Back To December || Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 32 - Taylor

"Yes. That is why we said these are probably vigilante murders"

"He kills them and then delivers them himself to Styx" I suggest.

"Let's go tell your boyfriend" he says

"My what?" I chuckle/choke

"You heard me" he is already walking away.

We get to the station and I almost run to the conference room. "Let's please write down this historical date, because I figured out something big before Dr. Reid" I say proudly and Reid actually smiles.

"Taylor, to the point" Rossi reminds me

"Right. We interrupted the unsub or unsubs--"

"Single unsub" Aaron corrects me

"You don't know that yet. We interrupted their ritual by taking over the lake, so now they had to improvise..." I point at the crime scene photos. "They need water and a coin in the mouth. According to Greek mythology the dead needed a coin after death to pay Charon for his service and so one was placed in the mouth of the deceased. Charon -the boatman- ferried the souls of the dead across Styx -the waters of Hades- to the judgement which would determine their final resting place" I explain

"So, when they sense injustice, they believe they send the victims to Charon who will lead them to what they think is real justice by the gods" Morgan speaks

"Exactly! And I am still saying 'they' because there is no way one person did all this. They have to believe their own twisted version of an ancient religion" I insist

"That could be said for Christians too..." Emily says under her breath. True.

"You are suggesting a cult?" Aaron asks me

"Maybe I am".

He grabs his phone and calls Garcia. His eyes focus on something away from us as he taps the speaker button. His eyes lock on me and then away again in the same direction. I follow his gaze and I see my mother entering the station.

"Fuck..." I curse under my breath and I run out of the conference room before disaster comes. "Hi, mom!" I grab her by the shoulders and I turn her so her back faces the conference room. "What are you doing here?" I ask as nicely as I can while my heart is pulsing quicker than usual

"I brought you lunch. I saw you on TV yesterday, you looked amazing"

I have been on TV so many times due to work, and she always calls me after to tell me that I did good despite the fact that she has no idea what it good really means for the job. It is really heartwarming.

"Thank you so much, but you can't come here like that. I am working" I remind her

"It is just for a moment. I brought some lunch for Aaron too. Oh, you should invite all of them for dinner once you are done--"

"Mom. Mom!" I stop her rant. "Come with me...".

I get us to an empty interview room and I close the blinds. "Mom, I love you and appreciate you. But we can't do that. They don't know about me and Aaron, and we plan on keeping it that way until I am away from their unit. We don't want to cause problems. Do you understand?" I explain.

That is partly true. But there is no way I am telling her that Aaron and I are on break.

"Oh... I am so sorry, Taylor"

"It's alright. Just don't do that again, ok? That means that you don't know Aaron when the others are around. And you better be good at hiding it because they literally read emotions"