He sat his desk studying the folder in front of him and scribbling notes furiously onto a tablet. He heard the knock on his door and without looking up invited the person to come in. David Rossi entered the younger agent's office and made himself comfortable in the chair in front of his desk. Hotch finally looked up from his work.
"Hey, what's up?" Hotch asked.
"How's everything going Aaron?" Dave asked.
"Everything's fine. Why do you ask?" Hotch asked.
"No early morning coffee dates or lunch dates in a week and don't tell me she's been too busy or that you've been too busy." Dave said.
"Dave, I've really got a lot of work to do." Hotch sighed.
"So what else is new?" Rossi asked.
"Yeah, well tomorrow is Good Friday and Jack's out of school and I'd like to be able to spend a little bit of the day with him, not to mention I'm completely unprepared for the bunny's arrival Saturday night and need to get that taken care of." Hotch grumbled.
"Garcia took care of it. It's in her office. The kid's getting quite a haul this year." Rossi mused.
"She shouldn't have done that." Hotch said.
"Oh please Aaron. Can you think of anyone else who the kid portion of these holidays is better suited for? She enjoys doing that stuff and JJ wasn't complaining at all." Rossi told him.
"She did it for Henry too?" Hotch asked a small smile threatening to show itself.
"You should invite he over to color eggs. You won't have to do any of the work." Rossi suggested.
"She's certainly welcome. She was great with him last year and it might help dissolve some of the tension." Hotch confessed, causing Rossi to raise an eyebrow.
"Tension? Between you and Jack?" Rossi asked.
"No, between Jack and everyone." Hotch admitted.
"I take it he's not too happy that his dad is moving on?" Rossi asked.
"No, he's not. We told him the truth, that Beth isn't just a friend, and at first he seemed okay with it, but then he all the sudden he wasn't and he won't talk to me about what is bothering him so much and I don't know Dave, maybe it's just not worth it." Hotch sighed.
"Bullshit Aaron. That woman has done more for you than any amount of therapy or prescriptions drugs could've accomplished. Have you seriously not been seeing her all week because you're contemplating breaking up with her?" Rossi asked, his frustration with the man coming through loud and clear.
"No, she hasn't wanted to see me all week because she's mad at me for punishing Jack for his bad behavior." Hotch said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing a hand over his brow.
"So have you begged for forgiveness?" Rossi asked.
"No, because hell will freeze over before I will allow my son to ever think it's okay to punch someone in the stomach unless it's self-defense." Hotch said.
"Jack punched Beth in the stomach?" Rossi asked.
"No, we took him to the park last Saturday and he was in a bad mood and punched another boy in the stomach and shoved him down. I don't know what to do Dave." Aaron admitted.
"Aaron you had to know that Jack was going to experience some anger over what happened to his mother. Maybe Beth entering the picture is a good thing. It'll force him to finally come to grips with the feelings he has, but doesn't understand." Rossi offered.
"Yeah, or maybe it's as simple as I've spoiled him so much in the aftermath that he thinks when things don't go his way he's allowed to behave inappropriately." Hotch suggested.
"So that's why you two weren't at the soccer game last Sunday." Rossi surmised.
"He refused to apologize to the boy. He screamed at Beth and told her to shut up. He kicked and screamed all the way to the car and all the way home and when I grounded him to his bedroom for the rest of the day he screamed at me and threw a book at me when I suggested he spend his time reading." Hotch sighed, obviously distraught over the situation with his son.
"Sounds like he needs a spanking." Rossie offered.
"I don't hit my son Dave." Hotch growled.
"Right, sorry. My bad. Do you love her?" Rossi asked.
"What?" Hotch asked.
"It's a simple question Aaron. Do you love Beth?" He asked again.
"Dave, I don't want to discuss my relationship with Beth." Hotch resisted.
"You don't have to, you just answered my question. You need to call her and patch things up." Rossi said.
"We'll be fine Dave. She's supposed to come over Saturday to cook for us and she hasn't canceled so I'm assuming that's still on." Hotch said.
"Cook for you?" Rossi asked.
"It was her idea and she wanted to do it at my place so Jack would be in his own environment and not get bored." Hotch said.
