I can't believe our journey is almost over... this was such a hard story to write and I really, really appreciate all the encouragement...you're all wonderful, thank you! I hope this chapter does justice.

Chapter 5. Gift from an Angel

Darkness enveloped the apartment, with the exception of a dim light emanating from a solitary floor lamp in one corner of the living room. Emily Prentiss sighed heavily. Carefully she reached for a blanket that was laid on the arm of her chair and wrapped it around the precious charge on her lap. She rested her head back against the chair and closed her eyes, exhausted from the last two hours:

After his desperate outburst at the kitchen window, Jack had begun to cry once more. He had run into the living room to snatch up Buddy-the-bear, then buried himself in the soft cushions of the couch. Emily had followed him, hoping to distract the youngster or at least offer some comfort. Jack, however, was beyond comfort; he was thoroughly despondent. Thankfully, he was also so tired from the day's emotional events that he had cried himself to sleep, his teddy bear tucked tightly under one arm. The agent had been able to lift both the boy and the bear into her arms with little trouble before dropping into a high-backed chair, where she now gently stroked his blond head.

Where was Rossi? And Hotch? Emily checked her watch. She had just decided on a plan of action if they weren't back in half hour when she heard a key in the lock. She breathed a huge sigh of relief, yet didn't move. The agent didn't want to risk waking Jack until she was sure that his father was okay. But she needn't have bothered. The slight 'click' was enough to rouse the young Hotchner, who sprung off her lap in an instant, making a beeline for the door.

"Daddy?"

There was a muffled response as the door opened and Rossi entered, followed closely by Hotch.

"DADDY!"

The Unit Chief knelt down just in time to receive his son, who flew into his arms. Hotch hugged him fiercely, noting his boy's tear-stained cheeks. He felt a pang of guilt for nothing was as precious to him as his little boy and he wanted nothing more than to make him happy. Remembering his promise to Haley, Hotch determinedly pushed the negative thoughts from his mind. It was time to start fresh. Still holding Jack tightly, he rose to his feet and looked over at Emily.

"Thanks." He mouthed.

Emily smiled and nodded. She appraised her boss. His dark coat and ruby red cheeks contrasted greatly with his almost ghostlike, pale skin. There was still snow in his hair and eyebrows. He had begun to shiver.

And yet...

And yet Aaron Hotchner's eyes were burning with a life and intensity not seen by Prentiss since the team's relentless hunt for George Foyet. She glanced over at Rossi. He inclined his head and the corners of his mouth twitched. He too had noticed the change in his friend.

Emily allowed herself a brief moment of relief before her practical side was kicked into action at witnessing a particularly violent shiver from Hotch.

"Jack, let's make daddy some hot chocolate and let him put on some warm, dry clothes, okay?"

At first, Jack was reluctant to let go of his father but after receiving another big hug and an encouraging smile from his dad, he allowed himself to be put down and followed the female agent into the kitchen.

Rossi looked enquiringly at his friend, who stood motionless, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings and current state, his eyes suggesting he was lost in thought; they had not lost their intensity. The older man walked over and grasped Hotch's shoulder with just enough pressure to rouse him from his introspection.

"You okay, son?" Rossi's hand remained on its perch.

A nod followed by another fierce shiver. Rossi frowned and slightly increased his grip on his friend.

"Hotch?..

Hotch!

Come on, we need to get you warmed up. You'll need a hot shower and some dry clothes."

Hotch looked at Rossi then as his body rocked violently with yet a further tremor. Alarmed, Dave began fumbling at the buttons on the younger agent's long coat. He would be damned if he let his best friend go into hypothermic shock.

But the shiver seemed to have jolted the Unit Chief back to his senses. His face was full of renewed determination and, seemingly to Rossi, new found hope. It was there, reflected in the dark brown eyes which were looking back at him.

Rossi attempted an encouraging smile, "You want to talk about it?"

Hotch shook his head, allowing Rossi to take his coat while he managed to get his own boots off. But as the two men walked towards the bathroom and master bedroom, respectively, the younger agent suddenly stopped, causing the Italian to do the same.

"Let's just say I'm finally listening to those I care about."

Dave gave his friend a knowing look before pushing Hotch forward.

"About time." He said gruffly. But his tone carried no underlying anger.

Hotch grinned wryly. "I'm grateful you didn't offer me your gun again."

"Nah, like you told me in Boston, it was a bit dramatic. Besides, those things can be unreliable in such frigid temperatures."

Hotch extended his hand and Rossi clasped it firmly, pulling the younger man into a rough embrace.

"Thanks for everything, Dave."

"Anytime."

Hotch nodded his gratitude. "I can take it from here."

Rossi grinned impishly. "Hope so. If you're not out in 10, I'm sending in Jack... or maybe Prentiss..."

Chuckling at the glare he received at his last remark, David Rossi headed back towards the kitchen, feeling that his friend was finally beginning to let go of his guilt and start the process of healing.

XXXXX

Half an hour later, the three agents sat at Hotch's kitchen table nursing steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Jack sat on his dad's lap, giggling loudly at the white sticky line of marshmallow across his father's lip. To the Unit Chief, this sound was nothing short of heavenly. He knew he would do whatever it took to hear it regularly. He reached for his napkin, which was lying on the table.

