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Aaron was having a free day from work - unintentional, indeed, but free. The thing which only occurred once in every thousand years - it happened. The BAU team had no new cases, and Hotch had no paperwork to be done.
All the three of us (we and Jack of course) spent the whole morning together: we made pancakes which we ate in our bed, cuddled, and napped a bit until it was lunchtime. We had a quick lunch, then I took Jack to his friend's while Aaron left to run. When I arrived home an hour later (we may have talked about so many things with little Liam's mother), I was so ready to relax in the quiet house as well, but when I just sat down on the couch and switched the TV on, my phone began ringing. As I fished it out of my bag, I saw Aaron's name on the screen.
"Honey?" I asked cautiously after picking up. He rarely called when was away running, given the park was roughly 20 minutes by car, and it was his personal time. "Please don't tell me you got a direct call and we have to go," I said, as my first thought of course was that we had a new case.
"No, I…" He panted and I sensed something was off. I heard the pain in his voice, which obviously didn't ease my worries. "I stepped wrong while running and… ah… I think I twisted my ankle. Even maybe dislocated it."
"You did what?" I exclaimed in total shock. My fingers ran through my hair while I lowered myself on the arm of the sofa for a moment. In the next, my eyes were already searching the table under the hanger for the keys to my car. But as fastly as the idea came, I dropped it. Since Aaron went out with his own vehicle, and I couldn't drive two cars home, I had to go by public transport.
"I thought I could drive home but… I don't think I can jump into the car, not even driving. Can you please…" he started to ask, but I interrupted him.
"Yes, I'm on my way," I said firmly, putting my shoes on. "Geez, Aaron, driving!" I cussed in disbelief. "I hope you're seated now. Were you able to limp to a bench?" I asked worried while rushing into the kitchen. I was ready to leave already when I thought we might need some ice for his ankle.
"Yes, luckily there was one not far from me," he said calmingly.
"Thank God" I sighed. "Just try to hang on. I take the underground and be there in a minute" I reassured him, and after he told me where I could find him and Aaron said goodbye, I hung up the call.
In the end, it took me almost 35 minutes to reach the park plus find Hotch in the enormous area, even though I knew the park very well. My racing heart chilled a bit though when I finally saw the familiar silhouette crouching on a bench.
"Sweetheart" I called him, still a little far from the seat. Hotch snapped his head up, and immediately a loving (but a bit painful) smile appeared on his lips, making his sweet dimples appear on his cheeks. "What happened to you?" I laughed softly while sitting next to him.
"My guess is this is how you make yourself some extra days off," he said, scratching his head behind his ear.
"I would have preferred you to do it yourself, simply by standing in front of Strauss, but what can one do?" I laughed again, now with a full heart. "We have to go to the hospital with this, you know that, right?" I asked seriously. He hated hospitals, he hated to seem vulnerable. While talking, I handed him the bag full of ice I brought with me.
"What did I do to deserve you?" Hotch sighed thankfully. I felt myself blushing and smiled at him. He still, after so many years of being together, was able to make me blush and turn into some silly red poppy flower. I watched his hand placing the bag on his foot carefully.
"Does it feel good?" I asked, caring.
"It soothes the pain a bit, yes. But if I want to be honest, nothing feels good right now" he laughed. "Like some amateurs," he murmured under his nose. I swallowed back my urge to ask him how on Earth he wanted to drive home in this given state. Instead, I ensured him.
"Hey, it happens to the best of us," I said tenderly, putting my palm on his knee. I sat closer to him to be in a kissable distance. "Focus on the bright side" I smirked. "You just got yourself plenty of time at home, filled with rest, with Jackie's get-well-soon-hugs and with me, spoiling you and listening to your every wish." I was only whispering the last few words on his lips, after which we melted into a sweet, smiley kiss.