Read story LIKE A GIRL ｡ CRIMINAL MINDS - NINE

NINE

unedited and in my defence i was unsupervised when i wrote this

NINE. THE ROAD TRIP, PART ONE

HARDLY AN HOUR HAD PASSED AND THE TWO AGENTS WERE IN A HEATED ARGUMENT. With Daisy behind the wheel and Hotch in the passenger seat, what began as bickering about the radio station ended up being yelling about why Strauss had placed her in the BAU.

"I'm here because it's what I'm good at," she was gripping the steering wheel so tight her hands were paling in colour. The scars on her knuckles turned a spotty red while the bruising thinned out into a gross yellow, but she didn't care. Her hands had never been her best feature, anyway. "Just because you hate Strauss doesn't mean you have to hate me too."

"I never said I hated you," Hotch's voice had remained in its usual monotone, though that had only managed to piss Daisy off further. Did he not have any sort of emotion?

Daisy gritted her teeth as a silence ensued.

"We didn't need another agent. Strauss decided she knew what was best for the team, and she was wrong," Hotch grumbled, staring out the window like a pouting schoolgirl. He'd been making snide comments the entire time, commenting on every little choice Daisy made; he was the most frustrating backseat driver she'd ever been with. "Get in the other lane."

Daisy didn't change lanes, and lifted her foot off the gas slightly, knowing it would annoy him. He wasn't planning on stretching it out as long as Rossi had suggested. He'd already been sifting through every single shred of paperwork he had with him, trying to find ways to avoid conversation. From what she could tell about him, he was a workaholic robot who didn't know how to relax - she told him this.

"I'm not a workaholic," Hotch had said as he texted JJ about their next possible case. "And I'm not a robot."

"That's exactly what a robot would say," Daisy retorted, before she gasped and pulled over to the side of the road. Hotch grabbed the handle above the window and swore at the sudden movement. "Look, cows!"

"Alvarez, get back on the road," he ordered, but she didn't listen. Instead, she took the keys out of the ignition and dug around in her bag for her cellphone.

"C'mon, Hotch," she grinned over at him as she opened the door. "I need proof that you had fun with your newest profiler!"

"No," Hotch glared at her from the passenger seat. "And I'm not having fun."

"It's Friday, for God's sake," Daisy huffed, crossing her arms as she stood in knee-high grass, cows grazing behind her. She was definitely more suited to the countryside than Hotch was - she didn't mind if the mud squelched under her sneakers or grass clippings flew through her hair. She would have looked rather pretty if the heavy wind weren't nearly knocking her off her feet. "After this we should stop at a bar and pick up some one night stands."

"I don't do one night stands," Hotch had to shout over the whistling breeze. Daisy rolled her eyes.

"I'm not talking about you," Daisy remarked, then grinned and pointed towards herself. "I'm talking about me. But, with all due respect, you definitely need to get laid."

"That is incredibly inappropriate," Hotch grumbled.

"What?" Daisy yelled, pretending she couldn't hear him over the breeze.

Hotch clenched his jaw and stepped out of the car, stomping over to Daisy as he realised he wouldn't win this argument. "I said, that was incredibly inappropriate. Whether or not I need to get 'laid' is none of your business."

"It may not be any of my business, but you're not exactly keeping anyone guessing," she snorted, and he glared at her coldly. She grinned, and held up her phone camera. "Okay, boss, smile!"

Hotch didn't smile.

Daisy clicked the 'capture' button and cheered at the grainy picture of Hotch frowning with livestock behind him. "That's a keeper!"

"Can we go now?" Hotch trudged back to the car, but when he didn't hear her following, he looked back and saw her giggling at something on her phone. "Laugh at me in the car, Alvarez."

Daisy started walking to the car, snickering as she received a response from Penelope. She thought maybe the picture of their boss would solidify their blossoming friendship.

FROM: P GARCIA

OH MY GOD. I'm printing this and framing it. Expect a present on your desk Monday morning xoxoxo

Daisy went to jump back in the driver's seat, but Hotch had placed himself there. She scoffed, raising her eyebrows. "Hey, I'm driving first half!"

