A/N: It's been forever, but I'm back. Sorry for the delay. Here is the introduction between Emily and Jack and major alert for fluffness. I hope you guys enjoy it and I'm sorry for any errors.
Chapter 3: Important People
"We not going home, daddy?" Jack asked with a frown as he watched his father driving towards a different neighborhood. Hotch sighed and parked the car by a small park a few blocks before his new place with Emily and looked at his son sitting on his car seat.
"We will, buddy. But before that, you and I need to have a very serious talk. A boy's talk. Can we do that?" He asked and so the boy's eyes widening.
"I'm in trouble?" He asked confused and Hotch chuckled at him.
"No, you're not. C'mon. Let's sit over those benches out there…" He said opening the driver's door and walking around the car to pick his son. He took the boy's hand and walked towards a small bench a few feet away for the little playground. He sat beside the little boy and smiled at the sight of his big hazel eyes staring at him. "Buddy. Do you remember when we had a talk about why I was going to live in a different place?" He started and Jack nodded.
"Yeah. You said that sometimes daddies and mommies stop loving each other and have to stay apart…" He answered with a little of sadness in his voice.
"That's right. I know that you'd want very much for us to live together again and that we'd spend more time together… I'd want to spend more time with you two, buddy. But, like I said, sometimes mommies and daddies start fighting too much because we stop agreeing with each other and stop loving each other and don't want to spend time together anymore. I told you before, that's not your fault, no way whatsoever. This kind of things just happen sometimes and even though it's sad, there's nothing we can do about… do you understand?"
"I do…" The boy nodded.
"Good. And remember when I told you that no matter what happens I will always be your dad and Haley will always be your mom and nothing ever is going to change that?" He asked.
"Yes, daddy…" Jack nodded again.
"Good, buddy." Hotch smiled and then sighed. "What I wanted to talk to you is that, sometimes, even if mommies and daddies stop loving each other and go on separate ways, we always need someone to love us and for us to love too. It's important to have a special person to take care of us and to help us to not feel lonely or sad. Do you understand?"
"Yes, daddy…"
"Okay. So, daddy met a very nice lady and she's spending a lot of time with me in the last couple of months. She's very pretty and sweet and daddy loves her very much." Hotch explained.
"Like you used to love mommy?" Jack asked.
"Yes, buddy. Like I used to love mommy. She's very special and she makes me very happy, every day." Hotch said.
"Why you can't love mommy like that anymore?" Jack asked innocently.
"Because we don't agree with each other anymore, buddy. Mommy and I started to fight a lot and that isn't good for anyone… we didn't want to stop loving each other but it happened and you can't make anyone love you. Love is a very special thing and you can't choose who you're going to love. It's God who sends us that important person and because they're a gift to you, you have to cherish and take care of them all the time…"
"So this nice lady is your gift?" Jack asked.
"Yes, buddy. She's a great gift and she makes me very happy, so I like to take care of her every day and to make her happy too…" Hotch explained and Jack nodded. "So, about this lady… she is important to daddy and she would like very much to meet you…"
"Why?" Jack asked.
"Because, you're the most important person in daddy's life and she can't love me without loving you too…" Hotch explained. "She's very excited to meet you and she wants to be your friend… do you think you could give her a chance? Maybe you'll like her too…" Hotch asked hopefully.
"What if I don't like her?"
"I won't force you to like her, buddy. If you don't like her than you won't have to see her… but I'd really like if you'd try… she's special to me and you're special to me too, and it would make me very happy to see my two special people being friends…" Hotch said.
Jack thought for a bit and Hotch waited patiently. "You said she's nice?" The boy asked looking up.
"She is… her name is Emily and she's very nice and funny… I really think you're going to like her…" Hotch said with a smile.
"Okay…" Jack nodded. "She is in your home?"
"No, buddy… daddy doesn't live in that place anymore. Emily and I wanted a bigger place to put all our things together so we're living in a big apartment now…" Hotch explained. "Emily helped me to make a room especially for you. We bought new bedsheets and a lot of toys and games and even a table for you to color your books and do your homework…" He said and saw the way the boy's face lit up.
"Really?"
"Really, really. She helped to choose everything and we organized everything especially for you… would you like to see it?" He asked.
"Yeah…" The boy nodded.
"Then let's go, buddy…" Hotch said getting up. They walked back to the car and started driving towards their condo.
