#hotchxreader

A little recap feels a bit appropriate.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Seeley Booth’s Sister!Reader 

Word Count: 2,555

Warning: Violence, Graphic-ish, Mentions of drinking, Blood, Kinda goryish (Watch the episode you’d understand)

Summary: The reader is Seeley Booth’s sister. When he is stumped on a case that’s pressed for time, he reaches out to his sister and her team for help.

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Aaron Hotchner Masterlist

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Criminal Minds x Bones Cross Over.

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Based off the Bones episode The Woman in the Car

At the Club

“Are you too going to keep dancing around the fact you both have feelings for each other? Or are you going to do something about it?” Derek questioned, nudging you slightly as you kept your gaze on Hotch.

He was across the bar, with a tall busty blonde, whom had his attention since he walked in.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You stated nonchalantly as you took a sip of your drink.

“Alright lover girl, whatever you say.” He commented rolling his eyes. “Like he hasn’t been giving me a death glare, since you sat down.”

“Huh?” You asked, finally breaking your gaze turning towards your best friend.

“Baby girl, anyone with two eyes can see you have feelings for each other.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes. “Come on.” You spoke standing up, extending an hand towards him. “Let’s dance.”

Walking into the BAU that morning, you’re unnaturally happy. 

The day seems to go by like any other. 

You’re assigned a case and just like that, you’re all on the road again. Throughout assessments and profiles, you can’t help but cast looks at Hotch. You’re a bit giddy, because at times, he seems to already be looking your way. 

It’s an amazing thing. 

For the next couple of days you’re a bit busy, and when you return from your most recent case, the professional wall lowers and you and Hotch feel like regular people again. The team is bidding their goodbyes, and you wave them off as you head to do a bit of filing. Hotch has certainly had the same idea. 

He’s in his office finishing up, and the sight of him through the blinds brings back some memories. 

It’s a bit involuntary. 

“If that’s all you can leave.” 

His tone is cold, you’ve gotten used to it. Hotch is never one to spare words when it’s necessary. That’s why it's weird he has so little for you. Mostly, it’s just hard to be this close yet unable to touch him like you did. Hold him. Smile and watch him lower all those guards he wears bravely for the sake of his team. 

“Yes sir.” 

Just those words were a bit hard to utter. It’s crazy how you both went from lovers to strangers in the span of a few days. For them, you’ve only joined for a few months, but your father had dropped you off right after Hailey was safe. 

Now you’re back on the team but it’s not the same. 

At the time it was difficult, but just seeing him, seeing the way Jack would light up whenever he made a surprise visit with his mother at the bureau, it felt right. 

Then there were the times that you could see it. The fear in Hotch’s eyes at the thought of never seeing you again. He couldn’t have imagined what you planned to do, but you knew he realized whatever it was, you would be the one getting the short end of the stick. Just like that, all those days, weeks, months, they would be gone. He’d rushed right for you, despite it all, but it was useless, you were gone, into the veil with your father to give Hotch a better life. A happier one. Easier one, even if you couldn’t be a part of it. 

“Don’t…Don’t go with him.”

“DON’T!!” 

“Goodbye Hotchner.”

A sour feeling settles in your stomach and guilt washes over you at all those conflicting thoughts. 

Maybe that’s what possesses you to move to his office. You walk up the short flight of stairs, and as you enter, it looks like he’s ready to call it a night as well. 

“Are you ready to go?” 

You ask softly. 

He nods, stacking the files on his desk. You close the door, and then you linger there making him look up. 

“I’m sorry Hotch.” 

He’s a bit confused on why you’re apologizing.

“I thought that I was doing the right thing. My father told me that he could bring her back and I..it felt selfish not to try and give you a chance to be happy.” 

He couldn’t believe you were actually apologizing. He can say without a doubt that he understood and respected what you did. You knew that making such a decision would rob you of your own happiness, but you saw a chance to ensure he would still have his and you took it. Not just for him, but his son. There weren’t words to express how much that meant to him. 

How much you mean to him. 

Hotch approaches, taking your hand. 

“You brought back Hailey. Because of you Jack doesn’t have to grow up without a mother.  (Y/N), you sacrificed your happiness for me. For Jack. There’s nothing I can do that could ever make up for that.”