"Good. I'll expect all three of you at my house on Sunday for a late lunch/early dinner. I hired someone to hide eggs for the kids." Rossi said.
"You hired someone?" Hotch chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah, Penelope already read me the riot act over that, but did anyone really expect that I'd be out there crawling around in the bushes hiding Easter eggs?" Rossi asked and rolled his eyes.
"I can't speak for Beth, but Jack and I will be there." Hotch agreed.
"Tell you what, I'm going to pick Jack up from daycare after work and you're going to take Beth out to dinner and you can pick him up at my house when you're done. Don't argue with me Aaron. He doesn't have school tomorrow and he loves to come to my house and you need to make up with your girlfriend." Rossi said.
"When exactly was it that you decided to take on the role of cupid?" Hotch asked.
"Hotch, I'm Italian." Rossi answered and sauntered out of Hotch's office leaving the previously solemn man with a hint of a smile on his face.
When she heard the light knock on her office door, he was the last person she expected find standing there when she looked up.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey yourself." She said.
"May I come in?" He asked and walked in without waiting for an answer.
"I'm getting ready to leave for the day Aaron." She said.
"I know. I thought maybe we could have dinner." He offered.
"Is that for me?" She asked gesturing toward the single red rose he held in his hand.
"That depends." He said.
"On what?" She asked.
"On whether or not you're going to throw back in my face." He said in a light tone.
"That would be a terrible waste of a beautiful flower." She shot back in the same light tone.
"Beth, I am sorry that things have been so difficult, but I'm not sorry I disciplined my son. He needed it." He offered.
"I know Aaron and I'm sorry I got so upset with you. I've never been in a situation like this before. I have no idea what I'm doing." She admitted.
"That makes two of us. So will you have dinner with me or not?" He asked.
"What about Jack?" Beth asked.
"Oh, he's hanging out with his Uncle Dave who lets him eat without a shirt and suck spaghetti noodles into his mouth one at a time. He's happy, trust me." Aaron laughed lightly.
She walked around her desk and approached him, taking the rose from his hand, hugging him and speaking softly into his ear.
"I'll have dinner with you on one condition." She said.
"What's that?" He asked.
"That we go to my place and order Chinese take-out. I've missed you." She said and nibbled gently on his ear.
"After you." He said with a knowing smile on his face.
When Rossi opened his front door to a man who had clearly just had a really good time making up with his girlfriend he couldn't help but shoot his long time friend a knowing grin as he looked him up and down.
"What?" Hotch asked.
"Oh nothing, just checking to make sure you got all of your clothes back on properly. Wouldn't want your son wondering why his daddy's zipper is down now would you?" Rossi teased.
"Gloating Dave? Really?" Hotch remarked as he unconsciously looked down to check his zipper, making the older man laugh out loud.
"Daddy!" Jack yelled happily and ran to his father.
"Hey buddy, did you have fun with Uncle Dave?" Hotch asked as he picked the boy up and hugged him.
"Where were you?" Jack asked.
"I had dinner with Beth." Hotch answered.
"Oh. Uncle Dave cooks better than you." Jack shot back.
"Oh there's no doubt about that buddy." Hotch agreed and laughed lightly, not the response the child was fishing for.
"Daddy, can Aunt Penelope color eggs with me like she did last year?" Jack asked.
"I don't know buddy, we'd have to ask her. You don't want me to help?" Hotch asked, doing his best to mask his disappointment.
"No, you'll be busy with Beth. Me and Penelope can do it." Jack told him and squirmed out of his arms and scampered away to collect his things.
"Oh he's good." Dave said as he patted Hotch on the shoulder.
Hotch stood behind the bar in the kitchen and watched Penelope and his son dip the eggs into the different dyes. Beth approached him from behind and put her arms around his waist. He turned to face her.
"Why don't you join them?" Beth asked.
"He doesn't want me to. He's punishing me." Hotch said.
"Yes he is. He's never going to be six at Easter again Aaron. If that were my son, I'd invite myself to join in." She said.
"I don't want to leave you out here all alone." He said.
"Oh good grief. I'm a big girl. I'll be fine. Go color some eggs with your son. Please." Beth encouraged him.
Hotch kissed her softly and slowly made his way over to the table where Jack and Garcia were happily dipping eggs in the dyes, Jack's fingers already stained in a variety of colors.
