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To be completely honest, Spencer doesn’t have a good excuse to be at the Hotchner’s residence this time. His knee had healed well, Jack’s homework was relatively easy, everyone had eaten dinner– separately– but Spencer was there. Hanging out. They were all watching a movie, light chatter from the adults while Jack was invested.
Both their heads turned when there was scratching on the back sliding door.
“Expecting any more company?” Spencer asked, standing to flicker on the light as Aaron chuckled.
“No, but you would die first in a horror movie,” Aaron said, and Spencer rolled his eyes as he looked outside, not seeing anything at first but then moving his gaze downwards a bit. A dog?
“Um, Aaron, there’s a puppy on your back porch?” Spencer said, turning to look at him.
“Puppy!” Jack exclaimed, his attention immediately caught, almost struggling to stand trying to see it. Aaron, eyebrows knit together in confusion, stood as well to also try and see.
It was a mix of some kind, and it was definitely a pup. It was overall black with white polka-dot-like specs, and it couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 weeks old. Spencer, carefully, opened the door and kneeled, reaching a hand out for the dog to sniff. Within seconds, Spencer was lifting the puppy from the ground, and the poor thing was nuzzling into him looking for warmth.
“There’s no collar,” Spencer said, though that was clear. “Have any of your neighbors had pups recently… does anyone even have a dog?”
“No one that could’ve gotten pregnant and gave birth. Most, if not all, the dogs around me that I know of are older and on their last legs,” Aaron said honestly. “It looks hungry, and thirsty. I’ll get it a bowl of water.”
“Her,” Spencer corrected, and Aaron nodded choosing not to continue that part of the conversation.
“I’ll get her a bowl,” He corrected himself. “Jack, why don’t you go sit down while me and Spencer take care of the puppy, okay? Once it’s not so fragile and we make sure it’s okay, probably get it into a vet first, then we’ll see about letting you handle it, okay?”
“Okay, daddy, but can I touch her fur once? It looks fluffy!” Jack asked, looking up at his father with puppy eyes.
“Just once,” Aaron said, and Jack lit up as he reached out to gently run his hand against the fur. The pup seemed to jump but then relax at the gentle touches, clearly liking it, and Spencer smiled.
“I’ll see if there’s any vets open, it’s past five so I wouldn’t keep our hopes up. I’ll bring her home with me if I need to until tomorrow,” Spencer said, and Aaron nodded as Jack went running back into the living room.
Within half an hour, the pup had an appointment at the vet the next day, early morning was the only thing they could schedule, and she was lapping down a bowl of water. “Should we get her some food?” Spencer asked, leaning into Aaron’s bubble to whisper, as if there was a reason he needed to be quiet.
“Probably. She looks starved,” Aaron mumbled, “Will you stay with Jack? I can get some kibble.”
“Sure,” Spencer agreed without a second thought.
“Thanks. Jack, buddy, I’m gonna get some kibble for her, okay? You’re gonna stay with Spencer and the puppy, but remember, no more touching,” Aaron said, and Jack nodded from his place intently watching the dog. Aaron pat Spencer on the shoulder as he stood and grabbed his keys, Spencer took the message to stand and momentarily follow.
“Do you know what you wanna do with her?” Aaron asked, standing by the door and out of earshot of Jack. “Me and Jack can’t keep her. Not yet anyway, with the job-”
“If she’s healthy, I’ll keep her,” Spencer cut him off, and Aaron quirked an eyebrow.
“I thought you hated dogs,” Aaron whispered.
“I don’t hate them, I’m just put off by the ones I don’t know, especially if they’re bigger. This is a puppy, she’s harmless. And, I can hire a trainer, my apartment allows pets, I just recently had to get rid of my fish, so… I could do it. And it could bring her over, if you’re okay with that, if Jack ever wants to see her, or Jack could come over.”
Aaron nodded, “That’s not a bad idea, he’s already attached,” He mumbled, putting his shoes on. “And he’s always wanted a dog.”
“Then, I’ll keep her,” Spencer whispered. “And Jack is always welcome to her, anytime.”
Aaron nodded, “That’s sweet,” He said, and Spencer smiled. “I’ll be right back,” He said, automatically tugging Spencer into a hug, to which Spencer happily returned. It had become routine, everytime one of them were leaving, even if they were coming back, to hug the other before they walked out the door.
“Be safe, please,” Spencer said, and Aaron chuckled in agreement as they separated.
Once that door closed behind Aaron, Spencer was walking back to the couch to sit down next to Jack, who was still watching the dog, and pat the top of his head to get his attention before sitting. “What should we name her?”
