A/N: Once again, thank you to all who read the last chapter. I hope you're still following my story :)

On to chapter 10 :) Some more secrets are revealed. And a bit of Aaron and Aria thrown in as well.

Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review :)

-ThianaJay10

Chapter 10: I'm gonna give all my secrets away

Monday morning came around far too quickly for Aaron's liking as he walked up the short steps to his office. He checked the clock and saw that it was barely eight am. He poured himself a cup of coffee and settled into his chair, glancing at the stack of files that seemed to just magically appear on his desk over the past two days. He sighed, then grabbed the top folder and began flipping through it.

He'd spent the rest of Saturday night and most of Sunday morning, going through the photos and videos that Aria had given him. As he saw all the years he missed out on, he couldn't help but feel emotional. He would never be able to get those sixteen years back. If it was this hard on him, he could only imagine how Aria must feel. He could barely sleep the rest of the Sunday morning. Luckily, Jack hadn't picked up on his father's mood as they spent the rest of the weekend together.

A few minutes later, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Pulling it out, he smiled, seeing that it was a text message from Aria.

About to be bombarded with questions about you from Izzy and I still need to talk to Danny. Wish me luck :)

-Aria

He smiled then replied:

No need. You'll be fine. But I'll just humor you and wish you luck anyway. Let me know how it goes.

-Aaron

Nearly an hour later, a knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to find Rossi enter his office then shut the door behind him.

"So..." He started. "Are you finally going to tell me what's been going on with you these past few weeks?" He asked as he crossed his folded arms across his chest and casually leaned against the closed door.

Hotch dropped the pen he was using and closed the file, then raised an eyebrow.

"Good morning to you too Dave. Have a good weekend?" He asked casually.

Dave sighed. "Cut the crap Aaron. Just tell me what's going on." He demanded as he walked closer to the desk and rested his hands on the edges, looking at Aaron.

Hotch looked at Dave and saw the concern and worry present on his face. He sighed, realizing that he'd been keeping this in too long and needed to confide in someone. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone, then scrolled through some things until he found what he was looking for. He stood up from his chair, glanced at his phone one more time then placed it on the desk facing Rossi.

"That's what." He finally said.

Dave frowned then picked up the phone to look at what was displayed. It was a photo of a teenage girl, brunette with long wavy hair and hazel eyes, smiling shyly at the camera. He glanced at the picture then back to Aaron.

"Pretty." He said with a small smile. "Who is she?" He asked, confused.

Aaron took a deep breath then exhaled slowly. It's now or never. He thought.

"She's my daughter." He stated.

By the look on Dave's face, it was clear that out of all the scenarios he thought of, that was not one of them.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? I could've sworn I heard you say that the teenager in this photo is your daughter." He finally managed to get out once he found his voice.

Aaron sighed then sat down rubbing a hand over his face.

"It's true, Dave. She's mine."

Rossi looked at him for a moment, still trying to process the news. He sat down in the chair facing Hotch then sighed.

"Are you sure, Aaron? Did you have a paternity test done?" He asked.

"I don't need to." He said firmly, not liking what Rossi was insinuating.

"Aaron..."

"Look at her, Dave!" He yelled, pointing to the photo. "She's mine. I don't need a test to prove it." He said softly.

Dave nodded. "How? When?" He asked.

Aaron exhaled slowly. "It's a long story."

"We have time." Dave replied quickly.

"Alright. But first I need more coffee. You want a cup?" He asked as he stood up. Dave nodded.

Aaron placed a mug in front of Dave, who nodded his thanks, then sat back down in his chair. He took a sip from his own mug, placed it back on the desk then started turning the mug slowly, contemplating how and where he was going to start. Dave noticed his hesitation, so he decided to ask him a simple question to get him started.

"What's her name?" He asked tilting his head to the phone.

Aaron stopped what he was doing, then looked at Dave, a small smile on his lips. "Aria. Aria Isabella.

Dave smiled. "It's beautiful." He said. "She's beautiful, Aaron."

He exhaled. "I know." He shook his head. "She looks just like her mother." He said, more to himself but Dave heard him.

Rossi picked up the phone and looked at the picture again, studying it.

"She has your eyes, though." He said, noticing the light brown color.

"Yeah, I noticed that too." He said, a faint smile on his lips, as he looked back at the photo on his phone that Dave had placed in front of him.

