Written for the CCOAC Vacation Challenge – Hotch and Penelope Garcia. Prompts used: bikini, swimming pool, and sunscreen.
Disclaimer: Not Mine
A/N – When I decided to do a challenge I knew that I wanted Hotch because he's my absolute favorite character ever, but I knew that I'd be 'assigned' my other character so I ran ideas in my head and forged ahead. For some reason I was certain that I would get Rossi or Reid and I had initial stories planned out, then I got the email with Penelope and it threw me for a loop. Here is what I came up with, hope you enjoy...
Penelope sighed and stretched on the lounger as she decided that she could definitely get used to the mild Florida winter. While Quantico was bracing for a wintery mix she was relaxing by the swimming pool wondering if she should apply another dose of sunscreen to her disreputably fair skin.
She decided that she probably needed to get out of the sun altogether when she spotted a man that looked stunningly similar to her boss. Well, he would if she could ever imagine Hotch in a pair of shorts and a Goofy tee shirt. The very idea made her giggle.
No, Aaron Hotchner was probably sitting at home working. While the team was on standby he was probably looking over all their current requests for assistance and deciding where the team would go next. The thought made her more than a little sad. The poor guy didn't understand the meaning of vacation.
Full of remorse and wondering what his favorite cookie was and whether he would appreciate a batch from her when she returned home she almost missed the irrefutable evidence that it was indeed Aaron Hotchner chilling in Florida when his little miniature raced up and launched himself at his dad. Penelope had never seen the man look so absolutely relaxed.
She must have stared too long or Hotch's spidey sense was on full alert, probably a little of both she mused, because in a split second those dark eyes were laser fixed on her.
"Garcia?"
"Sir." Crap. If what she wore to the office offended his sensibilities her bikini was definitely going to throw him, she thought as she quickly covered up.
"Why wasn't I aware that you were planning a vacation to Disney World?" Her supervisor questioned, now looming above her. "You remember Miss Garcia, don't you buddy?"
Garcia nearly melted when the little boy, still overflowing with joy, smiled widely at her. "Hello, Miss Garcia. I had breakfast with Mickey and Minnie this morning."
"I'm sure it was their pleasure." Garcia responded back. She still couldn't get over how relaxed and happy her boss looked. Jeez the man was good looking when he was stern and stoic, he was freaking devastating now. JJ would be a puddle of drool.
"What brings you here, Garcia?" Hotch questioned again breaking into her thoughts.
"A 737, probably the same as you." She joked back. When he failed to laugh she sighed. "Well, it was supposed to be a romantic getaway with Kevin but he's stuck in the room with the flu." She groused before narrowing her eyes at him. "How come I didn't know you were planning a trip to Disney?" Garcia prided herself on the knowledge that she knew everything about her team.
"I owed Jack a special treat considering how much we traveled over the holiday." He ruffled, his son's hair. "When we got the stand down order I thought a getaway would be just the thing."
"We're going to the Animal Kingdom tomorrow." Jack shared with her.
"That's awesome, Jack!" She looked back at Hotch. "So did Beth come with you?"
Before Hotch could say anything Jack responded. "Why would Beth come with us, Dad?"
Garcia hurriedly sent a look of apology Hotch's way. Apparently overnights and vacations weren't something you did when you had an impressionable child. "Oh I was thinking maybe your dad's girlfriend would have joined you on your trip but maybe it's too soon for that." Lord what was she rambling.
"She did." Jack replied at the same time Hotch responded. "We should probably get back to the room, pal."
Garcia didn't miss the flush that Hotch was now sporting. Assuming that he probably didn't want it known that he was on a trip with his girlfriend she didn't pursue the topic. He was just way too cute.
"Hey, maybe we can meet for dinner when Kevin is feeling better?" Garcia suggested. She wondered if Hotch had a Mickey Mouse polo to wear for the occasion. She was puzzled by his startled expression at the suggestion.
"Um, sure. That sounds, well, I'd have to check, I don't know, but I mean, we're here until Friday." He gave a halfhearted wave and was pulling Jack away.
"Huh." Garcia stood there pondering Hotch's confusing behavior. She'd never, ever seen the man flustered and he was definitely flustered. They had only gone a few steps when Jack's voice floated back to her. "Dad, why does Miss Garcia think Beth is your girlfriend?" Garcia watched as Hotch bent, scooped up Jack, and his long strides carried them both away. A small smile appeared on her face. Aaron Hotchner was here with a girlfriend that wasn't Beth. Oh game on.
When Hotch was positive that he was out of Garcia's range he finally deposited Jack back on the ground. "Shit." He ran an agitated hand through his hair. He didn't handle that well. He'd been so surprised by her presence. Fortunately he and Jack were alone just then, he could only imagine how it would have gone otherwise. He bit back a groan.
