A/N - One-shot for JJmyst

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"Jack!" Emily scooped the rest of the mac and cheese she had made for the little boy into his favorite blue bowl, trying to get the rest of the liquid cheese that he loved so much out of the pot. "Jack honey, come downstairs please! Your dinner is ready!"

The five year old boy came sprinting into the dining room and quickly sat down at the seat the he had always sat in, his small hand picking up his favorite Sesame Street fork. "Thank you Emmy."

Emily smiled, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she set his food down in front of them. "Your chicken nuggets will be done in just a little bit, ok? Maybe just when your daddy gets home."

"Ok Emmy," he nodded, his hand covering the spoon as he tried to shove some of the pasta into his mouth.

Sitting down beside the sandy haired boy, Emily set her chin into the palm of her hand. She reached forward and brushed his hair from his eyes, blinking slowly as she marveled at his innocence. "What were you doing for the past hour, baby? It must have been important," she chuckled. "I couldn't even get you to come and help me with the food! I know that's your favorite part of Friday."

Jack kept his eyes down on his food, mindlessly wiping his hand free of cheese on the napkin beside his blue bowl. "I was watching mommy.'"

The brunette woman's eyes immediately softened at the words that came from the young boy's mouth. It had been two months, and he was still watching videos of him and his mother. "Which one were you watching?" she asked quietly.

"Soccer."

Emily tried to smile, playing with the sleeve of Jack's t-shirt. "That was fun, huh? The first time you scored a goal."

Jack's eyes lit up, nodding vigorously to his father's girlfriend. "Yeah!"

The chocolate eyed brunette softly bit into her lip, watching as the five year old began to play with his food. "You really miss mommy, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Emily slowly nodded, standing herself up and pressing a soft kiss to his sandy hair. "I know you do, baby." Running a quick hand through her hair, Emily felt herself smiling down to the little boy. "You know what? I think we should wait to eat dinner."

Jack frowned. "Why Emmy?"

"Because I think it's time we have some real smiles on our faces," she stated tentatively, looking down into those eyes the little boy had gotten from his father. "I have something in mind that's gonna be a lot of fun. Sound good?"

Jack nodded, jumping off of the dining room chair. "Ok!"

Five minutes later, the blond boy's brows were scrunched as he watched the woman that had been in his life for a whole year try her best to tie the end of the balloon in her hand. "Emmy what are you doing?"

Emily grinned, handing the five year old three of the balloons she had filled up. "You trust me, bud?"

"Uh huh," he smiled, watching as his father's girlfriend walked over to the shed in their backyard that they had been getting ready to repaint for a month. "Are we gonna wash it?"

"Not really."

Jack's little jaw dropped as he watched Emily's arm wind back and the balloon fly from her hand, purple paint splattering all over the side of the shed. "Emmy!"

Emily grinned, feeling her heart swell at the little boy almost fall over in hysterics. "You wanna try?"

The brown eyed little boy ran over to stand by the older woman's side and set every balloon down but one, the biggest one that was filled with just enough paint to make it heavy. "I got it," he nodded determinedly, holding the balloon close to his chest as he stepped closer so he didn't have to throw as far as the brunette agent did.

Watching with careful eyes, the raven haired woman saw the five year old do his best to throw the balloon as far as he could, and it hit the wall just above the floor so the green paint that had been poured inside drenched the bottom of the white wall and some of the grass around the shed. "Baby you did great!" A grin settled over her features, taking the little boy into a hug. "You must have really strong arms," she gushed, tickling his little chest. "That went so far!"

Hotch stood from the driver's seat of his SUV and closed the door pulling out his keys to lock the doors when he heard laughter coming from behind the house. Smiling at the sound that he hadn't heard in the longest of times, the father of one made his way into the backyard of the home he and his girlfriend had bought only a few months ago. "Hey," he smiled, watching his son pick up something that looked like a small beach ball. "What are you two up to?"

"Daddy look!"

The Unit Chief's eyes bulged at the sight of the five year old throwing a paint filled balloon at the shed that he had been meaning to paint for the past month. "Are you...having fun?"

Emily grimaced before running over to the older man, setting her hands to his chest as she leaned up to peck his lips. "Hi sweetheart," she smiled steadily. "How was work?"

Hotch shook his head. "What is going on?"

"Ok, here's the thing."

Watching his son pick up another balloon from the ground as his girlfriend did her best to explain herself, a smile began to spread itself across his usually stoic features. Jack was actually laughing, actually bending over because his stomach was aching just enough to make him even happier then he was.

He was joyous for the first time in months.

Emily frowned as she saw the older man begin to smile, and she gently tapped at his chest. "Aaron? Honey, are you listening to me?" Turning to look in the direction that her boyfriend's eyes seemed to be looking in and her eyes brightened, watching Jack almost fall over as he continued to giggle. "It's a beautiful sight, huh?"

All Hotch could do was nod his head, leaning down to share a kiss with the younger woman. "Thank you," he whispered hoarsely.

Jack ran over to the couple with a balloon in his hand, grinning wide up to his father with his brown eyes sparkling. "Daddy! Do you wanna throw one, daddy?" Shoving it in the brunette man's direction, the young boy feverishly nodded his head. "It's real fun, daddy."

"I think I will," he grinned, dropping his briefcase to take the balloon in his hand. "Race ya'?"

Emily and Jack immediately sprinted across the backyard and over to the shed, knowing that a grinning Hotch was just behind them. The brunette woman laughed as her boyfriend came to her side and wound up his arm to get ready to throw the blue balloon. "Don't think you'll get a better shot than I did," she winked.

"I don't need to think."

Emily laughed, slapping at his arm. "Fine. Loser spends the night on the couch."

Hotch quickly shook his head, chucking the balloon across the grass so it slammed right in the center of the shed's side. "Loser bakes Jack's birthday cake."

Snarky little bastard, Emily chuckled to herself. He knew she couldn't bake, but she knew her aim was on point. "You're on."