I wrote this because of a picture I saw on an Anti Hotch/Prentiss community on Facebook and inspiration struck. The picture said ''I'd rater ship Hotch with this SUV than ship him with Prentiss.'' I completely agree.(Sorry Hotch/Prentiss fans). So this story emerged. There is mentions of Hotch/Haley, some slight spoilers for ''Mayhem'' and ''100'' and a slight bit of humour if you find the idea of Hotch and an SUV amusing. Thanks so much to CrystalIceLover for picking this idea, so this one is in honour of you:)
Hotch and The SUV
Aaron Hotchner had always loved to drive. He learned how to drive at a young age, his father was a great teacher and taught him well. He was also an avid car enthusiast and Hotch picked up his love of all things motor related from him. Even when he was a toddler the little play cars and jeeps were his favourite toys, and for his seventh birthday his father bought him a ride-on police car. From then on Hotch was always seen whizzing around the neighbourhood on his police car with his little toy gun and police badge. He even got the hat.
When he grew out of the toy cars, he moved on to bikes. And while it didn't have the same feeling of being behind a wheel, he still loved having complete control over his vehicle. When he moved off of bikes, it was time for quad bikes. He loved racing around the nearby field, racing all his frends and getting so obsessed to the point that his friends grew sick of him.
He got his first car when he was 16. It was a run-down hardly working Ford Escort that literally spluttered along. But it was love at first sight for Aaron Hotchner.
He spent all his time fixing it up, painting the cracked white paint into a dazzling red, repairing the engine and doing up the interior. He spent all his money on upgrades for his precious car, and by the end of it all he was envied by every teenage boy around. He had transformed the old pile of junk into an amazing, shiny car that won him so much adoration from the girls. Every girl wanted to have him, every boy wanted to be him.
But there was only girl he was interested in. Haley Brooks was in the drama club, and probably the only girl who wasn't impressed by his shiny car and leather seats. He accidentally walked in while she and the drama club were rehearsing their play The Pirates Of Penzance and it was love at first sight. Not seeing his car for the first time love, but true love. He had to meet her, he just had to. So he joined the drama club and became the worst fourth pirate in history.
While rehearsing one day he made his move. Happy-go-lucky Hotch was never shy, and flirting was no problem to him. So many girls talked to him nowadays it was second nature to him. He struck up a conversation with her and offered her a drive home. When they reached his car, his pride and joy, she commented on it. It was then he knew he had her. Once they like the car there was no letting go.
Him driving her home became a regular thing. Luckily for Hotch, she lived further away from school than he did so he had plenty of time to talk to her. He fell harder for her as they grew closer, and everyday he wished the car was a convertible so he could put the hood down and watch her long blonde hair being blown in the wind. However he realised he was probably lucky because he'd get so distracted that he'd crash.
One day after rehearsal he made his move. They had gotten to know each other better over the last while, and when they arrived back at Haley's home he inched closer to her on the seat and gently pressed his lips against hers. They started dating ever since then.
Hotch was so thankful for the car. It had gotten him the love of his life, and he believed that if it wasn't for the car he would never have had her. He loved that car, and even throughout college and beyond he kept the car due to its sentimental value. Selling the car would be like selling a piece of himself.
Then one day his life changed. He was driving home from the library one day when a dog ran out in front of him and he swerved to avoid hitting it. Unfortunately, he drove straight into a wall. Hotch was left unhurt, but the car was wrecked beyond repair. Hotch felt like a part of him died that day. He hasn't been the same since.
He grew up, got other cars but none were like his beloved Ford Escort. Haley told him to move on, that it was only a car but he couldn't get over it. It was like he had lost a child. He threw himself into his work to distract himself.
Then he joined the FBI. The first time he drove a bureau issued SUV was life changing. It felt so smooth, so lithe, so graceful, just like his Ford. It handled like a dream, and was so easy and comfortable to drive. It was just like having his Ford back.
Any chance he got he took an SUV. There was one in particular that he loved. Since they were all the same shiny black colour Hotch carved a small 'H' into it, to tell him which one was his favourite.
As he joined the BAU they had to use SUVs more and more. Which was fine with Hotch. He always insisted on driving, just so he could have complete control. He wasn't a control frek(maybe a small one) he just loved to drive.
Then New York happened. Hotch was separated from Haley by now, but even though he wasn't with the woman of his dreams, his love for driving never waned. He was walking over to an SUV with Kate Joyner, who could pass as Haley's body double. Of course Emily and JJ had noticed, but didn't say a word. They were close to the SUV when the bomb underneath it detonated, eventually killing Kate.
Of course he had been a bit reluctant around SUVs immediatly afterwards, everyone had, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't hate them. He told himself ''They killed Kate'' but he knew deep inside that it wasn't the SUVs fault, it was the terrorists.
The explosion had affected his hearing, and he wasn't technically cleared to fly. So after The Angel Maker case Hotch drove back to Quantico and rediscovered his passion for driving. Nothing could match being out on the open road.
So after years of pain and hurt, after Haley dying and Hotch becoming a single parent, the only thing that never changed about Hotch was his love of driving. Everything else had changed around him, but it had stayed the same. Inside he was the same teenager who fixed up his car and became king of the school, only to fall in love with a drama club student. But the drama club student was gone, and the only thing Hotch had left to those days was the shattered wreck that occupied half of his garage. He couldn't bear parting with it, and kept it, hoping one day he would find the time to possibly make it better and bring back the good days again.
I hope you liked it. Please review!
