A/N- it's been a while, huh? Don't hurt me? Strangely I've had this written for a while – just never had the chance to post it but I hope you enjooooy!

Let me know what you think?

Disclaimer – if only Spencer was mine. Life would be a sea of perfect knowledge and weird behaviour… also, Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't mine, though I do so enjoy using it as a reference…

XXXX

I never knew…

That you like Pinna Coladas

And getting caught in the rain

And the feel of the ocean

And the taste of Champagne

Escape, by Rupert Holmes

XXXX

The rest of the hour had gone smoothly. Having purchased the promised caffeine boost from the small, wooden hut by the edge of the greenery, Hotch and Eden found a semi-comfortable park bench and continued to hammer out the details of their arrangement. It was during this negotiation that Aaron felt compelled to make a confession.

"You hacked me?"

Eden had thrown her head back in an exaggerated laugh, a loud laugh, and one that Hotch could tell stemmed from the very bottom of her stomach and bubbled up her throat. He couldn't help the semi-smile etching onto his face, an equal action to her reaction.

The corner of his eyebrow seemed to automatically quirk when he did this, and Eden wondered if he always looked so confused by his own happiness.

"You Googled me." He defended. Eden's eyes widened comically as she let loose a scoff.

"You asked me to meet you in a park! With a dark, wooded area! All I needed from the internet was the phrase 'he does not have plans to abduct you, drug you and perform weird scientific experiments on your conscious yet paralysed self!' It was completely justified!" She gesticulated dramatically as she spoke, coffee almost spilling from the small, disposable cup as she got a little too enthusiastic. Almost. Even accidentally, Eden didn't waste coffee.

"And all I wanted was that same peace of mind." Aaron shrugged a little, but Eden wasn't having any of it. As though they were six and she'd caught him stealing crayons from school, she inhaled an exaggerated breath:

"Lies and blasphemy! You and I both know that I wouldn't have been cleared for teaching if there'd been even the slightest suspicious speck on my record."

This time, the questioning look on his face was directed at her, "Slightest suspicious speck?"

"Alliteration. All the cool kids are doing it," she shrugged and took a swig from her beverage through a smile. Hotch chuckled, and while he always knew that outside of the BAU he was a more relaxed version of himself, he realised that he'd laughed a lot more than he thought he would that morning.

Though not as much as the time Rossi lost the coin toss for target practice. Hotch had never been so proud of Jack's aim.

"You've been away from teaching for over a year now, I had to be sure you hadn't spiralled." He informed her seriously and she rolled her ivy eyes.

"Oh please, you just wanted me to know that you can access embarrassing high school photos of me at any time. You're a sly one, Agent Hotchner." She bumped his shoulder. Considering the fact that they'd met not even sixty minutes before, it signalled to Hotch that she had learned to trust him. And that she was an affectionate person. Physical contact made her more comfortable - that Aaron was male heralded that Eden had no adversity to his gender. Her relationship to her father and/or other men in her life had been positive. That was good.

He laughed and rubbed his own cup gently between his hands, "It never hurts to have the upper hand." Eden showed her agreement with a tilted nod and amused exhale. "And if a bowl-cut isn't leverage, I don't know what is."

Eden had choked on the coffee she'd been sipping, laughed and slapped his upper arm jokingly as Hotch enjoyed her reaction. "That is an unforgivable abuse of power: I don't know if I can work for a man of such loose moral standing." She stood and moseyed over to the dustbin a few feet to her left to dump her cup, before turning, hands on her hips and a grin on her face, towards him.

"Sure you can," his elbows were on his knees as his body leant forward, swirling the dregs of his coffee hypnotically, but his dark eyes were amused (eyebrow still raised) and matching her gaze, "Otherwise those photos may just find themselves in the Washington Post…"

"Isn't blackmail a crime?"

Aaron's half smile was crooked, "Depends how good you are at it. And I don't do things by half." He stood and made his way to her to dump his own rubbish. She glared at him childishly with narrowed eyes and lips.

