It had been a few hours since the team had gotten back to the hotel when your phone rang, which you quickly answered. Aaron was soundly sleeping on your shared bed, and he needed as much sleep as he could get.
"Agent y/l/n." You quietly spoke into the phone as you stepped into the hallway.
"Agent, I am calling with an update on SSA Kate Joyner." The person, who you identified as a nurse, told you.
You held your breath for a moment before speaking, "Yes, thank you for making the exception, you truly have no idea how much it means." You started to pace in the narrow hallway, "How is Agent Joyner?"
"Ma'am, I'm so sorry to inform you that at one forty seven this morning, Kate Joyner died. Her wounds were extensive, and in the end, massive blood loss was the cause of death." Her solemn voice told you, and you felt a lump form in your throat.
"I, uh. Thank you for notifying me, I will let my team know." Your words caught in your throat, but you managed to push them out.
Not four hours earlier, you were holding Kate's hand in the back of an ambulance, next to a terrorist no mind, and now she was in the morgue.
"Of course, Agent. We have already contacted her family, and they should be arriving within the day. Again, so sorry for your loss." She didn't wait for a response, just hung the phone up.
Deciding to give Aaron more rest before telling him, you walked down to the lobby to find the rest of the team nursing various drinks at the otherwise empty bar.
Emily was the first to spot you and your tear stained face. She quickly made her way over to you, "Y/n? What's wrong? I mean I know what's wrong, but why are you crying?" It was clear that the little amount of alcohol in her system had already done away with her filter.
"Kate didn't make it." You told her, and the rest of the team, quietly.
They sat in silence for a moment, and you spotted tears on Derek's face out of the corner of your eye. You quietly ordered a glass of whiskey, letting the liquid burn down inside of your throat. You could hear JJ's attempt to hide her crying and Emily's hand rubbing up and down her back. Rossi was the first to speak, picking up his glass.
"To Kate. May she rest in peace." His tone was airy and dry, and if you looked you were sure there were small tears in his eyes.
The rest of the team raised their glasses and spoke in unison, "To Kate." And all of you drank together, letting the various liquids slide down to your stomach. Even Spencer was drinking, which was very odd for him.
After a few more minutes, you stood from the bar, "I've got to go tell Aaron now." You would have rather done anything else, but he needed to know.
The team only nodded in response, taking another sip of their drinks as they did.
Once you made it back to your room, you realized that you didn't have a key, so you had to knock. Aaron was probably still sleeping, so you rapped your knuckles rather hard on the wooden door. After a few seconds, you heard Aaron approach the door and pull it open far enough to see who it was.
"Oh, y/n. Why'd you knock?" Aaron asked, pulling the door open for you to step in.
"Went to go talk to the team real quick, and forgot the key. Sorry for waking you." You apologized, sitting down on the bed.
He sighed and sat next to you, "It's fine, I probably needed to get up anyways. Why'd you need to talk to the team?"
You hesitated, knowing that the information of Kate's death would send him into either rage or sadness, probably both, and you didn't want to experience either. "I got a call from the hospital, about Kate." You started to tell him.
"Is she out of surgery? When can we see her?" He started to get up from the bed again, but your hand on his thigh stopped him.
"Aaron..." You trailed. You knew that you had to actually say it, so that he knew it was real. Even so, you still wanted nothing to do with the subject.
"No. No, that's not right." He started to ramble as he put the pieces together.
You grabbed his hands in yours, "At one forty seven this morning, Kate passed away." Your hands squeezed his, making sure that he knew he was awake and it wasn't some fever dream.
"No, that can't be. She's in surgery. She's going to be fine." He pulled his hands from yours and ran his fingers through his hair, standing off the bed.
"I'm so sorry Aaron, they called me a little bit ago. I told the team first, so that you could get a little more rest." You tried to bring him into your arms, but your words seemed to enrage him.
He sucked in a hard breath before unleashing his anger, "You told the team first? Why the fuck would you do that?" His curse felt like a slap to the face, but you knew it was the denial talking.
