Chapter 21

The next morning, the whole team was in the bullpen by the time Hotch had gotten there, he was running later than normal, and they all watched him nod a greeting to them and then continue onto his office.

"Well somebody has extra pep in his steps this morning," Mack offered.

"Yeah. As bad as he was trying to hide that grin. . . I'd say someone is in a very good mood," JJ added.

"My Liege got lucky last night," Garcia added as she bounced and clapped a little.

"Last night?" Morgan started as he smiled. "As glassy as his eyes were, I'd say Boss Man got lucky again this morning!"

They all laughed.

"It's about time, don't you think?" Rossi asked as he watched Hotch through the open mini-blinds. "I don't know about you all, but I was getting really tired of his sorry ass moping around."

That made them laugh even more.

XXX

After giving Hotch ample time to get settled, Rossi walked in his office and sat down in his seat without Hotch even noticing. He chuckled, and Hotch's head snapped to him. "Oh, hey, Dave."

Rossi laughed even harder. "Well, I am glad nothing came up to ruin your all's night."

Hotch nodded as a grin slowly spread on his face. "It was great."

Rossi studied him and then nodded knowingly. "You two deserved it." Hotch chuckled and when his eyes unfocused, Rossi knew he was running last night through his mind. He shook his head. "So how was Le Meurice?"

Hotch looked at him and smiled. "It was fine."

Rossi eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Just fine?"

Hotch shrugged. "We didn't get a chance to try the food."

Surprise made Rossi's brows rise. "Really?" When Hotch just gave him a smug look, he knew he wasn't going to elaborate, so he let that drop. "So how the hell did you even get in there? I want to take Cindi there but they didn't even have an opening until December."

Hotch smiled slyly. "The head chef and owner are good friends of Sean's."

Rossi laughed.

Garcia stuck her head in the door. "Case, Sir."

Hotch nodded as he stood up. "Be right there."

Rossi stood up and put his arm around Hotch's shoulders. "I'm happy for you, Aaron."

Hotch smiled. "And as busy as the kids' schedules are this month, I'm not sure when I will get another chance."

Rossi looked at him with eyes full of concern.

Hotch shook his head, though. "Don't worry. Last night and this morning will tide me over for a while."

Rossi pat him on the back and they made their way to the conference room.

XXX

After a quick case in Nevada, Hotch was back home before dinner time, and he mentally winced when Kahlan suggested that she and Joey leave for a 'girl's night out'. He knew she liked spending time with their daughter, but he also knew that was her way of making him talk with the boys. He agreed, of course, and the Hotchner men decided that they'd spend their Friday evening by ordering in pizza and playing video games.

After most of the pizza had been eaten, Hotch relaxed on the couch and watched Jack and Wyatt battling each other in a racing game. When Wyatt started teasing Jack about his upcoming date, Hotch stopped him but used that as a stepping stone to start talking.

As soon as the boys realized what he was trying to do, the both turned red. "Dad!" Jack started. "You don't have to do this. We already know. . ."

Hotch held up his hands. "I know you two already know everything you think you need to know, but there are some things that you can't learn in school, or. . ."

Wyatt sat down and looked at him, clearly more interested in what Hotch had to say than Jack was. Hotch studied him and knew that even though Jack was younger, Jack was more comfortable around girls than Wyatt was.

Hotch took a deep breath. "Girls are special and you have to treat them with care and respect."

Jack nodded like 'yeah, we know' and turned his attention back to the TV. "No means no; we know that, Dad."

XXX

After telling them everything he thought he should, Hotch cleaned up the mess from dinner to give them time to process. When he was done putting their cups in the dishwasher, he turned to see Wyatt leaning against the doorframe. Hotch's eyes searched, and Jack had apparently disappeared back to his bedroom. Hotch gave Wyatt a smile. "What's up, Big Guy?"

When Hotch saw Wyatt swallowing uncomfortably, he clasped him on the shoulder. "Come on, have a seat with me," he offered as he steered him towards the table.

Wyatt popped his knuckles and sighed, and Hotch could tell he was just as uncomfortable as he was, but Hotch tried hard not to show it. "You know you can talk to me and your mom about anything, right, Wyatt?"

Wyatt pursed his lips as he nodded. After a couple deep breaths, and apparently finding the courage to speak, he looked Hotch in the eyes. "How do I know if I can kiss a girl or not?"

