Aaron Hotchner One-Shots

Take Care Of the Rest

Pairings: Aaron Hotchner x fem!Reader

Characters: Aaron Hotchner

Words: 1K

Summary: Aaron knows how to make one of the worst feelings in the world just a little bit better

Warnings: reader who deals with chronic acid issues, descriptions of pain (but the whole fic is fluff)

A/N: Okay so this is a very self-indulgent fic that I low-key wrote for myself (I've suffered from acid reflux and very bad heartburn that comes with it for over 2 years), but all of the things reader is experiencing and what she does to get through it are things I've drawn out from my own life so it's heavily based on personal experience, but I hope that if anyone who's got similar issues reads this it might offer a little comfort :)

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The pain bubbling up in your chest felt familiar and you almost cursed right then and there, knowing that whatever was happening was completely your fault.

That didn't stop you from trying to eat because dammit you were starving, you hadn't eaten anything all day and consequently hadn't taken any medication.

But the more you ate the more the pain grew and blossomed, like a knife to your chest every time you breathed. Like fire down your throat every time you swallowed.

It got to the point where you just couldn't take it anymore, it was too much but you just wanted it to stop. You wanted it to stop because you were so hungry, you needed to eat but you couldn't.

Clattering your fork on the plate you pushed it aside, the frustration evident in your actions as you placed your head in your hands, tears pricking in your eyes.

The clatter caused Hotch to look up from his own food, noticing your distress with a frown.

"(Y/N) is everything okay?" he asked carefully and you shook your head at your husband.

"I can't eat it, Aaron, I-I can't," you choked out a broken sob, clutching your chest as if that would rid you of the pain.

Quickly, he stood up and went to the medicine cabinet, grabbing a few pills before coming back to your side and bending down slightly so he was more at level with you.

"Come on open up," he said gently and you obeyed while he placed the two tablets in your mouth and you struggled to chew them and swallow them down, their chalky texture not something you had to deal with in a while. "That's it," he said, pressing a soft kiss on your cheek as if to wipe away the tears.

Over the course of the time you had struggled with this ailment with no cure besides dealing with it when it came, you had developed somewhat of a ritual to help it get better and it seemed as though your husband had been paying attention and caught on to how he could be of service to you.

Coming back to the dinner table with an ice pack, he helped you out of your seat and moved you to the couch, getting you to settle yourself between his legs, your back pressed against his chest, but sitting up straight.

"Focus on staying comfortable okay?" he said, "I'll take care of the rest,"

You gripped into his arm and nodded while he pressed another kiss to the side of your head, laying the cool pack on your chest before slipping his hand up your shirt to press into your sternum, using that pressure to rub up and down the bone, somewhat alleviating the pain (you honestly just suspected that the pressure distracted you from the other feeling but it worked well so why not).

Hotch could tell your breaths were shaky and shallow, but you were still wincing slightly in pain.

"Try a slow breath in for me?" he asked. "I don't want you to pass out,"

You nodded again, trying what he suggested, and seeing as it was working you focused on continuing that along with feeling the cold compress and his hand on your chest.

"Can you...Can you talk to me?" you asked. "Distract me?"

"Of course," he murmured, his hand repeating its pressured line and giving you some relief. "I've been thinking about taking some time off, maybe we could go out of town?"

"Yeah, I-I'd like that," you smiled. "Where are you thinking?"

"Well, we could go visit my mom in Manassas,"

"Which is forty minutes away, be a little more adventurous Aaron," you chided.

That made him chuckle, but he tried to keep himself still for you.

"Keep breathing sweetheart, that's it," he hushed before continuing. "Then why not Seattle? I have some old friends there we could visit. Go see the Space Needle, maybe do some hiking?"

"What happens if you get called out to work?" you asked.

"We'll be in the woods, there's no cell reception," he joked, nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck. "I'll be off the grid,"

"You wish you could do that," you rolled your eyes. "My Aaron Hotchner couldn't stop working even if he tried. I bet you're profiling that bowl over there right now," you teased, taking the risk to take a deeper breath and noticing the pain had subsided.

"You feeling better?" he asked.

"Much," you nodded, turning around to face him properly, your arms wrapped around his neck and legs draped over each side. "Thank you for taking care of me," you whispered.

"Anytime honey, that's my job," he laid his forehead against yours and you couldn't help but sneak a quick peck at his lips.

"I hope you were r joking about that vacation," you murmured.

"Not in the least, that would be cruel,"

"Good, cause maybe we can just spend it right here,"