December 20

BAU Department

FBI Building

The team had arrived back home late the night before and while everyone was tired they were glad to make it back home. Hotch was barely in his office before whirlwind Garcia was flying in after him.

"Good Morning, Bossman? How are you feeling?"

"Morning Garcia. I'm doing ok. I just need some more rest."

"Sir, I'm really glad you are alright." As Garcia gave him a quick hug.

"Me too. Is there anything I can help with?"

"There is but it's not work related."

Hotch was intrigued to say the least. Penelope normally went to Morgan or the girls when she needed something. "Is everything ok?"

"Oh sir everything is fine. However, I was thinking about the party tomorrow and I thought it would be more fun if we held it outside of the office."

It didn't take a profiler to know that Garcia was hoping to have the party at his house. "And you were thinking that since I haven't had anyone over to my new place yet this would be the perfect opportunity to get a look at the new house?"

"Bossman, it was only a thought. I was going to take care of everything but I know it's asking too much."

A small smile formed on Hotch's face as he tried to break into her rant, "Garcia"

"Hotch, I understand. We'll have the party here at the office as originally planned." Garcia continued to ramble on.

"Garcia. It's fine. We can use my place. I've been wanting to have everyone over but something always seems to come up."

She stopped and stared at her boss as she asked, "Are you sure?"

"I promise. It's fine. What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing. I'll take care of everything. I know we were thinking about starting at 4:00pm here but what about 5:00pm at your house. If it's ok I could take off early and get everything ready before then."

Hotch liked the sound of not needing to do anything since he still needed to finish Christmas shopping. "That sounds fine. Why don't you stop by tonight on your way home and I'll give you the grand tour before tomorrow and we can finalize plans?"

"Oh thank you Hotch. This is going to be the best party ever." Garcia says as she rushes to give Hotch another hug.

"Please don't go crazy with the party." Hotch warns.

"I promise I won't. Thank you."

With the team being gone for over a week, Hotch was behind in his Christmas shopping. Luckily Jessica was going to watch Jack tonight so he could venture out to one of the local shopping malls to try and find the last few gifts on his list. Garcia had helped track down a LeapFrog LeapPad Tablet earlier this month for Jack so the hardest to find gift was already taken care of but he still needed to pick up a few other things for his son. As Hotch ventured into the toy store, Hotch found many other parents who were frantically trying to find the gifts on their children's lists too.

Hotch made his way to the Lego aisle and picked out a few different kits and then spent the next twenty minutes in line trying to checkout. By the time Hotch made it out of the store, he was glad Jack was no longer a toddler and that he didn't have twins. How parents handled twins, triplets or more was beyond him? Hotch's next stop brought him to the local bookstore where he picked up a couple books for Jessica and Jack plus the latest Stephen King book for himself. Hopefully he would be able to actually finish the book between everything else going on in his life.

While Hotch was making progress with almost everyone on his list, he was still having issues with deciding what he was going to get JJ for the Secret Santa exchange. He knew he should have asked Dave or Emily for help but he didn't want to risk Penelope finding out that he had spilled the beans about whom he had so he hadn't asked. He could have asked Jessica but he didn't want to deal with all the questions that she was sure to ask. So Hotch found himself wandering the halls of the mall trying to find the perfect gift.

Hotch was about ready to buy JJ a years supply of Cheetos when he walked by the Godiva store and a plan started to form in his head. Hotch wanted to show JJ how much he carried for her so what better way than gifts to pamper her with after a hard day at the office.

Hotch picked out two canisters of cocoa, one milk chocolate and one dark chocolate, and then moved on to pick out an assortment of truffles and chocolate bars. After paying for the tasty treats, he moved on to Best Buy to pick out a few movies. He knew romantic comedies were one of her favorite genre and she especially loved any with Hugh Grant in them. For once, it paid to actually overhear one of the conversations between JJ, Emily and Penelope. It took him a little bit but with the help of one of the salespeople Hotch was able to find several movies that fit the bill.

The two gifts were only a portion of the overall gift for JJ but the other pieces weren't really appropriate for the team party so the movies and treats would be the Secret Santa gift and the others would be given to JJ after the team was gone. Next on the shopping list were a few items from Bath and Body works. As he entered the store, he was amazed at the assortment of items and by the looks of things he was the only man daring enough to enter the store.

"Can I help you sir?" A nice young woman asked him. If he had to guess, the woman knew he was in over his head and needed some help.

"I hope so. I want to get a couple things for my…" Hotch floundered on what to call JJ. Girlfriend sounded too juvenile and he was never found of significant other because it made things sound to detached. And since they were not lovers yet that wasn't quite right either but hopefully that would be changing soon. "JJ. For JJ." Hotch finally went with as he ventured a look at the woman again but instead of laughter or mockery he expected to see he found only understanding in her eyes.

"Anything in particular you were thinking about?"

"I want something that will help her relax after a hard day."

"I think I know exactly what she would like. Right this way." The young woman showed Hotch over to an array of candles, massage oil and body wash designed to relax and sooth. Hotch selected a few items that reminded him of JJ. He also threw in a bottle of sensual message oil too in the hopes of maybe a little something more eventually. Hotch paid for the items and thanked the woman for her help and then made his way to the final store.

If he thought he had treked into another world with his stop at Bath and Body Works then he was in another universe as he walked into Victoria Secret. Hotch had never even ventured into this place for Haley and here he was just days after JJ and him had agreed to start a relationship he had ventured into this store designed to frustrated even the most confident man. His plan wasn't to find some skimpy little bra and pantie set though. He wanted to find a beautiful sleepwear outfit for her to lounge around in her home or his if he had his way about things.

Within a few minutes of perusing the different garments, Hotch found exactly what he was looking for. The Dreamer Flannel Pajama outfit was perfect. It was soft and cozy and would keep her warm on the cold winter's night. It was perfect for lounging around in at night too. When Hotch saw the pink and black metallic plaid, he immediately pictured JJ wearing them as JJ, Hotch, Jack and Henry laid around on the couch watching movies. The only problem was he wasn't sure which size to get JJ. He didn't want to buy a size too large and risk the wrath of JJ but then he didn't want to get a size too small and force himself to have to come back here again.

As Hotch was trying to decide what to do, one of the saleswomen came up to Hotch. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Ahhh. I know what I want to get but I'm just not sure what size I need to get."

"I see. Do you happen to know what her measurements are or maybe the size of clothes she typically wears?"

"Ugh. No." Hotch was beyond embarrassed at this point. He knew this was a mistake.

"Not to worry sir. My name is Stacy and I know how we can make this a little easier." Stacy then turns towards two of the other associates in the store. "Sarah. Allison. Could you please join me over here for a minute?"

Both women moved over to Hotch and Stacy to offer their assistance. "Sir, out of the three of us which one of us resembles your friend's build the closest?"

As Aaron looks at each of the woman, he realizes he's gotten very lucky. "Sarah, is it?" At the woman's nod, Hotch continues, "JJ is the same build but a couple inches shorter." Hotch says.

"Excellent. Thank you ladies. Your friend would need a size 2 with a regular inseam. Do you know which color you would like to give her?"

"Yes, I would like to go with the pink and black metallic plaid."

"Excellent choice, sir. Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that will be all for today."

"Please follow me and we'll get you checked out and on your way."

Hotch paid for his purchase and then made his way out to his SUV. With his Christmas shopping done, Aaron could finally relax and try to enjoy this time of year. Hotch had managed to complete his shopping earlier than anticipated which meant he would get to spend some extra time with Jack tonight but first he had to pick his son up from Jessica.