D.C |Aaron Hotchner|

nineteen

"Now, you try."

His voice sent shivers down my spine as I slowly stepped forward to take his place.

He handed me the gun and stood a few steps back.

I extended my arm and aimed the gun at the human shaped target. With my fingers wrapped around the trigger, I took a deep breath to prepare myself.

I winced as I pulled the trigger. The jolt sending me backwards.

The sound of slight laughter caused me to open my eyes. I hadn't even realized I closed them.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that." Hotch spoke.

My face turned deep red, feeling flustered as I finally looked at the target that had no markings on it. I had completely missed.

"Did you close your eyes?" He asked jokingly.

"Maybe?" I laughed and looked down out of complete embarrassment.

"Here, let me help you." He stepped forward to stand directly behind me, my back against his chest.

I regained my composure and repeated the steps. I extended my arm to aim, when he began to help.

He wrapped his arms around mine so we were both holding the gun. His face to the left of mine, our cheeks basically touching.

I choked on my breath as he moved his finger to cover mine on the trigger. He lightly pushed against my pointer finger, causing me to shoot the gun.

The jolt of the shot caused me to slightly rock back, hitting his firm chest. I swallowed the breath I hadn't realized I was holding, and looked up at the target. It had a hole, right in the forehead.

I gasped. Even if it was with help, I still hit the target.

"Good, now do it yourself." He whispered in my ear.

I bit my lip. You have to admit, the tension between us right now was extremely high.

He stepped back to where he was before and cleared his throat, indicating for me to shoot again.

I stood up straighter and shot the gun. Twice this time.

One landing on the shoulder, the other next to it. Meaning I missed again.

"On SWAT, we broke shots down into three steps. One- front sight. Focus on the front sight, not on the target." He started explaining sternly.

I turned to face him and nodded periodically as he spoke.

"Two- controlled trigger press. Three- follow through. After the shot, you come right back to the target. Now, what did you do wrong?"

I thought for a second before responding.

"I didn't follow through."

"Right. You came off the target to see where you hit."

I sighed as I turned around to try again. Instead, Hotch grabbed my shoulder, turning me back to face him.

Our eyes locked as we were once again extremely close.

He let out a breath, and stepped in front of me.

"Front sight, trigger press-" He shot the gun.

"Follow through."  He then set the gun down on the ledge in front of him.

"You do those three things, you'll hit your target every time."

I sighed. I was feeling defeated at this point, but I wasn't going to give up.

We switched spots yet again and I positioned myself to shoot.

This time when I shot, I hit the fake human in the crotch.

Hotch started laughing, causing me to copy. This was my first time hearing him belly laugh, and let me tell you, it was extremely contagious.

"Well, they aren't going to accept that on the test." He said with a slight smile on his face.

I put the gun on the ledge and covered my face with my hands. I was beyond embarrassed.

"Profilers aren't required to carry a gun you know." He reassured as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah? And yet you carry two of them."

He tilted his head slightly with a smirk on his lips, wondering how I knew.

I went to explain that Spencer told me, but before I could, he knelt down, removing the second gun from the holster wrapped around his ankle.

He then shot the target three times, each hitting directly in the heart.

At this point, I think he was just trying to make me jealous.

It was working.

He removed his ear muffs and put them on the ledge with the guns.

"When I first joined the BAU, Rossi said to me, 'you don't have to carry a gun to kill someone.'"

"I- I don't get it." I stammered.

His phone started to ring.

"You will." He then answered his phone and left.

I hit the button to reset the targets, took a deep breath, and picked up the gun.

"Front sight." I whispered to myself as I held up the gun.

"Trigger press." I slowly moved my finger to the trigger, and pulled.

"Follow through."

I put the gun down, and smiled. I hit the target in the abdomen; I was getting better

"Good job." Hotch spoke from the door way, startling me.

I turned to face him, but he spoke.

"We have a case."

--

About four hours ago the team was called to a mall only about an hour away. I, unfortunately, had to stay behind at Quantico.

JJ had briefed the team before they left. A little girl, Katie Jacobs, was missing. She was last seen with her cousin in the arcade. They locked down the entire mall; nobody in or out. Another child was murdered in the same area only a week before, but they weren't sure if the cases were related just yet.

Garcia and I were currently going through the mall's security footage, hoping to get a glimpse of where Katie could have been taken, or who she was with.

"If Katie was alone, the only stores in the vicinity she would be walking toward would be furtniture, stationary, or bedding." Garcia explained.

"Nothing that a six year old would leave an arcade for. Unless, it wasn't a store that caught her eye." I added.

"I once followed Todd Cortel the entire length of silver beach because he had a kite."

I chuckled at her story, "The right bait might lure her away from the crowd."

"I'll call Hotch."

--

About seven hours later, the team found Katie alive. She was locked in a closet in one of the department stores. Her Aunt had trapped her there because her husband was sexually assaulting the child. She felt getting rid of her would clear the problem. It was absolutely disgusting.

It's now 11:00 pm. The team had just returned back at headquarters.

"Great work, everyone. I'll see you all tomorrow." Hotch spoke loudly.

I headed back to my desk, grabbed my bag, and headed home.