"Daddy?" Jack called from his seat.
"Yes, buddy?" Hotch answered looking at the rearview.
"Do you think Emily is going to like me?" He asked apprehensively and Hotch smiled.
"I know she will, buddy…"
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Emily was pacing at her living room, anxiously. It had been over an hour since Hotch had gone to pick Jack and even though she knew that he was going to talk to Haley first and then he'd have to explain things to Jack before he brought the boy to the apartment, but she couldn't help but feel antsy as she waited for them to arrive.
She had probably checked the little boy's room at least a dozen of times, making sure that everything was perfect for him, all the new toys arranged and bed made with the Captain American sheets she had bought with Hotch. Her boyfriend had tried to tranquilize her before leaving, saying that he was sure that Jack would love her and that she didn't have a reason to be nervous about it because everything would be okay, but she just couldn't help but be terrified at the prospect of meeting the little Hotchner.
She knew that Jack meant a big deal and that if the boy didn't like her for any reason or didn't feel comfortable enough with her or in the apartment it would be a huge obstacle for them to surpass. Hotch had told her that she had a natural gift with children and deep down, she knew that it was true, proved by the way she dealt with children at the field when needed, or the times she had any contact with Henry, not to count the dream she had to become a mom someday.
Of course, she couldn't even think about becoming a maternal figure to Jack in the deepest meaning of the world, knowing that Haley would throw a fit if she even dreamed that she was trying to take her place. She knew that if, or even better, when she and Hotch get married she will be Jack's stepmother, and her role as an authority figure will be more permanent.
But the truth was that the only thing she wanted was for the boy to like her, to feel comfortable with her and with her relationship with his father, and most of all, to feel at home in that apartment because if he didn't, she knew it would be a big disappointment for her partner.
She heard the sound of the key on the lock as she paced for the hundredth time in the living room and held her breath as she watched Hotch getting inside, hand clasped with the little sand-hair boy. He was shy, of course, and she smiled inwardly as she noticed him quickly cataloguing the room and setting his eyes on her, before looking down at his toy clutched on his other hand.
"Hi, sweetheart." Hotch greeted her with a smile and chuckled at the way she was anxiously looking at the boy. He walked towards her, Jack following him at his side, and looked at his son with a smile. "Buddy, this is Miss Emily. Can you say hi to her?" He asked and Jack looked at Emily again, shyly.
"Hi, Miss Em'ly." He said with a quiet voice and the brunette grinned softly at him, kneeling down to stay at his high.
"Hello, sweetie. It's very nice to finally meet you… your father told me so many incredibly stories about you…" She said softly as the boy eyed her warily.
"Yeah…?" He inquired and she nodded quickly.
"Mhmm. He told me you love superheroes and mac and cheese and that you like to play a lot outside and also loves to draw beautiful drawings. Is that true?" She asked and the boy nodded eagerly.
"Yeah. Daddy makes the best mac and cheese ever…" He told her and she grinned.
"He does, uh? I'm a little jealous… he never made mac and cheese for me." She said with a slight pout. "You know what, I think it's his special food, just for you. Maybe you could ask him to cook tonight, then I'd see if it's really the best mac and cheese ever…" She suggested and Jack looked up at his father with big hazel eyes.
"Can you do it, daddy? Miss Em'ly wants to eat it and I want it too…" He asked hopefully and Hotch smiled fondly at the pair.
"Of course I can, buddy. Anything for my two special people…" He said ruffling his hair.
"Daddy told me you made a room just for me…" Jack said looking back at Emily.
"We sure did, sweetie." She nodded. "Your dad helped me to choose everything that you like and we set everything for you. Would you like to see it?" She asked and he nodded. She got up and offered her hand to him, smiling when he eyed his father inquisitively and just took it after his nod. She walked towards the boy's new room and opened the door, letting him inside. "Your dad told me you love Captain America, so we bought these sheets for your new bed. We also got a lot of new toys for you to play when you come over and this table for you to color your books or do your homework if you need it…" She said while showing him everything. The boy approached the bed and touched the red and blue sheets while looking at the toys in the shelves around the room and the small table filled with coloring books and crayons. "Do you like, sweetheart?" She asked at him.
"Mhmm. It's very nice… thank you, Miss Em'ly…" He said and Emily beamed at him.
"You're very welcome, honey."
