Having a drawer at each other's places feels juvenile to Juliette. Sure, it's logical, but something in their hesitance to take the next step makes her feel silly packing a bag just to spend a weekend with Aaron and Jack.
Aaron's usually the first one up on a Monday morning, showering and getting Jack ready for school before Juliette even stirs, but this morning she wakes with the sun to find him dead asleep, curled in a ball towards the side of his bed.
She rubs her eyes before sitting up to shake him awake, but Aaron only groans and curls into himself more. "Are you alright?" She asks, her concern growing.
"I'm fine, just a stomachache." He answers, but still not moving.
Juliette strokes his arm. "It's after six, I can go wake up Jack if you want to take a shower."
"Okay... yeah. Thanks." He slowly starts to sit up, so she leaves to Jack's room.
His shower takes almost double the time, and Juliette had already finished making Jack breakfast and getting both of them dressed before he left the bathroom. He's pale, skipping breakfast and opting to go straight for the coffee machine.
"You know it's alright to take a sick day." Juliette offers, holding out a piece of toast.
He waves her off, "I'll be fine, really."
Against Aaron's wishes, she drives Jack to school and then them to work. Forcing anti-nausea meds and a cup of tea into his hands, Juliette finally settles at her desk with her mind slightly more at ease.
She's not surprised at how stubborn he is to be taken care of, but that's not a battle she's going to fight when work's involved. She doesn't see him for almost two hours, until Garcia gathers then at the round table with a case.
Aaron's the last to enter the room, beads of sweat forming on his even paler face and a hand gripping his stomach. But he still forces the attention off of himself and asks her to start with the case.
There's a child abduction in Kansas, likely by the armed and dangerous father, but Juliette only listens to the team's conversation as she watches Aaron grip the chair in front of him like his life depends on it.
When Rossi turns around to ask him a question, it's the final breaking point. Hotch holds up his hand, murmuring something inaudible before falling to the floor with a loud crash.
She's not necessarily frozen, but all Juliette can do is stand in the back of the room as Spencer uses his extensive medical knowledge to gauge what's wrong while the others call 911.
She finally speaks when the paramedics start to wheel him out of the room. "I'm going to follow him. Find the girl, I'll keep you updated."
Juliette practically beats the ambulance to the hospital with how fast she's driving, immediately pacing the empty waiting room and staring down any nurse who walk by. It's a long thirty minutes before one of them actually enters, "Family of Aaron Hotchner?"
"That's me. I'm his g- girlfriend." Juliette says, the word feeling foreign in her mouth.
"Mr. Hotchner has torn adhesions from his previous abdominal injuries. He's stable, but we were unable to locate the bleeding on an ultrasound, so the surgeon is taking him back for an exploratory laparotomy." The nurse recites, making Juliette wish she took something past high school biology. "Does he have any other family we could call?"
"Uh- a sister-in-law, I can call her. Thank you."
She finally sits down, taking a breath before calling Jessica. They haven't interacted much outside of in passing with Aaron but exchanged numbers because of Jack, and Juliette's just grateful there are no hard feelings.
Since he's stable, she agrees to meet her at the hospital with Jack after he gets out of school. After calling Rossi with an update, she's finally hit with a rush of emotions. The adrenaline of the situation wears off, leaving her with the fear of loosing Aaron, the idea of trusting herself in another person only to be let down once again.
She knows she shouldn't grieve their relationship, the nurse said Aaron is stable, yet she can't help but contemplate living on the safe side, free from any chance of feeling that kind of loss again.
Garcia shows up some time later, forcing her out of her head. She stumbles into the waiting room with tote bags full of technology to help with the case that had completely blown from Juliette's mind.
Thankfully, she doesn't speak much outside of case-related jargon, yet for once Juliette wishes for the analysts babbling to get her out of her head. It takes almost an hour for her to remember she brought her purse with her, pulling out a novel only to stare blankly at the words.
According to the clock, three hours pass until the rest of the team closes the case, but Juliette could swear she had been pacing the waiting room for day. She learns Garcia does a happy-dance when they successfully make an arrest, along with a sequel that brings a poor nurse rushing into the room.