“Dad says not to name things, that’s how you get attached,” Jack said, and Spencer sighed.
“You’re already attached,” Spencer said, and Jack sighed.
“I wanted to name her Galaxy,” Jack whispered. “Look at her, she’s all spotty, like stars in the sky! But stars aren't as pretty as the galaxy.”
“The galaxy is just all the stars put together anyway, so your idea’s still correct,” Spencer smiled. “I think galaxy is the perfect name.”
Jack smiled up at him, finally taking his eyes off the dog– who finished her water and was now curled up next to the bowl with a soft yawn. “Are we keeping her?” Jack asked.
“I might, you and your Dad can’t right now due to his job and the fact that she’s not trained, but, I can help with that,” Spencer explained. “But, there’s no promises on that, Jack. She might have something that prevents me from keeping her, okay? But, I will try.”
“Okay!” Jack smiled, leaning into Spencer. There was a bit of quiet, the two watching both the movie and the new puppy (what can they say, they’re both enchanted by her), before Jack looked up at Spencer. “Do you like Daddy?”
“What? Of course I like your Dad, I work with him,” Spencer chuckled.
“Yeah, but I mean really like. Like, like-like. ”
“I don’t know how you managed to say like four times in a row and make it make sense,” Spencer mumbled, and Jack giggled, “But, me and your Dad are just friends, we get along, and he’s good company.”
“You hug everytime you leave,” Jack said.
“I hug you too,” Spencer reasoned.
“You’re always here,” Jack hummed, tilting his head.
“My apartment is lonely. What? Do you not want me over anymore?” Spencer asked.
“No! I like it when you’re here. Daddy’s happier when you’re here!” Jack insisted.
“Is he? Is he not usually happy, when it’s just you and him?” Spencer asked, slightly confused by the admission.
“He is ,” Jack sighed, clearly trying to find words. “He just… he has a hard time? I don’t know with what. He’s in his office more though, so I think it’s work. You keep him out of the office. He also misses mom. A lot.”
“Yeah, well he loved her a lot,” Spencer said, and Jack nodded. “And so do you, even if you don’t have many memories of her, you might not know how much, but you do.”
“It makes me sad, seeing her pictures,” Jack whispered, and Spencer ran a loving hand through Jack’s hair to soothe him when tears welled up in his eyes. “We used to talk to her, the candle. I think it hurts Daddy too much.”
“Did it make you feel better?” Spencer asked, and Jack shrugged.
“I don’t know,” He whispered.
“That’s okay, but you know you can ask your Dad to do it again if you feel you need it,” Spencer said softly, and Jack nodded. “Is there anything off you need to get off your chest?”
“No, I just… I really like you, Spencie,” Jack whispered, curling into Spencer.
“Well, I like you too, Jackie,” Spencer smiled, wrapping an arm around him and holding him close.
When Aaron returned, Spencer noticed that Jack had fallen to sleep. Aaron took the task of putting Jack to bed while Spencer too the dog food, put a bit of water in the bowl to soften it, and gently woke the puppy up to let her feed.
“I’m guessing he was good?” Aaron asked as he came back down, and Spencer nodded.
“Yeah, amazing as always. We had a good chat,” Spencer said.
“Uh oh,” Aaron chuckled, “What happened?”
“Well, at first he asked if I like- liked you. He said like four times in a row and somehow still made it make sense, then it transitioned over to you having a hard time,” Spencer said honestly. “Working too much again, Hotchner?”
“Hard not to when you’re the chief of a unit,” Aaron said, and Spencer chuckled, nodding slowly.
“So it seems,” Spencer agreed, watching Galaxy eat. “Do I have your permission to stay the night? I think it’d be easier to take care of her without having to put her in a new environment.”
“Sure,” Aaron said without a second thought, after the few weeks Spencer spent on his knee, the chief really didn’t have a problem letting Spencer stay overnight.
“Thanks,” Spencer smiled.
-7-
“So she’s a healthy pup. You were right, she’s about 6 weeks old, and very lucky. She’s in no way injured, just dehydrated and very thin, so probably very hungry,” The vet said after Galaxy’s check up. “But she’s a very good girl.”
“That’s good,” Spencer said, petting the dog gently with a small smile.
“Were you looking to keep her?” The vet asked, and Spencer nodded.
“Yeah, if there weren't any medical issues I offered to take care of her,” Spencer said, and she nodded.
“Awesome, I’ll go get some paperwork so you can register her in our system,” She said kindly, and Spencer nodded, whispering thanks before sitting down and allowing Galaxy to hop into his lap.
-7-
“So, how’s training going?” Aaron asked as they walked into the bullpen together, both going to the breakroom to get their morning coffee.
