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Derek's phone rings in his pocket and he fishes it out, muting the song he's listening to as he checks the contact information. At the sight of Aaron's name, he almost sighs. "We got a case?"
"What? No, no, sorry, do you think you can come to mine, please?"
"Of course," Derek replies, stomach dropping at the panic in Aaron's voice. It's rare to hear his voice waver from its usual tone, much less sound as panicked as it does right now, and Derek feels uneasy. "What's wrong?"
"Jack's sick. Really sick. He needs, uh, some medicine, and Jessica isn't available so I guess I thought to call you."
Derek silently wonders why he hadn't called JJ instead as he locks the front door and makes his way to his car but he refuses to voice that out loud. Now's not the time for that. "What do you need? I'll pick it up, Hotch, anything you want."
"Cough medicine, some painkillers, cough drops if there's any available just in case, and a few snacks, if you can."
Derek nods to himself, repeating the list as he starts the car. "Got it. Anything else?"
"That'll be all, thanks."
"I'll be over ASAP."
***
Finding the items for Jack proves much more difficult than he assumed it'd be. There's too many options, ones he's never even had the need to look at before, and he feels rather lost. Glancing around for a nearby employer and coming up short, he lets out a sigh and digs his phone out from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts before finding his mom's and calling.
She answers on the third ring. "Sweetheart! Oh, what a lovely surprise."
"Hey, mama," he replies, grinning at the sound of her voice. "Sorry for the random call, I just need some help with something."
"Never apologize for calling me, Derek, it's always nice to hear your voice." She shuffles around on the other side of the line. "What do you need?"
"Well, what do I buy for children? For medicine, I mean. When they're sick."
She laughs, amused. "Derek Morgan, is there something you're not telling me?"
"Wh– No, ma," he chuckles, "Jack's really sick."
"Hm, you mean Aaron's boy?" There's a smirk in her voice.
"Yes, ma, Aaron's boy. He asked me to grab him a few things and I'm a bit out of my depth here."
"He asked you specifically, hm?"
"Ma!"
"Sorry, sorry, I'm just messin' with you, sweetheart. So, you're gonna wanna grab some Tylenol. Children's one, not the one for adults. The one with the oral suspension, if they have it, that always goes down much better from my experience. And then you'll want soup. Any soup will do but one without any bits in it, like tomato or chicken, also goes down better than anything else. You getting this, honey?"
Derek hums as he throws various items in his basket. "I am."
"Good," she replies, before listing off a few more items he can grab.
"Thanks, ma," he says once he's gotten everything he needs. "Really appreciate the help, you're a saint."
"Takes one to know one."
"Yeah, yeah," Derek chuckles. "Well, I have to go now, I'll call you sometime later this week, okay? I'll find out when I'm next free to visit and we'll arrange a date. That sound good?"
"That sounds great. I love you, honey. Take care of Jack, yeah? And Aaron."
"I love you more, ma. And I will."
He makes his way to the counter and pays for the items when his eye catches onto a mini Spider-man plush. "You wanna buy it?" The cashier asks, already grabbing it from where it's placed on display. "It's the last one."
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
It takes fifteen minutes to get from the store to Aaron's, fifteen minutes he's sure the poor man is stressing over in his panic. He pulls up to the apartment and parks beside Aaron's car, ensuring he has everything with him before making his way to the front door and knocking a specific pattern he picked up when he was younger that's become like second nature now.
The door opens immediately and an unkempt Aaron greets him with a relieved smile. Derek feels a flutter or two in his stomach at that but he pushes the thought away and smiles back.
"Got you what you needed," he says, handing Aaron the bag. "You need me to do anything else?"
"I think that's all. Thank you, I appreciate it."
Derek nods and steps inside, ignoring the confused look Aaron sends him. "C'mon man, you're freaking out over here all alone, I'm not gonna leave you like this."
Aaron is speechless.
"Besides, you'll need some company once Jack's settled down."
"Will I?"
"Yeah," he nods, heading to the kitchen and grabbing Jack's favourite bowl from the cupboard. "Don't want you losing your mind, do we? Wouldn't be good for the team's morale." Derek reaches out and takes the bag from Aaron's hand, pulling out the soup and a few more items before giving it back. "Now go be there for your kid, man. I'll make him something to eat."
Aaron's shoulders drop and he looks like he might cry. "Thank you, Morgan."
"Anytime, man."
Later on in the night when Jack is fast asleep with a stomach full of soup, Spider-Man plush wrapped up in his arms and thumb in his mouth, Derek coaxes Aaron out into the living room. He forces him to relax on the couch before going back into the kitchen, coming out moments later with a tray of food.
"You didn't have to do this, Morgan," Aaron says, sounding guilt-ridden. He looks down at the soup on the plate and the cheese toastie beside it. "I'm grateful, of course, but you didn't have to do all of this."
"I know."
"But you did it anyway."
Derek drops beside him on the couch and grabs the remote, switching on the TV and putting on a random movie. "Of course I did."
He misses the look of adoration that crosses Aaron's face.