A/N: Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favorites :)

I'm not completely happy with how this chapter turned out but I hope you enjoy it. Aria and Jack finally meet and there's a bit of Aaron, Aimee and Dave also thrown in. Also, Daniel and Aria have a bit of bonding moment as well :)

Please read and review :)

-ThianaJay10

Chapter 11: Would you still love me the same?

One week later

Things had been fairly quiet after the last case ended, much to everyone's relief, Aaron's especially. He'd been worried that he might miss Jack's next soccer game, because the case had dragged on longer than he expected. If all went well, they wouldn't be called away until the following week. For now, everyone was stuck on paperwork duty.

There was a light knock on the door. "Hey." Dave greeted. "Everything still okay for tomorrow?" He asked, referring to Jack's soccer game.

"Yeah." Aaron nodded. "You sure you don't want to sleep in tomorrow morning instead? Game starts at 9 but we have to be there at 8 to set up."

"As tempting as that sounds, I'd rather help out instead." He said as he sat down in the chair opposite Aaron's desk. "Aria still meeting you there?" He asked.

"Yes, she is." He paused. "Aimee too." He added.

Dave raised his eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that. It was Aria's idea. She said it would be easier to explain to Jack that she was the daughter of an old friend of mine if that friend was actually there." He reasoned.

Dave smirked. "And is that all she is to you? A friend?"

He sat up straighter and dropped his pen. "Jesus, Rossi! Of course, she is! She's also my daughters' mother. Why would you even ask me that?"

He shrugged. "Well, you're single. You share a beautiful daughter, so she must be an attractive women cause Aria definitely did not get her looks from you… " He joked.

"…She's also engaged to be married, Dave. To another man. A man who I've actually met." He said. "Besides, you know me better than that. I would never interfere in someone else's relationship." He said sincerely.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure." He said as he folded his arms in front of him and sat back.

Aaron glared at him. "You are a terrible person."

Dave laughed. "So…" He drawled out. "How do you feel about your two kids finally meeting each other?" He enquired.

Aaron raised his eyebrow. "Now you sound like a shrink."

"And you're avoiding."

"It's kind of a loaded question, Dave." He sighed. "I mean, we both agreed on not telling Jack right away that she's his sister but what if that makes it worse when I do eventually tell him?"

He got up from his seat and started pacing.

"I'm doing the right thing, aren't I? I mean, they deserve the chance to get to know each other." He sighed. "But what if it doesn't go well? What if they don't get along?"

Dave listened intently as Aaron voiced his concerns. He wasn't used to seeing his Unit Chief so nervous. "I think those are all valid questions."

Aaron stopped pacing. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

"You can't possibly know which decision would have the best outcome, Aaron." Dave reasoned. "You need to stop overthinking it."

"You're right." Aaron admitted. "I'm still gonna worry about it though."

Dave nodded. "I know. Just wait and see how tomorrow goes and work from there. I'm sure it'll be fine." He stood up. "Come on. I'll buy you a drink. You need to relax."


Aria sat crossed legged on her bed while typing furiously on her laptop. She was starting to regret ever volunteering to help organize the showcase which was happening in about two months. If we're lucky, she thought. She drummed her fingers against the keyboard, choosing to focus on the beat of the Sam Smith song she was listening to. She read through the rough draft of the show's programme, rearranging the different performances. This would've been so much easier if people actually listened, she thought.

There had been countless arguments over who would perform what and when. Everyone wanted to be the star of the show. She shook her head. The whole point of the showcase was to get new people to join, particularly the freshman class, and to show others that the Arts was just as important as sport and academics. But no, they had to make it all about them.

"Freaking unbelievable." She muttered, still typing.

There was a faint knock on the door. She looked up to see Daniel standing in her doorway.

"Talking to yourself? Should I be worried, Love?" He grinned as walked further into the room and sat down at the end of the bed.

She smiled. "Nah. Not yet, anyway." She joked.

He laughed. "So, what's bugging you?" He asked.

"This dumb showcase." She sighed. "Why couldn't I have gone to a normal school?"

"Normal school?"

"Yeah, you know, a public school, with normal people."

He laughed. "Maybe because you just referred to it as normal." He joked.

"Good point." She told him. "Some people are just so full of it. They need to get off their high horses. Literally and figuratively."

He watched her as she continued typing before he spoke again.

"Is there anything else that's on your mind? Tomorrow, in particular." He asked her.

She stopped typing, then closed her laptop. "Mom told you." She stated more than asked.

He nodded. "Wanna talk to me about that?"

