#hotchniss headcanons

[ssaemilyhotchner]

one of my favorite ways to write established relationship hotch is like early x-files fox mulder—all dopey grins, teasing, and physical touch. devotion written into every line of his face. I think it can be hard to reconcile this version of hotch with the deeply serious, aggrieved version we so often see on the show, but it isn’t not canon either.

I think of the hotch we see in season one, for example—sentimental and downright silly sometimes, with his pirate hat and his barbs at his colleagues and his living room makeout sessions and let's call him sergio. emily has always been so adept at breaking through his walls that I think she would get him back to this version of himself, almost childlike in his love, carefree in a way he hasn’t been since haley brooks was the one bright spot of his adolescence—an abusive home life, boarding school, the unexpected death of a parent prematurely forcing him into the role of Man of the House, where he then stayed because it was familiar. but just because something is familiar to us doesn’t make it preferred or our only dimension.

I see hotch as having so much tender (and yes, goofy) love to give—not in spite of all of this, but because of it—and I love writing emily as the channel and recipient of that love.

[sequinsmile-x]

Some obscure head canons:

Having grown up in a southern home, Aaron was raised baptist. He doesn’t have any strong religious convictions as an adult but occasionally Emily is caught off-guard as his roots creep into their home via song. He can, from time to time, be found humming or softly singing under his breath an old Baptist hymn. This happens completely unconsciously and is something Emily likes to tease him about endless and Aaron likes to deny has occurred. Nobody outside their home believes he really does this. It happens more often when they’ve been down south for a case.

Hotch has outstanding fine motor skill and he is the one who tirelessly sews every single sequin onto his daughter’s dance recital costumes.

As she gets older and more settled into the life she has cultivated with Aaron, Emily grows increasingly more and more crunchy. This comes from her desire to protect their future and ensure she and Aaron do everything in their power to stay healthy, fit and strong for their family. It’s something that Derek teases her for mercilessly as it’s such a stark deviation from her past. It’s something that drives Dave increasingly more and more mad.

Oh I LOVE these!! <3

On the same kind of steer as the first one - I really feel the lapsed Catholic thing with Emily is underplayed. Every now and again I think something would give her huge Catholic guilt out of nowhere and it always catches her, and Aaron, off guard.

[eyesontheskyline]

Thoughts on hotchniss being soft with each other? In an established relationship situation

I definitely think they're Soft. Everything we've seen of Hotch in a relationship shows him soft and always seeking out touch, and Emily is so tactile in general. I think they both need the reassurance of safe touch - they both have trauma all the way from childhood, so I think they both seek out that physical connection to make them feel safe. Hands in hair and on hips and on waists and just always cuddling. I think sometimes they can touch when they can't talk - cuddling for comfort before they're ready for words.

So yeah. I think they're cuddlers. I think she wears his shirts at home and he loves it, the way she looks in them and the smell of her on them. I think they like to stay touching whenever they're just sharing space, like she reads with her feet or her head in his lap...

He remembers how happy the homemade cookies and brownies made her on cases, so he bakes sometimes just to make her smile. He starts with brownies from a box mix and doesn't progress much from there but it delights her every time. They leave each other notes. She adds doodles.

[duchessas]

idk if anyone’s asked this but your top hotchniss head canons??? or just hotchniss friendship ones or really emily/hotch head canons in general! would loooove to hear them

Love love love this ask - thank you so much! I’ve genuinely had to contemplate my answers here and I’ve given a slightly streamlined version - hopefully they’re enjoyable!

✿ Aaron is a cuddler. He’s always on Emily’s side of the bed, trying to get as close to her as possible. Every night, he chases her across the sheets because he sleeps better with an arm around her, or a leg hooked between hers or basically any skin to skin contact. Emily teases him that it’s like sleeping with an octopus. Secretly, she loves it.

✿ Emily loves Taylor Swift. Loves as in has a ten hour playlist that she subjects Aaron to on a regular basis. One day at work, Aaron starts humming Cruel Summer and the whole team nearly riot. After that, they start humming random songs to see if he’ll join in. (He always does, then claims he’s been brainwashed).

✿ Sometimes, Emily likes to make wildly incorrect statements (sometimes about law but literally about anything from general knowledge to the case). Always in public and always just to watch Aaron lift his head and look at her like wtf????

✿ Aaron is a great dancer. Seriously good. Emily is too. One of their favourite activities is to go out dancing together, firstly because they get to show off and secondly because it’s the only time they can be all over each other in public without rousing suspicion, esp when they’re sneaking around trying to keep their relationship secret.

✿ Emily makes up the wildest bedtime stories and Jack loves them. He begs for them and Aaron always comes upstairs to listen too, sitting on the end of the bed and letting the story carry him away. Jack will ask for them, particularly after a nightmare when he’s crawled into bed with them both. Emily always obliges him. It makes Aaron love her even more.

✿ In season 5, after Foyet first goes after Aaron, Emily is the one who gets him through it. She turns up at his apartment with random groceries, forces him to eat meals and sits with him so that he’s not alone. It means that she’s the only person who can saunter into his office and make him do things - whether it’s coming out for dinner and drinks, eat a meal or just relent. Morgan says it’s her superpower.

✿ Emily refers to Aaron and Jack “my boys.” It makes both of them grin whenever they hear it.

✿ My last one is actually from @criminalmindsgonewrong ‘s incredible headcanon post HERE - I love the idea of Em and Aaron trying to keep it a secret, but Aaron ends up wearing Em’s windbreaker and chaos ensuing as they try to cover it up. Check out the entire post though. It’s actual gold!

[hotchscoffeecup]

come home with me

pairing: emily prentiss/aaron hotchner

rating: t

category: angst, hurt/comfort with a happy ending

word count: 7.2k

summary: An alternate version of "Faceless, Nameless," where Foyet leaves Hotch to bleed out in his apartment and Emily finds him clinging to life. Her quick response saves his life but causes her to question her own decisions in the hours leading up to finding him. Hotchniss. Hurt/comfort with sweet ending. Some angst.

Emily yawns and wishes she’d taken that second cup of coffee for the road this morning when she’d left the office. As the elevator dings, she steps out onto the carpeted hallway. If he slept through his alarm while the rest of us are out working this case, I’m going to kill him, she thinks as she stifles another yawn.

She checks her phone and surprise, there’s no new texts, voicemails, or emails from Hotch. She selects his contact and hits dial, bringing the phone to her ear as she scans the identical doors for his apartment number.

You’ve reached SSA Aaron Hotchner— Emily groans out loud and snaps her phone shut, cutting off his voicemail, her irritation starting to border on anger. This wasn’t like Hotch, ignoring his phone. Sure they’d all been exhausted last night, but to the point he sleeps this late into the morning and doesn’t bother to answer his phone? No, something wasn’t right. She could feel it in her gut.

She should’ve gone home with him when he offered, but she knew how they operated when a case was over and they settled in for the night. One glass of wine would lead to another and, well, very little sleep would be had for either of them. She’d been so physically, mentally, and emotionally drained after Canada…just the thought of it now felt like a weight dragging down her shoulders. No, she’d needed to be alone; to shower and wash off the sick and twisted vestiges of the horrors she and the team had discovered on that pig farm.

After turning Hotch down, she’d smiled at him and winked and told him they could go and get a late breakfast once they’d had the opportunity to catch up on sleep. Now, a part of her was glad they’d caught a case. He probably would’ve slept through breakfast, anyway, she thought irritably. Ok, she wasn’t actually glad they’d caught a case. This one was a doozy and they needed every pair of eyes they could get if they were going to keep the doctor and his son safe; and they were running out of time. She hated cases that involved kids, no matter how old. They didn’t deserve the trauma that would result from having their own or their loved ones' lives threatened.

Finally, Hotch’s apartment comes into view. She tucks her phone into her jacket pocket and rapps her knuckles against the door.

“Hotch, it’s Emily,” she calls and knocks again. She pauses, straining her ears for the sound of shuffling footsteps. Her brow furrows when there is only continued silence.

“Hotch?” she repeats, this time there’s a question in the way she says his name. She knocks again, harder. Rolling her eyes, she digs her phone back out of her pocket and redials his number. A phone rings on the other side of the door, but there is no sound that suggests someone was moving toward it.

Emily’s stomach turns as dread begins to pool in her belly. The hair on the back of her neck stands on end as a sinking feeling takes hold. Her hand drifts to her gun instinctively; her thumb hooking over the rotating hood and releasing her sidearm. As she removes the weapon, she uses her other hand to reach for the doorknob. Before she even attempts to turn it, she knows it will open.

Hotch never leaves his door unlocked.

She pushes the door open and readies her weapon, quickly moving side to side as she sweeps the room for an immediate threat. Hotch’s keys, phone, and bag are on the coffee table and sofa as if he’d just arrived home but she didn’t see him in her initial glances over the open concept apartment. As she continues her sweep, her ears pick up on the sound of soft wheezing.

That same sinking feeling grows as she crosses through the living room and it’s then she sees the bullet hole in the wall and the glass shattered on the floor. She pushes through the feeling of dread, effectively burying it knowing she needs to be alert and prepared for whatever lay beyond the sofa. Hoping for an incapacitated unsub, but knowing better, her world still shatters as she takes in the sight of her friend, supervisor, and lover unconscious and bloody on the linoleum tiled floor.

