Hey guys! This is my first fic so I hope you like it. Its a story version of a script I wrote as a fill in between Season 7, Ep 2 & 3 for my sisters Christmas present.
Please review!
Friends are the family you choose.
Jess C. Scott
Hotch's living room was scattered with half-inflated blue FBI balloons, their limp forms a testament to his failed attempts at decoration. He let out a defeated sigh, slumping back into his chair. The clock on his phone read 23:42. Determined, he clicked on his BAU Group Chat.
On the other side of town, JJ and Will were snuggled on the couch, watching TV in the dark and eating leftover Carbonara. JJ's phone rang, and Will handed it to her with a knowing look.
"Hotchner," JJ answered.
"Hotch? What's happened? Do we already have another case?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
"No, don't worry, JJ. It's not important. I'll see you tomorrow," Hotch replied, his voice calm but strained.
JJ wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? You know a wise man once told me it was okay if I lost it every once in a while. I think that applies to you too. And if you ever need some help with that, I know some people that would volunteer. Is this about Jack's party?"
"I just want to do what's best for him," Hotch admitted.
JJ thought for a moment. "You know what, wait a minute."
She tapped her phone, adding another member to the call. Garcia is lying in bed wearing a terrifying face mask of a Panda. She gets up annoyed before brightening up when she sees her contacts 'Gumdrop' adding her to a call on 'BAU Group Chat' with 'The Oncoming Storm'
"Hello, my fine furry friends! What can I do for you this evening?" Garcia chirped.
JJ smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you had all the cupcakes ready for Jack's party tomorrow."
"Would you expect anything less from me? I've got vanilla Stormtroopers and chocolate Darth Vaders, per his request. Henry did an absolutely fantabulous job helping, by the way," Garcia beamed.
Will's face popped into JJ's frame. "Yeah, thanks for the sugar rush that came after, Penelope. It wouldn't surprise me if he was wiped out the entire party."
"You know I can't deny my sweet godson anything," Garcia replied with a wink.
JJ turned back to Hotch. "Hotch, you have nothing to worry about."
"Yes," Garcia added, "because everything you wish is my command."
Just then, Garcia's phone buzzed. "Oh! Our resident genius is trying to call me."
A fourth screen joined the call, revealing a tired-looking Spencer surrounded by stacks of books. One particularly prominent title was 'Building Social Relationships for Growing Young Adults,' a book he had been grudgingly reading. (but he would never let Emily or Morgan know that.)
"Hello, Reid," Hotch greeted.
"Hey, guys. Where are Morgan, Rossi, and Prentiss?" Spencer asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Not here. Will is, though," Hotch replied.
Will leaned into the frame. "How ya doin', Spence?"
"I'm all right thanks, Will. Also, Hotch quick question do you want paper bowls or plates? Because they're actually quite different. For example, a normal dinner plate can range from 8 to 12 inches while a simple rice bowl is 4.5 inches wide. And also perhaps if you didn't want the kids making much of a mess then a bowl would be the right choice. Another thing is the colour. The ranking of colours internationally puts blue at the top and then red so if you wanted one of those I think Jack would like it." Spencer rambled.
Hotch tried to reassure him, "Yeah Reid, I think Jack would appreciate the blue and I don't mind a mess. That's what kids are for."
[Reid looks a little horrified at that but nodded anyways.]
"What did you ask Emily, Morgan and Rossi to bring?" JJ inquired.
Hotch thought for a second before replying, "Well Rossi is letting us use his house but I told him to buy napkins as well, Emily told me she's bringing herself and I told Morgan to bring any food because it doesn't really matter if he forgets to bring it."
"We might as well add them."
Rossi is sitting at his desk writing a new novel. He sighed at seeing his contact 'Colourful Colleague' adding him to a call. He should probably change the contact name he gave Garcia when they first met. Emily is shown on her couch with a glass of wine and Sergio on her knee. She looks down at her phone and sees her contact 'Quan-Tee-Co' calling her. Morgan is at a club dancing with a group of girls. He looks at his phone to see 'Baby Girl' calling him.
"Hey, Baby Girl, whaddya need?" Morgan shouted over the music.
"Only you, sugar," Garcia purred.
"As long as I'm alive. Oh, and Hotch, I got sausage rolls… somewhere. Kids eat a lot of beige, right?"
Hotch chuckled. "Yes. Very much so."
JJ added, "Yeah, Henry loves anything beige. The only colourful things he eats are Skittles."
"Are you all set on what to bring?" Garcia asked.
"Oh yeah, Will and I bought Luke and Darth Vader party hats," JJ responded.
"I'm bringing nothing," Emily's voice cut in, as she appeared on the call, a glass of wine in hand and Sergio on her lap.