"Don't need to be a profiler to figure that one out. Meanie Beanie." She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out and wondered if that had been the best way to go about proving she was responsible enough to handle the job she was applying for. Well, had been selected to apply for.

But she would have to be herself sooner or later. Not a lot a places to hide when you live with a person, own en suite facility or not…

"Wow. Are you rubber and I'm glue, too?" He teased and she cocked her head with that pretty smile.

"Of all the insults I could have chosen, aren't you relieved I chose one that won't land Jack a time-out if he picks up on it?"

Hotch grinned at the underlying sentiment.

"Is this you accepting?"

Eden wrinkled her nose and shoved him slightly, "Don't look so smug about it." He laughed, though mainly out of relief than anything else. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and Eden felt that weight settle onto hers, "There's always a Miss Summers around to save the day, I suppose!" She joked, an attempt to lighten the load she suddenly felt, when humour struck, "And you're training me in self-defence, yeah?"

"As a precaution." Hotch nodded as they began to traverse the path back to the excitable soccer team, his eyes immediately seeking out his son.

"Soooo," she began, and her tone made Hotch wary, "Following the metaphor, that would make you my Giles. My Watcher. You, in effect, are Watcher Hotchner." Eden couldn't stop the giggle bubbling from between her lips, a grin that spoke all kind of mischief on her face.

Hotch supressed half of his smile but the amused tilt still reached his lips, forming a crooked smirk, "We won't be following the metaphor." He shook his head as Eden let out a loud laugh, practically bouncing from the thrill of her discovery.

"I'm an English student, Aaron. I literally have a degree in following metaphors. So stop being such a spoil sport and graciously accept defeat." She nudged him again and Hotch raised his eyebrows, "There's no escaping me now."

"I think I feel a severe case of buyer's remorse coming on." He commented dryly.

Eden threw her head back as she laughed, having to clumsily rescue her sunglasses as they slipped off the back of her head.

Ironically, Hotch hadn't been so sure about anything in years.

XXXX

Things moved swiftly from there.

It took two minutes for Eden to fall right back in love with Jack, two days for her to move into their beautiful two-storey house settled in a sweet col-de-sac and two weeks for the unorthodox new family to fall into a stable routine.

During that period of time, a lot of information had passed between the three of them, more than the internet could have ever yielded.

Well, more than it could have yielded to Hotch or Eden at least. The latter had yet to meet a certain technical analyst.

For instance, Eden learned that Jack rocked at hide-and-seek. Seriously rocked. It had taken her 3 hours at one point to find him, and he'd only turned up because he'd gotten hungry and wandered back into the kitchen for some cookies. She was amazed. Two days later, she'd finally discovered one of his little hiding zones – but only because she'd literally face-planted the floor. Right in front of it.

It was then that she learned he was also an extremely sympathetic character.

He loved baked beans and would eat them with everything: on toast, mac 'n' cheese, on a bed of rice, on their own… he'd have them in a bowl to dip his crisps into… Eden had caught him once trying to work the can opener to get into a tin to pour over ice-cream. Not for the first time she was grateful Aaron had bought a manual opener, even if (pathetically) it did hurt her hand when she used it.

And her room was his new favourite place in the house. She wasn't quite sure why. Maybe just because it was shiny and new and his curiosity wouldn't rest until he'd memorised every detail of it to feel comfortable. Maybe it was because he wanted to mark his territory and reassure himself it was still his house; that she wasn't taking over. But, if she was being completely honest, something told Eden that it was because of how feminine her room was. Aaron had made a beautiful home with Jack, there was no doubt about that, but there was something, well, absent for lack of a better word.

Throw cushions on beds and the living room furniture; candles and flowers on empty surfaces; weird glass bowls filled with little shiny pebbles that really did nothing but cost money and take up space… the little things.

Things her room was full of.

