A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
CHAPTER 3: The Monster Returns
It had been two weeks since Aaron had gone to see Shaunessy, two weeks where he had been terrified that the Reaper would come back and kill hundreds of people. Aaron had been thinking about ways to resolve this horrible possibility without getting anyone involved, but he knew he couldn't, and at some point, the team would find out, too, because the BAU would be the first called on the scene. The truth was he didn't even know how to address this to anyone…he felt angry at Shaunessy that he had to pay for his mistakes, but, there was no way out of it, and he knew it. The only thing that was in front of him right now was time. Hotch knew it was just a matter of time before all hell would break loose because all the Reaper was waiting for was Shaunessy's death, which miraculously hadn't happened yet. He tried to act normally, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it. He hadn't been sleeping well lately…he was the only one that knew the Reaper was still alive, but he had promised Tom he would not tell anyone about this until Tom was officially dead, and Hotch planned on keeping his word to Tom. That was another reason why he was not getting much sleep, Aaron knew this was about to be one of the most terrifying killers breaking loose, and he could do very little about it until the Reaper actually started killing again, so, technically someone had to be dead for him to start doing his job. Now, he had no way to track the Reaper or even to start looking for him, and that was killing him inside, and worse than anything, it was affecting his life in all possible ways.
He was in his office going over the files on the Reaper case for the hundredth time in the last couple weeks. He didn't have a profile, he didn't have any way to track him down, or at least know how to look for him; how could he stop someone from killing when he didn't have any idea who that someone was. No matter how many times he reviewed the files, he couldn't get anywhere…he had a very bad migraine right now just from looking at the words on the pages so much, and he truly felt like his head was going to explode. He reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out the bottle of ibuprofen, swallowing a couple of them, hoping they would help him feel a little better. He glanced through the window of his office to check on his team who were currently working on the case they had returned from the previous night. His eyes landed on the beautiful brunette that seemed to be deeply concentrating on paperwork, and he felt the pinch in his stomach, perhaps that was why he felt so terrible. He and Emily had gotten into a fight the night before, and she was still displeased with him; all this stress had been affecting his personal life, too. During the last case, he had lost his temper with Penelope, something he never really did, and although he felt terrible about it and had apologized to the technical analyst, that didn't stop his wife from biting his head off. Emily had noticed his odd behavior, and she kept asking what was wrong, and he kept saying he was okay; however, the night before, things had gotten out of hand. They had gotten into a fight, and she had not talked with him since. Then, what hurt him the most, he knew she had the right to be mad because he had been not been himself the last couple of weeks. Emily was a great profiler, and she had noticed all of his behaviors, so he couldn't even hide it from his wife, and that's what had lead them to fight. The problem was they never really fought…although most marriages had their ups and downs, he and Emily very seldom argued, they always talked through their disagreements until they had worked everything out. When they did have one of their rare fights, it affected both of them so much that they were miserable until they could sit down quietly and discuss what was making them so unhappy and upset. Now, his heart has aching because he had made his wife angry and that bothered him so much. He never wanted to cause her any pain, but he didn't know how to fix this, how to apologize to her.
Flashbacks
They had arrived home from their case a few hours ago, and he was in his study again going over the Reaper case. He wasn't feeling very well, and he also knew Emily still wasn't very happy about him losing his temper with Garcia, but also because he had been acting really weird. Every time she tried to talk to him, he would change the subject and, of course, she was getting a little irritated about that.
"Dinner is ready…." –She said, as she tapped on the door of his study for the third time that night.
"I'm not really hungry…." –Aaron answered with his eyes still on the file.
"Come on, Aaron, you've been gone all week, the kids haven't had a chance to be with you, and right now, they are waiting for their father to have dinner with them." -She said coldly.
"I know…I'm sorry, I'm really not hungry…" -and he truly wasn't. This stress was making him lose his appetite and everything.
Emily closed the door of the study a little roughly and left without saying a single word to him. He knew if he didn't show up at the table, Emily was going to be furious, so he decided he had to join them for dinner.
When he sat down at the table, Emily shot him a cold look, and he turned his attention to the kids; he would try to talk with her later when they were alone. They started dinner and Jack and Alana eventually filled the room with giggles and questions. They were overjoyed to have both their parents at home at the same time. Aaron was happy, too, the truth was, this was the only thing in the world that made him happy at the moment, his family, they were a gift from heaven, and he would do anything to protect them. That was why he was so worried and scared about the Reaper…he was scared about the people he would harm, but he was mostly scare about his wife and kids. He couldn't bear it if the Reaper came anywhere near his family, he felt a gut-wrenching knot in his stomach, and he closed his hand in a fist from anger just thinking about it.
"Daddy…daddy." -Alana spoke louder, bringing her father back from his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." -Aaron turned to look at the four year old who was trying to get his attention.
"I was telling you about my school show, didn't you listen?" -Lanny asked, with a sad face.
"No, baby, I'm so sorry, please tell me again." -He said, pulling her into his arms. Emily stood up from the table shaking her head angrily, and Aaron could see that she was beyond mad. He finished dinner with the kids, but Emily never returned to the table. After putting the kids and reading them their bedtime stories, Aaron came downstairs to find his wife still washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. From the Emily look on her face, he knew she was mad, and that they needed to talk.
"Can I help you with the cleaning?" -He asked, not knowing how else to start, but she didn't respond.
"Em...?" -He started again.
"No thanks, go back to your office." -She responded coldly. Aaron exhaled.
"Look, I know you're mad, and I'm sorry…" -He started, but she turned around with her hands still wet and started going off on him.
"What the hell is going on with you!?" -She yelled.
"You lost it with Garcia today, you've been acting weird for the last couple of weeks, and don't think I haven't noticed, what the hell is the matter, Aaron?" -She asked again. Aaron looked up at his fuming wife, knowing as much as he wanted to share this with her, he just couldn't.