Finally free from her 'technological prison,' Garcia forces a water bottle and protein bar into Juliette's hands before indulging in her own sugary snacks. Her nonchalance sitting in the hospital waiting room makes Juliette wonder how many times she's had to do this, that maybe she's underestimated her.
Jack bounds into the room ahead of Jessica an hour later, jumping straight into Juliette's arms before asking, "Is daddy hurt?"
"Your dad is sick, but the doctors are making him all better." She says, glancing up to Jessica for approval.
She nods, just before Penelope speaks up, "Hey, Jack! I think I saw some ice cream downstairs, do you want to go check it out?"
He nods enthusiastically, gripping her hand with all the might of an 8-year-old and leading her out of the room. Jessica and Juliette sit in adjacent seats, their awkward tension only lasting a moment.
"You all raised an amazing little boy." Juliette smiles to the door, where Jack is long gone.
"That's all Aaron and Haley, I'm surprised at how much of her is in him every day." She smiles somberly. "Thank you, for making Aaron so happy."
"I— I'm not sure that's me—"
"I've never seen him this smiley, ever." Jessica places a hand on top of Juliette's that is sitting on an armrest. "I'm really glad your in our lives."
"That— That means a lot." She blinks back tears that had been threatening to fall since that morning. "I'm very grateful to have Aaron, all of you."
They're interrupted by a nurse knocking on the door, shuffling in with a clipboard in her hands. "Agent Leroux? There were some complications, but Agent Hotchner should make a full recovery."
Juliette lets out the breath she's been holding since he collapsed, locking eyes with a small smile to Jessica before the nurse speaks again, "He should be waking up within the hour, would you like to see him?"
"Yes, please." She nods, standing to follow her through a locked set of doors.
Jessica stays behind to wait for Penelope and Jack, leaving Juliette to face the sight of Aaron so frail, almost lifeless in a hospital bed all alone. Thanking the nurse, she slowly sits in a seat next the bed and watches his every breath, as if he could disappear at any second.
It takes less than twenty minutes for him to begin to stir, as if he was waking from a dream he wasn't ready to end. When his eyes flicker open, he's immediately met with Juliette staring at him with a vulnerability he's never seen before. "What happened?"
"You collapsed, something about torn adhesions from your scars." She purses her lips. "You're going to be fine, though."
He nods, trying to process everything through the haze of anesthesia and opioids. As memories of the morning come back to him, he winces reaching out for Juliette's hand. "I'm sorry."
She holds his hand in hers and places them on the bed, blinking away tears. "I can't lose you."
"I'm not going anywhere." He whispers, tilting his head to lean his forehead against hers.
There's still a small part of Juliette's brain that says he can't promise that, but the overwhelming feeling of love for Aaron forces her to lean into him more and try to simply live.
Their moment's interrupted by Jessica and Jack knocking on the glass doors, the latter unable to contain his excitement as he races to his dad's bedside. "Are you okay?"
"I am now, buddy."
x
Aaron is discharged after just three days, much to Juliette's dismay. She convinces him to stay with her, at least until he can care for himself, but they both know it is a test to their ability to live together.
From the second they're alone, it's obvious he's in pain. From winces rolling over to taking minutes to stand up, yet Aaron fights every chance she offers help. He insists he can do things on his own, ignoring the way she hovers her hand to grasp when he loses balance or has pillows ready to grip.
It comes to a head two days later, when it's obvious he needs to shower, but he's not sure how. He still has stitches that can rip, so lifting his arms above his head for long enough to wash his hair seems impossible. Then there's the risk of slipping on the ceramic floors, which is all too common without his new balance issues.
Sitting on Juliette's sofa after dinner, he must have been staring at her ceiling thinking over the logistics of this for too long, because her voice snaps him out of his head. "What are you thinking about?"
Still resting his head on the back of the chair, Aaron turns to face her with defeat. "I'm not sure how to shower."
Juliette wants to smirk, but fears scaring him off more. "It would be pretty easy, if you let me help you."
He's quiet for awhile, staring at her because he knows he has to give it up, but he can't. "I hate feeling like a child."
"Needing help sometimes doesn't make you less of a man, I promise." He doesn't seem convinced, so she continues, "Think about it this way; the sooner you let me help you, the sooner you'll be back to normal."