Rossi, now on the call, sighed. "I found Chewbacca napkins on the 'Eatsy' app you showed me, Garcia."
"I have never been prouder!" Garcia exclaimed.
Spencer, who had been quietly listening, chimed in. "Blue paper dinner plates. 8 to 12 inches."
"Well, some people need their beauty rest. It takes time to look this cute every day. Goodnight, my lovelies!" Garcia said, blowing a kiss to the camera.
"Bye, guys," JJ said, waving.
"See you tomorrow, everyone," Will added.
Emily lifted Sergio. "Bye."
Morgan, not paying attention, was still talking to one of the girls he was dancing with. "Hey baby, have you seen a Walmart bag?"
"Bye, everyone, and please, no one contact me until ten," Rossi pleaded.
"Bye, guys," Spencer said, giving a small wave.
"Everyone go to sleep," Hotch ordered, ending the call.
The next morning at Rossi's mansion, the team was busy decorating. Jessica and JJ hung blue FBI and Star Wars decorations on the walls, while Hotch and Will set up the table. Rossi was in the kitchen preparing food, and Garcia was putting the finishing touches on the cupcakes. Henry and Jack were having an intense lightsaber battle with leftover wrapping paper tubes.
"Dad? When are my friends coming over?" Jack asked, pausing his duel.
"Twelve-thirty. So we have around two hours until they get here," Hotch replied.
"That's so long!" Jack whined.
"Uhuh," Henry agreed.
"I know, but Reid, Prentiss, Morgan, and Anderson should be here soon," Hotch assured them.
"YAY!" Henry and Jack cheered in unison.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. The boys sprinted to the door, opening it to find all four agents. Anderson's arms were full of chips, Emily had a wine bottle and grape soda, Morgan held a Kroger bag, and Spencer struggled with a stack of blue paper plates while Jack and Henry ran to cling onto his legs.
"Sorry we're late, guys. Someone needed to stop off at the store," Emily explained, shooting a look at Morgan.
"It's not my fault some people apparently go to clubs to steal other people's Walmart bags. And I drove to the closest store," Morgan defended, holding up his Kroger bag.
"Actually, if we went to the Walmart you went to yesterday, we would have gotten here around fifty-four seconds to one minute and thirteen seconds earlier, considering the normal traffic around this time of day," Spencer calculated.
"All right, Pretty Boy, whatever you say," Morgan muttered.
"What do you want us to do, Hotch?" Anderson asked, trying to maintain balance with the chips.
"I was wondering if you would mind taking the boys to the park or something. We just have to finish decorating and wait for Jack's friends to arrive. And we have a special guest coming later," Hotch said.
"What?! Who?" Jack demanded, eyes wide with excitement.
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" Hotch teased.
"Ok… can we go to the park now?" Jack pleaded.
"Yeah, I think you boys need to carry on with those fighting skills to impress ya' friends," Will said with a smile.
With that, Anderson led the boys to the park, promising fun despite the empty playground. Both boys ran up to the gates only to see an empty park. The kids look around with disappointed faces.
Anderson walked over to the boys to try and cheer them up, "Don't worry guys we can still have fun. I mean a whole playground to ourselves is pretty cool."
Both kids brightened up a bit.
"Yeah! I wanna play freeze tag." Henry asked excitedly.
"Please will you play with us, Mr Anderson? You can be the chaser!" Jack pleaded.
Anderson pretended to think before jokingly replying, "Of course, I know two kids wouldn't be able to outrun me anyway."
Henry and Jack turn to each other before smiling and running in opposite directions
Back at Rossi's mansion, the rest of the team was finishing up the decorations. JJ, Jessica, and Emily completed the wall decor, while Rossi, Garcia, and Spencer set up the food. Morgan and Hotch finished the table, though Hotch's furrowed eyebrows didn't go unnoticed by Morgan.
"What are you thinking about, Morgan?" Hotch asked, sensing the question before it was asked.
"Even a non-profiler can see something is bothering you," Morgan replied.
"Nothing is bothering me. I just want Jack to have a good time today," Hotch insisted.
"Why wouldn't he? Come on, Hotch. We all need to start telling each other things now," Morgan pressed.
Hotch sighed. "His teacher told me a boy is messing with him, and since it's his first big party without Haley, I know he's been worrying a lot lately, especially with the second anniversary so close to his birthday…"
"He's gonna worry, Hotch, but he's a very smart kid who has a father who cares enough to give him his weird FBI Star Wars crossover party. And if I'm right about the 'special guest' you've got coming over later, then I think you might be a frontrunner for 'Dad Of The Year'," Morgan said with a grin.
"Thank you," Hotch said quietly, resuming his task of setting out plastic forks.
"Not a problem," Morgan replied.
By 12:15, the team had everything ready just as the doorbell rang. JJ opened it to see Anderson who was covered in bark and the boys who were grinning ear to ear.
