Chapter Text
Emily set the timer on her phone for two minutes and tried to avoid picking her nails as she perched on the edge of the bathtub. The small white stick that was about to literally decide her future lay innocently on the windowsill. She tried to not think about the last time she had been in this situation. So many things were different but that sickening, twisted, terrified feeling in the pit of her stomach was exactly the same.
She wanted it to be negative. She wanted to be wrong. She wanted to believe the naive lies; that it was food poisoning or the flu that was making her sick in the mornings, that maybe her bras had somehow shrunk in the wash and that was what had made her breasts sore. She had been under a lot of stress recently and therefore she had lost track of the days, meaning that she wasn’t late at all. Hell, her period might even come tomorrow and it was PMT that had made her slightly more hormonal. Even though Emily knew in her heart that it was all bullshit.
She was the textbook definition of symptoms. Nausea and vomiting in the mornings that tended to fade, mostly, by the afternoon. Sensitivity to certain smells which triggered the nausea. She had been getting a lot more headaches and her breasts had been hurting. Her period always came around the same time every month, without fail, and was over a week late. Emily ran a hand through her hair as she glanced at her phone.
One minute.
This was the worst time for this to be happening. There was enough for her and the others to handle without her being knocked up. Over the past five weeks since Aaron’s attack, they had worked three cases without him and were also trying to use every spare second and resource they had to find George Foyet and make him pay for what he had done to Aaron and his family. Ever since Aaron’s attack and Haley and Jack had been put into protective custody; Aaron had closed himself off from the team. They all tried to reach out, herself, Rossi and Garcia having already reached the point where they alternated inviting themselves over either for dinner, to hang out or drag him out of his apartment. None of their efforts helped much; they could all see that Aaron was going through the motions. He was hurt, lost and afraid. The last thing Aaron needed to worry about was the possibility that Emily was pregnant.
Pregnant with his baby.
Emily took a deep breath as the alarm sounded on her phone. The two minutes was up. It was time to discover her fate. Even as she glanced at the test, she knew. With a trembling hand, Emily picked up the test, silently confirming what she already had worked out.
Two very clear plus signs.
Positive.
She was pregnant. Pregnant with Aaron Hotchner’s baby.
Emily tossed the test into the bin before she wandered into the living room and sank onto the couch. She buried her head in her hands as different thoughts ran and crashed through her mind. What was she going to do? How was she going to tell Aaron? What was he going to say? How could this have happened?
Well, she already knew the answer to that one, didn’t she? It had only been about six weeks ago. Just before they got called to Detroit and everything went to Hell. Not that everything had been perfect before then. The conception of the foetus that she now had confirmation was developing inside of her was hardly a true love story for the ages. More like a warning tale as old as time. Two very drunk colleagues who had given into the temptation and feelings that had been building between them for far too long. It was meant to just be a one time thing. No feelings. No promises. No consequences. And look how well that had turned out.
They hadn’t spoken about it, even before they got called to Detroit and Aaron was attacked. They hadn’t suddenly declared their love for one another or decided to be in a relationship. They had been two consenting, if drunk, adults who had had sex. It was hardly the first time either of them had had sex and she doubted it would be the last. They hadn’t even discussed the fact that they had broken several of the no-fraternisation rules. The same no-frat rules that had been created because of a certain David Rossi. Even when they had woken up in bed together, naked and hungover; there had been no awkwardness, no tension, just Emily getting ready for the day as Aaron slipped back into his own room. At the time, there had been nothing to talk about and then everything happened so much that Emily was certain that if she hadn’t gotten pregnant, they would have never mentioned it again.
“We are so screwed.” Emily muttered to herself as her phone rang. She saw JJ’s name flash up on the screen and knew that it was going to be a bad one. JJ only rang before work for the really bad ones. “Hey JJ,”
“Hey, sorry it’s early. We’ve got a spree in a pharmacy in Louisville. They need us there ASAP. Can you pick up Hotch?” JJ asked, Rossi and Morgan were already on their way to the airstrip and she knew none of them wanted him to be driving himself just yet.
“Yeah, sure,” Emily replied without thinking as she stood and went to fetch her go-bag. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
JJ ended the call and Emily quickly grabbed what she needed and left her apartment. It was only when she had gotten into her car that she realised what she had agreed to and Emily found his number. Clearly, Aaron had been waiting on someone to contact him and answered on the first ring. “Hotchner.”
“It’s me,” Emily said. “We’ve got a spree in Louisville. Can you be ready to go in about ten minutes?”
“I don’t need a ride,” Aaron protested and Emily shook her head at his stubbornness. If he was this stubborn about making his own way to work, how was he going to react when she dropped her bombshell on him?
“I know but I’m already on my way.” Emily countered as she pulled up at a stoplight. It was only when the call ended that she wondered whether to say anything to him. She knew that she ought to tell him as soon as possible but she also knew that she wasn’t ready just yet. Besides, right now, they had a job to do and an unsub to catch.
When they got home; Emily decided; she would tell him then. They would be able to talk about it properly and try to work out just what they were going to do. Because right now, she had absolutely no idea.