✦ Out of the Blue ✦ Read over on Ao3 here!

When thirteen-year-old Jack Hotchner shows up unannounced at Emily Prentiss’s flat in London—thousands of miles from home and armed with nothing but a backpack and a craving for peanut butter and jelly—they pick up right where it left off.

But when an Amber Alert bearing Jack’s name flashes across Emily’s phone, she’s forced to reconnect with Aaron Hotchner, the lost love she hasn’t spoken to in years.

Snippet below the cut:

Synopsis: Max has a realization of how will her life be if she decides to stay with Spencer, and a few fears come to the surface. part 1 here! & part 2 here!

Trigger warnings: Trauma, violence, (small steamy scene mentioned as a flashback).

Word count: 3.2k (not proof-read!)

A/N: Okay so ik the title's confusing bc this should *technically* be pt.4 but it's pt.3 but its solely bc I forgot the whole point of what I wanted to write in the first place lmfao so I needed to finish w that first before getting into anything else ok? ok (lol I'm still SO sorry for the misunderstanding but I hope ya'll will understand <333)

Arguably, the worst part of being in a fantasy is knowing it will eventually end. And that was certainly the case for Maxine Brenner and her BAU teammates. Only she hadn't realized it yet.

"And then, when Spence and I were like- 15 minutes from the BAU… he realized he'd forgotten his gun!" JJ recounted, causing the entire table to burst into laughter. "And we had to drive all the way back for him to get it back."

"It was an important gun! Gideon bought it for me," Spencer chuckled, sipping on his water as he blushed an embarrassing shade of red.

"It was a 2 hour drive!" The blonde said loudly, her eyes rolling away from her partner.

The table was filled with anecdotes shared by the different team members. And although Max thought that none of her stories could even remotely compete with theirs, since they weren't clad in action, adrenaline, and life-saving heroics, she knew it was their night, and she felt at peace only laughing and making an ever-eloquent comment every once in a while.

"Or like that time we were protecting a victim who was in Witsec, remember?" Aaron began another story, one hand on his hip while the other held a glass of champagne.

"Oh yeah! That's a good one!" Penelope concurred, raising her glass high.

"Okay, well-" Hotch began, looking at the floor as he gathered the facts. "As you know, I was briefly on a SWAT team before officially joining the FBI, and during that time I was instructed on how to take a shot from a considerable distance. But-" A laugh escaped his lips, effortless and genuine, contradicting what Max had heard about him, that he had a hard time smiling sometimes and that some people thought they'd never heard him laugh. "It turns out… we forgot the correct weapon and were given another one- it was a back up one, but… it worked just as well." He shrugged, bitterness showing in his features.

Max frowned without understanding. She tried to read the man's elusive expression, but couldn't understand why his tone had dropped so suddenly. But when she looked around, she realized he wasn't the only one who had been dimmed by the story.

Max had seen this before, a few times, when he chatted with Spencer for entire afternoons.

Recounting the past was like walking on eggshells; you could never be sure it would trigger the next dark memory, the next trauma, or reignite the next fear. Each landmine was hidden behind simple words or, sometimes, a comment about the weather.

"Hey- Aaron," Rossi took a step forward, placing his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "You had to take the shot. It was necessary." He promised his teammate.

And then Max was sure of what had happened.

And it seemed everyone else had already understood even more than she had. Will had squeezed JJ's hand, Beth had leaned back on her fiancé's shoulder, Krystal caressed her husband's arm, and Savannah planted a soft kiss on her husband's cheek. They all seemed to grasp the subtext she still missed sometimes.

"You okay?" she asked her boyfriend in a faint, breathy voice.

Spencer only glared down at her and nodded, his lips pursed tightly on a line. He wasn't okay, but he wouldn't admit so either, and Max was painfully aware of it.

"We had to- take down a sniper." Morgan said, one hand in his pocket, the other holding Savannah's tightly. "And..." he shrugged, avoiding everyone's gazes. "It was tough." Was all he said.

Max looked at Savannah, his gaze searching to see if everything was alright. She returned his gaze and tried to smile calmly. But the young teacher knew the air hadn't shifted just because of that single incident; her boyfriend as much as everyone else in the BAU carried burdens no one should have to bear, no matter the amount of good they did.

