Chapter 8
The tranquility of the afternoon lasts about an hour and a half before the sudden noise of the front door slamming shut has both boys scrambling awake.
"Helloooo! I come bearing gifts!" A familiar voice calls into the empty house, permeating the comfortable silence. A chorus of footsteps seems to march in at varying levels of volume. "And by gifts I mean the entire candy section of the cafeteria's vending machine!" The voice cheers and Hotch barely has to look up as the door to their bedroom creaks open to know that Penelope is struggling with an armful of candy that Spencer most likely won't be able to stomach. He sits up gently in bed, Spencer immediately following suit as the horde of teenagers files into the room one by one.
"We tried to stop her." Emily sighs light-heartedly, flanked by JJ and Derek.
"We failed." Derek adds grimly as Penelope dumps a Halloween-sized haul of candy onto Hotch's nightstand. Spencer shoots her an appreciative grin, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"I can see that." Hotch quips, eyeing the stack of candy bars and gummies that could probably kill a small animal by sheer sugar content alone. Derek merely shrugs, reaching out to grab one of the three Snickers bars, earning himself a playful slap from Penelope.
Spencer had once agains slumped back into hotch leaning against his chest. The fever still radiating from his tiny body.
"How about a movie?" Penelope suggests eagerly to their group. "I may or may not have a pirated copy of Pirates of the Caribbean on my AV laptop," she explains, already reaching for her backpack to extract the school-issued computer. "In honor of everyone's favorite pirate." She adds teasingly and Hotch stops just as he's scooting over on his bed to make room for anyone else who wants to use the twin to sit down on. He involuntarily feels his face redden at the joke and narrows his gaze at Penelope.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." He deadpans, earning a few laughs from the room.
"We probably have some popcorn from our last movie marathon," Emily points out, still lingering in the doorway. "JJ? Wanna help me make some?" She offers genuinely and Hotch is a little surprised at her hospitality.
"Sure!" She accepts cheerfully, her face faltering a bit as she moves from her position by Spencer to meet Emily. "Although, I'm not sure how much help I can be. I'm usually only good at burning food rather than cooking it." She admits with a slight, nervous chuckle as Emily leads her into the kitchen, their voices echoing down the hallway before they turn the corner.
Penelope cues up the film and they all settle into a companionable silence. Derek joins Spencer and Hotch on the bed while Penelope pulls out blankets and pillows from the rest of the room to make the floor more comfortable. Emily and JJ join not long after with a few bowls of only slightly burnt popcorn for the group. Spencer passes on the popcorn considering his still tentative physical state.
Hotch relaxes significantly at the sight of everyone enjoying themselves for once, even considering the unfortunate circumstances of Spencer's illness that brought them all together in the first place. It's this kind of time that he savors most— just the ability to slow down from the hectic and crushing routine of his life and allow himself to just breathe and enjoy the company of his family for a few minutes. He closes his eyes for a moment and inhales deeply, taking a mental snapshot of the scene in his mind. He doesn't know when the next time he'll be able to just enjoy their company altogether like this again, so he's got to hold onto it.
He never wants to let moments like these slip by.