Brothers In Arms

Chapter 13

*Flashback*

Josie traipsed into Hotch's office knowing just from the furrow of his brow that whatever he needed to speak to her about was bad, very bad. Closing the door behind her Josie moved to his desk, he looked up at her with concern, his eyelid heavy with exhaustion. "What is it, Aaron?"

"Someone knows," he said ominously.

"Strauss?" Josie guessed immediately that it was their supervisor.

Shaking his head, Hotch opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a letter in a plastic bag, he handed it to Josie with a deep frown. "It was hand delivered to my apartment this morning."

"I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul," Josie read aloud. "That's something," she said with squinty eyes. "It's from something."

"It's from a poem by Pablo Neruda."

Slowly, she closed her eyes, and let the letter drop back onto his desk. "Our third date."

Hotch nodded, remembering the moment perfectly, and cleared his throat. "Strauss seems like the better option now, doesn't she?"

Josie nodded and huffed as she dropped down into one of the armchairs. "Supervisor over some stalky psycho, yeah, I think I'd prefer that."

"We have to tell her," he said firmly. "This is dangerous, Josephine."

"I know," she whined petulantly. "Can't we just...look into it ourselves?"

"No," he chided. "That's how people get hurt."

"I just don't want this bubble to burst."

"It was burst the second the unsub found out about us."

--

That next morning after their kiss, Opie and Josie woke up cuddle together on the couch, still clothed, to the sound of his kids making a mess in the kitchen. He groaned, vigorously rubbing his hand over his face before gently waking Josie and lifting her off him.

"Sorry," he said quietly.

"It's okay," Josie said sleepily. "Don't look," she covered her face. "I'm all messy."

"No, you're not," he kissed her cheek. "What are you doing?" Slowly he got to his feet to check the kids. "No," he said firmly as he saw they were attempting to make pancakes. "Eat cereal."

"Dad," Ellie whined.

"We don't want cereal," Kenny complained.

"I don't really cook," Josie said as she joined them. "Why don't we go out? Pancakes do sound good."

Opie smiled at her and nodded. "Suck up," he joked.

"Oh please, I've been around for months now, we both know they already like me," she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Harry, let's go."

"Harry?" He cocked his eyebrow. "It's Harry now? I don't let anyone call me that."

Josie nodded, internally rolling her eyes, and slipped her shoes on. "Sure thing, come on, I'm driving."

--

They slid into the booth, Josie and Kenny on one side with Opie and Ellie on the other, quickly ordering coffee, chocolate milk and their pancakes. Josie waited until the kids were suitably distracted before bringing up the subject of their relationship.

"So," she said with a smile, "I guess last night means something?"

"Yeah," he said quickly. "It does." Leaning over the table a bit he gave her a knowing look and mouthed, "You're mine."