A.N. This fic was written for 'The Strangeness of September Challenge' on the CCOAC forum. The prompt for this particular story – that I chose - was baby safety month which was something I couldn't pass up because seriously Hotch and Beth. I'm not overly fond of the ending but if you like (and even if you don't) please feel free to read and review. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Sorry you'll have to come back when the milk stop squirting out of my nose.

Not Beta-ed. You've been warned.

"Do you think we'll need baby gates?"

"Baby gates?"

"Yeah, you know just in case."

"Aaron our apartment doesn't even have stairs."

Aaron Hotchner grinned sheepishly, "You never know."

She laughed, "In this case I'm pretty sure I do know."

Beth Clemmons relaxed into the couch, the pillow supporting her lower back was doing nothing to dampen the radiating lower back pain but she was nothing if not determined. At seven months into her pregnancy there weren't many parts of her body that didn't ache but she was willing to try anything to relieve the pan; the only thing she wasn't okay with was drugs, prescription or otherwise.

Five months into the pregnancy and Beth had still been so nauseated, breathless, and sleepless that she'd been willing to do about anything to get some rest. Aaron had been so patient and supportive that she burst of laughing when he'd all but dragged her to the nearest doctor for a prescription; apparently she wasn't as pleasant as she thought she'd been. It was hard to be excited about feeling the baby move and kick when there was always a portion of her that wanted to be sick. However when the fetal movements had stopped two days after starting the medication everything had gone downhill. When she'd first noticed that there were no butterflies in her stomach it had been a day after Aaron had left for a case in New Mexico; she must have sounded terrified on the phone because he'd met her at the hospital five hours later.

She'd almost cried when she saw him she'd been so scared. The doctor explained to Aaron as he had to Beth that the fetal distress had been caused by a sudden drop in Beth's blood pressure as a result of her nausea medication; coupled with the fact that it was her first child and that she was older than most first time mothers had prompted an overnight stay in the hospital. Without the medication her blood pressure had returned to normal and they'd been able to return home the next afternoon. Ever since then Beth and Aaron had made a deal that Beth wouldn't take any more medication and Aaron would become her own personal punching bag.

"What about outlet covers?" He asked.

She laughed, "For a newborn? I thought you'd done this before."

Aaron chuckled as he dropped onto the couch next to her, covering her hand with his own on her baby bump.

"It's been a while since the last time I was a father to a newborn," he said distractedly as he caressed his baby's temporary home.

"It's been never since I was a mother. I thought that meant that I got to be the crazy one."

"You do…about the baby. I get to be the one crazy about the baby's safety."

She scoffed, "Well you might want to put away our cleavers hanging from the ceiling then."

Aaron rolled his eyes, "Haha very funny. What about a stove guard?"

"Are we talking about Jack or our baby? I don't know that much about newborns but I've never known them to be master chefs."

Aaron laughed and wrapped an arm around Beth's shoulders and allowed her to lean up against him. "I'm sorry. This may not be my first one but every day we get closer to the due date I get more and more nervous."

"Oh me too. I guess I just don't have a lot of time to stress because someone is using my bladder as a soccer ball."

He kissed her temple, "Maybe Jack will have someone to play with in a couple of years."

She arched an eyebrow, "A couple? What's all this about child safety when you're going to let the then ten year old play soccer with the toddler?"

"Okay," he amended. "Maybe more than a couple of years. We still need to pick-up a car seat you know."

"I know, I know. But there's so many! It's like computer shopping only I have to pee every ten minutes and I can stand for minimal amounts of time."

Threading his fingers through hers Aaron smiled, "It'll all be worth it when we bring him home, she just needs to be safe for us to do it."

Four Months Later…

Aaron pressed his palms into his eyes as he rolled over in bed. Stilling for a moment he almost believed that his ears had betrayed him and that his daughter was in fact still asleep.

