rows down from him and his son. But what was she doing here in Iowa? He shook his head, trying to clear it. Maybe it was just the heat getting to him. He shrugged and fixed his four year old's hat on his head. "Jack, do you think we have enough berries yet?" He glanced in the basket he carried and nodded, taking the small child's hand and leading him over to the woman.

He wasn't the type of man to typically go over and say hi to his co-workers outside of work, but this was an exception. For some reason, they both had decided to come to Iowa. He felt he was obligated to at least say hi. Closing the distance between them, he worked his jaw, watching as the brunette woman stood up, wiping the child's juice-covered face with a napkin. She smiled down at her and brushed her fingers through her hair, "There you go, sweetie, all clean. Come on, we should go pay for these berries." Aaron's eyes watched as she finally turned around, noticing for the first time how closely the girl at her side resembled his friend.

He breathed out a soft breath and looked into her surprised face. "Prentiss."

A warm, yet sheepish smile spread across her lips as she looked him over, nodding down at Jack. "Hotch..." She kneeled down and saluted Jack, "Ahoy, Captain Jack."

Jack giggled and leaned into his father's leg, clutching a small part of the jeans he was wearing. "Daddy, Emmy said I' a capey-ton!" He smiled proudly and then waved to the girl hiding behind his Emmy.

"I heard, buddy." Hotch smiled and looked up at Emily, watching as she stood up to her full height. He looked over the small girl, still hiding behind Emily. "She looks just like you…"

A light scarlet hue tinted Emily's cheeks as she smiled, "Well, I'd hope so." She picked the young girl up and placed her lips to her hair, laughing softly as she hid her face in Emily's chest, but peaking her face out occasionally. "Hotch, Jack, this is my daughter, Lorelai." Emily shrugged and glanced down at Lorelai briefly, before meeting her unit chief's eyes again.

Hotch felt a quick stab of pain rip through his chest. "You never said you had a daughter…" He eyed her with dark eyes, almost hurt. How could someone just not mention they had a kid?

She shook her head and sighed, "No one ever asked. I never felt it was the right time to bring it up either." She bit her lip and shrugged, "Lorelai lives with me in my apartment."

"Oh." He nodded and looked at her hand. No ring. He inhaled sharply, "And the father?" He clenched his jaw tightly. No, he was being too obvious. If Emily wanted him to know, she would've told him, right? Or perhaps not. However, he did understand why she had hid the fact that she had a daughter. Look at all the trouble it got Jack in with Foyet, or even just the fact that she was a very private person. Even at work she tended to keep to herself, and he couldn't blame her. He did himself.

"Uh," He could tell that his question had caught her off guard, but she recovered quickly. "He used to live in London… He just moved to Iowa a few weeks ago. I'm just helping him finish settling in, and he wanted to see Lorelai." He nodded, watching her nibble her bottom lip, and then caress it gently with the tip of her tongue.

"Ah, so you're not married?"

"God no!" She laughed, shaking her head. "No, I, uh… She's two, going on three soon. I had her before I came back to the states. So, what brings you two to the land of cornstalks?"

Hotch smiled slightly at seeing her wide smile, and chuckled softly. "Actually, Jack wanted to see my mother. She wanted to make a pie, so we decided to go strawberry picking for her, right, bud?" He looked down as Jack bounced up and down, spilling the berries from the basket and onto the ground. "Oh, Jack!" He shook his head as he chastised the boy, pausing when he heard soft laughter from above him. He glanced up at the brunette and glared mildly, "You are not helping here, Prentiss." He hissed quietly, not intending for it to seem rude, but as a joke.

She immediately stopped laughing and nodded curtly, slightly stunned by his tone, it was always Prentiss. Never just Emily, her first name. "Sorry." She flushed slightly, beginning to glance around the fields, "I, uh… we should go. I'll see you at work, Hotch." She nodded stiffly and managed to slip passed him before he even processed what she had said.

