out of the woods x hotchniss

seventeen

hello everyone. i hope everyone is having a good saturday. due to recent news from the supreme court, i'm beyond devastated. there is a resource in my bio on wattpad and tiktok. i'll be creating a carrd about it once i've gotten more information. use your voices, go protests, don't give up even though it's exhausting. if you're not angry, you aren't listening

hopefully this chapter can bring a little bit of a distraction. protect your mental health. -salem🤍

TW: none
word count: 3550

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Derek: "With you and me, I don't know what anything means. We're pushing each other away and yet I don't seem to be able to let you go." Stephanie Witter.

Three weeks later:

Emily walked into the bullpen with a bag of pasteries in her hands. She carefully set them down on Derek's desk. She was about to walk up to her office when she heard the sound of laughter coming from Aaron's office.

"What the hell?" Emily asked herself as she made her way over towards the office. Emily opened the door and saw all the agents there with large smiles. Of course, their smiles started to fade as they all collectively remembered that Emily was their boss, and that they were hiding something very important from her. Emily raised her eyebrow as she looked over at the man sitting behind his desk.

"Uh oh," Derek said softly as he scratched behind his ear. Emily couldn't help but crack a smile as she looked over at the rest of the team.

"Give us a minute, guys. There are some treats on Derek's desk," Emily said and gestured out the door with her head. Spencer was the first one to get up and leave. Mainly it was because Emily scared him, but also because he wanted the first dibs at the pasteries. One by one all the team members left Aaron's office until it was just the two of them.

Emily shut the door behind her as she looked at him. Aaron cracked a small smile. He knew from that one look that the couldn't be mad at him. The raven-haired man stood up carefully as he walked over to Emily.

"I thought I told you to stay home until you got a note from your physical therapist and doctor that you could come back," Emily said as she looked up at him. Aaron reached into his pocket and grabbed two notes from each. He handed them to her without taking his eyes off of Emily.

"I already talked to Strauss. She said I'm stuck on desk duty until I'm able to pass the physical again," Aaron said and sighed softly. Emily nodded her head as she stuffed the notes into her jacket pocket.

"Well are you okay?" Emily asked as she looked down at the ground.

"Almost," Aaron said and ducked his head down, trying to meet Emily's eyes. "I didn't see you again at the hospital."

"I had to talk to Strauss about all of this. She extended my stay until you get better," Emily said and sighed softly. Finally, she looked up and locked eyes with him. Aaron noticed the sadness in her eyes. There was a light translucent film like Emily was going to cry. "I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

Aaron furrowed his eyebrows as he tilted his head slightly. "You're going back to London?"

"That's home. I hear the office is in shambles without me. I need to go clean it up again," Emily said and shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't help but notice that look of disappointment in Aaron's eyes. "You didn't think I could stay forever, did you?"

"Would it be ignorant of me if I said yes?" Aaron said softly. He looked down at Emily's hand. He carefully grabbed onto her. His touch was feather light and sent chills up Emily's body. "What's going to happen to Sean?"