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He was stepping off the plane, go-bag on his shoulder and phone in his hand. On the tarmac he walked a little quicker than everyone else back to the SUVs. Morgan watched him, nudged Prentiss, who nodded and nudged JJ, who nudged Reid. Reid didn’t know to nudge Rossi but that was OK because Rossi saw for himself. They figured their boss wouldn’t be heading back to Quantico with them tonight. They all thought that was a good thing.
“Hotch, I can do the case paperwork if you want.” Morgan said from a few feet behind him. “I know you want to get home to Jack.”
“What?” Hotch turned around. He hadn't made a call yet but he wanted to.
“I can finish up the paperwork for you. I have something to do back at the office anyway. You should go home; really it’s no problem.”
“Thank you.” Hotch replied. “Derek, I truly appreciate it.”
Hotch knew the men had been on tender footing since Emily’s return to the team. Morgan felt as if his trust had been broken. Though Hotch had few regrets about the Prentiss situation, he did his best to respect and understand that. He would have to earn it back. Shit happened.
It happened a lot with this team. Hotch would get it back; maybe this offer tonight was a good sign he was on the road to it. But he held back throwing his arms around Morgan in thanks. Firstly, it would be too weird. Secondly, he was too busy wondering what his team was thinking as they walked behind him.
“You guys did a great job. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He heard the chorus of goodnights and ‘see yas’ as he climbed into a waiting SUV. Hotch dialed the phone in the driver’s seat. There was no point in driving away yet…he wasn’t entirely sure where he was going.
“Hey.” She answered.
“I know it’s late but…”
“It’s a little after nine, Aaron. It’s not too late.”
“Its not?” he asked.
“No. Are you still out of town?”
“I just got back. Where are you?”
“I'm home.” Beth replied. “I'm in pajamas with the Kindle fired up and I'm going to get some reading done.”
“How would you feel about coming out?” Hotch asked.
“Coming out where?”
“My place.” He said.
“I'm in pajamas, Aaron.”
“I know but…”
“It was a long day. Nothing felt better than coming home and getting out of my grownup clothes. I'm a little too relaxed to put them back on.”
“How do you feel about running quickly to your car in your pajamas?” he asked.
“I'm going to go out on a limb and say that’s probably the strangest question you’ve asked a woman outside of the boundaries of your job.”
“You would be correct.”
“Why don’t you just come over here?” Beth asked.
“Well you’ve already hosted me and I was supposed to host you on Sunday morning but…”
“It’s OK. Well, it’s OK if you don’t mind reindeer pajamas and a movie.”
“I don’t.” Hotch was smiling. “I don’t mind at all; I just want to see you.”
“Ditto. Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure.” he nodded.
“Bring us a snack. I've been so busy that I haven’t had time to hit the supermarket. The cupboards are bare around here. We can't have movie night without snacks.”
“Snacks; check I got it. I'm looking forward to seeing you.”
“You're going to make it up to me?” Beth asked.
Hotch didn’t want to tell her what was really on his mind. It wasn’t exactly something that would get him slapped across the mouth but just thinking about it made his cheeks warm. He was also smiling.
“I'm going to make it up to you.” he said.
“Well this is me not complaining at all.”
“I'm on my way.”
“Yay.”
Hotch couldn’t help but laugh. He was looking forward to it as much as she was. He wasn’t sure what would happen tonight but Hotch knew he was going to let go. He wasn’t going to over think and overreact.
He was going to Georgetown to wrap his arms around his girlfriend. At least he thought she was his girlfriend. And if she wasn’t, she would be after tonight. OK, if he thought about that too much then he would lose confidence.
“I’ll be there in about a half hour.” He said.
“See you then.”
Hotch hung up the phone, smiled, and started the car. He knew where he was going to go to get a snack for them. He had no idea where he would park in Georgetown but he’d just figure it out when he got there. That might significantly up his time past a half hour but Beth had to expect the parking conundrum.
It was Tuesday, and winter, but it was a busy area of the nation’s capital. He didn’t need to think negatively. There was nothing happier than the idea of being in Beth’s arms within the hour. It had been a long time since he crashed a pajama party.