"Jack, give your dad an egg." Penelope insisted as Hotch sat down.
"We already made one egg for every one of the team. You can make one for mommy. What's her favorite color daddy?" Jack asked.
"Blue." Hotch answered and took the egg from the boy.
"We're making personalized eggs this year Garcia?" Hotch asked.
"Of course Hotch. Everybody gets an egg in their favorite color with their name on it, courtesy of the fine penmanship of Mr. Jack Hotchner." Penelope told him.
"Daddy, does Chief Strauss want an egg?" Jack asked.
"I don't know buddy." Hotch answered trying not to be distasteful when his son was being nice and thinking about others.
"What's her favorite color?" Jack asked.
"Probably black." Garcia mumbled, making Hotch crack a smile.
"I'm not sure Jack, how about you just pick a color and I'm sure she'll love it." Hotch suggested shooting Garcia a knowing, cocked eyebrow look.
"Garcia, I had a dozen hard-boiled eggs. Why did you bring so many more?" Hotch asked.
"Because it's Easter and coloring eggs is the best part and you need a whole bunch of them so when it's all said and done you'll have this big colorful pile of eggs." Garcia told him.
What are we going to do with all of these?" Hotch asked.
"We're all going to be eating egg salad sandwiches next week." She said making him smile.
"You do realize egg salad and six people in the confined space of a jet can be dangerous don't you?" He deadpanned.
"Ha, bossman really does have a sense of humor. No worries sir, the egg salad will be limited to agents working out of the offices next week.
"Who should I write a name for now?" Jack asked, crayon in hand and enjoying the task of writing names on the eggs more than the actual coloring of the eggs.
"We don't have one for Beth yet. Do we know what her favorite color is?" Penelope asked.
"I don't want to make an egg for Beth. Who else?" Jack asked, Hotch immediately picking up on the angry tone.
"You don't want her to feel left out do you?" Penelope pushed the boy.
"I don't care." Jack mumbled, head down, knowing his father would disapprove.
"Well, I care so I think I'm going to make her one." Penelope said and reached for the crayon.
"I said no!" Jack screamed and threw a cup of green dye all over her.
Hotch immediately snatched the child up and took him out of the room kicking and screaming while Beth rushed into the room to help clean the dye off of Garcia.
"Oh dear, I've gotten him into trouble and I'm sorry, I didn't….I mean I could tell there was some obvious tension here, but he's usually such a sweet boy that I thought I could appeal to that natural streak of kindness that runs through him." Penelope's voice cracked, practically on the verge of tears.
"Don't blame yourself Penelope. Jack's having a hard time with this and honestly I think it might be best if I bow out and let the boy have his father back. I can't stand watching their relationship deteriorate and watching that poor little guy struggle so hard with this makes feel like some kind of evil bitch. Are we being selfish?" Beth asked, being honest with this near stranger in ways she'd yet to be honest with Hotch.
"No Beth, please don't break up with him. Hotch is so happy right now and you guys can get through this and no you aren't being selfish. Hotch deserves to have a life and to be loved and so do you. Jack will come around." Penelope assured her.
"He thinks Jack's actions hurt my feelings and I can't convince him that they don't. I understand he's just a little boy who is confused and angry and between you and me, it's not my feelings that have been getting trampled." Beth told her.
"Yeah, Hotch has always been that boy's hero and it's got to be hard for him to suddenly be falling out of favor with him. Please promise me you two won't give up though. Jack's a good kid with a big heart and he's smart like his dad. He's going to come around and he's going to be okay. You're still coming tomorrow right?" Penelope asked.
"I don't think so Penelope. It's Easter and Jack should be allowed to enjoy the day and the egg hunt and hanging out with all his surrogate aunts and uncles without with this woman his father has brought into his life spoiling the day for him." Beth said.
"None of us are going tomorrow. Jack is grounded." Hotch interrupted them.
"Um…gee, look guys I'm going to go home now and change my clothes before this stuff dyes my skin green. I'll let myself out. Bye." Garcia said quickly and nervously as she hurried away before Hotch had a chance to object or even thank her for spending her afternoon coloring eggs with Jack.
Hotch turned to Beth whose eyes were so angry it made him step back a bit.
