𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐀𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | hotchniss

𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐔𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐊!- Hell was the journey but it brought me Heaven.

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Aaron turned in their bed, nuzzling his head deeper into his soft pillow, but he woke up when he realized how easily he did that— there was no body to collide with, no one to hold.

He kept his eyes closed as his hand stretched across the mattress, searching for her but finding nothing but her cold pillow. He sighed when he heard the tap of running water. Aaron raised his head, and with half-closed eyes, he read the digits on the alarm clock on her bedside table: it was 5 AM. Too early to be up and getting ready for work, like he assumed she was doing, but it wasn't the first time he had woken up alone in bed.

Aaron rose from the cozy bed and went straight to the bathroom, standing in the doorway and regarding her judgmentally. He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe, she was holding onto the sink her head down as she breathed in and out. "You're up early again" he declared. Emily jumped at his voice, didn't seem to notice he was there

"Yeah, I wasn't tired anymore" she replied, not looking at him but rather staring at her reflection in the mirror as she used a hairbrush to untangle the knots in her hair from the night before.

"You were throwing up, right?" he asked, his tone pressing.

If she thought she could leave bed without him noticing or conceal the fact that she had been sick, Aaron was glad to prove her wrong and since she didn't contradict his statement, he felt anger simmering inside him. "Emily, I told you, you should see a doctor!" he expressed in frustration. He had been begging her to see a professional for days, but she kept refusing.

"Aaron, I'm fine. I probably just ate something bad with Penelope and JJ yesterday" she brushed him off as easily as she did her hair. "And last time you said it was just a stomach bug from Jack. I'm not buying that." He dismissed her explanation with a laugh, straightening up. "You've been sick for weeks, and we're not going to work today until you see a doctor!" He decided, turning to leave the room and collecting his T-shirt from the bed.

"Aaron!" she called, setting down her brush as she followed him out. "I'm not going to argue about this." He stared at her standing by the door and picked up his phone from the nightstand. "I'll let Dave know we won't be coming in today" he announced, not looking up from the screen as he typed out the text.

"I already went!" she blurted out. Aaron frowned.

"Then why didn't you just say so? What did the doctor say?" he asked. Emily sighed and rolled her eyes. "God, why do you have to be so stubborn? I didn't want you to find out like this!" she said, tears welling in her eyes, making Aaron imagine the worst scenarios.

"Find out what?" he retorted quietly.

"I'm pregnant" she smiled faintly.

Aaron looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her stomach and then back to her face, repeating the motion as if, in the time his eyes weren't resting on her belly, she had somehow grown a bump. He let out a light chuckle. "You are-" He was cut off not by her words but by her nodding, confirming what he had foolishly never considered.

They had suspected she was pregnant before and had been certain that time was real. Finding out she wasn't truly pregnant had hurt even more after they were starting at the stick so excitedly. After that disappointment they had both decided not to overthink it and to let it happen when the time was right, and it seemed the universe had found the perfect moment.

"Yes, seven weeks. I know it's unexpected, but we've been wanting this for-" He rushed over to her, grabbing her face so suddenly that she couldn't finish her sentence. Their tears mixed into their kiss as he picked her up and twirled her around. "So long..." he whispered, finishing her sentence while stroking her cheeks once he set her back down. Her nausea would have made an appearance if she hadn't pressed her eyes closed.