A.N. Because it was needed. I'm not sure if the episode took place on a Tuesday but I took the liberty of moving it to a Thursday or Friday because it pleases me. Enjoy.
She'd gotten the voice mail as she'd been travelling from the business meeting to dinner. At first she hadn't been sure if she'd heard correctly, because it was impossible that Dave could have left such a horrible message in such a calm voice.
Hi Beth it's Dave. I know you're away but I just wanted to tell you that Aaron collapsed at work this morning. We just got to the hospital but I don't know anything yet. Penelope's going to stay with him so if you want to call anyone call her. I've given her your number, I'm sure she'll update you when we know more.
When she'd gotten to the restaurant she'd taken the opportunity to excuse herself from all the business to call the technical analyst. Penelope Garcia hadn't had any news that made her feel; scar tissue, internal bleeding, major surgery, it seemed like every pause in the mostly one-sided conversation was heavy with desperation and despair. The phone call had ended with a promise to update her as soon as anything new was known or his condition changed.
She's wanted to go home as soon as she'd hung up the phone but she knew it wasn't an option. She still had a few hours of meetings to attend after the lunch and the chances of being able to leave before they were over was slim. The only thing she could do was wait and see if she could slip away after the meetings and apologize later.
When she stuffed all the clothes she'd unpacked a few days earlier into her suitcase she briefly lamented at the lack of opportunity to actually experience Milan. She'd been excited to go somewhere she'd never been to nor had ever really thought about going to but as she printed her boarding pass the only thing she wanted was to leave.
She knew when she got onto the plane that he was okay. He'd come out of surgery and was in recovery and should make a full recovery but it did nothing to ease her. She'd spoken to him briefly on the phone while she'd been in the airport but it had been a futile conversation that had included her trying not to cry and him trying to convince her to stay and do what she needed to in Milan.
The flight was long, the nine hour flight feeling long enough without the presence of the anxiety, layovers, late departure times, and turbulence. For the first time since she'd left she was glad that Milan was seven hours ahead of Virginia, technically she'd arrive only about three hours after she left.
She didn't eat on the flight. She couldn't bring herself to, the only thing she touched was a couple glasses of water, the food she'd eaten earlier that day sat heavily in her stomach and kept sleep away, adding to the perceived length of the flight.
When the plane landed Beth barely remembered to grab her luggage before she hailed a taxi and was on her way to the hospital. The drive was almost as agonizing as the flight, she'd turned her phone on when she'd landed but there hadn't been any messages, texts, or missed calls so she could only hope that everything was still okay. Aaron had given her his room number the last time they'd spoken despite his insistence on her not going out of her way to visit him. The man was so selfless and selfish at the same time and it made her crazy on a good day. Sometimes she just wanted to shake some sense into him.
She knew she must have looked out of place hauling a suitcase through the busy hallways of the hospital but that was the least of her worries as she tried to make sense of the room numbers.
"Beth!"
Looking around for the source of the sound Beth's eyes quickly settled on Penelope Garcia. She met the bubbly blonde half way and she was immediately eased by the lack of panic on the woman's face.
"How is he?" Beth asked.
"He's okay," Garcia replied. "He was awake earlier, talking and everything. Jack's already been in to see him and that was the best reunion I've seen in days."
Beth exhaled slowly and put a hand on her chest, "Good. That's…that's really good."
Penelope nodded and grinned, "Very much so. You can go see him if you like."
Beth nodded, "I think I will. Can you watch my bag?"
"Of course!"
Beth gave the analyst a quick hug before walking over to Aaron's room. Peering inside she could see that he must have dozed off. It was weird to see him hooked up to monitors in a hospital gown with a cannula supplying oxygen in his nose. He looked paler than usual, the stress of whatever had happened to him showing on his face. Despite that he did look somewhat peaceful sleeping, not as peaceful as he looked when he slept in on a Sunday morning but peaceful nonetheless.
Approaching the bed she took a seat at the bedside before careful taking his hand into hers. Stroking the back of his hand with her thumb she watched him wake up slowly, blinking against the harsh hospital lights and squeezing her hand gently. She said nothing as she let him readjust to consciousness and his surroundings, when he looked over at her she smiled.
"Hey," she said softly.
"Hi." His voice was hoarse but it was still the best thing she'd heard all day.
Reaching over she stroked the hair at his temples, she just wanted to touch him, to affirm to herself that he was really there, alive and well.
He turned his face into her hand and smiled knowingly, "I'm okay."
Her laugh quickly turned into a sob that she wasn't fast enough to swallow and she pushed him back down when he immediately tried to sit up.
"Beth…" He let his sentence drop and she could tell he wasn't entirely sure what to say.
Using a tissue to dab under her eyes she shook her head to help pull herself together. "You stupid stupid man. Why didn't you tell anyone if you weren't feeling okay? All of this could have been avoided if you had just gotten some help."
When he opened his mouth she silenced him with a look.
"No Aaron. I love you. I really love you but sometimes you frustrate me like you cannot imagine. You don't have to do any of this alone anymore. You have me, Jack, the team, so much support and you don't even know it do you?"
He said nothing as she spoke and remained silent for a few moments later before tugging gently on her hand.
"What?" She asked.
"Come here," he said.
"No, Aaron-"
"Come here," he asked again, tugging a little more on her hand.
Giving in, she carefully managed to climb into the bed with him. It wasn't particularly comfortable but it made her feel immeasurably better.
"I know," he said after they'd settled.
Beth absently drew random pattern on the back of the hand that rested on her chest, waiting for him to continue.
"I don't think I realized how absent I was from you and Jack, and even the team for that matter. I guess I've just been stuck in my ways for so long that I never thought that I wasn't sharing enough of myself. And I'm sorry about that."
Closing her eyes she shook her head slowly, "I know you're trying Aaron. I can't even imagine all the pressure you have with everything on your plate."
"It's not an excuse," he countered.
"I'm not saying that, I know it's hard when I'm in New York and you're here but you know you can always call me…about anything. No more of this 'solo man bravado' crap okay?"
She felt him chuckle, "I can't promise a complete one eighty. I can however, promise to try."
"That's all that I ask. Now how are you really?"
Brushing some of her hair away from her eyes he shrugged, "Shifting from pain and discomfort. The doctor said it was to be expected and he did give me some medication but the nausea wasn't worth it. Hopefully I can get out of here quickly."
She almost elbowed him before she remembered that he'd had major surgery just hours earlier.
"Can you just try and get better first? There's no hurry, the bad guys can be caught without you for the time being."
"They won't do the paperwork."
She arched an eyebrow, "And neither will you for the time being okay? We're going to go home and spend some time with Jack and relax."
He inclined his head, "Sounds like a good weekend."
She laughed, "Weekend? You're taking more time than that."
When he started to argue she put a finger over his lips, "Can you just trust me on this please? You're going to burn out Hotchner."
He pressed a kiss to her temple, "You worry too much."
"You only think that way because you never worry about things like your health."
He rolled his eyes but wisely kept quiet. There was a lot he wanted to say, a lot more he felt that he needed to explain, but a hospital room in the late evening was not the time to do so. If things were going to work the way Beth had planned he would have quite a bit of time to explain and spend some quality time with those he loved.
"So how was Milan?" He asked hoping to change the subject.
Almost immediately Beth launched into stories about the architecture, food, and the people, and Aaron was more than happy to simply listen to her speak. Content in having the woman he loved in his arms and a weekend to look forward to he let himself relax and eventually drift into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.