He sucked in a heavy breath and shook his head. This was why he never joked. It always blew up in his face. He watched her retreat down the hill, and shook his head, mentally cursing himself. He looked at Jack and nodded, "Come on, Jack. Let's go follow Emily." As if on cue, the boy took off running back down the hill, trying to catch up to the brunette. Aaron began running behind him, only half way down, he tripped over a rock, and hit the ground face first, tumbling down the hill.

Emily stopped walking as she heard her name being called by Jack. Turning around, she watched as Jack ran down to her, pointing back up at the hill. She followed his finger and gasped, seeing Aaron trip and fall, rolling down the hill. He passed them, tumbling passed Emily, nearly hitting her. "Hotch!" She closed her eyes, unable to watch as he came to a complete stop at the bottom of the hill, almost slamming into the side of the cashier stand. Picking up Lorelai, and making sure Jack was behind her, she ran the rest of the way down the hill, and knelt down beside him, Lorelai and Jack looming over him. "Hotch, are you alright?"

By now a fairly large crowd had gathered around to see what had happened and if he was alright. Emily held his head in her lap and sighed softly as she began to search him for any injuries or traumas. She brushed his hair away from his forehead and smiled, seeing that the only apparent injury seemed to be a very small gash on his forehead.

"Emily?"

She released a breath of relief and smiled widely, "Trying to scare the crap outta me, Hotch? I almost thought I'd have to take you back to your mother's, or worse, the hospital." She laughed softly and shifted around him, taking his hands and helping him up. "What the hell, Hotch?" She looked him over once more and shook her head.

"Emily, I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to sound so rude. It was supposed to be a-"

She smiled as he tried to apologize, using her first name for the very first time since… Since he met her all those years ago at her mother's gala. "Hotch, relax. It's fine. Besides, I think you've already paid enough." She paused and shrugged, brushing his hair away again, "You're bleeding…" She grabbed her purse and dug through it until she found a small package of tissues. She dabbed one on his forehead and sighed, looking into his eyes.

"Well, Doctor Prentiss, Will I survive?" He smiled down at her, letting her tend to his wound.

She sucked in a breath, her eyes searching his, catching a hint of something new… There was something… She tilted her head, almost playful about that look. She cleared her throat and applied a new tissue to his forehead, blushing slightly. Oh, God. Is he flirting? She shrugged and licked her bottom lip. "I think the odds are in your favor." She winked and nodded once more. Oh motherballs. Am I flirting? She shook her head, watching as Jack and Lorelai seemed to be playing with each other a few feet away.

He followed her gaze and shrugged, shifting in her arms as she continued to press the gauze to his head. "Who would have thought, my son, your daughter?" He saw something flash in her eyes, and he nearly collapsed. Warmth. As she opened her mouth, about to speak, he reached down and brushed a strand of her ebony hair, and placed it behind her ear, causing her to shut her mouth in shock and confusion.

Clearing her throat in order to break the awkward silence, she shrugged, her eyes never leaving his dark ones, "Erm, thanks…"

She inhaled softly and dropped her hand as a small voice broke the silence again, "Mama, I' hungryyy!"

Emily nodded, looking down at her daughter, "Okay, honey. We'll stop for something on the way back." She turned back to Aaron with a soft sigh, her heart fluttering, "I really should get her fed, I'm sorry." Before she could leave, he took ahold of her wrist and pulled her back to him.

"Prentiss, why don't you come over for some lunch? I hardly think it's fair of me to be the reason your daughter doesn't get food." He looked into her eyes, giving her hand a slight squeeze as she looked from Jack to Lorelai, and then back up at the man in front of her. Knowing she was trying to refuse, he shrugged, "I also think Lorelai and Jack would like a little bit more time together." Ha, she couldn't refuse now.

Cursing internally, she nodded and worked her jaw. "Alright… But only if it's alright with your mother and Jack. I wouldn't want us to intrude on your time with your mo-"

He fixed her with a look from his dark eyes, "Relax. It's fine. I'm sure she'd love to meet one of my co-workers." Did I really just say that? He groaned internally and mentally kicked himself. God, he sounded so stupid.

