Hi everyone, thanks to pechika, sherryola, DS2010 and guests for reviewing the last chapter, and welcome to all the new people following along.
A/N; I couldn't find any info on Hotch's mother so I made it all up, I would love to hear what you all think about her!
Keep reading and reviewing, Thanks!
Chapter 6
Hotch looked through the peephole and couldn't believe his eyes
"Hello mother" he said as he opened the door "what are you doing here?"
"What a lovely way to greet your mother after so long" she said as she kissed his cheek and
pushed her way past him
Hotch shut the door and turned to face her "how are you?"
"I'm fine thanks, now I'm here to find out why I wasn't informed that I had a new grandson?" She said getting straight to the point.
"How did you find out about Spencer?" He asked
"Haley told me" she replied flippantly "you do know that I talk to her more than I speak to you or your brother"
Mary arched her eyebrows and looked at her son "She also told me about your new girlfriend"
"There is no new girlfriend" Hotch said trying not to get mad at Haley for interfering in his life
"Well anyway, where is this new grandson of mine?" She asked heading into the living room
"He's asleep at the moment, he should be awake shortly, would you like a coffee?" Hotch asked walking into the kitchen and starting to make a fresh pot
"So tell me, how did you come to have a child in your care? You're a single man who works very long hours, how did you get custody? And where are his parents?" Mary asked as she followed him into the kitchen and took a seat at the table
Hotch didn't have an explanation ready for all these questions "mother I'll explain it all to you later ok?" he said trying to change the subject "how have you been?"
"I've been fine thank you, but don't try and change the subject, I want you to answer my
questions"
"Fine, yes I've adopted Spencer, his parents are not capable of looking after him so now he lives with me" Hotch replied
"What about when you work? Who looks after him? You know that's why Haley left, because you were always at work"
"Thanks for that insight" he said sarcastically "I have a lady that I leave him with while I work"
"Well I hope she knows what she doing, did you do a background check? Is she qualified?"
"Yes Mom" he sighed "she is the perfect person to watch him and Spencer loves her"
"You still haven't told me what happened to his parents? Are they criminals you arrested?"
"No mom they're not" he started trying to think of a cover story "they...Spencer, hey buddy come here there's someone who wants to meet you" Hotch said as Spencer walked in and Hotch thanked his lucky stars at the good timing
Spencer ran to Hotch and the older man picked him up and sat him in his lap. "Spencer I would like you to meet my mother, Mary. Mum, this is Spencer, my son"
"Hi" Spencer said shyly sticking his thumb in his mouth, Hotch had never mentioned his mother before so Spencer had assumed she was dead.
"Hi Spencer, I'm your grandmother" she said softly "come here so I can see you" Mary held out her arms expectantly
Spencer turned and hid his face in Hotch's shirt "he's a bit shy Mum, maybe later" Hotch said
wrapping an arm around Spencer protectively
"Well he's going to have to get used to me, I think I'll stay in town for a bit and spend some time with all my boys" she said sipping her coffee
Hotch tried to hide his horror, "oh ok"
"Don't worry I won't impose on you too long, just for tonight, then I'll go to a hotel"
"You don't have to do that, you're welcome to stay here with us" he said more out of obligation than any sense of wanting her to stay
"I think we'll both feel more comfortable if I stay at a hotel" she said
"Daddy can I watch TV?" Spencer asked quietly wanting to remove himself from the awkward situation.
"Sure buddy" Hotch replied
"Watching too much TV is not good for children" Mary said as they walked passed her
Hotch ignored her and rolled his eyes
After he got Spencer settled on the sofa he went back to the kitchen to find his mother looking through his refrigerator
"What are you doing?" Asked Hotch
"Looking to see how well you are feeding that child, you never were known for your cooking
abilities" she said continuing to rifle through his kitchen
"Well it looks like I'll have to go shopping for you, and write down a few easy recipes that even you can make"
"We are eating just fine thank you" he replied shortly
"Maybe I will have to stay here for a bit longer and take care of both of you"
S**t, thought Hotch, how do I get out of this "Of course you can stay but I'm quite capable of
taking care of us"
"Ok then, cook me a healthy dinner that's edible" she challenged
"Ok then I will" declared Hotch
"Well then we better go shopping first, because I'm not sure what you would be able to make with just milk and hotdogs that would be healthy or edible"
Spencer was finding that watching Hotch and his mother interact was fascinating. Hotch never let anyone tell him what to do or question his decisions but with his mother he naturally let her take charge and make decisions for him.
"No no you don't want those tomatoes you want these ones" Mary said picking up Roma
tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes
Hotch just agreed with her "ok" he said
"Which peppers do we want? Red or green?" He asked her
"Red" Mary answered
Spencer had never imagined that Hotch could ever be like this. The others would never believe him.
"Well you certainly are a well behaved child" Mary started looking down at Spencer "would you like grandma to buy you a treat for being such a good boy?"
