Tick Tock by Meowser Hotchner
A/N: This is my sequel to Liar. You don't have to read that first but I do recommend it. If you haven't, this is basically a retelling of 10x23: The Hunt. Kate is not married and Meg does not exist. She and Hotch have just started to...fool around. I'm not calling it dating yet.
Please pay attention to this. I really hope that this is clear enough that I get no reviews stating that Kate is married or 'where does this come in'. It comes in from Liar.
So if you're unsure, read that first.
Kate rolled over in bed, feeling soreness all over her body. She'd done a killer workout with Morgan earlier that day and now she was feeling it in places she didn't even know she had places.
"Ugh," she said, and then rolled into something. She blinked a few times before realizing that it was Hotch's back.
"What's the matter?" He asked sleepily.
"Remind me to kill Morgan," she grumbled, sliding her arms around him and wincing. "God, am I sore."
He laughed and she felt the rumble from her face was pressed into his back. "I'll be sure to do so," he said, before rolling over to face her. She stared at him, how clear his face was even in the evening light.
"You look so good with stubble," she said, smiling as she leaned in to kiss him. He met her halfway, returning it with alacrity.
"This feels so good," he began. "So natural. I love being in bed with you, Kate."
"I love being in bed with you, Aaron," she said and loved the sound of his name on her tongue. "Aaron," she repeated and kissed him again.
"You should be going," she said, sitting up in bed. Her clock flashed: 7:32 p.m. "Jack's movie will be over soon."
"I suppose," he said, raising his arms above his head and looking at her; admiring her bare upper body. "I like this view of you," he said quietly. "I like how calm you look, how your face is untroubled. I like the faint smile on your face." He leaned up to kiss her. "I should be going," he agreed and got out of bed. She watched as he dressed and smiled when he caught her doing so.
"You look good in those jeans," she said. "You look good in anything."
"Thank you," he said modestly. "So do you."
"No, I don't," she protested. "I can think of several outfit styles that should never grace my body."
"Shh," he said. "Wear your skinny jeans tomorrow."
She smiled into his shoulder as he leaned to embrace her.
"Is that an official order from the boss?"
"Just a request," he said, brushing his lips over hers. She stretched her arms to grab him but he slipped away from her at the last second.
"You said I should leave first," he reminded and slipped from the bedroom. Kate sighed as she watched him go and finally got out of bed herself, pulling on a sweater and leggings.
"I need groceries," she remembered, speaking aloud as she looked into her near-empty fridge. "Let's think...eggs, cheese, avocado..." She trailed off in thought as she got a slip of paper to write her list.
She opened and closed cabinets, seeing what she had and what she didn't, when there was a knock on her door. She froze, looking at it and then down at her chest.
"Just a minute," she called, going into the bedroom and snagging a bra from her bureau, clipping it on and smoothing her shirt over it before looking through the peephole.
It was Bobby, her new neighbor. She hesitated another moment before cracking it open.
"Hey, Bobby," she greeted. "Was I being too loud?"
"No, I just got these tickets to a concert," Bobby said.
It took Kate a moment to realize that he was coming onto her and almost took a step back in surprise.
"I'm not available, for whatever you're thinking," she said. "I don't really date or anything. Sorry."
"No, not like that," Bobby protested. "I have an extra ticket, I've asked all my friends and no one wants it. We don't have to go together. God, I'm embarrassed now. It wasn't like that."
"I mean, I don't have much free time," Kate hedged again. "I can't really schedule things because my schedule is all wacky."
Bobby nodded. "Sorry for bothering you," he said.
"Yeah," she replied and shut the door, turning to lean against it in embarrassment. Would she ever stop being awkward and just always saying the weird, inappropriate thing? Yes, sometimes a laugh was good but sometimes a person should just shut their mouth. And sometimes, a person shouldn't jump to conclusions. Bobby had to be fourteen years younger than her. Of course he wasn't coming onto her.
She blocked the thought out as she walked back into the bedroom, grabbed some shoes and her wallet, when the phone on her bedside table chimed and she froze.
That wasn't her work phone.
Well, it was, but it was her fake work phone. It was the new number she'd received to investigate the ring of kidnappers that she'd first learned about last year with Parkett...her first case with the BAU.
And she'd only given that number to a small number of people. It made no sense for it to be ringing right now.
She walked forward and picked it up, reading the message that popped up on the screen.
It's not going to be so easy anymore, Agent Callahan.
She utterly froze, her heart suddenly beating in her ears.
Why do you say that? She replied, taking her other phone and started to dial Garcia's phone number when the next message came in.
I know about your sleeping with Agent Hotchner.
She felt a stomach ache begin. Oh god. She shouldn't have slept with him; she shouldn't have endangered his position in the FBI like that.
Why do you say that?
She typed again, and breathed in and out, trying to calm herself. For god's sake, she'd done this before, so many times. There was no reason to be nervous.
Come on, Kate. You're just playing a part, she tried to convince herself. So play the damn part. But why does he know my name? What if it's someone in the BAU?
She waited in tense silence for the next message to come in. It took a few minutes before the phone chimed again.
I have pictures of him leaving your apartment.
She breathed out a sigh of relief. He leaves a lot of people's apartments.
Not in the early morning, the reply came back faster than lightning. Yes, I can get proof if that's what you want. But you and I already know that you are sleeping with him, Agent Callahan. You're sleeping with the boss. Why, this compromises your position in the Bureau, doesn't it? And his.
Why did I risk Hotch? She wondered to herself before a sudden thought occurred to her and she turned the phone over in her hand. Quick as a wink, she removed the sim card and just stood holding it in her hands for a moment. She wanted to flush it down the toilet. She wanted to crush it with her pointiest pair of high heels. Why did I have to risk Hotch, of all people? Why do I have to ruin things like this?
She turned and dropped the sim card on the bed, determined to deal with it later, and charged from her apartment and down to her car, not looking right or left but keeping her gaze straight ahead. Her face felt hot to her own senses and she wondered if she had enough control of her facial tics to go out like this and not have people notice how out of control she really felt.
She went to the grocery store in a daze, wondering what she'd do next. Whatever she'd imagined happening, whatever the worst case scenario she'd dreamed up, none of them had matched the horror of this. She'd taken on the kidnapping ring with one clear goal in mind...
And now everything was messed up. And she didn't even know who the texts were from. This is why you don't get involved with the boss, a voice in her head warned.
And before she could stop herself, she reached for her (work) phone and composed a text. She felt like the hugest coward for doing it but she couldn't chance Hotch coming over to surprise her or anything like that.
We have to stop this, she began, her heart thudding so loudly she wondered if the people around could hear it before dismissing the thought as pure nonsense. I love what we've had but we have to end it. When I come into work on Monday, we're done. I'm handing in my resignation.
And lastly she added, with words that broke her heart the most, This was a mistake. This whole thing.
She sent the message and felt like her heart stopped in the next few moments. She was sure that Hotch had his phone on him, (he always had it on him, no exceptions) and now it was just a matter or time.
Tick tock. Tick tock. She could hear her watch tick the time away and then Hotch's reply came in.
What happened?
Nothing happened. I just realized how wrong this was. I'm sorry. She typed the words and hit send, and then turned her phone off before continuing shopping.
There. It was done. He'd be safer now. She'd finally done something right.
So why did she feel like this was the stupidest thing she'd ever done?