RUNAWAY
CHAPTER TWELVE...!

❝ TEMPTATION , SEASON
FIVE ❞

"THE funeral was beautiful."

Jennie Hotchner never really understood it when people said stuff like that. Because to her— a funeral was a funeral. It was where people went to honor a dead person. It was a reminder of the fact that the person would no longer be with them. A reminder that the saying "tis' better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all" was inaccurate in all aspects.

Call her crazy, but she didn't think there was anything beautiful about it.

As she smiled at her baby brother, sitting on the couch in front of him as he played with his cousins, she could feel a hand being placed on her back, turning around to see her dad.

"JenJen, can you make sure Jack gets something to eat, please?" Aaron asked her, Rossi standing behind him, as the two needed to have a chat outside.

Jennie nodded, "Yeah, of course."

"Thanks. Make sure to get something to eat too." He told her, before walking off to the balcony. Rossi gave Jennie's shoulder a squeeze, before following the man.

She watched the two walk onto the balcony, before her gaze went back to Jack, "You hungry, bud?"

As the boy nodded, Jennie got up from her spot on the couch, holding out her hand so Jack could interlock his fingers with hers. She then lead him to the buffet, picking out a plate, and placing the food he wanted on it.

As she scooped up some Mac N' Cheese on his plate, she could sense someone coming up to her, turning around to see Derek Morgan.

She gave him a soft smile, before turning back to the food on the table.

"How you holding up, kid?" He asked her.

"I'm good."

"You're— good?" He quirked a brow, as Jennie nodded. He kept his eyes on the girl, pausing for a moment, before letting out a soft chuckle, "You know, you've said that word so many times in the past week, it's doesn't even sound real anymore."

Those words had made the girl sigh, knowing where this conversation was heading.

"I'm as good as anyone can find themselves being at a funeral, Derek." Jennie told him, moving a bit past him to get to the other food on the table. Her dodge of the conversation made his expression falter.

"You know, Jennie, you really got to start talking to people."

The use of her full name had caught her slightly off-guard. That would be one of the first times in years that Morgan used it, rather than using 'JenJen'.

"I— talk to people."

"Really? Like who?"

She shrugged, "I'm talking to you, right now, aren't I?"

Jennie knew she was being somewhat bitchy to Derek, and she felt guilty. But she really didn't desire talking about her feelings as she poured Kool-Aid into her brother's cup.

"C'mon, kid. I thought we were trying to work on this whole bottling it up thing."

She sighed once more, placing the plate down on the table, "Look, Derek. I appreciate you trying to help, trust me, I really do. But— I just really don't want to talk about it right now. So, can we just drop it? Please?"

He only looked at her for a moment after she spoke, looking down, before looking back up at the girl, "Fine, I'll leave you alone for now. But don't you dare think that I'm letting you go through this alone. Because I'm not."

She nodded, "I know. Thank you."

With that, she gave the man a small, polite smile, picking up the plate back up, before following Jack to the table.

—

"You know, I broke my promise to Haley." Aaron told Rossi once they got outside.

"What promise?"

"I told her that I would catch Foyet, and that I'd spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

"You still can. You saved Jack. And Jennie."

"You know, I may have the tools to do this job, but I don't know if I have the tools to help my kids."

"You have to ask yourself what kind of father you want to be. And, when you figure that out, then you'll know what to do."

"I meant what I said today. Things have changed. And I need to do what's best for them."

"You will."

—

      AS THE NIGHT was coming to an end, Jennie Hotchner had made her way to the bathroom. Along the way, she ran into Emily.

"Oh, Jennie." The woman called out to her.

"Hey," The teen gave her a small smile, before noticing Emily carrying her purse, "You guys get called in?"

"Yeah. Nashville." She informed the girl, causing her to nod. After that, there was a small silence between the two of them.

Ever since the passing of Haley, Jennie had found herself in the midst of long silences a lot more frequently. Even with the team, a group she saw as family, there were many uncomfortable pauses.

"You know, we really don't have to do that thing." Jennie began, "The thing where you ask me how I am, and I say I'm fine, and then you try and convince me that I'm not fine. Don't worry, I already have went through that with like— half the guest list. I'm alright."