He even liked to use her bathroom rather than the family one, and twice now she'd only managed to convince him to have a bath by promising to light some scented candles for him and fill the tub with her bubble bath…

Aaron had just been grateful she'd managed to get him in clean water at all and had let out a tired sigh once she'd come back down the stairs, having left Jack to play with his Spiderman in the bath. The doors inside the house were all open and they could vaguely hear his sound effects from their standing point. If he shouted, they'd hear.

It had been a long day at the office.

Eden noticed that about Aaron. When Jack was around his full and undivided attention was on him and their home. He didn't mention work, he let the house phone go to voicemail so as to not be interrupted by anything trivial and as soon as he stepped through the door he removed his suit jacket and left his briefcase by the coatrack, untouched.

Aaron was amazing at compartmentalising, for which she was glad. She honestly had no idea how to carry a conversation about murder or serial killers and didn't really feel like trying…

There were some things she honestly didn't want to know.

He was also a fantastic cook: and Eden couldn't hide her surprise when he'd whipped up a perfect beef stroganoff in an hour. She was, truthfully, unbelievably jealous – she couldn't even cut sandwiches in a straight line, for goodness sake. When she'd admitted this he had chuckled, wiping his hands on a tea towel before popping some raw carrot into his mouth and shrugging.

"My brother, Sean, is a chef in New York City. Every now and again he drops by and teaches me something new. Ask me how to scramble an egg and I couldn't tell you, but soufflé? No problem."

Eden had wiggled her eyebrows comically, "Ooh la la! Soufflé! This brother single, by any chance?"

Aaron was chopping onion at the time but had paused to look up at her, a warning look on his face, "And stupid. I'm not letting him within ten feet of you: it took me long enough to get you here, there's no way I'm letting him jeopardise that for Jack."

She laughed, "Long enough? It took you an hour: less than, really, since we were back in time to see the penalty shootout practice! You consider that a time consuming challenge?"

"Most of my suspects crack sooner than you did." He added the vegetables to the pot.

"That's because, to them, you're scary. All 'no nonsense, no compromise' - but you can't hide your inner marshmallow from me, Watcher Hotchner! I know you're all gooey-goodness really!"

He just shook his head in reply.

He was also the ultimate father, which wasn't such a surprise, but that sentiment didn't simply stop at Jack. He'd already veered her wordlessly away from the flirtatious checkout boy at the local grocery store, had told her to stop buying sweets because she always spoiled her dinner by eating them in the afternoon and if she was up when he'd gotten home past midnight then he'd quirked an eyebrow and simply stated; 'don't you have to be up in the morning?'

But honestly, Eden loved it. It made her feel like the old days back at her home, when her own dad had caught her sneaking in past curfew or stealing biscuits for breakfast. It was comforting.

She felt protected.

And, y'know, he had a gun so it was justified really…

Hotch himself was surprised by how well he'd taken to the situation. Originally, the thought of a stranger living in his house and taking care of his child had made his mind twist. It was uncomfortable: and Hotch didn't exactly trust easily in the simplest of situations.

But Eden had a quality that he genuinely couldn't describe. The fact that she approached everything with good intentions and a smile on her face made her warm and inviting; yet, she was innocent and, truthfully, childish enough to not replace Haley's position in their house. If anything, she was more of a sister or juvenile auntie than a mother figure.

But she loved without question. In fact, Aaron was sure he'd never come across someone who truly loved so blindly as Eden. It was the thing he both adored and worried about the most concerning her relationship with Jack: if she was too trusting then it could be a fatal mistake. Hotch was trying to figure out a way to make her more aware of societal dangers without ruining her charming innocence…

It was proving to be a challenge.

But the more he learned about her, the more he thought she was worth the effort.

She was intellectual but an arts student through and through – she had no interest in science and anything beyond high school maths escaped her. But she could quote and relate Shelley, Milton and Pullman in one swift argument. Her knowledge of American history was sparse but she knew everything there was to know about the line of succession in the British monarchy and its ancestry. Her knowledge of philosophy was steady, she knew enough Ancient Greek mythology to bring it into modern conversations and she could speak fluent French.