She shrugged. "It's no big deal." She said as she opened up her laptop again, welcoming the distraction.

She had tried really hard that day to put it out of her mind. Honestly, it was a very big deal. But she didn't want to get too hyped up over it. She didn't think her nerves could take it.

Daniel gently closed the laptop and took it from her, placing it on the carpet at his feet. She thought about protesting but knew it was a lost cause. Instead, she nervously played with her fingers.

"You're meeting your brother for the first time. That is a bloody big deal." He told her. "Talk to me, Ace." She smiled at the use of the nickname he had given her, shortly after they had met, nearly 4 years ago. I think you're brilliant, Love. He had told her when she asked why he had called her that. She disagreed, especially after the way she treated him at first. It wasn't that long after Lilly had died and yes, she was still grieving and hurting, but that didn't excuse her behavior.

"What else is there to talk about? Mom already filled you in on all the details." She told him.

"What about how you're feeling? You didn't discuss that with her." He said as he crossed his arms.

She looked up at him and sighed. Her relationship with her mother was far from what it used to be. They used to talk about anything and everything. Aimee was her hero and could do no wrong in her eyes, At least, until now. What do you do when the one person you could always rely on lets you down? It was going to take a lot more than just talking to fix their relationship, and they were barely even doing that.

"So, you're her spy?" She asked.

"Of course not Aria. But she's worried about you. You've been holed up in here since you got out from school, which according to her was four hours ago. So, how are you feeling about tomorrow?"

She looked up at him and bit her lip, seeing the concerned look on his face. He's right, she thought. I need to get this out.

"I don't know. I'm just feeling a lot of different things right now." She sighed. "It's stupid, really. I'm nervous, anxious, excited…" She trailed off."…and scared." She added softly.

He placed his hand on her knee, silently letting her know that he was there for her and that whatever she was feeling was normal. She smiled at the gesture. Daniel really was an amazing guy and she felt lucky to have him in her life.

"I asked Mom to go with me tomorrow." She told him.

He nodded. "I know."

"I told her it would be easier if she was there with me, you know, for Jack's sake, but that's not the only reason."

"You want her there." He figured.

She shook her head. "No. I don't want her there." She paused then looked him in the eye. "Daniel, I need her there." She broke off, feeling her throat tighten. "I can't do this without her." She choked out.

Daniel looked at her and felt his heart clench. This whole thing was affecting her more than he and Aimee realized.

"Oh, Love. Come here." He said as he opened his arms. She shifted closer, wrapping her arms around his waist as her put his around her shoulders, pulling her close. He felt her start to shake as fresh tears made its way down her cheeks and onto the thin material of his shirt. "Shh." He soothed as he kissed the top of her head while rubbing circles on her back. "Everything's going to be alright." He promised her.

"Your Mum might not show it but she's hurting too. Now, I don't think what she did was fair to you or Aaron but you really need to talk to her. Just give her a chance." She didn't say anything back but he felt her nod against his chest.


Aria woke up the next morning with a slight headache. She remembered her conversation with Daniel the previous night and how she had ended up in tears talking about her strained relationship with Aimee. She needed to fix it. She wanted to fix it. But how? She thought. And now I have to spend the morning acting as if nothing's wrong. She checked the time on her phone: 07:28am. She had about an hour to get ready. With one last glance at the time, she got up and headed to the bathroom to shower.

Twenty minutes later, she stood in her underwear staring at the clothes in her walk-in closet, undecided on what to wear. She heard her phone ringing and quickly slipped on a baggy tee before she answered it. She spoke to Aaron for a few minutes as he check in to make sure everything was still okay for the morning.

As she ended the call, there was a knock on her bedroom door. Aria turned around to see her mom dressed in cropped denim jeans, a navy blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and white Tomy sneakers. Her shoulder length hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders. As far as Aria could tell she wasn't wearing much make-up, not that she needed it. Her mom was a natural beauty with her red-ish-brown hair and smokey green eyes. She looked casual and relaxed.

"Hey." She greeted then frowned when she saw that Aria wasn't dressed yet. "Can't decide on something to wear?" Aria shook her head. "Want some help?" She asked gently.

Aria was about to decline when she heard Daniel's words from the previous night resonate in her head. Just give her a chance. "That would actually be really great, Mom." She replied with a slight smile.

Aimee hid the surprise she felt with a smile as she moved past Aria and entered the walk-in closet with Aria following closely behind her. She looked around for a minute before deciding.

"Try this." She said as she handed Aria a pair of denim shorts and a white off the shoulder sweater with the word Dance written across the front. "You could pair it with your Converse sneakers, if you want." She suggested.

