Saving Agent Hotchner | 1

14. Above board

A lot of decisions were made after Y/N and Aaron made their relationship official. They didn't want to tell the team just yet. Better yet, they'd let the team figure it out. As for Strauss, she was one of three people who knew about the relationship between Y/N and Aaron - the other two people being Haley and Jack. Y/N thought it was fair for Haley (and Jack especially) to know that she had begun dating Aaron. Jack was confused, but when he found out that he'd be seeing Y/N more often, he quickly warmed up to the idea.

Strauss being Strauss, she wasn't pleased with the situation, but she didn't stop it or prohibit it. She actually thanked the couple for staying above board and telling her. As for living situations, the couple decided that after every case, they'd stay at each other's places. They'd stay at Y/N's place until a case popped up, and then they'd stay at Aaron's place until another case popped up. It worked well and both apartments got a lot of love. Surprisingly, none of the team had yet figured out that Aaron and Y/N were dating.

Penelope and Y/N walked into the bullpen together, Aaron having left for work early due to a meeting.

"So, you and Hotch? Any interesting developments?" Penelope asked as Y/N kept her eyes on Emily, Derek and Spencer as they discussed some obscure topic.

"Morning!" Y/N smiled as she walked up to the group, trying to forget about Penelope's question.

"Morning." Penelope almost immediately forgot about the question she had asked Y/N as she also walked up to the group.

That night, at Aaron's apartment, she was woken up to the sound of Aaron basically screaming in his sleep. He was thrashing around in his sleep, his eyes darting from left to right.

Nightmare. Y/N exhaled, propping herself up so she was now sitting next to Aaron.

"Aaron, baby." Y/N nudged Aaron, but he didn't wake up.

"Wake up, Aaron. It's alright. You're safe. Wake up." Y/N nudged him again before shaking him. With a sudden movement, Aaron was now sitting up next to Y/N, sweat falling from his forehead as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Another nightmare?" Y/N asked, knowing the answer. Since Foyet escaped prison, Aaron couldn't stop having nightmares. Some nights were okay, but others were like tonight - Aaron thrashing around in bed as he experienced an unpleasant nightmare.

"I- It felt so real. H- He was stabbing me." He felt his torso, exhaling when the pain he was feeling suddenly went away.

"Of course it felt real, Aaron." Y/N pulled Aaron closer to her, giving him a comforting hug. Was this how Y/N expected her nights with Aaron to go? No. But she didn't care. The Reaper - AKA George Foyet - had plagued Aaron's dreams and replaced them with nightmares. Aaron was taking Foyet's escape personally, as if it was his fault Foyet escaped. Y/N was willing to help him however she could.

It wasn't just Aaron that Foyet had affected. Derek was attacked by Foyet and his credentials were stolen. How Foyet intended to use Derek's credentials, none of you knew.

———

Y/N passed her physical and psych evaluation with flying colours, which meant only one thing: she was allowed back in the field with the team. After having to stay behind at the office instead of going on cases, Y/N was finally able to travel and she loved it.

Y/N
"His name's William Hightower. He claims over the past month, he's picked 10 people off the streets of Detroit, killed them, and dumped their bodies across the border in Canada." Penelope explained as she put up a picture of the man on the screen.

"Has he given up the dumpsite?" Derek asked as he looked down at his tablet.

"He said he'll only talk to the FBI." Penelope shook her head.