"How, in your right mind, could you think that they needed to know first?" He continued to spit at you, his hands clenching into fists by his side, "I should have been the first to know!" He roared, and you could have stopped him, but you knew that it would probably help him to get out some of the emotions now.
"You fucking thought that Morgan should know before me? He hates her! Why didn't you just tell me! I deserved to know, I'm the only one who knows her!" He continued, but you sensed that he was close to done, his eyes starting to droop with sadness and sleep deprivation.
"I- I should have known first!" Aaron started to stutter over his words, and you could hear the tears in his voice, "I was- I was supposed to know first." He was starting to break down.
You grabbed his hands again and he finally let the tears spill from his eyes. He sunk to his knees in front of you, his hands moving to grip your waist as he let sobs rack through his body. Aaron's stubble scratched the top of your bare thighs as he buried his face in your lap, his hot tears smearing on your skin.
"I- I- I was supposed to keep her safe." He choked out through a sob, his fingers digging into your hips, "I was s-supposed to keep-p her safe, and I f-failed." Another sob racked through his body.
You gently carded your fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes, "You did everything right, sweetie. This wasn't your fault." You spoke softly, as if you were consoling a child.
He only shook his head in response, so you kept talking, "You didn't cause this honey, and you didn't fail."
"Y-yes I did." His words caught in his throat.
"No, Aaron, you didn't. Kate survived as long as she did, because of you." You continued to brush your fingers through his hair, "Because of you, she didn't die in the middle of the street, in pain. You got her to the hospital, and she passed painlessly."
You didn't know enough about surgery, to know if what you said was right, but you figured that he wouldn't fight your words in the state he's in.
His sobs finally started to subside, but the tears still poured from his eyes. You just continued to soothe him, letting him do what he needs to do to cope.
After a few minutes, Aaron's tears stopped and his eyes were trying to fight sleep while he was still kneeling in between your legs.
"Aaron, sweetie?" He hummed in response, "How about we get you in bed? You need to get some sleep?" He lazily nodded, his eyes still fighting sleep.
You gently hooked your hands under his shoulders, helping him slide into the bed. He curled into a ball in the middle of the bed, while you quickly changed and grabbed him a glass of water.
"Sweetie, you need to drink." You told him, sitting next to him and brushing his hair out of his eyes.
He sat up and took the glass from you, quickly gulping down the cool water, "Thank you, y/n. You didn't deserve anything I said to you, and I don't deserve your sympathy." He mumbled as you walked around to the other side of the bed, his eyes glued to you.
"Aaron, you deserve the world." You murmured as you kissed the top of his head, "You went through a lot in the past six hours, let yourself sleep." You told more than suggested, his eyes still fighting against his desire to sleep.
You pressed a gentle kiss into his lips, and his eyes fluttered shut. He hummed contently as he let sleep overtake him.
"I love you." Was the last thing he said.
"I love you too, Aaron." You pressed a kiss into his temple and he snuggled into your neck, wrapping his legs and arms around you.
-
The next morning, Aaron barely woke up to your alarm, so you let him sleep longer. You walked down to the lobby to meet the team, remembering to grab a key beforehand. It was a short interaction, you didn't want Aaron to wake up alone. You let them know that they could leave whenever they wanted too, you would be driving Aaron back to Virginia sparetly. He couldn't fly due to his ear damage, and you quickly volunteered to drive him.
After you told them they were good to go, you quickly made your way back up to your room. Aaron was still sound asleep, he hadn't even moved from when you left him. It was only a little past nine, so you two had around three hours to get checked out and start your journey home.
You slipped back into the bed, and Aaron immediately wrapped himself around you. He hummed in his sleep as you let your hands wander his body, running up and down his back and your nails scratching his scalp lightly. Around nine thirty, Aaron started to stir, pulling you closer to him and his face snuggling into your chest.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." You chuckled slightly, "Did you sleep well?"