"Sounds perfect. Thank you." She said as she quickly got dressed then pulled out her sneakers. She stood in front of the mirror next to her dressing table after she put on her shoes and loosened her hair which was tired up in a messy bun. She reached for the brush when a hand stopped her.

"Let me." Aimee offered as she took the brush. Aria nodded.

They were quiet as Aimee brushed the tangles out of Aria's long, dark hair. "So, I spoke to Daniel last night." She started, breaking the silence. Aria looked down at her hands, playing with her fingers but didn't say anything. "He said you were pretty upset."

Aria nodded. "Yeah. But I'm okay now." She said as she looked into the mirror catching her mom's eyes. "I think it just got a little too much for me." She shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Tesoro." She said as she span Aria around to face her, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face. She cupped Aria's face in her hands. "Tell me what I can do."

Aria cleared her throat before speaking. "Don't leave me today." She whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said as she placed a kiss to Aria's forehead. "I promise."


By the time they had made their way across the parking lot to the soccer field, Aria was a ball of nervous energy. She bit her bottom lip and fidgeted with her fingers as they walked further until they saw a group of boys warming up on the field. Which one is Jack? Aimee wondered. She watched as the group of boys ran toward a man, the coach she presumed, and made a circle around him. It took a while for her to recognize that it was Aaron.

He looked different. Relaxed. He was dressed casually in track pants and a T-shirt. A far cry from his usual suit and tie, with a peak cap to block out the sun. She felt Aria pause, knowing that she saw him too. Moving back to Aria, she took her hand in hers, lightly squeezing her fingers.

"It's gonna be okay. I'm right here with you." She told her daughter.

Aria looked up at her and nodded. She felt so stupid feeling this nervous and her mom was so patient with her. Constantly reassuring her that everything would be okay. She needed to believe that, or there was no way she would get through the day without passing out.

Aaron spotted them as they made their way towards him. "Hey. You made it." He smiled as he gently hugged Aria, who was unusually quiet. He gave Aimee a nod. "The game starts in about ten minutes. I saved you a couple seats over there." He said as he pointed to the middle row of the bleachers.

"I'm gonna go grab a water." Aria said as she motioned with her head towards the shop. "You want anything?" She asked her mother.

Aimee shook her head. "No, I'm good baby. Go ahead." She nodded then took off.

Aaron looked at Aimee, confusion evident on his face. "Is she okay?" He asked her.

Aimee nodded. "She's just a little nervous." She told him.

"Oh. I see." He said, sadly. "She doesn't need to be."

"I know. She'll be fine." She assured him.

She looked over his shoulder and saw someone familiar. "Uhm, Aaron?" He looked at her. "Is that who I think it is or am I seeing things?" She asked him.

He frowned then turned around, seeing who she was referring to. He smiled. "I don't know. Who are you talking about?" He feigned innocence, pressing his lips together to hide his smile.

She glared at him then smacked his shoulder. "That's David Rossi! The David Rossi. You know, the writer." She exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Aria asked as she stood behind them, a bottle of water in her hand and a small frown on her face.

Aimee looked at her. "David Rossi is here!" She said, excitedly.

Aria looked at Aaron, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Aaron had told her that Dave would be there, which she never mentioned to her mother, who was currently in fan girl mode. Aria decided to play along and let go of her nerves.

"No way." She dragged out, keeping her smile hidden. She looked at Aaron, who was on the verge of bursting out with laughter.

Aimee turned to face the father-daughter duo and frowned. "Are you making fun of me?" She asked with her arms crossed over her chest. The serious look on her face was too much for Aria and Aaron. They both started laughing.

"Okay, okay. Will someone please let me in on the joke?" She asked. "What is he doing here?"

Aria stopped laughing then turn to Aimee. "Did I not mention that David Rossi works with Aaron?" She asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"And he sometimes helps me coach Jack's soccer team?" Aaron added.

Aimee glared at them. "What?!" She exclaimed.

"Hey Dave!" Aaron called, catching the older man's attention. "Come on over here. There's some people I want you to meet."

He grinned as he made his way over to Aaron.

"Dave, this is Aria." He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "My daughter." He introduced with a proud smile on his face.

Aria stuck her hand out to shake his. "It's an honor to meet you, Sir." She responded politely as Dave took her hand a placed a kiss to the back of it, which made her smile.

"Please, call me Dave." He insisted. "It's nice to finally meet you, Bella. Aaron talks about you, constantly." He told her.

