A/N: I just wanted to take a moment to thank anyone who has reviewed any of my work, added my stories to their favourites list, added me to their favourite authors list or even just added the alerts for certain stories. You are the reason I write; to bring enjoyment to you and to entertain you with my imagination.
Please continue to let me know what you think, particularly if you are enjoying this series as when I know it's liked, I have a tendency to write faster.
This one-shot is set about a week after the end of aftermath and will set the stage for several other stories coming up. It's viewed from Aaron Hotchner's point of view on life and family.
PLEASE NOTE: This is NPH 7. If you aren't already following this series, I recommend that you make your way to my author profile page and start with NPH 1, as some or all of this will not make sense otherwise.
DISCLAIMER: I sadly do not own Criminal Minds, its storylines or characters. I can only claim to manipulate them for the purposes of this story.
The Heart of a Man
Aaron Hotchner looked over the amount of space in David Rossi's back yard and shook his head in amazement as his friend handed him a beer.
"Is there any particular reason you're in need of a yard as big as an Olympic sized swimming pool while you live the life of a bachelor?"
"It's just a yard. Today, it's even a yard with a swimming pool fit for entertainment."
Aaron shook his head again as Dave made his way to the barbeque set off to one side of the massive patio where he was cooking dinner. Their first case back together as a team had been a particularly bad one for all of them and with the weekend seeing them off the emergency call list, Derek had suggested a laid back get-together of some sort. Dave had mentioned he had a pool and a barbeque and Saturday was good for him and they'd all agreed. They started with a guest list of just the team and this had lasted all of three seconds until Garcia declared she wasn't turning up without Kevin, JJ wasn't coming without Will and Henry and Emily mentioned that Jack was clingy so she certainly wasn't coming without him.
Dave said he had plenty of room and they could all bring someone if they wanted to. That was how they'd ended up with as many as they had.
Emily sat on a patio chair to the side of the pool, in a smoking hot red bikini that did extremely naughty things to his libido and chatted with Jess who was just getting over a short-lived chest infection and wasn't allowed to swim. That hadn't stopped her from stripping down to a blue and green tankini set that had just as clearly turned on her husband. Of course, neither woman had shown any signs that it mattered or even that they'd noticed the reaction they'd received from their little strip show.
Mitch was in the pool with Derek, Reid, Will and Kevin on one side of the volleyball net Dave had set up and Garcia and JJ were on the other side with Jordan Todd, whom Derek had sprung on everyone and Dave's date for the day, a lovely woman by the name of Theresa. Both Derek and Dave were saying their dates were just friends brought along for the day, but Aaron had his own ideas, particularly after catching Dave and Theresa by accident in the kitchen when he, Emily and Jack had first arrived. They hadn't exactly been kissing, but they might have been if they'd continued on uninterrupted and he fully intended to pump Dave later for more information.
8 year old Daniel and 6 year old Sean, Jess's children, played down the back of yard under a large tree with Jack, who could periodically be seen racing to Emily's chair and saying something to her before racing back to the other boys. Whatever he said always made both women smile and Aaron was about a minute away from heading over there to get the gossip from them.
A cheer went up from the women's side of the pool and the men groaned and could be heard pumping up each others' egos as the women high-fived. If anyone thought the ladies disadvantaged because they were down a player, they were seriously deranged. Reid wasn't very sports oriented and was in the pool on sufferance because everyone had insisted he didn't have an excuse. Emily had only been allowed to back out because of the cold pack currently resting on her swollen knee and he'd only gotten out of it because one of his wrists was wrapped up after the unsub he'd been chasing two days ago had doubled back on him and taken a swing at it with a pipe. He'd been lucky to get off with a damaged muscle and not a broken bone. Dave's excuse was that no one got dinner if he got in the pool.
He stepped down off the patio as Jack made a beeline for Emily. He timed it so that his son was racing back to the boys before he reached the ladies. He moved around to the chair Emily had set up beside her for him. He'd stayed until he realised where the conversation was going earlier and then he'd mumbled an excuse and taken off to find a man who wouldn't be talking about PMS and other women related stuff.
"Hey handsome; consider us safe again?"
"Not on your life. I'm considering a new way to torture confessions out of male unsubs. It includes ten minutes of uninterrupted time with the two of you, just listening to you talk girlie things." He shuddered slightly as Emily and Jess laughed.