"Hi, Mommy!" Henry exclaimed.
"Hey, Baby Star! Did you guys have fun?" JJ asked.
"Yeah! We played freeze tag. We won big time," Jack announced proudly.
JJ glanced at Anderson, who looked a bit traumatized. "They are very, um, energetic," he said.
"Yeah… Anyways, Jack, are you ready to see the house?" JJ asked, turning to her son.
"Yeah! Can we go in now?" Jack asked eagerly.
JJ moved aside, and Jack ran down the hallway. He burst into the living room, where Hotch and the team were waiting for his reaction. Jack's eyes widened as he took in the decorations. He ran to his father and hugged him tight.
"This is the best party ever! Thank you so much!" Jack exclaimed.
Hotch hugged him back, feeling a surge of relief. "No problem. I'm glad you like it."
The doorbell rang again, and this time, Jack sprinted to open it. As he swung the door open, about twenty screeching kids and piles of presents greeted him. Back in the living room, the entire team, except for Will and JJ, wore scared expressions at the sounds of screaming six-year-olds.
"Is it too late to leave?" Morgan asked, looking slightly panicked.
In Rossi's mansion garden at 13:11, Morgan, initially terrified of the children, discovered common ground with them through his love for Bruno Mars. He fought against numerous children in a dance battle to '24k Magic and lost terribly. Rossi had two children clinging to him, asking about how to get rich.
Reid entertained Henry, Jack, and their friends with magic tricks, making them cheer as he pulled a toy car from behind Jack's ear. Jack accepted the car happily but frowned at another boy glaring at him. JJ watched Reid doing his magic with a sad expression but quickly smiled when Henry ran to her, showing off the chocolate coin Spencer had hidden under his party hat.
"Look what Uncle Spence got me, Momma!" Henry exclaimed.
"Wow! Did he magic it for you?" JJ asked, smiling.
"Yeah! Can I eat it now?"
"Sure, but you have to eat your lunch too," JJ replied.
"I will," Henry promised, hooking his pinky with JJ's.
Rossi then called out, "Who wants food?!"
"Me!" the kids chorused.
"Come and get it, angels!" Garcia added, and the children ran inside for food. Emily noticed JJ standing alone and guided her towards the hallway.
"Come down here, Jayje," Emily urged.
In Rossi's spare room, JJ paced while Emily stood by the door.
"You need to talk to him, JJ," Emily stated.
"I know that. I just can't find the right thing to say. We've never fought like that before," JJ admitted.
"Well, he's not easily angered and doesn't share his feelings much," Emily observed.
JJ stopped pacing and sat on the bed. "You aren't exactly number one for sharing your emotions either, and don't change the subject."
"I just... watching him come to me daily and not being able to say anything broke my heart. I've never seen him that upset," JJ confessed.
"Well, it is a unique situation," Emily noted.
"Definitely. We're not the typical 'open with each other' best friends, but you can talk to me," JJ assured.
"I know. You helped me in Paris even with your work at 'The Pentagon'. Who knew someone could be so good at Scrabble?" Emily suggested, making quotation marks with her fingers for 'The Pentagon.'
"Now that's a story for another time," JJ deflected.
"OK, but the team notices how you've changed. They won't mention it, but they've noticed," Emily said, joining JJ on the bed.
"Why don't you tell Spencer how you feel?" Emily asked.
"Because I don't think he's in the mood for a deep conversation right now. And honestly, neither am I," JJ admitted.
"You're never going to be in the 'mood', but you have to do it anyway," Emily insisted.
"How am I going to get him to talk to me?" JJ wondered.
"Ask him," Emily replied simply.
"Wow, deep. Thanks, Blackbird," JJ teased.
"Anytime, Cheetobreath," Emily joked as they walked down the hall.
"On a serious note, stop giving the kids grape soda. They'll be on a sugar high," JJ advised.
"Yeah, I will. One of them bit Anderson earlier," Emily noted.
They returned to the dining room to find the kids nearly done with their food, happy despite being covered in it.
"Ok everyone, move to the garden because Jack's dad has a big surprise coming!" Garcia announced. The kids cheered and ran outside, followed by Morgan, Anderson, Rossi, and Jessica. Hotch opened the door to a Luke Skywalker impersonator. Spencer and Garcia looked ready to faint from excitement.
"Wow, Hotchner, this is one damn good surprise," Will remarked.
"Well, I hope Jack enjoys it," Hotch replied.
"Judging by the fact he just told me more facts about Luke Skywalker than Reid, I think he might combust," Emily observed.
"Should I go into the garden?" the impersonator asked.
"Yeah, I'll show you," Hotch agreed.
