The Long, Lonely Road Ahead

Hopefully this story is still entertaining you all. I know there aren’t many of us out there who read and write Criminal Minds Fanfic, but I enjoyed writing this story and I still enjoy reading it (while I edit it, mind you), so I guess that’s okay.

I’d love feedback, but I know that most people who read don’t bother to review or even rate the stories they read. I now try and review whenever I read a story, just to “pay it forward” and hope it will bounce back to me someday.
In the meantime, I hope this entertains!

The Long, Lonely Road Ahead

Chapter Twenty-Six

The conversation went on like that for what seemed like an hour. While he was on the phone, Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, Rossi, and Reid all stuck their heads in at various intervals to inform Aaron they were leaving for the night. Pen was the last to come in, just as Aaron finished up on the phone.
“Sir? I have that information you wanted,” she said, holding up a file folder.
“Go home and get some sleep Penelope. We’ll pick this up in the morning,” Aaron told her, taking the folder and putting it on top of his in box.
“Yes, Sir. Is Terra coming home with me?” she asked.
“No. I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible yet,” he told her. She nodded, but looked like she might cry.
“Oh… okay, then. I’ll see you later, Terra, right?” She bent in to hug me. “Be strong. You know I love you, right?”
“Thanks, Pen. I love you too, Cuz.” I hugged her back and she bustled out of the office.
“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,” I said with a sigh. “We were going to do the whole girly dress-up thing, and go to some big party. Not any more.”
“No, you’re probably right,” Aaron said. He stood. “Come on. We’re going home.”
“What?”
“It took a lot of convincing, but the DA is willing to cut a deal with you if your information is as good as what you’ve given us so far,” he said, closing his office door behind us. We headed through the darkened bullpen, toward the elevators. “In the meantime, despite my screw-up last time, he’s willing to release you into my custody for at least a couple of days. He agrees with me that you’re more victim here than criminal.” He frowned at me as we got into the elevator. “Please don’t do anything that will make me regret this.”
“Of course not. I’ve got no reason to run this time,” I said. “I’m trying to trust you now. I know it’s hard, because I betrayed your trust before, but this time you can believe me.”
“As an added measure, however, we won’t be able to leave the house unless I provide a code word to the officers, plural, who will be watching the door.”
“Ah.”
“I will not leave you for a moment, Terra. And yes, I’m not sure I can trust you, simply because of that stunt you pulled last time,” he said, as we headed into the parking garage.
“I wish I could find a way to prove to you that it won’t happen again,” I told him.
“Don’t do it again, and that’ll be good enough,” he said, opening the door to his SUV for me. We got in and he drove off, towards his home. My stomach growled again, louder this time if possible. “And we’ll have dinner there. We can order a pizza.”
“Whatever. I’m not particular about food,” I replied. “A power bar would be enough.”
“Food can be one of life’s pleasures,” he said. “I find it strange that you don’t seem interested in it at all.”
“We ate whatever was around, whatever we were given,” I said. “Just like I told JJ, we didn’t even get beds, so I can sleep anywhere. The training holds whether I want it to or not. I can’t change who I am.”
“What they did to you…”
“I don’t want to go there. It’s just not worth being angry about any more.”
“It’s hard not to be angry on your behalf.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, patting his thigh. He flinched like he’d been burned. “What?”


“We can’t… I mean… we shouldn’t have sex while you’re here,” he said, clearing his throat.
“Why not?”
“That’s how I let my guard down the last time,” he said with a sigh.
“And I’m telling you I’m not going to take off on you this time,” I said. “What can I do to convince you?”
“Don’t sleep with me,” he said. I laughed.
“You can’t seriously mean that.”
“I do,” he said, but he was sweating. I sighed.
“Okay, fine,” I said. “But it’s stupid.”
“You agree?”
“I don’t agree but if that’s what you want, fine. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“You can have the bed.”
“That’s very noble of you, but I’m the one who can sleep standing up. I don’t even need the bed. I can sleep on the floor.”
“I can’t let you sleep on the floor,” he said, turning into the driveway. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Are you even going to be able to sleep while I’m here?” I asked. “If you don’t trust me to stay here… if you think if we have sex I’ll some how trick you into letting me go… then how can you possibly sleep while I’m in your house?” There were three unmarked cars parked on the street outside his house. Two officers met us as we exited the SUV.
“We’ll discuss this later,” he told me, as he greeted the officers.