So she determined to do something about it.

"Well I-" she fearfully rose her voice, fidgeting with the stem of her glass as she tried to meet everyone's eyes as they looked at her. "I just would like to say that..." She tried to find the right words, if they even existed, and put them together in a way that was both understanding and conscious, as well as encouraging and gentle, knowing that a wrong syllable could activate a landmine. "I really admire all of you..." Max said, looking up at the agents, "you are all so... Strong," she first looked at Morgan, "wise," she then chuckled, looking at Rossi, "intelligent," she rose her glass to Penelope, "brave and... Courageous," she nudged at Emily and glared at Aaron. "And kind," she then looked at JJ, who had a glossy look in her eyes, "and just... Great." She finalized, looking up at her boyfriend. "And I think the job that you do is amazing... And worth commending," she said, solemn and genuinely on the brink of crying. "And I'd like to thank you for what you do because if it weren't for the BAU-" she chuckled dryly, "people like me wouldn't be able to have the lives that we have or- the safety that we have..." She rose her glass once more, "thank you for being real life superheroes."

The girl finished her speech, raising her toast for them. And it seemed that with the air of their gratitude and the affection they shared, the atmosphere had changed as well. And for a moment, in the stillness of the night, where the laughter of the two children and the chirping of the crickets were the only sounds, the team felt inspired once again to carry on.

"And thank you-" Rossi spoke again, lifting his own glass. "All of our wonderful partner, who motivate us and keep us going on our day to day." He declared, and the agents cheered to that as well.

Another curious thing Maxine had noticed about the team is that they were rather self-effacing. They didn't want to recognize their own valor or work, they knew the importance of their job and saw the tool it took on them, but nothing beyond that. And although she thought it to be wrong, it was also unique how her boyfriend wasn't the only one with that characteristic.

"Thank you for that, it was beautiful," Spencer whispered as he kissed Max's hair, conversation around the group flowing again.

"It was the least I could do," she replied, snaking her hand into Spencer's jacket to shield herself from the cold.

"You cold?" The man asked, looking down at her.

"I'll survive," Max replied with a shrug.

"No, here- have my jacket," he said, shrugging off his blazer.

"Such a gentleman." She complimented playfully, receiving the jacket and putting it around her shoulders.

"Alright then, let's take the job out of the conversation," Dave proposed, and the team agreed eagerly. "Emily, what's your favorite recent memory? Outside the job-" He inquired, signaling at the boss.

"Favorite memory? Wow... I've- surprisingly few," the woman admitted, scoffing sincerely. "Let me see..." she looked up at the night sky, as if the stars gave her a hint. "Well... When we were coming back from Iowa, I decided to go to the mall for a... little spa time for myself," Prentiss began telling. "And I got these done," she said, showing her nails, which were painted a crimsom red and pointed at the end.

"Oh Em! They look amazing!" Savannah complimented, leaning in to grab her hand to look at the polish.

"Oh yeah- those are totally your style," JJ concluded, as every female also leaned in.

"That's a good one," Krystal added, "Derek? Savannah?" she then pointed at them.

"Well-" Savannah looked at her husband, her chuckle lighting up the whole garden. "Finding out about the baby was a pretty big one-" She said and the team quickly agreed, realizing the question was perhaps a little silly on their scenario.

"What about you Jen?" Derek asked, pointing at the blonde.

"Well, me and the boys- and Will of course," Jennifer began, putting a lock of hair behind her ear as she remembered their weekend, "we went to the Virginia fair and... It was great, we played some games and- Will won me a teddy bear, and- it's actually such a pretty bear, we called her Beau." She said, the name obviously referencing her job but also 'beautiful', in French.

"Aw! That is so cute! I'm gonna steal that for my next desk trinket," Penelope said, sipping on another mimosa.

"Penelope, what about you?" Krystal prompted the woman.

"Oh that's easy-" she waved her hand, "I got to go to the renaissance convention and..." She streched the quiet to 'build suspense'. "I won first place in the gown competition!" She declared proudly.

"Wow! Really? That's so fun!" Spencer said, already imagining the kind of dress she must've sown for the competition.

