Promises.
Summary: Hotch needs someone to watch Jack for a week while the team is away on a case out of state but Jessica isn't able to do so. He can only think of one person who he can actually trust to watch his son, especially during this week when the anniversary of his ex-wife's death rolls around; her friend, Lisey. What he didn't anticipate was learning of something that he didn't know before leaving on the case. How could learning that change things now?
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Criminal Minds. I only own this plot and Lisey (OC). So please don't steal.
Aaron Hotchner was rushing through the house making sure he had everything he needed every since he made the phone call. He wasn't sure if it was the best decision he has made but it had to be done. He didn't have any time to pack Jack a bag and get him in the car to go with him.
He couldn't do that. He didn't want to do that. Jack had seen enough that day two years ago. Aaron continued to recheck his thing as he heard the doorbell ring. He ruffled Jack's hair as he passed him on the way to the door.
"Thank you so much for coming on such short notice." Aaron gave a small smile as he led the petite woman towards the kitchen where Jack was sitting drawing and eating his breakfast.
"It's no problem at all, Aaron. It's been awhile since I've spent some time with Jack. Hi, Jack."
Jack got up from his seat and came over to the woman and gave her a quick hug. "Hello." He smiled as he backed away from her. He looked over at his father before going back to his cereal.
"Maybe it's been a little too long." She laughed a little. "But I did promise Hailey that I…"
"You promised her something?" Aaron felt himself jolt at this news. She had never told him anything about Lisey and her having some sort of agreement.
"Um, just to take care of you and Jack. She never stopped loving you, Aaron. She loved Jack with all of her heart and I suppose she just wanted me to step in just in case you ever needed me. Like today. I don't really mind doing this more often. It's nice to still have this connection to her."
Aaron nodded in understanding as he watched the brunette look over at his son and smile. "We're going to have tons of fun so don't you worry about him. He'll be fine, you just worry about catching those bad guys. Okay?" She turned back to Aaron to make sure he was listening. She didn't want to have to worry about him calling a lot while he was on the case. She may not have talked to him a lot but she did care about this family. Hailey was like an extended part of her family and so was Aaron and Jack for that matter.
Aaron nodded before speaking. "Okay, I get it. I'll try not to call too much. But I'll try to keep it to once a day just to see how things are going. I'll see you when I get back."
"Give your daddy a hug, Jack." Lisey muttered as she ruffled his hair. He seemed to brighten up more when he realized that he needed to say goodbye to his father. He knew that Aaron was about to be off to save some more lives, and kick the bad guys.
"I'll miss you, Daddy." He muttered as Aaron gave him a firm squeeze after picking up in his arms.
"Miss you too, buddy. Have fun with Lisey okay?"
"I will." He smiled as he put him down and he scurried out of the room heading to the play room where his toys were.
Lisey laughed. "Go, before you miss your plane." She started to push Aaron out of the door. He just shook his head before grabbing his to go bag quickly and heading out the door.
He only hoped that he didn't make a mistake with this. He trusted Lisey to keep Jack's mind off of what happened. He was just worried he might have pushed her into this. But he couldn't worry about that right now. He needed to worry about this case. More lives needed to be saved.