Still hesitant, she nodded and picked Lorelai up. "Alright then, Lore, would you like to play with Jack for a bit longer?" The carbon copy of herself cheered and kicked her feet in excitement.

"Then it's settled. I'll have you follow me back to the house." He nodded, getting in line to pay for the berries.

As they returned to their cars minutes later, Hotch turned to Emily and gave a small smile, growing wider only when she smiled her glorious smile back. A dimple began to indent his cheek, causing her to grin. God, who would have thought that the man had dimples!

She watched him return to his car, and then finished buckling Lorelai into her car seat in the back. Sighing softly, the brunette pulled out of the parking lot and began the journey to Hotch's mother's house. Realization finally hit her as they turned down the street. What would his mother think? They weren't a couple at all, only friends and co-workers. People didn't usually meet their boss' parents. Anxiety began to settle in, and she inhaled deeply, taking in breath after breath and letting them out. Well, this would be interesting. Hotch's car pulled into a dirt path and continued on. Emily shrugged and followed. Well, this is the countryside of Iowa. What was she really expecting?

Slowly, Hotch's car came to a stop. She pulled up next to him and looked to the left, releasing a soft breath at the white ranch house they just pulled up to. Immediately, she felt the need to speak with a southern accent. Opening her door for her, Aaron took her hand and helped her out. He smiled slowly and looked down at her. "So, this is home." He helped Lorelai out of her car seat, and held her to his chest as Jack walked by Emily's side, hand in hand.

Emily followed him to the door and stiffened, taking in a deep breath, "Hotch-"

He took a step closer and shook his head, "We're out of work for the weekend, I think it's alright if we dropped the 'Hotch' and 'Prentiss' thing for now."

"Okay, then, sir." She smirked briefly, wiping it away as he turned to raise an eyebrow at her.

"You know, I've come to realize, that you only address me as sir because you know I hate it," he groused, to which Emily merely laughed again. He lowered his gaze to her and smirked slightly, "You think I don't know you're sassing me when you call me that - indirect insubordination is still insubordination, Emily."

She shook her head and shrugged, sighing softly, "Alright, sir." She grinned wickedly as he internally groaned, fixing her with a glare.

"Emily."

"Sir."

The door swung open as he opened his mouth to continue. "My Gosh, You'd think the two of ya'll were a married couple." Emily glanced away from Aaron to see an older woman wearing an apron in front of them. She looked from Emily to Lorelai, still in Aaron's arms. "Aaron, you're back with the strawberries and company. You shoulda told me, I woulda gotten more plates out for lunch." She smiled warmly and nodded to Emily, motioning her inside. "Well, don't jus' stand there, my dear. Come inside and out of this heat." Emily followed behind Aaron and Jack. Jack went running to his Grammy, showing the berries to the woman.

"Ah, Mother, this is Pre-Emily. Emily Prentiss." He nodded and nudged the brunette closer. "Emily, this is my mother, Angela." He set Lorelai down on the ground, "And this is her daughter, Lorelai."

Angela smiled warmly and took Emily's hand and gave it a small shake. "It's very nice to meet you, dear." She bent down to Lorelai's height and nodded, "Hello, Lorelai. It's nice to meet you as well. You're a beautiful girl."

Emily smiled proudly as her daughter looked up at Angela and beamed, dimples and all, "'ank tew,"

All three grownups laughed, turning around as a loud clatter sounded behind them. All of the strawberries that were previously in the basket on the counter, were now sprawled across the floor, a red faced and sad looking Jack sitting behind them. "I sowwy, daddy!" He began to sniffle quietly. Knowing that he was about to burst into tears, Emily was at his side in seconds and lifted him into her arms.

She cooed to him softly and shook her head, "Jack, buddy, it's alright. It wasn't your fault. They can be washed." She glanced at Aaron, catching both his and his mother's eyes on her as she soothed his child. Blushing slightly, she bit her bottom lip and carried Jack over to his father as she cleaned up the rest of the strawberries.