"So if we aren't safe to be around, why did you come over just now?" Jess asked curiously.
"I've been observing Jack's behaviour for the last hour and about every five minutes or so, he comes over to say something to Emily and I'm about dying to know what it is."
Emily smiled and tipped her face up to the sunshine. The late Autumn day had turned out to be more like late Summer and had produced the most perfect weather for their day outside. The light gilded her skin and made her glow with health, making him wonder again if he was going to be able to wait until they were alone to have her under him and over him and around him and hell, just with him would be perfect about now.
"He comes over to say hello, make sure I'm having fun and am alright and to update me on the delightful things he and his cousins are talking about and doing down the back under the tree. For instance, did you know that when he sneezed 15 minutes ago, a really big booger came flying out of his nose and landed on the back of a caterpillar? This was so entertainingly gross for all three boys that they are currently trying to sneeze just so they can see if they can recreate the experience. So far the caterpillar is safe. This led to a conversation that included my tip about the Vicks and the pot of water and what the results are. Jess was thrilled to know that this was the treatment her sons were expecting the next time they come down with a cold. So how is your afternoon progressing?"
Aaron fell off the chair he was laughing so hard. Emily and Jess just watched him looking so prim it made him laugh anew just as he was getting his breath back. He laughed til his insides hurt and he couldn't catch a full breath at all. Since the grass underneath him was comfy, he lay there watching the clouds float across the sky as his sister-in-law and his wife went back to their conversation and smiled.
They had decided to announce their engagement after the meal in preparation for going through with a faux wedding celebration for all their friends and family. Of course, they weren't the first to hear this announcement but it had gone down rather well so he wasn't complaining.
Erin Strauss had finally summoned them into her office yesterday for the dreaded fraternisation talk. The anticipation of waiting for just this conversation over the last six months had wound them both so tight they had been close to breaking as they waited for her to start talking.
She'd looked over the files from the cases they'd handled during the first four months of the year and the case they'd dealt with just that week and admitted that she couldn't fault their work. She said she doubted she'd have known they were together if he hadn't admitted as much in the waiting room at the hospital in Arkansas to Elizabeth Prentiss or seen the footage of the site where the car had gone over the cliff. She said she wouldn't separate them or the team as long as the work remained unaffected but if she found any evidence that they had neglected a case for their relationship they would be separated faster than they could blink.
He'd been stunned with how lightly they'd gotten off but after Emily had left to return to the bullpen and he'd been alone with Strauss to go over a file that might come to them sometime in the weeks to come, she had cautiously admitted that she was glad to see he was happy again after all he'd been through and she wouldn't interfere with that as long as the work didn't suffer. He, in turn, had cautiously admitted they were getting married and she'd surprised him again by extending her congratulations.
"Are you falling asleep down there?"
He looked up to see Emily leaning over the edge of the chair, her hair a halo around her face blocking out the sun as she smiled down at him. He lifted a hand to stroke the strands of hair closest to him as he returned her smile.
"Just basking anew in Strauss's decision to allow us to stay together."
"Yes well, I must admit I hadn't seen that one coming. Anyway, dinner is ready, unless you weren't feeling hungry."
He lunged up and nibbled at her mouth til she opened to him and he kissed her hungrily. "Bite your tongue woman; I'm always hungry."
She laughed and pulled him to his feet, settling her arm around his waist, her fingers idly brushing back and forth on his side as they slowly walked towards the table laden with food and surrounded by friends and family.
"If you're trying to turn me on with what you are doing to my side, you're far too late. I've been in a state of completely turned on torture since you took off your shorts and shirt."
She beamed up at him. "Do you like it? I had a few minutes before picking up Jack yesterday so I went and bought it with today in mind."
He leaned in and breathed against her ear, "Just wait until I have you alone tonight and I'll show you just how much I like it Mrs Hotchner."
She shifted her head back and caught his lips in a fiery explosion that caused more than one catcall and whistle from the group waiting for them.
"Maybe we shouldn't have left the two free seats together," Dave said dryly as they joined them.
Everyone laughed and for several minutes the only sounds were the requests for passing the food and the sounds of plates and cutlery being shifted about as they all filled their plates. Emily got the honour of cutting up Jack's meat to make it easier for him to eat it and then they all settled in to enjoy the food.