You’re teary eyed again and you smile. 

“I love you so much…” 

You manage to say. He can’t help but smile. You’ve stolen the words right out of his mouth. It’s a bit crazy. When you started this partnership, there was so much uncertainty. 

Hotch had hardly trusted you at the start, but now looking at him here, it’s hard to picture what life would be like if you hadn’t transferred in. He changed a lot in your life for the better. You can’t imagine life without him. 

“I love you too.” 

He kisses you happily and you hold on tight. 

There’s nothing more you can ask for in life. 

You’re both content.

"Good morning.” Garcia greets.

You send her a smile.

“Good morning Penelope.”

She has a pep in her step, but that abruptly stops.

“Penelope! You never call me Penelope!”

Why does it feel like this has happened before? Now you have the attention of Morgan, Prentiss and Reid.

“I promise nothing bad happened. Actually I..I spoke with my dad a few days ago. “

“Dad, you mean the dad that you had a really bad relationship with?”

She takes a seat. The rest of the team has gathered around.

“Yes, that one.” You chuckle.

“After my mother passed we just sort of drifted apart. I didn’t agree with the way he handled his grief and he didn’t agree with mine. But I think we’ve finally found a balance. He came over and we just talked about her for hours. It was nice.” Morgan pats your shoulder.

“That’s great. Glad you’re patching things up with him. “

“I’m so proud of you.”

Garcia leans over, hugging you. Hotch steps out of the elevator at that very moment.

“Are we celebrating something?” He asks.

“Just a milestone in (Y/N)’s family development.”

Garcia praises. She pulls back, and you feel somewhat exposed with his gaze on you. After the chat with your dad, you sort of gained a new perspective. It would definitely take some time for you to get over your feelings for Hotch. In truth it may never happen. What you knew is that you loved this job, and your team. Having their support was more than anything you could ask for.

“Can I see you in my office?”

“Yes sir.”

You stand, and Garcia sends you a thumbs up. You figure this is merely an assessment he’s going to make on your progress as part of the team.

You close the door, and Hotch offers you a seat. You take it, smiling.

“I’m relieved to hear about the progress you’ve made with your father. I know it hasn’t been easy. Adjusting to a new team, then with my leave after what happened with Hailey. I’ve been a bit absent.”

“Sir, you don’t have to worry. I completely understand. I’m very happy that it all worked out.”

“So am I.”

The smile that you wear this time is different. Your focus shifts over the dull light that’s seeping from his shoulders. You blink, and the warm glow is now covered all over his body.

“Is he..am I seeing his..”

You’re a bit puzzled by this particular quirk. It’s the first time this has happened. This doesn’t feel bad per se. If anything it feels amazing. It’s like you had materialized his joy.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, would you like to have dinner with me?”

The glow has you momentarily distracted, so it takes a moment to really let the statement sink in.

“Sure.”

Dinner….

“Wait did you say dinner?”

Hotch smiles. “You’ve been working very hard these past couple of months. I’d like to treat you to dinner if that’s alright.”

“O-Of course sir I-I’d love to have dinner with you!” You cringe. That sounds a bit too desperate.

“Totally professional of course.” You clear your throat.

“I’d like that.”

Hell, you’d love that.

Now that’s all you’re going to be thinking about.

~~

For the next few days, you’re working as usual. With an unsub on a spree, most of the focus is tracking him down and stopping the killings. It took quite some time, but the man was caught. As he’s being led to the police car, you can feel yourself relax. The trip back home has you calm. You’d found a seat in the back to get comfortable. Hotch takes a seat on the opposite side of you.

“Good work today.”

“Thank you sir.”

It was always nice to get praise from Hotch. He looks down on his watch.

“We should be back around eight, if you’re still up for dinner, there is somewhere close to Quantico that would be great.”

“Dinner?”

Oh shit!

“You forgot.” Hotch asks amused. Flustered, you nod.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been so invested in the case, it completely slipped my mind.”

“No need to apologize. I respect that you put your all in these cases. If today doesn’t work we can always reschedule.”

“N-No today works fine.”

He leans back in his seat.

“Then I’ll make the reservation.”

