Bonds of Love
Chapter 4
A/N: hello, readers! Thank you all so much for your reviews, follows and favorites! They are lovely and encouraging, and they help me to motivate myself to write more and to write much faster! Here's Chapter 4. I hope you enjoy! Please Read and Review!
Half an hour later, they were in the car on their way to the local Wal-Mart. Elle had joined them for the trip, having shown up fifteen minutes previously with a pair of Goodwill clothes for each of them. Rossi had thought ahead and invited her along just in case the kids felt more secure with a female around.
Aaron had protested the whole thirty minutes that it took them to get ready, reminding Rossi that he didn't have to buy anyone anything. Rossi had shooed him off, telling him that he never felt like he had to do anything. He just did what he wanted to. Eventually, Aaron gave up, having been reminded once more of his partner's stubborn nature.
The children all seemed to be overwhelmed by both the sudden departure and the loud public place, so Elle was speaking softly with them about trivial things, like their favorite colors, and what animal they liked best.
Spencer liked the color blue and sharks were his favorite animal. J.J said pink was her favorite color. She liked the flamingo, because they were pink and because 'flamingo' was fun to say. Emily liked purple and she loved elephants. Derek was stubborn, refusing to talk, so J.J told them he liked pit bulls, and Spencer added that his favorite color was red.
J.J and Spencer were distracted by the conversation and all they had to add to it, but Derek and Emily were on high alert as they walked through the store.
When they got to the children's section, Aaron and Rossi turned to the car seat equipment. They picked out car seats for Spencer and J.J, deciding on a blue and black design for Spencer and a pink and black one for J.J. After that, they picked out a purple booster seat for Emily. Although Derek was also small for his age, his seat belt fit properly, so he didn't need any equipment.
Elle suggested that they look at the children's clothing section next. After a quiet discussion between the kids, Derek, much to the adults' surprise, agreed to let J.J and Emily go with her to pick out clothes while Spencer and Derek went with Aaron. Rossi told them that he would pay for seven pairs of clothes, five pairs of pajamas, and three pairs of shoes for each child. Aaron began to protest once again. "Dave, you don't need to spend that much money..."
Rossi just gave him a exasperated look in return. "In case you haven't noticed, Hotch, I own a mansion. I can afford this. So just be quiet and go pick out some damn clothes." Aaron rolled his eyes but conceded, walking towards the boy's clothes section with Spencer and Derek right behind him.
About an hour later, the cart was full to the limit and the shopping trip had been successful. The kids had all picked out and tried on clothes, except Derek, who chose the clothes he liked but refused to try them on. After the items had been bought, each child picked out an outfit to put on in place of the Goodwill clothes.
Spencer chose the bright orange and navy blue t-shirt with the words "GENIUS AT WORK" written on it and the silly looking monsters in lab coats on the matching shorts.
The smile that lit up his face when Aaron had picked it out for him was contagious, and Aaron had found himself grinning as he placed it in the cart. Spencer also picked out his new white and navy Converse and mismatched his socks, using an orange sock from one package and a blue sock from the other.
When Elle gently pointed out that the socks didn't match, Spencer's eyes got wide, fearing that he had somehow angered her. Aaron saw this and quickly assured Spencer that it was okay if his socks were mismatched. The relief that flooded through Spencer was clearly visible. He gave Aaron a small but thankful smile.
J.J picked a pink t-shirt with the words "SOCCER GIRLS ROCK THE GOAL" written on it in purple block letters and a shiny purple soccer ball pictured beneath. She paired it with purple and pink striped shorts and pink Keds.
"Do you like soccer?" Elle had asked, wondering what had made J.J pick the shirt out.
"Rosie played it." J.J had replied, so softly that Elle almost didn't hear her. Emily had looked at her with wide eyes before wrapping her arms around J.J in a tight hug, whispering something to her that Elle couldn't hear. J.J then took a deep breath and put the shirt in the cart, slipping her hand into Emily's. Elle decided not to ask who Rosie was right then.