"Look, I know what you're going to say, but you have to let me decide what is best for my son." He said.
"You're right I do and you have to respect my decision when I tell you that as much as it pains me, we can't see each other anymore. We have to do what's best for your son." Beth said and began gathering her things.
"Beth please don't do this." He said, his tone flat, refusing to plead.
"Aaron, maybe we can try again when Jack is older. I love you, but I can't live with myself knowing how miserable and upset I'm making a six year old. It just feels wrong." She said, brushing a gentle hand over his cheek and kissing him lightly, before turning away, refusing to let him see her cry.
"I'll walk you out." He said softly.
"No, it's okay. I'd rather you didn't." She said and walked away, leaving him standing in his dining room with a stack of colored eggs, a green dye mess, dinner burning on the stove and a six year old crying in his bedroom.
He sighed heavily and began cleaning up the mess.
A couple of hours later he checked on his son. He'd cried himself to sleep and it was only 7:30 PM so he decided he'd better wake him up. After a few gentle nudges the child opened his eyes.
"Hey buddy you need to wake up for awhile." Hotch said softly, gently.
"Daddy, I'm sorry." Jack said.
"Apology accepted. Are you hungry?" He asked.
"Yes, can we have our bachelor's dinner?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. Do you think we can get those hands clean enough to wrap the hot dogs up in the blankets?" Hotch asked, doing his best to mask his sadness from his son.
Jack smiled and nodded and hugged his dad before scurrying off to the bathroom to wash his hands. A few minutes later he found his dad in the kitchen preparing the macaroni and cheese and laying out the hot dogs for Jack to wrap up in the biscuit dough.
"Where's Beth?" Jack asked.
"She went home." Hotch answered.
"Did I make her sad?" Jack asked.
"No, she just needed to go home." Hotch lied.
"Is Aunt Penelope mad at me?" Jack asked.
"No, but the first thing I want you to do tomorrow is apologize to her and thank her for coloring all of those eggs with you. Okay?" Hotch told him.
"I get to go to Uncle Dave's and hunt eggs with Henry?" Jack asked, surprised his father had changed his mind because his father never changed his mind when it came to punishing him, which was his first clue that something was off with his dad.
"Yes, I think I over-reacted. What you did was wrong, but it was wrong of me to take Easter away from you and I'm sorry." Hotch told him.
"Daddy are you okay?" Jack asked.
"I'm fine buddy. Come on, let's get these hot dogs wrapped up so we can get them into the oven.
Later that night after reading together, Jack settled into his bed and waited for his dad to finish tucking him in.
"Daddy, is Beth coming to Uncle Dave's tomorrow?" Jack asked.
"No buddy, she's going to spend Easter with her family." Hotch told him, not really sure if she was spending Easter with anyone and not doing a very good job of masking his sadness from his insightful six year old.
"Why are you sad daddy?" Jack asked.
"I'm not sad buddy, I'm just really tired. Now you better get to sleep if you want the Easter Bunny to come." Hotch told him, smiling at him and kissing him on the forehead.
"I love you." Jack said.
"I love you too." Hotch replied and stood and left the room.
Morgan spotted the boy sitting alone on a bench at the far corner of the backyard, seemingly not that interested in playing. The kids were playing, Rossi was cooking on a grill the size of Texas and everyone else was just sitting around talking. Hotch had gone inside to take a phone call from Strauss and had asked Morgan to keep an eye on him. Both Hotch and Jack had seemed off to him the entire time they'd been together and he had deduced that it was over the incident that Penelope had described to him when she showed up at his place covered in green dye and crying. He walked over and sat down next to Jack.
"Not playing today?" Morgan asked.
"I don't feel like it." Jack sighed.
"Why not?" Morgan asked trying to cheer him up.
"I don't know." Jack mumbled.
"Okay Jack come on, it's me, Uncle Derek, the guy who lets you play video games long past the time allotted by your dad. You know I keep your secrets so what's going on?" Morgan asked.
"I think I made daddy sad." Jack told him.
"Why do you think he's sad?" Morgan asked.
"Because I can tell when he's sad. He tries not to show it, but I can always tell. Uncle Derek, I think I made Beth go away forever." Jack said, his big eyes watering up and tugging at the big man's heart.
