[Criminal Minds] years before love

When Hotch woke up, he was a bit surprised, it was far before the time for work, and Rossi was not there.He's in a trance, and most of the time, he's the one who wakes up earlier, sometimes even leaving before Rossi wakes up.At this moment, if it weren't for the well-documented pain and marks on his body, he would almost suspect that everything last night was just a dream.

But breakfast and messages are on the table.

Rossi has an urgent mission.

Hotch didn't have any idea about this, although they didn't really undertake the on-site reconnaissance and processing in the first place, but the mission could still come at any time.With Gideon interfering, it's totally understandable that Rossi is on his own.

It was still early when Hotch finished packing and arrived at the BAU.

And Gideon was even earlier than him.It's rather unusual, Gideon loves his job of course, but he has a wife and kids and, albeit little, he still has a life of his own.

Hotch hesitated for a moment, then walked over and opened his door.

Gideon looked up from the pile of files, "Morning."

"Is there any trouble?"

"Not really." Gideon gave him a smile, and beckoned him in.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"You seem to be in good shape." Gideon answered irrelevantly, but clearly meant something.

Hotch briefly averted his gaze, "I'm fine."

"Our backlog of cases." Gideon sighed, and patted the documents in front of him. "I originally planned to leave it to you to deal with when there are no other tasks."

Hotch narrowed his eyes a little. "Jason, I'm fine. I'm more than capable of field work."

Gideon looked at him, "…I'm assuming you were with D□□id last night."

"I am fine."

Gideon smiled. "Relax, Aaron."

Hotch glared at him.

"Aaron, I made him come back." Gideon blinked, pointed at the chair, and repeated, "Relax. There are times... despite our best efforts, there are still regrets."

"If I couldn't adjust myself, I would have left." Hotch took a deep breath and sat across from him, "Jason, the case I worked on, the last case, all the cases, no matter what happened, it didn't matter. It prevents me from continuing to work normally in the field."

Gideon was noncommittal, "I don't think D□□id does counseling."

"I don't need counseling." Hotch pursed his lips, looking directly at him.

Gideon sighed, stared at him for a moment, shook his head slightly, and whispered, "No."

Of course Gideon knew what Rossi might do, and even though he didn't really agree with this approach, he still didn't press further, but pushed the stack of documents in front of him: "Anyway, the backlog is yours. "

Hotch did not refuse, the backlog of cases does not mean that they are meaningless, they have too many cases, they can only choose the most urgent and worst, and the rest, even if the murderer temporarily disappears, there is still the possibility of committing another crime.

"But not now." Gideon stopped him who was about to get up and leave, "Uh, you know, D□□id has an urgent mission."

"I know." Hotch nodded. "This is just a backlog of cases. I can conduct the preliminary investigation myself."

Gideon glanced at the blinds unconsciously. There were not many people in the office. "In some cases, the bureau does tend to choose the investigators."

Hotch narrowed his eyes.

"I received the case early in the morning, and the bureau called for D□□id to come to the scene as soon as possible."

"So...?" Hotch was a little confused, he knew that the tension between Gideon and Rossi was not as tense as most people guessed, and even if Gideon was not happy with the arrangement of the game, it was obviously impossible to complain to him.

"Usually that means...difficult and probably some sensitive issues," Gideon stated as cryptically as possible.

Hotch curled his lips, Rossi had a lot of experience before coming to the FBI, he whispered, "Understandable."

"Well, I just got a call from him before you came. D□□id asked for your backup."

Hotch immediately frowned, "Me? Support?"

"Yes."

Hotch shook his head. "Jason, we all know Agent Rossi doesn't need backup. If he's in trouble, then he needs your backup."

"Although I don't agree with your underestimation." Gideon smiled, "But obviously you do understand D□□id, yes, he doesn't need support, he just needs you."

"Jason, this is work."

"That's right, this is work." Gideon handed over a few thin sheets of paper, "Five middle-aged men were killed within two months. I didn't get much information. After reading it, I immediately went to DC and D□□ id confluence. I believe that D□□idRossi will not make such a request for reasons such as missing you, since he said so, it is a work need."

"Thank you."