"You ready to talk?" He asked, realizing that Aaron seemed less tense.

He nodded. "Where do I start?" He asked Dave.

"At the beginning. When and where you met..." He trailed off, giving Aaron a chance to fill in Aria's mother's name.

"Amelia. But she prefers Aimee." He said. Rossi nodded.

"Aimee." He said, completing his question.

Aaron took a deep breath then proceeded to tell Dave about when he first met Aimee, how they dated for just over a year and how she just took off without a word, leaving him wondering what he did wrong.

Dave listened intently, deciding not to interrupt unless he had a valid question.

Aaron continued to tell him how Aimee had contacted him about a month ago, how he showed up at her house unannounced and the first time he met Aria.

"I thought she was Aimee's sister." He smiled, slightly. "They look so much alike."

He told him how they had talked for nearly an hour while waiting for Aimee to get home from work and what he thought of her. Dave noticed Aaron's expression changed when he spoke about Aria. He looked happy and there was a bit of pride in his features as well.

And then everything went downhill after Aimee got home and the big secret was revealed. How upset Aria had been and how she had stormed out in the pouring rain.

"And then she shows up here a week later to apologize. Can you believe that? She wanted to apologize for something that wasn't even her fault." Aaron said, incredulously.

Dave smiled. "She sounds like a great kid." He said, sincerely.

"Yeah. She's pretty amazing. But maybe I'm a little biased." He said with smile.

"Maybe just a little but I don't blame you." He grinned. "So, that's where you rushed off to Friday night?"

He nodded. "We had plans to go out for dinner, but then Aimee called and said that Aria got sick at school that morning, some kind of stomach virus. So, she had to cancel."

"But you still wanted to see her."

"Yeah. It was good thing too. Amelia's a trauma surgeon at Washington General and got called into work that night."

"And Aria needed someone to stay with her." He gathered. Hotch nodded.

"She was running a fever and could barely keep anything down. There was no way Aimee would've left her home alone. In fact, Aria was the one who managed to persuade her to go to work. Said that she needed to, and I quote: 'Go save some lives', which made sense considering. But what impressed me was that she said it in Italian." He said with a smile.

Rossi grinned. "She speaks Italian?"

Hotch nodded. "Fluently. Which shouldn't be surprising considering the fact that Aimee and her parents are Italian."

"Should've known with a name like that." He paused. "How are you doing with all this?" Dave asked, concerned. "It couldn't have been easy to hear."

"Yeah. It was a bit of shock, I'll admit, but I'm doing okay." He said with a faint smile.

"Good." He nodded. "So, when are you planning on telling the team?" He asked.

Hotch hesitated.

"You are planning on telling them, right?"

"Dave..." He sighed.

"Aaron..." Rossi repeated in the same tone. "They're your family too. They deserve to know."

"I know, okay!?" He said exasperated. "I know." He said more calmly. "I just need some time to get used to the idea."

"Okay." He relented. "Just don't take too long."

The knock on his door ended their conversation. "Come in."

"Sir, hi." Garcia said once she entered the office. "We're ready to get started as soon as you two are done."

Hotch nodded. "Alright, thanks. We'll be right there."

Garcia nodded then left.

Aaron gathered the files he needed then made his way towards the door, followed by Dave.

"Hey Aaron?" Dave said before they reached the exit.

He turned around. "Yeah."

"Congratulations." He said, sincerely.

"Thanks Dave." He replied with a smile.

"E' bella. Si è così avvitata." He said with a smirk.

Hotch frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Ask Aria." He shrugged then made his way to the conference room.

"Where we headed to this time, Baby Girl?" Morgan asked once everyone entered the conference room.

"Salt Lake City, Utah, my love." Garcia replied then started the briefing. "Alright crime fighters, meet John Summers, Matt Logan and Benjamin Schultz." Photos of the victims were displayed on screen. "All 3 victims were in their early thirties with similar features and were all shot in the back of the head, then dumped in various dumpsters spread throughout the city." She explained. "Each of them were also missing a finger. The ring finger to be exact." She scrunched up her face. "According to the M.E, this was done before they were shot."

"So, they would've been able to feel their fingers being sliced off." Morgan mentioned.

"But why the ring finger? Is it symbolic?" JJ asked.