"Are you okay, Dad?" Jack asked.
That snapped Hotch out of it. "What?" He looked down at the big bright eyes staring up at him and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Running in to Garcia kind of surprised me. I wasn't expecting to see anyone that I know here."
"Why does she think that Beth is your girlfriend?" Jack repeated.
"Oh because." Hotch looked at his son and was at a loss for words momentarily before answering him honestly. "Because it was just easier if everyone on the team thought that I was still dating Beth, it took the pressure off."
"But wouldn't they be happy if they knew…" Jack's voice trailed off as something got his dad's attention. He turned and watched as his dad's girlfriend walked towards them.
"I was starting to think you got lost."
"Waylaid." Hotch responded. "Jack and I ran into Garcia by the pool. Did you know that she was coming here for vacation?" It was obvious that she didn't by the lack of color in her face.
"Does she know?"
"She knows that I'm here with my girlfriend."
"Does she know that I'm here too?"
Hotch smiled down at the little voice beside him that insisted on being part of the conversation. "No, she doesn't buddy, but she wants to meet for dinner." He looked at JJ. "I think we should meet her for dinner."
"But…"
"I think it's time that Garcia found out who my real girlfriend is."
"Miss Garcia thinks daddy is here with Beth." Jack told JJ with a giggle.
Hotch smiled knowing full well that JJ was a little jealous over everyone's speculation that it was Beth that had their boss in a good mood after the weekend or a few days off. His grinned deepened and he went for the kill. "She thinks I went away with Beth for vacation how long do you think it will be before she starts planning the wedding?" He asked seemingly innocently.
She glared up at him.
"Maybe a wedding would be nice." He stepped closer to her. "We could have you veiled really heavily and then have a big reveal at the altar?"
"You aren't funny." JJ told him.
"If we got married to JJ would Henry be my brother?" Jack asked, having closely followed the adult's conversation.
Realizing that he'd already said too much Hotch smiled down at his son. "I'm sorry, Jack, I was just teasing JJ."
"Don't you want to marry us, JJ?" Jack asked, looking from his dad over to JJ. "Then we could always be together."
"I'd like that!" Henry announced, still perched in Hotch's arms.
"Me too." Hotch agreed softly.
"Well, I guess its unanimous then." She barely had the words out when his mouth was on hers.
"You know I'm going to hold you to that."
Pen had barely made it up to her room to start her research when she got a text from Hotch. 'Looking forward to dinner. Let me know when you're available.' She stared at her phone. The man retreated earlier like the hounds of hell where at his feet and now he was looking forward to dinner?
"You better be feeling better." She announced as she entered her room.
"Pen?" The mound of blankets scarcely moved.
"Kevin." She sighed, as he lifted a bleary head from the pillow. "You don't feel any better?"
"I think I'm probably going to live so, yeah, I'm feeling a little better." He told her.
Garcia smiled at his hopefulness. "So, you'll never believe who I ran into today?"
"Winnie the Pooh?"
She grinned he was definitely on the mend. "Well, actually, yes, but no." She shook her head and relayed to him the entire meeting with Hotch and Jack. "And I really thought that he was going to politely blow me off but then before I even got to the room he sent me a text to say he was looking forward to dinner." She took a deep breath. "What do you think that means?"
"Um, that he's looking forward to dinner?" Kevin replied, hesitantly.
"Oooorrr," She stated, "Is this his way of trying to get me off the scent?"
"Okay you lost me."
"He sends me an email telling me that he's looking forward to dinner so I won't pull airline records to find out who traveled down to Florida with him and then he mysteriously backs out of dinner." The scenario seemed completely plausible to her.
"What prevents you from pulling that information if he does back out? Maybe, his reply is genuine and he really does want to have dinner with you but he needed to check with his significant other to see if she was acceptable to the plans." He pursed his lips. "Some couples do that. You know, check with one another before they make plans."
"Really?" The idea seemed foreign to her. "So you think he went back and checked with this person of whom I'm not aware of whether or not she wanted to meet me?"
"You can be pretty daunting."
"Interesting theory." She glanced over at her shiny laptop sitting on the nightstand, almost beckoning to her. "I've never not completed a background on any of the people who come within the sphere of my family."
"Uh huh." Kevin roused himself enough to sit up in the bed.
"She could be a complete psycho." Penelope reasoned as she inched closer to her machine.
Kevin chuckled at her obviousness. "I have a hard time imagining that Agent Hotchner would allow anyone close proximity to Jack that he didn't fully vest."
He made a good point. "He was wearing a Goofy tee shirt." She argued.
"He is in Disney World." He let the blanket slide off of his chest to reveal his very own Mr. Incredible tee shirt.
"I'd feel better if I snooped."
"Let yourself be surprised." Kevin requested. "Try to go into this dinner with an open mind. Just think, Gumdrop, Hotch is sharing something with you before all the rest of the team."
