A/N: Well, this took longer than it should have. It's a bit late now...I meant it to kinda correspond with the actual holiday but that didn't work. Meh, everyone's busy around this time. Besides, it's longer than all the others, so that makes up for it, right?
Uhm...I got no requests for an epilogue, so I won't write one. I can't be bothered anyway. Unless someone really begs and pleads, but even then I'm not promising. Because I'm lazy and nasty :P Haha.
Because I live in little old New Zealand, I haven't see '100' yet. So Haley's not dead, okay? Just to clarify. :D
Not only do I not own CM, I also don't own The Land Before Time. Obviously.
It's the last part. That's gotta merit a review, huh? Please?
December. Hotch.
Hotch looked at the clock for the fourth time in as many minutes. Haley was due to arrive with Jack any minute, and he couldn't wait. He looked at the table, where Jack's wrapped present sat. He hadn't been sure of what to get his son. Haley had told him what Jack was currently into, and then the team had all given him different advice. Morgan had said that it had to be something practical that Jack could play with. Garcia had emphasized colourfulness. Reid had said that it had to be educational, and then had rattled off some statistics about the benefits of early learning for toddlers. Prentiss had simply said that it had to be big. JJ had recommended cuddly, and Rossi had said that it had to be able to last beyond New Year's. Hotch had thought that this was all good advice, and had ended up buying three presents to accommodate it all. He just hoped that Jack would be happy.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Hotch opened it to reveal a grinning Jack, all wrapped up against the cold, and Haley, carrying Jack's overnight bag. Jack hugged Hotch enthusiastically then Haley handed over his bag.
"I can't stay long," she said. "I've got to be at my sister's in ten minutes." She bent down and kissed Jack on the forehead. "Now you be a good boy for Daddy, okay?"
"Yes Mummy. I'll be very super good!" the toddler replied.
"Okay. Bye, honey. I'll see you on Sunday. I'll be around at about three to pick him up," she said to Hotch.
"That's fine. Thanks, Haley." he replied.
When Haley had gone, Jack rushed into the living room. When he got there, he surveyed the room. His face fell.
"Daddy! You haven't got any tree!" he said to Hotch.
"I know. But don't worry, buddy. I remember how much you used to love putting our tree up. So I thought that I could do it today, and you can help me." Hotch said. Jack clapped his hands and followed his father to the garage to fetch the artificial tree and the decorations.
For the next forty minutes, Hotch and Jack laughed and chatted as they assembled the tree and decorated it. When they'd put on all the decorations, Hotch lifted Jack up to put the star on the top.
After having an afternoon tea of Garcia's specially-made holiday cookies, Jack asked Hotch where his present was. Hotch took this to mean that he wanted to open it.
"Go look under the tree," he told his son. Jack ran to the living room and grinned as he caught sight of the large parcel that Hotch had placed there while Jack was eating.
"Can I open it now?" Jack asked.
"Well I can hardly say no, can I?" Hotch replied. Jack's wide smile was making him feel truly happy.
Jack eagerly ripped open the red and gold paper, revealing his three presents. His face lit up as he examined them. There was a factual picture book about dinosaurs with bright illustrations, a box of wooden dinosaur figures which could be fit together and stacked into a tower, and a large, bright green stegosaurus soft toy with yellow spots.
"Mummy told me how much you love dinosaurs," Hotch said, watching as Jack flicked through the book with a look of awe on his face. "She said you watch The Land Before Time almost every day."
Jack looked up with a huge smile on his face. "I've got it in my bag!" he exclaimed. "I can show it to you and we can watch it together!"
"That sounds fantastic," Hotch replied, smiling. "I'll fetch it from your bag and we can-"
"No!" Jack cut in. "I'll go get it. There's something else I wanna do first…I forgotted…" He raced from the room. Hotch watched him with a look of confusion.
Jack returned swiftly, with a DVD in one hand and a wrapped parcel in the other.
"I forgotted your present!" he said, holding the parcel out. "But then I 'membered."
Hotch took the present and unwrapped it carefully. Jack watched him with eager eyes.
It was a silver picture frame, engraved with the words 'Father and Son' and the date. Hotch looked at it and felt a lump in his throat.
"You like it?" asked Jack.
"I love it, buddy. It's perfect." Hotch replied.
Jack grinned. "Mummy bought it, but I picked it." he said proudly. "She said we can take a photo today and put it in and you can put it on your desk at work."
"We'll do exactly that," said Hotch. "But how about we watch your DVD first, huh?"
Jack nodded and handed Hotch the case. When he'd loaded the disk, they both sat together on the couch, Jack on Hotch's knee. As the menu appeared, Jack looked up at his father.
"I love you, Daddy," he said.
Hotch smiled.
"I love you too buddy. Merry Christmas."
A/N: Uh, Hotch out of character a bit? Oh well, who isn't around their kid? Sickly fluffy a bit? Meh, I couldn't help it. The end of this series? Yup. So...you should review. To say goodbye. :D Then you should check out my other story, because this is my last opportunity for a shameless plug so I'm making the most of it.
Oh, and BTW...thanks for reading, and sticking it out till the end. Much appreciated. It's nice to know that someone cares what you're writing. Cheers people! :)
