Penelope knew that this was going to be a gamble from the moment that she had hacked the file containing the information to where Hotch had been placed in WitSec. She just couldn't bear the thought of him spending another holiday apart from Jess and the BAU. And if she was truly honest, she couldn't bear to think about him moving on with someone else, before she had even had a chance to tell him her feelings.
And so, here she was, Christmas Eve, stepping into the Catholic church that she knew was in his parish, and hoping that his reaction would be controlled, just like every reaction he had while out in the field was. Smoothing her skirt down, she prayed that she looked presentable as she followed another woman in, copying her movements before making her way down the aisle and slipping into a pew halfway up. Letting out a long, slow, breath, she looked around as surreptitiously as she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself.
A familiar throat clearing behind her told Penelope that she had been caught out, and she blushed guiltily as she scooted over to make room for him and Jack in the pew. "This is quite the coincidence, Garcia. You weren't followed, were you?"
She shook her head quickly before looking up at him. His eyes were just as warm and brown as she remembered them, and Penelope blinked rapidly to try and clear her own eyes of tears. "I made certain to hide all my tracks and then used burner phones and prepaid cards to make my travel arrangements. I didn't take a straight route here, instead choosing to take back roads and I changed rental cars twice, using my credentials to make certain that there wasn't a paper trail. You taught me well, Hotch."
He nodded as the priest approached the front of the sanctuary, and then he and Jack knelt on the tiny cushions in front of them. She followed suit, not wanting to seem out of place, and even though it was midnight, she found herself enthralled by the service, since it was so different from her own faith tradition. When the service was over, they all stood, and Hotch took hold of her arm, leading her over to a secluded alcove. "All right, care to tell me what's going on here?"
"I just thought, who doesn't want a hippopotamus for Christmas?" she asked, trying to add some levity to the suddenly charged air. "Seriously, I didn't want you to spend a second Christmas alone. I know, you've probably made friends here, but there's nothing like seeing a familiar face, someone who can catch you up on all the gossip from back home. I even came here techless, so there won't be any pictures or GPS tags or anything that could possibly endanger you or Jack. I just, I needed to see you."
Hotch shook his head slowly before reaching out and pulling her into a tight hug. She melted into the embrace, breathing in the familiar scent of his cologne as she heard his breaths in her ear. "You gave up every piece of tech to see me?"
"Yeah, Boss Man. You're kinda worth the sacrifice."
He smiled a little as he pulled away from her so that he could look into her eyes. Reaching up, he cupped her face with one of his large hands, and she smiled tremulously, wondering if he would lean down and kiss her. As the seconds dragged out between them, she started to tear up, and then his thumb was brushing away those tears before he bent his head down and gave her a gentle kiss. "I suppose there's nothing left to do but take you back to the house, then. Since you travelled so far to see me."
"Distance is nothing when you want to see your, your friend." Penelope didn't know why she stuttered on how to address him, but the truth didn't seem to want to slip from her lips as easily. He still nodded, which told her that somehow, somehow, he knew what she had wanted to say. "You can't take the profiler out of the man, can you?"
"Not really, no," he replied as he led her to where Jack was waiting for them. He had grown so much in the short time she hadn't seen him, and as she continued to gaze at the young man he was becoming, tears stung her eyes once more.
"You're not my little man any longer," she whispered before stepping forward, wondering if he would hug her. He gave her a lopsided grin as he shook his head, and then Jack was wrapping his arms around her waist in a tight hug. "You're not supposed to grow up."
"Everyone says that."
"I know, because we all want it to be true. The passage of time is inevitable, much though we rail against it." He nodded as they stepped out into the cold night air. "I hope that the place where you've landed has a good heater! It is freezing!"
"That's because it's Maine, Aunt Penelope. Though I suppose that I could start a log fire for us when we're home. It might make you a little more comfortable."
"That sounds lovely," she replied as they stopped by a black SUV. "They chose this car for you?"
"I had a choice, Penelope, and this seemed the most nondescript."
"And it's exactly what you drove before!" she exclaimed as she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled her belt. His rich, sardonic, laugh carried into the vehicle as he walked around to the driver's side and got behind the wheel. On the drive out into the countryside, Penelope found herself falling in love with the beauty of the place. "I could totally live here."
"You would never be able to use social media until I was released from the Program," Hotch said softly, and she turned her head to look at him, only just realizing that she had spoken aloud. A small shrug tipped her shoulder up as she continued to gaze out at the snow-covered ground, falling in love with the place completely by the time Hotch pulled into the drive of his new home. "Here we are."
"This is so cute!" she exclaimed as she clambered from the car and hurried up to the porch. "Did you also get to pick where you lived?"
"There were certain liberties allowed to me, since I had a sizable bank account, yes. This is off the beaten path enough where I don't have to worry quite so much. Now let's get you inside before you turn into an icicle."
She nodded gratefully as he unlocked the door and ushered them inside. There was something very familiar and homey about his house, and she once more wondered if there would ever be a time that she could stay here with him, forever. It would mean giving up a lot, but if she truly missed him as much as she did, it would be worth the sacrifice to be in his life.
"I'll take Penelope into the living room, Dad. You might need to head back to church and get her bag?"
It seemed that Jack was going to be as good a profiler as his father, and Hotch gave a sharp nod as Penelope dug her keys out of her purse and tossed them to him. As soon as he was gone, Jack took hold of her hand and pulled her into the living room, gesturing for her to curl up on the couch while he got to work on the fire.
Once it was going, he left the room, and she frowned a little, wondering if she had upset the boy. That didn't seem to be the case, since he returned a few minutes later with a bottle of wine, some glasses, and a can of Coke for himself. "Dad usually has a glass after the Christmas service, even though it is so late. I like to think that he and Mom shared it before starting work on my presents from Santa."
She gave a small nod as she tugged the cork out of the bottle and poured them each a glass of the Shiraz. Jack plopped down into the plush loveseat and nursed his Coke as he watched her intently. "What?" she finally asked, feeling a bit unnerved by the scrutiny.
"I always that that it would be Emily who came looking for Dad. I didn't realise that you were even thinking of looking for us."
A sad smile curved across her lips as she brought her glass to her mouth and took a sip. "I found myself missing you guys more than anything, kiddo. First, Derek left, then your father, and nothing felt right, not even after Emily returned from Interpol. There was a pretty large hole left unfilled by your dad in my heart, with an equally large one left by you right next to it." Jack nodded as he finished his drink and stood up. "Heading to bed so soon?"
"I think that you and Dad will need to talk, and not about anything that you 'd want me to overhear. And that is totally okay, we'll talk more in the morning, when we all wake up."
He seemed so much more grown up in that moment, that it took her a beat to remember that he was only thirteen. Nodding a little, she curled up in her corner of the sofa, watching him leave the room. At some point, she must have dozed off, since she woke up to find Hotch standing over her, watching her face intently. "Hey, Boss Man."
"You really did travel light. Dave would be amused to see this," he remarked as he set her bag down and then smiled. "I did manage to find this in your car, though. Care to explain?" Hotch held up the sprig of mistletoe, and she blushed heavily as she sat up and shrugged.
"I figured, if I came all this way to see you, I might as well leave with a kiss, even if I had to use that as an excuse to get it."
"All you would ever have to do was ask, Penelope. Especially now, since we're no longer work colleagues." She sighed with expectation as he held the mistletoe above their heads. "Merry Christmas, Penny."
"Merry Christmas, Aaron," she murmured before their lips met in another gentle kiss. Glancing out the window, she saw that a light snow had begun to fall, and contentment filled her heart as her brain started to plot ways in which she could enter the Program, too, and never leave his side again.