She drops to her knees and feels for his pulse with two fingers. It’s faint, but there. “Hotch,” she calls his name and holsters her gun, determining the assailant is no longer present.

His dark lashes flutter. “That’s it,” she says encouragingly, “Open your eyes, Aaron. It’s me. It’s Emily.”

“Emily,” he whispers weakly.

She pulls out her phone again and dials 911. Placing it on speaker, she sets the phone down next to Hotch and begins unbuttoning his shirt to further assess the damage.

The operator answers and Emily cuts them off. “This is Agent Emily Prentiss with the FBI.” She grimaces as she haphazardly untucks the rest of his shirt and pushes the fabric out of her way. “I am at The Langham apartment complex, apartment 121. I’m here with SSA Aaron Hotchner. He’s suffered multiple stab wounds. I need paramedics and a crime scene unit sent here immediately.”

Her eyes rapidly scan the woulds, trying to assess which is the worst. God, there is so much blood. Shrugging out of her blazer, she balls the fabric in her fists and applies pressure to the two wounds that appear deepest, those to his abdomen and chest.

Aaron moans and she apologizes. “I know it hurts, just hold on. Help is coming.”

“Paramedics are seven minutes out,” dispatch states over the receiver.

She wants so desperately to hold his face in her hands, to be comforting him instead of causing more pain, but she needs to get the bleeding under control until help arrives.

Hotch’s lashes flutter again and his head lolls to the side where she is kneeling. “Foyet,” he breathes.

Emily’s eyes widen. “The Reaper is here, in DC?”

“I don’t—” his breath rattles as he wheezes. “He was waiting for me.”

“Did he say anything?” She asks as she adjusts her grip on the jacket she’s using to staunch the bleeding, of which is already seeping through the fabric. She curses under her breath, though the sound of sirens can finally be heard in the distance.

“Emily, if I don’t ma—”

“Don’t,” she interrupts, her voice catching. “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence, Aaron. You’re going to be fine.”

The sirens are deafening now and she knows they’re pulling up outside. She smiles and releases a short laugh. “They’re here,” she says. “Hold on, Hotch. Just a little longer.”

He blinks slowly, trying to focus on her. “He told me I should’ve,” his eyes close momentarily and then open, “that I should’ve made a deal.”

Her brow pinches, but she doesn’t have time to push further as the paramedics come crashing through the door.

“Over here!” she calls.

Immediately they try to take over. “Ma’am, it’s ok,” the female medic says. “You can take your hands off of him.”

It takes a moment for her voice to register, but Emily does as she is told. She releases the pressure she’d been holding to his injuries, and rolls back on to her heels into a standing position to give them space.

“Heart rate is elevated, pressure is dropping.” The medic evaluates. “Start an IV and hang pressors.”

Emily watches them work, her pulse pounding in her ears. While one pushes the IV into his arm, the other fastens a brace around his neck before moving on to snip away what’s left of his shirt and begin packing the knife wounds with gauze. It’s like the world is moving in slow motion. She doesn’t even register when her phone rings until the medic brings her attention to it. She blinks hard and apologizes. She bends down and scoops it into her hand, smearing blood across the screen as she flips it open. She curses as Spencer’s name flashes under the smudge. She turns her wrist to glance at her watch. It’s been forty five minutes and she told Reid that she’d be back in under thirty.

She wastes no time explaining the situation. Reid reports understanding. Before she hangs up she says, “Reid, it’s bad.” For the first time since finding him, tears choke her voice. “I’ll call Penelope at the hospital, but do not tell the others. You all need to focus on the case.”

Emily hastily hangs up and moves to follow the paramedics as they maneuver the gurney through the apartment.

They stop though as Hotch asks them to wait, his voice imperceptible. His hand falls limply off the gurney and Emily steps in, taking it into hers.

“What did he leave?” he asks, though his voice is muddled by the oxygen mask that’s been placed over his mouth and nose. “What did he take?”

“I-I don’t,” she stammers in response. The Reaper’s profile flashes through her mind’s eyes. The glasses, the wedding ring, he always takes and he always gives. “I don’t know, Hotch.”

She nods to the medics, signaling them to keep moving. Emily doesn’t drop his hand. As long as she can feel the warmth of his skin on hers, she knows he’s alive. That he’s still here.

Crime techs and police units are pulling up to the building as they load Hotch into the back of the ambulance. Emily watches on from her seat, anxiety clawing at her insides as she does her best to stay out of the paramedics’ way as they continue to work on stabilizing Hotch.

The blaring sirens echo in her head, rattling around and bouncing off of her skull. It’s not a sound she’s unfamiliar with, but today it’s drone seems more of a death march than a rally cry. The cavalry isn’t coming to save the day, but rather fleeing from death’s grip.

The ambulance comes to a grating stop and the medics waste no time flinging open the doors and pushing Hotch out. Emily follows quickly and as doctors and nurses swarm the gurney, arms reach out to halt her movement.

Emily cranes her neck around the woman that’s stopped her, pushing against her as she tries to follow the team of doctors that have disappeared behind two swinging double doors.

“No, I have to follow him. I’m an FBI agent,” she states, attempting to leverage some form of authority over the situation.

“Ma’am, he’s being rushed to surgery. I need to make sure you’re alright. Where are you injured?”

Emily’s face screws up, her lips turning and brow furrowing. “Injured? I’m not—” It’s then she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the lobby window. Her face is smeared with Hotch’s blood. Like pieces of a puzzle falling into place, her eyes drop to her hands, which are covered front and back with blood. The red substance stains the skin on her arms as well as the entire front of the dressy tank top she’d been wearing under her blazer. “It’s not mine,” she finally says.

The nurse’s face softens and Emily hates the way her eyes fill with sympathy. “Is there anyone I can call?”

Yeah, about 7, but they’re all occupied or on death’s door.

“No,” she says. “I can just,” she rubs her temple and takes a deep breath. “Where’s the closest waiting area?”

The nurse tsks and shakes her head. “No, no, come on,” she says, gesturing for Emily to follow her. “You can shower in the locker room. I’ll get a pair of scrubs for you to wear and a bag to store your clothes in.”

Emily thanks her and follow silently, twisting and turning through the many hallways until she reaches the door labeled “Women’s Locker Room.”

“There’s soaps and hair products in each shower. I’ll be right back. Go on in. I’ll leave everything on the bench for you.”

Emily nods her thanks and ducks inside. As she passes by the long stretch of mirror behind the row of sinks, her stomach lurches. It did look like she’d been on the receiving end of Foyet’s knife with how much blood covered the front of her body.

She tears her gaze away from her sullied figure and turns toward the showers. Slowly, she sinks down onto one of the wooden benches. Resting her elbows on her knees, she drops her head into her hands. Thick, hot tears blur her vision as she takes a shuddering breath.

2 minutes, she thinks. 2 minutes and then you pull yourself together.

No sooner does the thought cross her mind does the dam break and the tears free flow down her cheeks in thick, hot lines. She takes deep gasping breaths as the sobs rattle her body. Her mascara bleeds into her eyes, stinging them. Using the backs of her hands, she presses them to her eyes, wiping the tears away and no doubt smearing blood and makeup across her face in the process.

She blows out a breath and forces herself into a seated position. “He’s going to be alright,” she affirms to no one but herself. She stands on shaky legs and feels the weight of exhaustion slowly creeping into her muscles. She kicks out of her boots and undresses.

She swipes at the faucet inside the shower and doesn’t wait for it to warm up before standing under the icy stream of water. She gasps and sputters but keeps her face under the flow. Once the water begins to heat up, she opens her eyes and glances down at her feet. Blood sleuces down her legs in pink rivulets, swirling and disappearing down the drain.

She pumps the lavender scented shower gel into her hand from the dispenser on the wall and scrubs her skin until it’s red and raw. She works it under her nails and up and down her limbs. It feels like it’s stained her permanently, his blood, inked onto her like a tattoo. After washing her hair, she cuts the water off and squeezes the water from her dark locks. She pulls the shower curtain open and just as the nurse had said, everything had been left for her in a neat pile on the bench. The nurse had even bagged her dirty clothes for her, not like Emily would try to salvage them. She dresses quickly in the pair of blue scrubs. They're a little big on her, but it feels so good to not be wearing clothes soaked with Hotch’s blood.

Slowly, but surely, she retraces her steps back to the waiting room and the charge nurse at the desk tells her Hotch is still in surgery. Of course he is. It had only been twenty five minutes since she’d arrived.

At least if he’s still in surgery, he’s still alive, she thinks, though the thought is still far from comforting.

Reluctantly, Emily crosses the waiting room and sinks into one of the plastic covered chairs settling in for a painfully long afternoon that smelled like antiseptic.

•

It bewilders her to look down at the hard tile floor and not see a path worn down to the cement underneath. How long had she been pacing this same stretch of floor in the waiting room? Her thumb nail aches from where she’d been anxiously gnawing it down to the quick, a bad habit she’d fought for years to quit, but in her most vulnerable moments came back.

She glances down at her watch, of which she’d been ninety eight percent successful at cleaning free of Hotch’s blood. She’d have to send it out to get the bits stuck in between the interlocking pieces of the wrist band cleaned out. It had been three hours. She blows out an exasperated breath.

Surely there would have been some update by now. What if he’s—

She’s unable to finish the thought when a doctor pushes through the double doors where Hotch had disappeared behind earlier.

