Airing Aaron (HotchxOC)

Raining Snow.

The day was long overdrawn. Clouds had long since covered the sky, and the moon picked up and shone like a backlight into the FBI quarters as white snow dropped down and rested on the ground. The temperature had dropped well below freezing, and it wasn't uncommon for agents to wear multiple layers to keep themselves protected. One thing many were thankful for were the radiators and underfloor heating.

Alessandra, however, was comfortably buried in her office for most of the day, staring at the watch on her wrist or the clock on the wall as she tried to race through the paperwork so she could get home. However, that didn't seem to be her luck when her door was knocked on, and Mariah peeked her head in when she was called in. 'Sorry, boss. We have Jason Cass from level two. He said you did a report. He wants to discuss it with you,' she explained, and after briefly checking the folders in her cabinet, Alessandra nodded and sat at her desk, pushing the reports into her draw as the familiar man walked in with a fresh Starbucks iced coffee in his hand and a report in the other.

'You can go home now, Mariah. It's late,' she informed her assistant warmly. The invitation didn't need to be given twice as her assistant practically ran home on the spot.

'Sorry,' he offered as he sat and placed the file down, and Alessandra put a placemat out for his cup, which he happily used. 'I just wanted to ask about a remark you made in my file. My boss isn't happy about the review, you see,' he explained quickly, coffee already running through his veins.

'Which comment?' She asked kindly, smiling at him as he flicked to the piece of paper that looked well-held as it had creased and torn around the edges.

'Here, it says that I behaved unprofessionally during the interrogation, and as a result, the interrogation couldn't be used in court. What are you talking about?' He rushed out, and suddenly she recalled what he was talking about perfectly.

'You can't use a forced confession, and strangely enough, holding a gun to his head does force him. I know you claim it was empty, but he didn't know that, and frankly, we don't because you refused to hand over your gun since that incident,' she answered quickly.

'But he has concrete evidence it was Max. If you discredit his account, then the case fails,' he whined.

'This doesn't change the fact that if this is used in court, his confession will be wiped, the jury will lose sympathy and interest in your case, and everything else becomes less credible. If this makes it to court, you could lose your job. This is best for you, the victims, the bureau and me,' she informed him confidently when he suddenly stood and balled his fists at his side.

Never before had Alessandra regretted sending her assistant home, and before she could comprehend what he was doing, she flinched as he waved his hands about. When he hadn't hit her, she peered through her narrowed eyes and noticed he was just putting his things away when she relaxed enough to sit professionally again. 'This is bullshit,' he called, and before she could stop it, his iced coffee was lifted and tipped over her head, where it slowly dripped down her head.

Shock didn't cover how she felt. It had been one thing after the next with work lately. Alessandra had been trying to catch up with missed work because of her time off with her baby, and just as she was catching up, just when she thought the darkness was over and she could start working normally again, he poured freezing coffee over her freshly washed hair. Hair that wasn't often washed after Ellamae was born because she was too scared to be out of reach, and she couldn't shampoo her hair properly with a baby in her arms.

Cass stormed from the room immediately, the cup being crushed in his hand as he did so, and it was angrily thrown into the bin outside of her office. Closing her eyes, she sat for a moment before finding the strength to stand and open her drawer, looking for spare clothes. Only, they were gone. She'd used them already. Not wanting to cry, Alessandra stood calmly and stepped into the bathroom for a moment. What stung most was the knowledge that his outburst was going to cause her more paperwork.