Chapter 2: Paul

"Finally, we can put this thing to rest." Blake thought as she knocked on the door of Hotch's apartment, feeling a shock when it was opened by the young man they had seen with him on the street earlier, a smile plastered on his face.

"Oh hi, Aaron said someone would be coming by with papers, you must be Blake." He said genially as he held out his hand to accept the manila folder. "He's in the shower so it will be a few minutes."

"I'm sorry I really have to give these directly to Hotch." Blake managed not to sputter in surprise as he stepped back to allow her into the apartment. She momentarily tensed as she wondered if she might be walking into a trap but hearing the shower running everything appeared to be ok, especially as Jack ran out of a back room to see who had arrived. He became shy at seeing her, even though he knew she worked with his daddy he had not gotten to know her yet like he had his Aunt JJ or Aunt Penelope.

"Uncle Paul, can I play in your room." Jack turned and addressed the man in the room politely as his attention wandered from Blake.

"Sure sport," the man she now knew as Paul granted him permission as Jack ran back down the hall. "He should be out in a few minutes, would you like a glass of wine while you wait?" He offered as he picked up his own glass that had been sitting on the dining room table.

Blake could almost feel her knuckles turning white on the envelope, reminding herself that it was just fine if their unit chief was gay and she still needed to keep an open mind. Trying to stop herself from jumping conclusions she turned her attention back to the young man, he seemed pleasant enough but definitely had an effeminate quality about him that seemed to support the groups assumption from earlier that day. "So you're Uncle Paul, Jack must think a great deal of you?" She said trying to be neutral and use facts already in evidence.

"Oh yes, he's a great kid isn't he? I can't believe how fast he's growing though, seems like just yesterday that he was a toddler." Paul said airily, likely unaware that he had just revealed to the profiler that he had obviously known Hotch for quite some time.

"Yes, they do grow fast," she agreed forcing a smile, "especially if you don't get to see them often."

"Tell me about it, but I get to see him pretty often, I usually get to stay here when I'm in the city. I travel here a lot with my work, it sure helps to have a room here." He added lightly as he ran his finger absentmindedly over the curve of the sofa where he was sitting.

"Oh, what kind of work do you do?" Blake inquired since he had opened that door for her, hearing the shower turn off and knowing she was running out of time.

"I'm an attorney, my focus is on cases that involve sexual discrimination especially in relation to those in the gay and lesbian community. It's still so common for that kind of discrimination to be overlooked." He said, his passion for his career as obvious as the fact that he was gay at this point but giving Blake another possible explanation as to his presence.

"Oh, and Hotch is an attorney also, so you two have probably worked together in the past." She suggested knowing from the sounds down the hallway that her time to talk with Paul was coming to an end.

"Oh no, we've never worked together," he laughed at the suggestion, "though I've got to admit his experience and knowledge of law has certainly proven helpful. It's so nice to have a boyfriend who could hook me up with a place to stay as well as a legal sounding board." He laughed as he took another sip of wine just as the sound of footsteps sounded down the hallway.

Blake barely kept her expression in check and found her voice just as a freshly showered Hotch appeared, clothed but hair still damp from the shower as he took the folder from her. "Thanks for bringing these by," He said politely but in a tone of obvious dismissal as he began walking her to the door.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you had someone else here." She said gamely, still hoping to set the record straight as she decided to pretend that she hadn't heard Jack mention the bedroom.

"Oh yeah, family friend," Hotch said vaguely as he began leafing through the forms in his hand, offering no further explanation as he stopped and held the door open for her and escorted her out. Leaving her standing in the cool night air with more questions than answers as she tried to process what she had seen.

AN: Thanks everyone for your reviews. I have a few more chapters to go, hope you enjoy. Also thanks to whiteswan for her ongoing willingness to be a sounding board despite a busy schedule.