Labyrinth

V

 On the drive home Hotch spent his time thinking about Ivy and what he would do about the childish crush he had on her.

 He tried to convince himself it was because she was the first woman to enter his life after Hailey and that was just his brain trying to get him to move on. Of course all of it was a lie. They had met a week ago and Hotch was already feeling things for her.

 Deciding to ignore the burning image of Ivy laughing and smiling, he turned on the radio in hopes of catching a funky song to get his mind off things.

 He flipped through stations, until Amy Winehouse started playing. Satisfied with the option, he hummed along to the beat of You Know I'm No Good, tapping his fingers to the beat as well. Usually he wasn't one for music like this, he was more on the classic old songs and artists; The Beatles being one of his favourites.

 He took a stop at a red light as a moment to relax for a few seconds, rubbing his eyes. Not because he was tired; because Ivy was still with him.

 Not physically, of course.

 He hoped she was.

 When the light turned green, he turned left and saw his apartment building right away, the feeling of pure emptiness weighing on him once again as he dreaded the thought of being alone. He usually enjoyed his peace and quiet, but he knew that the moment the door would close behind him, Ivy would once again be in his mind.

 And he was right. Images of his new agent played in his mind endlessly as he walked to his bathroom, in a desperate need of a cold shower.

 In said shower, Aaron couldn't help it; his mind drifted back to Ivy.

 "The hell's wrong with you?" He murmured to himself, groaning as he let the cold water run over his skin. The burning image of the ginger in his office, leaving her files on his desk with a small smile and her pretty green eyes, the dimple on her cheek and the freckles scattered across her beautiful face.

 He couldn't stop it.

 Not that he wanted to, but... you know.

 He wrapped a towel around his lower half and ran his fingers through his wet hair, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he made his way to the kitchen. Still in a towel, he opened the cardboards, looking for a snack as he hadn't eaten anything since lunch and it was way past midnight.

 Once he found something to munch on, he got dressed and sat on his couch, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips, as he was alone, and turned the TV on. He searched for something to play - mainly as background noise - while he ate his midnight snack.

 Finding a show he'd never even heard of before, he started watching it.

 He sat back and relaxed, munching on the popcorn that he didn't even remember buying, as the show played in the background. A million thoughts were running through his head; Ivy, Hailey, work, a reminder to call Strauss for a business meeting, Hailey's words to him.

 Everything.

 He hated living alone for that exact reason. He didn't want to be alone, lost in the thoughts that made him want to bang his head against a brick wall. Ivy was like a light at the end of the darkest tunnel, her laughter and soft voice echoing in his head. 

 For a few moments Aaron thought he was actually going crazy.

 Yes, he did love Hailey. A lot. Hell, he married the woman. But he didn't remember feeling like this when they first met.

 Stolen glances in the hallway, him joining that stupid drama club just because she was in it, getting to talk to her sending his adrenaline through his entire body.

 But when he spoke to Ivy it was all so different.

 Sure, he knew her for a damn week, but boy did his heart race when she walked in the bullpen and greeted him. She always had that damn smile on her face that made everyone swoon. Deciding to deal with the problem later, he turned off the TV and sighed as he walked to his bedroom, eager to get under the warm comforter.

 Morning came by and back at work they all were.

 Except Ivy.

 Where's Ivy?

 "Hey, where's Ivy?" Derek voiced Aaron's thoughts, making him turn to look at the watch resting on his wrist. "I don't know. Maybe she's stuck in traffic. Everyone's allowed to be late once." Aaron said with a shurg, continuing the way to the briefing room.

 Half an hour later, a soaked Ivy came through the bullpen doors, her face red and lip quivering from how cold she was. "Ivy? Honey, what happened?" JJ asked her cousin, rushing over to check on her.

 "It's raining. That's what." Ivy grumbled, making a faint smirk appear on Hotch's face. "I'm so sorry I'm late." She apologised with a sigh, digging through her go bag for clothes, "It's okay. Are you alright?" Hotch asked.

 Rossi's eyebrows shot up as he turned to Hotch. It so wasn't like him to act that way. Usually he would've scolded her a little and told her to never repeat it.

 "Yeah, my car just broke down and I had to wait for help and then it rained and now I'm here. What did I miss?" She asked with a cough. JJ explained what had happened and what would be happening for a few days.

 "Ivy and Spence; we want you guys to do it."

 Well that caught Ivy's attention.

 "You want me and Spencer to go undercover as a child protective service's agents?" Ivy asked to make sure she heard JJ clearly, to which JJ nodded. "At a cult?" JJ nodded once again.

 "Sure. Why the hell not." Ivy shrugged, picking out an outfit from her go bag. "I'll be right back." She muttered, heading to the locker rooms to change out of the wet, sticky outfit; all thanks to the rain and D.C.'s shitty weather.

 Simple blue button up and a pair of black dress pants, gun on her hip and ID on her belt as well, she looked at herself and sighed contently. Her hair needed to be dried, but that was an issue for later.

 When she went back inside the briefing room, JJ and Hotch explained everything to her and Spencer; what they needed to do, how they'd act etc etc.

 "Oh lord." Ivy muttered, sighing. She hated sting operations; they always ended badly. And this one was not gonna be any different.