"And this is Aria's mom, Aimee." He motioned towards Aimee, who had been watching the exchange quietly, still with a surprised look on her face.

Dave turned towards her and smiled. "Well, I can see where Aria gets her good looks from." He said as he repeated his greeting he did with Aria. Aimee finally snapped out of her shocked state to acknowledge his greeting.

"Thank you." She said softly as she continued staring at him.

"Mom." Aria said as she nudged her. "You're staring." She whispered.

"Right. Sorry. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Rossi. I'm a huge fan." She blushed.

"Thank you. I'm flattered. And like I told Aria before, you can just call me Dave." He told her.

She nodded with a smile.

"We have to go. Games about to start. You should find your seats." Aaron told them.

"Hey Aaron, which one is Jack?" Aimee asked as she looked towards the field where both teams were in position.

"No. 2." He told her then made his way to the sidelines with Dave.


After the game, which ended in a 2-1 win for Jack's team (except they didn't keep score in that age group), Aria finally had the chance to meet Jack.

"Daddy, Daddy. I scored! Did you see?" Jack shouted excitedly as he ran up to Aaron and jumped into his arms.

Aaron easily caught him. "I did, Buddy. You did a good job today." He told his son. He looked up and saw Aimee and Aria make their way over towards him. "Hey Jack, there's a couple of people I want you to meet. Come on." He said as he took Jack's hand in his and met up with the girls.

"Jack, this is Aimee. She's an old friend of mine. And this is her daughter Aria." Aaron introduced as Jack smiled shyly at them. "Ladies, this is my son, Jack."

"Hey Jack." "Hi Jack." They both said.

"Hi." Jack greeted softly, still clinging to his father's hand.

"That was a pretty cool goal." Aria told him, still feeling a little nervous but eager to start up a conversation with her brother.

"Thank you." He said shyly.

"Hey, Buddy. Why don't you and Aria go get some sodas?" He suggested as he pulled out his wallet and handed Aria a few bills. He figured that she would want to spend a couple minutes alone with Jack, without an audience. Aimee quietly observed them, understanding what Aaron was trying to do. Aria looked a little worried as Jack hesitated for a second before agreeing.

"Okay." He said then walked over to Aria and reached up to hold her hand, which surprised not only her but the two adults as well. Jack was usually shy around new people but seemed okay with Aria. They stood in silence, both wearing smiles as they watched their kids walk off together.

"He's beautiful, Aaron." Aimee said softly.

"Thank you." He said sincerely as he glanced at her then went back to watching the kids. "I think they're gonna be okay." He told her.

She smiled as she watched Aria and Jack interact. "I think so, too."

They walked in silence for a while until Aria decided to speak. "So Jack, you like playing soccer?" Aria asked, feeling slightly awkward about having a conversation with a six year old.

"Uh huh." He nodded, still gripping her hand. "Do you like to play soccer, too?" He asked.

"I don't really play. I'm not very good at it." She told him. "I like to dance though."

He stopped walking then looked up at her. "Is that why you're wearing that sweater?" He asked, referring to the bold letters written across her top.

She smiled. "Yeah. I guess so. Do you like to dance?" She asked him.

He shook his head, then looked away. "Mommy liked to dance." He told her, softly. "But she's in heaven now."

Aria felt as if her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. He looked so sad. It made her feel bad about bringing it up. She sometimes forgot that not everyone's world revolved around dancing like hers did. "Jack…" She paused. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad."

He shrugged. "It's okay." He gave a small smile. "Daddy says she's an angel now."

"I'm sure she's a beautiful one." She told him. He nodded.

They stopped to buy their sodas. Jack chose cherry while Aria opted for grape. She helped him open his can and watched him take a sip, then they made their way back to their parents. Jack hadn't said another word but seemed contented enough to just hold her hand. She felt a little guilty for bringing up his mom, even though it was unintentional. And things were going so well. She thought. I need to make this right. But how? She wondered.

"Hey Jack?" She started. "Do you think maybe you could teach me how to play soccer?" She asked him, figuring that was her way in. They stopped walking as he turned to stand in front of her.

"Really?" He asked with a beaming smile and red stained lips. "You want me to teach you?"

She smiled. "After watching you play today? Definitely." She told him.

He took a moment to think about it, scrunching his face up adorably as he considered what she said. Aria bit her bottom lip, trying to keep the smile off her face. Jack really was a cute kid. She just hoped her plan would work.

"Okay." He finally told. "Could you…" He paused, not knowing if he should ask his question.

She frowned. "Could I what, Jack?" She asked softly as she kneeled down in front of him. "It's okay. You can ask me anything, Bud." She told him after she saw him hesitate.