He waits another minute before nodding. "Fine."
It's a new kind of intimacy for him, letting Juliette help him with his shirt and stand on her toes to wash his hair. He feels awkward, standing there and letting Juliette do so much work for him.
It's only after they're done that he acknowledges how loved he feels, a new kind of love different from anything he's felt before. For the first time in his life, Aaron can say with confidence someone else loves him, and it actually brings tears to his eyes.
Neither of them are tired, laying in Juliette's bed under the orange glow of a candle. Interrupting her hands twirling through his hair, Aaron starts, "I had this dream, when I was under."
She only furrows her brows, giving him room to continue. "Haley and Foyet were there, they were talking to me. It felt really real, though."
He pauses, "I sound crazy, don't I?"
Juliette takes her hand from his hair and connects it with his. "You don't sound crazy. Dreams... I think they can have more truth than we give them credit for."
He nods, "We were watching this movie, of all of these moments that she's missed. Jack's grown so much, she never even got to see him play soccer."
Tears slowly start to fall from his eyes, "Just before Foyet, uh— Haley said I needed to show Jack real love, because it's the most important thing. I think I can do that now."
Juliette ignores tears that have welled in her own eyes, pressing her forehead to Aaron's. "I love you, in the most real way possible."
"I love you."
x
When Aaron wakes up the next morning, Juliette's long gone from the grip he had fallen asleep with her in. The smell of coffee drags him from his warm spot in her bed, thankful the stabs of pain have lessened when he moves.
She's sitting at a barstool reading what he assumes to be the newspaper from her laptop, sipping on her coffee with a grace that makes him wonder if she knows how beautiful she is.
Pouring his own coffee, he notices she's more lost in thought, staring at her keyboard instead of reading the article. Juliette's lost in the thought she's had for weeks, never wanting to leave Aaron's arms for even one more night.
So when he sits in the seat next to her, leaning down for a kiss of morning breath, she finally bites the bullet. "Move in with me."
It's not as big of a surprise as she's made it out to be in her head, but still unexpected for a sleepy Aaron. "Are you sure? Jack— he can be a lot."
"I love Jack, and you. I want to spend every second that I can with you."
Aaron smiles, tilting her head up for a long, impassioned kiss. "I'll have to talk to Jack first." He says once they separate.
"Of course." She says, looking down to her laptop with a new smile etched on her lips.
x
Jessica drops off Jack with the couple after picking him up from school that afternoon. Juliette and Aaron had spent most of the morning discussing the details of the move, including the kid's involvement.
Juliette has two spare bedrooms in her townhome, the smaller cluttered with boxes of Griffin's things she's been too scared to touch since moving in. She never meant to have this much space, even her home with Griff was smaller, but the urge to move out of the place they called home as soon as it was a crime scene left little energy for house hunting.
Still, she digs out his old Playstation and connects the console to her TV for Jack to play, hoping her can sit in one spot long enough to spend quality time with his father while he's healing.
After setting up the console with a Star Wars themed game she used to play with Griff, not that she was any good, Juliette busies herself with cleaning the kitchen to give Aaron some privacy to talk.
Unable to hear their conversation, she's on edge with the fear that Jack will react badly to this change. However, her anxiety lessens when she hears the boy yell, "Really?"
She still refuses to listen in, enter the room only when the muffled voices turn to screams at the video game. She walks up behind Aaron, wrapping her arms around his shoulders before Jack looks up to her with a bright smile.
"Do we really get to move in here? We can the games and piano anytime?"
"If your alright with moving, you can play them whenever you want." She glances down to Aaron. "Or whenever your dad approves."
"You're the best!" He smiles, throwing down the remote to pull Juliette into a hug.
She returns the gesture, ruffling his hair before turning to look at Aaron. "Thank you." He mouths, stretching his neck up for a kiss.
She sits between the two at Jack's request, picking up her own remote and starting a new game. Though it's not with the people she expected, she can't help but think she's finally in the place herself seven years ago would've fought so hard to be.
emily's notes;
thank you so much for
all of your engagement
on this!! It mean the
world that you're enjoying
my writing.