Every Little Thing

by dustytiger

Jack asks a favour of Garcia. Sometimes the littlest moment can become something happily unexpected. Challenge response on chit chat. Garcia/Hotch pairing with the candy "Big Hunk."

Title: Every Little Thing
Author: Trista Groulx aka dustytiger
Rating: T (like the show to be safe)
Disclaimer: I don't own CM, which saddens me. I am still just a lowly barista trying to sell skin care don't sue.
Summary: Jack asks a favour of Garcia. Sometimes the littlest moment can become something happily unexpected.
Notes: This one is another challenge on Chit Chat on Author's Corner. If you haven't hopped over there yet you should. I got the pairing Garcia/Hotch and the candy prompt of "Big Hunk." I was in the middle of moving and this is where my brain went. Sorry for the delay my ISP took two weeks to figure out how to transfer my interweb over to the new digs! I hope you enjoy. There's a point where Garcia calls Hotch "mon patron" I speak French and so does she it just means my boss, or my chief I hope I don't confuse anyone.

PS the format on this is a little different. I have a prologue and an epilogue but they are short so it's all one fic.

---

~ Prologue ~

Penelope Garcia was at the mall, shopping for toys for her godson. His birthday was coming up and despite his parents' begging her to go easy, she couldn't do it. After all her godson had kid clueless Doctor Spencer Reid for a godfather and he always bought books and educational toys for the little boy. She was looking at the various toy car sets when she heard a little voice behind her.

"Miss Garcia?" Jack Hotchner asked.

"Hey Jackers!" Garcia replied grinning.

Jessica came over to them. "I'm so sorry he saw you and I tried to stop him," she told him.

"It's totally okay super auntie, I missed my mini-Hotch. What's up Big Guy?"

Jack smiled. "Daddy's birthday is soon," he explained.

"I know, your Aunt Jessica invited us all to a surprise party for him."

"Yup, and she did lots of work so he could have a birthday party. But I wanna do something," he explained.

"It was your idea," Jessica reminded the little boy.

"I know, but I wanna do something else, but I need Miss Garcia's help."

"Okay I'll help you little man, but you gotta promise me to quit calling me Miss Garcia."

"Daddy says it's rude to call a grown up anything else unless they are your family."

"Okay, then how about you call me Miss P from now on?"

Jack grinned. "Okay! I wanna get Daddy his favourite kind of candy from when he was my age."

"How do you know what that is?" Jessica asked.

"I asked my uncle Sean, and he told me that it was a candy called Big Hunk."

"I've never even heard of that."

"If anyone can find some it's Miss P. Daddy says she can find almost anything you need!"

"I can do that big guy, but if they don't make them anymore even I can't get them," she explained. "I can do a lot of amazing things but I have yet to build a time machine, I figure Reid will in his spare time one day."

Jack laughed. "But you'll try to find some?"

"Of course I will my mini Hotch. If there's any kickin' about to order in cyber space I'll get them for your Dad."

"Promise?" he asked holding out his pinkie.

She took his finger, wrapping it around his then they shook pinkies. "Now there's something you could help me with too."

"Really?"

"Which of these two tracks are more fun to play with?" she asked him.

"I like this one best, you can use it with way more cars, this one you gotta get a special kind."

"All right I'll go with this one then. Thank you for your help."

Jack smiled. "Cool, do you wanna have lunch with us?"

"I'm sorry, buddy, I need to get back to work. But we'll do something another time if that's okay with your Aunt Jessica."

"That sounds great, and thank you," Jessica said.

"No prob, I'll keep in touch see you soon."

Garcia went to pay for the toy then she returned to work. She hunkered down in front of her computer, surprised she hadn't heard from the team while she was on what was supposed to be her lunch break. She decided that it was as good a time as any to look for the candy Jack had asked her to find for Hotch. She cringed thinking of what might come up when she searched the term Big Hunk chocolate. She giggled softly wondering if she could somehow make a picture of Morgan appear for the next person who Googled it.

