Imagine: Finishing a stressful case, and Hotch is there to make it better
“Thank you Agent Hotchner. We wouldn’t of been able to catch this son of a bitch without you. Please, give my thanks to your team as well. They are an amazing group of people.” Detective Rodgers shook Aaron’s hand with both of his, giving him a big smile. The agent gave him a smile back and nodded.
“I will. Thank you for letting us help Detective.” Aaron nodded once more, then turned away from the Detective, getting ready to leave. His ready bag was in the federal SUV out front, along with all of his team. Agent Hotchner nodded and gave small waves to the cops who nodded farewell to him as he walked out of the Cedar Rapids police station. Morgan and Reid were leaning against the first SUV. Spencer looked to be deeply invested in something, and Derek stood there laughing, as if what Reid said amused him. Rossi, JJ and Prentiss were all in the second SUV, talking amongst themselves. But Hotchner wasn’t particularly interested in them, he was looking for one more person. Morgan saw Hotch looking around and excused himself from Reid.
“If you’re looking for Y/N, she walked down to the gas station about a street away to grab something to drink and snack on.” Derek put his hands in his front pockets and studied Aaron. He could tell that Aaron was worried, and Derek was too. This case had been very hard for you. An extreme sadist by the name of Parker Swinton was taking teenage girls, raping them, torturing them, then sending parts of their bodies to the families. All of the girls looked the same. Brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. All of them looked uncannily like your little sister, Megan. You applied yourself too much, and got emotionally invested in the case, which ultimately ended up in catching him quicker, but at the expense of a little bit of your sanity. Hotchner saw how much this case took from you, and he had tried to help you through it, but each time you pushed him away.
“I’m worried about her Morgan. She’s got all of these things weighing down her shoulders and she’s pushing me away. I really care about her, but she won’t let me help.” Aaron helplessly put his hands in his pockets, and looked down at the ground furrowing his brows. Derek nodded and put his hand on Hotch’s back, and patted him twice.
“She’ll come around Hotch. I promise. She was just scared, and she had every right to be. The victims reminded her of her sister that lives in this very city. Just give her some time, alright?” Derek looked Aaron in the eyes until he nodded. “Good. I’m gonna hop in the car.” Just as Derek walked away, you walked around the corner carrying a Casey’s plastic bag in your left hand, and a water in your right. Hotch walked over to you, looking concerned. He stopped a few paces away, and allowed you to walk to him.
“Hey, you ready to go?” You nodded and ran a hand through your hair, letting out a little scoff.
“Yeah. I called my dad and told him that Megan is safe, that we caught the son of a bitch. He’s just as relieved as I am.” You and Aaron walked to the SUV where Morgan and Reid were. Aaron opened the door and you sent a soft smile to him, climbing inside. Hotch tossed Morgan the keys, but Reid intercepted them, and the two boys argued over who was going to drive as Hotch got inside, and sat next to you. Finally, the argument ended with Spencer winning Rock, Paper, Scissors 2-1.
“Morgan, you knew that I was going to beat you. You suck at rock paper scissors.” Morgan just scoffed and shook his head with a smile as Reid started the SUV.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever pretty-boy. I’ll get you next time.” Hotch chuckled and you smiled a little. Even though you had caught the UnSub, you still felt off, and so tired. You decided to turn your body from Hotch and Reid to look out of the window. Hotch frowned and hesitantly put his hand out, placing it on your knee. You whipped your head around, a little startled at the affectionate touch. Hotch looked sad and tired too, so you put your hand on his. You squeezed it and whispered.
“I’m fine Hotch, really. I’m just a little tired.” You tried to reassure him, but he wasn’t buying it.
“Y/N, I know how much this case took out of you. I saw it the whole way. I can’t help you if you won’t let me.” Hotch furrowed his brow and looked at you with his beautiful brown eyes. “Why aren’t you letting me help you?”
“Because I don’t want you to see me as weak Hotch…” You answered. Reid and Morgan went silent in the front seat as you sighed and tears pricked at your eyes. “We’re not supposed to make these things personal, but I couldn’t help myself. I don’t want you to look at me differently, and I don’t want you to think that I can't deal with cases like these. Because I can. And I’m just worried that if I bring down the walls that I place up when I’m at work and doing my job that I’ll be perceived as weak and you won’t let me do things…” You sniffled a little and looked out of the window.
“Y/N… That’s not at all what I think. For you to get emotionally attached, and get through it, is amazing. You are a very strong woman, and I can’t think of anything that would make you look week. Letting down your walls is a sign of strength, because you can show me that you’re vulnerable, but you’re strong enough to be okay. Y/N, I wouldn't think any less of you if you cried, or if you talked about it. I deeply care about you, you’re apart of the team, the family. And I don’t want you to keep all of these things in because you think you’ll be seen as weak.” Aaron’s voice hitched, but he kept on going. “Y/N, I love you, and nothing will change that, okay?” Hotchner searched your face as you searched his, then, out of the blue, he leaned in, and pressed his lips against yours. The next few moments you had to concentrate on breathing, but then you found yourself leaning into Aaron, and sharing the kiss. He brought a calloused hand up to your cheek, and stroked it with his thumbs as he kissed you deeper. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, he pulled away, and smiled. Derek whooped and hollered from the front seat as Reid cheered. You could hear Derek say something along the lines of, ‘Finally he got the nerve to kiss her. I’ve been waiting for this for a while now.’ But you ignored him, and smiled right back at Aaron.
“I love you too Hotch.”
1,181 words
