Author's Note: Warning, it's not terribly long.

Friday Afternoon

Being A Good Dad

"That's a nice tie, Hotch."

Hearing a faintly mocking tone in Derek's 'compliment,' Hotch's countenance hardened as his eyes snapped up, locking onto the younger man's in the men's room mirror.

"My son gave this to me," he responded coldly.

"Right, and as I said," Derek's lip quirked up in amusement as he leaned down to turn off the faucet with his elbow, "it's very nice. Are those fez hats?"

For a second, Hotch eyed Morgan suspiciously. He couldn't quite decide whether to let this one go . . . or to make his agent regret the day he was born.

At the moment, the outcome was pretty much fifty-fifty.

But of course he should have expected this crap from him. Well, if not Derek, then SOMEBODY.

The tie really was just asking for it.

But that morning when he and Emily were getting dressed, she had turned around to see him holding up his CHOSEN tie of the day against his shirt as he checked it in the bedroom mirror. And with that faint Level 2 pout that she knew he was COMPLETELY powerless to say no to, she had gently prodded that maybe it would be a good day to wear his new tie to work.

Like dancing, fez wearing pandas were in style, or something.

So of course he'd given her an 'are you fucking KIDDING me,' look in response. But then she'd reminded him that it was Friday, and that they'd be picking up Jack that night, and that his son would probably be "over the moon," to see Daddy wearing his new present.

After a moment of staring, Hotch had sighed and dropped his head to his chest. And after a three count, where he regretted so many of his life choices . . . chief among them ever leaving Emily and Jack alone at the National Zoo gift shop . . . he'd straightened up and turned to put the green silk back on the rack. Then he tossed the new red panda bear tie around his neck.

And good God it was just as AWFUL on, as OFF!

But when she saw him putting it on, Emily had given him a brilliant smile as she told him that he was a good dad . . . so that had softened the hideousness a bit. A small bit. But then she'd also rewarded him with a lengthy kiss before going off to take her morning supply of pills and supplements. And even if Hotch knew that he'd received more than a few 'looks' while he was walking around the office that day . . . the tie was most certainly an eye catcher, especially in a work environment where a yellow shirt was considered 'flashy' . . . of course nobody had dared to say anything. Until now. Until Derek.

Of course.

Although, when Hotch turned to toss his paper towel in the trash, he took note that even if Derek's jaw was twitching . . . his eyes were soft. And though the team had put on their best, business as usual, faces on that morning when they'd come in to work, it had just been the night before that they'd all received the news about Emily's cancer. And they'd been devastated.

And then they'd had to pretend that they weren't.

So perhaps, Hotch realized, Morgan's teasing wasn't simply for ball busting purposes . . . the usual. No, maybe, just maybe, he was simply trying to find a way to restore a bit of normality to his off kilter world.

So Hotch decided to play along.

It was all that he could do for him.

"They are fez hats actually," he responded with a crisp nod, "and as I recall, there were quite a few in stock, all different colors. Perhaps Jack could pick something out for you, Derek. You know," his eyebrow shot up, "maybe something that you could wear to the next mandatory attendance, Bureau party."

Hotch's jaw line remained firm, but his eyes twinkled when he saw the brief flash of 'oh shit,' fear on Morgan's face.

Gotcha.

"Oh, no Hotch," he saw Derek quickly shaking his head as the two of them walked towards the door, "no need to trouble the kid. It's enough for me just to be able to admire yours."

Hotch nodded.

"I thought as much."

Just as they stepped out into the corridor, Hotch saw Garcia coming around the corner. And the second she spotted them, she yelped in delight.

"Oh sir, I LOVE your tie! Did you get it at the zoo?!"

Ignoring Derek's snicker, Hotch bit back a sigh even while he tipped his head.

"Thank you, Penelope," he responded with as much as grace as he could muster up under the circumstances, "and yes, yes we did get it at the zoo. It was a gift. From my son."

God, how many times was he going to have to REPEAT this story today?! Maybe he should just scratch it on a sticky note and staple it to his lapel!

Or his forehead.

"Well," Garcia smiled softly as she stopped in front of them, her hands folded at her stomach, "he has very good taste. I have a few of the dancing panda bear accessories myself."

And with that she tipped her head and started to walk around the two of them.

She'd only taken a few steps before she stopped and turned around.

"You know sir . . ."

Hotch looked over his shoulder, and she continued.

". . . they do sell matching purses there. Do you think Emily would maybe . . ."

Before she could get the rest of the question out, Hotch cut her off.

"Oh uh, no, no thank you Garcia. That's a nice thought, but you know Emily doesn't really carry a bag very often."

Good Christ! That was all they'd need to bring their careers to a GRINDING halt . . . matching outfits!

And DANCING panda bear ones no less!

"Oh," Garcia's nose wrinkled, "right. That's true. Oh well, um if you think of something else she might like," she gave him a hopeful smile, "could you let me know?"

For a second Hotch stared down at Garcia, thinking about the question and the sentiment behind it. Then he nodded slowly.

"Yes, Penelope," he responded softly, "if I think of anything, I'll let you know."

And then he turned and walked away.

/*/*/*/

That night after work, Hotch and Emily stopped at Haley's to pick up Jack before they headed off to the grocery store. Given that there was 'pie making' on tap for Saturday, they'd figured it was best to get any needed supplies on the way home, so they wouldn't have to rush around the next day.

So with Jack riding on Hotch's shoulders . . . they were trying to get in and out within a half hour, and his little legs didn't walk that fast . . . they quickly moved through Safeway picking up their baking supplies and a few general staples that were running low. Like Emily's salsa for instance. She was down to one primary jar and one emergency jar.

These were not sufficient provisions.

But once they'd cleared the shelves of Old El Paso and tortilla chips, they'd fully completed their list. And for Jack being a good boy . . . there had been no whining, and only a few minutes of drumming on Hotch's head . . . Emily bought him his very own, "for Jack's mouth only," container of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream.

He was completely euphoric.

The fact that the container was only the little individual portion with tiny doll size spoon, completely escaped his attention. It was enough that it just belonged to him.

And then the other thing that put Jack over the moon that evening, was when they got home and took off their coats. That was the first time he saw that Hotch was wearing the panda bear tie. At first he just grinned from ear to ear.

Then he actually clapped with delight.

"The pandas!" He yelled as he hopped up and down.

And seeing that look on his face, and how JOYOUSLY happy his boy was, Hotch couldn't help but smile too. He leaned over to whisper in Emily's ear.

"I guess maybe it's not such a terrible tie."

She turned to him then with a soft, watery, smile.

"You made him so happy," she responded with a sniffle.

Before Hotch could respond . . . her tears, even happy ones, always elicited a reaction . . . she gave him a quick kiss, and stepped away, wiping her eye as she went off to hang up her coat.

Hotch stared after her for a second, and then he turned back and looked down at his son. His eyes crinkled.

He was still beaming as he bounced on the tips of his toes.

"Come on buddy," he said with a chuckle as he leaned down to pick him up, "let's go start your bath."

A/N 2: Again, super short, but this part of their world is a lot of 'pop in' stuff. We will be getting follow ups coming along with the full team in terms of their reaction to Emily's diagnosis.

There will be a few more things going up before Sunday. A few new ones too perhaps, because my brain is a little bouncy right now in terms of which sandboxes it wishes to play in, and if we want to keep a stream of anything going up, I need to go with the flow. I know we're waiting on updates with a few of the more popular fics and nothing is deliberately being back burnered, I'm just chugging along the best I can :)

And thank you everyone for the kudos and the kind comments. They're always appreciated, and it helps me to know what's connecting with people :)