*Chapter Nine: Single Daddy Derek*

Morgan/Hotch relationship established.

Slash Warning.

I do not own Criminal Minds or the characters therein (I wish I did!), they are owned by some really great people that I think should TOTALLY give me a job! I am not making any money off of this story either (would that I were-does that make sense?). The writing is just for a bit of fun.

Derek sat up in bed watching as Hotch got dressed, a frown on his face.

"Stop pouting," Hotch said as he deftly adjusted his tie and turned to face his lover. Derek was holding a now sleeping Baby Erin, his naked chest still sweaty from their lovemaking of thirty minutes before, the baby having woke up soon after he stepped into the shower.

"Well, I'm upset Aaron. I want to go," Morgan huffed.

"I know baby, but you're on bedrest. Besides, you get to spend time with Erin and Jack," Hotch pointed out.

Morgan glanced down at Baby Erin and smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just going to be weird to not be with the team, working, out in the field…" he mused. Hotch nodded and grabbed his jacket from where it hung in the closet and put it on. Sitting on the side of the bed next to Morgan he pulled the younger man close to him and kissed his temple.

"It's going to be weird for us too, but we're going to get you in on this, Garcia promised to get your laptop hooked up into the video conference that we're on and we'll forward all of the information and evidence to you to get your input," Hotch said with his arm around Morgan's shoulders. He knew that Morgan hated to feel as if he were the woman in the relationship, and Hotch didn't see him that way, but because of what he'd endured and the childhood that had been denied him, Morgan was definitely the more sensitive of the two of them. Hotch had to admit that he liked it, it made him feel like Superman whenever he made Morgan feel better.

"And you?" Morgan whispered, keeping his eyes focused on Erin, avoiding Hotch's eyes so that his vulnerability couldn't be seen.

"And I will call you every night and talk to you until you go to sleep and call you every morning to tell you how much I love you and the kids," Hotch promised.

"Good," Morgan nodded as he wrapped Erin in her baby blanket a little tighter before looking up into Hotch's eyes. "I'm going to miss you."

"And I'm going to miss you too," Hotch agreed as he leaned forward and captured his lover's lips with his own. As always, kissing Morgan was like licking electricity. Hotch felt his brain turn to mush, his body heat up, his hands shake and his cock harden. After three years his body still reacted this way, he could only pray that after thirty years it would still react that way. Growling low in his throat, he lifted his lips from Morgan's and began nibbling on the man's jawline before moving down to his neck where he licked a line from his shoulder to just below his ear and then traveling back the way that he'd come before. The only sounds in the room were Morgan's harsh breathing and the sounds of Hotch kissing and licking the beautiful expanse of flesh in front of him. Biting down on the patch of flesh between Morgan's shoulder and neck, hard enough to leave a mark but not enough to break the skin, he licked the mark before kissing it and sucking it into his mouth.

"God Aaron, please," Morgan rasped out, grabbing Hotch's hand and putting it on his throbbing member under the covers. Hotch squeezed the engorged member before stroking it lightly. He might have continued but Erin chose that moment to remind her fathers that she lay in the bed by letting out a small, breathy sigh and rolling slightly on the bed, where she lay in the open space of Morgan's legs.

"Shit," Hotch said, laying his forehead on top of Morgan's.

"My sentiments exactly," Morgan groused with a low, growly chuckle, "She has the worst timing ever." Hotch merely nodded. "Be careful and make sure you come back to me," Morgan commanded.

"I will, I promise. You be careful and take care of yourself and the kids," Hotch stated, his voice still breathy and harsh.

"I will. P is coming to stay while you guys are gone, so she'll keep me company and help with Erin and Jack, she's even going to take me to my doctor's appointment tomorrow and go with me to Erin's appointment today," Derek said with a smile.

Rubbing a hand over his lover's sculpted chest Hotch smiled sadly, "I wish I could be there for both of the appointments."

"There will be plenty more, trust me. Now go before the team has the plane fly out here and land in our backyard," Morgan teased.

