"Can I speak to you for a second?"

Lex looked up. "Yeah." She followed him into the conference room. "What's up?"

Hotch sat on the desk and held a case file in his hand. "A case came by my desk: It's, uh, in a small area… They've never seen crime… Now they've had three murders in four months, a series of thefts, arson attacks and rapes."

"Can they describe the attackers?"

"No…But… How would you proceed?"

"Check all the crime scenes and see if they are connected… see if it's the same guy."

"Good. Then what?"

"Look for patterns… See what come when: if it's escalation or de-escalation…" Hotch nodded, barely listening, already knowing the answer, and not looking at Lex. Lex noticed it. "So, did I pass?" she asked, not giving him a full profile.

Hotch looked up and flashed her one of his rare smiles. "Yes, you did."

"Are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah, fine." Lex nodded and moved towards the door. "Uh, Lex?" She spun around. "You come from a small town right?"

Lex scoffed. "That doesn't cover it. Population of about five thousand."

"Did you like it?"

Lex shook her head. "Not really… Glad I got out. Why?"

"Just wondering."

Lex packed her bag slowly, waiting to see if he'd leave before she did.

Emily walked past her and nodded to Hotch's office. "Man, he needs a break."

"Yeah… Later."

"Night."

Lex was alone in the bullpen. She shouldered her bag and climbed the steps to Hotch's office, knocking on the door.

"Come in." Lex did. Hotch, who was on the phone, beckoned her further into the room. Lex looked at him: his sleeves were rolled up, his tie was loosened, his shirt creased and he looked pale.

"Of course, ma'am," he said into the phone and hung up. He looked at his watch and groaned. He looked at Lex. "Sorry."

"It's alright. I just came up to say goodnight. I'm heading home." She smiled.

"Have a good weekend."

"Go home, Hotch. You look wrecked."

"Lex… uh, Jack's going to be asleep by the time I get home, so there's really no point rushing and I haven't eaten since lunch so, um… Would you like to get some food?"

Lex nodded. "Yeah…"

They had a good time. She liked seeing him like this. He laughed and talked freely with her and joked around with her without worrying about keeping up his pretences of stern, stoic and cold. Before desserts came, Lex felt that, out of everyone on the team, she was the one he had let see him smile most. There were a few times when he faltered, when she became uncomfortable, but when conversation was directed away from those topics, things were better.

He drove her back to Quantico, to get her car and walked her to it.

Lex smiled up at him. "Thank you for food."

"Thank you for company… It's nice having grown up talk again."

"Yeah…" She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself as a cool breeze hit her shoulders. "I should get going."

"Me too." He leaned over to open the driver's door for her. Misinterpreting it, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek. They both froze, not exactly sure what to do. Lex could feel herself blushing, feel the red rising to her face. Then she felt his cheek pull away from hers. What surprised her was that in a second, his lips hit hers. They froze again, eyes wide and staring at each other, realising what they were doing. Hotch was the first to relax. He closed his eyes and put his arms loosely around her waist. A few seconds later, Lex did the same, except moving her arms around his neck.

They smushed their lips around for a while but went no further. Hotch pulled away. "I should go," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. Lex nodded. He brushed his lips against hers quickly. "Goodnight."