"Yes please" he said quietly
"Ok come with me and we'll go and choose something" Mary smiled and held out her hand to him.
When they got home Hotch carried in all the groceries that his mother insisted he get, and started putting them away while his mother sat on the sofa with Spencer and read him a book
By the time Hotch had finished making dinner he found his mother and Spencer sitting on the sofa together watching Sesame Street
"Dinners ready" he announced
Spencer didn't object when Mary picked him up and sat him in his booster seat at the table, she tucked a napkin under his collar then proceeded to cut up his chicken into small pieces for him.
"I suppose this is an adequate meal" Mary decided looking at the grilled chicken and vegetables Hotch had cooked
"Thanks Mum" he smiled "See I told you I could cook"
After dinner Mary insisted on giving Spencer a bath "I would love to do it"
"That's ok Mum, Spencer gets shy around new people so I'll give him his bath and then you can tuck him in ok?"
"I suppose so" she responded
When Spencer was in the bath they finally had a chance to talk openly "why didn't you ever
mention your mother Hotch?" Spencer asked quietly
"It just never came up, she lives in California and we only ever talk occasionally. I knew she talked to Haley and Jack but I never thought she would just turn up here. I expected a phone call about you but not a visit, she hasn't left California since Jack was born"
"Sorry I said she can tuck you in, you don't mind do you?"
"No it's fine" Spencer replied "I'll put up with it if it's only until tomorrow" he smiled
"Thanks Spencer"
Mary knocked on the door "is my baby done yet?"
"Yes Mom, I'm just getting him out now" called Hotch
Hotch carried him out of the bathroom once he was dressed and found Mary waiting in Spencer's room for him
"Come here honey, I have a story all picked out for us" she said patting the bed next to her
"Goodnight Daddy" Spencer said giving him a cuddle
"Goodnight Spencer" he replied hugging the small boy back and kissing his head
Mary came downstairs about half an hour later and joined Hotch in the living room "he's asleep"
"So what are you really doing here Mum?" Hotch asked her
"I told you, I came to meet Spencer"
"I know there is something else going on" Hotch said profiling her body language as she shifted in her seat
"No there's not and even if you didn't have Spencer I would still be here because it's been too long since I saw you last" she said "I'm going to make some coffee, do you want one?" She asked walking into the kitchen
When she returned Hotch decided to change tactics "so" he started "how's Paul going? Why
didn't he come with you?" Hotch had always had a bad feeling about his step father but after
asking Garcia to dig into his background and coming up empty he decided to give the guy a
chance
"Uh, he couldn't make it this time" she said sipping her coffee
"Why's that?" Hotch said getting suspicious
"He was just busy, he's trying to write a book you know" she replied "he said that having some peace and quiet would be good"
"Ok then" he said letting the subject drop for now
"So tell me about Spencer's parents" Mary asked visibly relaxing now that Hotch had dropped the subject
"There's not much to tell, his mother is sick and couldn't take care of him and his father left them both. I was in a position to help him and here we are"
"I still think it's a bit strange that they gave you custody but I suppose he's better off with you than he would be with some people. Anyway I'm tired so I'm going to head to bed now, Goodnight Aaron"
"Goodnight Mum" Hotch answered
As soon as she left the room he sent Garcia a text "I need you to find out anything you can about a Paul Thomas he lives in California and he's my mother's husband. And please just keep this between us"
A text came back almost instantly "of course sir"
The next morning Hotch came downstairs to find his mother making breakfast "good morning" she greeted as she flipped another pancake onto an already huge stack
"Good morning" he greeted her "have you been up long?" he asked as he made himself a cup of coffee
"I've been up for ages; I cleaned up the living room, did some dusting and put on a load of washing for you then decided that I would make breakfast." Mary said
"Thanks mom" Hotch said as she walked over and placed a plate of pancakes in front of him
"So ill be gone by the time you get home from work, I'll write down my new number for you and I'll call you tonight to let you know which hotel I'm staying at"
"You know you don't have to leave, you can stay here" he said around a mouthful of pancakes "and why do you have a new phone number?"
"don't talk with your mouth full, I lost my old phone and had to get a new one, that's all, and I know that we will both be more comfortable with me at a motel" she smiled
"Good morning" Spencer said quietly from the doorway
"Good morning baby" Mary said quickly picking him up and sitting him on his booster seat then giving him some pancakes
They all had breakfast and Hotch couldn't stop the nagging feeling that something was going on with his mom that she didn't want to tell him. By the time they were ready to leave he asked her again, "what's going on mom? Is there something going on that you need to tell me about?"
"Everything is fine Aaron, ill speak to you tonight" Mary replied as she kissed Spencer on the cheek and bid them goodbye "goodbye boys, I'll see you soon"
Spencer waved goodbye as Hotch carried him to the car "goodbye mom" he called.