December 10th - I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

Hotch eyed Jack consideringly, watching him eat his breakfast of red and green Rice Krispies while he watched 'Shrek the Halls' on TV. The young boy somehow managed to simultaneously be riveted on the show and unable to sit still, squirming and antsy.

Of course, though, what could you expect from a six year old boy during December whom he strongly suspected had snuck a candy cane off the tree before breakfast?

"What do you want to do today, buddy?" Hotch asked as soon as the little boy could tear his attention away from the green ogre. He was looking forward to a day of winter revelling with his son.

"I want to see Aunty Penny," he said airily.

Hotch frowned, he hadn't been expecting that answer; in fact, if he had a hundred guesses, he probably would never have gotten that. "I thought you wanted to see the zoolights."

"Yeah, but Aunty Penny's sick and I don't want her to be sad." He was silent for a minute, thoughtfully chewing the straw of his juicebox. "We could do both..." he suggested.

"I don't know," Hotch shrugged, treading lightly, "She might already..."

"Please, Daddy!" he begged, "She's sad at Christmas..."

Hotch sighed, there was nothing he could do to change his mind once he had it set on something. And besides, the whole team, including Rossi, was making an effort to make sure she wasn't alone this year. "Okay, buddy, let's give her a call and invite her."

******

Garcia was startled awake by her phone ringing. She had started to nod off a little, lulled to sleep by the constant rhythmic beeping of the various machines on the chemotherapy ward.

Looking at the name on the caller ID, she felt her heart drop a little. It was Hotch... That meant a case. She had been hoping it was Morgan or Emily or JJ or even Reid.

"Hi Hotch," she said sleepily, a little dejected.

"Aunty Penny!" came the excited voice on the other end of the line.

She laughed, a little surprised, though not unpleasantly so. "Jack! What are..."

He cut her off, "We're going to the zoolights tonight! Wanna come with us?"

In the following silence, as he waited for her answer, she could hear Hotch's voice in the background, "Jack, let me talk to her."

And then Jack's loud reply, "But Daddy, I'm talking to her..."

She couldn't help but giggle. "Jack, why don't you let me talk to your father."

He sighed exasperatedly, "Fine..."

"I'm sorry," Garcia said once Jack handed Hotch the phone, "I know you don't get a lot of time with Jack. It was very kind of him to think of me, but I really don't want to intrude."

Hotch smiled wryly, "You wouldn't be intruding; Jack's dead set on you coming with us. And once he has his mind set on something..."

Her hesitation was audible, "Are you sure? Because I really..."

In the background, she could hear Jack, "Daddy! Is she gonna come? Daddy! Can I talk to her? Daddy!"

"Trust me," Hotch assured, "It would just be easier for everyone if you agree to come."

"Well, in that case, I guess you leave me no choice."

******

Jack's mittened hand clasped tightly to his father's and Garcia's hands as he excitedly pointed out all the colorful light animals.

"Look, Daddy! Look at the giraffes," he trilled happily, "You see it, Aunty Penny?"

"Yeah, I see it, kiddo."

"And the candy cane path? And the big spider?"

"Yeah, buddy, we see them."

"Is he always this energetic or is it just at Christmas time?" Garcia whispered to Hotch over the little boy's head.

"A little from column A, a little from column B," Hotch shrugged, "And the sugar."

Jack gave a big tug on their arms and cried, "Look! The reindeer are over there! Let's go see them!"

Hotch could see from the way Garcia's shoulders began to slump that she was starting to wear thin. He knew that she had received a treatment earlier that morning and past experience told him that they were lucky she had lasted this long... Or that she had even agreed to come at all. He wouldn't have pressed so hard on the phone had he known that he was speaking to her while she was undergoing the chemo.

"Jack, why don't you go and play on the snow park for awhile while we rest a little," Hotch suggested, attempting to give Garcia a few minutes to recover.

Jack frowned as he looked back at the two adults. "Is Aunty Penny okay?" he asked worriedly.

Hotch saved her having to answer, "She's okay, Daddy needs to take a rest – he's getting old."

Jack silently stared back at him for a moment, skeptical, but eventually seemed to decide that was an acceptable answer and took off towards where the other children were playing in the snow.

Keeping an eye on the bright orange toque bobbing amidst the other bundled-up children, Hotch lead Garcia to the nearby fire-pit where the other exhausted adults had found sanctuary.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked gently, "Jack would understand..."

She cut him off, "I'm fine, really." She was silent for a minute or two, then continued, "Thank you for letting me come with you."

He smiled slightly, "Happy to do it. You know, it may seem like I have no ability to feel human emotion, but I really do understand what you're going through..."

She looked up at him, surprised. Needless to say, she hadn't been expecting him to open up to her like this.

"And I'm glad that you told us, that you let us help you," he continued, "When my dad was diagnosed, he didn't really know how to relate to us anymore. We tried to be there for him, to support him, but he closed himself off from us. I guess it was just easier for him to build a wall around himself." He was silent for a moment, she assumed squashing down stronger emotions than he was comfortable with displaying. He looked up to meet her eyes. "I'm glad you didn't do that. We can get through this... Together – as a family..."

She smiled. And, so as not to make him uncomfortable, asked, "Sir, would it be alright if I hugged you?"

"Of course," he said, returning her smile, and added, "And don't call me 'sir' tonight."

Then, Jack's whine floated out over the din of other voices, "Daaa-ddy! The reindeer!"

A/N: Once again, I'm not sure I was quite able to accurately characterize Hotch in this chapter... But he was the only one that I knew for sure would really be able to relate to her situation on a more meaningful level than just concern. And, I don't know if there's anywhere else that does the 'zoolights' (a Christmas-y zoological light display at the zoo, featuring other Christmas things, like a reindeer stable)... But it's one of my favorite things about Christmas in Cow Town, so I thought I'd include it.