His hopes were dashed when a sharp cry rang out through the silence and the crying began in earnest. Putting his arm out Aaron stopped Beth from sitting up when he felt her roll over.

"I'll get it," he murmured sleepily.

"Mmm. I love you," she replied.

He grinned, "Yeah I bet."

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed Aaron pushed the covers back and slowly stood on the cold hardwood floor. The cold of the floor actually helped him to wake up as he padded to the nursery, the crying still consistent. As he passed by Jack's room he quickly peered in to make sure the boy hadn't been woken up; he didn't have school in the morning but Jack still deserved his sleep. The first time Jack had gone to visit Beth and his baby sister in the hospital he'd been smitten; he'd beamed when they'd allowed him to hold his baby sister and he'd been so gentle it put to bed all the worries Aaron had had over how Jack would handle having a sibling. When they'd brought her home Jack had been very eager to help and even though the sleepless nights affected everyone the boy always seemed to have a smile for the baby.

Pulling the door closed behind him Aaron walked over to the crib and gently lifted his daughter out, red-faced and sniffling from all the crying Hotch rocked her slowly until she calmed down.

"Hey now," he said softly. "There's no need for that, what's wrong?"

The only response her got was whimpers that threatened to turn into cries if he even thought about putting her down. Settling down into the rocking chair in the corner of the room he propelled himself with his foot as he cradled his baby against his chest. Because they'd opted not to know what the sex of the baby was until she'd been born he and Beth had decided to paint the room a soft yellow colour which, during the day, was lit up beautifully by the afternoon sun. The room itself was a gracious size for what they used it for; everything they needed had a spot in the room and still had enough space to move around. When Aaron and Beth had gone out looking for apartments they hadn't had a child in mind but now he was glad they'd opted for a three-bedroom instead two.

True to his word Aaron had thoroughly baby-proofed the apartment – much to Beth's amusement. He just had to be sure that his family was going to be safe when he wasn't around, he'd taken a month off work to finish his renovations and be with Beth and the baby but going back to work had still been hard. The rational part of him knew that for the first six months the baby was going to spend most of the time sleeping and not a lot of time unsupervised but he had to be sure.

"I know what you're thinking," Aaron said. "I know I went a bit overboard with the apartment but I need to keep you, mommy and Jack safe. When I'm here I'll always do my best to keep you safe…but I can't always be here and I'm sorry. But even when I'm not here you know that I love you."

"She will."

Aaron looked up from his sleeping daughter to his sleepy girlfriend standing in the doorway.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi yourself," she replied.

"You didn't have to get up. Everything is fine."

She smiled and waked over, lowering herself to the floor in front of the chair and resting her head against his knee. "I know," she said finally. "But when you didn't come back right away I got curious."

"You should be resting."

"Speak for yourself Aaron. Besides tomorrow is a Saturday."

They sat in silence for a few minutes and Aaron wasn't sure if Beth was still awake until he heard her yawn. Glancing down again at his daughter one last time to make sure she was still asleep he stood slowly, helping Beth back to her feet before placing his daughter back in her crib. Aaron wrapped his arm around Beth's waist and tucked her into his side as he guided her back to their bedroom.

"She is going to be safe you know," Beth murmured as she snuggled into him once they were back in bed.

"You think so?" He asked.

"Of course. Our house has the safety precautions of an asylum and her daddy is an FBI agent."

He smirked, "Our house is not an asylum."

"Aaron I almost had to pee in the sink the other day because I couldn't figure out that stupid toilet lock."

He kissed her forehead, "Alright alright. Maybe that one can come off until she's old enough to pull herself up."

She grinned, "Thank you."

Chuckling Aaron tilted her chin up enough to give him access to her lips, their sex life might have been put on the back burner but he still found her as attractive as the day they'd met.

"Now go back to sleep," he said closing his eyes. "All other negotiations will be dismissed until I'm conscious enough to fight them."

Yawning, Beth followed suit by closing her own eyes, "Deal."