Emily chose the purple t-shirt with the pink glittery image of the Eiffel Tower and "PARIS" written on it in loopy cursive letters. She paired it with purple shorts with pink stripes that matched J.J's and purple Keds. Her smile was melancholy as she looked at the shirt, and Aaron briefly wondered if the shirt brought up sad memories. Emily's mother was an Ambassador, so maybe Emily had been to Paris with her mother before. The sad smile was replaced by a genuine one when J.J started talking excitedly about their matching shorts and how they picked the same kind of shoes.
Derek picked a red graphic t-shirt with the image of the face of a pit bull with sunglasses on it. When Spencer had seen it and ran to show Derek with such enthusiasm, Derek hadn't been able to hide his small smile, despite the tension radiating off of him in waves. Derek paired the t-shirt with black denim jeans and red and white Nikes.
The next item on the agenda was haircuts. The Hair Cuttery was just across the shopping plaza. The older kids all tolerated the place. Derek got a buzz cut, Emily chose to keep her long hair and just got a trim. J.J picked out a shorter style, getting it cut to a little above her shoulders.
Spencer, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by the sensory experience of getting his hair washed and trimmed. He shook violently throughout the whole procedure. As soon as the lady announced, "All done!" in a chipper tone of voice, he had started crying hysterically.
The older kids had all finished a few minutes prior to him, and each of them gathered around Spencer, Derek wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a tight squeeze and Emily and J.J both grabbed a hand. Aaron and Dave ignored the stares of onlookers as Elle led everyone to the car.
"S-Sorry." Spencer apologized quietly once he had calmed down sufficiently.
Before even Derek could say anything, Aaron had replied. "It's okay, buddy. That must've been hard, hmm? You did a great job in there."
Dave and Elle stared at him, still not used to seeing this gentle side of their coworker. They were still getting used to this patient reassuring version of the usually stoic agent. Dave swore he had seen Aaron smile more in the last 24 hours than he had in his entire career.
Aaron ignored their looks. The "No Profiling The Team" rule was one that was broken often; it was simply their observant nature as people and as professionals. If he were in their position, he'd be profiling himself, as well.
He was currently trying not to analyze himself. This persistent feeling of how these kids just simply belonged in his life was overwhelming him, and as much as he understood the logical reasons why he shouldn't get attached, he couldn't help but notice that his heart wasn't listening. He was already invested in these kids, in their futures.
Derek looked at Aaron, his little brow furrowed in confusion. Why was this man being so understanding of everything? Why were his friends playing along with this strange game? And how long would this peaceful facade last?
Aaron pulled over to the Burger King and asked the kids what they wanted to eat. Each child said they didn't care what they got, but at the last moment, Spencer piped up softly. "Can I get their chicken nuggets?" He asked, sounding almost fearful of Aaron's answer.
The man sighed internally. It was going to take a lot of time and patience to show these kids that he wasn't a threat. But considering what he knew about their pasts, he wasn't surprised that they all thought that he was a threat- pain was all they knew for the last few years, if not their whole lives.
"Yes, of course, Spencer. Does the twelve piece sound good to you?"
Spencer's little eyes widened at the thought of that much food. "Y-yes?"
"Alright. Does anyone else have a last minute request?" Aaron asked, giving the backseat an amused smile.
"Can I have the chicken nuggets, too?" J.J asked hopefully.
"Yep. How about you, Emily? And you, Derek?"
Both of the older children asked for burgers, and Aaron surprised them by ordering them each a small milkshake to go with their meal.
Ten minutes later they were all munching away at their food when Aaron's phone started ringing. He took a look at the caller ID and saw that it was Gideon.
"Hey, Gideon."
"Hello, Hotch. How've things been going?"
"We're all right. Did you need something?"
"Yeah. Can you bring the kids in? I'm under pressure from Strauss to start the investigation into the victimology aspect. I figured you, me, Dave and Elle could each interview one of them."
Aaron sighed. He hated the idea of pressuring the children into talking, but he knew when Erin Strauss got a goal in mind, she often ignored the well-being of others.
"Alright, let me tell them what's going on. I'll meet you in half an hour."
A/N: alright, there we go! That was chapter four. Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Please review regardless! Constructive Criticism is welcomed.