"Daddy?"

Hotch finished wiping his lip and looked at his son. Jack looked suddenly sombre. Hotch's heart missed a beat with apprehension but he tried to look encouraging.

"Yes, buddy?"

"I'm sorry for making you mad..."

Hotch pulled the young boy closer, hugging him tightly. "Jack, you didn't make me angry. I was just scared when you ran off. But I'm very sorry if I made you think that I was staying away because I was mad at you. I wasn't. I love you..."

Here, the Unit Chief swallowed hard but he managed to continue. "Sometimes, buddy... sometimes I just get sad thinking about your mom... I don't mean to upset you."

"I know, Daddy."

"You do?"

Jack nodded, his face as serious as his father's. "Uh huh. Aunty Emily hewlped me. She tolds me that no matter how hard you twry, you're a REAL superhero so you can't bring mommy back."

Hotch looked over at Emily, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Emily shrugged easily. "Jack and I were having a talk about grief and being sad and how everyone handles things a little differently. And how no matter how hard we wish, sometimes we just can't make that wish come true. Right, Jack?"

Jack bobbed his head in agreement. "And Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I cryded..."

But the young Hotchner didn't get the rest of his sentence out; his father cut him off almost instantly.

"Jack, you NEVER have to apologize for crying. Never! Crying is a very natural thing to do when we're sad."

Jack's brow furrowed and a look of confusion flitted across his face. "Then why don't YOU cry?"

Hotch thought of all the months where he had bottled his grief, thinking that he needed to be strong for his son. He glanced up and met Rossi's knowing gaze. Dave was right; he needed to show more emotion around his young boy.

Hotch took a deep breath and looked directly into Jack's eyes, eyes that so closely matched his own.

"Buddy, I'm not perfect. I'm not very good at crying when I'm sad but maybe we can learn together."

Jack smiled at the idea. "Okay, Daddy."

Hotch brushed back some hair from Jack's face and allowed himself a slight smile too. "I'm proud of you, Buddy. And I love you."

"I love you too."

There was silence for a moment. Rossi and Prentiss exchanged a glance, both feeling like intruders in the father-son conversation. Rossi decided that some levity was needed. With a glint in his eye, he placed a hand on Jack's arm.

"Well I don't know about you Hotchners, but in the Rossi house, we always laugh after we cry."

Jack turned his head to look at the older agent. "You do?"

"Uh huh. It reminds us Italians that it's okay to be happy, even during sad times."

Jack still looked confused but Rossi continued, undeterred.

"Come on, Jack, I'll show you. We'll start by..." here, he leaned over and whispered into the boy's ear.

The grin that appeared on Jack's face stretched from one ear to the other. Eagerly, he put his hands on his dad's stomach and began to tickle. Taken a little by surprise, Hotch laughed. Easily he lifted Jack and flipped him over so that he was lying on his back on the Unit Chief's lap.

"Now I've got you!" he cried, tickling the small exposed tummy. Jack squealed in delight.

Emily watched father and son. She felt gratitude and a certain sense of relief. This family had been through so much pain and suffering over the better part of a year, it was good to see them enjoy some genuine happiness. She glanced over at Rossi, who was also watching the pair. He wore a satisfied look on his face.

Unobtrusively, Prentiss got up from the table and went to stand in front of the kitchen window. The winter storm had indeed past and left behind a beautiful snow covered landscape which glistened white under the warm, orange glow of the apartment complex lights. All was calm.

Prentiss looked back at the table. Hotch had moved to the floor. Jack sat upon the agent, giggling as they continued their 'tickling battle'. Rossi was egging on the youngster. The raven-haired agent grinned inwardly. Perhaps the worst of this tragic storm had also passed. Maybe now the Hotchners could begin to move forward, to be happy. Prentiss dearly hoped so.

"Aunty Em'ly, whatcha doing?" Emily was jolted back from her thoughts to find the tickling had stopped and Jack standing beside her. She crouched down to meet his inquisitive gaze. Prentiss saw features of both Haley and Hotch in the innocent face, now ruby red from all his excitement.

"I was just thinking how pretty all the fresh snow looks now that the storm is over. And how glad I am to be warm and having hot chocolate with you!"

As she spoke, she happened to look over at Hotch and thought she saw something in his face change, but it was gone in an instant. Her profiling skills read conflict... a mix of pleasure tinged with sorrow.

"Hotch?" she asked, "everything okay?"

Hotch nodded but it took a moment before he spoke.

"Haley always loved the first snow of the year..."

At the sound of his mother's name, Jack came back to the table, all of his focus on his dad.

"Why, Daddy?"

Hotch lifted his son onto his lap.

"Your mom said that it was magical."

Jack's eyes widened.

"Magic snow?!"

Hotch smiled slightly.

"Sort of, Buddy. She used to say that in the first snowfall of the year, angels hand out love in every flake. And it is that love that makes each snowflake unique and special."

"Haley was a smart woman." Rossi said softly.

Hotch bent his head. "Yes she was."

Gently, he helped Jack off of his lap and went to the window.

