A/N: Jeez I really need to set an alarm or something so I don't keep forgetting to post these on time. Here's this! It's pure fluff with a good dose of James/Alex stuff. Please R&R!
'cause like constellations a million years away
every good intention
is interpolation, a line we drew in the array
looking for the faces
looking for the shapes in the silence
Most of the team didn't work Sundays, so they had a free day to do pretty much whatever they wanted to. Things were still tense between Emily and Derek, but not to the point where they couldn't be in the same room together without feeling uncomfortable.
Hotch hadn't told anyone about what he'd found on Emily. If she didn't want them to know, then she didn't want them to know. He could understand not wanting your friends about who your parents were. What you were running away from.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, snapping him out of his thoughts. He didn't know how he had ended up in the group chat, but he suspected it was Penelope's doing.
Penelope
So what do we want to do today friendsssssss :D
Elle
Idk, sleep?
Penelope
Boringggggggg. We should go out and do something fun!
Spencer
There's a new museum that just opened downtown!
Derek
Pretty Boy, we're not going to a museum
Penelope
We should go to a haunted house!
Emily
Pen it's 11 in the morning. The haunted houses aren't even open yet :/
Spencer
Ooooooooh I want to go to a haunted house!
Tara
We should do something Halloween related tho. It's the season and the baby's birthday is coming up
Spencer
I am not a baby!
Elle
…
I mean…
Yeah you are. Sry
Spencer
I am not! Take it back!
Derek
Pretty boy your at least 3 years younger than everyone here
Spencer
*you're
Derek
Don't make me come over there
Alex
Anyways, Tara's right. It's almost Halloween and we haven't done anything for it other than decorate.
Penelope
OMG OMG OMG! We should go to a PUMPKIN PATCH!
Spencer
Ooooooh I want to go to a pumpkin patch!
Derek
See? Baby
Alex
Derek...
Derek
What is it, word lady? You know I'm right
Emily
So anyways, what time are we meeting? Are we carpooling?
Spencer
Carpooling is much better for the environment, it reduces the amount of emissions being put into the atmosphere!
Hotch
I think he's trying to say that yes, he does want us to carpool
Kate
No duh newbie
James
Hey Hotch, nice of you to join us
Oh fuck I'm sorry that sounded super passive aggressive
Alex
Do any of us even have a car that'll fit all of us? I mean we're talking about 11 people
Emily
Sorry Al, I do not own a Mormon van, and unless Hotch is secretly the father of 15 children I don't think he does either
Hotch
What
Alex
Fair. So 2 cars then. Who's got the most seating?
Prentiss and I both have 5s so I doubt it's either of us
And the genius can't drive
James
I've got a 7
Derek
Mines a 5 and I'm good with driving
Alex
Good. Meet at the Mountain Bean in an hour?
Emily
See you there
Hotch
Sounds good
Tara
Kate and I will be there
Kate
Bye dorks. Not you Tara. Bye dorks other than Tara
Derek
…
Really subtle there Callahan
Kate
Shut up
Tara
Bye Katie
Oh and bye guys
Penelope
See you soon my lovely people!
—
An hour later, Hotch was ready to go. He had showered and changed and now all he had to do was drive over to the store. He got in his car and pulled out onto the road.
Pulling into the parking lot of the Mountain Bean, he saw that everyone was almost there. Alex had her small, pocket sized notebook out and her glasses perched delicately on her nose. James was standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. Morgan and Garcia were doing god knows what, Tara and Kate were laughing about something, and JJ, Reid, and Elle were talking together. He didn't see Prentiss though.
He heard another car behind him, and glancing in his rear view mirror, he saw it was Emily. Oh, he thought. There she is.
"Oh cool, you're all here. So I've got seating arrangements figured out-"
"You're in my passenger seat, right?" James interrupted. "I only trust your music choice," he added on pathetically. Alex, clueless as ever, didn't seem to notice.
"Ok, so, James and I in the front of his, Kate, JJ, Elle, Spencer, go wherever you want."
"Elle and I call the back!" JJ yelled as she dragged the older girl into the last row of seats in the car.
Alex rolled her eyes goodheartedly at their little exchange. "For Derek's, Penelope claimed the passenger's seat. Tara, Hotch, Emily, do whatever you want." Tara and Hotch made eye contact before each going for the window seats.
"Come on, seriously?" Said Emily.
"Sorry Prentiss, you're the smallest one here."
"Not by much!" Hotch cracked a rare smile at her statement.
"Prentiss, you're 5'8" and what, 120 pounds? That's little. I'm 6'2" and 195 with a broad frame. Lewis is at least 4 inches taller than you. You're a lot smaller. You get the middle seat." She shot him a death glare, but got into the middle seat with no more protest than a mild eye roll. Smiling to himself, he hopped in beside her.
