You and Emily are tucked away in the BAU bullpen, laughing over something ridiculous Garcia just said. It’s been a quiet day—no case, just paperwork and planning. Your wedding Pinterest board is open on your phone, and Emily keeps stealing glances at it with a half-teasing, half-smitten look on her face.

Then the bullpen goes weirdly quiet.

Then you hear Hotch say your last name, his voice softer than usual. You glance up—and freeze.

Your dad’s standing there.

It doesn’t register at first. It can’t be. He’s a Navy SEAL. Always gone. Always a world away. But there he is, dressed in his uniform, worn and weathered and smiling like he’s barely holding it together.

“Dad?”

Your voice cracks on the word. You’re already out of your chair before you realize it, running across the bullpen as he opens his arms.

You hit his chest with a thud, arms tight around him, and the second he wraps you in that familiar, grounding hug—you lose it. Years of missing him, needing him, waiting for just one moment like this pour out in sobs you didn’t know you had in you.

He kisses the top of your head. “I couldn’t miss my little girl’s wedding.”

You pull back just enough to look at him through tears. “I thought you were deployed.”

“I pulled some strings,” he says, voice thick. “I had to meet the woman lucky enough to marry you.”

You glance back at Emily. She’s standing, hands clasped together, eyes misty.