Silver Bullets [AaronHotchnerFanFic]

16.

•Hotch's POV•

The sun was just rising, barley lighting up the sky as we enter Quantico. I glance over at Willow who was asleep with her earbuds in. I lean over and gently pull out her earbuds. She immediately opens her eyes and lifts her head.

"Heyyyy. I was listening to that." She whines.

"You were asleep."

She looks at me then down at her phone. Her hair was messy and her cheeks were puffy from the nap she had taken.

"No I wasn't." She yawns then smiles.

The light from the sunrise reflects off her icy blue eyes as she looks around.

"We're in Quantico?" She asks.

I nod while looking ahead at the traffic on freeway. She notices the sun rising, pulls out the earbuds from her phone and holds it up in my direction.

"What're you doing?"

"Trying to take a picture of the sunrise." She mumbles.

She takes a few pics then puts her phone down. She makes a soft whine.

"What?" I ask, glancing over at her. She was frowning and deleting the photos.

"Nothing. They're just blurry and that damn truck got in the way." Her voice was disappointed.

I glance at the sunrise then in the mirrors before merging off onto an exit.

"This isn't the exit?" She says confused.

"I know."

Once I get to the stoplight off the ramp I turn left and onto the bridge over the freeway then slightly speed up before taking a right turn onto a side street.

"What're you doing?" She asks still confused.

I pull off to the side of the road. Putting the car in park I quickly get out and go around to her side. I open her door.

"Hotch, what're you doing?" She asks.

Gently grabbing her wrist I help her out of the car. She stands up and looks at me.

"Why're we-?" She begins to ask but stops when she sees the sunrise.

She turns towards it and her eyes widen at the sight.

"This is—" She pauses.

"Wow." She whispers under her breath as she takes a few steps to the front of the car.

I take a few steps towards her and stand next to her.

"Now you can get the perfect picture." When I say that, she smiles.

She pulls out her phone and takes a few pics before sliding it back in her pocket. We stand there in silence for a few minutes watching as the sun rises and the sky change colors. I look over at her, she was smiling and admiring the view, just like I was admiring her. Golden rays shine across her skin giving her the same golden glow she had when I seen her in the hospital hallway. Except this was different. This was real life. She was physically next to me.

"Thank you." She whispers.

We stand there for about another 10-15 minutes before the sky started to fade to its normal blue.

She looks up at me and smiles. I glance down at her lips then back up at her glowing eyes, when I do her cheeks blush. I wanted to kiss her soft pink lips. But I didn't.

"I'm ready to go home." She says before going back to the passenger side of the car.

I begin to walk over to help her.

"Don't worry about helping me. Let's just go." She says before opening the door.

She gets in and closes the door. I walk around to the driver side and get in. Slipping my seatbelt on, I pull away from the side of the road.

"I wasn't expecting you to do that." She says smiling as she looks at the photos on her phone.

"Do you need anything from the BAU?" I ask soon after.

She shakes her head no.

"No. Just go straight to my house. You know where it is right?" She asks.

"No."

"Ohhh yeah. That's right you never came to any of my parties." She says sarcastically.

I follow the streets of Quantico and her directions until we're on the street she lives on. I pull into the driveway and put the car in park. We both get out and instantly I notice how quiet her neighborhood is.

"I'll grab your bags." I say as I open the trunk.

I pull out her bags then close the trunk. Following her up to her porch as she unlocks the door. Stepping inside she flicks the lights on.

"You can just set them by the stairs." She says as she slips off her shoes.

I walk over to stairs and set the bags down.

"Well. This is my house I guess." Her voice was still faint as she motions around.

I glance around. Everything was simple yet unique. Just like her.

"I'd give you a tour. But I'm tired, my entire body hurts and I just want to lay in bed for the rest of the day."

"I don't blame you." I respond going over towards the door.

"Do you need help with anything else?" I ask.

She shakes her head no.

"No. I'll be fine."

I go to open the door but she says something else.

"Thanks for um, driving me back and everything else..." She begins but shortly trails off.

"Yeah, no problem." I say before opening the door.

"Can I call you tomorrow?" She asks quickly.

I stop before stepping outside.

"For um, the paperwork and all of that." She says shyly.

I look at her for a moment before responding and stepping outside.

"Yeah."

"Oh um- one more thing." She says quickly again before following me.

I was now on her porch and she was in the doorway. She stands on her tippy toes and kisses the side of my cheek. Immediately they warm up.

"I know you wanted to kiss me on the side of the road. You should've." She says before stepping back in her house.

"Get some rest Hotchner." She finishes as she shuts the door.

A faint smile forms across my lips. I head back to the car and head home.

I grab my suit jacket before getting out of the car. Instantly noticing it smells exactly like her. I head inside and immediately go upstairs to the master bedroom. Stripping out of my clothes I head into the bathroom for a shower.

All I could think about was her. The moment she woke up to the moment she kissed me on the cheek. Nothing else was on my mind.

_