Enchanted
For: Disgruntledchowchow cuz you are amazing period.
Emily and Aaron where at Riverton Commons Mall. it was the first day off they had gotten in the past three weeks, and the only thing Hotch really wanted to do was relax at home and maybe do some paperwork. Emily had dragged him to the shopping center after whining all morning that she needed new boots for work, and she promised to buy a sexy piece of lingerie if he came with her…she was going to be fast, she had said. They had been walking around the mall for a few hours and now he was grumpy, hungry and tired. He found it so difficult to be annoyed with her, or to even say no to her. Hotch had never been one to fall in love, head over heels in love, but the minute she walked into his life, it was as if he had lost the ability to think, speak and make his own choices. So, as she dragged him around the mall, he wondered when the day would be she didn't get her way.
"Oh, puppies!" She cried suddenly, letting go of his hand and dragging him into the pet store.
"Oh no!" He cringed as soon as his girlfriend disappeared inside the pet store. He went after her, only to find her leaning over a box of Bernese Mountain puppies that couldn't be older than a few months. The one puppy Emily was holding was white with brown and gray stripes across his face with hazel blue eyes and a black nose.
"Oh my God," She said in awe. "Look how cute they are." Hotch tilted his head knowing the look she was giving him, and he was absolutely not going to fall for those eyes today!
"No, absolutely not, don't even think about it!"
"But, look at him, he looks so lonely, he needs a home."
"I'm sure he does, but it won't be ours."
"Why not?"
"Because they smell and pee all over the place." He opined in an exasperated voice. "We don't need a dog, Emily."
His girlfriend pouted gently placing the puppy against her chest.
"We can't just leave him here, Aaron." Sounding like a five-year-old. "That would be inhumane, we're supposed to protect people remember?"
"People, sweetheart!" He scrunched his nose at the sight of an animal around his house. "Not dogs."
"But please, Aaron." She begged. "I can't just leave him here, look at him, he is so little and vulnerable."
"Em, when will we even have time for a dog?" Hotch questioned beginning to feel nauseated. "We won't even have time for it, we're gone all the time."
"Garcia can help, she doesn't travel with us, we can always get a dog sitter, or doggie day care."
"Em," He sighed, "I don't think it's a good idea, dogs need a lot of attention and they are quite expensive, it's the same as having a child."
"Yeah, but a child won't bring you your slippers she pointed out." The puppy had already fallen sleep against her chest.
"He loves us, we have to take him." She said as a matter-of-factly.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm going to have to put my foot down and say no."
One hour later, they walked toward their car with several shopping bags, a dog carrier bag and the puppy settled against Emily's chest, a proud smile on her face.
The first few months were hell for Aaron, training a new puppy was harder than chasing down unsubs, at least, he knew who the bad guys were and what he was going against. The dog had a new surprise every day…when he wasn't chewing on his shoes, he was peeing on the sofas and destroying his socks. More times than not, he found himself cursing under his breath and pointing at the dog with his finger, saying "bad boy" only for Emily to come get the puppy and reprimand him for being such a grump. The new tenant had also taken over his bed, and it seemed as if Emily had forgotten about him, all she wanted to do was hold the puppy and kiss him, which bothered him even more. There was something so disgusting about the fact that she let the dog lick all over her face and then she tried to kiss him like that, why had he even agreed to take the damn dog in the first place! They had spent a generous amount of money on doggy day care,p and training classes, but it didn't matter, as the dog didn't seem to care, nor did he seem to understand that his suitcase wasn't a place for him to pee.