In Rossi's mansion garden, everyone watched Jack's classmates, distracted by Rossi's story. Jessica spotted 'Luke Skywalker' and nudged Jack.
"I heard it was Jack Hotchner's birthday," the impersonator announced.
"Oh my God! Dad, it's Luke Skywalker!" Jack exclaimed.
"I know. Show him the lightsaber Aunt Jessica got you yesterday," Hotch suggested.
"Great idea!" Jack ran to get his lightsaber, followed by the children asking the impersonator questions. Morgan noticed a child glaring at Jack.
Seeing Spencer alone, JJ walked over to him. "Can we talk?"
"I think we should," Spencer agreed.
In Rossi's spare room, JJ stood in the middle while Spencer stayed near the door. Eventually, Spencer sat on the bed and gestured for JJ to join him.
"I'm sorry I said you were jealous. You have every right to be mad," JJ began.
"I know you didn't mean that," Spencer said.
"Yeah?"
"Of course. You wouldn't say that in an actual argument," Spencer assured.
"I don't know what to say. I knew it wouldn't be easy," JJ admitted.
"I understand why you had to lie. I haven't figured out how to feel yet," Spencer confessed.
"None of us do," JJ agreed.
"Is Emily okay?" Spencer asked.
"She's managing," JJ replied. An awkward silence fell between them.
"Every time I came over, I felt vulnerable. Even with Will. A part of me couldn't handle that," Spencer admitted.
"I'm sorry for acting like a bad-tempered teenager," he added.
"No, I expected you to be angry," JJ said.
"Three words could make you feel better, but I couldn't say them," JJ confessed.
"That makes sense now," Spencer said.
"Promise me one thing?" JJ asked.
"What?"
"If you ever feel the need to use again, tell me or Hotch or Morgan," JJ urged.
"I will," Spencer promised, hooking his pinkie with JJ's.
"We'll get back to normal soon, right?" Spencer asked.
"Of course. We should go back out. They might think we fought," JJ suggested.
"You'd win with those sparring lessons," Spencer joked. They smiled, hugged, and returned to the garden.
"You doing okay, Cher?" Will asked JJ.
"I think so, yeah," JJ replied.
Morgan, Garcia, and Emily stood by the doors.
"All day, I've seen this kid glaring at Jack," Morgan noted.
"Should we tell Hotch?" Garcia wondered.
"I'll ask Jack first," Emily decided, following Jack inside.
"Hey Jack, what's up?" Emily asked.
"Nothing. I'm okay!" Jack insisted.
"From the way you said that, I don't know if you are," Emily observed.
"Dad said everyone had to think you wouldn't come back when you were away. Did you miss everyone?" Jack asked.
"Of course," Emily replied.
"Even after a long time?" Jack pressed.
"Yeah. You can miss someone as long as you want," Emily assured.
"What if me missing someone makes someone else sad?" Jack asked.
"Like your Dad?" Emily guessed.
"Yeah," Jack admitted.
"Your dad won't be mad. He misses her too. Talk to him," Emily advised.
"Thanks, Emily," Jack said.
"Now, why is that boy giving you trouble?" Emily asked.
"He calls me names and tries to get my friends not to play with me. I thought inviting him here might make him like me but it hasn't worked," Jack explained with a frown.
"Why don't you tell your dad?" Emily suggested.
"Can you?" Jack asked.
"Sure, but save me a cupcake," Emily bargained.
"Stormtrooper or Darth Vader?" Jack asked.
"Darth Vader," Emily decided.
At 17:30, with Jack's classmates gone, the team prepared to leave.
"We're all at work tomorrow, right?" Garcia confirmed.
"Yep, bright and early," Rossi replied.
"At least we had a few days off," JJ noted.
"Yeah, we needed it," Emily agreed, slightly tipsy from wine.
"Say thank you, Jack," Hotch prompted.
"Thanks for coming, everyone! It was fun!" Jack cheered.
The team began to leave, JJ and Will carrying a frosting-covered Henry, Rossi and Jack heading to the kitchen, and Garcia with her empty cake boxes. Anderson, Spencer, and Morgan left together, Morgan holding untouched sausage rolls.
"Morgan, wait for me," Emily called.
"Whatever ya say, Princess," Morgan replied.
Emily stayed back to talk to Hotch.
"What's wrong, Prentiss?" Hotch asked.
"It's Jack. I think a boy at school is bullying him," Emily revealed.
"The one with glasses?" Hotch guessed.
"Yeah, I was going to ask him tonight," Hotch said.
"What else is wrong?" Hotch asked.
"He misses Haley," Emily said.
"I thought he would. I don't know how to fix it," Hotch admitted.
"You can't fix it, he might just have to figure it out in time." Emily said.
Hotch hesitated before giving a tiny nod, "Yeah, I think he will."
**
The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.
Mario Puzo.