"Jack, you're just a little boy. Whatever happens between your dad and Beth is grown-up stuff and has nothing to do with you." Morgan told him.
"No, I did it! I was so bad and I think I made her so sad she just went away and I didn't want her to go away I just didn't want my mom to be mad at us." Jack told him, no longer able to keep the tears from spilling over.
Morgan pulled the boy into his lap and hugged him.
"Jack, why would you think your mom would be mad at you?" Morgan asked.
"Because we were forgetting her and letting Beth do stuff with us and I didn't want mom to be sad because dad didn't love her anymore." Jack cried.
"Jack, did you talk to your dad about his?" Morgan asked.
"No, because I didn't want him to tell me that it's true." Jack sniffled.
"Jack, your dad is always going to love your mom and you are always going to love your mom even when the day comes when you both begin to love someone else. We have room in our hearts to love lots of people. But Jack she's gone and she can't come back and you and your dad, you deserve to be happy and to be loved by people who can be here with you." Morgan told him.
"Are you sure she won't be mad at us?" Jack asked.
"I'm positive and I understand how hard it is to lose one of your parents, but Jack if you ever get lucky enough to have a new person come into your life who loves not only your dad, but you too, then you need to take advantage of it and be happy because moms come in all shapes and sizes and they don't have to be the woman who gave birth do you. Do you understand?" Morgan asked.
"Beth doesn't love me." Jack sighed.
"Have you given Beth a chance to love you?" Morgan asked.
"No, my dad says I've been very hateful and I think it's too late to act better. I think I made her go away for good and now Daddy is sad again even though he says he isn't." Jack told him, his tone so distraught it was breaking his heart.
"You know Jack your dad loves you more than anything else in this world and no matter what happens he always will." Morgan told him.
"I know, but I don't want him to be sad." Jack said.
"Is that the only reason you want Beth to come back because your dad wouldn't want you to pretend to like something or someone just to make him happy." Morgan said.
"Beth's nice, but I wasn't. Do you think she still might want to be my friend?" Jack asked.
"Now who wouldn't want to be Jack Hotchner's friend?" Morgan asked moving the boy off of his lap and standing him in front of him.
"What if I told you I thought I could do something to help you fix this?" Morgan asked.
"You can?" Jack asked, his tone suddenly perkier and eager to hear more.
"I think so. Come on, you go play with Henry and when I get back we'll see if we can fix this, but Jack I want you to promise me that when you get home tonight you will talk to your dad and tell him everything you told me because he's your dad and wants and needs to know when something is upsetting you or scaring you. Okay?" Morgan asked.
"I will. I promise. Thanks Uncle Derek." Jack said happily.
She opened her door and sighed heavily
"Unbelievable. You know the whole background check thing was kind of cute, but this is kind of creepy. How did you know where I live?" Beth asked.
"Not sure what you're talking about, but I know where you live because Hotch leaves me phone numbers and addresses of where he can be reached. Are you busy?" Morgan asked.
"Aren't you supposed to be with everyone else at some Easter thing at the rich guy's house?" Beth asked making him smile.
"That rich guy is Hotch's best friend. His name is Dave, but we all call him Rossi, but I think you knew that. I suspect you know all about all of us." Morgan said.
"What are you doing here Derek?" Beth asked.
"I came to get you and bring you to the...Easter thing." Morgan explained.
"No." Beth said and started to close the door.
Morgan stopped the door with his hand,
"Look I know things have been tough with Jack and that you're doing what you think is best for him, but trust me this isn't what's best for Jack. He's upset because he thinks he made you go away forever and now his dad is sad." Morgan told her.
"Derek, I can't allow a six year old to pretend he wants me around just because he's trying to make his dad happy. It's wrong. Jack should be comfortable and shouldn't have to pretend." Beth argued.
"Jack was being mean to you because he was afraid his mom would be mad at him and his dad for forgetting about her. He thought she might be feeling sad if his dad didn't love her anymore. It's got nothing to do with you Beth. Come on, he's a sweet kid and I don't know you that well, you seem like a nice person, nice enough to give a six year old another chance." Morgan insisted.
"Derek, I'd give that little boy anything he wants or needs, I just don't want to be the cause of anymore pain for him." Beth explained.
