A/N: I was going to save this until after I posted "Push," because you, my ducklings, are going to need the cute at that point, but I finished it and it was all nicely beta'd and I figured that I shouldn't make you wait any longer. So here. Cavity warning ahoy.
Disclaimer: They aren't mine, but I promise to be gentle and put them back nicely when I'm done.
It was going to be a beautiful day, and Aaron Hotchner decided that that was a good enough reason for a family outing.
Though it was still early, Aaron was wide awake. He glanced over the head of messy, pillow-rumpled hair that belonged to the woman sleeping beside him. It was going to be a challenge to wake her; he knew how much she liked sleeping in when she got the chance. Quietly, so as not to disturb her just yet, Aaron slid out of bed, preparing to implement the one sure way to get his partner up.
Just down the hall, he poked his head through a door to see a tiny figure sitting on an equally tiny bed, a picture book in hand. "Hey, buddy," Aaron said to his son. "Do you want to go to the water park today?"
Jack's head jerked up from the book he was reading. "Yes!" he said excitedly.
"Okay, Aaron replied, smiling at his son, "but before we can start getting ready, I have a mission for you."
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"Emily!"
A shouting bundle of happy six-year-old boy hit Emily Prentiss in the side, jolting her awake. "Well, hello, Jackie-Boy," she said a little blearily. "To what do I owe the honor of such an early visit?"
"Daddy said we can go to the water park!" Jack answered, bouncing slightly next to Emily.
"Did he now?" Emily asked, looking over the boy's head at his father, who stood in the doorway, grinning a little sheepishly. "Well then, we'd better start getting ready."
She was rewarded for this proclamation by matching grins from father and son.
Getting ready to go to a water park with a six-year-old was surprisingly complex, but they did eventually manage to get everything into the car. All three of them were already in their bathing suits, and Jack was bouncing excitedly in the back seat next to the cooler that held their lunch.
"Okay, Jack," Emily said, turning to face the little boy as Aaron pulled into the parking lot, "remember, you have to stay with me or your dad all the time, and what's the first thing we're doing when we get there?"
"Sunscreen!" Jack replied confidently. He looked through the front windshield of the car, and his eyes got very wide. "Will you go down the water slides with me, Emily?"
She smiled. "Of course, Jackie."
Aaron found a parking spot and pulled into it. "Everyone ready?" he asked.
"Yes!" Jack said.
Aaron helped his son out of the car, then grabbed the cooler as Emily pulled the bag of towels from the trunk and slung it over her shoulder. Aaron locked the car, and each adult took one of Jack's hands as they walked towards the park entrance.
The water park was only mildly crowded, and they quickly found a spot to settle in. Aaron watched with a smile as his son allowed Emily to cover him in sunscreen. She knelt in front of the boy, talking to him about what he wanted to do to keep him in one place. Her back was to Aaron, so the older profiler allowed himself to drink her in.
Her hair was tied back in a loose pony tail that spilled down the expanse of skin left bare by the form-fitting one-piece swimsuit she wore. Her long legs were mostly hidden by the skirt she wore tied around her waist, but Aaron found that he could imagine them very well indeed.
Emily, having completely covered Jack in sunscreen, was about to stand up when the boy said, "Your turn!" and grabbed the bottle from the ground.
She smiled. "Okay, how about you and Daddy get my back, and I'll get my front?" she suggested.
Jack nodded eagerly, and squeezed a handful of the cream into his open palm. Aaron couldn't help grinning widely as he moved behind Jack to help him sufficiently cover Emily in sunscreen.
That over, Aaron wasn't all that surprised when Jack declared that it was his, Aaron's, turn to be sunscreen-ed. He was, however, a little hesitant to remove his shirt at first, not wanting his scars on display to everyone at the water park.
As if reading his mind, Emily covered his hands with hers. "Aaron," she said very quietly, locking eyes with him. He saw so many things in her gaze; support, sympathy, understanding, and so, so much love, and, bolstered by that, he pulled his shirt over his head and allowed his son to slather him with sunscreen.
That over with, Aaron pulled his shirt back on, only to feel Emily's arm creep around his waist and her lips press into his cheek. Jack was tugging at Emily's other hand, insisting that it was time to ride the slides.
"One more thing, buddy," Aaron said, reaching into the bag of towels and pulling out a water-proof case.
"Aaron Hotchner, if you brought work…" Emily began threateningly.
"Relax," he said, rolling his eyes at her. "It's for our cell phones."
Grinning at the sheepish look on his girlfriend's face, he took her phone from her out-stretched hand and placed it, along with his own, into the case. After replacing the case in the towel bag, he took one of Jack's hands and one of Emily's, and told Jack to lead the way.