Hotch had wondered time and time again why he had not taken the dog to a shelter already. He hated having him at his house, there was always a wet spot on the carpet, and water droplets all over his hardwood floors, and the hair! the damned hair was driving him nuts! He didn't spend a lavish amount of money on dry cleaners each week for his suits to be covered in dog hair the minute he walked into his home. The worst part of all was the name, he had never been good at picking names, and Emily wasn't any either. As if "Zeus" was a proper name to call a fluffy thing covered in fur, that all it did was sleep. Hotch had a short temper and he was surprised he had not already lost his shit and given the dog away when Emily was gone. But the way her eyes lit up when she saw the hairy little monster, he didn't think he had the heart to take it away from her. As time passed, Hotch realized his problems were only getting worse; by the time the dog was a year old, he followed him around everywhere he went. Hotch wondered if the dog could actually realize he really disliked him, but either he didn't have a single clue, or he simply didn't care. Or maybe he did, and he was determined worm his way into his heart.
The first time it happened, Emily wasn't home; she had been running errands all day and he was left at home with the dog. It was a good thing that the animal had stop peeing all over his house and had resorted to just sleeping around. It made things easier for him, especially on days like today when he had so much paperwork to do. He sat in his study deep in concentration in his files, when he felt something drop on his lap. He turned to see the dog leash landing on his pajama pants and the dog looking at him, the message being loud and clear.
"Oh no!" He stated firmly. "I'm not taking you on a walk, when Emily comes home, she can do that."
A demanding bark was the response he had, his little eyes staring determinedly at him.
"Listen dog, I really have a lot of work to do, I would appreciate it if you go away."
The dog tilted his head as if he was trying to fully understand what he was saying, but instead of leaving, he picked the leash up again and threw it over his lap with a series of persistent barks.
"God, I don't know who is more stubborn, you or your mother!" He said annoyed. The dog sat there staring at him so intensely it made him uneasy.
"Fine, I'll take you on a walk, but I really need to finish this first." The barks became more persistent and annoying.
"Okay, all right, fine." Hotch said sighing and standing up. "You know I should really just leave you at the park and tell your mother you got loose." He said as he began walking toward the front door, the dog bouncing around knowing full well he would not be leaving him at the park.
Then, there was the other time when he had a case at work that really hit him, he never did well with cases where kids were concerned, but this one had been to grisly for his own taste. Even Emily had struggled to fall asleep that night. He held her for a while until her breath evened out, then he slowly made his way out of bed, carefully trying not to wake up his girlfriend and the dog who were sprawled all over his bed.
"Great, you took over my girlfriend, and now over my bed?" He whispered to the dog. "What's next? Should l leave you the house as well."
He made his way downstairs and sat at the sofa in front of the tv; maybe if he was able to watch some tv for a while, he would be able to clear his head. A few minutes after he had come downstairs, the dog appeared as if he wondering where the hell he had gone.
"Go back to bed, Zeus!" He demanded. "Mom is going to get cold and she's not going to be happy."
The dog came closer to him and began licking his hands as if he understood he needed support tonight. He jumped on the couch and settled next to him, his face laying across his lap.
"You're really trying to get on my good side, aren't you?" Hotch said, massaging his head, hearing the dog sigh heavily and contently.
"When was the last time you got a shower?" He questioned, his eyes on the television but his hand remained scratching the dog's head. "If you showered more often, I might actually like you."
Then, there was the time where Hotch was really sick from a stomach bug and spent the next forty-eight hours throwing up and barely making it back to the bed. Emily brought him chicken noodle soup, Gatorade and saltines the first night. But, she had to leave for a case, and he spent the rest of his miserable time alone. The dog sat next to him guarding him and licking his face every morning as if to make sure he was alive. Hotch wasn't sure if he could actually understand that he was ill, but he was covering him with kisses and cuddling next to him all night.
Every day when Hotch came home from work, the Bernese Mountain dog sat by the door waiting for him; the nights when they walked through the door together, the dog jumped at him before he even directed his attention toward Emily. Even his girlfriend complained that the dog loved him more even though he was horrible to him.
