A sharp beeping woke him from his sleep. Groggily, Aaron cracked open his eyes and palmed his bedside table for the offending device. When he found the phone, he brought it to his ear. "Hotchner."

"Sorry to wake you," JJ yawned. "We have a case."

"I'll be there in thirty minutes," Aaron said and hung up the phone. He ran his hands over his eyes as he swung his legs off the bed.

"What's happening?"

"Just work," Aaron said, reaching behind him to massage her. "Go back to sleep."

Tiredly, she hummed. "Don't wake Jack."

He crept out of the room and took his go-bag. Quietly, he cracked open Jack's door and peered into the room. Posters of superheroes plaster Jack's walls and toys were thrown in a hastily constructed pile near the foot of his bed. Jack laid in his bed, his mouth open and his blonde hair framing his face, his covered kicked in a bundle at the end of his bed. Like a ghost, he walked in and kissed the top of his head and pulled the covers back atop of him. Jack moaned and turned away, snuggling his pillow. Aaron brushed his hair out of his face before leaving.

"Thanks for meeting us so quickly." A detective came up to them and shook their hands.

Nodding, Hotch asked, "Could you show us to our station?"

"Right this way," he said as he led them through the bustling building. He opened a door and showed them to a conference room. "You'll get the file soon."

"Thanks," Hotch said as he placed his bag on a chair.

The others filed into the room and Reid set up a map, drawing little red crosses on every crime scene. Emily and Morgan discussed the case between themselves while JJ stepped outside, phone and files in hand.

Things have changed since Gideon left. Reid became more withdrawn, even his attempts to talk to Reid were brushed off. Morgan got up and tapped Reid arm, leant in and asked him something. Hotch shook his head, except for Morgan of course. It almost seemed like they grew closer.

"Hotch," Emily said, pushing a page in front of him. "The MO is different from most regular unsubs. The victims are left alive and are returned home, the victims are also gone for 4 to six days." Emily shifted in her seat, bringing her hands up as if she was trying to grasp her thought process. "What if this was more than a robbery?"

"How so," Hotch asked, squinting at her.

After taking a breath, Emily started. "Firstly, the victims were kidnapped at their workplace, most kidnappings happen in more secluded spaces. There is a mixture of victims, not in gender, but in the roles. Associates and managing partners have been taken. There is something more going on."

"What do you think's going on?"

"Something more sinister than a robbery ring."

A knock on the door caused them all to turn around. JJ stepped in holding a picture of one of the victims. "Skylar Whitman has taken up our offer of an interview."

Nodding, Hotch said, "Reid and Emily, you'll interview Whitman. Morgan and I will look at the crime scene."

"On it," she said, taking the file JJ slapped in her hand. Emily quickly skimmed the pages while Reid walked to the door.

"I'll stay here and coordinate with the police," JJ said as she was about to leave the room. "I'll try to convince other victims to come forward"

"Morgan," Hotch said as he stood up. Morgan swung his jacket over his shoulders and followed him out the room.

The car was silent as they sped down the congested main road. Morgan rested his head on the window, the cool glass and vibrations soothe his headache and gripped his pants in an attempt to resist the urge to massage his eyes. He silently groaned when he heard them come to a stop and cracked open his eyes. Red light.

"How far are we?"

"Just around." Morgan heard a beep and looked over to Hotch , who was checking the satnav. "15, 20 minutes."

"Have any idea what we're going to be looking for?" Morgan asked as the light turned yellow. "Your area of expertise."

"Depends on what you're asking," Hotch said, rhythmically drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

"If an employee's the unsub?"

"The same features of any organised unsub."

"The type of victim the unsub is targeting?" Morgan asked.

"Probably one that if missing wouldn't cause any problems for the firm," Hotch said, as the light turned green. "Despite taking a managing partner, the firm hasn't experienced any adverse effects due to his kidnapping. Each of the victims were not highly important for the firm due to their job or area of specialisation."

"So our unsub has some idea about law."