She was surprised how easy it was for her to find what she was looking for she decided to order a box and have it shipped to her place so that Hotch wouldn't find them at his own home before his birthday. She finished placing the order and her phone began to ring. She knew that it was time to get back to work.

~ Chapter ~

Garcia knocked on the door to her boss' office. She was surprised that he was still there, but she was the person who was supposed to get him to home at a reasonable hour. Garcia knew that Jessica and Jack had put a lot of work into his party, and she didn't want him to miss it. She also didn't want to give away their surprise. She opened the door and saw Hotch working away on paper work, looking serious as ever. It took him a moment to realise she had let herself in. He finally looked up at her, waiting for her to say something about why she was there.

"Hey, bossman, why are you still here?" she asked him.

"Paperwork," he replied.

"Can't that wait till it's not your birthday?"

"It's not a good enough excuse for my bosses, Garcia."

"You've put in, what like ten plus hours today? I think they can suck it up and deal with the fact you should be with your son on your birthday."

"I don't think he even knows it's my birthday."

"He's six not stupid. You should be home with him on your birthday."

"I guess this can wait, and Jessica might have gotten cake or something."

"I'm gonna stand here till you scoot your caboose mister."

He nodded and shut down his computer and closed the files he had open on his desk. He left the office, and was not surprised to see her watch him get into his car. He went to start it but was surprised that it wouldn't go. He cursed softly, not wanting to have to deal with going to the mechanic's that night. He then heard a knock on the window and smiled when he saw Garcia hadn't left.

"Do you need Esther and me to take you home?" she asked.

"I'm glad you didn't leave," he told her.

"I love you bossman, but I do not trust you one little bit. Esther will be glad to get you home to your little guy."

"Thank you, I really appreciate this."

"No problem," she assured him. "Why did you just want to work today? You didn't tell any of us that today was your birthday either."

He shrugged. "I don't really like to celebrate my birthday I guess."

"You're way too young to dread birthday, mon patron. You know you can trust me."

He nodded. "I know I can, I suppose I should tell someone about it."

"I'm a good listener."

"I know you are. It was hard for me to celebrate my birthday in the past few years because I proposed to Haley on my birthday."

"Aw, really? That's so romantic."

"She used to say the same thing," he told her, fighting tears. "When she was, alive, I used to get her something every year. I would put it on her nightstand so she would find it when she woke up. She would get mad at me and tell me it was my birthday and I should get the presents." Tears began to fall down his cheeks. "I'd tell her I already got the best gift in the world when she agreed to marry me on my twenty first birthday."

"I knew there was a reason that fantastic lady married you even though you can be pretty uptight." She laughed. "That is too sweet for words. I guess it's kind of like a double edged sword to have your birthday?"

He nodded. "I want to celebrate with Jack, but there's another part of me that misses her. I think I got most of it out this morning. Jessica mentioned she might make something I like tonight."

"I hope she does, you deserve a happy birthday, Hotch. Besides maybe you can think that you got another gift from that super special birthday."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sweet little boy."

"I never thought about it that way before." The hint of a smile teased the sides of his mouth.

They pulled up to his house. She parked in his driveway, surprised that she didn't see the team's cars on the street. She was glad that they had been able to find places to park where their boss wouldn't see their vehicles. She turned off the car, and Hotch unbuckled his seatbelt. Garcia sat there, waiting. She didn't want to give away his surprise but she didn't want to miss the party either.

"Thank you," he told her. "Do you want to come in?"

"Sure I'd love to give Jackers a huge hug!" Garcia replied.

Hotch shook his head at Garcia's enthusiasm. It still amazed him how she could be so positive despite all that she had lived through and had to see at work. The two of them went inside. He was surprised that his house was so quiet, and dark. He was expecting Jessica and Jack to have done something for his birthday. Garcia reached out to turn on the light. When she did everyone jumped out from where they were hiding and yelled surprise. Jack came running and hugged his dad.

"Happy birthday Daddy!" he exclaimed.

