Before long, Hotch and Jack were busy examining the suite Laurel and Allison had arranged for them to occupy over the weekend.
"We don't need this much room!" Hotch protested as he surveyed the living area. "A plain double room would be just fine."
"Don't argue!" Laurel replied. "We get mostly business travelers who just need a clean place to sleep, so these rooms rarely get used. Enjoy them!"
"Very well," Hotch gave in. "Now, I assume tonight will just be dinner and then everyone (he gave Jack a stern look) will need to get some rest. We've had a long day. What do you have planned for tomorrow?"
"I thought about it," Laurel told him. "And, I kind of eliminated the zoo and the museums because they can't begin to compete with what you have in DC. However, the one thing you don't have there is – " she looked over at Paige.
"A beach!" Paige sang out. "We are going to the beach!"
"We can drive down to Galveston for the day," Laurel explained. "It's only an hour or so. We can walk on the sand and do some beachcombing, and then wander through the shops in town. Afterwards, we can eat some fresh seafood."
"Pirates - Can we look for pirates?" Jack asked excitedly.
"Well, there is a rumor that Bluebeard did visit the island," Laurel told him. "However, I don't know anything about buried treasure."
"Maybe we can ask someone when we get down there," Hotch suggested.
"Aye, Matie!" Jack gave everyone his version of a pirate salute.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
While they didn't find any pirates or buried treasure, the visit to the beach was undeniably a success, and everyone returned to the Inn that evening sunburned, covered with sand, and tired.
"Dinner?" Hotch questioned after they had all collapsed onto the furniture in the living area of the hotel suite.
"Food," Laurel echoed. "That does sound good."
"Anything in particular?" Hotch carried it a step further.
"Pizza!" Jack shouted. "With lots of cheese!"
"Paige?" Hotch looked over at the girl.
Paige shrugged and looked at her mother.
"Maybe we can walk over to Uncle Fuzzy's Pizzeria," Laurel suggested. "It's only a short distance and they have various pasta dishes as well as pizza. Does that sound okay?"
"After we get cleaned up," Hotch agreed. "I don't know about you, but I feel downright grimy. Jack – shower?" He looked over at his son who groaned dramatically.
"Sounds good," Laurel slowly stood up. "Meet us in the lobby in about an hour?"
"No problem!"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"What's on the schedule for tomorrow?" a freshly showered Hotch asked later that evening as they sat eating dinner. He had seated the children next to each other, leaving a chair open for him to sit next to Laurel.
"Well, I have several things at the Inn that I need to handle first thing in the morning," Laurel explained. "And, after that, Paige has her ice skating lesson over at the mall. The rink has public skating after the group lessons are over, and I thought you might enjoy getting on the ice and giving it a try."
"It has been a long time since I ice skated," Hotch admitted. "And Jack has never been on the ice. So, that sounds like as great idea!"
And so, the next morning, he and Jack watched Paige skate for the first time.