When Liv faced a loss that would rewrite her entire life, she stepped away from her work. A year and a half later, she returns to the BAU in search of normalcy; so she can finally move on. On a new team, Liv is immediately thrown into the game of ca...
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"Okay, no, I swear my life on it, Roadhouse Patrick Swayze could beat Dirty Dancing Patrick Swayze in a fight anyday." Liv said loudly. She did so when she had had a couple drinks, and were around the right kinds of people. That night, it was Emily and Derek, who, in Liv's opinion, made some of the best company. They had had a work day full of paperwork and case reports, and once that had reached its end, they all exchanged a familiar look that told them they all needed a drink. That's how they landed in a bar not far from the BAU. The place was beaten down and old school- in a way Liv appreciated. They were cracking open bar peanuts and laughing as loud as they wanted to as they talked. Liv's favorite stories were the ones that came from Emily, who had lived far more than Liv felt like she had.
"Okay, okay, I concede." Emily laughed, cracking open another peanut.
"You guys want another drink?" Liv asked with an empty glass.
"You lush!" Emily teased, though the look on her face said yes. Derek held up an empty glass with a muttered, "Keep 'em coming baby."
Liv laughed and waited a moment before the server passed, asking for another round for everybody. It seemed like it hadn't been since college that she hung out with people like this. At some point, she got so serious that if it was work, it was at home with Ben, and vice versa. She never minded that either, but something about these people, her new family, made her realize just how fun it could be. It felt like a load off of a heavy couple weeks.
"Is that Hotch?" Emily suddenly asked, looking in Liv's direction, but at something behind her. Her back was facing the door, and as much as she wanted to turn to look, she simply stared at Derek wide eyed.
"Well would you look at that. I thought he would chose paperwork over us." Derek mused, his grin growing wider once he caught sight of Liv. She thoughtlessly straightened her posture, suddenly aware of how relaxed she had been before. One would think she was tensing in the presence of Hotch because he was her boss. That was, in fact, not the reason.
Liv could mask anything running through her sober head with no problem. Had she known she would be needing to do that that night, however, she probably would've held off on her last drink. Emily looked at her with wonder, obvious pondering what she was missing. The way Liv nearly jumped when Hotch pulled out the chair next to her answered Emily's question, and Emily looked down at her drink with a suppressed smile before greeting him.
"You made it!" Derek said happily, leaning even more on his arms crossed over the table top. Hotch smiled in a free kind of way Liv had hardly seen before, slipping off his suit jacket to hang on the back of his chair before sitting down. He greeted Emily with the same enthusiasm, turning to Liv. It was only then that she realized how close to him she was.