But ask her anything about Einstein's Theory of Relativity and it was like staring at a blank slate. Nothing there. Cue tumbleweed.

She was energetic and had no problem keeping up with Jack at all. He'd been so enthusiastic when he'd recounted their first day at the park; rolling down hills, playing catch, competing on the monkey bars, playing British Bulldog (though he'd had no idea what that was). That night, Jack had been out before Eden even had the chance to finish his story.

She loved sports and had already clued Jack into the British football/soccer system and had even gotten him into playing quick cricket and rounders. She'd told him that she'd been on the netball, badminton and field hockey teams at her school, college and university and could run rings around Jack (though, admittedly, not quite like she used to be able to.) And yet she loved junk food. Chocolate was her biggest vice, even more so than coffee.

Hotch had learned well that she didn't share chocolate.

She would read anything she could get her hands on, ranging from Jack's school books to trashy celebrity magazines she picked up in store. And had a word a day that she had to use at least three times – she'd even involved Jack in that game and already his vocabulary was extending.

She could bake but couldn't cook. She was graceful walking in heels but tripped over thin air in flat shoes. It was only August and she'd already started her count down for Christmas…

And Eden loved people.

He just hoped that wouldn't attract the wrong kind of people.

XXXX

Eden looked up at him, eyes wide and helpless, glossed with despair. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Shaking his head, Aaron smiled and set down a round of toast, yoghurt and a fruit cup on the breakfast bar in front of her, immune to her pouting. "It's for your own good, Edie."

"But it's a Sunday. Sunday morning. The Sabbath is holy and sacred and protected by God's Law and I'm fairly certain deities trump FBI chiefs." She viciously bit into the bread.

Hotch quirked an eyebrow, "But out of the two, God has more mercy. Now be quiet and eat your breakfast, you're going to need the energy." Eden narrowed her eyes playfully.

"You suck."

Sparked with amusement, Hotch's eyes danced, "You know, I don't remember Buffy ever complaining this much."

Eden swallowed hastily, expression lively.

"Nu-uh! You don't get to follow the metaphor now! Not since you jumped ship and abandoned me to the supposed care of one of your colleagues! You have been demoted. You are no longer Giles, you are Wesley. And trust me, Buffy bitches at Wesley."

He dried his hands on a dishtowel as he faced her over the counter, "Please tell me this is not the wealth of knowledge you're planning to pass on to my son? Buffy the Vampire Slayer factoids?"

Eden tilted her head and swallowed her mouth of yogurt, "Wasn't planning it but now you've brought it up that does sound like great blackmail material…"

"Bowl-cut."

And again, Hotch received a glare.

"What's that about a bowl-cut?" Eden heard from behind her and she closed her eyes briefly in mortification, opening them to stick her tongue out at Hotch's grin before spinning her chair around to face the newcomer.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." She managed to smile at the dark skinned, handsome man before her. A very tall, very muscular man, now that she looked a little closer. And she was supposed to learn how to defend herself against him?

Now she really wanted to go back to bed.

"And by that," Hotch chimed in, "She means she really doesn't want you to know."

She spun her head round, eyes narrow, "You know, I can recite every line from the first episode – maybe the script will accidentally find its way into Jack's bedtime reading. Every day this month."

"I know where your chocolate stash is hidden."

Hotch smirked with victory as she gasped and turned fully to face him, her new defence trainer snickering a little behind her.

"You wouldn't dare."

He lifted his brow.

"Care to test that theory?"

Eden opened her mouth, closed it, parted her lips a second time before shaking her head with a huff and crossing her arms. "Just you wait until I've learned these karate moves, Commander – then you better watch yourself. You will never be safe. I know where you sleep."

Hotch laughed and shook his head, before his colleague tutted behind her, "Threatening a Federal Agent? You're gonna need some serious moves to back that up, girl."

Eden quirked an eyebrow, "Up for the challenge, Hercules?"

He grinned, "Just don't turn on your teacher, Princess, and you got yourself a deal."