"About the structure of a typical corporate law firm," Hotch said as he reversed into a parking stop.

Hotch and he stepped out of the car, slamming the doors in unison, and walked up to the building. It was a decently tall highrise sandwiched between a bank and an office building. Morgan reached into his pocket as they approached the doors and pulled it out at the receptionist desk.

The receptionist with a phone squeezed between his ear and shoulder mouthed at them to wait as he typed something onto the computer. After a few seconds, the man hung up the phone. "Are you here to investigate the recent disappearances?"

"Yes," Hotch answered.

"I'll send the necessary notifications," he said. "Any questions?'

"Which floors are for bankruptcy, mergers and dispute resolution?" Hotch asked

"Floors four, seven, and two," he said. "Respectively."

"Thank you."

Hotch stepped back and walked towards the stairs with Morgan in tow. Looking at the steady stream of people walking towards an elevator, Morgan said, "There's an elevator."

"What about last time," Hotch said as he pushed open the door leading to the stairwell.

Morgan missed a step and almost bashed his head into the concrete step. "That's an outlier." Climbing the steps two at a time, Morgan returned to Hotch's side. "You know that's an outlier. How was I supposed to know the elevator was broken, there wasn't a warning."

"Well," Morgan said after he looked through a box of personal positions. "No children, has a long-term partner, but nothing that helps with the victimology."

"Not really," Hotch said and pointed at the wall. "Each of their victims are well-off." Hotch pointed to a painting on the wall. "This is a medium sized firm, most associates or parteters wouldn't have the personal funds to buy–" Hothc stepped closer and squinted at the corner of the painting. "–LaCorto. Or have a spare Bretuom watch or a Chanel necklace in their drawer."

"So the unsub would have to know the victims personally."

"This is a corporate law firm," Hotch said, hands on his waist. "A cut-throat world doesn't allow for those interactions."

"So someone that's around day in, day out." Morgan stood up from his crouch and looked out the door of the office at the janitorial staff. "A worker but not a lawyer. But the motivation, nothing about this crime suggests anger or frustration."

"Opportunity," Hotch said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"No," Morgan said. "This level of stalking suggests premeditation."

Morgan lifted his head when he heard someone knock on the doorway.

"Aaron?"

A man holding a brief with a stack of papers sandwiched between his elbow and chest. He looked at Hotch with an incredulous face. "Is it you?"

"Excuse me," Hotch said as he stood up. "Keep searching."

He shut the door behind and looked at the man standing in front of him. He looked just like when he first saw him. Shaggy hair almost touching his eyebrows that was permanently swiped to the side of his head. A half-smile etched into his lips and a thoughtful eyes that looked him over. Hotch didn't want to put a meaning to his sharp intake of breath. Or the way his tongue flicked over his lips.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Hotch said, leaning back against the door. "Been what, 10 years?"

"12 years," he said. They went their separate ways after university. Glancing back at the door, he said, "I'm in the middle of work, could we meet up later?"

"Sure," he said and he opened his briefcase and pulled out a card. He handed it to him and mouthed 'call me' as he stepped away.

He stared at the card for a second with a grin before he pocketed it.

"I think Emily's on to us," Spencer said without warning as he stared at the ceiling.

Groaning, Morgan turned over in the dark and felt the blanket fall off his shoulder. "No she isn't."

"Yeah," he replied. "She winked at us when we checked in."

"There are multiple reasons for that." Morgan said carefully.

"Like?" Reid turned around to meet his gaze. His hair, mused from sleep, now falling messing across his face.

He reached out and brushed a stray piece behind Spence's ear. "She's never gonna know."

"What if she does?" Worriedly, he grabbed his hand.

"Nothing," he said. "You already told Hotch, right?"

Spence nodded in his palm.

"He didn't have a problem then," Morgan reasoned. "He wouldn't have a problem now."

"Sure?" He sounded so unsure and burrowed closer to him.

