SECT BOUND . aaron hotchner

3.11

Annie Bradey struggled with the door to Aaron's office, pushing against it with her back. Her hands were filled with the things she had brought in for her partner, having taken her time to ensure he didn't suffer too much from the night in the office. Before entering the office, she had gone to the bakery-come-café he had taken her to when she had first arrived to collect him a bagel and coffee. Not that he would tell Aaron, but Jack had also convinced her to buy him a gingerbread man for with his lunch at school. Annie couldn't say no to the boy when he gave her the pleading look.

She squat slightly to push the handle down with her elbow – being careful not to spill the cups of coffee she was balancing – finally getting the door open. It wasn't until the door had cracked that Aaron had noticed her trying to enter the room and quickly crossed the room to help her.

"I brought you a fresh suit and some breakfast." Annie smile, passing him the coffee holder she was balancing the brown paper bags on. "I made Jack's lunch and dropped him with Jessica on the way here; he gave me a drawing to give to you."

The man let a slight laugh leave his lips as he watched her ramble before taking a piece of paper from her briefcase, "I'm sorry I didn't come home."

"You were working, I understand. So does Jack." Annie explained, leaning forwards to press her lips against Aaron's quickly. "Though, you are going to need to come home soon because you need groceries and I can't say no to your son when he asks for things."

"I get to be bad cop?"

Annie nodded, "You get to be bad cop."

There was a silence as the two sipped their coffee, Annie having noticed the fatigue on Aaron's face as she walked through the door. However, the red-haired woman had simply put it down to his stay at the office. She had been wrong, Aaron was exhausted for a reason he didn't know how to tell her. He had been wracking his brain all night to work out how to tell her the truth, to tell her that her hope had been destroyed while she slept.

Aaron took the suit from her, discarding it as he guided her to the couch, "I have some bad news, Annie."

"Am I about to be fired?" Annie mused, her face falling as Aaron failed to respond to the joke. "Aaron, he called you, didn't he?"

The man nodded, placing his hand on her thigh, "It was empty, but they found enough to give then cause to search. So far, they've found three burial sites each aging to the photo's you had found."

"No one will ever believe I didn't know that was happening." Annie whispered; her eyes wide as she gripped her fists in an attempt to calm herself. "You know I didn't know it was happening, right?"

He nodded once more, pushing her hair back and resting his hand beside her jaw, "I know, and so does anyone who knows you. You never would have stayed if you knew." He took a moment of silence, composing himself before he told her the rest of what he had discovered. "They found Elisha, but not Eden. There's no evidence of what has happened to her."

"So, she could be alive." Annie muttered to herself, repeating the words as she tried to convince herself they were true.

Aaron held her close for a moment, unable to breath at the thought of her suffering through this all alone, "You can take some time off, no one will question it."

"I can't, Aaron, I need to work otherwise he wins." Annie fought. "The more I put my life on hold, the more I am letting him affect me. I may have lost my daughter, but there are people who have lost their family member who need me. I need to do that."

"Okay." Aaron smiled, holding her close to his chest. "Now, have you eaten this morning?"

She shook her head, "I brought a pastry when I brought your bagel." He put a smile on his face – trying to hide the pain he felt for her – as she passed him the brown bags. She passed the bag to him, mirroring his expression. "Now, eat your bagel before I eat your bagel, because I am starving."

The man held back a laugh as he took the bagel from her and the conversation turned lighter, "So, Jack asked if I could go to the parent teacher conference with you next week. Obviously, I know it is up to you and he's your son, but if you're okay with it I'd love to be there."

"I want you there." Aaron declared, causing her to smile. "You read with him every night you're at the apartment; you teach him to bake cake and then clear up the mess he has made. You teach him more than anyone at the school, you should be there."

"Okay, I'll be there." Annie grinned, finishing her Danish. "We should probably brief the team."

Sorry for the wait on this chapter and the fact that its a bit shorter and all over the place. It is definitely more of a filler chapter, but I will get back to this and continue the story as soon as possible.

THank you all for waiting and reading.

Katey. X