"Thank you, thank you- yeah it was a very beautiful dress, and I got named belle of the ball but the prize were some $5 donuts which weren't awful but I expected more of the National League of Medieval Fans." She said, referencing to her beloved NLMF, of which she'd been part of for so long. "Bossman, what about you?" She then asked Hotch.

He looked at his fiancée, seeing the glimmer in her eyes and the way her face brightened, causing him to smile as well. "I'll let you answer that one, honey- I know what you're gonna say." He said, giving way for Beth to speak.

"Well, the other week... Jack was at a sleepover, and me and Hotch wanted to go visit one of the exhibits I had just arranged for the museum I worked in, and..." She looked at her fiancé, her laugh spreading as she remembered the event. "We got lost for like- half an hour..."

"She had us go in circles 3 times-" Aaron exclaimed, but Beth's palm came to cover his mouth, causing the team to laugh.

"I did not- don't listen to him." She said before taking her hand down.

"Okay 5 times-" the man corrected.

"You are such a liar! I did no such thing!"

"You lost your own exhibit!" He exclaimed, jokingly argumentative.

"I was disoriented! We entered through the back and I only knew the way from the main entrance!" Beth argued back.

"And how did you get- y'know... un-lost?" Emily asked.

"We had to exit the museum and re-enter through the main door and then she remembered the way," Aaron answered.

Prentiss nodded and then looked at the older couple. "What about you Rossi?" she questioned.

"Well, me and Krystal went to visit Portia down in Oregon a couple of weeks ago." Dave responded, "and it was a beautiful family time.

"She's starting a new job," Krystal added, her hand placed on her husband's shoulder. "So we got to drive around a lot."

Max relished the beauty of the friendship and camaraderie the team shared, and although she would generally never do something like this, she felt like publicly humiliating her boyfriend, just for the extra margarita she had drunk.

"I know what mine is," she whispered to her boyfriend, standing on her tiptoes to get near his ear.

"Oh yeah? What is it?" Spencer asked, looking at her with all his attention.

"Bishop to g3 ring any bells?" She asked, bitting her bottom lip mischievously as her eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Oh my- of course you'd pick that- of course-" He chuckled, looking away.

Max had cheated. And they both knew it. But because of the way he had cheated, Spencer hadn't said anything.

‎‎‎‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ* * *

"Max, you can't just-" He tried to speak as she climbed on top of his lap, still kissing his jaw.

"Why not? I thought it was just a game," she replied, using his own words against him.

Basically Max's argument was that chess wasn't just some game, and that one needed their full brain and entire focus to win it. Meanwhile, the Doctor's stand (which might've been fueled by the pride he'd allowed to grow with the constant praise he received from her anyway) was that he could easily handle playing, while... doing some other things.

"It- it is but-" The ever-composed man found himself at a loss for words. The sensation of her lips on his skin and the weight of her body on his, putting just enough pressure to torture and distract him, yet not enough to satisfy him.

"You said you could focus on both." She reminded him, starting a slow movement with her hips.

"I- I know I did but-" he attempted to argue again, but utterly failed as his words melted into barely-contained groans of lust.

"Then do." She shrugged, continuing her movement.

And so, she'd do her move, then tend to him as he did his move, utterly making the man's brain and body go into overload and finally, succumb. Allowing her the easy and somewhat humilliating loss made by her master move: bishop to g3.

‎‎‎‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ‎ㅤ * * *

"Of course I would! I beat ya with my 124 IQ!" the girl bragged, punching his arm.

"For your information 124 is a very high IQ, alright?" Spencer nodded, looking at Krystal as she recounted a few more details about their trip.

"Okay but beating you Mr. 187 IQ is a big accomplishment of mine." She whispered, not wanting to interrupt her either.

"Alright then, let's tell yours," Spencer conceeded, not having to think an extra second about it.

"Reid, whatcha got?" Dave questioned, noticing they were chatting.

"Max here is gonna present ours." He said, signaling at his girl.

"Well, me and Dr. Reid here had a pretty standard Saturday, we went to the library to pick up some books I needed, got lunch and walked in the park but..." She turned to the man beside her, her voice beaming with pride. "And I beat him at chess!"

"What?" the whole team seemed to ask in unison.

