Disclaimer: Criminal Minds and its characters belong to CBS, even though the network can't seem to figure out how to use them without making a mess of things. Handy Manny and related characters belong to Disney.
Derek Morgan was used to being asked for advice or his opinion; Reid would ask about girls, his sisters would ask about boyfriends, he often got asked for workout tips and his input on cases. Heck, JJ had recently come to him for lessons in hand to hand combat! But of all the things he expected to give advice about, Hotch seeking his opinion on a project he was doing with his kid wasn't one of them!
Of course, Hotch hadn't exactly asked; Derek had walked into his office on a rare slow Friday afternoon for a signature and found his boss flipping through a book on, from what he could see, model cars, which of course piqued Morgan's curiosity.
"Hey Hotch, can I get your signature on this….sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
Hotch of course, had set the book aside and reached for the file, "It's alright Morgan. Is that the Chicago file?"
"Yeah, it's all set. What's this, working on something with Jack?" While Hotch signed the file, Morgan picked up the book and studied the page, "Pinewood Derby?"
"Yes, Jack joined the Cub Scouts this year and the annual Derby is in a couple of weeks, so we have to carve his car. I'm trying to decide which one will be easiest for him to make; the kids are supposed to do most of the work." He gave a short laugh, "Heavy emphasis on 'most of.' Apparently some of the fathers can get rather competitive and try to take over the job."
That got a laugh from the younger man, "Why doesn't that surprise me? How are you with a saw?"
"I'm no Bob Villa but I'm not Tim Taylor either. I just want Jack to have fun."
"Hey, as long as you don't take off a finger, it's cool. I don't want to inherit any more of your paperwork." He flipped through a few pages before passing the book back to his boss in exchange for the file, "That one ought to be easy enough for the little guy."
"Thanks Morgan."
Just before he left the room, Morgan turned back to ask one more question, "Hey Hotch, when's the Derby?"
"Two weeks from tomorrow. Why?"
"Figured I'd come cheer the little G-man on."
That earned him a rare grin, "Jack would like that. It's at the Legion hall near our house."
"Looking forward to it. See you later." With a half-wave, Morgan left the office to return to his slowly dwindling stack of paperwork.
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Later that night, after dinner and a trip to the local hardware store, Hotch and Jack stood over a makeshift workbench in the garage. Hotch had cut the small block of wood into the appropriate shape and was showing Jack how to sand it smooth when his girlfriend wandered out to on check them. Grinning at the sight of father and son leaning over their project (in matching tool belts and safety glasses) she took a picture with her cell phone before drawing their attention and asking, "How's the car coming along?"
Jack looked up at the blonde with a grin, "Look JJ! Daddy's letting me sand it all by myself!"
She reached over and ruffled his hair, letting loose a cloud of sawdust, "It looks wonderful buddy. You're doing a great job."
Jack beamed and turned back to his sanding as JJ turned to Hotch, "I just wanted to let you know that it's almost 7:30."
He nodded in thanks for the reminder and glanced at his dusty son, "We'll be in soon. I know someone's definitely going to need a bath tonight."
JJ laughed and reached over to flick some sawdust off the shoulder of his t-shirt, "More like two someone's Aaron." Her slightly scolding tone warred with the look of amusement on her face. She'd never thought that she'd be treated to the sight of Aaron Hotchner in jeans and a t-shirt, covered in sawdust, but counted it as one of the many perks of their changed relationship. She giggled and squirmed away when he reached out and tried to pull her into a dusty hug, "Hey, I don't need dust all over me! Aaron!"
Hotch just grinned but desisted as Henry wandered out to join them wearing a plastic Handy Manny hard hat, "Hey buddy, what have you got there?"
The two-and-a-half year old held up his little plush tool box, "Dusty an' Pat an' I wanna help!"
Before either adult could respond, Jack piped up in reply, "How about you help me put the stickers on it when it's painted Henry? Can we do that tomorrow Dad?"
Hotch picked up the younger boy so that he could see the car, "We can paint it tomorrow buddy and then you two can add the stickers. But right now it's time to clean up and get ready for bed." The three stood over the car for another moment or two as Jack gave it a few more swipes with the sanding block before setting it down.
"Ok Dad. Can we work on it right after breakfast?"
"Sure, but only if you two take your baths and get right into bed. It'll be a busy day tomorrow." Once the boys nodded in agreement he set Henry down so she could help him remove his 'hard hat' while he and Jack put away the tools for the next morning.
Once Hotch and the boys were bathed and the boys tucked into bed, the two adults curled up on the couch to enjoy the peace and quiet. After a few minutes, JJ was the first to break the silence, "You and Jack looked like you were having a lot of fun out there. It's good to see you relax for a change."
Hotch kissed the top of her head and pulled her more snugly into his side, "It's good to do a project like that with him. He's certainly enjoying it." He turned thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "Morgan mentioned today that he'd like to come to the Derby and cheer Jack on. Should I tell him not to?" While they weren't actively hiding their changed relationship from the rest of the team, they hadn't outright told them yet either and he wasn't sure that the Derby would be JJ's first choice of location for telling them. To his surprise, she shook her head.
"It's ok. Honestly, I was thinking of taking Henry out to breakfast that day, maybe invite Spence along. I don't think Henry would do well in the chaos and I certainly won't miss the fathers and their testosterone fest."
"C'mon Jayje, they're not that bad."
"Hah! Maybe they're not bad most of the time but trust me, I've already been warned about how some of them get during the Derby. One of the moms was kind enough to warn me when I took Jack to the last Pack meeting. You go, maybe invite Dave along too. Henry hasn't seen Spence in a while, so it will be good for them too."
He couldn't argue with that logic, "Alright, I'll ask Dave on Monday. You know, I'm really starting to think that the team's profiling skills are slipping. They still haven't figured out that we're together."
JJ just laughed, "Or maybe we're too good at keeping secrets. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they find out."
Hotch just grinned and tucked her against his side again, turning the TV on with his free hand. While he'd definitely been enjoying their 'secret' relationship, maybe it was time to start dropping some more blatant hints. He couldn't wait to see the look on Dave's face.
A/N: I blame WhimsicalOne for this fic; it sprouted from what was supposed to be a one-shot into a four chapter story. The remaining chapters will be posted over the next week or so.