Chapter 11, Encounter
September 15th, 2008
Aaron's POV
"Hey Hotch, we're going to a bar about twenty minutes from here want to join?" I hear JJ, my coworker ask me.
"Sure, just give me one second and we can all go together." I say, getting up. I don't often get dinner with the team, but I like to join as much as I can.
You can't let this job strip you of your emotions. I sigh silently, as I think about the girl who said that to me. Cassie Mae. I haven't seen her in ten years. A lot has happened to me in those ten years. I joined the F.B.I., got promoted to Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, got married, and had a son.
I didn't visit my parents nearly as often as I should've. With work keeping me busy, then wanting to have time with Jack and Haley, visiting them wasn't as important. However, they understood that and came and visited us.
"Hey are you ready?" I hear JJ ask. I nod, snapping me out of my thoughts. I walk out of my office and we head for the elevator.
The whole team was waiting just outside of the bullpen doors. "Look who actually decided to come." I hear Derek say. Derek is a real ladies man, all the girls drool over him. He's African American and great at his job. We recruited him from Chicago, where he used to work in the police department.
"Well, it was a tough case. What other way is there to let off some steam?" I ask, and everyone smiles.
My team has become a part of my family. There's no one I'd leave Jack, my son, with anyone other than them or Jessica. Jessica is Haley's sister.
JJ is the team's communications liaison. She's a blue-eyed blonde woman, she's married and has a son named Henry.
Penelope Garcia, she's our technical analyst. She's a blonde haired woman, with a colorful taste in fashion. Not to mention the whole flirty thing her and Derek do. She's a straight wizard on the computers. The F.B.I recruited her after she hacked into their computer system. Which I find quite ironic.
Emily Prentiss, I know her father. She's a brunette, with brown eyes. She was transferred here, and let me just say she's just as good at her job. Her and her father are two minds alike.
David Rossi, the father of the B.A.U.. He was one of the original crew members of the unit. Truth be told, he was the Unit Chief. He retired, and wrote books about serial crimes. He was asked to come back, and he did. I worked with him my first years at the F.B.I. Dave, as I call him, is the eldest one of the group.
Finally, there's Spencer Reid, the youngest member of the team. He has brown hair, and hazel eyes. He's a genius and has an eidetic memory. He can read 20,000 words a minute. He gives us insight on different textual and geographical things. As well as he never knows when to shut the hell up, but sometimes it's nice hearing him babble about different facts he's read.
"Who's going to be our D.D.?" Derek asks, as we get into the elevator.
"I will be one." Spencer says. That was almost always a given. Spencer doesn't like to drink, but he comes along to make sure the team is safe, and because he doesn't have anyone else.
"I'll sit this one out too." I hear Dave say, making me look at him funny.
We all exit the elevator, making our way to two cars. JJ, Dave, Spencer, and I in one and Derek, Emily, and Penelope in the other.
With us being in the F.B.I, we always just call each other by our last names. That's unless you're JJ. JJ stands for Jennifer Jareau. In a formal work setting we will still call her Jareau, sometimes but more often not.
The car ride was silent, and I took this opportunity to text Haley.
Me: Hey Baby, please kiss Jack for me. I will be late getting out of work. We are going for a drink.
Haley: Okay. Love you.
Me: Love you too.
I shut my phone off, and realize we made it to the bar. We get out of the cars, and walk in as a team. Rossi was first, holding the door for everyone. I let everyone go in front of me, and thank Dave.
I see two people at the bar, and the one has a side profile that looks very familiar. I couldn't pin who it was though. Whoever she is, she had a lot on her mind. We end up sitting at the table behind her, and everyone gets settled in.
"Everything okay Aaron?" Dave whispers, seeing how out of it I was.
"Yeah, just thinking." I say, and we listen in on the table talk.
"I don't know, ask Hotch." I heard JJ say, and I was now paying more attention than ever.
"Hotch, why did you come? You never come." Spencer asks, and I sigh.
The whole team depends on me at work, but when we aren't I distance myself from them all. "I needed to get out and spend time with you guys outside of work. With Haley and Jack, and constantly being away, I didn't want to feel as distant as I've been." I say truthfully.
"Well, we're happy you're here." Penelope says, smiling.
Everyone went back to casual conversation, and I looked back over to the girl sitting at the bar. I know her, but where from? I watched her ask for her bill and she turned to get her wallet. I saw more of her face. It was a face I could never forget. Cassidy Mae Dylan.
I look at the team, nodding to try and look like I was listening.