Hotch's brows furrowed as he studied him. You want to kiss a girl? Who? What's her name? How long have you known her? Those and many other questions wanted to roll off of Hotch's tongue, but he took a deep breath. Now's not the time to drill him. He has a real concern and he's actually asking you for help, Hotchner. He ran a hand through his hair and gave the young man a small smile. "A kiss can big a big step."

Wyatt nodded. "Yeah, I know, but how do I know when it's ok to try it?"

Hotch quirked his mouth as he thought about it. "I think it's different for everyone, Wy," he started and when Wyatt wilted, he knew he had to say something else. "I mean, I can tell you how I thought I was ready."

Wyatt shook his head. "No. I know I want to," he sighed. "I just don't know if she'll let me." He looked at Hotch for a moment. "And I think I know how to, it's just. . . well, I don't want to make her mad or anything."

Hotch chuckled. "Sometimes we have to walk a really fine line with women."

Wyatt nodded as if he knew exactly what Hotch was talking about.

Hotch took a deep breath. "I'm not sure how to explain it, but I think somehow you just know."

Wyatt's intense blue eyes studied him. "You know?"

Hotch shrugged. "I don't know, but something in your gut tells you it's alright."

Wyatt drew in a long breath. "The only thing my gut tells me when I'm looking at her is that its thinking about losing the last thing I ate."

A laughed escaped Hotch before he could stop it. "I so know what that feels like."

Wyatt's eyes grew big. "You mean, you were nervous, too?"

Hotch nodded. "Oh yeah." He took a deep breath and turned in his chair to look more directly at his oldest son. "To be perfectly honest, I haven't had a whole lot of experience with first kisses, Wyatt. Maybe you should be talking to Grandpa."

Eyes that matched Kahlan's narrowed in confusion. "Really? I figured you were a dog in school."

Hotch huffed. "No. If you want advice from 'a dog', then you need to talk to Uncle Derek."

Wyatt was shocked, but he leaned his elbows on the table and leaned a little closer to his father after checking to make sure the room was still clear. "I don't want to be like that either. I just want to kiss her and her not hit me."

Hotch smiled. "Sure, I kissed a few girls growing up, but those were just quick little kisses that didn't really mean anything, but if you're talking about the type of kiss that I think you're talking about. . ." He sat up a little straighter. "Haley, Jack's mom, kissed me first, so I didn't have to worry about that with her." He licked his lips. "Your mom, though. . ." He looked at Wyatt. "I can tell you how I kissed her, if you want."

Wyatt nodded and drew even closer.

Hotch took a deep breath. "Well, when I got to the point that I knew I wanted to kiss her, I thought she wanted to kiss me, too. When I walked her to her door one night, I thought about it, but I was so nervous that I turned away." Wyatt's eyes showed his confusion. "But something told me turn back around, so I did. She was already in the process of going in, but I called her name. When she turned to me, I gently grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes." He smiled as the memory played in his mind. "I looked at her lips so she knew what I wanted to do, and then I slowly leaned down."

"Slowly?" Wyatt asked as if he was mentally taking notes and needed clarification.

Hotch nodded. "Slowly, so she had plenty of time to pull away from me if she didn't want me to continue."

Wyatt's eyes searched his. "But, I thought, you thought she wanted to kiss you, too?"

Hotch took a deep breath. "Even when you think she wants you to do something, you should still always give her a chance to change her mind."

Wyatt's eyes darted around for a few seconds and then he nodded his understanding.

"And once I got close enough, I kissed her. Nothing sloppy or rough like you see in the movies, just a nice, sweet kiss and then I pulled away, told her goodnight, and left."

A smile slowly spread on Wyatt's lips and Hotch could tell he was imagining doing the same. He stood up and placed a loving hand on Hotch's shoulder. "Thanks, Dad."

Hotch smiled. "Any time, Wyatt."

Wyatt nodded and then went to the stairs, and Hotch watched him go. His smile grew as he stood up. I think I did alright.

XXX

When Kahlan joined Hotch in bed after taking her shower, he frowned at her. "You didn't tell me Wyatt had a girl."

Her eyes shot open. "What?" She sat up. "How long? What's her name? Do we know her?"

Hotch held up his hands. "I don't know. I thought you did."

Her brows furrowed. "If you don't know anything, then how do you know he has a girl?"