"Not anymore," Hotch held his hand out for the keys. Daisy rolled her eyes and handed them over, before walking around the front of the car and pulling herself into the passenger side. "If we had your way, we'd be stopping at every field."

Daisy couldn't argue with that. She stretched her legs out and grunted as she felt her back click, before sitting back up and fiddling with the radio station. "I still think we should get drinks. Mama needs some TLC."

"Mama can do that on her own time, now with her boss who is stuck with her for the weekend," Hotch retorted, and Daisy flashed him a sarcastic smile.

"Technically, we're off the clock. We're just two friends, going on a good old fashioned road trip," she nudged him, quickly feeling quite bored now that she wasn't driving.

"We're not friends," Hotch ground his teeth together. "I planned to drive to get away from the loud, irritating noises, you know."

"Aw," Daisy briefly looked over at him with her bottom lip sticking out. She wasn't hurt in the slightest by his little jab. "But you're stuck with little old me."

Hotch muttered something under his breath, and Daisy chose to ignore it.

★☆

Two hours later, Hotch pulled into a motel that appeared to be rather full. Daisy had decided to pass the time by napping, which meant her boss could finally have some of that silence he so desperately craved. As he parked the car, she woke with a start, and yawned rather unattractively. "Are we back already?"

"No," Hotch shook his head, secretly quite glad she was awake. The silence got to be a little too much sometimes. He wasn't about to tell her that, however. "Stay in the car, I'll go check us in."

Daisy got out of the car and followed him outside. Hotch exhaled loudly, and she looked over at him with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Are you ever going to listen to me?" he asked, locking the car door as they entered the reception. Daisy didn't respond, and he ran a hand down his face. "I can't believe I'm stuck here with a child."

"I'm thirty," she retorted, crossing her arms and looking around. She saw a vending machine and perked up, but chose not to say anything considering that she didn't have any change, and she doubted Hotch would give her anything.

"Evening," the tired middle aged man grumbled as the two agents stepped up to the counter. "Welcome to the Starrs Motel. One room."

"Uh, no, two please," Hotch opened his wallet to find his company credit card.

"I wasn't asking," the man scoffed. "One room is all we got. Looks like you're gonna have to share. Why, is there an issue? Trouble in paradise?"

Daisy chuckled at the sight of Hotch's irritated face. She patted him on the shoulder and grinned over at the man. "We'll take it. I've missed our intimacy, Aaron. Maybe this is a good thing."

Hotch's cheeks turned slightly pink, and he reluctantly slid his card over to the receptionist. He turned his head and glared down at Daisy. "You really have no respect for authority, do you?"

Daisy beamed. "Where'd you get that idea?"

The receptionist came back with a key and a piece of paper with the code to the pool, not that they'd be using it. "There's a bar next door, just don't make too much of a mess, alright? Some of us are gonna have to clean it up."

Hotch opened his mouth to made a snide comment, but Daisy took the initiative and grabbed everything before he could. "Thanks for your help."

She marched back out into the parking lot and tossed the key in the air before catching it again. She looked over at Hotch, who was the most unimpressed she'd ever seen him. She sighed, and stopped walking, catching his attention. He looked over with raised eyebrows. "What is it now?"

Daisy tilted her head, before holding the key out to him. He took it, confusion written across his face. "You take the room. I'll walk up the road and see if there's anywhere else I can stay. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

Hotch watched her face for a minute, trying to figure out if she meant what she was saying. All signs pointed to yes. He shook his head, his lip twitching a little. "You didn't make me uncomfortable, Alvarez. I'm just not quite used to my employees flirting so openly with me."

Daisy's jaw slacked as he smirked, turning towards the car to get their bags. She ran after him and smacked his arm. "Flirting?! I am not flirting! And if that's what you think I'm doing, you can have the couch!"

Hotch chuckled for the first time the entire trip. "What was it that you said in there? I missed our intimacy? You brought his on yourself."

"I-" Daisy was speechless as he walked away from her and towards the motel room. She looked around, as if someone would come and back her up. She groaned in frustration and rushed after him, a new wave of anger overtaking her. "I wasn't flirting!"

★☆

pov: you take a picture of grumpy ssa aaron hotchner with some cows to send to penelope garcia in hopes you'll become friends