E43r33w42Guest: OOOO good idea! Won't happen though. There will be another encounter with bad guys though…
Cherubim: Thank-you, and I do have a new Reid-centric story in mind…
Hello My Dear Readers, welcome back! As always, no own, no profits made.
Chapter 36
After finishing her coffee and bidding the Hotchners goodbye, Strauss took her leave with the forms in her hand and satisfaction in her heart. Having been invited to a team cookout she felt accepted and was determined to make the best corn ever.
"Your boss is nice" observed Spencer, as he finished his last bite of waffle. "Even though she doesn't want to be seen that way. She thinks that makes her seem weak."
"Well aren't you the little profiler!" praised Hotch with a smile. "Just don't blow her cover, ok?"
"Ok" agreed the smiling boy. "Daddy, what is a cook-out?"
After explaining the concept Spencer nodded his understanding and expressed that it sounded like a lot of fun. Of course, after years of near starvation, any event that included a chance to try new delicious foods was more than welcome.
"Ok boys, let's get dressed and go to the furniture store, then we need to go shop for cookout stuff. I was going get Spencer some more clothes, but I think he would fit the things you outgrew this year Jack. Would you mind if I gave him some of those things? That would save us having to go to the department store and give you guys more time to play…" Hotch suggested, hoping his son would go along with the suggestion. He was trying his best to avoid doing or saying anything that might make Jack jealous of Spencer, or feel in any way replaced by him.
Hotch shouldn't have worried. Jack enthusiastically agreed to the plan, and Spencer was excited to have anything of his own. Despite the fact that he had usually been kept naked, the boy was easily becoming accustomed to being dressed and found that he appreciated the warmth that clothing afforded.
After washing little mouths and hands, the pleased father helped his boys get dressed, brush their teeth and comb their hair. Then, after getting presentable himself, Hotch buckled the boys into the car seats and off they went to the furniture showroom to find a suitable (and fun) bunkbed set. The selection was overwhelming, but the boys ultimately agreed on a set that included staggered drawers doubling as steps up to the top bunk. After paying and arranging for same-day delivery (Woo-Hoo), the trio moved on to the market.
By now, Spencer was getting tired, and clung to Aaron's neck as they entered the grocery store. The store (thankfully) had carts with plastic cars attached for kids and the grateful father put Jack in one side and eventually convinced a reluctant and clingy Spencer into sitting in the other side, and set off to the meat department. "Ok boys, what do you think? Hotdogs, hamburgers, or both?" Hotch inquired.
"Hotdogs!" enthused Jack. "Hotdogs Daddy"
"No Daddy! I don't want to eat a doggy! Please don't make me!" wailed Spencer, bursting into tears.
"No Buddy, hotdogs aren't made from dogs-it's a sausage on a bun sweetheart." Hotch rapidly responded. "They are made from beef or pork or sometimes turkey or chicken."
"No dogs? You are sure?" Spencer asked, drying his tears.
"Yes honey-Daddy will never lie to you. I promise." Hotch responded in a soothing tone.
"What is a hamburger?" inquired the curious child.
"That is a ground beef patty on a bun" responded the worried dad, "and if there is cheese on it we call it a cheeseburger.
"But beef is from cows and pork is from pigs! And chickens and turkeys are birds! I don't want to eat something that use to be alive!" the still distraught boy declared.
"Well, they make both sausages and 'burgers' from vegetable protein. Let's get both kinds of them so people can choose. Yes?" proposed Hotch, and both boys agreed. "Garcia will be pleased" he thought to himself.
"Ok, so regular and veggie hotdogs and hamburgers it is" Aaron responded enthusiastically, placing both ground beef and dinner franks in the basket, then heading to the freezer department for their vegetarian counterparts. "Now let's go get the buns and condiments."
"Quiet Daddy!" Aaron heard Jack stage whisper. "Spencer's sleepin' now."
Looking into the "cab" of the car basket, the charmed father saw Spencer slumped over against his new brother, head on his shoulder, fast asleep. "Ok…thanks Buddy," he whispered back, and proceeded to gather the aforementioned items.
After picking up a few more grocery items they checked out and headed back to the car. The busy dad placed first Jack then Spencer into car seats, loaded the purchases into the back, then headed home.
They arrived mere moments before the truck from the furniture store, and after first unlocking the door and showing the delivery men where the boy's room was Hotch unbuckled the boys from their seats and brought both to the couch. Spencer never even stirred from his slumber. After putting Jack 'in charge' of watching his brother, he bustled out to the car to retrieve the groceries, returning to find his son hushing the men who were busily assembling the bunkbeds. "Quiet! My brother's sleepin' an' he was up crying all night!"
"Sorry, we'll keep it down" declared one of the men, obviously greatly amused, as the other smiled at the stern-faced child.
Hotch gave the men a grateful nod as he passed them on the way to the kitchen to put away the groceries. He then sat on the couch with the boys and gathered Jack into his lap, stroking his silky hair until the child drifted off to join his brother in nap-land.
About an hour later the workmen quietly informed him they were done, had Hotch sign for the delivery, and left happily clutching their generous tips. Gently easing Jack onto the couch next to Spencer, the tired father went in and placed sheets and blankets onto the new beds, moving Jack's old bed into his study. He then woke the boys and settled them into their room to play Legos on the carpeted floor while he went into the kitchen to make dinner. An hour later he came to fetch them, suitably impressed with the small city they had managed to erect in such a short time. After dinner came bath time and brushing of teeth, then the Hotchner men settled down to watch a movie together. Spencer found himself laughing at parts of the "Cars" video despite himself, and when it ended the boys happily repaired to their new bunkbeds. Despite his initial trepidation, Spencer felt relieved and encouraged by Jack's presence, and Hotch assured him that if the boy called for him he would come running.
After reading the boys a story from one of Jack's books, Hotch turned on the Captain America nightlight, turned out the light, and went to take his own shower. Soon the Hotchners were all snug in their beds and the only sound to be heard was Aaron's quiet snores.