𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

𝟎𝟓𝟓

"𝙿𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜"
ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ
𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘
𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬

"I THINK I can run faster than you," Noah says as she stretches her legs.

"I don't think so," Aaron replies with a small smile.

"Well, let's see," Noah smirks and gestures towards the park's sidewalk trail.

"Ready?" Aaron asks and sees the teen nod.

They start their run slow and steady. The teen seems to be keeping up well and Aaron is impressed. In his mind, he hopes to do things like this with his son. Hotch has grown to like Noah a lot and he is glad she has come around to everyone on the team.

Aaron knows Noah needed a family. And not just a parent, but a support group. She needs a group of people who will look after her because they want to, not because it is their obligation to.

As they finish their second mile, the teen asks him to slow down.

"Can we walk for a second?" Noah says out of breath.

"You tired already?" He asks with a chuckle.

"No, I just want a nice view of the park," Noah replies, which makes him laugh. They slow their running and walk at a good pace.

"You're doing good." Hotch tells the teen seriously, "Maybe you should think about coming to the FBI Academy,"

"How old do you have to be?  23?" Noah asks out of curiosity.

"Yeah, but sometimes we recruit early if we see someone we think will be a good asset."

"Like Reid?"

"Yeah,"

"Do you think I'm smart enough to be on a team like yours?" Noah questions him.

"I think you could use some more life experience." Aaron answers.

"You think I need more life experience?" Noah says with a laugh, "I think I've had enough of life's experiences lately,"

"It gets better," Hotch says out of nowhere, "I know you think we see horrible things and just move on, but we do keep in touch with the people we help."

"And they tell you it gets better?"

"At some point," Aaron nods, "But, most of the time, people realize they got lucky. It depends on how you see it. You can see it as the world being cruel to you or you can see it as a chance to start over and appreciate life more."

"Like a 'do all the things you never did' type of thing?" Noah asks as she looks up at him.

"Yeah, something like that."

"I'll race you back to the car," Noah says and sees Hotch give her a look, "What? You think I'll lose?" She asks with a smile.

"I don't know, let's see," Aaron replies and starts running back to the car. Noah takes off after him, both of them smiling at his head start.

—

"You think you're ready for a 3k?" Hotch asks as they get into his car.

"I think I'm ready for one of Garcia's over-caffeinated coffees," Noah replies to which Aaron laughs, "You know, you're more fun than people say you are," The teen adds with a smile as she buckles her seatbelt.

"There's a lot that comes with running the team. I can't smile my way through a case."

"It'd be nice if you smiled every now and then, though." Noah pokes fun at him, "But I'm a lot like you. My brother used to ask why I never smiled. But, then again, he always knew why."