VIOLENT DELIGHTS, aaron hotchner

(almost) unbearable

December's busy. The sort of busy where Juliette and Aaron can't even stop at the end of the day to enjoy a moment of calm in each other arms, because they're too tired to think of anything but sleep.

They wake up not to each other, but to paperwork or new cases or a lead. It's well known the holidays are hard for most people, but it apparently takes serial criminals to another level.

A week before Christmas, they finally catch a break when closing a case brings them back to Quantico mid-day, and Hotch gives them the rest of the day off. Juliette convinces him this includes himself, packing up his paperwork to pick Jack up from school.

They drive home to Christmas music, at the boy's request, and finally decorate the fake Christmas tree Haley bought when they were first married. While Juliette isn't religious, she agrees to join in on the holiday for the sake of Jack, even finding herself enjoying the day.

Naturally, this doesn't last long. Just as Aaron is finishing dinner, a call from Cruz takes them away once again.

He would have been confused by why they're being called in for a single murder if he wasn't warned about the media involvement. Swallowing a handful of Advil and hoping they can catch a break before Christmas, he meets with Garcia before calling the team to the round table.

"Local teenager Tara Harris found murdered inside her home last night. Looks like a blitz blow to the forehead, then the UnSub stabbed Tara before slitting her throat." Garcia starts, wincing at the gruesome photos. "But he didn't stop there, he then used her phone to upload an image to all of her social media sites."

"He staged a selfie?" Rossi asks, earning confused looks from the rest of the team.

Juliette would be more baffled by how Dave knew what a selfie, is if she wasn't stunned by the nature of the case. Looking through Tara's social media on her tablet, she can tell she was something of an internet sensation.

She could feel the tension forming in her shoulders, having to work a case so involved with social media along with everything else going on, it's something of a nightmare for Juliette.

Typically, she would stay behind to work on the profile, but this time she stoically offers to go to the crime scene, to get away from the social media talk even for a moment.

Driving to Maryland with JJ, she would usually try to check up on her mental health. This time she's lost in her head staring at the trees that fly past the SUV window. JJ notices her demeanor shift from the second Garcia presented the case, but she doesn't broach the subject until they're driving back to Quantico, "Are you alright? You've been more quiet than usual."

"Uh— yeah..." Juliette starts, trying to shake off her own feelings. "I just... don't like social media."

JJ would have pressed more, but since they're pulling into the Bureau parking lot, all she can do is nod.

Juliette doesn't waste time rushing back the round table, reporting what they found in the bedroom. Once she's done, Morgan starts with what they've discovered, "Tara may as well have sent an e-vite to the UnSub. She regularly checked in at a foursquare location which she tagged at her home named Harris Ranch."

"She had just posted that she was grounded, that her parents were away with the car." Kate adds.

When the room is silent, flipping through files and hoping Garcia can help with the missing piece to the profile, Juliette all but storms to the bathroom. Aaron might have thought she's simply in a bad mood, but the concerned look on JJ's face is enough to make him rush after her.

Even though it's a bathroom with stalls, he knocks on the door and wait a moment before entering the women's restroom. All of the stalls are open, but Juliette's standing in front of a mirror splashing water on her red-rimmed eyes.