Conversation flowed easily between both sides of the table as they ate and when the meal was over and the talk loosely turning to getting back in the pool for a bit longer before dessert was served, Garcia commanded everyone's attention.
"Right then, I have an important announcement to make so until I do there will be no playing and no monkey business," she added as Aaron stole a quick kiss from his girl.
He dutifully turned his attention forward though he found it hard to concentrate as Emily's hand slid up his thigh a little more every time it moved, which was frequently. He dropped his hand to cover hers and shot her a quick look of reprimand as he waited for Garcia to continue.
"Kevin and I got to talking last weekend about how life was precious and we loved each other more than anything and then he totally surprised me out of the blue and asked me to marry him and I said yes!"
Everyone cheered and stood to extend congratulations to them.
"So baby girl, if you're getting married, where's the ring?"
Garcia blushed and stammered a bit. Emily shot him a look that plainly said 'do I help her out and tell everyone about us at the same time?' and he nodded just slightly as everyone pressed to see the ring.
Emily cleared her throat. "It's probably in the same place I left mine when I dressed for the day; in her bag for safe keeping and an opportune moment to announce the engagement."
There was a momentary silence that Reid broke with a slight squeak in his voice. "Did you just admit you and Hotch are engaged?"
Emily grinned. "For a genius Reid, you're a little slow on the uptake."
There was more cheering and congratulations and demands to see the rings each woman had. Emily said she'd pull hers out after dessert and Garcia took her lead and said the same. Then Will cleared his throat.
"Well then, since this is such a happy time and filled with announcements an' such, I'd like to let you all know you need to see Jayje before you leave tonight. She has a weddin' invitation for each of you."
Emily squealed and clapped her hands in delight. "You guys finally set a date?"
JJ nodded with a content smile. "Three weeks from now. I have a leave form on your desk Hotch so we can take a short honeymoon. I'm only asking for a week."
"Consider it approved. I'll sign it as soon as I get in Monday. Congratulations to both of you. It's about time is all I can say."
Everyone agreed with that sentiment and headed back to the pool. He left Jess and Emily helping Dave with the cleanup and wandered down the back of the yard to talk to Jack and see what he thought of everything. He'd been a little surprised with how quiet Jack had been on hearing Emily was marrying him and he was concerned that perhaps Jack thought he would be less important in his life because of the changes to come.
Daniel and Sean had gone into the pool with their dad so he found Jack under the tree all by himself. He sat against the trunk of the tree and snagging his sons wrist, tugged him into his arms and tickled him til he was laughing and happy again.
"Hey buddy, I want to talk to you about me and Emily getting married. I need you to tell me honestly how you feel about it. Will you do that for me?"
Jack was silent in his arms for several long minutes, though the tension in his small body said he was definitely unsure about something. When he finally started speaking, Aaron was stunned by what he had to say.
"My friend Kim said her daddy got married last year to a woman after her mummy died. Her new mother told her she couldn't keep anything that belonged to her mummy and then she removed everything in the house that was hers and put in all her own stuff. And Kim says her daddy never talks about her mummy anymore and she is worried cause she's beginning to forget what her mummy was like and the new mother isn't very nice to her."
Aaron hugged Jack and thought about how he could best answer his son's concerns without belittling what his friend had been through. He suddenly wished he'd left this conversation to Emily when she'd offered but he'd honestly thought he could deal with it on his own. Then the woman appeared in front of them as if just thinking about her had conjured her presence and sat down carefully beside him.
"Hey. You guys looked so serious back here I thought I'd come and see what I could do to make things better. Jack, do you mind if daddy tells me what you've been talking about?"
Jack shrugged, so Aaron took that to mean he could share. He told Emily about his son's concerns and watched her sad smile as she came to understand where the issue was.
"Okay, that's not too hard to address. Jack, I need you to come sit with me for a serious talk."
This was obviously a cue of some kind as Aaron felt his son stir in his arms and then shift to sit cross legged on the grass just to the side of Emily's straight leg. He didn't look so sad anymore and when Emily offered her pinky to him, he took it with one of his own and gazed up at her in concentration and adoration. Knowing he was about to learn something important here, he pushed out the background noise and focused on his family.
"Jack, what happened with Kim and her family is a sad thing but I promise you here and now that it will never happen with us. Do you know how long I've been living with you and daddy?"
