The Best Christmas Ever

Authors note: CCOAC Christmas exchange story. Written for cuz-snarry's-awesome.

Your assigned pairing is: Hotch/Garcia

Your assigned song title prompt and 3 prompts are: Must Be Santa; Christmas
Dinner; mistletoe; secret Santa

Summary: Aaron thinks he has ruined Christmas for Jack but Santa has other plans!

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Pulling his car into the driveway of his dark and empty house, Aaron shut off the engine and pulled the key out. It was Christmas Eve, well technically Christmas morning as he spied the clock on the dash that read 3:03 and he was just coming home from a case that had taken much longer than expected. The team had split up prior to coming home; Morgan went to Chicago, Rossi and Emily to New York and Reid to Las Vegas. He and JJ made the long flight home together talking about their kids and their plans for the day.

Hotch felt like crap. He had waited to buy presents and now it was too late. How was he to know they would be working a case for nearly a month with no break? He had called Jessica and asked her to keep Jack until the afternoon of the day after Christmas which would give him a couple of hours to fight for a few things for his son. The house wasn't decorated, he didn't have a tree – he felt miserable doing this to his son. This was the worse Christmas ever. He got out of the car and made his way through the drifting snow to his front door.

Aaron slipped the key in the lock quietly and unbolted the door. He stepped inside and immediately stopped. The inside of his house was bathed in a gentle glow. He could smell cinnamon and something else he couldn't quite identify. He closed the door gently and locked it; removed his jacket and shoes then padded down the hall to the front room.

Against the far wall was a large tree covered in multi-colored lights, tinsel and gaudy ornaments. Garland was strung around the room and up the staircase. Mistletoe hung over the doorway. Under the tree was a large pile of carefully wrapped presents. He walked over and picked up a small package. Looking at the tag he smiled. To Jack, From Santa.

He placed the package under the tree with the others. A pair of stockings hung over the fireplace; both were stuffed with items. A thin square box stuck out of the stocking with his name on it. The box had a bright yellow bow on it that was blinking. Hotch picked it up to turn it off when he saw a large ribbon trailing off the bottom; written on the ribbon was "Open on or before Christmas".

He turned it over and stared at the back for a moment then looked around the room. It is Christmas, he thought. He carefully opened the paper to reveal a green cd case. He popped open the case: on top of the cd in a feminine script was "Christmas 2011" and a post-it note which read "watch me now"! He removed the post-it note as he walked over to the dvd player and slid the disk inside. Grabbing the remote he turned on the television and settled on the edge of the coffee table.

"Hi Daddy," Jack said as his smiling face filled the television. "Merry Christmas!"

The camera pulled back to reveal Jack's bedroom. The little boy was standing in his underwear in the middle of the room.

"I know that you are out catching bad guys and that's okay that you are not here with me," Jack rambled. "But we thought you might like to watch my Christmas show. This is my costume."

He held up a bunch of colorful clothes and a large pair of shoes that curled at the toes. Aaron watched as Jack dropped the clothes in a pile then dug through them and finally pulled out a shirt. The little boy struggled to pull the shirt over his head – refusing help from whomever was manning the camera. He nearly fell over twice before a well-manicured hand shot out and tugged the shirt down. Next, Jack donned his pants, actually more like a pair of tights. This was okay as the shirt hung down almost to his knees. Then he pulled on the huge shoes that were held in place with Velcro. After that, Jack disappeared from the camera for a moment and when he re-appeared he was wearing a hat and a pair of pointy ears.

Aaron grinned as he looked at his son. "Okay I'm dressed now," Jack announced. "Time to go to the show. Come on." Jack waved his arm as he headed out the door the camera followed for a moment then the scene changed. The camera was now looking at a stage in what Aaron recognized as Jack's school auditorium. The curtain parted and about fifty elves dressed similarly to Jack paraded onto the stage.

An adult male dressed as an elf came out onto the stage carrying a guitar. He settled on a stool. Aaron laughed as the man tried to adjust his seat and nearly fell off when his overly large shoe slipped off of the rung. The camera zoomed in on Jack. Aaron's heart swelled with pride as he watched his son standing quietly and waiting for the song to begin. A moment later the man began to sing and the children joined in on a rousing version of Must Be Santa.

