VIOLENT DELIGHTS, aaron hotchner

a reminder of authenticity

"He did stand out, so much that the Secretary of State at the time planned on appointing him to his first choice of office after just three years of working there. However, this was under the Bush administration, and Griffin was outwardly very liberal, so we started receiving threats from all levels of the department."

"Most of them were petty, but some of the things they said became more and more graphic, and the bureau was having a hard time tracking who was sending them. I wanted to take some time off to stay with him, but Strauss said I went on the cases or I was fired. I actually went home and talked it over with Griffin, but he insisted he would be fine, so I left for our next case that evening."

"We solved it within a day, but I decided I wanted to surprise Griffin, so I didn't try to call and tell him we were on our way back. I got home the next afternoon, and I noticed the back window to our townhouse was wide open."

Juliette takes a shaky breath, focusing on doctor's hair. "Someone had placed a hit on Griff, they shot him once execution style. He was still in bed, he didn't even wake up from sleeping that night. He had a Glock in the side table drawer, but he just slept right through it."

She almost laughs, simply at how horrible the situation was. "An internal investigation uncovered it was the Under Secretary for International Security who placed the hit. The administration didn't want the bad press, so they offered me a deal to stay quiet. I'm not really sure what would've happened if I said no, but two weeks later it came out the under secretary died in a car accident."

"I blamed myself for a long time, I still do. If I was there, our security system would've been set, I could've been awake to protect him, maybe they wouldn't have even tried that night, and the bureau could have caught the guy."

She changes to rubbing Spencer's arm, feeling almost maternal. "But it also could've happened the exact same, or I could've been killed as well. I do know that what happened, happened, and I'm here now. Griff was the most understanding person I've ever known, and I know Maeve was for you, so please trust me when I say it's okay to grieve, but it's also okay to keep living life."

When Juliette's finished, Spencer waits a moment before murmuring, "Thank you."

They sit is silence for awhile, although their minds racing, until a ding from Juliette's phone brings them back to reality. As she pulls her phone out of the inside pocket of her blazer, Spencer tenses up. "Do you have a case?"

"Uh, sort of." Juliette replies. "The team's in New York, I'm working this one remotely."

"You didn't have to stay behind for me." He says, although the crack in his voice gives away how much it really means to him.

"I wanted to." She counters, lifting her hand from his arm to reply to the text.

"Can I help?"

Juliette pauses for a moment before nodding. "If you take a shower and let me order some food, then sure."

This wasn't the answer Spencer was expecting, but he complies. Slowly, he stands from the couch and makes his way to his bedroom, attempting to feel what Juliette did to his hair. It's only after the bathroom door shuts that Juliette calls a local Chinese food place for delivery, stepping outside to grab a tote with her laptop and files.

She makes a brief call to Hotch, nothing but professional when telling him how they're going to look over the case, and to call her with any more info. The food arrives just as Spencer exits his room dressed in sweatpants and a patterned cardigan Juliette believes her grandmother would've worn.

But it's clean, so she presses play on a Mozart playlist from her phone and sits on his couch with two forks and a bag of takeout. Spencer's attention is focused on the leaves blowing outside of his window, while Juliette finally has the time to notice the state of his apartment. It's littered with books, coffee mugs, and an alarmingly small amount of dirty dishes.