Hotch drops you off after the little party.

You could tell Rossi was devastated by the loss of his vase. After frantic apologies, and a lot of liquor. He got over it.

Maybe.

You have a feeling when he’s sober, he won’t be as calm.

Dropping onto the bed, you close your eyes. Trying to process everything. The team knows about you now. Not just your father’s transgressions, but everything. It almost feels like an illusion.

You reach over, pinching your arm.

“It’s real.”

Closing your eyes, you release a heavy sigh. All appears calm, but then you feel that shift. The one that is usually followed by an appearance of a certain telepath.

“Your life here is good.”

He steps out from your window. For some reason, this time is different. Before your instinct was to attack, or defend. But now when you sit up, you can’t show the rage you’ve always felt when you looked at him.

“Pity is far worse than hate. I much prefer that look you wore before." You stand.

“Why are you here?”

There’s that look again, he’s holding something back. There is a debate on whether he'll tell you or not.

“You love Aaron Hotchner, don’t you.” 

Hearing him say his name always makes you uneasy.

“What does that have to do with you?”

“If you had a chance to make him happy, would you take it?”

You aren’t sure of his angle.

“What are you talking about?”

You can never read him. It drives you mad.

“Before, you could barely alter even a fraction of your power. But after that dream, something changed. It triggered something. I can feel it. I’m asking you now, if there was a way to help Hotchner, to bring happiness to both him and his son, would you take it.”

“Of course!”

Manchester smiles, almost like he expected the answer.

“Follow me.” He turns, and you don’t truly understand.

“Hey! Wait, what do you mean!!”

You run towards the window, and you’re startled at the light that blinds you. Something grabs your hand, and you’re pulled right out. When your feet meet solid ground, the blue area is all you see. You’re no longer inside your bedroom. You turn frantically, searching for a door, or an exit. All you can make out is an endless stream of blue. It’s like you’re underwater.

“I knew you’d be able to cross.” Manchester is now standing right in front of you.

“D-Dad!! What is this, where did you take me!” If this was some mind game, he was misled if he thought you wouldn’t put up a fight.

“I call it the veil, but I’m sure each traveler has a different name.” He doesn’t look concerned in the slightest.

“What we’re capable of, it isn’t just of the mind. We’re telepaths, but so much more. After I lost your mother, I kept replaying that moment. How to make it right, what would I do if I had a chance and go back. Change the outcome."

“Do you mean like…time travel?”

It sounds crazy, but with him, it was better not to question.

“In a manner of speaking. How I understand it is we live in these pockets. They each possess a reality. Past, present and future. People like me and you, we’re able to tap into the past. Empaths can enter the future. Regular people, they live in the present. “

“So you expect me to believe you can time travel.”

He doesn’t say anything, just reaches out. His hand is pressed to a wall that you can’t see, then there’s that flash again. You brace yourself. When your eyes open, the view in front of you leaves you speechless.

“Mom…”

She’s right there, it’s like you’re watching through a screen. All you need to do is reach out. So you do. You touch the barrier, trying to push through, but it doesn’t budge.

“Mom! MOM!!! Why can’t she hear me!!”

“Because it’s a memory. You can’t go to her, you can’t stop what happened. Believe me I tried." You turn back. This scene, you remember it vividly. You were both in the kitchen. Making dinner for your dad when he comes home.

“Blood relatives can’t intercept. No matter how much we want to help, we can’t. I’ve realized it must be some kind of law. It’s the only thing keeping this all in balance. With me it’s even harder.”

When his hand touches this barrier, there’s a completely different reaction. The entire scene turns dark, and it crumbles right there in front of you.

“I’m so corrupted that the veil won’t even let me connect with the barrier. All of my sins, they came with a price. This is it.”

“Why show me this?”

You didn’t understand why he would go through the trouble of revealing such a power when it was impossible for you to save the one person who meant the world to the both of you.

“Because the veil prevents us from interfering with the realities of our kin. The bloodlines are what separates us from them. But there isn’t a barrier from friends, coworkers..lovers..” You don’t fully get what he’s hinting at, but then you back track.

This all started when he ranted about Hotch. Your nightmare was a trigger to your power because you were afraid to lose Hotch.

