The Stars | Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 6: The Enterprise

You were blindsided by Spencer's birthday a few days earlier, so you made sure to check ahead for the next birthday at the next chance you got. Your eyes bugged out as you realized it was none other than Aaron Hotchner's birthday, not even a week after Spencer's.

The information left you with two days to plan something for Aaron's birthday, if he were to come back in time to celebrate it.

You cursed in your office, loudly, when you remembered the cupcakes still sitting in your fridge as the BAU was in the process of catching their Zodiac killer copycat. No one had caught the Zodiac, so how much longer was the team supposed to stay across the country?

You shook your head to clear that thought. This was the BAU-- the best of the best-- and you had the utmost faith in their skills.

Returning to your original thought, you wanted to keep the date, well, not date, scheduled for Aaron's birthday. Something workout related since you hadn't even known him a month, but still fun. You were tempted to try a Halloween themed activity, but tossed the idea as there was nothing that would be suitable for near strangers to do together.

As early as it was, Christmas items were starting to be sold among the spooky decorations. But, it gave you an idea.

Ice skating.

The activity was perfect. It could be as personal or impersonal as he wanted, you would get a great workout, and it was within the realm of Autumn and Winter as the chilly seasons. If Aaron couldn't make it back in time, you could still go whenever he did come back.

You set a reminder on your phone to get a birthday card to signify the occasion.

-

As you took an early lunch, you called Aaron even though you didn't expect an answer.

You still sent him a good morning and good night text every day, hoping it could brighten his day in any way. It wasn't an obligation for him to reply, but he responded when he could, never leaving you on read or hanging for more than a couple hours. It was sweet, and you smiled every time you got a message from him, especially as you both did not like it as much as speaking on the phone.

You pulled the same reaction from him whenever he saw your texts, though you had no clue as you still expected him to have his rumored "grumpy" expression.

You grinned as he surprisingly answered, starting your car so your phone could connect to the bluetooth feature.

"Hotchner." You jerked your car door shut at his roughened voice, eyes wide at the unexpected tone. It was like he had just woken up, and the rumble of his voice through your car speakers sent shivers through your body.

You looked at the time, quietly cursing as you remembered the difference in time zones.

You banged your head on the head rest as you damned your stupidity, "Sorry, I didn't realize how early it must be for you. I uh, I can talk to you later, if you want to get more sleep." You ran a hand through your hair, checking the time again. It was about 6 AM for him, if you did the math right.

"You're fine. It's early enough for me to be awake anyway, what'd you need?"

Your breath hitched as you heard his morning voice, imagining a sleepy Aaron with a gentle smile.

"Liking what you hear?" He chuckled when you didn't answer, and you laughed breathlessly as you got heated from his voice travelinging straight to your core.

"Y-yes, most definitely," he laughed again and you realized how much you loved the sound. "But that's not why I called," you continued, "I just, I wanted to check in on you, see how you're doing. Or if you don't want to talk about that, then maybe your progress on the case?"