I'm back! I know I've been gone a looong time, but I've returned with an update I'm sure will please you!

Shout Outs:

It'sColdOutside: Yes, you'r welcome! I'm glad I wasn't the only one picturing Hotch like that! And he does really look like him don't he? Enjoy the update, love! :D

Hotch fan: Thanks ever so much, dearie! I do appreciate your kind words! And he is adorable as a child isn't he? Hopefully though in this chapter that his cuteness is kind of short lived, his past is brought out hopefully in this chapter.

MrsCriminalMinds: Thanks so much, dove! And I reward you with a new chapter!

judithya88: I know, and I do appologize for causing a relapse! Here is more of the story! Do continue your lovely comments!

A/N: Now for a note regarding the story. Mind you, this is AU. Just so we're clear. Things that I say happen in this story, don't really happen. Unless of course I tell you in these helpful notes I provide I took it from an episode. So, yeah. And also, Hotch's disassociation is taken from actual events in my life. I have a humming problem that started from childhood. It's not like singing humming at all, it's more of a beehive sound that can be quite irritating to some. I've done it in school and many people, including teachers, have commented on it. It started from my abuse as a child. So, it's real. I thought it's use in this story beneficial. Hope you all do too!

Anyway on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own it! LEAVE ME BE YOU VILE CREATURES!

"He who cannot give anything away, cannot feel anything either." - Friedrich Nietzsche

It had been a rough couple of nightmare filled weeks. Hotch had awoken each and every one of those nights, screaming and thrashing around in the sheets of our shared hotel bed. The team of course would come from our conjoined rooms to see what was wrong, and as always I'd shoo them away with a weary 'he's okay, he just had a bad dream.' I'd lift his sweat slick body up, hug him to me, and calm him enough to get him back to sleep. But of course he'd only wake again a few hours later, screaming his heart out. It pained me to hear is grief filled cries, but all I could do was comfort him and tell him everything was alright when it so obviously wasn't.

"I-it was, J-Jack." He'd said one night he'd woken up crying. I cradled his trembling form to me. His hair, face, and the rest of his little body drenched in sweat. "B-Barker g-got, m…Jack. And we were…were too late." It was obvious he was going to say something other than Jack, but of course I wasn't about to press it then. I understood why this case had affected him so; nothing but Jack and his upcoming visit had been on his mind since the William's case was open and shut in a day. Every one of those kids possessed a quality that reminded him somehow of his son. While I knew that Hotch in his new body probably couldn't handle these cases as well now, arguing with him would get me nowhere.

"Hotch, I can promise you that Barker will never get to, Jack. He's gone now, locked up. Jack is safe." I whispered into his thick dark hair. I continued to rock him back and forth as his hyperventilating subsided. I glanced beside me to the digital alarm clock on the nightstand, 5:00 a.m. It was just a few hours till we were to drive home. "How about a bath, piccolo?"

I felt his head land heavily on my chest, his breathing quick enough to signal he was still awake. I lifted him and walked over to the bathroom; opening the door I grabbed a towel, washcloth, and a bar of soap from the shelf above the toilet. I sat down on the edge of tub and turned the water on. Aaron's head lolled from me to the bath, as if he were uncertain about this. Over the course of a week and a half I had given him one bath and one bath only. He had tried doing it himself all of two times before I had brought JJ in to help him because his hair was a little too greasy or his ears still had dirt behind them. He didn't like that one bit. I knew he was quite self-conscious about himself, but it was something that had to be done, he couldn't wash himself like he used to. I carefully peeled the clothes off of him, a pair of Cars shorts and t-shirt, and tossed them into a pile next to me. He looked up at me with those dark eyes that seemed always to have something to say, and then down into the running water shamefully.

"Aaron, you don't have anything I've not seen before. You know that?"

He still didn't look at me. I reached over to turn off the tub, before looking back at the boy in my lap.

"Come on now, Hotch, it'll be over before you know it." I set the now undressed boy into the water; frowning at the far away stare he was giving the bottom of the tub and the low humming noise he seemed to be making. I sighed, and reached for the cloth and soap bar beside me, I dipped it in the water and lathered up the rag. I then proceeded to wash him carefully, rubbing the suds over him gently. When it was over Aaron still hadn't stopped the humming noise he was making, neither had he looked at me. I had come to find that these silences of his were a sort of disassociation, a way to detach him from a not so favorable situation. And every profiler who was a good profiler knew that disassociation wasn't a parlor trick picked up overnight. This would come from months even years of some kind of abuse.