Hotch nodded again and stood to his feet, leaning over to kiss Morgan again, caressing the younger man's cheek with his thumb. "I love you."

"I love you too Aaron. We'll be fine."

"He's going to kill me," Morgan groaned from where he lay on the couch, which was as far as he could make it before he collapsed from the pain. He had persuaded Garcia to go to the park with the kids and when they'd gotten there, he'd decided to throw the football around with Jack, when the little boy had grown tired and walked off to go sit in the sandbox, he'd decided to play a game of football with some of the guys from the Academy in spite of Garcia's frantic pleas not too. It wasn't until he'd been tackled and had lost unconsciousness and woke up in the hospital that he'd finally realized that he was really and truly hurt.

"Yes he really is," Garcia said sniffing. She'd been really scared when she'd seen Morgan's body laying lifeless on the ground, all of the young guys gathered around him. She'd had a hard time getting Jack to calm down. Erin didn't know what was going on and only cried because her older brother was crying. They'd been in the hospital for four hours before the doctor had released Morgan with strict orders to stay on bedrest and he meant bedrest.

"Did you call him?" Morgan asked hesitantly his worried eyes looking at Garcia.

"Not yet," Garcia shook her head, "But I will as soon as I get you into bed."

"Papa, Daddy's on the phone with you and he's mad," Jack said as he handed the house phone to Morgan. Morgan raised an amazed gaze at Garcia as he took the phone.

"A-Aaron?" he stuttered into the phone.

"I received two phone calls. One from the hospital since I'm listed as your emergency contact, the second from our son Jack. Want to know what they said?" Hotch whispered angrily through gritted teeth.

"Not particularly," Morgan hedged.

"Dammit Derek! We talked about this! What were you thinking? You were shot! You died! You're supposed to be on bedrest! You shouldn't have even BEEN at the park! What in the hell was Garcia thinking?" Hotch yelled into the phone before lowering his voice. Hearing her name, Garcia jumped startled, her eyes widening in fear.

"Aaron, stop talking to me like a child!" Morgan growled, "I messed up, I'm sorry!"

"You've been saying that a lot here lately Derek. You don't get it do you? You wanted a family, now you got one, so stop acting like it's just you out there. Like your actions don't affect others around you. Something happens to you, it doesn't just happen to you, it happens to me and our kids as well. Stop apologizing about shit and just stop fucking doing it!" Hotch growled back before hanging up.

Morgan stared at the phone, his hand shaking from pain, anger, fear, guilt and shame….anger won out. "I can't believe he just fucking hung up on me! Ass!" he groused out.

"He was upset," Garcia stated.

"I don't care. I'm upset too, what he did was just rude," Morgan muttered as he tossed the phone to the floor. Pushing himself up from the couch, he walked slowly towards the stairs, "I'm going upstairs to take a nap, can you watch the kids for me please?" he asked as he walked out of the room and went into the bedroom where he slammed the door closed.

"Damn impulsive, selfish, non-thinking, inconsiderate bastard," Hotch muttered angrily under his breath as he furiously hung up his phone and shoved it in his pocket.

"Everything okay Hotch?" Prentiss asked. Hotch shoved a hand through his hair and took a deep breath to calm the rage pulsing through his veins…atleast he was lying to himself and saying that it was rage, he knew that it was a bone-chilling fear, the kind that made an agent in the field unable to do his job.

"Yes Prentiss. Everything is fine," he gritted out between clenched teeth.

Prentiss nodded and walked off towards the crime scene. Hotch knew it wouldn't be long before Rossi approached him and had actually counted to twenty before the older man showed up.

"So what's really going on Aaron?" Rossi asked as the two of them faced the crime scene.

"Twenty seconds, you're slacking off a bit there David," Hotch said with a smirk before sighing deeply. "I got a call from the hospital that Derek had been admitted."

"Is he okay? Do you need to fly back home?" Rossi asked as he looked at him in concern.

Hotch shook his head, "No, the idiot is back home."

"Idiot?" Rossi repeated in confusion.