Morgan felt warmth blossom in his chest and pinpricks of electricity wherever Spence touched. "I'm sure," he placed a kiss on the crown of his head. "Nothing will happen."

He heard two sharp raps against the door. "You up?"

Morgan rolled out of his bed and messed up the sheets of the spare bed. "Coming, JJ."

He opened the door and saw a wide-awake JJ. She sidestepped him and walked into the room, sitting on the edge of Spence's bed.

Quietly, Morgan closed the door. "Something wrong?"

JJ half-smiled as she wrung her hands. " It's personal. Can Spencer and I have some privacy?" JJ shook her head and stammered. "I know it's your room and I'm sorry to ask this but–"

"It's fine," Morgan said, stepping out. "I'm hungry, I think I saw a vending machine down the hall."

JJ smiled her thanks while Spence mouthed a 'thank you'.

"Nightmare?" Spencer asked while fidgeting with a stray sting from the blanket.

"No," she replied, looking anywhere but at him. "I was just up, thinking."

"About what?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and tapped her legs with her fingers. "You know that guy I was involved with?"

He leaned forward. "Is he back?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Is it Will?"

"What," she gasped incredulously and her eyes darted around the room. "We're not dating."

Spencer shrugged. "Then what?"

"It's stupid really," she said, hanging her head.

"If it keeps you up at night then it isn't." Spencer pulled her head up and looked her in the eyes. "You can tell me."

"I overheard Hotch phoning Haley on the ride back," JJ started. "And it made me remember some things."

"How so?" Spencer asked, pulling her hand in his. It was comforting.

"I didn't hear all that she said but it just reminded me of him." JJ said, squeezing his hand. "And how I would act around him."

Gently, he stroked her hand. "What about the conversation?"

She pinched her nose and sniffed. "Uhh, they were talking about the workload. That came up often when we fought–"

"When he'd hurt you." Spencer interrupted. He looked at her with kind eyes. "You had nothing to do with what he did."

Nodding, she continued. "And how he didn't care about her or have the time for her. I just heard his voice telling me I deserved this because I obviously didn't love him and that I obviously wasn't trying to make this work. I just had his voice repeating that over and over in my head, egging me on to–"

A sob racked through her and she covered her mouth with a fist as she tried to control her breathing.

"Did you?" Spencer asked.

She shook her head and sniffed. "No. I really wanted to but I didn't."

He nodded with a proud smile. "Would you like to sleep here? Morgan would be happy to bunk with Emily, she's a heavy sleeper."

"No, I think I'll be alright." JJ said shakily. "I need to talk about it."

"If you feel otherwise don't hesitate to get me or wake up Emily."

"I know," she said, wiping her face.

They both got off the bed and she pulled Spencer into a hug, squeezing him and burrowing her face into his boney shoulder. "Thank you for being here."

Spencer patted her on the back. "I'll always be there."

His blanket did nothing to keep out the cold, he felt it in his bones. He glanced at the clock and held back a groan when he saw it wasn't a reasonable time yet. He tossed to the left and stared at the card on his night stand.

It burned him through his slacks all day. The wrongness of their relationship was apparent now that they met up after years. Emotions he thought he burned and threw to the wind were still here. He pulled the blanket tiger around him.

Haley would hate this.

Nervous energy thrummed through his veins as he reached out and snatched the card. He hid it under the covers as he stroked the hard, sharp edges. He committed to memory the contents of the card.

Joshua Levine Corporate Attorney 343-278-9001

If he could, he would recite it like the poetry it was. He could imagine how it felt on his lips and how the words would roll off his tongue.

He grabbed his phone and dialled the number.

"Hello?" Joshua groaned. He heard him run his hand across his face.

"Sorry to call so late," Aaron said softly into the phone. He held the card tightly in his hand.

"Don't worry," Joshua replied, sounding more awake. He heard his bed creak as he sat up. "How are you?"

He sighed into the phone. "Things could be worse."

"Ain't that right," he chuckled.

"I'm not dead or broke," he said humorously.

"All good things," he agreed.