They moved away from me as they presumably worked out the secret boy’s club code they would use to keep me in the house. Ridiculous indeed. Finally Aaron came back and took me into the house. He closed the door and locked it, leaving the two officers standing on the stoop. “Come on.” He lead me into the kitchen and turned on the light. “You may need sustenance, but I need food.” He picked up the phone and ordered a large pizza, fully loaded. Then he went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. “Water?”
“Please. And I need a shower desperately.” I took the water from him and drank the entire thing down.
“After dinner,” he said. “Now, to answer your question about how I’ll sleep.” He pulled out his cuffs. “I’m going to cuff you to the bed frame.”
“Kinky,” I said, refilling my water bottle from the tap.
“Terra…”
“No really. The only time I’ve ever been handcuffed to a bed frame was when we were playing at a little B & D,” I said, waggling my eyebrows at him. He laughed. “What’s the safety word?” He shook his head ruefully.
“I have no idea. I wish I did,” he said, gulping water.
“If you cuff me to the bed, where are you going to sleep?”
“Uh…” He stopped.
“You said you didn’t want to have sex. So if you sleep in the same bed, there’s no way for me to guarantee my good behaviour. If you’re that close and in a bed… well, I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself, no matter what promises I’ve made. So are you going to sleep in the chair again? Looked pretty uncomfortable to me.”
“I don’t know,” he said, sitting down at the table.
“I’ll sleep in the chair. I’m sure you can find a way to cuff me to it,” I said, sitting down across from him.
“We’ll figure that out later, I guess,” he said. There was a pause in the conversation while we looked at each other. He looked tired, drawn out, and a bit worried.
“What’s going to happen to me, Aaron?” I finally asked.
“I don’t know that either,” he said. “I hope that the DA will be willing to cut a deal, give you immunity for information, but I really don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“I don’t really want to go to jail,” I said, sipping some water. “I will if I have to, obviously. Will you visit me if I end up in jail?”
“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” he said. He looked at his watch. “It’s late. Come upstairs. I want to change while we wait for the pizza.”
“Of course,” I said. “I’d want to get out of my clothes if I were wearing a suit too.”
“Right,” he muttered, directing me up the stairs in front of him.

Once in his bedroom, he undressed, hanging up his suit so he could, presumably, send it to the cleaners later. He took off his tie and shirt, and I sat on the bed and watched him. I wanted desperately to go to him, to make love to him, but at the same time I wanted him to trust me. I didn’t want him to think I broke promises. So I merely watched him as he shed his clothes, changing into a pair of old jeans and a sweatshirt. He put on a pair of slippers and then turned to me.
“You still have all of your clothing here from before you left,” he said, gesturing to his closet. “I put it away.”
“Thanks. I’ll need it when I can take a shower,” I said, just as the doorbell rang.
“That’ll be dinner,” Aaron said, shooing me back downstairs.

We ate dinner in front of the TV, some football game on—he seemed engrossed, but I knew he was watching me out of the corner of his eye at all times. And I knew he was being hyper-vigilant, because he didn’t have any beer with his pizza. He offered me a drink, though, and I took it. I had a couple beer with my pizza, watching the game because there was nothing else to do while we ate. When the meal was over, he turned off the TV and stood up. It was just about 1 am.
“Can I have a shower now?” I asked and he laughed.
“That’s a bit of an obsession with you, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Have you ever gone without changing clothes or showering for more than a couple of days? It’s gross,” I said, helping to clean up the dishes. It felt very domestic and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
“I have, as a matter of fact, and yes, I can’t say I enjoyed it,” he said, ushering me back upstairs. “Go ahead, but keep the door open.”
“Of course,” I said, going to my bags in his closet for my toiletries. “I’m not sure how that’s going to help you not want to have sex with me, though.”
“I never said I didn’t want to,” he said with a rueful laugh. “I just said we shouldn’t.” I stripped off my clothing in the bedroom and walked naked into the bathroom. Then I turned on the shower, adjusted the temperature and climbed in. The water felt fantastic and I washed myself at least twice. God, how great to be clean! When I turned off the water and got out, Aaron was standing in the bathroom in his blue pyjama bottoms, just finishing brushing his teeth. He silently handed me a towel and I dried off next to him.
“Trying to prove how good you can be?” I asked him. He didn’t answer. I towel dried my hair and then combed it out carefully. Then I hung my towel up behind the door and stood in the bathroom, nude and clean. “Got a hair dryer?” I asked him. He pulled one out from the cupboard below the sink and I carefully blew my hair dry. Then I brushed my teeth and flossed. Finally, I used the toilet, still under his watchful but silent eye. I stalked into the bedroom when I was done, reaching for my underwear and a shirt to sleep in. I stepped into my underwear and pulled on the shirt. He leaned against the door frame to the bathroom, his interest in my naked body obvious.