"He went to the park with Garcia and the kids and decided to play football with some guys from the Academy, got tackled and was knocked unconscious," Hotch explained.

"Ahhh, I see….Idiot. Yes, you're right," Rossi agreed.

"And then Jack calls me to tell me that his 'Papa' was hurt really bad and that he was scared he was going to die and that on the way home from the hospital that Derek and Garcia were talking about how to keep me from finding out," Hotch gruffly stated.

"So are you more upset that he was planning on keeping it from you or that you might have lost him when you weren't around?" Rossi asked insightfully.

Hotch sighed, "You're an ass you know that right?" He nodded at Prentiss and Seaver as they began making their way towards them and away from the crime scene. "I lost him once David. I've almost NEVER had him in my life this way, then this amazing thing happens and my life changes for the better…for the best and then because of his impulsive personality, his I-know-better-than-everyone-else attitude, I lost him. I couldn't help him, I felt helpless, out of control. It was worse than with Hailey. I grieved Hailey, but I knew I could live, I knew I WOULD live, but when that nurse told me Derek had died…." Hotch shook his head, his throat clogging as he remembered the emotion of that day, "I felt like I couldn't breathe, like I would never breathe the same way, ever again. I felt as if I couldn't live without him, I knew I WOULDN'T live without him with me. I was already planning it, crazy as it sounds, we're so connected he and I. He exhales when I inhale, he knows what I'm going to say before I've even thought it all the way through and to lose that…he's like my breath and my heartbeat... I never want to feel that way again. I won't."

Rossi shook his head, "Aaron, you're not God and Morgan will always be Morgan. You can ask him to stop being himself because you're afraid. Although you hate his impulsive side, you fell in love with him because of and in spite of that fact. You're in a tough position Hotch and I don't begrudge you that. You have to live with the fear, everyday, that you could lose the love of your life, it's a fact that other people are blissfully unaware of," Rossi sighed as the women drew closer, "But you can't let your fear destroy what you have. I agree that what Morgan did was stupid, playing football when he's supposed to be on bedrest, not wanting to tell you, but do you want to let that come between the two of you. Remember, you know that each moment could be your last, his last, do you want the last thing you two said to each other to have been said in anger?"

Hotch inhaled sharply, "I just don't like feeling helpless. I'm so scared David. I want to chain him to me so that I won't ever have to be without him, so that I'll never have to worry, so that I'll be the last thing he ever sees and he'll be the last thing I ever see. I want to be chained to him." He chuckled softly, "I sound like a possessive bastard."

Rossi merely smiled, "You sound like a man in love who has already bore the pain of losing the man he loves once," he turned to look at the Unit Chief, "Take a deep breath, call him and make up. Tell him you love him. Tell him what you just told me. Make him understand, but don't hold this against him." He patted the younger man on his back and then began discussing the crime scene with the two women as they all walked to the SUV.

Hotch pulled out his cell phone and sent his lover a quick text message: Sorry 4 being angry. Just scared 2 lose u. Plz forgive me.

It wasn't long before he received a reply from the younger man: Im sorry 2. Keep forgetting Im not Superman. U wont lose me. Ill forgive if u do.

Hotch smiled as he climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV. His lover was impulsive it was true and he did hate to admit his weaknesses and shortcomings, but once he did, he was good at remembering…most of the time. He didn't hesitate to reply: Already did. Love you baby.

His heart throbbed with happiness and he felt a warmth flood his bones at the reply that he got: Love you 2. Miss you. Come home soon.

With a smile at Rossi who drove them back to the hotel, a smile that let the older man know that all was alright in the Morgan-Hotch household…atleast for the moment, he sent his final text of the moment: Miss you 2. Will be home soon. Home 2 you and our kids.

Hope you enjoyed this! Thank you SOOO much for your reviews! I'm glad you all are enjoying the story. If there's something you would like to see, or an issue you want addressed, let me know, I'm writing the end of the story now, so I might be able to squeeze it in. I look forward to your reviews! Next update will be on Tuesday or Wednesday! Please R & R!