After her stint on the Hill, Eliza heads home to change for Dave's celebratory dinner. She decides on high-waisted denim shorts, a solid yellow tee, Gucci sneakers, and her same Fendi sunglasses before heading to Aaron's to pick up him and Jack. She soon arrives and knocks on the door.
"Eliza!!" Jack says excitedly as he runs into the hall and into her arms. "I missed you!"
"Hi buddy! I missed you too!" Eliza replies, squatting down to hug him back. Aaron soon catches up and locks up, greeting her with a kiss before they head onto the elevator, Jack holding Eliza's hand and rambling about his Legos before looking up at his dad.
"Dad, where are we going again?" Jack asks.
"We're going to Uncle Dave's for dinner." Aaron replies.
"Why? Is it his birthday?"
"No, not quite. We're just celebrating after a case."
"Oh. Did you get the bad guy?" Aaron and Eliza smile at each other before he responds.
"Yes we did, buddy...yes we did," Aaron replies, eyes still on Eliza as the elevator opens and they head toward the car. They soon arrive at Dave's house, and Jack heads straight toward Eliza to hold her hand again, which makes her heart swell.
"Hey Jack, do you think I could hold Eliza's hand now?" Aaron asks.
"Nope. Sorry dad," Jack replies matter of fact, making Eliza and Aaron laugh.
"Come on, buddy; I think Henry might be here tonight, too," Eliza says to Jack as they all head inside to meet everyone.
"There they are, ma famiglia!" Dave exclaims, turning away from the stove top. "Jack, how's it going, pal? I see you've got somebody on your arm."
"Who, Eliza? I'm holding her hand, Uncle Dave." Jack corrects his Uncle Dave, making everyone laugh. Eliza squeezes his hand after he says that.
"Jack!!!" Henry bounds over and yells. "Come play with me!"
"Ok!" Jack says and immediately runs away.
"Can you drink this yet?" Penelope asks, approaching Eliza with a glass of white wine.
"I sure can," Eliza says. "Cheers!" They clink glasses. Just then, a kitchen timer dings.
"Just a couple more stirs...and...voila! Il pasta pomodoro. Bon appetit," Dave says as he begins to hand out plates. Eliza helps Jack get a plate before they all head outside to the patio.
"A toast," Dave begins, raising his glass. "To fresh starts, to new energy, and to beautiful nights like these."
"And to Eliza for shutting up the Senator," Derek says with a chuckle.
"Cheers!" Everyone clinks glasses.
"Who's the Senator?" Jack asks curiously. Everyone laughs.
"It's a long story, kiddo. Eliza can tell you one day." Dave replies, winking at Jack. Everyone wines, dines, and enjoys each other's company, the kids opting to chase each other in the backyard as the adults continue to chat for a while.
"Espresso, anyone?" Dave asks.
"I'd love one," Spencer says.
"That'd be delightful," Penelope says as they all get up from the table. Just then, Aaron's phone rings. He looks down at it, and his brow immediately furrows.
"Hotchner," Aaron answers firmly. "No, I understand. We'll be there in half an hour. Thank you, ma'am."
"Don't say it," Dave says.
"We're back from suspension a little earlier than we planned," Aaron says. "Meet in 30. Bring a go-bag—we're going to Oklahoma." The team sighs with sadness as their night abruptly ends. "Jack! Time to go, buddy!"
"Already?!" Jack runs up to his dad, disappointment in his eyes.
"Yeah I've got to go to work; sorry buddy," Aaron says.
"Ok, dad. Bye, Henry!" Jack waves to Henry as everyone makes their exit.
"Thanks for dinner, Rossi," Spencer says.
"Yes, thank you!" Everyone says.
"Anytime," Dave replies. Eliza approaches Dave to give him a hug, Jack holding her hand again.
"Thank you for having us," Eliza says.
"Thank you for shutting up the Senator," Dave says with a wink. "And I'll see you later, kiddo. You take care of her, now." He says to Jack and pointing to Eliza.
"I will," Jack says proudly as he waves goodbye, Aaron now caught up with them as they head to the car and drive off.
"Would you mind taking him to Jessica's house?" Aaron asks Eliza.
"Of course, just send me the address," Eliza replies, eyes still on the road as Aaron sends the text. "Although...I do think Jack & me should make an ice cream stop on the way there...how does that sound, bud?" She asks in the rearview mirror.
"Yeah!!!" Jack says excitedly. Aaron smiles, and Eliza drives with her left hand so she can hold Aaron's hand with her right.
"See, Dad? You got a turn." Jack observes.
-
Eliza gets Jack to Jessica's that night and heads home. She suddenly feels pretty tired, as this was the busiest day she's had since her abduction. She decides to take a long bath before doing some online shopping—she has yet to replace the coffee table and bar cart that were wrecked in trying to fight Madison off. She settles in, opens up her laptop, and starts to shop around when she suddenly starts to cry, the weight of the event hitting her hard. She sobs for a long time, eventually crying herself to sleep. She wakes with a start not long after to her phone ringing beside her ear.
"Hello?" She asks softly, upset still in her voice.
"Eliza? Are you alright?" Aaron asks.
"Oh yeah yeah," Eliza lies, clearing her throat. "What's up?"
Aaron pauses before continuing. "I was uh, just calling to be sure you got to Jessica's alright."
Eliza opens her mouth to respond, but she ends up just sobbing instead. Aaron's heart breaks a little hearing her cry like that, but he sures up before responding.
"That's it; I'm coming home."
"No, Aaron, don't. I'll be ok until you get back. Please. Just finish the case and get home."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, yep." She clears her throat again and takes a breath. "Yes. Just—hurry."
"I will. I love you."
"Love you more." Eliza hangs up and starts to cry again, more softly this time before turning over to sleep.
-
Aaron heads back to work on the case; he so badly wants to return home and help Eliza, but he also wants to respect her wishes, so he throws himself back in to distract himself. Luckily, they catch the unsub late the next day and are able to get a flight out that night. Aaron gets to the jet first and furiously works through his paperwork so he can be as present as possible once he gets to Eliza's. The plane lands at the air strip and Aaron bolts off the plane to his car without another word to anyone, not even returning to the office before heading to her. Emily calls Eliza as she enters her apartment, now back home.
"Hello?" Eliza asks softly.
"Hey, are you doing alright? Hotch bolted straight off the plane once we landed."
"Umm," Eliza starts, fighting back tears. "I'm not great, Em. After dinner the other night, I settled in and started shopping for a replacement coffee table and I—" the tears overflow again.
"Oh, Eliza," Emily says softly. "It's gonna be alright. You've got to take it a little more slowly. Let yourself actually process it." Eliza then hears a knock at the door.
"Ummm, Em? I gotta go; I think Aaron's here," Eliza says.
"Ok, E. I love you."
"I love you." She hangs up and heads slowly for the door, trying to dry off the tears that just keep coming. She opens the door and sees Aaron through the tears stinging her eyes.
"E," Aaron says softly. In an instant, Eliza breaks down, hand to her chest as she sobs. Aaron enters and takes her in his arms immediately, stroking her hair.
"I'm here, I'm here," he whispers. "Shhhh," he says as he continues to stroke her hair. After a few minutes, she still hasn't stopped crying, so he scoops her up and carries her to the bedroom. He lays her down on the bed and kicks off his shoes before joining her, putting her head on his chest and stroking her hair as he lets her cry. After a while, she falls asleep, and so does he.