Complicated
Summary: Their relationship has been going strong and steady for months now after finally giving into years of denied feelings. When a hard case gets harder with the unexpected arrival of an old flame, will an overprotective streak out them to the team? Will their relationship survive when things get… complicated?
This is a one shot based off a prompt given to me by my 300th reviewer. (Hope this is what you were looking for). Thank you everyone who is reading and enjoying Untold Truths. This is for all your continual support of my writing endeavors. Enjoy. For those of you not reading that, enjoy this anyway.
I own nothing but the words I write.
The team had been in Little Rock, Arkansas for nearly a week and, still, they were nowhere closer to finding their killer. The man was either a master of disguise or incredibly good at covering his tracks. Evidence pointed to neither of those things. Disorganized, chaotic, messy… those were all things they expected. That was what he gave them for evidence. He even left DNA behind and yet, they were still at square one.
"This is ridiculous. We should've had him by now or at least be closer to finding him."
"Relax Morgan. We'll get our guy." Hotch placated.
"How can you say that Hotch. Look around man. Even the locals want us gone because we're not helping." He sighed. That wasn't unusual. Most local law enforcement felt like they were infringing on their territory once they showed up, but this station welcomed them, invited them in with as close to open arms as they could get. Now all they wanted was the guy behind bars and the FBI out of their town for good; welcome rescinded. "We're not getting anywhere."
"We'll make an arrest."
"Statistically, the probability of catching the killer…"
"Spence, you're not helping." JJ kindly stopped him short of finishing. The room was full of tension already. They didn't need his facts to make it worse, even unintentionally.
"Ok, we're all frustrated, let's head back to the hotel and come back at this with fresh eyes in the morning."
"What?!" Morgan was outraged. "We can't just keep coming at this with fresh eyes. It's not helping. Nothing's changing and people are still dying. We've got to do something."
"Morgan… Derek, look…" Emily tried to calm him with her best soothing tone. "He's right. We're all just frustrated and we can't see anything… something that we need to see. Maybe if we step away from it for the night, things will be clearer in the morning."
"You really believe that?" He hissed.
"I don't know. But I'm willing to try if it'll help us solve this case."
"Fine. I'm out of here." He pushed out of his seat and stomped away from the room.
The others shared a look before calmly, and practically silently, collecting the files scattered about the borrowed office's table. They had so much work to do and no ideas on how to get it done. Their tired eyes and strained bodies sure as hell weren't helping though. They needed to call it a night. A series of false leads and dead ends were weighing on them heavily. And the pressure was on. If they didn't close the case soon, they knew they'd be forced to return to Quantico and the case would remain open. Unfinished business was not something they liked to have.
So, though reluctantly, they all hopped into the standard issue SUVs and trudged to their hotel with slumped shoulders. Who could rest when the fate of someone's life, someone they didn't know and couldn't find, was in their hands? It was going to be another long one.
The air was thick and the ride silent. No one knew what to say to make the others feel better. Nothing could really be said. There was a man out there killing women; blond, brunette, red head, it didn't matter. And they weren't sure they would or could stop him. That felt like the weight of the world and Morgan looked to be taking it all on. They all did really and they were. They felt it was their responsibility, and it was to a point, but not every case could be successful no matter how much they wanted it.
But then, they were on a deadline. Five minutes into their trip and Hotch's phone rang. The rest of the team in the car with him didn't have to ask to know who it was. The look said it all. "Chief Strauss, what can I do for you?" He greeted as the rest listened to the one side. "Yes ma'am, I'm aware… I know…. Yes but there are… That's true, yes, but we can't… Ma'am, I understand that, but… We have a job to do, you can't just tell us to give up. We need more time." He sighed, an exhalation almost visible. "That's all I can ask for, thank you ma'am."
The air only seemed to get thicker. "What's going on Hotch?"
"That was Strauss." He spoke with a heavy tone. "We're now officially on a clock."
"What does that mean?"
"If we don't find a credible lead and get this guy in the next 24 hours, we have to head home."
"And then what? Just forget about the case?" Emily asked.
"I don't like it anymore than you do. But that's what she's saying. We all better get some rest tonight. Tomorrow's going to be a hard one." He said as they exited the vehicle and gathered the team. "Get to bed, try to put the case out of your mind, and we'll regroup with fresh, clear minds tomorrow. Everyone be in the lobby by 6. I want to start early."
