When Hotch woke up the next morning, he was alone. After tying on his bathrobe, he went in search of Christine and soon found her in the kitchen, making breakfast.
"Great, you're up!" she greeted him. "I was just about to put your omelet in the warming oven while I came up to get you."
"You're making breakfast?" Hotch questioned. "I wanted to make breakfast for you!"
"Don't be silly," Christine smiled at him. "I'm pregnant, not incapacitated. Besides, if we don't start eating now we'll never be done in time for you to take me to my yoga class."
Hotch took the plates of food from her and walked over to the table where she had set two places. After putting them down, he turned and looked at her.
"I remember that robe you're wearing," he commented. "You were wearing it that morning at The Institute. You were perched on the kitchen counter with your cell phone and I just wanted to take it off you and – " he trailed off.
"Well, I think you covered all that very nicely last night," Christine smiled as she put glasses of juice on the table.
"Although, at the moment," she tried to pull the top of the robe to better cover her breasts, "There does seem to be a slight problem."
Hotch grinned mischievously at her. "Well, Dave did say you were – " he caught himself. "Um – m – m, in need of new clothes," he improvised.
"Good catch," Christine congratulated him. "I hate that term!"
The yoga class went quickly, and soon Hotch was driving towards the maternity boutique Christine wanted to visit.
"I hope you don't mind doing the driving," Christine apologized again. "I haven't gotten my drivers' license situation straightened out yet."
"I know Garcia was working on trying to locate your belongings," Hotch looked at her. "Has she been successful?"
"Well, from what I have been told, they are somewhere in Evidence," was the response. "And, seeing as how there no longer is a case to be prosecuted, there should be no problem with getting everything released. The problem seems to be locating the right box."
Hotch pulled into the parking lot of a small strip mall. "Let me see if I can give Garcia a hand," he suggested as he parked the car. "I do have a few contacts on the force."
"Aaron, please be careful that you don't put Penelope on the spot," Christine asked.
"How?" he looked at her, puzzled.
"I know she and JJ had been best friends since forever, and I don't want her to feel that she needs to choose between us," Christine explained.
"I'll keep that in mind," he assured her as he opened the car door for her. "What are we shopping for this morning?"
"I want to get some jeans and tops that I can wear out and about," Christine said as they walked into the shop.
"Don't forget about tonight." Hotch led the way into the 'Special Events' section of the shop. Suddenly, he stopped in front of a rack of tops. Reaching out, he lightly touched a pleated burgundy top. "Haley had one like this," he commented with a catch in his throat. "I – I never got much of a chance to shop for maternity clothes with her."
Christine put an arm around him. "Then, that goes on my 'don't buy' list," she told him. "Now, why don't you go wait in the front of the store? I think I saw some chairs there for 'fathers-to-be'. I'll try not to be too long."
As Hotch sat flipping through an expectant parents magazine as he waited, he thought of all the things he had missed doing with Haley when she was pregnant. This was his second chance, and he was determined to do everything he could to get things right this time.
Looking up, he realized that Christine had finished trying clothes on and was standing at the counter waiting for the salesclerk to ring up her purchases. He quickly stood up and walked over to stand next to her. Extracting a credit card from his wallet, he handed it to the clerk.
"Aaron, what do you think you're doing?" Christine demanded.
"Taking care of your charges," he told her with his trademark glare.
"I can take care of my own bills!" she challenged him.
"Not this time," he replied determinedly. "And, don't argue with me!"
"Aaron!" she protested.
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not polite to argue in public?" he countered.
"Put it on my card!" he instructed the salesclerk. As the woman hesitated, he added. "I am an FBI agent, and that is an order!" Seeing his determined look, the woman complied.
As the salesclerk began handing the numerous bags to Christine, Hotch adroitly intercepted them and soon was loaded down with packages. As he led the way outside, he looked at Christine and innocently asked. "I trust your shopping trip was successful?"
"Let's just say that the saleswoman who helped me probably made her week's commission on just me!" Christine observed. "And, don't think you've gotten away with it, Aaron Hotchner - I will get even with you! You don't need to pay my bills. I can take care of myself!"
"Not this time," Hotch replied. He glanced around. "Is there a restaurant around here you might like? I assume you are getting hungry. It's almost time for lunch."
"Well, it appears the stores are starting to get busy," Christine sounded dismayed. "And, as you may have noticed, I'm not terribly comfortable around crowds these days. If you don't have any stops you want to make, let's head home. I am getting a little tired, and I know for a fact that there is still lots of food in the refrigerator."
"As you wish," Hotch replied as he took her hand.