Work Affairs A.H

Chapter 18

Alice sat at her desk, trying to focus on the mountain of paperwork in front of her, but the words from the conversation with Hotch kept echoing in her mind. His anger, his frustration, and those damn words. "Begged for me over and over." The sting of them felt like a slap to her chest. How could he say something so hurtful? She was just trying to protect herself, to stand her ground, to not let him keep stringing her along.

Her phone vibrated, snapping her out of her thoughts. A message from Hotch.

"Meet me outside."

She hesitated for a moment, glancing around at the team, who were all busy with their own tasks. They hadn't heard the conversation from earlier, but they knew something was off. They had to.

With a deep breath, Alice stood up, grabbing her jacket and walking briskly toward the exit. She pushed the door open, stepping out into the cool air, and there he was—standing by his car, looking like he hadn't slept in days. His jaw was clenched, his brow furrowed in frustration.

"Why do you keep doing this?" he asked, his voice low, raw. "We can't keep doing this, Alice."

She crossed her arms, not backing down. "You're right," she said, her tone sharp. "We can't keep doing this. Not when you're going to keep treating me like I'm some... some rebound."

Hotch's eyes flickered with guilt, but he quickly masked it, replacing it with anger. "I'm not treating you like that," he said, his voice rising slightly. "I'm trying to protect you. I'm trying to protect everyone I care about. You think I wanted any of this to happen? You think I wanted to be stuck in this twisted mess?"

Alice took a step forward, her gaze steady and piercing. "Then why don't you just leave her? You know she's cheating on you, Aaron. Why are you still holding on to a marriage that's already fallen apart?"

His face tightened, the muscles in his neck bulging with tension. "It's not that simple," he muttered, looking away for a moment. "Jack... Jack needs both of us. He deserves a family. I can't just walk away from that."

"Then why are you walking away from me?" Alice's voice cracked as she fought to keep the emotion at bay. "I need you too, Aaron. But you keep pushing me away, acting like I'm some complication you don't need right now."

The silence between them stretched, thick and suffocating. Hotch's eyes softened for a brief moment, but then he quickly turned away, his back to her. "I don't know what to do anymore," he whispered, more to himself than to her. "I'm scared. I'm scared of losing you. I'm scared of losing Jack. And I'm scared of what the Reaper will do next."

Alice stepped closer, her heart pounding in her chest. "You don't have to be scared, Aaron," she said softly. "We can face it together. But you have to let me in. You have to let go of the fear and the guilt that's holding you back."

For a long time, he didn't respond. But finally, he turned around, his face pale and exhausted. "I can't promise you anything," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I can't promise you that we'll work out. I can't promise you that I'll be the man you need me to be. But I can promise you this..." He paused, taking a deep breath, before looking her straight in the eyes. "I'll try. I'll try to be better, for you. For us."

A wave of relief washed over her, but it was bittersweet. She couldn't deny the pull between them, the chemistry that had always been there, but she wasn't sure if she could handle the emotional rollercoaster that came with being involved with someone so broken, so consumed by duty.

"I don't need perfection, Aaron," Alice said softly. "I just need you to be real with me. To be here, not just physically, but emotionally. And if you can't do that, then we can't do this. Not anymore."

Hotch's eyes searched hers for a long moment before he nodded, his expression softening. "I'll try, Alice. I will."

The air between them shifted, the tension still present but laced with a new understanding, a fragile hope.

Just as she was about to speak again, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, glancing at the screen. It was a message from Morgan: "Reaper's on the move. Get to the office now."

She sighed, her heart sinking at the thought of the Reaper. She had hoped for a moment of peace, but she knew the job always came first. She quickly shoved her phone back into her pocket, looking up at Hotch.

"We've got work to do," she said, her voice resolute.

Hotch nodded, his expression hardening once more. "Let's go get him."

As they both climbed into the car, the weight of the situation settled in. The Reaper, a dangerous and elusive serial killer who had haunted them for years, was on the move again. And this time, there would be no room for mistakes. Hotch and Alice, no matter how complicated their relationship had become, would have to work together to stop him.

But as the car sped toward the office, Alice couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to change. That this case, this monster, might break them all in ways they never expected