A round of "ok"s came from the team as they somberly began to disperse. "You coming Em?" JJ asked as she paused in front of the elevator to look at her unmoving colleague.
"Yeah, I'll be up to the room in a minute. I just need to see if the gift shop's open."
Eyes squinted, JJ questioned, "Need a Little Rock souvenir?"
"Out of toothpaste." Emily explained while slyly looking over her shoulder to see if her boss was still in the same spot.
"I have plenty. Just use some of mine."
"You know I'm very particular about these things and I'm not much of a cinnamon girl."
Not fully believing her, but too tired to question, Jayje simply said, "Ok, suit yourself. See you back in the room."
"I'll be there soon." She responded with a kind smile and a wave. As soon as the elevator parted, she quickly found her way to Hotch. "Hey, you ok?"
"It has been a long day."
"I know." She said, her hand kneading his biceps, rubbing up and down. "We're going to figure this out Aaron."
He finally turned, his posture relaxing more as he faced her. "We will, but we can't do this here. You know that. There are rules and we're getting enough flack for this case as it is."
"Ok… I just… I wanted to check on you; make sure you were alright."
"I'm not alright. None of us are. This case is getting to each and every one of us and if we don't get him…"
"We're going to Aaron." He didn't know if he believed it. He wasn't sure he could. "We will."
"I wish…" He looked to her stilling his words.
"What? You wish what Aaron?"
Locking gazes, he answered, "I wish I wasn't sharing a room with Dave."
"No?" A devious smile crossed her face as she made a quick sweep of the area. "Prefer to cuddle up to a younger, shaggier Reid? Oh, or a buff hunk like Morgan?" She teased. "Don't tell me you were looking for the buxom blonde? JJ's cute and all, but I'm pretty sure she's taken and Garcia strikes me as too wild for your…. Delicate sensibilities…"
"Delicate sensibilities?" He scoffed. "That's not what you were saying last week."
"Got me there." She conceded
"The only person I want to share my room with has dark hair, gorgeous eyes…"
"So you do like Rossi?"
"Funny."
"That's me…" She joked. "But me too. As much as I love JJ, she snores."
"And that's the only reason?"
"I can think of a few others." Again, making sure the team was nowhere in sight, she put her hand in his. "You'll have that roommate soon. The case will be solved by tomorrow night. I can feel it. How can we not with our fearless leader leading us on?"
"I love your faith in me." He gripped her hand tighter. "Thank you."
"Always."
"We should get back to our rooms or they might get suspicious."
"Wouldn't want that…" But she seemed put off by his words, quickly snatching her hand away. "Goodnight." She spat as she moved to leave.
"Emily." He called to her as she started to walk away. When she turned back toward him, he said, "We'll tell them… When we can."
"Yeah. When we can…" She said. "And now I'm off to find toothpaste."
"Toothpaste?"
"Yup." She popped the "p" and walked away with no explanation. She had toothpaste to find and a gift shop she hoped was open.
Hotch went up to his room with added heaviness. Though Emily didn't mean to, she only added to his stress. He knew she was having issues with keeping their relationship from the team; their friends. He was having the same issues, but there were rules and they were breaking them. The less people who knew about that, the better. But he didn't want her hurting because of that. He couldn't ignore the rules though. They both loved their jobs and he didn't want either of them to have to give that up, though he would and he was sure she would. But neither really wanted to and that would create its own problems.
"Something bothering you Aaron?"
"What?" Had he made it to the room already? Did he let himself in?
"I asked if there was something wrong."
"Oh. No Dave, nothing's wrong. This case is just taking its toll."
"On all of us."
"Yeah." He sighed as he sank onto the bed.
"Get some rest Aaron. We'll go at this head on in the morning."
"I will. Thanks Dave."
The room started to settle as he tried to put his mind at ease. They'd solve the case, and then they'd solve themselves. It would all work itself out. It had to. He loved her and she loved him and once the case was out from between them, they'd have time to figure it out.
