EndGame || Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 24 - Aaron

I am falling in love with Olivia faster than I expected. I thought I'd never feel like this about someone after my divorce, but this time these emotions are hundreds of times more intense. Olivia has become part of my life already. Every morning I wake up excited to see her or even hear her voice over the phone. She is a smartass, she teases me, and she can be a drill sergeant sometimes -I guess I found my match. But behind that she is also fun, caring and the sweetest. She has a way to light up everything and I love that about her. Somehow, after everything we see on this job, she manages to stay positive and not lose hope in humanity.

She has a unique way to turn every situation positive. If I confess some event to her, she'll always find the bright side and remind me to focus on that. If I come back from a difficult case, she'll bring me dinner and she'll stay with me all night, letting me hold her despite the fact that she gets hot when cuddling. I've never asked her to do any of that for me. She has no idea how much she helps me through those moments, and I can't thank her enough for caring so much.

I do my best to return the same attention to her. I do the dishes every night because she hates them. I get her flowers and small gifts frequently. I always have her favorite snacks stocked in my apartment, car and office, because she gets hungry when she is bored and forgets to eat when she is busy. I never skip a good morning/goodnight text even if we are in different timezones, because I want her to know she is the first and last thing on my mind. I try to never miss her calls and messages. I remind her how good she is every chance I get. And I am trying to improve myself every day, hoping that I am doing enough. I don't want to lose her.

Today I am doing a part of her job because she has the day off. It is her brother's birthday. She said they went for brunch and then she helped him a little with the birthday party at his house. I called her earlier and she confessed that she isn't really thrilled about another family gathering but she claimed she'll be fine socializing with some of Jackson's friends. I told her to text me if she wants me to pick her up at any time.

Until then, I have stacks of papers in front of me to keep me busy.

"Don't pull an all nighter again" Dave's voice draws my attention

"You're here late..." I comment

"Yeah, I am on my way out. Care to join me for a beer?" he suggests

"I would any other day, but Stephens is out today and I have to fill her in" I inform him

"Right, it's Jackson's birthday today. Does she have tomorrow off too?" he wonders as he sits down across from me

"No, the email she sent me yesterday was only mentioning today"

"Weird. Her own birthday is tomorrow" he mentions and something in my chest tightens, "...or in a few hours" he says after checking his watch

"Not my problem" I force the sentence out of my mouth as I try to think back. Could she have told me and I wasn't paying attention? I would remember...

"Maybe she is celebrating today with Jackson. I mean twins normally share birthdays, but Liv was born a few minutes after midnight. And Richard used to say that Olivia was always stubborn -even as an infant" he chuckles to himself

"Oh, I can believe that" I reply, panicking on the inside. I didn't even know they were twins. I claim to know her when I don't even know the basics. How?!

"Or she has other plans. She has been seeing someone lately".

I don't know if he is trying to fish information out of me right now. Either way, he is not the only one here that can keep a straight face to prevent others from profiling him.