As she reached for the last handful of blood red berries, large hands brushed against hers and she paused, looking up into the eyes of her unit chief. He smiled and held out the bowl for her, letting her put the rest into it to be washed. "You're good at this. Parenting, I mean."

Blushing even further, she stood up and dusted herself off, "There's a shock." She shrugged and took the bowl over to the sink, tracking his movements from the corner of her eye. "My mother was never good with kids… I guess I just always wanted one, and…" She shrugged, sighing softly, unaware that the elder woman watched them from the table, just ten feet away. She smiled, Lorelai on her lap, Jack sitting next to her.

When Angela returned to the kitchen, she took off the apron and glanced from Aaron to Emily and smiled knowingly. There was something different about these two. The way they interacted was different. They gave off a similar energy as the one Aaron and Haley had given off, only this was much different. It was stronger, and it felt… comforting. Something she hadn't felt or seen in a long time. Love.

"Oh, Aaron. Your brother, sister-in-law and niece are coming over soon as well. I forgot to tell you that earlier." She looked down at Jack as he grinned.

"Yay! Unc'e Sawn!"

Unaware of what was going on, Lorelai cheered as well, copying Jack. "Unc'e Sawn!"

Biting her lip, Emily shook her head, "Oh, no, baby. You don't have an Uncle Sean…" She sighed softly, defeated as Lorelai began to pout, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Oh, honey." She made her way over to the young child.

But Lorelai was already in tears by the time she reached her. She pushed her mother away, reaching for Aaron instead. Dejected, and somewhat hurt, Emily looked down and sighed. Lorelai had always been a very easy baby. However, there had been times when Emily thought she was the fussiest child ever.

Aaron looked from Lorelai as she finally began to calm down, and then to Emily. The doorbell rang at that moment, and Angela left the brunette couple to answer the door. Tucking Lorelai close, he placed a hand on Emily's back. "Emily…" She looked up at him, masking the sadness in her eyes. "Em, don't feel bad about this. It's normal, Hell-o," He paused, quickly correcting himself in front of the children. "I went through it with Jack." He shrugged and sat down at the seat that his mother had previously occupied just moments ago. "It'll be fine. You're an amazing mother, and every child goes through this phase." He shrugged, a small smile appearing, "After all, they don't call them the terrible twos for nothing."

She smiled softly and nodded, looking up at him with dark eyes, "You're right. I'm sorry, I just… That's the first time she's pushed me away. I guess I shouldn't be too down. She's been such an easy baby these past two years." Hotch nodded and smiled slowly. "Hotch, thank you. For everything." She whispered softly, more voices gravitating through the hallway and into the kitchen. "Sounds like your brother is here."

He nodded, just as Sean walked into the room, a young blonde at his side, wearing an Audrey Hepburn T-shirt. Following in behind the two, was a younger brunette haired girl and Angela. "Ah, Aaron. So good to see you, and…" He glanced at Emily, pausing on the two year old in Aaron's lap, "Aaron, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend?" He smiled and led his wife over to the table. "And you two have a kid too? Jeez, how fast are you two?"

Emily blushed and looked down at her nails as Aaron spoke up, "Same old hilarious, Sean. Nothing's changed, huh? No, this is Emily Prentiss. She's my-"

"-Oh, so you're the hot new agent Aaron's talked about." He smiled widely and held out his hand, offering to shake.

Hesitating briefly, Emily shook it and shrugged. "Oh, so you're the obnoxious brother Aaron has rarely talked about." Laughing, Aaron spit out a glass of water across the table.

Sean laughed as well and nodded, completely amused at Emily's smirk. "Welcome to the family, then." He grinned wider and shook his head, "Nah, I'm just messing with you. Aaron never said you were hot, that's just me throwing that in there."

"So I've gathered." Emily shrugged and looked up at the woman standing next to Sean and smiled, offering her hand.