He only grunted in response, his hands starting to wander your body as well. Aaron's rough hands started at your waist, leaving a trail of goosebumps as they grazed across your back. Your hands moved from his shoulders down to his chest, letting your fingernails dig in and leaving red lines behind.
Aaron's hips bucked and a small gasp left his mouth as you brushed the pad of your thumb over his sensitive nipple, "So responsive, so good for me." You praised him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
When his hips started to rock against yours, you moved your hands to stop them, "We need to get up, and get going, Aaron. And you're still hurt." You told him, and he pouted his lip out at your words. Apparently, he was feeling rather 'sub-y' today.
You walked back over to him as he sat on the edge of the bed, letting your hands cup his face, "I want you to go get in the shower, I'll join you in a second." You kissed him on the nose before walking away from him.
A few seconds passed before he complied, walking into the bathroom and starting the shower.
You grabbed his bag, pulling out comfortable clothes for him to wear in the car, as well as a set from your own bag as well. After you did that, you grabbed his dirty clothes in the bathroom and put them into his bag. You packed up the majority of the room, before joining him in the shower.
He was sleepily standing under the spray of the water, his left side leaning against the wall of the shower. You laughed under your breath as you stepped into the shower, standing in front of Aaron and the hot water. His hands on your hips prompted you to turn around, letting the water dampen your hair as you pressed your body against his.
"Do you want to talk about it, Aaron?" You asked, figuring that he wouldn't. He was already in the shower, completely exposed, and he didn't want to further that exposure.
He only shook his head no, his rough stubble scratching against your shoulder.
"Okay, but if you do, just tell me." You knew how scared he was when he was stuck in front of that police line with Kate, desperately trying to prolong her life.
He nodded, pulling your body closer to his, "I was so scared." He said quietly. Like if he said it any louder, someone would hear.
"I know baby, I know." You stroked his damp hair, trying to coax more words out of him.
"I couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of another explosion, or that Kate would bleed out right there." He continued, his tears mixing in with the spray of water, "I've been in a lot of dangerous situations, but nothing like this."
"The only time I felt more scared than this, was when we found you." He told you quietly.
It was your turn to hold back your words, not wanting to think about Briza. You never really realized how long it had been since that, it felt like it was just yesterday. There were even times that you were scared to open your eyes in the morning, worried that you would be back there.
"I know, baby, I remember what it was like when we found you. I was terrified." You said, thinking back to Aaron's experience with Briza.
"That was when we had our first big fight." His tone was nostalgic, thinking back to the beginning of your relationship.
You laughed slightly, "You don't think that our first fight was when I slapped you in your office?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I'd say that's our first fight." He chuckled, pressing a kiss into your shoulder.
"That was a great fight." You said with a fake sigh.
He laughed again, "Yeah, my favorite fight. Getting slapped by not one but two of my agents."
You pulled back, placing a fake offended hand over your chest, "I apologized, multiple times." You told him.
"Emily never did." He muttered, watching you wash your hair.
-
Once you and Aaron checked out of the hotel, you had to fight his requests to drive.
"Aaron, you just got blown up, close to twelve hours ago. You are not driving." You told him, forcing him to sit in the passenger seat with a huff.
When you sat down in the driver seat, Aaron spoke, "I didn't get blown up, I almost got blown up." He mumbled under his breath. You let a small laugh pass your lips while you turned the car on, and started to drive home.
The majority of the drive was fine, traffic was fairly light once you got out of the city. Aaron tried to fight sleep as long as he could, but his body was still exhausted from the day prior. By the time you got onto I-95, he was passed out in the seat next to you. Your right hand was tucked into his chest, both of his hands clutching onto it. You let your thumb sweep over the back of his hand as he slept, feeling his gentle breath against your hands.
You were appalled that a man his size, could curl up into a ball so small. He had his knees tucked to his chest, his entire body resting in the seat.
Two hours after you left New York, Aaron woke up again. He roughly rubbed the sleep from his eyes, stretching as much as the car would allow his tall body to.
