Airing Aaron (HotchxOC)

Entitled Enemies.

Something just felt off for the BAU. Strauss hadn't been to visit, Anderson wasn't floating around with a case file and a flirty smirk, but most importantly, they hadn't had a case in a few weeks, and that was either a good thing or a bad thing. One morning, in particular, stood out to the team as they noticed Hotch close his blinds. That should have been enough of a sign for them to worry, but what shocked them the most was when loud heels clicked against the ground and didn't stop at the door. They all watched her walk with a confident sway in her hips as her ginger hair came to rest just past her shoulders while her long fringe was tucked behind each of her ears. Thrown over her arms was a black jacket that the team recognised well, and their eyes shot around in question as they looked pleasantly surprised.

'It's unlikely to be sexual, seeing as there are no other indicators. In fact, there have been signs to suggest that they are not sharing an intimate relationship like that,' Reid mumbled. Alessandra heard him mumble, but she wasn't sure who they could have been talking about. She just hoped it wasn't fraternisation. Paperwork for fraternisation was insufferable. 

Hotch was worried. Strauss hadn't been to visit since she received an email the night before informing her of the visit. Their evaluation was done, and it seemed their review took two months, not just because of a backlog of work but also because of some unexpected issues. The issues were what worried them the most. But the BAU agents couldn't know what was wrong yet.

With her arrival at his door, rather than calling her in, he stood and opened the door for her with a nervous head nod, and she walked in without a word. 'Please, take a seat,' he offered, smiling at her as he sat and leant forward on his forearms.

'I should hand you this and say thank you. Your mechanic was a lifesaver and so polite. But you didn't need to rush off,' she commented before handing him his freshly cleaned suit jacket. 'And I apologise for my behaviour. It wasn't appropriate, and I will aim to rectify my actions in the future,' she remarked calmly. But inside, all she could think about was how she offered her used breast pad for him to drink coffee out of, and it mortified her.

Hotch, on the other hand, was sat, biting his inner lip. The following day, part of him had hoped that his kindness would help the team with their review, but she seemed to be doing everything by the book. 'It's okay. You seemed to have been having a difficult day,' he informed her.

'And that leads me nicely onto my report. I have been tossing and turning over how it was best to evaluate the team fairly. Especially seeing as I evaluated you on a case that was difficult for you since there were external troubles that aren't common. And other reports give a contradictory standpoint. And as such, there are things you and I need to discuss, but first, I need to talk to the team. The procedure states that any problems with the team are addressed in front of the whole team, and problems with the Unit Chief and the Section Chief are addressed privately. She will be joining us later. Garcia is also on the way,' Alessandra remarked before she quickly stood.

Hotch stood quickly behind her and moved with large steps to the door, where he signed for her to leave first, which she happily did before looking out to the bullpen with a polite smile. 'Ready or not,' she joked before pointing to the conference room. The agents walked across, and for the entire walk, Hotch's mind was drawn to Alessandra. She held their fate in her hands. And she didn't fully understand the impact she could have.

Alessandra's mind, however, couldn't have been further from the meeting she was about to enter. Every time she was left to her own devices, the sight of her two fingers clutching the pad came to her mind as she wiggled the frozen object, and her heart sunk inside. She had messed up, and Hotch could cause problems for her. But she also knew she could cause problems for him. He had been caught staring up her skirt; whether he was looking intentionally or not, he had the chance not to look up when he did.