"Come out with me tonight, Aaron."

The Unit Chief of the BAU gave a long-suffering sigh. He knew this bird-dance well. "No, thanks, Dave. I've got other stuff I need to take care of."

"Like what?"

"Just stuff."

David Rossi braced himself, taking up a stance blocking the doorway of Aaron Hotchner's office, arms crossed, chin up. "Convince me."

Like a marionette whose strings had loosened, Hotch's head dropped, his shoulders slumping in aggravated concession. He paused just long enough to be sure his best friend got the point: I hate this game. This is the last time…again… "Okay. Fine. I have to do the laundry and I promised Jack I'd help him with his homework…"

"It's Friday night." Rossi interrupted. "Your kid doesn't have school for two days. Homework can wait. So can laundry."

"I have to make dinner and the apartment could use a cleaning…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like Jack won't be happy raiding the fridge, or ordering a pizza on his own, or hanging out with his aunt. And since when did it become de rigueur for two bachelors to care about dusting and vacuuming?"

Hotch continued packing his briefcase. "We are not two bachelors. We are a father and son. And that involves responsibility." He gave Rossi a mournful glance. "I have to set an example, Dave. I have to keep things organized and, well…home-like…as best I can." His voice softened. "Please don't make it any harder than it is."

"But that's my whole point!" The older man moved closer, voice descending with an urgent desire to be understood. "Jack needs to know that life isn't all duty and drudgery. He needs to see you enjoying yourself, Aaron. It's far more important than a clean apartment and folded laundry."

Hotch continued fussing with files until Rossi grabbed his wrist, putting a stop to the briefcase being the focal point of his attention. "Listen to me, Aaron. I'm serious." Dave was encouraged when the younger man didn't try to extract himself from his friend's grip. "Aaron…"

The Unit Chief looked up, meeting the earnest expression in his best friend's eyes. For his part, Rossi wasn't looking forward to this discussion he felt was necessary. But the words had to be said; had to be voiced so they could linger in the mind of this man who was so damnably good at avoidance of personal issues.

"Aaron…," he began again, "…you made a promise. A promise, Aaron…"

Hotch's lids drifted down, trying to shut out the memory…the awful recall scorched so deeply into him that it still glowed like an infernal brand. Promise me, Aaron…promise… And then, the gunshots that tore through her, and the lives of her son and ex-husband, and changed the world forever.

His voice was thick with pain. "I tried, Dave. I did. You know I did."

"You promised you'd show Jack what love was. He watches you, Aaron. Haley was right: you need to set an example for him of how to find love…not how to clean an apartment or broil a chicken breast. You promised."

Eyes downcast, Hotch tried to defend himself. "I tried! Beth and I were together just long enough for Jack to begin to feel ties to her. You know what it did to him when I told him she was gone? That she didn't want to be part of us anymore?" His voice cracked. "I can't put him through that again, Dave. I didn't show him about love. I tried, but all I taught him was that people keep leaving. All I did was demonstrate how his Dad can't make things work."

"What?!" Rossi was genuinely shocked. "Is that what's been going on in there?" He tapped two fingers against the younger man's forehead…and none too gently. When no answer was forthcoming, his Italian temper began to fray. "Alright. That's it. You're coming with me. Not to meet women. Not to enjoy yourself. You're going to sit down, and sit still, and shut up, and listen. Get moving."

Dave gripped Hotch's upper arm, propelling him through the door, along the catwalk, and into the elevators. In fact, he didn't let go until he'd shoved the Unit Chief into the passenger seat of his BMW.

But by then, Aaron was beginning to recover from his surprise at the rough treatment. "I need to get home so Jack…"

"You need to take a step back and remember your priorities. Don't make me angry, Aaron. You won't like me angry."

"Dave! You have no right to…"

"I have every right! You made a promise. Yes, you tried to honor it, and it didn't work out. But I'm not going to let you give up. Aaron…" Rossi's voice softened as he glanced at the man beside him. "…if you stop trying, you'll regret it in a few years, and it'll be too late to pick up the pieces. Jack will have moved past the point where the example you set form the building blocks of his life. What you do now will have a large part in determining you son's attitudes and expectations when it comes to courtship and romantic love. Please, Aaron…don't let him end up a lonely guy like me. And don't you become one either."

Hotch felt as though a hand were squeezing his heart.

A hand just about the size of his son's.