Jack frowned as he thought, his face all scrunched up as he tried to figure it out. "Is it a long time?"
Emily smiled gently. "It's been about 5 months now that I've lived in the same house as you. Have you seen anything disappear or change since I've been there?"
He shook his head without hesitation this time but said, "Kim said her mummy's things didn't go away til after they were married."
Emily nodded seriously. "I knew your mummy a little from before she went to heaven but even if I hadn't known her, I would always want you to know about her and see her pictures and hear stories about her. Do you know why? Because your mummy created you and I think you are sooo special. I love you, just like she loved you and when she died, she died protecting you from the bad man and that makes me love her too. And when you love someone, you don't want them to disappear, do you?"
Jack shook his head vigorously and threw himself into her arms as he burst into tears.
"Your mummy is special to you and she always will be Jack. I won't be taking that away from you because if I do, I'm saying that you aren't special and that will never be true. We will always be best friends and if one day you want to call me mummy that is entirely your choice and I would love that. But if you want me to just be Emily for the rest of your life, that's okay too because I will always love you, no matter what. Okay baby?"
"Okay," he wailed as he clung tighter to her. She rocked him gently and sang softly until the crying had eased off. She produced a tissue from the shorts she'd put back on for dinner and helped him blow his nose and then she suggested he go play in the pool for a bit before dessert.
He jumped up and ran for the pool. Aaron let out a sharp whistle and when the guys turned and saw Jack coming, quickly moved to make sure he got in the pool safely and everyone was aware of the additional child in the mix. He made sure Jack was alright before turning to look at Emily.
After several long minutes of silence, she shifted uncomfortably. "You're staring at me."
"I just can't get over how utterly incredible and totally selfless you are. You blow me away daily."
She smiled gently at him. "As long as I am still able to blow you away when we are old and gray I'll be happy."
"What was with the linked pinkies?"
"Back when I first looked after Jack just after the car was stolen, Jack asked me a serious question about whether his mother had suffered when George killed her. I was sitting on the floor at the time and I said we needed to have a serious conversation and he needed to be sure I was telling him the truth. I told him if he sat in front of me and we linked our pinkies together, this could be our special way of knowing that only the truth would be spoken at those times and he could trust me to keep my word forever about anything I said while we were linked. But it's only ever used in extra special moments where anything less won't reassure him."
"So this isn't something I could do with him?"
"I can definitely ask him if he would be willing to use the same way with you to ensure truthful conversation, but even if he says no, I can always help you figure out another way to accomplish the same thing. How you do it isn't really the important part, it's the knowing that he understands you mean what you say and say what you mean at those moments and that your word is honourable."
"Come here. I need a hug and no one does it better than you." He helped her drape her body comfortable across his lap and sighed in contentment. "Do you realise all that you've done to heal both Jack and me? When Haley died I thought that was it but I didn't count on the tenacity of the women in my life to see that I didn't have a clue that life was really only just beginning."
"We simply see more in everything than men do. I think it's got something to do with our hormones or how we were wired or some such thing. You could always ask Reid; I'm sure he'd have an answer for you."
"Let's not and say we did." She hummed her assent. "I wonder what would have happened if I'd said no to Haley and stayed with you all those years ago?"
"Don't Aaron. The past happened the way it did for a reason; leave it where it is. You made the choices you did and they brought you to this place, here, under this tree for this time in our lives. We have a beautiful son and we have each other for eternity and in the here and now, that is all that counts."
She tipped her head back to look at him and again he marvelled at her wisdom and how incredibly selfless she was in every aspect of her life. "I don't deserve you, you know?"
She smiled. "Perhaps not, but then I know I don't deserve you either so I guess that makes us the perfect match. Besides that, you're kind of stuck with me, so what does it matter anyway?"
"Not a single blessed thing," he murmured as he lowered his head and captured her perfect mouth with his.
Life was perfect. He had his wife, the woman he loved and adored above all others, in his arms. Nearby, his son laughed happily as he was surrounded by family and friends. On Monday they'd go back to work at a job that wasn't necessarily easy to deal with but it was oh, so rewarding in many ways.
Yes indeed, life was perfect and Aaron Hotchner counted himself a very blessed man when he cut right to the heart of it.
End-