For the Love of a Daughter (A Criminal Minds Fanfic)

Chapter 2: Guess Karma Comes Back Around

One week earlier

It was yet another cold and rainy night in DC as Aria stared impatiently out the living room window waiting for her mom, Aimee to get home from work. The two of them would have a movie night at least once a week and tonight was that night. If she gets here anytime soon, she thought. Aimee was a trauma surgeon at the local hospital and didn't always get to see her daughter as often as she liked because of her busy schedule. It had been just the two of them for a while until they moved in with her parents when Aria was five.

After staring out the window for a few minutes, she decided to sit down on the sofa. The rain was coming down hard and she secretly wished her mom would hurry up but hoped she wasn't driving too fast and would get home okay. The roads probably looked like a nightmare due to the heavy rainfall.

She flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch while she waited. After about five minutes she finally settled on a movie that had just started. The Nightmare on Elm Street. Perfect. She always loved watching horror movies. Especially on nights like these. What she didn't like was watching it alone. Usually she'd invite a few friends over and have a horror movie fest or she would get her mom to watch with her. Tonight however, she was all alone. Not even her grandparents were home. She secretly wished they had cancelled their business trip and stayed home to keep her company instead.

Nearly an hour had passed when she heard her phone vibrate. Message from Mom. It read:

Running late. I'll be home in half an hour. Traffic's a nightmare. Hope Chinese is okay for dinner. Love you:) Mom

She smiled then replied:

Chinese sounds good. Drive safe. See you soon Doctor Mom;) Ti Amo:) Aria

She placed her phone back onto the table and continued watching the movie. Why did I think watching a scary movie in this weather home alone was a good idea? She thought as she wrapped the throw blanket tighter around her shoulders.

Then the doorbell rang.

This is usually how a horror movie starts, she thought.

Aimee was at least thirty minutes away, her grandparents were only due back by the weekend and she was pretty sure it wasn't one of her friends at the door because it was a school night. She slowly got up from the sofa and walked to the door, trying to ignore the paranoia she felt. That movie was a bad idea.

Finally summing up the little courage she had, she slowly opened the door. Luckily the front porch light was on so it wasn't too dark out.

"Hi." She said to the unfamiliar man while holding the door half open.

He was attractive, tall and lean with dark hair and hazel eyes, and he was wearing a dark grey suit under his coat. He looked like he could be her mom's age maybe a little older.

"Hi". He replied while staring at the teenager. She looks just like her. He thought. Guess her parents had another daughter.

"Can I help you? She asked as friendly as she could, noticing how he was staring at her.

"Uhm, yeah. Sorry. My name's Aaron Hotchner. I'm looking for Aimee. Is she here?" He asked.

"No, but she should be home soon. Is she in some kind of trouble? She asked, glancing at his badge and gun.

"No, not at all." He assured her, noticing the slight panic in her voice. "It's just she called my office a few days ago but I was out of town on a case. She must have forgotten to leave her number so I thought I'd pop in on my way home. She does still live here, right? He asked.