Hotch picked up his son. "Thank you. Did you do this all by yourself?"

"No!" he laughed. "Aunt Jess and Miss P helped me."

"Thank you Jack, this is the best birthday I've had in a long time."

Hotch looked at the smiling faces of his colleagues and surrogate family. He had his son in his arms. It was hard for him not to enjoy the surprise. He hadn't suspected anything, other than maybe a quiet meal. Now he was surrounded by people who cared about him, and wondered if someone had purposely tampered with his car so he would get there. Not even an hour ago he was happy to be buried in paper work forgetting about his birthday, and now there was no place he would rather be than home at this small get together.

"But Daddy it just started," Jack reasoned.

"It's still a great birthday, and it's thanks to you."

"Not just me! Aunt Jess got all the stuff we needed, and Miss P made sure you came home before bedtime."

"I'm glad that you got them to help. Thank you for doing this for me," he was looking at Garcia and Jessica.

"Just wait till you open your presents!" Jack told him.

"I'm going to talk with my friends before we do that, okay?"

"Okay," he then went over to his aunt.

"Aunt Jess I thought you said Miss Jereau was coming," Jack whispered, not wanting his father to hear.

"She was supposed to," Jessica told him.

The doorbell rang then, Jack's face lit up. "Can I answer it?" he asked.

"Sure."

Jack ran to the door and opened it. He smiled when he saw JJ at the door with her husband and son. Henry was two now and was holding JJ's hand while his other was in his mouth. Jack was glad to have another person to play with. It wasn't often that he got to play with another child outside of school.

"How about you go see what toys Jack has, big guy?" JJ suggested to her son. "Would you mind sharing?"

"That's cool. I got these really cool new cars. Wanna see 'em?"

"Kay," Henry whispered, then let go of his mother's hand.

The two little boys were playing in the corner of the room. Everyone went over and hugged JJ glad to see that she had been able to come to the event. Garcia had gone over to play with the kids, excitedly showing Henry the different toy cars. She was even making "vroom" "vroom" noises as she pushed the cars along the floor.

"Miss P, you're lots of fun," Jack commented.

"Auntie P!" Henry told his friend.

"It's okay little man," Garcia assured her godson. "I'm not Jack's fairy godmother."

"Fairy godmother?" asked Jack.

"Why not?" asked Garcia. "It's fun to be a little different Jackers. You have to find gumdrops everywhere or you'll be sad all the time and you don't want to turn sour do you?"

"No, I guess not. Do you think Daddy is sour Miss P?"

"Nope, I think that he's almost a rainbow but might never be the sun."

Jack laughed. "You're funny."

The three of them continued to play in Jack's toy area, none of them bothering with the food that was there. Occasionally someone would come over to talk with Garcia but she always went back to playing with the kids. Garcia didn't get enough time to play with the two little boys and was going to enjoy it even if she was supposed to be enjoying a birthday party.

"Looks like your dad is just about to open presents," Garcia told Jack. "Go over and sit with him."

Garcia picked up Henry who began to fuss until JJ took him. Jack went over and sat with his father at the head of the kitchen table where the presents were piled. Everyone seemed to have brought something small for their boss.

"Open mine last okay Daddy?" Jack asked his father.

"All right," Hotch agreed.

Hotch began to open the presents. Garcia watched not surprised that he was the kind of person who carefully opened each side rather than ripping at the colourful wrapping. He got to the last box, from Jack and was shocked to see what was inside. He started to laugh as he pulled out a box of chocolate bars. Then he opened the box and realised that it really was his favourite candy from when he was a kid. Hotch couldn't believe that they were still made and his son had just given him a box.

"Jack where did you find these?" Hotch asked, still smiling.

"Miss P found them on the internet," Jack explained.

"How did you know I liked these?"

"Uncle Sean told me."

"Thank you," he told his son, giving him a hug.

He moved his gifts off of the table, knowing that they would need the space for the cake. Everyone still seemed to be enjoying the sandwiches and other food which Jessica had made. Hotch went over to Garcia who was talking with JJ. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Thank you," he told her.