***
Hotch took a deep breath as he walked up the steps and hit the buzzer. It was raining, again, and he had to park almost five blocks from her place. So he was a little wet but didn’t care. He was a little concerned about standing on her stoop and not being buzzed in though. Hotch hit the buzzer again and waited.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Beth.”
“I'm so sorry,” she laughed. “I was in the bathroom. Come on up.”
He heard the door buzz and he walked in. Then he went up the flight of stairs. Another déjà vu moment as Hotch remembered the first time he made the trip. Date #3 had a delicious meal, a dozen beautiful flowers, and some amazing kisses. What he could expect tonight, Hotch wasn’t sure.
But he was sure that it was always an adventure with Beth. She was waiting at the door for him dressed in pajamas. They were red flannel pajama bottoms, covered in reindeer, and a white tank top. Her hair was in two plaits and Hotch was almost stunned into speechlessness. Damn, she was beautiful.
“Oh my God, you're wet.” She was laughing again as she took his hand and pulled him into the apartment.
Hotch smiled, putting his arms around her and accepting her kisses. She didn’t seem to mind too much that he was wet. He didn’t seem to mind too much when she didn’t just remove his coat and scarf. His suit jacket, tie and a few buttons of his shirt came undone as well.
“Take off your shoes please?” she asked as she put his coat in the closet. Hotch did so without question.
“I bought dumplings.” He held up the bag. “There's chicken, pork, seafood, and veggie. I also got three different kinds of dipping sauces.”
“Mmm, dumplings.” She kissed him again. “I'm glad you're here.”
“I'm not interrupting your night off?”
“Sure you are but don’t say it like it’s a bad thing. What kind of movie are you in the mood for?”
“I'm really just in the mood to be with you.”
“The Best Years of Our Lives it is.” Beth smiled.
“Are you kidding?” Hotch asked. “That’s one of my favorite films.”
“Which character are you; Al, Fred, or Homer.”
“This might not be the best idea I ever had, but I'm going to let you decide.”
He loved the way she laughed. Beth took both his hands, pulling him into the living room with her. Hotch put the food down on the coffee table as she went over the bookshelf housing her movies. She grabbed a DVD, putting it in the machine as he set up their dinner on the coffee table.
“I have some Stella Artois in the fridge.” Beth said. “Do you want a beer?”
“That sounds perfect.” Hotch’s smile showed off his dimples.
He bypassed the couch, sitting on the floor in front of it. Hotch felt good as his back rested on the front of the couch. His long legs went under the coffee table. Beth liked that and joined him on the floor with no problem. Hotch took his beer holding it up.
“I’d like to propose a toast.” He said. “To part one of making it up to each other.”
“Part one?’ Beth raised her eyebrow.
“Yes ma'am; absolutely.” Hotch nodded.
Beth got comfortable as Hotch slipped his arm around her shoulder. She had one of her favorite movies on TV, dumplings smelling delicious in front of her, and the man himself with his arm around her. It had been a long day and Beth was tired. That wasn’t going to stop her from enjoying every moment of this.
***
“Homer.” She whispered. Beth’s body rested comfortably on Hotch’s, his arm still around her. Her head was on his shoulder; her hand over his heart. The last scene of the movie played but they both knew what would happen. They knew what would happen on screen anyway.
“Hmm?” Hotch rested his cheek on top of her head. He couldn’t believe that he wasn’t nervous. It was the first time he’d held her in his arms for an extended period of time. Hotch had to admit that he liked it. He liked the butterflies in his stomach. It was weird to have butterflies but be calm at the same time. There was something so natural about them being where they were.
“You're Homer for sure. Someone else might say Fred and I wouldn’t be prepared to fight them to the death about it or anything but its Homer.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He was one way his entire life, not that there's anything wrong with that. Then he went on this journey; this scary, fascinating journey. It scarred him for life and he came back a different person. But his soul was still sweet Homer. He, and everyone around him, just had to get used to the fact that on the outside he was never going to be the same.