Aaron Hotchner was not a particularly religious man, but as he looked out at the sparkling snow and observed the intricate patterns in the frost on the window, he wondered,

'Could Haley be sending him a message? Was it a coincidence that the first snow fell today, of all days?'

Suddenly, he had an idea. He turned and asked Jack if he wanted to help him with something outside.

"Yes!" came the enthusiastic reply.

Hotch was amused to see that his friends' were slightly less exuberant.

"We'll need you too." He informed them, emphasizing his point with his famous stare.

Emily sighed and pulled herself up from her chair. Dave muttered something unintelligible under his breath but followed the others into the hallway to once again bundle up against the elements.

A few minutes later, they all left the apartment, Hotch striding purposefully ahead with Jack trotting at his side. Rossi and Prentiss followed a few paces behind.

The small group made their way to a large 'shared' area at the back of the condo complex. It was square-shaped and surrounded by the condo building and three tall iron fences. Along the building, a row of snow-laden bushes gave privacy to the ground floor residents. A narrow path ran down the middle of the space, flanked by two lamp posts, their lights casting an eerie yellow glow in the darkness. On one side of the path, a few picnic tables were scattered haphazardly around a brick BBQ. On the other side, there was nothing but a white carpet of new snow.

Hotch stopped and surveyed his surroundings. The 'courtyard' was deserted except for a solitary grey cat, which immediately slunk into the shadows at the first sound of the humans' approach. All was quiet and still. The early evening air was crisp; the profiler could see his breath. He knew he shouldn't allow himself to get cold again but there was something he wanted to do... to show Jack. He gave a low grunt of satisfaction as he saw the perfect place. He stepped off the path into the untrodden, pristine snow and laid down flat on his back. Then he motioned for Jack to come and join him. Finally, the Unit Chief grinned at his son, extended his arms and legs and proceeded to move them as if doing a jumping jack exercise.

Jack laughed delightedly as he recognized the movement pattern.

"A snow angel!"

Hotch turned his head towards the youngster.

"Mommy and I used to make these every winter." he said, watching as Jack threw himself into his angel, arms and legs moving at breakneck speed.

"Am I doing it right, Daddy?" Jack panted.

"You're a natural, buddy."

Jack beamed.

"How about you two get up so we can actually see what you've made." Prentiss called from the path.

"And get back inside where the sensible folks are." muttered Rossi under his breath, stamping his feet in the cold.

The two Hotchners got up carefully and joined the two agents on the path.

"Beautiful." said Emily.

"Great job, kiddo!" Dave high-fived Jack.

Jack grinned and went to stand by his father, who was silent but smiling, a rare expression in recent months.

"Daddy?" the little boy pointed to the angels. "I can see mommy now."

Hotch smiled at the thought, then bent down and hugged his son tightly.

"Mommy would be so proud of you."

There was a momentary silence but this was soon broken by a slight whooshing sound, followed by a distinct 'splat' as the projectile found its target.

"Prentiss!" roared Rossi, frantically attempting to dig out the remains of a large snowball from his collar before it could send an icy trickle down his neck. From the look on his face, he was not succeeding.

Jack sniggered and the two adults laughed heartily. Hotch whispered something in his son's ear.

The youngster giggled, picked up a mittenful of snow and threw it at the older man before nimbly moving out of Rossi's outstretched arm. It too, made contact, sending Jack and Emily into further hysterics. Even Hotch was laughing out loud.

"I'm going to get you two!" Dave began to chase Jack and Prentiss, a snowball in each hand and a determined look in his eyes. Hotch watched them for a moment then turned back to the snow angels. His heart felt lighter than it had for months and somehow, Aaron felt better. He realized he still needed to give himself time to grieve, that he had a long way to go, but he was no longer consumed by sorrow or, more importantly, by guilt.

'Maybe I'll be able to keep my promise to you, Haley. I hope I'm doing okay so far.'

XXXXX

Later that night, Hotch tucked Jack into one side of his bed before crawling under the covers on the other. It had been his own suggestion that Jack have a sleepover with his dad. After all the emotions of the day, Hotch felt he needed to be close to his son, to know he was safe and secure. After turning off the bedside lamp, the agent kissed the top of his boy's head.

"Good night, Jack."

"'Night, Daddy."

Jack snuggled closer to his father, pushing Buddy-the-bear out of the way onto the floor.

"Daddy?" came his whisper.

"Mmmm?"

"Will the angels still be there in the morning?"

Hotch stroked the small blond head.

"Maybe... But Jack, the most important thing to know is that mommy is always with you... even when you can't see her. Okay?"

Hotch could feel Jack nod in the darkness.

"I love you, Daddy." He said sleepily. Then, blowing a kiss towards the window which overlooked the courtyard and snow angels, "'Night Mommy..."

Hotch closed his eyes, wishing Haley were here to witness their son's strength, yet knowing that in some way, she was with them and always would be. He planted another kiss on Jack's head.

"We love you too, buddy."

'For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.'

THE END

"To appreciate the beauty of a snow flake, it is necessary to stand out in the cold." Unknown.

"I believe that - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death"

Robert Fulghum