Finding the Sun

Chapter 4

Out of all the things David Rossi had expected his friend and coworker to say, the fact that he had a 16 year old daughter he never knew about was last on the list.

He didn't show that though, in fact, he didn't do anything. He just continued to look at him, quietly bewildered. Aaron started talking again.

"I didn't know. Not until Officer Davis told me. I didn't want the team finding out until the unsub was found, they couldn't afford any distractions."

"Well," began Rossi, "The team has a solid lead, and Penelope is probably about to call with a location. We can spare one person for the take-down, and you should probably tell Aster first, don't you think? You are planning on telling her, right?"

"Of course I'm going to tell her, Dave. I just needed time. Time to figure this all out, what's it going to mean. For her, for Jack. I'm going to have to ask her to leave where she grew up, her friends, boyfriend, to live with what are essentially strangers. It's not an easy thing to do."

Rossi had never heard the man speak so much at one time. Hotch seemed actually nervous, which was slightly mystifying to the older man. "Of course it's not going to be easy Aaron, but you heard what she said in there. She's scared, she doesn't know what's going to happen. Aster has been in the foster system her whole life, don't you think she's dreamt of having a parent that wanted her?" Rossi patted Hotch encouragingly on the shoulder. "Go and show her that she does."

...

Aster was sitting alone, nursing a cup of coffee. Officer Davis was nowhere to be found, but Aster assumed that was because most of the FBI agents and a few officers had left to apprehend Liam Fitzgerald. Officer Davis was close to the case, or at least to her case, so it made sense to Aster that he would be with them. So there Aster was, waiting in an uncomfortable metal chair, in the middle of a police precinct.

Leo offered to come down and keep her company, but she declined. She knew he didn't want to leave her before she found out what was going to happen to her regarding her father, but she told him it was about time to get back to camp. He's been busy since the Giant War, ever since he essentially rose from the dead, and he had a lot of duties as Head Counsellor of the Hephaestus Cabin. Aster isn't worried about not seeing him as much, knowing that travelling to camp via the shadows won't be much of an issue for her. That is if she ends up even leaving New York.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a man approaching her. She recognized him as one of the agents that was on the case, but she hadn't talked to him yet. Weird, Aster thought. From what she observed, he seemed like the boss. Professional, intimidating, looked like he lived in a suit and tie. Shouldn't he be with them to arrest the guy then?

But he didn't look intimidating now. He almost looked nervous.

"If it's bad news, I don't want to know." Was how Aster chose to greet him.

"Pardon me?" replied the man, whose name Aster hadn't bothered to get to know.

"The way you look all nervous. People have been tiptoeing around me for two days straight, I can recognize the look of a person who has to tell me something they really don't want to."

This didn't seem to make the man any less apprehensive. "It's not so much as I don't want to tell you, it's more so I don't know how to begin."

"Maybe your name first?"

"Right. My name is Aaron Hotchner."

"Well, Agent Hotchner–"

"Please, you can call me Aaron."