The Agent and The School Teacher

Chapter Three: Small World

We finished our picnic and the kids went off to play again while Aaron helped me fold up the blanket.

"I'm glad we got our little mishap yesterday sorted out. You're very interesting to talk to." I told him, pressing the corners in my hands against the corners in his.

"So are you." 

"Isn't it a lovely day out?" I asked. He gave me a look, and I recognized it from yesterday. The profiler look. He's profiling me. "What?"

"What do you mean?" He asked. 

"I know the look. You're profiling me, Agent Hotchner." 

"No, I'm not." He denied, picking up the basket while I placed the blanket inside.

"Yes, you are. You're also dying to see if you're correct this time." He didn't meet my eyes.  "Go on. Tell me." He looked up now, eyeing me warily. "I won't yell at you this time."

"Why do I not believe that?" I smiled at him. He sighed.

"You talk about yourself as little as possible. You tend to deflect the conversation from turning to you with questions about yourself. People think you are very open and very sociable, but in reality, you are very private, and you distract them from realizing that fact by tapping into the human nature of self-centeredness and letting them talk about themselves. This is presumably because the last time you let someone in and let them get to know you it ended badly. That's another reason that you dress to deflect observations, because if you don't want people knowing about you from your own word-of-mouth, you certainly don't want them gathering information just by looking at you." I nodded. "Was I correct?"

"Spot on. You are good, Agent Hotchner."

"Aaron." He corrected.

"I don't know, a fancy profile like that. I think that warrants the 'agent'."

"My team don't even call me 'Agent'." He defended.

"I'll bet they don't call you Aaron either. They probably call you...Hotch." He furrowed his eyebrows.

"How did you know that?"

"I can tell, just from the way you look and dress, that you come across as serious and professional. However I can also see that you are actually a fun and playful guy. You're close with your team members, so they know that too, and call you Hotch in order to remind themselves that you're not just their all-work-and-no-play boss, but their friend and someone they can crack a joke with."

"How did you know I was their boss?" He asked.

"You said 'my team', and...look at you." He smiled.

"I forgot to ask...who is your father? Maybe I know him."

"Carlton Bartlett." I replied.

"Your kidding. He was my SSA when I first started at the Beaurea. How is he?"

"He's good. Retired, as you know. Doing a lot of gardening."

"It is a small world." I nodded in agreement.

"Do you find it strange that we were arguing just yesterday, and now we're talking to each other like we've been old friends for ages?" I asked.

"I was just thinking the same thing." I tucked my hair behind my ear.

"So, um...we should get going. We have other things to do today, but...it was really great talking to you."

"Yeah, you too." I smiled. I seemed to be doing that a lot today.

"I'll see you later. Parents night." He nodded.

"Right...parents night."

"Don't feel pressured. Like I told you, I get a little crazy with the parent involvement."

"We read together..." He stated, "Just a side note."

"I didn't know that...now I know why he has such a developed reading level. I also know that parent involvment doesn't have to be conducted in the way that I orchistrate." He chuckled.

"I'll see you later." I nodded.

"For sure." I collected the girls from the playground and we made our way to the car.

I'll see you later. I'll see you later.

Why did those words make it impossible for me to stop smiling? 

"Did you guys have fun with Jack?" I asked.

"Yeah." Sadie replied, not looking up from her bunny as she played. Charlotte looked out the window looking worried.

"Charlotte? What's wrong?" I asked, looking at her in my mirror. She looked at me.

"Jack is being picked on." She said.

"What?" I asked. "By who?"

"Paul." Paul was a trouble maker in my class, and had a history of causing trouble with other students.

"Did he tell you this?"  She nodded. 'Why hasn't he told me?"

"He said he's trying to fix it. He invited Paul to his house tomorrow to play." Part of me was impressed that this kid's first response to a bully was to try and make friends with him. Part of me was furious and disappointed with myself that I hadn't noticed it sooner. 

~~~

We stopped in front of the house and I told Sadie to go on inside. I turned around, facing Charlotte.

"Charlotte...can I ask a favor?" She nodded. "Keep an eye on Jack and Paul. At reccess and at Lunch when I can't concentrate on them. If this keeps up or goes to far, you come straight to me. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Good girl." 

We made our way inside when the house phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is this Eliza?" Eliza. Nobody had called me that since...High School.

"Elizabeth, now. Who is this?"

"It's Chealsea Grant...from High School? Top ten-"

"I remember. Hi, Chelsea."

"Hey. I was just wondering if you were coming to the reunion thing next week?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to move on from that."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Um...the others wouldn't tel you this, but...we all look up to you. We feel braver when you're around. Your kind of the leader of our little group and...it would mean a lot, to all of us, if you were there." I sighed.

"I don't deserve to even be in your group, Chelsea. You know that."

"I know you were his bestfriend,. You didn't know, and nobody holds that against you."

"But they should." I said. "because as his best friend, we were always together, and as his best friend I should've seen that he was a psychopath. But I didn't, and now thirteen people are dead." I glanced into the living room to make sure the girls weren't listening.

"It wasn't your fault. You're the only reason any of us had the courage to go to the press. You were the first. You were right along Principal Givens, cleaning up the situation. You were fearless-"

"I was terrified. Just like anyone else." She sighed into the phone.

"Please, Eliza-sorry-Elizabeth. It would meant he world to us all if you were there." It was my turn to sigh.

"I'll think about it. I'll talk to you later, Chealsea." I hung up.

"Mommy?" I looked down to see Sadie, hugging her bunny.

"Yeah?" I pushed my hair out of my face with one hand.

"Are you ok?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine. How about a movie before we get started cleaning?"