Discs.: I don't own Criminal Minds nor its characters...
A/N: Another new story by me. This time it's only friendship between Hotch and Elle (All my regular readers know that's a first!) - but maybe it's going to become a romance later on...Takes place directly after "Derailed"...
Not enough
1. Doubt
Elle wasn't happy about the fact that Hotch wanted her to see a doctor. She was okay - but he was the boss so there was no way out...
At the hospital :
Hotch was sitting in the waiting area while Elle was examined by a doctor. He felt somehow guilty for what happened. It had been him who allowed her to go to Texas all by herself.
She was certainly a great agent, but she was also still new on the team. He should have sent one of the others with her; or should have went with her himself. But he trusted her ability to do her job on her own...and everyone had been pretty busy, so he had agreed when she suggested to go alone. Now he of course regretted his decision, even if he knew that nothing of the events of this day had been his fault.
Before he was able to continue his train of thought, Elle approached him.
"Hey." Elle smiled at him.
"Hey yourself. What did the doctor say?"
"I'm okay. Everything is fine."
Hotch lifted an eyebrow.
"Really..."
"Okay...Then let's go..."
He got up, and they left the hospital.
Later that day:
After all of them had finished their paperwork they decided to get some drinks.
At the bar their mood lightened, and the stress of the day was almost forgotten.
A few hours later:
With the passing of time the agents left the bar until only Hotch and Elle were left. Hotch had observed her carefully all evening, noticing that she was unusually quiet.
"Hey Elle, you're okay?"
He looked worried at her. Elle gave him a thoughtful glance and replied,
"It's nothing, really..."
"Come on, Elle. Do you really think that I believe that? I'm a trained profiler, so what is bothering you? Is it about what happened in Texas?"
She kept silent then she asked him,
"You're not going to stop until I answer your question, huh?"
He shook his head no and gave her an expecting glance.
"I feel like it is my fault that it went that far. Hell, I'm working with the BAU - I should have seen this coming..."
She let her head hang.
"Look at me, Elle. Nothing of this is your fault, believe me. Nobody could have known that this would happen..."
She lifted her head, and looked him straight into the eyes. He was shocked by the sorrow he saw in them.
"I just feel like I failed on everything, like Shyer had been right...Maybe it was really a mistake to give the open position to me..."
Her voice broke, her eyes welled up with tears, and she broke eye-contact with Hotch.
"Listen Elle, don't even think like that! You're a great agent, and one hell of a profiler. You deserved the promotion, trust me. It was my decision to give this job to you, and I never regretted doing it."
He smiled at her.
After a moment she smiled back.
"Well, it's quite late so why don't we leave? - I think we had both enough drinks..."
Elle only nodded, they paid their drinks and left.
Outside the bar:
While they waited for a cab to arrive, Hotch turned toward Elle and told her,
"You know, in case you ever need someone to talk you can always call— no matter what time it is..."
They shared a smile, and Elle replied after a moment of silence,
"Thank you... for everything..."
In that moment a cab stopped next to them.
"Hey Elle, why don't we share the ride?"
"Are you aware of the fact that we live in totally different directions?"
"Yep. But how are the odds that another cab will get here in the next half hour?"
He looked at her, one eye-brow lifted.
Elle smiled and stated,
"Well, I bet Reid could tell you that."
"Probably, he could..."
They took a seat, and Elle told the cabbie her address.
When they reached their destination, Elle looked at Hotch, smiling, the she paid her part of the ride and got out.
After Elle had entered the building, Hotch told the driver his address.
At Hotch's place:
When he opened the front-door he tried to be as quiet as possible. A moment later, Haley came down the stairs.
"Hey." She smiled at him.
"Why are you still up?"
Hotch pulled her in a tight embrace.
"Well, Jack wasn't willing to fall asleep until a few minutes..."
Haley made a little step back, and looked at her husband.
"Are you okay?"
Hotch tried to smile, but knew he failed. They took a seat in the living-room and Haley asked,
"What is it, Aaron?"
"Uh, just a tough case..."
He put an arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and gave her a soft kiss onto the forehead.
After a moment of silence Haley stated, "Let's get to bed..."
They looked at each other.
"Why don't you already go upstairs? I'll come in a moment..."
"Okay..." She got up and went to the stairs, before going upstairs, she turned once again, and glanced sadly back at her husband. It was hurting her to see how the job was getting to him.
Then she went up to their bedroom.
Hotch sighed. He leaned forward, and rested his head on his hands. In the last time, he had noticed how the stress of his line of work was starting to get more and more to him. And he was still kinda worried about Elle. He decided to keep an eye on her.
A moment later, he got up and went upstairs.
Tbc
A/N: Hope you liked it...Please take the time and let me know what you think - PLEASE REVIEW!