"I know." Emily nodded, before pausing for a second, "But I also know that you're holding something back. And I know that there are some parts of this that you may not understand. So, if you ever need someone to help you, even for just a little bit— know that I am always here for you."

Jennie was grateful for Emily's kind words. And she knew that the woman wasn't lying, and that she was there for Jennie for whatever.

But, as rare as it was, Emily Prentiss was incorrect. She claimed that there may be parts she didn't understand, when in reality, Jennie Hotchner understood all of it.

Maybe there wasn't a full understanding, because frankly she couldn't begin to understand how someone could be so cruel to murder a person. But she did understand that no matter what she did, nothing could stop the cruel being of those people.

And she understood that no matter what she did, there was nothing she could to stop it.

—

"Agent Strauss, I appreciate your coming to me."

The two sat on the man's couch, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay."

"How's Jack?"

"He's coping. I don't think he fully understands everything that's going on"

"Right, well how could he. And Jennie?"

"She— doesn't like to talk about it a lot. But she's chosen to take a gap year before attending college, and that's a big step for her." Aaron began, "You said there was something you wanted to discuss with me?"

Strauss handed Aaron the papers from her bag, making Hotch's face visibly falter.

"This is retirement."

"I've talked with the director. Given the circumstances, there's no reason you should have to return to the Bureau. We can offer you full pension and benefits."

The man paused, "Are you saying you want me to leave the BAU?"

"Well, obviously that's your choice, but— I'm offering you a way out. Agent Morgan's promotion was temporary, but he succeeded our expectations, and I'm confident that I could make it permanent. If you decide to step down. The team would be together, and you could be with your children."

"And when would you like a decision?"

"I thought I would be leaving with one. What's your hesitation?"

"I would just like to weigh all of my options."

She nodded.

"Whatever you need."

—

       THE FOLLOWING WEEK, the Hotchner family had spent their days moving into their new home. Jennie helped Jack get all of his toys set up, and added a few decorative pieces to her room.

"Oh, man. Pancakes for dinner, is there anything better?" Aaron walked into his kitchen one night, seeing Jennie and her Aunt Jessica in the kitchen, and Jack sitting at the table.

The aunt laughed, "No there's not."

"Hey, Jack. Who are these guys?" The father moved to the table, with Jack, who was playing with his action figures.

"This is you, and this is the bad guy. They're fighting."

"Who wins, Jack?" Jennie asked the boy, mixing a bowl of pancake batter.

"Daddy. No one beats daddy."

Jennie smiled softly at the boy, as her Aunt and father chuckled, before Aaron spoke up again.

"Hey, Jack. Aunt Jessie and JenJen almost got dinner ready. I forgot, what do we do before we eat?"

"Wash our hands."

"Good job." He smiled at his son, as Jack began to run to bathroom. Once Jack left, the father took a seat on the stool in front of the two girls.

"He built those himself. I hope it's okay."

"Of course. Listen, I really appreciate your coming over. All your, uh, help and support— it's been great." Aaron told Jessica.

"He's my nephew, and you and JenJen are my family. I'll be here as much as you want."

Aaron nodded, before pausing for a second, "The bureau has offered me retirement."

The statement had caused Jennie to look up at her dad, before looking back down at the batter again, as her aunt's eyes widened.

"What did you tell them?" Jessica asked.

The teen could feel the man's eyes flick to her, which caused her to clear her throat, placing down the bowl and whisk.

"I'm gonna go help Jack get cleaned up." She told them, before leaving the room so the two adults could talk. Aaron had watched his daughter leave, pausing for a moment, before turning back to Jessica.

"You know, Jack needs me now, more than ever. That means being here full time. After Haley and I were apart, he didn't have me very much, and that was hard. But, I knew that at least he had his mom. and right now he really needs his dad."

The man took a pause, glancing over at the bathroom door where Jennie was, before sighing.

"Jennie— she's not doing okay. And I don't even think she knows it. She's been distracting herself with taking care of Jack, and chores and— I've seen this happen before. And I know that at some point, she's going to break. And when that happens, she needs me to be available for her. They both do."

"Of course they do, Aaron. We both know you and Haley didn't separate because you stopped loving each other. Your job just got in the way. Your team needed you, and despite this offer, I doubt that changed." Jessica paused, "Maybe you don't need to retire. What if— I stayed with Jack when you had to be away? Helped Jennie out a bit?