Meanwhile, Emily wasn't having such an easy go of it. The gift shop was, unfortunately, closed. She should've realized. It was teetering toward one in the morning. Why would they be open? So as she headed back to her room, she was trying to come up with some excuse that would pacify JJ and she could make believable. Saying it was closed just seemed to simple. Simple didn't work when everything was… complicated. And there was still a time gap to account for. As gifted a liar as she was, she hated lying to her friends. And each time she did, it made her question her relationship that much more. She loved him, but was it enough if it meant lying to everyone?
She didn't have much time to ponder it though, because as she walked the floor to her room, head bowed, she walked right into someone. "I'm so sorry." She rushed to say as he kept her from falling.
"It's ok." He said. Why did that voice sound so familiar?
"Bri… Brian?" That complicated things more…
"Emily?" His face lit up. "Wow I didn't expect to see you here. It's great to see you though."
"What are you doing here?" She was shocked to see him. She hadn't seen or heard from him since college and, even then, things didn't really… well there wasn't much between them.
"Me? What about you? What are you doing here?"
"Work." She answered, doing her best to ignore the intense scrutiny of his stare. She seemed to be passing inspection.
"Oh yeah? What do you do?"
"I'm here on a case."
"Police?"
"Something like that. You?"
"I'm presenting at the conference here at the hotel."
"That's great Brian. I'd love to chat." Or maybe not because his gawking was getting a little creepy. "But it's late and I have an early morning. It was nice seeing you though."
"Wait." He reached out and gripped her upper arm, like she did earlier with Hotch, but a whole lot less friendly. "Come on, that's it? It's been years and I don't warrant more than a hello and a blow off?" At least he picked up on that… Why did he have to make things more than they were; turn simple into complicated like everything else in her life?
"I'm tired Brian. I'll try to catch up with you before I leave, but I really need to go now." She stated firmly and once again made move to leave. And again, he stopped her.
"Don't I at least get a hug?"
Would it get him to leave her alone? "Sure Brian." She approached him tentatively awkwardly trying to give him a quick hug and then be done with it. But he wouldn't let go. He just pulled her in tighter. "I need to go."
"You haven't changed." He whispered. "Still use the same shampoo." No she didn't; similar in scent, but very different too. What was wrong with him? Was he always so… weird?
"You need to let go now Brian. I need to get to my room." Still, he didn't.
"Em? Emily?" JJ called to her from inside the doorway. Ten feet. She just had to make it another ten feet before she could change and collapse into bed.
"That's my coworker." She told him. "You need to go."
"Ok." He finally released her, but still had his hands on her arms. "I'm in room 325 just down at the other end of the hall if you want to stop by."
"Sure. Bye Brian." She said and rushed away, ignoring the whatever he was saying to her as she moved away.
"Who was that?" JJ asked coyly, urging for details.
"No one. Just some guy that got turned around." She lied, another lie, not wanting to get into it. Way to make the messy messier… Sleep was all she craved. Sleep, catch the bad guy, and go home with her man in time to tuck in his son. "I'm going to use the bathroom. Do you need it?"
"No. Did you get your toothpaste?"
"Store was closed." Maybe simple worked…
"Ok, I left mine in there if you need it."
"Thanks." She said and disappeared with her bag. If there was time to shower and sleep, she would've just to wipe the creep off of her. She really didn't remember Brian quite like that. He was always weird, but he was so… different. Whatever, she wasn't planning on seeing him again; not ever, so it wasn't an issue.
JJ tried to squeeze a little more out of her, but Emily wasn't exactly chatty and sleep won out pretty quickly. Then, the morning came and they got a break in the case. A new development was coming together and they had renewed hope in solving the case in time. By noon, they were all in the makeshift briefing room going over the information.
"Garcia, can you narrow down the list of clubs with the parameters we gave you?"
"Are you questioning whether the all knowing queen of cyberspace can pull this simple task off?" She mocked offense.
"No one's questioning your abilities Baby Girl."
"Better not be." They heard her fingers tap the keys. "As I get this ball rolling, I need a moment with my raven haired beauty." Then, in a not so hushed whisper through the speaker phone she said, "So, Em… Tell me who he was."
"He who?" She asked.
"Oh don't you play dumb. Who was the hotel hottie who was all over your skinny ass?"
"Excuse me?" Hotch interrupted, an anger in his voice they hoped no one else noticed.
"Was I not talking quietly enough?"
