Eighteen, Aaron Hotchner

Chapter 18, A Divorce

"Aaron?" I heard her question, as she answered the phone on the first ring. I didn't say anything, my emotions running rampant. All I could do was sob. "Are you okay? Where are you?" I hear her again.

"Purple." Is all I manage to get out, hoping she'll understand what I meant. I hear rustling on the other end of the line. I push myself against a wall and slide down.

"Don't worry, I'll be there in ten minutes. I'll get your address from Spencer. Inhale and exhale, it'll be alright Aaron." She says, and I hear the phone go dead.

I sit there, my chest tightening, my eyes overflowing with tears. It's hard to breathe, to focus, all I want is Cassie here. Haley's gone, which I'm more than thankful for. I just don't know how I'm going to be able to tell Jack where his Mom is, because i don't know myself.

As much as Haley hurt me, I want the best for her. I want to be able to raise our son, without fighting constantly. Getting a divorce is the only way to do that. All Haley did was bash me for being away so much, it's not like I wanted to but this was my job. It's how I helped provide for our family, and it pays pretty damn well.

After what felt like hours, Cassie knocked on the door. I got up and opened the door. I knew I looked like a trainwreck, when I saw Cassie's head slump down. "Aaron, what happened?" She asked.

We made our way over to the living room, and sat on the couch. Cassie sits, watching my every move. "I gave Haley the divorce papers. She flipped out, understandably so. However, she just left and I knew she was cheating on me. What I didn't know was that it was my brother." I say, tearing up again from the memory.

I purposely left out the streaming about the emotional abuse, because I knew how mad Cassie would've been that I stayed for so long. "Come here. Let me hold you." She says, holding her arms out.

I lean into her, and she wraps her arms around me. She's trying to comfort me, and it's working. I feel safe in her arms. Cassie and I shifted our positions a little bit to make it more comfortable, and we didn't leave that spot.

"I'm so happy that you remembered what purple meant." I whisper, as Cassie's combing through my hair with her fingers.

I hear a small taken-back sigh fall from her mouth. "I'm surprised you remembered. I figured you forgot after all these years. You know there wasn't a day, in the ten years we spent apart, I didn't think of you?" She asks, and I smile.

I look up at her, and she smiles. "How could I forget? We told each other that if we said 'purple' it was when we needed each other the most. Cassie, I thought about you constantly. I didn't want to lose touch. I regretted it, and I just didn't know how to face you." I say, and she continues playing with my hair.

"I did too. What are you going to tell Jack?" She asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know, Cassie. I just don't know. I'm glad she's gone, but I don't want her to have full custody." I start, tearing up again. I know they might be able to deem me "unfit" for full custody, but I should be able to have joint custody of Jack.

"It'll be okay. We'll fight her. I'm not leaving you, Aaron. Not again." Cassie says, and I nuzzle into her more. Cuddling her, basically.

"Good, because I won't let you. I don't want all of this to be about me. How's the whole tricking Morgan going?" I ask, looking up at her.

I see her smile, and laugh slightly. She's so damn cute. Her dimple shows when she smiles, I love that. "Well, we have him convinced that we're dating. So, it's about time you 'find' out about it." She says, and my smile fades. Wait, was I smiling at her?

"Oh. So, now I have to 'fight' with you, after all of this?" I ask, not trying to be mean. All I want is Cassie and I to stay like this forever.

"Not right this second. I'm going to go to the office, and go to lunch with Spencer tomorrow. He's going to come back upset. He's going to tell Derek that he's upset that I want to tell you. Spencer is against it, and then in a few days we will go without talking. Unless you guys, have a case. Then like next week or so, I'm going to walk straight into your office. I'm going to tell you, and then we will 'fight.'" She says, and I nod.

"Wow, you really have this all planned out. Why did you need such an elaborate plan just for the fact of pranking someone?" I ask, even though I know it's because Derek is a profiler.

"Well, Mr. Profiler it's because we have to make it seem extremely real. Derek isn't that gullible." She replies laughing. I laugh too, and I look down at my watch. It's one fifteen in the morning.

I frown knowing I can't confuse Jack even more. I don't know what to say to him about Haley, let alone what I'd say about Cassie being here. "Well, as much as it was fun to catch up, talk, and be there for you, I should go. You have a lot on your plate with everything. I need to get home before I'm too tired to drive." Cassie says, tapping me on my shoulders.

I sat up sad, as I never wanted this moment to end. I know however it's the best decision. "Seriously Cassie, thank you." I say, as she gets up to grab her things. I get up too, to walk her out the door.

"There's no need to thank me. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't have come. I'll see you soon. Bye Aaron." She says, and I smile.

"Goodnight, Cassie." I say, and she walks out the door. I quickly text her to please let me know when she makes it home.

She responds back, telling me she will. I shut and lock the door behind her. I head upstairs heading to Jack's room to check in on him. I know he's sleeping, but I like to just make sure. He's so peaceful when he sleeps, it's adorable. I head for my room, and it feels weird not having Haley there. I text Haley to make sure she's okay.

Aaron: Haley, I know we aren't on good terms with everything. I want to know you're okay. We need to find a way to communicate what happened with Jack.

I sigh, putting my phone down. I put on my night clothes and I hear a ding come from my phone.

Haley: I AM oKay, It's been harD Not to cry. pleAse PamPer jack with all thE love anD hugs.

I was very confused, as I read this. Was she drunk? Her letters are everywhere. This isn't how she texts. I quickly grab out my phone and call the only person I could think of to help me.  

Author's Note 

Can you guess what the message is really saying? I'm sure I've probably made it obvious to where this is leading. HOWEVER, next chapter is NOT LIKE THE SHOW. So please when you tell me, "this didn't happen in criminal minds" I know that! I put my own twist on it, because I don't want this to fit the show perfectly. Thank you guys for reading, ily all!