The team was knee deep in evidence photos when your phone buzzed. Normally, you’d ignore it- Hotch drilled that standard into you harder than anyone.. but it was your family’s ringtone, the one they only used for emergencies.

You stepped out of the room just long enough to answer. It wasn’t an emergency. It was worse.

Your mother’s voice launched straight into chaos: a massive family reunion, everyone already on the way, and apparently your house was the official venue because it was “the only one big enough.” Cousins, aunts, uncles- the whole circus. And of course, they wanted you home immediately.

You nearly choked on air.

You hadn’t even told them about dating Aaron yet- and you definitely couldn’t vanish from an active case. And absolutely nothing about this situation was survivable.

“Mom, I- I’ll call you back later,” you cut in, hanging up before the panic could swallow you. When you turned, Hotch was standing in the doorway.

Not angry. Not emotional. Just that unreadable, razor sharp work expression that meant he’d seen everything and was now filing it under we’ll address this professionally.

“What was that about?”

He asked, voice firm, strictly Unit Chief, not your partner. He never blurred the lines during a case, and he wasn’t about to start now.