"Where's Jack?" Hotch asked as he walked into the kitchen where Lynn was busy cooking dinner. "He's usually right here to greet me when I get back from a case."
"He's in his room getting caught up on his reading," Lynn replied as she turned the burners on the stove off. "He wants to be ready for Monday morning's discussion group."
"And the topic is - ?" Hotch asked.
"The story 'The Most Dangerous Game' by Richard Connell," Lynn replied. "And I think he is really enjoying reading it."
"I don't remember that being on the reading list we were given at the beginning of the year," Hotch said thoughtfully. "Is it a new addition?"
"About that," Lynn told him as she began putting food onto plates. "You and I need to talk – But after dinner. Okay?"
"About what?" Hotch asked mystified. "Is there a problem at school?"
"Not anymore," Lynn assured him. "Everything is going to be just fine. But any discussion concerning Jack and school needs to wait until after dinner – Okay?"
"If you say so," Hotch replied slowly. "If that's what you want."
"It is," Lynn told him as she handed him two plates. "Now, after you put these on the table, will you please call Jack and Jacob and let them know that dinner is ready?"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"You pulled him out of school !?" Hotch demanded incredulously. He was trying hard not to yell. "Just like that?"
Immediately following dinner, he and Lynn had retreated to the den to talk while Jack cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher.
"Not just like that," Lynn corrected him. "I had a plan. I would have discussed it with you but ever since you got your own team you have been too busy to discuss anything."
"He is my son!" Hotch declared hotly. "You can't just pull him out of school!"
"He is your son," Lynn agreed. "But he is also an above average student who is being held back by the less than average students who are in his classes and he's bored. Add the fact that he has some teachers who apparently are only capable of repeating what is in 'The Book' and you have a recipe for trouble. Jack needs to be somewhere where independent thought is encouraged, not discouraged; particularly if he is planning on practicing law."
"How do you know what is best for Jack?" Hotch demanded. "Your educational background isn't exactly traditional."
"It isn't," Lynn agreed. "That is why I talked this through with Spencer first. His experience is much more extensive than mine, and he also has numerous contacts in the educational field."
"Reid thought this was a good idea?" Hotch verified. "He approves of this?"
"He does," Lynn confirmed. "And Penelope also checked everything out to make sure that things at both the schools are what they appear to be."
"Okay," Hotch drew a deep breath as he picked up the folder lying on the desk. "Let me read through the information you have here and see what I think. You said Jack decided on The New Horizons Academy?"
"That's right," Lynn told him. "We visited both schools and he preferred their combination of group discussions and independent study. He can go at his own pace and get help whenever he feels he needs it. Plus, two of the staff members there are grad students who know Spencer."
"There is one more thing," Hotch looked up from the page he was perusing. "The cost. I assume neither of these schools is cheap. And, even though I got a raise when I got my own team, I don't know if we can handle it financially. I don't want to have to dip into Jack's college fund."
"That won't be a problem," Lynn assured him. "I received my first payment from the licensing fees for the irrigation system The Professor and I patented and it will more than cover Jack's tuition."
"But Jack's my son," Hotch protested. "I should be responsible for him. And, what about Jacob and Lilly? What about their educations?"
"Spencer assures me that when the time comes schools will be standing in line with scholarship offers for Jacob," Lynn reported. "Plus, The Professor has made arrangements to have his share of the licensing fees put into a trust for him. Jacob is not going to want for anything. And, by the time Lilly is old enough for that to be a concern, money should be coming in from my shares in the farms on the island as well as from the solar power system The Professor and I are patenting. Don't worry about the money. Just make sure you are comfortable with the school."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Aunt Jessica's not happy," Jack reported Sunday evening when he returned from his weekend visit with his aunt.
"That sounds familiar," Hotch replied dryly.
"About what?" Lynn looked up from the textbook she was studying. She thought she knew the answer but felt she should ask anyway.
"About my new school," Jack told her. "She said that you two are taking me away from everything I am familiar with in an attempt to alienate me from my friends and from her."
"How do you feel about that?" Hotch asked. "You're the one who is being moved."
"I think I need to go to another school," Jack said thoughtfully. "And, I think I chose the right one for me. But, Aunt Jessica is so unhappy. I tried to explain everything to her, but she just wouldn't listen. Maybe one of you could talk to her?" He looked hopefully from Hotch to Lynn.
"I would be glad to speak with her," Lynn immediately agreed. "But only if she walks through our front door and into the house to speak directly with me."
"You know she won't do that," Jack protested. "She won't even get out of the car when she drops me off."
"Well, then, that's just too bad," Hotch stated. "I think Lynn's request is quite reasonable and it's about time Jessica faced the fact that change is inevitable, whether she approves of it or not."