"Good, then get your shoes and come with me and make him and that miserable father of his feel better." Morgan said.
Hotch finally reappeared on the patio and scanned the yard for Jack, spotting him immediately and taking a seat in one of the chairs next to Reid.
"He's canvassing the yard for hidden eggs, trying to map out how he wants to attack the yard once it's time to start hunting." Reid told him.
"Reid, that's not fair to Henry." Hotch warned.
"Actually it is, because I plan on helping Henry and I've already got our attack mapped out in my head." Reid said and smiled.
"There better not be any tears at the end of this thing." Hotch warned.
"There won't be because I'll be helping young Jack with his search." Garcia spoke up.
"You two do realize that Easter egg hunts are for children right? Oh wait…..look who I'm talking to." Hotch sighed.
"Daddy, when can we hunt for the eggs?" Jack asked as he suddenly appeared in front of him.
"As soon as Uncle Dave says it's okay." Hotch told him and ruffled his hair.
"You were in the house a long time, do you have to go to work?" Jack asked.
"No, not right now, but I have to do some work at home later, after you go to bed." Hotch told him.
The back door opened and Hotch was pretty sure he forgot how to breathe for a moment when he saw her walk out onto the patio although nobody around him would've been able to tell based on his facial expression.
"You came! You fixed it!" Jack exclaimed happily while Hotch and Beth looked from Jack to Morgan and then at each other.
"Awesome, everyone is here. Okay kids get busy hunting for those eggs and by the time you get done it will be time to eat. Beth glad you could make it." Rossi said, kissing her on the cheek and walking into the house.
Jack had Penelope bend down so he could whisper into her ear.
"I think that's a great idea." Penelope told him with a big smile and watched eagerly as the boy approached Beth.
"Beth, will you help me find the eggs?" Jack asked.
"Sure, let's go." Beth said and let the child take her by the hand and lead her into the yard.
"Derek, I don't know what you did, but thank you." Hotch said still somewhat stunned over what had just transpired.
"Jack's got some things to talk to you about when you get home tonight." Morgan said, patting him on the shoulder and walking over to the cooler to grab a beer.
Later that night with Jack sound asleep in his bedroom, Hotch opened a beer and his notebook and began scanning the files Strauss had sent him. He heard the light knock on the door and quickly went to see it was before the knocking grew more insistent and woke his son. He looked through the peep-hole, smiled and opened the door.
"This is a surprise." He said, taking her by the hand and leading her into his apartment.
She made herself comfortable on his couch and glanced down at the image on his computer screen and then quickly looked away. He sat beside her and quickly closed the lid on his notebook.
"Sorry about. They don't take a break on the holidays." Hotch apologized.
"Is that the case you're probably going to be leaving for tomorrow?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm guessing I'll be in El Paso this time tomorrow night." He sighed.
"We didn't have a lot of time to talk today and I just wanted to make sure we're okay. I mean I did pretty much just bail on you so I'll understand if you have issues with that." She told him.
He leaned in and kissed her passionately, eventually laying her back onto the couch and enjoying the quiet moment between them. He finally pulled out of the kiss and looked at her, running a finger gently across her cheekbone.
"We're fine and I don't have any issues with what happened. I hated it, but I understood and all I could think about was how much Jack was missing out on by not allowing someone who cared enough to give up what she wanted for his sake into his life." He told her.
"I wanted to see you tonight, to be with alone with you for a moment before you go away for who knows how long, but I also wanted to ask you something." She said.
"What's that?" He asked.
"Jack is on Spring Break this week and I was wondering if it'd be okay if he and I spent a day together doing something. Do you think he'd like that?" She asked.
"I think he'd love it and of course you can spend a day with him. Just let me know which day and I'll arrange things with his aunt." He told her, clearly moved by the gesture.
"Great. Well, I can see that you're busy with your work and we don't want to wake Jack so I'm going to show myself out and let you carry on." She said and attempted to pull herself out of his embrace and up to a seated position.
"I want you to stay and don't worry, we won't wake Jack." He told her.
"You want me to stay, as in all night?" She asked.
"Yes." He answered in a somewhat breathy tone and began kissing her again, not leaving her any chance to argue…..not that she would've.