May 12, 2013 - 20 weeks pregnant
Beth woke up in an empty bed. She could smell bacon wafting up into their bedroom from the kitchen. Glancing over at the clock it wasn't even 8 AM yet. Why was Aaron up so early? Even if he woke up early on the weekends normally he'd lay in bed with her and read until 8 or so. Beth rolled out of bed and put her robe over her tank top and sleep shorts before making her way towards the kitchen.
"What are you two boys doing making breakfast so early today?!" She was happily surprised to see Jack adding blueberries to pancakes while Hotch minded the bacon.
"Nooooo Beth you have to go back to bed. You're ruining the surprise!" Jack said, sounding disappointed. Beth gave Hotch a confused look.
"You heard the boy! Get back into bed!"
Beth made her way back upstairs to use the bathroom before climbing back under the covers. It wasn't long before Jack and Hotch made their way into the room, Hotch carrying a tray of food and Jack carrying a bouquet of flowers.
"Happy Mothers Day, Beth!" Jack handed her the flowers excitedly. It was a beautiful and eclectic mix of roses and sunflowers.
"You guys! This is amazing!" Beth smelled the flowers and grinned. "Did you pick these out Jack?!
"Yeah" Jack smiled. "I picked some out for mom too. Irises because Dad said they were her favorite."
"That was really sweet of you Jack. C'mon, let's eat this feast you've prepared for us!"
The three of them chowed down on blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, crispy bacon, sliced strawberries and Beth sipped tea while Hotch drank coffee and Jack had orange juice. She would definitely have to change their sheets after their breakfast in bed but it was worth it.
"Buddy, why don't you go hop in the shower before we go see mom?"
Jack hopped off the bed and Beth gathered the dishes back onto the tray to take back downstairs.
"Absolutely not, you don't take care of dishes on Mother's Day!"
"You're sweet." Beth kissed him and his lips tasted like syrup. "Mm literally!" She laughed and licked her lips.
Hotch smiled at her and then brought a more serious look to his face. "Do you want to go visit Haley's grave with Jack and I?"
Aaron and Jack went fairly regularly to visit Haley's grave and even more regularly they would light a candle at bedtime and talk to her. Beth had kept a safe distance during these times not wanting to intrude on their time to remember her.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Beth told him honestly. "That's your time with Jack to talk about how much you miss her and to remember memories with her. I have nothing to bring to the table. Plus it's Mother's Day. I so appreciate what you and Jack did for me but I don't want Jack to feel like this day going forward is about me. She will always be his mother and he deserves to be able to spend today thinking about her - guilt free."
Hotch nodded. "I understand your hesitation. And I don't want you to come if you don't want to. But Beth, Jack was only four when his mother died. His memories of her are fading fast and soon all he will have is what me and Jessica tell him. I will never stop telling Jack about Haley but he deserves to have a mother in his life. Someone who loves him endlessly and will care for him like their own. That's you, Beth. That already is you. I don't want Jack to feel guilty about missing Haley, but I also don't want him to feel guilty about loving you."
Beth had tears running down her face. She hugged Hotch tightly. "I love you and Jack so much. You go with Jack today. Next time you go I'll come with, I promise."
Hotch kissed her cheek and placed his hand on her belly. "I love you." He kissed her lips and as he did he felt a distinct tap against his hand as the baby kicked. Hotch laughed "Yes you too little one."
Beth smiled and wiped the remnants of tears from her face.
"I'm going to hop in the shower and then can I run you a bath?"
Beth nodded at him. Hotch got off the bed and went into the master bath. Beth busied herself by taking the sheets off the bed and taking the dishes downstairs to the kitchen but true to her word she did not wash them. Jack came down the stairs hair wet and ready to go.
"Hey bud, you excited to visit your mom?"
"I guess so," Jack replied.
"You guess? What's up little man?" Beth asked him. Normally Jack had a good attitude about visiting Haley's grave. And Hotch always got them ice cream on the way home which Jack loved.
"It's just… sometimes visiting mom makes Dad and I sad. And I don't want us to be sad on Mother's Day.
"Come here, bud." Beth lifted him into a hug before setting him on the kitchen counter so they could be eye to eye. "I know that feeling sad isn't fun but that's just a part of missing someone. It hurts but you can't avoid it. Every year on Father's Day and his birthday I miss my dad so much, and sometimes I dread those days because I know how much it makes me miss him. But you know what, Jack. That sadness that we feel; it's just a reminder of how much we loved them."
Jack nodded.
"What's something fun we can do when you and your dad get home to make you feel happy? It's supposed to be a nice day, want to go for a bike ride?"
Jack nodded again.
"Alright, bud. That's what we'll do. Give me another hug." Jack wrapped his arms around Beth's waist and laid his head on her shoulder. Jack held on tight and Beth rubbed his back listening as his breathing evened.
"You ready to go, Jack?" Hotch called as he came down the stairs. As he reached the bottom he saw Jack let go of Beth and she helped him off the counter. Clearly they had been having a moment and he felt bad that he had ended it prematurely.
"I'm ready, Dad."
"Great!" Hotch went up to Beth and kissed her goodbye. "Your bath is ready. We'll see you later."
Jack and Hotch left and Beth gladly disrobed and sunk into the bath. One of her favorite features of their new house was the master bath. It featured a huge walk in shower fit with dual shower heads which came in very handy when Beth and Hotch decided to shower at the same time. It also featured a large clawfoot tub that was perfect for soaking. Hotch had clearly added bath salts and bubbles to the bath and she moaned as she got into the hot silky water.
