Against Protocol (Aaron Hotchner X Reader)

chapter twenty two: truth or dare

Hotch's hand drops from the side of your waist, reluctant to freeze up the melting touch of his fingers in your skin. You could still feel his breath on the side of your neck before he pulled away.

The words that danced at the tip of your tongue, any notion of your feelings between each other, came to a sudden halt as Alice appeared shuffling through the crowd, flashing sporadically in your vision as the glint of her silver dress caught your attention.

She looks out into the crowd, locking eyes with you for a split second before her flight or fight response kicks in. She rushes off, willing to do anything to preserve her own security.

Your eyes dart to the team, figuring they were too far away to alert without microphones. Hastily, the two of you go after Alice, following after her as she pushes through to the kitchen doors — disrupting dinner preparations for the night.

She knows you and Hotch are behind her, ducking through chefs and overhead platters to get to the rooftop entrance. Even with two federal agents running after her, her movements are deliberate and swift, which just adds to your worry. This is her endgame.

Lunging forward to push open the rooftop exit, Alice stands in the bitter winter cold against the ledge. You knew what her plan was, how hopeless she felt, but she was still a murderer regardless of your pity.

Her heels dig into the slab of concrete that separated her from falling hundreds of feet to the pavement and life. There's a grin masking her worry, arms flailing at her sides as she walks across the ledge like a tightrope. She's playing a tricky game of life or death, and you knew one step in the wrong direction would make all the difference.

Your dress flaps in the strong current of the wind, the frost in the air only adding to your nerves. Hotch, aware of what she's planning on doing, slowly puts his gun down and nears her. You follow behind him, raising your hands to indicate you don't have your weapon which doesn't entirely appease Alice's qualms.

"Alice," you start, calmly. "You don't have to keep doing what Foyet wanted you to do."

His name elicits a reaction in her which she can't control. Her head jerks towards you. "You don't know anything," she sneers, nose crunching up as the words leave her mouth. "Stop pretending like you profilers understand why I did what I did. You'll never understand."

"I do know what he did to you, Alice. You were young, but he's gone now. We can get you the help you need," you rationalize, unsure of which direction her next step would be. "What he did to you wasn't fair, but it doesn't mean you have to keep living like this."

"Of course you can say that." Her words bite at you, but there's a trembling fear following them. "You have someone who likes you, who won't treat you like Foyet treated me."

Her eyes nod over to Hotch, venomous but jealous. "He loves you, Y/N, and I'll never get to have that," she regretfully continues, eyes welling up with tears. "I loved Foyet, and look how he treated me."

All this time, you had thought it had been Vera calling the shots, making the phone calls, and forcing you to leave Hotch, but it had been Alice all along. She had been jealous.

"You're still young, Alice," you say in an attempt at getting her down from the ledge. "You didn't deserve the pain he caused you, but you can't let him win. If you get down, we can talk this through."

Her smile falters, and you can see something in her break. There are tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, distinguishable in the moonlight. Slowly, she gets down from the ledge and onto the security of the rooftop, collapsing onto the floor as Hotch rushes to grab her. He wraps his hands around her as she chokes back on her tears.