"No Garcia, you weren't. That's speakerphone for you." Emily huffed. She could feel the crucifying eyes of her boyfriend and the curious stares of the team. The day didn't need that. Complicated, meet mess…
"Sorry peaches!" She squealed.
"It's ok PG." She hoped. "Hit us back when you find something." Emily said and quickly hung up on her.
"Sorry." JJ whispered into her ear. The blonde knew what privacy meant to her friend. Emily could only give her a peeved glance. There wasn't time for this. They had a case to solve and a clock ticking.
"What guy was she talking about Princess? Got time to shack up with a local in the middle of a case?" Morgan joked, but there was some hostility in there too. The case was getting to him more and more each second. "How'd you even meet him?"
"Kid's got a boy?" Rossi taunted. "What's his name? Do I need to call Garcia back to vet him?"
Hotch stayed silent, just staring at her, so after a moment or two, she looked into his eyes and answered, "There is no guy."
"I saw him." JJ was quick to add without thinking, once again throwing out an "I'm sorry."
"Yes, there was a guy. But not that kind of guy. He was some guy I kind of knew in college."
"Old flame?"
"No… Kind of… We went on one date. He wanted more. I didn't." She then, adamantly, added, "That's all. He's in town for a conference or something. It was a coincidence."
"And he played grabass with you?"
"Relax Morgan. There was no grabass. There was a hug and a few words, but that was all."
Emily was never happier to be interrupted by a phone in her life. Garcia called to tell them what her search found and prepare them for their next, and hopefully final, location. Hotch, however, didn't let up. As they were separating to look at a few different things, Hotch made sure to take her with him.
"Just say what you want to say Aaron." She was so tired of his stares. "Just say it."
"Who was he?" He asked as his fingers turned a ghostly shade of white gripping the wheel. Not once had he looked at her since they got into the car.
"I told you Aaron. He was a guy I went on one date with, if you can even call it that, in college. We had a class together. He asked me out. I said yes. But that was years ago. I haven't seen him since."
"And you let him play grabass with you in the hotel hallway?" He snared.
"No!" She yelled. "What's with you men? I told you it was just a hug and I didn't really even hug him back. He may have held on a little too long and what JJ saw may have looked like more than it was. But it was nothing. He means nothing."
"Do I need to be jealous?"
A smile danced upon her lips. "Is that what this is? Jealous?"
"No."
"It is! I think I like it."
"I'm not jealous…" Then he finally faced her again. "How much do you like it?" He asked with a devious grin.
"Hmm, I don't know. I'm thinking not much."
"I'm sorry." He said sincerely.
"Yeah, you'll be making it up to me later. Right now, pull over. We're here."
"Yes ma'am." He joked.
The rest of the day was lighter between them and everyone wasn't quite as weighed down. Yes, the deadline was rapidly approaching, but they had a solid lead. They had a pretty good idea where the UnSub would be and they were going to entrap him. Of course, that also meant a shopping spree for the girls to get club attire for the team. No girl could resist that.
So later that night, they were all dressed to the nines and ready to hit the clubs. The men were to be scattered about the place watching as the girls tried to capture the killer's attention. His type varied. And though they predicted he'd go for a blonde that night, they couldn't be sure. Beyond that, putting both women out there upped the chance he'd strike them.
The men were in place. JJ and Emily were out on the dance floor swaying their hips, sipping their drinks, and getting all sorts of attention. Thus far, none were their guy. Morgan and Reid were given JJ detail. If she moved, they were tasked to stay in her general vicinity and keep an eye out for any suspicious male in the crowd, especially if they were scoping her. Hotch gave him and Rossi Emily detail. It was probably a bad idea. And, if the team knew about their relationship, it would probably be considered unprofessional, but it was his choice and he was sticking by it, complicated or not. He knew JJ was covered and he needed to be part of the cover for Emily.
"See something you like Aaron?" Rossi asked with a hint of knowledge.
Barely giving Rossi's question much thought at all, he kept his eyes glued to Emily. "That guy seems to be paying an awful lot of attention to Emily."
"Relax Aaron. She knows what she's doing and we've got her back." He spoke into the mic as he moved to get a better look at his charge.
"What's he doing? I can't hear anything over the feed."
"It looks like she knows him."
"I'm going in closer."
"Be careful Aaron. Don't do anything stupid." He didn't respond, and that, was much more terrifying to Rossi than any lie or pacifying statement.
