This is my submisson for this month's CCOAC Challenge. My pairing was Jack and Hotch (the best possible pairing for this, in my opinion). I really hope you like it!
Oh, and just a warning: This story features a bit of Hotch/Beth. I'm sorry if some people don't like that, but I actually like her, and that's what I wanted to do. If you don't like it, either don't read or don't complain. This story is mainly about Hotch and Jack, so the Hotch/Beth isn't terribly important.
Pump. Swing. Pump. Swing. Pump…
Jack Hotchner leaned back slightly and enjoyed the gentle breeze. He was spending his afternoon on the swing set by his house. This was the same swing set he had spent his birthday on several years ago. He turned five that day, and now he was seventeen. More than ten years had passed, and so many things had happened since then.
Jack swung his long legs under the swing in an attempt to go even higher. He knew he couldn't go much higher, but he had to try.
Go big or go home. That was what his stepmom always said. Just thinking of her caused Jack to flash back to the day he met her ten years ago at his dad's triathlon. He liked Beth from the start, though admittedly he always thought Dad and Ms. Emily would make a very good couple. He told his father that once, and he had blushed.
"Ms. Emily and I are just good friends, buddy. She's like my sister." Jack was only seven when he told Dad this, so he didn't notice the way Dad looked wistful at the mention of Ms. Emily.
No, Jack liked Beth very much, and he knew Dad was very happy with her. She made him laugh, which could be an impossible feat. She cared for Jack like he was her own, and Dad's team made her feel welcome.
C'mon, Jack urged himself. Higher!
He didn't really know why he was there. He hadn't been to a playground in years. If Uncle Spencer was there, he would say Jack needed to clear his head.
I guess that's what I'm trying to do, he thought. He needed to get out of the house. Between Beth and Ms. Penelope, he was beginning to feel suffocated in the small house. They were busy preparing for tomorrow, and they were constantly asking him what he wanted.
I want my dad. That's all he wanted, but he knew they couldn't bring him home from that emergency consult.
Tomorrow was Jack's high school graduation. The four long years of hell were finally over, and in the fall he would be off to Princeton. He hoped to follow in his father's footsteps and join the FBI. Dad tried to convince him otherwise at first, saying, "It's a dangerous job, and I don't want to see you get hurt." Eventually he gave up and started to prepare Jack with useful information about the Bureau.
Getting into Princeton was no easy feat, and tomorrow Jack would be giving a speech as valedictorian. Ever since he was a little boy, all he wanted was to make his dad proud, so he worked harder than everyone else to get the best grades. He continued to play soccer and landed on the varsity team freshman year. Whenever someone asked him how he got so good, Jack would smile and say, "I had great coaches when I was younger."
And one of those coaches would be there tomorrow. Dad's whole team would be there: Uncle Dave (now retired for good), Uncle Derek (who started dating Ms. Emily after she left the Bureau ten years ago), Uncle Spencer, Ms. Emily, Ms. JJ (with Will and Henry), and Ms. Penelope (with Kevin). Yes, the entire BAU would be there, except for their fearless Unit Chief.
Jack's father made sure the entire team was on standby for the week leading up to the graduation, but the director of the FBI ordered Dad to do a consult in Baltimore. Dad had no choice, and he had been in there all week. He called Jack every night to apologize.
"I'm so sorry, buddy. I'm trying to get home in time, but it's not looking good."
Jack would just plaster a fake smile on his face and say, "Don't worry about it. I know you have to catch the bad guys." That was what his dad did, and Jack was proud of him, but he would be lying if he said he didn't hate the job sometimes.
He knew that the job was a part of his dad, and nothing would ever change that. But it was embarrassing to be the only kid without a dad to chaperone a field trip to the museum. It was bad enough everyone knew Jack didn't have his biological mother anymore.
When Jack was in the middle of the whole teenage angst faze, he blamed his father outright for his mom's untimely death. After all, it was his fault in a twisted way. Nobody knew this, but there were nights when Jack had nightmares and could remember exactly what George Foyet said that terrible day. Uncle Spencer probably had some scientific reason for that, but Jack didn't care. It didn't matter.
After one particularly awful fight between him and his dad, Jack ran out of the house and didn't stop until he reached the cemetery. There he slumped down in front of his mother's grave and cried. He just sat there and cried, wishing that she could be there with him.
After ten minutes Jack realized he could hear someone else crying as well. Turning around he saw his dad leaning up against a nearby tree. Tears were rolling down his face as he watched his son cry for his mom.
Jack rarely saw his dad cry, but if there was one time that stood out from before that moment, it was the day Mom died. When Dad pulled him out of that little trunk (which was still in his home office today) and Jack saw streaks of blood on his face.
He stood up and walked over to his father. Still crying, he wrapped his arms around Dad's torso and held on for dear life. Dad grabbed him and clutched his son as if Foyet was going to appear and take him. From then on, Jack never blamed his dad for his job.\
That didn't mean it didn't suck. Jack had been waiting for this day for years, and he wanted his dad there to celebrate.
There's still a chance, he told himself. He could come home tonight. Checking his watch, he saw it was almost six o'clock. Dad usually called around this time. Leaping off the swing, he landed on his feet and ran out of the park. The Hotchners lived close enough to the small area that he didn't need to drive.
About two minutes later Jack was stumbling into the spacious foyer. They had moved there when Jack was eight along with Beth, and she had married Dad when Jack was ten.
"Yep, he's right here." Looking around, Jack saw his stepmom coming down the stairs with the phone in her hand. She smiled at her stepson and handed the phone over. "You-Know-Who."
"Hey, Dad," said Jack as he walked into the living room. He began to nervously pace in front of the massive bay window.