The middle seat of the car was very small, so Emily spent the entire caride completely squashed between Hotch and Tara, their shoulders flushed up against each other. Before long, they were pulling into the parking lot with spray-painted lines on the grass. Spencer was practically buzzing with excitement. The air was a cool, crisp autumn temperature, the smell of apple cider and fallen leaves in the air. Most of them were dressed in sweaters and long sleeved sweaters. Alex had a book tucked under her arm, as always.
They bought their tickets for the hayride that would take them out to the patch, giving them a half hour before they left. Emily and Spencer decided to go to the gift shop, JJ, Penelope, Morgan, Tara, Kate, and Hotch went to the petting zoo/barn, and Alex and James went to get some hot apple cider and snacks.
"So… how've you been?" James asked awkwardly. Alex chuckled.
"You seem almost everyday, so the same as I always am. How about you?"
"I'm good. What do you think you're going to carve your pumpkin as?"
"Not sure yet, I might not carve it at all. Oooh, I could do those cool painted pumpkins! And I could paint it as a character from a book, or maybe an important scene…" James watched with joy as she rambled in about what she could paint her pumpkin as. You could ask her out right now, James. A voice in his head told him. "Hey Alex I-"
"Alex!" Spencer had come back from the gift shop at the worst possible time. "They have Halloween cookbooks in the gift shop! Wanna come see?"
"Oooh, I do need to get better at fall cookies," she said, following Spencer into the gift shop. Emily looked at him sympathetically and quietly mouthed a 'sorry.' He sighed and followed them into the gift shop.
Alex and Spencer were looking at a book of autumn cookies, trying to pick out their favorites. Alex was 20 and Spencer was 14, so they really weren't that far apart, but Alex was still a very predominant maternal figure in his life. They did everything together, Alex was even planning on teaching Spencer how to drive when he turned 16. Alex knew about Spencer's situation at home, and she was determined to try and make up for some of the stuff he had missed out on with Diana.
"Ooh, what about windmill cookies?" Alex asked, pointing to a picture of a cookie in the shape of a leaf with slivered almonds on top.
"Those look good! Can we get the book?"
"Sure, there's lot of good recipes in here. We'll have to make them sometime." She held her apple cider in one hand while simultaneously holding her phone, wallet, and keys in the same hand.
"How do you do that? How do you hold all of your belongings in one hand like that?" James asked jokingly. Putting their book on the counter to buy, she replied, "Years of evolution due to the lack of pockets in women's clothing." She smiled at him, making it feel like the entire world just collapsed around him. After they bought their new cookie book, Alex grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the hayride.
"Come on, James, this is our ride." They sat together on the hayride, since Spencer had split off to talk to Elle. Emily and JJ were sitting across from them, and they both kept raising their eyebrows at James suggestively. He shot them both a glare, causing the pair to dissolve into a fit of hidden giggles. Other than Derek, JJ and Emily were the worst teasers when it came to his crush on Alex.
To his relief, they left him one for the rest of the ride, instead talking amongst themselves about who-knows-what.
Even though it was a weekend, the patch was fairly deserted. There were only two other couples on their hayride other than their group. The tractor came to a halt, and their tight-knit group of 11 hopped off the trailer and split off into smaller groups to pick their pumpkins. Spencer and Elle joined up with JJ and Emily and their quartet wandered off to the far side of the field. Morgan and Garcia were together, as always, Kate and Tara had gone their own way, and James and Alex were talking to each other about something nobody but the two of them understood. That left Hotch alone as the odd one out.
He shrugged it off and walked through the rows of orange pumpkins, searching for a suitable one to carve.
"Seriously? You're just going to find your pumpkin alone? Not a chance." Emily had found him and decided that he was not going to be alone. She grabbed his sleeve and dragged him over to where JJ, Reid, and Elle were.
"Come on Lone Wolf, you can't escape us that easily," Elle teased as the now 5 friends resumed their quest.
After approximately 2 hours of searching, they reboarded the back of the tractor with their chosen gourds. This time, they all gathered around in a group for the ride back, telling jokes and stories about Halloween.
"Ok ok, so, since Hotch is new and hasn't heard it, I guess I'll tell my Halloween story," Emily said, laughing. "Before I started working at The Mountain Bean, I hadn't ever been to a pumpkin patch." Is it because you were an Ambassador's daughter? Hotch thought to himself. "My first year, Alex shows up and drags me to her car so that we can go pick out pumpkins. It was just the two of us at first, the next year we got most of these dorks. I was so confused at the idea of all of it, I had a great time though."
"I bet you and Alex had a great time that first year, surrounded by a bunch of old people," Hotch joked.
"Oh yeah, they were insufferable," Alex confirmed. The ride came to a halt, and the group dismounted their vehicle.
"Let's go carve some pumpkins!"
Please R&R! My tumblr is thestrawberrygirl if you wanna chat!
