Ghosts • Aaron Hotchner

Chapter Twenty Four

Aaron

He noticed something was off as soon as Fallon walked through the door. He noticed how quickly she walked inside, and shut it. He noticed her double check that she locked it, and he noticed how hastily she dead bolted it. 

Something was very wrong.

He observed her move around from his position on the couch. She went through her normal routine, keys in the tray, purse on the hook, jacket in the closet. But her movements were rigid. He caught a glimpse of her face, and saw no thought behind her eyes. She was blank. 

"Fallon?" He asked, his voice soft, not sure how to react to her odd behavior. 

Fallon jumped at his voice. 

Aaron noticed her expression as her eyes darted over to him, before relaxing when she realized it was him. That's when he saw the shift. 

Her rigid posture relaxed, her eyes started sparkling again, and everything seemed to be fine. 

"Oh, hi. Sorry, didn't see you there," Fallon said, as she moved over to the couch. She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss, which Aaron savored, as he always did. 

He never thought that he'd find someone to love after Haley. She had left him traumatized, and untrusting. Fallon had turned that around for him.

Everything she did, proved to him that she loved him just as much, and that she would never hurt him that way that Haley had. 

He was aware that he had also hurt Haley, so he had made a promise to himself that he would never do the same to Fallon. 

"Is everything okay?" Aaron asked, standing and going to join Fallon in the kitchen. 

Fallon looked over her shoulder at him and smiled as he approached her. She held the warm tea in her hands that she just made. 

Her green tea, she couldn't ever go to sleep without it. 

"Of course it is. I'm just really tired so I was on autopilot when I came in," Fallon explained. Aaron nodded in response to her, studying her face, as he rested his hands on her waist. 

Her brown eyes stared back into his, as he looked for the lie in her words. But he found none. He smiled at her softly, before kissing her forehead. 

"Then let's head to bed. I put Jack down about thirty minutes ago," he told her. Fallon nodded in agreement. 

"You go ahead, I'll be right up." Aaron nodded and headed upstairs to get ready for bed. 

It was nearly thirty minutes later when Fallon joined him in their room. She walked in, a sheepish smile on her face, making him chuckle as he set the book he had been reading down. 

"Sorry, Emily called," Fallon told him.

"No need to apologize. Is everything alright?"

"Someone broke into her neighbor's apartment, and so she was just a little paranoid. She talked to me on the phone until she fell asleep," Fallon explained, as he changed into her pajamas shirt and comfy shorts. 

"Ah, I see."

"I think I might stay with her for a few days after this. She seems to be pretty on edge, is that okay?" Fallon mentioned, as she slid into bed next to him. Aaron set his book on his nightstand and then turned to face her. 

"Perfectly fine, my love," Aaron assured her as the two got comfy. "She's practically your sister, after all."

Fallon laughed lightly at his words.

"Yeah, she really is."

Soon after, Fallon was fast asleep. Aaron admired the peaceful look on her face as he wondered what she was potentially dreaming about. 

He brushed a piece of her dark hair out of her face, and kissed her forehead one more time. 

"I love you," he whispered, before falling asleep himself. 

A/N: Hey guys, just a short little chapter for you. I recently read through my story and there's a few things that I'm not really happy with, like how soon I made them get together. I had initially planned to make it a longer slow burn, so I think I'm going to go in and add extra chapters in to make that happen. 

I just want more tension, you know? 

Also, I know, I'm updating really slowly and we're at one of the most climatic points in the story. I promise I'm writing as fast as I can. I moving back to college in ten days, and I'm also working and traveling so I'm a little busy. I promise I will get those chapters out soon. 

Love you all, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!