And If I Fall, Let Me Part I: At Your Service - A. Hotchner x OC & Jemily

Friends don't look at friends that way

"That's a little sad, Aaron. Breakfast makes the day so much better," Alex said, leading the way into the kitchen. Aaron. He would lie if he would say he didn't like how intimate it sounded on her lips.

"That's what I tell Jack, and I still fail at it myself," he gave back, chuckling lowly. When he made an attempt to help, she shook her head and motioned towards the chair.

"Just sit down for once, it's not that much," the blonde said, getting two dotted cups from her cabinet. When she turned back, a smirk formed on her lips. "Oh, one rule: no ties at breakfast," Alex said, looking at his knot, "It makes me nervous somehow. And no, don't profile that, please."

Humming, Hotch obliged, loosening the tie before hanging it over the back of his chair.

"Coffee black with a dash of sugar?"

"And a bit of milk, I'm not young enough for black coffee anymore." It earned him a funny look over her shoulder before she placed a steaming cup of hot coffee in front of him.

"Don't tell me your body waited all this time to develop some issues with your job. Mine started ten years ago."

He shrugged, rolling up his sleeves. "Reid likes to remind me of my odds of survival every few weeks or so."

Snorting, Alex got the croissants out of her oven, sitting down with them. "We calculated if my job and the way I drive cars is going to get me killed quicker than the usual probability of dying on the road. I think he's delightful."

She grinned at the way he raised his eyebrows and took a bite.

"Tell me, what couldn't wait? Not that I don't appreciate you dropping by without a reason," Alex said, and he was sure that the way she dropped her eyes down at that indicated she had spoken quicker than she had planned to. He had to admit, he would rather keep the conversation going like this, without changing to work talk. It was rare that he felt comfortable with anyone to keep a conversation this light.

He leaned back, the cup in his hands. "We watched the surveillance, interviewed staff, catering, you secured the perimeters all three times. It's almost impossible to slip through that."

She nodded, taking another bite of her croissant.

"What if he didn't? What if these people really decided to leave the event, and the Unsub picked them up outside? You don't have surveillance for every blind spot outside. It might even be outside your perimeter."

Her mouth made a perfectly rounded oh before Alex groaned in realization. "The chauffeur services?"

Nodding slowly, he ate his croissant, watching as she thought about it for a while. "That makes so much sense," Alex mumbled, taking a sip of coffee, "We don't vet these people, it's not our responsibility. The politicians, or rather their offices book these on their own. We have a shuttle service at the venues, but most don't want to use them. They just call back their own driver."

Hotch nodded slowly. "We need to come up with something to monitor these people, see if the profile fits," he said, looking down at his watch. Half an hour minimum until his team would be in.

"I might have an idea how to," Alex said, "But we should pitch it to your team first, right?"

Hotch nodded. A short silence settled over them both as they finished their breakfast, both deep in thought.

"How many people are going to be there on Friday?" he asked, her eyes resting on her.

"About two hundred, and to my surprise, no one has canceled due to the three bodies. They either haven't fully realized they're in danger, or they don't care."