Sean followed her gaze and stepped forward, "Oh, of course. This is my beautiful wife, Carrie, and this is our thirteen year old daughter, Audrey."

The younger brunette stepped forward and smiled, "Hi, pleased to meet you." She spoke with a French accent, both surprising and exciting Emily.

"Oh, Enchanté! Ça va?" Confused, she looked from Aaron and then to Sean and Carrie as they all began laughing. "What?"

Aaron shook his head and sighed, "Em, she doesn't actually speak French. Audrey is in a theater group. To practice each accent, she speaks a different one each month. I'm guessing this month is French."

Feeling completely like an idiot, Emily nodded and tilted her head, "Oh. Well, that's an interesting idea, I guess. So, Audrey, how do you like theater?"

Audrey smiled and nodded, following Emily into the kitchen as she went to refill her glass of water. "I love it. It's the best thing I've ever done. Plus, there's this guy in my group named Sam, and he's kinda hot." She blushed, as she went on and on about her classes. "I don't know, I just love it. I feel I can actually be me, yet so many different people all at once."

Emily grinned and nodded, understanding exactly what she was saying. "I know that feeling. Trust me, I was an outcast at many different high schools. I joined drama, and immediately I felt like I fit in." She shrugged, "I'm glad you're enjoying it. I say you stick with it, Audrey. Perhaps you'll even get closer with Sam."

As the two brunettes talked in the kitchen, Sean watched Aaron carefully, studying him as he watched Emily leave the table. "Oh, come on, bro. You so like her."

Aaron turned to Sean, gritting his teeth, "I do not. Sean, she's my subordinate. Any fraternization between the two of us can get us both fired."

"Oh, Aaron. Look at you. You're 38. It's time for you to fall in love again, and who better to do it with than your fine brunette agent."

"She is not fine," He growled, clearing his throat, "I mean mine, she is fine." He sighed, defeated, "God dammit, Sean. She's just Emily."

Laughing, he shook his head and grinned wickedly, "Bro, you have it bad for her."

As if perfect timing, Emily reappeared in the room. She raised an eyebrow at the smirk across Sean's face, and the glare Aaron returned his brother. He was almost seething. "Did I miss anything…?" She looked at Angela and Carrie, watching as they both shook their heads in the negative.

"Alright then…" She kicked Aaron underneath the table, giving him a pointed look. Immediately, the glare was wiped from his face, and the smirk left Sean's as she heard a shoe, who she guessed belonged to Aaron, collide against Sean's shin as well. She smiled slightly and nodded, sipping from her glass of water as Jack and Lorelai ate in the other room with Audrey at a smaller table.

To break the peaceful silence, Sean glanced over at Emily and cleared his throat, getting ready to interview her. "So, Emily, you have a daughter, but no ring. Un-married, I assume?"

Choking on his ear of corn, Aaron kicked Sean's shin again, causing the man to grunt. If Emily noticed it, she didn't seem to say or do anything, "Actually, no." She watched as Sean and Angela's faces both fell. She smirked, "I might as well be married to my job. Ask your son." She grinned at Aaron and he laughed softly, nodding. "He sometimes has to remind me to take my lunch break, as I have to remind him the other times."

Sean nodded, laughing as his brother blushed, or what it appeared to be a blush. Angela watched Emily briefly and smiled before glancing across the table at Aaron. "So, how's working at the BAU? Does Aaron treat ya'll well?"

Emily glanced at Aaron and smiled, "He does, yeah. The BAU's pretty great, actually." She shrugged and finished eating, "The food was great, thank you." Glancing into the next room to check on Lorelai, she sighed, noticing that she wasn't eating much, despite how she was whining earlier for food. "If you'll excuse me." She nodded, getting up and walking into the room. She knelt down by the kiddy table and sighed, "Lorelai, honey, will you eat something for mama?"

"No." Closing her eyes, Emily frowned as she felt something spill all over her shirt. She opened her eyes seconds later and saw that the young Prentiss had spilt the remains of her plate onto Emily.

