Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
"Yeah, I live for little moments when she steals my heart again and doesn't even know it. Yeah, I like for little moments like that." – Chris DuBois and Brad Paisley
o o o o
SSA Aaron Hotchner walked into his house earlier than he usually got home, happy that the paperwork for the last case had proven simple and he could surprise Haley but arriving hours before she expected him. He opened his mouth to call out his wife's name when he smelt an odd, burnt smell coming from the kitchen.
Dropping his keys on the table beside the door, he kicked off his shoes and strode hurriedly into the kitchen. Everything appeared normal except for the burnt chocolate cake that lay still in the cake pans on the counter; next to them, the black and white potholder barely clung onto the counter top.
"What happened?" he wondered aloud as he made his way past a few new boxes of unopened baby things that he and Haley were slowly collecting for when their son was born. When he reached the burnt cake, Aaron picked up the potholder, opened the drawer that contained its mate, and dropped it back where it belonged.
Gazing at the two pans of burnt dessert, Aaron began to notice the blackened edges and the way the center was more then a bit concaved. Racking his brain, he tried to think of all the holidays or dates that could be deserving of a cake.
'Anniversary? No, that was in December. Valentines Day? No, it's March. Her birthday? No, that was six months ago. Oh. Is it?' Aaron glanced over at the calendar and, sure enough, March fifteenth was highlighted in lime colored marker. 'You think I'd remember my own birthday. At least I didn't forget hers.'
Glancing over at the nearly cremated cake, he reached out a hand and let it hover over the cake. Feeling that the air above it was still hot, Aaron walked over to the oven to check to see if it was still on. Seeing the red dash was still positioned at the three-fifty marker, he grabbed the knob and turned it until it was at the black dash that indicated zero.
Looking at the wall clock, Aaron blinked at the black hands on the clean, white face that read, "6:15". He took one last look around the kitchen to make sure nothing else was out of place. Satisfied everything was fine, Aaron left the kitchen to go in search of his wife.
One foot followed the other as Aaron let his feet guide him through the house. He stuck his head in the living room and found nothing, save the neighbours dozing orange and gray tabby cat stretched out in their window box outside. He left the living room and his feet lead him to his office, but the room was empty as well. Aaron checked the nursery they were in the middle of putting together, half expecting to unwrapping new things or putting away baby cloths. The room was empty, but Aaron smiled when he saw a Haley had picked out bedding and the crib now sat ready in its corner, patiently waiting. Making it to the last room in the hallway, Aaron put his hand on the doorknob and pushed open the door to the room he shared with his wife.
The door open slowly and Aaron took one step into the room. The site that greeted him took a moment to sink in as his wife sat in the middle of the oversized bed with her head in her hands, crying as if the world had ended and she was the only person left.
"Haley? Haley, what's wrong?" Aaron took another step forward and let the door close behind him while he walked towards her.
"A-Aaron?" Haley twisted around where she sat and Aaron quietly took in the tearstains that streamed down her face. She whipped furiously at the tears on her face, but when the bed sagged slightly as he sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling Haley to lean against him, she rested her head on his shoulder and the tears fell all over again.
Haley sobbed into Aaron's shirt and he gently stroked her hair. Haley's body shook against his as she cried and Aaron rocked her back and forth gently, trying not to smile as she choked out her story about burning his cake.
"I – I was making you a cake. Because it's you're birthday," Haley said in half sentences broken by gasping breaths. "And I put it in the oven, the cake not your birthday, and then I went to lie down because my feet were hurting." The gasps were coming less often now, and Aaron slid on of his hands down from her back to rest gently on her rounded stomach, feeling the steady, tiny heartbeat coming from inside her.
"I must have fallen asleep on the couch, because the next thing I realized the smoke detectors were going off and the kitchen was filled with smoke. So, I opened all the windows and then I opened the oven and this black smoke came out in clouds. The cake was black and burnt and it was hor-hor-horrible!" Haley started wailing again and Aaron held her close, trying not to let her see him smile.
'I know it's awful, but I live for moments like this.'
A/N:
Soooo... Yay? Another short! haha Anyways, I hope you like it! The inspiration was the Brad Paisley song "Little Moments" written by Brad Paisley and Chris DuBois. If you haven't listened to the song, I recommend it. It's totally adorable. /sob GO LISTEN! haha jk. jk. :D
This is my first non-Reid story! haha Obviously, this takes place before Jack was born and, thus, before Reid even know Calliope existed. So, sorry guys. :)
Thanks for reading, I hope you like it, and, please, tell me what you think! Good or bad!
Love, Thalia
P.S. - what do you think? Should I make this a series of one-shots about 'little moments' in Hotch's life or should I leave it as a single one-shot? Yall decide!