The morning was spent trying every single slide, and repeating Jack's favorites. The boy was still small enough that he could ride in Emily's lap, so all three of them went down together. For every slide, Aaron rode in the back, Emily in the front, and Jack in her lap. Aaron had to imagine the picture they'd create, with one of Emily's arms wrapped around Jack, the other twisted behind her back to hold Aaron's hand, Jack shrieking with laughter, and the two adults grinning broadly.
Aaron finally stopped them when Emily's stomach growled loudly around twelve-thirty. "Lunch time," he declared.
"Awww!" Jack pouted. "I don't wanna stop!"
"How about this?" Emily suggested. "Jack, you and I can go down one more slide while Daddy gets lunch ready."
Aaron's nod came at the same moment as Jack's excited, "Okay!" They split up, Aaron back to their belongings, and Jack tugging Emily towards his favorite slide.
Jack chattered excitedly the whole way up about what he wanted to do after lunch. "We should go on the river ride and go swimming in the wave pool and then more slides!" Emily listened to him talk with a smile on her face, responding when she could.
When they got to the top and were waiting their turn, Emily saw the lifeguard—the same young woman who had been up there most of the morning—grinning at them out of the corner of her eye. Their gazes met, and the other woman's smile grew.
"Your son is precious," she said when they got to the front of the line.
An explanation flowed to Emily's lips along the lines of, "Not mine," and, "My boyfriend's son," but, thinking better of taking the time, she smiled back and said, "Thank you."
Jack was just as giggly as usual on the way down, but once they got out of the water, he was silent for a few moments, then looked up at Emily. "Why did that lady think you were my mom?" he asked.
She had figured this might be coming, so she had an answer prepared. "Because she's seen me taking care of you on that slide before with your dad, and we look enough like each other that I could be your mom."
"We do?" Emily had to hide a smile at the surprise in Jack's voice.
"We have the same hair color, don't we?" she pointed out.
Accepting this with all the sense of a six-year-old, he tugged on Emily's hand. "Come on!" he said. "I'm hungry!"
Lunch was a simple affair of sandwiches and lemonade, and, for the majority of the meal, Jack's attention was focused on his food, leaving Emily and Aaron the opportunity to talk to each other. They laughed and joked; Aaron teased Emily; Emily threw grapes at Aaron; they gently picked at each other, and occasionally kissed. Emily saw people who passed smiling at them, and it made her heart soar, this public acknowledgement of how much they loved each other, their ability to be openly affectionate. They had worked so hard for so long to keep their relationship from the team until they knew it would last, and then to keep a proper working relationship at the office and in the field, it was a relief to act on her feelings and impulses.
When Jack had finished his sandwich and was eating the cookies Emily had snuck into the cooler, he looked up at the adults and asked, "Will Emily be my new Mommy?"
Emily had told Aaron about what had happened at the top of the slide so he wouldn't be too surprised if it came up. In his usual manner, Aaron took the question in stride and responded with another question, one which surprised Emily very much. "Would you like that?"
"Yes!" Jack said, nodding eagerly.
"What do you think, Emily?" Aaron asked, turning to her.
She was almost angry at him for putting her in this position; there was no way she could say no without breaking Jack's heart, but then, she didn't want to say no. She grinned at her boys and said, "I love the idea."
"So do I," Aaron said, "so that makes it unanimous."
"Yay!" Jack shouted, and flung himself at Emily. Once more presented with a happy bundle of six-year-old, this time Emily caught him in her arms and held him close.
Aaron felt his heart warm as he watched the two most important people in his life embracing. It was all he could ever have hope for, his son and the love of his life being so close.
"Come on," Emily finally said. "Let's go ride some more water slides."
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That night, a very sleepy Jack requested that both Aaron and Emily tuck him in. After they each kissed his forehead and wished him a good night, he smiled up at them, that sweet smile that only a child could have, and said, "Goodnight, Daddy. Goodnight, Mommy."
When they left the room, Aaron glanced at Emily to see tears in her eyes and a wide grin on her face. "I don't think I ever expected him to call me that," she said quietly.
"Oh, Emily," Aaron replied, and pulled her into a tight hug. They held each other for a few moments, then he said, "I have something for you."
He led her to their bedroom and opened the bottom drawer of his dresser, pulling out a small, velvet box. "I had intended to do something a little more romantic, but I hope this will do," he said, opening the box to show her a slim gold band set with a diamond that would sit beautifully on her slender finger.
"Aaron," she said, her heart nearly bursting with happiness, "you could not have asked me in a more perfect way." She let him slide the ring onto her finger, then pulled him towards their bed to celebrate the wonderful change in their relationship.
A/N2: Reviews make me happy, and what with the play I'm currently stage managing, I can use all the happy I can get.