She perks up and sends up a silent prayer that he’s on his way to see her. He wears a surgeon’s cap, covering his short blonde hair, and as he meets her eyes, she knows it’s the doctor that operated on Hotch.

“Well?” she asks, her voice shaking with the anticipation of news. “How is he?”

The doctor approaches and slows to a stop in front of her. “It was touch and go there for a while. He lost a lot of blood. We were able to stabilize him, but it’ll take some time for him to heal. He’ll be out of commission for a month, maybe longer.”

“Can I see him?” Emily asks, eyes pleading.

A glimmer of sympathy flashes across the surgeon’s eyes. He nods. “He’s unconscious now. When he wakes, he’ll likely be out of it. He’s under the influence of some pretty strong painkillers.”

Emily swallows and nods as she inhales. “I understand.”

The doctor’s eyes shift then and Emily immediately realizes he’s got more to say. “Is there something more I should know?”

“Well,” he begins. “When you brought him, you confirmed with the paramedics and nurses that that is indeed, Aaron Hotchner.”

Emily’s features twist, puzzled by his question. “Yes?”

“We found this when we cut his clothes off of him.” He reaches into his pocket and passes Emily a bifold badge identical to hers. She flips it open, eyes widening as she reads Derek Morgan’s name and her mind flashes to several weeks earlier when he’d lost his credentials. George Foyet had stolen them from him.

“Thank you,” she says and tucks the badge into the scrubs pocket. “Derek is a member of our team. This relates to a case we’re working on. I’m afraid I can’t say more. Please,” she says, her words now a plea, “take me to him.”

The doctor hesitates, like he might say more, but he doesn’t. “Follow me, then.”

•

Her eyelids are so heavy, but she refuses to fall asleep in case he wakes up. She takes another sip from the now lukewarm hospital coffee. It’s bitter on her tongue and her stomach roils as it travels down her esophagus. When was the last time she ate? She glances at the clock and it’s pushing 3:00PM. School would be getting out soon. Her thoughts wander to Reid and the team, and if they’d had any luck with locating the unsub threatening the doctor and his son. How could this be the same day she’d woken up on? It felt like it had been days since she said goodnight and kissed Hotch goodbye after he walked her to her car last night. It was only this morning since they were supposed to go to breakfast and enjoy the rare day off from cases and unsubs and torture and murder.

She holds Hotch’s loose hand in hers, the feel of his skin and its warmth a comfort. She leans forward, elbows on her knees, and rotates his hand gently to hold it against her cheek. Closing her eyes, she leans into his palm and kisses the skin there gently. “I should’ve gone home with you,” she whispers, “Maybe I could’ve done something.”

She ponders the likelihood of that as she sits there watching the rise and fall of his chest, the steady beeping of the heart monitor pulsing rhythmically beside her. Now and then the blood pressure cuff around his arm hisses as it contracts and releases. What were the odds that her being there would’ve changed the outcome? The Reaper had almost exclusively killed couples, but those were in smaller enclosed settings. He took advantage of couples by trapping them in their vehicles, minimizing their ability to escape. Hotch might have still taken off his gun, but would she have? Would Foyet have even had the chance to get the shot off? Or would that bullet have gone into her instead of the wall?

“You’re going to drive yourself crazy, Emily,” she whispers to herself. She knows there is no sense in reviewing the ‘what if’s,’ but it seems impossible when her entire support system is unavailable and she’s keeping this monumental secret from them.

“Just wake up, Hotch,” she quietly pleads before pressing another kiss to his hand. “I just need you to be okay.”

Her eyes flare as she feels the slightest twitch against her ring finger. She sits up straighter and holds his hand in both hers.

“Hotch?”

Her breathing stills. Did she imagine that? She squeezes his hand in hers.

“It’s Emily, Aaron. I’m here.”

Faintly, his fingers press into hers. An excited bubble of laughter escapes her lips as relief floods through her veins. She kisses his knuckles. “Thank God,” she whispers.

“Emi—” his voice is hoarse as he starts, but doesn’t finish her name. His eyes don’t open, but his head tilts in her direction.

“I’m right here, Hotch,” she says, shushing him. “I’m not going anywhere. Just, just rest.”

Hotch hums a response but doesn’t articulate anything further than that.

“Emily!” Garcia’s voice is filled with both pain and relief.

She sits up and gingerly lays Hotch’s hand back down on the bed. “Penelope!” Emily stands up and quickly closes the space between them and pulls her into a tight embrace.

“Oh, honey,” Penelope soothes as she rubs a hand up and down Emily’s back. “I’m so sorry you were dealing with this all by yourself.” She pulls away and looks her up and down from behind the lenses of her purple glasses.

“I’m so glad to see you,” Emily says. Her brow pinches. “But the team, the case—”

Penelope’s pink-painted lips curve into a smile as she holds up a manicured finger, cutting her off. “Not to worry, my sweet girl. The case is closed. The team saved the day. All is good in the world.” Penelope purses her lips as she pauses. “Well, except for the part where Agent Hotchner was treated like mincemeat and Reid was shot.”

Emily’s head snaps up. “Reid was what?” she shouts.

Penelope’s eyes widen and the glittery green eyeshadow she’s applied to her eyelids shines under the fluorescent hospital lighting. She waves her hands in front of her body, the multi-colored bangles on her wrist jingling as she does so. “No, no, no, no, no,” she repeats again and again. “He’s fine, he’s fine. He caught one in the leg, but he’s ok. I think he’s being patched up down the hall.”

Emily is already halfway out the door as she calls over her shoulder, “Maybe lead with that next time!”

Penelope’s high-heeled clad feet click and clack as she teeters after her. “Sorry!” she cries as she catches up to her. “So much has happened today I’m just glad that everyone is ok, well, as ok as one can be given the circumstances of the last 72 hours.”

Emily inclines her head to the side and blows air out through her nose. “You could say that again.” Without pausing to peer inside and be sure she’s in the right room, she enters the only other hospital room with an open door, the sound of voices telling her she’s found the right place.

Morgan, Rossi, and JJ stand around the hospital. They’re faces all bear surprised expressions and confusion. Somehow she finds it in herself to crack a joke, “Guys, I get it. My Prada boots don’t match the scrubs, it’s not that bad.”

Morgan breaks apart from the semi-circle that’s formed around Spencer, who also looks incredibly happy to see her despite his injured leg, and pulls her into a hug. “You could’ve called,” he chastises.

Emily rolls her eyes as she pulls away and transitions into JJ’s open arms. “You would’ve made the same call, Morgan. He grunts in response and she smirks to herself.

“How’s Hotch?” Spencer asks, using his fists to push himself into a sitting position without bending his braced leg.

Emily blows out a breath. “He’s in pretty bad shape, I won’t lie. What do we have on Foyet? Anything?”

Rossi shakes his head. “Nothing yet. Crime techs are still going over the apartment.”

“Someone needs to tell them to look for anything that looks like it might be missing; disturbed dust, signs something was torn from something, anything.”

“What are you getting at, Emily?” Derek asks.

Her gaze locks on his as she reaches into her pocket. Without looking, she passes his credentials to him. His eyes shimmer with concern as he takes his badge from her. “Where did you find this?”

“The surgeon,” she gestures aimlessly toward the day. “It was in his pants pocket. Foyet must have put it there after he,” she pauses, voice wavering.

“Ok,” Morgan says, tucking his badge into his pocket. “Thanks, Emily. Rossi, can you?”

“Already on it,” Rossi answers, phone up to his ear. Someone answers almost immediately and he begins to deliver instructions to them regarding this development.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness and nausea crashes over her. Emily takes a step and stumbles, catching herself on the rail of Spencer’s hospital bed.

“Emily!” Spencer and JJ shout in unison, though JJ is the one to catch her, holding her up with a supportive arm.

Emily blinks twice, hard. The wave passes and she straightens, shrugging out of JJ’s arms though JJ keeps her hand on her back just in case.

“Prentiss, when’s the last time you had something to eat or drink?” Morgan asks, and he sounds more like her father, than her friend.

Her eyes search the room for a clock and quickly land on the digital red numbers blinking up from a small box on the bedside table. 6:04 PM blinks back at her. “What time did we land last night?” she asks.

Morgan releases an exasperated sigh. “That’s it, I’m taking you home.” He reaches for her arm and Emily recoils. “No, Morgan. I’m fine. I need to stay here. Hotch—”

“Will be fine,” he finishes. His brown eyes are hard, but there’s concern in them too. “You’re no good to him, or anyone here if you pass out. Come on. I’ll take you home.”

Emily emerges from her bathroom smelling like her own vanilla-scented shower gel and floral shampoo. She pulls her robe around her and pulls the ties around her waist, securing it at her navel. She smells a combination of aromatic spices and exits the bedroom to find Morgan closing the door to her apartment. In his hand is a white plastic bag, its sides fit to bursting from the number of styrofoam takeout containers stacked inside.

He smiles, flashing a row of white teeth as he does so. He holds up the bag and shakes it, wiggling his hips as he does so. “I got your favorite,” he sing-songs. “We are going to have an Indian feast. We got butter chicken. We got chana masala. We got paneer, and girl, we got enough naan to last us a lifetime.”

Emily smiles, though it feels almost wrong to do so when Hotch and Spence are in the hospital and Foyet is still out there.