"Hey, buddy," his dad said. Jack winced at how tired the older man sounded. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. What about you?" He held his breath.
Hotch exhaled slowly, and when he talked Jack could swear he was crying. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I really am. It turns out the UnSub is a female, and that really changes things. I'm afraid," he took a deep, shuddering breath, "I'm afraid I won't be able to make it to your graduation."
Jack closed his eyes and collapsed on the couch. He should have known. The job won yet again.
"It's okay," he said hoarsely.
"No, it's not," Hotch insisted. "I should be there with you, not here."
"You can't help something like this. You're needed there. People need you."
"I'm so sorry," Hotch whispered.
"I said its okay!" Jack said more harshly then he meant to.
"Agent Hotchner?" he could hear through the phone.
"One second," his dad said in a clipped voice. Jack knew that was his Unit Chief voice.
"Go, Dad. I understand."
Hotch took a deep breath. "I'll make this up to you."
"Yeah, right," Jack muttered, but his father already hung up. He leaned back onto the couch and pressed his hands to his face.
Don't cry. You're a man, you can't cry just because your dad can't come.
"Jack?" he heard Beth ask. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he spat. He suddenly jumped up and pushed past the brunette. "I'm going to bed."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No! I'm fine! So what if Dad can't come, why should that be such a surprise? It wouldn't be the first time!" He stomped up the stairs and slammed the door to his room before flopping onto the bed. He caught sight of an old picture of him and his mom when he was four. They were smiling, and based on the sliver of finger he could see in the corner, Jack knew his dad took the picture.
"I wish you were here, Mom. I wish Dad was here too."
Jack bounced nervously on the balls of his feet while he waited with the rest of the graduating class of 2022. Any minute now they would walk down to the football field, and Jack would walk up to the podium and deliver his speech.
And man, was he nervous.
He never liked talking in front of crowds. They scared him, to be honest. The way they just stared at you… Jack shivered. He just wanted this to be over.
When they began to walk down, Jack sent a silent prayer up to his mom.
Please don't let me embarrass myself. Please don't let me be a failure. I hope I can make you proud.
All too soon, Jack was approaching the podium. He didn't even know how he got there. The walk down had been a blur, and he realized he hadn't found his family. Willing himself not to panic, he faced the crowd.
He found them immediately. There was Uncle Dave, Uncle Derek, Ms. Emily, Uncle Spencer, Ms. JJ, Will, Henry, Ms. Penelope, and Kevin. He saw his stepmom and…
Jack blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Nope, he wasn't. Sitting directly in the middle of the crowd, holding Beth's hand, was his dad.
Hotch was smiling proudly, and Jack could see tears in the man's eyes. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in weeks. Jack realized his must've flown home last night.
I can do this. Clearing his throat, he began.
"Good morning, teachers, parents, family, friends, and fellow graduates. I guess I should start off by saying congratulations to my classmates. Who knew we would actually make it?" The crowd chuckled, and Jack smiled.
"When I was told I was named the valedictorian a few weeks ago, I didn't believe my teacher. Me, valedictorian? It didn't seem possible. I thought someone was pulling a prank on me. It wouldn't be the first time." The crowd laughed again.
"I went home that day and told my dad the news. The first thing he said was, 'Very funny, Jack. You still have to do the dishes.'" His dad's team laughed the hardest at that, and Ms. Emily glared at him from the end of their long row. Hotch just rolled his eyes.
"Once he finally realized I was not lying, he got real quiet before saying some really important things to me. He told me that my mom would be so proud of me if she was here." The crowd sobered slightly, and Beth squeezed Hotch's hand.
"I asked him if he was proud of me, and he said, 'Of course I am. I've always been proud of you.' It was then that a huge burden had been removed from my shoulders. I'm sure every senior agrees with me on this: All they want to do is make their parents proud. They want some assurance that they are gonna be okay when they leave the safety of their homes. I know that's what I want. And now that I know I've gotten that, I know that I can accomplish anything. All of my fellow seniors can do whatever they want as long as they feel they can.
"So I say this to the classmates I've been with since first grade: Go out in the world and do your best. If for some terrible reason you fail, just know you can come back home. You'll never be alone here. Thank you, and congrats class of 2022!" The crowd cheered, and everyone stood up to give Jack a standing ovation.
The first person to stand was Hotch.
And when Jack got his diploma, his dad was the person cheering the loudest.
After the ceremony, Jack weaved his way through the crowd looking for his family. They were somewhere around here…
"JACK!" He was immediately pulled into a million hugs. It took him several minutes to make it through the mass, but he finally found himself in front of his dad.
"Hey, Dad."
Hotch's eyes were shining with pride. "Hey, buddy."
"You always call me that," Jack couldn't help but say.
"I've called you that since you were a little boy."
"I know." Jack stepped forward and allowed himself to be pulled into his father's arms.
"I'm so proud of you," he whispered into Jack's hair.
"I thought you weren't going to make it," Jack said breathlessly.
"By some stroke of luck, we caught the UnSub around ten last night. Garcia got me on a plane at eleven, and here I am." Hotch smiled broadly at his son. "I've missed too much to miss this. You're speech was amazing."
"Thanks, Dad." The large group began to walk to their respectful cars to drive over to the after party. When they were in the parking lot, Jack was struck with an idea.
"Hey, Dad."
"What's up?"
He looked at his father. "You said by some luck you're here, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Hotch asked, looking confused.
"It wasn't luck. It was Mom."
Realization hit Hotch, and he smiled broadly. "I think you're right, Jack."
Jack turned his face up to the sky and smiled the smile that was just like his dad's. "Thanks, Mom."
Please leave a review, and thanks for reading! =)