The song went on for several minutes and Jack seemed to be right on cue. The camera pulled back a couple of times to show the whole group and then settled on Jack again. As the song ended Jack focused on the camera he smiled and waved then mouthed "I love you Daddy". Aaron wiped the tears that rolled down his cheeks as the scene changed again. Once again they were in Jack's room. Jack was in his favorite pajamas as he climbed into bed.

"I'll be waiting for you when you get home," Jack said quietly as he pulled the covers up. "I love you Daddy."

The screen went blank. Aaron sat there and regained his composure. Someone was going to be getting a special visit from Santa for this, he promised silently. Suddenly he bolted off the table and up the stairs. The upstairs hallway was lined in Christmas lights as well. He hurried over to Jack's room and opened the door.

"Daddy?" Jack said from the dark.

"Hey Buddy," Aaron choked out. He crossed the room sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms around his son. "I missed you."

"I missed you to," Jack said in a muffled voice against Aaron's chest. "Merry Christmas Daddy!"

"Merry Christmas Jack," Aaron smiled. He loosened his embrace and kissed the boy on the forehead. "Did you do all of this?"

"All of what?" Jack frowned.

"The Christmas tree and the decorations," Aaron prompted.

Jack frowned in a complete imitation of his father. "I didn't do anything but sing!"

Aaron nodded. "Okay Buddy. Where's Aunt Jessica? In the guest room?"

"I don't know," Jack said shaking his head. "I think she went home."

"Home? She left you here by yourself?"

Jack shook his head again. "Secret Santa is here."

"Secret Santa?" Aaron repeated with a smirk. From the hallway he heard the click of a door then footsteps on the stairs. "Who's here?"

"It's Santa," Jack giggled.

Aaron heard the front door open and close. He got up and went to the window peering out just in time to see a certain technical Goddess scampering up the street. He smiled knowing just who was responsible for making Christmas a success this year. He turned back around to see his son staring solemnly at him.

"You're not mad are you Daddy?"

Aaron frowned. "How could I be mad at Santa?" he asked.

Jack shrugged.

"Do you want some hot chocolate with me?" Aaron asked. "Then we could open presents."

"Presents?" Jack repeated wide-eyed.

"Santa left presents," Aaron smiled.

Jacks eyes widened further then suddenly he ran out of the room. Aaron followed more sedately. He grinned as he saw his son stop mid-way down the stairs to gape at the living room. Jack turned to face him.

"She really is Santa's helper," he whispered awestruck.

"Yes she is," Aaron agreed. "Let's go see what Santa brought us."

Jack nodded. "Can we still have hot chocolate? I'm hungry."

"You want a snack?"

"Can we?" Jack asked hopefully.

Aaron put his hand on Jack's shoulder and led him down the stairs. "I don't why not. I think Santa's little helper left us something special to eat as well."

They went to the kitchen and just as Aaron predicted Santa had left them a bounty of goodies; baked goods as well as a full meal. Aaron opened the refrigerator to find it fully stocked. He smiled and wiped at another tear that had formed in his eyes. Why, he wondered, was that woman still available?

Shaking his head he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.

"Why don't you come back?" he suggested. "Jack and I would love to have your company."

"Are you sure," she asked hesitantly.

"I'm positive," he replied.

"Good, cuz I can't get Esther started. And it's freezing out here."

He chuckled. "Get back here before you turn into Frosty the Snowwoman."

"I'm coming," she giggled. "Open the front door."

Aaron went to the door and opened it. He watched as Garcia tiptoed towards him on the slippery surface. She hustled through the door and shivered. Aaron closed the door and helped her out of her coat then before she could move away he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you Penelope," he whispered gratefully in her ear. "You've made this the best Christmas ever."

"It was nothing Sir," she replied bashfully.

He squeezed her gently. "It was everything to me," he told her. "And you are forbidden to call me anything but Aaron today. You understand?"

He pulled back to look in her eyes.

"Yes sir," she replied automatically. "I mean – yes Aaron."

He felt his stomach flip when she said his name. He bent and briefly pressed his lips to hers. "Are you hungry? Santa left a feast fit for a beast!"

She laughed. "I'm starved!"

They walked arms wrapped around each others waists to the kitchen where Jack greeted her just as enthusiastically as Aaron had. Aaron watched as she bustled around his kitchen like she owned the place he couldn't get the smile off of his face. This was the best Christmas ever.