Hotch hadn't fully realized how much he cared for the dog until he came home one night to find him sick. Emily was out drinking with the team, and normally he would join them, but tonight he just wasn't in the mood. When he walked in the door, he found several items from the kitchen shelves scattered around the hardwood floors, cans of food, pasta, flour and sugar covering his kitchen. But what made his heart skip a beat was the half empty bag of Halloween candy that had been forgotten. Empty candy wrappers were dispersed all over the place. Emily had left the half full bag of chocolates underneath the kitchen sink, and he wasn't sure how many the dog had eaten, but he knew it wasn't a good thing.
"Oh no, oh crap, oh God!" He said panicked. "We need to go to the emergency room right now!" He said, tossing his briefcase over to the sofa and rushing to pick up the dog. If something happened to him, Emily would kill him and blame him because he had never wanted the dog. He would not be able to forgive himself if something happened to the dog. There were so many ways in which he could screw up their relationship, but he would not lose her over the fact that he killed her dog.
When Emily came home from the bar, the living room light was still on, which surprised her because it was two in the morning. Hotch usually waited for her upstairs in their bedroom. She walked inside their home to find her boyfriend sitting on the floor with a worried look on his face. Their eighteen-month-old puppy was laying on the couch, looking tired with a big bowl of water near them, and she saw a baby bottle along with some prescription pill containers around.
"What happened?" She asked frowning and walking closer to them.
"He ate the Halloween chocolate, and I don't know a lot about dogs but I do know they should not eat chocolate." Hotch explained. "I don't know he got to it, but he ate it. I rushed him to the vet, and they forced some sort of vomiting-inducing-medicine down him." Hotch's voice was tired and raspy.
"And then, he proceeded to throw up for the next hour-and-a-half, and I brought him home." His hand absentminded was caressing the dog's head. "So I came home and I sat with him for the next few hours, holding a bowl of water under his nose, but he wouldn't drink water, so I went to the store to get a baby bottle hoping I could at least get some water in him."
Emily's eyes were sparkling, and she sat there looking at him with grateful eyes as her heart swelled.
"Aaron," She said softly coming to sit next to him on the carpet, "I chocolate-proofed the apartment, and now I'm just going to wait here with him until he feels better. In the morning when I can make him breakfast, I figured the kibble would be hard on him so maybe boiling him some chicken broth."
"I love you." Emily said, her eyes shining and reaching to caress his face.
"He won't drink water, Em." He said scared, looking at the dog that had managed to steal his heart.
"He'll be okay." She promised. "Come on, you've done enough, let's go to bed."
"I think I'm going to stay down here with him in case he needs anything." Emily pressed a kiss on his head standing up.
"I knew it was just a matter of time before you admitted that you loved him." She kissed Zeus's head and went up the stairs with a smile across her face.
A few months after that, Emily realized the dog might just love Hotch more than he loved her which was completely unfair as he had spent months and months complaining about him and calling him furball and other offensive names. Now, they were both walking through the park, the Bernese Mountain dog running in front of them. Emily turned around placing a kiss on his lips, which he gratefully accepted, wrapping his arms around her.
"Who do you love the most in this world?" She asked seductively, kissing him again.
"You baby, always you."
"That's the wrong answer, Hotchner." She said pulling away from their embrace, "You're supposed to love our angel more." She pointed, looking at the dog.
"Oh really?" Hotch smirked.
"Yes, I mean…I love him more than I love you, so…." She smiled as he placed another kiss on her temple.
"Yet, I'm his favorite." Hotch said enjoying the opportunity to tease her.
"That's not true."
"Want to test that theory, he challenged with a grin turning to look at their dog.
"Zeus, come here buddy."
"Oh, you're bluffing." Emily laughed scrunching down on her knees.
"Come here, baby." She called the dog.
Zeus ran across the field and headed toward them, and Emily's eyes swelled with joy, but the dog bypassed her running straight into Hotch's arms licking him frantically.
"Maybe we should get another dog." She pointed out to him in defeat.
"Oh no, no, let's go home before your mother gets any more crazy ideas." Hotch stated, placing the leash back on the dog and grabbing his girlfriend's hand. Maybe this giant ball of fur didn't suck as much as he thought.