𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝐈: 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭

          Aaron Hotchner was a man of simple means and simple words. He was straight-forward, to the point. He was on task and focused no matter what the situation was. To say that he was professional was an understatement. Aaron Hotchner was also a stickler for the rules, too protective, and often overworked himself. These were his basic characteristics; anyone somewhat good at observation and profiling could pinpoint it. It was why he was so good at his job at the BAU; however much it came to the agita of those around him.

          Today was of no exception. Hotch was in before everyone, much like he always was. He had found it to become a habit of his, not necessarily a good one but one nonetheless. He could admit to his faults, and it became something the team easily accepted. So it wasn't a surprise when arguing flooded from his office. It was a surprise when a small woman, hair frizzy from the wind, barreled into the BAU's sector. JJ, Elle, and Garcia all watched from Elle's desk as the woman stopped short and nearly knocked into the blond that was standing at the base of the steps, Aaron standing at his doorway at the top of the steps.

          "You know what, don't profile me, Aaron." He said as he turned, knocking into her so much that she nearly fell over. She squinted her eyes at him as he smiled. "Hey, Pip." She flared her nostrils and gathered a folder that had fallen out of her arms.

          "Sean." She fixed her hair and moved the inky waves behind her ears. "I thought you were at Georgetown taking the-" She looked over the much taller man's shoulder to see Hotch staring at them. "Oh..." She trailed in a breathy whisper, mouth keeping the "O" formation even afterwards. Sean only nodded, patting her shoulder before walking away. Hotch turned with a sigh and entered his office again.

          The three BAU agents only continued to watch in confusion as they began to part ways, their eyes trailing after the woman. She hiked up the jeans she was wearing, gathered her things, and chased Hotch into his office. Garcia tilted her head slightly and looked to JJ and Elle. "Who's that?"

          "She seemed to know Hotch's brother. Maybe another sibling?" JJ said as she backed away from the desk. Elle rolled her eyes.

          "It's not in his file. No documents. Kid?" The three women locked eyes and shook their heads in unison, Elle walking away and JJ entering the conference room, leaving Garcia standing there in vague shock.

》》《《

          "Aaron, I-" Hotch turned around to look at her, keeping his stern gaze on her almost pressingly. She shrunk into herself slightly on that, pushing her large, circular framed glasses up her nose out of habit. She looked to be disoriented with the collar of her dark blue sweater slipping off her reddened shoulders, the straps of her cream colored tank-top visible. Her ears and cheeks were flushed, but they were always like that. Her grip on the folders in her arms tightened.

          "What do you want, Sheridan? I told you that I'd call you later after we were debriefed on the case to let you know." He stated, sitting back down at his desk fully now and opening up a file that JJ had given him earlier. Sheridan stepped forward and without a second thought, slapped the folders on the file abruptly. He looked up at her and opened it. "What in the world?" She folded her arms, one hand reaching up to adjust the cream tied necklace she wore.

          "I was requested immediately." Her voice was smooth and soft, almost lilting with the Southern accent. Hotch opened up one of her folders and pulled a piece of decorated cardstock paper out.

          "They let you graduate early." He sounded almost impressed, yet no smile gave way. She hummed and nodded.

          "Apparently. I guess the last case I helped you all with impressed my administrators. Plus, you need all the help you can get. You don't need any pay cuts with little Jackie around now. I mean, it's been about what?—6 months since he was born. Which means that he is in the infant stage of costing you a lot of money due to his sudden need for teething and the fact that he may be crawling already." Hotch rose an eyebrow at her as he noticed her nod her head back and forth, chuckling a little. He often tried to hide his smiles, but Sheridan was good at getting them to come out. She walked over to the desk and pointed at the file. "I gotcha to smile, Aaron." He stood up, still smiling only slightly, shutting her first folder and picking it up. He moved the several other folders she had placed down off to the side and snatched up the file for the next case. As they turned and made their way to the door, the entire team could be seen gradually entering the conference room. Without saying another word, Hotch looked at her and pointed to the small ready bag on the floor by one of the filing cabinets.