dangerously ↝ a. hotchner

t w e n t y - f i v e

Ana woke up the next morning, opening her eyes and expecting to see Aaron's deep brown ones staring back at her. Instead, all that met her was the cold, empty side of the bed where he used to lie, a note where his head used to be.

Got called in for a case.

- A.H.

Ana smiled sadly, sometimes she wished he didn't have to leave so suddenly, but it was the price he paid for the lives he saved. And that was infinitely more important than being there when she woke up — she knew he'd come back, and that was all she needed.

She yawned softly and rolled out of bed, heading straight for the bathroom and getting ready for the day. It was still early, only seven in the morning, but she had work at eight so she had to get going. As soon as she had changed into clothes suitable for work and made herself look presentable, she made sure Aaron's apartment wasn't messy and left for the hospital.

"Morning!" Charlotte greeted enthusiastically, walking towards Ana with a large takeaway cup of coffee. "This is to make up for the fact that your whole day is full."

Ana hummed, "That's not even covering the business of my week ahead. Thank you for telling me Charlie." Charlotte flashed her an apologetic smile as they both walked towards her office.

"You have Mrs Tate in thirty minutes. Mr Johnson after and Miss Macintosh after him. And that's just before lunch." Ana nodded as she listened to Charlotte, fully prepared for her day.

Half an hour later, she greeted Mrs Tate politely.

"Good morning Jenna, have a seat."

Jenna Tate nodded and sat herself down on the couch opposite to her doctors desk.

"Now, why don't we..."

—

The team stayed local for this case, investigating a series of family homicides.

"No sign of a struggle. Unsub holds a gun to one of her kids' head. What can she do?" Hotch says as he walks around the scene.

"Footprints belong to Paul." Morgan pointed out. "Somehow he managed to get away. Mom gets it first, then the youngest. He hides in the master bedroom, the unsub finds him and shoots him and carries him out to the backyard."

Prentiss joined them as they walked outside, "But not the mother. She's dragged out. It's quick and proficient."

"For the mother and the boys, maybe. But Lucy's drowned and not shot. Why the change in M.O.?" Reid asked as he scrutinized the scene.

Morgan looked up as the whirring of an airplane filled their ears, noticing the F-22 Raptor fly up above.

—

Ana listened intently as Jenna spoke softly to her. She knew speaking about her depression was a hard topic, Ana was incredibly proud of the progress she was making.

Towards the end of their session, Jenna stopped talking and stayed silent. It was part of their usual routine, Ana knew it calmed Jenna down, the peaceful silence between the two of them.

She said her 'see you next weeks' to Jenna, and watched as Jenna left. She left her office soon after, knowing she had a fifteen minute break before her next patient.

"Hey sweet cheeks." Sera waltzed into her office. "How's your day going?" She winked at Charlotte in greeting as she plopped herself down on one of the chairs in Ana's waiting room.