"Oh, Lorelai!" She groaned softly, trying to clean up the food on her shirt, only to find it left a dark stain over her breast. She shook her head and looked up to see Lorelai giggling in her seat. "Lorelai, that's not funny." She mumbled quietly.

Great, now how could she possibly go back into the kitchen? Luckily, Aaron heard Emily's groan and came into the room to help.

He looked down at her, trying to hold in his laughter when she looked up at him. "Hotch, I swear to God, if you choose now as the appropriate time to laugh, I will-"

Knowing she was serious, he cut her off and took her hand in his, helping her up to her full height. "Come on, I have something you can change into." He led her to one of the bedrooms and dug through his bag, pulling out a fresh dress shirt for her. He turned around to find her staring at the pictures on the nightstand. "Oh, yeah…"

She smiled and cocked her head to the side, "These of you and Sean?" She held up a frame of two boys, a dog laying in between them with an older man in the background.

"I… Yeah." He walked over and sat down next to her on the bed. "That's me," He pointed to the tallest boy, no older than 10, "and that's Sean," He pointed to the other brother and swallowed.

"And that's-"

"Yeah. That's my father." He sucked in a deep breath and looked away, memories beginning to return. Unpleasant memories.

As if sensing this, Emily placed the picture back down and moved closer to him, "Aaron…"

He shook his head and closed his eyes, praying that this wouldn't happen now. His father had been horrible, abusive to him, his mother, and to Sean. He didn't want to think about that now. He couldn't. "I'm fine."

Emily shook her head and knelt onto the ground in front of him. She took her hands in his and sucked in a breath. "Aaron, look at me." She waited for him to finally meet her eyes before speaking again, "You're never alone. Your father… He's gone, Aaron. He may have done things that you didn't deserve, but you are not him. You are the person you are today because of him. You are strong, courageous, an amazing father…" She shook her head and let that sink in.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that, but you turned out to be a pretty damn decent man, one of the only few well-mannered, sweet, protective, and dedicated men left in the state of DC, hell, probably in the world." She shook her head and sighed, "Don't beat yourself up about it. We all have scars from our past."

She took in a small breath and brushed away the first and only tear from his eyes. He nodded slowly and looked down at her, cupping her cheek. "Emily."

A knock on the door caused Emily and Aaron to split apart. "Aaron? Where'd you go? Mum wants to bake the pie soon." She released a sigh and stood up, grabbing the shirt from the bed. She quickly put it on over her stained shirt, and slipped the other shirt out, a trick she had learned years ago.

"Uh, thanks for the shirt." She smiled sheepishly and nodded, "Do you want me to make something up, or are you good?"

"I'm good." He nodded and followed her to the door, whispering a small "thanks" as he opened the door for her. "Oh, and Prentiss?"

"Sir?"

"Nothing leaves this room."

"Always." She smiled and walked out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen. Sean eyed her with curious eyes, and smirked when he saw Aaron follow her out of the room.

"And what were you two doing?"

"Relax, Sean. Lorelai spilt her food on Emily's shirt and I told her she could borrow one of mine." He nodded and watched as Emily walked back over to Lorelai, Jack and Audrey.

Sean rolled his eyes and shook his head as he watched the way his older brother seemed to be eyeing and watching the brunette. He smiled and glanced at his wife, putting an arm around her and pecking her on the cheek. She smiled and looked up at him, "Your brother seems really happy. It's hard to believe that this is the same man."

Sean smirked and kissed the top of her forehead as he watched his brother help Emily with cleaning Lorelai and Jack up and getting ready to help bake.

Despite everything and her nerves, Emily was really enjoying herself. It felt… comfortable. Even Sean's comments didn't bother her at all. In fact, they made her smile. It was what she had always longed for. A family.

A/N: Wow, already this has been far longer than what I had originally planned… However, I think It'll either be a two-shot, or perhaps even a multi-chapter. We shall see.

Thank you for reading the first chapter, and please review! It always makes me happy to know your thoughts.

-Em.