"He asked me a question and I could tell he didn't really want to share a lot of information so I didn't ask. I didn't feel it was the right time."

She relaxed back down onto him and sighed. "I'll have to talk to Jack. I bet he knows."

Hotch chuckled. "Maybe he doesn't want to tell us anything because he's afraid you'll scare her off."

She bolted back up and looked at him with shocked filled eyes. "Me?!" She huffed. "You are a hell of a lot scarier than I am!"

His hand went to his chest innocently. "Me?" She huffed and he pulled her back down to his side. "I would never purposely scare a girl of Wyatt's or Jack's."

She chuckled. "I notice you didn't mention a boy of Joey's."

He smiled. "I've never said I was perfect."

XXX

When Hotch got home late one night after another case, he found Kahlan sitting in the family room. He sat down beside her and looked at her. "And why are you in here in the dark?" She inhaled deeply and looked at him. The look on her face made his stomach clench. "What?"

"I think we have a problem."

He sank into the cushions a little more. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "I talked with Jack and asked him if he knew who Wyatt was interested in."

"Alright."

"Jack was just as shocked as we were, but he said he'd find out."

"And apparently you didn't like what he found out?"

She shook her head. "Jack never got back to me, and when I asked him about it, he said he hadn't found out yet."

"But?" he led because he knew one was coming.

"But the boys have been acting weird. It's like they're mad at each other." She wilted a little. "I think I may have caused a problem between them."

He took a deep breath. "Well, if Jack got a little too pushy trying to find out, I can see where that might have made Wyatt mad."

She shrugged. "I never meant to cause a problem. I was just curious."

He took her hand. "I know, Babe. They love each other; they'll work it out."

She nodded. "I know, but. . ."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "But you don't like the fact that Wyatt's keeping us in the dark about this girl."

She leaned against his shoulder. "Yeah."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Maybe there isn't anything to tell. Maybe he had a thing but now it's over."

She nodded. "Maybe."

He leaned his head on top of hers. I can wish it was that simple, can't I?

XXX

The next week, Hotch could feel the tension growing between his two young men. When he asked them about it, they denied there was any problem, but they stopped doing things with each other all the time like they usually did. When Hotch finally had enough of it, he cornered Jack in his room and asked him why he hadn't gone to the park with his brother.

Jack shrugged. "I have a lot of homework."

Hotch noticed, though, that Jack's bookbag was still zipped and his desk was clean. He sat down on his bed beside his son. "Is there something going on between you and Wyatt?"

Jack tried hard to hide the wince that had crossed his face, but Hotch saw it. Jack got up and walked across his room. "We've made different friends." He turned back around and looked at his father. "We're allowed to do that, right?"

Hotch stood up. "Of course." He walked up to him and put his hands on his shoulders. "But I would really hope you two don't let new friends, or anyone for that matter, come between you."

Jack huffed and then turned away.

"Your mother and I are worried, Jack. We know you and Wyatt are individuals, but it pains us to see you two growing apart."

The concern in Hotch's tone made Jack sigh and then turn back to him. "The last thing we want to do is worry you guys; you get enough of that with your jobs. I'll talk to him."

Hotch smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Good."

XXX

By the time Hotch got back from another case, the boys, while not back to their usual chummy selves, were definitely better. When Jack's birthday rolled around, Wyatt pleasantly teased him as Jack got ready for his date.

"Shut up, Wyatt. He looks amazing," Kahlan told them as she pulled Jack into a hug. Jack looked like a perfect, shorter, blonde version of his father in his black suit, white shirt, and maroon tie. "When Sarah sees you, she won't be able to breathe for a second."

Jack's cheeks heated as he ducked his head. "Thanks, Mom."

Hotch nudged his shoulder. "You ready, Buddy?"

He laughed and nodded as he headed for the door.

"Good luck," Joey called out to him and he turned back and gave her a smile before he walked out.

Once the door was shut, Kahlan turned to Wyatt. "So when are you ever going to go on a date?"

He shrugged. "You never know."

Kahlan's brows rose as she looked at him.

He just smiled and turned to go to his room.

"Wyatt Christopher!"

He turned back. "What?"

She studied him and knew he really didn't want to discuss it and she didn't want to push it. She didn't want him to hide even further, so she shook her head. "Nothing."

Once he was gone she turned questioning eyes to Joey. Joey shrugged. "I don't know."