Down on the floor with Emily, she was keeping her eyes peeled. She felt like she was working the Viper case again, being hit on by a bunch of losers. And it would be worth it if one of them was their guy, but, none of them were. They were just simple losers, not psychopaths. She should've been happier about that. It seemed like something a normal person would be happy about. With each move she made, she felt two sets of eyes on her, one she knew to be Aaron's. He was being possessive and he made it clear he didn't like this assignment.
Truth was she wasn't fond of it either. She was willing, and on any other day wouldn't have given it a second thought, but there were mitigating factors. She and Hotch were trying to keep their relationship quiet, even though she wasn't sure she could do it much longer, and she knew how he was. He was overprotective and, whether he'd admit to it or not, he had a jealous streak; as evidenced by his earlier… moment. They needed to tell the team about them, that much she knew and wanted, but an outburst was not the best way to do it. So while they had eyes on her, she had her mind on him.
The other set of eyes, however, she didn't know who they belonged to. But it was getting to her. She could feel it, but wherever she looked, she couldn't see anyone starring; no one of note anyway. Then she saw him, not the UnSub, Brian. "Oh geez." She whispered with a sigh.
"Hey Em." He walked through the crowd with a cheesy look on his face and too much cologne. "Didn't think I'd see you here. Thought you were working."
"I am." She responded looking around him, searching.
"It doesn't look like you are." He said motioning to her outfit and the club. "You look hot though." Seriously? He wasn't making the situation any better.
"Look Brian, I really am working."
"Come on Em. Dance with me." He moved closer to her, putting a hand on hers. "For old time's sake."
"I don't think so Brian."
"Why not?"
"I told you, I'm working. And you're getting in the way of that." She hissed annoyed.
"Don't be like that Em."
"How much have you had to drink Brian?" Alcohol was a vice he had even in the old days.
"Not too much." He told her and brushed the hair from her face. She pushed him away and that angered him.
"What the hell?!"
"You need to leave."
"I'm not going anywhere." He yelled. "And neither are you." Gripping her arms, he said, "Let's dance."
"Let me go Brian."
"No, we're going to dance."
"Let me go!"
"Get your hands off her!" Hotch came out of nowhere.
"Get lost man. She's not your business." Complicated, meet messy, meet oh crap…
"Yes. She. Is. Now let her go before I make you."
"Excuse me?! Who the hell are you? The boyfriend?" He glared at Emily. "You didn't mention a guy."
"It doesn't matter. Get away from her."
"And if I don't, what are you going to do about it?" The man challenged.
"This." Hotch stormed to them fists balled and stopping just short of them, stretching out one hand to separate him from Emily as his left hand raised and reached. The sounds of flesh contact echoed in the loud room as his knuckles hit Brian's face.
"Hotch!" Emily screamed as the other man released her on his way to the ground. "What the hell?!"
"I'm sorry. Are you ok? He…"
In the chaos, they didn't hear the other team members say they got their guy going after a red head. He fit their description and had a knife on him that fit the build of the murder weapon. "We're bringing the guy in." He finally heard. "Hotch, you there man?"
"Yeah. I'm here. Nice work guys."
"Yeah, real nice work. What's going on Aaron?" Rossi asked as he made his way over to the commotion and helped the guy off the ground. "What happened?"
"That asshole decked me for no reason." Brian tried to explain.
"No one asked you buddy."
"That's Brian." Emily explained. "The guy from last night. He didn't want to take no for an answer and he was getting in the way of the investigation." She gave Hotch a pointed look. "Right?"
"Yeah… He was in the way, grabbed her, and wouldn't leave her alone. Things got out of hand. He was just leaving though."
"You don't want me to bring him in too?"
"Bring me in?! I didn't do anything." He was irate. "He's the bitch who hit me!"
"And you're a punk who interfered with a federal investigation."
"What?" He asked scared.
"Just go." Emily told him. "Go Brian!"
The rest of the team was there then, just in time to see the man scurry. "I had uniforms are take him in and put him in the box. We heard something over the mics. What's happening here?"
"Hotch got all masculine and punched some guy who got a little rough while he tried to hit on Prentiss."
"What? Are you ok?"
"It's fine. I'm fine." Emily fumed. "The guy left. We got our guy. Let's just go."
