champagne problems x jemily/hotchniss

twenty-nine: aaron

not me passing both my exams with A's🥳

also the timeline for the next couple of chapters is lowkey weird because i think of everything besides this. basically it's what each team member is going through after the three month mark of emily's "death" 😚

happy readings and stay safe besties!🤍

TW: minimal swearing, mentions of violence, signs of depression, NSFW mentions, slight suicidal thoughts if you squint
word count: 5037

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Aaron: "Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change." Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Aaron walked into the hospital room. He smiled softly at the woman who was still asleep. The man in an outfit Emily loved on him. All black with his jacket collars popped. He made sure to groom his beard before he left to see her. He had a small bouquet in his hands. This was the first time he went to see her after telling the team a week ago.

He set the flowers down on the counter before grabbing the woman's hand. He kissed her knuckles ever so gently. He didn't want to hurt her. Aaron looked down at her hand before realizing something. He got down on one knee and pulled the ring from his pocket. Aaron carefully slipped the ring back on the woman's finger.

"There you go, my love," Aaron said softly. He kissed her hand one more time before getting up and sitting right next to her.

"You always had a romantic touch to you," Emily said softly. The man looked over at her as tears welled in his eyes. He carefully leaned over Emily and embraced the woman. Her hands buried in the man's hair as she pulled him closer. "Aaron."

"Emily. I missed you," Aaron said softly as he pulled away. Both raised a hand to wipe away the other's tears. "What were you thinking?"

"He was going to hurt the team. I didn't have a choice," Emily said and nuzzled her cheek into the man's hand. "I'm so sorry."

"Please don't ever do that to me again," Aaron said and ran his thumb over the bandaid on her cheek. He smiled as he leaned over and kissed the woman softly. The two pulled away and smiled at the other. "I love you."

"And I love you," Emily said softly and pushed the man's hair back on his head. "How's the rest of the team?"

"Emily, we need to talk," Aaron said and sat back down in his chair. His hand was never leaving Emily's. She looked worried. "I told them that you had died."

"What?" Emily said and tried to sit up.

"Emily, please," Aaron said and held her arm to prevent her from getting up. "We didn't catch him, Em. By the time we got into the room, he already was gone."

"He's still out there?" Emily asked as her heart dropped. "So now what? I hide in the hospital for the rest of my life?"

"I talked to your mom. She has friends in Paris that are already looking into apartments. The lease would be paid in full by her. Strauss knows what's going on, and she's putting a push on you going underground," Aaron said as his eyes kept straight to Emily's engagement ring. "We can't risk leaving you here in the states, so witness protection is off the table."

"I can't do that, Aaron. I can't walk away from my life. Declan needs me, and it's driving me crazy that's he's been away from me for seven weeks already," Emily said as tears built in her eyes. "I can't—"

"Emily. You have no other choice. I'm sorry," Aaron said as Emily's tears fell freely. "We already had the funeral—"

"You already had the funeral?" Emily asked as she pulled her hand away. Aaron sighed as Emily crossed her arms. "What else are you not telling me?"