"Jessica, I appreciate that—"

"Please, it would mean a lot to me if you let me help you out with the kids. For Haley."

Aaron paused for a moment, looking down, before looking back up at the woman, nodding in agreement.

For Haley.

—

         LATER THAT NIGHT, Hotch was getting Jack ready for bed, while Jennie was talking to her aunt, as the woman was about to leave the home.

"I told you not to let Jack convince you to add chocolate chips to the mix." Jessica told the girl, who was crossing her arms over her bloated stomach, grabbing her coat, before stepping outside the door.

"You have to admit— it was a really good idea for the time being."

"So good that it was worth the stomachache?" The aunt questioned, causing the two to let out a laugh.

When it became silent again, Jennie looked up at her aunt, "Thanks for helping out, Aunt Jessie. We really appreciate it."

The woman smiled, "You know I would do anything for you guys."

After the two gave their goodbyes, Aunt Jessica had left the house. Just a few moments later, Jennie had made her way to the bathroom. She gave herself a much needed shower, fully washing her hair and body.

Once getting out, she had put on her pajamas, and made her way back into the kitchen for some water. As she got into the kitchen, her eyes landed on her father's phone, which had buzzed. However, her eyes weren't focused on the notification she received.

It focused on the wallpaper picture, containing Haley, Jennie, and Jack.

They all looked so happy.

And while she hadn't had too much trouble looking at the picture before, tonight was different. Maybe it was the fact that she was seeing the picture at a time where Jennie had nothing to distract herself with— like chores, or Jack. Or maybe it was the fact that she hadn't really given herself time to grieve the loss of Haley.

Whatever it was, she could feel the emotions started flooding again. She knew the longer she waited to allow herself to grieve, the harder it would be. But it was late. And Jennie was tired. So she just pushed it all down, as best as she could. She gripped the counter in front of her, shutting her eyes as she let out a long breath.

"You're still awake?"

Jennie's eyes shot open when she heard the voice of her father, who stood in front of her at the counter.

"Yeah— yeah, I was just getting some water." Jennie told him, before seeing him take a pill with some water, "You okay?"

"Just a headache." Hotch brushed it off, explaining his use of the Advil. He paused for a moment, looking at his daughter, a familiar expression on his face, "Are you okay?"

Jennie knew that he would try to segue this into her talking about what she was feeling. It caused her to look down at her nails for a moment, before back at her dad.

"Are you retiring?" She changed the subject, bringing up the topic from earlier, causing the man to pause for a second.

"Do you think I should retire?"

"Honestly?" Jennie began, "No. I mean, should you take a break? Probably, yeah. But, I don't think you're ready to let it all go just yet. You like putting away bad guys, it's what you do. Nothing— and no one should take that away from you."

"What about Jack?" The man asked her.

She paused for a second, before her lips broke into a soft smile, "He'll be okay. He has me, and Aunt Jessie. He has the team. And he's— strong. He'll be okay."

The man took in the girl's words for a moment, nodding slowly.

"What about you?"

The girl sighed. She knew there was a segue.

"Look, JenJen—" He began again, "I know you don't like to talk about these things. You don't like to seem vulnerable, or weak. You hate pity. But— letting out a little emotion doesn't make you any less of yourself. And I think you know that, but you're just too afraid to give in."

The man paused for a second, before continuing.

"So, it doesn't have to be tonight. Or tomorrow. But promise me, that sometime soon, we can talk about it. Please?"

She cracked a smile at her father, nodding, "Promise."

The man smiled softly at his daughter, before the two said their goodnight's. He then made his way to his bedroom, leaving Jennie Hotchner alone.

With the bottle of Advil in front of her.

Jennie would be lying if she didn't feel like it was a sign from the universe to have her eyes immediately land on them once she looked back. And she would be lying if she said she hadn't stared at it longer than she should've for someone who did not have a headache.

But she shook it off, heading towards the couch to fall asleep. Because she knew what was happening.

It was temptation.

She knew what temptation did to a person. And she also knew the last thing she needed right now was for drugs to be added to the long list of what was wrong in her life.

Frankly, she didn't need anything added to the list.

AUTHORS NOTE |

rossi lowkey looks like the white version of my grandpa i'm not kidding

word count.
2475.