“This is stupid,” I huffed.
“I know,” he said. “But I need to know that you’ll still be here in the morning.”
“What about if we do the kinky thing, but don’t make it kinky?” I said.
“I’m not sure I follow you,” he said.
“Handcuff me to the bed frame, but we can have vanilla sex, not B & D stuff. Then leave me cuffed to the bed frame. You were going to anyway, right?”
“Interesting idea,” he said.
“That way we can have sex, but you can also be sure I’ll still be here in the morning. It’ll give you control over the situation,” I said. I wanted to add that I knew he needed control, but that seemed a step over some kind of invisible line.
“I’m having a hard time saying no,” he said. “It seems a bit… over the top somehow.”
“I won’t tell anyone that you used your cuffs this way,” I said. “I’m guessing that they’ll assume you cuffed me somehow, to make sure I don’t escape. Why not… take advantage of the situation?” I walked up to him and slid my arms around his waist. He inhaled the scent of my hair and sighed.
“I wish I had more self control,” he muttered. He’d left his cuffs on the dresser; he took them and attached one end to the bedpost. “Come on.”
“Let me take off my shirt first,” I said, yanking it off over my head. Then I lay down next to the cuffs, and he handcuffed me to the bed. “And now you have me, anyway you want me.”
“Mm, that’s true,” he said. My eyes slid down his long frame to his erection, and I smiled. “Whatever shall I do with you?”
“Whatever you want,” I said. He grinned and it was like the room lit up.

He climbed on to the bed next to me, and slid his hand down the centre of my chest, until it rested on my belly. He leaned over and kissed me, softly.
“I want you so much,” he murmured. “But it’s hard not to feel I’m taking advantage of you somehow. The bruises on your neck make me…”
“Shhhh…” I said, putting a finger across his lips. “You saved me from Darrel. You saved me from myself. I’m yours.” I kissed him passionately and ran my uncuffed hand through his hair. He kissed me back and then moved his lips down my neck. He drew back, tracing the finger marks on my throat. I pulled him back down to me and he moved down to suckle my nipples, making me moan and writhe. “Oh god, Aaron…” He slid down my body, his lips hot against my flesh and I sighed as he removed my panties and parted my thighs, his fingers and tongue finding every secret I had hidden there. When he was certain he’d made me absolutely crazy with lust, he slid his pyjama bottoms off, and knelt in front of me. “Want to try it from behind?” I suggested, sliding the cuff around on my wrist and getting onto my hands and knees in front of him. He groaned in response.
“Terra, God… You are so beautiful…” He entered me from behind and I moaned as he began to thrust into me. Within seconds, I came, hard, crying out into the pillow in front of me. He grasped my hips with one hand, the other tracing a path up and down my spine as he fucked me, our bodies slapping together again and again, driving me insane with pleasure. “Oh.. oh god, yes…” He shuddered with release, as he thrust a few final times through his climax. Then he collapsed against me, holding me from behind, his sweat drenched body melding with my own. We stayed that way for a bit, then he pulled away from me, padding to the bathroom for a washcloth and a towel. We cleaned up, and he helped me put my panties back on before he pulled his pyjamas back on. Then he climbed into bed next to me, pulled the blankets up over both of us, set his alarm for 7 am, and turned off the light.
“Good night, Aaron,” I whispered. His arms were around me, spooning me, his breath in my ear as I fell asleep I his arms. I’d never felt so safe in my life.