Undercover Lovers |Aaron Hotchner|

Chapter Six: In Sickness and In Health

When we were assigned this case, I was so glad that Hotch didn't snore. We'd been sleeping in the same bed for a couple of months and I appreciated it each night. One night, he was snoring so loud that it woke me up. I hit him with a pillow, promptly waking him up.

"You're snoring." I groaned.

"I don't snore."

"You have been for the last hour. Don't lie on your back." I directed. He flipped on his side so he wasn't facing me and started snoring again, but I didn't bother waking him up. I got dressed, made a mental list of everything I needed, and went to the 24/7 convenience store a few blocks away.

I'd never been the only shopper in a store before. It was eerie. The workers watched me intensely. I grabbed what I needed, feeling like I was doing something wrong, and went back to the house. Hotch was getting ready for work when I got there, so I guided him to the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice sounding deeper than ever before.

"You're not going anywhere, you're sick. Let me take care of you." I was surprised he didn't fight me when I tried giving him his medicine. He laid there and obeyed me, which we both knew would make it easier. I pulled a chair up next to the bed, ready to wait it out with him.

I must've dozed off because the phone ringing made me jump. I checked to make sure he was still asleep before running to get it.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hi, it's Melissa. Craig mentioned that Graham wasn't at work, so I just wanted to make sure everything's okay." She explained. "Is it?"

"Yes, he's just feeling under the weather. Thanks for checking, though. I didn't even think about calling out for him, but I'll do that right now." I shrugged.

"No, Craig can take care of it. What's he sick with, if you don't mind my asking? I was just watching a documentary that might help."

"I think it's the flu."

"Onions help draw the fever out. Put them on his nightstand and in his socks. It sounds disgusting, but it's supposed to help." She said.

"Really? Wow, I'll try it out. Thank you, Melissa."

"Yeah, of course. I'll let you get back to him now. Bye bye, Olivia."

"Bye." I hung up and grabbed the onions. I chopped them up, eyes watering on command, and placed them on his bedside table. His head felt hot, so I went downstairs and got more. I got a pair of socks from his side of the closet and put the onions inside before putting them on his feet. It felt like I was doing something wrong— illegal, even.

My index and middle fingers bounced on my thigh as I sat in silence next to him. I wanted him to get better as soon as possible. I hated seeing him hurt, not that that's what this was. I just wanted him healthy and back to his usual self.

"You know I've been sick before, right?" He asked when he woke up awhile later. "I can be alone, Valerie, you don't have to watch me."

"In sickness and in health, remember?" I sat up and gave him more medicine. It was hard to believe that 6 hours had already passed. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Thirsty."

I went downstairs and filled up a large water bottle with cold water and ice. He shivered as he sipped it, then started laughing.

"What?" I asked.

"It's just that between the two of us, I'm never the one who shivers."

"I think you get a pass when you're sick, but I'll have to check the official handbook. Are you sure you're not hungry?"