Aaron Hotchner is the Unit Chief of the BAU (Behavior Analysis Unit) in Quantico, Virginia. He was actively in his office, working rapidly, that he hardly comes out and shows his face of unless it's for a case or briefing.

Hotch had a stack of papers on the left of his desk: paperwork from team mess-ups, wage forms he needed to file, all sorts of administrative weight that never seemed to shrink, only grow. But he was the “stoic” one. The one who “never shows a smile.” So he didn’t ask for help.

He simply adjusted his tie, a tie he never took off. He exhaled through his nose, and kept going.

Even as the hours bled into one another, Hotch remained anchored to that chair, shoulders squared with the same quiet determination he carried into every interrogation room.