A change for us all.
Another one-shot! This is still in my Aaron and Jayney universe.
I have not yet seen the new season of Criminal Minds, but I was made aware that Aaron Hotchner would be leaving, and from being told that, I came up with this little fic. So, I really don't know when Hotch will leave or how, but hopefully this fic will be okay!
-Aaron and Jayney talk about Aaron leaving the BAU and what they're going to do next.
Please review at the end and let me know what you thought! Enjoy.
"Are you going to actually speak to me or are you just going to hang around by the door?" Jayney's voice brought Aaron out of his thoughts.
Aaron gave her a smile before taking a few steps forward, moving further into the kitchen.
"Can we talk?"
"Of course we can." Jayney put down the knife she'd been using to chop vegetables and grabbed a dish cloth to wipe her hands before turning to face her partner, giving him her full attention.
"I'm thinking about leaving the BAU." Aaron watched carefully as Jayney took in what had just been said.
"Aaron, if this is because of what I said the other night, please don't make this decision based on me. I was upset and angry and I was scared, I hadn't heard from you or any of the team in three days and with all the shootings on the news…" Jayney trailed off, feeling tears prick in the corner of her eyes as she recalled the fear she felt at the possibility Aaron had been shot or injured.
Aaron moved closer when he saw the tears, taking Jayney's hands in his before pulling her into a hug. Jayney rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him whilst Aaron stroked her hair.
"I would be lying if I said that what you said wasn't part of it. There is a lot to it Jayney. I have been doing this for a long time, and I do feel like I am doing good, but I think that it's time for a change. I want to spend some time being a father and a partner." Aaron was trying to be as honest as he could be without going into all the details of how the cases were getting too much and how he missed his son and girlfriend more than he thought possible when he was away.
"I will support you no matter what, Aaron. I just don't want you to make a decision you will regret. I love you and I love Jack and I am hoping I will be here for a long time, and…" Jayney trailed off again before taking a deep breath.
"BAU or not, I will love you, Aaron. I love you and I love Jack, I just want you to think about this before making a decision. The BAU is a big part of who you are and all I am trying to say is don't make this decision because you think you have to, make this decision because it's right for you." Aaron smiled before he leant down to kiss her.
"I'm thinking of all of us."
Jayney smiled as she moved out of his arms, turning back to the kitchen for a moment before turning back to face Aaron.
"Why don't I make some tea? You can explain it all to me, and maybe we can talk about what we're going to tell Jack.?" Jayney said with a smile.
Aaron couldn't help but smile either, looking up to the decorative sign above the oven that read 'If tea can't fix it, it's a serious problem.' Jack had spotted it in the mall months ago and the moment Aaron saw it he couldn't help but think of Jayney.
"We're?" Aaron asked when his mind came back to focus on the situation.
"Well, you can tell him, but I can be there if you want me to. We're together, we're a couple, I thought that maybe we could do this together? Telling Jack, you're leaving the BAU is going to be a shock…" Aaron raised his hand slightly to stop her rambling.
"Okay, I didn't think of it like that, but, together."
Telling Jack seemed to go better than expected, although the three of them were now sat in silence.
"I know it's going to be a big change, buddy, but this is for all of us." Aaron tried in a hope to get something out of his son. Jayney was sat on the sofa next to Aaron, keeping her hand on his knee to offer some silent support.
"So, you'll be able to take me to school every day?" Jack asked after a moment.
"Yeah, if you would like me to take you to school. For the first few months, I am going to be around a lot more. Then we'll take it from there." Jack nodded in understand before turning to Jayney.
"Can I ask something?"
"Of course, sweetheart." Jayney smiled.
"Can you still do all the cooking?" Aaron couldn't help but laugh at Jack's request.
"Don't worry, I'll still be doing the cooking. Your dad is just going to be home a lot more, so no more calls in the middle of the night, no more movie night interruptions. You and dad can go to the park more and we can all spend time together." Jayney explained. Aaron nodded along, the thought of being more of a 'family' seemed to be a nice one.
"So, what are we going to do now?"
"Well, I and Jayney have been talking, and I know the big school break is coming up so we were thinking about going back to the UK, see where Jayney grew up, do a little bit of travelling." At the mention of the UK Jack's face lit up.
"So we're going on holiday?" Jack's voice seemed to be filled with joy.
"Yes, for a few weeks and then we might come back to the US, and maybe go up to Canada, I have some friends up there that I would like you and your dad to meet. We're going to be travelling for two, maybe three weeks. Then after those two or three weeks, we'll come home and take it from there." Jayney did her best to explain, as Aaron smiled.
"Are you okay, Jack?" Aaron asked again when Jack went quiet.
"Yeah! I mean you can take me to the park after school and Jayney can make pasta, we're going on holiday and I've been invited to Kai's party next week and it's at The Play House!" Aaron looked at Jayney with a grin.
"So, everything is good then!"
"Telling Jack went better than expected," Aaron commented later that night when he and Jayney were getting ready for bed.
"Yeah, I think it may take some time to sink in that you're going to be around more, not that you're not around now, but, I guess we fell into a routine of you being away for days at a time, I think it may take some time to get used to. You taking him to school and being here knowing you're not going to get called away." Aaron nodded as he listened to Jayney go on.
Getting into bed Aaron pulled his girlfriend close to him.
"We'll work it all out, though."
"Of course we will. You can finish up with the FBI, we'll take some time to travel and then we'll take it from there."
"I love you, Jayney."
"I love you too, Aaron, no matter what. I told you I was in this for the long run and I am." Aaron couldn't help but smile, or feel reassured as he leant down to kiss her.
A change for them all, wasn't going to be too much of a bad thing at all.
What did you all think? I hope it was a good read! Please leave a review and tell me what you liked best. Thank you for reading, until next time! Bethany.