He brought you here because he wanted….

“I can save Hailey..for Hotch..”

Manchester says nothing, and he doesn’t need to.

“Can you hear me?” 

You swallow. 

“Clear as day.” 

“That’s good. Your mind is only as strong as your body. I’m sorry if I’ve been pushing you too hard. I just feel better knowing that you’re fully equipped to handle any threat. Even if that threat is me.” 

“You’re not that person anymore.” 

Your words are resolute. 

“It’s true you could have lightened up with that body slam, but no pain no gain right.” 

“I need to find out who you keep getting these sayings from and put a stop to it.” 

You giggle to yourself, and Reid gives you a look. Clearing your throat, you divert your gaze. 

“Dad, I’ve got to go. Code Blue.” 

“What the heck’s a code blue? You need to stop with this cop talk I’m not a profi-” 

His words are cut off when Morgan walks over to your desk. You have your phone in your hand, and he wears a smirk. 

“Texting your boo?” 

Thankfully that was a good cover. 

“Nope. I was just reading a funny article. “ 

You pocket the phone. 

“Whatever you say.” He sounds like he doesn’t fully believe you as he walks away and you sigh. 

Since your powers were growing, you needed to progress with them. You’d been taking both physical and mental measures. Your father was agile in both fight and power. So there was no debate on whether he could help you. So far the both of you had been determining the radius of your telepathic connection. 

He was currently at a coffee shop, five miles away. That seemed to be your limit at the moment. It was great progress. When you started you could only feel him when he was in the same room. At the very beginning if he didn’t announce his presence, then you had no way of telling where he was. You’d grown so close to him. Not to mention his promise to make a change. He’d sworn to you that he would refrain from using his powers to smite. That too was a work in progress. You were very proud. 

“Any word from Hotch?” You ask Reid.

You’d just closed a case. The three of you were at the Texas precinct waiting for Hotch, Prentiss and JJ to return with the unsub. 

“They should be coming up any second now.”

The elevator dings, and you turn. Hotch walks in with a man in cuffs, followed by JJ, Prentiss and a few other officers. The detective working the case looks like he’s able to breathe easier. Hotch makes the exchange, passing over the unsub, and the detective nods. You stand, moving over. There has been a stop momentarily, the sadden expression of the killer’s wife was something you all had seen many times. 

“She has a gun. (Y/N), protect Hotch!” 

You flinch at your father’s words. Hotch’s back is turned, and your eyes widen as they begin to lead the woman’s husband away. She lifts her hand, and you scream. 

“HOTCH GET DOWN!!” 

He doesn’t truly have a chance to react, you sprint, tackling him to the floor at the very moment the gun goes off. It echoes, and every officer in the precinct reacts. Both your bodies hit the floor, and you can hear voices yelling as they restrain the wife. You’re on top of Hotch, and you brace one hand on the floor as you use the other to search him for injuries. Your palm runs over his face looking desperately for any kind of wound. Your eyes plead for his safety. 

“H-Hotch are you okay!” 

His eyes open, and he stares back into your worried gaze. Your face is so close to his, and he’s breathing steadily. You survey his body briefly, right before your eyes move back up to his dark orbs. 

“I’m okay…” 

It’s somewhat of a whisper. He looks a bit dazed, and you smile, letting out a breath of relief. You’re still unimaginably close, and you appear to realize, because you pull away hurriedly. You rise, and so does Hotch, just in time to see them lead the couple away. The team races to Hotch’s side. 

“Hotch, are you hurt?” Morgan asks. Hotch shakes his head. 

“I’m fine thanks to Ms. Black.” You rubbed your arm bashfully. Morgan is wearing a wide grin.

“That’s some reflex you have. I barely saw you move until you were both on the floor. Good job.” 

You nod. 

“I’m just glad you’re okay Sir.” You refuse to look him in the eye. 

“I-I think I might have bruised my elbow, I’m going to see if I can pocket some ice.” You make quick movements in the opposite direction, and as you’re walking away, you do your best to get your hand to stop shaking. For a split second, you really thought you would lose Hotch. 

“Dad..Thank you so much..” 

He can hear the gratitude in your words.