He took a deep breath before he spoke. "Can you teach me how to dance?" He asked, shyly. "Mommy teached me how but I don't remember anymore." He said sadly. "And Daddy's not very good." He whispered as if it was some big secret that Aaron Hotchner wasn't good at dancing.

She smiled at him, even as she felt her heart clench in sadness for her little brother. Things may be a little tense between her and Aimee but at least she was still alive. "I would love to." He smiled back at her. "So, we have a deal?" She asked. He nodded.

"Great." She told him. Just as she was about to stand up he stopped her.

"Wait." He called out. "We need to shake on it." He told her, wearing a serious expression on his face that made him look way too grown up for his age.

She grinned then hid her smile. "Of course. My apologies, Mr. Jack." She told him which made him giggle as they shook hands. They finished up their sodas then made their way over to Aimee, who was on the phone, and Aaron, who was sitting on a nearby bench.

Jack let go of Aria's hand and made his way over to Aaron. "Daddy, is it okay if I go say goodbye to Aiden?" He asked as Aria sat down on the bench next to him.

"Sure, buddy. Just make it quick, okay? We're leaving soon." He nodded then took off.

Aaron looked over to Aria, who had her head leaned back against the bench.

"You okay?" He asked.

She sighed. "Yeah."

"You wanna try that again?" He asked.

She turned her head towards him, a slight smile her lips. Of course he wouldn't believe her. "I think I may have put my foot in my mouth earlier." She told him.

He frowned. "With Jack?" She nodded. "Didn't look like it to me." He told her, referring to the handshake he saw.

"Well, before that." She said.

"What happened?" He asked her.

"I may have brought up Haley." She grimaced. "It wasn't intentional, I swear. It's just we were talking about soccer and dancing. Jack asked if I liked playing soccer and I asked if he liked to dance and well…" She trailed off as she stopped rambling.

"He told you that Haley did." He figured out.

"Yeah." She looked away, guilty present on her face. "I'm really sorry." She apologized.

"No, hey. It's okay. You had no way of knowing that." He told her. "Jack's fine, Aria. See?" He said as he motioned towards Jack who was happily chatting away with his best friend.

She looked over to where Jack was and smiled, then nodded. "Okay." She told him.

They sat in silence for a while. Aria's gaze fell on her mom, who was still talking on her cell phone. A dreamy smile present on her face.

"She's talking to Daniel, isn't she?" She eventually spoke up.

Aaron turned his head towards her. "Yeah. How did you know that?" He asked, surprised.

She shrugged. "She gets this weird look on her face whenever she talks to him. It's kinda hard to explain. I call it her 'Totally head of heels in love' face. Daniel gets it, too." She smiled. "It's disgustingly adorable."

He laughed. "Ever tell her that?" He asked.

"Numerous times, actually." She said. They both laughed as Aimee ended her call and made her way over to them.

"Hey. How'd it go with Jack?" Aimee asked.

"It was okay." She said as both she and Aaron continued to stare at Aimee.

"What?" She asked as she noticed two identical pairs of hazel eyes aimed at her.

"Nothing." They both answered at the same time.

She frowned at them. "Yeah. That's not weird at all." She mused as she noticed how alike the two of them looked in that moment.

Jack and Dave joined them soon after.

"You kids up for some pizza?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah!" They both easily agreed.

"It's barely eleven in the morning." Aimee pointed out.

"Oh, come on Mom. It's never too early for pizza." Aria countered.

The group chuckled. "Spoken like a true Italian." Aimee joked.

"There's a nice little Italian restaurant not too far from here that makes the best pizza." Rossi told them.

"Oh yeah. I know the one. It's Gio's, right?" Aimee asked.

Dave nodded.

"Sounds good. You game?" Aaron asked his friend.

"Uh, you kids go ahead. I have an appointment I need to get to." He told them. Aaron shot him a look that said, Sure you do, as Rossi gave him a smirk.

"It was a pleasure meeting you ladies." He said as he turned to Aria and Aimee. "I hope to see you again soon." He looked at Aria who nodded slightly. "Jack, great job today, Buddy." He said as he high-fived the smiling six year old. "Thanks Uncle Dave" He said. "I'll see you on Monday, Hotch. Have a good day." He said then walked over to his car with a wave.

Aaron turned back to face Aimee, Aria and Jack. "So… Pizza?"

"If I showed you my flaws, If I couldn't be strong, Tell me honestly, would you still love me the same?"– R. City - Locked Away (ft. Adam Levine)