And If I Fall, Let Me Part II: After The Rain - A. Hotchner x OC & Jemily

A slippery slope

"Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." William Shakespeare

Secret Service Gym, Washington D.C.

Aaron Hotchner could count the times in his life he had been called a coward in his adult life on two hands. Right now, however, we would call himself one, as he got out of the car, his son in tow, to go into the gym he had been to these last few weeks, every Saturday morning. Unless he was on a case, it was more or less the same. He would take Jack, a few dog treats his son had coaxed him into buying, and drive to self-defense training.

And like every Saturday, he got two cups of coffee, two cups of hot chocolate, walked in too early, and handed one of the coffees to Alexandria Evans. Jack, with the utmost concentration, would take the chocolate, in search of Katie and the dog called 'Brutus'.

Like clockwork, Katie would take it with a hesitant smile. After saying maybe three words, Jack and her would take the puppy and get to playing.

And Alex? Alexandria, a master in hiding her real emotion despite her turbulent nature, would take a sip of the coffee with a smile on her face. It remained true today, too.

With a smile, Alex pulled him into a short hug, and Hotch had to force himself not to linger too long on it. Her hazel eyes wandered over his face and she cocked her head at him. For some reason, she could always read how his last case had gone.

Would he ever be able to tell her how much he appreciated this? Hotch felt selfish for taking advantage of it, of their friendship. But he couldn't stop. He had tried revisiting that one conversation after the Foreman case but had come up empty. And Alex had never made another attempt to speak about the topic of...them. Enough encounters and tiptoeing around it had made both of them cautious.

"Looks like a good case if I got a dash of vanilla," the blonde breathed into her cup, looking at him. Shrugging, he smiled at her. "Went by quick, and we got him before any new victims."

An honest smile spread over her lips. It made his heart clench a little.

"Now that sounds good, anything else new?"

Hotch thought about it for a few seconds, before he shook his head. "Not since last week, no."

The smile on Alex's lips turned into a smirk. Alright, I definitely missed something.

"Are you sure? Because Garcia finally went out with Tyler, and I think that's something new."

Raising his eyebrows, Hotch took a sip of his coffee.

"I didn't know," he gave back, watching Jack and Katie absentmindedly. Chuckling, Alex nudged his shoulder.

"Yesterday night. That's why she left right when you touched down. And no, I don't keep tabs on you guys, I heard Tyler talking on the phone."

Hotch turned back at her. "How did it go?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said, "I was not nosy enough to ask. But if his mood lately has been any indication, it will have gone amazing. If I get a dollar for every what flowers should I get, what restaurant question, I would be a lot richer now."

He chuckled lowly, nodding as the first few girls walked into the gym. They had been suspicious of him first, but having Alex throw him into the mat with two moves had made them warm up to him.

"What did you say?" he inquired, finishing his coffee. Furrowing her brows a little, she gave him a funny look.

"Actually, I said ask Derek. I'm pretty sure he knows her better than I do," Alex gave back, "But I also made some recommendations."