Criminal Minds – Little Wonders
Ok, so this is my first CM fic. I've just immersed myself in the lovely fandom once and for all, and I must admit I like what I've read so far.
Just so you know, I have only completely seen seasons 1 and 2, and a smattering of everything else. This story will be based after 100, which I have not seen, but I know the basic punch line.
Summary: She was gone, and he was left to raise their son alone, and all he could think about was her. Not Haley, the woman he had loved, married then divorced. No, not Haley. Emily.
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, just the one character you don't recognise.
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She was gone.
Dead.
Buried.
Murdered.
She was gone, and he was left to raise their son alone, and all he could think about was her. Not Haley, the woman he had loved, married then divorced. No, not Haley.
Emily.
He sat on his bed in the apartment he now shared with Jack, his head in his hands, wondering how he ever got himself into this predicament.
It was all Foyet's fault. It was his fault for tearing his life apart, and making him put the pieces back together again.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door, making Aaron Hotchner look up suddenly. What he saw brought a small smile to his face.
Jack, still dressed in his miniature suit from Haley's funeral, was fast asleep in Emily's arms, one arm securely wrapped around his favourite stuffed animal, the other hand tightly gripping Emily's white blouse.
"He fell asleep?" Aaron asked, beckoning for them to join him.
Emily nodded. "He's been running around for the past hour, but a few minutes ago, he jumped into my arms and crashed. He just looks so peaceful, like everything that has happened didn't affect him."
"But it did," Aaron couldn't help but add. "No one is immune from these kinds of things, and no matter how hard we try to protect our children from the horrors of death, these things happen."
Emily knew more than anyone how much his ex-wife's death was affecting their boss, so she showed her support for him the only way she could; just by being there for him and his son while they grieved.
"The important thing is, you survived," she said firmly, placing a hand on his arm in support. "You survived, and Jack is alive, and from now on, that's all that matters. You'll always be there for each other now, and I'll be there too," she added as an afterthought.
Hotch looked up from her hand on his arm, straight into her eyes. "You'll be here for me?" he asked, his voice tinged with emotion.
She nodded, not breaking eye contact. "Always, Aaron."
"But why?" he asked. "I've said and done some pretty horrible things to you in the past…"
"The past is the past," Emily interrupted. "All that's important now is the present, and eventually, the future. One I hope you see me in."
It was no secret they had feelings for each other, but neither had ever acted on the feelings before now. Hotch took the hand on his arm and placed it firmly in his.
"Emily, you will always be in my life and in Jack's life too," he said firmly but quietly. Both were mindful of his exhausted son, neither wanted to risk waking him. "They say the future is uncertain, but there is nothing I am more certain about than that."
Emily smiled widely, a rogue tear running down her cheek. Aaron gently reached up with his free hand to wipe it away with his thumb, cupping the rest of her face in his hand. She leaned into the touch and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent.
Jack shifted in Emily's arms, breaking the moment, and both looked down to the four year old sleeping in her arms peacefully.
"Do you think he'll mind?" Emily asked.
It was Aaron's turn to smile. "Em, he loves you like a second mother, and he trusts you enough to fall asleep on you. To my knowledge, he has only ever fallen asleep on two other people."
"You and Haley," she whispered, looking back down onto Jack's peaceful face. Hotch nodded. She looked up again, immediately seeking his eyes. "He trusts me," she whispered, more to herself than to him.
There, in that very moment, Emily could see their future play out in his eyes, and he could see the same play out in hers. They smiled, probably the first genuinely happy smile of the day, and they smiled for each other, for the family they would become.
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Three years later
Emily Hotchner never thought this day would come, the day that she and her husband of two years would be sitting together on a park bench, waiting for their son to be let out of school. In a pram next to them, their six month old daughter Audrey lay sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of her surroundings.
"Here he comes," Aaron nudged her, and she looked up. Sure enough, there was Jack, walking out of the gates to his private school, in his adorable uniform having just finished his first day of third grade.
"Daddy! Emmy!" he called, running up to meet them. He launched himself into Emily's arms, leaving his backpack on the ground, and nuzzled his face into her shoulder. Aaron, ever the loving father and husband, wrapped his arms around the two of them while still keeping an eye on their daughter.
A minute later, he let them go, and Jack slipped to the ground, hoisted his bag over his shoulder, and launched into a very detailed repertoire of his day, while Emily listened attentively. They started walking down the road in the direction of their house, only two blocks over, Emily pushing Audrey's pram while he slipped a comforting arm around her waist.
He couldn't believe this day had come, the day before Emily returned to work at the BAU, leaving Audrey in the care of a nanny they had been training for the past three weeks. He couldn't rely on Jessica to look after both of his children; he couldn't expect her to put her life on hold every time the team was called out of town just to look after Jack and Audrey.
Hotch sighed. He let his ears open to the sound of his son's animated voice, retelling the adventures of his first day at his new, higher security, exclusive private school. He stole a glance at his wife; Emily was listening to Jack's stories, nodding and responding appropriately, while also watching around them.
There was little wonder why Hotch left the office at a decent time every evening, why he was eager to wrap up an interstate case quickly, why he smiled every time he answered a call from his family. His little wonders themselves were constantly surprising him, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
Aaron and Emily Hotchner pushed open the white picket gate of their front lawn and smiled. They were home.
Just after Emily unlocked the front door to let them in, Aaron put a hand on her arm, and she looked lovingly up at him.
"Thank you, Emily," he said huskily. "Thank you for everything."
Emily simply smiled in return. "I love you too, Aaron."