“Pretty good, she’s doing well on house training specifically. Letting me or Allison know when she needs to go outside is really what we’re focusing on, but she listens to sit and the lay down commands nicely as well,” Spencer said. “Allie’s really pleased with the progress, and I am too. I’m just lucky she’s both a trainer and is willing to dogsit for me when we have cases,” Spencer explained as he started getting himself a cup of coffee.
“Yeah, you really lucked out on that one,” Aaron chuckled, handing Spencer the sugar container, to which Spencer gave him a knowingly cheeky smile and poured a heapful into his cup. “Do you know what kind of dog she is?”
“Not yet, but we’re gonna do a test when she gets just a bit older,” Spencer said, and Aaron nodded. “Her face tells me she’s got some pitbull in her, though. Which, pit’s get a bad rep, I think they’re lovely dogs.”
“I noticed that, and yes, I agree,” Aaron hummed in agreement, taking a sip of his coffee and humming pleasantly when it was where he wanted. “Have the files for the Jackson case on my desk by lunch?” He requested.
“I’ll have them on your desk in three hours if we don’t get a case,” Spencer promised, and Aaron cracked a smile as they walked out and went their separate ways to their desk/office for Aaron.
“Pretty boy’s hanging with the boss again,” Derek said as soon as Aaron’s door closed again. Spencer looked at him with a deadpanned gaze before he grabbed a stack of files.
“He was just asking about Galaxy,” Spencer said in explanation.
“The galaxy, you mean?” Emily tried to correct with a small grin.
“No, Galaxy is the name of my new dog,” Spencer said with a small smile. “And no, before any of you ask, none of you are allowed to meet her until I have her fully trained.”
“What! That’s so unfair!” Emily whined, but the smile on her face told Spencer she wasn’t really worried about it.
“Penny’s not gonna like that,” JJ said, coming up from behind. “You know how much she loves dogs. How old’s your pup?”
“Eh, almost 18 weeks by now?” Spencer said, “If our estimation of when she was born is correct.”
“Oh she’s a little thing,” JJ said, and Spencer nodded, “How long have you had her?”
“12 weeks,” Spencer said as he opened one of the files.
“And you kept it from us?” Emily asked, eyebrows raised, clearly impressed.
“Believe it or not, I keep a lot of things from you guys,” Spencer chuckled, and Derek scoffed in mock-offense.
“Damn, the genius doesn’t tell us everything?” He joked, and Spencer rolled his eyes as he started on the paperwork.
“But Hotch knows?” Emily asked, and Spencer nodded.
“Yep,” Spencer hummed without looking up.
“How does Hotch know?” JJ asked.
“I was at his house when I found her- ah, she found us,” Spencer said, quickly correcting himself.
“What were you doing at Hotch’s place?” Derek asked, now suddenly more intrigued.
Spencer simply shrugged, “Hanging out with Jack. Because someone won’t let me see my godson,” he said, pointedly looking at JJ with a playful smile before turning back to his work. “And since he forced me to stay with him for those weeks while my knee healed, Jack got used to having me around. Apparently, he asks for me. Constantly. Mostly for homework, though,” Spencer explained.
“Gettin’ closer with the boss, huh?” Derek teased, and Spencer glared at him. “Never took you for the kinda guy to have workplace romances.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Spencer hummed, tapping his pen against his desk. “Me and A-Hotch get along, and I like Jack, and I like helping Jack out. That’s it.”
“Mm, you almost called him by his first name,” Emily commented.
“Mhm, because I do call him by his first name, outside of work. Habit,” Spencer said without looking up once again.
“None of us do,” JJ said, sounding confused. “Well, other than Rossi, but he calls Hotch by his first name whether we’re on a case or not.”
“And he hates it,” Spencer responded. “When you guys call him Hotch out of work, specifically. Not the Rossi part. He’d rather just be Hotch at work, not outside of work. We had a long conversation about it.”
“How long?” Derek asked, and Spencer glared at him through his lashes before going back to work.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Spencer asked. “All of you?”
“Why work when this is much more fun?” Derek asked.
“If you stop questioning me I’ll take half of your paperwork for the Gunter case,” Spencer reasoned, and Derek whistled, grabbing a stack of papers and handing it over to Spencer before putting his hand up in surrender and returning back to his desk.
“Will you do some of my Hunting case files?” Emily asked.
“For a donut,” Spencer said, and Emily sighed with a small smile, already handing over the files. “I want the donut first. And I gotta get these Jackson files done in the next… 2 hours and 48 minutes,” he said, accepting the files.
“Deal,” Emily smiled.