"Go? No, we need some explanation."
"Like why Hotch got so protective…" JJ added.
"Because we're seeing each other!" Emily yelled out, quickly realizing what she did.
"Seeing each other? Dating?!" JJ's eyes were as wide as Emily's. A dumbstruck Hotch could only watch.
"That a boy." Rossi said, a hand patting his shoulder. "Good for you Aaron."
"Hold up. How long has this been going on?"
"Can we not do this here?" Emily begged. "It's loud and crowded. We got our suspect waiting in custody. Let's go."
"No, no, no. Not so fast. How long have you been dating the boss man?" Morgan asked over the music.
"Long enough to be living together."
"How did I miss that?" JJ asked. "Wait, you moved in with him?"
"Yes."
"But I've been to your apartment. I saw you there last week."
"I still have it."
"Workplace relationships really aren't that uncommon. Approximately…"
"Please Reid, spare me… Just this once." He quickly shut up. Even he wasn't blind to the anxiety his coworkers were feeling.
"Sorry."
"It's ok Reid."
"Wait until Garcia hears about this…" JJ said cunningly.
"I hate you a little right now."
"You love me… and apparently, you love him too. When did that happen?"
"Around Christmas." She answered. "Moved in last month."
"Why'd you keep it from us?"
"Yeah, we're your friends." Reid added.
"We didn't want to, but with the rules, we just wanted to be sure it was real before we told you."
"So it's real?"
"It's very real." She said, but she was having issues with it. If it was so real, would they have to hide? Would he really need to be jealous?
"That's great. I'm happy for both of you." JJ cheered them on.
"Just don't mess with her heart. I'm not above kicking your ass man." Morgan said as he patted his boss' back and walked away.
"Congrats I guess." Reid said and followed Morgan out a little clueless to what the revelation meant but happy for them all the same.
"I knew there was something between you both. You thought you had us." Rossi said. "I think it will work out though. You deserve each other. Congratulations for finally getting it together and doing it right." With a grin on his face, he too left for the station.
"Ok, he's by ride and I want the lovebirds to have their own car, but I'm really happy for the two of you. I wish you told me sooner, but I get it and I always thought you would be good together."
"Thanks Jayje."
"Yes, thank you."
"See you at the station."
The ride was utterly silent. So their relationship was out in the open and all seemed to be ok with it, but was there still a relationship left to be ok with or would the moment of jealousy ruin it? Emily was having mixed feelings. And Hotch was too. His moment of weakness could've cost them the case. Sure, they got the guy, went back to the station and got a confession, but he totally lost it. He lost it and it could've cost them everything. It might've cost him his relationship. There was a quiet animosity between the pair that couldn't be ignored any longer.
"You can't do that again." Emily stated as they entered his hotel room to collect his things before check out. It was the first thing she said to him all day, since the night before, that wasn't work related. "Not when we're on the job… Not at home either for that matter."
"I know that Emily. I'm…" Her finger delicately pushed into his lips to silence him.
"I'm a big girl Aaron. And beyond that, I'm a trained agent. I can handle myself from an oversexed drunken idiot."
"I know you can."
"Shush, I'm not done." She pushed her finger harder against his lips.
"Ok." He mumbled,
"I told you to shut up." Her voice was more forceful.
"I'm sor…"
"Aaron!" He learned his lesson and said nothing. "I don't need you to protect me. That being said, the way you pushed him away and knocked him to the ground… very sexy."
"Yeah?" He asked as he moved her hand away and leaned into her to the point he was nibbling on her neck.
"Mmhmm." Her voice vibrated against his face. "That's nice."
"Is it?" He teased her.
"Mmm… just no more hitting people because you're jealous."
"Got it. Ma'am, yes ma'am."
"We have 30 minutes before we need to leave for the jet." She told him.
"We could do a lot in 20."
"Yes… we can." She said seductively. "I love you Aaron."
"I love you too."
"But you better be quiet, the team's all on this floor."
"Me be quiet? Look who's talking…. Super ears Rossi better know to stay away."
"Definitely." She laughed and connected her lips to his. "And call me ma'am. I think I like that."
"Whatever you want… ma'am."
Things were complicated between them… maybe they always would be, but maybe, just maybe, complicated was what made it all great…