"It's possible. Or he keeps them as souvenirs. Were the victims married?" Rossi enquired.

"Uh, victims 1 and 3 were both married. Victim 2 was engaged." Garcia informed them.

"Maybe the Unsub was jealous of the victims." Prentiss reasoned. "Happy relationships, attractive wives, good jobs. He wanted what they had but wasn't able to get it." She continued.

"Prentiss has a good theory. We need to hit the ground running as soon as we land. A fourth victim has just been found. Wheels up in 30." Hotch said as the team dispersed. He pulled out his phone, debating whether or not he should text Aria to let her know that he'd be out of town for the next few days. Deciding to rather call her later, he pocketed his phone and started making his way out of the conference room. He stopped when he saw that JJ was still there.

"JJ? Did you need something?" He asked with a frown.

"Uh, no." She answered. "I just wanted to know how Aria was doing."

He tilted his head to the side, masking the surprise he felt. "She's fine. Why do you ask?" He asked her.

"Well, she left so quickly the other day without saying goodbye. I thought you were gonna introduce her to the rest of the team. I would've loved to show her around." She told him.

He, internally, breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. Yeah. She needed to get to school. But I'm sure she would've loved for you to show her around. Maybe some other time?" He suggested.

JJ nodded. "Sure." She paused.

"Was there something else?" He asked when he saw that she hadn't moved to leave the room.

JJ opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again before speaking. "You never told me who she was. I mean, how you know her."

Aaron paused, trying to figure out how he was going to answer. He didn't want to lie to her but he couldn't exactly tell her the truth either, at least not yet.

"She's the daughter of an old friend of mine." He told her. Not a total lie.

"Oh." She said.

"We should probably get going." He told her before she could ask any more questions.

She nodded. "Right." She watched him as he gathered his files and made his way out the room.

I have a feeling there's a lot more to that story, Hotch. She thought as she followed closely behind him.

"He actually said that?" She asked, trying not to laugh at Aaron's attempt at speaking Italian as well as what was said.

"Yeah." He frowned. "Why? Is it something bad?" He asked as he sat down on the bed in his hotel room.

"No, not exactly." She told him. "You sure you want me to translate?"

"Please do. I've been going crazy all day trying to figure it out." He admitted. "And Dave said I should ask you."

"He did, huh?" She asked, amused. "Okay. He said: 'She's beautiful'." She paused then bit he lip. "'You're so screwed.'" She ended with a grimace.

Aaron sighed. That sneaky bastard. He thought.

"Aaron? You still there?" Aria asked when he remained silent.

"Yeah. I'm here. Sorry."

"It's fine. You okay?" She asked. "You're not upset, are you?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm not. At least not with you."

"How did your day go?" He asked changing the subject. He'll get Dave back another time.

She moved over to her window seat, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sat down. "It was good. You know, same old, same old." She mused. "School, rehearsals, homework, dance practice."

"Sounds exciting. But that's not what I meant." He told her.

She sighed. "Yeah, I know." She rubbed her face. "It went okay, really. It was just...hard." She paused. "I didn't realise how all of this affected me until I actually talked to someone about it. Someone that wasn't directly involved, at least."

He could hear the sadness in her voice and it made him grimace internally. All he wanted to do was hug her and tell her that everything would be okay.

"They were really great about it, though. Understanding. Supportive." She told him.

"I'm so sorry, Aria." He said sincerely.

She frowned. "Hey, don't do that." She told him. "Don't apologize for something that's not your fault. This can't be easy for you either."

"No, it isn't." He admitted.

They stayed silent for a minute until Aria spoke again.

"How's your case going?" She asked.

He sighed. "Not great but I don't wanna get into that right now. There was another reason why I called you."

"Okay. What would that be?" She asked curiously.

"Remember when we talked about you meeting Jack?"

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Well, I think I found a way to do it."

"Really? How?" She asked in an excited tone.

He smiled then started telling her his plan.

"What do you think?" He asked once he finished.

"I think it's a great idea." She told him.

They spoke for a few minutes before they both said goodbye. She wished him luck on his case and he told her to have a good week at school.

"So tell me what you want to hear, Something that will light those ears, Sick of all the insincere, So, I'm gonna give all my secrets away…" OneRepublic - Secrets