Disclaimer: I still don't own Criminal Minds.
On the jet, Hotch was out of it. Occasionally he mumbled incoherently, about turning the lights (the sun) out, never drinking again, plotting to destroy Rossi and his vast collection of assorted, lethal beverages, and about his colleagues talking quieter.
So, of course, everyone talked much louder, and much more cheerfully. It wasn't often that Aaron Hotchner let himself get so out of sorts, and especially not on the job.
The aforementioned Rossi, while just as cheerful as the others, was also suffering. He knew that it was the state Hotch was in that was keeping him so alive and happy right now. Both senior agents made a dash for the toilet at the same time—Hotch missed out by seconds, vomiting heartily right onto the jet's floor.
It was at this joyous moment that Penelope Garcia was tagged into the conversation, and it was a moment she knew she would cherish, for all of time. "You alright boss man?" she called out, trying to establish whether or not poor Hotch was still alive and kicking—everyone else was too busy laughing. He grumbled from the floor, vomiting once again, and Reid quickly filled her in on his progress, between gasps of laughter, clutching onto a hysterical Prentiss.
Again, Derek was trying to think of a way to casually slip into the conversation that he liked his best friend, but liked her liked her. Just thinking that made him feel like he was back in third grade again, and he let out a groan not too dissimilar from Hotch's.
Love and hangovers, he thought rolling his eyes, the two biggest causes of headaches and vomiting fits.