As if reading her thoughts, Morgan shakes his head and drops the food on her coffee table. “No,” he says as he shakes his head. “Nope, come on,” he takes her by the hand and guides her to the sofa. “You are allowed to eat and rest. Hotch is stable and Penelope is knitting the world’s longest scarf at his bedside as we speak. JJ just texted me and they’re taking Spencer home now.” He plops on the couch and pulls her down to sit beside him. “You’re only job right now,” he says as digs in his pocket and pulls out a plastic-wrapped set of disposable silverware, “is to eat, drink, and sleep.”

Emily wakes with a start. Very seldom did she fall asleep on the couch. The credits to How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days roll on the flat screen. She pushes herself into a seated position and that’s when she realizes she’d fallen asleep on Morgan’s shoulder. He stirs but doesn’t wake as she stands and picks up the now very empty takeout boxes. She crinkles the aluminum foil linings as quietly as she can as she pushes the trash down into the bin in her kitchen. The headache she’d had when they’d left the hospital is gone, thanks to the many glasses of water Morgan has pushed in front of her. She flips off the kitchen light and crosses back into the living room where she picks up the remote to turn off the TV. Pulling the throw blanket off of the back of the couch, she tosses it over Morgan’s hulking frame and her lips curve into a half smile as he subconsciously snuggles into the plush blanket.

“Goodnight, Derek,” she whispers as she walks to her bedroom and shuts the door behind her. She leans her back against the wood of the door. Light from the streetlights streams in through her partially open blinds, casting strange shadows around the room. She twists them shut, blocking out the light, and climbs into bed. Her muscles ache as she sinks into the mattress, finally allowing them to relax and after making them carry her through the day. She turns onto her side and stares at the empty space beside her. She pictures Hotch resting his head on the pillow next to hers, smiling and telling her goodnight; what they should’ve been doing last night. Instead, he’d been mutilated on the floor of his home, where he was supposed to feel safe after a day of combatting danger.

She blinks back tears and pushes the thought from her mind. “Hotch is fine,” she whispers, reminding herself. As her eyes fall shut and she allows sleep to finally drag her into its cool embrace, she thinks of Hotch squeezing her hand in the hospital. She thinks of its warmth. It’s enough to promise her a dreamless sleep, and that’s far better than being haunted by nightmares.

Emily wakes with the sun. The golden light streams through the blinds in slats across her bed. She glances at the clock and it reads 6:34 AM. A full 7 hours, that was more sleep than she’d had since before the team left for Canada.

After quickly going through the motions of her morning routine: washing her face, brushing her teeth and hair, and dressing in a comfortable pair of leggings and Hotch’s old FBI Academy sweatshirt, she emerges from her bedroom.

Morgan is still right where she left him, though at some point during the night, he’d stretched the length of his body across the whole of the couch. She stifles a laugh. One leg is dangling off of the couch while one arm is stretched straight out overhead. His mouth hangs open as he cuddles the bulk of the throw blanket against his chest. Silently, she pads across the room to where she left her phone on the kitchen counter. Approaching a sleeping Derek with as little sound as she can muster, she flips open her cell phone and snaps a pic. Derek’s eyes snap open and widen as he immediately sees Emily with the phone in hand.

“Oh hell, no!” he jumps up from the couch but before he can take one step, the throw blanket twists around his ankles effectively tripping him. Those three seconds are enough for Emily to text the photo to Garcia.

“Gimme that phone!” Derek orders as he finally makes it to his feet and tries to wrangle it from her. As he wraps his arms around her from behind, Prentiss can’t help but laugh. “Too late, Morgan. I already sent her the photo of Sleeping Beauty. You know that’s going in the archive.”

Morgan releases her and points a finger at her. “As long as it doesn’t make it into the slideshow at the Christmas party.”

Emily arches an eyebrow and tilts her head back and forth, weighing the likelihood of that. “We’ll have to see about that.”

Morgan laughs and his features soften into a gentle smile. He inclines his head toward her. “It’s good to hear you laugh.”

She feels heat rise to her cheeks, and a small wave of guilt crashes over her. She allows it to do so and then envisions it cresting before rolling gently over a sandy beach. She takes a deep breath and smiles knowing that Hotch would want her to be laughing and joking despite what he’s been through. He’d remind her that Foyet would’ve been there regardless of if she’d come home with him. And she knew that he’d be telling her that he was glad she wasn’t there, because he couldn’t bear to see anything happen to her.

“Thanks for last night,” she says. “I really needed it.”

Morgan waves her off. “Nah, it’s nothing. We’re family, Prentiss.”

“I know,” she says with a smile. “Do you want to grab breakfast or a coffee? I’m going to head back to the hospital and relieve Garcia.”

Morgan claps his hands together, “That shitty diner on 8th?”

Emily moans at the thought of a sausage, egg, and cheese bagel crammed into a plastic red basket overrun by a mountain of red potatoes. “Oh my God, yes. You know, I don’t know what they put in their food, and I don’t think I want to, but damn, a big pile of grease is exactly what I need right now.

Morgan grabs the car keys off the counter and pockets them. “I’m driving.”

•

Derek drops her off at the hospital’s front entrance. He rolls down the window as she circles the car. “Tell Garcia I’m waiting for her.”

Emily’s lips quirk into a half smile. “I’ll be sure to tell her her chariot awaits.” She raises her cup of coffee to him, “Thank you, Derek. For last night.”

He winks, “That’s what family’s for, right?”

She nods and turns toward the hospital. She navigates the twists and turns of the hallways, keeping out of the way of doctors and nurses as they go about their duties. After signing in at the nurses station, she shoulders her purse, picks up both cups of coffee and heads toward Hotch’s room.

“Knock, knock,” she vocalizes, unable to physically knock on the half open door. Using her shoulder, she pushes it open and steps inside.

“Emily!” Garcia greets cheerfully. She sits in a chair near the hospital bed. Her chunky ring-adorned fingers hold knitting needles paused in mid-air, a lengthy scarf made up of maroon fibers hanging down to her ankles.

Her eyebrows knit together as she eyes the scarf. She smiles at her friend. “Been busy?”

“I think I fell asleep to the sound of those needles clacking together,” Hotch says. Emily’s attention shifts to him and her smile widens. The bed is angled, allowing him to rest in a half-seated position. There seems to be more color on his face today and that floods her chest with warmth. Just barely, he inclines his head toward her. “Is one of those for me?”

Emily sucks air through her teeth. “Ooo, sorry. This is for Penelope.”

Garcia perks up. “Yes, please!” she says. “Give that caffeine to mama.” She lays her knitting needles in her lap and holds out her hands, thanking Emily when she passes her the cup.

“Morgan is waiting for you at the entrance.”

A flirtatious grin crosses Penelope’s lips. “My knight in shining armor, come to get me from this extra sanitary antiseptic-rich tower. Someone catch me as I swoon.” She tucks the mass of yarn into her bag and stands. “It’s been a pleasure, sir. I’ll have this scarf waiting for you on your desk when you return.”

As she passes Emily, she gives her a peck on the cheek. “He’s all yours, kitten.” She sashays out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her on the way out.

The room is small and she crosses the short space in a matter of steps. She exhales as she takes the seat previously occupied by Penelope. Hotch flexes his hand as he inches it closer to the bedside and Emily takes it in hers.

“How are you feeling?” he asks, squeezing her hand.

Emily breathes out a short laugh. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“Well, I feel like I’ve been stabbed nine times, but that’s to be expected. I understand that you almost fainted yesterday.”

“I—” Emily’s mouth clamps shut as she feels the weight of his hard stare on her. “Did Garcia say that? I wouldn’t say I fain—”

“Emily.”

She hates that tone of voice. His supervisory voice. The one he uses to give orders. The one he uses when they’re acting as colleagues, not partners.

She rolls her eyes. “Hotch, don’t give me that look.” She then aims a pointed look of her own towards him. “And you’re not my boss right now. In fact, you’re not even allowed to think about work for the next four to six weeks as far as I’m concerned, so lose the ‘I’m-your-boss’ tone.”

Aaron’s brow arches slightly at her challenge. “Fair enough,” he relents. “You didn’t answer my question though. How are you feeling?”

Emily relaxes as his tone does and gently taps his fingers with her own. “Better than I was yesterday. Morgan took me home. He ordered takeout, I made him watch my favorite chick flick—”

“ How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days?”

Emily’s jaw drops, her open mouth smiling. “You remembered that?”

“I heard you and JJ talking about it on the plane,” he answers, smiling. “I do my best to remember little things like that about everyone,” he inclines his head towards her, “you especially.”

Emily can’t fight the pinkening of her cheeks. “Why do you do that?”

“It reminds me that we’re all individuals beyond the case files; that we’re not just behavior analysts, that we don’t just spend time studying and watching the why’s, what’s, and how’s that make up other people’s lives, but that we have those same qualities about ourselves. That we have hobbies and interests and beliefs outside of the bureau. If I don’t do that, well, I wouldn’t be a very good boss, now would I?”

A small sound of disbelief passes her lips. She’d had the pleasure of scaling the walls that he’d erected to distance himself from others allows him to lead his team from a place free of bias, but hearing him dictate that despite all of that and the image he projects, he is still internalizing all the bits and pieces that make each of them human. That that’s what makes him human.

“Ya know, if the team finds out you’re actually a big softie, you’ll never hear the end of it.” She says.

