Work Relations || Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 56

When I woke up the next morning, my tea and breakfast was already waiting for me on the table. "Good morning" Aaron says as he comes out of the bathroom
"Good morning" I say and he kisses me.
"You have some time to eat before you need to get ready so we can leave" he says
"Say no more" I say and I bite into my warm chocolate croissant. "You are amazing" I say
"You are amazing" he says and kisses me. He pulls away but I bring him back. "Maybe I want another kind of breakfast" I say and I can feel his smile against my lips
"Me too" he says getting on top of me.
________________

A couple of hours later, Garcia called. "What did you find Garcia?" Hotch asks
"Sir, I have a potential suspect in The Golden Mall" she says
"The Golden Mall? We could have been there" I say
"I'm giving you the footage right now" she says and puts the livestream from the camera on the TV in the conference room
"Is there an officer anywhere near him?" Morgan asks
"No. Oh my God... He just killed someone and he is getting away" she says as it happens
"Garcia, do you have eyes on him from another camera?" David asks
"No, there are too many people. I've lost him" she says
"Are the police headed on the scene?" I ask
"They are heading there now but he's already gone" she says.

"We could have caught that guy" I say at Hotch
"Even if we were there, he would have moved somewhere else" he says
"Maybe but it was worth taking a shot" I say
"I had every available man on the streets" the detective says
"And I suggested you used this team too" I say
"Second guessing doesn't do any good right now" Hotch says
"Hotch, how am I supposed to say that we are here to help and that we are doing everything we can in order to stop him?" I ask
"We're just here to present a profile and that's what you and everyone else on this team need to do" he says
"I told you to put us in public places. More specifically I said The Golden Mall. And that's exactly where he hit" I say
"I don't have to justify my orders to you, but you do have to follow them so it's not your place to decide" he says
"Not my place?" I ask offended
"You need to back off" he says looking at me pissed but I am not afraid of him.
"Back off? Really? We got seven bodies in case you forgot" I say
"Which is exactly why we need to stay focused on our job" he says
"Focused? Because from where I'm standing all your focus is on giving me the easiest things to do or keeping me inside the station just to be safe. Did you forget how to work around me?" I ask.

"Go and take a walk agent. Now!" he says
"Are you sure I can do that sir? What if I trip and I fall? Maybe you want to carry me? Make sure that I'm 'safe'?" I ask ironically
"Agent Grey--" he says but I interrupt him
"Cut the crap!" I say
"Agent Grey, you're suspended" he says and I nod.
"Great. Do that" I say grabbing my bag "I'll be catching the next flight to Virginia then. Apparently, I don't need air, it will be better to spend some extra time with MY kids" I say as I throw my gun and my badge on the table in front of him
"Is that a threat?" he asks
"I don't know. You're the 'active' profiler, so you tell me" I say and I leave.

As soon as I get out of the station, I slam the door closed and I keep walking. I have no idea where I'm going, I just need to find and do something right now that won't include me throwing punches at everyone because my hormones are partying inside of me and he is not helping!

I spend about an hour walking by myself in order to calm myself down and without realizing it I was walking towards one of the possibly targeted squares of the town. Almost immediately I noticed a guy walking a few feet in front of me, in black clothes and a hood, the exact same look that the unsub from the mall had earlier. He was walking with his head down so I couldn't see his face. I didn't have my gun with me so it was too risky to go after him. Instead I call Hotch and I keep walking behind the unsub so I won't lose him.

"Hey" he says, hesitating a bit, as he picks up
"Hey, honey. How are you?" I ask
"Jessie, is everything ok?" he asks
"No, I'm not home yet. I went for a walk, I'm close to the northern square actually" I say
"You have eyes on the suspect?" he asks
"Yeah. Your black shirt is right in front of my dress" I say trying to say something that will make some sense to him and an outsider listening
"We are on our way. Don't do anything until we get there" he says
"I'll do my best" I say and I hung up. I text him immediately 'Hurry!'.

I kept following him and as expected he was heading in the square. He lift his head a little bit to take a look around but I wasn't able to see his face yet. I looked towards the direction he looked and I saw a small group of people, mostly students, gathered. The unsub headed there almost immediately so there wasn't any more time to waste.

He always has his knife in his right pocket which means that he is right-handed. I go just a little faster than him and I get right next to him from the left side. I keep the same pace as him without paying attention to him so he wouldn't suspect anything even though he wouldn't even look at me since he is mission oriented. I fall on him, knocking him down on his right side and before he could take the knife out, I get on top of him. He tries to fight back but I kick the knife away and I hold his hands behind his back as he is still on the ground.

People started to get away from us and a few seconds later I could hear the sirens getting closer. I hold him down until they get here. Of course the first person to come in was Aaron and Morgan who starts to arrest the guy. "Are you ok?" Aaron asks me as he helps me stand back up
"I didn't mean to come here when I left. I just walked because I was pissed and I needed some air. And I tried to wait for you but he was just a few seconds away from getting to those students" I say as I try to catch my breath
"It's ok. I'm just glad you're ok" he says and hugs me which caught me by big surprise.
"Oh wow! I definitely expected confrontation" I say with a chuckle.
"I'm just glad you're ok. Let's go home" he says keeping his arm around my waist and we start walking to the car.

On the jet, at first I was sitting alone since I was trying to get some sleep. But halfway through the flight Aaron came and sat next to me. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you" he says
"It's fine. I am used to it" I say and he chuckles
"These are yours" he says leaving my gun and badge in front of me
"Not suspended?" I ask
"No and I'm sorry for today. I got used to seeing you as a mom for the past 5 months and when I saw you as an agent again, I blacked out" he says
"You are forgiven" I say and I kiss him.
"But maybe if I hadn't..." he says but doesn't seem to find the proper word
"Hadn't kicked me out?" I ask
"I wouldn't put it that way but ok. If I hadn't kicked you out, you wouldn't have met the unsub and he would have killed a student. We would be trying to catch him still" he says and I shake my head
"Oh my God..." I say and he chuckles. He wraps his arm around me and I lay my head on his chest "I love you" he says
"I love you too" I say and he kisses my head.