[For Aaron] Dated 25 July 2010

[wildlyconflictd]

Getting out of bed this morning had been a difficulty. It's amazing how 24 hours worth of sleeplessness and stress can wear a person, and despite having slept quite a long time (By general standards, not simply her own), Pepper had been reluctant to face the day. Ultimately it was the knowledge that routine could be comforting that got her moving

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[o_heart]

He almost turns on his heel, and it's not through any unwillingness to see her but because he's so aware of wanting to see her. He's unwilling to suff the press of emotion like that, not when it can't lead to anything good. She had her reasons for walking away and Aaron Hotchner, of all people, can respect that.

Which doesn't mean that he can leave without speaking to her.

"It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."

[wildlyconflictd]

Just the sound of his voice makes Pepper's heart hitch in her chest, and it takes her a moment before she can turn to face him, neutral expression firmly in place.

"You have no idea," she exhales, a little awkward despite herself. "I was, um. I was one of the lucky ones who got to have an unplanned jaunt in dinosaur territory. Twenty-four hours felt like a month. How are you?"

[o_heart]

It's hard to look at her at the best of times, but, for a moment, it physical hurts. He's closed the distance between them before he even thinks about it, and maybe it's the sudden absence of control that's disconcerting. He reins himself in quickly.

"I wish I'd known," he says, and his hand twitches at his side with a desire to touch the bruises on her arm that he ignores. "I don't know what good it would have done, but I'd still have preferred to have known."

He swallows.

"You're okay?"

He's not unaware of the fact that he hasn't answered her question.

[wildlyconflictd]

"I'm fine," Pepper assures him, a sudden surge of guilt pushing up behind the awkwardness and making it all the worse; she should have let him know before now, and certainly in a less arbitrary manner. "A few minor scrapes and bruises. I think I fared better than everyone I ended up over there with, even the baby. I was lucky."