“Yes,” his lips twitch into a soft smile. “Well, I think they know that and just choose not to say anything about it.” He squeezes her hand again. “I’ll have to thank Morgan. I’m sorry for what you must have gone through.”

Her face falls. “Oh, Aaron don’t. You don’t need to—”

His eyes are hard again as he speaks. “I do. To find me like that after what we’d all gone through together in Canada. It couldn’t have been easy. Your response time was critical. I know you, Emily. I know you immediately had to force yourself into action. I know you had to bury your emotions to see past me; to see past your colleague and partner. And I know that wasn’t easy. I also know you couldn’t tell anyone else because you didn’t want to distract them from the case at hand. I also know that you were willing to sit in the waiting room covered in my blood until you knew I was alright. You did all of this on little food and drink, and even less sleep.”

Emily stares at his hand around hers, unmoving, as he speaks. In her mind’s eyes, the images of yesterday flash in rapid succession: finding him, his face twisted in pain as she applied pressure to the stab wounds, stumbling out of the ambulance as he was whisked out of reach, his blood spiraling down the drain in the hospital’s locker room…

“Emily.” Her name is lighter on his tongue this time; not an order, but a light guiding her back to the present moment. Her eyes focus on him and relief floods throughout her entire body. His hand is warm in hers.

Suddenly, pressure builds in her eyes, the heavy heat that comes before tears. She swallows and when she finds her voice, it wavers, “I was so scared, Aaron.”

“I know.”

“If I hadn’t found you, if you’d di—” Her voice breaks and she swallows the growing lump in her throat. She breathes deeply in a poor attempt to compose herself.

“But I didn’t,” Aaron states firmly. “Emily, I’m alive because you found me. Don’t sit here and torture yourself with ‘what-ifs.’ You know better than that.”

Emily nods and tucks the strands of hair that have fallen from her ponytail behind her ears. “You’re right, I’m just,” she sighs, “I wish there was more that I could do.”

“What you’re doing is already enough,” he says. “And,” he adds, “if the idea of moving my body didn’t make me think I’d physically pass out from the pain, I’d be putting my arms around you so you’d feel comforted and trust that I am so utterly grateful that you chose to go home that night.”

His fingers twitch, but he winces as he tries to lift them off the mattress. Emily reacts immediately and slips her cool slender fingers back into his hand. His are longer, rougher, and curl around hers.

When Emily speaks, her voice is soft. If she speaks any louder she’ll fear it’ll crack and she doesn’t want to cry again. “When they say you can leave here,” she starts and allows her lips to twitch into a whisper of a smile, “Can I come home with you?”

Hotch smiles in turn. “Come here.”

Emily stands and leans down, her bound hair falling just so over her shoulder as she does.

“Closer,” he says and she acquiesces, lowering herself so that her lips are hovering just over his and she can feel his breath on her skin.

His lips are as light as air as he brushes a feather-light kiss against her mouth. It’s all that he can do in his current condition, but the feel of it is enough to melt the icy grief that had been clinging to her these last thirty-six hours, and now it felt as though the sun was shining on her bare skin in this small sterile hospital room.

“My home is your home, Emily. And you’ll always be welcome.”

[sirpotys]

Headcanon Hotchniss...

Emily lays Hotch on her lap when he can't sleep while stroking his hair and singing "Close to You" to him until he falls asleep. Aaron loves this, since he loves Emily's voice and how she cares about him this way only increases her love for her.

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

random emily and hotch headcanons?

here are some quick cute ones x

emily - folds down page corners to keep her place when she reads

hotch - always uses a book mark, hates when she creases his pages

✨️

emily - sleeps in his old worn sweatshirts when he's away working a case without her

hotch - wears them around the house when he's home because he knows she does that

✨️

emily - rarely makes herself breakfast

hotch - always makes breakfast and makes extra because he knows the only way Emily will eat is if its his food

✨️

emily - always cold, snuggles into him in the night for warmth

hotch - always hot, just endures it because he wants her to sleep

✨️

emily - always spending (she can afford it tbh)

hotch - meticulously plans their savings (which emily then spends)

✨️

hotch - overprotective

emily - pretends to hate it

✨️

emily - wants more cats

hotch - just about puts up with Sergio (secretly loves him)

✨️

[hotchtits]

go on bby. talk about hotch. as much as you want ill read it all

*kisses you on the mouth sloppy style*

How I feel about this character

AAARGSHHSIDK AA AAAJDJEJ AHHHDJSJSJ

uh i mean he’s cool i guess.

no all jokes aside there are very few characters that are doing it like him.

he’s the leader of one of the most elite teams in the FBI. he’s a wet cat. he’s the epitome of traditional heterosexuality. he’s a boy kisser. he’s cold and distant. he loves his team more than anything in the world. he’s the next best profiler after gideon. he’s a massive idiot and a dork who collects coins. he’s got the skill level of a sniper/marksman. he does most of his team's paperwork so they can focus in the field. he’s no nonsense and straight laced. he seriously considered using web shooters at the FBI. he frequently catches an attitude with his boss, bigoted cops, and generally people in higher positions of power than him (and they just kind of take it). he has enough connections to get the italian government to revoke diplomatic immunity of a vatican priest. he's on a first name basis with the attorney general. he's kind of (at first) an absent father. he's a single mother of 6. he killed a man with his bare hands. he's so unbelievably gentle. he’s a white guy in a basic ass suit. he serves unprecedented levels of cunt.

what i keep coming back to is how much he cares. he cares about victims, he cares about unsubs (the ones that had justifiable reasons for being the way they are), more than anything he cares about his team.

the lengths he goes to to protect them or even just let them know he's there for them. he doesn't raise his voice, even when he's furious and when they lash out at him, he just absorbs it. aaaaaaugh. even roy, who hates his guts, he still cares about and still tries to make nice with for the sake of his son still having a grandparent in his life.

long story short i love aaron hotchner for all of his fucked up ways, big wet eyes, and self sacrificing demeanor.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

am i insane for saying the whole team? poly bau has a special place in my heart. i think he should get to have several boyfriends and several girlfriends. and his boyfriends are boyfriends and his girlfriends are girlfriends and they're all just happy.

hotch x happiness thats actually my favorite ship.

i mainly go for hotchgan, though, they make me want to rip my hair out. their push and pull, their similarities, hotch's head vs morgan's heart. kill me please.

i feel like him and rossi couldve also had a thing back in the preshow days. they give The Subway by chappell roan when he comes back in season three there is nothing casual about them.

hotchley before the divorce was so sweet :( i have such mixed feelings though because i can see how both of them would be frustrated with the other.

john blackwolf gets to be here as a treat because i think they would be absolutely destroy a buddy cop comedy thats actually a slowburn enemies to lovers. im aware this is just the plot of The Tribe.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

jessica brooks. im being so serious she stepped up in a way that very few others did. her offering to look after jack after hailey dies, staying with him when hotch gets called away, defending him against roy. also their banter is wonderful they r sooo siblings to me.

him and garcia are a very close second. obviously her and morgan are It but we gotta start putting some respect on him and garcia because

“i know you see the best in people, and i’d never want you to change that”

and the way she stayed with him when he collapsed in s9 aaarggh.

also hotchniss but as a wlw/bisexual friendship. they both agree that hotch has awful taste in men and that emily is a useless lesbian.

My unpopular opinion about this character

i mentioned this in someone else’s ask about unpopular HCs but i dont think he’s this #daddydom character in bed that people write him as. (disclaimer, headcanons are headcanons and im not bashing them, this is just what i think)

i can see him being dominant in bed (tho im a sub!hotch truther) but i dont think he’d go in for sadism or degrading or anything like that. given his childhood abuse, i cant imagine he’d enjoy hitting his partner or making them cry (even if it is consensual). in the show, he's very overtly gentle, especially with the people he loves.

i also dont think he’d enjoy a big age gap relationship with a subordinate either (i also see this being floated around). my man is a stickler for the rules and if theres a fraternization policy, i doubt he’d break it. im aware i sound like a massive hypocrite bc i ship him w the team but im mainly talking about x reader pairings here.

i was actually gonna put a different headcanon here but i saw a stepdad!hotch x reader fic and i,,, just,,, no. again write whatever you want but he Would Not Fucking Do That lmao.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

PISSED BEYOND BELIEF WE NEVER GOT AN “AARON” EPISODE

i guess 100 was kind of in the same vein but Reid got both “Revelations” and “Spencer” so i think we deserved an “Aaron”

for the love of god expand on his backstory. he was sent off to boarding school, he was a lawyer, a federal prosecutor, he was on SWAT, he's an accomplished sniper, he was with the BAU for something like 8 years before the show started i think. where is he finding the time for this?

[agentdilfhotchner]

random question.. do you have any hotchniss headcanons? 🫣

// okay, so i do not ship hotchniss as much as jemily, BUT i do think they’d be really good together, soo i wanted to throw my thoughts about this power couple out there. this is also my first time doing something like this so i apologize if it’s ass ✨🫶

MY HOTCHNISS HEADCANONS:

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆��࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏~♡˚॰°ₒ৹๐

- Emily and Aaron both took dance when they were younger. Hotch was kinda forced to by his mother but secretly liked it, especially the being partnered up with pretty girls part. Emily was a full on pro ballerina by age nine. She still takes ballet classes in her free time because it helps ease anxiety. Definitely giving black widow movie vibes, like spy AND ballerina, we love to see it. Anyway, they bond over this when they first get together and decided to take couples classes. They do anything from salsa dancing to tap, Emily even persuades Hotch to take a dirty dancing class, AND HE IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD?!? The man is so tender and likes to take his time in a relationship so the intimacy in dirty dancing is like second nature to him and Emily definitely isn’t mad about it.