"Aw, no biggie, really, they're not popular but they were pretty easy to find," she assured him.

"For everything."

"Any time, Hotch."

Everyone went back to chatting while they snacked on the food that was around. Will had even gotten Henry to eat a few vegetables, while Jack had a few pieces of the sandwiches instead of going back to playing. He then went over to his father who was talking to David Rossi.

"Can we have cake now?" Jack asked hopefully.

"That's a good idea," Hotch agreed. "I think it's time for you to go to bed after that."

Most of the team already had coffee in their hands when they gathered around the kitchen table. They all began to sing, Garcia and Jack the loudest of the group. After the cake was finished Jack gave his aunt a hug then went over to his father. Hotch hugged him tightly. The two of them went upstairs to Jack's room.

"Did you really like those chocolate bars?" Jack asked his father.

"I did it was very nice that you found out what my favourite candy bar was when I was your age, and found me some. Tomorrow you'll have to try one with me."

"Cool, they look yummy. Daddy, is Miss P always like that?"

"Yes, she is," he laughed.

"I like her she's really funny."

"You're right, she is. Do you want me to read you a book tonight?"

"No, I'm tired Dad."

"Okay," Hotch hugged his son, and then kissed his forehead.

"I love you Dad."

"I love you too."

They hugged on more time before Jack laid down. Hotch pulled the covers tighter around his son then left the room. He smiled when he saw JJ putting her son down in his sister in law's bed. He went down the stairs where Garcia was waiting for him.

"Mind if I go say goodnight to my partner in crime?" she asked him.

"Go ahead," Hotch assured her. "Thank you for finding the chocolate bars, Jack is thrilled that he could give them to me."

"I'd do anything to make your little man smile like that."

She went upstairs, into Jack's room. She smiled when she saw him. He was in his bed looking at a book quietly. She looked around the little boy's room. It was painted blue, with yellow accents. His sheets had super heroes all over them, and there were super hero toys all over the room. Garcia wasn't surprised by the décor it seemed to suit the little boy perfectly.

"I hear your birthday is coming up, I wanted to see your room so I knew what to get you," Garcia told him when she realised she had been staring at his room without saying a word.

"You already got me what I really wanted," Jack whispered.

"I didn't get you anything, how could I do that?" she asked him.

"You helped me make Daddy laugh. I didn't get to hear him laugh since Mommy went to heaven."

Garcia looked at the little boy, and her heart broke. There was a distinct sadness in his eyes when he mentioned his mother, even in that context. She wondered if she looked like that when she spoke of her own parents. It had been hard enough for her to deal with the death as an adult she couldn't imagine what the little boy was going through. She sat down at the edge of his bed, and smoothed his hair.

"I'm glad we learned how to make him laugh together," she told him.

"I know it's super sad that Mommy went to heaven but…" the little boy trailed off.

"Your mommy would want him to smile and laugh like before?" Jack nodded at her. "Sometimes it's harder for grownups to imagine just how heaven work and what our guardian angels can do for us even when we miss them."

"How do you know?"

"I used to be one of those grownups."

"You?" Jack asked, in disbelief. "But you're the happiest, funniest, coolest grownup I know! You couldn't be all sad like Daddy ever!"

"Thank you for saying all that stuff, but when my mommy and daddy went to heaven I was even sadder than your daddy is now. But then after a long time of being mad I started to work with your daddy and I saw just how bad the world could be and thought I should make it happier. I realised that my mom and dad must have helped me find your daddy and the rest of the people in the BAU so that I would smile and find myself again."

"Do you think Mommy will help us make Daddy smile more?"

"I think she will, sweetheart."

She hugged the little boy softly and Jack clutched onto her like a vice. She could feel him nuzzle into her shoulder, and the fabric of her shirt begin to get wet. She just soothed him by rubbing his back, and let him cry. Neither of them noticed that Hotch had come up to check on them.

"It's okay," Garcia assured the boy as his grip on her loosened.

