𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 ↠ a. hotchner

chapter twenty-three - aaron's office.

USUALLY, HIS silence was comforting. They could just lay in bed for hours, just soaking up each others company. This silence was different. It was an angry, uncomfortable silence. She was sure she would get an earful back at the station, but what bothered her most was not knowing what he was angry about. Obviously, she had lied to him and had accidentally put their child in danger, but was he happy to be having that child? Would he end things as soon as they got home and leave her to raise a baby by herself? When he held her hand during the checkup at the hospital in Taxas, she felt a little better, but she needed to hear him say it. She needed him to say that they were in this together.

The plane ride was filled with the same silence. A constant tension loomed over the cabin. No one talked, except for when Spencer brought her a water for her to take her medicine with or when Derek insisted he carried her bag off the jet. Everything seemed to take forever. She was dreading the moment when she had to walk into Aaron's office and it felt as if the world was punishing her by putting everything in slow-motion.

Finally, the team reached the bullpen. Before anyone could make a comment about the case or how happy they were to be home, Aaron sped past the crowd.
"Holmes, my office. Now," As she approached his office door, she thought about how they were happy just a few hours ago. She thought about how she had messed up, so badly that she deserved whatever was coming to her. Whether that meant being broken up with, fired, or reported. All she knew was that she never meant to hurt Aaron. He shut the door behind her and closed the blinds. She just watched. He turned to face her.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?" She knew Aaron wouldn't physically hurt her, but, god, was she so scared of what he would say. His voice had such authority, a way she had never viewed him before.
"Never in my life, have I ever seen an agent act so ignorantly," He stepped closer to her. "Putting yourself in danger while you're with child? Our child?" His voice was louder now, booming off every wall in his office.
"I didn't mean—"
"Lying and going out on the field is dangerous enough," He retorted. He pushed his hair out of his face and backed away from her.
"What was I supposed to do? Tell you and have you freak out and leave again?" Tears pricked her eyes and her voice started to break. His face softened. "I know I shouldn't have lied and I know it's not your fault if you're not ready and you have every right to leave, but—"
"You thought I would leave you?" He cut off her rambling. Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded. She held her stomach in her hands as he approached her, wrapping her in his arms.
"From the moment I knew we were having a baby, I knew it was us," His voice was calm and raspy, barely above a whisper as he rested his chin on the top of her head. This broke her. She felt so stupid. She sobbed into his chest.
"I'm so sorry," She wailed, muffled by his suit jacket. He sighed and rubbed circles in her back.
"Me too," He squeezed her tight.
"What are you sorry for?" She felt like the worst person in the world.
"For making you feel like I would leave if you told me," He huffed, still holding her tight. "I obviously haven't proved myself to be a good man to you if you were worried about that," She too wrapped her arms around him, and the presence of their child in bewteen them was overwhelming. From that moment on, she knew everything was going to be okay. Even if they were in major trouble with the higher ups at work, even if they weren't officially together. They would make it work, for the four of them.