Just as Beth was drifting off in the tub her phone rang; it was her mother.
"Hey mom," Beth tried to sound cheerful but was having a hard time with how relaxed she was.
"Hi Bethy! Happy Mother's Day to my favorite Mama to be!"
"Thanks, mom. Happy Mother's Day to you too! Did you get the flowers I sent?"
"Yes, they came yesterday. They're just beautiful!"
"I'm glad."
"So Bethy, I called because I wanted to talk to you about your baby shower. What weekends do you have free? I'm thinking sometime in July or August. We don't want to cut it too close to your due date!"
"Mom, I'm barely half-way pregnant. Do we have to decide this right now?"
"Yes, Beth!" Her mom sounded exasperated at her ambivalence. "Your sister will be flying in from Michigan so we want to give her plenty of notice. And there is a lot of planning to do!"
"Okay, mom. I don't have my planner with me right now but I promise to send you some weekends that will work for me later this morning. How are you doing?!"
Beth worried about her mother. She was still living in North Carolina where Beth had grown up but now her two daughters lived states away and her husband was gone. She had trusted friends and her dog, Gatsby, but Beth worried that she was lonesome. So they talked and they talked and soon Beth noticed the water in the tub was becoming chilled.
"Mom, I have to go. I'll send you those dates, okay?
"Okay. Beth I love you. You tell Aaron and Jack hello for me."
I will mom, I love you too. Happy Mother's Day."
Beth hung up the phone and eased out of the tub. She wrapped the towel around herself and dried off her body. She let the towel drop to the floor and gazed at her changing body. Her breasts were fuller and definitely had moments of tenderness. Her belly was obviously stretched when not masked by clothes; a smooth curve to her lower abdomen. She rubbed cocoa butter over her body and got ready for their bike ride, surely Jack and Aaron would be home soon.
Sure enough soon the boys were home and they biked to the park. Jack found friends to play with and Beth and Hotch walked laps around the park hand in hand. Later they biked home and played games of Sorry and Uno. They read more Harry Potter and ordered pizza for dinner and Beth tucked Jack into bed. She snuggled with him and he told her memories of his mother and she shared memories of her father. Her heart broke because she knew Hotch was right; Jack had very few concrete memories left of his mother and she knew what held most firmly in his brain was the day she died. She laid with him until he was asleep before she snuck out and found Hotch on the couch watching Game of Thrones with a beer.
"I KNOW you didn't start watching the new episode without me," she told him threateningly.
Hotch threw his hands up in defense. "I'll rewind it, you were taking forever!"
She glared at him before settling in next to him. Hotch got back to the beginning and was about to hit play.
"Just one thing before we start!"
Hotch looked at her. "Do you need a snack?"
Beth shook her head no and stood up before setting herself back down on Hotch straddling him. She wrapped her fingers into his short hair and tilted his head back before kissing him deeply. She let her tongue find his and she didn't stop until they were both gasping for air.
"I just really love you," Beth panted. "And I needed to do that before we sit here glued to the TV for the next 60 minutes of our lives."
"Oh babe, if there's something else you'd rather be doing I'll happily put off watching Game of Thrones until tomorrow!"
Beth laughed. "Yes, but Spencer and Garcia would be so disappointed in you when they couldn't recap with you tomorrow."
"I'm ashamed I have this in common with them."
Beth giggled again. "Play the damn TV, Hotchner."
"How can you NOT want Jon and Ygritte to be together?!" Beth asked him forcefully as they got ready for bed.
"It's not that I don't want them to be together; I just don't see how they can make it work! They're completely different people!"
"Hotchner. That cave scene! Trust me - they'll make it work."
"So you're telling me that if the sex is good then nothing else matters? Is that what I'm hearing right now?" Hotch looked at her smirking.
Beth walked towards him and gave him a sly smile. "Why do you think I'm with you, Aaron?" She asked him coyly.
Hotch grabbed onto her and kissed her. He backed her up against the bathroom counter as he kissed her and pulled down her pajama bottoms. With her bottoms off and her lower half exposed, Hotch lifted her up and set her on the edge of the bathroom counter and spread her knees before burying his face into her. Beth moaned loudly and arched her back. She placed her hands behind her on the counter to support herself and placed her legs over Hotch's shoulders as she felt him latch onto her clit. He alternated between licking and sucking and just as Beth would be about to go over the edge he'd ease up and it was driving her crazy.
"Aaaaaaron," she whined. Wanting the torturous game to end and yet continue forever.
Hotch pulled her legs from off his shoulders and met his lips with hers. He kissed her deeply. Personally she could take or leave the kissing after oral but she knew it was one of his biggest turn ons so she let him have it. He pulled her off the counter and back onto her feet before facing her around so they were both looking at their reflections in the mirror.
"You ready, baby?" Beth nodded. "Brace yourself."
Beth leaned forward and grabbed the counter to steady herself. Hotch entered her from behind and they both moaned simultaneously. Hotch pounded into her and Beth stared at his face in the reflection. She loved to watch him lose control. He entered her over and over and over again while playing with her nipples, her clit, pulling her hair, whatever he could do to occupy the hand that wasn't firmly holding her hip.
"Oh my god, Aaron. Oh my god oh my god oh my god." Beth couldn't help herself. "Fuck, Aaron," she exclaimed as she fell over the edge.
With a few more thrusts Aaron followed her into oblivion. Beth let go of the counter and stood back up leaning into Hotch's bare chest.. They both caught their breath.
"See, Hotchner? When the sex is that good you don't give it up without a fight."
