Classified light- a criminal minds fan fiction

Forever home

"That's because you don't have a say in the matter" Emily joined in, "you're coming out with us tonight, for drinks!"

Cameron chuckled, "that's very sweet of you... I think, but I should catch up on this paperwork."

"Nah, nah, nah you have to come" Morgan nudged her, "we're going to a street like 20 minutes from here with a whole row of bars, it's the one where the farmers market usually is but on the weekends it's like full of pop up little bars and outdoor clubs."

"I do like that farmers market" Cameron nodded which made him smile.

"That's why I picked it, because I know you love it."

She smiled at him before pausing, hating how she wanted to ask if Hotch was going, hating that she knew the answer already.

"Oh yeah- Hotch, you're coming too right? You didn't reply to the email we sent" Emily called back to Hotch who was walking a ways away behind them.

Morgan glanced down at Cameron who did her best to hide her hopeful face but he could see how much it was eating her up that Hotch was just brushing past her all of the time, not ignoring her but treating her with a normal level of indifference like they had never happened in the first place- which was somehow worse than the fact they had happened and now couldn't continue to happen.

"I can't make it tonight" Hotch replied blankly as he finished signing a file and passed it to the intern who was practically jogging to keep up with him. 

He had been hired from the academy to help them pick up the office slack of JJ off on maternity leave and paper work when Cameron was gone but he had become a sort of assistant for Hotch despite them being vastly different.

"Hooootch, you never come to these things, come on- just this once can't you put down work and drink with us? It's to celebrate Cameron's first week back again" Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah come Aaron, you've been working far too much after hours" Rossi pointed out.

"I'm not working tonight" Hotch spoke simply as he reached the SUVs.

"His schedule is packed to the brim lately, I could barely fit in his date in tonight" Freddie, the intern, rambled out words as he handed Hotch his files.

Date.

The group paused, Morgan and Rossi trying not to look at Cameron to make it too obvious but when they did they saw it all;

She paused dead in her tracks, her heart almost stopping from the word hitting her like a truck.

Date.

She wanted to throw up, to scream, to cry and beg him to tell her 'why?!'

But she just stared, unable to move, unable to breathe, unable to compute what just happened or what was happing.

Date.

Hotch was going on a date.

Hotch was dating, Hotch was moving on, Hotch was fine.

A hand fell discreetly into hers for support as the team's conversation went on and everyone said goodbye to meet again later, Morgan's hand.

"Cam-" he whispered before she silently took her hand from him and turned the opposite direction from the cars after going into a well rehearsed smile and pleasant goodbyes to everyone to look unbothered and okay, before then walking quickly into the start of the darkening evening that hid her tears.

She knew that he would eventually be fine, she wanted him to be fine, for the pain to mellow for him to nothing but she truly didn't think that this would happen, especially not so soon. She wasn't sure why but she thought he would always wait, that he would always care, that he would always hope- just like she knew that she always would.