Author's Note:
Hi! This is the continuation to Emily and Jack: Tales of Pizza, Hamsters, and Love. This fic will be more Hotch/Emily, but I promise there will be some really cute Emily/Jack moments. R&R, but no haters please! If you have a mean comment, keep it to yourself. Thanks!
***Disclaimer*** I DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT MY STORY
"Good morning, sweetheart", Emily said, pressing her lips to Jack's cheek.
"Good morning, Em'ly", Jack said. He wrapped his arms around Emily's neck and she lifted him off the bed for a hug. It had been three days since he had gotten out of the hospital. His room at home was filled with the half-deflated balloons and gigantic stuffed animals that the team had dropped off for Jack when he was in the hospital.
The doctor said Jack was going to have periodic headaches and sudden ear pain due to the pressure inflicted on his ears after he nearly drowned, so Emily insisted on staying at Hotch's house for a while. Jess had returned to looking after Jack due to Hotch and Emily's long work hours. Things had been working out well for them.
Unfortunately, there was still some tension floating around the house between Emily and Hotch after what Jack told Emily. Emily was paranoid about Hotch's behavior.
Although it wasn't odd, given the fact she was a profiler, she kept paying attention to his behavior around her. It had occurred to her that Hotch was gentler and happier after Jack got out of the hospital.
"Em'ly, what's for breakfast?" Jack asked sleepily.
"Um, I don't know baby. Do you wanna go wake up your daddy?" she asked. Jack nodded.
Emily gathered Jack up in her arms and gently rapped on Hotch's bedroom door. She heard a muffled groan inside and grinned. "I think he's still a little too sleepy", she said.
"Em'ly, I need to brush my teeth. Let's brush our teeth together!" he said, clapping his hands.
"Sure baby. Let me just get my toothbrush, okay?" she said. She hunched over her duffel bag in the living room and dug for her toothbrush she had thrown in there the night before. Her hand found the hard handle of it and she pulled it out.
"Let's go Em'ly!" Jack called from the bathroom. She smiled and opened the bathroom door.
"I'm here, I'm here", she chuckled. She opened the mirrored cabinet opposite the sink and pulled out a fat, new tube of Crest toothpaste. She gently gave it a squeeze onto the green bristles of her toothbrush and handed it to Jack who did the same. They both ran their toothbrushes under the cold, running water of the sink's faucet.
Emily scrubbed her teeth fiercely with her toothbrush. Jack slowly dragged his against his teeth. Foam from the toothpaste began to spill out of their mouths and Jack giggled, getting toothpaste everywhere. Emily spit it out, trying not to laugh as she didn't want her toothpaste splattering all over the mirror.
When they finished, Emily twisted her hair into a ponytail and reached into the refrigerator for milk. She pulled it out and watched it flow into the FrootLoops cereal. It parted the cereal bits and made them float to the top of the bowl. She plopped a spoon in the bowl and handed it to Jack, who carefully carried it to the couch. He set it down on the coffee table and attempted to turn on the TV.
When Emily was done making her cereal, she took the remote from Jack and turned the TV on for him. As they were watching a purple dog run from a skinny old man on TV, Hotch entered the room.
"Good morning, Daddy", Jack said, still focusing on the TV. Hotch ruffled his hair and went to make his daily cup of coffee.
"Good morning, guys", Hotch said with a smile. Emily gave him a little wave.
"Emily, you can go get ready. I'll watch Jack until you're done", he persuaded the brunette to take a shower. She nodded and left the room. The minute she left, Hotch sat down next to his son and turned the TV off.
"What you do that for, Daddy?" Jack asked, disappointed.
"I have to ask you something, buddy. What would you think about Emily being your mommy?" Hotch asked, taking a deep breath.
Jack's head immediately snapped up from his cereal.
"Yeah! Daddy, are you sewious?" Jack asked. He was bouncing up and down where he was sitting.
"Well, yeah, Jack. I, I really love Emily. And she knows now, but I'm not sure if she really wants to commit to me. I mean, she seemed like she was relieved when I confessed to her but…" Hotch realized he had lost Jack's attention.
He clapped his son on the back and stood up. As Hotch walked past the bathroom, he heard the faucet creak and the flowing water came to a stop. He continued into his own room and sat on the bed with his head in his hands. Finally coming upon a decision, he shot up from his seat leaving a crumpled area on the sheets. He messily scrawled a note to Emily telling her that he would be back soon.
Flying into the living room, Hotch turned his arms to adjust his jacket.
"Where you going Daddy?" Jack questioned. Hotch planted a brisk kiss on Jack's forehead.
"I'm going to the mall son. I'll be back soon. Be good for Emily, okay?" he said, placing the note on top of Emily's bag and hurriedly shutting the door. Jack shook his head and began to pick the pieces of cereal out of the bowl with his fingers. Emily came back into the living room.
"Where's your dad?" Emily asked, bending over and rubbing her hair with a towel.
"He's at the mall", Jack said simply. He reached for the remote and resumed staring at the television. Emily raised her eyebrows and head in unison.
"Oh, okay then", she said. She dug through her duffel to find her clothes when she saw the messy note from Hotch.
Had to pick something important up from the mall, be back soon – said the note. She shrugged and picked out a shirt and a pair of sweat shorts. After changing and pulling her hair into a ponytail, she walked into the kitchen to see Jack on his tiptoes, placing his bowl in the sink.
He looked up at her.
"Emmy, my ears hurt again", he pouted.
Emily couldn't help but smile a bit at her newfound nickname.
"Okay buddy. Let's go get your medicine out of the cabinet, okay?" she said. He nodded, his eyes beginning to water.
"Oh, no, don't cry, Jack. Your ears will be fine after you take your medicine", she said, wiping away a tear with her thumb. She led him to the bathroom and pulled out the prescribed pills from the cabinet. She popped one out of the silver foil container and poured him a glass of water to take with the medicine. It went down his throat easily and he moped on the couch after taking it.
"It's okay. I know they hurt but they'll feel better. I promise", she said, placing a kiss on his forehead. He nodded and rested his head on his hand.