- They are both very much married to their work so every now and then they have to take a step back and remind themselves, and sometimes each other, that work isn’t the most important thing anymore. Hotch is actually better at making time because he’s had so many years with Jack. I also like to think that Emily is the Unit Chief and Aaron has semi retired but helps consult on cases across the country by the time they get together. Emily is definitely in charge of planning trips for the two of them, plus Jack whenever he wants to tag along.

- very much the definition of ‘touch him/her and i’ll kill you.’ vibes. They are both VERY passionate creatures and do get jealous often. Definitely not in a toxic way, they just love each other so much and never want the other to feel disrespected. Hotch will always have a hand on the small of her back when they are walking together. Emily eats ALL of it up cause her man is completely whipped for her.

- Aaron goes absolutely feral when Emily speaks French or any other language. He literally turns into Gomez Addams and is just like ‘My wife is the most gorgeous, smartest person to ever live!’

- Emily instantly connects with Jack because although her mother is still alive, Emily rarely got to spend time with her. So she definitely feels like she is healing a part of her younger self by being there for Jack. I don’t see Aaron and Emily having kids of their own. Jack being enough for Aaron and Emily maybe feeling as though she wouldn’t be a good mother. Aaron tells her how ridiculous that is because she’s a natural with Jack, but ultimately they decided to just focus on raising him.

- Emily does have five fur babies to take care of though. Soon after her and Aaron got married he gifted her with a cat he adopted from the pound. Little did he or the vet at the pound know that the cat was pregnant, so a couple months later the Hotchner family discovered a little surprise in the form of six baby kittens. Aaron talked Emily into giving two of them away, one to Spencer and one to JJ, but Emily insisted on keeping the rest. Of course Aaron couldn’t say no to her 🫶

- Aaron has a lot of PTSD from what happened with Haley. He has night terrors sometimes so bad that Emily finds him shaking and sobbing in his sleep some nights. If Emily takes to long running errands or maybe doesn’t answer a text over a certain amount of time Aaron’s anxiety sky rockets. But Emily is so patient with him. Staying up late to soothe him and going with him to his therapy sessions just to hold his hand in the waiting room. She’s his number one supporter and he doesn’t take that for granted.

[ssaemilyhotchner]

🌹

All week long, Hotch had kept his anger at bay—there was no place for fury when healing from internal bleeding, nothing productive about cursing a dead man. But now, here on the couch with Emily, this woman he has loved and seen leave too many times, his compartmentalization is shot and his anger metastasizes.

—

for every "🌹" received in my inbox i'll post a sentence from a WIP i'm currently writing

read others here

[thatgayb1tchwhosimps4her]

i love this, holy shit (highly recommend listening 2 this playlist)

also lowkey thinking abt baby Em (at like 6/7 years old), standing on her dad's feet while her mom's at work, and the two of them dancing around in the kitchen, with 'Vienna' by Billy Joel playing in the background.

(Bonus for the Hotchniss fans; Hotch surprising Emily by changing their first dance song to that).

HOT 100 HCs: Emily Prentiss

Friends. Colleagues. I am starting a new thing (but not ending any old things, don't worry babes). I'm calling it HOT 100 Headcanons. Basically, I've created playlists for characters that include all the songs that they love and/or have shaped them in some way. I take cues from the canon characters (for example, canon Emily was a rocker in high school, so her playlist includes quite a bit of rock).

I don't know if anyone else will enjoy this or care about it and, frankly, I don't care. I really enjoyed making it, and I really do believe it's doing deep dives like this that help you really get to know a character (or your HC of them, anyway). Enjoy, if you're into that kind of thing!

HOT 100 HCs: Emily Prentiss

Note(s): When I think of the Criminal Minds characters, I always think of them as being Elite Team-age in the present. If Paget Brewster’s age roughly equals Emily’s, then Emily joined the BAU when she was 36/37. If we move the Elite Team timeline up so it starts in 2024, she’d have been born in 1987. That’s the date I work from when calculating these Hot 100 Lists.

(Also, the first parentheses is the date the song was released. The second is the age Emily was when it was released.)

Nat King Cole, “Nature Boy” (March 29, 1948) (N/A)

Emily’s grandfather didn’t have tapes or CDs at his chalet in the French Alps, but he did have a turntable, and Nat King Cole was one of his favorites to spin. Now it always reminds Emily of him. She still likes to spin Nat King Cole and dance with you in the living room.

2. Édith Piaf, “Milord” (May 8, 1949) (N/A)

Another record straight from her grandfather’s house. They listened to a lot of Édith Piaf, but this was her favorite as a little girl. She thought it was funny, and it helped her learn how to do uvular trills, since French wasn’t her first language.

3. Juliette Gréco, “Sur les quais du vieux Paris” (October 1951) (N/A)

Little Emily didn’t get to go to Paris much, mostly just as a stopover on the way to her grandfather’s. But whenever her grandfather brought her back to her mom, he’d take her around Paris for a day, and she always thought it was the most magical place in the world.

4. Georges Brassens, “Je Me Suis Fait Tout Petit” (February 2, 1956) (N/A)

Her grandfather played classical-style guitar and loved the work of Georges Brassens. He often played it and sang for Emily. Georges Brassens was a significantly better singer than her grandfather was, but sometimes Emily wishes she had a recording of her grandfather instead of Brassens. Nevertheless, listening to it still reminds her of sitting with him on the hillsides while he played.

5. Léo Ferré, “L’affiche rouge” (February 1961) (N/A)

Another favorite of Emily’s grandfather. He was a star of French chanson, a folk music tradition driven heavily by lyrics, almost like poetry put to music. Her grandfather would sometimes read her the poems first and then play her the songs afterward.

6. Marie Laforêt, “Marie douceur, Marie colère” (1966) (N/A)

One of Emily’s first favorite rock songs. She heard this version long before she even knew who Mick Jagger was and, to this day, she could defend in a dissertation-length essay why Marie Laforêt’s lyrics are better than the original.

7. Jacqueline Taieb, “Le cœur au bout des doigts” (1967) (N/A)

A dancing-in-the-living-room standby for Emily at her grandfather’s.

8. Patty Pravo, “La bambola” (May 1968) (N/A)

Emily didn’t discover this one until she lived in Italy, but it’s a perfect sad song, great for dramatically belting in your room or in the car. Which is exactly what she did for months after the asshole of a boy who knocked her up dropped her and she had to go through the abortion process almost alone.

9. Maxime Le Forestier, “San Francisco” (1971) (N/A)

One of the “newest” records her grandfather owned. He only conceded to buying it because Maxime Le Forestier covered so much of Georges Brassens’ work. He ended up loving it. Emily’s first instinct is still to pronounce “San Francisco” like Le Forestier does in this song.

10. Meat Loaf, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)” (October 21, 1977) (N/A)

Inexplicably, Meat Loaf is one of the only English-speaking artists that Emily’s grandfather liked.

11. Lio, “Le Banana Split” (November 1979) (N/A)

Her grandfather hated this song so much, but she loved it, so he bought it for her anyway. Teeny baby Emily could not get enough of the word “banana,” in any language.

12. Grover Washington, Jr., “Just the Two of Us (feat. Bill Withers)” (1980) (N/A)

Emily’s mom loves Bill Withers. One of Emily’s best memories of childhood is dancing to this song with her mom. Now her favorite memory is dancing to it with you at your wedding.

13. Yazoo, “Only You” (August 16, 1982) (N/A)

A regular on Emily’s mom’s boom box when Emily was young.

14. Metallica, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (July 27, 1984) (N/A)

Discovered during *Emily's teen rock era.*

15. Madonna, “Into the Groove” (July 15, 1985) (N/A)

Emily’s mom is a big Madonna fan, so there was a lot of Madonna in little Emily’s house.

16. Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Cities in Dust” (April 21, 1986) (N/A)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

17. Berlin, “Take My Breath Away” (May 13, 1986) (N/A)

Top Gun was Emily’s mom’s favorite movie for a solid decade of her childhood, so Emily was very familiar with the music. This song was her favorite.

18. Alannah Myles, “Black Velvet” (March 14, 1989) (1)

Emily will tell you that she remembers being young and trying on her mom’s makeup in front of the mirror to this song.

19. Metallica, “Enter Sandman” (August 12, 1991) (3)

Discovered during *Emily's teen rock era.*

20. Nirvana, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (September 26, 1991) (3)

Didn’t discover Nirvana until her teen years, but Nevermind remains one of her favorite albums of all time.

21. Lara Fabian, “Je Suis Malade” (1994) (6)

Tiny little Emily heard this in a café in Paris with her mom and begged her mom to buy it on vinyl so she could bring it to her grandfather’s. Her mom obliged, mostly to shut her up, and Emily spent all summer listening to it. It was the first song that ever gave her chills. She still knows every word, still loves to belt it in the car, and still swears up and down that Lara Fabian’s version is better than Celine Dion’s.

22. Tori Amos, “Cornflake Girl” (January 31, 1994) (6)

Emily’s mom went through a real Tori Amos phase. Little Emily genuinely thought this song was about cereal and asked her mom to play it over and over again.