Hotch shook his head, "Maybe introducing you two wasn't the best idea."

"Well technically you haven't yet," Eden poked fun, grinning at her friend, "Where are your manners, SSA Hotchner?"

"Apparently in the same vacuum as my logic." Eden laughed at this retort, tightening her high ponytail and tucking a stray curl from her face. She thought this man was attractive – she did have eyes, after all – but he just didn't do it for her.

Eden didn't have a type. Not really – she liked what most girls liked, in one sense – nice smile, sense of humour, intelligence…

But as for what that package came in? Eden had no true preference that she could label. Someone either made her squirm or they didn't.

This man didn't. But that didn't mean she was about to dismiss him out of hand. She liked having friends.

And in Eden's mind, the more, the merrier was certainly a rule to live by.

"Eden this is Agent Derek Morgan of the Behavioural Analysis Unit at Quantico; Derek, this is Eden Summers, Jack's new nanny and the perpetual thorn in my side."

She shot him a cheeky grin, "You know you love me."

"Or I've learned to tolerate you." Hotch smiled back at her teasingly.

Derek laughed and slapped his Chief on the shoulder, "Well in Hotch-Speak, that's practically the same thing anyway." Eden let loose a laugh this time, feeling more awake following the morning banter and introductions and hopped down from her stool, pulling her yoga-pants up a little as she did just to be sure to remover the possibility of an embarrassing situation.

Well, one embarrassing situation at least. She was about to hit the mat with a man twice her body mass. Something told her she was not about to walk away from the morning unscathed.

"Ready to get this show on the road, Princess? We got a lot of basics to cover before the morning's out."

Smiling, hands on hips, Eden gave a quick nod, "Sure. Let's go teach me how to defend myself from maniacal tyrants." She winked at Hotch playfully as she walked with Derek out the back door.

"And Unsubs too, preferably!" They heard Hotch call from behind and laughed, the sunshine catching them delightfully as Derek set up a mat on the grassy expanse of the garden.

Eden began stretching as Derek levelled it out on the ground, glancing at her as he conversed; "You and Hotch seemed to have hit it off pretty well."

She grinned, grabbing one foot behind her, "Yeah, I definitely got lucky. He's a wonderful man, and not to mention how great Jack is. I love it here."

"Even with the 8AM weekends?" Derek sent her a teasing grin as he began to stretch out his own muscles.

She let out a laugh, trying not to squint too much in the path of the sun, allowing the light to catch the spark in her eyes, "When I can break a tree in half with the sheer force of one hand, I know it'll be worth it."

Agent Morgan grinned back at her, "Well for today, why don't we just start with your breathing and flexibility?"

"You trying to make a girl blush, Hercules?"

He laughed at her teasing and approached the mat on the opposite side to her, facing her directly. "Some things don't require effort."

Eden let loose a loud laugh, "Or modesty, apparently."

"I'm a much bigger fan of honesty. Now, deep breath in, hold it for a second – great, now bend over and try to touch your toes."

Before she could even try, Eden had already begun laughing again. Derek had quirked an eyebrow but looked on in amusement as dimples appeared by the side of her smile.

"Tell me that little giggle isn't about what I think it's about."

Eden smiled cheekily as her laughter subsided, "Not used to that reaction?"

"Nope," He smirked in reply, "But I can work with anything." She shook her head at Derek's response, but bent over all the same to complete his order effortlessly. All that sports training hadn't amounted to nothing, after all.

"You say that now, but just wait until you've seen my attempt at a right-hook. If you don't throw the towel in then, I will truly believe you to be a mythical hero. Pathetic doesn't even cover it."

Derek shrugged and crossed his arms, "Maybe so, but from what I've heard," she exhaled and slowly stood upright again, face relaxed and eyes open wide, "You're worth it."

No Spence again, I know – I'm terrible. Bear with me, I am establishing a foundation. Meanwhile, hope you enjoyed it and the next one won't be too long :)

Review? Pretty please?