The ride to the crime scene was very interesting.

Reid drove the SUV down the highway while Strauss sat in the passenger seat. In the backseat, Prentiss and JJ were trying to find ways to pass the time without saying or doing anything incriminating. For the brunette agent, the "evaluation" was making her stomach roll.

"Oh, this is bad," Prentiss groaned, resting her head onto the headrest. The blonde profiler reached out to give her friend an empathetic pat on the shoulder, but stopped halfway at the sight of Strauss' glare through the rear view window. JJ slowly withdrew her hand and placed it on her lap.

Strauss turned in her chair towards Prentiss and asked, "I can safely assume that you're talking about the case or the evaluation?"

"No, ma am," Prentiss lied rather quickly, earning an elbow from JJ. The brunette continued, "My stomach is just upset. I'll be fine, ma am."

"I see." Strauss scribbled down a few notes on her clipboard. Then, the Section Chief asked Prentiss with a dark stare, "How long have Agent Reid and Agent Jareau been in a relationship?"

Prentiss' eyes widened in shock, Reid hit the brakes on the SUV, and JJ exclaimed, "Ma am! Agent Reid and I aren't in a relationship. I would never-"

"Hey," Reid whimpered from the driver's seat. JJ snapped at her boyfriend, "Reid, just drive. Ma am, what evidence besides a seven year old's word-"

"Don't you dare question my ethics, Agent Jareau!" Strauss suddenly roared, causing Reid to hit the breaks in surprise again. Everyone flew forward in their seats causing the papers and case files to fall onto the floor, creating a large mess in the backseat for JJ and Prentiss.

"I'm not questioning anything-"

"I have actual evidence and a witness to a….event between you and Reid from a month ago on the eighth floor." Strauss was a bit disappointed when she didn't see a reaction on JJ's face. A nervous Reid, on the other hand, hit the brakes again causing Strauss to yell at the top of her lungs, "Pull over!"

"Yes, ma am!" Reid answered nervously. He pulled the SUV to the shoulder of the road and jumped out. Strauss slid out and marched around the car to the driver's side, which gave JJ and Prentiss only seconds to free-talk.

"What did you do on the eighth floor?" Prentiss squealed in excitement.

JJ rolled her eyes. " Nothing…..that I'm going to tell you unless you figure things out with Hotch."

"I did. I plan on getting him off the pissy train and then sleep with him. Done- now fess up."

Both women went quiet when Strauss reentered the SUV. The Section Chief gave the backseat one last glance to see two innocent looking women that were guilty on so many accounts looking back at her.

Lawton Police Station- 3 Hours later

"Erin, you're looking lovelier every day," Rossi commented in a bright, happy tone as the Section Chief and JJ, Reid, and Prentiss followed her into the conference room. Strauss rolled her eyes and snapped, "Shut up, Dave."

"What did you find at the crime scene?" Hotch asked. Reid darted over to the whiteboard and broke out into a nervous rant, " There were two sets of size 11 shoes running through the house. It appears to be men size- did you know that the average shoe size in America is a size 10? Statistically, that has changed over time due to changes in human body. There was this study-"

"Reid!" Morgan exclaimed, "Stop!"

"Sorry." Reid placed the marker down and without eye contact towards anyone said, "We-we should also look to see if the family had any other homes. They seemed pretty rich- maybe this was a hate crime."

"Sounds good," Strauss stated. She turned to Hotch, " Agent Morgan, come with me and I'll evaluate you and Miss Garcia."

Morgan worriedly glanced over to Hotch, who said nothing. With a large sigh, Morgan reluctantly followed Strauss to the second conference room where Garcia had set up shop. Once they had left, Rossi turned to Hotch and yelled, "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" The Unit Chief angrily repeated, "What the hell did I tell you about flirting with Erin?"

"Oh, I'm sorry that I'm not letting her walk all over me like you are! Man up!"

"Hey, I'm trying to protect our jobs by pleasing Strauss the best way that I can-"

Both men were in each other's face now. " That's not the Aaron I know," Rossi growled, " You would have shut her down a long time ago. What's going on with you? Too afraid to talk about your feelings to Prentiss?"

Hotch opened his mouth then closed it.

Rossi continued, "Get the hell off your high horse, Aaron. You're just as bad as we are."

The Unit Chief darkened his expression before turning on his heels and walking out. Rossi hesitated before exchanging a guilty look with Prentiss. She held up her hand and said, "I'll talk to him."


Outside the police station, Prentiss found Hotch sitting on a bench near the parking lot. His head was in his hands. Prentiss sat down next to him and rubbed his shoulder. "It's alright, Aaron," she whispered.

"No, it's not!" Hotch exclaimed, "Dave's right. I'm- I've been out of control as of late. Emily, I'm worried about…..everything."

"I know. You need to relax about Strauss. I mean- not super relax, but not telling- Garcia- to- dress- like –everyone- else- relax."

Hotch smiled at the comment. "You're right about that. I guess…it's my job to protect this team and I may not be able to if Strauss gets her way. God- How did I miss this? JJ and Reid….Morgan and Garcia….Dave- Dave, I already knew about."

"You aren't perfect, Aaron."

"I know," Hotch muttered, "It's hard remembering that when you have so much on your plate."

"Yeah…" After quickly deciding to switch topics, Prentiss inched closer to Hotch. She glanced back over to the stairwell of the police station and then asked, "Aaron, do you love me?"

Buzz. Hotch's cell phone went off before the man could say anything. He looked down on the screen to see that it was Rossi. Hotch smiled slightly, saying, "Damn….I think we're missed."

"We're always missed." Prentiss stood up and stretched her arms. Before she could start walking back to the station, Hotch grabbed her hand. He looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Yes, I do love you."

"Really?" Prentiss teased, "Well, Aaron….prove it."