aaron hotchner's grip on the steering wheel began to tighten the longer he remained in the car,

all while feeling the anxiety swell within.

he grabbed his phone through perspired hands and dialed y/n,

only to reach her voicemail yet again.

"y/n, please call me back."

"hotch, i'm sure she's fine. just...relax."

emily advised wearily from the passenger seat.

aaron ignored her and pushed his foot on the gas a little more,

letting his thoughts suffocate him.

how am i supposed to relax?

there's a serial killer out and threatening y/n.

the intrusive image of her lying there,

helpless,

in a pool of her spilled blood flashed through his mind.

he shook it out and continued speeding,

soon drawing to a stop.

there was no hesitation in his movements,

he rushed through and finally opened her front door.

"y/n?"

he called out hoarsely,

drawing his gun for careful measure.

his heart was racing as he inched closer to her bedroom,

where the door remained cracked.

"y/n?"

the door then swung open.

aaron raised his gun to shoot,

but was instead blessed with the soft image of y/n.

despite the fear in her eyes,

she had never looked so regal.

"aaron?! what the hell?!"

her shrill voice snapped him from his admiring,

where he then lowered his gun.

"i'm-i'm sorry. are you okay?"

"i'm fine. are you?"

aaron placed his gun back in its holster then grabbed y/n with suffocating arms.

she laid to his chest,

where she could hear the faint murmur of his racing heart,

but hugged him back all the same.

"aaron, love, what is it?"

he didn't answer.

instead,

he placed his lips to the top of her head and let her natural scent engrain itself in his memory.

"you have to leave...now,"

he whispered.

y/n pulled back and let the palm of her hands rest against his chest,

"aaron. talk to me."

"foyet. i have to put you in witness protection, y/n."

"will...will you be there?"

"no, not until i find him."

y/n nodded and wrapped her arms around him again.

she could feel the hot tears rising,

but she forced them back for their own good.

"promise me you'll be safe."

"i promise. i'll get you back as soon as i can."

y/n let her lips find their way to his,

where their kiss was bittersweet.

though it was full of love,

it was saddening.

neither of them knew how long it would be before they reunited.

***

y/n closed another finished book and set it aside,

wondering just how much longer it would be without aaron.

months had passed her and she was beginning to grow bored with each new day.

her stationary protection,

officer greene,

was the only company she kept these days.

but even he wasn't enough to keep her from the tediousness of her new life.

y/n shifted in the bed,

and drifted off to sleep.

y/n sat up and trailed outside the bedroom to find something to do,

and noticed an eerie silence suspended in the air.

she often heard the radio chatter from greene or his faint humming,

but now there was nothing.

just the sounds of her echoing footsteps.

"hello?"

she called out,

listening to it reverberate throughout the house.

though no one was around,

y/n knew she wasn't alone.

she then felt the cool steel of a gun barrel press itself to the back of her head.

she heard it cock back,

and everything went black.

"y/n!"

the girl jerked awake and sat up swiftly,

letting the life around her come into view.

her body was shaky and a thick blanket of perspiration remained to her skin.

it wasn't until a familiar calloused hand fell to her knee,

that she realized just who had waken her up.

"aaron!"

she breathed out and held him close.

her body ceased to tremble once his cologne filled her lungs.

the familiarity settled within her,

and she'd found peace again.

"did you find him?"

she asked when she pulled back,

letting her hands trace every inch of him.

he laughed and took her left hand,

placing small kisses to her palm.

"we found him, y/n...we can go home now."

bliss washed through her at the words.

aaron held onto her as tight as possible,

and smiled into the crook of her neck.

home.

home was the smile he wore when seeing her.

home was her laugh that lingered in the air.

home was their love.

and though y/n hadn't moved from the bed just yet,

she was already home in aaron hotchner's arms.