"That's impossible- no one can beat wonderboy at chess-" Morgan defied.

"I know, that's what I thought too." Max said, shrugging as she ran her hand through her hair. "I guess I'm just that good."

"Spencer, is that true?" Emily asked the Doctor, not because she didn't believe her, but because she wanted to hear it from his own mouth.

This was an unprecedented event, after all.

"Yes. Yes she did beat me at chess." Spencer confirmed, nodding as he laughed.

"How?" JJ inquired.

"Bishop to g3." Was all he answered, shrugging with ressignation, but a slight flush creeping up his neck as he remembered the winning technique she'd used on him.

"Well you're gonna have to teach us sometime, Max," Aaron said, giving her an approving nod.

"That'd be- interesting," she agreed, nodding as she managed to barely conceal the intimacy of the entire situation.

Yet, just as easily as the bliss of the moment had washed in, it washed back out.

In the blink of an eye, all phones began ringing. And the team knew what it meant.

"Case?" Beth asked, eyes filled with sorrow but also understanding.

"Yes-" Aaron replied, buttoning up his blazer as he handed her his glass. "Excuse us."

And just like that. The fantasy broke again. The team dropped it all and walked away, and they were left alone in the garden. The cold feeling sharper, the quiet feeling heavier and the empty space feeling wider.

Max looked at Spencer as they entered Rossi's mansion.

He looked back at her one more time, his eyes asking the same question he'd asked her the time he had properly asked her to be his.

"I can take a break- whenever you want." He'd promised, holding her hands on his. "And I can take a sabatical for us to be together and we can- we can go visit your dad and-"

"Are you sure? You'd do that... for me?" She'd asked, mistrusting his vows.

"Of course I would Max." He assured again, holding her face with his hands as he kissed her forehead.

Max's eyes brimmed with tears but she managed to smile. She waved her hand urging him to leave, but once more he inquired silently; do you need me to stay?

"It's okay-" she replied without sound, "go-"

They need you, she thought, knowing his loyalty to his job (which had been something that attracted her to him and which she found to be admirable) was often greater than she imagined.

But after the noise died down, she felt empty, somewhat.

"Will it... ever be easier?" she murmured, rubbing her arm as she looked up at her female counterparts.

All the young women, and even Will, didn't know what to say. They weren't sure but so far, in their own experience, it'd always hurt just as much.

Because the first time duty calls, one can pretend not to care, but when the call comes in on a nearly daily basis, it did become more and more painful. And as much as Max wanted to keep on pretending everything was alright, it did sometimes affect her that Spencer had to drop everything to leave her.

"Oh sweetheart," Krystal was the first to speak, walking up to her to embrace her. "It might..."

"But what if it doesn't?" She asked, wiping her tears away as she avoided her gaze.

"Well then you keep on fighting." Krystal said, holding Max's shoulders. "You're a fighter, are you not?"

"I- I don't know..." She muttered weakly.

"You are." The older woman assured her, tilting up her face by lifting her chin with her index. "Trust me. You'll figure it out."

And once more, the team came out of their meeting. Being welcomed by the smiles of their loved ones. Everyone acted as though nothing had happened, especially the agents. That did piss off Max sometimes. Because every once in a while, she wanted to throw a tantrum and cry, but she knew that what they needed wasn't drama, they needed stability. And when her and Spencer got together, she had promised him that.

"Everything okay?" she asks, wiping her tears away.

"Max I'm so so-" Spencer reacted by wanting to console her, but she stopped him with kindness.

"No," she shook her head immediately, smiling again. "It's alright," she promised. "Everything okay?" Max inquired again, fixing his tie to avoid looking into his eyes.

"Yes-" he nodded, "but... I'll have to leave earlier tomorrow."

"It's alright..." She nodded as well, pursing her lips into a makeshift smile. "I get it. All good." She said, and though her exterior promised it, her heart yearned for things to be different.

It was already hard for them to meet up over the week, not to mention that lately he'd picked up a few more hours due to a crisis they'd been facing. She didn't know much about it, as he didn't like to bring work into their relationship, but work often butted itself into their relationship. And there was nothing they could do about it.

That's when, an idea came tomind.

Maybe? Maybe they could...