VIOLENT DELIGHTS, aaron hotchner

perseverance

"Why wouldn't she like you?"

"I slouch, my hair's too long, my tie's perpetually crooked."

Juliette has to hold back a smile. "I like your hair, it suits you."

Spencer looks up. "Really?"

"I think you're excited, but afraid. Trust me, seeing her will only make your relationship better." She actually smiles, suddenly excited at the prospect of Spencer meeting this girl for the first time. "When does she want to meet?"

"Right when we get back."

"Don't psych yourself out, everything will work out."

"Thank you." Spencer smiles, looking back to his profile.

The case still hadn't gone anywhere that evening, so Hotch sends the team to the hotel to get some sleep. Juliette takes this as an opportunity to do some research of her own, setting up at the desk with her laptop and the case files.

She's working for less than an hour before being interrupted by a knock on the door. When she stands to look through the peephole, Hotch is waiting in a wrinkled polo shirt, holding a brown takeout bag.

Juliette opens the door for him to enter, not hiding her confusion. "You can't survive on coffee forever." Hotch says, raising his eyebrows at her desk setup.

She starts moving her things aside, clearing off a space for them to eat. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to." He counters, pulling out dish after dish of Chinese food.

Once they're seated and devouring their first meal of the day, Juliette speaks up. "So, why are you really here?"

"I can't just want to spend time with you?" Aaron fakes offense, but Juliette just shrugs. "Well, Jack has a soccer game on Saturday, and he's been asking to see the agent who knows all about Star Wars again, so if you're not busy this weekend, we'd love for you to join us."

"Sounds fun, as long as we can get this case closed." She smiles, glancing to the files. "I spoke to Spencer today. I think he's alright, just stressed."

"Thank you." He pauses, staring a little too intently at his egg roll. "Why don't you like being called Jules?"

Juliette exhales, almost laughing to avoid tears forming in her eyes. "It was a dumb nickname Griffin gave me, because I was his jewel. Dave started using it as a joke, but it just stuck. I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday, I just need to get used to it again."

"Don't apologize, it's understandable." He meets her eyes, then nods to the computer. "What were you doing?"

"Well, I was looking at the crime scene photos, and the dislocated joints reminded me of marionettes. I'm no Garcia, but she needs some sleep, so I was searching for deaths relating to puppeteers that could have triggered the UnSub."

"How can I help?"

x

They solve the case the next morning, flying back in time to do paperwork before they go home. In the bullpen, Morgan and Garcia are rounding up team members for drinks, while Hotch is looking over a file for Juliette at her desk. "Wait a second, where's Spencer?" Garcia asks, noticing his empty seat.

"He said he had something important to do." Blake shrugs.

Morgan smiles, half-laughing as he says; "Pretty boy has a girlfriend."

"What?" Garcia sequels, following him and JJ out of the office, begging for gossip.

Hotch looks back to Juliette, raising his eyebrows. She just shrugs, but her soft smile tells him everything he needs to know. "This looks good. We'll pick you up at nine?"