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I woke up this morning, got dressed and went out for a run in the park. It was my first time going for a run here so I didn't have a preplanned running route to follow so I just put on my headphones and started. After my standard 45- minute run in a low intensity, I went for another 15-minute sprint. I look down at my watch and I see that I have just about 5 minutes left. But as I look back again, I bump onto something hard. I fall on my butt "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking" I say immediately
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking either. Tory?" he asks and I finally see who it is
"Hotch?" I ask as he kneels down to help me
"Are you ok? Are you hurt?" he asks worried
"I'm ok, don't worry" I say. I go to dust the dirt off my knees and at the same time he does too. Our hands land on each other and for a moment we both freeze.
"Oh what happened?" I hear another woman's voice and we both snap out of it
"I wasn't looking and I fell on her" Hotch answers and helps me stand up again
"It was actually my fault too. But I think we are ok" I say
"Good. Now I feel bad for staying back and letting you go ahead alone for the last mile" she says to Hotch
"Oh you two know each other?" I ask surprised
"Yeah. Tory, this is Beth. Beth, this is Tory, we work together" he says introducing us to each other
"Nice to meet you" she says
"Nice to meet you too" I say as we shake hands
"Are you both training for the FBI marathon?" she asks
"Um... I don't think so. I'm just going for a run when I can. I didn't even know that the FBI marathon was a thing" I say
"It is. It's in 3 weeks" Hotch says.
At that moment, both our phones ring. It was a message from Garcia about a series of murders in Miami. "Seems like we are flying again" I say
"Yeah. Can you be in the jet in an hour?" he asks
"I'll do my best" I say and he chuckles slightly. "See you later" I say
"See you" he says and I sprint to make up for the minutes I lost earlier.
I got to the jet about 10 minutes later but I think it's fine. Besides there is no way Morgan will be there in time anyways. But when I went in I only saw Hotch. "I'm sorry that I'm late but I see that I'm not the only one" I ask
"It's ok. The others are coming in half an hour. I wanted us to talk actually and I'm tired of getting of getting profiled through my office window" he says as I sit down across from him
"And Morgan getting in the middle" I add
"Yes" he says.
"Before we closed the case in Milwaukee, you agreed on asking me whatever you wanted to know and because I know that sometimes you like to avoid talks, I figured that I should just bring you to it" he says
"Yeah, I would avoid it. And that's another example... Ok, I'm going to say what I think until now. I copied that hand/fingers thing you do when you think which tells me that I paid attention to you. And two nights ago, I got a flash. We were watching a movie and you were holding me, I was crying but you had tears in your eyes too. So to me it seems like we were closer than the others. And also the fact that Morgan is so protective over me when it comes to staying alone with you, makes me believe that a fight between us or something like that was the trigger for me to leave" I say.
"Wow" he says
"What?" I ask
"It's your 4th day here and you already got all that just by watching us? Wow. You're good" he says
"So I am right?" I ask
"Yes" he finally answers.
"Ok... Then why didn't you say anything from the start?" I ask
"I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable" he says
"And how many do know about it?" I ask
"Morgan, Rossi of course and I believe that Prentiss had a hunch too" he says and I nod.
"What happened in the end?" I ask
"We never officially had a relationship because you were kind of avoiding that talk and I believe it had to do because of Strauss asking you to keep an eye on me and you felt guilty. But in the end, we had a disagreement about how we wanted to move forward and the truth is that I was wrong. But it was too late when I realized it because you were already gone" he says.
"A disagreement?" I ask
"Technically yes" he answers and I nod.
"I didn't know if I should mention it when you came because I didn't know if you had something new" he says
"Oh please no. You think that I got a second PhD in 5 years while having some guy running behind me and asking for some attention? No offense. If they can't handle the brain and the power, they can't handle the body either" I say and he chuckles. "But... You and Beth...?" I ask
"No, we are just training partners" he says and I nod. "And actually, I don't remember you being so active, let alone go for an hour long run" he says
"Well, you can say that getting so close to death gives you considerable perspective" I say
"I'm not sure if I should laugh right now" he says and I chuckle.
We hear voices getting closer and a few seconds later Morgan and Prentiss come in. "Good morning" I say
"Good morning. Everything ok here?" Morgan asks
"Yeah" I say and he says and tosses me some keys "Aww, thank you" I say realizing that they are actually mine
"Thank you for letting me keep them and the house for so long but I figured that since you're back, you'll want them back" he says
"Maybe if we close this case early, we can stay in Miami for the weekend? We are not going to need another night in the hotel since my place is big enough so you don't have to worry about the FBI's budget" I suggest looking at Hotch
"Fine" he answers.
"Great. I'm going to need to go get drinks and food because I don't know what Derek has left there..." I say
"Not much" he adds
"Ok, I'm going to take care of that and we're good to go" I say.
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We ended up solving the case on Saturday afternoon and then it was time to relax and have some fun tonight. So I went to my place a few hours before the others came, I cleaned up quickly, did some shopping - mostly drinks - and got pizzas. I heard their voices even before they ring the bell and I went to open. "Hello and welcome" I say letting them in
"Oh thank God. We knocked on two wrong doors before we came here" Emily says and I chuckle
"Why? Isn't Morgan here?" I ask
"No, he went to pick up Garcia from the airport. And in the meanwhile we got lost" she says
"I told you that taking the left turn five miles ago would get us here faster" Spencer tells her
"No, it would have gotten us even more lost" she insists and I step away so they just walk inside because I didn't want to get into that fight. I look at Rossi and Hotch who were behind and they both have that disappointed parents look on their faces.
"This is nice" Rossi says as he walks in
"Well, it's not a mansion but the porch is only 80 feet away from the beach" I say
"And only one thing would make that better" he says
"Something along the lines of a bottle of 25-year-old scotch?" I ask
"You read my mind" he says and I hear the bell.
"You get your drinks and I'll be right back" I say and I go to open.
A couple of hours later, I was already getting knocked out. I was tired from the day and the alcohol was helping me relax even more. So I went out and laid down on the deck chair. A few minutes later I heard steps coming my way. It was Hotch. "Hey, are you ok?" he asks
"Yeah. Emily really went ham with the tequila in the margaritas" I say and he chuckles. He sits on the other chair next to me and we both look at the sea. "Do you still have feelings... for..." I say without looking at him
"You? Yes" he answers and I nod. I reach over and I take his hand. We interlock our fingers and he rubs my hand with his thumb.
Back inside...
Morgan sees us from behind the window and freezes. "You can't stop it" Rossi says to him
"But I can try to stall until she leaves again" he says
"So you want her to leave again?" Rossi asks
"No but you didn't see her the way I did. You didn't see how she was after he chose Haley over her. And I don't judge him for that, I never did. It's his life. But he doesn't get to pretend like it never happened because I bet he didn't tell her the whole truth behind the reason she left. She deserves to know the truth and not get played again. She was happy when she was away" he says
"Are you sure about that? I mean yes, she did her PhD and everything but maybe she was lonely after all. You can't know if she was happy"
"Well, she definitely didn't sit in the shower and drank for 3 days straight" he says and walks away from the conversation.
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A/N: Things are getting heated up...