23. Beck, “Loser” (March 1, 1994) (6)

Little Emily loved the slide guitar and that the song said “loser,” which her mom did not let her call anyone.

24. Bush, “Comedown” (December 6, 1994) (7)

Emily was late to discover a lot of ‘90s and 2000s rock because it was hard to access non-mainstream American music abroad, but when iTunes came around when she was 13 or 14, she spent an ungodly amount of her mom’s money buying songs and albums, including this one.

25. Collective Soul, “December” (March 15, 1995) (7)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

26. April March, “Le Temps de l’amour” (October 20, 1995) (8)

Another favorite from her French summers. A sneak peak of later punk rock Emily.

27. April March, “Chick Habit” (October 20, 1995) (8)

Emily lords it over every gay she knows that she knew this song from the original album and not from But I’m a Cheerleader. But she does love But I’m a Cheerleader… This was her favorite CD for a solid year or more.

28. The Smashing Pumpkins, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” (October 23, 1995) (8)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

29. OMC, “How Bizarre” (January 1, 1996) (8)

A favorite track on Emily’s favorite CD, Now That’s What I Call Music! 3.

30. Backstreet Boys, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” (May 6, 1996) (8)

All the kids knew this one, in any country Emily visited or lived in.

31. Khaled, “Aïcha” (November 1996) (9)

Emily’s mom was the U.S. ambassador to Oman for a few years during Emily’s childhood. Emily learned Arabic quickly and tried very hard, as she did in all the places she lived, to fit in seamlessly with the people around her. So, of course, the songs she sang and danced to with her friends were the ones popular in Oman at the time.

32. Third Eye Blind, “Jumper” (April 8, 1997)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

33. Rachid Taha, “Ya Rayah” (August 5, 1997) (9)

Another favorite of Emily and her friends during her time in Oman. They even had a little choreographed dance they did all together.

34. Will Smith, “Miami” (October 3, 1997) (9)

Tiny Emily genuinely thought she was the baddest little bitch in the world for knowing all these lyrics, despite having never been to Miami or a club or anything.

35. Britney Spears, “...Baby One More Time” (January 12, 1999) (9)

Honestly, what ‘90s kid didn’t have a formative moment with a Britney Spears song?

36. Buena Vista Social Club, “Chan Chan” (September 16, 1997) (9)

Emily was an adult when she discovered Buena Vista Social Club, but they’re one of her very favorites on vinyl now. She started listening to them while she learned Spanish in college.

37. Green Day, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (October 4, 1997) (9)

Discovered during *Emily’s teenage rock era*

38. Hakim, “Wala Wahed” (1998) (10)

Emily’s mom was transferred to Cairo in 1998, where Emily had to start over again–but thankfully not with a completely new language. She really liked sha’bi music, and her best friend’s dad played drums in a jeel band.

39. Less Than Jake, “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads” (January 1, 1998) (11)

One of Emily’s earlier alt finds. She loved it.

40. Cher, “Believe” (October 19, 1998) (11)

Another favorite of Emily’s mom’s. On repeat in little Emily’s kitchen in Cairo.

41. Alaa Zalzali, “Akli Tar” (1999) (11)

Emily was obsessed with this song and the whole album because it combined two languages she knew and loved: Arabic and French.

42. Crazy Town, “Butterfly” (November 4, 1999) (12)

Emily loved this song so much, and she jokes that looking back it should have been a huge flag that she was gay.

43. A Perfect Circle, “Judith” (January 1, 2000) (12)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

44. Anastacia, “I’m Outta Love” (February 29, 2000) (12)

Even Emily’s hard little rock heart still loved a pop anthem.

45. Pascale Machaalani, “Nour El Chams” (June 25, 2000) (12)

All the girls in Cairo wanted to be Pascale Machaalani. Think of her as the Beyoncé of Emily’s preteen years.

46. Rage Against The Machine, “Renegades” (December 5, 2000) (13)

One of the first rock songs Emily discovered and fell in love with. She still knows all the words.

47. Staind, “Outside” (May 22, 2001) (13)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

48. System of a Down, “Toxicity” (September 4, 2001) (13)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

49. Noir Désir, “La vent nous portera” (September 11, 2001) (13)

Even when she lived in the Middle East, Emily still spent summers with her grandfather in France. As always, he’d let her have a day in Paris when she flew in, and she always visited a music store to buy all the new French alt albums she could find.

50. Hoobastank, “Crawling In The Dark” (November 20, 2001) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

51. Saliva, “Always” (January 1, 2002) (14)

Emily’s mom considered sending her to therapy because she listened to this song so much.

52. Seether, “Driven Under” (January 1, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

53. Seether, “Fine Again” (January 1, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

54. Sum 41, “The Hell Song” (January 1, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

55. Mango, “La rondine” (July 9, 2002) (14)

Wildly popular while Emily lived in Italy. Think of him as the Peter Gabriel of Italian music.

56. Chevelle, “The Red” (October 8, 2002) (14)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

57. Audioslave, “Cochise” (November 17, 2002) (15)

Italy Emily was baby rocker Emily, but she wasn’t very external about it because the Catholic church was not a fan.

58. Evanescence, “Bring Me To Life” (March 4, 2003) (15)

Another song that was on repeat for Emily post-abortion. Sweet baby Emily was so depressed and honestly really needed to go to therapy. She wouldn’t say she likes the song now, exactly, but it brings her back to a specific time and place that were very formative for her.

59. Linkin Park, “Lying from You” (March 25, 2003) (15)

A classic teenager Linkin Park moment.

60. The Darkness, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” (July 7, 2003) (15)

*Emily’s teenage rock era*

61. Three Days Grace, “I Hate Everything About You” (July 22, 2003) (15)

Emily will tell you that this song is what she felt like most of the time in Italy, trying really hard to fit in, trying to like boys, really liking girls, all-in-all having a terrible time.

62. Jet, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” (September 15, 2003) (15)

Emily jokes that this one also should have been a dead giveaway that she liked girls.

63. Keane, “Somewhere Only We Know” (May 10, 2004) (16)

She will never admit it, but this song still makes her cry.

64. Seether, “Remedy” (January 1, 2005) (17)

Emily is a little embarrassed about liking Seether so much, but she really does.

65. Negrita, “Rotolando Verso Sud” (January 21, 2005) (17)

A favorite of Emily’s after she and her mom moved back to the States in 2004. She felt very out of place, which makes sense considering she’d grown up across several countries. She found a lot of comfort in listening to music in her other languages, since she didn’t really get to hear it spoken anymore.

66. Negramaro, “Estate” (February 7, 2005) (17)

By this point, Emily's deep in her rebellious rocker phase. Because it’s Emily, her dramatic rocker music is in several languages, though.

67. System of a Down, “Lonely Day” (November 22, 2005) (18)

Technically not a teenager anymore, an adult. But now her music taste is pretty solidly set on rock (with some variations here and there).

68. Rihanna, “SOS” (April 10, 2006) (18)

Not usually a big pop fan, but she has a huge soft spot for Rihanna. Particularly this song because she says that’s how obsessive she is about you. It always makes you laugh.

69. AFI, “Prelude 12/21” (June 6, 2006) (18)

She’s a drama queen, she just won’t admit it.

70. My Chemical Romance, “Teenagers” (19)

*Emily’s adult rock era*

71. Fall Out Boy, “Thnks fr th Mmrs” (January 1, 2007) (19)

Yes, even Emily likes listening to Fall Out Boy sometimes.

72. Avril Lavigne, “Girlfriend” (April 17, 2007) (19)

Okay, but who doesn’t love Avril Lavigne?

73. Linkin Park, “Given Up” (May 14, 2007) (19)

Adult Emily still loves Linkin Park. It’s nostalgic now.

74. Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk” (January 29, 2008) (20)

*Emily’s adult rock era* (but make it less dramatic and depressing than usual)

75. Max Gazzè, “Il Solito Sesso” (February 29, 2008) (20)

Sure, she’s in college, but she still loves Italian music and keeps up with her friends from Italy. Plus, she’s starting to accept that she likes girls, and the girls love it when she speaks Italian.

76. Katy Perry, “I Kissed a Girl” (June 17, 2008) (20)

Loves this song for very obvious reasons. Plus, when this came out there wasn’t really much queer girl music and Emily was in her feral, fresh-out-of-the-closet baby lesbian era.

77. Halestorm, “Mz. Hyde” (April 9, 2012) (24)

Oof. Big ol’ crush on Lzzy Hale.

78. Superheaven, “Youngest Daughter” (April 5, 2013) (25)

Once a rocker, always a rocker.

79. Indila, “Tourner Dans Le Vide” (February 24, 2014) (26)

Emily is a huge fan of Indila because her music sounds like a combination of French and Arabic, and it reminds of her childhood.

80. Highly Suspect, “Lydia” (July 17, 2015) (27)

Big fan of Highly Suspect.

81. K. Flay, “Blood In The Cut” (April 17, 2017) (29)

Hearkening back to her dramatic-ass punk-rock youth.

82. Polo & Pan, “Cœur croisé” (May 19, 2017) (29)

Emily loves Polo & Pan. They’re her go-to for international air travel. Something about their music just feels like whimsy and adventure to her.

83. Pomme, “Ceux qui rêvent” (October 6, 2017) (29)

Emily is a dramatic French woman at heart, and you love her for it.