"Hey buddy, guess what?" Hotch caught their attention while stepping into the room. "Emily is a big fan of Harry Potter too…" He told the boy who looked at the brunette with wide eyes.
"She is?"
"Oh, yeah. She has all the books and DVDs, the special editions, with extras and a lot of fun stuff…" Hotch nodded. "I'm sure that she'll let you see them if you ask her…"
"Can we, Miss Em'ly?" He asked the brunette hopefully and Emily couldn't avoid the fluttering in her belly at the sight.
"Of course we can, honey." She said and the boy beamed. "How about we watch the first one before dinner?" She suggested and he nodded excitedly.
"Can we, daddy?" He looked at his father who nodded at him.
"Of course, buddy. Let's go to the kitchen to make popcorn while Emily sets the DVD for us…" He suggested and the boy nodded, putting his Captain America toy in his bed along with his backpack and walked out of the room, towards the living room. Hotch approached Emily quickly and circled her waist, bringing her close to him and stealing a quick but heated kiss from her. "I love you." He whispered at her and she grinned at him.
"I love you, too." She whispered back and kissed him again. "Let's go. Harry Potter waits us." She said and nudged him outside the room, her whole body tingling with happiness instead of the previous nervousness.
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"Are you all set, sweetie?" Emily asked as she stepped inside Jack's room later that evening. The three of them had watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and then Hotch went to make their dinner while Emily showed Jack all the extras of the DVD. They ate dinner and Emily admitted to Jack that it was indeed the best mac and cheese ever, making Hotch grin at them.
They explored a bit of Jack's new toys after dinner and Hotch chuckled repeatedly at the sight of his thirty-something years old girlfriend sitting on the floor with his four years old son, both of them making train sounds and laughing as they played together. Hotch had taken care of Jack's bath while Emily arranged everything back into its places and set the bedroom ready for the boy to sleep.
"Yes, Miss Em'ly…" Jack nodded as he lay on his bed.
"Well, then good night, honey. Sweet dreams…" She said with a smile and leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead as she adjusted the blanket on him. She left the room as Hotch was coming in, squeezing his arm on her way out.
"Hey buddy." Hotch said sitting at his side on the bed. "Did you have fun today?"
Jack nodded at him with a smile. "I did… Miss Em'ly is fun…" He said and Hotch grinned.
"She is, isn't she?"
"And she's very pretty too…" Jack said and Hotch chuckled.
"That she is, buddy…"
Jack hesitated for a second before looking at his father. "I really like her, daddy…" He said and Hotch sighed happily, smiling at his son.
"I'm really glad, buddy. Really glad…" He said and leaned down to press a kiss on his forehead. "Good night, buddy. Love you…"
"Love you, daddy…" The boy mumbled as he closed his eyes. Hotch turned on the small lamp on his nightstand and turned off the bedroom's light on his way out, closing the door quietly behind him. He walked towards the master bedroom, having already closed everything before going to Jack's room, and smiled at the sight of his girlfriend sitting on their bed, brushing her hair.
"He's out like a light. The day was pretty exciting for him…" Hotch said and Emily grinned.
"He did have a lot of fun, didn't he?"
"He sure did, sweetheart. He just told me that Miss Em'ly is a very funny and really pretty and he liked her a lot…" He said grabbing her hands and pulling her up in front of him, circling her waist and pressing a kiss on her forehead.
"Really?" Emily beamed.
"Really, really. You officially have the Jack Hotchner's seal of approval…" He teased and she chuckled.
"He's a very sweet little boy."
"Mhmm…" He said while leaning down to trace a line of kisses on her shoulders, up to her neck before reaching her ear. "You were incredible with him…" He murmured while nipping her ear.
"Mmm…" Emily moaned while arching her back towards him. "You can't seriously be expecting to have sex with your four year old boy in the next room…" She gasped at him and he chuckled.
"We have to start training for when we have our own…" He murmured softly into her ear. "You can't seriously expect me to watch you being so wonderful with my son the whole day and to not want to ravish you after that…" He growled at her huskily and she moaned and chuckled. She squealed quietly as he suddenly lifted her up into his arms and threw her on the bed and covered her body with his. "I guess it's time for us to see if we can be quiet…" He whispered and swallowed her laugh in a deep kiss.
A/N: There will be another part of their weekend together. Reviews are appreciated and the next update won't take so long.