I looked at her again as she dropped her credit card. Her necklace fell out of her shirt, a heart pendant. The heart shaped pendant I gave her. She still wore that all this time? Just as she began walking out, I diverted my attention back to the team.
"Excuse me, I'll be right back." I say, and I follow after the woman. I knew the team was going to ask questions, but I didn't care.
I walk briskly out of the bar, and I follow the girl. "Cassie!" I yell, and she turns around. She's still as beautiful as she was ten years ago. "Cassie, oh my god. It's been so long! I never thought I'd see you again. How's Luke?" I ask.
"It's been ten years, Aaron. Luke and I broke up freshman year of college. If you don't mind, I'd like to go home." She says, harshly.
I stand there, not knowing what to say. It's been that long. There's no doubt about that, but I can't let her go. "Don't think you're getting away from me that easy. Not this time, Cassie Mae." I state, not wanting to let her get away.
I watch her roll her eyes and say, "You work for the fucking F.B.I. Aaron. If you wanted to find me that bad, you would've. Face the facts, and leave me the hell alone."
I watch her walk away, as I'm baffled by what I heard. She's right, if you truly wanted to see her you would've investigated. I start jogging toward her, trying to catch up. Once I was close enough, I grabbed her arm and pulled so she swung around to face me.
"I'm not going to leave you, not like last time." I say, staring into her gorgeous eyes. The same eyes I fell in love with when we were kids. I let go of her, waiting for her response.
I see her sigh, and she says, "You're not leaving, I am. Goodbye, Aaron." She walks away, and I just let her go. I couldn't even process what she said until it was too late.
As I watch her drive off, I feel tears welling in my eyes. I need to find her, her information. I'd love to reconnect with her. I'm sure Haley would too. They were semi-close once. I couldn't help but feel this emptiness in my chest.
I compose myself, and walk back into the bar. I see the whole team's demeanor shift as I sit down. "What was that about?" Emily asks, and I collect my thoughts.
"Cassie, she's an old friend of mine. I haven't seen her in over ten years." I say, not wanting to lie to the people I consider family.
"Cassie?" Spencer asks, wanting to know more.
"Guys, stop. She was my best friend growing up. We went to college, and we forgot about each other. Enough." I say, not wanting to divulge my whole story.
"So, how's Haley and Jack?" Dave asks, and everyone falls back into their own conversations.
"Haley and I are great. Happier than ever, and Jack definitely keeps us busy." I say, reminiscing over my four year old son.
After about an hour, we all decided to go. It was getting late, and we all had work to get back to in the morning. We all were sobered up enough by the time we got to the B.A.U. to drive ourselves home.
"Goodnight everyone, see you tomorrow." I say, and I turn to walk to my car.
I couldn't help, but wonder if I'd ever see Cassidy again, if we'd be friends. What would become of tonight, if it became anything at all. I wanted nothing more than to see her again. I want her to meet Jack. I want to rekindle the friendship I lost with her.
I was so lost in my own world with Haley, I never even told her about the birth of Jack. She found out when she went to visit her parents, and had dinner with mine. I was then cursed out by my parents for not telling her.
"Honey, I'm home." I say quietly, knowing Jack was most likely asleep. I take off my coat, and set my briefcase by the door.
I watched Haley emerge from the shadows, she was wearing her pajamas. "Hi Baby, how was the evening with the team?" She asked.
"It was good. We had a drink and talked. You'll never guess who I saw tonight." I say, and she looks at me quizzically.
"Who?" She asks, stumped.
"Cassidy Dylan. I haven't seen her in ten years. I didn't get to catch up with her a whole lot, but it was nice to see her again." I say, and Haley smiles.
"Wow, that's great Honey. I haven't even heard you speak her name in so long. Maybe we can invite her over for dinner sometime." She says, and my small smile fades.
"Well, that's the issue. I never got her number. So unless I get Penelope to find it for me, I don't have a way of contacting her." I say, and Haley rolls her eyes.
She walks closer to me, giving me a kiss. I kiss back. "I love you, but sometimes you're just really dumb. Why don't you ask your parents? I'm sure if they don't know, you know damn well Cassie's parents have her number." She says, and I sit back.
"You have a point, but I don't want to ask. All I'll hear is another lecture as to why we should've kept in contact. They can't let it go. Plus, they'll tell me about how she still makes time for her parents, and shove everything down my throats again." I say, and Haley nods knowing it's the truth.
"Well, then Penelope is your only option, if you want to avoid your parents that bad. Now, let's go to bed shall we?" She asks, grabbing my hand.
"Yes, yes we shall." I say, as we make our way to the bedroom.