Hi everyone, this is my entry for the Theme Song Challenge. I'm actually writing for Hotch, which I absolutely never do. And..I have a Beach Boys song to boot. So please bear with me. I kinda sorta have no idea what I'm doing. This came from a chance googling and a few speculations and some creative license..Thanks for reading, anyway.
Wouldn't It Be Nice?
"Wouldn't it be nice if we were older? Then we wouldn't have to wait so long. And wouldn't it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong.." Aaron Hotchner found himself singing along to the overly cheesy music as he drove to the BAU. He'd dropped Jack off a few moments earlier. The car was strangely silent without his son. He turned the music down a little and hummed instead, letting his thoughts wander; something he seldom did.
"Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up in the morning when the day is new. And after having spent the day together, hold each other close the whole night through.." For a moment, he struggled to remember why he put up with the terrible excuse for music..and then he remembered. How could he even have forgotten? It had been-was, their song. Hailey had sang it to him, that night all those years ago. When they had been younger, when growing up was hard, when all they had to bank on was each other...this had been their song. He remembered the night as if it had happened yesterday.
'It was a Friday night, and the teenage couple had been curled up in the back of Aaron's car. Their play had ended hours earlier, and the two had gone home with their families, only to sneak back out to be with each other again. Aaron was still wearing his ridiculous fourth pirate hat, and Hailey continuously pushed it back so that she could shower him with kisses. With this, he was fine. But then their kisses became more desperate, more hungry, and here he grew afraid. Finally, he pulled away. Both he and Haley were breathing hard.
"What is it?" she asked, head cocked to the side.
"I.." But Aaron was at a loss for words.
"Did I touch you wrong? I just wanted to...I mean, if you wanted to, that is. Because..." Hailey trailed off awkwardly. Aaron sat her back and brushed her hair away from her lovely eyes, those eyes that he had easily gotten lost in so many times before.
"No. You're fine. More than fine. But...I can't." Hailey laughed, embarrassed.
"I don't know, Hotchner. I never knew you were so old fashioned." And it wasn't because he was old fashioned...it was because of his past. But he couldn't possibly tell her that story; he didn't want her to experience the horrors only he had seen. He wanted the innocence that lit up her eyes to stay there as long as possible. So, he simply shrugged in response. She sat down beside him.
"What is it?" He gazed at her questioningly.
"I know when something's wrong, Aaron. Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to find out myself?" And bless her, he knew she would. She was stubborn, even back then.
"It's nothing. It's stupid, really."
"Oh yeah?" she challenged. He closed his eyes. He loved her, really he did. But she would have her way.
"Haley, I'll tell you one day; I promise. But I can't. I won't. So let's drop it. Besides, it's getting late. You don't want to get caught sneaking back in." But she seemed lost in her own world. Finally, she looked at him with a question on her lips. He sighed.
"What?"
"Are you sick?" He laughed, quietly.
"No. I'm not dying, I don't have a disease; I'm fine." But even as he said the words, they rang hollowly in his ears. He was fine. Yes, if abused, hapless, and hopelessly determined was fine. And with these thoughts swimming around his already crowded mind, Aaron suddenly and seemingly inexplicably burst into tears.
"Aaron? I'm sorry. I didn't mean-" But he quickly got himself under control.
"No, I didn't mean to-" The night had changed quickly. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep and start the day over.
"You don't have to tell me." But something told him he did. Something told him that he had to tell someone before the burden became too much. He just didn't want to tell Haley. He seized her hands and looked deep into her eyes once again.
"Promise you'll keep everything I tell you to yourself. Promise me, Hailey." She shook her head solemnly.
"I promise." He nodded, not knowing where to begin.
"I guess..well, I guess it first happened when I was about nine or ten. My dad was a hard worker, pretty much the same way he is now. But something had happened at work. I don't know what it was. Bad day, bad client...I don't know. But he'd gone out and knocked back a couple before he came home. And I remember, my brother was out of the house, probably spending the night somewhere. He was really little then. But I was upstairs, asleep in my bedroom. He uh-" Here he paused to collect his thoughts. He'd gone so far: surely he couldn't stop now. But his chest pained him in memory. Hailey's eyes shone with unshed tears as she squeezed his hands.
"Aaron..."
"He..touched me. And I remember...I remember I was so scared, and I didn't know what to do, and...I just can't wait to leave. I can't wait. Once we graduate, we'll be free. We'll be married, and we'll grow old together. Just you and me. Right?" And he sounded so desperate, so needy, that Hailey planted a chaste kiss on his cheek and smiled through her tears.
"We will. I promise." She rested her head on his chest and softly hummed the old Beach Boys song.'
Though it was many years past, the memory still stirred something within him. To say he missed her would have been a huge understatement. Sure, life hadn't turned out quite the way they'd planned when they were teenagers, but they had had wonderful, unforgettable times before they went bad. Aaron Hotchner turned the radio up and finished his drive.