"I'm okay, I'm just tired, that's all." -He said.
"Don't give me that crap…it's not that, and you know it." -She raised her voice again.
"You know how stressful my job is, Emily." -He defended the best he could.
"Oh, and mine isn't?" -We work in the same place, so don't give me that bullshit." -She looked at him with a look that would skewer him.
"I know, I told you I'm just tired, that's all." –Again he tried to defend himself with something akin to the truth.
"You are not fine, you can't even listen to your kids when they are talking to you. Alana was talking to you for at least five minutes, and you didn't even hear a single word she said." -Emily said, placing her hands on her hips.
"I'm sorry, I apologize about that." -He said, trying to calm his wife down.
"Don't apologize, just tell me what's going on. I'm worried about you." -Her face finally softened, and he could see the true worry in her beautiful brown eyes. She approached and stepped really close to him, asking one more time what was wrong. He wanted to tell her, he truly did, but he couldn't. He would never put her at risk no matter what. He looked at her for an instant, and he couldn't help but look away avoiding her intense stare.
"Nothing is wrong, I'm fine." -He lied again. Emily knew he was lying, and she rolled her eyes angrily and walked past him going upstairs without saying a single word to him. When he came upstairs, she was in bed already with her back facing the door.
End flashback.
They had not talked since the fight, and he wanted to fix things but he didn't know how. He couldn't tell her the truth without getting her involved. He ran his hand over his hair frustrated…he had to find a way to protect his family and resolve this case…maybe he could find a way to fix things. He didn't want to go to bed mad at his wife, and he knew she was hurting too, he would find a way to fix things no matter what, and everything would go back to normal.
When everyone left for lunch around 2:00 PM, Emily glanced at her husband's office; she couldn't help but feel bad because she knew he had been there all morning without opening the door once. He had left that morning without eating breakfast, and he had been in his office since about 5:00 AM. She was still mad at him, but she also loved him more than anything in the world, and more than angry, she was worried about him. She knew something was wrong, and she just wished he would tell her what it was so they could fix it together like they always did. After all, that was what a marriage did, fix things together. She felt a little guilt in the pit of her stomach, too, because she knew that even though they worked in the same place, his job was far more stressful than hers. Not to mention Strauss always putting him through hell, even though he was always the first one to arrive at the BAU, and the last once to leave. Pile that on top of the cases and the horrible things they saw daily, these things grouped together impacted their lives completely, especially with the cases they see every day.
So, when she went to lunch, she got something for him, too, because she knew he wasn't going to go eat, and because she knew he had not had breakfast either. In fact, she realized he had hardly eaten the last couple of weeks, and it was beginning to show on him. When she returned to the office, the rest of the team had not returned yet, so, she thought it would be a great opportunity to get him alone and maybe talk. She was hurting badly, too, and she knew they needed to talk, they had gotten into a fight and they never fought, and it pained her very much for them to be angry at each other. She was just worried, she wanted to know what was wrong with him and try and fix it...she would do anything to make him happy, he was the love of her life. So, she placed her bag on her desk, picked up the files she had been working on all morning and the lunch bag she had gotten for him and made her way to his office.
She knocked on the door softy and stepped in when she heard the "come in" behind the door. She walked in quietly, looking at the man she loved who seemed to be more tired and older than ever, and that made her feel worse. Aaron looked up from his files to see the woman he had shared a life with for the past six years walk in.
"Hey, here are my files for all the past cases." -She said softly, placing them on his desk.
"Thank you." -He could see the sadness on her face, and it pained him so much he could feel it in his heart.
"I brought you something to eat." -She said, placing the bag on his desk, too.
"Thank you, I'll eat later." -He said, and felt even guiltier because she still cared enough to bring him lunch and loved him so much.
"Please eat something. I know you didn't eat any breakfast this morning, and I know you haven't eaten right lately. Please...you're going to get sick." -She said softly.
"I'm fine, I'll eat something later."-He said, looking at her sadly again.
"Aaron please...just please..." -Her voice broke down, and he could see the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. Without being able to help himself, he stood up and approached the brunette and pulled her into his arms. She clung to him tightly and for a second, they both forgot where they were.
"I'm sorry." -He said, hugging her tightly…she just nodded, and he knew she was crying, so he hugged her even tighter. He pulled away, but held her in his arms; thankfully, the blinds of his office were closed. He pulled away enough to gently wipe the tears away that were falling from her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, baby." -He apologized again.
"I'm sorry, too, I'm sorry I yelled at you...I'm just so worried about you. I know something is bothering you, and you won't tell me, and I'm really worried." -She continued, tears streaming down her face still.
"We tell each other everything. I'll always be here for you." -She said, while the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I know baby...I know...but, I'm okay, and I need you to trust me when I say that I'm fine. Everything is just fine." -He knew he needed to be the strong one and to calm his wife down; he was going to calm down for now and not worry, so, he promised himself he would not let this show on his face until the Reaper really appeared.
"Can you please eat something for me?" -She begged, it really worried her that he wasn't eating his food.
"Okay, I promise you." -He took her face in his hands and kissed her lips tenderly.
"I love you more than life itself." -He said, looking deeply into her eyes as though looking through her soul.
"Promise?" -She asked, in a cracked voice.
"Always and forever." -He replied, smiling deeply at her, feeling joy rising in his body finally for the first time in a few weeks.
Suddenly, the phone on his desk rang, and they pulled out of their embrace, and he walked across his office to his desk to answer the phone.
"Hotchner" -He answered.
"Mr. Hotchner, I'm sorry to bother you, this is Nurse Roberts, Mr. Shaunessy's nurse, I just wanted to inform you Mr. Shaunessy passed away this morning."