It didn’t take long for the outside wounds to heal but he was still suffering inside.” Beth went on. “He pushed everyone away, even the girl he loved. Then one day they didn’t want to be pushed away anymore. So they showed him that hurt, different, angry, more grown up, whatever he was they would love him anyway. And when he finally tested and accepted that he could move on with his life.”
“I thought I was the profiler.” Hotch replied, unsure of what else to say. She’d just dissected him, and Homer Parrish.
“I don’t need a degree in Profilogy. I've always been a keen observer. I'm observing.”
“What do you see?” He asked.
“I see a guy I like. He’s so sweet and handsome and charming and was raised right. But there's more to him than meets the eye. He has darkness and sadness and demons to battle. A part of me wants to be a light for him…another part fears I can never be.”
“Beth…”
“You asked me what I saw.” She said. “Honesty is the best policy.”
“And I honestly enjoy every moment we spend together. I want to move forward, not back. I know there are things you want to know; things you need to know. But I think if we just go forward then maybe I’ll be forward enough that when its time to go back I won't slip too far.”
“It’s the shoes, Aaron. They’re really slippery…how do you even chase bad guys in them?”
He laughed a little, turning his body towards hers. Hotch tilted her chin and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. Then he gave her another one. Then Beth’s tongue ran over his bottom lip and it got more passionate. Hotch pulled her closer, the sound of her moan making his heart thump in his chest.
He could kiss her all day and that was the truth. Her lips were so soft; the sounds she made so sweet. She slipped her arms around his neck and stroked the nape. Now it was Hotch who was moaning. Nah, he didn’t need to breathe. He could die right there; his mouth on hers, and it was alright.
“It’s getting late.” Hotch said. He kissed her nose and then her lips again. It was really difficult to stop doing that.
“You could always stay.”
“Beth, I don’t want you to think…”
“What?” she asked. “You don’t want me to think that you’ve had a long couple of days and you're tired. You don’t want me to think that you might be too tired to drive back to Alexandria tonight? I don’t think that, Aaron. I know this is all about ravaging my body.”
He grinned, stroking her cheek. He wasn’t going to ravage her body, not yet, and Hotch was almost sure she knew that as well as he did. But he was finding it hard to come up with an excuse not to fall asleep with her in his arms. They were grownups, they could handle it. He was tired; though Hotch could've made it home. Just because he was walking forward didn’t mean he always had to walk out the door.
“I wake up insanely early in the morning.” he replied.
“Oh good, I can giggle at you while I stay in bed for another hour.”
“If you're giggling then I might not want to get up.”
Smiling, Beth jumped up from the floor with an energy that Hotch didn’t think he’d had in about five years. She offered both of her hands and he took them.
“We’ll clean this up, take out the DVD, and go to bed. It was a great evening and I don’t want it to end.”
“I don’t either.”
There were other things he wanted to say but Hotch had this feeling that he and Beth were on the same page. There wasn’t going to be weirdness about what was happening. They really were going to bed. Yes, there would probably be kissing. And he was already thinking about how nice rubbing her back while she slept would feel.
There would be no funny stuff. In the morning there would be no shame or lack of words to say. People sometimes forgot how awesome it was just to share your sacred space with someone else. Alone in his bed for a long time, Hotch never forgot.
“I’ll get the dumplings, you get the DVD.” Beth said.
“OK.” Hotch nodded and they moved apart.
Taking everything into the kitchen, Beth realized she was trembling as she cleaned up. It was possible she might not be able to stop that before they got to the bedroom. She wasn’t nervous; it must have been anticipation. She liked Aaron…she liked Aaron a lot. She thought he might feel the same about her. But theirs would be a careful journey.
Sparks were flying but they had to make sure it didn’t cause any third degree burns. He wasn’t the only one who was cautious. He wasn’t the only one who’d been hurt. Beth wanted this though and didn’t mind treading lightly.
That was probably for the best anyway. She’d been fast in her life before…the scars were still visible. Slow and steady was just fine with Aaron. That meant that neither one of them would miss a thing.
So Beth took a deep breath before walking back into her living room. Hotch had a sweet look on his face as he reached for her hand. He held it to his lips and then put her arm around his waist. They walked to the bedroom together, both hoping this was the end of being alone.