He looked at her tears still in his eyes. "Are you sure you wanna help me?"

She kissed his forehead. "We'll have to figure out other ways to get him to laugh more often."

"I'd like that a lot Miss P."

She gave him some Kleenex and Jack quickly wiped his tears. Garcia noticed that he was a lot like his father already and was trying to mask his feelings. She was determined to do whatever it took to make sure that Jack as strong as his father but with a softer spot

"The only time I've ever seen your dad smile was when he talks about you," she explained to him.

"Really?" the little boy whispered.

"Yeah, and I didn't know he could laugh. I thought he was some kind of robot!"

"Thank you for helping me."

"I'll help you any time."

There was a bit of redness in his cheeks. "Maybe you could tuck me in a little tighter. Daddy never does it tight enough, but I don't want hurt his feelings."

"Sure think Mini Hotch, that'll be our little secret."

Jack giggled. "I like that name."

"I'm glad." She tucked him in tighter. "That better?"

"Yep, that's good. Thank you."

She smiled and left the room, she then went into the kitchen to help Jessica clean up. She was surprised when she saw Hotch go help them instead of mingling with everyone who was still left at his party.

"Penelope?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir?" she replied.

"No, Sirs, tonight. I don't think you fully realise what you did by finding those chocolate bars. I haven't seen Jack's eyes light up like that in a long time."

"No biggie, Bossman. Your little man asked me to do him a favour and how can I say no to such a little sweetheart. It wasn't hard to find, and I got to work a little magic."

"I still appreciate it. You bring out qualities in Jack I haven't gotten to see in him in a long time."

"Aww, thank you Hotch, he's a great little guy. I wish I got to see him more often."

"Maybe we could set something up he seems so fond of you."

"I'd love that!"

"All right, good, he needs more positive influences in his life."

"You might want to ask JJ about how much I spoil kids before you fully agree to this."

Hotch nodded. "I think Jack needs some of that. What did you two talk about?"

"We're just plotting your next laugh. I always thought you saved your smiles and stuff for your little guy, but he says he misses that."

"I should work on that."

She kissed his cheek. "Just think about that when you something to smile about."

Hotch laughed. "Thank you."

"Any time, Bossman, any time," she assured. "I hear my sweet little godson crying."

Hotch had always known that Garcia was great at her job, but never really thought about her any different than the strange tech genius who saved their asses on a regular basis. He always assumed she would be great with kids, but now he got to see firsthand how good she was at it. He knew he shouldn't be thinking the thoughts he was thinking about his colleague, but he swore his face still tingled where she had just kissed him.

~ Epilogue ~

Hotch got home smiling when he saw his son working on his homework sitting at the kitchen table. Jack looked up at his father. He got up and hugged his father gently. Hotch hugged his son then he went into his room to change into a more casual shirt and pants. He had a date with Garcia that night and wanted to look good but still casual. She always teased him when he wore ties when they would go on date. They had started dating shortly after his last birthday when Hotch had seen how good she was with Jack.

"Is Aunt P coming tonight?" Jack asked hopefully.

Hotch couldn't remember when his son had stopped calling her Miss P and started calling her Aunt P, but it always made him smile. Garcia had insisted that he have some time alone with his son when she had left work that evening, before their date. The past month Hotch had hardly been home and when he had Garcia had been the as well.

"She's at home getting ready," Hotch explained. "She told me she would give you a big squeezy hug later though."

Jack smiled. "Cool. Is she gonna come over before you go out?"

"She wanted it to be us two for a little while, which is good because I have something very important to ask you."

"Is something wrong Daddy?"

"No, everything's fine, but things may change a little."

"Why would things change?"

"Because," Hotch told his son. "I want to ask Penelope to marry us if that's all right with you."

Jack squealed, sounding a lot like Garcia. "That'd be cool! Us?"

"You're part of the deal if she wants to marry me, and I don't want you to think that I'm replacing your mom."

"Mommy will always be my mom, but I love aunt P a lot too. Do you still love Mommy?"

