D.C |Aaron Hotchner|

thirteen

It's been about a month since I assisted the BAU with their case.

Agent Greenaway had returned from medical leave a couple days after, so they didn't need any more help; their team was full.

Of course there was a small part of me who wanted to help again, but I'm glad Elle was able to safely return to work.

Over the past month, Hayden and I have grown much closer. I felt somewhat guilty, he was technically replacing Grant. I tried to reach out to him multiple times, but he clearly didn't want anything to do with me.

For the past two weeks, I've joined Spencer and Hayden to get breakfast on Fridays. Today was one of those days.

I stepped out of bed and went through my morning routine. I took Gunner to the park, and got ready for the day.

I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and got dressed. Today I decided on wearing navy blue dress pants and a tightly fitted grey long sleeve, accompanied with a gold necklace my father gave me for my sixteenth birthday. At the end of the long chain, it held my birthstone, an amethyst.

I exited my room to feed Gunner. I scooped a cup of food and placed it in his bowl before heading out for the day.

--

I was the first one to arrive at the coffee shop. It was only a few blocks from my apartment, so I got here fairly quickly.

I walked up to the counter and ordered an iced chai latte and a blueberry muffin. I then took a seat at the same booth we sat at both weeks prior. I pulled out my phone as I waited.

About five minuted later, Hayden and Spencer walked in at the same time.

"Hey guys!" I waved from the booth.

They waved back, ordered their food, then sat down at the table with me. Hayden sat next to me with Reid across from both of us.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Nothing much, just ready for the weekend." Hayden spoke.

"Oh, me too. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow." I agreed.

Spencer stayed quiet, taking a sip of his black coffee.

"You okay?" I asked. He was normally quiet, but he would usually have said something by now.

He set his drink down,

"Yeah, we got back late last night from a tough case in Dayton, Ohio. I didn't get much sleep." He said as took a bite of his plain bagel.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You should have said something, we could have skipped today if you wanted." Hayden spoke as he placed a hand on top of Reid's.

I slightly smiled but tried to hide it.

"No, no it's fine. I enjoy our breakfasts dates." He said as he took a large gulp from his drink.

We sat in silence for a few seconds before I spoke up,

"Do you wanna talk about?" I asked.

"Talk about what?"

"The case, you said it was a tough one. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, uhm, yeah I guess. We had to catch a serial rapist who was trying to get young women pregnant." Reid sighed as he continued to explain,

"We had to send Elle undercover in order to catch the unsub. I didn't think she was ready, but she was our only option, JJ and Emily didn't look the part."

I nodded and he continued.

"When the unsub arrived to the house she was waiting in, Elle panicked and confronted him. We took him to the station to question him, but he lawyered up right away and we didn't get a confession. There was nothing else we could do The team was at the hotel getting ready to head home, when we got a call from Elle."

He took a long pause before continuing,

"She claimed she had been attacked by our unsub in an alleyway, and she shot him 3 times. All fatal hits." He finished.

"What do you mean she claimed to be attacked?" Hayden asked.

"Well, that's the thing. Elle hasn't really been herself since she returned. Throughout the whole case she was acting out and was extremely on edge. She even yelled at another woman officer. If I'm being honest, none of us on the team really believe she was attacked. We think she may have hunted him down and had the intention to kill him."

Hayden and I sat in shock as we listened to the story unfold. I didn't know Elle personally, but this sounded highly unlikely of a federal agent.

"How could you be sure?" I asked.

"I mean we're not completely sure. No one will really know what happened besides Elle. Hotch ordered her to take a psych eval before returning to work. I believe her test is this morning." Reid said.

"Wow." That was all I could say. I was shocked from what I was hearing.

"Well, hopefully she passes her test so she can return to work." Hayden added.

"Yeah, hopefully." Reid said before finishing his drink.

--

We all arrived at work and took the elevator up. Hayden and I stepped off on the third floor and Spencer continued up to his level.

Hayden and I were walking to our desks when Margret stopped us,

"Awwww, look at you two love birds."

We both laughed.

"Trust me, she is not my type."

"Hey!" I said as I jokingly punched his arm.

"Don't worry, I could say the same for you. I'm not into blondes." I joked as I playfully ruffled his hair.

The three of us laughed as Hayden and I crossed the floor to our desks.

We both grabbed a folder and began to work.

"So, you and Spencer, huh?" I asked.

"Shut your mouth!" He jokingly said before looking around to make sure no one heard.

"Tell me!" I whined.

"I promise, it's nothing. We're just friends!"

"Mhmmmmm, for now." I said the last part under my breath, but he still heard me as he rolled his eyes.

--

We've been working for about two hours or so when my cell phone started to ring.

I checked the caller I.D, but I didn't have the number saved. It was probably a telemarketer.

I set my phone back on my desk, and grabbed my pen to continue working, when my phone started buzzing again.

"What the hell?" I said as I noticed it was the same number.

"Just answer it. Margret can't see you from here." Hayden suggested.

He was right, my back was towards her desk so she would never know.

"Hello?" I answered the call.

"Hey, Devyn, it's Spencer. I just wanted to give you a heads up, you have a meeting soon."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, furrowing my brows in confusion.

He laughed,

"You'll see." Then ended the call.

"Well? Who was it?" Hayden asked, being his nosy self.

"It was Reid, how'd he even get my number?"

"Oh, I gave it to him, I knew you wouldn't mind. What'd he want?"

"He said I had a meeting soon, then hung up."

"Weird."

"Yeah, very."

—

A/N: Happy holidays everyone!! I hope you are all happy and healthy:) 🎄🎅🏼