Things went quiet between them but he was good with just listening to his breathing.

"You wanna get a drink when your case is done?" Joshua asked, breaking the silence.

"I would love too."

"Great, call me," he said. "Or I'll find you."

"Great."

"Night."

"Night." he answered back and hung up the phone.

He threw it away from him and he heard it head the blanket. Joshua's voice played on repeat in his head. He was sharp where Haley was soft, a body carved and sculpted with rough edges left intact. Yet, there was a kindness in his eyes, a gentleness in his touch, something indescribably yet so distinct that it has a hold on him, indelibly printed on his soul in bold.

He sighed when he touched himself. Imagining that it was him, holding him just right and he knew just how he liked it.

He gasped. He would make Aaron squirm and kiss away any worry he had. He'd touch him in places she never would, places he had never allowed himself to touch. He'd explore him and tease him.

Aaron bit the pillow as his back arched. The room was filled with heavy breathing and the rustling of blankets. He'd make Aaron forget to breathe, make his legs ache, make him feel something new but simultaneously familiar. He would erase everything wrong with what they would do.

Aaron gasped as he felt his climax tear through him.

"You good?"

Aaron looked back at JJ. "Of course. What brought this on?"

JJ looked at the ground. "I overheard you and your wife talking and I'm here if you need to talk to someone."

He nodded his thanks and asked, "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," JJ replied. "It's pretty late, ya know."

"Yeah, thanks."

Aaron stepped away from her and pulled out his phone. He hovered his thumb over the keys for a second then sent the message.

It was quiet, from where they sat, mellow jazz played through speakers and the lights were dim near the bar. It reminded him of that club they'd frequent back at uni. He would nurse a Black Russian while Joshua would always get a Boulevardier. Not much has changed.

"Wait," Joshua said after taking a sip. "So she's dating someone and is obvious about it but thinks she's hiding it?"

"Yep." Aaron answered.

"Are you serious?"

"Yep."

"Will you tell her?"

"Best for her to come clean or for her to find out." He said, smiling around the rim of his tumblr.

Joshua snorted. "Your job sounds more appealing now."

"Anything would sound appealing to you, corporate shill."

He put his palms up and shrugged. "Deserved that. Definitely deserved that."

Aaron chuckled into his drink. When he met Joshua's gaze, he felt the fire in his chest burn hotter.

Joshua looked away, a faint blush painting his cheeks. "I know this sounds selfish but I need to ask." He placed his hand on his. "Are you still with her?"

"Yes," he said, pulling his hand out of his grasp. "I can't. We can't"

"How about one night?"

"I can't hurt her like that."

"Yes you can," he said, quickly. "I know what she's done."

"That's in the past," he said, while crossing his arms.

They both went quiet as the atmosphere soured around them.

"Drinks on me," Joshua said.

Aaron nodded. "I should go."

"Wait," he said. "You have my number, call me every now and then. Let's be friends."

"She wouldn't like that."

"Can you give me your number?"

His heart hammered in his chest. "I can't."

Despondently, he looked at Aaron. "Fine."

"Haley," Aaron called. Jack squealed in response and he heard some pattering coming towards him. Bracing himself, Aaron swung him up in his arms and kissed his cheeks. "Hey there."

"Hi daddy," Jack said while laying his head on his shoulder.

"How was your day?"

"Fun." Jack giggled.

"Yeah," Aaron replied as he walked into the kitchen. "Did Mommy make you cookies?"

"Yeah."

"Bet they were good cookies."

Jack nodded against him.

Haley was sitting in the kitchen, reading a book. He came up behind her and pressed a kiss to her head. "Hey."

She hummed in response.

"Have a good day?"

She nodded and leaned forward. He felt his chest ache but he ignored it when Jack began to babble in his ear.

Late at night, when she finally acknowledged him and kissed him, Aaron imagined him. Everything they did, Aaron wanted him there. When she was done and she draped herself on his chest, he imagined him there and guilt racked through his chest.

The next morning, he tore up the card.