"Good morning, or should I say afternoon?" You looked at the clock, 2:54 pm.
He rolled his eyes, "Morning, how long do we have till we get back?" His morning voice rumbled through the car.
"Two more hours." You told him, letting your hand draw patterns on his thigh. Soon after you spoke, a yawn snuck out.
"I could drive the rest of the way, you know." He leaned toward you, pressing a kiss into your shoulder.
You rolled your eyes, "You can drive, but you're not going to."
He huffed, but accepted it. You felt his hand pick yours up from his thigh, lacing his fingers into yours. "When do you want to get married?" He asked, pressing a kiss to the back of your hand.
"Soon." Was all you said in response, "If the events of yesterday told me anything, it told me that time is precious. I want to spend the rest of my life, no matter how long it is, with you."
He nodded, "How fast do you think that Rossi and Garcia could get a wedding up and running?"
"I'm pretty sure Rossi's best time is a week, but I don't think that I'll be able to find dress within a week." You said with a laugh, "How about in a month? I think that Garcia could get invitations out within the week, and I'm not that picky about dresses. I doubt that I'll have trouble finding one, especially with Em's help."
"I can go to the jeweler tomorrow, I already have ideas about engravings." He looked over at you to see a wide grin on your face, "It'll only take a week or two to get a suit tailored for me."
"Also, I really want to ask Jack to be my best man." He said sheepishly, looking down at his hands.
You moved his hand to your mouth, pressing a kiss into the back of it, "I want Emily to be my maid of honor." You told him, "If that's alright? I know that there's a bit of a history with her. I figured that after the whole threesome thing, it wouldn't be as awkward." You trailed off.
"It's fine, love." He responded, "I want to find a way to have Rossi in the wedding."
You blushed deeply, not wanting to tell him what you wanted Dave to do.
"Y/n?" He spotted the dark flush and your nervous demeanor.
"I- I thought about asking him to walk me down the aisle. If that's okay with you?" You were so anxious to ask him, but you so whole-heartedly wanted Dave to do it. You never really had a good relationship with your parents, and weren't even planning on inviting them.
He smiled, "Of course, I'd love that. He's like a father to you."
You smiled back at him, your chest filling with butterflies, "I can't believe that we're going to get married!"
"I can't wait to be married to you, forever." He deepened his tone on the last word.
You dropped your face, turning to look at him, "Well you should be, because I'm pregnant."
His eyes lit up, and a shocked expression spread across his face, "You- you are?" You couldn't tell if he was excited, scared, or upset.
You kept eye contact as long as you could, before breaking into a fit of laughter, "NO." You managed to get out through a laugh.
He quickly joined your laughter, clapping a hand over his chest, "Well, if you were, I'd be more than excited." His tone went serious.
"Really? You want to have kids?" You asked, shocked that he would want another kid after Jack.
"Of course. Jack is the light of my life, you coming directly in second, but I absolutely want to have another kid." He said with a smile, "Or twenty."
You fake laughed, "Yeah, good luck with that. You can have one, take it or leave it."
"I'll take whatever you'll give me." He pressed a kiss into your palm.
The rest of the drive was spent talking about wedding details, who to invite and where to do it. Rossi's house seemed like a perfect place to have a wedding, seeing that he had an affinity for throwing them.
Aaron was adamant about getting to choose two things about the wedding, he wanted to choose the engraving for the rings and the song for your first dance. Which you happily gave to him, most fiancés aren't too keen on helping with weddings.
When you and Aaron got home, the two of you picked up Jack and grabbed dinner for the three of you. He told Jack about wedding plans, and he was thrilled, very excited to be in the wedding.
Author Note:
If you squint, you can see a spoiler for the sequel to this book....
Only two more chapters left!!!!! Once I'm done with this book, I'm going to announce the sequel on my tiktok (hamnah_gracee), keep an eye out for that!!
I love all of you so much, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!!! <3