It's been two weeks since I returned to Quantico and everything has been great. Time passes quickly when I'm in the field. So far, I think coming back was the right decision. Problems I expected to have -like Aaron's presence- are not as bad as I had made them up to be. I can't believe I was going to let the memory of a guy prevent me from retuning. The 2 times I've seen him comfirmed to me that I have no romantic feelings left for him. He is still attractive, but whatever we had died the day he decided to send me his wedding invitation as payback. That was a low blow, even for him.
Part of me is satisfied that he is miserable, and trying to make up with me again. It means I still have an effect over him and I will definitely use that down the line. For now, I am just going to keep ignoring him and do the job I came here for.
I park my car in the garage and I am grabbing my things as another car stops right in front of mine. The window rolls down, revealing to me that it's Aaron. I roll my eyes and get out of the car.
"This is my spot" he says
"I don't see your name on it" I reply as close the door and lock it
"I would be more than happy to switch spots with you, but this is the one closer to the entrance and I had to--"
"Cry about it" I sigh as I walk away without even eyeing him.
"Ally--" he calls but I ignore him. "Allison!" he grabs my arm now
I turn my face to him, "Let go of me" I order him
He breathes out and takes his hand off of me. "I'm sorry. I want to talk you because I feel like we started on the wrong foot here"
"Oh, did you expect me to welcome you back with open legs?" I wonder
"No, I just wanted to--"
"Let make this clear for you so you don't waste your time; The past remains the past and I want to leave it there. I am not interested in making up with you and becoming friends. Do you understand or shall I serve you with a restraining order?" I wonder
"Just like the time you served me with court papers, suing me for tortious interference?" he shoots back
"Exactly" I reply without hesitation.
He sighs. "I just want for us to be civil, Ally. It is not rare that we have to cooperate with Crisis Management on some case, so I need to know we can actually work together" he admits
"Why wouldn't we?"
"Because you don't even want to look at me, let alone speak to me"
"Well, I assure you that I will be fully cooperative in life or death situations"
"Good" he breathes out, almost relieved
"Great. You better go get your car out of the way. Someone's gonna come complaining sooner or later" I remind him, in order to get away
"Right...", he clears his throat, "Have a good day"
"You too".
We turn and finally go our different ways. I enter the elevator alone and as the doors close I let out the biggest breath. It didn't take us long to start fighting again. Old habits never die. My body feels like it's going to collapse any moment. For some reason, this interaction was so draining I think I need a break already.
But instead of a break, I grab a Red Bull and lock myself in my office. Unfortunately, the quiet didn't last long because the cases started rolling in and I had to split the team into three; Nevada, Arizona and DC. I took on DC alone so I can be closer to the office and be able to keep track of the progression of all three cases. I missed this.
There is a hostage situation in Union Bank in downtown DC, and since I had to send the rest of the team away, I agreed to cooperate with the next best team.
"When I saw the file this morning, I bet that I'd be your last choice" Hotchner says as he joins me in the tent.
I had almost forgotten how good he looks in the FBI vest. Especially that time when we ended up fuck--
"Ally?" he calls, pulling me out of my own thought
"Yeah. Like I told you earlier, I can separate personal from professional. And if the things I hear about you are true, your unit is the best one for this situation" I explain
"Hm... And what things do you hear about me?" he wonders
"Really? You want to do this now?" I remind him of the time and place
"Right. The team is waiting right outside" he points
"Great" I reply and walk passed him to get to them. He introduces me to them and we get to work.
It's fascinating how a person that used to mean so much to you can become a stranger. I have worked with Aaron, I had learned all his methods, I had even adopted his way of thinking. But the man in front of me is a totally different person than the one I remember. I had never seen him in a position of leadership like the one he has now. Honestly, it suits him.
So, I laid out the case for them and we came up with a starting plan. Hotchner assigned jobs to them and they split to complete tasks as he commanded them. And then we are left alone again.
"I was thinking..." he starts as he crosses his arms
"No" I shut him down
"You don't know what I am going to say"
"I know I'm not going to like it, so save your voice because the answer is no" I insist.
"As I was saying, I believe our unsubs are never going to surrender. So we need to get inside as soon as possible" he suggests
"Really, genius? Did you think all that by yourself?" I wonder, like that's not the first thing in my mind already
"That's exactly what I was worried about with you! Can we talk and work like normal people?" he shoots back
"Ok, fine. What are proposing to do in order to get inside the building without warning them and taking down all three of them before they do more harm?"
A soft smiles appears across his lips, "The Negotiation Gambit" he says finally
The Negotiation Gambit was a system we started using 12 years ago on my first field case that included hostages. I remember every single time we used it and it always worked like a charm.
"We will stand by the backdoors. Once we take positions, the negotiator will approach the front door to draw the attention of the unsubs. They will see his move as arrogant and it will make them furious. They won't be paying attention to every hostage. The more frustrated they get, the more they'll focus on him, forgetting to check the others point of entry. The moment the negotiator knows he has their full attention and they are in the right state, he signals and we go in. I come from the left, you come from the right, we meet in the middle. If they see us, they will start shooting us and hostages. So once inside, we defuse the situation the fastest we can. Do you understand me?" Aaron asks
"Yes" I answer.
He nods and clenches his jaw. I can tell how much he hates the idea of sending me inside a hostage situation even with him along. But I didn't hesitate to agree on it when our Chief suggested it. It's my first hostage situation and even though I'm 6 months in the field, Aaron is still mentoring everything.
Honestly, I don't hate it. I like having him as an extra measure of protection. I know he always has my back. And when we leave work, he tells me that I did such a good job right before he kisses me. I've lost count of how many times we said the words 'one last time' and then we were fucking again the next day.
But it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden...
Aaron stares at me nervously as he waits for my answer.
"Ok. Wire me up" I answer finally
"Yes ma'am" he replies satisfied.
YOU ARE READING
Tortured Poets || Aaron Hotchner
FanfictionHe used to be my everything, but I was nothing to him. Now that I'm everything to him, I don't even want to look at him. But he is begging me for a chance to show me he's changed, and he is determined to win me over again.