Wrapped in a towel I sat a shivering Hotch onto our hotel bed and went to this go-bag to ruffle around for some clothes. I ended up picking an orange cotton t-shirt, blue jeans, socks, underwear, and his pair of converse sneakers. I turned to find his eyes on me, unblinking from his position on the bed.

I moved to him and set the clothes beside him, kneeling before the bed. Hotch had many troubles as a youth, I had no doubt about that, but my suspicions were high when it came to just what kind of things he'd gone through. Some part of me knew by this man's…this child's vision on life that he never grew up the way he should have, the way he deserved.

I noticed that his humming had stopped and his eyes seemed to be more focused than earlier. He blinked for what seemed like the first time in an hour and looked around the room.

"Are you okay, Aaron?" It was a risky question, but it was necessary considering the circumstances.

He nodded slowly as he began to shiver. A thought seemed to strike him as he looked to the clothes beside him.

"I was just thinking about, Jack. He's supposed to come and visit soon." It was a cover for his not so subtle spell that had come over him in the bathroom. By the look on his face I could tell he knew his attempt to downsize the importance of the situation was feeble. I sighed and motioned to the clothes beside him before going to grab my go-bag from the table near the television.

"Why don't you get dressed now while I get ready? We'll discuss this later, piccolo."

His eyes widened almost imperceptibly at my statement, before he nodded and waited for me to vacate the premises.

"Aaron, you are a troubled boy. And I intend to find the root of the cause. And soon." I whispered, closing the door to the bathroom.

Criminal Minds

It was 6:00 a.m. when we'd left Rockfish and it was 2 hours later when we arrived home. The whole way home I had been stuck with Morgan, and he'd tried nearly unsuccessfully to converse with Aaron. It seemed our little interaction back at the hotel had put him in quite a sour mood.

"So, are you excited about seeing Jack soon, Hotch?" I side glanced at Morgan, hoping he would change the topic of the conversation. It was to no avail, I could feel Aaron who sat behind me, in his new and much loathed car seat, physically tense. If Morgan didn't stop, I knew we'd reach the point of no return.

"Yes, Morgan. I'm so very happy that I have to explain to my son and my ex-wife that I was turned into a child." His eyes were squinted in the fashion that indicated he was completely vexed with the ignoramus who had addressed him. Aaron wasn't one to tolerate those who asked of him dumb questions.

"Well, there is a way around that. Having to explain it to Haley. We could just have Rossi pick him up; say you had an important meeting or something?"

Aaron lifted an eyebrow at the man. The look on his face now was between irritancy and consideration. He resorted to mild curiosity.

"And how do you suggest I explain this to Jack?"

Morgan seemed to ponder this while I remained silent, wanting to see how the toddler would react to the man's response.

"You could tell him that you had to go out of town for a bit, but instead of seeing you this time, he can spend a few weeks with his cousin "Ronny"." Morgan smiled at the look of revulsion that crossed Aaron's face. Nicknames were things that the boy hated most, though he seemed to be okay when I'd given him a few of my own in Italian. I guessed it was different with others.

"I will not be called Ronny." The miniaturized unit chief crossed his arms and raised his brow.

I chuckled. "Don't worry, Aaron. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I turned the wheel and entered the BAU parking lot. "Right now, we have work to do."

Criminal Minds

"Agents, I'm thoroughly impressed with your work this week. You've done well." I wanted to smack myself across the face to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Chief Strauss complimenting us? That was a first.

Erin turned to acknowledge everyone who now stood in the bullpen. Reid sat at his desk that was occupied by minimal paperwork (not surprising). Aaron had decided to take a seat in the empty space upon his desk. Morgan sat across him at his desk. Emily and JJ had walked into the bullpen moments ago and were standing near the guys. We had returned from a trip home from Rockfish about 6 hours ago, and all day everyone had been working to get paperwork finished.

The team nodded thanks, Aaron not without yawning loudly. I turned toward him, noticing how everyone else did the same. Strauss even had a small smile on her usually blank face.

"I think you've all done enough work for today. Why don't you head home?" Erin looked to Hotch once more. "And you, Hotchner, need to get sleep. I know you think you don't need it but you do."

And then she did something that made me want to double take. She ruffled a hand through Aaron's thick hair and over his cheek before disappearing into her lair. Everyone watched stunned. Of course I had no doubt in my mind that Aaron was an adorable toddler, and I knew that his fellow agents had to refrain from grabbing and cuddling him, I never thought that Strauss would actually touch him. It seemed to surprise Hotch as well because a blush rose to his cheeks.

"Well, what are you all looking at!?" Aaron's voice was shaky with nervousness. "Get home!"

I couldn't help the smile the crept across my face.

Criminal Minds

A/N: Reviews are much loved, dearies.