"I always will, she gave me you, but I think she'd want us both to be happy again."

"Me too, Daddy."

Hotch hugged his son tightly relieved they agreed that Haley would want them to be happy again. It had been hard for him to think about getting re-married. When he had lost his wife he never thought that he would ever want to get married again. He didn't think he would be able to love anyone else again. He never would have thought that the person who would make him change his mind about everything would be the quirky tech analyst he worked with for so long. He helped his son finish his homework before he went to Garcia's.

Hotch pulled up to her apartment and went right to her door. He knocked softly and the door flew open a moment later. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her standing there. Her hair was curled and she was wearing only a small amount of makeup. She had been wearing less on their dates since he had told her he preferred a more natural look. She was wearing a long red dress, with a white belt just above her waist.

"You look beautiful Penelope," he told her.

She grinned. "You clean up pretty well my Big Hunk."

"You need to stop calling me that."

"Even in private?"

"Fine you win."

She leaned in to kiss him but started to giggle. "You have a wrinkle Aaron."

"It must have something to do with all the smiling I've been doing lately."

"I hope you want to keep smiling."

"I do for a long time," he assured her.

"Good, you know they sell wrinkle cream for men these days, right?"

"Do I look like the kind of man who would buy wrinkle cream?"

"I guess not, besides I think salt and peppery hair and a wrinkles are just a part of the story of your life."

"Then why is it that you use about seven different creams every night?"

"I'm a girl! I need to keep myself young and pretty 'til I'm married."

"I think you are perfect just the way you are. Does that mean if you were to marry me you'd stop using all those crazy things?"

"Hm, I doubt it."

"Why is that?"

"Cause it's something I've always done. I'm afraid that if I stop I'll break out like a teenager."

Hotch laughed, "you know I'd love you anyway, right?"

"I know, but I like doing it, so no big.

Hotch loved all her little quirks. He wanted her to know that right away. He had planned on going out for a nice dinner and then asking her as they sat at the park like they had done their first night. But he couldn't keep it in much longer. He could feel the ring box in his pocket, and he knew she would be able to feel it if they were to kiss.

"I was going to do this later." He took her hand as he reached into his coat pocket, then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "You have made me and Jack so happy for the past year. I never thought I'd fall in love again, and I never imagined I would find someone who was so good for Jack. But you're everything I didn't know I was looking for. I was hoping you might want to marry me?"

She squealed as he presented her a ring. Garcia stared down at the pink gold ring that he was showing her. Part of her didn't feel like it was real. She never thought she would see the day where she would be getting married, and she never thought it would be to her boss. The ring he had was perfect she wouldn't have been able to pick out something better had she looked herself. She was grinning.

"Is that a yes?" he asked her nervously.

"Yes!" she giggled. "Yes! Of course!"

She kissed him feverously as he slid the ring onto her finger. The two of them were already tugging at each other's clothes. He pulled away from her, but she was still fidgeting with buttons.

"I thought we were going to go out tonight," he reminded her.

"We will, after I'm done with you my delicious future hubby."

She pulled him toward her bedroom, he knew better than to argue with a woman on a mission. He wanted to talk about when they might move in together, what kind of a home they wanted, and when she wanted to married, but like every time she kissed him all of his logical thoughts left his mind. All he could think about was the woman in front of him and how much he loved her.

The End

Notes: I know, right? Where the duce did that come from? I'm not even sure myself! I'm not a huge about writing Hotch, but I love reading challenges where the author uses Jack to help get things flowing on chit chat (I'm addicted to reading as many of the challenges as I can). Then somewhere my brain got this idea of Hotch asking his son if it would be okay if he asked someone to marry him, and whamo! Here this is. That's why I love these challenges sometimes I get the chance to write something I never thought I would in a million years with no pressure. The rules just state that the fic has to star the pairing and use the prompt the rest is up to your muse. Awesome! Go hit your little ff searchy-thing and join the fun. Thank you in advance for any and all feedback.