Prompt: Outdoor Christmas Lights

Characters: Jack & Hotch

Words: 500

"Dad? Do you need my help?" Jack asked, shielding his eyes as he looked up to where his dad was. On the roof. "That looks kinda dangerous," he observed.

"It's not, buddy. I mean, it is for you. But I do it every year. I haven't fallen off yet," he said.

Jack gulped. "Well, maybe you need me to hold the ladder so it won't slip…" Jack offered.

"The best thing you can do is stay right where you are, and trust that everything is going to be fine," his dad reassured and then he said a bad word about the tangled lights.

Jack winced. He bet that if Mommy were here, or Beth, or anybody who wasn't Dad, they would tell him to get down and that lights weren't that important. "Dad," he called. "It doesn't matter if they're perfect! It just matters that you tried!"

"Thanks, buddy. I appreciate the encouragement. But Christmas lights are a tradition. We're not going to be the only house on the street without them."

"So? That doesn't matter, Dad…" Jack tried. He just really wanted his dad to come down. "Some houses have lights and some don't. It's not their fault and it's not right to make fun of a house because it can't help how it looks."

"The house can't help how it looks, but I can. And I want our house to look nice. It's called taking pride in where we live."

Jack squinted at his dad so close to the edge of the roof, with no safety harness like when Jack climbed the pretend rock wall at an adventure place. "I'm pretty sure this is called danger…"

"I'm almost done. Then we can go inside, okay?" his dad promised. "Why don't you make a snowman while you're down there?" he asked.

Jack sighed and sat down on the steps, making sure he still had a good view of his dad. He wasn't a baby, and he didn't want to cry about this, but his dad wasn't listening to him at all. Jack didn't even notice when a long time passed and his dad came down off the ladder and sat next to him. His cheeks were red, and he was smiling.

"See?" his dad asked. "Doesn't it look nice?"

Jack glared at the lights. "Christmas lights are stupid."

"Hey. I don't want to hear that kind of talk."

"Oh really? 'Cause this is the only time you really ever listened to me!" Jack exclaimed.

"When did I not listen you?" his dad asked seriously.

"This whole time when you were on the roof," Jack grumbled. "I told you I don't care about the stupid lights. I just wanted you to be okay. That's all."

There was quiet, and then Dad said, "Oh," really soft. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Not when you don't listen to me."

"Well, I do. I love you."

"More than Christmas lights?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Much more," Dad promised, and kissed his head.