84. Beck, “Dreams” (October 13, 2017) (30)

Beck? Of course she loves Beck. She’s loved Beck since “Loser” came out when she was six.

85. Death Cab for Cutie, “Northern Lights” (August 17, 2018) (30)

For when she’s in her feels.

86. Muse, “Pressure (feat. UCLA Bruin Marching Band)” (November 9, 2018) (31)

It’s Muse. Duh.

87. Alice Merton, “Roots” (January 29, 2019) (31)

Loves this because (a) it’s a fun song and (b) she really relates to the lyrics.

88. Vanille, “Suivre le soleil” (June 7, 2019) (31)

Her go-to for when you’re driving on vacation in the French Riviera. Coincidentally, you don’t know that she’s ever been more attractive driving a convertible with a sun hat on blaring French music that she knows all the words too while treating you to a vacation on the Mediterranean Sea.

89. The Black Keys, “Go” (June 28, 2019) (31)

The Black Keys lean a little blues-rock for Emily usually, but their music is just so damn catchy. Plus, you love them, and that makes her love them.

90. Harry Styles, “Watermelon Sugar” (December 13, 2019)

Loves this song for one reason and one reason only: she heard it was about eating a girl out. She hasn’t heard Billie Eilish’s “LUNCH” yet and, honestly, you’re afraid to show her.

91. The Strokes, “Why Are Sundays So Depressing” (April 10, 2020)

She loves The Strokes. And, also, she thinks Sundays are depressing because she knows she’ll have to leave you and go back to work the next day.

92. cleopatrick, “THE DRAKE” (March 11, 2021) (33)

A current fave. Plus she likes that their Spotify artist description is just “guitar band.” She thinks that’s hilarious.

93. Halestorm, “Back From The Dead” (August 18, 2021) (33)

Emily is, through and through, a Lzzy Hale girl. She was 21 when their first album came out and had a massive crush on Lzzy.  Didn’t know if she wanted to be her or be with her. Lowkey still doesn’t know. You tease her about it relentlessly.

94. Muse, “Will Of The People” (June 1, 2022) (34)

Muse, because duh.

95. Madelline, “dopamine - Version Française” (May 12, 2023) (35)

Still a sucker for French pop all these years later.

96. KennyHoopla, “YOU NEEDED A HIT//” (May 19, 2023) (35)

KennyHoopla brings her straight back to her 2000s rock roots, and she’s obsessed.

97. Mother Mother, “To My Heart” (September 15, 2023) (35)

A new discovery for Emily, but she’s really into them right now.

98. Mammothor, “Inside Out” (December 15, 2023) (36)

*Emily’s adult rock era*

99. St. Vincent, “Broken Man” (February 29, 2024) (36)

Emily loves St. Vincent. She’s not much of a concert person, but you did take her to see St. Vincent for her birthday once and she was over the moon.

100. Doña Manteca, “Tengo una Debilidad” (May 10, 2024) (36)

You found them on TikTok before their album came out and sent it to her. She pre-ordered their album on vinyl, and it’s her favorite thing to dance with you to right now.

[justagirl-purplejellosg1]

So, is there a Hotchniss discord anywhere? I need to find my people to talk all things Hotch and Emily with <3

Also, I have a headcanon Hotch gave her these earrings. She wears them a lot in season 5, and at least once in season 6 that I’ve spotted so far. (Photo credit: Thomas Gibson)

[eyesontheskyline]

🍄

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

Here are three Hotchniss headcanons since I can't write one in enough detail without starting to actually write fanfiction:

Listening to her speak other languages makes him a little bit feral for reasons he's never been able to identify. She knows this, and does it on purpose sometimes to mess with him. Spanish or Italian especially, because she's so fluent, and French has baggage. Like, they'll just be in public somewhere, buying groceries or whatever, and she'll start telling herself the pros and cons of the thing she's considering buying in Italian, and he turns into a heart-eyes-on-fire emoji.

He spots silver at her roots - she's redone them by the next day, and he doesn't mention it. But then another time, he catches her looking super closely at them in the mirror, and when lockdown happens and they're taking the opportunity to clear out the house a bit, he holds up her box of her hair dye and he's like "There's no time like the present, right?" and as soon as she can get to a salon she gets a cute pixie cut and grows out the dye and they both fucking love it.

He never, ever raises his voice to her, even if it means he has to shut down entirely to keep himself in check. At first, she interprets this as him going cold, and she'll try and bait him to fight with her. She does raise her voice, and then she feels stupid and exposed when it seems like he just doesn't react. She gets all the way to thinking they're over and shoving all her stuff from her drawer into her bag. He silently takes it all back out and folds it back into the drawer, and she stands there and watches him, then he tells her about his dad, and she gets it.

[duchessas]

i like to think that one was for sure to send her mother into blind rage (the tattoo) so i think she put on her thigh, and it would be almost her inner thigh, however not so hidden. she’d wear short shorts or tight small dresses so that it was a fun and dangerous game to play around her mother. emily prentiss is the devious child we all know she was! it’s a small pepper cigarette, it’s supposed to be meaningless, but emily associates it with italy when she was 15. it’s what she tells aaron the first night they spend together when he takes his sweet time to learn every inch of her body. when he asks what it’s supposed to mean, she deflects, it’s too early she tells herself. she ends up telling him after paris.

the second tattoo was right after she put ian in jail. she’s lost and exhausted and scared. one day she goes out and opens the door of the tattoo parlor shop and she sits in the chair and she gets a long skinny pepper and there are small flames beneath it. it’s right under her left breast and the pain when she gets it numbs her in every way. aaron laughs at this one as he runs his thumb across it for the first time. when she dies for seven months, he’s in distraught. it’s when she comes back and after a week she’s in his bed and they’re talking and he finds it again, telling her how much he’d missed kissing her in the same spot. she stiffens and he gives her the famous hotchner frown. when she finally tells him, his blood runs cold and regret pools at his stomach when he remembers how he’d laughed at it when he’d first saw it. she tells him it’s alright because she KNOWS what he’s thinking and they talk (and cry) until they fall asleep, and emily thinks that things might be going back to normal. (she doesn’t run away to london!)

canon or not.. this is how i see emily’s tattoos and how aaron would react to them (bc HE HAS. seen them) let me know what you think! sorry this is so long, just rambles :(

Oh my gosh, please don’t apologise and feel free to send me rambles anytime - I LOVED reading this so much! There was so much detail and it’s so very poignant and so very Emily in all of the details. And yes x a million to the fact that Aaron has seen all of tattoos - we know he has seen ALL of her! 🥹

In my personal head canon, Emily has a classic base of the spine tattoo she got to infuriate her mother because Emily as the original devious child holds my HEART. I also like to think she has another at her ribs, but that’s all I’m going to say for now as I’m going to reveal more in my next fic 🤐😏 hopefully the wait on that won’t be too long but, because I am me, it’s unwieldy af ! x

[hotchfiles]

okay so (WARNING 5x9 SPOILERS) i was in the shower thinking about hotch (it does not go where yall think)

and i love bau!reader, i subscribe to it, i read and i write but realistically i don’t really think aaron would actually be in a relationship with someone in the bau

he wouldn’t be able to compartmentalize it. like “oh yeah sure let me just accept the fact real quick that my loved one is about to go in the field and maybe DIE. leave it to this job to kill everyone around me, haley, kate, yeahh, LETS DOOOO IT” cmon, he wouldnt. not to mention the whole professionalism thing

ANYWAY THAT IS NOT MY POINT I HAVE A POINT

so it would be a situation where either they would have to swallow their feelings, or one would have to transfer to another unit

hotch would offer to transfer out of love, sure

if you accepted it, it would be fine at first, then he and the team would resent you because the bau is pretty much all he has besides jack

if you didnt accept it and transferred yourself, it would be fine at first, but then you would realize you left your dream job for a man you barely see

it wouldnt work

WAIT THATS NOT THAT POINT

the point is

IM NOT A HOTCHNISS SHIPPER (and i never will be dont try to convert me if you try to send me edits and shit on my inbox i will block you so fast im serious)

BUT

this could work as a headcanon as to why they never worked out. the only times prentiss wasnt in the bau she was overseas

thats it

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

it’s my birthday! can i get a little sneaky hotchniss headcanon 🥺

first of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! I hope you have a day full of joy and light and love!!!

we were at disney world yesterday, so here's a theme park inspired headcanon.

***

Emily, obviously, loves a coaster. She's a thrill seeker in all aspects of life, so this comes as no surprise to Aaron when he surprises her with Universal tickets. However it is a surprise to Emily when she drags him into the Velocicoaster line to see Aaron pale as he looks up at the dark grey track, as he hears the exhilarated and terrified screams of the people who rush past them in metal death traps, and that's when Emily realizes her big, bag Unit Chief, who she's seen take down literal killers on more occasions than she can count, is afraid of rollercoasters.

"Why did you bring me here, then?" She laughs, pushing him out of the line so that impatient people can pass them.

Aaron looks sheepishly at her - which is something that Aaron Hotchner doesn't often look. He shrugs, "I thought I'd get over it once we were here. I wanted you to have a good time."

She looked back up at the ride, then back to Aaron. "And?"

Aaron, who had followed her gaze, looked pale again, and he shook his head. Pressing her lips together in a fond smile, Emily leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"I love you for trying. Come on, lets go on the rapids."