The thought hadn't occurred to her. "Oh, you sir, are good." She spared one longing glance at her beloved pc. "Fine, I won't snoop."
They finally decided to have dinner on Thursday evening. Hotch arrived at the restaurant early and was surprised to find Garcia and Kevin already seated. He should have expected the anticipation was too much for her.
"Hey." Garcia looked at him suspiciously before glaring at Kevin. "Where are Jack and your girlfriend?" She glanced around to see if they were behind him.
"They're coming. I just came early to make sure that the table was ready." He glanced down at the five settings and frowned. "There should have been six places."
"Six?"
"I told you not to have them remove that setting, Pen." Kevin remarked.
"Why six?" Penelope wanted to know.
"Uh, because the woman that I'm seeing also has a child."
"Really?" She glanced at Kevin again as if to let him know that if he let her snoop like she wanted she wouldn't be surprised by this information now. "Exactly how long have you been seeing this other woman and why didn't we know that Beth was no longer in the picture."
"It's been a while." Was all Hotch would say as he was now craning his neck looking for his party.
"Wait a minute," Penelope growled. "Not too long ago I distinctly remember you saying that you were going to try to take the train to go and surprise Beth."
Hotch met her eyes. "I lied."
"You what?" Gracia sputtered. "You, Aaron Hotchner, honest as the day is long, lied?"
He couldn't help the smile that spread at her incredulous expression. "I had something infinitely precious that I wanted to protect, if I told you all that Beth was no longer in the picture you would have started questioning why and then Dave would have gone into full mode trying to find me another woman to date and I already found her."
"And you couldn't have just told us that?" Garcia scoffed.
"You would have wanted to meet her." Hotch shrugged, not the least bit apologetic for his subterfuge. "In fact, you would have most likely gone through my email, voicemail, and texts all in an effort to discover her identity."
"I would have done no such thing."
"Sweetie…"
"Remember where you're sleeping, Kev." Garcia commented when it appeared Kevin was going to attempt to side with Hotch. Then she turned back to Hotch. "You said infinitely precious."
The smile that she'd noticed earlier in the week once again appeared on his face making him appear younger and more handsome. "I did."
"You're in love!" She accused and watched in awe as he nodded. "Oh sir." Her eyes filled, happy that he had obviously found someone that made him happy. "I'm sure if you love her me and the rest of the team will as well."
"You already do."
She barely had time to process his cryptic statement when Jack shot forward. "I want to see her face when she finds out."
"When who finds out what?" Penelope asked, wondering what language the Hotchner men were speaking. Then she watched in shock as Henry LaMontagne shot forward and catapulted himself onto Hotch's lap.
"There's your sixth." Kevin commented, but she was too busy watching as Jennifer Jareau sheepishly made her way to the table.
"You're supposed to be at your mom's in Pennsylvania." Garcia stuttered, a little bit hurt and confused that one of her best friends had been in a romance that she hadn't a clue about.
"I may have lied." JJ said, clearly seeing the hurt in her friend's eyes.
"Obviously." She watched in stunned silence as the blonde sat down in the seat between Hotch and Jack. Both gravitated towards her. "How long..."
"Officially, a couple of months. Unofficially, probably more like years." JJ replied as Hotch intertwined their hands.
"Why didn't I know?" She stared at the couple. "How did I not suspect?" She remembered Hotch's earlier confirmation of love. "He's in love with you."
"I know."
Penelope sat back in her chair and studied the happy little family unit in front of her. It was clear that they spent time together considering how comfortable Henry was with Hotch and Jack with JJ. Their body language made that much clear. "I'm a little surprised." She looked over at her boyfriend. "See, this is why I need to snoop."
"If you would have snooped you would have been at our room two days ago demanding answers and you would have alerted the rest of the team." Hotch told her.
"You're not planning on keeping this a secret are you? This is huge, I'm not sure I can hold this in."
Hotch, JJ, and Kevin laughed at the statement fully knowing the improbability of her keeping a secret this huge to herself.
Hotch winked over at her. "Don't worry, Penelope, they'll figure it out themselves when they get the wedding invitation."
"Is this some kind of joke?" She turned to JJ, who just shook her head. Jack and Henry copied her movements.
"Do you honestly think I would ever joke about something as serious as getting married?" Hotch asked her.
"No, sir, but I never thought you'd lie either." She answered honestly. "This is, just, wow."
Hotch was a little worried by her reaction. "But it's a good wow, right?"
She looked over at both his and JJ's anxious faces and realized that they hadn't lied to hurt anyone's feeling, what was it he said? Infinitely precious. They had found that with one another. "It's the very best wow." She laid her hand on the pair that was intertwined. "This really is the happiest place on earth."
Thanks for reading!